Enrolled 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 or Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
00Enrolled HJR 19 01 Urging the Secretary of the United States Air Force, the Chief of Staff of the United States 02 Air Force, and the Commander of the Pacific Air Forces to base F-35 aircraft assigned to the 03 Pacific Air Forces at Eielson Air Force Base or Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. 04 _______________ 05 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 WHEREAS, on February 25, 2014, the United States Air Force, as a matter of critical 07 importance, announced five contesting locations in the Asia-Pacific theater for basing F-35 08 aircraft; and 09 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson are the 10 only candidates for basing F-35 aircraft on United States soil; and 11 WHEREAS the United States Air Force recently, based on the best interests of the 12 United States National Security Strategy, decided to forego the proposed relocation of the 13 18th Aggressor Squadron's F-16 aircraft from Eielson Air Force Base; and 14 WHEREAS the citizens of Alaska commend the United States Air Force's leadership 15 on the decision not to relocate the 18th Aggressor Squadron; and
01 WHEREAS the strengths of Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf- 02 Richardson are consistently recognized by the Pacific Air Forces, the United States Pacific 03 Command, and the United States Air Force's joint and coalition partners around the world; 04 and 05 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson play an 06 essential role in the successful execution of the United States national security strategy by 07 enabling United States military assets to reach 95 percent of the industrial world within nine 08 hours; and 09 WHEREAS aircraft placed at Eielson Air Force Base or Joint Base Elmendorf- 10 Richardson are a substantial asset to the Pacific Air Forces and the United States Pacific 11 Command; and 12 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson serve a 13 critical function in reinforcing the Pacific region and defending the Asia-Pacific theater; and 14 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base, as the guarantor of the North-Pacific air 15 refueling bridge through the KC-135 aerial tankers of the 168th Air Refueling Wing, is at the 16 forefront of protecting the United States' interests in the event of conflict in the Pacific region; 17 and 18 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base is a highly rated installation for basing F-35 19 aircraft in the Asia-Pacific theater; and 20 WHEREAS F-35 aircraft are planned to replace A-10 aircraft in providing air-to- 21 ground mission support for ground forces; and 22 WHEREAS Fort Wainwright is home to significant Army combat maneuver forces, 23 which require joint, air-to-ground support training; and 24 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base provides a gateway to the Joint Pacific Alaska 25 Range Complex; and 26 WHEREAS basing F-35 aircraft at Eielson Air Force Base would further benefit 27 military service members from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Fort Wainwright, and our 28 allies around the world who train at the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex; and 29 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base has unfettered access to an unparalleled training 30 environment and the largest restricted training airspace in the United States; and 31 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base has a storage capacity for 24,000,000 gallons of
01 jet fuel, and its runway can provide year-round handling for the largest aircraft of the United 02 States, its military allies, and strategic partners; and 03 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base helps to secure important oil infrastructure, 04 including the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, which supplies a significant portion of the 05 nation's energy needs; and 06 WHEREAS, as a self-contained base, Eielson Air Force Base produces its own heat 07 and electricity from locally mined coal, uses its own water supply and water treatment 08 facility, and obtains jet fuel directly from a dedicated refinery; 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 Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is the largest military installation in 13 Alaska and is home to the Alaskan Command, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense 14 Command Region, 11th Air Force Third Wing, United States Army Alaska headquarters, 4th 15 Brigade Combat Team's 25th Infantry Division, Third Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, 477th 16 Fighter Group, Alaska Army National Guard, Alaska Air National Guard, and more than 60 17 other organizations; and 18 WHEREAS Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson covers 84,530 acres; and 19 WHEREAS members of the United States Army stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf- 20 Richardson are at the forefront of protecting the nation's interest in the volatile regions of the 21 Asian-Pacific and provide ready and relevant forces to overseas contingency operations; and 22 WHEREAS Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson continues to grow in size and 23 importance because of its strategic location near the Pacific and the Arctic; and 24 WHEREAS Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson has access to world-class training 25 facilities; and 26 WHEREAS Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson has proved to be a suitable host for 27 many other military aircraft including the C-17 Globemaster III, F-22 Raptor, C12F Huron, E- 28 Sentry, C-130 Hercules, UH 60 A/I Black Hawk, and the HH 60 Pave Hawk; and 29 WHEREAS the Alaska North American Aerospace Defense Command Region 30 safeguards the air sovereignty of North America, responds to all air sovereignty threats, trains 31 to meet all response options on a no-notice basis, maintains infrastructure to support the air
01 defense mission, and integrates space and new technologies to support those missions; and 02 WHEREAS the 11th Air Force provides mission-ready and deployable forces, 03 provides secure and efficient air base operations, improves the premier joint training 04 environment of the state, and modernizes Air Force facilities and support; and 05 WHEREAS Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is home to the Alaskan Command, an 06 organization that integrates military activities in the state, maximizes readiness, and supports 07 worldwide contingency force deployments; and 08 WHEREAS the Joint Task Force Alaska, an organization that deters, prevents, and 09 defeats terrorist threats within the Alaska Joint Operations Area and that executes Defense 10 Support of Civil Authorities, is located at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson; and 11 WHEREAS Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson is an important part of the Anchorage 12 community, hosting approximately 12,000 Arctic warriors, approximately 20,000 family 13 members, and more than 2,000 civilian employees; and 14 WHEREAS Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson anchor the 15 world's largest joint air, land, sea, subsea, space, and electromagnetic training assets; enjoy 16 minimal airspace congestion throughout Alaska; and enable joint training venues that support 17 large military live-fire exercises, force-on-force training, unmanned aerial vehicle operations, 18 and supersonic flights; and 19 WHEREAS, as compared to overseas Pacific installations, Eielson Air Force Base 20 and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson are more cost-effective to maintain; and 21 WHEREAS Alaska citizens have continually proven their support of all military 22 service members and all bases in Alaska; and 23 WHEREAS Alaskans salute and respect all military service members on all bases in 24 Alaska; 25 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly urges the Secretary of 26 the United States Air Force, the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, and the 27 Commander of the Pacific Air Forces to base F-35 aircraft at Eielson Air Force Base or Joint 28 Base Elmendorf-Richardson. 29 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Deborah Lee James, 30 Secretary of the United States Air Force; General Mark A. Welsh III, Chief of Staff of the 31 United States Air Force; General Herbert J. Carlisle, Commander of the Pacific Air Forces;
01 Lieutenant General Russell J. Handy, Commander, Alaska Command, U.S. Pacific 02 Command; Commander, Eleventh Air Force, Pacific Air Forces; and Commander, Alaskan 03 North American Aerospace Defense Command Region.