00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 29 01 Relating to the establishment of Reserve Officer Training Corps programs in Alaska by 02 the United States Coast Guard. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS the United States Coast Guard is responsible for maritime law 05 enforcement, drug interdiction, and fisheries protection, in addition to providing maritime 06 search and rescue, saving countless lives in Alaska and other United States waters; and 07 WHEREAS the United States Coast Guard is the branch of the armed services with 08 primary responsibility for protecting the maritime borders of the United States; and 09 WHEREAS the United States Coast Guard performs a tremendous amount of work in 10 Alaska and provides critical services that affect the daily lives of the citizens of Alaska; and 11 WHEREAS the United States Coast Guard today has a heavier workload due to the 12 increased security measures necessary to protect the safety of the citizens of the United States; 13 and 14 WHEREAS a training program for reserve officers for the United States Coast Guard 15 Ready Reserve would help the United States Coast Guard provide essential services in times 16 of national and state emergency; and 01 WHEREAS a Reserve Officer Training Corps program would enhance educational 02 and career opportunities for students at the University of Alaska Southeast and other 03 University of Alaska campuses; and 04 WHEREAS an ROTC program would enhance the ability of the University of Alaska 05 to recruit high-level students from around the country; and 06 WHEREAS a high school Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program would 07 provide valuable education and career opportunities to Alaska high school students; and 08 WHEREAS the United States Coast Guard has had over 10 years of experience 09 operating a public high school JROTC program at the Maritime and Science Technology 10 Academy in Miami, Florida; and 11 WHEREAS Juneau, Alaska, is the headquarters for the Seventeenth Coast Guard 12 District; and 13 WHEREAS Kodiak, Alaska, is the largest United States Coast Guard installation in 14 the Seventeenth Coast Guard District; and 15 WHEREAS both programs would capitalize on the excellent relationship between the 16 United States Coast Guard and the communities in Alaska and further strengthen those ties; 17 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States Coast 18 Guard to create an ROTC program at the University of Alaska Southeast in Juneau; and be it 19 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the United States 20 Coast Guard to expand its JROTC program by adding units at Juneau-Douglas High School in 21 Juneau, Alaska, and Kodiak High School in Kodiak, Alaska; and be it 22 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature strongly urges the United 23 States Congress to show its support for the United States Coast Guard and its missions by 24 funding these programs; and be it 25 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages the United 26 States Coast Guard to explore the feasibility of establishing ROTC and JROTC programs in 27 other coastal communities in Alaska. 28 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable George W. Bush, President 29 of the United States; the Honorable Richard B. Cheney, Vice-President of the United States 30 and President of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable J. Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the U.S. House 31 of Representatives; the Honorable Bill Frist, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the 01 Honorable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives; the 02 Honorable Thomas Daschle, Minority Leader of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Tom Ridge, 03 United States Secretary of Homeland Security; Admiral Thomas H. Collins, Commandant of 04 the United States Coast Guard; Rear Admiral Kenneth Venuto, Assistant Commandant for 05 Human Resources of the United States Coast Guard; Rear Admiral Robert C. Olsen, 06 Superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy; Rear Admiral James W. 07 Underwood, Commander of the Seventeenth Coast Guard District; Brigadier General Craig E. 08 Campbell, Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs; the 09 Honorable Mark Hamilton, President of the University of Alaska; John Pugh, Chancellor of 10 the University of Alaska Southeast; Betty Walters, Superintendent of the Kodiak Island 11 Borough School District; Margaret "Peggy" Cowan, Superintendent of the Juneau School 12 District; Bob Meade, Principal of Kodiak High School; Deborah Morse, Principal of Juneau- 13 Douglas High School; and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski, 14 U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska 15 delegation in Congress.