Legislature(2013 - 2014)SENATE FINANCE 532
02/14/2013 11:00 AM House ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Alaska Joint Armed Services Committee Briefing | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
February 14, 2013
11:04 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Pete Kelly, Co-Chair
Representative Dan Saddler, Co-Chair
Senator Fred Dyson
Senator Anna Fairclough
Senator John Coghill
Senator Bill Wielechowski
Representative Eric Feige
Representative Doug Isaacson
Representative Bob Lynn
Representative Geran Tarr
PUBLIC MEMBERS
Brigadier General George Cannelos, Alaska Air National Guard,
(Retired)
Colonel Tim Jones, US Army, (Retired)
Lieutenant General Tom Case, Air Force, (Retired) - via
teleconference
MEMBERS ABSENT
All legislative members present
OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT
Senator Charlie Huggins
Senator Click Bishop
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux
Representative Steve Thompson
Representative Tammy Wilson
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
Alaska Joint Armed Services Committee Briefing
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
LT. GENERAL STEPHEN HOOG, Commander
11th Air Force
Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided briefing and update on Alaska Air
Force activities.
MAJOR GENERAL THOMAS KATKUS, Adjutant General
Alaska National Guard
Commissioner, Department of Military & Veterans Affairs (DMVA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided briefing and update on Alaska
National Guard activities in 2012.
MCHUGH PIERRE, Deputy Commissioner
Department of Military & Veterans Affairs (DMVA)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided answers to questions on military
activities in Alaska.
REAR ADMIRAL THOMAS P. OSTEBO
United States Coast Guard
Commander 17th Coast Guard District
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided briefing and update on US Coast
Guard activities in Alaska for 2012.
ACTION NARRATIVE
11:04:16 AM
CO-CHAIR SADDLER called the Joint Armed Services Committee
meeting to order at 11:04 a.m. Present at the call to order were
Senators Dyson, Fairclough, Wielechowski, Coghill and Co-Chair
Kelly; Representatives Feige, Tarr, Lynn, Isaacson and Co-Chair
Saddler. Public members present were: Brigadier General George
Cannelos, Alaska Air National Guard, (Ret.); Colonel Tim Jones,
US Army, (Ret.); and Lieutenant General Tom Case (Ret.) - via
teleconference.
^Alaska Joint Armed Services Committee Briefing
ALASKA JOINT ARMED SERVICES BRIEFING
11:05:04 AM
CO-CHAIR SADDLER said the Joint Armed Services Committee was
established in the 1990s in response to the first Base
Realignment and Closure Commission. It has five Representatives
and five Senators and six public members that represent the
interests of the military services and agencies, local
governments, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and
Alaska Natives. Their stated mission is to monitor and address
potential realignments of military facilities and missions in
the state, to advocate for the National Missile Defense System,
to seek out ways to attract new missions to Alaska bases and to
support increased joint training activity in Alaska.
He said their mission is especially important these days as our
country faces tremendous budget pressures. It's important to
keep in mind that Alaska's military services and agencies are
essential for national security, for joint training and
preparedness, for force projection, and for the stability of our
economy and for the safety of our people.
CO-CHAIR SADDLER said this morning the committee would hear
presentations from the top military leaders in the state: Air
Force Lieutenant General Stephen Hoog, who is commander of
Alaskan Air Command and the US Pacific Command and several other
commands; Alaska National Guard Major General Thomas Katkus, who
is the tag and the commissioner of the Department of Military &
Veterans Affairs (DMVA); and Coast Guard Rear Admiral Thomas
Ostebo, who is commander of the 17th District. He invited
Lieutenant General Hoog to give his comments.
11:06:52 AM
LT. GENERAL STEPHEN HOOG, Commander, 11th Air Force, Alaskan
North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and Joint Base
Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), said he had been in Alaska for
about 14 months. He said he appreciated the opportunity to
update the body on the successes of the US military units
stationed in Alaska in 2012 and the opportunities and new
challenges they will face in 2013.
First, Lieutenant General Hoog took a moment to honor their
fallen who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their
country over the past year.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG moved on to the overview of US military
accomplishments in Alaska in 2012. Their calendar was full of
various exercises and 2013 will be no different. He would
address both and highlight the value of the Joint Pacific Alaska
Range Complex along with some other recent and upcoming events.
Then he would discuss the multi-faceted and complex challenges
of Arctic engagement in light of the unprecedented Arctic access
from this last summer. Finally, he would talk about Joint Task
Force Alaska Operations, Alaska NORAD Region missile defense
entities in Alaska, and the five on-going Environmental Impact
Statements (EIS), along with the challenges in the coming year
and beyond.
11:08:38 AM
He said there is a large military presence across the state and
aside from the major installations, Alaska is peppered with long
range radar stations and radio sites. Counting the active duty
soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and coast guardsmen, there
are over 23,000 service members in Alaska; adding the dependents
and the 5,000 US Department of Defense civilians, the active
duty military makes up over 10 percent of the state's
population. When the veterans and retirees are added that figure
becomes about a quarter of the state's population.
11:09:19 AM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said that each of the three Air Force
Wings in Alaska can boast a long list of accomplishments in
2012, but he would highlight just a few. He said the 3rd Wing
continues to shine as the Air Force premier total force
integration wing. Air Force Reserve commands 477 Fighter Group
and integrates pilots and maintainers seamlessly with the two
active duty F-22 squadrons while the Alaska National Guard's
249th Air Lift Squadron flies side-by-side with their active
duty crew members every day.
Over the past several months, maintainers have upgraded several
of the F-22s stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf/Richardson (JBER)
with a hardware and software modification called Increment 3.1.
This upgrade allows Raptors to map ground targets in real time
with synthetic aperture radar and employ small diameter bombs
along with other combat capabilities. These Alaska-based Raptors
are the first Air Force F-22s to undergo this redoubt 1 upgrade.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said recently the Pacific Air Force
(PACAF) had presented the 3rd Wing with its Safety Special
Achievement Award in recognition of extraordinary safety,
despite austere conditions. In 2012, with a winter record
snowfall, the 3rd Wing flew 7,000 sorties totaling more than
15,000 flight hours and loaded more than 2,000 passengers and
over 4 million pounds of cargo in support of Pacific and Central
Command missions - all without a mishap. Over the same period,
the 3rd Maintenance Group was awarded the Daedalian Weapon
System Maintenance Trophy for 2012 and cited for exceptional
effectiveness rates, consistent repairs and modifications ahead
of schedule - all the time with world-wide support for both
training and contingency operations.
11:10:49 AM
The 673rd Air Base Wing, JBER's host, also had a banner year.
