[Senate Hearing 117-]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, VETERANS AFFAIRS, AND RELATED AGENCIES
APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023
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WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2022
U.S. Senate,
Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met at 3:35 p.m. in room SD-124, Dirksen
Senate Office Building, Hon. Martin Heinrich, (chairman)
presiding.
Present: Senators Heinrich, Tester, Boozman, Murkowski,
Hoeven, and Collins.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Military Construction and Family Housing
STATEMENT OF MR. PAUL CRAMER, PERFORMING THE DUTIES OF
ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE FOR
SUSTAINMENT
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MARTIN HEINRICH
Senator Heinrich. Good afternoon, everyone. This Hearing of
the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee is now called to order.
The purpose of this hearing is to receive testimony from
the representatives of the Office of the Secretary of Defense,
and the Military Services regarding their fiscal year 2023
Military Construction and Family Housing Budget Request.
This year, with the addition of a witness from the Space
Force, our hearing will consist of two panels. Our first panel
includes witnesses from the Office of the Secretary of Defense,
the Navy, and the Marine Corps. The second panel will consist
of witnesses from the Army, the Air Force, and the Space Force.
I would like to say, thank you, to our first panel of
witnesses for being here today. From OSD, Mr. Paul Cramer,
performing the duties of Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Energy, Installations, and Environment.
From the Navy, Vice Admiral Ricky Williamson, Deputy Chief
of Naval Logistics--Naval Operations for Fleet Readiness and
Logistics.
And Marine Corps, Lieutenant General Edward Banta, Deputy
Commandant for Installations and Logistics.
This year the Department has sent over a budget request of
$12.15 billion for the Military Construction and Family Housing
accounts, a 23 percent increase over last year's request. It is
also the highest request level since fiscal year 2012.
That said, the Department has relied on, and apparently
will continue to look towards congressional increases year-
over-year, to get at the true MILCON funding needs.
While it is clear more needs to be done, I am encouraged to
see DOD continuing to increase its request. This year's request
includes a significant investment in several major
infrastructure programs. The Navy is asking for nearly $1.2
billion for three construction projects, and 88 million in
design funding supporting the Shipyard Infrastructure
Optimization Program.
In recent years, this committee has been supportive of the
Navy's effort to overhaul our four public shipyards, and we
will continue to keep a close eye on the program. The Marine
Corps has identified $330 million to continue the construction
of a new base on Guam. The Air Force request addresses several
new missions, and includes over 200 million for projects
supporting B-21 beddown, and 444 million in funding for the
Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent Infrastructure. We know that
each of these programs will require many years of dedicated
funding.
I am pleased that the request includes 553 million for the
Energy Resilience and Conservation Investment Program, or
ERCIP, the highest amount since the creation of the program.
The request underscores this administration's commitment to
investing in critical energy resilience projects, and a clear
understanding of their tie to readiness.
I will also note that the future Years Defense Program
shows continued increases to the Energy Resilience and
Conservation Investment Program (ERCIP) account year-over-year,
given the clear demand for and increased complexity, and cost
of projects, I expect the Department to hold to that plan.
I have been vocal about the need for the United States to
embrace and accelerate electrification, and I am encouraged by
the Army's commitment to install a microgrid on every
installation by 2035, while each service and indeed
installation is unique in its energy needs, I expect that each
of you is looking closely at how to build a more resilient,
efficient, and clean energy, and water for that matter,
systems. I look forward to hearing from you on that subject
today.
The request also includes significant investments in our
overseas posture, for design and construction of the
infrastructure supporting the European Deterrence Initiative;
the request provides $430 million. The administration also
asked for over 1.2 billion for the Pacific Deterrence
Initiative. At the same time, the need for recapitalization of
existing facilities continues to grow.
This year, we received unfunded priority lists from the
services and defense-wide agencies that totaled nearly $4
billion. Many of the projects that were pushed out of the
budget support enduring missions and quality of life
investments, such as construction of new troop and family
housing, child development centers, and critical training and
maintenance infrastructure.
We continue to see facilities age, often held together by
short-term maintenance fixes, while the complexity of our
infrastructure grows, and global market volatility drives up
costs. The vulnerability of this aging infrastructure to
climate, cyber, and energy threats also cannot be understated.
As such I must note that the request once again clearly
prioritizes new mission infrastructure over current mission and
existing facility recapitalization. And I look forward to
hearing about the installation investment strategies across the
Department.
With that, I will thank our witnesses again for being here
today.
And I will turn things over to Ranking Member Boozman for
his opening statement.
STATEMENT OF SENATOR JOHN BOOZMAN
Senator Boozman. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. And I
also would like to extend a warm welcome to our witnesses here
today. And just thank you for you and the audience, you know,
we look out and see all of these uniforms, just thank you for
your service to our country in so many different ways. It is
greatly appreciated.
I was pleasantly surprised to see this year's budget
request at $12.2 billion, which is an increase over last year's
request of $9.8 billion. It is one of the highest MILCON
requests in years, but is also an 18 percent decrease from the
fiscal year 2022 enacted level of 14.9 billion.
The fiscal year 2022 bill included unprecedented funding
levels, which was necessary as the MILCON portfolio is
routinely underfunded, and has been taking on increasing levels
of risk for years. Unfortunately, this trend doesn't seem to be
changing as this year's request remains only 1.5 percent of the
total DOD budget.
I am also concerned about multiple aspects of this year's
budget that further compound the challenges presented to
MILCON, and quickly dilute this year's increased request.
Further, I would like to address increments. Not that long
ago, $100 million was an expensive price tag, and increments
were the exception rather than the rule. Now, we are looking at
projects that exceed $1 billion with increments that are
becoming a common way of doing business, nearly one-third of
this year's request, $3.5 billion; is for 27 incremented
projects, and we know more will be added in future requests.
We have known for years that more complex and large-scale
projects would start to take up a greater share of the budget,
but without corresponding top-line increases an already
constrained budget is squeezed even further to accommodate
increments for these expensive projects.
Another challenge is the impact of inflation and supply
chain issues on the construction market, and the corresponding
increased cost of projects. One of the challenges of MILCON is
the delay between budget development and project execution,
with the current environment exacerbating this issue greatly.
I am concerned about market volatility, supply chain
disruptions, worker shortages, the cost of fuel, unprecedented
increases in material cost, and record inflation, and how these
impact the projects in this budget, as well as projects
currently in execution.
I would like to know what the Department is doing to
address these issues and incorporate these variables in the
budget estimates and project execution. I know that is a big
task. We have already been notified of projects in this request
whose costs are outdated, which doesn't bode well for the
health of the program.
I look forward to working with the Department to address
these issues, and continue the work needed to ensure a
successful MILCON Program.
And with that, I yield back, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Senator Boozman.
We will now proceed with witness statements, starting with
Mr. Cramer; then Admiral Williamson, and finishing with General
Banta.
Mr. Cramer you are recognized for your opening statement.
And your full, written testimony will be included in the
record.
SUMMARY STATEMENT OF MR. PAUL CRAMER
Mr. Cramer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman; Ranking Member
Boozman, distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you
for the opportunity to present the President's Fiscal 2023
Budget Request for the Department's Energy, Installations, and
Environment programs; while my full written statement has been
submitted for the record, I will highlight a few areas.
Our installations remain one of our primary weapon systems,
but the stark reality is that we must ensure that our
installations are not only postured to support the Joint Force,
but they are resilient against the full range of natural and
man-made threats.
Our 2023 budget request supports our efforts to address
mission requirements, ensure service members have a safe place
to live and work, and also addresses resilience challenges. We
requested $29.2 billion for military construction, and
sustainment restoration modernization funding for our
facilities to address critical mission requirements, and life-
health safety concerns within the current fiscal environment.
This funding will be used to replace, restore, and
modernize enduring facilities to enhance their resilience to
climate events, and promotes elimination of excess and obsolete
facilities.
The Department is also addressing a range of technical,
operational, and policy initiatives to enhance the use of
energy in warfighting. Our $1.9 billion request for
installation energy resilience, and energy conservation
initiatives will ensure our energy supplies and methods of
supply are resilient, sustainable, and affordable.
The backbone of these efforts is the Energy Resilience and
Conservation Investment Program, which provides a full range of
projects and technologies but will increase focus on building
cybersecurity, microgrids that incorporate energy generation,
and power storage technologies.
Our request for this vital program is $553 million, nearly
double our fiscal year 2022 request, and it reflects the
increased planning and design work required for the more
complex projects in the program.
A key focus of this year's budget request is addressing
climate change. The changing climate will continue to amplify
operational demands on the Force, degrade installation and
infrastructure, increase health risks to our service members,
and require modification to much of our existing and planned
equipment. Extreme weather events are already costing billions
of dollars, and those costs are likely to increase.
Our resilience investments are guided by the Department of
Defense Climate Adaptation Plan, which provides a roadmap for
DOD activities and investments to enable operations to continue
under changing conditions, while preserving operational
capability, and enhancing the natural and man-made systems
essential for the Department's success.
We are also committed to protecting the quality of life for
our personnel and their families. Our primary focus here is to
ensure access to safe, high quality, affordable family and
unaccompanied housing. Our budget includes $1.9 billion to
support our worldwide, non-privatized family housing inventory,
which includes more than 34,000 government-owned, 5,800 leased
units.
With regard to privatized housing, the Department continues
to prioritize actions that improve the tenant experience and
rebuild tenant trust. Our initial phase was predominantly
focused on implementing the MHPI Tenant Bill of Rights, and the
NDAA provisions embedded within those rights. The Department
will now ensure the oversight measures that have been put into
place are being put into action at each of our installations.
We appreciate Congress, and the support you have given us
in the fiscal year 2022 budget, and we appreciate your
continued support as we work together to provide the best
possible support for soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, and
Guardians.
I look forward to your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Mr. Paul Cramer
introduction
Chairman Heinrich, Ranking Member Boozman, and distinguished
members of the subcommittee: Thank you for the opportunity to discuss
the President's Fiscal Year 2023 budget request for the Department of
Defense's (DoD) Military Construction and Family Housing programs.
Our installations remain one of our primary weapon systems. For
nearly 80 years, we have been able to operate from our bases around the
world with near-impunity, which has afforded us unprecedented power
projection capabilities. However, the stark reality is that the
homeland is no longer a sanctuary. In line with the 2022 National
Defense Strategy, we must ensure a resilient Joint Force and defense
ecosystem. Our installations must not only be postured to support the
Joint Force, but also be resilient against the full range of man-made
and natural threats. We continue to address these resilience
challenges, while also addressing mission requirements and ensuring
Service members have a safe and resilient place to live and work.
reestablishment of ei&e
As part of the larger reorganization within the Under Secretary of
Defense for Acquisition & Sustainment, the Office of the Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Energy, Installations & Environment (EI&E) was
merged with Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Logistics
& Material Readiness (L&MR) into the Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Sustainment in 2018. While there were benefits in bringing these two
portfolios under a single organization, the breadth of the merged
portfolio required the leadership team to focus on a narrower set of
priorities at the expense of other, equally important priorities.
Recognizing that each portfolio warranted an Assistant Secretary-
level oversight, Section 904 of the fiscal year 2021 NDAA restored EI&E
as a distinct organization. The Department formally split EI&E and
Sustainment on February 10, 2022. We appreciate Congress's support in
ensuring that the Department has the senior visibility needed for us to
effectively confront the energy, environment, military construction,
housing, and real property challenges we face.
taking action on climate change
Secretary Austin noted that the Department faces a ``growing
climate crisis that is impacting our missions, plans, and capabilities
and must be met by ambitious, immediate action.'' As such, climate
change will continue to amplify operational demands on the force. It
will degrade installations and infrastructure, increase health risks to
our service members, and require modifications to much of our existing
and planned equipment. The Biden Administration, through Executive
Order (EO) 14008 ``Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad'' and
Executive Order 14057 ``Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs
through Federal Sustainability,'' places climate change at the center
of the Department's national security planning and our installation and
business operations. To do this the Department will take steps to adapt
to the unavoidable impacts of climate change to our missions, while
also working to mitigate the future effects of climate change by taking
steps to reduce emissions of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).
climate change adaptation
The effects of climate change-drought, heat, forest fires, and
extreme weather events-are already costing the Department billions of
dollars. These costs will only increase as climate change accelerates.
The National Defense Strategy describes how climate is transforming the
entire context in which the Department operates and will increasingly
stress the Joint Force. To address this, the Department is taking a
number of actions to improve our adaptive capacity, centered around the
DoD Climate Adaptation Plan (CAP), which was signed by the Secretary of
Defense on September 1, 2021 and publicly released by the White House
on October 7, 2021.
Actions under the Plan will ensure the DoD can operate under
changing climate conditions, preserving operational capability and
enhancing the natural and man-made systems essential to the
Department's success. To do so the CAP takes an expansive approach to
the concept of adaptation, seeking to integrate climate resilience
thinking across all agency programs and real property management
practices. A companion document providing highlights and examples of
the Department's climate adaptation efforts was released in November
2021.
Supporting this effort is the Defense Climate Assessment Tool
(DCAT), which was developed to assist in understanding installation
climate exposure. Outputs from this tool can be used to inform
development of an ``all hazards'' threat assessment for installations
and subsequently be incorporated into master plans and military
construction projects. A summary of these exposures was presented in
the April 2021 report, ``DoD Installation Exposure to Climate Change at
Home and Aboard.''
climate change mitigation
The entire nation faces broad exposure to the mounting risks caused
by climate change which pose an existential threat if left unmitigated.
Recognizing this, the Department is committed to reducing its GHG
emissions through a variety of efforts. We are committed to ensuring
net-zero GHG emissions across our entire civilian enterprise--our
installations, non-tactical vehicles and procurement efforts, by or
before 2045. While significantly more challenging, we are also working
to reduce emissions throughout our operational forces and formations by
deploying new technologies that concurrently add capability and reduce
vulnerabilities in an era of contested logistics. These efforts are
aligned with the 2021 Interim National Security Strategic Guidance as
well as the 2022 National Defense Strategy.
Across DoD's we are engaged in a number of specific initiatives.
First, in concert with the General Services Administration DoD was the
first Federal agency to initiate procurement actions aiming to obtain
24/7 Carbon Pollution Free Electricity, with the intention to
transition all of DoD's utility procurement to this model by 2035.
Second, we are leveraging the prominent role that installation micro-
grids will play in our installation energy resilience efforts, which
will allow for significant deployments of on-site renewable power.
Third, we are updating all Unified Facilities Criteria to dramatically
improve the energy performance of newly-constructed buildings and
designing them to easily operate within an installation micro-grid. And
finally, the Department has begun the planning and design efforts to
deploy the charging infrastructure essential to transition our non-
tactical vehicle fleet to one that does not rely on fossil fuels, with
the aim of having this transition complete by 2035.
military construction and family housing
The President's fiscal year 2023 budget requests $12.2 billion for
the Military Construction (MilCon) and Family Housing appropriation.
This represents a $2.3 billion or 23 percent increase from the fiscal
year 2022 budget request of $9.8 billion, and addresses critical
mission requirements as well as life, health, and safety concerns.
These efforts directly support operations, training, maintenance,
production, and projects to take care of our people and their families,
such as medical treatment facilities, unaccompanied personnel housing,
and schools.
military construction
We are requesting $10.2 billion in the budget for Military
Construction across the Department, an increase of 18 percent from last
year's request, primarily due to infrastructure requirements for the
Pacific Deterrence Initiative, European Deterrence Initiative, beddown
of the B-21 aircraft, investments in KC-46A depot maintenance
facilities, recruit dormitories, facilities and land acquisition in
support of Ground Based Strategic Deterrent program, continued Guam
relocation efforts, and investments in the Shipyard Infrastructure
Optimization Program. Slightly more than half of this request provides
readiness improvements in facilities to support operations, training,
maintenance and production, and supply. Another $1.1 billion funds
medical facilities, troop housing, and community support, and $210
million funds DoD's continued support to the NATO Security Investment
Program.
This request also includes $2.4 billion for the Defense-Wide
Components, including:
--$151 million for dependent educational facilities
--$129 million for incremental funding of fuel infrastructure;
--$518 million for incremental funding of recapitalization of
National Security Agency facilities;
--$296 million to address new capabilities/mission, force structure
growth, and infrastructure for Special Operations Forces;
--$18 million for Washington Headquarters Services facilities; and
--$329 million for the Energy Resilience and Conservation Investment
Program; and
--$422 million for planning and design of future year projects.
In addition, the Defense-Wide request contains $434 million for
medical facility recapitalization including $153 million for the sixth
increment (of a $695 million project) for the Walter Reed Medical
Center Addition/Alteration at Naval Support Activity Bethesda,
Maryland; $300 million for the tenth increment (of a $1.513 billion
project) for the Medical Center Replacement at Rhine Ordnance Barracks,
Germany; and $58 million for an ambulatory care center replacement at
Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. These projects are critical for our
continued delivery of the quality health care that our service members
and their families deserve.
The Department continues to make progress on its Military
Construction Reform initiative. We codified the responsibilities of the
major stakeholders involved in construction projects to enable the
consistent delivery of projects across the DoD. Additionally, a
forthcoming data management policy will ensure project sponsors and DoD
construction agents are sharing information about critical details such
as project requirements, acquisition timelines, and construction status
to ensure that components make proactive decisions and manage scope and
cost changes with minimal impact to project delivery.
facilities sustainment, restoration, and modernization
Facilities sustainment represents the Department's largest category
of facilities spending. It provides for the regularly scheduled
maintenance and repair or replacement of facility components. Ongoing
and predictable investments are required throughout the service life of
a facility to optimize its performance and support the safety,
productivity, and quality of life of our personnel, while also reducing
avoidable costs associated with premature deterioration. In addition to
facilities sustainment funding, the Department relies upon its
Restoration and Modernization (R&M) program funding to provide ongoing
support to assigned missions by countering obsolescence and reversing
degraded conditions of existing facilities.
