HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND VETERANS AFFAIRS February 7, 1994 5:00 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Eldon Mulder, Co-Chair Representative Richard Foster, Co-Chair Representative Mike Navarre Representative Ed Willis MEMBERS ABSENT Representative Pete Kott OTHER LEGISLATORS PRESENT Senator Loren Leman Senator Randy Phillips Senator Bert Sharp Representative Bettye Davis Representative Tom Brice Representative Jeannette James Representative Terry Martin Representative Brian Porter Representative Irene Nicholia Representative Al Vezey Representative Bill Williams COMMITTEE CALENDAR Presentation by Lt. General Joseph Ralston, Commander of the Alaskan Command. WITNESS REGISTER LT. GENERAL JOSEPH W. RALSTON Commander, Alaskan Command (ALCOM) Qtrs. 1 Elmendorf AFB, AK 99506 Phone: (907) 552-2100 Position Statement: Addressed the Committee DIANE RALSTON Qtrs. 1 Elmendorf AFB, AK 99506 Phone: (907) 552-2100 Position Statement: Observer CAPT. DENNIS PORTER 11AF/CCEP 5800 G St. Elmendorf AFB, AK 99506 Phone: (907) 552-3210 Position Statement: Observer CAPT. KEN HYVONEN 11AF/CCA 5800 G Street Elmendorf AFB, AK 99506 Phone: (907) 552-3205 Position Statement: Observer MAJOR GENERAL HUGH COX III The Adjutant General Commissioner Department of Military & Veterans Affairs Alaska National Guard Armory P.O. Box 5800 Ft. Richardson, AK 99505 Phone: (907) 428-6003 Position Statement: Observer JEFF MORRISON, Director Administrative Services Department of Military & Veterans Affairs P.O. Box 110900 Juneau, AK 99801-0900 Phone: (907) 465-4730 Position Statement: Observer ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 94-2, SIDE A Number 000 CO-CHAIR ELDON MULDER called the meeting of the House Special Committee on Military & Veterans Affairs to order at 5:04 p.m. Members present were Representatives Foster, Willis and Navarre. CHAIR MULDER also noted for the record that Senator Sharp, Senator Phillips, Representative Martin, Representative Brice, Representative B. Davis, Representative Vezey, Representative Porter, Representative James, Representative Williams and Senator Leman were also present at the meeting. Number 007 CHAIR MULDER thanked everyone for attending and introduced Major General Hugh Cox, Pat Cox, Capt. Dennis Porter, Capt. Ken Hyvonen and Dede Ralston to the committee. Number 015 CHAIR MULDER stated that the purpose of the meeting was to hear an address from Lt. General Ralston. Chair Mulder stated that he thought the people of Alaska overlook how important the commanding officer of ALCOM is to Alaska. He said he felt that Alaska was very fortunate to have Lt. General Ralston as the commander of ALCOM and invited Lt. General Ralston to address the committee. Number 023 LT. GENERAL RALSTON thanked Chair Mulder and stated that he was very happy to have the opportunity to update the committee on what has happened to Alaska's military forces in the last year, what plans are made for the next year, and also to discuss some special subjects. The text of Lt. General Ralston's speech follows: "I am extremely pleased to have the opportunity to address you this afternoon. The military has such a close relationship with the state that I enjoy bringing you up to date on what has happened in the past year and where we are going in the near future. "In these times of decreasing budgets and downsizing, we need to work together to ensure we are maintaining a force that can give us the greatest impact for our citizen's tax dollars. Although some say the cold war is over, the world certainly is not a safe place. There are more conflicts now than at any time since World War II. While we remain hopeful, we watch with great concern what has happened in the former Soviet republics when economic performance did not meet perhaps unrealistic expectations. In Lithuania, Poland, and Belarus the Communists have returned to power. Hard liners captured far more votes in Russia than we are comfortable with. The bottom line -- we must remain vigilant and at the same time extend the hand of genuine friendship and encourage reform in this troubled part of the world. "Let me discuss our forces and what we have done in the past year, some of the impacts on Alaska, and some of our plans for next year. "All our air forces are assigned to the 11th Air Force. We have continued to build these forces and prepare ourselves for contingencies throughout the Pacific, and elsewhere if needed. Alaska's strategic location is still best described by General Billy Mitchell's testimony before Congress in the 1930's. `Alaska is the most central place in the world for aircraft, and that is true either of Europe, Asia or North America. I believe in the future, that he who holds Alaska will hold the world, and I think it is the most important strategic place in the world.' "Admiral Larson has personally informed me that