With their accomplishments it's easy to see how they earned
their first Air Force Outstanding Unit Award. A year ago the
673rd Medical Group hosted a grand opening for its Fisher House
and it just recently completed its new Traumatic Brain Injury
Clinic.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said in July, many enjoyed the Arctic
Thunder 2012 Air Show, the largest air show that JBER has had to
date. It hosted over 230,000 visitors who saw 73 participating
aircraft including the F-22 demonstration, the Air Force's
Thunderbirds and the Army's Golden Night Parachute Team. This
very successful air show helped educate the public on several of
the military's weapon systems while developing expanding
community partnerships in the Anchorage and surrounding
communities.
As summer faded into fall, JBER began operations with its new
Landfill Gas power plant. In a three-way partnership with the
Municipality of Anchorage and Doyon Utilities, JBER now receives
electricity generated from processed methane collected from the
Anchorage landfill that will provide 25 percent of their total
energy demand. This methane was previously vented off and burned
into the atmosphere; and now the base will far exceed the 7
percent renewable energy requirement set forth in two executive
orders in the Environmental Protection Act of 2005. A grant from
the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) coupled with a tax benefit
from the federal government will help this project turn cash
positive within five years. As a whole, this project represents
a phenomenal success of collaboration between the Municipality
of Anchorage, JBER and private industry.
11:12:36 AM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said on the other side of the Alaska
Range, the 354th Fighter Wing at Eielson Air Force Base kept
busy. Last year the 18th Aggressive Squadron (AGRS) took a
mobile training team to Guam to support the first ever
trilateral Cope North Exercise with the Royal Australian Air
Force and the Japanese Air Defense Force. In fact, they are
again deployed to Guam for Cope North today as he speaks. This
was followed by seasonal support to the Hawaiian Air National
Guard helping an F-22 Unit achieve initial operation capability
there.
The 354th Wing's summer was filled with three Red Flag Alaska
exercises that he would highlight in a few slides, after which
the 18th Aggressor Squad Mobile Training Team left for PACOM's
Exercise Valiant Shield in Australia. He also noted Eielson's
Ted Stevens Joint Mobility Complex effectively supported several
US Army Alaska deployments and redeployments with nearly 4,000
soldiers and 600 tons of cargo processed.
11:13:28 AM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said on September 28, 2012, Pacific Air
Command deactivated the 13th Air Force headquarters at Joint
Base Pearl Harbor/Hickam. At that time the two Wings and the
13th Air Force, the 15th Joint Wing at Joint Base Pearl
Harbor/Hickam and the 36th Wing at Joint Region Marianas
Anderson Air Force Base were realigned under the 11th Air Force.
This restructuring did not involve any personnel moves into
Alaska, but it expanded 11th Air Force command across a majority
of the Pacific and increased the number of personnel to over
13,000. While the national strategy is shifting to focus on the
Pacific Region, 11th Air Force is now responsible for the Air
Force Wings that form the strategic triangle in the Pacific
area.
11:14:16 AM
The other upcoming restructuring is the deactivation of the
537th Airlift Squadron at JBER. The 537th is the active duty
associate squadron with the Alaska Air National Guard's 144th
Air Lift Squadron composed of 42 crew members and 13 other
personnel. This deactivation will accompany retirement of four
of the National Guard's C-130s.
As he indicated last year, Lieutenant General Hoog said the
Pacific Air Force's Band of the Pacific at JBER will deactivate
this summer with the remaining personnel being sent overseas.
11:14:50 AM
For US Army Alaska the primary highlight last year was the
deployment and redeployment of nearly 8,000 soldiers in support
of Operation Enduring Freedom he said. Now that they are back
home, the 1/25 and the 4/25 are again sharpening their edge. The
4/25 is focusing on the Joint Forceful Entry Operations and the
1/25 Stryker Brigade is training for other major combat mission
sets.
11:15:32 AM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said the 2nd Engineer Brigade
participated in major exercises in India and Korea last year and
continues to have troops deployed world-wide today. The 16th
Combat Aviation Brigade is also staying active in support of
global aviation requirements on top of supporting the recent
Kulluk salvage operations.
11:15:45 AM
In honor of the 2011/12 deployments, he said Fort Wainwright
dedicated Monterey Lakes Memorial Park as Sergeant Joel Clarkson
Training Support Center. In May they gathered over 6,000 service
members, veterans, family members, and supporters for their
salute to our military parade (STMP) and drew a crowd of 10,000
viewers.
Much like JBER, he said that Fort Wainwright had been lauded for
its installation excellence evident from the installation
management command Exemplary Workforce Development Award it
received last year.
11:16:15 AM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said Fort Wainwright is also part of the
TARP US Army Residential Communities Initiative Project. US Army
Alaska had been asked to concentrate its efforts on the Asia
Pacific Region. This renewed focus will increase the number of
training opportunities and exchanges with foreign militaries to
improve partnerships, readiness and cooperation between Pacific
Base Armies and the United States. This will allow our Alaska
based units to train, share tactics, techniques and procedures
while developing enriched appreciation for the culture and
professional traditions of partner nations within the Pacific.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said for the Army in Alaska, taking a
greater role in the Pacific also presents opportunities to
demonstrate expertise in the Arctic. The US Army Northern
Warfare Training Center in Alaska provides some of the best cold
and mountain warfare training in the world. US Army Alaska is
uniquely positioned for emerging security requirements in the
Pacific and the Arctic by being an Arctic-trained, Pacific-
focused, credible ground force capable of rapidly deploying to
multiple regions around the world.
11:17:18 AM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said the nation called on many service
men and women stationed in Alaska to deploy in support of
national interests in 2012. From the two Air Force Wings at JBER
almost 900 personnel were deployed across the globe to 66
different locations with a large proportion of them going to
support combat operations in the Middle East. Last summer the
90th Fighter Squadron provided a forward posture in the Pacific
at Anderson Air Force Base while the 962nd Airborne Air Control
Squadron continues to provide a rotation of crews to CENTCOM.
The 4/25 Airborne Brigade from JBER and the 1/25 Stryker Brigade
from Fort Wainwright returned home from their tours of service
in Afghanistan, a combined total of over 8,000 soldiers.
11:18:03 AM
Many Alaska-based service men and women are serving abroad with
over 1,000 personnel currently deployed. As the military's
footprint in the Middle East draws down, Lieutenant General Hoog
said personnel based in Alaska continues to support missions
across the globe from Djibouti to Laos to Honduras.
11:18:22 AM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said Alaska has been home to a robust
exercise program for those forces that are not deployed. In 2012
Alaska hosted three Red Flag Alaska Exercises with nine visiting
countries. These large force exercises provided realistic events
in combat representative training environments for all
participants. Prior to last summer the Polish Air Force had
never flown an exercise out of its own borders and by coming to
Alaska they were able to take advantage of an air space
structure that is simply unfathomable if you are stationed in
Europe.
