Legislature(2015 - 2016)SENATE FINANCE 532
02/17/2015 02:00 PM House ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
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| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Presentation: "state of the Military" | |
| 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 17, 2015
2:04 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Lora Reinbold, Co-Chair
Senator John Coghill, Co-Chair
Representative Wes Keller
Representative Gabrielle LeDoux
Representative Bob Lynn
Representative Geran Tarr
Senator Anna MacKinnon
Senator Click Bishop
Senator Bill Wielechowski
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Pete Kelly
PUBLIC MEMBERS
Lieutenant Colonel Tom Case - retired
Colonel Tim Jones - retired
Charles "Chick" Wallace (via teleconference)
Major General Jake Lestenkof - retired (via teleconference)
Colonel George Vakalis - retired (via teleconference)
Chief Warrant Officer Curt Brownlow (via teleconference)
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION: "STATE OF THE MILITARY"
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
LIEUTENANT GENERAL RUSSELL J. HANDY, Commander
Eleventh Air Force
Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER)
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave an overview on the military in Alaska.
LAURIE HUMMEL, Commissioner
Department of Military & Veterans Affairs (DMVA)
Fort Richardson, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented an overview of DMVA.
LUKE HOPKINS, Mayor
Fairbanks North Star Borough
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Described the "Tiger Team."
ACTION NARRATIVE
2:04:40 PM
CO-CHAIR LORA REINBOLD called the Joint Armed Services Committee
meeting to order at 2:04 p.m. Representatives Keller, LeDoux,
Lynn, Tarr, and Reinbold and Senators Coghill, McKinnon, Bishop,
and Wielechowski were present at the call to order. Also in
attendance were retired Lieutenant Colonel Tom Case and retired
Colonel Tim Jones. Present via teleconference were Civilian Aide
to the Secretary of the Army, Chick Wallace, retired Major
General Jake Lestenkof, retired Colonel George Vakalis, and
Chief Warrant Officer Curt Brownlow.
^PRESENTATION: "State of the Military"
PRESENTATION: "State of the Military"
2:07:06 PM
CO-CHAIR REINBOLD announced that the first order of business
would be a presentation by Lieutenant General Russell Handy,
commander of the Alaska Command of the Eleventh Air Force, the
Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command Region (NORAD),
and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), Alaska. She said
General Handy is the senior military officer in Alaska and
responsible for the integration of all military activities in
Alaska's joint operations area. He is a command pilot with more
than 3,600 flight hours, and he participated in Desert Shield,
Desert Storm, Desert Fox, Southern Watch, Noble Eagle, Iraqi
Freedom, and New Dawn, she added.
2:09:04 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL RUSSELL J. HANDY, Commander, Eleventh Air
Force, Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD),
and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER), noted that there
were six mission-ready military aircraft in Alaska in 1941 and
22,000 military women and men with very poor command and control
and no infrastructure. In 1942, the recognition of the
importance of Alaska triggered the construction of the Alaska
Highway. In the same year, he said, the Japanese invaded and
occupied Attu and Kiska Islands. The next year, the 1,500-mile
Alaska Highway was completed, providing a way to bring
infrastructure overland into the state, he explained. Alaskan
Command was formed in 1947, and now it is a sub-unified command
under the U.S. Northern Command (NorthCom).
2:11:30 PM
[A video was shown.]
2:12:48 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY noted that the video showed "airmen,
soldiers, marines, sailors, active duty guard reserve, coast
guardsmen, and civilian warriors, and they're all on there
because they're all integrally involved in everything that we do
to maintain ready forces for global deployment in Alaska."
2:13:27 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said there are a number of reasons why
it is important to have an Alaska command, and he showed a slide
entitled "DOD Footprint," [an overlay of a map of Alaska
military stations on a map of the Lower 48 states]. There are 32
military installations, 12 major installations, and about 72,000
active-duty guard reserve and families in the state. Adding
about 80,000 to 100,000 veterans, one in five Alaskans have
direct military involvement, he said, and there are also
businesses that depend on the military in Alaska. He noted that
about $1.5 billion a year of DOD [Department of Defense] money
is in the Alaska economy, about 18 percent of the state economy.
