Legislature(1999 - 2000)

06/05/2000 01:45 PM Senate ASC

Audio Topic
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
txt
                 JOINT ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE                                                                               
                          June 5, 2000                                                                                          
                            1:45 p.m.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
SENATE MEMBERS PRESENT                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Senator Tim Kelly, Co-Chair                                                                                                     
Senator Drue Pearce                                                                                                             
Senator Pete Kelly                                                                                                              
Senator Loren Leman                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                              
HOUSE MEMBERS PRESENT                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Representative Eldon Mulder, Co-Chair                                                                                           
Representative Lisa Murkowski                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
PUBLIC MEMBERS PRESENT                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
Alan Walker                                                                                                                     
Jake Lestenkoff (via teleconference)                                                                                            
Dean Owen (via teleconference)                                                                                                  
George Vakalis (via teleconference)                                                                                             
John Hoyt                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
OTHERS PRESENT                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
Representative Gail Phillips                                                                                                    
Representative Sharon Cissna                                                                                                    
Janice Nielson, US Army Pacific Legislative Liaison                                                                           
                                                                                                                              
WITNESS REGISTER                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Mr. Paul Fuhs                                                                                                                   
PO Box 20664                                                                                                                    
Juneau, AK  99802                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Mr. Michael Keene                                                                                                               
Anchorage Economic Development Corporation                                                                                      
550 W. 7th Ave.                                                                                                                 
Anchorage, AK                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Mr. Larry Crawford                                                                                                              
Anchorage Economic Development Corporation                                                                                      
550 W. 7th Ave.                                                                                                                 
Anchorage, AK                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
Mr. Mead Treadwell                                                                                                              
Institute of the North                                                                                                          
Alaska Pacific University                                                                                                       
PO Box 101700                                                                                                                   
Anchorage, AK  99510                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
ACTION NARRATIVE                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                              
TAPE 00-04, SIDE A                                                                                                            
Number 001                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  TIM KELLY  called  the  Joint Armed  Services  Committee                                                              
(JASC) meeting  to order at 1:45  p.m.  Committee  members present                                                              
were Co-Chairs  Tim Kelly  and Eldon  Mulder, Senator Pete  Kelly,                                                              
Senator   Loren  Leman,   Representative   Lisa  Murkowski,   Jake                                                              
Lestenkoff,  John Hoyt,  George Vakalis  and Dean  Owen.  Also  in                                                              
attendance were  Representatives Sharon Cissna and  Gail Phillips,                                                              
and Janice Neilsen, U.S. Army Pacific Legislative Liaison.                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  MULDER  thanked Mr.  Nelson  for arranging  the  morning                                                              
meeting with the  U.S. Corps of Engineers.  He  announced that the                                                              
purpose of today's  meeting is to review the past  visit to Alaska                                                              
by  Lt. General  Kadish  and Major  General  Nance  and to  update                                                              
members  on  logistics  and  military   functions  occurring  this                                                              
summer.  The committee  will  also discuss  the  formation of  the                                                              
Citizens' Advisory Commission.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
APPROVAL OF MINUTES                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LEMAN  moved to approve the  minutes of the April  6, 2000                                                              
meeting.  There being no objection, the minutes were approved.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  KELLY noted  that Paul  Fuhs, Larry  Crawford, and  Mike                                                              
Keene were present.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
TRIP REPORT                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR.  CHRIS NELSON,  staff  director to  the  Joint Armed  Services                                                              
Committee,  informed  committee   members  that  Lt.  General  Ron                                                              
Kadish,  the program  officer for  the  Ballistic Missile  Defense                                                              
Organization, and  Major General Willy Nance, the  project officer                                                              
for National Missile  Defense, lead a team that  visited Alaska to                                                              
inspect  sites  on  May  1-3.   JASC  member  George  Vakalis  was                                                              