Last year, he said they broke US Northern Command's Exercise
Arctic Edge into four separate compartmentalized exercises to
better hone the Joint Task Force Alaska Homeland Defense and
Civil Support Mission sets.
11:19:52 AM
First, ARDENT SENTRY was designed to validate and verify the
defense support to civil authorities' roles and missions. For
eight days they established a 24/7 Joint Operation Center and
partnered with US Coast Guard District 17 for two tasks: a
simulated event off the coast of the North Slope and a search
and rescue (SAR) operation in an isolated area in central
Alaska. Along with strengthening a vital partnership within the
state, they were also able to procure and field test a
significant improvement to the Alaska National Guard search and
rescue capability through addition of a 72-hour 25-person air-
droppable Arctic sustaining package that remains in their
possession for use today when necessary.
In ALASKA SHIELD, Lieutenant General Hoog said his headquarters
in JBER partnered with the State, Alaska Homeland Defense and
Security, and Emergency Management with a series of planning
sessions centered on an extreme cold weather event in Alaska.
While the focus was on individual preparedness, they also
addressed how such an event would impact the installation and
what role they might play in supporting state-wide recovery
efforts. In ARCTIC AIR, total force medical personnel assisted
in the planning and execution of this important event which
brings real world medical care to Alaskans in remote locations.
ARCTIC SHIELD provided another opportunity to team with District
17 in their first joint operational exercise of US Coast Guard
and Department of Defense (DOD) and successfully deployed and
operated oil skimming equipment from the Coast Guard cutter off
the coast of Barrow in August, the first time DOD equipment had
been used in this fashion in Alaska; many lessons were learned
with regard to execution and logistics.
Finally, Lieutenant General Hoog said Exercise VIGILANT SHIELD
2013, which was held last October, was a NORAD/NORTHCOM exercise
designed around the homeland defense mission in Alaska. This
exercise involved the Alaska NORAD Region and JTF-Alaska; it is
the annual reminder that Alaska's strategic location
significantly enhances the security and safety of the US and its
partners in North America.
11:21:04 AM
Looking ahead at the 2013 Exercise Season, Lieutenant General
Hoog said Alaska will host two Red Flag Exercises with other
participating countries. Between the two Red Flags, Northern
Edge Exercise 2013 is the US Pacific's Command sponsored
exercise that is conducted every other year. It will draw up to
10,000 personnel who will conduct defensive counter air and
maritime interdiction, personnel recovery, and limited air and
space operations training. Historically, Northern Edge exercises
have included a Navy Strike Group, Special Operations Forces and
all our military services.
11:21:42 AM
Further on the horizon they are already into planning for 2014
ARCTIC EDGE Exercise. Over the past six months, they have been
working hand in hand with the State Department, Alaska Homeland
Security and Emergency Management, and the Alaska National Guard
to align planning efforts for a combined ALASKA SHIELD, ARCTIC
EDGE, ARTIC SENTRY and VIGILANT GUARD exercise.
11:22:06 AM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said the central theme of this exercise
will be a major earthquake response similar to the Great Alaska
Earthquake of 1964. Linking these major events will allow them
to ensure they can react with an all-of-government effort to
this catastrophic disaster scenario putting DOD support behind
the efforts of the State of Alaska to deal with this crisis.
11:22:31 AM
As the committee knows, the Joint Pacific Air Range Complex
(JPARC) provides a training space that makes many of the
exercises he mentioned possible. Such a large and unencumbered
training space is extremely valuable for the US military's
training exercises as well as for our partner nations. Simply
inviting another nation to participate in Red Flag Alaska, for
example, is an important means of building and strengthening
alliances. We learn how to operate better together militarily
and exercise co-developed plans.
This past November they hosted over 30 tribal first chiefs and
presidents for their quadrennial tribal and military leaders
meeting. This forum allows dozens of military commanders from
military installations around the state to engage with tribal
leaders to hear their concerns and discuss military activities
for the upcoming year. Their goal was to reach beyond the
conventional DOD channels to enhance understanding and
cooperation between the military and federally recognized
trials. Of note, American Indian and Alaska Native service in
the military is the largest percentage of any ethnic group and
several of the tribal leaders in attendance this year were
veterans.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said recently, his command participated
in the Alaskan Forum on the Environment that is designed to
bring many organizations and entities together to discussion
concerns about the environment, to share information and ideas,
prevent future damages and resolve existing issues. Since 1991,
signatories to the statement of cooperation have pledged to
communicate, partner, collaborate, train and educate and uphold
these core goals. These agencies have shared many successes
including cutting costs for mobilization and demobilization at
remote sites, achieving best practices and processes for site
clean-up and with a high degree of technology dissemination
among the partners to improve collective capabilities.
Two days ago, he and Admiral Ostebo flew to Dead Horse for an
orientation so he could learn about North Slope oil spill
response operations. The president of Alaska Clean Seas North
Slope Oil Response familiarized him specifically with the
operation. No one agency can build all of the infrastructure
that is needed and they are looking for ways to partner
creatively and share when it makes sense for specific DOD
missions.
As evidence of the strong support of the military, the Armed
Services YMCA (ASYMCA) is hosting its 36th annual salute to the
military event tomorrow evening and they have invited General
Charles Jacoby, Jr., the Commander of USNORTHCOM and NORAD as
guest speaker. The ASYMCA is just one of the many organizations
that provide extraordinary support in everything they do. The
association of the US Army and the Alaska ACES Hockey
organization are two more groups that have raised thousands of
dollars to support programs for service members and their
families for which they are extremely grateful.
11:26:09 AM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said as human activity and global
interests increase in the Arctic, the Arctic Council remains an
effective forum for non-security issues. USNORTHCOM has tasked
Joint Task Force-Alaska (JTF-Alaska) to consider potential
future military capabilities and gaps for the Arctic with
prioritization on safety, security, defense and cooperation. The
last priority of cooperation is key given the resource
constraints within DOD and any progress towards securing and
developing the Arctic will require significant coordination,
collaboration and cooperation. Currently, they have identified
four primary gaps that need to be addressed: communications,
maritime domain awareness, infrastructure, and presence.
11:26:41 AM
In the spirit of collaboration, cooperation, he said that JTF-
Alaska has begun discussions with the University of Alaska
Fairbanks (UAF) to potentially partner with an Alaska Command
(ALCOM) JTF-Alaska Arctic Alaska Bureau. By formalizing an
enduring relationship with the University, JTF-Alaska can tap
into the vast academic knowledge and expertise on the Arctic
while identifying the capability apps he mentioned before.