The Department's fiscal year 2023 budget request includes $12.6
billion of sustainment funding for the Military Services and the major
Defense-wide organizations. This represents an increase from the $12.3
billion in the fiscal year 2022 budget request and a slight increase in
the overall sustainment rate from 82 percent to 85 percent. Within the
budget request, each Military Component and Agency, excluding the
Marine Corps, is funded to at least 85 percent of the modeled
requirement. We are working with the Marine Corps to pilot a
comprehensive model that would optimize FSRM and MilCon facility
investments across their real property portfolio.
In addition to facilities sustainment funding, the Department
relies upon its Restoration and Modernization (R&M) program funding to
provide ongoing support to assigned missions by countering obsolescence
and reversing degraded conditions of existing facilities. The fiscal
year 2023 budget request includes $5.4 billion in Operations and
Maintenance appropriations for facilities R&M, a 35 percent increase
compared to our $4.0 billion fiscal year 2022 budget request.
Historically, the Department has managed the budgeting for
sustainment of assets at the portfolio level with a sustainment model.
This model, however, relies on an inventory approach to requirements
development, which does not directly align asset investment
requirements to expenditures. OASD (EI&E) has been maturing a tool that
helps capture facility inspection data. The system not only considers
the asset's condition, but also individual components that make up
those assets to provide a much more granular assessment of the entire
facility. It is guiding our transition to an asset management approach
for budgeting for and managing the Department's infrastructure that
addresses facility investment as a holistic program instead of
independent sustainment, restoration and modernization programs. As the
system is implemented over the next few years, the Department intends
to set baseline parameters using factors such as mission criticality to
set a minimum condition standard on its facilities.
family and unaccompanied housing
One of the Department's principal priorities is to support military
personnel and their families and improve their quality of life by
ensuring access to suitable, affordable housing. Service members are
engaged in the front lines of protecting our National security and they
deserve the best possible living and working conditions. Sustaining the
quality of life of our people is crucial to recruitment, retention,
readiness, and morale.
The Department owns, operates, and maintains nearly 36,000 family
housing units, most of which are on enduring bases in overseas
locations, and leases approximately 5,200 family housing units where
government-owned or privatized housing is unavailable. The Department's
housing inventory also includes more than 500,000 government-owned
unaccompanied personnel housing (UH) bed spaces, and over 2,000
government-leased UH bed spaces.
Our fiscal year 2023 budget request includes $2.0 billion to fund
construction, operations, and maintenance of government-owned and
leased family housing worldwide; provide housing referral services to
assist military members in renting or buying private sector housing;
and oversight of privatized family housing. The fiscal year 2023
request is $533 million (37 percent) higher than the fiscal year 2022
request, and $432 million (28 percent) higher than the fiscal year 2022
enacted amount to sustain our increased focus on ensuring the delivery
and maintenance of quality housing for military families. The fiscal
year 2023 request includes $739.4 million for construction and
improvements to meet the Department's goal to maintain at least 90
percent of the world-wide Family Housing inventory at Good and Fair
condition levels, to include $95.0 million for construction of 107 Army
family housing units at Vicenza, Italy; $248.6 million for three
projects at Joint Region Marianas--Andersen Air Force Base, Guam; and
$230.1 million for the restructure of three Air Force Military Housing
Privatization Initiative projects. The O&M budget request of $1.21
billion represents a $86.2 million (8 percent) increase compared to the
fiscal year 2022 request and enacted amount. This funding request
supports more than 35,000 government-owned family housing units, most
of which are on enduring bases in overseas locations, and approximately
5,800 government-leased family housing units where government-owned or
privatized housing is unavailable. The requested funding will ensure
that U.S. military personnel and their families continue to have
suitable housing choices.
The Department's fiscal year 2023 budget request demonstrates our
continued commitment to modernize Unaccompanied Personnel Housing (UPH)
to improve privacy and provide greater amenities.
The fiscal year 2023 budget request includes nearly $1.2 billion
for 17 construction projects that will improve living conditions for
permanent party personnel. This includes $105 million for an Army
barracks at Fort Stewart, Georgia; $103 million for a barracks and
dining facility at East Camp Grafenwoehr, Germany; $101 million for
phase II of a Navy barracks project at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; $101
million for a Marine Corps Barracks Complex at Kadena, Japan; and $131
million for two Air Force dormitory projects at Joint Base San Antonio,
Texas; With these investments, the Department remains committed to
ensuring that our government- owned and leased family housing provides
a high quality of life for U.S. military personnel and their families,
and will continue our efforts to modernize and ensure safe, quality
unaccompanied personnel housing with improved privacy and greater
amenities for junior personnel.
military housing privatization initiative (mhpi)
Under the overall direction the Chief Housing Officer, the
Department has made significant progress to enhance the Military
Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI) and our oversight of the
private sector MHPI companies that own and operate MHPI housing
projects.
Central to this oversight, the Department has issued all policy
guidance necessary to implement, prospectively, all 18 tenant rights at
all MHPI housing projects. This includes a revised Tenant Bill of
Rights, which was issued on August 1, 2021 and expands the version
previously submitted to Congress in February 2020.
As Congress has recognized, retroactive application of the Tenant
rights requirements at existing projects requires voluntary agreement
by the respective MHPI companies; the Department cannot unilaterally
change the terms of the complex, public-private partnerships that
established the MHPI housing projects. As a result of our collaboration
with the private-sector MHPI companies that own and operate the MHPI
housing projects, all 18 rights are fully available at all but five of
the nearly 200 installations with privatized housing. The Department
continues to pursue select agreements not yet reached at the five
remaining installations.
Our other key completed initiatives include strengthening oversight
through improved training; reinforcing installation commander
responsibilities; hiring more than 600 housing-related staff including
resident advocates and increasing training; improving communication
with residents and the annual tenant satisfaction survey; ensuring
increased transparency and reporting of maintenance and repair work
orders; revising project performance incentive fee metrics;
establishing housing standards and inspection requirements;
establishing policies and procedures for health hazard assessments and
mitigation; and expanding MHPI project and program oversight at all
levels.
Our next phase of MHPI reform actions will continue to prioritize
key reforms that will improve the safety, quality, and habitability of
privatized housing; enforce performance standards established for the
MHPI companies; and monitor individual MHPI project performance to
ensure the long-term financial viability of the MHPI projects and
program. These efforts include examining ways to improve processes to
enhance the housing experience for military families who have
accessible housing needs and improving coordination with the
Exceptional Family Member Program.
The Department of Defense understands that family is important and
honors the sacrifice that military members and their families make to
serve our Nation. We recognize that the environment where Service
members and their families live impacts their quality of life, their
ability to do their jobs, and the Department's ability to recruit and
retain the force.
We are committed to working closely with you and the committee
staff to ensure the long-term success of the MHPI program, and will
remain diligent in our oversight to ensure MHPI projects deliver
quality housing and a positive living experience for Service members
and their families.
department of defense installation energy programs
The Department spent $3.3 billion in fiscal year 2021 on
electricity to power facilities at over 500 installations worldwide.
This amount of energy consumption represents how great our dependency
is on energy, underscoring the importance of our need to ensure our
energy supplies and methods of supply are resilient, sustainable, and
affordable.
threats to energy
Energy is an essential enabler of military capability, and the
Department depends on energy- resilient forces, weapon systems, and
facilities to achieve its mission. At home and abroad, installations
are reliant on commercial, municipal, and host nation power grids for
day-to-day operations, including command and control systems,
communications, lighting, heating, and cooling.
Adversaries recognize the strengths of U.S. power projection and
sustainment, and possess long- range weapons, significant anti-access/
area-denial (A2/AD) systems, and substantial cyber capabilities able to
degrade the Department's ability to provide energy to forces and
facilities. In response to these threats and in alignment with statute,
the Department is working to ``ensure readiness of the armed forces for
their military missions by pursuing energy security and energy
resilience'' (10 U.S.C. Sec. 2911) and ``ensure the types,
availability, and use of operational energy promote the readiness of
the armed forces'' (10 U.S.C. Sec. 2926).
In addition, the Department's ability to provide energy to critical
missions is affected by the climate. For instance, floods, storms, and
other severe weather can degrade energy generation and distribution
infrastructure on our installations, as well in the surrounding
communities. In fact, severe weather can degrade supply chains beyond
energy, with ``last-mile'' delivery systems for a range of mission
critical commodities, goods, and services being particularly at risk.
Therefore, climate resilience must be built into the supply chain
as well, and the Department must ensure that key suppliers and
industries can still operate though impacted by climate change, with
special attention given to ``last-mile'' resilience.
installation energy resilience
The President and the Secretary of Defense have directed the
Department to ensure installations and forces are resilient to all
hazard risks--kinetic, cyber, and climate--and that the use of energy
promotes the readiness of the armed forces for their military missions.
In response, the Department is making significant energy investments in
installation energy resiliency to increase the resilience of bases and
facilities critical to generating, deploying, operating, and sustaining
military capabilities. This includes a $1.9 billion request for
installation energy resilience and energy conservation initiatives,
most of which are directed to existing buildings.
energy resilience and conservation investment program (ercip)
The fiscal year 2023 budget request includes $553.25 million for
the Energy Resilience and Conservation Investment Program (ERCIP),
which is one the Department's key mechanisms for building both energy
resilience and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The ERCIP program has
executed over 511 high-priority projects from FY 2009-2021 including
the implementation of micro-grids, renewable energy generation (i.e.,
solar PV, solar thermal, wind, etc.), building efficiency enhancements,
and utility distribution improvements. ERCIP supports a full range of
projects and technologies, but will be increasingly focused on building
cyber-secure micro-grids that incorporate energy generation and power
storage technologies. The fiscal year 2023 ERCIP budget request
includes an increase in Planning and Design (P&D) to accommodate the
design required for the more complex projects in the program.
Additionally, the increase in P&D for fiscal year 2023 will build a
pipeline of projects with more improved and timely project execution.
As ERCIP transitions to a standardized MilCon program and projects
become larger and more complex, we are improving project planning &
design, and enhancing execution oversight of these projects. We
continue to make ERCIP the backbone of our energy resilience
investments and prioritize energy project investments where they can
best support the defense posture--based on the critical missions they
support and the quality of Installation Energy Plans (IEPs). We
recently updated ERCIP Guidance to the Services to reflect the
statutory changes to the program stemming from the fiscal year 2022
NDAA. At the same time, we are working to prioritize projects that
support energy resilience for critical mission requirements (10 U.S.C.
Sec. 2920). As Department focuses on reducing the carbon footprint at
our military installations, ERCIP will continue to support a range of
technologies and efforts, including renewable energy and energy
storage, geothermal, accelerated deployment of air source heat pumps,
and infrastructure projects directly supporting electrical vehicle (EV)
charging stations.
The Department also has a number of energy conservation
initiatives, most of which are directed to existing buildings. These
include sustainment and recapitalization projects, which generally
involve retrofits to install improved lighting, high-efficiency HVAC
systems, double-pane windows, facility related control systems (FRCS),
and new roofs. The Department is also giving increased attention to
Micro Reactors and Next Generation Geo-Thermal as zero-carbon
technologies capable of providing consistent baseload power.
installation energy resilience policy and governance
To continue infusing the installation energy programs across the
Department with an urgent sense of traceability, accountability and
purpose, we are continuing to develop and promote a data- and metrics-
driven approach to our energy planning and programming. This approach
is reflected in our recent and continuing efforts to develop or update
installation energy policy across the Department.
Last year, we updated our policies for energy resilience planning
and metrics at installations to reflect the 10 U.S.C. Sec. 2920 energy
resilience requirements added by the fiscal year 2021 NDAA. These
updated policies set forth energy availability standards for critical
missions; directs the Military Departments to promote the use of
multiple and diverse sources of energy in their planning, with
prioritization of energy resources originating on the installation;
encourages the use of micro grids; and favors the use of full-time,
installed energy sources rather than emergency generation in their
energy resilience solutions.
We are also working to harmonize the definitions and planning and
assessment processes for critical missions across the Department, and
improve our Installation Energy Plans (IEPs) to ensure alignment with
the Installation Resilience Plans (IRPs) required by 10 U.S.C.
Sec. 2864. More than 158 IEPs were complete by the end of last year,
and with an additional 200 expected to be completed this year.
Currently, these plans establish the basis for planning energy
performance projects, and provide a roadmap for integrating
appropriated and public-private partnership authorities to close energy
resilience gaps. Going forward, the IEPs will also document critical
load requirements, lessons learned from black start exercises, and the
ability of installations to withstand a 14-day energy disruption. We
plan to eventually integrate the IEPs into the IRPs to reflect an ``all
hazards'' approach that addresses a range of climate hazards and energy
resilience gaps at priority installations and critical missions.
black start exercises
Black start exercises are an important component of the
Department's approach to risk assessment and for identifying gaps in
our installations' electrical infrastructure, such as previously-
unknown interdependencies between various systems, so that we can best
prioritize our resilience resources and planning. In the coming year,
the Department will issue uniform black start exercise guidance and
monitor a schedule of planned exercises through fiscal year 2027, for
no less than five exercises per Service per year, in accordance with
new Title 10 requirements stemming from the fiscal year 2021 National
Defense Authorization Act.
Over the past year, we continued to transition execution of black
start exercise to the Services. Across the Department in 2021, the
Services conducted exercises at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar,
Eielson Air Force Base, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, and Ohio Air
National Guard bases Springfield-Beckley and Blue Ash. This brings the
total number of black start exercises performed to date across the
Department to 10. The Services have also begun planning for larger,
regional black start exercises that cover several bases at once to more
effectively test outage effects on Operation Plans, and the
effectiveness of Continuity of Operations (COOP) plans.
performance contracting authorities
The Department continues to utilize performance contracting (i.e.,
ESPCs/UESCs) as a significant part of its efforts to enhance energy
resilience through energy efficiency. Energy efficiency bolsters
installation energy resilience by helping reduce the energy demand from
distributed energy production resources during commercial grid
disruptions. Energy efficiency is also a practical approach for the DoD
to reduce its carbon footprint in response to the imperatives of EO
14008 and EO 14057, the Energy Act of 2020, the Federal Sustainability
Framework, and DoD's Climate Action Plan. DoD will continue to use
these contracts where they enhance DoD mission readiness, mission
assurance, and ultimately DoD's warfighting capability, guided by the
outcomes of the Installation Energy Planning process.
environmental cleanup at base realignment and closure (brac) locations
To date, the Department, in cooperation with State agencies and the
Environmental Protection Agency, has completed cleanup activities at 94
percent of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) sites and has conveyed
many of these sites to other entities for further development. To
continue this progress, we are requesting $260 million for BRAC
Environmental, a $4 million decrease from the fiscal year 2022 request.
DoD is still executing the generous additions provided by Congress in
recent years.
While the Department continues to make progress completing cleanup,
the remaining sites are complex and require more time or a remedy based
on more advanced technology, or they are sites impacted by chemicals of
emerging concern. Our focus remains on continuous improvement in the
environmental restoration program by developing technologies to reduce
costs and accelerate cleanup and establishing policies and guidance
that maximize cleanup program efficiency and effectiveness. DoD also
partners with regulatory and community stakeholders throughout the
cleanup process to maximize transparency, public participation, and
collaboration. Partnering is vital to ensuring DoD makes cost effective
and efficient decisions.
These initiatives help ensure that DoD makes the best use of
available resources to steadily move sites through the cleanup process
while protecting human health, safety, and the environment.
conclusion
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss DoD's programs supporting
energy, installations, and environment. We appreciate Congress'
continued support for our enterprise and look forward to working with
you.
STATEMENT OF VICE ADMIRAL RICKY WILLIAMSON, DEPUTY
CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS FOR FLEET
READINESS AND LOGISTICS, UNITED STATES NAVY
Admiral Williamson. Chairman Heinrich, Ranking Member
Boozman, and distinguished members of the committee, in
conjunction with the other members of the panel, I appreciate
the opportunity to provide an update on the quality and
resilience of our Navy installations.
On behalf of our sailors and their families, thank you for
your continued support of the Navy, its Military Construction
Program, and our 71 installations around the world, which
enable us to strengthen readiness, and to support delivery of
new and more lethal platforms.
Additionally, thank you for your ongoing focus on the
Navy's Quality of Life programs which are critical to the
overall success of our Navy.
In December of last year the Chief of Naval Operations
issued a call to action for every Navy leader to apply a set of
Navy-proven leadership, and problem-solving best practices that
empower our people to achieve exceptional performance. We have
embraced this call because this is how we have always conducted
our business, constantly self-assessing as part of an effort to
get real and self-correcting our discrepancies to get better.
To meet the challenges of strategic competition and
evolving theater environment, we must enable global logistics,
resilient shore infrastructure, and be honest about our current
performance. Maintaining our advantage at sea requires
transformational change ashore to support and sustain the fleet
of the future.
We recently released the Navy Global Strategy Ashore, which
is the Navy's strategic direction for the Navy Shore Enterprise
aligned with the National Defense Strategy. Our Navy requires
shore platforms to be capable of supporting full-spectrum,
multi-domain conflicts with near-peer competitors, while also
protecting against, responding to, and recovering from attacks
or disruptions intended to degrade operations.
This strategy provides a roadmap for identifying and
resourcing all shore operations, activities, and investments,
enabling fleet warfighting capabilities that are aligned to the
CNO's navigation plan.
