Benefits

Operating at the intersection of mission and conservation, the Readiness and Environmental Protection Initiative (REPI) has proven to be an effective tool to protect military assets and capabilities, meet Service priorities, and provide a method for sharing costs with other public and private sources. As part of Office of the Secretary of Defense’s (OSD’s) evaluation of the benefits provided by REPI projects to maintain focus on the highest readiness benefits, the Services provide input on military readiness objectives that the projects are designed to achieve as well as benefits to the surrounding communities and the environment. The tables below documents these expected benefits according to projects at specific installations.

Military Benefits Chart

Benefit Explanation
Preserving Live-Fire and Maneuver Training The vast majority of projects protects existing live-fire or maneuver training and testing to provide flexibility for future missions. Protecting areas off-installation that are important for training (such as land underneath military airspace, training routes, or “away spaces”) requires a greater amount of cooperation with outside partners, sometimes on a regional scale.
Reducing Workarounds and Lost Training Days REPI projects help reduce the number of workarounds necessary to continue testing or training. Workarounds modify or segment standard ways to test and train in order to fulfill testing and training requirements, but are not as realistic or complete as the original approach. For example, protecting compatible land uses through REPI may allow an installation to increase the number of training days during the year.
Reducing Electromagnetic Spectrum Interference Increased electronic complexity of the testing and training environment makes protecting again electromagnetic interference and preserving clear frequency spectrum increasingly important. Electromagnetic interference can emanate from areas with significant residential development and, conversely, military equipment can interfere with household electronics.
Mitigating Noise Conflicts One of the most common issues across the Services is preserving the ability to conduct testing or training activities that generate noise. This issue is the direct result of the proximity of civilian populations to installations, ranges, and operating areas. REPI buffers can protect against development and decrease the number of conflicts between communities and loud noise events like live-fire training and weapons testing, noted above, or helicopter training and other aviation.
Preserving Night Operations Capabilities The U.S. military enjoys an advantage in conflict because of superior technology and capability with night vision devices. Although units continue to include training in higher-light conditions to maintain realism in some situations, dark-sky conditions are essential for effective testing and training. REPI projects can help preserve open spaces and prevent incompatible development that would increase nighttime lighting and decrease the realism of testing and training with night vision devices.
Providing for Mission Growth and Multi-Service Missions Increasing flexibility to use more of the space already under military control for future or expanded missions–including joint and multi-Service missions–helps to satisfy new and future operational demands.

Lewis-McChord Training MCAS Beaufort Training

Service Prefix Installation Live-fire Live-fire Live-fire Live-fire Live-fire Live-fire Live-fire Live-fire Live-fire Live-fire Live-fire Live-fire Live-fire
Army Aberdeen Proving Ground
Army Camp Blanding
Army Camp Bullis
Army Camp Rilea
Army Camp Ripley
Army Camp Roberts
Army Camp San Luis Obispo
Army Camp Shelby
Army Fort A.P. Hill
Army Fort Benning
Army Fort Bliss
Army Fort Bragg
Army Fort Bragg (USASOC)
Army Fort Campbell
Army Fort Carson
Army Fort Custer
Army Fort Drum
Army Fort Huachuca
Army Fort Knox
Army Fort Lewis
Army Fort Pickett
Army Fort Polk
Army Fort Riley
Army Fort Sill
Army Fort Stewart
Army MAJIC
Army USAG–Hawaii
Navy Atlantic Test Range
Navy NAES Lakehurst
Navy NAS Fallon
Navy NAS JRB New Orleans
Navy NAS Oceana
Navy NAS Patuxent River
Navy NAS Pensacola        
Navy NAS Whidbey Island
Navy NAS Whiting Field
Navy NAWS China Lake
Navy NB Coronado - Camp Michael Monsoor
Navy NSA Norfolk Northwest Annex
Navy OLF Coupeville        
Navy OLF Whitehouse
Marine Corps MCAS Beaufort
Marine Corps MCAS Cherry Point
Marine Corps MCB Camp Lejeune
Marine Corps MCB Camp Pendleton
Marine Corps MCB Quantico
Marine Corps BT-11 Piney Island
Marine Corps MCAGCC 29 Palms
Marine Corps Townsend Bombing Range
Air Force Beale AFB
Air Force Cape Canaveral AFS
Air Force Dare County Bombing Range
Air Force Edwards AFB
Air Force Eglin AFB
Air Force Fairchild AFB
Air Force McChord AFB
Air Force McGuire AFB
Air Force Robins AFB
Air Force Travis AFB
Air Force Warren Grove Range