He said that JTF-Alaska kept busy last year engaging with
partners across the state to accomplish unique operations. For
example, when the Alaska Army National Guard discovered a newly
exposed wreckage from the 1952 crash of a C-124 Globe Master on
Colony Glacier, Alaska Air National Guard para-rescue experts
were able to confirm the presence of human remains. JTF-Alaska
assembled a joint total force team of service members and
civilians to conduct recovery operations on the hazardous, non-
forgiving terrain of an active glacier. The Joint POW/MIA
Accounting Command conducted recovery operations on the glacier
to recover human remains to help bring closure to the families
that lost loved ones six decades ago.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said the Army's Northern Warfare
Training Center played a critical role in training and
monitoring teams on the glacier to ensure their safety while the
US Army Guard U-860 pod crews provided transportation and
logistic support, the 673rd Air Base Wing medics and honor
guards received and processed the human remains with the dignity
and respect they deserved. At the end of the operation, JTF-
Alaska worked with UAF to install a glacier tracking system to
monitor the melt and overall condition of the glacier so that
next year they can return to re-evaluate the site for newly
uncovered items.
11:28:07 AM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said more recently two CH-47-F Chinooks
were deployed from Fort Wainwright to support operations in
response to the grounding of the Shell Oil Arctic drilling rig,
Kulluk, in late December. Chinooks from the 16th Combat Aviation
Brigade were able to rapidly deploy and successfully deliver
essential power and hydraulic equipment despite difficult
weather and the dynamics of the sling move operations in support
of Coast Guard District 17's efforts.
The Alaskan NORAD Region (ANR) continues to maintain readiness
in its two mission sets. They aced Operation NOBLE EAGLE under
traditional symmetric Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ)
protection. ANR works closely with the Canadian NORAD Region to
ensure complete Arctic coverage. In the near future with the
automatic backup oxygen system upgrade (ABOS), the F-22s based
at JBER will resume their traditional alert role and return to
fully mission capable combat status for NORAD operations.
11:29:15 AM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said in Interior Alaska, two missile
defense bases are providing better protection than ever before.
The Fort Greely Missile Defense Complex recently completed the
construction of Missile Field 2 with 14 operational silos.
Greely also integrated its new power plant with ground-based
interceptor field missiles and installed a second ground mid-
course defense communication network node (GMD) to enhance
testing and training capabilities.
On the business end of the missile defense, Greely upgraded the
Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicles (EKVs) to improve intercept
performance and increase its lethality. Similarly, Clear Air
Force Station near Anderson, Alaska, also upgraded its
capabilities and security. The new emergency power plant can
provide full power to the Pave PAWS radar in the event the power
is lost from the existing coal plant. This system's design will
automatically switch power seamlessly to prevent a gap in
surveillance coverage. The Pave PAWS 10-2 and upgraded early
warning radar (UEWR) enhancements are hardware and software
modifications that will increase tracking capability and
fidelity of the Pave PAWS and tie it to the Fort Greely's
Ballistic Missile Defense System for increased ground-based
interceptor accuracy.
11:30:40 AM
On the security side, Lieutenant General Hoog said the High-
Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse Project (HEMP) is a three-year
construction project to harden the Pave PAWS infrastructure
against electronic magnetic pulse attack and this should be
accomplished next year.
In an effort to cut energy costs, Clear Air Force Station will
tie into the commercial power grid and close its aging coal
power plant in the years ahead to the Energy Conservation and
Investment Program.
11:30:53 AM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said there are five ongoing
Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) and one programmatic
environmental assessment he wanted to bring to their attention.
The first was regarding the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex
(JPARC). While the training spaces in the Lower 48 are being
encroached upon by other interests, the JPARC is expanding its
base and capabilities. ALCOM, on behalf of US Army and US Air
Force and in accordance with the National Environmental
Protection Policy Act, has prepared the final JPARC
modernization and enhancement EIS, which includes the results of
the environmental analysis of the proposed JPARC alternatives.
The EIS analysis includes the potential environmental
consequences associated with expanding and establishing new
military operation areas, restricted air spaces and corridors,
and ground maneuver training spaces and training complexes.
About a month from now the JPARC final EIS notice of
availability will be published and a final EIS will be available
on the JPARC website. The final EIS will incorporate all the
comments received during last summer's public comment period and
the applicable responses. After a 30-day public review period, a
final record of decision will be published in June. They believe
the JPARC modernization and enhancement EIS reach a mutually
beneficial conclusion for both military units in Alaska and the
other land and air space users across the state.
Next, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act,
Lieutenant General Hoog said the Air Force Center for
Engineering and Environment will prepare a draft EIS for their
proposed relocation of the 18th Aggressor Squadron from Eielson
Air Force to JBER and the right sizing of the remaining overhead
and base operating support at Eielson.
11:32:26 AM
Public scoping meetings were held last week to determine the
subject of analysis during the draft EIS, which will analyze
potential environmental consequences associated with the
proposed relocation. The proposal includes two alternatives
plus a no action option. There will be a 60-day public comment
period this summer to refine the analysis prior to moving to the
preliminary EIS.
11:33:06 AM
In addition, Lieutenant General Hoog said the Department of the
Navy is preparing a supplemental to the 2011 Gulf of Alaska Navy
Training Activities EIS and Overseas EIS. The supplemental EIS
will support authorization of incidental takes of marine mammals
under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and incidental takes of
threatened and endangered marine species under the Endangered
Species Act. The current federal regulatory permits and the
authorizations expire in May 2016. As part of the supplemental
EIS, the Navy will use a new acoustical model to protect
potential marine species effects.
11:33:49 AM
He said JBER is preparing a supplemental draft EIS for the
resumption of year-round firing opportunities. This supplemental
will include the government's response to public comment
received in the initial draft EIS issued in 2010. JBER
anticipates releasing the supplemental draft for 60-day public
comment period in mid-2013. The supplemental analysis will focus
on potential environmental consequences associated with
providing JBER units the opportunity to conduct indirect live
fire-training through the year rather that the current
arrangement of using the existing Eagle River Flats impact area
in the winter and sending the units to the Interior for training
in the summer. The proposed action has not changed from the
initial draft EIS, although mitigation measures have been
revised to be more protective of the environment, specifically
the Endangered Cook Inlet Beluga Whale and migratory birds. Once
again, there will be a public comment period this summer.
11:34:43 AM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said the fifth EIS issue was the two
World War II historic Hangars at the Ladd Field Historic
Landmark at Fort Wainwright. Several options have been
considered for their disposition; unfortunately renovation is
not physically possible. As such, Fort Wainwright is studying
whether they should demolish the two hangars or allow them to
deteriorate until they collapse on their own. The Fort
Wainwright Command will decide that one year from now.
