Department of the Army September 17, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of the Army announces the availability of the ROD for Army Growth and Force Structure Realignment to Support Operations in the Pacific Theater. This ROD announces the Army's decisions for growing and realigning U.S. Army forces to support operations in the Pacific Theater, which covers more than 50 percent of the earth's surface and includes more than 39 countries. Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Department of the Army prepared a Supplemental Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (SPEIS) that evaluated the potential environmental and socioeconomic effects associated with alternatives for Army growth and realignment. In the Final SPEIS (published July 24, 2008), the Army identified Alternative Two as the preferred alternative for implementing growth in U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii (USAG-HI) and Alternative Three as the preferred alternative for implementing growth in U.S. Army Garrisons in Alaska. The ROD explains that the Army will proceed with its preferred alternatives to station approximately 1,980 new Soldiers in Hawaii and approximately 2,200 in Alaska. This decision also validates previous decisions to station a 254 Soldier Expeditionary Sustainment Command (ESC) at Fort Lewis, Washington, and divert the stationing of a 570 Soldier Maneuver Enhancement Brigade (MEB) from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, to Fort Drum, New York. These alternatives best support Army-wide modular transformation; support the National Defense and Security Strategies; add the necessary Combat Support (CS) and Combat Service Support (CSS) Soldiers to Army forces; and grow critical support brigades and headquarters to efficiently carry out missions in the Pacific Theater. The decisions contained within the ROD will result in a total growth of Army forces within the Pacific Theater by approximately 4,200 Soldiers and will realign forces to improve readiness and responsiveness to meet future challenges.