Alaska is geographically isolated, so no other state can lend
assistance when natural disasters occur. Additionally, he said,
Alaska is a "critical approach to the homeland," because no
other state has the extensive coastline and air approach.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said the Northern Command abuts the
European Command and the Pacific Command, so it serves to unify
DOD action. He showed a chart, "Historical Alignment (pre Oct
14)," and said he has "been aligned with four hats." One is the
Eleventh Air Force, where he manages airmen serving Hawaii and
Guam. He then spoke of the relationship with the Canadian
government, and said, "We are responsible, of course, for
warning assessment and defense of our airspace." He noted that
"we had two hats: the Alaskan Command and the Joint Task Force
Alaska, one of which worked for Admiral Locklear in Pacific
Command and one for Admiral Gortney in Northern Command, but we
really, increasingly, were doing more and more in support of
NorthCom." So, in October, the Secretary of Defense signed an
order to move the Alaska Command from the Pacific Command and
disestablish the Joint Task Force, he explained, which is more
streamlined and more accurately depicts activities within
Alaska. Day-to-day missions and the interactions with FEMA
[Federal Emergency Management Agency] and the state are all
fundamentally a NorthCom responsibility, he stated, and that is
why the organizing makes so much sense.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY turned to a slide showing a snapshot of
where the 946 Alaska-based forces are currently deployed, which
does not count the thousands who are on temporary duty
assignments for training and readiness. The Air Force, Air
National Guard, Air Force Reserve, Royal Canadian Air Force, and
the civilians who work with them stay on watch, "24/7," in
support of the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command
(NORAD) region, he stated. He said NORAD is responsible for
surveillance warning and aerospace control, and there are three
North American regions, the Lower 48, Canada, and Alaska, and
they all have different challenges. He stated that there has
been an increase in activity by the Russians near our borders,
"and while the numbers have not increased nearly to the degree
that we've seen in Europe, particularly Eastern Europe, they
have increased, and the sophistication of their training
missions has also increased." When this occurs, in accordance
with international law, these military training flights do not
have to file the same kinds of flight plans or squawk codes as
civilian aircraft, he explained. The aircraft often come into
our zones unidentified, but "they have not touched our 12-mile
international boundary," he said, but "nonetheless we like to
know who is coming within our identification zones, and we
identify all of the aircraft." He noted a June flight that came
within 40 miles of California and 16 other incursions between
July and August of 2014 that were intercepted or identified "in
some way." The Russians are sending a message that they still
have the ability to project power all over the world, he said.
2:21:20 PM
CO-CHAIR COGHILL said it is nice to know those borders are being
watched, and he mentioned boat traffic in the northern Asian
continent and asked if [Russians] are flying over the [North]
Pole.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said yes, but much less frequently than
in more southern latitudes. He said the Russians are building
infrastructure and are considering ports and bases along the
Arctic front to support economic interests in oil and gas.
CO-CHAIR COGHILL asked if Alaska needs infrastructure. The Asian
Pacific will be a tense zone, but the Arctic is a growing
concern. "We see Alaska as a strategic location, but their
northern Asian place must also be equally strategic," he added.
2:23:07 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked if Russians fly close just to show
that they can.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said there is a lot of conjecture, and
he believes they have an interest in projecting power, as do we.
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked if U.S. aircraft fly close to
Russian airspace.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said, "We exercise freedom of action
throughout the world, quite frankly." He said the Chinese
government declared an air defense identification zone, and "I
think that it was less than 24 hours later we flew within that-
and have every right to do so. While we don't operate very
frequently up in that area, we certainly have the ability to do
that in accordance with international law anytime we please."
2:24:26 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY noted that he is also a service
commander and management headquarters for all the airmen who
serve with the Eleventh Air Force. The Eleventh Air Force
recently aligned many of the airmen who were assigned to a
commander in Hawaii to him, he said. So, "all of our Air Force
assets that are now assigned on U.S. soil are under Eleventh Air
Force," he stated. In Alaska, the Eleventh Air Force manages a
number of facilities that contribute to readiness, he explained,
with two large operations and maintenance contracts managed by
the Pacific Regional Support Center and run by Alaska Native
corporations. There is an exciting 10-year arrangement with
ARCTEC Joint Venture for $422 million to support the 15 long-
range radar sites across the borders of Alaska. He said three
installation-support contracts were merged into one for the King
Salmon Airbase, Eareckson Air Station, and Wake Island, and
Chugach Federal Solutions manages this $184 million contract. He
said his group is engaged in 63 environmental restoration
projects, and many of those cleaning up are Alaska Natives.
2:27:47 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked him to compare our preparedness with
that of "other major superpowers."
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY answered that Russia is trying to
demonstrate its global presence, but the number of bombers and
aerial refueling tankers is dwarfed by the capability of the
United States Air Force. He added that we partner and often
discuss defense issues with the Chinese military, which is
"very, very strong within its region," but it cannot compare to
the U.S. in its ability to globally project power.
2:29:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE LEDOUX asked if the Air Force has aircraft that
go faster than the speed of sound, like the Concord.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said the F-22 not only goes faster than
the speed of sound, but it can cruise at that speed without the
use of afterburner. The Air Force does not have any large
transport aircraft like the Concord, he stated, but "virtually
all of our fighter-sized aircraft are supersonic in some way."
He added that it takes a lot of fuel to go that fast, and other
aircraft can get the job done without that capability.
