ALASKA LEGISLATURE  JOINT SENATE AND HOUSE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE  February 5, 2002 1:40 p.m. SENATE MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Gary Wilken, Co-Chair Senator Randy Phillips Senator Loren Leman Senator Ben Stevens Senator Bettye Davis SENATE MEMBERS ABSENT  All members present HOUSE MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Eldon Mulder, Co-Chair Representative Lisa Murkowski Representative John Harris Representative Jeannette James Representative Reggie Joule HOUSE MEMBERS ABSENT  All members present PUBLIC MEMBERS PRESENT  Mr. Frank Love Mr. Dean Owen Mr. George Vakalis (via teleconference) Mr. Jake Lestenkof (via teleconference) Mr. Chick Wallace (via teleconference) Mr. John Hoyt (via teleconference) OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT Senator Rick Halford Senator John Cowdery Senator Donnie Olson Representative John Coghill Representative Richard Foster Representative Bill Williams Representative Ken Lancaster Representative Mike Chenault Representative Hugh Fate COMMITTEE CALENDAR Presentations by Lieutenant General Norton Schwartz and Major General Willie Nance, Jr. Update by Julie Stinson, Department of Administration, on the Land Mobile Radio Project Update by Janice Nielsen, Director of Governmental and Legislative Affairs, on USARPAC Events Briefing by Dean Owen on National Association of Installation Developers (NAID) Winter Conference in Tempe, Arizona ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 02-1, SIDE A  Number 001 CO-CHAIR GARY WILKEN called the Joint Armed Services Committee meeting to order at 1:40 p.m. Members present were Senators Phillips, Leman, Davis, Stevens, and Wilken; Representatives Joule, Murkowski, Harris, and James; Dean Owen, Frank Love, Jake Lestenkof, George Vakalis, John Hoyt, and Chick Wallace. Senators Halford, Olson and Cowdery and Representatives Williams and Foster were also present, as well as Adjutant General Oates of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and Janice Nielsen of USARPAC were present. SENATOR LEMAN moved to approve the minutes of the November 15, 2001 meeting. There being no objection, the motion carried. CO-CHAIR WILKEN then turned the gavel over to Co-Chair Mulder. CO-CHAIR MULDER thanked everyone for attending and announced that the committee is privileged to have Lieutenant General Norty Schwartz, Commander of Alaska Command, Commander of the Alaska North American Aerospace Defense Command Region and Commander of th the 11 Air Force, all headquartered at Elmendorf Air Force Base, with them today. Lieutenant General Schwartz is a 1973 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He has commanded special operations forces at every echelon. He served four tours in the Pentagon and, prior to assuming his current position, he was deputy commander in chief, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. A command pilot with more than 4200 flight hours, the General has flown both rotary and fixed wing aircraft. He is also a jump-qualified parachutist. His major awards and decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, and the Legion of Merit. CO-CHAIR MULDER said on a personal note, Lieutenant General Schwartz and Suzie Schwartz are true Alaskans. They represent all that is right about Alaska and its cooperative relationship with the military. CO-CHAIR MULDER then introduced Major General Willie B. Nance, Jr., the National Missile Defense Program Executive Officer and System Program Director for the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, Department of Defense. Co-Chair Mulder explained that Major General Nance is responsible for development and deployment of the National Missile Defense System. Major General Nance entered the Army in 1968 as a member of the Mississippi all-volunteer company, graduated from officer candidate school and served 13 years as infantry officer until branch-transferred to the Ordinance Command in 1981. He has earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in business administration and is a graduate of the United States Army Infantry Officer Advance Course, the Army Command General Staff College, the Defense Systems Management College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Co-Chair Mulder then recited an extensive list of awards and decorations that Major General Nance has earned. LIEUTENANT GENERAL NORTY SCHWARTZ then gave the following presentation to the committee. IT IS A PLEASURE TO BE BEFORE YOU AGAIN. I AM HONORED TO SPEND A FEW MINUTES DISCUSSING YOUR MILITARY IN ALASKA. AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THESE HAVE BEEN CHALLENGING TIMES FOR US, FOR ALL OF US. WE APPRECIATE YOUR UNWAVERING SUPPORT HERE IN THE STATE CAPITOL AND IN YOUR COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE LAST YEAR. FIRST I NEED TO TELL YOU SOMETHING I HAVE MENTIONED OFTEN IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS - YOUR MILITARY IS READY NOW... ANTICIPATING THE FUTURE NEEDS OF AMERICA. AND CLEARLY, ALASKA WILL PLAY A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN FUTURE DEFENSE OF THE NATION. TODAY I WANT TO DESCRIBE SOME OF THE MANY WAYS ALASKA'S MILITARY IS ENGAGED THROUGHOUT THE STATE AND AROUND THE WORLD. I'LL ALSO DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF MILITARY OPERATIONS IN ALASKA AND HOW IT MAY AFFECT YOU AND YOUR CONSTITUENTS. WHAT HAS CHANGED IS OUR PERCEPTION OF MORE DIRECT THREATS TO AMERICA'S SECURITY AS WELL AS OUR ABILITY TO ACT MORE DIRECTLY TO COUNTER THESE THREATS. SINCE 9-11 OUR INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES ARE FOCUSED AS NEVER BEFORE ON GLOBAL TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS. SLOWLY, WE ARE MAKING THE CONNECTIONS LINKING ORGANIZATIONS AND ACTIVITIES FROM AFGHANISTAN, TO THE PHILIPPINES, TO INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA. IN SHORT, THERE ARE BAD ACTORS AROUND THE WORLD AND SOME IN THE PACIFIC THEATER OF OPERATION. WHILE WE DO NOT SEE AN IMMEDIATE, DIRECT THREAT TO ALASKA, WE CANNOT AFFORD TO BE COMPLACENT. I AM CONVINCED THAT THE ENHANCED SECURITY POSTURE IN ALL 50 STATES HAS PREVENTED SOME ATTACKS. BUT THE ENEMY IS DETERMINED, SOPHISTICATED, CLANDESTINE AND UNPREDICTABLE... AND HAS THE LUXURY OF TIME. THAT MEANS WE MUST REMAIN VIGILANT AND TAKE EVERY PRUDENT MEASURE TO ENHANCE THE SECURITY OF OUR PEOPLE AND FACILITIES. AT EIELSON, AIRCRAFT AND PERSONNEL FROM THE 18th AND THE 355th FIGHTER SQUADRONS ARE CURRENTLY DEPLOYED AS PART OF THEIR REGULAR AIR EXPEDITIONARY FORCE ROTATION IN KUWAIT SUPPORTING OPERATION SOUTHERN WATCH. THEY ARE DUE BACK IN MARCH...AND THREE OF YOUR AIR NATIONAL GUARD KC-135 TANKERS ARE PRESENTLY DEPLOYED TO GUAM. THE LAND COMPONENT IS EQUALLY TAXED AS THE UNITED STATES ARMY ALASKA IS SUPPORTING OPERATIONS IN SARAJEVO, SAUDI ARABIA, KUWAIT, VIETNAM, HONDURAS, LAOS AND CAMBODIA. I KNOW GENERAL OATES TALKED WITH MANY OF YOU ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES OF THE NATIONAL GUARD, BUT I'D LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE COMMITMENT AND CONTRIBUTION OF THE 210th RESCUE SQUADRON, WHICH ACTIVATED AND DEPLOYED TO KUWAIT FULFILLING A CRITICAL SEARCH AND RESCUE ROLE FOR OPERATION SOUTHERN WATCH...AS WELL AS THE 168th AIR REFUELING WING MENTIONED EARLIER. - THE U.S. COAST GUARD, DISTRICT 17 -ALASKA'S NAVAL COMPONENT-HAS ALWAYS BEEN OUR LEAD AGENCY FOR MARITIME HOMELAND SECURITY.   