SB 60: "An Act relating to the Alaska State Defense Force."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 60 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, a prior criminal conviction that prevents ownership of
01 arms, or a prior felony or misdemeanor conviction for a crime involving moral 02 turpitude is not eligible to volunteer under this subsection, unless, in the case of 03 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) an applicant submits an application, a current resume, 09 and a copy of the applicant's fingerprints made by a certified fingerprint 10 technician, undergoes a national criminal history record check, and, 11 under penalty of perjury, files a sworn statement disclosing any 12 prescription drug use; 13 (B) the application submitted under (A) of this paragraph is 14 reviewed by a board appointed by the commander of the Alaska State 15 Defense Force and made up of senior commissioned officers and at least 16 one senior noncommissioned officer; 17 (C) the applicant's sworn statement disclosing any 18 prescription drug use submitted under (A) of this paragraph is reviewed 19 by the Alaska State Defense Force Surgeon General to ensure there is no 20 bar to armed duty; as part of the review, the surgeon general may require 21 an applicant to provide a written statement from a medical care provider 22 regarding the use and effect of the prescription drugs; and 23 (D) the application submitted under (A) of this paragraph 24 is approved by both the board and the surgeon general, or a waiver is 25 granted following a written appeal to the governor by an applicant whose 26 application is denied; 27 (2) subject to serve on state active duty at the call and by order of the 28 governor. 29 * Sec. 3. AS 26.05.100 is amended to read: 30 Sec. 26.05.100. Alaska State Defense Force. An armed [A] state militia, 31 known as the Alaska State Defense Force, may be organized under the Office of the
01 Governor and maintained through voluntary enlistments out of the unorganized 02 militia under regulations as to discipline and training that may be prescribed by the 03 governor. [DURING THE TIME THAT THE ALASKA NATIONAL GUARD OR 04 THE ALASKA NAVAL MILITIA, OR ANY PART OF EITHER OF THEM, IS 05 NOT AVAILABLE TO THE STATE BY REASON OF ACTIVE FEDERAL 06 SERVICE, OR THE NATIONAL GUARD OR NAVAL MILITIA REQUIRES 07 AUGMENTATION TO PERFORM ITS STATE MISSION, THE GOVERNOR 08 MAY ACTIVATE THE ALASKA STATE DEFENSE FORCE.] 09 * Sec. 4. AS 26.05.100 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 10 (b) During the time that the Alaska National Guard or the Alaska Naval 11 Militia, or any part of either of them, is not available to the state because of active 12 federal service, or the National Guard or Naval Militia requires augmentation to 13 perform its state mission, the governor may activate the Alaska State Defense Force. 14 (c) The Alaska State Defense Force shall be maintained as an organized, 15 armed, trained military force capable of timely and effective response to state 16 emergencies, and on other occasions the governor considers appropriate, to provide 17 armed military assistance to civil and military authorities in the preservation of life, 18 property, and public safety. 19 (d) The primary mission of the Alaska State Defense Force is to serve as a 20 constabulary with state police powers. An Alaska State Defense Force member shall 21 act as a peace officer and may use personal arms when called to state active duty 22 under AS 26.05.070. The Alaska State Defense Force may have additional missions, 23 as authorized by the governor. In this subsection, "constabulary" means an armed 24 police force organized on military lines, but distinct from the regular Army. 25 (e) The Alaska State Defense Force may have units of varying strength 26 established in the state. Units operate at reduced strength until the governor authorizes 27 full strength by ordering the unorganized militia into active state service under 28 AS 26.05.070 or recruiting produces the manpower required for full strength. 29 (f) The Alaska State Defense Force shall issue a badge to each member who 30 qualifies as a state military police constable. A member may wear a badge issued 31 under this subsection only when the member is under orders and in uniform. A