Alaskan forces are his first choice to respond to a crisis in the Pacific area. He realizes the quality of our forces and our high level of training. We are equipped with a full squadron of F-15Es, the finest air to ground airplane in the inventory, and the most capable all around combat aircraft in the world. Our two squadrons of F-15C aircraft are completing their upgrades that allow them to employ the advanced medium range air-to-air missile. This significantly improves our capability in a hostile environment. Our F-16s have received the night laser targeting pods to complete their precision attack capability. OA-10S AWACS C-130 "Our unique Alaskan force structure allows us tremendous opportunities to work in a joint, multi-service environment on a daily basis. This is the way we would employ in a contingency and greatly enhances our combat skills. To further refine our skills and enhance readiness for worldwide deployment we are conducting exercise Northern Edge 94. This 5 million dollar exercise begins in three weeks and will emphasize planning and conduct of peacekeeping operations. This includes peace enforcement, noncombatant evacuation, and counter-power projection capabilities so demanded in the present worldwide environment. "Participating Alaskan forces include 11th Air Force, 6th ID, US Naval Forces Alaska, and Alaska Air National Guard. Forces from outside Alaska include the 366th Wing from Idaho and the 2nd Marine Division from Camp LeJeune. "Alaska is widely recognized for its outstanding training areas. "Our goal is to seek a balance between necessary training and environmental impacts. We must provide realistic training in order to respond to ever changing threats around the world, but we must also be sensitive to Alaska's environment and its people. "To illustrate how we seek this balance I'll talk about the Air Force's military operations area environmental impact statement process. In July of last year, the Air Force announced the intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for proposed changes in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act or NEPA. "From the beginning of this EIS effort, the Air Force has sought maximum participation by Alaskan citizens. Meetings were held in 14 locations throughout the state as well as many other meetings with local communities, organizations, and federal and state agencies. "The exchange of information during the entire scoping process has proven very productive and helped the Air Force better understand public concerns. The issues raised by concerned citizens and other public, state, and federal officials will be considered and addressed in the EIS, in fact, they become the heart of the EIS analysis. "Before I move on, there are four very significant points I want to leave you with about the Air Force. "MOA EIS: 1. The proposed changes are just that -- proposed. The Air Force is more than a year away from a decision. 2. The proposal is not expected to increase the overall military flying activity in the state of Alaska. 3. The proposal will not change the public's existing right to access any airspace. 4. The Air Force is serious about up-front public involvement. We have already incorporated several significant adjustments to our original proposal based on inputs from Alaskans. "The primary focus of the Alaskan Norad Region is the air sovereignty of Alaska. Because of budget reductions we are scaling down some of our operations and changing our alert structure. Galena based forces have withdrawn and site operation has been contracted out. While departing we donated more than $32,000 of furniture to surrounding villages and encouraged the contractor to be proactive in hiring local residents. Almost fifty per cent of their work force came from the village. The base is still available for emergency and contingency operations and performed extremely well in a recent exercise. King Salmon's forces will withdraw this summer. We have worked closely with Major General Cox and have determined that it is mutually advantageous for the Alaskan Air National Guard to run the King Salmon operation. I appreciate the support of the Governor and the legislature to make this change happen. "Our future plans include a downsizing of Eareckson AFS, on Shemya, recently renamed after an Aleutian Campaign hero. A recent study also indicates we can save the taxpayers more money by closing radar sites at Galena and Pt. Lay. We are working closely with the FAA to ensure we maintain adequate radar capacity for both civil and military operations. "One of our most difficult tasks associated with downsizing has been the environmental cleanup issues. We continue to have a tremendous working relationship between the DOD and the State of Alaska. This is manifested through the statement of cooperation that Commissioner Sandor and I are personally involved with. In fact, I