HOMELAND SECURITY FROM A STRATEGIC PERSPECTIVE, WE IN ALASKAN COMMAND ARE FOCUSED ON HOMELAND SECURITY EFFORTS, MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO CIVILIAN AUTHORITIES AND POTENTIAL REGIONAL CONTINGENCIES. IN RECENT MONTHS, WE HAVE STRENGTHENED OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH STATE AND CIVIL AGENCIES. THE COOPERATION AND ACTIVE INTERACTION AMONGST THE FAA, FBI, LAW ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENTS OF JUSTICE AND INTERIOR, STATE DES, THE ALASKA STATE TROOPERS, AND OTHERS HAVE BEEN TREMENDOUS. WORKING TOGETHER, WE HAVE IMPROVED PROCEDURES, CONDUCTED ROUTINE MEETINGS, AND PLAN AND EVEN TRAIN TOGETHER. IN TYPICAL ALASKA FASHION, PEOPLE HAVE PULLED TOGETHER TOWARD A COMMON GOAL. THIS TEAMWORK IS THE KEY TO SUCCESSFUL FUTURE RESPONSE TO TERRORIST ACTIONS. AS YOU KNOW, MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO CIVILIAN AUTHORITIES IS A NATIONAL PROGRAM. AS AMERICA WORKS TO PROTECT ITS CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, NATIONAL LEADERS HAVE IDENTIFIED THE MARINE TERMINAL IN THE PORT OF VALDEZ AS A CRITICAL ASSET DUE TO ITS UNIQUENESS, LOCATION AND ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE TO THE NATION. AS A RESULT, WE HAVE FOCUSED CONSIDERABLE ATTENTION IN THAT AREA. THE AGENCIES RESPONSIBLE FOR PROTECTING THE TERMINAL SINCE 9-11 ARE DOING A CREDIBLE JOB BASED ON THE THREAT WE SEE RIGHT NOW. BUT IF THE SITUATION CHANGES, AS THE JOINT REAR AREA COORDINATOR (JRAC) I COULD PROVIDE ASSISTANCE USING MILITARY RESOURCES. OVER THE PAST FEW MONTHS THE ALASKAN COMMAND STAFF, IN CONJUNCTION WITH MANY OTHER DOD, FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES HAVE PRACTICED HOW WE WOULD RESPOND TO CHANGES IN THE THREAT. WE HAVE DEVELOPED A GAME PLAN TO ENHANCE AIR, MARITIME AND GROUND DEFENSE OF THE TERMINAL SHOULD EVENTS REQUIRE. WE'VE WORKED THROUGH MANY QUESTIONS SUCH AS "WHAT EVENTS DICTATE THE USE OF THE FEDERAL TROOPS?" IT CAN BE USED DURING NATURAL DISASTERS, MEDICAL EMERGENCIES, EVACUATIONS, AND SECURITY ENHANCEMENT OPERATIONS AT PLACES LIKE VALDEZ. BASICALLY IT PROVIDES A LEVEL OF CAPABILITY ACROSS THE SPECTRUM OF CRISIS RESPONSE-A CAPABILITY THE STATE AND DOD DO NOT PRESENTLY ENJOY. IT PROVIDES US THE MEANS TO ENSURE THE INTERAGENCY RELATIONSHIPS BUILT AROUND THE CONFERENCE TABLE ARE SUSTAINED IN THE FIELD. ALASKA MISSIONS THE ALASKA LAND MOBILE RADIO (LMR) INITIATIVE IS UNIQUE ... AS IS THE GREAT STATE IT IS DESIGNED TO SUPPORT. ALASKA, FROM A MILITARY PERSPECTIVE, IS SPECIAL IN OTHER WAYS. YOU HAVE HEARD ME MENTION ITS IMMENSE VALUE IN TERMS OF ITS STRATEGIC LOCATION. BECAUSE OF THIS, WE ARE SEEING NEW INITIATIVES AND ADDITIONAL MISSIONS COMING OUR WAY. ONE I KNOW YOU ARE KEENLY AWARE OF IS MISSILE DEFENSE. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY CHANGES IN THE LAST YEAR, BUT TWO STAND OUT ABOVE THE REST. ONE IS THE TEST BED CONCEPT ADVANCED BY THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION. THIS IS A MAJOR CHANGE FOR OUR ARMY FORCES AND THEIR ROLE. THIS NEW MISSION WILL REQUIRE THE ARMY TO TRAIN AND EQUIP THEIR PERSONNEL DIFFERENTLY TO ENSURE THEY CAN PROVIDE THEATER COMMANDERS A JOINT-CAPABLE FORCE THAT CAN RESPOND QUICKLY, WORLDWIDE AND PREVAIL ACROSS THE SPECTRUM OF OPERATIONS. ONE OF THE REASONS THE INTERIM BRIGADE COMBAT TEAM IS COMING TO ALASKA IS THE FANTASTIC RANGES WE HAVE IN ALASKA AND THE OPPORTUNITIES THEY PROVIDE FOR INTEGRATED GROUND AND AIR TRAINING. TO ENSURE THESE OPPORTUNITIES CONTINUE, WE HAVE EMBARKED ON A LONG-TERM RANGE MODERNIZATION PLAN. NOT ONLY WILL THE MODERNIZATION HELP IMPROVE THE RANGES, WHICH IN TURN WILL IMPROVE TRAINING, BUT THE CHANGES WILL BENEFIT YOU, YOUR CONSTITUENTS AND VISITORS TO ALASKA WHO SPEND TIME IN THE AIR FLYING AROUND THE STATE. RADAR IMPROVEMENTS WILL MAKE IT SAFER AND EASIER FOR ALL OF ALASKA'S AVIATORS TO SHARE USE OF AIRSPACE-BUSH PILOTS AND FIGHTER PILOTS ALIKE. MORE SO THAN ANY OTHER TIME IN MY 28-YEAR CAREER, I HAVE WITNESSED THE RESOLVE OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. IT MAKES ME PROUD TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK WITH YOU TODAY ON BEHALF OF ALL THE MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN IN ALASKA. MR. CHAIRMAN, WITH YOUR PERMISSION, I WILL PASS THE MICROPHONE TO MAJOR GENERAL NANCE FOR HIS COMMENTS, AND THEN WE WILL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. THANK YOU. MAJOR GENERAL WILLIE NANCE JR. then gave the following presentation to committee members. MR. CHAIRMAN, DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IT IS AN HONOR TO BE INVITED TO SPEAK TO YOU TODAY ABOUT OUR MISSILE DEFENSE PROGRAM. I HAVE VISITED ALASKA IN AN OFFICIAL CAPACITY SEVERAL TIMES, AND I ALWAYS ENJOY SPENDING TIME IN ALASKA AND AMONG ALASKANS. I'VE SPOKEN TO MANY OF YOU DURING THESE TRIPS, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING OUR EXCHANGE OF VIEWS. I AM ESPECIALLY PLEASED TO APPEAR BEFORE YOU IN THE COMPANY OF GENERAL NORTY SCHWARTZ. THE MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY STAFF AND I WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH GENERAL SCHWARTZ AND HIS STAFF IN PLANNING ALL MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY ACTIVITIES IN ALASKA. HE AND GENERAL PHIL OATES, YOUR ADJUTANT GENERAL, HAVE HELPED US FORMULATE OUR PLANS WITH ALASKA'S REQUIREMENTS IN MIND. I'D LIKE TO TALK TO YOU TODAY ABOUT THE PROTECTION OF OUR HOMELAND, OUR DEPLOYED FORCES, AND POTENTIALLY, OUR FRIENDS AND ALLIES, FROM BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK. SPECIFICALLY, I WILL UPDATE YOU ON THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE'S NEW APPROACH TO MISSILE DEFENSE AND DISCUSS THE IMPORTANT ROLE ALASKA PLAYS IN THIS ARENA. TODAY, OUR NATION HAS NO ABILITY TO DEFEND ITSELF AGAINST A BALLISTIC MISSILE LAUNCHED AGAINST OUR HOMELAND. WE CAN DETECT A BALLISTIC MISSILE IMMEDIATELY AFTER IT IS LAUNCHED, DETERMINE WHERE THAT MISSILE IS GOING, AND GAUGE WHEN IT WILL HIT. BUT WE ARE HELPLESS TO PREVENT IT FROM STRIKING OUR HOMELAND. THE BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT WORLDWIDE IS REAL AND GROWING. IN 1972, ONLY A HANDFUL OF STATES POSSESSED BALLISTIC MISSILE TECHNOLOGY. TODAY, OVER TWENTY-FIVE NATIONS EITHER POSSESS BALLISTIC MISSILES, ARE DEVELOPING BALLISTIC MISSILES, OR ARE PURSUING MISSILE-RELATED TECHNOLOGY. TODAY'S BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT CAN TAKE MANY FORMS - IN THE SHORT AND MEDIUM-RANGE MISSILES LIKE THOSE USED AGAINST OUR SOLDIERS IN THE GULF WAR, IN INTERMEDIATE-RANGE MISSILES THAT COULD THREATEN EUROPE FROM THE MIDDLE EAST, AND IN THE INTERCONTINENTAL MISSILES THAN CAN SPAN THE OCEANS AND THREATEN OUR HOMELAND. DURING THE COLD WAR, THE UNITED STATES FACED A THREAT ONLY FROM ESTABLISHED NUCLEAR POWERS - FIRST THE SOVIET UNION, AND LATER, CHINA. SINCE THE END OF THE COLD WAR, THE BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT HAS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE THREATS FROM SMALLER, LESS-STABLE COUNTRIES. THE MOST RECENT NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE OFFERED THESE KEY JUDGMENTS ON THE BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT. FIRST, MOST INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES PROJECT THAT THE UNITED STATES WILL MOST LIKELY FACE NEW INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILE THREATS BEFORE 2015. SECOND, SHORT AND MEDIUM-RANGE MISSILES ALREADY POSE A SIGNIFICANT THREAT OVERSEAS TO U.S. INTERESTS, FORCES, AND ALLIES. THIRD, NORTH KOREA'S TAEPO DONG TWO - CAPABLE OF REACHING PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES WITH A NUCLEAR WEAPON-SIZED PAYLOAD - MAY BE READY FOR FLIGHT TESTING. FOURTH, SEVERAL COUNTRIES COULD DEVELOP A MECHANISM TO LAUNCH MISSILES FROM FORWARD-BASED SHIPS OR OTHER PLATFORMS, AND A FEW ARE LIKELY TO DO SO BEFORE 2015. THE REPORT ALSO STATED THAT IRAQ WANTS A LONG-RANGE MISSILE AND THAT IRAN IS PURSUING SHORT- AND LONG-RANGE MISSILE CAPABILITIES. FINALLY, THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY SAID THAT NON-MISSILE MEANS FOR DELIVERING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION DO NOT PROVIDE THE SAME PRESTIGE, DETERRENCE, AND COERCIVE DIPLOMACY AS INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILES. REGARDLESS OF WHETHER A COUNTRY SEEKS BALLISTIC MISSILES AS WARFIGHTING WEAPONS, FOR DETERRENCE, FOR DIPLOMATIC BLACKMAIL, OR JUST FOR NATIONAL PRESTIGE, IT IS REASONABLE TO THINK THAT ANY POTENTIAL ADVERSARIES THAT NOW POSSESS OR DESIRE SHORT-AND MEDIUM-RANGE MISSILES WILL SEEK INTERCONTINENTAL MISSILES AS WELL. WOULD A NATION ACTUALLY USE A BALLISTIC MISSILE AGAINST US? NO ONE CAN SAY FOR SURE, BUT HISTORY SUGGESTS THE POSSIBILITY. IN 1944, GERMANY FIRED V-2 ROCKETS AGAINST ENGLAND AND BELGIUM. DURING THEIR WAR FROM 1980 TO 1990, IRAQ AND IRAN USED MISSILES AGAINST EACH OTHER. IN 1987, LIBYA FIRED A SCUD MISSILE AT AN ITALIAN ISLAND. IRAQ USED ITS MISSILES AGAIN IN 1991 DURING THE GULF WAR, THIS TIME AGAINST COALITION FORCES IN SAUDI ARABIA AND AGAINST CIVILIANS IN ISRAEL. IN FACT, THE GREATEST SINGLE LOSS OF AMERICAN LIFE IN THAT WAR CAME IN A SINGLE BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK THAT KILLED 28 OF OUR SOLDIERS AND WOUNDED 99. WOULD A COUNTRY RISK USING BALLISTIC MISSILES AGAINST THE UNITED STATES, KNOWING THAT SUCH USE COULD RESULT IN MASSIVE U.S. RETALIATION? AGAIN, NO ONE CAN ANSWER WITH CERTAINTY, BUT HISTORY AGAIN GIVES US PAUSE. AFTER PEARL HARBOR, HITLER