Legislature(2023 - 2024)GRUENBERG 120
04/27/2023 01:00 PM House MILITARY & VETERANS' AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Overview(s): Alaska Army National Guard. | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| *+ | HB 158 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HB 155 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS
April 27, 2023
1:50 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Stanley Wright, Chair
Representative Laddie Shaw
Representative George Rauscher
Representative Cliff Groh
Representative Andrew Gray
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Ben Carpenter
Representative Dan Saddler
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW(S): ALASKA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD.
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
JAMES PALEMBAS, Brigadier General, Commander and State Director
Alaska Army National Guard
Fort Richardson
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented an overview of the Alaska Army
National Guard.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:50:51 PM
CHAIR STANLEY WRIGHT called the House Special Committee on
Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting to order at 1:50 p.m.
Representatives Shaw, Groh, Gray, and Wright were present at the
call to order. Representative Rauscher arrived as the meeting
was in progress.
^Overview(s): Alaska Army National Guard.
Overview(s): Alaska Army National Guard.
1:52:04 PM
CHAIR WRIGHT announced that the only order of business would be
an overview of the Alaska Army National Guard.
1:52:22 PM
JAMES PALEMBAS, Brigadier General, Commander and State Director,
Alaska Army National Guard, gave a PowerPoint presentation
titled, "Overview of the Alaska Army National Guard" [hardcopy
included in committee packet]. He moved to slide 2 to present
an organization chart, with the Alaska Army National Guard
(AKARNG) falling within the Alaska Organized Militia. On slide
3, he showed key leaders of the Alaska Army National Guard.
1:54:57 PM
BRIGADIER GENERAL PALEMBAS moved to slide 4 to share the vision
of AKARNG, which is to create a diverse, trusted, and capable
organization built on ready and resilient soldiers and leaders.
He said that AKARNG's retention rates have improved, with the
guard being in the ninety-fourth percentile. He explained that
AKARNG has two missions: Title 10 federal missions to deploy and
fight and Title 32 with the state to activate per orders from
the governor.
1:56:47 PM
CHAIR WRIGHT asked about usage of sandbags as depicted on slide
4.
BRIGADIER GENERAL PALEMBAS responded that during Typhoon Merbok,
the guard was activated and set to Western Alaska, and during
this mission dirt and sandbags were moved.
1:58:02 PM
BRIGADIER GENERAL PALEMBAS returned to the presentation on slide
5 to discuss the guard's units, detachments, and locations. He
stated that there are 1,741 soldiers across three major units:
Joint Force Headquarters (JFHQ), 38th Troop Command (TC), and
the 297th Regional Support Group (RSG). He said that in 1990,
there were 83 armories across the state, but currently the goal
is to divest these armories to allow for municipal or local use.
He shared that AKARNG has divested 39 armories since 2013, with
26 more to go. He stated that AKARNG will have 19 armories at
the end of the divesting process.
2:03:54 PM
BRIGADIER GENERAL PALEMBAS moved to slide 6, which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
th
297 Regional Support Group (RSG) Mission
The RSG is a deployable headquarters that manages base
camps or base clusters with a population of 6,000 or
more personnel and requires services beyond basic life
support. Additionally, the 297th RSG ensures its
subordinate units are trained, equipped, and available
for federal and state missions.
During Defense Support of Civil Authorities
operations, the RSG serves as a brigade-sized command
responsible for all assigned units.
Currently the 297th RSG is tasked to support the
transition of Fort Riley, KS from an inactive
Mobilization Force Generation Installation (MFGI) to
an active MFGI during Large Scale Mobilization
Operations (LSMO)
th
38 Troop Command (TC) Mission
The TC is a non-deployable headquarters element
designed to provide C2 over disparate units and
ensures its subordinate units are trained, equipped
and available for service in the event of a federal or
state emergency.
During Defense Support of Civil Authorities
operations, the 38th TC serves as the primary
headquarters for Joint Task Force-Alaska.
2:05:25 PM
BRIGADIER GENERAL PALEMBAS moved to slide 7 to present a
worldwide deployment map. He detailed federal deployments since
2018.
2:06:25 PM
BRIGADIER GENERAL PALEMBAS moved to slide 8, which read as
follow [original punctuation provided]:
The 49th Missile Defense Battalion operates and
secures the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD)
system at Fort Greely 24/7/365. They are prepared to
destroy intercontinental ballistic missiles in mid-
course to defend the US and designated areas with
assets at Fort Greely and Vandenberg Air Force Base.
2:08:01 PM
BRIGADIER GENERAL PALEMBAS moved to slide 9 and discussed civil
support missions that AKARNG conducts in Alaska.
2:09:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked about the Alcantra armory in the
Wasilla/Palmer area.
BRIGADIER GENERAL PALEMBAS said Alcantra is still an active
armory and houses units. He said the armory is on state land
and is the guard's contingency operations site.
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked if AKARNG utilizes the Black
Rapids.
BRIGADIER GENERAL PALEMBAS answered yes, as there is an active-
duty cold weather training program housed at Black Rapids.
2:12:42 PM
CHAIR WRIGHT questioned the benefits of cooperative agreements.
BRIGADIER GENERAL PALEMBAS explained that the state benefits
from such agreements because of the federal dollars.
2:13:57 PM
BRIGADIER GENERAL PALEMBAS returned to the presentation on slide
10, which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Alaska Mongolia State Partnership Program
Partners since 2003
Share similar challenges and opportunities
Co-deployments for 17 years in Iraq and Afghanistan
Overseas Deployment Training to Khaan Quest Exercise
2006-Present
Humanitarian Assistance training: Gobi Wolf Disaster
Response Exercise and Exchange
Subject Matter Expert Exchanges: leadership,
engineering, security, disaster response, medical,
etc.
Whole of Government participation in public health,
public policy, natural resources, education, and
humanitarian assistance
2:16:43 PM
BRIGADIER GENERAL PALEMBAS moved to slide 11, which read as
follows [original punctuation provided]:
Enduring Operations
19-unit locations throughout the state
Full time manning in 11 locations
Operations Last 90 Days
Detachments 1&2 Golf Company 2-211th GSAB, supported a
Combined Arms
Life Fire Exercise at JBER by providing 24hr MEDEVAC
Operations
103rd Civil Support Team supported local Anchorage
security elements for the 2023 Iditarod Race
Ceremonial Start
49th Missile Defense Battalion trained on a fire
control software update and an additional missile
interceptor field
49th Theater Gateway provided Joint Reception,
Staging, and Onward Integration support to Joint
Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) at
JBER, Clear and Fort Wainwright, Alaska
Defense Movement Cell (AKARNG G4) with augmentation
th
from 11 Airborne managed over 100 convoys and over
500 pieces of rolling stock in support of JPMRC
1-297th Infantry Battalion conducts training
supporting their upcoming Joint Readiness Training
Center Annual Training and deployment in early FY24
Community Events
Cama-I Dance Festival in Bethel, Alaska
River Watch
Operation Santa
2:18:55 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY thanked Brigadier General Palembas for his
service and shared his son's personal deployment experience.
BRIGADIER GENERAL PALEMBAS commented that the guard is a small
organization, so it is hard to not know the people.
2:20:15 PM
CHAIR WRIGHT congratulated Brigadier General Palembas for his
recent advancement and thanked him for his service.
2:20:50 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SHAW thanked Brigadier General Palembas, and he
stated that it seems that through the guard, the state is
connected in some way.
2:21:55 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting was
adjourned at 2:22 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| DMVA Army Presentation for (H) MVA 27 APR.pdf |
HMLV 4/27/2023 1:00:00 PM |