U.S. Army's Systematic Approach to Management of Community Response to the Sounds of Explosions

Abstract

Historically, the U.S. Army's concern with community response to the sound of explosions dates back to the late 1950s, when research efforts focused on avoiding damage to wood-frame houses. In the 1970s, the emphasis shifted to minimizing community annoyance. Beginning in the 1990s, the emphasis shifted from managing annoyance to managing noise complaints. Drawing from the experience of noise management programs at commercial airports, the Army's research efforts in regards to noise complaint management center around the six elements of an “ideal” program. This paper summarizes the Army's research efforts, past and present, on four of the six elements of the ideal program.