Navy installations located in the United States and around
the world are essential shore platforms from which naval forces
train, deploy, and maintain forward presence to enable
geographic combatant commanders to meet operational
requirements.
A modernized and ready organic industrial base is a vital
component of readiness. The Navy is leading the efforts to take
an enterprise-wide approach to optimize infrastructure at the
shipyards, depots, and logistics complexes that repair and
modernize our ships, submarines, and aircraft.
The Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program, SIOP, is
a critical program to prepare the Nation's four public
shipyards to meet the further needs of the Navy's nuclear-
powered submarine and aircraft carrier force. Funding applied
to our installations also supports climate resilience which is
an important component of installation readiness.
The Navy works to ensure installations and infrastructure
are resilient to a range of challenges, including extreme
weather.
It is a privilege to testify before the committee today.
And I look forward to answering your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of VADM Ricky Williamson
Chairman Heinrich, Ranking Member Boozman, and distinguished
members of the Committee, it is an honor to appear before you
representing the thousands of Navy Sailors and civilians at our 70
installations worldwide. Thank you for the opportunity to testify about
the importance of our infrastructure, its resiliency, and the entire
base operating support required to meet critical Navy and, ultimately,
Joint Force missions. The Navy's contribution to the Joint Force
includes readiness for high-end lethal combat in the maritime
environment in order to deter great power aggression and, if deterrence
fails, to defeat a peer or near-peer adversary in conflict. Our goal is
to shape a Navy that is lethal, resilient, sustainable, agile, and
responsive. Balancing the requirement to field the future Fleet while
maintaining the sustainable forward posture that keeps Americans safe
and prosperous is our central challenge. As we acknowledge and address
that challenge, we focus on four priorities: readiness, capabilities,
capacity, and our Sailors. To that end, the Navy works to ensure tight
linkages between our strategies, operational concepts, warfighting
capabilities, and our resources to achieve strategic objectives. For
the Naval Services, these imperatives are outlined in the Joint
Publication 5.0; Tri-Service Maritime Strategy, Advantage at Sea;
Transforming Naval Logistics for Great Power Competition (TNLFGPC); the
Navy Global Strategy Ashore: Transforming the Shore Enterprise for
Strategic Competition; and the Chief of Naval Operations' (CNO)
Navigation Plan (NAVPLAN). These Service-level strategies align with
the President's Interim National Security Strategic (NSS) Guidance and
the recently released National Defense Strategy (NDS).
Consistent with the NSS Guidance, the 2022 NDS sets out how the
Department of Defense (DoD) will contribute to advancing and
safeguarding vital U.S. national interests--protecting the American
people, expanding America's prosperity, and realizing and defending our
democratic values. The NDS expertly outlines today's growing multi-
domain threat. Our strategic environment is characterized by the re-
emergence of long-term strategic competition with the People's Republic
of China and Russia, along with persistent threats from North Korea,
Iran, and violent extremist organizations. Individually and
collectively, these forces are producing significant, overt challenges
to the free and open international order. In response, the NDS outlines
the need for a more lethal, resilient, and rapidly innovating Joint
Force, combined with a robust constellation of Allies and Partners, to
sustain American influence and ensure a favorable balance of power that
safeguards the free and open international order.
Collectively, our force posture, alliances and partnerships, and
force modernization will provide the capabilities and agility to
prevail in conflict and preserve peace through strength.
In support of this end state, the CNO issued the TNLFGPC in early
2021, which provides a strategic roadmap for the Naval Logistics
Enterprise and aligns its transformation with the NDS and Advantage at
Sea. The TNLFGPC provides details on how the Navy will transform
logistical support to the Fleet across the logistics continuum. The
logistics continuum encompasses: 1) the industrial base, 2) the inter-
theater, 3) the intra-theater, and 4) the last tactical mile. The
overall goal of this transformation is to establish naval logistics
systems and structures aligned with the new strategic environment. The
TNLFGPC identifies four lines of efforts (LOEs): 1) Integrate Command
and Control, 2) Enable Assured Power Projection, 3) Strengthen
Sustainment for Distributed Operations, and 4) Improve Logistic
Resilience. The LOEs are our principle focus areas in improving our
ability to sustain the force in the new environment. We do this through
five Maritime Sustainment Vectors, distilled from the eight pillars of
Logistics from Joint Publication 4.0: Rearm, Refuel, Repair, Resupply,
and Revive (called the ``5Rs''). The 5Rs constitute both a structure
and a system to help us transform logistics to better sustain the
Fleet--for identifying gaps and performing the analytics on potential
solutions. The Maritime Sustainment Vector, or 5R model, focuses Navy
Logistics Enterprise activities on sustainment as a warfighting
function.
The model captures the essential functions required to posture
capability ashore and at sea in ways that allow the Fleets and Force to
operate globally, at a pace that can be sustained over time.
It is important to note that all readiness starts from the Shore,
which makes Shore readiness and investment critical. It is imperative
to ensure the Shore is mission- ready, secure, sustainable, and
maintaining pace alongside our Fleet. Operating in a contested
environment requires a Shore enterprise that is integrated completely
into the fight. This requires persistent, agile, and flexible naval
combatants, and a logistics enterprise that mirrors these
characteristics.
Fleet readiness and lethality rely on a combination of afloat and
ashore ``platforms'' and ``payload''. The Navy Global Strategy Ashore,
released in summer 2021, illustrates how the Shore enterprise enables
Fleet readiness. Shore platforms are the locations that develop,
generate, and employ forces for direct support to the Fleet.
Shore payload is the infrastructure and support services at an
installation. The Shore payload also includes the people and services
that make the payload and platforms function. The Shore platforms and
payload make up strategic and operational mission sets, such Air/Port
Operations, Protection, Logistics, Warfighter Resilience/Quality of
Life, and Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber,
Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C5ISR). These mission
sets are inextricably linked to Force Development (Fd), Force
Generation (Fg), and Force Employment (Fe).
In the Navy Global Strategy Ashore, the Navy created four LOEs to
posture the Shore in enhancing Fleet readiness by aligning the Shore
and sea lines of communication across the competition continuum. These
LOEs are: 1) Restore Readiness to Shore Platforms, 2) Cost-Effective
Maintenance and Modernization of Infrastructure, 3) Enhance Shore
Resiliency, and 4) Posture the Shore to be Agile and Responsive to the
Threat Environment. Implementation of these LOEs will establish a
sustainable, modern, resilient, and ready network of installations and
contingency locations that deliver capability and capacity to produce
and sustain Fleet readiness and logistics in a contested environment.
Another key component to Shore readiness is resiliency. Energy and
climate resiliency are critical pieces to the Naval Global Strategy
Ashore, as they are integral to the long-term ability of our Navy to
support ongoing operations, and ensure our Sailors are equipped to meet
adversity. Resiliency ensures our military bases can continue to
perform their critical missions in the wake of natural disasters or
disruptions to the grid. It is a national security and warfighting
imperative for the Navy to address the impact of climate change on our
readiness, operations, and ability to fight and win. Climate change
increases risk and exposes vulnerabilities to our people,
installations, platforms, and operations, and ultimately affects our
mission. Climate resilience focuses on consideration of environmental
vulnerabilities in installation master planning, management of natural
resources, design and construction standards, utility systems/service,
and emergency management operations. By tackling climate challenges
holistically across the range of resilience threats, by how we operate
and the decisions we make in the planning, design, location, and
construction of facilities, we are ultimately addressing readiness
since climate and environment are the foundations from which everything
else develops.
The Secretary of the Navy set operational energy priorities for the
Department of the Navy in 2019, which included increasing energy
resilience of forward bases, supply depots, and cooperative security
locations as part of an effort to get more energy to the warfighter.
Several operational energy initiatives implemented so far have resulted
in cost savings reinvested for additional operational energy
resilience, efficiencies, mission assurance, energy conservation, or
energy security initiatives within the Navy. Moving forward, the Navy
will continue to prioritize all facets of resilience in installation
decisions to ensure the ongoing, highest level of mission capabilities.
The Navy must deliver affordable, sustainable, environmentally
compliant, and resilient Shore platforms through improved processes and
investment prioritization.
Targeted sustainment of existing assets and modernization of our
infrastructure will ensure readiness at the lowest overall lifecycle
cost. Investments to increase resilience of Navy installations to
extreme weather events and sea-level rise will result in long- term
cost avoidance. Continued use of standard design criteria, increased
use of expeditionary standards, and mandated use of standard designs
for new construction will reduce delivery costs and increase buying
capacity. Finally, to optimize the Shore footprint and maximize
resources, the Navy must consolidate and divest infrastructure that
does not contribute directly to Fleet readiness and lethality.
American security rests upon our ability to control the seas and
project power ashore. Currently, the Navy's Logistics Enterprise is
mission capable for day-to-day operations, but is not postured for a
sustained increase in Fleet operational tempo, particularly given the
tyranny of distance across the INDOPACOM AOR. The Logistics enterprise
must be prepared to enable and sustain readiness across the competition
continuum--from Phase 0 peacetime mindset to Phase II crisis and
conflict. In particular, the Navy Logistics Enterprise must be postured
to fight and win in a high-end fight where Shore platforms will be the
linchpin for delivery of the 5Rs of logistics in support of Distributed
Maritime Operations and Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations.
Collectively, the Navy Logistics Enterprise must prioritize operations,
activities, and investments deemed critical by the Fleet to support
warfare readiness and influence events ashore.
military construction (milcon) execution
Military Construction is one of several mechanisms that the Navy
uses to modernize Navy installations to enable global logistics and
warfighter development, generation, and employment from the Shore. Our
PB23 request continues to invest in projects supporting new platforms
and the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP). The Navy
MILCON requirements far exceed the funds available to resource
requirements.The CNO Guidance, Fleet and combatant command (COCOM)
priorities, the Navy Global Strategy Ashore, and Fleet readiness needs
inform the PB23 submission, which reflects the Navy's top priorities.
The 2022 MILCON Appropriations and Authorizations included a total
of $2.22 billion for 19 projects, funding for planning and design of
future MILCON projects, and Unspecified Minor Construction Projects.
Twelve of 13 of the Navy's original requested projects were included
(incremental funding provided for one project and one project marked);
among these were five overseas projects totaling $304 million
supporting COCOM posture priorities and persistent presence of forward
deployed naval forces.
The FY22 budget provided for the second increment of P381, Multi-
Mission dry-dock 1 at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, ME, in support of
SIOP, as well as additional funds for planning & design for future year
SIOP projects. The Navy sincerely appreciates the $768 million in
additional funds provided by Congress. This provided an additional $225
million to optimize the execution of P381 and funded seven additional
projects.
shipyard infrastructure optimization program
The SIOP is a holistic investment plan that integrates all
infrastructure and industrial plant equipment investments at the Navy's
four public shipyards to meet nuclear fleet maintenance requirements
and improve Navy maintenance capabilities by expanding shipyard
capacity and optimizing shipyard configuration. This plan is essential
to supporting the future needs of the Navy's nuclear submarine and
aircraft carrier force. The average age of the naval shipyard
facilities and related infrastructure is 61 years, while the average
dry-dock age is approaching 100 years. Dry-dock re- capitalizations
must be completed to accommodate future platforms such as the Ford
Class aircraft carriers and new configurations of the Virginia Class
submarines. In April 2022, the Department of the Navy provided an
updated SIOP Five-Year Plan to Congress and updated reporting
relationships required to ensure disciplined execution of construction
efforts managed within the program while maintaining uninterrupted
support to the Fleet. The Navy established a Program Executive Office
Industrial Infrastructure (PEO II) in March 2022, aligned with Naval
Facilities Engineering Systems Command, and reporting directly to the
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and
Acquisition. The Department also realigned Program Management Office
555 to report directly to PEO II. The Navy awarded a $1.7 billion
contract to construct two new dry docks at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard
(PNSY) and completed the first phase of industrial modeling and
simulation at all four naval shipyards. Finally, the Navy released the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for construction and operation of
Dry Dock 3 Replacement and a Waterfront Production Facility project at
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility
(PHNSY & IMF) for public comment this February.
infrastructure sustainment and restoration
When viewed as platforms, Navy installations enable Air/Port
Operations, Protection, Logistics, Warfighter Resilience/Quality of
Life, and C5ISR. Investment in Facility Sustainment, Restoration, and
Modernization (FSRM) is critical to supporting CNO's NAVPLAN and Fleet
outcomes. The recent trend of increased FSRM investment directly
benefits maintenance of critical infrastructure that enables the Fleet
and warfighting missions. The Navy's PB23 request funds Sustainment to
85 percent of the DoD-modeled requirement. Restoration and
Modernization program funding increase is necessary to keep pace with
the unprecedented increases in material costs, supply- chain
disruptions, and labor services in the construction industry.
Navy Base Operating Support (BOS) comprises fleet operations,
safety and security, facility support, quality of life, and mission
support and management programs provided to 70 Navy installations. BOS
funding has been essentially flat over the past decade and remains so
for the upcoming Future Year Defense Program. Accounting for inflation,
this translates to reduced buying power, creating challenges as new
priorities arise each year, requiring resourcing at the expense of
other programs and services. To address that challenge, the Navy has
embarked on an effort to baseline BOS costs and prioritize BOS
investments based on mission output.
climate resiliency
Climate resilience is an important component of installation
mission readiness.
The Navy works to ensure installations and infrastructure are
resilient to a wide range of challenges, including extreme weather
events, water scarcity, sea level rise, recurrent flooding, wildfires,
and other environmental considerations and threats that can affect
operations. The Navy's Mission Assurance Assessment Process is an ``all
hazard threat assessment'' that is used to ensure the continued
function and resilience of capabilities and assets by reviewing both
the probability and the mission impact of climate risks tailored to
specific geographic locations. Our Climate Change Planning Handbook:
Installation Adaptation and Resilience, updated in 2021, provides an
analytical framework and methodology for identifying and assessing
viable adaptation measures to inform the installation resilience master
planning process. By incorporating climate change considerations into
the decision-making process, the Navy gains operational and tactical
advantages, remains agile, preserves decision space, and reduces
climate hazard risks to missions and operations.
Climate change is already affecting the Navy in significant ways,
and the threat will only intensify in coming years. The Navy is making
meaningful progress with PB23 investments as the magnitude and urgency
of the climate crisis increases. We are investing in efforts to
optimize energy and utilities usage, planning and execution of
Environmental Resilience projects, planning, and installation of
Electric Vehicle Support Equipment, and converting our non-tactical
fleet from gas to Zero Emission Vehicles.
child development centers (cdc)
Navy Child and Youth Programs (CYP) provide affordable, quality
child and youth program services. The Navy has the capacity to provide
care for 45.9K children ages 0-12. The current waitlist is 6.7K.
Quality of programs is high overall but challenged with capacity
shortfalls for ages 0-5. This is most prevalent in the fleet
concentration areas of Norfolk, VA; San Diego, CA; Bremerton, WA; Pearl
Harbor, HI; and the National Capital Region. Efforts are in place to
reduce wait times for childcare, to include enhanced efforts to recruit
and retain childcare professionals, expand community-based fee
assistance and the Navy Family Child Care program, and leveraging
community partnerships. Due to limited commercial capacity to support
fee assistance and a lack of viable public/private partners, military
construction of new or expanded CDC facilities may still be necessary
to achieve capacity goals. Additionally, because COVID has had a
significant impact on both commercial and military CDC staffing levels,
the Navy is increasing pay and recruitment and retention bonuses to
ensure adequate staffing levels.
The Navy increased our fee assistance cap to $1,500 per month,
making higher cost commercial programs more accessible to military
members and expanding fee assistance enrollment. We also implemented
required Federal employee minimum wage ($15/hour) across the
enterprise. The new starting caregiver salary of $16.70/hour + locality
pay will make Navy CYP positions more competitive with the private
sector and positively impact recruitment and retention. Finally, the
Navy released a Request for Proposal in the San Diego Metro location
for leasing partnerships, but received limited interest from the
community, so the Navy's PB23 request includes funding for construction
of a new CDC at Naval Base Point Loma. The Navy continues to adapt to
these challenges, implement lessons learned, and leverage a variety of
approaches to CYP to ensure that we can provide safe, quality, and
affordable childcare for our Sailors.
conclusion
Fundamental changes are necessary to meet the challenges facing the
Shore. The effective development, generation, employment, and
sustainment of naval forces by Shore platforms and payloads require
that we confront the status quo and drive institutional change. We must
address and improve how the Shore enterprise functions as a force
multiplier, enabling the Navy to succeed in strategic competition as it
supports the Fleet within the unified readiness picture assessed by and
reported through Fleet Commanders.
As threats change, concepts of operation evolve, planes and ships
retire and are replaced by new platforms, support from the Shore will
require deliberate focus, prioritized investment, and more effective
portfolio risk assessment to ensure the capabilities and capacities are
postured for a scalable response across the competition continuum. With
the ultimate focus on Mission, we will be able to optimize support from
the Shore with a focused prioritization and long-term investment
strategy. Doing so requires a unified understanding of agile response
across global functions for employment, generation, and development.
The Navy Global Strategy Ashore will eventually combine with TNLFGPC to
create an overarching strategy for logistics and installations.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. We look
forward to working with you to continue to enhance and enable
warfighting capability and readiness through optimization,
modernization and increased resiliency of our installation platforms to
support Navy critical missions across the spectrum of competition.
STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL EDWARD BANTA, DEPUTY
COMMANDANT, INSTALLATIONS & LOGISTICS,
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
General Banta. Chairman Heinrich, Ranking Member Boozman,
and distinguished members of the committee, thank you for the
opportunity to discuss the Marine Corps' fiscal year 2023
Military Construction Budget Request today.
