Legislature(1999 - 2000)
02/16/1999 05:02 PM House MLV
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 80 - EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCE FOR NAT'L GUARD Number 1150 CHAIR MURKOWSKI announced the next order of business would be House Bill No. 80, "An Act relating to a state employment preference for certain members of the Alaska National Guard." Number 1158 REPRESENTATIVE CARL M. MORGAN, JR., Alaska State Legislature, prime sponsor of HB 80, explained that the bill gives three preference points for state jobs to any member of the Alaska National Guard who has served for eight years; veterans receive five points, whereas disabled veterans receive ten points. The bill recognizes the tremendous contribution of Alaska National Guard members, and it provides an incentive to remain in the organization. He said HB 77 is win-win legislation, with no fiscal note. Number 1280 REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER commended the sponsor. REPRESENTATIVE PHILLIPS also stated appreciation, saying she has been concerned about those leaving the Alaska National Guard, as well as decline in the enrollment. She expressed hope that this will turn that around. Number 1337 PHILLIP OATES, Brigadier General, Adjutant General/Commissioner Designee, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, testified again via teleconference from Anchorage, saying HB 80 has his enthusiastic support; it is good for retention and recognizes the caliber of individuals who have served. He reminded members that it is the Alaska National Guard, and HB 80 gives a preference to those who have served Alaska. CHAIR MURKOWSKI asked whether it is true that at the federal level there is no preference given to members of the guard. GENERAL OATES said that is his understanding. He said he can understand it for those in active service who have served outside of Alaska, but here in Alaska he believes it can be corrected by recognizing those who chose to serve Alaska first and then the nation. Number 1456 RICHARD ROUNTREE came forward to testify, explaining that he is a retired long-term guardsman. He urged passage of HB 80, saying the Alaska National Guard has done many things in the state besides just carrying rifles for the federal mission. Very active in the 1964 earthquake, the Fairbanks flood and numerous disasters over the years, these people either used annual leave or volunteered for that work. This is something small that can be done to help retain them so that they are available in times of disaster, when they have certainly proven to be helpful. Number 1504 BRUCE GAZAWAY, President, Alaska National Guard Enlisted Association, testified via teleconference from Anchorage, noting that he had provided written testimony [copy in packets]. He thanked Representative Morgan for being "our champion on this." He pointed out that the existing federally established employment preference is for military veterans who had served during certain defined periods of combat; his organization endorses that and doesn't want it modified. However, in HB 80 the three guard preference points are to be awarded to serving members with eight years of good service. Not a reward for past service but a device to encourage further service, this modest proposal, with little or no cost, is a good incentive to retain trained technicians and mid-level managers that make the machinery move smoothly. These include master mechanics, shop foremen, load masters, pilots, squad leaders and platoon leaders. Although retention is a problem in all of the armed services, the Alaska National Guard is primarily losing people in the middle of their careers, due to stress from overseas employment, and from family and work. Mr. Gazaway's organization sees HB 80 as an effective tool to stop that flow of manpower. Number 1631 REPRESENTATIVE PHILLIPS referred to page 2 of Mr. Gazaway's written testimony, which says his organization wouldn't object if HB 80 were amended to extend this preference to retired guard members. She asked how many people that might be. MR. GAZAWAY said he didn't know, although of the veterans in Alaska, a good portion are guard members. REPRESENTATIVE PHILLIPS asked about Mr. Gazaway's assertion on page 3 of the same document that the Army and Air National Guard suffer a 10-to-20 percent dropout rate every year. MR. GAZAWAY said that is his understanding, based on conversations with members of the recruiting staff. He suggested looking to the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs for more precise figures. Number 1673 CHAIR MURKOWSKI asked whether there is a point where an individual has been in for long enough that he or she keeps with it. MR. GAZAWAY replied that conventional wisdom, without hard facts, is that from about the third year to the tenth year seems to be the time when most people drop out. He suggested General Oates could provide better insight. CHAIR MURKOWSKI asked whether there is any magic to the eight years within the Alaska National Guard that had been picked. MR. GAZAWAY said it had seemed to be a convenient number, although six years would also work fine. He suggested ten years would be much too long, however, from his experience. Number 1740 GENERAL OATES said he believes the previous testimony is accurate, although he doesn't have the figures in front of him. He said he believes they are losing about 20 percent, for a number of reasons. Number 1776 BRUCE J. GABRYS, President, Alaska National Guard Officer's Association (ANGOA), testified via teleconference from Anchorage, noting that he had sent a letter in support of HB 80 to the sponsor's office [in packets]. He said that Alaska National Guard service has been changing over the years; the active component seldom deploys anymore without having some National Guard support go with them, through aviation or other support such as truck drivers who move equipment and materials. If a full unit were called up for Desert Storm or for service in Bosnia, for example, then those individuals would share some of the veterans' benefits. However, they are individual volunteers, in many cases used to "backfill" positions, either in the United States or in other parts of the world, as active component units are pulled to go to a particular "hot spot." These volunteers don't get a campaign ribbon, nor do they qualify for federal veterans' benefits. MR. GABRYS recounted how a detachment of the Alaska Army National Guard was recently deployed to Germany for six months, in order to free up an active-component unit to travel to Bosnia. Those individuals did not get credit for a tour in that theater because they were replacements for an active-duty unit. He said that is where HB 80, which gives three points, would recognize some of the contributions made by the Alaska National Guard, not only to the federal mission but also in an ever-increasing state mission. He emphasized that it is not meant to compete with - nor be put on a par with - contributions by veterans during a time of war, nor by those who were disabled or were prisoners of war. He stated the belief that three points is an appropriate level for that kind of recognition. Number 1911 MR. GABRYS told members his second point relates to retention. He pointed out that there is a fairly high attrition rate when soldiers and airmen come into either the active component or the National Guard. In recognition of that, there are many incentives for first-term enlistments to remain. However, after getting to the level of four years, six years or eight years, there has been a significant investment in the training of these individuals; in addition, they have obtained skills that must be replaced if they leave. These are the equivalent of mid-level managers, and they are difficult to replace. Furthermore, after that first enlistment is over, there are relatively few external incentives, such as bonuses, to re-enlist; that is where Mr. Gabrys believes the time period picked for the three-point preference for state employment would help. Many of the mid-career people are in the midst of choosing careers; this would be an additional incentive to continue Alaska National Guard membership. Number 2013 REPRESENTATIVE KOTT asked whether there had been discussion with veterans' groups about the three points, as opposed to the five points for active veterans; he noted that he himself had sponsored that legislation a few years ago. REPRESENTATIVE MORGAN said there had been some dialogue, and the veterans wouldn't go for five points. With three points, however, they are being quiet and supporting this bill. Number 2084 REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER made a motion to move HB 80 out of committee with individual recommendations and the attached [zero] fiscal note. There being no objection, HB 80 moved from the House Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs. Number 2110 CHAIR MURKOWSKI advised members that they should have received an invitation to participate in the Northern Edge Maneuvers, to be held outside of Fort Greely on March 1. She and Senator Wilken are helping to coordinate that; she asked members to inform her or Senator Wilken by the end of the week whether they plan to attend. Number 2127 REPRESENTATIVE CROFT put a conflict on the record, saying he has almost completed the process of joining the guard. [HB 80 was moved out of committee.]
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