instrumental in arranging a successful  dinner for them upon their                                                              
arrival in Anchorage with Mayor Mystrom,  Chancellor Gorsuch and a                                                              
great cross-section  of  the Anchorage community.   The  following                                                              
morning they  attended a series  of classified briefings  at Clear                                                              
Air Force Base and then traveled  to Fairbanks where they received                                                              
a  tremendous  reception.    The  group  then  toured  the  prison                                                              
footprint cantonment  area, the reactor,  and the  launch facility                                                              
at  Ft. Greeley.    Lt. General  Kadish  and Major  General  Nance                                                              
thoroughly inspected the family support  facilities at Ft. Greeley                                                              
and attended  a community forum hosted  by the Delta  City Council                                                              
and  an evening  reception  hosted by  President  Hamilton of  the                                                              
University of Alaska.   The following day the  Alaska Air National                                                              
Guard transported them  to Shemya for a tour.  In  three days, Lt.                                                              
General Kadish  and Major General Nance  were able to look  at the                                                              
key sites  for national  missile defense in  Alaska at  Clear, Ft.                                                              
Greeley, and Shemya.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MR.  NELSON  said that  Lt.  General  Kadish's and  Major  General                                                              
Nance's  responses to  the  tour  were very  positive.   They  are                                                              
prepared  to begin work  as soon  as they  get the "green  light."                                                              
They  anticipate President  Clinton will  decide in  favor of  the                                                              
deployment  readiness review.   Once that  decision is  made, they                                                              
will keep to a very fast schedule  to make sure the country gets a                                                              
ballistic  missile defense  system built  quickly.  He  emphasized                                                              
that  Lt. General  Kadish's  and  Major General  Nance's  feedback                                                              
about the  sites they  visited and their  reception in  Alaska was                                                              
very enthusiastic.   The communities  of Anchorage,  Fairbanks and                                                              
Delta showed  overwhelming community support and  demonstrated the                                                              
remarkable relationship  Alaska has with the members  of the armed                                                              
forces who serve here.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MR.  JAKE LESTENKOFF  commented it  appears that  Ft. Greeley  has                                                              
been selected as the site for the  operations.  He asked where the                                                              
issue of the prison at Ft. Greeley stands.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR MULDER  replied the status  of the prison at  Ft. Greeley                                                              
is very uncertain  at this point  in time.  Senator Stevens  put a                                                              
rider  in an  appropriations bill  that allows  the Department  of                                                              
Defense (DOD) the  first opportunity to use the  facilities at the                                                              
cantonment  area.   It appears  he  did that  because of  concerns                                                              
expressed about cost  overruns.  That action put  the prison issue                                                              
on the "back burner."   He thought it was fair to  say that if the                                                              
national  missile defense  system  goes forward,  the prison  will                                                              
not.                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
MR. NELSON  added that  many contingencies  could be triggered  by                                                              
various decisions.  The City of Delta  must submit its application                                                              
for its  economic development conveyance  by October 1.   The City                                                              
has  been  discussing  the  option of  developing  a  prison  site                                                              
outside of  the cantonment  area.  The  City may receive  title to                                                              
some property  that it  can offer  to a  developer for the  prison                                                              
site.                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR.  NELSON  noted  one  concern is  that  locating  the  national                                                              
missile defense  system at Ft. Greeley  could trigger the  kind of                                                              
criticisms that  resulted from the  Kelly and McClellan  Air Force                                                              
Base controversies  regarding privatization.  One  issue raised at                                                              
the Base Realignment  and Closure (BRAC) conference  in Boston was                                                              
that the  housing area at Ft.  Buchanan in Puerto Rico  was closed                                                              
in the  1995 BRAC round.   Ft. Greeley  was realigned  during that                                                              
same  BRAC  round.    The  Ft.  Buchanan  housing  area  was  then                                                              
withdrawn for BRAC disposal because  the military designated it as                                                              
a housing area  for Southern Command based in Panama.   The tenant                                                              
agency in  the Panama Canal,  Headquarters U.S. Southern  Command,                                                              
was then moved to Puerto Rico, subsequent to the BRAC decision.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR. NELSON  stated DOD recognized  that a new mission,  unforeseen                                                              
by  any  of the  BRAC  commissions,  should  make maximum  use  of                                                              
existing military  facilities even if those facilities  are on the                                                              
BRAC  list.   Because  the realignment  of  the Headquarters  U.S.                                                              
Southern Command  created a requirement  for housing,  the housing                                                              