First, I would like to thank you for the funding of last
year's budget request, and our unfunded priorities list. That
funding which totaled over 2 billion accelerates the
Commandant's Force Design Initiative, supports Quality of Life
projects, and invests in the Marine Corps' ability to fulfill
its Title 10 obligations now, and in the future.
Our installations play a key role in meeting the challenges
facing our Nation. The Marine Corps' overseas installations are
especially critical as advanced naval bases in support of naval
and joint operations. We need modernized infrastructure that is
resilient against threats, ranging from kinetic attack, to
cybersecurity breaches, to damage from extreme weather.
To meet these challenges the Marine Corps has requested
over $1.2 billion for military construction projects in fiscal
year 2023. This year's request has a broad focus, and includes
projects that invest in several key areas, including life
health and safety issues, quality of life projects, and
infrastructure support for new platforms.
Over half of this request is focused on the Pacific,
including four projects in Guam that will help posture the
22,000 marines located west of the international dateline, in a
fighting stance.
The quality of life of our marine, sailors, and their
families is integral to the readiness and effectiveness of our
force. A new child development center at Marine Corps Air
Station, Miramar, will be completed this summer, and three more
projects are planned in the FYDP.
The Marine Corps is in the process of renovating 12
barracks in fiscal year 2022, and we plan to renovate 15 more
in fiscal year 2023, which will improve the lives of
approximately 4,000 marines.
Last year, the Marine Corps' focus on family housing
included implementation of the remaining provision of the
Tenant's Bill of Rights. The Marine Corps continues to work
with its housing partners, and the other services, to ensure
that our housing is safe and meets the needs of our residents.
This year we plan to invest over $230 million in family housing
construction and operations, including building family housing
units in Guam.
The Marine Corps strives to invest in resilient
installations that enable operational readiness. Recent
infrastructure investments include projects that reduce our
reliance on fossil fuels, and off-base energy grids. For
example, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany is the first Marine
Corps Net Zero Installation. The base generated more power
through green energy sources than it consumed in calendar year
2021, and provided about 8 megawatts back to the local grid.
The Marine Corps has also invested in microgrids at five
installations that can power mission-essential functions for
more than two weeks, ensuring continuity of operations.
Finally, the Marine Corps is investing in the modernization
of its Organic Industrial Base. These projects optimize
existing facilities, construct new facilities, and improve
workflow processes and productivity at the Marine Corps' two
depots.
The Marine Corps is currently undergoing a significant
transition in how it is organized, trained, and equipped to
meet current and evolving threats from peer adversaries. Our
operational capabilities are adapting to meet threat changes,
and we need to invest in next-generation infrastructure to
match our evolving capabilities.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today,
and for your oversight, input, and support as we determine the
infrastructure requirements that will best position the Marine
Corps for mission accomplishment.
I look forward to working with you to sustain our
warfighting capability and the readiness of our power
projection platforms. I look forward to your questions.
Thank you.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Lt. Gen. Edward D. Banta
introduction
Chairman Heinrich, Ranking Member Boozman, and distinguished
Members of the Committee, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the
Marine Corps' FY23 military construction budget request. Thanks to the
strong support we have received from Congress, the Marine Corps
continues to improve the quality and resiliency of our installations
which are critical to our ability to train forces and maintain
readiness.
First, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the funding
provided for the Marine Corps' Fiscal Year 22 military construction
program. The over $2B of total funding for these projects accelerates
support for the Commandant's Force Design through projects like
modernization of the electrical distribution grid at Marine Corps Base
(MCB) Hawaii and aircraft maintenance facilities at Marine Corps Air
Station (MCAS) Beaufort and MCAS Miramar. The additional funding
provided supports the quality life for our Marines by investing in
unaccompanied housing projects at MCAS Yuma and MCB Hawaii. I am very
grateful for Congress' interest in supporting these critical
infrastructure projects that will enhance the Marine Corps' ability to
fulfill its Title X obligations and meet the challenges presented by
current and future threats.
role of installations
The Marine Corps 2030 Strategic Logistics Plan outlines the
enterprise's strategy for configuring and enhancing future logistics
capabilities to sustain the force in the 21st century in terms of four
objectives: enabling global logistics awareness, diversifying
distribution, improving sustainment, and optimizing installations for
sustained operations. Optimizing our installations is critical for
achieving the objectives of this plan, and providing the logistics
support that will ensure operational readiness for the future force.
Our installations play a key role in meeting the challenges that
our Nation faces. The Marine Corps' overseas installations are
especially critical as advanced naval bases in support of naval and
joint operations. This infrastructure must be properly maintained to
prevent degradation of our capability to train and generate readiness
for global employment to support our mission-essential tasks. The
readiness of this infrastructure cannot just be measured in terms of
the physical condition of our buildings but must also consider the
optimal posture of the force around the globe and our resilience
against the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events. We
must have resilient infrastructure, both in CONUS and abroad, to enable
delivery of capabilities from across the service enterprise.
Resiliency efforts require hardened critical infrastructure to
maintain support to the force across the competition continuum and
before, during, and after deployment. Increasing the capability and
capacity of our installations underpins our forward presence. In this
new environment there is no sanctuary and our bases require
modernization against future threats ranging from conventional kinetic
attack to cybersecurity breaches to damage from extreme weather events.
fy23 milcon budget request
To meet these challenges, the Marine Corps has requested over $1.2B
for military construction projects in FY23. This budget request
supports the National Defense Strategy and long-term implementation of
the Commandant's Infrastructure Reset Strategy. This year's request has
a broad focus and includes projects that invest in:
--Life, health, and safety issues such as the Basilone Road
realignment project at Camp Pendleton;
--Quality of life projects, including a barracks at Kadena Air Force
Base in Okinawa, Japan;
--Infrastructure support for new platforms and investments in
utilities infrastructure; and
--Projects that support the Marine Corps' current and future presence
in the Pacific.
On any given day, more than 22,000 Marines are forward-postured
west of the International Date Line, and many are inside China's
weapons engagement zone. In support of this posture, over half of the
Marine Corps' FY23 military construction budget is focused on Pacific
installations. Of these Pacific projects, four are on Guam totaling
over $381M. Although this is a $149M decrease from FY22, there will be
over $1.5B in projects in execution on the island in FY23. Construction
at MSB Camp Blaz is currently 13 percent complete, with 34 active
projects. In spite of a few delayed starts due to last year's
continuing resolution, this program is currently on track to comply
with the international agreement. Funding modern and resilient
infrastructure in the Pacific is critical, so that Marines are postured
in a fighting stance for crisis response and campaigning.
quality of life
The quality of life of our Marines, Sailors, and their families, is
integral to the readiness and effectiveness of our force, and the
Marine Corps recognizes the critical importance of our child
development centers, family housing, and unaccompanied housing
portfolios. Construction on the new child development center at MCAS
Miramar will be complete this summer, with three more projects planned
in the Future Years Defense Program.
In its unaccompanied housing portfolio, the Marine Corps renovated
16 barracks in fiscal year 2021 and is in the process of renovating 12
barracks in FY22; we anticipate renovating an additional 15 barracks in
FY23 at a cost of $110M. The renovations completed in fiscal year 2021
to FY23 will positively impact approximately 4,000 Marines living in
the barracks.
The Marine Corps' focus on family housing in fiscal year 2021
included implementation of the four remaining provisions in the
Tenant's Bill of Rights: universal lease, dispute resolution, 7-year
maintenance summary, and rent withholding. The Marine Corps continues
to work with its housing partners and the other Services to ensure that
our housing is safe and meets the needs of our residents. The Marine
Corps has requested over $230M in family housing construction and
operations in FY23, of which the largest investment will be $162.3M for
the construction of 116 family housing units in Guam.
installations resiliency initiatives
The Marine Corps views installation resiliency through an
operational readiness lens: resilient installations are the platforms
that enable operational readiness. This resiliency rests in the ability
to maintain reliable access to critical functions, such as an effective
power grid, clean water distribution, and communications capabilities,
as well as the ability to train and equip Marines, and care for Marines
and their families. Understanding that training and operations must
continue even when there are extreme weather events, the Marine Corps
has undertaken several initiatives to ensure that installation
resiliency requirements are understood and appropriately prioritized.
The Marine Corps is currently developing installation master plans
that address the impacts of climate change, sea-level rise, and major
weather events at our bases and stations. The Marine Corps has also
developed two new decision support tools to help make smart facility
investment decisions. These tools focus investments on the most
critical and significant assets and maintains the installations
enterprise at a higher state of readiness.
Recent infrastructure investments have included projects that
reduce reliance on fossil fuels and off-base energy grids. For example,
Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany is the first Marine Corps Net Zero
Installation: the base generated more power through green energy
sources than it consumed in calendar year 2021, and provided 7.9 MWh
back to the local grid. The transition to Net Zero has improved the
resiliency of the base while reducing reliance on traditional energy
sources and cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions.
Building on the success of the smart grid at MCAS Miramar, the
Marine Corps has also invested in a microgrid at Marine Corps Recruit
Depot Parris Island. These microgrids can power mission essential
functions for up to 21 days in the event of an energy blackout,
ensuring continuity of operations and can provide a resource to local
governments in the event of an emergency. The Marine Corps will use
lessons learned from these projects to make smart, resilient
investments both in CONUS and overseas. Continuing to invest in
projects such as Net Zero initiatives and smart grids will place the
Marine Corps on a trajectory to meet future requirements while
withstanding disruptive weather events.
Finally, the Marine Corps is also investing in the modernization of
its Organic Industrial Base (OIB). In 2019, the Marine Corps OIB
Facilities Plan and the United States Senate Report on the Readiness of
the Marine Corps OIB were developed. This 25-year plan provides the
strategy to optimize existing facilities, construct new facilities, and
improve workflow processes and productivity at the Marine Corps' two
depot production plants and long-term equipment storage sites in
Albany, Georgia, and Barstow, California; and at Marine Corps Support
Facility at Blount Island Command, Florida. To date, the Marine Corps
has completed five projects; two are under construction, and one is
planned to start construction in summer 2022.
conclusion
The Marine Corps is undergoing a significant transition in how it
is organized, trained, and equipped, to meet current and evolving
threats from our adversaries. In addition to developing new operating
concepts, increasing integration with the Navy, and modernizing the
equipment we employ, the Marine Corps' installations infrastructure
must also evolve. Our operational capabilities are adapting to meet
threat changes, and we need to invest in the next generation
installation infrastructure to match the Marine Corps' evolving
capabilities. Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you
today, and for your oversight, input, and support as we determine the
infrastructure requirements that will best position the Marine Corps
for mission accomplishment. I look forward to working with you to
sustain our warfighting capability and the readiness of our power
projection platforms.
Senator Heinrich. Thank you, General. We are going to take
a brief recess while the two of us go and vote, and then we
will come back and start five-minute round questions.
[Recess.]
Senator Heinrich. I call this hearing back to order, and
start the standard five-minute rounds. I will begin by
recognizing myself, and then we will go to Senator Boozman, and
trade it back and forth
Mr. Cramer, I mentioned in my opening statement that I was
encouraged by the ERCIP request in this budget, and of
particular interest is the increase in planning and design
funding, which should help build out the projects there that
are ready to execute in the coming years. It is also my
understanding that the ERCIP program is undergoing some reforms
to improve planning and execution.
Can you talk a little bit about the need for significant
planning and design request, and how the Department is
improving how it identifies requirements as well as how it
develops and executes ERCIP projects.
Mr. Cramer. Yes Senator, thanks for that question. Yeah, so
it is a--so ERCIP has a long history of getting to where we are
at today. It used to be a program that was lump sum funded, and
we developed the projects, and the projects would then take
four-plus, 5 years in order to actually get under contract and
executed. In a lot of cases the projects would fall off. And so
over the years we have been trying to get ERCIP to look more
like the MILCON process, where we have a Future Years Defense
Program (FYDP).
And then so this year for the first year's we are actually
going to see that effectuated, because we have got the
leadership commitment to fund the P&D, so the $200-plus million
is a surge that is going to allow us to get more projects to
that 35 percent design mark, so that we can get projects
awarded in the year of appropriation. I think that is where you
will see where the inflation, cost of living growth, eats away
at our ability to do projects that we are just not quite,
frankly, ready.
And so what the surge in P&D is going to allow us to do is
build the FYDP for ERCIP projects. And we have done the
notifications, so you can see some of that types really going
after the microgrids that are going to make a difference on the
installations. And then so without the----without the P&D, we
are not going to be able to then get the energy projects that
we need in the time that we need it. And that is more to the
left, not to the right, so we are really going to rely on that
P&D to get an ERCIP FYDP.
And I will let my two colleagues answer if they want.
Senator Heinrich. Admiral.
Admiral Williamson. Yes, sir. We are very excited about
ERCIP, particularly from improving our theater posture. We have
$133 million right now going in for eight projects, a large
portion of those are in Guam. In addition to that, keeping the
operational output and the resilience of our bases, SIOP, ERCIP
fits very nicely into that as well. Norfolk Naval Shipyard, we
are looking at a project there, Joint Base Pearl Harbor, Hickam
the same.
In addition to that, we also are taking a look at the
controls. One of the other things, ERCIP, we can leverage and
bring into it, is also cybersecurity. Those three things go
very much hand-in-hand.
We take a look at that holistically, not only from an
investment of the infrastructure, but also from a logistics
perspective, anything we can do to help with our energy
consumption allows us freedom of maneuver. In addition to that,
taking full advantage of electrification also related to ERCIP,
kind of looking at the whole package, if you will.
We are increasing from 1,300, roughly, vehicles, electric
vehicles to 1,600 this year. In addition to that we are putting
another 1,200 outlets in. That allows us now to take a look at
how we support Distribution Management Office (DMO) and the AVO
in the Pacific, working with Ted and his team.
In addition to that, I also think assessment, and something
my Chief taught me a long time ago, you must be proficient. So
we have also incorporated a handbook which we have given to our
base commanders, we do exercises now which actually test the
electrical infrastructure to help highlight potential areas for
us to invest in.
And I will turn over to Ted now.
General Banta. Thanks Ricky. Senator, thanks for the
question. So similar to the Navy, we really appreciated the
opportunity to use the ERCIP program to improve the resiliency
of some of our installations. I mentioned in my opening
statement about the microgrids that we have developed on five
of our installations right now, quite a bit of support from the
ERCIP program to develop those.
And it really improves our operational readiness, and our
operational resiliency, not only here in CONUS, but also as we
move further west into the Pacific, what we would call our
advanced naval bases.
So we have made pretty good use of the program, seven
projects from fiscal year 2018 to 2022. We have got one in
fiscal year 2023, for a microgrid at Bridgeport, and then we
have got five more in fiscal year 2024, and we are looking at
trying to develop seven more in fiscal year 2025.
Senator Heinrich. Great.
General Banta. So tremendously valuable, it has been
helpful to us, and it is not just microgrids, it is also
controls, as Admiral Williamson had mentioned. So thank you for
the opportunity to comment, sir.
Senator Heinrich. Absolutely. And I am really thrilled to
see the use of storage, in particular within those microgrids.
We have come a long way in just a couple of years.
So with that, Ranking Member Boozman.
Senator Boozman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. What I would like
to do is trade with Senator Collins.
Senator Collins. Thank you very much. I very much
appreciate that, Senator Boozman, and Mr. Chairman.
Admiral Williamson, this year's budget requests more than
$500 million for the third increment of the Multi-Mission Dry
Dock Number One extension at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, in
Kittery, Maine. This project, I don't have to tell you, is
vitally important to the readiness of the submarine fleet.
Beginning in 2024, scheduled Virginia class maintenance
availabilities at the shipyard will exceed its capacity, and
failure to complete this project would result in 20 deferred
maintenance availabilities through 2040.
This project simply must be completed on time or we will
risk our submarines not being available to accomplish their
missions. We are faced with high inflation, as far as labor
costs, and construction materials are concerned, and they have
an impact on this project. Is the Navy committed to ensuring
that this project remains on track and on time?
Admiral Williamson. Yes ma'am. Absolutely, we are committed
for all the reasons you just said. As we look at the costing,
as going forward, applying lessons learned from the first time
out the gate, obviously are going to be very important to
maintain our ability to stay on scope, stay on cost, and stay
on schedule.
As we mature our area development plans, as we build our
dry docks, as that vision is getting much clearer now, we are
beginning to find opportunities to push things to the left
without then cause any risk to either maintenance critical
path, or the SIOP critical path. And so we have taken into
account cost for inflation, material cost, cost of labor.
We are using third-party estimators and economists now to
help us better refine that. So also within our budget you will
also see us ask for the money to make up some of the difference
from the projects from 2022. But we are committed to that,
ma'am.
Senator Collins. Thank you. I am very glad to hear that. As
you know, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is considered the gold
standard among our public shipyards, and we are very proud of
the contribution that the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard makes to
our Navy and our national security.
Mr. Cramer, I just returned from a Senate trip to Kyiv in
Ukraine, to Sweden, and Finland. So I am particularly
interested in the European defense--or Deterrence Initiative.
The Department's budget request also includes $746 million for
infrastructure projects in Europe, to help deter Russian
aggression against NATO, and to reassure our allies.
This includes MILCON for two training complexes at
Grafenwoehr, Germany, which I visited in France--not France--in
March to observe the training operations of Army units that
deployed in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. How is
the Department planning for infrastructure changes that may
result from adjustments to our force posture in Europe
following Russian's invasion?