UNILATERALLY DECLARED WAR ON THE UNITED STATES, A GRAVE MISCALCULATION THAT ENDED WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF THE NAZI REGIME. AFTER THE TERRORIST TH ATTACK ON SEPTEMBER 11, THE TALIBAN REGIME CONTINUED TO SUPPORT AL QAEDA, LEADING TO ITS DESTRUCTION. IT IS NOT UNREASONABLE TO THINK THAT OTHER REGIMES MIGHT MAKE SIMILAR MISJUDGMENTS IN THE FUTURE. AS MISSILE TECHNOLOGY SPREADS AROUND THE WORLD, BALLISTIC MISSILES COULD FALL INTO THE HANDS OF TERRORISTS. THE NATION OF AFGHANISTAN WAS ESSENTIALLY TAKEN OVER BY TERRORISTS AND USED AS A BASE TO PLOT ATTACKS ON AMERICANS AT HOME AND ABROAD. JUST THINK OF WHAT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED IF AFGHANISTAN HAD POSSESSED A BALLISTIC MISSILE SYSTEM! IN HIS STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS LAST WEEK, PRESIDENT BUSH SAID, "THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL NOT PERMIT THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS REGIMES TO THREATEN US WITH THE WORLD'S MOST DESTRUCTIVE WEAPONS." THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE IS AGGRESSIVELY PURSUING A DEFENSE AGAINST BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK. AFTER TAKING OFFICE LAST YEAR, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE RUMSFELD MANDATED A COMPREHENSIVE MISSILE DEFENSE REVIEW. THE SECRETARY GAVE THE REVIEW VERY BROAD PARAMETERS AND VERY FEW CONSTRAINTS. HE WANTED EVERY OPTION LOOKED AT, EVERY IDEA DISCUSSED. I WAS A PART OF THAT REVIEW, AND I WOULD TELL YOU THAT IT WAS BOTH DELIBERATE AND INCLUSIVE. WE CONSIDERED THE OPINIONS OF EXPERTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, OF EXPERTS OUTSIDE THE DEPARTMENT, AND OF OUR CRITICS. WE LOOKED AT TECHNOLOGIES - NEW AND OLD - AND EVALUATED HOW THEY MIGHT BE APPLIED TO THIS DIFFICULT PROBLEM. DURING THE REVIEW, WE RECOGNIZED THAT OUR PREVIOUS APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM HAD BEEN VERY LIMITED. WE HAD ARTIFICIALLY BROKEN OUR MISSILE DEFENSE EFFORTS INTO TWO PARTS, ONE TO DEVELOP MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEMS THAT COULD PROTECT OUR FORWARD DEPLOYED FORCES - CALLED THEATER BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEMS - AND A MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM THAT COULD PROTECT OUR HOMELAND - CALLED THE NATIONAL MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM. THEATER MISSILE DEFENSES WERE CONSTRAINED FROM CONTRIBUTING TO OUR HOMELAND DEFENSE. THE NATIONAL MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM WAS CONSTRAINED TO A GROUND-BASED, SINGLE SITE SYSTEM. THE REVIEW RECOGNIZED THAT TECHNOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE TO EXPAND THE CAPABILITIES OF THE THEATER SYSTEMS AND TO BRING TO BEAR SEA, AIR, AND SPACE-BASED CAPABILITIES TO PROVIDE A GREATER CHANCE TO DEFEND OUR NATION FROM BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK. THE REVIEW DETERMINED THAT WE MUST GET AWAY FROM A HODGEPODGE OF DIFFERENT MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEMS OPERATING INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER, AND WE MUST CREATE A SINGLE, INTEGRATED BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM. WE ALSO RECOGNIZED THAT WE HAD LIMITED OUR DEFENSES TO ONLY PART OF A MISSILE'S FLIGHT PATH. WE SAW THAT TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE, WE MUST DEVELOP A SYSTEM THAT GIVES US MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES TO ATTACK A BALLISTIC MISSILE ALL THE WAY ALONG ITS COURSE - AS IT BOOSTS THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE, AS IT COASTS THROUGH SPACE AT ITS MIDCOURSE, AND AS IT RETURNS TO THE EARTH IN ITS TERMINAL PHASE. BY ATTACKING A MISSILE AS IT IS BOOSTING, WE CAN DESTROY IT REGARDLESS OF WHERE IT IS GOING. ATTACKING IN ITS MIDCOURSE PHASE ALLOWS US TO DEFEND WIDE REGIONS OF THE EARTH. BY ATTACKING IT IN ITS TERMINAL PHASE, WE CAN DEFEND LOCALIZED AREAS AND CRITICAL ASSETS. WE ARE NOW EXPLORING A VARIETY OF TECHNOLOGIES TO ACHIEVE THIS LAYERED DEFENSE. WE ARE LOOKING AT MISSILE DEFENSE CAPABILITIES THAT CAN BE DEPLOYED FROM PLATFORMS AT SEA, ON THE GROUND, IN THE AIR, AND POTENTIALLY, IN SPACE.  WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT A VARIETY OF SENSORS - RADARS AT SEA AND ON THE GROUND, AND SATELLITES IN SPACE - THAT WILL GIVE US CONTINUOUS GLOBAL COVERAGE FOR EARLY WARNING AND CONTINUOUS TRACKING OF A BALLISTIC MISSILE AND ITS PAYLOAD. AND WE ARE WORKING ON A COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEM THAT WILL INTEGRATE ALL THE TECHNOLOGIES INTO A MORE CAPABLE MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM. PUTTING ALL THESE ELEMENTS TOGETHER IN A SINGLE SYSTEM ALLOWS US MULTIPLE OPPORTUNITIES TO KILL AN INCOMING MISSILE, INCREASES OUR CHANCE OF SUCCESS, COMPLICATES THE MISSILE DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS OF OUR ADVERSARIES, AND COULD HELP US OVERCOME COUNTERMEASURES. IN JANUARY OF 2002, THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE ISSUED NEW GUIDANCE TO IMPLEMENT THIS NEW APPROACH. THE SECRETARY SET FOUR OBJECTIVES FOR THE MISSILE DEFENSE PROGRAM. HE DIRECTED THAT A SINGLE ACQUISITION PROGRAM BE ESTABLISHED TO DEVELOP AN INTEGRATED MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM UNDER A NEW MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY. HE SAID THAT THE DEPARTMENT MUST ASSIGN THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST PEOPLE TO THIS WORK. HE DIRECTED THE MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY TO APPLY A CAPABILITY-BASED REQUIREMENTS PROCESS FOR MISSILE DEFENSE. HE ALSO DIRECTED THE AGENCY TO DEVELOP THE MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM AND DIRECTED THE MILITARY DEPARTMENTS TO PROCURE THE SYSTEM AND PROVIDE FOR ITS OPERATION AND SUPPORT. THE SECRETARY ESTABLISHED FOUR MISSILE DEFENSE PRIORITIES. THE FIRST PRIORITY IS TO DEFEND THE UNITED STATES, ITS DEPLOYED FORCES, AND OUR ALLIES AND FRIENDS. THE SECOND PRIORITY IS TO EMPLOY A BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM THAT LAYERS DEFENSES TO INTERCEPT MISSILES IN ALL PHASES OF THEIR FLIGHT, AGAINST ALL RANGES OF THREATS. THE THIRD PRIORITY IS TO ENABLE THE SERVICES TO FIELD ELEMENTS OF THE BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM AS SOON AS PRACTICABLE. THE FOURTH PRIORITY IS TO DEVELOP AND TEST TECHNOLOGIES AND TO USE PROTOTYPE AND TEST ASSETS TO PROVIDE AN EARLY CAPABILITY, AND TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A FUTURE DEPLOYED CAPABILITY BY INSERTING NEW TECHNOLOGIES AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE OR WHEN THE THREAT WARRANTS. TO ACCOMPLISH THE SECRETARY'S FOURTH PRIORITY, THE MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY WILL BUILD A BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM TEST BED, AN INTEGRATED SET OF COMPONENTS AT WIDELY DISPERSED AND OPERATIONALLY REALISTIC LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT THE PACIFIC AND WITHIN THE UNITED STATES. THE PURPOSE OF THE TEST BED IS TO SUPPORT ROBUST, REALISTIC DEVELOPMENT OF AN INTEGRATED, LAYERED MISSILE DEFENSE CAPABILITY. COMPRISED OF PROTOTYPES AND SURROGATES OF SYSTEM ELEMENTS, AS WELL AS A SUPPORTING TEST INFRASTRUCTURE, THE TEST BED WILL ALLOW REALISTIC TRAJECTORY, SENSING, INTERCEPTION, AND BATTLE MANAGEMENT SCENARIOS THAT RESEMBLE OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS. THE TEST BED WILL PROVIDE A NEAR-OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT FOR VERIFYING COMPONENT HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE INTEGRATION UNDER STRESSING CONDITIONS. IT WILL ALLOW EVALUATIONS TO OCCUR IN A GEOGRAPHICALLY DISPERSED ENVIRONMENT AND PERMITS TESTING OF MULTIPLE SIMULTANEOUS ENGAGEMENTS. BECAUSE OF ITS REALISM, THE TEST BED COULD BE OPERATIONALLY EMPLOYED IN AN EMERGENCY, IF DIRECTED. IN OTHER WORDS, THE TEST BED ITSELF WILL HAVE AN INHERENT, THOUGH LIMITED, OPERATIONAL CAPABILITY. THE MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY PLANS TO CONSTRUCT OR RENOVATE FACILITIES AT FORT GREELY, EARECKSON AIR STATION ON SHEMYA, AND POTENTIALLY, THE KODIAK LAUNCH COMPLEX. THESE WILL BE DEVELOPED AND CONSTRUCTED INCREMENTALLY AS PARTS OF THE TEST BED. EACH WILL ASSIST THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN EFFECTIVE MISSILE DEFENSE. I'D LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES THAT THE MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY PROPOSES FOR THE TEST BED. AT FORT GREELY, WE