area  at Ft.  Buchanan was  made available.   Under  that kind  of                                                              
scenario,  putting national  missile defense,  a mission  that did                                                              
not exist in 1995, into Ft. Greeley  does not seem likely to raise                                                              
the same kind  of criticism.  The activities that  were realigned,                                                              
the Northern  Warfare Training  Center and  the Cold Regions  Test                                                              
Center,  will  be  relocated  at Ft.  Wainwright.    The  national                                                              
missile  defense system  is a brand  new activity  with a  mandate                                                              
from Congress to  make maximum use of existing facilities.   It is                                                              
likely to follow  the model of Ft. Buchanan.   Senator Stevens has                                                              
put  money  in   the  defense  appropriations   bill  specifically                                                              
identifying Ft.  Greeley as available to support  national missile                                                              
defense with its existing infrastructure.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR KELLY  asked if Ft.  Greeley has been  decommissioned but                                                              
might resurface as a whole new national missile defense base.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. NELSON  replied that is a  possibility.  He noted  Lt. General                                                              
Costello, the commanding general  of the Space and Missile Defense                                                              
Command,  if  Ft.  Greeley  is selected,  will  run  the  national                                                              
missile  defense base.   He  and Mr.  Owen will  be attending  the                                                              
Association of  the U.S.  Army symposium scheduled  at the  end of                                                              
the week  and will ask Lt.  General Costello many  questions about                                                              
his plans.   They will  report back to  the committee at  the next                                                              
meeting.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR.  LESTENKOFF  asked where  the  U.S.  Army  fits into  the  Ft.                                                              
Greeley plan.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. NELSON  replied the issue of  whether Ft. Greeley  will remain                                                              
part of the U.S.  Army Alaska or whether it will  be taken over by                                                              
the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense  Command is a key decision                                                              
that will  have to be  made in the process.   A number  of players                                                              
are  involved in  national missile  defense.   It is  part of  the                                                              
Ballistic   Missile  Defense  Organization,   which  manages   the                                                              
development of  the entire system.   The operators of  that system                                                              
will be  the U.S. Army Space  and Missile Defense  Command through                                                              
the Alaska  Army National  Guard.  The  groups will be  clarifying                                                              
the command relationships on this project.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR. VAKALIS commented there are pros  and cons to who will own and                                                              
operate the base  at Ft. Greeley and who will be  the tenant.  His                                                              
gut reaction  is that the  government will  get more bang  for the                                                              
buck if it is owned by the Space  and Missile Defense Command with                                                              
a proviso that all of the lands under  military control around Ft.                                                              
Greeley be  preserved and  managed for training.   He  stated that                                                              
training  area is one  of the  biggest assets  Alaska has  for the                                                              
military.   He believes  that ownership by  the Space  and Missile                                                              
Defense  Command would  be advantageous  because  if this  project                                                              
goes forward  at Ft.  Greeley, the Space  Command would  have more                                                              
say about how much  money will be pumped into Ft.  Greeley and the                                                              
outlying areas, such  as Shemya and Clear.  He  suggested that the                                                              
JASC prepare an  action plan to determine whether  that is the way                                                              
to go and to influence that decision.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR KELLY  noted national  missile defense  will be  a growth                                                              
industry  with a virtually  unlimited budget  while other  defense                                                              
dollars are being fought over.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR. LESTENKOFF agreed.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR KELLY asked if the prison  will be history if all of this                                                              
comes about.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  NELSON  replied  the  prison,  as a  reuse  of  the  existing                                                              
cantonment  area, would  be  overtaken by  the  Space and  Missile                                                              
Defense Command.   Whether a prison  is built on  surplus property                                                              
at Ft. Greeley  is an open question.  He believes  the legislation                                                              
enacted by  the Alaska Legislature  that allows the City  of Delta                                                              
to sole  source a  contract specified  the use  of the  cantonment                                                              
area  and reuse  facilities.   He asked  whether that  legislation                                                              
specifically precluded other property from development.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR MULDER answered the statute would have to be modified.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR. NELSON reminded  members that the sole source  contract is the                                                              
key matter  of controversy  and contention  in  the City of  Delta                                                              
right now.   One  of the problems  is that, in  terms of  the BRAC                                                              
time line  and the  start-up of  national missile  defense  in Ft.                                                              
