Legislature(2001 - 2002)
04/03/2001 05:12 PM House MLV
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND
VETERANS' AFFAIRS
April 3, 2001
5:12 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Mike Chenault, Chair
Representative Lisa Murkowski
Representative Joe Green
Representative Pete Kott
Representative Sharon Cissna
Representative Joe Hayes
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Beverly Masek
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING
Alaska Army National Guard, Brigadier General
Craig Noal Christensen, Colonel - Fort Richardson
- CONFIRMATION ADVANCED
PREVIOUS ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
CRAIG NOAL CHRISTENSEN, Colonel, Appointee
as Brigadier General
Alaska Army National Guard
(No address provided)
Fort Richardson, Alaska 99505
POSITION STATEMENT: As appointee to the position of Brigadier
General in the Alaska Army National Guard, provided background
and answered questions.
EDWARD FURMAN
P.O. Box 2361
Cordova, Alaska 99574
POSITION STATEMENT: Expressed concern about having adequate
federal funds for training the National Guard; asked Colonel
Christensen whether he believes the National Guard would be
strong enough, should the nation go to war.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 01-9, SIDE A
Number 0001
CHAIR MIKE CHENAULT called the House Special Committee on
Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting to order at 5:12 p.m.
Members present at the call to order were Representatives
Chenault, Green, Kott, Cissna, and Hayes. Representative
Murkowski joined the meeting as it was in progress.
Representative Masek was excused.
CONFIRMATION HEARING
Alaska Army National Guard, Brigadier General
Number 0064
CHAIR CHENAULT announced that the committee would consider the
appointment of Colonel Craig Christensen to the position of
Brigadier General, Alaska Army National Guard. He invited
Colonel Christensen to provide opening remarks and answer
members' questions.
Number 0102
CRAIG NOAL CHRISTENSEN, Colonel, Appointee as Brigadier General,
Alaska Army National Guard, first provided some personal
history. He informed members that he came to Alaska in 1960 as
a military dependent, moving to Fort Wainwright, which had
converted from Ladd Air Force Base in 1959. After a few years
out of the state, he returned in 1967 and has been in Alaska
ever since. After graduating from high school in Anchorage and
then from Alaska Methodist University (1972), he was eligible
for the draft; instead, he joined the guard voluntarily. From
1972 until 1976 he served as E-1 to E-5 in the old 5th
Battalion.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN continued with his personal history, noting
that in 1976 he entered the first Alaskan OCS (officer candidate
school), which had six graduates in addition to himself; he is
the sole remaining guard member on duty from that class.
Commissioned in 1977, he served with the Alaska Army National
Guard for a number of years, including two or three years of
also serving with the Army Reserve, which complemented his
employment at Fort Richardson. Therefore, he has spent a number
of years as a traditional, part-time guardsman in the state,
both as an enlisted guardsman and an officer; in addition, in
the late 1980s, after completing a three-year active guard and
reserve tour, he worked full-time for the guard in a civil
service capacity during the week as a technician and served on
the weekends as a traditional full-time guardsman.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN reported that he has held positions in
personnel, in battalions, in companies, in units, and at state
headquarters. He has an extensive background in training of
units throughout Alaska. He said his logistics background
relating to supplies is limited, but he has an extensive
background in support to civil authorities and responding to
state disasters, and was the Alaska plans officer and military
support officer at the Big Lake-Miller's Reach fire, for
example, as well as having dealt with a number of floods
throughout the state.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN informed members that he has a degree from
the Alaska Methodist University in history and political
science. On the military side, he has gone to military schools
including the United States Army Command and General Staff
College as well as the United States Army War College in
Pennsylvania. He offered to answer questions pertaining to
himself or the guard.
Number 0420
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI asked how there can be better
recruitment in Alaska.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN emphasized that recruitment and retention
are top priorities nationally. Although recruiting in Alaska
goes very well, there is an exceptional problem in Alaska with
retention. He said the main reason nationwide why soldiers
leave the National Guard is the feeling that their time isn't
utilized well during weekend or annual training; they want to be
engaged in the skills for which they signed up.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN told the committee that to lead and inspire
an organization in terms of "strength management," his own
vision is that when guard members come to a weekend drill or
annual training, they need to go home with "bragging rights" and
a sense of accomplishment from having worked in the areas for
which they signed up and from having contributed to both the
unit and the organization, either internally or externally.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN reported that there is outreach to rural
Alaska now, with the [Alaska Army National Guard] asking what it
can do for the communities in terms of its programs, including
drug-demand-reduction programs and a host of other programs such
as "innovative readiness training" in the communities.
Number 0677
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES asked Colonel Christensen what he sees as
the major challenges for the Alaska Army National Guard for the
new millennium.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN noted that in the Cold War era, the guard
met the challenge of being the "eyes and ears" for national
defense in Western Alaska. Part of the challenge now is to keep
that tradition alive in the villages, so that there are
meaningful missions resulting in members' going home with a
sense of accomplishment and contribution. There are brand-new
challenges, however, such as space and missile defense.