PROPOSE TO CONSTRUCT OR RENOVATE EXISTING FACILITIES TO PROVIDE MISSILE LAUNCH SILOS, CONTROL FACILITIES, MISSILE ASSEMBLY BUILDINGS, FUEL STORAGE BUILDINGS, AN ELECTRICAL SUBSTATION, MISSILE STORAGE IGLOOS, A WATER SUPPLY BUILDING, A DEFENSE SATELLITE COMMUNICATION STATION, AND A COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM DATA TERMINAL. AT EARECKSON AIR STATION, WE PROPOSE TO ESTABLISH ANOTHER DATA TERMINAL AND DEFENSE SATELLITE COMMUNICATION STATION, AS WELL AS TO UPGRADE THE CURRENT COBRA DANE RADAR AND THE POWER GENERATION PLANT. ADDITIONALLY, WE PLAN TO REPAIR TEST ADMINISTRATION AND WAREHOUSING SPACES. IF WE USE THE KODIAK LAUNCH COMPLEX, WE WILL COMPLY WITH NEPA REQUIREMENTS AND PREPARE AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT. AT KODIAK, WE PROPOSE TO CONSTRUCT MISSILE LAUNCH SILOS AND ALTER THE EXISTING LAUNCH CONTROL CENTER AFTER COMPLETING THE APPROPRIATE ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS. WE ALSO PROPOSE TO ESTABLISH ANOTHER DATA TERMINAL AND DEFENSE SATELLITE COMMUNICATION STATION, TO ALTER THE EXISTING MISSILE ASSEMBLY BUILDING, AND TO UTILIZE THE BOOSTER STORAGE AREA, FUEL STORAGE BUILDINGS, AND TEST TELEMETRY FACILITIES. THE MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY IS WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE ALASKAN COMMAND, THE UNITED STATES ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, AND THE STATE OF ALASKA TO MEET ALL FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THESE ACTIVITIES. SOME ARE MONTHS OR YEARS INTO THE FUTURE. SOME, LIKE THE CLEARING OF LAND AT FORT GREELY, HAVE ALREADY BEGUN. AS YOU WOULD EXPECT, THESE ACTIVITIES WILL BRING MONEY TO ALASKA. IN CONSTRUCTION FUNDS ALONE, WE ANTICIPATE SPENDING ALMOST $198 MILLION DOLLARS AT FORT GREELY, $48 MILLION AT SHEMYA, AND $8 MILLION AT KODIAK DURING FISCAL YEAR 2002. IN ADDITION TO THIS CONSTRUCTION MONEY, WE ANTICIPATE SPENDING ALMOST $10 MILLION DOLLARS FOR COMMUNITY IMPACTS AT FORT GREELY AND DELTA JUNCTION TO DEVELOP A MUNICIPAL LANDFILL, ADD A FIRE STATION, UPGRADE COMMUNICATIONS, AND MAINTAIN A SCHOOL. IN FULFILLING MANAGEMENT OVERSIGHT OF CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES, WE WILL SPEND $28 MILLION AT FORT GREELY, FORT RICHARDSON, KODIAK, AND EARECKSON. THE DIRECT SALARIES OF MISSILE DEFENSE-RELATED MILITARY AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL RESIDING IN ALASKA, FORMERLY AROUND $1.5 MILLION DOLLARS, WILL RISE TO ABOUT $3.5 MILLION DOLLARS BY APRIL OF THIS YEAR. OUR PERSONNEL BASED OUTSIDE OF ALASKA WILL SPEND ANOTHER $700,000 IN OFFICIAL VISITS TO THE STATE. THE EXTREMELY AMBITIOUS CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE FOR THE TEST BED DEMANDS THAT WE UTILIZE DIVERSIFIED CONTRACTORS AND SUBCONTRACTORS WITH ACCESS TO A MULTI-SKILLED AND EXPERIENCED WORKFORCE. THE CRAFT AND SKILL MIX REQUIRED OF THE WORKFORCE WILL BECOME MORE SPECIALIZED AS THE TEST BED MOVES FROM PURE CONSTRUCTION TO EQUIPMENT INSTALLATION AND CHECKOUT, THEN ON TO ACTUAL OPERATION. ON JANUARY 27, 2002, THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS ISSUED A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL FOR A SINGLE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR PART OF THE WORK AT FORT GREELY AND EARECKSON AIR STATION. A VARIETY OF COMPANIES HAD PREVIOUSLY EXPRESSED INTEREST IN COMPETING FOR THIS WORK. THESE INCLUDE COMPANIES IN CALIFORNIA, WASHINGTON, IDAHO, AND TENNESSEE, AS WELL AS AT LEAST EIGHT ALASKA-BASED COMPANIES. THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL REQUIRES A SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION PLAN, AND THE WINNING PROPOSAL MUST MEET ALL STATE OF ALASKA REQUIREMENTS FOR HIRING LOCAL WORKERS. THE 2002 DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL ALSO REQUIRES HIRING LOCAL PEOPLE WHEREVER POSSIBLE. THE BOEING COMPANY PLANS TO USE BECHTEL CORPORATION AS ITS PRIME CONTRACTOR FOR OTHER WORK AT FORT GREELY AND THE KODIAK LAUNCH COMPLEX. BECHTEL WILL SOLICIT BIDS FROM ALASKAN SUBCONTRACTORS. FURTHER CONSTRUCTION WORK AT EARECKSON AIR STATION WILL BE MANAGED BY THE AIR FORCE, WHICH WILL ALSO USE FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION. IN CONSTRUCTING THIS TEST BED IN ALASKA, THE MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY IS DETERMINED TO BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR. WE WILL LISTEN TO YOUR CONCERNS AND SEEK TO ADDRESS THEM CONSTRUCTIVELY. WE HAVE HELD PUBLIC FORUMS IN AREAS THAT WILL BE IMPACTED BY OUR WORK, AND WE WILL CONTINUE A CONSTRUCTIVE DIALOG WITH CITIZENS, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, AND STATE AGENCIES. WE WILL COMPLY WITH ALL FEDERAL AND STATE ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS - IN SPIRIT AS WELL AS IN DEED. WE WILL OBTAIN REQUIRED STATE PERMITS FOR ALL OUR ACTIVITIES. WE WILL PREPARE COMPREHENSIVE SAFETY PLANS TO PROTECT YOUR CITIZENS AND HOMES. AMONG OTHER ISSUES, WE WILL ADDRESS CITIZEN CONCERNS FOR DUST AND EROSION AT FORT GREELY, FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS ON SHEMYA, AND FOR IMPACTS ON MARINE LIFE, WETLANDS, AND THE FISHING FLEET AT KODIAK. WE WILL EARN YOUR TRUST - AND I HOPE YOUR RESPECT - IN THE WAY IN WHICH WE OPERATE IN YOUR STATE. THE MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY HAS WORKED CLOSELY WITH YOUR ADJUTANT GENERAL. ALASKA GUARD PERSONNEL HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO OUR PLANNING FOR SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND FOR THE FACILITIES AND PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS THAT MAY RESULT FROM THE TEST BED. GUARD MEMBERS HAVE PARTICIPATED IN A SERIES OF EXERCISES AT UNITED STATE SPACE COMMAND DESIGNED TO TEST THE HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE OF THE GROUND- BASED MIDCOURSE ELEMENT. THE GUARD HAS ALSO PROVIDED THE LEAD OFFICER FOR OUR RECENTLY ESTABLISHED SITE ACTIVATION COMMAND AT FORT RICHARDSON, A JOINT VENTURE BETWEEN THE MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY, THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS, AND BOEING. MISSILE DEFENSE IS AN IMMENSE CHALLENGE - AS TOUGH A JOB AS OUR NATION HAS EVER UNDERTAKEN. IT IS A CONCEPTUAL CHALLENGE, A TECHNICAL CHALLENGE, AND AN ENGINEERING CHALLENGE. IN MY VIEW, IT IS AS COMPLEX A TASK AS THE MANHATTAN PROJECT OR THE APOLLO MOON-LANDING PROGRAM. THERE ARE LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PIECES TO THE PUZZLE THAT MUST FIT TOGETHER PRECISELY FOR THIS TO WORK. HOWEVER, OUR SUCCESSES IN THE MANHATTAN PROJECT AND THE APOLLO PROGRAM SHOWED WHAT AMERICANS CAN ACHIEVE ONCE WE SET OUR MINDS TO A GOAL. AS A PEOPLE, WE HAVE THE INTELLECTUAL CAPACITY, THE INVENTIVENESS, AND THE IMAGINATION TO OVERCOME THE MISSILE DEFENSE CHALLENGE. WE'VE ACHIEVED SOME REAL SUCCESSES. JUST TWELVE DAYS AGO, WE ACHIEVED THE FIRST INTERCEPT OF A MISSILE IN SPACE WITH AN INTERCEPTOR LAUNCHED FROM A NAVY SHIP. THE PATRIOT PROGRAM HAS PROVEN ITSELF IN A SERIES OF DEMANDING TESTS, WITH FIVE SUCCESSES AGAINST AERIAL TARGETS AND FIVE HITS ON BALLISTIC MISSILE TARGETS IN SIX ATTEMPTS. THE THEATER HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENSE ELEMENT HAS DEMONSTRATED TWO SUCCESSFUL HIT-TO-KILL INTERCEPTS IN ITS OWN DEMANDING TESTING PROGRAM. THE GROUND-BASED MIDCOURSE DEFENSE ELEMENT RECENTLY ACHIEVED ITS THIRD SUCCESSFUL INTERCEPT IN FIVE ATTEMPTS - AND THE SECOND IN A ROW - AGAINST A TARGET WARHEAD IN SPACE. WE ARE TAKING A DELIBERATE, STRUCTURED APPROACH TO LEARN AS MUCH AS WE CAN FROM THESE EARLY TESTS - WHETHER SUCCESS OR FAILURE - TO IMPROVE OUR CAPABILITIES, INCREASE TEST COMPLEXITY OVER TIME, AND GIVE THE NATION A SYSTEM THAT WILL EFFECTIVELY DEFEND AGAINST BALLISTIC MISSILES. EVERY YEAR, THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE WILL CRITICALLY EXAMINE OUR PROGRESS, TECHNOLOGY BY TECHNOLOGY. BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THIS STRINGENT EVALUATION, WE WILL ACCELERATE PROGRAMS THAT SHOW PROGRESS. CORRESPONDINGLY, WE WILL TRUNCATE OR STOP WORK IN AREAS WHERE RESULTS ARE UNSATISFACTORY OR WHERE THE DEVELOPMENT EFFORT SHOULD BE SHIFTED TO ANOTHER ELEMENT TO PERMIT ITS ACCELERATION. WE BELIEVE THAT WE ARE TAKING A DISCIPLINED AND PRUDENT APPROACH TO THIS VERY CHALLENGING PROBLEM. UNDER THIS APPROACH, WE WILL GIVE THE NATION AN INTEGRATED BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM THAT LAYERS DEFENSES TO INTERCEPT MISSILES IN ALL PHASES OF THEIR FLIGHT. HOW CAN YOU HELP OUR