Commissioner: Phil Oates
Tel: (907) 428-6003 Fax: (907) 428-6019

Administrative Services Director: Carol Carroll
Tel: (907) 465-4730 Fax: (907) 465-3886

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Provide strategically positioned, relevant, and ready military forces capable of homeland defense, rapid deployment, joint operations, and mission accomplishment in the state or throughout the world; and provide organizations capable of performing emergency services, training at-risk juveniles, coordinating veterans' programs, and assisting other state and federal agencies in suppressing the use of illegal drugs.

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Maintain the current staffing and structure of the Army and Air National Guard during this era of down-sizing our nation's military strength by acquiring the new missions of space surveillance and security at Clear Air Station; a role in the Alaska NORAD operations center; strategic airlift; national missile defense; domestic preparedness against weapons of mass destruction; and a Pacific Theater aviation headquarters.

Improve recruitment, retention, and education levels through a partnership with the University of Alaska and full use of military education tools.


Develop a statewide-integrated emergency management system to protect the lives and property of Alaskans in time of emergencies and disasters.

Continue to provide communities with a mechanism to assist one another through coordination with the State Emergency Coordination Center.

Establish a State of Alaska Emergency Management System (AEMS) that defines the organization structures for and between state, borough, and local offices for response to emergency and disaster incidents; and coordinates the management of these response resources.

Maintain state capability to form and deploy interagency incident management teams to manage all types of hazards.

Maintain a comprehensive recovery program to acquire and manage all possible federal resources available for disasters.

Continue the work initiated from the Y2K Outreach and Response on the community profile database to develop a statewide resource database structure.

Develop a standard multi-agency/multi-incident logistics system to track all requests for resources.

Increase efforts to prevent or mitigate potential emergencies or disasters.



Help Alaska's at-risk youth gain an education and learn self-discipline.

Continue the Alaska Military Youth Academy (formerly Youth Corps) as a federal/state program to complete high school and establish career goals.

Continue support of youth organizations statewide.

Maintain education and prevention efforts of the Drug Demand Reduction Program

Aggressively recruit Military Youth Academy graduates into the Army and Air Guard.


Advocate for veterans' benefits to recognize the sacrifices and achievements of Alaska's veterans and their families

Provide an interface and advocacy for veterans and veterans' organizations to identify and resolving problems related to veterans' affairs.

Monitor the outreach and assistance services provided by the Veterans Service Organizations.

Provide a contact point for access to veterans' benefits and programs.

Expand efforts for veterans to Alaska's rural communities.

Reinstitute the Alaska Veterans Affairs informational brochure.

Allow use of Army Guard armories statewide as places for veterans to access veterans' program information.

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During 1999 some of the major accomplishments of the Facilities Management Division have been the completion of the Atmaulauak Federal Scout Readiness Center, placing Fuel Tank upgrades at federal facilities reducing our environmental liability and installing generator transfer switches for disaster response capability. FMD has begun the fire suppression system at Bryant Airfield, completed the Alcantra water & sewer system as well as the addition to the Organizational Maintenance Shop. Energy upgrades have been completed for various Federal Scout Readiness Centers in the Bethel and Northwest Regions.

The Alaska Military Youth Academy Graduated 84 cadets from Class 99-1 and 91 cadets from Class 99-2. Class 99-2 was the largest graduating class in the 6-year history of the State of Alaska Youth Challenge Program. Also, the Alaska Military Youth Academy partnership with Alyeska Central School is a significant step in the growth and recognition of this program.

Division of Emergency Services has:

Increased overall State preparedness by outreach and response activities undertaken for the Y2K Millennium Turnover and increased community involvement in a statewide preparedness/response event.

Responded with an Interagency Incident Management Team to the 1998 Western Alaska Fisheries Disaster and the 1998 Fall Southeast Alaska Storm which were both declared State Disasters.

Managed two recovery programs in response to the Western Alaska Fisheries Disaster to include:

The State Emergency Living Expense program in SFY99 provided $8,058,710.00 to 4003 applicants.

The Federal Emergency Disaster Assistance program is currently being administered in SFY00 and has provided $2,413,094.00 to 1697 applicants and 3336 additional applications are being processed.

Coordinated a Statewide preparedness and mitigation effort for a major cold snap that was predicted in January/February of 1999. As a result, communities were prepared and no emergencies resulted as they have in the past.

