Legislature(2021 - 2022)ANCH LIO DENALI Rm
07/13/2022 02:30 PM House JOINT ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Presentation(s): the Armed Services Update | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE
July 13, 2022
2:35 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Matt Claman, Co-Chair
Senator Mike Shower, Co-Chair (via teleconference)
Representative Ivy Spohnholz
Representative Chris Tuck (via teleconference)
Representative Geran Tarr
Representative David Nelson
Senator Joshua Revak
Senator Roger Holland
Senator Lora Reinbold
Senator Scott Kawasaki (via teleconference)
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): THE ARMED SERVICES UPDATE
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
DAVID KRUMM, Lieutenant General, U.S. Airforce;
Commander, Eleventh U.S. Air Force, Pacific Air Forces;
Commander, Alaskan Command, U.S. Northern Command;
Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided a PowerPoint presentation, titled
"Command Overview Briefing."
BRIAN EIFLER, Major General, U.S. Army;
Commanding General, 11th Airborne Division;
Deputy Commander, Alaskan Command
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided a PowerPoint presentation, titled
"11th Airborne Division America's Arctic Angels."
NATHAN MOORE, Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard;
Deputy Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area;
Commander, U.S. Coast Guard 17th District
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided a PowerPoint presentation, titled
"2022 Coast Guard Update for Joint Armed Services Committee."
Torrence Saxe, Major General, Adjutant General, Alaska National
Guard;
Commissioner, Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Provided a PowerPoint presentation, titled
"Alaska is Unique-JASC Perspective."
ACTION NARRATIVE
2:35:47 PM
CO-CHAIR MATT CLAMAN called the Joint Armed Services Committee
meeting to order at 2:35 p.m. Representatives Claman,
Spohnholz, Tuck (via teleconference), Tarr, and Nelson; and
Senators Shower (via teleconference), Revak, Holland, Reinbold,
and Kawasaki (via teleconference) were present at the call to
order.
^PRESENTATION(S): The Armed Services Update
PRESENTATION(S): The Armed Services Update
2:37:41 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the only order of business would be
a presentation on an update of the Armed Services.
2:37:59 PM
DAVID KRUMM, Lieutenant General, U.S. Airforce; Commander,
Eleventh U.S. Air Force, Pacific Air Forces; Commander, Alaskan
Command, U.S. Northern Command; Commander, North American
Aerospace Defense Command, provided a PowerPoint presentation,
titled "Command Overview Briefing." He gave a geopolitical
overview regarding Arctic warming trends, which include coastal
erosion, permafrost melt, and sea ice retreat. He stated that
as permafrost melts there will be a risk of instability;
therefore, existing infrastructure will need to be improved. He
displayed slide 5 and slide 6 which showed photos indicating a
significant loss of sea ice. He pointed out that the current
state of erosion represents the rate which had been predicted
for 2040.
2:44:20 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL KRUMM stated that the current reduction of
sea ice has significantly increased access to a variety of
natural resources, and the Northwest Passage has become more
available for ships. He continued that this passage has created
the potential for ships to shave off seven to ten days of
transit time compared with the Suez Canal route. He suggested
that this logistical change could result in a reduction of
transportation costs. He expressed the opinion that the
potential for more natural resource extraction in the Arctic
could be problematic. He stated that some countries, like
Russia, do not have stringent environmental regulations. He
displayed slide 9 which showed a Chinese fishing vessel near the
Aleutian Islands. Because of the influence of climate change in
fish stocks, he suggested that fishing fleets like these are
coming closer to the U.S.