Furthermore, there are renewed challenges such a homeland
defense, which includes addressing terrorism, for example.
Number 0841
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN asked about training that would be required
if the guard were nationalized, in order to prepare a peace
force for military purposes.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN answered that the Alaska Army National
Guard's mission in Alaska is under "op" plan 5027, which means
the guard stays in Alaska when it is federally activated and
defends a number of critical sites in the state. The active
Army actually "leans upon hostilities in Alaska," and the 172nd
goes elsewhere in the world under some other "op" plans. The
command and control headquarters for USARAK [U.S. Army Alaska]
stays, and the guard, in essence, becomes the remaining force in
Alaska, "post-mobilization, federalized."
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN remarked, "We train on those critical sites
right now, when we come together for annual trainings and when
we come together for collective training events, and do that
quite well." He indicated the guard has partnered with the
Alaskan Command and also with a lot of commercial activities,
including at the Tesoro refinery, in terms of practicing skills.
In addition, the guard has had complementary activities; for
example, many of these sites are tied to the "air bridge, 5027,"
which moves men and materials through Alaska to the Far East and
"retrogrades things from the Far East, as noncombatants and
others, back through Alaska [and] the Lower 48."
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN said in doing that, it was realized that
much of the mission was related to fueling installations or
fuel-handling. Thus only a year ago did the guard put forward
to U.S. Senator Stevens an initiative that would provide members
of Alaska's guard with hazardous-materials and response
training. There is now a funded program for the mobilization
mission at many critical sites, which provides the skills and
abilities for guardsmen to go back to their communities and be
hired by a commercial or civilian entity because they are
licensed. He returned to Representative Green's question,
saying the guard does practice those skills, and if mobilized
federally today, would be capable of doing the critical site-
security mission in Alaska.
Number 1010
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN responded that there must have been a
change, then, because several years ago he had thought that if
the guard were nationalized, then the Alaska defense force would
"backfill" with regard to what the guard had been doing. He
asked what the Alaska defense force is doing, then.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN replied:
You're exactly right in what you had said, and let me
put my words to that, or my impressions. The guard,
years ago, its mission [was] the "eyes and ears" and
was out on the periphery. For a number of middle
years, we were actually "unmissioned" until we secured
the critical site area here in Alaska, and, of course,
the active Army secured some other missions outside of
Alaska, being the Western area or the Pacific area's
rapid defense force.
The guard, then, if it assumes its federal mission, of
course, the state defense force is available and does
become, if you will, the backfill for the guard for
state response to emergency disasters.
Short of mobilizing the guard today, the guard is also
available to respond to emergencies and disasters in
support of ADES [Alaska Disaster Emergency Services]
or other entities in the state. ... The Alaska state
defense force, under General Oates, is engaged with
Alaska Disaster Emergency Services to provide
robustness to their ability to run emergency operation
centers or evacuation centers or other entities
associated with a state disaster.
So you're correct: They do augment the National Guard
in state disasters and emergencies, and when the guard
is federalized, they absolutely backfill and become
the state's militia for state emergency or state
response for the governor.
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN requested confirmation that there isn't a
duplication.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN said absolutely not.
Number 1117
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT asked Colonel Christensen how he would
handle it if an Alaskan Native enlisted person came to him with
a discrimination complaint that was being filed against one of
Colonel Christensen's fellow officers.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN answered:
We routinely have a number of discrimination
complaints, whether they be from Native or other
individuals in the organization. When I say
"routinely," does that mean they come up every day?
No. I would tell you that we probably only have two
or three on the books right now that [we] are working.
We have an active program, through an ... equal-
opportunity manager. It happens to be a Major
Topshensky (ph) right now. The lady is outstanding at
dealing with discrimination complaints in terms of
talking to the individual making the complaint,
determining if we really do have a complaint - because
many times, perceptions are not reality - and some of
those "most basics," she's able to resolve at the most
basic level, right with the individual, upfront, of
what's perceived to be [an] EEO [equal employment
opportunity] violation or ethnic-type complaint.
If she determines those to be genuine - and on
occasion she absolutely does - we absolutely look into
it through a full investigation, and that's talking to
everyone involved, getting to the root of the
problems.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN emphasized the need to bring problems into
the open, have professionals provide input, and then deal with
behavior one-on-one. However, the bottom line is to look deeper
at systemic problems - the underlying causes - and try to make
changes at the most core level so those problems don't continue.
Number 1245
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA sought clarification about when the guard
would remain in Alaska.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN first addressed the federal mission,
"critical site defense" in Alaska, which evolved after the Cold
War when there was a void in the guard's mission. He said it
fits the guard, with its small teams that come together
collectively in order to train for and perform the mission.
