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  • The Built Environment of the US Air Force All-Volunteer Force: Preliminary Analysis of Building Trends: Preliminary Analysis of Building Trends

    Purpose: July 1, 2023, marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the all-volunteer force (AVF). At this time, buildings, structures, and other elements of the US Air Force’s (USAF) built environment associated specifically with the AVF will be potentially eligible as historic resources under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). The relationship between the AVF and the USAF built environment, however, has not yet been examined, and no historic contexts exist that provide guidance on how to identify and evaluate properties that may be associated with the built environment of the USAF AVF and offer recommendations on management of these properties to assist USAF installations in complying with the NHPA. As a result, it is unclear if, and to what extent, buildings, structures, and other elements associated specifically with the AVF exist that may require management under NHPA. The USAF desires to better understand the relationship between the AVF and the USAF built environment and has requested the Engineer Research and Development Center, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) conduct a built-environment analysis of existing USAF real property. This research is intended to support USAF decision-makers in determining if further research is warranted and how best to plan for managing AVF-related buildings, structures, and other built environment elements under NHPA. Results of this analysis indicate a relationship exists between the AVF and the USAF built environment; 42 built-environment feature types with construction rates higher than the overall average during the AVF period are identified.
  • Microbiological Indicators Reflect Patterns of Life

    Abstract:  Resolving patterns of human movement, specifically for actors of interest, in an urban environment is an extremely challenging problem because of the dynamic nature of human movement. This research effort explores a highly unconventional approach, addressing residual or lingering signatures of interest to the Army in an urban operation. Research suggests that unconventional signatures commonly associated with human presence or prior occupation of a space, such as microbes attached to skin cells or in the gut, may linger for an extended amount of time. In this scoping study, our objectives were to detect microbial communities in the built environment, to examine microbial community composition, and to investigate the longevity of a microbial signature. To do so, we conducted a controlled study to obtain a mechanistic understanding of the fidelity of the biological signatures in the built environment, with a particular focus on their longevity and stability.