Supported the Alaska State Troopers in a multi-agency response to the search and rescue efforts for the Turnagain Pass Avalanche in March 1999.

Coordinated three local jurisdiction applications to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for Project Impact program funding. The Municipality of Anchorage was accepted in SFY99, the Kenai Peninsula Borough in SFY00 and Mat-Su Borough has just recently been accepted. Project Impact provides start up funding for these selected jurisdictions to accomplish pre-disaster mitigation activities. The objective of the program is to promote disaster resistant communities through the building of local jurisdiction/private partnerships.

The Alaska Air National Guard was recipient of the prestigious Mackay Trophy for 1999. The Mackay Trophy is given annually by the National Aeronautic Association of the United States and the United States Air Force for the most meritorious flight of the year by an Air Force person or organization. Past recipients include Billy Mitchell, Eddie Rickenbacker, and Chuck Yeager. On 20 September 1999 five members of the 210th Rescue Squadron, Alaska Air National Guard received the Mackay Trophy for rescuing six people, including two children, who had crashed their airplane near Mount Spurr in May 1999.

In addition, the Air Guard planned and led an historic deployment of active duty F-15 fighters over the Pole to support NATO air attack operations in the war in Kosovo. This historic flight demonstrated Alaska's strategic importance to the world.

The DMVA Veterans' program provided $520.0 to Veterans Service Officers in the state. This money is used to advocate for veterans' federal benefits. During this past year, $35 million or 67 times that spent on this program was obtained to benefit Alaskan veterans. Without these Veteran Service Officers, it would be much more difficult for individual Alaskan veterans to obtain the benefits due to them.

The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the Department of Natural Resources continue to share the services of certain administrative and human resource positions. This Shared Services agreement between the Divisions of Administrative Services saves over $100,000 a year. This agreement has been in place since 1995.

The National Guard Counterdrug Support Program assisted in 252 operations during 1999. These operations resulted in the seizure of 19,589 marijuana plants; 93 pounds of processed marijuana; 41.52 pounds of cocaine; 181 pounds of opium; 259 grams of methamphetamine; 1.73 pounds of heroin; currency of $231,797 and 333 arrests. The total value of drugs removed from the marketplace as a result of these operations was $92,241,355.

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Facilities

The age of DMVA facilities and the resultant growth of maintenance, renewal and replacement costs are high on the list of issues for the department.

The Youth Academy facilities need extensive renovation and remodeling in order to bring them to a condition that would present an orderly, functional atmosphere for the young adults. Presently, new roofs, secure meeting place for mentors and a refurbished dining hall are needs for the Camp Carroll facility.

A review performed last summer indicated that the deferred maintenance backlog of all Army Guard Facilities has grown from $13 to $21 million($15 million Fed, $6 million State). This is a function of the age of our facilities across the state and the lack of adequate resources to address maintenance and replacement needs in a timely manner.

Division of Emergency Services

The need to develop and maintain a 24 hour State Emergency Coordination Center that coordinates all State response requests and activities is a high priority as we develop a statewide-integrated emergency management system to protect lives and property. This Multi-agency State Emergency Coordination Center would provide a focal point for statewide emergency contact and could improve the overall efficiency of State government.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is currently seeking authorization from Congress to make a major change in the way funds are received by States for emergency management functions. If successful they will provide the majority of our funding in one grant with greater flexibility in the expenditure of the funds but with a revision to the cost share for the states. Our cost share will go from range of 100% to 50% State match for the majority of our funding, to a 47% state match requirement. This change in cost sharing can currently be covered by our base funding provided from the Disaster Relief Fund and from our allocation of the Inter-agency/Oil and Hazardous Waste Fund. If however we receive any reduction in funding from our State funding sources we would then incur a reduction in federal funding through the inability to match their funds.

Army National Guard

A key issue of the Army National Guard is to adequately train and prepare for the Weapons of Mass Destruction threat and develop Alaska Rapid Assessment Initial Detection Team.

Congress provided for up to 27 RAID teams to mitigate and respond to the WMD threat facing America. The Alaska Army National Guard initially received a 100% federally funded RAID team consisting of 2 full time personnel and 20 part time personnel. In the FY-2000 Federal Appropriation legislation, the Alaska Army Guard received authorization for a fully manned RAID team with 22 full time federally funded personnel. The RAID team is programmed to be trained and fully functional by FY-01.