have been told, no other state in the nation can boast of a better working relationship between the state government and its DOD neighbors. "The DOD in Alaska has had good success in correcting pollution left from past practices. Fifty years ago, society accepted disposing of used motor oil in their backyard, or the local storm drain. We in the military are also victims of our past practices. As all of you know, Alaska was the location of one of the bloodiest battles of the Second World War -- at Attu. The fact that we undertook a massive military build-up and that a major battle was fought here, combined with past practices, resulted in numerous contaminated sites throughout the state. This is not to imply that my predecessors were in any way criminals, they were in fact doing what was acceptable by military and civilians alike -- drain the contents of the 55 gallon drum and discard it. "King Salmon for example has a contaminated site we call `Barrel Bluff.' Here we have excavated, triple-rinsed, shredded, and barged away over 25,000 55-gallon drums. That is the good news. The bad news is -- we have over 1 million barrels to go. "In the last three years the Air Force has spent more than $150 million in Alaska to remediate contaminated sites. These projects included removal of underground and above ground storage tanks, removal of barrels, removal of contaminated soils, and teardown and removal of old buildings. For the first time in history all of our remote sites are now in compliance with RCRA guidelines on hazardous waste. "Fiscal Year 94 illustrates the continued commitment to protecting and cleaning up the environment with over $40 million identified for environmental restoration and compliance throughout the state. Further, we have identified and programmed for over $100 million more for projects over the next few years. "The new medical center at Elmendorf is another major project receiving a great deal of attention. This combined VA/DOD facility will replace the old facility that still suffers from structural damage from the 1964 quake. The new medical center is designed to remain fully operational to support the community even after a major seismic event. This 160 million dollar facility is underway, ahead of schedule and occupancy is set for summer 1997. "The big news for the Army is the reduction in size of the 6th Infantry Division. We will retain a brigade sized force in Alaska. Approximately 2000 troops will be leaving Anchorage and 600 will leave Fairbanks by October. The brigade headquarters will remain at Ft. Wainwright. All three of our Army installations will remain open and we are spending over 33 million dollars on upgrades to facilities and new construction this year. "The remaining forces have received improvements to enhance the capabilities of the remaining forces. We have fielded a new communication system, replaced 14 of 16 UH-1 Huey helicopters with UH-60s and will soon field a new Howitzer with a greater range. Training continues at an intense pace. The 6th ID had trained in Guam, Philippines, and Thailand in support of world wide deployment commitments. Engineer units have deployed throughout the Pacific Rim. Since the terrain in parts of Alaska resembles Bosnia, the 6th ID was selected to develop much needed tactics, techniques and practices for peace enforcement operations in mountainous terrain for the entire Army. "The drawdown on Adak is the major issue facing the naval component. By the end of the year we will retain approximately 1000 unaccompanied personnel on the island. Adak will become a naval air facility by 1 September 94. The naval reserves are activating an 80 person reserve unit headquartered in Anchorage to help in planning joint operations and disaster relief efforts. "Upcoming Coast Guard improvements include new buoy tenders to replace the 50 year old fleet. In addition to technical improvements, these tenders will be equipped with hazardous spill recovery systems. To help prevent spills, Prince William Sound's traffic control system will be upgraded to expand the current radar coverage area by over tenfold this summer. "Since its activation in Alaska, the Air National Guard has been a key player in the force structure. It is the only guard unit permanently assigned to an overseas command. The unit truly demonstrates the cooperation between Alaskans and the military. Most aircrew and maintainers are traditional Guard members -- fortunate enough to have employers who believe in supporting the nation's defense interests and policies. "The Guard airlift capability is integral to the military operations in Alaska. You are all well aware of the limited road network and the need for airlift to move critical items. "Our best known ANG capability is the 210th Rescue Unit. In 1993 they completed 70 rescue missions resulting in 41 lives saved and 21 assists. All but one