SB 111: "An Act relating to the Alaska State Defense Force."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 111 01 "An Act relating to the Alaska State Defense Force." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 26.05.010(c) is amended to read: 04 (c) The governor [ADJUTANT GENERAL] may, by regulation, prescribe the 05 maximum age for eligibility in the militia and any physical qualifications to meet 06 specific mission requirements for the Alaska State Defense Force. 07 * Sec. 2. AS 26.05.030(d) is amended to read: 08 (d) The Alaska State Defense Force consists of units authorized by the 09 governor and manned by volunteer personnel qualifying under state law and 10 regulation, with priority given to personnel who have served in the military, a 11 military auxiliary, a state defense force, the United States Coast Guard, a 12 volunteer auxiliary, or a state or municipal law enforcement agency. To be 13 eligible to volunteer, former military personnel shall have an honorable 14 discharge or general discharge under honorable conditions. A person with a 15 prior felony conviction, any prior criminal conviction that prevents ownership of
01 arms, or a prior conviction for a felony or misdemeanor for a crime involving 02 moral turpitude is not eligible to volunteer under this section, unless, in the case 03 of extreme emergency, the governor waives those prohibitions. All Alaska State 04 Defense Force personnel shall be 05 (1) appointed, commissioned, or warranted, and assigned by the 06 governor, or the adjutant general as the governor's designee, for a period of six years 07 after 08 (A) submitting an application, a current resume, the 09 applicant's fingerprints made by a certified fingerprint technician, a 10 national criminal history record check, and, under penalty of perjury, a 11 sworn statement disclosing any prescription drug use; 12 (B) review of the application submitted under (A) of this 13 paragraph by a board appointed by the commander of the Alaska State 14 Defense Force and made up of senior commissioned officers and at least 15 one senior, noncommissioned officer; an applicant who is denied under 16 this subsection may file an appeal in writing to the governor, who may 17 grant a waiver; 18 (C) review of any prescription drug use by the Alaska State 19 Defense Force Surgeon General to ensure there is no bar to armed duty; 20 the surgeon general may require an applicant to provide a written 21 statement from a medical care provider regarding the use and effect of the 22 prescription drugs; 23 (2) subject to serve on state active duty at the call and by order of the 24 governor. 25 * Sec. 3. AS 26.05.100 is amended to read: 26 Sec. 26.05.100. Alaska State Defense Force. An armed [A] state militia, 27 known as the Alaska State Defense Force, may be organized under the Office of the 28 Governor and maintained through voluntary enlistments out of the unorganized 29 militia under regulations as to discipline and training that may be prescribed by the 30 governor. [DURING THE TIME THAT THE ALASKA NATIONAL GUARD OR 31 THE ALASKA NAVAL MILITIA, OR ANY PART OF EITHER OF THEM, IS
01 NOT AVAILABLE TO THE STATE BY REASON OF ACTIVE FEDERAL 02 SERVICE, OR THE NATIONAL GUARD OR NAVAL MILITIA REQUIRES 03 AUGMENTATION TO PERFORM ITS STATE MISSION, THE GOVERNOR 04 MAY ACTIVATE THE ALASKA STATE DEFENSE FORCE.] 05 * Sec. 4. AS 26.05.100 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 06 (b) During the time that the Alaska National Guard or the Alaska Naval 07 Militia, or any part of either of them, is not available to the state by reason of active 08 federal service, or the National Guard or Naval Militia requires augmentation to 09 perform its state mission, the governor may activate the Alaska State Defense Force. 10 (c) The Alaska State Defense Force shall be maintained as an organized, 11 armed, trained military force capable of timely and effective response to state 12 emergencies, or, on other occasions the governor considers appropriate, to provide 13 armed military assistance to civil and military authorities in the preservation of life, 14 property, and public safety. 15 (d) The primary mission of the Alaska State Defense Force is to serve as a 16 constabulary with state police powers. An Alaska State Defense Force member shall 17 act as a peace officer and may use personal arms when called to state active duty 18 under AS 26.05.070. The Alaska State Defense Force may have additional missions, 19 as authorized by the governor. In this subsection, "constabulary" means an armed 20 police force organized on military lines, but distinct from the regular Army. 21 (e) The Alaska State Defense Force may have units of varying strength 22 established in the state. Units operate at reduced strength until the governor authorizes 23 full strength by ordering the unorganized militia into active state service under 24 AS 26.05.070 or recruiting produces the manpower required for full strength. 25 (f) The Alaska State Defense Force shall issue a badge to each member who 26 qualifies as a state military police constable. A member may wear a badge issued 27 under this subsection only when the member is under orders and in uniform. A 28 member shall return the badge to the Alaska State Defense Force upon discharge. A 29 badge issued under this subsection must be metal or woven, contain the state seal in 30 the center of the badge, and contain the words "Alaska State Police Auxiliary" and 31 "Alaska State Defense Force" on the face of the badge. An Alaska State Defense Force