2:30:30 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY noted that Lockheed Martin just
completed an "essential parts replacement program" for all
radars, giving them a life of about another 10 years. The Joint
Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC) is six times the size of
its nearest partner in the Lower 48 and has a vast amount of
airspace and very sophisticated equipment. He said it needs to
be continuously upgraded, especially for the fifth generation
aircraft like the B-2, F-22, and F-35 where it is not meeting
requirements, "so we're expanding both the vertical size and
then some of the equipment capability within the ranges," and
that initiative is still ongoing, and he expects it will take
12-18 months before any of those initiatives come to fruition.
He said, "The FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] has the ball
right now … on most of those initiatives, and they're about to
come out for public comment."
2:32:41 PM
COLONEL JONES asked about the gaps he intends to address.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY explained that there are six areas that
are targeted, and there is a record of decision on the
environmental impact statement on each [project]. The first is
an expansion of the Fox 3 Military Operating Area-the
southernmost piece of that long piece of airspace, which is now
very limited in vertical capacity to be able to do realistic
training. He said there are some lower altitude areas where
civilian aircraft fly, and he wants to be careful and perhaps
mitigate the impacts by using corridors and time restrictions.
"That's the kind of thing the FAA will help us with," he stated.
There are "a couple of enhancements in our area ground ranges,
both restricted area 2202 and 2205," he said. It will be a
slight extension and re-angling of the airspace in order to drop
live ordnance and keep people safe. "Because our F-22s own the
night, but we want to continue to have them own the night, we
need to fly a little later in the evening," he explained, and
instead of having to land at 11 p.m., perhaps land at 1 a.m.,
which is a very small window at the beginning of spring and at
the end of summer. He told the committee that Alaska is at the
forefront of remotely piloted vehicles, and he spoke of working
with the University of Alaska and other partners, and they are
studying what restricted airspace corridors are needed. The next
expansion is of the Army range bordering Eielson Air Force Base,
he added.
2:36:01 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said the 3rd Wing is one of the major
wings in the Eleventh Air Force, and it would take him too long
to go through everything the 3rdWing has done just this past
year, but it has been involved all over the world, including
supporting the President on a Malaysian trip, being the first F-
22s in combat, supporting Typhoon Haiyan [relief efforts], and
generating C-17s to support special forces during the Nigerian
kidnapping incident. The 3rd Wing was also at the forefront of
developing a new concept about expeditionary deployments of
sophisticated aircraft like F-22s with a small support package,
either overtly or covertly, to places all over the Pacific, he
said, and the concept is called Rapid Raptor, and it has been in
the media. The 3rd Wing has been involved in other exercises and
readiness initiatives all over the globe, including hosting the
South Korean search and rescue effort for a fishing vessel.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY stated that Colonel Brian Bruckbauer
and his team [673d Air Base Wing] continue to set the example
for how to run a big joint base with over 40,000 airmen,
soldiers, and families. He said, "They've started something
called a land encroachment executive stakeholder meeting," and
he has never seen anything like it. Instead of separate meetings
for the Port of Anchorage, Knik Arm crossing, Mountain View
noise, and the Ted Stevens [Airport] master plan, for examples,
this meeting brings all of the folks together to discuss issues
in a holistic manner. It has been a tremendous success, he
stated. Many contracts have been restored or captured. The Wing
has increased access to the [on-base] medical facility and added
urology and vision services to take some of the pressure off of
"our clinics downtown." He spoke of the Arctic Thunder open
house, where 150,000 people came out to see the Thunder Birds,
JBER [Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson] joint teams, and over 35
other performers demonstrating military capability. Referring to
"Alaska Shield," he said that the 673rd supported an incredible
amount of people to make that exercise happen. He said he is
proud to announce that the power plant partnership between the
municipality of Anchorage, Doyon, and the base won the 2014
Federal Energy Management Program award by using methane gas
from a landfill to generate energy. In its first year, it
generated 7.5 percent of the energy needs of the base, and last
year it generated almost 26 percent of the power for the base.
He said his folks have done an incredible job publicizing all
that they are doing and keeping the lines of communication open,
and the U.S. Air Force said the 673rd has the number 1 website
in the Air Force, and its Facebook pages are in the top 2
percent. He said Eielson [Air Force Base] is adjacent to "our
ranges," and it is a premier exercise and training venue in the
Pacific and throughout the entire DOD. One of the areas that may
not be as appreciated is the First Air Support operations group,
he said, and it is assigned to the 354th at Eielson, but it is
headquartered at Lewis McChord, at JBER, and in Hawaii. He
explained that "these are the joint terminal attack controller
airmen that go to war with the Army on a daily basis." They
conducted the first-ever Australian mission training trip. He
noted that the 63-year-old combined heat and power plant at
Eielson is monitored very carefully, as losing heat is a
"significant emotional event in the wintertime." It is a coal
plant, and boilers one through four have exceeded environmental
standards, but boilers five and six need to be replaced, and
there is funding in place, he noted.