Mr. Cramer. Senator, it is a great question. I will be
out--speaking out of my lane if I talk about force posture, but
I can--I do want to extend the thanks to Congress for the past
funds that were provided under the EDI, ERI, going way back to
2014. So our ability to surge in Europe today, in the current
crisis, was based on all of those investments that we have done
over the last 8 years.
And so I think what you will find is the investments going
forward, will expand upon previous investments that are going
to allow us to then shape the force the way that the Secretary
and the President want to, as we go forward. I don't know that
we are at the position where we can commit to force structure
or force posture, but we have capitalized on previous
investments that allow us to surge to the point where we are
quite successful today.
Senator Collins. Thank you.
Senator Heinrich. Senator Tester.
Senator Tester. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I appreciate the
work you and the ranking member do on this committee.
Mr. Cramer, your opening statement talked about Military
Housing Privatization Initiative, even as privatized housing is
seen, it has been faced with challenges recently, there is
still a critical housing shortage for our Service members. Does
this budget support any new privatized housing projects?
Mr. Cramer. So privatized housing, as you are aware, is the
new houses are funded through basic allowance for housing, a
private partner, except in the cases where we have some
projects and the Air Force has these mainly as they have funds
within their budget that are going to then support their
projects going forward, and that would then support new housing
construction at specific bases to support the Air Force.
But specifically, the current budget does not envision new
houses directly for privatized housing. We do have dollars in
there to build our--or excuse me--DOD-owned housing in the
Marine Corps, as General Banta had mentioned, and in the Army,
and the Air Force, so we do within our owned inventory.
Senator Tester. I will get to that in a second. So I have
heard from many of the secretaries that it is hard to meet the
goals of where we want to be as far as end force strength. The
housing issue, my guess is, it is the same in Arkansas, and the
same in New Mexico, as it is in Montana.
There are no houses off base. There are just none. And the
houses that are off base, the rents have gone through the roof.
So the question is, if we are going to expect, or demand, that
the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine, Coast Guard, the works,
meets our end strength, how is it even possible without
housing?
Mr. Cramer. So it is, as you reference, Senator, yeah the
housing shortage is not just specific to the Department, it is
a nationwide issue. And so within the Department of Defense,
another Under Secretary Office, P&R, actually runs the BAH
Program, and that is a survey of the rents in order to set that
allowance so that we can afford--or our Service members can
afford to rent off post.
It doesn't do much for the inventory, you know, and
actually to expand the inventory it is going to be a couple of
years down the road, but we do have a mechanism within, to
allow--to get the right entitlements in, and Service members'
pockets; the Secretary did approve some temporary BAH increases
prior to the end of last year that will, in certain areas,
where we saw a high cost of rents. This is the time of the year
when we start doing the BAH surveys for next year. So the
military installations are part and parcel within the
contractors that go out and test that rent.
So I know it doesn't help ease any housing crisis today but
it allows the entitlements to match what the projected housing
costs are going to be going into next year.
Senator Tester. I have got you. I think it is--and I
appreciate everything that has been done, because I think it is
stuff that has to be done. I think the problem is, we don't
have inventory. We just don't have inventory. And if we bring
up your counterparts, and beat the hell out of them, because
they don't have their end strength where they are, I think we
have really put them in a bind, if there is really no place to
live.
And by the way, they know it. I mean, they know it. And so
let us talk about the on-base stuff more, because that is where
the young service members, single service members live, and
that environment for them, from a recruitment and a retention
standpoint, it is also very, very important much less, very
important for the job that they do in making sure that they are
able to do the job that they are assigned.
So give me an idea about what is in this budget for the DOD
to improve the living conditions for our young, unaccompanied
service members?
Mr. Cramer. So I would think----
Senator Tester. You can defer it.
Mr. Cramer. Yeah. I was going to say, we do fund within our
normal--I will just start with a top line message--our
sustainment, restoration, modernization funds do have funds in
there to sustain the inventory. We have put in a number of
projects. And General Banta had mentioned, some for the Marine
Corps, and the Navy, for this panel.
But we do have an investment, it is a continual investment
in our unaccompanied housing, and I will defer to----
Senator Tester. Just before you start, Lieutenant General.
So sustainment is important, but growth is also important. And
so I want you to address both of them, if you could.
General Banta. Thank you, Senator. So the Secretary is
correct, that we have made investments in both growing our BEQ,
Bachelor Enlisted Quarters capacity, but also looking at what
will it take to sustain it. Very quickly, a total of 680
barracks across the Marine Corps, the vast majority are
actually in pretty decent shape, either Q1 or Q2 on the
Facilities Condition Index, and that is about 84 percent of
them, that is not to say that there isn't more work to do, and
we have done work over the years to include investing 3.3
billion from fiscal year 2008 to 2023.
Moving forward, we have got 12 renovations that are
underway this year, and then we have got 15 additional
renovations planned for fiscal year 2023. So as far as
improving----
Senator Tester. And that is just for the Marine Corps,
correct?
General Banta. That is just for the Marine Corps.
Senator Tester. The other services have equivalent or more?
General Banta. I would defer to the other services,
Senator.
Senator Tester. Okay. We will assume they are, and we will
find out.
General Banta. Yes, sir. And then I would just say for the
projects in actual new construction, we have got two bachelor-
enlisted quarters in fiscal year 2023, over in Japan, one on
Kadena Air Base, and one on Camp Butler. And then we have
requested four additional BEQs on our unfunded priority list,
to help expand capacity at bases at our recruit depots, as well
as Hawaii.
Senator Tester. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I apologize.
Senator Heinrich. No worries. Ranking Member Boozman.
Senator Boozman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I mentioned
earlier the many economic factors facing the Department in
budget development, project execution, such as extreme market
volatility and record inflation.
Vice Admiral Williamson, and Lieutenant General Banta, I
would like to know, one, how these are impacting your fiscal
year 2023 Budget estimates, and your plan to address cost
increases? And two, the impacts you are seeing on project
execution? And what you are doing to mitigate the issues? And
very importantly, is there anything that we can do as a
committee?
Admiral Williamson. Yes, sir. Thank you very much for the
question. I will start with the projects that are in execution
now from fiscal year 2022. We are experiencing somewhere
between a 16 to 33 percent increase due to inflation. We are
working very diligently to make sure those projects stay on
schedule, but obviously there will be some impacts from that.
Projecting forward, how do we handle this going forward?
Looking at fiscal year 2023 projects, and beyond, we are
estimating right now somewhere between 9 to 17 percent increase
to the price, due to interruptions in the supply chain, and
increased cost of fuel, increased cost of material, increased
costs to the workforce.
So we are monitoring those very closely. As I said earlier,
we are pulling some of the lessons we learned out of the SIOP,
and using third-party assessors and economists to help us stay
ahead of these things, so that we can plan better. In addition
to that, we have also found that by putting more money into
planning and designing helps us get closer to cost schedule and
scope, which will allow us to maintain--stay ahead of those
issues.
You asked, you know, what would benefit? I think increasing
our reprogramming thresholds, I think that would give us
greater flexibility to execute the projects, particularly
reprogramming within the MILCON to stay on schedule. In
addition to that, a lot of projects are also FSRM, O&M-related.
Multi-year funding I think would also allow us, not only to
deal with inflation, but continuous resolution, and things like
that. That would give us the flexibility to stay on track. Ted?
General Banta. Thanks Admiral. So Admiral Williamson and I
both draw from the same data sources here, from Naval
Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC), so the
inflation estimates that he referenced we agree with, and we
have the similar concerns.
I would say in terms of where it helps us, he specifically
mentioned the FSRM, and OMMC being a multi-year appropriation,
for the reasons he said. That would be tremendously helpful, it
would give us more flexibility, and the ability to plan and
then execute over a long period of time, and mitigate the
impact of continuing resolutions. So I think that would be
helpful.
We do have a number of homes that we are currently
constructing over on Guam, the area cost factor there is
significant, and then compounded by inflation, so there has
been a significant cost increase with those that we are looking
at as well. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Cramer. If you don't mind. Just to put a finer point on
it. So you had mentioned incremental funding, and that actually
helps us then hedge some inflation, because we are not having
to pay that full bill during high years, because as most of the
data will show, high inflation is always followed by some lower
number.
And so with, you know, excess today turns into bid savings
later on and so, you know, we can do split funding to account
for a lot of that as we go forward. Incremental funding is a
definite help going forward.
Senator Boozman. Very good. Have you gotten any guidance
put out by OSD addressing this?
Mr. Cramer. So we are now in trying to analyze as we are
looking to 2023, because that is the budget in front of us, but
the 2022 is also going to have an impact on it. So we have done
some analysis of--as Admiral Williamson, and General Banta had
mentioned, with Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command
(NAVFAC) looking at it, the Corps of Engineers is also looking
at, what is the cost of construction.
Senator Boozman. Right.
Mr. Cramer. And on the A&S side, our acquisition folks are
looking at what is the greater, you know, cost of growth within
all of our programs, because 2022, what we do or do not get
done in 2022, will affect 2023.
Senator Boozman. Right.
Mr. Cramer. And so we are not only looking at, you know,
the projections we have done for fiscal year 2023, but we have
to be informed about what we are going to actually get done
this year. And split funding in MILCON allows us to hedge some
of that bet but, you know, not all of it. As we said O&M, we
have got to get all those done this year, and what we don't
buy, we then buy next year. So it is a compounding effect.
Senator Boozman. All right; very good. Thank you, Mr.
Chairman.
Senator Heinrich. Thank you. In the interest of getting to
the second panel, we are going to skip a second round. But
Admiral Williamson, I have a couple of questions for the record
regarding the situation at Red Hill, the lack of cost estimates
and ongoing assessments, given some of the commitments that
have been made there, in particular with the Hawaiian
Department of Health. So I will get you those for the record,
and you can get back to me.
And with that we can let our first panel go. And ask our
second panel to take their seats.
Senator Boozman. And I think I will be submitting some too.
So we will give you all some homework to do. So thank you all.
Senator Heinrich. I would like to welcome our second panel.
Representing the Army is Lieutenant General Jason Evans, Deputy
Chief of Staff, G-9 Installations.
From the Air Force we have Lieutenant General Warren Berry,
Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, Engineering, and Force
Protection.
And Mr. Bruce Hollywood, Associate Chief of Operations
Officer for the United States Space Force.
We will ask our witnesses to make opening statements,
beginning with General Evans followed by General Berry, and
then Mr. Hollywood.
General Evans, you can proceed with your opening statement.
STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL JASON EVANS, DEPUTY
CHIEF OF STAFF, G-9, INSTALLATIONS, UNITED
STATES ARMY
General Evans. Chairman Heinrich, Ranking Member Boozman,
and distinguished members of the committee. On behalf of 1
million soldiers and 2.2 million family members, thank you for
your continued support of our Army, and for supporting our
budget request for fiscal year 2023, and for providing
additional billion dollars in funding for key programs, such as
barracks, childcare facilities, housing.
The Army's budget for installations is aligned with
priorities set by the Army senior leaders, people,
modernization, readiness, alliances, and partnerships.
In this year's fiscal 2023 budget, we are requesting $8.1
billion for the Army's Installation Infrastructure, $1.9
billion of that is military construction; $6.2 billion is
facilities, sustainment, restoration, and modernization.
Our MILCON request is focused on improving soldier and
family quality of life. It also includes projects to improve
readiness, and modernization, for all components at various
locations throughout the United States. To make the best use of
funding allotted to the Army, we are working to balance
sustainment, restoration, modernization, and demolition across
all components, especially as projects typically have a faster
impact on improving our facilities rather than just a pure
MILCON solution.
We must continue to ensure our soldiers and their families
have access to safe, and high quality housing, by remaining
focused on improving our privatized housing portfolio, and by
continuing to implement measures to increase the safety,
quality and habitability of the privatized housing, by ensuring
military privatized housing companies, are accountable for
project performance.
During February of 2022, the Army released a comprehensive
climate strategy that is well nested with DOD's climate
adaptation plan. The Army climate strategy directs actions to
enable our force to operate in changing environments,
strengthens the resilience of our installations, and increases
the capabilities of our force, while also reducing our
greenhouse gas emissions.
We also continue to leverage the Defense Climate Assessment
Tool, to identify potential hazards caused by climate change,
and inform our mitigation planning efforts.
I appreciate this opportunity to discuss the importance of
the Army's Military Construction's initiatives. At every Army
installation we endeavor to take care of soldiers, their
families, by ensuring access to quality facilities, housing,
barracks, and childcare.
And to do that, we need your continued support by providing
timely, adequate, sustainable, and predictable funding, so our
installations remain ready, and resilient, and provide the
quality of life that our soldiers and families deserve.
Again, I appreciate this opportunity, and look forward to
your questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of LTG Jason T. Evans
Chairman Heinrich, Ranking Member Boozman, and members of the
subcommittee: on behalf of the soldiers, families, and civilians of the
United States Army, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to
present the Army's Fiscal Year 2023 budget request for installation
infrastructure.
I would like to begin by thanking the members of this subcommittee
for your strong support of Army installations, soldiers, and families.
Your support of the Army's fiscal Year2023 Budget request allows us to
move forward with essential projects such as improvements to barracks,
family housing, and childcare facilities. These key projects will
greatly assist the Army in addressing quality of life issues of concern
to Congress and to Army leadership at every level.
Most importantly, your actions directly enable the Army's continued
support of our soldiers, their families, and our civilian workforce. As
Secretary Wormuth stated, people remain the Army's greatest strength
and our most valuable asset. Our people live, train, and deploy from
our installations. The Army is committed to ensuring that our
installations provide the quality of life services that members of the
Army family deserve, as well as modernized infrastructure and related
services for training and readiness. Installations are the places where
unit cultures, cohesive teams, and resilient soldiers are forged,
improvements to Army installations and quality of life services
directly support the Army's ``people first'' priority, while posturing
the Army to recruit, train, and retain high-quality soldiers, prepared
to win against any foe.
I look forward to sharing with you those components of our fiscal
Year2023 President's Budget Request that reflect the Army's need for
developing modern, resilient, sustainable installations; enhancing
strategic readiness to operate in a contested environment; and
delivering quality facilities, services, and quality of life
initiatives to support to our soldiers, their families, and our Army
civilians.
the army installations strategy
The Army Installations Strategy (AIS) sets the framework for how we
prioritize our people through installation management. With a Stated
focus of taking care of people, strengthening readiness and resilience,
modernizing and innovating, and promoting stewardship, the AIS
represents a data-driven way of doing business that can adapt to
changing circumstances.
taking care of people
The AIS is the framework for how the Army keeps its promise to take
care of our people. The investments we make to sustain and improve our
installations directly support our people, prioritize critical quality
of life programs, and provide soldiers, families, and civilians access
to high-quality housing, healthcare, and childcare
family housing and barracks
We rely on our soldiers to keep this country safe, and in turn, it
is our obligation to treat our soldiers and their families with
dignity, by ensuring their access to safe, high quality on-base
housing. We must not break trust with those who serve this great
country so very well. The Army remains focused on improving our
privatized housing portfolio and will continue to implement measures to
increase the safety, quality, and habitability of privatized housing
and to ensure the MHPI companies are held accountable for project
performance.
The Army has made significant progress in taking actions to enhance
our oversight of privatized housing and holding MHPI companies
accountable for delivering housing and providing customer service that
meets our high standards. For example, we have hired an additional 114
full-time professionals to oversee the Army's entire housing portfolio,
whose responsibilities include advocating for and providing referral
services to military families needing housing. In addition, the Army
conducts comprehensive housing quality assurance inspections at each
change of occupancy and we are implementing third-party housing
inspections of all Army privatized housing (and government-owned family
housing) as required by the fiscal Year2020 and fiscal Year2021 NDAAs.
In 2021, the Army conducted a third party, pilot inspection of
privatized housing units at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, allowing the
Department to consider the results and feedback from this pilot
inspection before finalizing the newly released DoD Uniform Housing
Standard and inspection requirement. The pilot inspections, which cost
about $1,000 per home, were completed for 90 percent (1,879) of Fort
Belvoir's 2,078 privatized family housing units; the inspections were
not completed at homes where the residents refused access by the
inspection team, typically due to health-related (e.g., COVID-19)
concerns. The inspections found that the majority of MHPI housing units
at Fort Belvoir are in good or excellent condition and identified no
systemic issues impacting habitability. In December 2021, the Army
initiated third-party inspections of all privatized housing at Fort
Meade, Maryland, using the DoD Uniform Housing Standard, with funding
for additional inspection requirements included in the Army's fiscal
Year2023 budget request.
In addition, the Army has fully implemented all 18 of the MHPI
Tenant Bill of Rights at all of our installations, thereby providing
soldiers and their families negotiating power with the private
companies, including a process for resolving disputes and gaining
access to maintenance records. We continue to host weekly meetings with
stakeholders and privatized housing companies to review the physical
and financial condition of our MHPI housing stock, as well as the
status of families displaced due to maintenance and repair actions.
Furthermore, independent third-party experts are performing
comprehensive audit reviews of the privatized housing companies'
financial and business practices, with reviews completed at 14 MHPI
projects and another seven reviews in progress. In accordance with the
MHPI project legal agreements, the Army controls the payment of
financial incentives to privatized housing companies as a means to
encourage improved work order response times, achieve better quality
work, and increase resident satisfaction. Where the MHPI housing
companies do not achieve desired performance, the Army will evaluate
the appropriateness of such incentive payments and take action to
encourage and hold the MHPI company accountable for project
performance.
