SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Chapter 2 ⎯ Description of the Proposed Action and AlternativesThe U.S. District Court allowed the 2/25 th to complete its transformation and training in Hawaii tomeet its training requirements in preparation for its current deployment. The brigade has deployed tosouthwest Asia and it will return from that deployment in early 2009.2.2.1 Essential Activity Group Components of the Proposed ActionFour primary activity groups must be integrated and synchronized by the Army as critical elements ofthe Proposed Action and alternatives. These activity groups are necessary components of action formeeting the Army’s requirements for permanently stationing the 2/25 th SBCT. Primary activitygroups and their impacts are separated out in this chapter and subsequent environmental analysischapters for ease of comparison and understanding to ensure the full impacts of the Proposed Actionat alternative sites can be understood. In addition, they are the primary activities resulting in effects tothe human environment and their direct, indirect, and cumulative effects are considered in subsequentchapters of this document. The four primary activity groups are:1) Cantonment Area Construction – This activity group includes the construction of administrativeoffices; housing; vehicle parking and maintenance facilities; equipment storage; recreational,shopping, and other quality of life facilities; and the utilities required to meet the training and operationalrequirements of the 2/25 th SBCT and to support a high quality of life for its Soldiers andFamilies.2) Training Facilities and Range Construction – This activity group includes the construction ofany additional training ranges and training facilities needed to support the 2/25 th SBCT. The implementationof Army Transformation, as directed by the QDR has required the Army to overhauland modernize its training range and training facilities infrastructure. TC 25–8, Training Ranges,describes the standard designs and requirements of the Army’s Sustainable Range Program fortraining modular Army units to standard. In addition to the suite of upgraded ranges that are nowrequired for all modular units, the SBCT requires a range designed specially to test SBCT unitcapabilities. That range, the BAX, is a 2.4-kilometer (km) by 4-km vehicle assault range. A detailedlist and description of training ranges and capabilities required to support the training requirementsof the SBCT are provided in this section.3) Live-Fire Range Use – Live-fire training is an essential component of Army training. To be operationallyeffective, Soldiers must have the skills and experience necessary to operate and maintaintheir weapons. Live fire involves both munitions and explosives that would be used in combatand non-explosive training rounds designed to meet Soldiers’ training needs. Soldiers must“train as they fight” to ensure their safety in combat situations. At a minimum, all Soldiers in the2/25 th SBCT must qualify on individual and crew/vehicle weapons at least twice per year. In addition,platoons, companies, and battalions of the 2/25 th must conduct collective live-fire trainingexercises on firing ranges to ensure they have rehearsed and coordinated battle procedures and areprepared to deploy to support wartime operations.Various weapons systems use different types of munitions. When practicable, some weapons systemsuse rounds of lesser environmental impact. These rounds include inert or nonexplosive trainingrounds and stainless steel training rounds. Section 2.2.4 presents a more detailed descriptionof live-fire training activities and munitions.4) Maneuver Training Land Use – Army BCTs and the units that comprise them must conductregular “combined-arms” training certifications to ensure that all of the units’ capabilities can beintegrated and synchronized to execute missions under stressful operational conditions. Maneuvertraining consists of subordinate SBCT units working together to integrate and bring together theircombined capabilities and skills as a larger unit to carry out a mission. SBCTs, including the2/25 th SBCT, must conduct and rehearse maneuver training at every echelon from platoonFebruary 2008 2–2 2/25th SBCT Final EIS