of these saves was civilian. "The unit has deployed to Turkey, Kuwait, Dhahran, Korea and supported space shuttle operations in 1993. "Community involvement includes an active drug demand reduction program and a drug eradication and interdiction program removing millions of dollars of drugs from the street. They have also established an Alaska Nation Guard Youth Corps that will take 100 youth at risk, ages 16-18, off the streets and put them in a five month residential skill training program. "Guard tankers sit full time alert in support of our Norad Mission and launch every time a fighter is launched on an intercept mission. We are receiving newer model aircraft with more efficient engines in recognition of the importance of this role. "The biggest story of the past year would probably be the deployment of Alaskan based forces to Tiksi, Russia. Just after I talked to you in 93 we took an HC-130 and two UH-60s on the first joint American-Russian exercise on Russian soil since World War II. It was a tremendous show of international cooperation. - We flew in their helicopters, they flew in ours. - We watched them drop an Arctic hospital from an AN-12 aircraft and have this hospital up and operational in less than 30 minutes. It was not elegant -- but it worked. It was a rubber inflatable structure accompanied by a small Honda generator and a Hoover vacuum cleaner. The generator was started, the vacuum cleaner plugged in and the exhaust hose inflated the hospital structure. - In this little town of Tiksi is a seaport -- only accessible about six weeks out of the year. They have a great deal of pride. We were given a tour. - In one corner of one room was an exhibit about an American explorer, Lt. George Washington DeLong. Lt. DeLong set out on a voyage in the fall of 1879 from San Francisco to search for a year round seaway in the Siberian polar region. - Through Bering Sea, past Wrangell Island, soon thereafter iced in. Drifted on ice pack until late summer 1881. -- "Jeanette" crushed in summer 1881. -- Crew dragged/sailed three whaleboats to vicinity Tiksi September 1881. -- Parties separated by storm. -- Two of the three were rescued near Tiksi. Not DeLong. -- DeLong last journal entry October 13, 1881. Ate boots, recorded individual deaths. -- Bodies located spring 1882. - DeLong's left arm "upraised with Bible. -- Russians respect DeLong. - Polar explorer, "brother of the North" - Kept crew discipline. No suicide, no insanity. - Erected DeLong memorial 1976. -- Opposed by Soviet government. -- Museum in Tiksi with original timbered cross from burial site. - We went to this museum in this tiny remote Siberian village of Tiksi and presented the director of the museum with a painting done by Sergeant Blackwell of the Alaska ANG depicting the DeLong expedition with linked Russian and American hands. We also presented a Bible inscribed to the people of Tiksi from rescuemen of Alaska. - There was not a dry eye in the room -- Russian or American. - Our host was a Russian general named Kalugin -- he is commander of long range aviation -- the equivalent of our strategic command. - We spent every waking moment together during this week, got to know each other quite well to the point that we felt free to ask questions about whatever was on our minds. Later in the week, General Kalugin said that he had two questions that he had to ask me. First question was, did I issue new uniforms to our enlisted forces for this exercise? I replied, "No, I didn't, but why did you ask?" He said, "Well, your people were clean when they arrived, they worked all week and they are still clean. How do you do that?" The second question was even more telling. He said, "Did you hand pick your enlisted forces for this exercise?" I replied, "No, they were normal squadron personnel, but again why do you ask?" He said the first day that we were there the motor pool contacted him and relayed that a sergeant had shown up at the motor pool and wanted transportation to the flightline to check on his airplane. How do you motivate a sergeant to want to go check on his airplane without an officer forcing him to do so and furthermore, it was at 0730 in the morning. How can this possibly be?" - I struggled with the answer to these questions because motivated forces that take pride in their appearance and pride in their work is something that we expect as the norm. Anything less than that is unacceptable. It became readily apparent to me during that exercise that the real difference between the USAF and the Russian Air Force was not so much our equipment or our officers but the real difference is in the tremendous quality advantage that we have in our enlisted men and women. "Next month we are hosting the Russians and Canadians in a similar exercise near Fairbanks. We're simulating the major crash of an international flight over the polar regions requiring the