FM 17-98 SCOUT PLATOON

performance standards, and rehearsals.
STEP 6 - SUPERVISE
The platoon leader must enforce environmental protection standards during supervision of all training activities.
SECTION 2 — ENVIRONMENTAL RISK ASSESMENT WORKSHEET
To use the environmental risk assessment worksheet (see Figure E-1) for a specific operation or training event, the
scout platoon leader and subordinate leaders first determine the impact level for each of five operational factors. These
activities, listed in the top part of the worksheet, are movement of heavy vehicles and equipment; movement of
personnel and light vehicles and equipment; assembly area activities; field maintenance activities; and garrison
maintenance activities. The risk impact is assigned a value from 0 (lowest risk) to 5 (highest risk) for each activity.
The second part of the worksheet allows leaders to assess the risk impact of the platoon’s activities in seven critical
areas of environmental concern. The leaders determine which of the five operational activities will affect each critical
area and enter the corresponding risk impact value. For example, the platoon leader determines that movement of
heavy vehicles (which he has assigned a risk value of 5), "light" movement (a value of 2), and assembly area activities
(a value of 4) will affect air pollution during the platoon’s upcoming training exercise. He enters those values in the
appropriate columns, then adds them together for a total risk impact value of 11 for air pollution. He repeats this
process for the other environmental areas of concern.
The total of the risk impact values for the seven environmental areas is the overall risk impact value for the operation
or exercise. As noted, the overall point total serves as an indicator of risk impact in four categories: low, medium,
high, and extremely high. The worksheet summarizes the environmental damage risk for these categories.
The worksheet also lists the level at which environmental protection decisions are made for each risk impact category.
As with other types of risk assessment, such decisions must be made, and appropriate controls implemented, at the
proper level of command. The decision-maker (whether it is the platoon leader, a subordinate leader, or a higher
commander) uses the risk impact values as a guide in ensuring that the environment in the operational area is protected
and preserved.