2:43:11 PM
CO-CHAIR COGHILL said it is not just a power plant; it keeps the
whole place warm. It was so important to DOD that, under
sequestration, it moved ahead with the upgrade.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY suggested visiting the old boilers and
viewing the impressive modifications.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said there was a cost decision
regarding privatized housing to bury [water] pipes without
protection, "and that's sort of coming back to haunt us." But
they received almost $7 million for the first phase of a
holistic repair. The hospital at Eielson is quite impressive for
treating patients and saving energy and money at the same time,
he said. There are a few initiatives in Interior [Alaska]. The
good news is that the U.S. Air Force announced that Eielson is
the preferred alternative for the first overseas base for F-35.
He said there is work in that direction, so he is optimistic.
2:46:03 PM
SENATOR BISHOP asked if he saw a simulator for F-35s at Eielson
in the President's budget.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said he believes so, but until the
environmental impact study is done, he can't say for sure.
SENATOR BISHOP asked about coordinating "September with the
range control for our Alaskan moose hunters."
2:47:26 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said he hears him, and there is an
ongoing analysis for aggressors, and "we lost a third of our
aggressor capability, and so the Air Force is at a bit of a
strategic crossroads." They are looking at different ideas to
get to an executable plan, including other platforms, reserve
component associations, and even contract aggressors. He
anticipates hearing an update very soon, hopefully in March.
Finally, the Army is bringing a Gray Eagle company, which is a
remotely powered vehicle, much like the [MQ-1] Predator, with
tremendous and exciting opportunities for Alaska. Not just for
readiness for combat, but it is a powerful weapon system and can
be used for disaster response.
2:49:21 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked about the F-35 timeline.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said the record of decision on the
environmental impact statement is planned for the summer of
2016, "to keep us on track for a first aircraft in 2019."
CO-CHAIR REINBOLD announced that Bill Popp in on teleconference.
2:50:02 PM
CO-CHAIR COGHILL said Mayor [Luke] Hopkins [Fairbanks North Star
Borough] is in the audience, and he put together a "tiger team,"
which has been a good listening session and a good "discussion
point." Additionally, Fairbanks Mayor John Eberhart is here.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said there is a tremendous partnership
with communities and the [armed services], and Mayor Hopkins is
well-known and well-respected, as is Mayor Eberhard.
2:50:57 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY showed a slide of the locations of Army
forces in Alaska. He said the Army will make the decisions it's
going to make, but his job is to ensure that the decisions are
made with full knowledge of what U.S. Army Alaska brings, not
just to Alaska, but to national capabilities. "They really are
the Arctic experts in the Army," he said. The forces are
deployed all over the globe, he noted, but they come home and
use that time to get back into their Arctic skills. They
collaborate with Nepal, Mongolia, Finland, Norway, and Iceland,
and he said he is very proud of them.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY showed dates of community listening
sessions [for Army structure changes]. His next slide was on the
missile defense system, and he said that the partnership between
the Missile Defense Agency, Space and Missile Defense, and the
Alaska National Guard has never been stronger. The long-range
discrimination RADAR (LRDR) basing decision is still not made,
he stated, and "they" are looking at a couple of sites and
comparing the costs and benefits. "I think they're interested in
moving forward while the interest in funding that is high," he
offered. There is $138 million earmarked for the program, so it
is moving forward and the question is: "Where?" The combined
heat and power plant plan at the Clear Air Force Station is on
track, and the plant will be decommissioned on October 2015. In
Fort Greely, the funding is complete for 14 operationally
configured silos, and the upgrade for the Exoatmospheric Kill
Vehicles, a missile that hits another missile, is underway and
funded, he stated. Turning to combat training and readiness, he
said Alaska hosted three big Red Flag exercises last year, which
involved international allies and partners at varying levels of
sophistication. In 2015 [there will be] two big Red Flags, and
"we're the only two major blue air, so the friendly side" of the
participants were Japan and the Republic of Korea forces, which
is significant when one understands the history between those
two nations. Northern Edge is biennial and was cancelled in
2013, but it is on track [for 2015] and the only remaining high-
end exercise that only includes the U.S. The intent is to look
at all the exquisite capabilities that our forces have, and it
will occur in the Gulf of Alaska and overland in the JPARC. He
said, "Everyone wants to play, because it's been so long since
we've done one."
2:57:28 PM
CO-CHAIR COGHILL asked about Coast Guard involvement.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY answered that there is training with
the Coast Guard in smaller scale events, because it is so busy.
It is looking at Northern Edge, but it is difficult for the
Coast Guard to commit. The Navy will play a bigger role in the
event, he said.