01 uniform may include the state flag on the right shoulder, but may not include other 02 federal military badges or insignia. Alaska State Defense Force insignia, devices, and 03 awards may be worn on uniforms of the United States Army as permitted under 04 federal law. 05 (g) The Alaska State Defense Force shall have a state-only chain of command 06 structure with the governor as the commander in chief. The Alaska State Defense 07 Force shall use the same rank structure as the Alaska Army National Guard. All rank 08 appointments shall be made based on the needs of the Alaska State Defense Force, and 09 the member's education, state knowledge, leadership ability, business experience, and 10 prior experience in the military, a state defense force, the United States Coast Guard, 11 the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Civil Air Patrol, or state or municipal 12 law enforcement. The governor shall appoint each officer to the Alaska State Defense 13 Force at the recommendation of the commanding officer of the Alaska State Defense 14 Force. Appointment as an officer may not require any educational qualifications. 15 (h) A member of the Alaska State Defense Force 16 (1) shall, at no cost to the state, provide the member's personal arms, 17 uniforms, and field gear suitable for militia duty and training compatible with current 18 Alaska State Defense Force standards for arms and ammunition; the state has no 19 ownership interest in items provided by a member under this paragraph; 20 (2) shall attend monthly training drills without pay; 21 (3) shall be ready to respond to activation under AS 26.05.070 within 22 24 hours of notification; 23 (4) shall be subject to the discipline and training prescribed by state 24 law and the conduct manual described in (l) of this section; 25 (5) shall be subject to lawful orders of Alaska State Defense Force 26 officers; 27 (6) may not be subject to federal military law or discipline. 28 (i) The state shall recognize the arms of an Alaska State Defense Force 29 member as individually owned, private arms and may not abridge, diminish, or 30 interfere with those rights with respect to use of those arms for duty in the Alaska 31 State Defense Force.
01 (j) Qualified units or members of the Alaska State Defense Force shall be 02 eligible for 03 (1) state decorations or awards available to the units or members of the 04 Alaska National Guard; 05 (2) any decoration or award given by the State Guard Association of 06 the United States to state defense forces; and 07 (3) awards authorized by the commanding officer. 08 (k) The Alaska State Defense Force may request or receive federal and state 09 grants or assistance for materials and training. To the extent allowed under state law, a 10 state agency and the legislature may give priority to the Alaska State Defense Force 11 over a nongovernment agency for funding requested for administration, training, and 12 necessary mission-specific material. The Alaska State Defense Force may accept 13 assistance from private sources for equipment, training, and transportation. 14 (l) The governor shall appoint the commanding officer of the Alaska State 15 Defense Force. The commanding officer shall, while holding office, have the grade of 16 brigadier general and the title of Commanding Officer Alaska State Defense Force. 17 The commanding officer is responsible to the governor for the day-to-day 18 administration, operation, discipline, and organization of the Alaska State Defense 19 Force. The commanding officer shall 20 (1) create a conduct manual for members; the conduct manual must 21 apply to a member regardless of whether the member has been called to state active 22 duty under AS 26.05.070; the conduct manual must provide 23 (A) for the discipline of any minor military offense, which 24 must be limited to nonmonetary, administrative punishment; 25 (B) that the standard for a conviction for insubordination shall 26 be evidence beyond a reasonable doubt; in this subparagraph, 27 "insubordination" means the wilful violation of a lawful order given by a 28 lawful authority; 29 (C) that when a member is convicted by a civil authority for an 30 act or omission that violates the conduct manual adopted by the commanding 31 officer and local criminal law, foreign or domestic, the commanding officer
