A CHANGING LANDSCAPE CHALLENGES
INSTALLATION MANAGERS
Army Transformation, Base Realignment and Closure, the Grow the Army initiative and the restationing of formerly overseas units places unprecedented pressure on Army environmental programs. The Army is adding 74,000 new Soldiers and relocating tens of thousands more during a time of war and constrained budgets. Encroaching communities, increasing maneuver/training and equipment testing requirements, deteriorating natural resources, funding uncertainties, aging infrastructure, and other variables all challenge the Army's ability to maintain mission readiness while being a model steward of the environment.
The Army is transforming to make sure it can provide the people, training, resources and infrastructure to face an era of persistent conflict. This change extends to environmental programs because the air, land and water resources, training grounds and cantonment areas on our installations form the foundation of holistic mission support. Sustaining the Army's home — its installations — is a force multiplier for the warfighter.
Environmental quality transformation uses the tremendous scope of resources of the U.S. Army Installation Management Command (IMCOM) to put best business practices and innovations into practice. Working together, the Army can accomplish more with its financial resources relating to environmental quality programs — those associated with compliance with air, water and waste rules, and the conservation of natural and cultural resources.
Environmental quality transformation also enables the Army to go beyond current requirements and invest in the future. It represents a shift from the old stovepiped, media-focused, "pillar" model to a new, holistic, future-focused and integrated sustainability paradigm. The new paradigm establishes long term installation sustainability goals and more integrated and innovative management of air, water and land resources to help meet those long-term goals.
The transformation has begun. The Army is rolling down the road to a Fort Ahead — a sustainable installation home for our force and all of its components. Transformation challenges the Army environmental community to embrace new business practices, to use its tremendous scope of effort, its expertise and its buying power to create force multipliers and savings to create more sustainable installations. Environmental Quality Transformation will be essential to meeting the Army's needs now and for generations to come.