MISSILE DEFENSE EFFORTS? LAST YEAR, THE LEGISLATURE EXPRESSED ITS SUPPORT OF MISSILE DEFENSE IN A JOINT RESOLUTION. I THANK YOU FOR THAT SUPPORT. THE STATE CAN HELP BY EXPEDITIOUSLY REVIEWING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR OUR ACTIVITIES. SIMILARLY, EXPEDITIOUS PROCESSING OF PERMIT APPLICATIONS WOULD BE HELPFUL. PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE NOT ASKING ANYONE TO CUT CORNERS, JUST TO UNDERTAKE THESE REVIEWS IN AN EXPEDITIOUS MANNER. THE PROMPT AND EFFICIENT MAINTENANCE OF STATE ROADS IN OR NEAR THE AREAS WHERE CONSTRUCTION WILL TAKE PLACE WOULD ALSO BENEFIT THE PROJECT. CONTINUING THE FINE WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES IS ALSO IMPORTANT. THE STATE CAN ALSO ASSIST TEST BED CONTRACTORS IN HIRING THE WORKFORCE NEEDED FOR CONSTRUCTION AND OTHER ACTIVITIES. ON A BROADER SCALE, THE STATE CAN CONSIDER HOW ITS EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES MIGHT SUPPORT THE FORMATION OF A BASE OF EXPERTISE IN THE TECHNOLOGIES USED BY MISSILE DEFENSE EMPLOYERS. AS THOSE EMPLOYERS BEGIN WORK, SEEK OUT PARTNERING ACTIVITIES THAT WILL HELP TO GROW THIS BASE FROM WITHIN. THE STATE MIGHT CONSIDER HOSTING INDUSTRY FORUMS, FAIRS OR CONFERENCES, BOTH TO INTRODUCE COMPANIES TO ALASKA AND TO HIGHLIGHT ALASKA'S ROLE IN MISSILE DEFENSE. AS IT APPROACHES ITS FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF STATEHOOD, ALASKA - AMERICA'S FINAL FRONTIER - IS TODAY A FRONTIER IN THE DEFENSE OF OUR ENTIRE NATION. ALASKA'S PARTICIPATION IS ABSOLUTELY VITAL TO THE SUCCESSFUL DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF OUR NATION'S BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM. I PLEDGE TO YOU THAT THE MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY WILL CONTINUE TO WORK CLOSELY WITH THIS GREAT STATE TO FORGE A DEFENSE TO PROTECT OUR NATION FROM BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK. THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO YOU TODAY. 2:20 p.m. CO-CHAIR MULDER thanked Lieutenant General Schwartz and Major General Nance and announced the presence of Representatives Coghill and Chenault. REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI asked Major General Nance, regarding workforce development and educational opportunities to train Alaskan workers, what the military is looking at in terms of numbers. MAJOR GENERAL NANCE said that by the end of this year, the military has projected the workforce at the Ft. Greeley-Delta Junction area to grow to about 200, including both construction crews and technical experts in both management and installation. The military expects that number to grow to 350 by the end of 2003 and to sustain that level of activity through 2005. At Eareckson Air Station at Shemya, the military expects to be up to 100 by the end of 2002 and potentially up to 150 by the end of 2003. Once the construction activity at Shemya is complete, he expects the personnel level to go below 100 to sustain that activity. The military is currently assessing Kodiak and has no projection yet. SENATOR PHILLIPS commented that criticism toward the government after the September 11 attacks focused on its emphasis on technology rather than intelligence. He asked what is being done on the intelligence side to defend ourselves externally or internally. LIEUTENANT GENERAL SCHWARTZ replied, ...but, fundamentally, I think the point to make is true - that we are a technically oriented society and for some number of years it was easier for us to stare at somebody from space than to get up close and look at them in person. The truth is, you've got to have a balance in your means of collection and that's been re-emphasized. It's not an easy chore to get on the inside of Al Qaeda, even under the best of circumstances and, frankly, we'll probably have to be a little bit less fastidious about who it is we hire to do this work. But, in balance we will maintain our values and do a better job. REPRESENTATIVE HARRIS asked Lieutenant General Schwartz what Alaskans and the Legislature can do to boost the military's efforts. LIEUTENANT GENERAL SCHWARTZ said the answer has two parts. The first part is psychological and has to do with the fact that people in the Armed Forces in Alaska feel welcome and that their work is valued by their counterparts in the community. Consequently, many people who come here in the services to work in the various communities stay. That is very significant and needs to continue to be cultivated. He stated that today's meeting is not the norm; he knows of no other state that asks senior military representatives in their state to come explain what is happening. TAPE 02-1, SIDE B LIEUTENANT GENERAL SCHWARTZ said the second part of the answer is that there is a tendency for one's focus to become narrow. There are a handful of economic engines in the state, one of which is the Armed Forces. Everyone must be extremely careful to prevent fratricide between the various economic engines. When talking about development or improvements, it will be important to consider the consequences on military training, access to installations, and other encroachment concerns with airspace and land areas. The "coin of the realm" is the ability of military forces to train effectively and use the vast expanses of Alaska effectively. That does not mean exclusive use - it means shared use governed by cooperation of all parties. If all parties communicate and understand each other, fratricide will not occur. 2:30 p.m. CO-CHAIR WILKEN asked if Ft. Greeley will be a test bed. MAJOR GENERAL NANCE said it will initially be a test bed but the military may consider test launching out of there, but that would require a full set of analyses of safety and corridors for safety and environmental considerations. Those decisions are down the road and will be made with full compliance of all requirements and full disclosure to Alaskans. SENATOR LEMAN said he has appreciated the opportunity to serve Elmendorf Air Force Base. CO-CHAIR MULDER said that he heard about the potential of a new Commander-in-Chief (CINC) and ramifications on NORAD on CNN that morning. He asked General Schwartz to comment. LIEUTENANT GENERAL SCHWARTZ said he has not been involved in the consultations personally, but he does know that 9/11 brought into focus something that has been percolating for awhile: the notion that we need a military boss for homeland security. He said homeland security is fundamentally a civil-military partnership in which civilian leadership is always in charge. To his understanding, there is a commitment that has not yet been approved by the President to establish a homeland security command called the Northern Command. The North American Air Defense will roll into that organization and, in fact, the Commander of the Northern Command will wear dual hats with the Northern American Air and Space Defense Command. The guidance explicitly states that forces in Alaska, less air defense, will remain subordinate to the Pacific Command. There will be no fundamental change in his relationships with either the Pacific Command or CINC-NORAD, except that the CINC-NORAD individual will now have other responsibilities related to homeland defense. CO-CHAIR MULDER said his understanding is that at some level "they" are discussing greater involvement of the National Guard in relation to this new CINC. LIEUTENANT GENERAL SCHWARTZ said that is possible. The implementation guidance is not on the street yet. The question is: Will the National Guard be gaining by Pacific Command units or by Northern Command units? He deferred to Major General Oates for details, but noted he will have a foot in both camps and that it should not raise any anxiety on the legislature's part. He stated the bottom line for Northern Command is that Alaska should be part of a North American command. Not only is Alaska part of North America, it is part of the Pacific-Asia realm. They have done their best to sustain both pieces, one being homeland defense of North America, the other is the recognition that if we fight, it is likely to occur in the Pacific theater of operations. CO-CHAIR MULDER said he noticed that a significant portion of the President's proposed $50 billion increase in military funding for next year will go to Major General Nance's budget. He asked General Nance what insights he could give committee members about congressional leaders' positions on ballistic missile defense. MAJOR GENERAL