01 may authorize additional discipline upon notice of conviction; 02 (D) for due process and recognition of the individual rights and 03 unique voluntary status of members of the Alaska State Defense Force; 04 (2) approve, by written order, all manuals and policies regarding 05 Alaska State Defense Force administration, discipline, operation, organization, and 06 training; all manuals and policies under this subsection must be in writing, including 07 policies for 08 (A) the uniformity of arms and equipment, including caliber 09 and types of arms, to enable the use of federal military small arms ammunition 10 in the event of a military emergency; 11 (B) training requirements for the use of arms for militia duty; 12 (C) personal equipment requirements for state active duty 13 under AS 26.05.070 and additional missions; 14 (3) authorize the uniforms, insignias, devices, and badges to be worn 15 on Alaska State Defense Force uniforms; 16 (4) establish, by written order, units of the Alaska State Defense Force 17 and specify, in writing, when a unit is deactivated; 18 (5) approve a unique insignia and flag for each unit of the Alaska State 19 Defense Force; 20 (6) promote morale and unit cohesion, authorize Alaska State Defense 21 Force awards and decorations to denote bravery, exceptional service, length of service, 22 good conduct, achievement, leadership, attendance, contributions to the Alaska State 23 Defense Force by members and nonmembers, and marksmanship; 24 (7) prepare, in consultation with the commissioner of military and 25 veterans' affairs and the commissioner of public safety, and submit to the governor, an 26 annual plan regarding the governor's ordering of the organized and unorganized militia 27 into active state service under AS 26.05.070 and 26.05.110; the annual plan shall 28 include a 29 (A) plan for ordering the unorganized militia into active state 30 service; 31 (B) description of how the unorganized militia will be
01 organized into units of the Alaska State Defense Force; 02 (C) description of the training, arms, ammunition, personal 03 gear, quarters, transport, logistics, and other assistance that the department 04 would provide to meet the requirements of missions under AS 26.05.070 and 05 additional missions ordered by the governor; 06 (8) report monthly in writing to the governor and the commissioner of 07 military and veterans' affairs the total number of active members available to be called 08 to state active duty under AS 26.05.070; 09 (9) keep records of Alaska State Defense Force administrative policies, 10 procedures, and state service, and each member's service; 11 (10) report annually to the governor and the legislature the time and 12 money members of the Alaska State Defense Force have contributed to the benefit of 13 the state and account for any grants or contributions made to the Alaska State Defense 14 Force in the previous calendar year; the commanding officer shall deliver the report to 15 the senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives and shall notify 16 the legislature that the report is available. 17 * Sec. 5. AS 26.05.110 is amended to read: 18 Sec. 26.05.110. Governor may order unorganized militia into active 19 service. In the event of imminent invasion by a foreign power and for the same 20 reasons set out [FORTH] in AS 26.05.070, if the governor has ordered into active 21 service all of the available organized militia or if the Alaska National Guard or 22 Alaska Naval Militia [ORGANIZED MILITIA] is in active federal service, the 23 governor may order the unorganized militia or any portion of it considered necessary 24 into active service in the Alaska State Defense Force, and have unorganized militia 25 members [THEM] perform military duty for the state subject to this chapter, as the 26 circumstances require. Unorganized militia members ordered into active service in 27 the Alaska State Defense Force under this section are not subject to the 28 requirements for Alaska State Defense Force personnel under AS 26.05.030(d). 29 * Sec. 6. AS 26.05.160 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 30 (f) The adjutant general shall support the use by the Alaska State Defense 31 Force of state and federal military and law enforcement firearms training facilities
01 open to use by the Alaska state troopers and the Alaska Army National Guard. The 02 adjutant general shall assist the Alaska State Defense Force in acquiring any federal 03 permission necessary for members of the Alaska State Defense Force to transport, 04 possess, and use personal arms and ammunition owned by the member for training at a 05 federal military facility. 06 (g) The adjutant general shall support the creation of an Alaska State Defense 07 Force identification card that is acceptable to federal authorities for each Alaska State 08 Defense Force member. The identification card under this subsection shall be used by 09 a member for the purpose of accessing facilities under federal military jurisdiction 10 when the member is called to state active duty training or Alaska State Defense Force 11 business. An Alaska State Defense Force member shall return an identification card to 12 the Alaska State Defense Force upon discharge. 