Greeley,  an  18 month  void  will  occur  and Delta  will  crater                                                              
economically  during  that  period.   In  addition,  the  national                                                              
missile defense  system will  not provide job-for-job  replacement                                                              
in Delta.  That  system is not as labor intensive  as the previous                                                              
units.  Army-wide,  there has been a  shift in the DOD  in the way                                                              
military  installations are  being operated.   The civilian  civil                                                              
service  workforce, heavily  populated  by  military retirees,  is                                                              
being  phased  out  around  the  world  and  replaced  by  private                                                              
contractors.  It  is likely that the management  of the facilities                                                              
at  Ft.  Greeley  will  be picked  up  by  a  private  contractor,                                                              
possibly a Native corporation.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR. OWEN  agreed with Mr. Vakalis  that Space Command  money would                                                              
be great in Ft. Greeley but he expressed  concern that the JASC be                                                              
careful that,  for the  future of  the growth  of the military  in                                                              
Alaska,  an  ironclad  arrangement  be  made  giving  all  of  the                                                              
military forces that  come to Alaska to train  unrestricted use of                                                              
that training area.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR MULDER  noted that Mead  Treadwell joined  the committee.                                                              
He  then  asked  General  Hoyt  to  give  a  brief  recap  of  the                                                              
Association of the United States Army (AUSA) meeting.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR.  JOHN HOYT  informed  JASC  members  that the  Pacific  region                                                              
meeting of AUSA  was held in Alaska on June 1 and  2.  The Pacific                                                              
region  includes  Korea,  Japan,   Hawaii  and  Alaska.    General                                                              
Sullivan attended the conference  and spoke to about 200 people in                                                              
Ft. Wainwright  and  Ft. Richardson  the previous  week.  AUSA  is                                                              
very  interested  in  the defense  logistics  business.    General                                                              
Sullivan will  be talking  to the  Department of Logistics'  staff                                                              
about  getting involved  in this  particular issue  and holding  a                                                              
joint  symposium on  defense  logistics in  Anchorage.   The  AUSA                                                              
conference was very  successful and he was re-elected  as regional                                                              
president for another two years.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
C0-CHAIR MULDER  asked Paul  Fuhs to speak  to JASC members  about                                                              
the Anchorage Defense Logistics Initiative.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. PAUL  FUHS acknowledged the presence  of Mr. Michael  Keene of                                                              
the Anchorage Economic  Development Corporation and  stated at the                                                              
last meeting they informed JASC members  of the need to do a study                                                              
to  quantify  the  benefits  that Anchorage  could  provide  as  a                                                              
military logistics  center in the United States.   The legislative                                                              
finance  committees appropriated  $150,000 for  that study  and he                                                              
and  Mr.  Keene  have  raised more  than  $50,000  to  match  that                                                              
appropriation.   A steering committee has been  formed, consisting                                                              
of all of the  people who contributed to the  study, including the                                                              
Municipality  of  Anchorage (MOA)  and  the Fairbanks  North  Star                                                              
Borough.   The  Alaska  Department  of Transportation  and  Public                                                              
Facilities (DOTPF) has been very  supportive in terms of providing                                                              
data  and Commissioner  Perkins has  been briefed  along the  way.                                                              
Commissioner  Oates of  the Department  of  Military and  Veterans                                                              
Affairs  (DMVA) will  be overseeing  the study  and the work  will                                                              
proceed on  July 1.   The study  must be  completed by  October in                                                              
order to be presented  to the Quadrennial Defense  Review Team for                                                              
its analysis.   He and Mr. Keene will visit  Washington, D.C. from                                                              
June 18-20 to reconfirm the scope  of the contract with DOD and to                                                              
make sure the right questions are  answered by the study. A fairly                                                              
extensive amount  of data  from local  companies is available  for                                                              
the  study.   A lot  of logistics  material  is traveling  through                                                              
Anchorage at this  time but military personnel are  unaware of how                                                              
it is distributed  out of Anchorage.   Data is also  available for                                                              
the  entire sea-air  operation in  which supplies  are brought  to                                                              
Anchorage on an  ocean container and flown out for  delivery.  The                                                              
study will  not be  entirely theoretical  because data  on current                                                              
activities is available.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR.  FUHS said  he and  Mr.  Keene will  be  meeting with  Senator                                                              
Stevens' staff  and DOD  staff to arrange  a meeting in  Alaska of                                                              
high  level logistics  people.   A  key concept  in the  logistics                                                              
initiative  is  that  it  somewhat  overarches  BRAC  because  the                                                              