The Army has continued our collaboration with the MHPI companies to
explore and execute opportunities within the MHPI housing project to
improve the quality and safety of the homes by accelerating renovation
or replacement, doing so in a manner that does not jeopardize the long-
term financial viability of the MHPI project. The Army's privatized
housing providers have committed to a $3 billion investment in MHPI
housing over the next 10 years to make or accelerate needed
improvements across the portfolio. Half of that money will come from
new private investments and half will come from funds accumulated in
project reinvestment accounts.
Likewise, the Army has invested over $900 million in the past three
fiscal years (FY 2019-2021) on construction, improvements, and
maintenance for Army-owned family housing. The Army's fiscal Year2023
budget request includes $605.7 million to fund construction, operation,
and maintenance of government-owned and leased family housing worldwide
to continue to provide quality family housing for soldiers and their
families stationed overseas. In addition, we are addressing our
unaccompanied housing (UH) challenges with Facilities Sustainment,
Restoration, and Modernization funds, as well as Military Construction.
The result has been a $2.4 billion investment in barracks construction,
restoration, and modernization over the last three fiscal years (FY
2019-2021), with billions more programed for the future to ensure
improved conditions in barracks. The Army is focused on modernizing
barracks by providing each soldier his/her own room, enhancing security
through the use of video cameras, and for new construction, updating
suite amenities to commercial standards. To ensure we are able to
address maintenance needs in a timely fashion, we have implemented the
Army Maintenance Application, which allows soldiers to directly submit
a maintenance claim without having to wait for their chain of command
to input a work order. Finally, the Army is evaluating opportunities to
address UH requirements within a more holistic Army Barracks Strategy.
In sum, the Army's goal is to apply multiple solutions across our
installations to ensure every soldier lives in a high quality, fully
functional home environment that is conducive to military readiness and
family safety. We will continue to engage with Congress at every step
of the way as we implement necessary reforms to our housing program. We
appreciate the Congress' past support of our investment in Army
housing, and we ask for your continued funding support for the Army's
operations and maintenance, and construction investment to ensure that
our government-owned, leased, and privatized family and unaccompanied
housing provides a high quality of life for U.S. military personnel and
their families.
historic housing program
Many of our soldiers and families live in historic housing on
installations around the world; historic housing brings with it a
unique set of modernization challenges for high quality living
standards. The Army is facing the extraordinary challenge of managing
the largest inventory of historic housing in the Federal Government.
This requires the Army, and our privatized housing companies, to
confront the high costs of historic renovation; mitigate hazards found
in historic building materials such as lead- based paint and asbestos;
and address the need for expanded living space and modernization, all
while preserving the historic features of over 30,000 historic homes.
Following the Army's September 2020 agreement with the National Council
on Historic Preservation, the Army and our MHPI housing projects have
more efficiently and cost effectively renovated more than 3,200 Inter-
War Era homes. This has directly improved the living conditions and the
quality of life, health, and safety for the thousands of Army family
members who live in Inter-War Era housing, while ensuring the
preservation of the historic and architectural character of this
housing.
child care
Another important component of taking care of our people is by
providing quality childcare where availability of off-post care is
limited. The Army is implementing strategies to improve access to the
best childcare available. This includes funding seven new Child
Development Centers by fiscal Year 2027, an estimated $120 million
investment, and hiring and retaining highly qualified childcare
providers. We also continue to invest in the Army fee assistance
program to buy down the cost of off-post services where on-post
services are unavailable, with the goal of further alleviating this
burden on our families. The Army knows that these services are critical
to supporting the needs of our people, and we greatly appreciate recent
actions by Congress in funding new facilities in Hawaii, Fort
Wainwright, Fort Knox, and Fort Leavenworth. Recognizing that our
installations are also hometowns, we can, and will do better at
providing services to those children who accompany our Army across the
country and globe.
strengthen readiness and resilience
Every operational deployment starts at an installation where our
soldiers work, train, drill, and live. Given current threats, we must
plan for any future deployments to be conducted from a contested
homeland. Only a modern, resilient installation will give the Army the
capability to project power effectively under any adverse condition.
The Army must adapt its installations, acquisitions programs, and
training programs to be able to operate in a changing environment.
army climate strategy
Our installations are the Army's front line, and we must be able to
project installation power sources under any adverse condition,
including those caused by a changing climate. Our installations, our
soldiers and families are experiencing the direct effects of climate
change all too frequently, ranging from flash flooding at Fort Hood in
2016, to wildfires at Fort Hunter Liggett in 2019, and a significant
ice storm at Fort Hood in 2021. The Army is regularly called upon to
interrupt training and other mission-related activities to aid in
civilian disaster response operations following climate change- induced
weather events. In response to these realities, and recognizing the
National security threat posed by climate change, in February 2022, the
Army became the first service to release a comprehensive climate
strategy. The Army Climate Strategy (ACS) directs actions to enable our
force to operate in a changing environment, strengthens the resilience
of our installations, and increases the capabilities of our force,
while also reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions.
ACS establishes objectives which will enable our forces to operate
more effectively in a climate-altered world through three lines of
effort-installations, acquisition and logistics, and training. For
example, to increase the resilience of our installations, the ACS
targets carbon-free, installation-based energy generation, which,
paired with battery storage and microgrids, will enable the Army to
self-sustain our critical missions by making us less vulnerable to
local power outages. On the operational side, greater fuel efficiency
of our tactical vehicles will increase our capabilities by extending
the range of our combat forces, while simultaneously reducing the
vulnerability and burden of supply lines that often must move through
contested areas. This will result in greater protections for our
soldiers. Electric hybridization of our combat vehicles will allow for
silent overwatch and will reduce the acoustic and thermal signature of
our platforms, thereby greatly increasing the safety of our soldiers.
In sum, the ACS not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions, it also
enhances the capability of our fighting force and resilience of our
installations.
energy and water resilience
The Army is the largest consumer of installation energy and water
in the DoD, spending more than $1 billion per year on these core
commodities. With few exceptions, our installations rely on commercial
energy and water sources to accomplish critical missions. The
vulnerabilities in the interdependent electric grids, natural gas
pipelines, and water resources supporting our installations jeopardize
mission infrastructure, installation security, and the Army's ability
to project power and sustain global operations.
The Army Installation Energy and Water Strategic Plan establishes
goals, strategic objectives, and measurable targets to achieve long-
term infrastructure resilience and independence, while promoting
efficiency and affordability. Building resilience enables Army
readiness by insulating installations from disruptions in delivery of
vital energy and water utility services.
By including measurable targets as part of the strategic plan, we
are gathering critical data to inform future planning, such as energy
and water usage and the condition of related infrastructure.
Installation Energy and Water Plans (IEWPs) relying on this data are
then developed to outline critical mission needs, characterize energy
and water baseline conditions, and propose projects and operational
activities to increase energy and water resilience. The Army has
completed 61 IEWPs, with most installations scheduled to have these
plans completed by the end of fiscal Year 2022.
The Army is also making use of Black Start Exercises (BSE) to
assess capabilities and reveal energy resilience gaps, which are not
always discoverable during tabletop exercises. These exercises have
resulted in improved communication among the Army, local communities,
and utility companies. We have conducted two BSEs in fiscal Year 2022
at Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and another is
scheduled for later this year at Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois. In
compliance with the fiscal Year 2021 NDAA, we have five BSEs scheduled
at Army installations in fiscal Year 2023 and each year thereafter.
The Army recognizes the importance of Energy Savings Performance
Contracts (ESPC) and Utility Energy Service Contracts (UESC) to improve
efficiency and contribute to resilience. While these privately financed
projects are targeted at reducing energy and water consumption, they
also enable the Army to address maintenance and repair backlogs sooner
than if we rely solely on appropriated funds. To date, we have awarded
three ESPCs and one UESC in fiscal Year 2022 and anticipate awarding an
additional eight contracts this fiscal year; providing a total
estimated capital investment value of approximately $400 million.
The Army also utilizes the DoD Energy Resilience and Conservation
Investment Program (ERCIP) to reduce reliance on the grid and allow us
to construct on-site power generation and associated infrastructure.
The fiscal Year 2023 President's Budget includes $119.1 million for
five additional ERCIP projects at Army installations.
safety and occupational health
Ensuring our soldiers and civilians are ready to support the Army
mission requires continual investments in proactive injury and illness
prevention-both on the installations and during mission execution. The
Army is transforming its traditional safety and occupational health
program through the implementation of an integrated management systems
approach, with the goal of reducing safety risks at all facility life
cycle stages, from design and construction through disposal. To ensure
these techniques are adequately implemented and evaluated, the Army
continues to invest in the readiness of its safety and occupational
health workforce through training, education, and partnerships.
support and resilience
We continue to place special emphasis on installations with
critical and unique needs such as U.S. Army Alaska, Fort Polk, LA, Fort
Irwin, CA and Ft. Hood, TX, to review and integrate installation
resources. Some examples include the Assignment Preference Pilot
Program for U.S. Army Alaska, as well as Assignment Incentive Pay for
specific locations (e.g., Alaska and Fort Irwin), and improved health
care provider staffing and behavioral services and working with the
Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) to review military and family
life counselor assignments to meet soldiers and family needs. There is
also a joint Spiritual Readiness initiative between the Office of the
Chief of Chaplains and the Office of the Surgeon General that connects
Chaplains and behavioral health professionals with first-term soldiers.
Moreover, we continue to work with local education authorities at those
locations to support virtual education pilot programs and efforts.
Along with promoting spiritual, financial, and medical readiness, we
continue to promote quality of life through our Morale, Welfare, and
Recreation programs as well as those programs and services offered
through installation Army Community Service centers.
modernize and innovate
Modernized installations enable a modernized force. The Army
Modernization Strategy requires installations to modernize ``at pace''
with the rest of the Army to support a modernized Army by 2035. To do
this, installations must provide facilities, ranges, airfields, and
support infrastructure that possess the appropriate physical
characteristics required by new Army weapons systems.
The Army is programming upgrades to maintenance facilities, motor
pools, ranges, readiness centers, network infrastructure,
administrative facilities, secure facilities, and utilities to
facilitate a modern and ready Army. Force projection requires
assessment of roads and highways, bridges, ramps, marshaling yards,
ammunition supply points, railways, and airfields. Real property master
plan processes will become more technically sophisticated, using data-
informed analysis and modeling to integrate new specifications of
modern equipment. We are also coordinating closely with the Assistant
Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy, and Environment,
Deputy Chiefs of Staff for the G-3/5/7, Army Materiel Command, and
Installation Management Command to sequence planning actions and to
complete, in a timely manner, the required environmental analyses under
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as new weapon systems are
fielded.
promoting stewardship
The Army's mission is inseparable from the natural habitat that is
critical to accomplishing that mission. Readiness training for multi-
domain operations, high intensity conflict, and development, testing,
and fielding for combat system modernization all require access to
realistic natural landscapes, ecosystems, and environmental conditions.
Conserving these assets in a sustainable manner is critical not only to
Army readiness, but also to the well-being of the Total Army and those
communities that surround and support Army installations.
conserve natural resources
The Army's focus on conserving its natural infrastructure ensures
training and testing in realistic conditions, and makes certain these
natural assets remain viable, accessible, and resilient into the
future. Mission supporting capabilities of our training and testing
sites are directly impacted by the loss or alteration of the natural
infrastructure. Documented impacts to the mission include limitations
on training and testing due to factors such as loss of range facilities
and assets from wildfires and/or floods, and training restrictions due
to endangered species and critical habitats. For example, the 226
threatened or endangered species found on 170 Army installations in the
United States result in species-related training and testing
restrictions on over two million acres of land. However, as the Army
sustains and improves the natural infrastructure providing endangered
species habitats on our installations, endangered species populations
can recover over time, thereby reducing the restrictions necessary to
protect those species.
encroachment mitigation
Army installations are vulnerable to outside encroachment,
incompatible development, and climate related threats to operations and
readiness. The Readiness and Protection Integration Program (REPI)
enables the Army to cooperatively address these impediments while
providing the flexibility needed for training, testing, and
modernization, including long-range testing and training land
capability. The REPI program provides valuable tools for off-base
conservation partnerships with States, Tribes, private landowners and
other Federal agencies. These measures support the readiness mission by
providing buffers around installations as well as other natural
resource protections. The REPI program can also assist with endangered
species management by providing off-base mitigation habitat as
necessary.
environmental compliance
The Army's environmental compliance program encompasses a broad
range of legal compliance and management efforts that support clean air
and water, maintain natural and cultural resources, and sustain soldier
training and readiness on the Army's 13.6 million acres of land. The
compliance program includes actions to meet the requirements of the
Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the
Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the National
Historic Preservation Act, as well as NEPA, among others. By way of
example, the Army maintains 4,902 environmental permits.
The Army has an excellent environmental compliance record. The vast
majority of legacy Army CERCLA sites have been remediated, and of 787
inspections on Army installations by environmental regulatory agencies
in fiscal Year 2021, only 34 Enforcement Actions were issued.
environmental remediation
The Army is also taking measures to address the presence of
chemicals of emerging concern, including per and polyfluoroalkyl
substances (PFAS). The Army has taken a three-pronged approach to PFAS,
focusing on cleaning up past releases, testing drinking water, and
phasing out the use of PFAS-containing aqueous film- forming foam
(AFFF) in accordance with the deadlines established by Congress. As of
March 31, 2022, the Army is conducting PFAS assessments at 337
installations. We continue to test Army-owned drinking water systems
regularly and take immediate action if we find exceedances of EPA's
lifetime Health Advisory level of 70 parts per trillion for PFAS.
Finally, the Army only uses AFFF for fire emergencies and intends to
phase out its use in accordance with NDAA requirements. The Army is
committed to prioritizing cleanups at those sites where conditions
warrant doing so. The Army will be fully transparent about our cleanup
progress, and we will expand public outreach to neighboring
communities. The Army's priority remains the health and safety of our
Service members, their families, Army civilians, and the communities
surrounding our installations.
fy 2023 budget request for installation infrastructure
The Army's fiscal Year 2023 budget requests funding for near-term
requirements to help modernize installations and make them multi-domain
ready and resilient.
military construction
Army Military Construction and Family Housing. The Army's fiscal
Year 2023 military construction and Family Housing request for $1.9
billion will improve installation readiness, industrial base readiness,
and soldier quality of life. The quality of life investments consists
of two new barracks projects for $153 million and two family housing
projects for $169.3 million. The total request includes $846 million
for the Active Component (AC), $297 million for the Army National Guard
(ARNG), $100 million for the U.S. Army Reserve (USAR), and $68 million
in the Base Closure Account for environmental remediation, caretaker
services, and program management costs at BRAC sites.
Military Construction, Army (MCA). Inside the active Army's request
there is $409 million supporting installation and soldier readiness
($74 million for training, $64 million for operations, $141 million for
the industrial base and $130 million in support of quality of life and
community services) and $153 million for barracks. The active Component
also has $26 million for host nation support.
Military Construction, Army Reserve (MCAR). The fiscal Year 2023
MCAR budget request supports two major construction projects: Army
Reserve Center at Perrine, Florida, ($46 million) and an Army Reserve
Center at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, ($24 million).
Military Construction, Army National Guard (MCNG). The National
Guard's request supports readiness by funding $160 million for nine
readiness centers and $59 million for four maintenance facilities.
Minor Construction/Planning & Design. All three components have
funds planned for Unspecified Minor Construction and Planning and
Design.
Army Family Housing (AFH). The Army's request for $169.3 million in
construction funding supports two new/replacement projects providing
107 new homes in Vicenza, Italy; 64 new homes in Baumholder, Germany;
and the necessary planning and design funds. The Army's request for
$436.4 million in Family Housing Operations funding provides for Army
Family Housing operations, maintenance and repair, utilities, and
management of the privatized housing Residential Communities
Initiative.
Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). The Army's request for $67.7
million includes $9.9 million for continuing caretaker and program
management requirements at remaining BRAC installations closed or
realigned under the five previous BRAC rounds (1988, 1991, 1993, 1995,
and 2005) and $57.8 million for environmental cleanup requirements. The
Army continues to work with Federal and State regulators to resolve
complex environmental issues that exist on the Army's BRAC sites, and
to allow each property to be conveyed and used for a beneficial non-
military purpose.
operation and maintenance of facilities
Facilities Sustainment, Restoration, and Modernization (FSRM). The
Army is requesting $6.1 billion in FSRM to address our backlog of
facilities maintenance, provide sustainment to slow degradation of
facilities, and demolish facilities ($80 million) that are no longer
required. The Army is working with OSD to develop an asset management
approach to optimizing sustainment, restoration, and modernization,
demolition, and MILCON funding for facility requirements. The emphasis
of the approach is to enhance the Army's building condition indices.
Army Sustainment. The Army's fiscal Year 2023 Facilities
Sustainment request for $4,008 million (Active $3,006 million, USAR
$263 million, ARNG $739 million) will provide 85 percent of the
Facility Sustainment Model requirements for all components.
Restoration and Modernization (R&M), Active Army. The fiscal Year
2023 request for the AC is $1,593 million, which will primarily fund
restoration projects for quality of life facilities, including barracks
and Child Development Centers, as well as readiness and power
projection facilities including airfields and utilities at key
installations.
Restoration and Modernization (R&M), Army Reserve. The fiscal Year
2023 request for the USAR is $95 million. This funding will primarily
fund restoration projects for barracks, maintenance activities, and
reserve centers.
