United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2002-05-16 monographic deposited born digital GA 1.13:GAO-02-727T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-727T P0b002ee18039f646 f:d02727t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-727T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-727T GAO-02-727T Air pollution Environmental monitoring Environmental policies Marine policies Military facilities Military training Noise pollution Population growth Radio frequency allocation Strategic planning Endangered species Defense capabilities Defense cost control Proposed legislation Army Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan Testimony A03327

The following eight "encroachment" issues are hampering the military's ability to carry out realistic training: endangered species' critical habitat, unexploded ordnance and munitions, competition for radio frequency spectra, protected marine resources, competition for airspace, air pollution, noise pollution, and urban growth around military installations. Officials at all the installations and major commands GAO visited in the continental United States reported that encroachment had affected some of their training range capabilities, requiring work-arounds that are unrealistic. Service officials believe that population growth is responsible for current encroachment problems in the United States and is likely to cause more training range losses in the future. Despite concerns about encroachment, military readiness reports do not indicate the extent to which encroachment is harming training. Improvements in readiness reporting can better reveal shortfalls in training, but the ability to fully assess training limitations and their impact on capabilities and readiness will be limited without (1) more complete baseline data on training range capabilities, limitations, and requirements and (2) consideration of how live training capabilities may be complemented by training devices and simulations. Progress in addressing individual encroachment issues has been made, but more will be required to comprehensively plan for encroachment. Legislation proposed by the Department of Defense to "clarify" the relationship between military training and various environmental statues may require trade-offs between environmental policy and military training objectives. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-727T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-727T.htm GAO-02-727T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-727T Testimony GAO-02-727T; Military Training: DOD Needs a Comprehensive Plan to Manage Encroachment on Training Ranges; Air pollution Environmental monitoring Environmental policies Marine policies Military facilities Military training Noise pollution Population growth Radio frequency allocation Strategic planning Endangered species Defense capabilities Defense cost control Proposed legislation Army Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan Title 10 Section 117 Title 10 Section 1362 10 U.S.C. 117 10 U.S.C. 1362