logistics  initiative  is based  on  finding efficiencies  in  the                                                              
private sector.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR.  KEENE informed  JASC  members  that the  Anchorage  logistics                                                              
initiative  interfaces very  well with  what DOD  is trying  to do                                                              
with privatization.   Old  style military depots  do not  fit with                                                              
today's technology.  The steering  committee met last Thursday for                                                              
the  first  time.    It  expects  to  sign  a  contract  with  the                                                              
consultant in about  2½ weeks and the study will  begin on July 1.                                                              
The length  of the contract  with the  consultant will  last about                                                              
six months so that the consultant  can help make presentations and                                                              
do marketing work  after the study is completed.   He thanked JASC                                                              
members for their help in securing the appropriation.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  KELLY   asked  if  this   project  is   contingent  upon                                                              
developing Fire Island.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. FUHS replied  the project is  not tied to Fire Island  at all.                                                              
Fire Island represents  some undeveloped property.   Anchorage has                                                              
a shortage of  developable land, and most of what  is available is                                                              
not in large, contiguous parcels.   About 700 acres of developable                                                              
land  are  located  at  the  airport;  some  of  that  acreage  is                                                              
designated  wetlands so  environmental  permits would  have to  be                                                              
secured for its use.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  KELLY  asked  if  the   project  will  include  a  large                                                              
warehouse   that planes  will fly  in and out  of, similar  to the                                                              
FedEx depot.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. KEENE said  the Anchorage International Airport  already has a                                                              
great deal of  the necessary infrastructure.   Most transport will                                                              
be  done  by  commercial  aircraft.   The  military  is  primarily                                                              
looking  at  having  private  sector  and  third  party  logistics                                                              
handlings.    The military  does  not  want  its personnel  to  be                                                              
tracking and tracing products because  the private sector has that                                                              
process down  to a science.  Military  planes would not  go in and                                                              
out of  Anchorage International  Airport  except perhaps  during a                                                              
time of conflict.   Most international U.S. airlines  and domestic                                                              
airlines already  have agreements with the military  for contracts                                                              
to move freight and passengers.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI  asked what the time line  for a decision                                                              
will be after  the report is presented to the  Quadrennial Defense                                                              
Review Team.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  FUHS replied  it takes  about  one year  for the  Quadrennial                                                              
Defense Review Team to complete its  review.  The contractor hired                                                              
to do the study will analyze how  the review process went after it                                                              
is  completed.   This    review  will be  the  second  Quadrennial                                                              
Defense Review  to occur.   The steering  committee wants  to know                                                              
what  the  Quadrennial  Defense  Review  Team  identified  as  the                                                              
savings  to the military  from an  Anchorage logistics  initiative                                                              
and how it will fit in with the military's  mission.  The steering                                                              
committee would also  like to see if a lot of  the review focusses                                                              
on  contracting   for  parts,  supplies  and   manufacturing.  The                                                              
Quadrennial Defense Review Team uses  a system called "metrics" to                                                              
score  contractor  proposals on  certain  aspects.   The  steering                                                              
committee  wants response  time to  be considered  as a metric  so                                                              
that if  a Boeing  C-17 cargo  plane is  used and Boeing  provides                                                              
maintenance, parts  and service in  Anchorage, points  are awarded                                                              
for the faster response time.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI asked if  the JASC or the Legislature can                                                              
participate in any way to make the review more favorable.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR. FUHS said  the fact that the Legislature established  the JASC                                                              
and is supportive of the military  in Alaska is helpful.  He asked                                                              
JASC  members  who  travel  to Washington,  D.C.  this  summer  to                                                              
arrange to meet with military contacts.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI  suggested the JASC sponsor  a resolution                                                              
supporting  the   development  of  the  logistics   initiative  in                                                              
Anchorage.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR MULDER indicated the study  will show Alaska's strengths.                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR. KEENE added  that in answer to Co-Chair Kelly's  question, the                                                              
steering committee  is not looking  to have a new  warehouse built                                                              
at  the airport  because  six  or  more warehouses  are  presently                                                              
operated by  third party  logistics handlers  and, in some  cases,                                                              
