Legislature(2001 - 2002)
04/02/2002 03:16 PM House MLV
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND
VETERANS' AFFAIRS
April 2, 2002
3:16 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Mike Chenault, Chair
Representative Beverly Masek
Representative Lisa Murkowski
Representative Joe Green
Representative Sharon Cissna
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Pete Kott
Representative Joe Hayes
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARINGS
Alaska Air National Guard, Brigadier General
James K. Robinson, Colonel - Fort Richardson
Timothy W. Scott, Colonel - Eielson Air Force Base
Gene L. Ramsey, Colonel - Kulis Air National Guard Base
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
Space and Missile Defense, Brigadier General
James L. Welch, Colonel - Anchorage
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
PREVIOUS ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
JAMES K. ROBINSON, Colonel, Appointee
as Brigadier General
Alaska Air National Guard
Fort Richardson, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As appointee to the position of Brigadier
General in the Alaska Air National Guard, offered a brief
summation of his new duties and answered questions.
TIMOTHY W. SCOTT, Colonel, Appointee
as Brigadier General
Alaska Air National Guard
Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As appointee to the position of Brigadier
General in the Alaska Air National Guard, discussed his new
duties and Kulis Air National Guard Base, where he will be
stationed.
GENE L. RAMSEY, Colonel, Appointee
as Brigadier General
Alaska Air National Guard
Kulis Air National Guard Base, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As appointee to the position of Brigadier
General in the Alaska Air National Guard, discussed his new
position at Kulis Air National Guard Base and answered
questions.
JAMES L. WELCH, Colonel, Appointee
as Brigadier General
Space and Missile Defense
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: As appointee to the position of Brigadier
General for Space and Missile Defense, discussed his new
position and answered questions.
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 02-18, SIDE A
Number 0001
CHAIR MIKE CHENAULT called the House Special Committee on
Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting to order at 3:16 p.m.
Representatives Chenault, Masek, Green, and Hayes were present
at the call to order. Representative Murkowski arrived
immediately thereafter.
CONFIRMATION HEARINGS
Alaska Air National Guard, Brigadier General
Space and Missile Defense, Brigadier General
Number 0071
CHAIR CHENAULT brought before the committee the appointments of
Colonel James K. Robinson, Colonel Timothy W. Scott, and Colonel
Gene L. Ramsey to the position of Brigadier General in the
Alaska Air National Guard, and the appointment of Colonel James
L. Welch to the position of Brigadier General for Space and
Missile Defense. [Packets contained biographical information on
all four appointees.]
Number 0175
JAMES K. ROBINSON, Colonel, Appointee as Brigadier General,
Alaska Air National Guard, explained that there are two flying
wings and other assorted activities. As chief of staff, he
would coordinate staff work for the adjutant general and the
assistant adjutant general "for air." He said the wings
generally are self-sustaining, and that there will be a look
forward at future missions and projects for the next 10-30
years.
Number 0363
TIMOTHY W. SCOTT, Colonel, Appointee as Brigadier General,
Alaska Air National Guard, explained that currently he is wing
commander of the 168th [Air Refueling Wing]. He offered the
vision of Major General Oates that - if confirmed "for a star" -
he will be moved to the 176th wing at Kulis Air National Guard
Base, a stand-alone wing with about 13,000 people, compared with
750 people where he is now [at Eielson Air Force Base].
COLONEL SCOTT, in response to questions from Representative
Green, suggested the need to look at more than biological and
chemical-weapons issues [for homeland security]; this includes
looking at natural disasters, since Alaska is earthquake-prone
and has more miles of coastline than the continental U.S. He
said this mission is already being performed admirably. In
further response, he highlighted the need to look at Alaska as a
whole. Noting the relatively small population of about 650,000,
he said that for the missions currently performed by the Air
National Guard, it is about at maximum capability now, based on
the number of people to draw from.
Number 0650
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN offered his understanding that there will
be interfacing with the regular Air Force, the CAP [Civil Air
Patrol], and so forth. He asked how well the pieces fit
together.
COLONEL SCOTT replied that it's part of the evolving homeland
defense, which [will be] off to a good start by just having a
common radio frequency bandwidth and communications system.
Needed in addition will be an overarching superstructure to
combine all these forces - and, if possible, enough money.
Number 0773
GENE L. RAMSEY, Colonel, Appointee as Brigadier General, Alaska
Air National Guard, told members that Major General Oates
envisions that Colonel Ramsey will be the next 176th wing
commander at Kulis Air National Guard Base, beginning July 13,
when the current commander retires. For him, it will be a
short-term position, since [Colonel Scott] will have the
position in the long term. Envisioned after that is that
Colonel Ramsey will go to the "assistant adjutant general air
position." He lauded the 176th for having two missions so
ideally tailored to Alaska, noting that the airlift squadron can
respond to disasters; for example, when a generator building
burns down in a village, the wing can haul a new generator to
the village the next day.