joint efforts of all three countries. It is a tremendous opportunity to further the relations between all the countries involved. "The Army Guard maintains our closest relationship to the local community. We have 110 locations and 3000 members throughout the state. They are our initial military response available to the state in any civil emergency. The Army Guard initially has the primary responsibility for coordinating and directing our assistance efforts. They are also streamlining this year. We are combining four broken battalions into two high quality and highly capable units. We have upgraded the automatic weapons and secure communications capability. This is another area where we are very proud of our environmental efforts. Two years ago we hired an independent contractor to check 100 percent of our facilities for environmental compliance. Although problems were noted we have totally corrected over 50 percent and are well on our way with the rest. We have set up another external survey in June of this year to ensure we are keeping on the right track. "I recently visited the battalion in Nome and the company in Kotzebue and was impressed by the high standards they exhibited. "The final topic I would like to mention concerns the schools on military installations in Alaska. During my comments to you last year I pointed out the desperate condition of our schools and you responded. You created a task force to further review the problem and made recommendations to resolve the situation. This task force was chaired by Representative Eldon Mulder and had strong leadership from Senator Loren Leman, and Representatives Jeannette James and Terry Martin. Other members of the task force included representatives from the Anchorage and Fairbanks school districts, the State Board of Education, the Governor's Office and the Alaska military. During the in-depth look at this problem the task force quantified the amount of money necessary to bring these schools up to minimum acceptable state and district standards. The task force further determined that the most expedient means of ensuring that the schools remain within acceptable standards is to secure a joint funding commitment from the federal government and the state government for the repair and upgrade of these facilities. Tomorrow, during the Health, Education and Social Services Committee meeting there will be crucial discussions on these important bills. "As the senior military member in Alaska, I have taken this problem on as a quality of life issue that directly affects the morale and welfare of the men and women in the Alaska Command. To that end I strongly endorse this joint funding proposal and urge your support. Thank you." (NOTE: A copy of Lt. General Joseph Ralston's speech is on file.) Number 290 REPRESENTATIVE MARTIN thanked Lt. General Ralston for his update and stated that it was his feeling that the military had been very generous in their federal aid to school children in Anchorage and Fairbanks. He stated that part of the calculation per child has to do with maintaining the schools and he feels that in the Anchorage area there has been no money directed towards maintenance of military schools. Representative Martin asked Lt. General Ralston if he was aware of any money that had been put towards maintenance. LT. GENERAL RALSTON replied that to his understanding no money has been put towards maintenance, and he further pointed out that Alaska has a unique situation in which all impact aid comes to the state and then it is parceled out by the state. Lt. General Ralston said that there are certain advantages to this in terms of the amount of money drawn per student and he knows that there has been very little to no maintenance done to school buildings on Department of Defense land during this time period. REPRESENTATIVE MARTIN stated that he feels the state and local school district owes this money without any federal match. LT. GEN. RALSTON said that he appreciated Representative Martin's sentiments, but he thought the problem should be worked jointly and he would try to get as much money from the federal side as possible. Number 334 SENATOR PHILLIPS asked Lt. Gen. Ralston about North Korea and if there are more air intercepts this year than last year or if it was the same. LT. GEN. RALSTON explained that intercepts are when Russian aircraft enter Alaskan airspace. He stated that there are not as many this year as there were in the 1988-89 time period, but it was about the same number that they had when President Reagan called the Soviet Union the evil empire in 1981-83. He said that they have not seen as many Bear Bombers, although there have been Bear Bombers this year, and they have seen intelligence gathering aircraft that are escorted out. Lt. Gen. Ralston said that the intercepts continue to exist and for that reason they keep F-15 aircraft on five minute