SJR 20: Relating to Eielson Air Force Base and the strategic importance of retaining the 18th F-16 Aggressor Squadron in the Fairbanks North Star Borough.
00 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 20 01 Relating to Eielson Air Force Base and the strategic importance of retaining the 18th F- 02 16 Aggressor Squadron in the Fairbanks North Star Borough. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS the United States Department of Defense, because of impending budget 05 cuts and a changing geopolitical environment, is reassessing United States defense strategy 06 and proposing to reallocate certain military assets; and 07 WHEREAS the United States Department of Defense recently announced plans to 08 relocate the Eielson Air Force Base 18th F-16 Aggressor Squadron, which will reduce the 09 operational capabilities of Eielson Air Force Base and make it vulnerable in future base 10 realignment and closure rounds; and 11 WHEREAS the United States Department of Defense has designated several missions 12 as part of its overall defense strategy, including deterring and defeating aggression, 13 maintaining a secure and effective nuclear deterrent, and defending the homeland; and 14 WHEREAS, by enabling jet fighters to reach 95 percent of the industrial world within 15 nine hours, Eielson Air Force Base plays an essential role in the defense of the United States; 16 and
01 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base is at the forefront of protecting United States 02 interests in the Pacific theater and, with its fleet of KC-135 tankers, would be fully involved 03 in an air bridge role in the event of a conflict in the region; and 04 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base serves a critical function in reinforcing the 05 Pacific region and defending the state; and 06 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base helps to secure important oil infrastructure, 07 including the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, which supplies a significant portion of the 08 nation's energy needs; and 09 WHEREAS, as a self-contained base, Eielson Air Force Base produces its own heat 10 and electricity from locally mined coal, uses its own water supply and water treatment 11 facility, and receives jet fuel directly from a nearby refinery; and 12 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base is connected to the largest unrestricted airspace 13 in the United States, has large fuel storage capacity, and has a runway capable of handling the 14 military's largest aircraft year-round; and 15 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base employs approximately 2,500 military personnel 16 and has an economic effect of approximately $252,000,000 annually, making it a critical 17 component of the economies of Interior Alaska; and 18 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base supports the ground-based midcourse defense 19 system; and 20 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base has unfettered access to an unparalleled training 21 environment, which contains the largest joint air and land training range in the United States 22 with minimal airspace congestion and is well-suited to perform live fire exercises, unmanned 23 aerial vehicle operations, and supersonic flights; and 24 WHEREAS the benefits and strategic importance of Eielson Air Force Base now and 25 into the future far outweigh the negligible savings achieved by the transfer of the squadron; 26 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly urges the President of 27 the United States, the United States Department of Defense, and the United States Congress to 28 reconsider the relocation of the 18th F-16 Aggressor Squadron; and be it 29 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly urges the 30 President of the United States, the United States Department of Defense, and the United 31 States Congress to consider the strategic importance of Eielson Air Force Base and to protect
01 it from closure or realignment in future base realignment and closure rounds. 02 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of 03 the United States; the Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and 04 President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Harry Reid, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; 05 the Honorable John Boehner, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; the Honorable 06 Leon E. Panetta, United States Secretary of Defense; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and 07 the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. 08 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.