Presently, DMVA has identified the resource needs to prepare the unit for activation. We will proceed to identify and train the 20 part-time personnel approved over the next two years. The RAID (heavy) detachment will be located within the Anchorage National Guard Readiness Center.

National Missile Defense (NMD)

The United States is pursuing a National Missile Defense system to protect the United States from accidental ballistic missile launch or limited launch by a rogue nation. The NMD system that is in the process of being developed and possibly fielded in the future is a major factor in the Homeland Defense initiative. Accordingly, the Homeland Defense mission is an Army National Guard mission. If the NMD system is fielded in Alaska, the Alaska Army National Guard would man a significant number of positions and would operate the system.

A presidential decision is expected regarding the fielding of NMD in June 2000. Considerable technological challenges must be met to begin fielding a NMD system. Fielding could begin as early as FY01 with initial operational capability in FY 05.

Alaska Army National Guard personnel are engaged with the programmatic aspects of the NMD program, particularly in the areas of manning, force structure, quality of life issues and stationing.

The Alaska Army Guard has obtained a federally funded full- time authorization for an Action/liaison officer to work Army peculiar NMD issues on a full time basis in Colorado Springs, CO. Alaska Guard personnel are participating and involved in the NMD simulations and tests being conducted for command and control in Colorado Springs, CO. To date they have participated in multiple successful simulations.

Military Youth Academy

The most pressing issue for the Youth Academy is the inability to adequately address the growing backlog of at-risk youths that are ready to attend the Academy. One of the reasons the Youth Academy is successful is the timing of enrollment in the program. If we are not capable of reacting when these young men and women decide it is time to change their lives, we have lost the opportunity to help these youths help themselves. Unfortunately, the result of this failure is usually a return to their previous activities and a higher cost to society in crime and drug abuse.

At the present time, 156 young men and women want to enter the Youth Academy. DMVA expects this backlog to grow to 300 by March of 2000. The program does not have the resources to react timely to this most vulnerable period in their lives. For some, this will be the last chance they have to be a successful, responsible member of society.

Air National Guard

The Alaska Air National Guard has demonstrated the capability to undertake increased mission requirements that have provided direct benefit to both the nation and state. This successful growth has set the stage for future opportunities.

The most active potential future mission involves transfer of the space surveillance mission at Clear Air Force Station from US Space Command to the Alaska Air National Guard. This initiative would result in the Alaska Air National Guard gaining 84 AGR personnel and 6 traditional guardsmen to replace the active duty space operators at Clear Air Force Station. The initiative does not include transfer of the real estate or physical plant at the base. All facilities would remain the property of the US Air Force, with capital improvement and annual operations and maintenance costs provided by the US Air Force. This initiative is currently under final review at US Space Command with a projected decision expected in early FY2000.

The second initiative currently under consideration for the Alaska Air National Guard is the transfer of the 611th Air Defense Squadron Battle Control Center mission from the US Air Force to the Alaska Air National Guard. This transfer would result in nearly 100 new personnel authorizations within the Alaska Air National Guard to conduct the daily air surveillance, identification, and air weapons control operations under the Alaska NORAD Region. This mission is already an Air National Guard function in the lower 48 and is mission compatible under the homeland defense concept currently being advocated within the national defense community. As with the Clear Air Force Station initiative, this proposal does not include transfer of any facilities. This initiative is currently under consideration by 1st Air Force, the Alaska NORAD Region, the 611 AOG, and the National Guard Bureau.

The Alaska Air National Guard has been increasingly called upon to support U.S. Coast Guard missions involving search and rescue and patrol of the international borders. Due to the expansive size of Alaska and the limited U.S. Coast Guard aviation capability in state, the Alaska Air National Guard has assumed an increased role in support of civil authorities in conjunction with U.S. Coast Guard missions. The Alaska Air National Guard stands ready to support U.S. Coast Guard requirements, provided federal funding and authorization for mission acceptance is provided at the federal level. Supporting this growth opportunity has limited requirements for additional aircraft or aircrew members, however, as the demands increase over the coming years, there may be a need for additional federal resources.

