Department of the Army February 4, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of the Army announces the availability of the Final PEIS for the proposed growth, realignment, and stationing of new and existing Army aviation assets. The proposed action includes the consolidation and reorganization of existing aviation units, and the potential establishment of one or more Combat Aviation Brigades (CABs). The proposed action will increase the availability of helicopter assets to meet current and future national security requirements, and will allow the Army better to organize existing aviation assets to promote more effective training and force management. The Final PEIS evaluates the environmental impacts associated with the proposed action, which includes the stationing of aviation units, the construction and renovation of garrison facilities, and additional training activities needed to support the readiness of aviation units. In addition, the Final PEIS addresses comments received on the Draft PEIS. Land acquisition is not being considered as part of this action. The Final PEIS considers the following alternatives: Alternative 1Realign and Station Existing Aviation Elements of Up to a Full CAB or Activate and Station a New CAB at Fort Carson Colorado (CO). Under this alternative, the Army will consolidate existing aviation units not currently assigned to a CAB into a standard CAB structure at Fort Carson or activate a new CAB at Fort Carson. As part of this alternative, aviation units will conduct training on existing land at Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS), CO, in order to maintain training proficiency and support integrated training with ground units. Land acquisition is not being considered as part of this action. Alternative 2Realign and Station Existing Aviation Elements of Up to a Full CAB or Grow, Station, and Activate a CAB at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) Washington (WA). Under this alternative, the Army either will consolidate existing aviation units not currently assigned to a CAB into a standard CAB structure at JBLM or activate a new CAB at JBLM. As part of this alternative, aviation units will conduct training on existing training land at Yakima Training Center (YTC), WA, in order to maintain training proficiency and support integrated training with ground units. Land acquisition is not being considered as part of this action. Alternative 3 (Preferred)Implement Alternatives 1 and 2. Under this alternative, the consolidated units forming a CAB would be stationed at one installation, and the new CAB would be activated and stationed at the other installation. Fort Carson and JBLM would each gain up to one CAB. As part of this alternative, aviation units would conduct training on existing training land at the installations' training maneuver areas (PCMS for Fort Carson and YTC for JBLM) in order to maintain training proficiency and support integrated training with ground units. Land acquisition is not being considered as part of this action. Alternative 4No Action Alternative. Under this alternative, the Army would retain its aviation force structure at its current levels, configurations, and locations. Aviation units continue to be one of the Army's most stressed forces currently on 12-month deployments after every one year at home. The Army's goal is to give active-duty Soldiers two years at home for every year they're deployed. The completion of these stationing actions will provide sufficient aviation assets to allow Soldiers more time at home between deployments. Fort Carson and JBLM are the only stationing alternatives that meet all of the Army's stationing requirements for new CAB stationing. These locations have existing runways and airfields, provide adequate maneuver and airspace for CAB operations, and are equipped with existing training ranges that can support CAB training. Most importantly, Fort Carson and JBLM are the only major installations that have three or more Brigade Combat Teams but no CAB dedicated to provide aviation support for training. The proposed action would allow the Army to maximize integrated air-ground training. Land acquisition is not being considered as part of this action.