Restoration and Modernization (R&M), Army National Guard. The
fiscal Year 2023 request for the ARNG is $304 million, which will
primarily fund restoration projects for collective training barracks,
reserve component readiness facilities, and recapitalization of
training facilities.
beyond the budget
Leveraging Partnerships. The Army has a long history of leveraging
public and private partnerships to optimize use of other than
appropriated funds to improve Army readiness, create efficiencies, and
address underfunded requirements. These agreements come in a variety of
forms, but generally lead to increased investment on Army
installations, enhanced provision of services, and modernized
infrastructure. Many of these partnerships have tremendously improved
the quality of life for Soldiers and their families. Through the
powerful language that Congress enacted in 10 USC 2679, the Army has
signed more than 100 Intergovernmental Support Agreements (IGSAs) that
save $28 million annually and have resulted in a $42 million cost
avoidance. These partnerships create efficiencies, enhance quality of
life, build resiliency, and develop deeper bonds with the communities.
Examples include improving the emergency response time at Fort Detrick,
MD; creating utility resiliency at Fort Carson, CO; supporting
environmental stewardship at Fort Benning, GA through Auburn
University, and creating life skills programs at Fort Drum, NY through
the State University of New York. The Army sincerely appreciates
Congressional support for these authorities and will continue to
actively engage with our local communities to make use of this program.
conclusion
Ready and resilient installations will ensure our soldiers are able
to train properly and deploy globally to fight and win our Nation's
wars. Modern installations enable a modern Army. Your continued support
helps to ensure we retain the current force and recruit new soldiers by
providing high-quality living conditions and quality of life services
as key elements of the modern installation.
Thank you for the opportunity to present this testimony and for
your continued support of our soldiers, families, and civilians.
STATEMENT OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL WARREN BERRY, DEPUTY
CHIEF OF STAFF FOR LOGISTICS, ENGINEERING,
AND FORCE PROTECTION, UNITED STATES AIR
FORCE
General Berry. Good afternoon, Chairman Heinrich, Raking
Member Boozman, distinguished members of this subcommittee.
I am honored to appear before you today to discuss the
fiscal year 2023 Air Force Military Construction and Family
Housing Programs.
I would like to begin by thanking the subcommittee first,
for your steadfast support and generous Military Construction
funding contained within the fiscal year 2022 Consolidated
Appropriations Act.
I am also thankful for the fiscal year 2022 NDAA technical
amendment, which enables us to award over a billion dollars of
natural disaster recovery projects, at Tyndall Air Force Base
in the next few months. I look forward to working with the
subcommittee on our fiscal year 2023 Air Force Military
Construction Budget Request, and tackling new challenges to
improve this vital program.
Our Nation faces an array of complex challenges in a
rapidly evolving global environment. In addition to the threat
imposed by pacing adversaries and other non-state actors,
trans-boundary challenges such as climate change, also demand
our attention.
Our fiscal year 2023 Military Construction Budget Request
supports the 2022 National Defense Strategy, by investing in
our airmen and their families, accelerating the
recapitalization of two legs of the nuclear enterprise, and
supporting combatant command infrastructure requirements across
the European and the Indo-Pacific theaters.
Our fiscal year 2023 request is consistent with last year's
request, and we have taken great strides in process
improvements to create a more stable Military Construction
Program that will yield an increase in the number of projects
awarded in the year of appropriation, and better define cost
estimates, reducing potential project delays through
reprogramming requests.
However, we continue to work through numerous external
influences affecting this portfolio, be it from increased
global market prices for commodities and labor, ongoing impacts
from the COVID-19 pandemic, or from the effects of a changing
climate.
In the face of these challenges, the Air Force continues to
balance risk and installation investment with the necessity to
modernize and meet our most critical mission needs.
Over time, though, this has resulted in atrophied
facilities and infrastructure. In order to mitigate some of
this risk, we optimized our use of Military Construction, as
well as the Operations and Maintenance Funding Accounts. These
two funding streams serve as the foundation of sustainable air
and space force installations through a combination of well-
timed Military Construction projects and continued facility
sustainment, restoration and modernization funding.
We are able to recapitalize when required, and sustained
through day-to-day maintenance and repair, in order to maximize
the lifespan of those facilities.
Lastly, while we remain focused on the health of our
infrastructure, and we keep in mind that our installations are
more than just where our airmen work, it is where many of them
and their families call home.
Our fiscal year 2023 request includes $678 million for
efforts which directly support service members and their
families, including housing construction improvements,
operations and maintenance, and privatized housing oversight,
and the continued construction, of our basic military training
dormitories, at Joint Base San Antonio, Lackland.
Infrastructure investment in our critical quality of life
facilities plays a vital role in ensuring the well-being of our
airmen, and is integral to mission success.
Again, thank you for your continued support, and the
opportunity to testify today, and we look forward to your
questions.
[The statement follows:]
Prepared Statement of Lt. Gen. Warren D. Berry
introduction
Chairman Heinrich, Ranking Member Boozman, and distinguished
members of the subcommittee. Thank you for the opportunity to discuss
the Department of the Air Force (DAF) Fiscal Year 2023 Military
Construction Program.
Installations are platforms to enable and project combat power in
support of the 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS). Every mission
starts and ends on an installation. We train and equip for joint
operations, provide portions of the nuclear deterrent, project power,
generate readiness, test new weapon systems to build and maintain an
enduring advantage, and provide safe and healthy communities at our Air
and Space Force installations. Our installations also serve as key
nodes in a global network of operating locations enabling Joint Force
mission success around the world. Additionally, for a significant
number of our 700,000 Airmen, Guardians, and their families, Air and
Space Force installations are ``home.'' Hence, the readiness,
resiliency, and sustainability of installations are matters of
strategic importance.
Our Nation faces the nexus of complex challenges: the rise of great
power competition with China and Russia; the increasing complexity of
multi-domain threats; economic pressures; the competition for access to
resources in the Global Commons; and the increasing rate of technology
change. The FY23 President's Budget Request supports the NDS and lays
out a plan to modernize our military capabilities. Finally, we continue
to experience the effects of changing climate, exemplified by the
growing strength and frequency of extreme weather events, wildfires and
droughts. Unmitigated, these endanger not only our Airmen, Guardians,
and the places where they live and work, but our weapon systems,
infrastructure, and water and power networks.
In the face of these challenges, the Department of the Air Force
has made hard choices to prioritize decisions focused on integrated
deterrence in an environment of shrinking advantage against aggressive
competitors, operating in an evolving natural environment. The DAF
Military Construction (MILCON) program prioritizes nuclear enterprise
modernization and Combatant Command (CCMD) infrastructure support in
the European and Pacific theaters. The centralized Facilities
Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization (FSRM) portfolio continues
to focus on infrastructure risk to mission, with prioritization based
on ``probability of failure'' and ``consequence of failure''
methodology, ensuring timely maintenance and life-cycle repairs at our
installations. We remain committed to sustaining the DAF's power
projection and enabling platforms-our installations-and appreciate the
continued partnership with Congress to ensure the Air and Space Forces
are well-postured to compete, deter and win.
installations
The Air Force continues to balance risk in installation investment
in order to prioritize resources to our most mission-critical needs,
ensuring the Air Force can continue to deliver combat capability to the
Joint Force. The Air Force is performing installation investment
through implementation of our Infrastructure Investment Strategy (I2S),
increased senior leader oversight of the portfolio, and reforms within
our MILCON program. First introduced in 2019, the I2S is the Air Force
of the Air Force's long-term strategy to cost-effectively modernize and
restore infrastructure readiness, improve the resiliency of mission-
critical nodes, and drive innovation in installation management
practices.
tackling the climate crisis
Last fall, the Secretary of Defense released the DOD Climate
Adaptation Plan and DOD Climate Risk Analysis, emphasizing climate as a
national security priority. Over the past several years, we have seen
first-hand the impacts climate and severe weather can have on our
installations and operations. Increasing temperatures, changing
precipitation patterns, and more extreme and unpredictable weather
conditions pose new risks to Air Force operations, readiness,
installations, and facilities. The effects of climate change on the Air
Force are accelerating; the time for action is now. As the largest fuel
consumer in the DOD, the Air Force is not only addressing the need for
climate adaptation to improve our resilience, but introducing climate
mitigation efforts to optimize fuel consumption and reduce our
logistics burden, while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas
emissions. Additionally, the Air Force is developing a comprehensive
Climate Action Plan aligned with our National security imperatives that
lays out our climate priorities and actionable goals to address the
complex threat of climate change.
In recent years, Congress has included numerous provisions in
legislation to enhance installation resilience efforts across the
Department of Defense. The Air Force, in conjunction with Additionally,
as of the end of 2021, we completed 42 Installation Energy Plans at our
critical and high-energy use installations to identify risks and track
and adjust requirements to advance energy and water resilience goals.
The Air Force is integrating resilience considerations into MILCON
and other construction projects as well. We assess all projects to
determine if the planned facility could be impacted by current or
future mean sea level fluctuations or if it is located in a 100-year
floodplain for non- critical facilities and a 500-year flood plain for
critical facilities. We implement resilience actions when required by
the mission or when feasible and cost-effective. The Air Force drives
changes to the Unified Facilities Criteria (UFCs) and then applies
those revised building codes to all MILCON projects. Many of these UFCs
have been updated to specifically incorporate resilience
considerations, such as sea level rise scenario planning and updated
structural engineering criteria to address wind, seismic, and flood
threats.
To help address these challenges, the Air Force is leveraging data
and analytics to make climate-informed decisions based on lessons
learned from previous storm-related events. Climate considerations will
continue to be incorporated into our guidance, plans, and policies to
ensure our Air Force investments in facilities, infrastructure, and
installation energy promote resilience to more frequent and severe
weather events, while maximizing our readiness with a reduced energy
footprint.
special interest items
natural disaster recovery efforts
Through the Natural Disaster Recovery program, the Air Force will
rebuild Tyndall AFB, FL, and Offutt AFB, NE, in a more efficient and
resilient manner. We are designing and constructing facilities using
the latest UFCs.
We used a minimum design wind speed of 165 miles per hour for all
new mission-critical facilities, exceeding the highest wind speed
captured during Hurricane Michael, and incorporated best practices from
the Florida Building Code's High Velocity Hurricane Zone for Miami-
Dade, Broward, and coastal Palm Beach Counties. Facilities are also
being designed 14 to 19 feet above today's mean sea level, which
incorporates a 7-foot projected sea level rise scenario through the
year 2100.
Additionally, we emphasized coastal resilience in the plan for
Tyndall AFB. This partnered approach includes cost-shared investments,
which combine with Air Force investments to attenuate storm energy
through natural infrastructure before it reaches built infrastructure.
Key partners such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency,
Fish and Wildlife Service, Bay County, the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection, and the University of Florida are working
together as part of OSD's Readiness and Environmental Protection
Integration Program.
At Offutt AFB, we are consolidating facilities to higher ground-out
of the 100-year floodplain.
taking care of people
In early 2020, the Air Force established a cross-functional Child
Care Capacity Initiative Working Group to address unmet child care
needs. This team prioritized child development and school age care
facility projects based on unmet child care demand, staffing, and
building conditions. We issued a Strategic Enterprise Executive
Decision memo directing installations to initiate planning actions for
14 projects identified on the prioritized list. The Air Force is using
the $11 million in MILCON Planning and Design (P&D) funds provided in
FY20 to initiate designs and posture these projects for future
execution. Five of our top priority child development centers (CDCs)-
Sheppard AFB, TX; Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA)-Lackland, TX; JBSA-Fort
Sam Houston, TX; Wright-Patterson AFB, OH; and Royal Air Force (RAF)
Lakenheath, in the United Kingdom-were authorized in the FY22 NDAA and
funded within the FY22 Consolidated Appropriations Act. Construction of
a new CDC at Tyndall AFB is scheduled to be complete by December 2022,
and construction of a new CDC at Joint Base Andrews, MD, is expected to
be ready to award in the summer of 2022. Because CDCs have not
historically competed well against other mission-related priorities in
the MILCON program, we have turned to FSRM resources to address
childcare facility concerns while we posture MILCON projects for future
execution. In FY22, we have prioritized 6 CDC FSRM projects, valued at
$19.7 million.
The Air Force is also committed to ensuring unaccompanied service
members are provided quality housing on our dormitory campuses. The Air
Force has underscored the roles and responsibilities of Commanders in
protecting the health and safety of unaccompanied Airmen. Commanders
enforce inspection criteria to identify and report conditions requiring
immediate and future maintenance, as well as adequately resource
maintenance and repair programs to effectively address requirements.
Funded from the Air Force FSRM account, the investment strategy for
dormitories focuses on sustainment, restoration and modernization of
these facilities in their existing configurations. This enables the Air
Force to focus MILCON funds on modern, formal training facilities for
newly recruited Airmen, such as the Airman Training Center at JBSA-
Lackland.
fy23 air force milcon program
In FY23, the Air Force MILCON request is $2.05 billion. This
request will support the Air Force's commitment to fulfilling National
Defense Strategy (NDS) requirements, posturing for the future high-end
fight, and taking care of our Airmen by providing functional
operational work spaces. The program supports Combatant Commanders with
a focus on the Pacific and European theaters and modernizing the
nuclear enterprise. Our request also focused on P&D to reinforce the
Air Force's MILCON program stability and consistency. Additionally, the
MILCON program continues efforts to bed down new weapons systems and
seeks to recapitalize facilities that have outlived their useable life
or no longer meet mission requirements.
combatant commander infrastructure
The FY23 MILCON program prioritizes Combatant Commander
requirements with a particular emphasis on the Indo-Pacific and
European theaters. Support to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command will enhance
the United States defensive posture in the region, reassure allies and
partners, and increase readiness capabilities. The request included
$451 million for projects in Alaska, Japan, and the Northern Mariana
Islands to recapitalize key facilities, disperse resources, and
construct operational and maintenance facilities, as well as provides
Pacific-focused P&D. The request also included construction of fuel
storage and aircraft parking apron on Tinian, aircraft operations and
maintenance facilities in Japan, and a runway extension to increase
airfield capacity in Alaska.
The Air Force remains committed to European Defense Initiative
(EDI) efforts to reassure North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
allies and other European partners of United States commitment to
collective security and territorial integrity. In FY23, the Air Force
requested $244.9 million for EDI to include support for the
prepositioning of equipment in Italy, Iceland, Spain, and Hungary, as
well as base perimeter security in Norway. These projects will further
improve deterrence efforts in the theater and enable joint and
coalition forces to quickly respond to aggressive regional actors. The
Air Force request also included support to Combatant Commands within
the United States to include a continued focus on Weapons Generation
Facilities directly supporting U.S. Strategic Command; and fuel and
maintenance facilities supporting U.S. Central Command.
new mission bed downs
The FY23 budget request also supported the bed down of new weapons
systems and missions, with a heavy focus on modernizing the nuclear
enterprise. The request included two projects at Ellsworth AFB, SD, to
bed down the first B-21 Raiders. It also included three projects at
F.E. Warren AFB, WY; two projects at Hill AFB, UT; and one project at
Vandenberg Space Force Base (SFB), CA, to support transition from the
Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile weapon system to the
Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD). The NDS directs the Department
of Defense to build a force that is lethal, resilient, sustainable,
survivable, agile, and responsive through modernization of key
capabilities, the first of which are nuclear forces. Once on-line,
these weapons systems will ensure the Air Force can effectively supply
two-thirds of the Nation's nuclear triad well into the future.
The Air Force appreciates the legislative authorities which posture
the GBSD program for success. The fiscal year 2021 NDAA provided
significant flexibility for the Launch Facility/Launch Center
conversion under MILCON authorization, authorized $15 million of MILCON
P&D for GBSD, enabled all GBSD construction to be carried out under
direction and supervision by the Secretary of the Air Force, and
allowed a single prime contractor to plan, design, and construct all
GBSD projects. The Air Force will continue to inform Congress on the
Air Force's progress during design, construction, and commissioning of
GBSD facilities.
The FY23 President's Budget did not include funding requests for
the F-35A bed down program. After the generous FY22 F-35A bed down
support for facilities at RAF Lakenheath and Luke AFB, AZ, funding
requests will resume in future years to complete the full bed down
program. Lastly, the budget request included a three-bay depot
maintenance hangar at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma to directly support reliable
and responsive infrastructure for the KC-46A weapons system depot
maintenance.
existing mission recapitalization
The FY23 request also sought $218.3 million to recapitalize
facilities that surpassed their useable life or no longer met mission
requirements. This request included additional funding for our Basic
Military Trainee Recruit Dormitory modernization, to include an
increment for Dormitory 7 at JBSA-Lackland. Other recapitalization
projects included a supplement to the MIT- LL West Lab CSL/MIF at
Hanscom AFB, MA, and a RAPCON facility at Shaw AFB, SC which is a
resilience project designed with previously appropriated resilience
funds.
planning and design
P&D remains a central focus of the Air Force MILCON program to
reinforce program stability and consistency. Sufficient P&D enables
projects to progress rapidly through design and meet maturity criteria
for admissibility into the program, provides more accurate cost
estimates, and maximizes opportunity to award projects in the year of
appropriation. Without sufficient P&D, the Air Force must award designs
by design phase, which adds risk associated with costs and timely
delivery of design. With the FY23 P&D request of $136 million, the Air
Force intends to fully fund designs for our planned FY24 and FY25
projects, as well as initiate design for FY26 projects. The outcome of
our 2 year budget lock policy is a stable MILCON program allowing us to
efficiently use P&D for future projects.
facility sustainment, restoration, and modernization (fsrm)
We view the FSRM and MILCON programs as interdependent; together,
these two funding streams serve as the foundation of sustainable Air
Force installations. FSRM provides a non- MILCON pathway to repair
facilities and infrastructure, maximizing their lifespan. Our I2S drove
changes in how we execute the FSRM program by prioritizing projects
based on mission risk and timing investments at the optimal point in
the asset lifecycle. The centralized FSRM scoring model targets
investments at an asset's ``sweet spot'' in its life cycle rather than
at end-of-life failure, which is significantly more expensive. FSRM
funding distributed directly to installations (considered decentralized
FSRM), empowers Commanders to make the right local investment
decisions, including day-to-day maintenance and smaller scale repair
and sustainment projects, based on mission requirements and I2S
guidance.
