Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action
Purpose and Need for the Proposed Action
The Department of the Navy (DoN) is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to assess the potential environmental effects of basing the MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor (MV-22) aircraft in the Western United States (U.S.).
The purpose of the proposed action is to determine the basing location(s) for MV-22 squadrons that would provide medium lift capability to support I MEF and meet West Coast requirements for reserve component medium lift capability.
The need for the proposed action is to base the USMC's new medium lift aircraft where it can best support the I MEF and 4th MAW missions, while making use of existing facilities to the greatest extent practicable.
The fundamental selection criteria were first applied to ensure that the facilities met minimum operational requirements.
The preferential selection criteria were then applied to focus on transitional needs and efficiencies associated with locating the MV-22 squadrons.
Fundamental Selection Criteria
The USMC and DoN established three fundamental selection criteria which must be satisfied as part of the MV-22 West Coast-basing process: distance, capacity, and compatibility.
The selected MV-22 siting location(s) must be located within 200 nm from Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Pendleton. This 200 nm radius is based on the normal operating radius of the MV-22. MCB Camp Pendleton is used as the central anchor for West Coast operations because the MV-22 must be employed by 3D MAW to provide medium lift capability to I MEF, which is permanently based at MCB Camp Pendleton and surrounding installations.
An existing Department of Defense (DoD) aviation facility capable of permanently basing MV-22 aircraft and associated command and support infrastructure must be present at the chosen siting location(s). Since not all installations within 200 nm of MCB Camp Pendleton are capable of supporting up to ten squadrons, the ten MV-22 squadrons may be split between a maximum of two aviation facilities. Split basing at more than two facilities would not meet USMC needs because of the impracticality of establishing an additional Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron (MALS) and dispersing command and control.
Existing use at the DoD aviation facility must be compatible with the mission of 3D and 4th MAW MV-22 squadrons, and the MV-22 squadrons must be compatible with the existing mission of the DoD aviation facility.
Five preferential selection criteria were applied to locations that met the fundamental selection criteria. Preferential criteria fall within two categories of operational efficiency and cost. The five preferential criteria are not fundamental to the transition to the new aircraft; however, these preferential criteria substantially affect the suitability or preference of a site. These preferential selection criteria include the following:
Proximity of the selected facility or facilities to the Ground Combat Elements (GCEs) of I MEF;
Presence at the facility of a MALS. Since the MALS will deploy with the Marine Aircraft Group as part of an integrated warfighting unit, it is not reasonable to rely on another DoD maintenance and logistics provider to provide the needed support. To effectively split the MV-22 squadrons and maintain command and control as well as maintenance and supply, a MALS would need to be present at each location;
Proximity of the facility to appropriate training areas and adequate special use airspace within a reasonable distance of the home base;
Available existing capacity at the selected facility in terms of ramp space, hangar space, support facilities, and buildings to accommodate the aircraft and personnel; and
Costs, both in manpower and in military construction/renovation, associated with the implementation of the alternative.
Based on the distance limitation (fundamental selection criteria #1), 15 air installations were identified as possible siting alternatives:
The 15 air installations that met the distance criterion were screened against the second and third fundamental selection criteria. Applying the fundamental selection criteria resulted in the following bases being eliminated from further consideration:
The alternatives carried forward as feasible alternatives in this EIS include full basing and partial basing scenarios as follows:
Full Basing Alternatives (10 Squadrons)
Partial Basing Alternatives
This site is best viewed
using Internet Explorer.
Last update:
07/18/2008-SAIC/hms
Contact for web site technical problems: mv22webmaster@marinescience.saic.com
