SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Chapter 2 ⎯ Description of the Proposed Action and Alternativesployable and its armaments, firepower, and digital communications capabilities are superior to theequipment of most nations in the Southeast Pacific. The 2/25 th demonstrates the U.S. commitment toallies in the Southeast Pacific and provides key strategic deterrence presence that other stationing alternativesof this FEIS do not provide.In addition to these reasons, the stationing of the 2/25 th in Hawaii minimizes disruption to Soldiersand Families in Hawaii, Alaska, and Colorado that would be affected by the selection of AlternativesB or C of this EIS. The Families of the 2/25 th , 4/4 th , and 4/25 th are currently living in Hawaii, Colorado,and Alaska, and the selection of Hawaii as the Preferred Alternative would allow these Familiesto remain in their current stationing location. The selection of Hawaii as the Army’s preferred stationinglocation also allows the Army to provide better housing and quality of life infrastructure for theSoldiers and Families of the 2/25 th . Furthermore, many of the Soldiers of the 2/25 th have long-termreenlistment contracts in place to remain in Hawaii and the selection of Hawaii would ensure theArmy would be able to honor these commitments to its Soldiers. These Soldiers have military occupationalspecialties that are specifically tied to the Stryker system. If there is no SBCT in Hawaii theywould be assigned elsewhere. While Hawaii is more constrained for maneuver space and training infrastructurethan alternative locations in Alaska, the strategic benefits and quality of life advantages ofstationing the 2/25 th in Hawaii have led to its selection as the Preferred Alternative.2.5 ALTERNATIVE A (PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE): PERMANENTLYSTATION THE 2/25 TH SBCT AT SCHOFIELD BARRACKS MILI-TARY RESERVATION (SBMR) WHILE CONDUCTING REQUIREDTRAINING AT MILITARY TRAINING SITES IN HAWAIISummary Description: Under this alternative, the Army would permanently home station the 2/25 thSBCT in Hawaii upon completion of its current deployment to Southwest Asia. This alternativewould include all of the activities needed to implement the Proposed Action, including the training,garrison operations, deployment, Soldier and Family quality of life, and other needs for meeting therequirements of the 2/25 th SBCT. The 2/25 th SBCT would be stationed at SBMR and would conductgarrison operations at this location. SBMR includes Schofield Barracks Main Post (SBMP), SouthRange Acquisition Area (SRAA), and Schofield Barracks East Range (SBER). Training would beconducted at a number of other training areas in Hawaii (Figure 2–2), including Dillingham MilitaryReservation (DMR), Kahuku Training Area (KTA), Kawailoa Training Area (KLOA), and WheelerArmy Airfield (WAAF) on Oahu. On the Island of Hawaii, the SBCT would train at Pohakuloa TrainingArea (PTA), Keamuku parcel also referred to in this document as the West PTA Acquisition Area(WPAA), and Bradshaw Army Airfield (BAAF). Training resources that would be used by the SBCTinclude an assortment of live-fire and non-live-fire maneuver training facilities, fixed-position livefiretraining facilities, infantry and engineer demolition training facilities, grenade training facilities,and an urban assault course.Attainment of operational readiness by the 2/25 th is not dependent on the use of MMR. While theMMR is an integral part of USAG-HI training capabilities and historically used by other services, theunits of the 2/25 th could perform dismounted live-fire training at other ranges. Commanders of SBCTunits might choose to use MMR if the range is available following completion of the Makua ROD,but the training area is not required to meet SBCT training requirements. For purposes of this stationingdecision it is assumed that MMR is unavailable for training of the 2/25 th SBCT.February 2008 2–20 2/25th SBCT Final EIS