NANCE said last year's discussion about missile defense was insightful - the military had good support for its missile defense budget. Regarding the test bed activities in Alaska, the military had strong support among all congressional committees. He expects Congress to have questions about military activities in 2003 given the amount of funding requested. His goal is to complete the test bed activity and have it ready for operations by the end of 2004. CO-CHAIR WILKEN asked Lieutenant General Schwartz to share his story about the 9/11 events with committee members as it is an extraordinary example of how the military works in Alaska. He then informed participants that he and Co-Chair Mulder plan to sponsor a citation in honor of, and thanking, the people of the Yukon and Canadian governments. LIEUTENANT GENERAL SCHWARTZ recounted the story as follows. Ladies and Gentlemen, 9/11 began for me with - as you recall this was prior to the first snow - I was out running about 5:00 or so and I happened to come around my route and back toward the headquarters building, and this was around quarter to six, now. And there was more activity at the headquarters at quarter to six than there typically is so I stopped and the operations officer was in the parking lot and I said to him, what's the deal? He said, haven't you heard? And I said, what about? At this point the Pentagon hadn't been hit - this was the two towers. So I said okay, let me run home and get some clothes on, which I did and we came back. What developed specifically, with regard to Korean Air 085 was simply this - and I won't go into excruciating detail but the airplane communicated to its corporate headquarters that - via a system that they have onboard the aircraft - that it might have been a hijacked airplane. Now we were sitting - at this point the Pentagon had gone down and we were posturing ourselves to defend Alaskan airspace. We launched an airplane, as many of you in the Anchorage area recall. We also assumed control of the airspace. Typically, in America, the FAA runs the airspace but in an emergency, such as we had on 9/11, the Department of Defense asserted control over American airspace. Essentially, I was in control of Alaskan airspace. The bird was coming in over open ocean areas and we launched a couple of fighters and intercepted the aircraft as it came in what we call feet dry - it coasted in off of the Gulf of Alaska and we had two birds in trail about a mile, shadowing the aircraft so that it was not known to the crew or the passengers that there were two fighter aircraft in close proximity. Ordinarily - typically, for those of you who are airmen you know that there is a manner in which air traffic control will attempt to confirm whether or not an ambiguous indication of hijack is, in fact, true. That is exactly what air traffic control did. They called the crew and they said, confirm squawking xxxx - the four digit code for hijacking, and to us who are most familiar with the FAA procedures, they would have come back and said, negative, negative, I am not squawking that number and it would have been clear that the ambiguous indications were a mistake. But what the Korean crew did - they understood that communication to be guidance and they understood it to be, squawk xxxx, at which time they did. So now, you have the FAA with two indications of a possible hijack. Now, please understand that we just had three attacks on the East Coast and perhaps a fourth. It was completely plausible to me that so sophisticated an operation on the East Coast could be replicated on the West Coast. So this was a plausible threat. The one thing that made the difference in this particular instance was that the crew adhered to our instructions. We told them to turn left, they turned left. We told them to turn right, they turned right. As a result, it turned out that we simply watched and put them in between Anchorage and Fairbanks, away from metropolitan areas, and our initial plan was to bring the airplane to Yakutat. The logic was all of the other aircraft were going to Whitehorse. If you recall at this time that the National Command's authority said no airplanes coming in from overseas land in the U.S., go to Canada. The Canadians, the wonderful partners they are, said fine. So all those airplanes, about 8, or 9, or 10, as I recall, went to Whitehorse. Now you can imagine that in a perfect world, if I've got an unknown situation, like KAL 085, I don't want to mix good guys and bad guys. So the logic was I'll send the airplane to Yakutat, we'll keep it separate, and we'll find out what the situation onboard is. It turned out that Yakutat's weather was not as reported. It also turned out that Yakutat's nav-aids weren't up, which we thought they were. So here I had a Korean airliner going into a field that the pilots had no approach plates for, weather was less than ideal, nav- aids probably not working properly and we had to make a decision on whether - what we were going to do. We made the decision that we could not put the bird into Yakutat because the risk of scraping it off on the terrain down there, as some of you know very well, is a serious risk. So we elected at this point to put - the airplane had less than an hour's of gas on board and we elected to put the airplane into Whitehorse. Now you can well imagine that the Canadians didn't warm up to this idea. I talked with my counterpart. I explained what the dilemma was that we had - that we had the ambiguous indication of hijack but that there were other indications that led me to believe that these might be erroneous, i.e. they were doing what we told them to do. As a result, after some discussion, the Canadians said okay, send them on. This is an indication of the level of cooperation we've had, both between the Yukon Territory and northeast Alaska, between Canadian Air Force and the U.S. Air Force, the NORAD elements and so on, and we put the bird in - you saw in on TV going into Whitehorse. We left the two F- 15s overhead in case the airplane tried to depart suddenly - it didn't. It turned out that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police sorted it out for us and confirmed that it was not a hijack situation. The short story of all this is that rulebooks work in most instances. The truth is that you need people - and this is not - you need to understand how everybody on the team knew that serious decisions needed to be taken and each person from the person on the radar scope to the person who is drawing circles on the board to the weather person was committed to making sure that the leadership had the information we needed to do the intelligent thing. My guidance from my boss in four words was: do not be precipitous. I think we fulfilled that guidance. Had the airplane deviated from flight path, it would have been a different story. Fundamentally what happened was - is that I think we were measured. We exercised the authority that we had with care and diligence and we got the magnificent support of the Canadians to allow us to put a suspect airplane in amongst a dozen other machines and where we had quadrupled the population of Whitehorse, Canada. So that's the story line. CO-CHAIR WILKEN recognized the presence of Major Mark Kunkosky (ph), executive officer to Major General Nance, Lieutenant Colonel Les Kodlick and Captain Brenda Campbell, executive officers to Lieutenant General Schwartz. CO-CHAIR MULDER thanked General Schwartz and General Nance for their presentations. 