ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AND VETERANS' AFFAIRS
March 5, 2024
1:01 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Stanley Wright, Chair
Representative Laddie Shaw
Representative Ben Carpenter
Representative George Rauscher
Representative Dan Saddler
Representative Cliff Groh
Representative Andrew Gray
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
HOUSE BILL NO. 228
"An Act establishing the Alaska mental health and psychedelic
medicine task force; and providing for an effective date."
- MOVED CSHB 228(MLV) OUT OF COMMITTEE
HOUSE BILL NO. 312
"An Act relating to the appointment of an assistant adjutant
general; and providing for an effective date."
- MOVED HB 312 OUT OF COMMITTEE
PRESENTATION)S): PROGRAM ELEMENT CODE LEVELING INITIATIVE
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: HB 228
SHORT TITLE: MENTAL HEALTH/PSYCHEDELIC MED. TASK FORCE
SPONSOR(s): REPRESENTATIVE(s) ARMSTRONG
01/16/24 (H) PREFILE RELEASED 1/8/24
01/16/24 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/16/24 (H) HSS, STA, FIN
02/02/24 (H) MLV REPLACES HSS REFERRAL
02/02/24 (H) BILL REPRINTED
02/13/24 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
02/13/24 (H) Heard & Held
02/13/24 (H) MINUTE(MLV)
02/29/24 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
02/29/24 (H) Heard & Held
02/29/24 (H) MINUTE(MLV)
03/05/24 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
BILL: HB 312
SHORT TITLE: ASSISTANT ADJUTANT GENERAL APPOINTMENT
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
02/09/24 (H) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
02/09/24 (H) MLV
02/22/24 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
02/22/24 (H) -- MEETING CANCELED --
02/29/24 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
02/29/24 (H) Heard & Held
02/29/24 (H) MINUTE(MLV)
03/05/24 (H) MLV AT 1:00 PM GRUENBERG 120
WITNESS REGISTER
FORREST WOLFE, Staff
Representative Stanley Wright
Alaska State Legislature
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Explained the changes in Version P, a
proposed committee substitute for HB 228, on behalf of
Representative Wright, prime sponsor.
ANGELA LAFLAMME, Legislative Liaison
Office of the Commissioner
Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced the Program Element Code
Leveling Initiative presentation and presenter Brigadier General
Brian Kyle.
BRIGADIER GENERAL BRIAN KILE, Assistant Adjutant General
Alaska Air National Guard
None given
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave the Program Element Code Leveling
Initiative presentation.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:01:27 PM
CHAIR STANLEY WRIGHT called the House Special Committee on
Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting to order at 1:01 p.m.
Representatives Shaw, Carpenter, Groh, Gray, and Wright were
present at the call to order. Representatives Saddler and
Rauscher arrived as the meeting was in progress.
HB 228-MENTAL HEALTH/PSYCHEDELIC MED. TASK FORCE
1:02:04 PM
CHAIR WRIGHT announced that the first order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 228, "An Act establishing the Alaska mental
health and psychedelic medicine task force; and providing for an
effective date."
1:02:27 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SHAW moved to adopt the proposed committee
substitute (CS) to HB 228, labeled 33-LS0976\P as a working
document.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER objected for the purpose of discussion.
1:02:50 PM
FORREST WOLFE, Staff, Representative Stanley Wright, Alaska
State Legislature, on behalf of Representative Wright, prime
sponsor, read the explanation of changes [included in committee
packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
The Military & Veterans' Affairs Committee Substitute
for House Bill 228 (Work Order 33-LS0976\P) reflects
the two amendments made at the previous committee
hearing on 2/29/24.
1. Page 2, following line 24: Inserts a new paragraph
to read:
o "(9) one member representing psychiatric nurse
practitioners, selected by the board of directors of
the Alaska Advanced Practice Registered Nurse
Alliance;"
o Renumbers the following paragraphs accordingly.
2. Page 1, line 8: Deletes "Department of Commerce,
Community, and Economic Development" and inserts
"legislature."
3. Page 3, Line 3 subsection (c): deletes "The task
force shall elect a chair from among its members" and
inserts "The members appointed by the president of the
senate and the speaker of the house of representatives
under (b)(11) and (12) of this section shall serve as
co-chairs of the task force."
1:04:11 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER removed his objection. There being no
further objection, Version P was adopted as the working
document.
1:04:37 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SHAW moved to report CSHB 228, Version 33-
LS0976\P, out of committee with individual recommendations and
the accompanying fiscal notes. There being no objection, CSHB
228(MLV) was reported out of the House Special Committee on
Military and Veterans' Affairs.
1:05:01 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 1:05 p.m. to 1:08 p.m.
HB 312-ASSISTANT ADJUTANT GENERAL APPOINTMENT
1:08:12 PM
CHAIR WRIGHT announced that the next order of business would be
HOUSE BILL NO. 312, "An Act relating to the appointment of an
assistant adjutant general; and providing for an effective
date."
