HJR 13: Urging the United States Department of the Army to maintain the current level of its combat-capable structure in the state and not to take structural realignment actions with regard to Fort Wainwright and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.
00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 13 01 Urging the United States Department of the Army to maintain the current level of its 02 combat-capable structure in the state and not to take structural realignment actions 03 with regard to Fort Wainwright and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 WHEREAS the United States Department of the Army is preparing for a structural 06 realignment of its forces in 2020, and it would be in the best interest of Alaska and the nation 07 for the United States Department of the Army to determine that structural realignment actions 08 not be taken with regard to both Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks and Joint Base Elmendorf- 09 Richardson in Anchorage; and 10 WHEREAS Headquarters, United States Department of the Army, is continuing to 11 reduce the maximum number of active duty personnel from a wartime peak of 570,000 12 personnel to 450,000 personnel by the end of the United States government's fiscal year 2017; 13 and 14 WHEREAS the United States Department of the Army must reduce and 15 reorganize the structure of its combat-capable forces to achieve the fiscal reductions
01 required by P.L. 112-25 (Budget Control Act of 2011), as amended; and 02 WHEREAS the reduction and reorganization must be consistent with the national 03 military strategy issued by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and 04 WHEREAS General Order Number 2012-01 of Headquarters, United States 05 Department of the Army, directs the United States Army to conduct listening sessions at 30 06 military installations across the United States that are being evaluated for potential personnel 07 reductions; and 08 WHEREAS the primary purpose of the listening sessions is to provide members of an 09 affected community with an opportunity to comment on the reductions under consideration in 10 their community; and 11 WHEREAS Anchorage could lose up to 5,300 military and civilian positions at Joint 12 Base Elmendorf-Richardson; and 13 WHEREAS Fort Wainwright could lose up to 5,800 military and civilian positions; 14 and 15 WHEREAS the nation's primary concern must always be national defense and the 16 security of the United States, including Alaska; and 17 WHEREAS the geographic location of Alaska, including its access to polar air routes, 18 provides a vital strategic advantage for current and future Department of the Army missions, 19 force mobilizations, offensive operations, and defensive operations; and 20 WHEREAS Alaska's strategic global position has been recognized since World War 21 II as providing a prime location to defend the United States against the potential aggression of 22 hostile nations, including Russia and North Korea; and 23 WHEREAS, from bases in the state, United States Army combat forces can rapidly 24 deploy by air or sea to areas in and around the Pacific and Europe and can cross the Arctic to 25 Europe faster than by flying from the East Coast of the United States; and 26 WHEREAS the six major military installations, more than 23,000 active duty service 27 members, and more than 37,000 family members of active duty service members in Alaska 28 make the military presence in the state economically important to Alaska; and 29 WHEREAS the military programs of the University of Alaska Anchorage support 30 military personnel and their families throughout the area served by the University of Alaska 31 Anchorage, including by providing extension centers on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
01 that offer educational opportunities to about 1,000 military and civilian students with classes 02 designed so that students can fit coursework into their busy schedules using conventional 03 educational environments and electronic and other distance delivery systems; and 04 WHEREAS the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex consists of 63,000 square miles 05 of training areas and provides a training and readiness complex that is unique in the world; 06 and 07 WHEREAS Red Flag Alaska, a series of Pacific Air Forces commander-directed field 08 training exercises, hosts allied nations from around the world in the unrestricted air space 09 needed for the exercises that is found in Alaska, but that is quickly becoming a premium in 10 the United States; and 11 WHEREAS the proximity of United States Air Force and Alaska Air National Guard 12 units to Fort Wainwright and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson provides joint training 13 opportunities for the United States Army units stationed in Alaska and outside Alaska; and 14 WHEREAS the United States Army and the United States Air Force are located 15 together at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, providing a unique and efficient deployment 16 base for the two military forces; and 17 WHEREAS Alaska has demonstrated its strong commitment to the United States 18 Army by investing more than $88,000,000 in transportation infrastructure to provide the 19 United States Army with access throughout the year to training areas for maneuvers in the 20 Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex; and 21 WHEREAS Alaska is the only state in the nation with direct access to the Arctic, and 22 the United States Army soldiers in Alaska are experts in extreme cold weather operations; and 23 WHEREAS Alaska is home to the United States Army's Cold Regions Test Center 24 and has been the site of the United States Army's Arctic and cold weather testing since before 25 World War II; and 26 WHEREAS Alaska serves as a site activation command for the United States Missile 27 Defense Agency; and 28 WHEREAS the United States Department of Defense recognizes Alaska as an 29 important strategic location and has recently increased and upgraded its missile defense 30 capability in the state; 31 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly urges the United States
01 Department of the Army to maintain the current level of its combat-capable structure in 02 Alaska; and be it 03 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages the United 04 States Department of the Army not to take structural realignment actions with regard to both 05 Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. 06 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Chuck Hagel, United States 07 Secretary of Defense; the Honorable John M. McHugh, United States Secretary of the Army; 08 and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski and the Honorable Dan Sullivan, U.S. Senators, and the 09 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.