WASHINGTON (Jan. 22, 2014) -- The United States Army announced today that it will convert the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colo., to a Stryker Brigade Combat Team.
The conversion, scheduled to begin in March 2014, is being made to achieve a needed operational mix of brigade combat teams within the Army, and will take an estimated 10 months to complete.
The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, G-3/5/7, issued a Record of Decision, based on a review of the 2008 Environmental Impact Statement that had considered several installations, including Fort Carson, for the permanent stationing of a Stryker brigade combat team. The 2008 Environmental Impact Statement assessed the effects of converting an Infantry brigade combat team to a Stryker brigade combat team; however, the Army is now converting an Armor brigade combat team. Because of this change, the Army determined that the 2008 Environmental Impact Statement adequately evaluated the potential environmental effects associated with the conversion and that no supplementation of the Environmental Impact Statement is required.
Replacing Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles with lighter Stryker wheeled combat vehicles reduces heavy vehicle maneuver and fuel consumption, and is expected to reduce dust and air pollution at Fort Carson. Additionally, the net number of Soldiers training at Fort Carson will be fewer than anticipated because the action coincides with the inactivation of another brigade combat team as part of the Army-wide reductions, announced in June 2013.
The decision to convert the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, to a Stryker BCT does not require additional construction at Fort Carson or expansion of Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site. The Stryker brigade combat team maneuver training requirements will be accommodated within the existing boundaries of Pinon Canyon.
The Record of Decision can be obtained online at:
http://www.aec.army.mil/Services/Support/NEPA/Documents.aspx.
Media requesting information: For operational questions regarding the Armored to Stryker conversion please contact the FORSCOM Public Affairs Office at 910-570-7200, or Fort Carson Media Relations at 719-526-1269.
For questions regarding the Record of Decision for the Environmental Assessment, please contact Army Environmental Command public affairs at (210) 466-1590 or by email at USARMY.JBSA.AEC.MBX@mail.mil.
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