COLONEL RAMSEY mentioned rescues of more than 500 people, 498 of
whom were Alaskans. He said [the guard] is a nice fit in a
state with bad weather and great distances to cover. He said he
is fond of telling high school students that the Alaska [Air
National Guard] is the best kept secret in the state, since it
has a lot to offer young people, including pilot training,
technical training, aircraft mechanics, and so forth. He
pointed out that much is being asked of traditional guardsmen
and employers in the next year or two.
Number 1036
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI asked to hear about recruitment and
retention, and whether the guard is getting numbers of Alaskans
sufficient to meet missions in Alaska.
COLONEL RAMSEY responded:
We have one of the most productive, active recruiting
staffs in the entire national guard. The nationwide
average ... is perhaps something like two or three
recruits per month per recruiter - and our recruiters
double, triple, quadruple that production. We believe
Alaska's a transitory-type place. And an analysis was
done, and most air guardians have about a 10 percent
annual turnover, and we believe ours is more like 16
percent. And we don't know if it's because many of
our members might be a dependent of an active-duty
person - and when it comes time for them to rotate,
they take their ... spouse with them.
There's also the issue of ... prior-service active-
duty people getting off duty at Elmendorf [Air Force
Base] or Fort [Richardson] or Eielson, joining us, and
after a couple of years, they really miss the grannies
and the family back home, and maybe the warmer
weather, and they end up leaving us. And there's not
much we can do about that. So we ... continually
recruit - a lot of ... throughput.
And it's interesting that, if you think about the
base, we're talking 18-year-olds to 35-year-olds.
We're talking about people that can pass a physical,
people that don't have a criminal record. And so the
600,000 Alaskan pool shrinks relatively rapidly when
you put all the prerequisites in there.
Number 1214
COLONEL RAMSEY continued:
We have failed miserably at Alaska Native recruiting.
The air guard tends to be a Railbelt operation -
Anchorage and Fairbanks. And we've tried our
darnedest, and it's difficult ... to induce people to
come in from the villages to Anchorage. And we [have]
just more work to do in that area. We want to mirror
our surroundings - our community - and ... our Alaska
Native membership is not near the surrounding
community. And we know Anchorage is the largest
Native village ... in the state, but still ... we have
to make better inroads there.
One idea was to ask some of the elders to
"partnership" with us and the university, and select
some bright kids to go to college, and then we would
promise to commission them and get them a set of
silver wings and give them a skill like being a pilot.
... And we still have work to do ... to see a plan
like that through. But ... that's something we'd like
to try to do.
But, by and large, as Colonel Robinson said, we have
enough people to do the current tasking. We're
hovering at the 93-percentile rate. ... We have "x"
number of billets authorized, and our wing ... has 93
percent of those filled currently. So we're doing OK.
It's very difficult, though.
Number 1304
COLONEL ROBINSON responded to Representative Murkowski as well.
He explained that recruitment is aimed at people 18 to 35 years
old who are coming out of high school or active duty. However,
the pool of people with exposure to the military, which has
provided the best success, has been shrinking, and 70 percent of
18-year-olds who graduate from high school go to college.
COLONEL ROBINSON noted that one successful program has been the
tuition waiver at UAA [University of Alaska Anchorage] whereby a
member in good standing in the guard receives a free college
education; in return, the state gets a highly trained individual
who most likely will stay in Alaska because of having some
connection, and who most likely will stay in school or else will
have to pay the money back.
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI called the foregoing a wonderful
program and expressed hope for its continued funding. She
extended appreciation to the appointees for the work the air
guard has done by going into communities, providing drug
education and inspiration for staying drug-free, remaining in
school, and getting good grades.
COLONEL RAMSEY pointed out that Colonel Robinson learned to fly
in the air guard and now is a captain for Alaska Airlines. He
also noted that 2002 is the 50th anniversary for the air guard.
Number 1631
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI suggested it would be appropriate for
this committee to sponsor a citation recognizing that.
[Concurrence was expressed by several members.]
Number 1662
JAMES L. WELCH, Colonel, Appointee as Brigadier General, Space
and Missile Defense, told members he will be the first in his
job. He suggested Alaska is in a good position geographically
to participate in the test bed [for missile defense] and any
deployment. He mentioned leveraging the situation and contracts
that have been let, and related the vision of Major General
Oates that the Army National Guard, along with the Air National
Guard, will operate that facility.
COLONEL WELCH said many things must be done to get into
position. He cited labor issues, for example, to ensure that
Alaskans have first shot at jobs and are in position to get
them. Although his job will focus primarily on the military
side, Colonel Welch said he'll be working at the University of
Alaska and the [Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation], as
well as with people in Greely and Fairbanks, the House Special
Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs, the congressional
delegation, and others, to try to choreograph this to meet some
or all of the goals. He said there will be a dynamic series of
events, and that the test bed will be in position in 2004. He
suggested his duties will change as the situation changes.
Number 1869
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI surmised that Colonel Welch's role
would be as liaison with the military.