the actual prime source contractors for the military.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MR.  FUHS   pointed  out  that  part   of  the  contract   is  for                                                              
maintenance.  because equipment  will  need to  be calibrated  and                                                              
tested regularly.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LEMAN asked who the contractor is.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MR. FUHS replied "Price Waterhouse Cooper."                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LEMAN asked if the contractor  will be tying in with other                                                              
local firms.                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.  KEENE  stated  that  AEDC and  the  steering  committee  will                                                              
perform that function.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MR.  FUHS  said  part  of  the data  will  be  contributed.    The                                                              
contractor  wants   to  know  the  maximum  fuel   capacity,  what                                                              
equipment  is  available,  and  the  capacity  made  available  by                                                              
combining Elmendorf  and the International Airport.   Mr. Crawford                                                              
expects to  hire a part time  employee during the next  few months                                                              
to coordinate the data from local companies.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. KEENE said the Steering Committee  will keep the JASC apprised                                                              
of developments.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
AN UNIDENTIFIED COMMITTEE  MEMBER asked Mr. Fuhs and  Mr. Keene if                                                              
they have looked  at a publication named "Joint Vision  2000."  He                                                              
noted a section  of the publication discusses  worldwide logistics                                                              
for a  total military  force.  He  also asked  if Mr. Fuhs  or Mr.                                                              
Keene have  found any  think tanks in  Washington, D.C.  that have                                                              
done any logistics studies regarding the future of the military.                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MR. FUHS  noted that  Price Waterhouse  Cooper has done  logistics                                                              
studies  in the  past which  is why  it  has access  to the  whole                                                              
database and can offer a price of $200,000.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. KEENE  pointed out  that the military  has been supportive  of                                                              
the efforts regarding  the Anchorage logistics  initiative because                                                              
it believes this project comes at  the right time and right place.                                                              
                                                                                                                                
AN UNIDENTIFIED  COMMITTEE MEMBER asked  whether Mr. Fuhs  and Mr.                                                              
Keene have spoken  to the key players of the  Pacific Region, such                                                              
as Admiral Blair.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR. KEENE replied that he hopes to  meet with Admiral Blair during                                                              
his visit to Alaska at the end of June.                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  MULDER thanked  Mr. Fuhs  and  Mr. Keene  and asked  Mr.                                                              
Nelson to brief the committee on upcoming events.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
TAPE 00-04, SIDE B                                                                                                            
Number 0001                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR.  NELSON  informed  committee  members the  AUSA  symposium  on                                                              
Ballistic  Missile Defense  will occur  this week  at Long  Beach,                                                              
California.  He and Mr. Owen will  represent the committee at that                                                              
symposium.   The National  Association of Installation  Directors'                                                              
(NAID) annual conference  will be held in Monterey,  California on                                                              
August 5-9.   NAID focuses  on BRAC and  base reuse issues.   NAID                                                              
has also moved  forward into the area of privatization  of support                                                              
services  to  military  installations.     He  encouraged  maximum                                                              
participation  by  members  of  the   committee  at  the  Monterey                                                              
conference  because  the agenda  will  focus  on reuse  of  closed                                                              
bases, the potential of the next  BRAC round, and opportunities to                                                              
make bases  more cost competitive  by streamlining  operations and                                                              
contracting operations to the private sector.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR MULDER asked Mr. Mead Treadwell  to update the committee.                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR. MEAD TREADWELL, Institute of  the North, stated his discussion                                                              
will  focus on  what  it will  take to  get  a favorable  decision                                                              
regarding  national  missile  defense.   The  four  factors  being                                                              
weighed by  the President are the  extent of the  military threat,                                                              
technology,  cost, and  the  diplomatic situation.    He noted  he                                                              
believes a fifth factor is politics.   Regarding the threat, there                                                              
has  not been  much  of  a change.    One  of the  biggest  events                                                              
politically was  that the  leader of Korea  traveled to  China for                                                              
the first time.   According to the Chinese, the  Korean leader was                                                              
given a  tour of computer  plants to  encourage the Koreans  to do                                                              
something  other than  build  missiles.   A  terrorism report  was                                                              
released yesterday which General  Oates has been very involved in.                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR. TREADWELL said  regarding technology, a major  test will occur                                                              