1:08:47 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SHAW moved to report HB 312 out of committee with
individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal notes.
There being no objection, HB 312 was reported out of the House
Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs.
1:09:06 PM
The committee took an at-ease from 1:09 p.m. to 1:12 p.m.
^PRESENTATION)S): PROGRAM ELEMENT CODE LEVELING INITIATIVE
PRESENTATION)S): PROGRAM ELEMENT CODE LEVELING INITIATIVE
1:12:26 PM
CHAIR WRIGHT announced that the final order of business would be
the Program Element Code Leveling Initiative presentation.
1:13:09 PM
ANGELA LAFLAMME, Legislative Liaison, Office of the
Commissioner, Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs,
introduced the Program Element Code (PEC) Leveling Initiative
presentation and presenter Brigadier General Brian Kyle.
1:13:50 PM
BRIGADIER GENERAL BRIAN KILE, Assistant Adjutant General, Alaska
Air National Guard, summarized the Alaska Air National Guard
Program Element Code Leveling whitepaper [included in committee
packet], which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
The Alaska Air National Guard is one of the most
operational guard units in the nation with the 176th
Wing on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson providing
nearly 100% of the Air Defense, Airspace Control
Authority, Personnel Recovery, and Rescue Coordination
for the Alaska Command/Alaska NORAD Region commander.
Complementary to the 176th Wing, the 168th Wing at
Eielson Air Force Base provides nearly 100% of the
Alaska NORAD Region's Air Refueling. Additionally,
airmen at Clear Space Station provide nearly 100% of
the region's Missile Warning Defense, Space Domain
Awareness, and their critical support functions in
Alaska.
The men and women who fulfill these integral 24/7
operational positions in Alaska are currently in
Active Guard and Reserve (AGR) positions, a federal
program through which Airmen serve in a full-time
capacity on federal active-duty status under Title 32
USC. This status allows quick conversion to Title 10
USC when needed, such as in response to a national
security incident or state emergency response. These
types of positions provide the most flexibility for
training and operationally capable guardsmen.
In January, all 54 Adjutant Generals were notified by
the Air National Guard that PEC leveling nationwide
would be conducted. PEC is short for program element
code, which refers to the funding code for positions.
PEC leveling is an adjustment to fulltime resources,
generally a change between AGR and Dual-Status
Technicians. This decision was made without
consideration for mission or operational needs of the
states and provides only eight months to complete the
transition.
The Dual-Status Technician program provides for most
Air National Guard training requirements, but these
airmen are not permitted to perform Title 10
designated duties. The effective loss of the ability
to transition quickly into Title 10 USC results in
Alaska's Air National Guard units lacking the agility
to quickly respond to national security threats such
as airspace penetration by peer adversaries, cyber
intrusion, or air intercept operations.
Alaska will endure the most significant number of AGR
to Technician conversions (88 AGR loss) in the
country, with multiple Title 10 homeland defense
missions critically impacted and expected degradation
of operations to MISSION FAILURE starting by June
2024. The impacts will be significant:
• 100+ Civilian Search and Rescue Alert Rescue missions
impacted annually.
• Air refueling impacts to NORAD alert fighters
responding to Russian encroachment on US airspace.
• All Title 10 Homeland Defense missions (which do not
allow DST status to complete)
• NORAD Aerospace Control Alert and Air Sovereignty
Alert
• Ballistic Missile Defense / Space Domain Awareness
• Global Airlift (MISSION DEGRADED)
Sixty-five of the affected Alaskan AGR members have
already expressed retiring/separating and looking for
work outside the Alaska Air National Guard.
The loss of Alaska's AGR positions will cause numerous
personnel issues including:
• Loss of 65 experienced AGRs
• Recruitment for these losses will take approximately
24-36 months to recover only 50% of the departing
Airmen and years to regain the experience
• Pay differential between these AGR positions adjusting
to dual-status technician status will see at a minimum
between $18K and $44k pay cut per year
• Impacts to retirements, benefits, and medical benefits
We can support the Alaska Air National Guard and avoid
critical mission failures in Alaska if we:
• Stop PEC Leveling in its current form
• Ask the National Guard Bureau to provide a 24-month
"get-well moratorium" to assess risk
• Increase the Air National Guard AGR end strength by
80, with prescriptive language to provide them to the
Alaska Air National Guard
• Multi-state delegation for Congress support to
increase the Air National Guard AGR end-strength
1:19:23 PM
CHAIR WRIGHT asked what the alert mission is and how it is
important.
BRIGADIER GENERAL KILE answered that there are four different
alerts, one of which is the search and rescue alert covered 24/7
th
by the 176 Wing at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER).
Another is a refueling alert, which involves air re-fueling of
fighter planes. There are also two ground-based alert missions,
one is the alerting communications of America (ACA) alert, the
other is space surveillance for ballistic missiles.
1:22:27 PM
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER inquired if there is a "fix on the
horizon."