2:58:27 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY turned to the Alaska Command (ALCOM),
which is focused on Alaska and the Arctic. He said Alaska Shield
was an incredible success last year and a culmination of 18
months of planning to look at a disaster on the scale of the
1964 Good Friday Alaska Earthquake. It is the Federal Emergency
Management Agency's (FEMA) bi-annual capstone event, and there
were nine major exercises assessing how to improve Alaska's
emergency response capability, including local, state, and
tribal plans, as well as interagency coordination. The results
included validation of codified responses and many that were in
development. In looking at how to make things better, many
amazing things came out of the exercise. He noted that Alaska
has no adjacent state to provide aid, "so, Commissioner Hummel
[Department of Military & Veterans' Affairs] and I spent an
awful lot of time talking about how to have no airspace between
the active duty Title 10 forces and the Alaska National Guard on
how to respond to an incident in this state-and as you know,
that's not necessarily easy." There are many legal and policy
issues, and one way to deal with that was to exercise the "dual
status command authority." Therefore, he said, there was a 1-
star Alaska Guard in command of both Title 10 military forces
and Title 32 forces within the guard. There is a special,
intense course, and there are only "one or two of them qualified
within the state to do that, but we stand that command up and,
then, as the sub-unified commander, the overall Joint Force
commander, I push commander forces, so tactical command
authority with both of those legal hats to that commander, and
that commander takes command of them and pushes them, as
required, to where they need to go," he explained. He said that
approach eliminates "conversations and red tape," and at the
tactical level, it puts the commander in charge of forces, which
is where the commander needs to be. To be prepared, he and
Commissioner Hummel's predecessor signed a standard operating
procedure, which covers first indications of a disaster,
training and qualifications [of dual command authorities],
getting [the appropriate person] appointed by the Governor, and
how to execute throughout the exercise. He noted the "Alaska
Playbook," and said it is a step up in command and coordination
from the SOP [standard operating procedure], and the previous
governor and previous commander signed the "playbook," and it is
a document that is still being developed. The playbook is like a
two-minute drill in a football game; it is what is needed right
when a disaster happens, "because if you start talking about it
when it happens … you're late to need." The playbook clarifies
[forces] to be requested and what is already available. He said
the playbook is a fantastic tool for a disaster, and he will
discuss it with the Governor [Walker] tomorrow. The group
figured out how to open damaged ports, such as using a ship
offshore, which involves boats, pipes, and ramps. The group also
exercised, for the first time, a complete aeromedical patient
evacuation, and he gave the example of evacuating the injured
from Valdez, getting them to a port such as JBER, and processing
them at a large facility that was set up from scratch. They also
tested the entire critical incident search and rescue response
plan. He said the exercise involved about 250,000 people
throughout the state, and "I think it was a great confidence
builder that we're all ready to work together."
3:06:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked if the infrastructure will be
maintained so it will be ready to go for a live event.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said joint logistics over the shore,
for example, are positioned where they can get here in a hurry,
but most of the infrastructure is not sitting here. A big
challenge is the need to control the flow of aid, because so
many people want to help, and the first things that get maxed
out are the runway and ramp capacities. The most valuable
enduring factors are the documents, arrangements, playbook, and
memoranda of understanding between agencies so that no one is
arguing when the incident happens. As a DOD officer, he has less
involvement than state agencies, but "we're the folks that are …
there with the big heavy capacity to help, but we can't help
until we're asked and we're not asked until all those agencies
get together and agree on what they want to ask for."
3:08:17 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said, in answer to Representative Tarr,
the Anchorage area is unique, because everything that may be
needed is on JBER, including military, National Guard, Coast
Guard, and the state emergency operations center.
3:09:23 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said he has briefed the committee on
Colony Glacier, where a C-124 aircraft crashed in 1952 and was
not recovered at the time. A few years ago, fragments starting
coming out of the glacier. A few weeks a year, teams recover
items from the wreckage, and last year, seven sets of remains
were repatriated to families. Operation Nanook is a big Canadian
search and rescue exercise, and last year it used a scenario
with a cruise ship in the Arctic. He said his group participated
at a small scale, and he hopes to get more engaged with Canada
and its Arctic experts. He spoke of the Arctic Collaborative
Environment (ACE), a tool where state officials can use a
desktop and get a coherent picture of everything that is going
on in the Arctic. He said it is another step toward "all-domain
awareness." He said he appointed a new position of an
interagency coordinator. He said the Arctic Speaker Series has
been a success, bringing in Arctic stakeholders from all over to
share what they are doing and to how to operate in the region.
The vice-president for external affairs for BP talked about its
operations, for example. He then showed a slide, "Other
Initiatives," which provides perspective on the multiple
programs that relate to the Arctic. The military is trying to
stay in front of that issue, he stated.
