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STATEMENT OF

MR. JOSEPH J. ANGELLO, JR.
DEPUTY UNDER SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR READINESS (ACTING)
ON
CONSTRAINTS AND CHALLENGES FACING 
MILITARY TEST AND TRAINING RANGES

 MAY 22, 2001 

INTRODUCTION

            Good morning. Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today on this critical readiness issue. I'm Joseph Angello, Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Readiness. In this position, I am responsible for advising the Secretary on all issues related to the readiness of our military forces. Included within this responsibility is the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) oversight of military training. Training melds the people and equipment to make a ready unit. When training is constrained, readiness will decline. This is why range encroachment is such a serious issue for the Department of Defense.

Readiness is the Department's highest priority and responsibility. While it is our men and women in uniform who must be ready to defend us, it is our nation's military ranges and training areas that make their readiness possible. The land, sea, air and space we use to test our weapons systems and train our personnel are irreplaceable national assets. The ability to test and train as we would fight provides the critical edge our armed forces rely on when called to battle. I am here today to testify that the cumulative effects of range encroachment strain our access to ranges and our ability to prepare forces realistically for combat.

Test ranges are also affected by encroachment. While my office does not oversee test ranges for OSD, we are working closely on this issue with the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation, who has this responsibility. My testimony will therefore include constraints on both testing and training ranges, and our combined efforts to address them.

READINESS CONCERNS

Training our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines in an environment that allows them to train as they intend to fight is not a luxury. In fact, we established realistic combat-scenario training at our premier training centers because we learned that not having such training had cost us lives and equipment. The Navy's TOPGUN school, Air Force's RED FLAG, and Army's National Training Center rotations are examples of such vital training. Our military personnel remain in harm's way today. As Vice Admiral John Nathman observed just last week, "there have been more than 200 separate incidents of Iraqi surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery fire directed against Navy and coalition aircraft enforcing the no-fly zones over Iraq." The ability to test fully and train regularly and realistically is fundamental to our success in combat.

Training with live ordnance not only provides necessary realism and confidence, but it also helps ensure that vital loading and delivery skills remain sharp. We again learned just how vital as recently as Operation Allied Force in Kosovo. Lessons from that operation showed that aircrews without live ordnance training performed less effectively as measured by the number of missed targets early in the conflict.

Compounding our concerns is the fact that our military is changing. The weapon systems, force structure and tactics of the future will require larger areas in which to test and train. Many newer weapon systems already have flight distances and safety footprints that stress existing range capabilities. Ground maneuver forces of the future will need to operate over much greater land areas than in the past. The development of ballistic missile defenses poses new testing and training challenges. These and other trends generate increased range requirements in order to test our equipment and train our forces, while, at the same time, our existing ranges are becoming increasingly constrained. In fact, in January of this year, a Defense Science Board Task Force on "Training Superiority and Training Surprise" reported, among other things, that "Our uniquely American training superiority . is eroding," and that "training failure will negate hardware promise."

Restrictions on our test and training ranges in aggregate clearly pose a challenge to ensuring ready forces. DoD is attempting to address these challenges in many ways. These include consultation and discussion with regulators and communities, test and training workarounds, and mitigation measures. These actions cost time and money, decrease training realism, and often set precedents that result in the imposition of restrictions elsewhere. Such compromises, while reasonable and expedient when viewed in the specific instance, and often the only achievable means of salvaging any training value, have in the aggregate failed to stem a serious erosion of our ability to test and train effectively.

COMPLEXITY OF THE PROBLEM

I will use encroachment here as a general descriptor for the many pressures that limit the military use of land, air- and sea-space. Rapid urban growth, increasing environmental constraints, radio spectrum and airspace competition - all are examples of such pressures. While each of these issues can and has adversely affected our abilities to test and train in some way, it is the sum total of these restrictions that brings us here today.   

