HJR 19: Urging the Secretary of the United States Air Force, the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, and the Commander of the Pacific Air Forces to base F-35 aircraft assigned to the Pacific Air Forces at Eielson Air Force Base.
00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 19 01 Urging the Secretary of the United States Air Force, the Chief of Staff of the United 02 States Air Force, and the Commander of the Pacific Air Forces to base F-35 aircraft 03 assigned to the Pacific Air Forces at Eielson Air Force Base. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 WHEREAS the United States Air Force, as a matter of critical importance, will soon 06 decide where to base its F-35 aircraft within the Asia-Pacific theater of operations; and 07 WHEREAS the United States Air Force recently, based on the best interests of the 08 United States National Security Strategy, decided to forego the proposed relocation of the 09 18th Aggressor Squadron's F-16 aircraft from Eielson Air Force Base; and 10 WHEREAS the citizens of Alaska commend the United States Air Force's leadership 11 on the decision not to relocate the 18th Aggressor Squadron; and 12 WHEREAS the strengths of Eielson Air Force Base are consistently recognized by 13 the Pacific Air Forces, the United States Pacific Command, and the United States Air Force's 14 joint and coalition partners around the world; and 15 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base plays an essential role in the successful execution
01 of the United States national security strategy by enabling United States military assets to 02 reach 95 percent of the industrial world within nine hours; and 03 WHEREAS aircraft placed at Eielson Air Force Base are a substantial asset to the 04 Pacific Air Forces and the United States Pacific Command; and 05 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base serves a critical function in reinforcing the 06 Pacific region and defending the Asia-Pacific theater; and 07 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base, as the guarantor of the North-Pacific air 08 refueling bridge through the KC-135 aerial tankers of the 168th Air Refueling Wing, is at the 09 forefront of protecting the United States' interests in the event of conflict in the Pacific region; 10 and 11 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base is the ideal installation at which to base F-35 12 aircraft in the Asia-Pacific theater; and 13 WHEREAS F-35 aircraft are planned to replace A-10 aircraft in providing air-to- 14 ground mission support for ground forces; and 15 WHEREAS Fort Wainwright is home to significant Army combat maneuver forces, 16 which require joint, air-to-ground support training; and 17 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base provides a gateway to the Joint Pacific Alaska 18 Range Complex; and 19 WHEREAS basing F-35 aircraft at Eielson Air Force Base would further benefit 20 military service members from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Fort Wainwright, and our 21 allies around the world who train at the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex; and 22 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base has unfettered access to an unparalleled training 23 environment and the largest restricted training airspace in the United States; and 24 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base anchors the world's largest joint air, land, sea, 25 subsea, space, and electromagnetic training assets; enjoys minimal airspace congestion 26 throughout Alaska; and enables joint training venues that support large Army-Navy-Air Force 27 live-fire exercises, force-on-force training, unmanned aerial vehicle operations, and 28 supersonic flights; and 29 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base has a storage capacity for 24,000,000 gallons of 30 jet fuel and its runway can provide year-round handling for the largest aircraft of the United 31 States, its military allies and strategic partners; and
01 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base helps to secure important oil infrastructure, 02 including the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, which supplies a significant portion of the 03 nation's energy needs; and 04 WHEREAS, as a self-contained base, Eielson Air Force Base produces its own heat 05 and electricity from locally mined coal, uses its own water supply and water treatment 06 facility, and obtains jet fuel directly from a dedicated refinery; and 07 WHEREAS, as compared to overseas Pacific installations, Eielson Air Force Base is 08 more cost-effective to maintain; and 09 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base employs approximately 2,500 military personnel 10 and has an annual economic effect of approximately $252,000,000, making it a critical 11 component of the local and regional economies of Interior Alaska; and 12 WHEREAS Alaska citizens have continually proven their support of all military 13 service members; and 14 WHEREAS Alaskans salute and respect all military service members; 15 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly urges the Secretary of 16 the United States Air Force, the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, and the 17 Commander of the Pacific Air Forces to base F-35 aircraft at Eielson Air Force Base. 18 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Deborah Lee James, 19 Secretary of the United States Air Force; General Mark A. Welsh III, Chief of Staff of the 20 United States Air Force; and General Herbert J. Carlisle, Commander of the Pacific Air 21 Forces.