That can be done within the state, and the mission actually is
within the state, "under the war plans that we're aligned under,
which brings us our federal resourcing and priority in a number
of areas." Under that federal mission, the guard would stay
here. He noted that the future federal mission probably lies in
the areas of national missile defense and space for the Army
National Guard, and in other areas such as weapons of mass
destruction. He emphasized that the foregoing applies to
national emergencies.
Number 1337
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN next addressed the state mission, which
includes search-and-rescue operations and being the first
uniformed responders to any state emergency or disaster.
Traditionally, if the mission isn't to go out immediately to
save life and limb - which the guard does every day in a number
of rural locations - it is in support of ADES and the governor's
programs. He said ADES, after it uses those assets within the
state that it has available, comes to the National Guard, both
Air and Army, as the first responders; then the guard brings all
of its assets to bear in a state role to support mitigation of
any further loss of life or property "and/or the recovery part
of that."
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN noted that if the problem is bigger than the
state, involving the Army and Air guard, the state defense
force, and the naval militia, it is usually at the level of
FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] and bringing in
federal assets. He further advised the committee that the guard
is looking internally at raising levels of education for its
soldiers regarding drug-demand reduction, family support, and a
number of other issues focused on individuals. He added that a
lot of the state mission is "state-building," to help with
infrastructure or problems in the state.
Number 1416
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA asked whether Colonel Christensen foresees
the guard's playing a role in helping communities with grass-
roots emergency response training; she cited the recent
earthquake in Seattle, where community planning was helpful.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN said yes, the guard does that. He noted
that ADES is working through local emergency planning
commissions and other entities, which he himself sees
peripherally. In addition, the plans officer/military support
officer has daily contact with ADES in terms of responding to
state disasters. Routinely, at the National Guard level, both
Air and Army, there also are "tabletop exercises" or weekend
training assemblies, dedicated to no other purpose than
responding to state disasters or emergencies at the first-
responder level or in support of a larger effort; he provided a
few details and examples.
Number 1644
REPRESENTATIVE CISSNA asked Colonel Christensen whether he can
see at least branching out to provide demonstrations in
communities.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN said the guard does that, but is prohibited
in certain ways from using federal property and equipment for
state missions. However, there is a national program called
"innovative readiness training" whereby communities, federal
agencies, or other entities can ask for programs or projects to
be done by the guard in its training. For example, one program
put in a year ago provides for federal funding to come into the
[Alaska Army National Guard's] funding stream, which allows
"robustness" to do additional training or to bring additional
people on, in order to practice search-and-rescue operations and
interface with communities; he indicated much of that will be
done in the Nome-Bethel area this year because of the number of
accidents or emergencies in Western Alaska.
Number 1750
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT made a motion to advance the confirmation of
Colonel Craig Christensen to the joint session of the House and
Senate; he requested unanimous consent. There being no
objection, the nomination of Colonel Craig Christensen to the
position of Brigadier General, Alaska Army National Guard, was
advanced.
Number 1820
EDWARD FURMAN of Cordova provided a handout to committee members
regarding the buildup of forces in Russia and China, noting that
he was a sergeant in the Army Reserves, from which he retired.
He stated his support as an American for a strong military and a
strong defense. He asked, if the nation were to go to war,
whether Colonel Christensen believes the National Guard would be
strong enough and well trained enough to fit in with the troops,
and whether he believes there are insufficient federal funds for
that training. He expressed concern that there are only ten
divisions now, and said he is bothered by what is going on in
Washington, D.C. He requested that troops be provided the
proper training.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN replied that the capabilities of the entire
national defense are being looked at right now at the federal
level. He noted that the Army Reserve and the Army National
Guard make up approximately 50 percent of the Army now; the
guard has a major portion of the combat forces that augment the
Army, but little combat service support, which the Army Reserve
has more of. He referred to Desert Storm; he said the National
Guard is capable of responding. For the mission in Alaska,
including the "air bridge" and defense of critical sites in
Alaska, it will be the Army National Guard that mans and defends
those critical sites, which it is absolutely capable of doing.
He noted that "follow-on" forces outside of the state are
programmed to augment that effort.
COLONEL CHRISTENSEN referred to the question of federal funding
for training. He pointed out that the guard has changed the way
in which members are trained; much is done with simulation,
rather than going to ranges and launching mortar rounds. He
noted that the Anchorage armory has a fantastic training
simulation device, for example, which puts real weapons in the
hands of individuals who are hooked up electronically. Although
the guard is getting less money, there is a lot more training
for each dollar. He said Alaska's guard is far more
professional and capable today of doing its job - at both the
federal and state levels - than was the guard that he joined in
1972. He concluded by saying that today, from his observation
of the other 54 states and territories, the National Guard is a
first-class professional organization to be proud of.
Number 2054
REPRESENTATIVE KOTT suggested the fact that President Bush is
more military-minded than his predecessor will probably set the
tone in the country for building up a defense.
[The confirmation of Colonel Craig Christensen to the position
of Brigadier General, Alaska Army National Guard, was advanced.]
ADJOURNMENT
Number 2070
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting was
adjourned at 5:50 p.m.
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