13 (h) The adjutant general shall 14 (1) provide for the use by the Alaska State Defense Force of armories 15 available under AS 26.05.290; 16 (2) assist the Alaska State Defense Force in securing suitable facilities 17 when there are no armories available under AS 26.05.290; 18 (3) support the use by the Alaska State Defense Force of available state 19 agency vehicles for authorized training and to support state active duty mission 20 requirements during an emergency; 21 (4) support the participation of the Alaska State Defense Force in 22 applicable state and federal military, civil defense, and disaster response exercises; 23 participation of Alaska State Defense Force members under this paragraph is paid 24 state active duty; 25 (5) provide transportation support for Alaska State Defense Force units 26 and personnel, including transportation by the Alaska National Guard, during disaster 27 response, military emergency, and state or federal training exercises; 28 (6) assist the Alaska State Defense Force commander in requesting 29 support from the Department of Public Safety to request air and communications 30 support from the Civil Air Patrol during an emergency or state or federal training 31 exercise in which the Department of Public Safety participates; and
01 (7) support annual encampment and training for Alaska State Defense 02 Force units under AS 26.05.280 and 26.05.290. 03 * Sec. 7. AS 26.05.170 is amended to read: 04 Sec. 26.05.170. Governor's command and instructions exercised through 05 the adjutant general. The governor's command of the Alaska National Guard and 06 the Alaska Naval Militia is exercised through the adjutant general, who shall carry 07 out the policies of the governor in military affairs. The adjutant general represents the 08 governor and shall act in conformity with the governor's instructions. The adjutant 09 general shall exercise control over the military department of the state. 10 * Sec. 8. AS 26.05.260(i) is amended to read: 11 (i) When active state service is authorized by the governor or by the adjutant 12 general as the governor's designee under AS 26.05.070, members of the Alaska State 13 Defense Force are entitled to receive, for each day of active service under 14 AS 26.05.070, pay and allowances as provided in this subsection. During military 15 court proceedings, a member of the Alaska State Defense Force who is either a 16 member of a military court under AS 26.05.415 or the accused is entitled to 17 receive pay and allowances as provided in this subsection. Pay is equal to that 18 provided under AS 39.27.011(a) - (f) and 39.27.020 for equivalent assignments of 19 state officials or employees, including adjustments under AS 39.27.025, if applicable. 20 Allowances shall be paid to the same extent, in the same manner, and under the same 21 conditions as provided for state officials and employees under AS 39.20.110 - 22 39.20.170. However, pay or allowances are not authorized for training or community 23 service activities of members of the Alaska State Defense Force. 24 * Sec. 9. AS 26.05.370 is amended to read: 25 Sec. 26.05.370. Persons subject to military courts; jurisdiction. The code of 26 military justice applies to a member of the militia at all times, except when a member 27 of the 28 (1) militia is 29 (A) [(1)] in active federal service under 10 U.S.C. (Armed 30 Forces); or 31 (B) [(2)] outside the state and not in active duty status;
01 (2) Alaska State Defense Force has not been called to state active 02 duty under AS 26.05.070. 03 * Sec. 10. AS 26.05.415 is amended to read: 04 Sec. 26.05.415. Courts-martial classified. Subject to (b) of this section, the 05 [THE] military courts for the militia of the state are 06 (1) a general court-martial, consisting of 07 (A) a military judge, not fewer than five members, and not 08 fewer than one alternate member; or 09 (B) only a military judge, if, before the court is assembled, the 10 accused, knowing the identity of the military judge and after consultation with 11 defense counsel, requests orally on the record or in writing a court composed 12 of only a military judge and the military judge approves; 13 (2) a special court-martial, consisting of 14 (A) a military judge, not fewer than three members, and not 15 fewer than one alternate member; or 16 (B) only a military judge, if one has been detailed to the court, 17 and the accused so requests under the conditions prescribed in (1)(B) of this 18 section; and 19 (3) a summary court-martial, consisting of one commissioned officer. 20 * Sec. 11. AS 26.05.415 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 21 (b) If the accused is a member of the Alaska State Defense Force, the 22 members and alternate members of the military court under (a) of this section must be 23 officers of the Alaska State Defense Force.