2:48:35 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL KRUMM, moving to slide 10, stated that the
U.S. is no longer "a sanctuary." He explained that technology
is enabling long-range weapons and preparation is essential. He
discussed the challenges with maintaining equipment in winter
conditions in the northern part of the state. He advised that
cyber-attacks, misinformation, and drone helicopters are serious
risks to U.S. Military bases. He expressed gratitude for the
work done to create adequate housing for service members around
military bases in Alaska, but he added that more housing is
needed and obtaining childcare has become a problem. He
expressed interest in the sale of public lands for access to
training areas and suggested that any sale of land should be
done with the knowledge that Airforce training could be done
without the fear of adversaries. He concluded by discussing the
environmental remediation regarding polyfluoroalkyl substances
(PFAS). He stated that $6 million was used to transport around
15,000 cubic yards of PFAS contaminants from the air base;
however, the remaining soil is still contaminated, and he
questioned the committee about treatment for this. He thanked
the committee.
3:01:21 PM
BRIAN EIFLER, Major General, U.S. Army; Commanding General, 11th
Airborne Division; Deputy Commander, Alaskan Command, provided a
PowerPoint presentation, titled "11th Airborne Division
America's Arctic Angels." Beginning on slide 2, he stated that
the U.S. Army Alaska converted to the 11th Airborne Division on
June 6, 2022. He explained that the organization and mission of
the 11th Airborne Division executes expeditionary operations
within the Indo-Pacific theater, conducts multi-domain
operations in the Arctic, defends critical infrastructure in
homeland defense and on order decisively defeats any adversary
in extreme cold weather, mountainous, high latitude, and high-
altitude environments through large-scale combat operations. He
stated that there is a reorganization underway at the division
to maximize efficiency. He moved to slide 3 and discussed the
Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center for joint and
multinational brigade-level training within the region. He
spoke about working with allies on the Northern Edge and Arctic
Edge in Canada. He also spoke about working with Japan, India,
Mongolia, Finland, and Norway. He concluded the presentation by
expressing his gratitude for the support given by the committee.
3:11:37 PM
NATHAN MOORE, Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard; Deputy Commander,
Coast Guard Atlantic Area; Commander, U.S. Coast Guard 17th
District, provided a PowerPoint presentation, titled "2022 Coast
Guard Update for Joint Armed Services Committee." He stated
that slide 2 depicts operations in a strategically competitive
space. He said that the U.S. Coast Guard is one of the few
agencies given authority by the U.S. Department of State to work
with Russia for the purposes of rescue, oil spills, and other
maritime emergencies. He also discussed working with Canada
around the maritime boundary of the Northwest Passage route, as
the U.S. Coast Guard and Canada work together with security and
search and rescue within this area. Moving to slide 3, he
discussed the mental health difficulties the staff based in
Alaska face. He pointed out that there had been three suicides
earlier in the year. He stated that, compared with other armed
forces in the state, the U.S. Coast Guard is more spread out,
making it difficult for servicepeople to maintain personal
connections.
3:18:14 PM
REAR ADMIRAL MOORE stated that the U.S. Coast Guard's work in
the state includes medivacs from cruise ships, commercial ships,
and fishing boats, and he referenced its involvement with the
television show, "The Deadliest Catch." He stated that more
aircraft are coming to the U.S. Coast Guard airbase in Kodiak,
and new cutters will be stationed around the state, including in
Ketchikan and Kodiak. He referenced the struggles within the
U.S. Coast Guard communications infrastructure. He stated that
maintenance and replacement of mountaintop repeaters for search
and rescue is needed in Southeast Alaska and along the coast of
Central Alaska. He stated that new funding has been helpful to
build new housing, piers, and covered moorings.
3:23:49 PM
TORRENCE SAX, Major General, Adjutant General, Alaska National
Guard; Commissioner, Alaska Department of Military and Veterans
Affairs, provided a PowerPoint presentation, titled "Alaska is
Unique-JASC Perspective." He discussed a commander meeting he
attended and explained that roughly 40 percent of the state has
direct connections to the military. He told a personal anecdote
about a car accident which focused on the expectation that
military presence delivers safety and security to Alaskan
citizens. He explained that the Alaska National Guard has
worked hard to stop sexual assault. He moved to slide 2 and
pointed out the unique relationship the California National
Guard has with Ukraine. He stated that the Alaska National
Guard aims to form a similarly unique relationship with
Mongolia, which has a strategic location between Russia and
China. He displayed slide 3 and slide 4 which addressed North
Korea's successful test launch of an intercontinental ballistic
missile. The missile flew 933 kilometers. He related that an
independent analyst has suggested the missile could reach a
maximum range of 6,700 kilometers.