Finally, the Alaska Air National Guard is monitoring a federal initiative to purchase new C-17 aircraft. The current U.S. Air Force program calls for the acquisition of 135 C-17 aircraft. The only Air National Guard unit programmed for C-17 transfer is the Mississippi Air National Guard, starting in CY2004. The U.S. Air Force is considering an additional buy of up to 60 C-17 aircraft. One of the alternatives under consideration would be the assignment of C-17's to the Alaska Air National Guard. Since this initiative is early in the planning process, no details concerning the number of aircraft, number of ground support facilities, or personnel requirements have been identified. The Alaska Air National Guard has assigned a project officer to start the information gathering process and develop a position paper for consideration early in FY2000.

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Measure: Increase Guard's member's educational level
(Not yet addressed by Legislature.)

Benchmark:
Reading Comprehension at 9th grade level; Mandatory college degree for advancement.

Background and Strategies:
Guard members received $28,500 in state tuition assistance which was important in assisting Guard members to reach required educational levels. However, demand outweighs funds available to reach all members who need funds to complete mandatory degrees.

136 soldiers received $54,000 in federal tuition assistance to pursue college degrees. Ten graduated.
338 soldiers graduated federally funded military and skill enhancing courses that prepared them for promotion/advancement
181 soldiers and Guard employees attended federally funded civilian and federal training to enhance their full-time employment skills with the Alaska Guard at a cost of $123,000

Many of the young men and women, who want to enlist with the Guard, do not read at the level required to achieve promotion and advancement in the military. Standards for membership and promotion in today's military are highly dependent on education. Men and women who want to enlist and succeed in the Guard require reading comprehension at a ninth grade level.

The Alaska Army National Guard has an on-going civilian and military education program assisting Guard members to achieve required and desired goals.

Our strategies to reach our goal of increased educational levels within the Guard are to:
Work with the University of Alaska and the rural campus to establish a partnership focused on enhancing Guard members' education levels.
Make information pertaining to military and civilian education opportunities available to Guard members through a variety of communication channels in order to encourage Guard members to pursue their educational goals.
Seek to establish Distance Learning sites at National Guard Readiness Centers to facilitate training/education.
Facilitate expansion of Junior ROTC programs into rural schools to instill awareness and a desire for education skills.

Measure: Reduce deferred maintenance backlog by 5%
(Not yet addressed by Legislature.)

Current Status:
The backlog is $21 million ($15 million federal, $6 million state) as of July 1999.

Benchmark:
Warranty and manufacturer's guides to replacement and renewal of building components. With regard to building replacement, the benchmark is considered 25 years for State buildings and 50 years for NGB facilities, based upon the Federal contract agreement.

Background and Strategies:
The average age of the buildings for the Alaska Army National Guard is 27 years old as of FY99. The oldest buildings are Training Sites at average age of 34 years and State Armories in a close second at 31 years.

Scheduled Renewal items will assist the building in meeting the current requirements, whether for enlarged personnel or compliance with new codes. Examples would be, more electrical outlets for current computer needs, energy upgrades, enlarge a building for expansion, code compliance i.e., ADA & fuel tank upgrades, GFI circuit breakers; and even insulation for a building.

Scheduled Replacement deals with the life expectancy of a part or building. Included are the following: roofs - life expectancy 20 years, boiler - life 25 years, carpets - life 7 years. Many of these items also involve preventative maintenance to reach that specific life expectancy.

By regulation if a building's replacement value exceeds 50%, NGB will no longer provide federal funds for the building.

Strategies include:

Performing Preventative Maintenance in accordance with manufacturer recommendations to extend the life expectancy of various buildings, components and machinery. Preventative Maintenance also decreases the possibility of costly emergency replacements.

Review the PIER and address the most damaging projects on the maintenance, renewal or replacement list. With the Alaska terrain and weather, the most costly of the maintenance projects are usually foundations, roofs, and insulation. With the age of the buildings, more of these items need attention each year.

At the time it becomes more expensive to replace or renew facility components, the facility is removed from the PIER and placed on the major construction list for replacement of the total facility.

Measure: Successfully apply Alaska Emergency Management System to 2 actual or simulated incidents involving state and borough offices including the activation of state interagency incident management teams.
(Not yet addressed by Legislature.)

Current Status:
In FY99, DMVA applied the system to two incidents.

Benchmark:
The draft National Emergency Management Association recommendation for exercising state emergency management systems is twice yearly.