3:14:06 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said the budget is better than last
year, "because we did achieve some stability in the FY2015
budget, and we were able to meet, at least minimally, most of
our mission requirements for readiness and capability." All of
the national security services could probably use more money,
but they need predictability. He said the bad news is that the
Budget Control Act of 2011 reemerges in 2016.
3:15:15 PM
CO-CHAIR REINBOLD asked what the legislature can do [to
influence Congress].
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said the Alaska delegation does not
want sequestration, so they would be the ones to ask. From a
military perspective, he said he wants everyone to understand
that there will be significant implications, because "most of
what we're looking at for 2016 assumes that we are not in
sequestration." He said the legislature could stress how big of
an impact sequestration would have.
3:17:46 PM
CO-CHAIR REINBOLD recognized Deputy Commissioner Bob Doehl and
Alaska National Army Brigadier General Bridges.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY continued to review the DOD budget. He
said there is $29 million for the [long-range discrimination
RADAR], $11.5 million for the Clear power plant fuel system, and
$1.98 million for transient barracks in Barrow for the Alaska
Army National Guard and others, in recognition of the [melting]
Arctic. He thanked the committee and the Alaska communities.
3:20:15 PM
CO-CHAIR COGHILL said he appreciates the military's work. He
spoke of personal issues, like PTSD [post-traumatic stress
disorder] and family problems, when military personnel return
home, and he asked how the legislature can help.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY said one of the best ways to take care
of these men and women is to ensure their families are cared for
while they are deployed, including quality public school
education for the children and helping teachers understand the
needs of military kids.
CO-CHAIR COGHILL said a young 4-H student with a military family
visited him and said she is going to Hawaii but plans to return
to Alaska.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL HANDY noted that he recently attended one of
the tribal military meetings, which brought 229 presidents and
first chiefs to come to Anchorage. This year it was coordinated
with the Alaska Forum on the Environment, and it was a
tremendous opportunity to talk about the ancestral lands that
the military operates on. He said he then chaired the Statement
of Cooperation Executive Steering Group, which was started by
General Case and is an opportunity to bring together everyone in
federal and state agencies that deal with the environment. He
said it helps to get the mission done while still being good
stewards of the environment.
3:25:19 PM
RETIRED GENERAL CASE said the entire university system is
completely behind veterans and their families, and that support
is growing.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR said the legislature has been working on
legislation that helps veterans who return to civilian life, and
she asked Lieutenant General Handy to keep in touch with ideas.
3:27:22 PM
CO-CHAIR REINBOLD said Alaska is in great hands.
The committee took an at-ease from 3:28 p.m. to 3:32 p.m.
3:32:59 PM
CO-CHAIR REINBOLD welcomed Commissioner Laurie Hummel and
highlighted some of her accomplishments: U.S. Army, retired
colonel; Senior Advisor of the National Military Academy of
Afghanistan, NATO training mission; and directing the Operations
Intelligence and Chief Joint Intelligence Support Element,
Alaska Command.
3:34:23 PM
LAURIE HUMMEL, Commissioner, Department of Military & Veterans
Affairs (DMVA), recognized Lieutenant Tom Case for his service
and mentoring and Brigadier General Mike Bridges for his
leadership and selfless dedication to the Alaska National Guard
during a difficult time. She said this is her eighth day on the
job, and she has spent half of it with General Handy and looks
forward to forging a great relationship between the National
Guard and Alaska Command. She showed a chart of DMVA
organization, and she said the Alaska Aerospace Corporation gets
administrative support from the DMVA, and the U.S. Property &
Fiscal Office is there to make sure that fiscal and property
processes are legal and ethical. Initially, she intends to lead
the National Guard and align more closely with the missions of
the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. She
said Deputy Commissioner Bob Doehl will head up the rest of the
department.
COMMISSIONER HUMMEL noted that Alaska has a Dual Mission Force,
with a state mission under Title 32, and sometimes they are
called to federal status under Title 10. Most of Alaska's
guardsman have been called to Title 10 missions, "time and time
and time again," she said. The Air Guard is led by Brigadier
General Tim O'Brien, and the inbound Air Guard commander will be
Colonel Karen Mansfield. She said the state has two wings. The
168th air refueling wing at Eielson runs the KC-135 tanker fleet
and the Space Warning and Surveillance Squadron at the Clear Air
Station. Additionally, the most complex wing in the Air National
Guard is the 176th Wing, which is at JBER. It has a broad suite
of responsibilities: combat search and rescue, tactical and
strategic airlift, air control, and rescue coordination. The Air
Guard is continuously involved in overseas deployment, she said.
It runs the regional air operation center (RAOC), which is the
24-hour mission to ensure air sovereignty, and the State
Emergency Response Asset is managed through the rescue
coordination center. The Air Guard will grow in the next few
years by about 250 personnel, she reported.