Test and training range encroachment is a local, regional and national problem; we can no longer afford to address it as a purely local issue. Our people work harder each year to satisfy our test and training missions while also addressing encroachment concerns. Until now, dealing with encroachment has fallen largely to the range or installation commander. While their efforts have often been successful, we have seen a slow degradation in our ability to test and train effectively. We must ensure that this trend does not continue. A proactive and comprehensive approach to ensure our continuing access to vital test and training space is clearly necessary.

I would like to emphasize that our range managers have excellent track records as environmental stewards and good neighbors. For example, we are in some ways victims of our own success at endangered species management, to the point that many of our ranges have become "islands of biodiversity" in otherwise increasingly developed landscapes. DoD range managers work hard to minimize any impacts on surrounding communities and our common air, ground and water resources. We protect numerous natural and cultural sites and resources within our range boundaries, and work on a regional basis with other landowners to coordinate such efforts. We routinely "police our brass" within our live-fire ranges for safety and environmental reasons. You will hear much more from the other panel members on these and similar stewardship examples. I would just like to stress that DoD remains fully committed to sound and proactive stewardship of the lands and other resources in our care. However, military readiness must remain our primary focus. DoD ranges need the flexibility, tools, and funding to effectively test and train our forces, manage the natural resources, and coexist with our neighbors. We call this concept "Sustainable Ranges."

ONGOING INITIATIVES

OSD and the services are now working closely together to help ensure sustainable ranges for future test and training. Last year, the services articulated the encroachment issue to the Senior Readiness Oversight Council (SROC). The SROC is chaired by the Deputy Secretary of Defense and includes the Under Secretaries of Defense, the Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the Service Under Secretaries and Chiefs. The SROC is responsible for DoD readiness oversight, and advises the Secretary of Defense on readiness status and issues. On June 20, 2000, the SROC discussed encroachment issues and constraints that affect testing and training, determined that they posed a clear concern to military readiness, and directed a comprehensive analysis and action plans to address these concerns. The Defense Test and Training Steering Group, an existing DoD group with responsibility for test and training range issues, was assigned responsibility for this action. This steering group brings key DoD managers and range operators to the table to solve joint problems and ensure common solutions to test and training issues.    

On November 27, 2000, the Steering Group reported its findings and recommendations back to the SROC. In response, the SROC reaffirmed encroachment as a serious readiness issue that requires a comprehensive and coordinated DoD response. All of the group's recommendations were endorsed by the SROC, and are being actively pursued by DoD under the overall auspices of the Sustainable Ranges Initiative. I would like to highlight a few of these ongoing actions for you today.     

Sustainable Range Action Plans Based on issues presented to the SROC, DoD identified eight categories of encroachment where our ranges have current and substantive concerns. While there are other valid encroachment concerns, these issue areas include those most likely to negatively affect readiness in the immediate future. These include: 

·       Endangered Species and Critical Habitat

·       Unexploded Ordnance and Munitions

·       Frequency Encroachment

·       Maritime Sustainability

·       Airspace Restrictions

·       Air Quality

·       Airborne Noise

·       Urban Growth

For each encroachment area, lead points of contact were identified to frame issues, assess impacts, and propose possible resolutions. Over the past nine months, these eight action plans were drafted, coordinated and staffed within DoD as a unified set. While they remain in draft form and are currently undergoing review, the plans provide a preliminary roadmap for our efforts in these issue areas. For each area, an existing organization or group within DoD has been given the charter to implement the roadmap and ensure encroachment and range sustainment becomes an integral part of their area of responsibility.

Based on the Sustainable Ranges Initiative, the DoD Policy Board on Federal Aviation recently initiated a joint DoD-FAA working group to proactively identify and resolve issues surrounding the National Air Space System. The Navy, recently designated the Executive Agent for Maritime Sustainability, is actively working with the other services and federal regulators to resolve constraints on testing and training at sea. And the Range Spectrum Requirements Working Group (RSRWG), long the forum for DoD frequency spectrum problem solving and with an active role in addressing spectrum encroachment issues, has expanded its role to both test and training ranges. Coordinated action is being taken on each of the other action plan issues I have mentioned as well; I will touch on several others later.

