[CPEO-MEF] new U.S. Army Environmental Strategy document

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

U.S. Army News Release

ARMY ANNOUNCES COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY

October 19, 2004 

The Army announced today a comprehensive strategy to enable the Army to
meet its mission now and into the future. 

The strategy, titled "The Army Strategy for the Environment: Sustain the
Mission, Secure the Future," transitions the Army's compliance-based
environmental program to a mission-oriented approach based on the
principles of sustainability. 

The six-point strategy will replace the Army's current "Environmental
Strategy into the 21st Century" published in November 1992. The new
Strategy builds on the lessons learned from sustainability pilot
programs conducted at several Army installations, such as Fort Bragg,
N.C.; Fort Lewis, Wash.; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Carson, Colo., and Fort
Campbell, Ky., and institutionalizes those efforts. As a result, this
Strategy will build stronger relationships with local communities in
order to find common solutions to environmental issues, while protecting
training lands for Soldiers.

"We have learned over the past decades that simply complying with
environmental regulations will not ensure that we will be able to
sustain our mission," said Les Brownlee, Acting Secretary of the Army,
and Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, Chief of Staff of the Army, in a joint
letter released with the Strategy.

"The United States Army has long recognized that our mission is only
accomplished because America entrusts us with its most precious
resources ? its sons and daughters. It is our obligation to ensure that
our Soldiers today ? and the Soldiers of the future ? have the land,
water and air resources they need to train; a healthy environment in
which to live; and the support of local communities and the American
people," Brownlee and Schoomaker stated. 

The Army began drafting its environmental strategy in November 2003,
pulling together personnel across all function areas for input and
assistance. The Army Strategy for the Environment: Sustain the Mission,
Secure the Future outlines the Army's long-term vision and
sustainability goals. The goals are as follows: 

* Foster a Sustainability Ethic: Foster an ethic within the Army that
takes us beyond environmental compliance to sustainability.

* Strengthen Army Operations: Strengthen Army operational capability by
reducing our environmental footprint through more sustainable practices.

* Meet Test, Training, and Mission Requirements: Meet current and future
training and testing and other mission requirements by sustaining land,
air, and water resources.

* Minimize Impacts and Total Ownership Costs: Minimize impacts and total
ownership costs of Army systems, materiel, facilities, and operations by
integrating the principles and practices of sustainability.

* Enhance Well-Being: Enhance the well-being of our Soldiers, civilians,
families, neighbors, and communities through leadership in
sustainability. 

* Drive Innovation: Use innovative technology and the principles of
sustainability to meet user needs and anticipate future Army challenges.

"This is a long-term commitment to radically change the way we design,
build, buy, transport, and otherwise perform our mission, as we
transform our weapons systems, tactics, and installations over the
coming decades," said Ray Fatz, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army
for Environment, Safety and Occupational Health. "It requires radical
changes in almost all of the core business processes the Army performs
today." 

>From this Strategy document, the Army will develop a strategic plan that
will contain more specific objectives and initiatives to meet its goals.
As it develops its strategic plan, the Army will collaborate with a wide
variety of internal and external experts and stakeholders.

"We view this Strategy as an ongoing process where we will build upon
the good ideas from within the Army and from our partners and
stakeholders outside our fences to help us achieve our goals," said
Fatz. 

For more information, contact the U.S. Army Public Affairs Office at
(703) 697-7591. This document is available on Army Link, a World Wide
Web Site on the Internet at www.army.mil/publicaffairs. To read The Army
Strategy for the Environment: Sustain the Mission, Secure the Future in
its entirety, visit
https://www.asaie.army.mil/Public/ESOH/1ESOH_default.html 

For the original press release, go to
http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=6464

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
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