COMMISSIONER HUMMEL said the three major units of the Alaska
Army National Guard are Joint Forces Headquarters, the
Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (which will be eliminated), and
the 38th Troop Command. She said the good news is that "we will
stand up new units in the Army Guard at regional support group
and infantry battalion." Having a regional support group is a
good fit as a brigade replacement, because its focus is defense
support to civil authorities, she explained. "There is a need to
exercise this mission set in Korea, which we hope to be able to
take opportunity to do that, and it also focusses on force
protection logistics and all the mission-essential tasks that
are, by necessity, exercised during defense support to civil
authorities' types of situations." She said the Infantry
Battalion that will be "stood up" works well for recruiting,
especially in rural Alaska, but it does not have a diversity of
occupational specialties and does not allow the force to recruit
many women, because women are not found below the battalion
staff level. She said she is entertaining the idea of asking for
elements of an engineer battalion, because they do construction
missions, both vertical and horizontal, which is a good
capability. The occupational specialties can be recruited
throughout the state, and there is an opportunity for women and
men. Regarding the operational relevance of the Guard, she said
she will focus on the way forward, and she suggested "increasing
our strategic alignment within the Pacific Command area of
responsibility and strengthening our partnerships." There needs
to be regionally aligned federal force partnerships, she
explained, and that will ensure the guard's relevance. Relevance
in the eyes of the federal force, the National Guard Bureau, is
what promotes funding and force structure. She noted that the
guard has a successful state partnership program with Mongolia,
and she said she is considering adding Nepal as another state
partnership program. That will not only increase relevance in
the AOR [area of responsibility], but it will expand training in
cold weather and high altitude environments.
3:46:31 PM
COMMISSIONER HUMMEL stated that the DMVA's Division of Homeland
Security & Emergency Management (HSEM) is captained by John
Madden, and its mission is to protect people and property from
all possible hazards. She proposed to improve the coordination
between the Guard forces and HSEM with regard to defense support
to civil authorities. She said that DMVA needs to work more
closely with cities and boroughs on response and support, and it
has built partnerships in Bethel, Valdez, Kenai, and Barrow over
the last couple of years by hosting exercises in those areas.
Commissioner Hummel noted that the guard has not been
continuously focused on defense support to civil authorities
over the past 14 years, so she sees that as a focus area. She
said she wants to ensure, in future exercises, that all the
phases from kick-off to the finish include the guard. Usually,
she said, the guard comes in during the middle to mitigate a
hazard. The initial response is the period where a request is
received and assessed by the State Emergency Operations Center,
and at the end of an exercise, the department analyzes the cost,
efficiency, and effectiveness. She opined that the DMVA has
exercised the middle piece well, but she said it needs to choose
the best defense force and follow up by accounting for the
lessons that were learned for future operations.
COMMISSIONER HUMMEL said the Alaska Military Youth Academy is
partnered with the National Guard, and it is consistently in the
top five Challenge programs in the country. A study found that
every dollar invested in these programs yields considerable
savings in societal costs, she stated. Turning to the Office of
Veterans Affairs, she said the office it is strategically
located because the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation is
upstairs. It is also on a bus route, which showed her how
customer-oriented the director is. She said she hopes to
increase rural outreach by bringing division representatives to
rural exercise missions, improving public relations, and
connecting better to veteran service organizations, including
national offices. She noted that many female veterans do not
think of themselves as veterans and of having access to those
services.
3:53:42 PM
COMMISSIONER HUMMEL turned to the Office of Complex
Investigations (OCI) and its timeline for investigating
potential misconduct and malfeasance with the Alaska guard.
There has been a lot of self-assessment, she said, before,
during, and after the OCI report. She spoke of a bi-weekly
"commanders update briefing" to address "the areas of concern
that were an outcome from the OCI." She guaranteed that
leadership will take the OCI report and Judge Collins' special
investigation and use them "in every possible manner to increase
the capacity of the National Guard and to build and/or rebuild
an effective command climate." She said there is a new special
victim counsel on staff, loaned from the National Guard Bureau,
and she deals exclusively with sexual assault victims. She said
she is also focused on getting the state code of military
justice into statute and hiring someone to coordinate that
effort with the legislature. Lastly, she said she has identified
the need for additional legal assistance within the guard. The
Judge Advocate General officers and attorneys are overworked in
a stressful environment. She said she has requested help from
the National Guard Bureau with temporary help or preference at
paralegal schools to fill empty slots. The bureau is very
receptive, she added. There were five areas noted in the OCI
report that were turned over to internal teams, and the sixth
issue was a finding of fraud and was addressed in an external
federal audit, and although all of the results are not in, no
illegal activity was found, but there were administrative
mistakes in accounting. She said the DMVA will be at the
listening sessions mentioned by Lieutenant General Handy.