Background and Strategies:
DES' involvement with multi-jurisdictional responses included the Western Alaska Fisheries Disaster and the 1998 Fall Southeast Alaska Storm. From these incidents DES has identified areas for improvement and will initiate a Statewide simulation of the Alaska Emergency Management System in response to the Y2K Millennium Turnover 12/28/99 to 1/3/00. This simulation will test the community profile database and the statewide logistics system.

Measure: Maintain the 85% level of successful Military Youth Academy graduates in school or at work.
(Revised from Legislature's FY2001 version.)

Benchmark:
Nation-wide average is 76.3% as reported in the National Guard Youth Challenge Program Annual Report 1998.

Background and Strategies:
A new partnership with Alyeska Central School, interactive computer learning tools, stressing all eight core program components in the residential phase, and agreements with the Job training Partnership Act in job placement will provide new tools and means to enhance the graduates' ability to maintain the initial success level.

Measure: No loss of life associated with AKANG SAR tasked
missions in FY2001
(Not yet addressed by Legislature.)

Benchmark:
Maintain mission readiness in search and rescue (SAR) operations, that results in increased responsiveness and zero loss of life in rescue operations.

Background and Strategies:
The Alaska Air National Guard (AKANG) operates the 11th Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) and the 210th Rescue Squadron. These two entities provide the highest level of SAR coordination and response in the United States. Because of the vast area and ruggedness of Alaska, activities of the AKANG operations are high. Both the RCC and 210th are designated as federal units assigned against federal military missions. However, the majority of operational missions are conducted in support of state SAR requirements.

Alaska is a rugged state with a significantly higher than average percentage of population that is involved in civil aviation. Additionally, Alaska is s popular tourist destination for visitors that seek a wilderness experience. Because of this, Alaska has a much higher rate of incidents that require SAR than any other state in the nation. The AKANG RCC and 210th Rescue Squadron serve a valuable purpose in providing an essential safety factor.

Air Guard strategy to reach our goal is to build upon the successes of the past year, to include developing a closer relationship with both federal and state agencies which rely on AKANG services for SAR. The AKANG plans to enhance the effectiveness of SAR in Alaska by realigning the RCC with the 176th Wing to provide greater efficiencies between that unit and the 210th Rescue Squadron. Increased interaction with Alaska Division of Emergency Services and the Alaska State Troopers will provide an ability to harness a more rapid response for state contingencies. In addition, as the United States Coast Guard (USCG) further reduces SAR operations in Alaska, the AKANG will be prepared to undertake those missions formerly handled by the USCG. Finally, increasing international activities that provide economic benefit to the state will be pursued, such as was accomplished with the SAR exercise operation in Seward between US, Canadian, and Russian SAR experts.

FY2000 Performance Measure	Achieved	On Track	Too Soon to Tell	Not Likely to Achieve	Needs Modification
Increase Guard members' educational level by funding college courses.
Reduce the deferred maintenance backlog by 5%.
No loss of life associated with AKANG SAR tasked missions in FY2000
Maintain the 85% level of successful Youth Corps graduates in school or at work

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Capital Projects Listed by Department.

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Department Budget Summary
Funding Source Summary
Position Summary

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Fund source switch in the Disaster Planning & Control component for base funding of the emergency services operations. In previous years this was funded out of the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) in the amount of $630.2. With the Disaster Relief Fund balance declining and the option to obtain funding from "old" disasters is no longer available this year's budget request is to have this funded through general funds. The net impact on the state budget is zero as in prior years this was also generally funded but the appropriation was made first to the DRF and later transferred to the operating budget.

A National Missile Defense Project Coordinator and related funds are requested in the amount of $130.0 in general funds.

Funding for new Air Guard facilities operation and maintenance was added($76.0 in GFM and $227.9 Fed).

The Alaska Military Youth Academy qualified for the DOE - US Dept. of Agriculture's School Food Program which adds $100.0 I/A funding. In addition the Alyeska Central School will be contributing $200.0 in I/A to the AMYA program.

The Alaska National Guard Retirement Fund's actuarial contribution for FY2001 was lowered by $224.7 in GF.

DEC's contributions through the Oil & Hazardous Waste Fund to the following projects are proposed to be reduced:
· Local Emergency Response Committees (LEPCs) from $543.4 to $350.0
· State Emergency Response Commission(SERC) admin from $590.8 to $550.4

Increased tuition assistance by $93.7 to partially meet demand.

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