01 member shall return the badge to the Alaska State Defense Force upon discharge. A 02 badge issued under this subsection must be metal or woven, contain the state seal in 03 the center of the badge, and contain the words "Alaska State Police Auxiliary" and 04 "Alaska State Defense Force" on the face of the badge. An Alaska State Defense Force 05 uniform may include the state flag on the right shoulder, but may not include other 06 federal military badges or insignia. Alaska State Defense Force insignia, devices, and 07 awards may be worn on uniforms of the United States Army as permitted under 08 federal law. 09 (g) The Alaska State Defense Force shall have a state-only chain of command 10 structure with the governor as the commander in chief. The Alaska State Defense 11 Force shall use the same rank structure as the Alaska Army National Guard. All rank 12 appointments shall be made based on the needs of the Alaska State Defense Force and 13 the member's education, state knowledge, leadership ability, business experience, and 14 prior experience in the military, a state defense force, the United States Coast Guard, 15 the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Civil Air Patrol, or state or municipal 16 law enforcement. The governor shall appoint each officer to the Alaska State Defense 17 Force at the recommendation of the commanding officer of the Alaska State Defense 18 Force. Appointment as an officer may not require any educational qualifications. 19 (h) A member of the Alaska State Defense Force 20 (1) shall, at no cost to the state, provide the member's personal arms, 21 uniforms, and field gear suitable for militia duty and training compatible with current 22 Alaska State Defense Force standards for arms and ammunition; the state has no 23 ownership interest in items provided by a member under this paragraph; 24 (2) shall attend monthly training drills without pay; 25 (3) shall be ready to respond to activation under AS 26.05.070 within 26 24 hours of notification; 27 (4) shall be subject to the discipline and training prescribed by state 28 law and the conduct manual described in (l) of this section; 29 (5) shall be subject to lawful orders of Alaska State Defense Force 30 officers; and 31 (6) may not be subject to federal military law or discipline.
01 (i) The state shall recognize the arms of an Alaska State Defense Force 02 member as individually owned, private arms and may not abridge, diminish, or 03 interfere with those rights with respect to use of those arms for duty in the Alaska 04 State Defense Force. 05 (j) Qualified units or members of the Alaska State Defense Force shall be 06 eligible for 07 (1) state decorations or awards available to the units or members of the 08 Alaska National Guard; 09 (2) any decoration or award given by the State Guard Association of 10 the United States to state defense forces; and 11 (3) awards authorized by the commanding officer. 12 (k) The Alaska State Defense Force may request or receive federal and state 13 grants or assistance for materials and training. To the extent allowed under state law, a 14 state agency and the legislature may give priority to the Alaska State Defense Force 15 over a nongovernment agency for funding requested for administration, training, and 16 necessary mission-specific material. The Alaska State Defense Force may accept 17 assistance from private sources for equipment, training, and transportation. 18 (l) The governor shall appoint the commanding officer of the Alaska State 19 Defense Force. The commanding officer shall, while holding office, have the grade of 20 brigadier general and the title of Commanding Officer of the Alaska State Defense 21 Force. The commanding officer is responsible to the governor for the day-to-day 22 administration, operation, discipline, and organization of the Alaska State Defense 23 Force. The commanding officer shall 24 (1) create a conduct manual for members; the conduct manual must 25 apply to a member regardless of whether the member has been called to state active 26 duty under AS 26.05.070; the conduct manual must provide 27 (A) for the discipline of any minor military offense, which 28 must be limited to nonmonetary, administrative punishment; 29 (B) that the standard for a conviction for insubordination is 30 evidence beyond a reasonable doubt; in this subparagraph, "insubordination" 31 means the wilful violation of a lawful order given by a lawful authority;
