Legislature(2021 - 2022)GRUENBERG 120
03/03/2022 01:00 PM House MILITARY & VETERANS' AFFAIRS
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| HJR35 | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s)|| Military Appeals Commission | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| += | HJR 35 | TELECONFERENCED | |
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS
March 3, 2022
1:03 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Chris Tuck, Chair
Representative Andi Story
Representative Geran Tarr
Representative Matt Claman
Representative George Rauscher
Representative David Nelson
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Laddie Shaw
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 35
Supporting the completion of the Northern Rail Extension;
supporting the increase in defensive capabilities at Fort
Greely, Alaska; and encouraging the development of critical
Arctic infrastructure.
- MOVED HJR 35 OUT OF COMMITTEE
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
Military Appeals Commission
Tyler Harder - Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HJR 35
SHORT TITLE: NORTHERN RAIL EXTENSION
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) CRONK
02/22/22 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/22/22 (H) MLV, TRA
03/01/22 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
03/01/22 (H) Heard & Held
03/01/22 (H) MINUTE(MLV)
03/03/22 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
TYLER HARDER, Appointee
Military Appeals Commission
Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Military
Appeals Commission.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:03:38 PM
CHAIR CHRIS TUCK called the House Special Committee on Military
and Veterans' Affairs meeting to order at 1:03 p.m.
Representatives Claman, Story, Nelson, Rauscher, and Tuck were
present at the call to order. Representative Tarr arrived as
the meeting was in progress.
HJR 35-NORTHERN RAIL EXTENSION
1:04:17 PM
CHAIR TUCK announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 35, "Supporting the completion of the
Northern Rail Extension; supporting the increase in defensive
capabilities at Fort Greely, Alaska; and encouraging the
development of critical Arctic infrastructure."
1:05:04 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY moved to report HJR 35 out of committee
with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal
notes.
1:05:25 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN objected for the purpose of discussion.
He commended the bill's sponsor for getting the support of
former Representative Talerico. He withdrew his objection.
1:05:45 PM
CHAIR TUCK announced that there being no further objection, HJR
35 was reported out of the House Special Committee on Military
and Veterans' Affairs.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
^Military Appeals Commission
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
Military Appeals Commission
1:06:06 PM
CHAIR TUCK announced that the final order of business would be
the confirmation hearing for the governor's appointee to the
Military Appeals Commission.
1:06:47 PM
TYLER HARDER, Appointee, Military Appeals Commission, shared
that he is currently serving as the Senior Civilian Legal
Advisor to the Alaska Command, as well as the Alaska North
American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Region Commander at
Joint-Base Elmendorf Richardson. He further shared that he
graduated from law school in Montana; served as a clerk for the
Montana Supreme Court; then went on to serve in the Army Judge
Advocate General's (JAG) Corps. He stated that he has served 24
years as an Army JAG, and that his first duty assignment was in
Fort Wainwright. He said that his last assignment to Alaska was
in 2011, followed by his retirement in the state in 2014. He
stated his military career is focused on military justice and
its criminal process through spending time prosecuting and
defending, spending several years as an instructor in the
Military Justice Department at the Army JAG Legal Center in
Charlottesville, Virgina. He said he is familiar with National
Guard structure, including the National Guard Bureau and various
state National Guards, especially during service as JAG for Army
North. He said that in his current position he has become more
familiar with Army Air and National Guard, and that his current
experience makes him a good fit to serve on the Military Appeals
Commission.
1:09:48 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked for examples of proceedings that
are handled by the Military Appeals Commission.
MR. HARDER responded that the structure the state has
established is new and was the result of a U.S. Department of
Defense (DoD) investigation several years ago, which identified
problems with the Alaska State Guard's military justice system.
He further explained that it lacked a state uniform code of
military justice (UCMJ), and so as a result of investigation,
such a code was created; this code required an appellate process
so that the military appeals commission would look at appeals
from Alaska Guard adjudicated court martials or non-judicial
punishments.
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked how many appeals succeed.
MR. HARDER explained that on the active-duty side, there is a
military appeals court for each service and a DoD appeals court
that looks at appeals that come from service courts; from there,
the appeal could go up to the Alaska Supreme Court. He couldn't
share the number of cases that have been overturned or sent back
for rehearing but acknowledged that there is about 3 to 5
percent overturn rate in some years while other years see about
10 percent in some courts.
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked if it costs money to be in appeals
court.
MR. HARDER answered that the appellate process is free to the
individual that is submitting the appeal.
1:14:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN asked if Mr. Harding is currently serving
as a legal advisor to the Alaska Command.
MR. HARDER answered yes and explained that the Alaska Command is
a Joint Command, commanded by an Air Force General Officer, and
falls under Northern Command based in Colorado Springs,
Colorado. In response to a follow-up question, he confirmed
that he would be new on the commission.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN asked if Mr. Harding has conducted trials
and appeals on the military side.
MR. HARDING answered that most of his 24 years of active-duty
service were at the trial level. He said that his familiarity
with the National Guard is based on his time in Alaska working
with the guard, but he has not done state trials.