BRIGADIER GENERAL KILE shared that the Alaska Air National Guard
is working with various entities to stop this in its current
form. He said there is not a direct fix currently; if PEC
leveling was adjusted as it was rolled out on January 10, issues
would arise.
REPRESENTATIVE RAUSCHER asked what committee members can do.
BRIGADIER GENERAL KILE suggested a joint resolution through the
state to stop PEC leveling and re-adjust.
1:24:33 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked whether PEC leveling has been
applied before and whether it provides cost savings.
BRIGADIER GENERAL KILE answered that in talking about program
element codes, war fighting capabilities is discussed. In
hypothetical example, he said the Guard wants to send search and
rescue to Afghanistan to fight; however, if every rescue unit
looks different, then it is unknown what the guard will get. He
said the effort is to level PECs to have each look the same. He
stated that 30 of the 54 are winners in the PEC leveling
rollout. He relayed that the director of the Air National Guard
has stated that the rollout is needed because there has been an
AGR cap placed on the guard as a whole, which right now is
25,333, and indicated the need to raise it to 31,200 in order to
replace some of the technician workforce.
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER used an anecdote. He asked, in terms of
the Air National Guard Force nationwide, whether there is a
provision for allocating the winners and losers so that
personnel who have gone through the training are maintained. He
inquired whether people lost to the Alaska Guard would go to a
"net-gain" guard.
BRIGADIER GENERAL KILE stated that there is a zero-sum gain, as
there is no change in force numbers for the Air National Guard
as a whole; it is just rearranging full-time employment
authorities to level every PEC.
REEPRESENTATIVE SADDLER inquired as to feedback from partners in
the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
BRIGADIER GENERAL KILE answered that the Guard has not engaged
with Canada, but is engaged with NORAD Northcom, so indirectly
with Canada. He said the Guard has also been engaged with Alcom
and Palcom.
1:29:52 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER asked, regarding the active component
relaying on the reserves to fulfill its mission, whether the
active component have the capacity to pick up the slack where
the reserve component may be curtailed.
BRIGADIER GENERAL KILE responded that there is some capacity, as
well as some ability to provide manning days to help augment the
technicians holding the alert. Regarding pulling active-duty
personnel to do the missions, he said there is limited space
capacity.
1:32:03 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRAY said that as a former Guard solider, he has
been unable to tell the difference between an AGR and a "tech"
since they are both wearing uniforms and are present during the
week. He asked AGR and tech people about PEC leveling, and they
said the silver lining of being a tech is that they have more
freedom, set hours, compensation time, and union representation.
A tech has the freedom to say "no," whereas an AGR has to do
what they are told. He relayed a comment from an AGR stating
that in her department, if people were changed from AGR to tech,
then she would quit; there is no way she would do that workload
with a decrease in pay and benefits. He asked if there is a way
to do a committee resolution opposing PEC leveling.
REPRESENTATIVE WRIGHT answered, "Absolutely."
1:33:54 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GROH stated that Alaska is lucky to have a large
number of dedicated national guard personnel. He asked whether
there was a strategy or historical pattern that lead to the
reliance on people in the National Guard doing tasks rather than
active duty.
BRIGADIER GENERAL KILE responded that in looking at the Alaska
Air National Guard's growth, it started in 1989, which was the
fall of the Cold War, and started getting rid of active-duty
missions. Going into the early '90s, the active duty was
st
getting rid of missions and referring them to the guard; the 71
th
Recuse Squadron left in 1989 and the 210 Rescue Squadron was
set up in its place in 1993. He summarized that it was the
draw-down of the Cold War, as well as the changing landscape,
that lead to the missions being handed to the Guard.
REPRESENTATIVE GROH thanked Brigadier General Kile and thanked
the Chair Wright for bringing the issue to the committee's
attention.
1:37:54 PM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER questioned whether the PEC leveling is
expected to happen to the U.S. Army as well.
BRIGADIER GENERAL KILE answered that three years ago the Army
made similar changes. He said there is no push to make this
particular change in the Army, but there is a push for "the Air"
if the cap is not removed. He advised that there are two more
phases to the PEC leveling that are being looked at, as well as
cross PEC leveling; tech leveling throughout the states is the
plan.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER pointed to the list in the whitepaper
regarding what will be significantly impacted. He asked whether
the PEC leveling has a classified impact that Brigadier General
Kile is unable to share today.
BRIGADIER GENERAL KILE answered yes.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER commented that the list is concerning
but said he cannot imagine leadership at the U.S. Department of
Defense would allow ballistic missile defense to slip. He
cautioned that whatever is going on at the national level in
regard to force leveling needs to be understood before the state
takes a position.
1:40:23 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SADDLER asked if the National Guard Bureau has
given Brigadier General Kile dispensation to take the case to
the committee.
BRIGADIER GENERAL KILE answered yes, in that the Guard has put
itself at odds with the bureau. Concerns related to the bureau
fell on deaf ears.
1:41:45 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Military and Veterans' Affairs meeting was
adjourned at 1:42 p.m.