Winter 2005
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A new process for developing master plans to fit an installation's shifting training requirements received its first test in October at Fort Bliss, Texas.

The Future Range Mission Analysis Process (FRMAP) brought a multidisciplinary team of experts to Fort Bliss as part of an initiative by the Army G3 (Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans) to help installations develop Range Complex Master Plans to support future mission changes.

Col. Bryon Greenwald, Fort Bliss garrison commander, said the combined effort of his staff and the FRMAP team saved the installation more than a year's worth of work.

The team visit focused on developing a master plan to accommodate both current and future missions. Fort Bliss currently supports air defense artillery training for the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) and the reserve components. The installation is preparing to receive one of the Army's new heavy Brigade Combat Teams and could be the home of up to three more in the future.

The objectives for the FRMAP visit included helping Fort Bliss shape a range development plan to deal with new mission requirements and determining logical courses of action for an installation range complex master plan. The team would accomplish this using existing tools and resources as much as possible.

The FRMAP team included representatives from FORSCOM, TRADOC, the office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management, and the Installation Management Agency. The team also included Army experts in training, simulations, the environment and engineering. The U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resource Conservation Service were also represented.

FRMAP takes advantage of Army environmental, facilities and training experts to design a range flexible enough to support future mission changes. The process began with a general meeting session where the entire FRMAP team and a cross-section of the Fort Bliss garrison staff learned about the Integrated Global Presence and Basing Strategy, the purpose and objective of the FRMAP, and the garrison commander's guidance.

Attendees then divided into four working groups:

• An Integrated Training Area Management group was assigned to locate optimal land resources for maneuver corridors
• An environmental work group identified restricted access areas for maneuver
• A range work group had to position more than 30 new live-fire training ranges (such as a Digital Multipurpose Range Complex) and associated surface danger zones
• A fourth work group looked at support facilities

A Geographic Information System (GIS) technician and a suite of GIS products supported each work group. Using GIS, each group was able to work on its assigned tasks and share the results on an eight-foot screen.

The ability to readily share information among working groups helped the team achieve an integrated design within the strict time constraints. Using GIS helped the groups visualize and solve problems efficiently.

On the morning of the third and final day, Col. Donald Gentry, garrison commander of neighboring White Sands Missile Range, N.M., and members of his staff joined the meeting. With the White Sands delegation, the team addressed the issue of designing maneuver corridors on the New Mexico installation and the possibility of moving some current air defense artillery testing missions from Fort Bliss to White Sands.

The two staffs were able to place a battalion task force maneuver area on White Sands and another on Bureau of Land Management property between the two installations. In the end, applying FRMP to its Range Complex Master Plan gave Fort Bliss specific plans to:

• Update or build 30 live-fire ranges and nine battalion task force maneuver corridors
• Programmatically resolve restrictions placed on training due to cultural resource sites
• Decrease a $3.8 million National Environmental Policy Act bill to an initial $300,000 in fiscal 2005 and addtional funds in subsequent years

The success of the three-day process at Fort Bliss validated FRMAP for use at other installations. A smaller FRMAP team will return to Fort Bliss in February and May to support the planning and execution of the new master plan.

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