2:49 p.m. CO-CHAIR WILKEN introduced Bill Brophy, new JASC member, who replaces Gordy Lewis; Dave Lewis, Lance Harrington and Dennis Mitroken, members of the civilian advisory board; Chris Nelson, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs; former Senator Tim Kelly, the "father" of the JASC; Kelly Kane, Institute of the North; Ruth Burnett from Senator Ted Stevens' Fairbanks Office; Charlie Fannon, Wasilla Police Department; and he noted that Chick Wallace, JASC member, was participating via teleconference. CO-CHAIR MULDER informed participants that Dennis Mitroken was recently appointed to the Citizens Advisory Board and that Dave Lewis is the deputy project officer for Pacific Emergency Mobile Radio System, a Department of Defense component of the Alaska Land Mobile Radio System. He welcomed Senator Ben Stevens as a new member of the JASC Committee and then asked Ms. Stinson to give her presentation. LAND MOBILE RADIO PROJECT MS. JULIE STINSON, Department of Administration, gave a power point presentation; the highlights are as follows. The problem at hand is one of interoperability of communications in emergency situations and on a daily basis. "Interoperability" means the ability of agencies to efficiently communicate with each other when necessary. A 1997 State of Alaska Emergency Response Commission report found interoperability to be an issue at that time. Prior to September 11, the issue of interoperability of communications had become a priority. Recent examples of interoperability issues include the avalanches during the winter of 2000, the Talkeetna Railroad oil spill, wildfires at Big Lake, and day-to-day emergencies. Alaska has many different radio systems; the problem is analogous to the phenomenon in technology where people are either a PC user or a MAC user. Systems are designed around what is needed at the time but as new technologies become available, problems arise because systems are incompatible with others. She is looking for federal funding for this project since 60 percent of land in Alaska is federally owned. In addition, Alaska's distance from other states makes a military presence here especially important during a disaster. The Alaska Land Mobile Radio (ALMR) Executive Council was created in 1995 and is comprised of four parties: the Department of Defense, the non-DOD (BLM, USFWS, National Parks), the Alaska Municipal League, and the State of Alaska. In 1997, the council signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to plan and design a system for Alaska. In April of 2001, the MOU was renewed to implement the system. That MOU was signed by Lieutenant General Schwartz as well. The council's goal was to create partnerships across the federal, state and local jurisdictions to build and operate an interoperable land mobile radio system. She anticipates the number of participating agencies to grow over time and expects private agencies, such as Alyeska Pipeline, to participate. Project Objects are to create a cost share partnership across the federal, state and local jurisdictions as no one agency can afford to pay for a system. In 1997 the federal government mandated federal agencies to use narrowband frequencies because they are more efficient in the spectrum realm. Infrastructure and costs will be shared throughout the system phases and federal, state and local assets will be pooled. All participants will share a common infrastructure with pre-defined talk groups. Benefits to users include increased system reliability, wide area networking, system management and control, and flexible expansion. The project was initially designed to be built in four phases: north, south, southeast and statewide. The ALMR Council has added a concept demonstration of building a business model to show how the system will be maintained and operated. The demonstration will also allow for equipment testing. The ALMR Council expects to have a full implementation plan and report completed by next January 1. DOD received $4.5 million to initiate implementation in the north so the first nine sites will be built in the next six months. The ALMR wants a concept demonstration pilot project separate from the DOD project because they do not want one to be dependent on another for success or failure. During Phase 4, the system will be connected to the FAA Annex system. The total cost of the project will be $151 million. The infrastructure of the system will cost $67 million. The state and DOD are trying to pick up that cost: the state will be responsible for $43 million while DOD will be responsible for $24 million. There is not much grant money available for infrastructure but grant money is available for subscriber units and equipment. System testing will begin in late summer, a draft business plan will be ready in October and a final plan done by the end of the year. ALMR Council hopes to have homeland security funding so that it can move right into phase 1. Local agencies are concerned that they do not have money to get on the system. SENATOR PHILLIPS asked, "...Did you ever mesh with Yukon and Northwest Tel?" MS. STINSON said she has not. SENATOR PHILLIPS requested that she do so as he has used that system from his radio-phone for an emergency and that she get back to him about their response. TAPE 02-2, SIDE A CO-CHAIR MULDER asked Ms. Stinson to respond to a concern that the new system will be obsolete by the time it is operational. MS. STINSON said the standard technologies that were selected for this system are forwards and backwards compatible, meaning that it might not be the latest and greatest technology right now, but that technology is not able to go backwards. The system must be able to migrate slowly into the digital world, and P-25 standards allow for that. CO-CHAIR MULDER said he has a draft letter from the committee to Senator Stevens encouraging further investment in the land mobile radio by the federal government. He asked for members' concurrence to send the letter. REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI asked if there is any merit in waiting until the project demonstration is completed at the end of the year. She expressed concern that even though the state's share is only $53 million, she does not want to see the state make that commitment by urging the congressional delegation to go forward. 3:18 p.m. MS. STINSON said the ALMR Council would like to see continuity in service, which can only happen if there is no break in the funding. She explained that the state has requested funds through homeland defense and is asking for a 90/10 split. The ALMR Council does not need all of the money at once; DOD has budgeted its portion of the project on a five-year cycle. The ALMR Council believes it will get $2.5 million from the Department of Public Safety in July from federal funds and $2.7 from homeland security money for '02. It has requested $17.4 million for '03 and '04 from the state. She explained that grant money is available for the $12 million cost of subscriber units. CO-CHAIR MULDER responded to Representative Murkowski's concern and said the test Ms. Stinson is referring to is not similar to ballistic missile defense; this system will work but the first phase will be tested before the entire system is implemented. He said the real question is whether to go forward with this type of approach. He commented that for national security reasons, he believes it is. REPRESENTATIVE MURKOWSKI clarified that her concern is that if the state is going to commit to this, recognizing the total dollar cost, it needs to make that commitment now. The state cannot get half-way into this project and decide it is too costly. She indicated that a presentation should be made before the full Legislature if this is going to be a priority. CO-CHAIR MULDER commented that this project has been part of the homeland defense package that Major General Oates has presented to committees. REPRESENTATIVE HARRIS said he supports sending the letter to the congressional delegation but he does have a problem with the price tag and the amount the state will be obligating itself to. SENATOR DAVIS asked if the cost for the radio system is above the amount presented to legislators in the homeland security package. CO-CHAIR MULDER said it is part of the package. MAJOR GENERAL OATES, Commissioner of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, informed the committee that DOD was mandated to use the narrow band approach. That narrow band will take the system into digital communications. Fundamentally, the state will have to go with DOD to have the ability to communicate with DOD. The ALMR is a unique partnership of four major players: the federal entities, DOD, the municipalities and the state. Alaska is leading the nation in interoperable communication initiatives in which all four entities will be able to communicate. The test will not be a test of technology, it will be a test of the business model and how these entities can work together efficiently and effectively. He stressed the need for the demonstration project to figure out the best way to have the four teams come together. He stated his belief that communications will become the foundation of homeland security. CO-CHAIR MULDER thanked Ms. Stinson and Major General Oates and asked Janice Nielsen to present to the committee. MS. JANICE NIELSEN, Director, Governmental and Legislative Affairs, USARPAC, highlighted