11:35:15 AM
Finally, the Department of Army completed a final Programmatic
Environmental Assessment (EPA) and draft finding of no
significant impact for Army future force structure reductions
and realignments that may occur in FY 2013-2020. The EPA is
analyzing environmental impacts of the potential reduction in
Army forces necessary to reduce spending while maintaining
critical national defense capabilities. JBER and Fort Wainwright
are among 21 bases being analyzed and considered for force
structure realignments. Final decisions as to which alternatives
to implement and which installations will see reductions, unit
realignments or possible additions have not yet been made. The
implementation of the Army force structure realignment will
occur over the course of several years to arrive at an optimally
configured force in 2020.
11:36:09 AM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said in an effort to control energy
costs by augmenting energy security, he had initiated an
executive energy steering group to pool together the body of
knowledge on the subject from the DOD, State of Alaska, and
federal and industry representatives. Their goal is to lower
energy costs for Alaska's military installations over the next
two to seven years. So far, they have held two of these
quarterly meetings and have started to piece together the full
scale of the challenges.
11:37:08 AM
While the energy piece is a significant concern for the cold
weather bases, it represents just one subset of the larger issue
of resource management. They are also including how service men
and women are taken care of. Suicides within the military have
risen dramatically over the past few years and across all
demographics. The services are actively engaging on this issue
to increase awareness, provide support for members and to drive
the number of suicides down as far as possible.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said sexual assaults have also risen to
the surface as a significant issue across the services. Each
branch is attacking this problem and doing the best to root out
the people that simply don't belong in the service.
And everyone is waiting to see what happens with the
sequestration in the budget, he said. Yesterday, all four
service chiefs testified as to potential impacts and he couldn't
add much to their comments. In the meantime they are trying to
be good stewards of their infrastructure and reduce budgets
while continuing to provide combat readiness to support national
interests.
11:37:48 AM
On May 4 the US Navy will honor the State of Alaska by
commissioning the USS Anchorage in the Port of Anchorage; this
will be the first US Navy ship commissioned in Alaska. An
amphibious transport dock ship, designated as LPD-23, will be
available for tours from the Port of Anchorage for this
ceremony. The USS Anchorage is a San Antonio class LPD built in
May 14, 2011. It will provide amphibious lift for the marines,
vehicles and cargo and can also act as an aviation platform.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG concluded that Alaska's military units
and installations have been busy doing great things for the
state and for the US and will continue to do so. They remain
committed to supporting service members and their families and
ensuring readiness to answer the nation's call. He thanked them
for their continued support for the service men and women who
call Alaska home.
SENATOR DYSON said a few years ago there was discussion about
expanding NORAD to include the maritime and terrestrial domain
and asked what happened with that.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG answered that is one of General Jacoby's
stated goals, but not a lot of progress has been made. Studies
are being done on how to more effectively gain that awareness. A
lot of what they have is based on District 17's ability to use
the automatic interrogations system for cooperative ships that
have the beacons of the local maritime interrogators on board.
But, from a non-cooperative point of view, they have not made
much progress on the ships that don't.
SENATOR DYSON asked if it was true that an increasing number of
Russian bombers are entering our air space.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG answered it's true, but it's nothing
threatening. They now have the Russian equivalent of GPS, which
is something the US has had for years. With refueling much more
often and adding satellite communications to a bomber that can
refuel with GPS they can now transit like our B-52s without
being provocative. The Russians have been watching us conduct
operations for the last 20 years and are starting to exercise
their long-range aviation in the same way we do.
11:41:11 AM
SENATOR DYSON asked if there is a gap in our submarine
surveillance with Adak closed.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said he didn't know that answer.
11:41:31 AM
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE said they were planning to connect to the
local grid at Clear Air Force Base and shutter the coal plant;
at one point they were talking about farming it out to some kind
of private entity who could turn it into a power producer of
about 22 megawatts to be fed back into the Golden Valley grid.
That could in theory be replace diesel generated electricity and
use locally available coal, but part of the reason that fell
through was because the Air Force was not willing to let the air
permit that would be grandfathered in to the coal plant go along
with the power plant. He asked if the Air Force could find a way
to provide that cheaper source of electricity to the area.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG replied that the US Space Command owns
and operates Clear Station and he could get the specifics on the
permitting piece for him. But the plant had been down-scoped a
while ago to affect savings because of the reduction in energy
needed to operate the newer design radar and the current permit
is only to the tune of 4 to 5 megawatts, not the 23. When the
Air Force permitted that facility they only elected to get it
licensed for the lower amount.
One of the reasons he started the Energy Group was because they
have installations ranging from Clear down to Greely and up and
each are struggling to find individual capacity solutions. Space
Command is executing their decision right now to hook up to the
grid and downsize. The other thing that goes with that piece is
the challenge of upgrading the coal facility to meet current EPA
standards; and when that analysis was done the feedback from the
private sector was that it wasn't economical to operate a
commercial power plant at such a low output.
11:45:33 AM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked why Russians are in our air space.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG answered that they are operating off the
coast, but have not encroached on Alaska, and they were tracked
the entire time.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked if they go further than
international law allows.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG answered no.
11:47:04 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON said he really appreciates what the
military in Alaska is doing and asked why no Red Flags were
scheduled for 2014. Will there be any scheduled?
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG replied they are planning on Red Flags
in 2014 and he was looking forward to talking about how they are
partnering with the National Guard and the State to do the
incident respond similar to the great Alaskan earthquake. The
normal air exercise will be planned as a matter of course. They
do three Red Flags a year; one of them this year is Northern
Edge. The biggest issue for 2014 is funding.
REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON said he heard a rumor there wasn't
anything in the budget for 2014, maybe 2015 and asked when that
normally gets into the budget process.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said that was a good question. He didn't
know how much they would get for 2013. Pacific Air Forces use
about three Red Flags a year as a good intermediate mix of how
to optimize training as well to bring units in to do some local
flying.
11:49:34 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON responded that would probably be
answered in the upcoming months. [Lieutenant General Hoog
indicated that he agreed.] He asked about the resumption of
year-round firing opportunities supplemental EIS in lieu of
using Interior ranges in the winter and asked him to explain
that a little more. How does that enhance operations in JBER or
is it necessary to complete transfer of the F-16s to JBER?
11:50:00 AM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG replied this was an Army initiative that
stemmed from the environmental impact of phosphorus on the Flats
from about a decade ago. During the course of clean up and
mitigation the Army adjusted its training to accommodate that
operation and now they are trying to get back to their basic
table of firing at JBER with equipment that they have.
Obviously, some of their equipment is large enough caliber that
they can't shoot it at JBER and have to go to the Interior, but
for the smaller size munitions, training locally reduces costs
from having to pack up and go North.