Community Benefits Chart

Benefit Explanation
New Partners Engaging new partners in innovative ways and cooperating with communities and stakeholders preserves quality of life and military readiness, while enhancing public perception of the installation’s role in the community.
Working lands; Economic benefits; Local Character Preserving working lands for agricultural and silvicultural (forest) production can help support a sustainable local economy. Keeping farmers and ranchers productive also preserves a way of life that has endured for generations. Unlike residential development, working lands are generally compatible with military training. Agricultural uses produce fewer lights that impact night training and testing, and a lower population density eases safety concerns.
Regional Planning; Green Corridors Supporting existing and planned conservation or regional planning efforts helps manage growth and preserve biodiversity. These projects, including green corridors, promote species migration and provide greater opportunities for adapting to and mitigating the effects of climate change in the region.
Safety Enhancing operational safety, installation security, and/or addressing future safety concerns, protects communities and installation personnel and equipment alike. For instance, new weapons systems like unmanned aerial vehicles require larger operating areas and REPI buffers can help provide additional assurance that the installation can meet mission requirements.
Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) A Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) is a collaborative effort among the local military and neighboring states, communities, and interested stakeholders to minimize the military’s operational effects on neighboring jurisdictions and ensures local civilian development is compatible with the ongoing DoD mission. Implementing coordinated and integrated land use planning goals recommended by a JLUS encourages cooperative land use planning between military installations and surrounding communities.
Habitat; Species; Threatened Species; Endangered Species One of the core purposes of REPI projects is to preserve environmental assets, such as habitat and species (including threatened and endangered species) in a manner that supports mission readiness. REPI projects that preserve habitat off-installation help mitigate or prevent restrictions on installation lands under the Endangered Species Act. Doing so provides greater flexibility for use of limited test and training spaces while sustaining ecological integrity.
Recreational Preserving open spaces provides recreational opportunities (e.g., hunting, fishing, hiking) on natural lands that may have been previously unavailable to the public.
Water REPI projects help protect water resources and water quality for the military and neighboring communities alike. Preventing development or land conversion from less water-intensive uses can help keep precious water resources healthy and sustainable, whether for drinking water or other uses.

USAG Hawaii Elepaio Fort Campbell Farm

Service Prefix Installation New Partners Working Lands Regional Planning Green Corridor Joint Land Use Study Habitat Species Threatened Endangered Recreational Water Local Character Economic Benefit
Army Aberdeen Proving Ground  
Army Camp Blanding
Army Camp Bullis
Army Camp Rilea  
Army Camp Ripley  
Army Camp Roberts
Army Camp San Luis Obispo  
Army Camp Shelby  
Army Fort A.P. Hill
Army Fort Benning
Army Fort Bliss
Army Fort Bragg  
Army Fort Bragg (USASOC)
Army Fort Campbell  
Army Fort Carson  
Army Fort Custer
Army Fort Drum  
Army Fort Huachuca  
Army Fort Knox
Army Fort Lewis  
Army Fort Pickett
Army Fort Polk  
Army Fort Riley  
Army Fort Sill  
Army Fort Stewart  
Army MAJIC
Army USAG–Hawaii
Navy Atlantic Test Range
Navy NAES Lakehurst
Navy NAS Fallon
Navy NAS JRB New Orleans
Navy NAS Oceana
Navy NAS Patuxent River
Navy NAS Pensacola                
Navy NAS Whidbey Island
Navy NAS Whiting Field
Navy NAWS China Lake
Navy NB Coronado - Camp Michael Monsoor
Navy NSA Norfolk Northwest Annex  
Navy OLF Coupeville              
Navy OLF Whitehouse
Marine Corps MCAS Beaufort  
Marine Corps MCAS Cherry Point  
Marine Corps MCB Camp Lejeune
Marine Corps MCB Camp Pendleton  
Marine Corps MCB Quantico
Marine Corps BT-11 Piney Island  
Marine Corps MCAGCC 29 Palms
Marine Corps Townsend Bombing Range  
Air Force Beale AFB  
Air Force Cape Canaveral AFS  
Air Force Dare County Bombing Range
Air Force Edwards AFB
Air Force Eglin AFB  
Air Force Fairchild AFB  
Air Force McChord AFB  
Air Force McGuire AFB  
Air Force Robins AFB  
Air Force Travis AFB  
Air Force Warren Grove Range