THE AMERICAN SOLDIER

stands as the centerpiece of the Army mission to secure our future, values and tradition of democracy. We must provide the Soldier with the best tools and resources to be successful. This is one of the roles our installations continuously strive to fulfill, particularly as stewards of our environment.

The Secretary of the Army Environmental Award is the Army's highest honor for outstanding environmental programs and is presented to those individuals, teams and installations on the forefront of efforts to sustain the Army's mission by protecting ecosystems, preserving historic landmarks and cultural resources, reducing waste, preventing pollution and cleaning up Army lands. Award winners stand out as leading examples of how the Army uses environmental stewardship principles and best practices to manage more than 15 million acres of land and to further support America's Soldiers as they fulfill their duties for a nation at war.

NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION
Installation – Fort Drum, N.Y.

FORT DRUM used Geographical Information Systems (GIS) tools and staff to map, divide and classify all of its acreage. The result was the first large-scale land cover map of the installation. This new tool allows installation managers to effectively capture and integrate information across Fort Drum, thus helping to plan and implement "big picture" ecosystem management.

CULTURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Installation – U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii

U.S. ARMY GARRISON HAWAII preserves some of the state's most treasured cultural resources as it trains Soldiers preparing for deployment in the global war on terror. The garrison includes 907 archaeological sites on 108,000 acres of training lands, as well as 795 historic structures throughout three National Historic Landmark districts. It consistently succeeds in preserving cultural resources native to Hawaii and supporting military readiness through sound stewardship practices and valuable relationships with local communities.

Individual – Lt. Col. Michael Tarpley,
Louisiana Army National Guard

LT. COL. TARPLEY has made significant strides in cultural resources management to better serve the military mission of the Louisiana National Guard. Some of his notable accomplishments include creating a first-of-its-kind Native American cemetery within the Department of Defense, conducting a regional inventory of religious and culturally significant sites, identifying approximately 500 previously unknown archaeological sites, and providing cultural resources training to Soldiers.

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Installation – Tobyhanna Army Depot, Pa.

Despite a 40-percent increase in depot workload in support of the war effort, TOBYHANNA implemented effective environmental strategies to decrease its air emissions by 23.4 percent over a two-year period and earn $275,000 through its recycling program. These efforts, along with involvement in diverse stakeholder partnerships throughout Pennsylvania, further positions Tobyhanna as an Army leader in the area of environmental compliance.

POLLUTION PREVENTION
Installation – Fort Campbell, Ky.

FORT CAMPBELL'S pollution prevention success can be attributed to the integration of range sustainability principles and an Environmental Management System that connects and centralizes pollution prevention efforts across the installation. Some of these efforts include establishing a Pollution Prevention Operations Center, deconstructing World War II structures and initiating concrete recycling operations.

Team – Radford Army Ammunition Plant, Va.

RADFORD has successfully overcome several challenges in treating waste streams generated by its ever-increasing manufacturing operations. To do so, the team successfully identified and implemented a new technology – anaerobic biodegradation – to dispose of its manufacturing waste. So far, this technology has saved nearly $1.5 million in hazardous waste treatment, material, labor and energy costs.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESTORATION
Installation – Fort Riley, Kan.

After exploring the viability of traditional cleanup methods for chlorinated solvents in soil, FORT RILEY initiated a pilot study that involved inserting potassium directly into the groundwater. The method proved to be time- and cost-effective, saving the installation approximately $4.5 million.