11:50:44 AM
REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON asked if there is a way for legislators
to become involved in the Executive Energies Steering Group so
they have a better understanding of the cost of energy in
running the military basis and perhaps be able to run
interference when needed to help maintain the profile of the
military bases in Alaska.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said ultimately yes. He explained that
their first meeting was with DOD only, because they didn't know
what each other didn't know. In the second meeting they opened
up a little bit more. His intent was to open it up since it's a
public forum and put the issues out there. They will be as open
and as transparent as they can.
11:52:29 AM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked him to talk about the impacts of the
11th Air Force restructuring jobs and economic mission and about
Alaska's readiness in light of the North Korean nuclear missile
test.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG answered they gave him an increased
staff of 15 people. He is arguing for four and he might end up
with two. The administration functions of two other Wing
commanders are under him. The operational functions, for
instance and the mission planning are still going to
headquarters.
11:53:44 AM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked about retiring of the four C-130s.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said he would let General Katkus talk
about the airplanes, but in using "total force integration" one
organization will own the iron and another organization will
contribute pilots and maintainers. For example, in the F-22s
they have the active duty squadrons and reservists fly and
maintain those aircraft.
The attempt here was to plus-up the capabilities of the C-130s
in Alaska by adding some active duty service members not because
the airplanes are not being maintained but with the additional
four airplanes there would be a chance to better utilize and fly
the iron in inventory. When the Air Force made the decision to
downsize a number of C-130s, they looked cross the Air Force to
see where capacity was and said they didn't need the active
associate in Alaska any more.
It's more common to have something on a C-17, because that is a
more heavily tasked asset day-to-day. They were about half way
through the build-up when it was put on hold for the initial
budget and they stopped there. Then the decision was made to go
back and stop the active associate. So those active duty service
men will be leaving over the next 12 to 18 months.
11:55:12 AM
On the North Korean question, Lieutenant General Hoog said he
was part of the teleconference yesterday with Admiral Locklear
and all of his regional commanders. Obviously he is aware of the
nuclear blast; and all of those discussions are going on at the
highest level in terms of what the US response is going to be.
Our aircraft remain ready as they have been, so there is no
change to our readiness posture. He couldn't comment on the
missile defense side of the house.
11:56:01 AM
SENATOR COGHILL said he had honored far too many fallen
soldiers, but it was a reminder of the things lawmakers have to
do in their standing. He thanked him for that. Like him with
sequestration, the Interior has had to live with the question of
the value to the US of Eielson Air Force Base. He wanted him to
take back to his peers that the EIS process didn't line up well
for them, because the impact of JPARC to the Interior would
probably be significantly different if the EIS for Eielson had
been started earlier; they had what was almost false information
and he hoped they would have that conversation down the road
since it impacted them so much. It was an unfortunate
circumstance for the Interior and there was nothing they could
do about it.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG said he would take that message back to
General Carlisle and General Malinowski who did the
presentations.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked if the 2014 earthquake exercises will
have a civilian component.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG answered that the response is primarily
civilian through the state; so the Alaska Department of
Emergency Management will be in the lead followed by the Alaska
National Guard. His role is to be there as a backstop and to
fill in the known gaps. For instance, JBER has bridging
equipment that could compliment the state's equipment so they
could put up a bridge. They are trying to synchronize with the
state, because having an exercise within the confines of JBER is
interesting, but not relevant if they are not practicing with
the state.
12:00:05 PM
SENATOR DYSON said the two magnificent airports at King Salmon
and Cold Bay would serve well as an emergency land spot and
asked if they were still under his jurisdiction.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG replied that King Salmon is in their
Emergency Aircraft Divert file, but not the one at Cold Bay.
SENATOR DYSON asked if there are any others.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG answered no, other than the Coast Guard
air stations.
12:00:56 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON said he just heard from the mayor of the
Fairbanks North Star Borough two nights ago that another EIS is
going on for Fort Wainwright and that it could either gain 1,000
troops or lose 4,000 troops and public comment was due by the
end of the month.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HOOG answered that was one in which the
Department of Army basically said that given their force
structure they were to reduce 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers. So,
they looked across all their installations and said that they
could go anywhere from up to 1,000 or down by 4,000. He offered
to get more specific information. That process is their
equivalent of trying to make adjustments either by force
structure or unit realignments.
REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON said if Fort Wainwright loses 4,000
troops and Eielson loses half of that, Fairbanks has lost two-
thirds of its economic pillar.
CO-CHAIR SADDLER thanked him for his presentation and invited
General Katkus to testify.
12:03:11 PM
MAJOR GENERAL THOMAS KATKUS, Adjutant General for the Alaska
National Guard and Commissioner, Department of Military &
Veterans Affairs (DMVA), Anchorage, Alaska, introduced DMVA
Deputy Commissioner McHugh Pierre and said he had been given a
simple task, which was to show off the National Guard for that
he provided a video by a second lieutenant that demonstrated the
high quality of skill sets today's military has. This same
gentleman won five national-level awards in the National Guard
competition for public affairs. It demonstrates the partnership
between the military forces in Alaska and the cooperation within
the DMVA, how the Department of Homeland Emergency Management
works with JTF-Alaska, how they work with other agencies across
the state, and how our National Guard supports every operational
mission going on in Alaska even to the point that our veterans
are taken care of in such a manner to ensure that Alaska is the
place to retire and the place to take your family.
12:05:20 PM
The video played from 12:05 to 12:16 p.m.
12:16:41 PM
MAJOR GENERAL KATKUS said the second portion of his presentation
was about 2013 deployments. There will be 292 total Army Guard
deployments in 2013 on Title 10. The preponderance of those is
the brand new military police unit they had just reorganized
with the mission of going to Guantanamo Bay for a year and
providing security. Currently, approximately 54 Air Warriors
with Black Hawk UH-60s are going down to Fort Hood in
preparation for a year-long deployment in Kuwait. They continue
to put two soldiers with the Mongolian unit that is in
Afghanistan and the other individuals are doctors, dentists.
The 168th Wing continues to provide fuel all over the world;
they are extremely relevant and extremely pressed to maintain
those missions.
12:18:14 PM
MAJOR GENERAL KATKUS said the 176th Wing has relocated on JBER
and have fallen into a "regular op tempo," which is manageable;
they are very much accepting the new facilities and at the same
time getting ready to go it Kuwait and continue operations.
He showed a picture of a Black Hawk and a Coast Guard HA-60
together as an example of the great cooperative effort the
National Guard does in today's world of having to be operational
and keeping up with the Joneses and participating equally with
everyone out there.
CO-CHAIR SADDLER said he appreciated his presentation and that
the video was outstanding work.
12:19:19 PM
GENERAL GEORGE CANNELOS, public member of the Joint Armed
Services Committee, said that he was a huge supporter of
infrastructure that makes long term sense for the state and he
was delighted to hear about the progress on the Tanana River
Bridge.
