Directorate of Civil Engineers Solicits Installation Assistance to Screen for Severe Weather/Climate Hazards on AF Installations

Photo By Emily Mueller | CE Weekly Graphic by Ms Emily Mueller  

UNITED STATES

09.03.2020

Courtesy Story

Headquarters Air Force, Office of the Director of Civil Engineers

CE Weekly Submission by Ms Laura Yates //

In recent years, the Air Force has faced devastation from a variety of severe weather and climate events, including the destruction at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, in 2018 and Offutt AFB, Nebraska in 2019. In order to effectively prepare for and mitigate against such events in the future, the Unified Facilities Criteria 2-100-01, Installation Master Planning, and other Department of Defense and Air Force guidance are being modified to mandate the consideration of severe weather and climate risks in Installation Development Plans.

A Secretary of the Air Force-directed Severe Weather Readiness Assessment in December 2018 identified the need to develop a standardized methodology to objectively evaluate severe weather risk in Installation Master Planning. Congress has also included language in the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which directed the DoD to identify installations at risk and improve planning for resilience.

On July 15, 2020, Nancy Balkus, Deputy Director of Civil Engineers, released an email to Base Civil Engineers requesting their support to assess severe weather and climate risk at Air Force installations. This request incorporates the use of the new Air Force Civil Engineer Severe Weather/Climate Hazard Screening and Risk Assessment Playbook published April 24, 2020. This playbook was developed by a cross-functional working group of professionals from SAF/IE, AF/A3W, AF/A4C, AFIMSC, and AFCEC, which included emergency managers, weather professionals, and community planners.

Regular Department of the Air Force and National Guard installations are asked to complete Phases 1 and 2 of the process outlined in the playbook by Dec. 31, 2020, while the Air Force Reserve Command will complete assessments via contract. Regular DAF installations should return their completed spreadsheets to AFCEC/CP ([e-mail]).

For Air National Guard locations, the Appendix B/C Spreadsheet should be returned to NGB/A4C ([e-mail]). Planners will use the data from the worksheets to populate a new component of the IDP and the Installation Climate Resiliency Plan. The Directorate of Civil Engineers will distribute additional guidance regarding the rest of this plan and completing Phase 3 of the playbook at a later date.

Although it is impossible to completely mitigate all risk associated with severe weather/climate, understanding the risks faced by each installation is the first step to help the DAF prioritize mitigation efforts. Installation-level Airmen Engineers, including community planners, emergency management professionals, and weather flight personnel are key partners in this effort.

This initiative aligns with the Infrastructure Investment Strategy objective of Strengthening Installation Planning and ensuring our installations are resilient against severe weather/climate hazards. With your help, we can effectively plan for these hazards and assure the combat readiness and lethality of our DAF installations.

The playbook is available at: https://cs2.eis.af.mil/sites/10041/CEPlaybooks/SevereWeather/Pages/default.aspx

• Date Taken: 09.03.2020
• Date Posted: 09.03.2020 11:20
• Story ID: 377409
• Location: US