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                         January 9, 2004

Army releases newsletter outlining new installation design standards

WASHINGTON (Army News Service) -- A new Web-based newsletter went online Dec. 8 to help explain issues related to Army Installation Design Standards.

This was the first edition of the IDS newsletter, said Robert Sperberg, with the Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation Management.

“The IDS E-newsletter is part of our commitment to implement and maintain standardization of Army installations around the world,” he explained.

“I believe there should be certain Army standards that define what each facility type must include...” said Maj. Gen. Larry Lust, assistant chief of staff for installation management.

"We are not building facilities only to meet the preferences of today’s local commanders, we must build facilities as our legacy to the commanders and Soldiers of the future.”

West Point’s Garrison Commander, Col. Ann Horner, said the academy is a step ahead when it comes to installation design.

“We are fortunate here that we have a master planner on the staff in Carl Meyer,” she said. “We have had an installation design guide in place for many, many years.”

Horner said a copy of the West Point IDG was sent to the Department of the Army during the staffing for the transformation installation management initiative.

“In many respects we are already complying with many of the Army standards,” she said.

Being ahead of the power curve doesn’t mean there won’t be future work that needs doing, Horner cautioned.

“There are some areas that we will need to look at as implementation gears up,” she explained. “But the community will note very few changes in FY04.”

West Point Director of Housing and Public Works, Col. Thomas Julich, said the whole initiative is good for the Army community.

“Many installations will benefit from it,” he said.

Julich said the academy will ask the Army to take West Point’s “special” mission into consideration when talking changes.

“Our installation design guide will be in conflict with the Army’s in some ways,” he explained. “We will ask for exceptions to those changes we feel strongly about.”

The Army gave West Point the guidance to start working on the IDG, Julich continued.

“Since we already prepared ours, we will likely continue to look at the differences between our IDG and the Army standards to see where we differ and how we can handle those differences.”

The IDS newsletter can help with that, since each edition will show the current changes and guidance about the Army IDS and Installation Design Guide programs.

While the standards are applicable to all new construction, renovating and modifying existing facilities to meet these standards is expected to take many years, Sperberg said.

Although it may take a long time for all installations to meet the Army standard, Sperberg said it shows that “IDS is a long-term commitment by the Army to define the quality of our installations.”

IDS not only identifies deficiencies in Army facilities, but also provides a way to bring those facilities up to the Army standard, he explained.

“In addition, it sets the immutable standards against which all future new construction and maintenance projects will be executed within the Army,” Sperberg said.