01 (C) that when a member is convicted by a civil authority for an 02 act or omission that violates the conduct manual adopted by the commanding 03 officer and local criminal law, foreign or domestic, the commanding officer 04 may authorize additional discipline upon notice of conviction; 05 (D) for due process and recognition of the individual rights and 06 unique voluntary status of members of the Alaska State Defense Force; 07 (2) approve, by written order, all manuals and policies regarding 08 Alaska State Defense Force administration, discipline, operation, organization, and 09 training; all manuals and policies under this subsection must be in writing, including 10 policies for 11 (A) the uniformity of arms and equipment, including caliber 12 and types of arms, to enable the use of federal military small arms ammunition 13 in the event of a military emergency; 14 (B) training requirements for the use of arms for militia duty; 15 (C) personal equipment requirements for state active duty 16 under AS 26.05.070 and additional missions; 17 (3) authorize the uniforms, insignias, devices, and badges to be worn 18 on Alaska State Defense Force uniforms; 19 (4) establish, by written order, units of the Alaska State Defense Force 20 and specify, in writing, when a unit is deactivated; 21 (5) approve a unique insignia and flag for each unit of the Alaska State 22 Defense Force; 23 (6) promote morale and unit cohesion, including authorizing Alaska 24 State Defense Force awards and decorations to denote bravery, exceptional service, 25 length of service, good conduct, achievement, leadership, attendance, marksmanship, 26 and contributions to the Alaska State Defense Force by members and nonmembers; 27 (7) prepare, in consultation with the commissioner of military and 28 veterans' affairs and the commissioner of public safety, and submit to the governor, an 29 annual plan regarding the governor's ordering of the organized and unorganized militia 30 into active state service under AS 26.05.070 and 26.05.110; the annual plan must 31 include a
01 (A) plan for ordering the unorganized militia into active state 02 service; 03 (B) description of how the unorganized militia will be 04 organized into units of the Alaska State Defense Force; 05 (C) description of the training, arms, ammunition, personal 06 gear, quarters, transport, logistics, and other assistance that the department 07 would provide to meet the requirements of missions under AS 26.05.070 and 08 additional missions ordered by the governor; 09 (8) report monthly in writing to the governor and the commissioner of 10 military and veterans' affairs the total number of active members available to be called 11 to state active duty under AS 26.05.070; 12 (9) keep records of Alaska State Defense Force administrative policies, 13 procedures, and state service, and each member's service; 14 (10) report annually to the governor and the legislature the time and 15 money members of the Alaska State Defense Force have contributed to the benefit of 16 the state and account for any grants or contributions made to the Alaska State Defense 17 Force in the previous calendar year; the commanding officer shall deliver the report to 18 the senate secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives and shall notify 19 the legislature that the report is available. 20 * Sec. 5. AS 26.05.110 is amended to read: 21 Sec. 26.05.110. Governor may order unorganized militia into active 22 service. In the event of imminent invasion by a foreign power and for the same 23 reasons set out [FORTH] in AS 26.05.070, if the governor has ordered into active 24 service all of the available organized militia or if the Alaska National Guard or 25 Alaska Naval Militia [ORGANIZED MILITIA] is in active federal service, the 26 governor may order the unorganized militia or any portion of it considered necessary 27 into active service in the Alaska State Defense Force, and have unorganized militia 28 members [THEM] perform military duty for the state subject to this chapter, as the 29 circumstances require. Unorganized militia members ordered into active service in 30 the Alaska State Defense Force under this section are not subject to the 31 requirements for Alaska State Defense Force personnel under AS 26.05.030(d).