MAJOR GENERAL KATKUS commented that he and Deputy Commissioner
McHugh went to review the Tanana River Bridge project recently
and found that it is under budget and on time. It is a dual
model bridge which means it carries railroad trains and wheeled
or track vehicles. So, it's set up in order to support JPARC.
The Army will be able to cross the Tanana River Bridge in 2014
to have the option of year-round training access. That was a
vision originally established by General Troy, General Jacoby,
and General Leighfield for safety, primarily to keep those large
vehicles off of the road system and into the training areas.
Access there provides a mile-long bridge maintained by the
Alaska Railroad for the next 100 years, a tremendous year-round
guaranteed-access not dependent upon weather and a singular ice
bridge across that big obstacle.
The State of Alaska benefits because the last major obstacle for
a railroad into and through the Interior is now being crossed.
The state put up $88 million as their portion and the federal
government put up a little over $100 million. It's a great
partnership across the board.
GENERAL CANNELOS said he was in Mongolia last year and met with
the defense attaché, which made him realize that the Mongolian
partnership is way more than just "feel good." The attaché told
him that thanks to Alaska National Guard the Mongolian forces
are now certified with the United Nations for peace keeping
around the world. That in turn brings millions of dollars to
that country. It's another example of our little state is doing
great, great things.
12:21:26 PM
MCHUGH PIERRE, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Military &
Veterans Affairs (DMVA), Anchorage, Alaska, said he had some
answers to previous questions. The Army Personnel Environmental
Assessment (PEA) was referenced earlier and that the original
deadline for comments was tomorrow, but it had been extended to
the end of the month.
CO-CHAIR SADDLER thanked them for an efficient presentation and
for what the National Guard is doing here and abroad.
MAJOR GENERAL KATKUS thanked the committee for having them and
offered to answer questions.
12:22:19 PM
REAR ADMIRAL THOMAS P. OSTEBO, United States Coast Guard,
Commander 17th Coast Guard District, said he should have brought
an episode of Coast Guard Alaska that would have been as
interesting as Major General Katkus' video. He thanked them for
the opportunity to speak today. He said he was honored to
accompany Major General Katkus and Lieutenant General Hoog in
providing exceptional leadership for the Department of Defense
and National Guard forces that call Alaska home; together they
make up a strong team that serves both the state and the
national government. Today, he looked forward to talking about
the great work that the Coast Guard men and women are doing in
Alaska and updating their activities including ARCTIC SHIELD
2012 and most recently, the Kulluk grounding incident.
12:23:59 PM
REAR ADMIRAL OSTEBO said the Alaska Coast Guard's goals are to
serve and safeguard the public, protect the environment and its
resources, and defend the nation's interests in the Alaska
maritime regime. Through seamless cooperation with their sister
services and with close collaboration with federal, state, local
and tribal partners, they do this every day and with expertise.
In an average month, nearly 3,000 dedicated Coast Guard men and
women conduct 51 search and rescue (SAR) cases and assist with
saving the lives of 74 people in Alaska. They board 161 vessels
every month and service over 60 aids to navigation and respond
to 10 pollution incidents, and help with the safe transport of
over 70 million gallons of oil and 1.4 million pounds of
explosives around the state. They save the lives of about 800
people a year in Alaska. He said they conduct these missions
through operations coordinated here by D-17 Command Center and
with major commands located in Anchorage and Juneau.
They have two major air stations: one in Kodiak, the largest
Coast Guard facility in the US, and another in Sitka. They have
small boat stations, patrol boats, buoy tenders, and marine
safety teams located throughout the state from Ketchikan up and
out to Dutch Harbor and as far north as Barrow.
Last year, Coast Guard District 17 (D-17) re-engaged in the
Arctic with a major program called ARCTIC SHIELD 2012. They
proposed ARCTIC SHIELD 2012 to respond to the dramatic increases
in Arctic activity resulting from diminished sea ice and longer
open water periods. The mission there had three primary
objectives:
1. Operational excellence and to re-familiarize the
Coast Guard with operating north of the Arctic Circle
2. Capability assessment so they could test existing
and new equipment to be used in the Arctic across all
missions
3. Outreach to local community to help educate them in
their work up there
He assured them that ARCTIC SHIELD 2012 was a resounding
success, overcoming the obstacles of distance, logistical
challenges and working with the absence of a deep water port.
12:26:39 PM
In particular, he said D-17's Arctic operations last year
consisted of opening a seasonal air facility in Barrow
consisting of two H-60 helicopters, their crews, maintenance
personnel, transportable communication center and supporting
personnel. The H-60s flew over 289 flight hours, conducted 11
search and rescue cases, saved 4 lives and assisted with the
saving of 6 other lives. They conduct ice reconnaissance,
maritime domain awareness, and provided VIP and homeland
security support all summer long as well as support for the
state and other federal agencies.
In addition to the H-60s, C-130s were deployed to the Arctic
almost continuously from Kodiak, which is 820 miles away. They
provided 70 logistics flights, moved over 1 million pounds of
cargo and fuel, conducted 15 maritime domain awareness sorties,
and over 34 hours of ice reconnaissance. In addition, the C-130s
were used for medical transportation and SAR across the region.
12:27:56 PM
REAR ADMIRAL OSTEBO said in addition to their aviation assets,
they had a minimum of at least two Coast Guard cutters operating
offshore throughout the drill seasons last summer. Those cutters
operated across the mission sets of Arctic domain awareness,
search and rescue, law enforcement and had a particular mission
to provide the safety zones around both of the drill rigs, not
only in the Arctic, but while they were down in Dutch Harbor and
during their transit from Dutch Harbor north of the Arctic
Circle.
12:28:29 PM
Most recently, the Coast Guard had been extremely active at
first with the SAR and then with the mobile drilling unit Kulluk
grounding and rescue. Their two main goals in this mission were
accomplished; the first was that nobody gets killed or hurt and
second was to have no environmental damage or pollution.
He was also honored to represent the air station crews that
rescued 18 people off of the Kulluk in 45 ft. seas and hurricane
weather. He had convened a formal Coast Guard marine casualty
investigation that will look into this matter and investigate
all aspects of the grounding including its support vessels, the
equipment that was used, and investigating the possible errors
or mistakes that may have happened. Identifying what went wrong
and how these types of incidents may be avoided in the future
will allow the Coast Guard to potentially save lives and protect
the environment in the future.
As of yesterday they stood down the unified command in Anchorage
on this case. The tow plans had been submitted to the Coast
Guard and been reviewed; with some minor edits they are complete
and he expected the Kulluk to leave Kiliuda Bay in the next few
days for repair overseas.