the following points concerning the transformation of the Army. Lieutenant General Smith, the Commander of the U.S. forces in the Pacific and Major General Lovelace, Commander for Army forces in Alaska, are working hard to be part of the transformation in which the focus from legacy forces, the current heavy forces, will change to objective forces, a lighter more mobile force. This transformation is expected to take 15 to 20 years. During the interim period, the Army is establishing interim brigade combat teams, which will be stationed around the country in three to six years. The first step in the process is to do the environmental documentation. She anticipates that a notice of intent will be filed within the next few weeks for the environmental impact statement (EIS). While the EIS is being formulated, USARPAC will do initial design planning and programming for the facilities. The estimated cost of the proposed land acquisition and construction in Alaska is $570 million and it is expected to take about five years. CO-CHAIR MULDER asked Ms. Nielsen to discuss the upcoming change of command. MS. NIELSEN said no firm date has been set for the change of command of General Smith, but she anticipates it will occur in March or April. Major General Campbell will be taking over as the Commander of the United States forces in the Pacific. CO-CHAIR WILKEN asked if Alaska's designation as the second interim brigade means Alaska will have an airlift component. MS. NIELSEN said an airlift component for Alaska is being studied. It is more aligned with the Air Force and National Guard, where the C-17s will be stationed. Although that is separate and distinct from the Army's transformation, it is integral to training and rapid movement. CO-CHAIR MULDER said when committee members asked General Lovelace and Lt. General Schwartz last fall about whether there will be an airborne component of the interim brigade, they were told the interim brigade was still a developing concept. He asked if that is still the position. MS. NIELSEN said that answer still holds. MAJOR GENERAL OATES told committee members that a federal decision and commitment has been made to buy more C-17s. The current plan is to have C-17s in both Alaska and Hawaii and the goal of the PAC Commander is to have eight aircraft. The debate is still underway as to whether this will be a National Guard platform or an active Air Force platform. This is a very important building block in Alaska's total military strength; those forces will make it very deployable. He suggested the committee consider, some time in the future, the other pieces of the internal aviation structure and issue a statement. CO-CHAIR MULDER thanked Ms. Neilsen and asked Mr. Vakalis and Mr. Owen to update the committee on the National Association of Installation Developers (NAID) conference. MR. GEORGE VAKALIS said DOD has scheduled Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) to occur in 2005. During the NAID conference, two tracts were focused on: BRAC and, if a base is closed, how to make maximum use of what is left behind. He said he focused on the BRAC aspect of the conference. A timeline of the events that will take place through 2005 was provided. The BRAC process that will be used is the same process that was used in 1991, 1993, and 1995, meaning the DOD will decide what kind of information it desires. DOD is now looking at what force structure it will need in the out years, but it has outwardly said it has a 25 percent excess of infrastructure. The game plan is to reduce as much of that 25 percent as possible. Once DOD gets through the initial planning phase, it will require the installations to provide data, which will be incorporated into the COBRA model. Where Alaska's bases were marginal during the last BRAC rounds was in the cost of the infrastructure in Alaska compared to other places. The criteria for the next BRAC round will be very much the same except that in the past, DOD did not look at joint forces. DOD is trying to integrate "jointness" of forces as relevant to deciding what bases will remain open. MR. VAKALIS said presenters at the NAID conference reviewed what base communities traditionally do and what they should and should not do during the BRAC process. Alaska has been advocating the need for firm and strong community support. When it comes down to cutting post-camps and stations, lack of community support is a significant factor in deciding whether or not to close the camp. He informed members that the chambers of commerce of both Anchorage and Fairbanks are working on a series of pamphlets. One pamphlet would educate communities about the worthiness and benefits derived by military presence in a community. The second pamphlet will show what Alaska does for the military and the accomplishments of the military's mission. The chambers will also produce a series of slides to show any visiting corporate representatives or interested parties so that everyone is working from the same sheet of music. Other chambers have been invited to participate in this project. Once the first pamphlet is ready, he will distribute copies to committee members and solicit suggestions to cover printing costs. He emphasized the importance of increasing community support for military presence in Alaska in light of the upcoming BRAC. 3:40 p.m. MR. OWEN added that the next BRAC round will not be about installations as much as force structure. He pointed out it is early in the process but not too early to organize a strategic plan of approach. CO-CHAIR MULDER said he has discussed the publication costs with Mr. Owen and Mr. Vakalis and indicated his willingness to work with them to try to secure funding to produce and distribute sufficient quantities of the pamphlets. He also told members he asked Senator Ted Stevens about the status of BRAC last month. Senator Stevens' attitude was that Alaska needs to seize upon the opportunity to try and attract further protections to "BRAC-proof" itself over the next four years. He said to be cognizant of it but to not focus solely on it. MR. VAKALIS added that the new legislation allows the services to "warm" base an installation if it comes up for closure instead of disposing of it. The new legislation also allows in the transfer of installations that are closed, there is to be no cost to the government. CO-CHAIR WILKEN called members' attention to a 2000 update to a white paper produced in 1997 by General Gambell, entitled Alaska's place in National Security, in committee packets. CO-CHAIR MULDER noted that General Meyers will be the featured speaker at the salute to the military next Friday. He then asked Major General Oates about the status of the new position funded by the Legislature last year. MAJOR GENERAL OATES said a board has considered all-Alaskan military members that met the requirements for that position and has forwarded a name to the Governor. He said he anticipates a decision to be made very soon. CO-CHAIR WILKEN asked teleconference participants if they had any further comments or questions. MR. CHARLIE FANNON, representing the Wasilla Police Department, thanked committee members for meeting with the military. He agreed that Alaska has a window of opportunity to develop its AMLR project. He recently stepped down from his position as Chief of Police because he acquired a sizeable grant with which to put a consolidated dispatch center into Wasilla. The Wasilla Police Department hopes it will dovetail into the state's project. He would like the B Detachment Troopers to be part of the Wasilla Police Department's system for reasons of interoperability. Almost daily, they work on incidents that cross jurisdictional boundaries. This is a homeland security issue, driven by a public service need. He said Alaska can learn from other consolidated dispatch centers that are being used in other parts of the country. CO-CHAIR MULDER announced the next JASC meeting will be scheduled in early April in Juneau and will incorporate a mini-salute to the Coast Guard. REPRESENTATIVE HARRIS informed members that this year, Northern Edge will be in Valdez and he hopes the committee can spend a day at that event. CO-CHAIR WILKEN pointed out that event is scheduled for the last few days of April and the first few days of May, a difficult time for legislators to leave Juneau. There being no further business to come before the committee, CO- CHAIR MULDER adjourned the meeting at 3:52 p.m.