COLONEL WELCH affirmed that. He said Major General Oates'
current vision is that Colonel Welch will work the military side
and Chris Nelson the civilian side, in government relations. In
response to further questions, he said others will work with
him; once his own position is firmed up, more people will be
brought in and focus on it. He added that the number of people
working on the issue will depend on what is going on at that
particular time. Saying it's already late, he emphasized the
need for a strategy and approach that is focused, and that
everyone work together. Returning attention to recruitment and
the $250,000 a year provided [by the legislature to pay tuition
for members of the guard], he pointed out that jobs [for the
missile defense system] will require some technical education.
Number 2054
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI suggested the need to have Alaskans
poised, when a big project such as the missile defense system is
coming on line, to be trained at the appropriate time. She said
information about timing for this new system, for example, would
be invaluable to all Alaskans.
COLONEL WELCH concurred. He noted that if a job requires 2,000
welders, however, it doesn't make sense to train that many
Alaskans as welders, since there won't be an ongoing need for so
many in the state. He highlighted the necessity of looking at
the long term.
Number 2202
COLONEL WELCH, in response to questions from Representative
Green, said [Mr. Nelson] will work with communications, talking
to corporations and other businesses, for example, and conveying
the message of what skills will be needed. Acknowledging that
either he or Mr. Nelson may end up working for the other,
Colonel Welch said that either way, the message will be the
same: "Here's how we understand it. Here are the challenges."
Colonel Welch pointed out that the challenges will be
significant because of Alaska's demographics and so forth. He
noted that he's a traditional guardsman and expects to use six
to eight days a month on this, which his employer, BP, has
provided flexibility for him to do, whereas [Mr. Nelson] is a
full-time employee. Colonel Welch emphasized that his own
primary focus will be ensuring that there's a plan to get people
into those jobs, in order to put the Army National Guard in a
position to operate the facility.
Number 2323
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN followed up on Colonel Welch's comments
about welders, agreeing it is a need in the state but is cyclic.
He asked whether there is any possibility - other than
emergencies - for offsetting those cycles so that fewer welders
could be used, but could be [employed] all the time.
COLONEL WELCH pointed out the difficulty of getting even one oil
company to do that.
Number 2369
REPRESENTATIVE HAYES asked how many jobs are expected, and how
long it will be before full implementation.
COLONEL WELCH answered that under the current scenario, the
[U.S. Army] Corps of Engineers is responsible for building such
facilities. He said the guard wouldn't operate it until
deployment. However, the decision to deploy hasn't been made.
He noted that while some people in the active military share
that vision of having the guard operate the facility, others
envision either no role or a partial role for the guard.
COLONEL WELCH reported that if [the guard] gets that mission, he
understands that the expectation is 400 people at [Fort] Greely.
Some would be full-time guardsmen, supplemented by M-day [the
day on which mobilization is to begin] soldiers; there would be
work occurring day and night, with a minimum of two shifts and
possibly three or four crews. There also would be security,
maintenance, and a need to address fire and other issues. He
added that this is premature because deployment may go from 4 to
50 silos, for example, which will make a lot of difference in
the installation and a little difference in the operation.
Number 2492
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI asked whether this addition for the
guard is viewed as positive for recruitment purposes.
COLONEL WELCH said yes, noting that many of the best people in
the guard are interested because it is new and will have a large
impact on the state. He opined that people realize this is the
most important project the nation has embarked upon, since a
missile [from North Korea, for example] could not be stopped
with a submarine, for example. He said the question is how to
leverage it when trying to attract smart, young people from all
over Alaska to the guard, and expressed the need for confidence
that the guard will, indeed, have that mission. He added that
it's "out a couple of years," however.
Number 2590
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN referred to problems related by Colonel
Robinson about increasing the number of Native Alaskans who
join. He asked what the legislature can do to help with
recruitment.
COLONEL WELCH said he'd commanded the 1st Battalion at Nome, and
that there are no better soldiers than the Alaska scouts there.
He told members that all the legislature can do is to allocate
resources. He noted that [then-Governor Knowles] appointed
Colonel Austin as liaison to the Kotzebue-Nome region, which has
done some good. In addition, there is an "elder sergeant-major
concept" for which the legislature provided funds to pay someone
up to 24 days a year, to his recollection, which he said has
been very helpful.
COLONEL WELCH pointed out how different it is trying to convince
someone from a remote village to join, as opposed to someone
from Wasilla who can drive home at night. He emphasized the
desire to get the message across that tuition can be paid, and
suggested having sponsor families in Anchorage, for example. He
emphasized the need for some stimulus in order to change
behavior, and acknowledged that it likely will require a multi-
pronged approach.
CHAIR CHENAULT asked if anyone else wished to testify; there was
no response. He thanked the appointees.
Number 2795
REPRESENTATIVE GREEN moved to forward the names of [Colonel
James K. Robinson, Colonel Timothy W. Scott, Colonel Gene L.
Ramsey, and Colonel James L. Welch] to the joint session of the
House and Senate for confirmation. There being no objection,
the confirmations of Colonel Robinson, Colonel Scott, Colonel
Ramsey, and Colonel Welch were advanced from the House Special
Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs.
The committee took an at-ease at 4:00 p.m. and was called back
to order at 4:02 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT
Number 2865
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting was
adjourned at 4:03 p.m.
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