in July.   The  Washington Post reported  a few  weeks ago  that a                                                              
classified military study on how  sea-based missile defenses could                                                              
be done  either in conjunction  with or  as an alternative  to the                                                              
Alaska based system  has been held up and was not  released.  John                                                              
McCain,  William Safire  and other public  figures have  suggested                                                              
dropping  the Alaska-based  system  and forwarding  the  sea-based                                                              
system.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
On the cost  side, MR. TREADWELL  said a major study  was recently                                                              
released by  the General Accounting  Office (GAO)  which estimates                                                              
the  full cycle  value  cost  of this  project  to  be around  $60                                                              
billion.  That high amount will work  against a land-based system.                                                              
Finally, on the diplomatic side,  no change has occurred regarding                                                              
the Anti-Ballistic  Missile (ABM) Defense Treaty.   Russia's Prime                                                              
Minister  Vladimir  Putin urged  Europeans  to adopt  the  Russian                                                              
proposal  to work  with  the United  States  to  develop a  mutual                                                              
missile defense system.   President Clinton said  he might support                                                              
that proposal  but wants the  sea-based, land-based  issue settled                                                              
first.   The Russians  have been pushing  for a resolution  during                                                              
President  Clinton's Moscow  trip but President  Clinton  has only                                                              
agreed to  meet again to discuss  the ABM Treaty before  he leaves                                                              
office.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. NELSON  remarked that Governor  George Bush publicly  stated a                                                              
few days  ago that the  Administration is  driving toward  a hasty                                                              
decision on a political timetable  and no decision would be better                                                              
than a flawed agreement that ties  the hands of the next president                                                              
and prevents  America from defending  herself.     Furthermore, he                                                              
said the  approach the Administration  is proposing is  flawed, it                                                              
is a  system initially  based on  a single  site when experts  say                                                              
more is needed.   Governor Bush  has not been clear  about whether                                                              
he believes a  land and sea based system is  preferable or whether                                                              
the entire system  should be reconfigured.  Mr.  Nelson emphasized                                                              
the need  for the members  of the JASC committee  to try to  get a                                                              
binding  decision  made  this  year  and  to  get  the  Republican                                                              
presidential  candidate to  agree to  move ahead  with the  Alaska                                                              
based system as a starting point.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR KELLY asked if Governor Bush changed his position.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. NELSON  stated Governor  Bush does  not talk  on point  on the                                                              
idea of a single site in Alaska.   That site would comply with the                                                              
ABM Treaty  if the U.S.  exercises the  option in the  Treaty that                                                              
allows the location of the single  site to be changed.  Exercising                                                              
that option  would be the easy way  to comply with the  ABM Treaty                                                              
and provide  the beginning of  a national missile  defense system.                                                              
Bush has always taken the position  that he wants more than just a                                                              
limited scope  to this project as  he is looking further  into the                                                              
future.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. NELSON  noted the JASC  is pushing  for this system  right now                                                              
because North  Korea created a threat  when it launched  a missile                                                              
over Japan  two years  ago.   The U.S.  had no  way to defend  its                                                              
border  if that  missile had  reached  U.S. shores,  which it  was                                                              
capable of  doing.  The JASC has  stated that its advocacy  of the                                                              
single  site in  Alaska is  threat driven.   The  threat will  not                                                              
remain limited  if North  Korea builds  its missile to  completion                                                              
and it will build  many to sell.  In response  to the comment that                                                              
building a  new system will  trigger a  new arms race,  Mr. Nelson                                                              
said a  ballistic missiles  arms race  has been  going on  for the                                                              
last  five years;  the  United States  however,  is  still in  the                                                              
"locker room."   Bush's position  is to build a more robust system                                                              
that  envisions  an increasing  threat.    The JASC  believes  the                                                              
Alaska system  counters  the immediate threat  that is  unarguable                                                              
and  is the  first  building  block of  a  more robust  system  if                                                              
diplomacy fails.                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  KELLY  asked  whether  an  Alaska  missile  field  could                                                              
protect Russia from missiles.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR.  TREADWELL  said  it  could cover  a  significant  portion  of                                                              
Europe.  He noted the ideal system  would have more than one land-                                                              
based site  and a sea-based  site to  catch missiles  upon launch.                                                              