01 * Sec. 6. AS 26.05.160 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 02 (f) The adjutant general shall support the use by the Alaska State Defense 03 Force of state and federal military and law enforcement firearms training facilities 04 open to use by the Alaska state troopers or the Alaska Army National Guard. The 05 adjutant general shall assist the Alaska State Defense Force in acquiring any federal 06 permission necessary for members of the Alaska State Defense Force to transport, 07 possess, and use personal arms and ammunition owned by the member for training at a 08 federal military facility. 09 (g) The adjutant general shall support the creation of an Alaska State Defense 10 Force identification card that is acceptable to federal authorities for each Alaska State 11 Defense Force member. If a member is called to state active duty training or Alaska 12 State Defense Force business, the member shall use the identification card under this 13 subsection for the purpose of accessing facilities under federal military jurisdiction. 14 An Alaska State Defense Force member shall return an identification card to the 15 Alaska State Defense Force upon discharge. 16 (h) The adjutant general shall 17 (1) provide for the use by the Alaska State Defense Force of armories 18 available under AS 26.05.290; 19 (2) assist the Alaska State Defense Force in securing suitable facilities 20 when there are no armories available under AS 26.05.290; 21 (3) support the use by the Alaska State Defense Force of available state 22 agency vehicles for authorized training and to support state active duty mission 23 requirements during an emergency; 24 (4) support the participation of the Alaska State Defense Force in 25 applicable state and federal military, civil defense, and disaster response exercises; 26 participation by Alaska State Defense Force members in exercises described in this 27 paragraph is paid state active duty; 28 (5) provide transportation support for Alaska State Defense Force units 29 and personnel, including transportation by the Alaska National Guard, during disaster 30 response, military emergency, and state or federal training exercises; 31 (6) assist the commanding officer of the Alaska State Defense Force in
01 requesting support from the Department of Public Safety to obtain air and 02 communications support from the Civil Air Patrol during an emergency or state or 03 federal training exercise in which the Department of Public Safety participates; and 04 (7) support annual encampment and training for Alaska State Defense 05 Force units under AS 26.05.280. 06 * Sec. 7. AS 26.05.170 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 26.05.170. Governor's command and instructions exercised through 08 the adjutant general. The governor's command of the Alaska National Guard and 09 the Alaska Naval Militia is exercised through the adjutant general, who shall carry 10 out the policies of the governor in military affairs. The adjutant general represents the 11 governor and shall act in conformity with the governor's instructions. The adjutant 12 general shall exercise control over the military department of the state. 13 * Sec. 8. AS 26.05.260(i) is amended to read: 14 (i) When active state service is authorized by the governor or by the adjutant 15 general as the governor's designee under AS 26.05.070, members of the organized 16 militia are entitled to receive, for each day of active service under AS 26.05.070, 17 allowances to the same extent, in the same manner, and under the same conditions as 18 provided for state officials and employees under AS 39.20.110 - 39.20.170. During 19 military court proceedings, a member of the Alaska State Defense Force who is 20 either the accused or a member of a military court under AS 26.05.415 is entitled 21 to receive pay and allowances as provided in this subsection. Except for 22 participation in exercises described in AS 26.05.160(h)(4) [HOWEVER], pay or 23 allowances are not authorized for training or community service activities of members 24 of the Alaska State Defense Force. 25 * Sec. 9. AS 26.05.370 is amended to read: 26 Sec. 26.05.370. Persons subject to military courts; jurisdiction. The code of 27 military justice applies to a member of the militia at all times, except when a member 28 of the 29 (1) militia is 30 (A) [(1)] in active federal service under 10 U.S.C. (Armed 31 Forces); or
01 (B) [(2)] outside the state and not in active duty status; 02 (2) Alaska State Defense Force has not been called to state active 03 duty under AS 26.05.070. 04 * Sec. 10. AS 26.05.415 is amended to read: 05 Sec. 26.05.415. Courts-martial classified. Subject to (b) of this section, the 06 [THE] military courts for the militia of the state are 07 (1) a general court-martial, consisting of 08 (A) a military judge, not fewer than five members, and not 09 fewer than one alternate member; or 10 (B) only a military judge, if, before the court is assembled, the 11 accused, knowing the identity of the military judge and after consultation with 12 defense counsel, requests, orally on the record or in writing, a court composed 13 of only a military judge and the military judge approves; 14 (2) a special court-martial, consisting of 15 (A) a military judge, not fewer than three members, and not 16 fewer than one alternate member; or 17 (B) only a military judge, if one has been detailed to the court 18 [,] and the accused so requests under the conditions prescribed in (1)(B) of this 19 subsection [SECTION]; and 20 (3) a summary court-martial, consisting of one commissioned officer. 21 * Sec. 11. AS 26.05.415 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 22 (b) If the accused is a member of the Alaska State Defense Force, the 23 members and alternate members of the military court under (a) of this section must be 24 officers of the Alaska State Defense Force.