alert. LT. GEN. RALSTON stated that North Korea is a diplomatic and military problem that is monitored very closely. He stated that this is of great concern to Alaska because many of Alaska's air forces are tasked to support contingency plans regarding North Korea. He said that they take this responsibility very seriously and that the forces are prepared for whatever the National command authority would dictate. Number 355 REPRESENTATIVE BRICE thanked the General for coming and asked for an update on the status of the problems at Eielson AFB relating to the housing project construction. LT. GEN. RALSTON responded that the Air Force was very short of housing at Eielson and in the local community. He explained that a few years ago there was project called 801 Housing and it was essentially third-party financing in which the federal government provides land on which a private contractor builds housing, then the federal government agrees to lease this housing for a specified period of time. He stated that this was a win-win situation for all involved; taxpayers do not have to put up the money, the builder gets a fair return on their investment, and the military receives housing. LT. GEN. RALSTON said that after the bid for the Eielson project was awarded a few years ago, the successful bidder was unable to get the necessary financial backing. Lt. Gen. Ralston explained that under normal circumstances, the government would have defaulted and awarded the project to the next bidder. In this case, the federal legislation that enabled the 801 program was rescinded, so if that contractor was defaulted there would be no housing constructed. Lt. Gen. Ralston said that since that time the Air Force has worked very closely with the contractor to come up with a solution to the problem. A year ago, the contractor formed a partnership arrangement with Martech. After this, with help from the state and some private individuals, the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation agreed to the long-term financing of the program. LT. GEN. RALSTON stated that construction began and 57 out of 66 home foundations were built. He stated that in November or December of 1993, Martech filed for bankruptcy, which has stalled the project. Lt. Gen. Ralston stated that they were working with Martech and that Martech would be in bankruptcy court tomorrow. He said he had talked to former Gov. Sheffield, now the president of Martech, this morning and told him that he was optimistic that Martech would find some potential partners that would help them get on with this project. Number 402 REPRESENTATIVE FOSTER alluded to the environmental costs that General Ralston had spoke of earlier. He stated that he knew they were massive and that there were probably 100 sites throughout Alaska. Representative Foster asked if there were funds that were separate from Air Force mission funds available for the cleanup of these sites. LT. GEN. RALSTON answered that there are some funds that are provided under the Environmental Restoration Act, but these also come out of the Air Force's operating budget. He stated that this is a problem because when people compare the Air Force operating budget to past years they do not take into account the amount of today's operating budget that goes to environmental restoration. He stated that environmental restoration is important and needs to be done, but it needs to be recognized that it comes out of the military's readiness accounts. Lt. Gen. Ralston said that if more money is spent on environmental restoration, then money is taken away from flying hours or training. Number 423 CHAIR MULDER noted for the record that Representative Nicholia had joined the committee. Number 425 REPRESENTATIVE NICHOLIA welcomed Lt. Gen. Ralston to Juneau and stated that she was aware that he had been talking to Chris Hladick, manager of the city of Galena, about the financial problems the city was having in providing electricity to the Air Force facility in Galena. She encouraged Lt. Gen Ralston to continue communication and informed the General that city officials had spoken to Senators and Air Force personnel in Washington, D.C. LT. GEN. RALSTON thanked Representative Nicholia for her input and assured her that the Air Force was willing to look at any proposals that would help them come to a satisfactory resolution to the problem. Number 440 REPRESENTATIVE NAVARRE asked Lt. General Ralston if the next round of base closures was in 1995. LT. GEN. RALSTON replied that was correct. REPRESENTATIVE NAVARRE asked what the speculation was on Alaskan bases, particularly Ft. Richardson, for downsizing or potential closure. LT. GEN. RALSTON responded that it is a difficult problem and he was not sure what the outcome would be. He stated that there is an independent commission that reviews recommendations from each of the military services and