REPRESENTATIVE CLAMAN asked, if a service member were to appeal
a decision to the commission, would that member have a further
right to appeal the commission and, if so, what their next steps
would be.
MR. HARDER responded that the case could then go to the state
courts, so the Alaska Supreme Court could possibly hear the case
if there were issues that warrant that level of elevation.
1:18:05 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked for confirmation that the commission
was created through an executive order by the governor.
Further, she asked what has happened in the last year to get the
commission functioning.
MR. HARDER answered that outside of e-mail introductions, he has
had no direct involvement in the commission in the past year.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked if Mr. Harding believes in the mission
and the need for the commission.
MR. HARDER stated that the older he gets, the greater his sense
of obligation to give back becomes, to share his experiences in
some way to make a positive difference. He said that nothing
has kept him up at night over the years but the sense of
injustice. He said the biggest underlying current to justice is
corruption, and that Alaska is a state that is sensitive and
aware of rooting out corruption and maintaining systems that are
fair and just.
1:21:22 PM
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON commended Mr. Harder for his service as a
JAG.
1:22:01 PM
REPRESENTATIVE STORY asked Mr. Harder what most qualifies him
for the position.
MR. HARDER responded that his experience cannot be narrowed down
to one individual example. He said he has had some cases that
left a positive impression, while some others have left a
negative one, based on how the case was handled or the outcome.
He shared an instance where a member of a family left a note
thanking him for his work. He said that is what the work boils
down to, in that people are paid to do what they do, but it is
not about the paycheck, it is about the relationships and the
people he can help. He shared that at about the time he
retired, a teaching position at Bartlett High School had
materialized, which was a job he sought to help students.
1:25:05 PM
CHAIR TUCK inquired about Mr. Harder's publications,
particularly those relating to the No Child Left Behind Act, and
asked what his conclusion is on how the state can help families
with multiple deployments.
MR. HARDER relayed that it has been a few years since he
reviewed the publications. He said he wrote a thesis paper on
the topic in college, and that at the time he wanted to write
about a topic he was passionate about. He stated that the paper
ended up not being related to the Act. He said that with a
family of five kids, the toughest part of deploying was leaving
family behind. He said that time with family is more important
than the time spent at work. He said the rotations in the
military were high, slowing down now, but left many families
broken, marriages falling part, and kids with disciplinary
issues. He stated that DoD tried but failed some of its
families and children.
CHAIR TUCK pointed to other writings, namely Developments in
Sentencing: Tying Up Loose Ends. He asked what direction Mr.
Harder saw sentencing going, and where he would like to see it
go.
MR. HARDER answered that a part of the military justice system
that impressed him was the latitude the judges were given in
sentencing. He stated that he is not a proponent of sentencing
guidelines, and that the judges should be empowered to look at
the situation on a case-by-case basis, instead of "cookie cut"
sentences to criminal acts. He said aggravation and mitigation
are the two factors that one considers in sentencing to
determine what the appropriate sentence would be, and they
should be weighed independently.
1:30:26 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR asked what Mr. Harding's analysis provided
for in terms of recommendations. She explained that she's been
teaching at the University of Alaska Anchorage since 1999 and
has had numerous students who were in military families; they
were surprised at the number of multiple deployments and saw the
impact and stress on the family.
MR. HARDING responded that he felt strongly about the rotation
system. He said there were some members who were on back-to-
back deployments, not of their own choosing, and had been
"downrange" several times. He said there seemed to be a lot of
rhetoric pointing toward supporting families, but when the time
came to submit a request for a waiver or exemption to not going,
the needs of the military outweighed the needs of the family.
He said that one of the points he made in the book was that a
better job needs to be done in looking at the individuals that
make up the units rather than just at the unit. He said that
the assignments process wasn't synchronized with the deployment
process.
REPRESENTATIVE TARR said the committee has heard several bills
relating to supporting school enrollment for military families.
She thanked Mr. Harder for sharing what he has learned.
1:33:31 PM
The committee took a brief at-ease at 1:33 p.m.
1:33:51 PM
CHAIR TUCK opened public testimony on the Appointment of Tyler
Harder to the Military Appeals Commission. After ascertaining
there was no one who wished to testify, he closed public
testimony.
1:34:11 PM
REPRESENTATIVE TARR stated that the House Special Committee on
Military and Veterans' Affairs has reviewed the qualifications
of the governor's appointees and recommends that the following
name be forwarded to a joint session for consideration: Tyler
Harder, Military Appeals Commission. She said that signing the
report regarding appointments to boards and commissions in no
way reflects an individual member's approval or disapproval of
the appointee, and the nomination is merely forwarded to the
full legislature for confirmation or rejection.
1:35:01 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting was
adjourned at 1:35 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Tyler Harder Application_Redacted.pdf |
HMLV 3/3/2022 1:00:00 PM |
|
| Tyler Harder Resume_Redacted.pdf |
HMLV 3/3/2022 1:00:00 PM |
|
| Military Appeals Commision Fact Sheet 03.03.2022.pdf |
HMLV 3/3/2022 1:00:00 PM |