Environmental Issues Associated With Operation Enduring Freedom
Abstract
Military action in Operation Enduring Freedom was the first measurement of the concepts of integrating environmental considerations in military operations since the June 2000 publication of Field Manual (FM) 3-100.4, Environmental Considerations in Military Operations. According to the manual, National security strategy and operational end states support lasting victories. End states include environmental components. 1 In the first year of deployment to Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, U.S. forces faced numerous challenges in meeting these end states related to protecting the environment from the effects of the coalition footprint and protecting the force from existing environmental hazards. These hazards, in many cases, were the result of years of inconsistent application of environmental laws, regulations, and programs by the host nation. Without host nation laws and regulations, U.S. forces were required to default back to U.S. environmental policy requiring that all joint U.S. military operations include effective environmental integration. U.S. Army engineers on joint staffs and below are responsible for incorporating environmental considerations into military operation plans (OPLANs) and operation orders (OPORDs). However, it is the responsibility of soldiers to execute the Army s environmental mission, whether deployed or at their home station. This article discusses Operation Enduring Freedom environmental considerations as a command guidance issue.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA592461
Entities
People
- Robert J. Chartier
Organizations
- United States Army Engineer School