so it is very difficult to speculate on the outcome. He said that he has been told that every base in the Department of Defense will be looked at and the services will have to take a very close look at each of their bases with the idea that they will have to close some of them. Lt. Gen. Ralston further stated that the 11th Air Force and the 6th Infantry (Light) will go and make the best case for why each of the bases are important to their mission. He stated that in recent years they have tried to make that case that if you have a few forces then you are better off to put those in a place that allows you to go wherever needed. In the last few years, this reasoning has been successful. Lt. Gen. Ralston stated that he did not know if this would continue to be successful, but they will continue to work with the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force to make sure they have all the data available for the commission. TAPE 94-2, SIDE B Number 000 REPRESENTATIVE WILLIAMS asked Lt. Gen. Ralston how many environmental projects needed to be cleaned up. LT. GENERAL RALSTON replied that there were approximately 323 sites around Alaska that needed to be cleaned up. He said that some of those are minor, like small spills or leaking underground storage tanks or are very serious, like the White Alice sites on Anvil Mountain and other areas around Alaska. He explained that the costs vary in amounts from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands to even millions or tens of millions. Lt. Gen. Ralston said that it was very important for the Air Force to work with the State Department of Environmental Conservation to determine which sites are the most hazardous, so they could work on those first with whatever resources that are available. Number 035 REPRESENTATIVE NICHOLIA asked Lt. Gen. Ralston if she could have a list of the White Alice sites that need to cleaned up. LT. GEN. RALSTON stated that he would be happy to provide her the list. He said that there are 18 White Alice sites throughout Alaska. Number 041 CHAIR MULDER asked Lt. General Ralston when the base review process would begin and when the first cut list would be published. LT. GEN. RALSTON responded that the process has already started in that the services are compiling information on their bases. He said that the first public announcement of the commission's results would come out in July 1995. He explained that after that there is a very specific process that is followed and the final decisions will be made in September of 1995. CHAIR MULDER asked if the services ever make known what facilities are vulnerable between these reporting periods. LT. GEN. RALSTON replied that to his knowledge it is late in the process before anything is made known. He stated that he would provide a timetable of the closure process to the committee. CHAIR MULDER asked what Lt. Gen. Ralston would recommend the legislature to do to strengthen our cause. LT. GEN. RALSTON replied that it is helpful to have a supportive community behind the military. Lt. Gen. Ralston stated that he thought it would help a great deal if the legislature worked to upgrade the schools on Alaska's military bases. Number 068 CHAIR MULDER said that he understood that there was $10 million dollars put into the federal budget by Senator Stevens for military schools and asked what the chance was that Alaska would receive some or all of those funds. LT. GEN. RALSTON replied that he was optimistic that Alaska would receive some of those funds. He said that these funds were not earmarked for any one state when they were put into the Dole report in 1986. This report established a priority list of which schools were in the worst shape and Kansas and Alaska were on the top of the list. He said that most of Kansas' schools are taken care of, so if the priority list continues to be used, Alaska should be in pretty good shape. Lt. Gen Ralston said that currently the White House wants to rescind any funds that were added by Congress and he did not know what would happen. CHAIR MULDER asked Lt. Gen. Ralston if it would strengthen Alaska's case if the legislature was able to pass the bill recommended by the Military Schools Task Force. LT. GEN. RALSTON answered that it would strengthen the case because then the Department of the Air Force would be able to go and tell the Department of Defense that if dollars are spent in Alaska, the state would provide matching funds. Number 085 REPRESENTATIVE JAMES told Lt. Gen. Ralston that there is a lot of support for the military in her community and the military participates in the community frequently. LT. GEN. RALSTON thanked Representative James for her comments. Number 89 CHAIR MULDER thanked Lt. Gen. Ralston and Capt. Porter for participating in the Military Schools Task Force. There being no further testimony, Chair Mulder adjourned the meeting at 5:55 p.m.