3:29:00 PM
MAJOR GENERAL SAXE moved to slide 5 which showed the many places
that the Alaska National Guard can be deployed, including
Guantanamo Bay, Antarctica, and Poland. He discussed
recruitment and training around the state. Moving to slide 8,
he described the National Guard's commitment to creating
leaders, and he emphasized that strength is built through
community, relationships, and rural outreach. He stated that
the U.S. National Guard provides election support throughout the
state, and historically the last two years have been the busiest
for the Alaska National Guard. He summarized the remainder of
the slides, which showed examples of heroes from Alaska and how
the U.S. National Guard has honored them.
3:38:23 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL KRUMM responded to a series of questions from
Senator Reinbold. In reference to the ice levels in the winter,
he gave an example of two Russian natural gas tankers which
broke through ice this past year. Concerning what is
contributing to climate change, he explained that his role is to
prepare for what is happening, not to determine why climate
change is happening. He added that because there is less ice in
the summer, there is more access. Concerning misinformation, he
exemplified Russia, Ukraine, and China as concerning in the
"cyber arena." He expressed the opinion that troops should be
educated about misinformation. In response to a final question,
he expressed the opinion that elected officials should support
military efforts concerning any changing threats to Alaska.
3:44:14 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL KRUMM, in response to Senator Holland, stated
Russia has asserted that the Northern Sea Route is within its
territorial waters, even though it is considered international
waters. He stated that Russia has requested payment for passage
and requires Russian pilots to be present.
3:46:15 PM
MAJOR GENERAL EIFLER, in response to Senator Revak, detailed
Mission 100 which seeks 100 percent connection throughout the
organization, including leaders, soldiers, and their next of
kin. He emphasized that the spread of hope and human connection
is important to prevent suicide. He stated that Mission 100
requires mandatory counseling, as members of the military would
be exposed to available tools and resources.
LIEUTENANT GENERAL KRUMM, in response to the same question,
discussed incorporating best practices.
3:54:18 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL KRUMM, in response to Representative Nelson,
stated that there are around 100 to 150 new military personnel
expected. He expressed optimism about working with communities
for housing options.
3:57:23 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL KRUMM, in response to a question from
Representative Tarr concerning domestic and international
threats, expressed concern about the utilization of unmanned
ariel vehicles in unauthorized areas.
4:01:31 PM
REAR ADMIRAL MOORE, in response to Representative Spohnholz's
inquiry about the use of wind and solar in rural Alaska for
communications infrastructure, stated that the U.S. Coast Guard
is looking to replace the communications network for search and
rescue communication throughout the entire country. He said
that new technology may be satellite-based, and with this there
would be less maintenance than diesel-powered generators running
on mountaintops.
4:08:26 PM
LIEUTENANT GENERAL KRUMM, in response to Senator Reinbold,
stated that the fire near the Clear Airforce Station is
currently about a mile away from where evacuation notices will
need to be issued. He offered that rain is in the forecast, and
equipment has been sent to help with the fire.
4:11:57 PM
CO-CHAIR CLAMAN thanked the presenters and provided closing
remarks.
4:12:11 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the Joint
Armed Services Committee meeting was adjourned at 4:12 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| ALCOM JASC Presentation Final_.pdf |
JASC 7/13/2022 2:30:00 PM |
|
| 11ABN DIV_JASC_FINAL_13JUL22.pdf |
JASC 7/13/2022 2:30:00 PM |
|
| USCG 2022 JASC Brief -.pdf |
JASC 7/13/2022 2:30:00 PM |
|
| Saxe JASC Jul 22 presentation.pdf |
JASC 7/13/2022 2:30:00 PM |
|
| 2023KeyIssuesTwoPageFlyer_20220706.pdf |
JASC 7/13/2022 2:30:00 PM |