4:00:04 PM
CO-CHAIR COGHILL thanked the speakers. He said he went to a
listening session a long time ago and it was "a very lofty
conversation." He said it is a nomination process, and he hopes
"that we're still nominating people from Alaska." He added that
he appreciates the focus on readiness for Alaska.
CO-CHAIR REINBOLD said there are flyers on the downsizing
events. The main focus is for the members, leaders, and partners
to have direct input regarding the Army before the decisions are
made. She announced the time and locations of the sessions. She
stressed that downing-sizing would be devastating for Fairbanks
or Anchorage. She requested Mayor Luke Hopkins speak to the
committee about the Tiger Team.
4:06:45 PM
LUKE HOPKINS, Mayor, Fairbanks North Star Borough, said that
after [the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001], another
mayor began monthly civilian/military meetings to discuss how to
work together. When there was a "BRAC [base realignment and
closure] issue" in 2005 with Eielson Air Force Base, there was a
similar effort, he said. He spoke of filling the Carlson Center
"with red shirts," and there was a team that met regularly on
that issue. When the downsizing issues came around, which
included moving F-16s, "we created a Tiger Team" to include
members of Congress, the assembly, and non-elected officials to
meet every week. The assembly provided funds for studies and
consultants, he added. He said there was a party when "the
announcement came for the F-35s," but there is work to be done
so the Tiger Team will continue meeting. The State of Alaska and
the borough are members of the "Association of Defense
Communities," and that is like a Tiger Team but at a different
level, he explained, and Alaska is in competition with other
states for forces and expenditures. Senator John McCain has a
lot of strength, he noted. He said, "So, that's how the Tiger
Team works; we're continually bringing up issues of how to
respond to the needs that we think our community should have and
serve the military." With regard to the expansion of JPARC, it
is "a big bite" for Alaska, but it is important to have the
record of decision made. He recalled when a stealth bomber came
to Eielson Air Force Base during one of the Red Flags, and it
was hot-fueling; "they had the simulation of being able to go
undetected just as if they were over the Mediterranean and the
enemy was trying to identify that aircraft coming in. That's how
big JPARC airspace is," he stated.
4:15:02 PM
CO-CHAIR COGHILL recalled that the Tiger Team prepared comments
for the environmental impact statement for JPARC, and it allowed
community members and local aviation members to help. He said it
also allowed the community to understand the military better.
MAYOR HOPKINS added that the legislature is involved in the
Tiger Team. The group does other things and is working on a
joint land use study. He spoke of a partnership between
communities and individual bases, including small businesses.
There are nine subgroups that meet regularly, including one on
sexual harassment, which includes the University of Alaska. He
said, "We're lowering the cost of energy," and that affects
military families. He spoke of unmanned aircraft and ties to the
University of Alaska. Industry is allowed to work with the
military in its restricted airspace, which is a big deal, he
noted. He said he wants to give people on the base a quality of
life by way of public transportation. The team works together to
solve problems that Alaska faces, he summarized.
4:22:15 PM
CO-CHAIR REINBOLD noted that CSHJR 13(MLV) passed the Alaska
House. She then highlighted the importance of preventing
downsizing because of [Alaska's] strategic location, deployment
platforms, railroad connectivity, and good training areas. She
quoted Army Major General William Mitchell, father of the Air
Force, who said: "I believe that in the future, whoever holds
Alaska will hold the world."
4:24:51 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the Joint
Armed Services Committee meeting was adjourned at 4:25 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| JASC Agenda.docx |
JASC 2/17/2015 2:00:00 PM |
|
| LtGen Russell J Handy Biography Nov 2014.doc |
JASC 2/17/2015 2:00:00 PM |
|
| 2015 JASC Testimony_part 1.pdf |
JASC 2/17/2015 2:00:00 PM |
|
| 2015 JASC Testimony_part 2.pdf |
JASC 2/17/2015 2:00:00 PM |
|
| 2015 JASC Testimony_part 3.pdf |
JASC 2/17/2015 2:00:00 PM |
|
| 2015 JASC Testimony_part 4.pdf |
JASC 2/17/2015 2:00:00 PM |
|
| DMVA Overview_JASC 2015.pdf |
JASC 2/17/2015 2:00:00 PM |
|
| Army listening session flyer.pdf |
JASC 2/17/2015 2:00:00 PM |
|
| (MVA) (H) CSHJR13.pdf |
JASC 2/17/2015 2:00:00 PM |
HJR 13 |
| HJR 13 CS Sponsor Statement.pdf |
JASC 2/17/2015 2:00:00 PM |
HJR 13 |
| HJR 13 Fiscal Note.pdf |
JASC 2/17/2015 2:00:00 PM |
HJR 13 |