00Enrolled HJR 11                                                                                                         
01 Commemorating the 30th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan's address to the nation                                   
02 concerning the Strategic Defense Initiative, recognizing the strategic importance of Alaska in                          
03 the missile interceptor defense system, and urging the United States to deploy the number of                            
04 ground-based interceptors originally intended at Fort Greely.                                                           
05                                          _______________                                                                
06 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                             
07      WHEREAS, on March 23, 1983, President Ronald Reagan delivered a televised                                        
08 address to the nation regarding the nuclear and ballistic missile threat posed by the Soviet                            
09 Union and appealed to the American people to support the development of new technologies                                
10 to counter this threat; and                                                                                             
11      WHEREAS March 23, 2013, marks the 30th anniversary of this landmark address;                                     
12 and                                                                                                                     
13      WHEREAS President Reagan believed the nation's security to be based on                                           
14 preparedness and a national willingness to meet all threats and supported military strength as                          
15 a means of deterring aggression and preserving peace; and                                                               
16      WHEREAS President Reagan envisioned a defensive, non-nuclear capability to                                       

01 intercept and destroy strategic nuclear missiles before the missiles could reach the United                             
02 States or allies of the United States; and                                                                              
03      WHEREAS President Reagan envisioned the missile defense system as a way to                                       
04 significantly reduce incentives an adversary might have to threaten or attack the United States                         
05 or an ally of the United States; and                                                                                    
06      WHEREAS, through the efforts of dedicated Americans and allies who have                                          
07 championed the pursuit of peace through strength and who have surmounted the immense                                    
08 technical hurdles to develop ballistic missile defense technologies and systems to protect our                          
09 nation, our allies, and our vital overseas interests, President Reagan's vision has been realized;                      
10 and                                                                                                                     
11      WHEREAS Alaska possesses abundant natural assets, including energy, minerals,                                    
12 and human resources, vital to the prosperity and national security of the United States; and                            
13      WHEREAS, in 1997, the Alaska State Legislature requested President Clinton to                                  
14 include Alaska and Hawaii in every national intelligence estimate of missile threats to the                             
15 United States and urged the President to ensure that Alaska be protected from and be able to                            
16 defend against missile attacks with the same degree of assurance provided to all other states;                          
17 and                                                                                                                     
18      WHEREAS the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System and its effective Ground-                                      
19 Based Interceptor missiles currently deployed at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air                                
20 Force Base, California, together with the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center                             
21 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, function as key components of the integrated United States                               
22 Ballistic Missile Defense System; and                                                                                   
23      WHEREAS the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System serves to defend the                                           
24 United States, including Hawaii and Alaska, against long-range ballistic missiles; and                                  
25      WHEREAS the Alaska National Guard's 49th Missile Defense Battalion, as the first                                 
26 line of defense in the missile interceptor defense system, protects the nation against missile                          
27 attacks from North Korea and other entities; and                                                                        
28      WHEREAS the nation's missile defenses were successfully put on alert in response to                              
29 the July 2006, December 2012, and other North Korean missile launches; and                                              
30      WHEREAS our nation's integrated ballistic missile defense system represents a key                                
31 element of our national defense, provides a vital deterrent against aggression, and preserves                           

01 freedom and peace;                                                                                                      
02      BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recognizes the unique vision                                    
03 and tireless efforts of President Ronald Reagan to promote peace and security; and be it                                
04      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recognizes the immense                                        
05 value of the research, development, and investment inspired by President Reagan in his                                  
06 March 23, 1983, appeal to the American people to change the course of human history by                                  
07 pursuing the robust capabilities necessary to protect and preserve our way of life; and be it                           
08      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recognizes and expresses                                      
09 support for President Reagan's refusal to accept the vulnerability of the United States to                              
10 missile attack, his unfailing commitment to ensuring the United States would achieve its                                
11 national security and foreign policy goals from a position of strength, and his firm belief that                        
12 the United States would never be secure if the nation's enemies were able to attack from                                
13 space; and be it                                                                                                        
14      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature recognizes the strategic                                      
15 role Alaska and Alaskans play in the missile interceptor defense system as a first line of                              
16 defense, and especially the role played by the Alaska National Guard's 49th Missile Defense                             
17 Battalion; and be it                                                                                                    
18      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature commemorates the 30th                                         
19 anniversary of President Reagan's address to the nation on the subject of the Strategic Defense                         
20 Initiative; and be it                                                                                                   
21      FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State legislature urges the United States to                                    
22 deploy the number of ground-based interceptors originally intended at Fort Greely and to                                
23 complete research, development, and deployment of complementary theater-based missile                                   
24 defenses and to deploy the strategic ground, sea, air, and space-based systems envisioned by                            
25 President Reagan in his March 23, 1983, address to deter current missile threats.                                       
26      COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of                              
27 the United States; the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S.                                     
28 Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska                                       
29 delegation in Congress; all other members of the 113th United States Congress; the presiding                            
30 officers of the legislatures for each of the other 49 states; General Charles H. Jacoby, Jr.,                           
31 Commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command; and Major General                                            

01 Thomas Katkus, Adjutant General of the Alaska National Guard and commissioner of military                               
02 and veterans' affairs.