The Air Force has issued new program guidance to streamline the process by which it conducts the environmental impact studies required by law before moving forward with major changes to installations, such as bedding down new aircraft. The goal is to get “back to basics” and remain true to the original intent of National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, said USAF officials. Using an approach called the Planning Requirements for the Environmental Impact Analysis Process, or PREIAP, they want to help accelerate the formal review process to six months or less for environmental assessments and one year for environmental impact statements. “Done properly, the mission will be accomplished and the planning and decisions will reflect environmental values,” said Terry Yonkers, USAF’s assistant secretary for installations, environment, and logistics. (Lackland report by Chad Starr)
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III chaired a China-focused military briefing Oct. 27, part of a biweekly series of briefings with senior military commanders about China’s growing threat in the wake of an orbital hypersonic weapon test that elicited public worries from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “What we…