Policy Development. Although OSD does not own or manage test and training ranges, it is our responsibility to provide policy and guidance to ensure that test and training lands are operated and maintained effectively. To that end, OSD, in close cooperation with the Services, is developing a DoD Directive on the "Management of Sustainable Ranges and Operating Areas." This Directive will provide the guidance to ensure that our ranges take a comprehensive approach to dealing with encroachment through integrated planning, management, and outreach efforts.

Unified DoD Noise Program As already mentioned, noise is a long-standing and chronic encroachment concern. The Services have all had to deal with this issue, at many levels and in many forms. At the November SROC meeting, the Department approved a recommendation that a joint approach to the noise problem be implemented. Accordingly, a Unified DoD Noise Program is being developed to work cross-service noise issues affecting our test and training ranges. By working together, this group will be able to assess recurrent noise problems, help to determine action priorities, coordinate DoD noise investments, and share lessons learned across the Services.

Joint Land Use Urban growth is at the root of most encroachment concerns affecting our ranges today. Noise complaints, air quality compliance issues, declining endangered species habitat, and frequency conflicts are all directly attributable to increasing physical development around formerly isolated DoD lands. As our separation decreases, we must work harder to ensure that land uses on both sides of the range fence are compatible. The DoD Office of Economic Adjustment, which has a long-standing program to support joint land use studies by communities surrounding our installations, has agreed to expand their emphasis to test and training ranges.

Outreach The SROC recognized that a comprehensive approach to encroachment will require more than internal DoD planning and implementation. It is equally important that DoD be able to communicate the encroachment issues we face, explain our proposed approach, and work with other interested parties to achieve workable solutions. Test and training ranges are part of the larger social, economic and environmental fabric of a region. The Department recognizes that other federal agencies as well as state, local and tribal governments, private citizens, and other interested parties are stakeholders in ensuring sustainable ranges. The Department will strive to ensure a strong outreach program to work with such stakeholders on our mission and readiness needs and address their concerns.

DoD already works closely with other Federal regulatory agencies regarding land, air- and sea-space use and range management concerns. Service liaisons at the Department of Interior and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) help us identify and work regulatory issues at both the headquarters level and in the field. Close contacts with the FAA are helping resolve various types of airspace contention. Our outreach efforts will further strengthen such ties, allowing us to better communicate DoD's sustainable range goals and foster mutually acceptable solutions to inter-agency issues.

CONCLUSIONS

As you can see, we are making strides toward a more comprehensive approach to range sustainability. There is clearly more work to be done. Each of the Services has testified in earlier hearings on the many issues they face. You will hear from our Service representatives here today on specific constraints affecting their test and training ranges. The Department of Defense recognizes that developing sustainable ranges is necessary to our continued ability to test and train our forces, and to sustain the military readiness necessary to protect U.S. interests and defend our nation.

 DoD fully complies with all applicable laws and regulations, and will continue to do so. We go beyond compliance in many areas, as is exemplified by the excellent environmental stewardship at our test and training ranges. But maintaining the readiness of our forces is the highest priority of the Department. Range access is an essential element of readiness. DoD strives to maintain a reasonable balance between test and training requirements, the concerns of our range neighbors, and the importance of sound environmental stewardship. Maintaining this balance is a difficult proposition, but one DoD will continue to work with other agencies, local communities and you to maintain.

            The Office of the Secretary of Defense and the military services recognize that we need to take a comprehensive and collaborative approach to addressing this critical readiness issue. In light of the Secretary's current review, it would be premature to discuss specific proposals. However, I am here today to reinforce our determination to work with Congress and the Federal agencies, across all areas, to make the sustainability of DoD ranges a reality.

Thank you again, Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, for the opportunity to air these important readiness concerns.

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