REAR ADMIRAL OSTEBO concluded that the Coast Guard had been
extremely busy and their work throughout Alaska continues to
grow. Maritime activity from Dixon Entrance to the Arctic EEZ
out to the Unimak Pass is expanding and as it does, you can
always count on the US Coast Guard to be there and to be "Semper
Paratus." He thanked them for giving the Coast Guard the
opportunity to testify here today and offered to take questions.
12:31:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE ISAACSON asked what he meant by the Arctic EEZ.
REAR ADMIRAL OSTEBO clarified that he meant the Exclusive
Economic Zone, which is out to 200 miles around the state.
SENATOR DYSON asked for an update on the re-commissioning of the
Polar Star and whether the Polar Sea would be treated similarly.
REAR ADMIRAL OSTEBO answered the Coast Guard currently has one
operating ice breaker, Coast Guard Cutter Healy, and she is
extremely valuable in Alaska. They have two other major ice
breakers that are in caretaker status: the Polar Star is the
largest conventionally powered ice breaker in the world and is
in the process of being reactivated; she will be back in service
by next summer with some early run-up work taking place in
Alaska to get her crews trained up on breaking ice. Then she
would go towards Antarctic to help McMurdo Base break out next
winter.
SENATOR DYSON asked if the Polar Sea is still active.
REAR ADMIRAL OSTEBO replied that the Polar Sea will remain in
caretaker status until and if funding is made available to bring
her back into service.
SENATOR DYSON said those are the only boats we have that are
capable of breaking multi-year ice.
REAR ADMIRAL OSTEBO said that was correct. Healy, while quite
capable, is limited in her icebreaking capabilities. She is
actually technically a medium icebreaker. The other two are
heavy world class icebreakers.
12:33:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE FEIGE asked him what other elements were involved
in the Kulluk incident and to elaborate on the Tugboat Alert's
role in it.
REAR ADMIRAL OSTEBO said he received a number of phone calls on
the first night of the SAR case and one was from Retired Vice
Admiral Tom Barrette who asked if he needed help; his answer was
yes. He responded by diverting the Tug Alert that is focused on
Prince William Sound. Alert came out there and he couldn't say
enough about the work it had done. They awarded the crew a lot
of recognition. They were the last tug connected to Kulluk by a
seven-inch nylon braided emergency towing line and they were
determined to keep it off the beach. He had to order them twice
to cut the tow line when they were a quarter mile offshore for
fear of them ending up on the beach as well, but they just
didn't want that boat to go on the beach. They did an
outstanding job.
You try to learn from these kinds of tragedies he said, and the
unified command was probably the best exercise in a maritime
environment that the state could have possibly had. They went
from zero folks and no unified command to about 750 people
within about two days of the Kulluk going aground with all
federal partners, and state local and tribal partners helping to
put together a consolidated response. Clearly it was a combined
effort by everybody, not only on the active duty side but by
their state partners. He thanked him for bringing that up.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if this was due to a freak weather
situation or should Shell have known about this and not been in
the waters at the time.
REAR ADMIRAL OSTEBO said all that will come out in the marine
investigation and he couldn't get into the specifics. He could
say that the Weather Service in NOAA typically puts out a
reliable weather forecast for about five days into the future.
Beyond that it gets to be less and less reliable. At the same
time that the Kulluk was transiting from Kodiak towards
Washington when she hit this bad weather, there over 100 other
vessels operating in the northern Gulf of Alaska including a
Coast Guard cutter. He added that the Kulluk had an extensive
tow plan that was reviewed by their towing agent, Shell
Corporation, the Coast Guard and other folks before they left
Dutch Harbor.
12:38:00 PM
CO-CHAIR SADDLER asked, given the increasing Outer Continental
Shelf activity and the increased shipping along the Great Circle
Route and the Northwest Passage, what the long term plans were
for Coast Guard presence in or near the Arctic. Kodiak is great,
but it's a little far away.
REAR ADMIRAL OSTEBO said the lead-up to his question pointed to
two different areas that are important to talk about. One is the
Great Circle Route and growth in maritime transportation and
traffic primarily between Dixon Entrance out to Unimak Pass and
over to Korea. He explained that Dixon Entrance is an
international entrance just south of Ketchikan between Canada
and the US. That leads to the fourth largest port on the West
Coast, which is Prince Rupert. It is currently larger than
Oakland in the amount of traffic that goes in and out because a
boat with IKEA products from Korea runs through the Great Circle
Route and into Prince Rupert, it can make it to market in
Chicago or the East Coast three of four days faster than if it
were to travel further south to California.
12:39:17 PM
Clearly, he said, as DOD swings to the Pacific, as attention
swings to the Pacific, traffic and maritime commerce is
increasing from about 300 vessels a month through Unimak Pass up
to 400 vessels a month. The Selendang Ayu was one and that gave
him pause and concern for the international straits known as
Unimak Pass and Dixon Entrance. Addressing that traffic presents
a very specific and very interesting problem for the US Coast
Guard and the State of Alaska in responding to maritime
accidents not only in the saving of life but in terms of
responding to environmental damage that might happen from that
increased traffic.
In addition, as Kitimat and Prince Rupert become major exporting
places for oil and perhaps gas in the future from Canada, that
raises the bar for escorting tankers leaving out of Dixon
Entrance. The Coast Guard is working to evaluate what the best
resources would be to attack that problem.
12:40:34 PM
In the Arctic, part of the mission of ARCTIC SHIELD 2012 was to
evaluate their response capability with the assets they have to
provide a long term presence in the Arctic. Clearly every
indication is that the Arctic will continue to grow in its
relevance in the maritime community and the Coast Guard is
evaluating its strategic and long term presence up there both
offshore with more and better capable ships and onshore,
primarily, with a seasonal air facility.
12:41:47 PM
CO-CHAIR SADDLER found no questions and thanked everyone for
being with them today. He hoped this was just one more element
in the continuing conversation between legislative leaders and
the military services and agencies about meeting the
opportunities and challenges in Alaska. Alaska respects the
military and values them and hopes they can stay here and grow.
With that he adjourned the Joint Armed Services Committee
meeting at 12:41 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Lt Gen Hoog Biography Oct 2012.pdf |
JASC 2/14/2013 11:00:00 AM |
|
| Maj Gen Katkus BIO.pdf |
JASC 2/14/2013 11:00:00 AM |
|
| RAdm Ostebo District 17 Bio3.pdf |
JASC 2/14/2013 11:00:00 AM |
|
| Draft Kulluk Response PPT (final).pdf |
JASC 2/14/2013 11:00:00 AM |
|
| LtGen Hoog 2013 JASC Testimony cao 13 Feb 0900.pdf |
JASC 2/14/2013 11:00:00 AM |
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| Maj Gen Katkus Alaska State JASC 2013 final.pdf |
JASC 2/14/2013 11:00:00 AM |