Prime Minister Putin picked up on  that in his proposal last week.                                                              
He  said one  can easily  argue that  Alaska  is one  of the  best                                                              
places in the world to locate a land  based system but an argument                                                              
can  also be  made  that  as we  get  toward a  worldwide  defense                                                              
umbrella, sea based systems are cheaper.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR. NELSON  asked that members  bear in  mind there are  layers of                                                              
missile defense.   The Alaska  national missile ballistic  defense                                                              
system is only  one part of a  larger system.  The Navy  is moving                                                              
forward with  Navy Upper  Tier.   The Army's  THAD program  is now                                                              
under  program  review.   The  Israelis  have deployed  the  first                                                              
battalion of  the Arrow, their  intermediate range  defense system                                                              
against ballistic missiles.  In addition,  a program called Medium                                                              
Extended Air Defense (MEAD) is being  developed with the Europeans                                                              
and the  U.S. is moving  forward with  the development of  PAC for                                                              
the  Patriot  system.   The  United  States  faces a  threat  from                                                              
intercontinental  ballistic missiles,  meaning  the United  States                                                              
must defend itself  from missiles launched from  other continents.                                                              
Everyone  else, including  the Russians,  faces  a more  immediate                                                              
threat  from intermediate  range and  theater ballistic  missiles,                                                              
which there  are more of.   He believes that the  Russian attitude                                                              
toward  missile  defense  will  change  radically  the  moment  an                                                              
Iranian Shehab  3, purchased  from North  Korea, slams  into their                                                              
troops in Chechnya  and that could happen any day.   At that point                                                              
in time, the Russians are going to  get very serious about missile                                                              
defense and will be looking for systems.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
MR. HOYT commented that his analysis  of the Bush-Gore conflict is                                                              
that Bush  has proposed that we  go further than what  the current                                                              
Administration wants.   He thinks  the ultimate goal of  a missile                                                              
defense system  is to have  space-based lasers to  shoot ballistic                                                              
missiles as  they rise out of the  ground.  It will take  20 years                                                              
to get there.   The land based  system is the first step  and will                                                              
be a backup.  This train has started and will continue to roll.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MR. TREADWELL  said he agrees but  this debate is going  to become                                                              
full-fledged this  summer.  President  Clinton signed  a statement                                                              
yesterday that  further enshrined the  Treaty.  He  suggested that                                                              
the Democrats  on the Committee  try to  get a firm  decision from                                                              
the  Democratic  party and  likewise  with the  Republican  party.                                                              
Governor Bush has  used the word "flawed" twice  when referring to                                                              
the Treaty process and the system.                                                                                              
MR. HOYT  felt that when Governor  Bush used the word  "flawed" he                                                              
was talking about the concept.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MR. TREADWELL agreed  but thought that clarifying  Governor Bush's                                                              
position is important.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MR. HOYT  pointed out  that officials from  AUSA are  talking with                                                              
the Gore and Bush campaigns.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  MULDER  announced  that   Committee  members  have  been                                                              
provided  with  background  information   and  recommendations  on                                                              
applicants for the  co-chairs of the Citizens Advisory  Board.  He                                                              
and Co-Chair  Kelly   recommend that  further recommendations  for                                                              
applicants  be sent  directly  to the  co-chairs  who will  extend                                                              
invitations to participate.                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MR. NELSON  noted the term of  office for members of  the advisory                                                              
board has  not been determined.   Legislative members of  the JASC                                                              
serve  for the  duration of  the  legislature for  which they  are                                                              
elected and civilian  members serve for a statutory  term of three                                                              
years.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  KELLY  said  he  would  prefer a  three  year  term  for                                                              
advisory  board members  in  order to  allow  for some  continuity                                                              
during legislative  transitions.  He asked Mr.  Nelson to schedule                                                              
a date for  the JASC annual  meeting.  He asked  committee members                                                              
to  submit  five  or  six  names   of  nominees  to  the  advisory                                                              
committee.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI moved to  set the terms of advisory board                                                              
members  at three years.   There  being no  objection, the  motion                                                              
carried.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
There being no further business to  come before the committee, CO-                                                              
CHAIR MULDER adjourned the meeting at 2:50 p.m.                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                

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