The Air Force will continue to utilize I2S principles to restore
the health of our installations by refining business processes and
implementing private sector best practices. These include implementing
cost management strategies specific to different spending categories,
leveraging data to improve the timing of sustainment and
recapitalization actions, and establishing standards of services and
equipment to achieve economies of scale. In order to maximize the near-
term impact of current funding levels, the Air Force will also continue
to assess mission thread vulnerabilities and prioritize infrastructure
repair requirements which directly affect an installation's primary
mission.
housing construction, operation and maintenance
The Air Force prioritizes providing safe and healthy homes to our
families. The Air Force Housing program provides for housing
construction, P&D, and operations and maintenance. The military
construction funding enables planning studies and design for future
construction projects and supporting the restructures of privatized
housing projects. The military family operations and maintenance
program supports the day-to-day operations and administration of our
military and privatized family housing, correcting health and safety
deficiencies, and provides for the alterations and major repair
projects to sustain and modernize the housing inventory.
The high cost of construction continues to present challenges to
improvements of Air Force-owned family housing. The increased cost of
construction will require solutions within the Air Force family housing
construction program to achieve full scope on projects. The Air Force
continues to focus investment in the Air Force housing inventory to
provide adequate housing for all service members and their families.
Our military family housing operation and maintenance enables us to
sustain, improve, and modernize our Government-owned inventory of
approximately 15,200 family housing units and provide enhanced
oversight of over 52,000 privatized homes. Combined, the family housing
operations and maintenance and construction programs will ensure
continued support for the housing needs of Airmen, Guardians, their
families, and our Army, Navy, and Marine Corps teammates housed in
government-owned and privatized inventory.
privatized housing
The Air Force is committed to ensuring that Military Housing
Privatization Initiative (MHPI) projects provide safe, quality, well-
maintained housing where military members and their families will want
and choose to live. We remain focused on improving our privatized
housing portfolio and addressing the remaining elements of the MHPI
reforms set out in the fiscal Year 2020, fiscal year 2021 and fiscal
year 2022 National Defense Authorizations Acts (NDAA). The Air Force
has made significant progress implementing reforms to enhance our
oversight of privatized housing and hold MHPI companies accountable for
delivering quality housing that provides a positive living experience
for tenants. An important effort is the DOD MHPI Tenant Bill of Rights.
On August 1, 2021, DOD issued a revised and updated MHPI Tenant Bill of
Rights that includes all 18 rights set out in 10 U.S.C. 2890. Applying
many of these rights at existing MHPI housing projects requires
voluntary agreement by the private companies who own, operate, and
maintain the projects. Most Air Force companies have agreed to
implement all 18 rights at their existing projects. With few
exceptions, all rights are fully available at all installations with
Air Force MHPI housing.
The Air Force has improved oversight by adding 218 government
positions across the privatized housing program, increasing
inspections, providing additional training to housing personnel and
revamping housing governance placing more structure to housing policy
and management. Resident Councils have been established at Air Force
sites to provide two-way communication between the residents and
installation and project owner leadership. Additionally, the feedback
from tenant satisfaction surveys (work order and annual) are used to
develop action plans for improving the resident experience. The Air
Force has also established Resident Advocates at Air Force sites to
engage with residents, installation leadership and MHPI company and its
property management representative to help resolve any disputes at the
lowest level and improve communications with all stakeholders. In
addition, the Air Force established a toll free housing call center
where tenants have 24-hour access to elevate concerns.
The Air Force has expanded its metrics for assessing the health of
the privatized housing portfolio, particularly with regards to resident
satisfaction, maintenance quality and responsiveness, and property
management operations. Many of these business health metrics are now
also included in the new Performance Incentive Fee (PIF) agreements Air
Force has negotiated with its largest private partners giving them a
financial incentive to meet or exceed the standards established for our
MHPI program.
Timeliness and thoroughness of repairs continues to be a challenge,
compounded by the National labor shortage and complications posed by
COVID; however, indications are that maintenance quality is holding
steady or improving, as evidenced by work order survey data and
Military Housing Office change of occupancy maintenance inspections.
The Air Force has implemented a Portfolio Assessment Program that
places increased emphasis on maintenance performance and change of
occupancy maintenance, driving engagement at all levels with the
project owners to improve performance.
The Air Force continues to remain focused on improved oversight,
long-term project health, and sustainment of the housing inventory to
provide military families access to safe, quality, affordable, and
well-maintained housing communities where they choose to live. Some
privatized housing projects will require financial restructuring to
continue to remain financially stable and market comparable. The
restructure goals are to fully fund operational expenses, debt
servicing, and sustainment of the homes for the life of the lease and
to fund reinvestment needs during the mid-term reinvestment period. The
Air Force included $230 million in the FY23 request to complete the
required Air Force MHPI restructures at select locations.
base realignment and closure (brac)
The FY23 request includes $107 million for the BRAC cleanup program
for environmental restoration and property transfer activities at 34
former Air Force installations closed through prior BRAC initiatives.
Our BRAC cleanup program focuses on protecting human health and the
environment, projects that transfer acreage and achieve beneficial
reuse of property, and investigations and response actions associated
with PFAS. Through the BRAC process the Air Force has closed 40
installations and sites and transferred more than 98 percent of the
property back to communities for beneficial use, producing $2.9 billion
in annual savings. Property transfer is complete for 35 former
installations, and we expect to complete transfer of the remaining
1,858 acres at five former installations by 2027. The Air Force greatly
appreciates Congressional support for our efforts to address PFAS
contamination and continue the cleanup and transfer of BRAC properties.
united states space force
In accordance with Department of Defense direction that the Space
Force be established as a lean, agile, mission-focused military
Service, the Space Force will rely on the Air Force for infrastructure,
logistics, security, medical services, and a host of other support
functions at their bases. Formal agreements and implementation plans
are in place to codify all stakeholder roles and responsibilities. In
FY22, the Air Force transferred FSRM, unaccompanied housing, and
facilities operations funds to the Space Force for planning,
programming, budgeting, and execution.
In FY23, the Department will allot MILCON funding based on Space
Force's portion of the total plant replacement value rather than
transferring MILCON funds. This approach was chosen to provide
flexibility to resolve any resource challenges supporting Space Force
requirements. The Space Force also developed a separate governance
process for their infrastructure investments, leveraging current DAF
processes, to ensure strategic alignment of investments to Space Force
priorities.
Space Force's FY23 MILCON program priorities support US SPACE
COMMAND through the beddown of a new weapon system, the Long Range
Discrimination Radar (LRDR). An eighty-four person dormitory at Clear
Space Force Station, Alaska, eliminates a dormitory deficit and
provides bed spaces needed to accommodate LRDR support personnel.
Additionally, the FY23 MILCON program is focused on P&D to prepare
future requirements for execution and reinforce program stability, as
well as execute one Unspecified Minor Military Construction project at
Vandenberg Space Force Base to stabilize a road that provides sole
access to a radar site and is prone to landslides. Space Force's FY23
Facility Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization priorities include
reducing risk to mission and force by addressing energy redundancy and
resilience, physical security, and quality of life requirements.
conclusion
The Department of the Air Force supports the 2022 National Defense
Strategy and laid out a plan to defend the homeland, deter pacing
threats, and modernize our military capabilities while taking care of
our Airmen, Guardians, and families. The I2S continues to guide MILCON
and FSRM budget decisions and business practices as we endeavor to
deliver ready, resilient installations as cost effectively as possible.
The MILCON program prioritizes nuclear enterprise modernization and
supports Combatant Commanders, with particular focus on the European
and Pacific theaters. The housing program provides the resources needed
to sustain and improve the DAF's inventory of government-owned homes,
and oversight of privatized housing project owners.
The Department of the Air Force remains committed to working
through challenges affecting this portfolio and delivering effective,
efficient installation engineering services. DAF energy, installation,
and environment priorities ensure that our Airmen, Guardians, weapon
systems, and installations continue to be ready to defend American
interests now and in the future. Thank you for the opportunity to
discuss the Department's FY23 MILCON program. We appreciate Congress'
continued support for our enterprise and look forward to working with
you on our FY23 priorities.
STATEMENT OF MR. BRUCE HOLLYWOOD, ASSOCIATE CHIEF
OPERATIONS OFFICER, UNITED STATES SPACE
FORCE
Mr. Hollywood. Good afternoon, Chairman Heinrich, Ranking
Member Boozman, and distinguished members of the subcommittee.
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss Space Force
Installations, and our Military Construction Program.
The capabilities and benefits provided in and through space
are vital to our way of life and a critical prerequisite to
effective military operations across all other domains. Over
the past two decades the space domain has shifted from a benign
environment to one that is contested where our adversaries are
increasingly active and disruptive.
We are our Nation's newest Military Service, purpose built
to organize, train, and equip Space Forces, to protect
America's interest in the space domain, and provide critical
capabilities to the Joint Force in accordance with the 2022
National Defense Strategy.
Our installation investments through Military Construction
and Operations and Maintenance funding are especially vital to
the Space Force mission, because the bulk of our forces are
employed in place, and our installations serve as our power
projection platforms.
Our Space Force bases and stations also serve as home to
many of our Guardian, supporting airmen, and their families. We
work ceaselessly to provide them a comfortable and safe place
to live.
As one of two services within the Department of the Air
Force, and in line with the Department's guiding principle of
``One team, one fight'' we will remain partnered with the Air
Force as it provides foundational installation support to the
Space Force.
To remain a lean and mission-focused Service, as directed
by Congress, and in accordance with our Chief of Space
Operations Planning Guidance, the Space Force will continue to
rely on the Air Force, for infrastructure, logistics, security,
medical services, and a host of other support functions at our
bases.
Formal agreements and implementation plans are in place to
codify stakeholder roles and responsibilities. We plan
resilience into our mission operations and protect the
guardians, airmen and families stationed in locations at risk
from severe weather.
Additionally, we are active partners in the Department's
facility, and infrastructure readiness initiatives, and
participate in the energy and water resilience conversations
being discussed across the Department.
This past year, the Space Force developed an independent
process for prioritizing requirements through a deliberate,
collaborative planning effort, that accounts for our
operational, and community priorities. We are focused on
infrastructure improvements in areas to reduce risk to mission
while, simultaneously, reducing risk to the Force by improving
the quality of life for our Guardians, supporting Airmen, and
their families.
Our installation investments, through the Military
Construction Program, and our operations and maintenance
accounts, and our collaborative relationships across the
Department of the Air Force, especially with Lieutenant General
Berry's office, are critical to performing our mission, and to
the well-being of our guardians, supporting airmen and their
families.
Thank you for your time and continued support. I am truly
honored for the opportunity to testify today, and I look
forward to our dialogue.
Senator Heinrich. Thank you, Mr. Hollywood.
For General Evans, and General Berry; in our fiscal year
2022 Bill, we included 125 million for design and both minor
and major construction of laboratory infrastructure, to
modernize our Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation
Base, this funding helped buy down unfunded requirements at
installations across the country, including at White Sands
Missile Range, still we know there to be a significant need for
such funding. As it pertains to Military Construction, how are
you identifying and prioritizing laboratory infrastructure?
General Evans. Sir, thank you for the question.
Laboratories, as you articulated, are very important. We have
two laboratories in the Walter Reed, Dietrich area that DHA
will fund for critical medical research. We have got two
laboratories on the UPL for Vicksburg and Redstone, and then we
have another five in the FY DP. So a total of I think eight
there, sir. So this is vitally important to us.
Senator Heinrich. General Berry.
General Berry. So Mr. Chairman, the fiscal year 2022,
Section 129, the Air Force got about 25 million of the 125
million that was appropriated. From that 25 million we have in
place, we are still working the Spend Plan, but it looks like
we will be able to get to about seven test projects that we
will do planning and design across the Air Force, to get after
some critical capabilities for the test and evaluation
enterprise.
I think if you look across our FYDP as well, you will see
that, for example, just in hypersonic test infrastructure
across the fiscal year 2023 FYDP, we will put about $336
million into that test infrastructure. Not all facilities,
obviously there are other things that the test infrastructure
needs, but that is a huge investment for us, and recognizing
the importance of that mission set.
Senator Heinrich. For General Evans. The Army Climate
Strategy released earlier this year, lays out a pretty
ambitious objective of installing a microgrid on every
installation by 2035, indeed, most of the ERCIP funding for the
Army over the past few years, has focused on microgrids.
How are you determining the order in which installations
are prioritized, and what are some of the most significant
challenges that you anticipate facing in trying to get to that
objective?
General Evans. Sir, so right now the installations, through
their internal energy and water plans, do the assessment and
determine the criticality or the need for the microgrids. We
did five last year. We are scheduled to do 12 ERCIP programs
this year, 11 of which are microgrids, and then another 5 next
year.
So we are absolutely invested in this technology, as was
mentioned before, it is good for energy conservation. We think
it has applicability to the electrification, as we pursue
electrification of the vehicle fleet. So, sir, we are all in.
Senator Heinrich. It is my understanding that there is
design funding included in the ERCIP request this year for a
microgrid at White Sands Missile Range. Is that something you
can confirm?
General Evans. Yes, sir. We do have approximately $29
million for planning design for a microgrid in White Sands
Missile Range.
Senator Heinrich. Excellent. Mr. Hollywood, last year I
included designed funding, I included design funding, the Space
Rapid Capabilities Office, at Kirtland Air Force Base, and I am
pleased that full funding for the construction project has been
identified in the FYDP, and hope design is able to get underway
soon.
I understand that the Space Force now has dedicated
obligation authority within the Air Force top line. As the
Space Force carves out its own Military Construction program
could you discuss how you are identifying developing and
prioritizing those projects within that program?
Mr. Hollywood. Thank you for that question, sir. And thank
you very much for the funding for the Space RCO. That is going
to be an important piece of our technology and building going
forward. As we work within the Department of the Air Force,
MILCON, it is a single-funding stream, and that that gives the
secretary flexibility to perhaps give us more on those times
when we need a little bit more, and to balance it across.
But, sir, the way that we prioritize is by trying to reduce
the risk to mission, and effectiveness of the mission by
looking at resilience, readiness, and in our training, and
infrastructure, and then by reducing the risk to our people by
working on our quality of life initiatives.
Senator Heinrich. Ranking Member Boozman.
Senator Boozman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I asked this question to the first panel, and I would
really like to get your input also, because it is also very
important. We are really just in a unique time right now. How
are economic factors, such as extreme market volatility, and
record inflation impacting your fiscal year 2023 Budget
Request, and project execution, what is your plan to address
the cost increases? And very, very importantly, you know, what
can we do to help you?
General Evans. Sir, thank you for the question. We have
experienced over the last year about a 24 percent increase for
MILCON projects, which is really attributed to labor, the
supply line, and materials. Now, we are experiencing with the 6
percent increase in fuel, of approximately 30 percent. We work
closely with the Corps of Engineers, what this has done is we
are no longer having the contractors hold their bids before
they--we would have them hold their bids for about 6 months
until we got the authorized threshold reprogramming.
That is no longer the case. So what you will see in the
2023 UPL is about 22 cost to completes. That is about half of
the 46 projects, and that is a result of the cost increases. We
believe, like the Navy, that we can work with your staff and
OSD, to probably get the authorized threshold reprogramming
raised, and probably try to reduce that time to hold the
contractors in place to get the bid on the MILCON.
Senator Boozman. Mm-hmm. Very good.
General Berry. Senator, thanks for the question. I think my
answer will mimic a lot of what my Navy and Army counterparts
have said, right. So certainly continuing resolutions are not
helpful for us because it delays our ability to advertise an
award, and in construction business time is money, and that
does tend to lead us to higher bids than what we would have
originally anticipated.
Senator Boozman. That is definitely noted. Yes.
General Berry. Yes, sir. Clearly, as I mentioned in my
opening comments, we are doing a lot more planning and design,
being much more rigorous in our process for planning and
design, to get projects to 35 percent so that they are more
mature, so when we come to you for funding we have a higher
confidence level that what we are going to build will cost what
we think it will cost. But without a doubt there are
inflationary pressures on us today that we haven't seen before.
And while we have taken a large portion of our professional
engineers, about 1,200 so far, and put them through some cost
estimating courses, and improve their capabilities there to do
cost estimating, sometimes you can't predict all of those
inflationary pressures. And they are real, steel is up 110
percent, aluminum is up about 34 percent, and it just comes
to--it comes to roost, right, when the contractors give their
bids, or cost to complete, as General Evans said.
I will echo what Admiral Williamson said as well. I think
it may be time to look at the reprogramming thresholds. I think
the last time we did a reprogramming threshold change was in
1982, for reference, I was a high school senior, I am not that
anymore. And I think gas was a $1.30 a gallon.
So it is not hard to exceed a $2 million threshold in
today's environment given the complexity, and then add to it
the increasing pressures from inflation, it tends to eat into
those project costs pretty quickly. So certainly, I think the
Air Force would welcome a conversation about looking at those
reprogramming thresholds again. Thank you.
Senator Boozman. Very good.
Mr. Hollywood. Sir, there is really not a whole lot to add
to what has been said. We benefit from all the hard work the
Air Force has done in recent years on refining their bidding
process to get that as right as it can be before they even
begin construction, but any help with multi-year funding, with
incremental funding, and with increasing the thresholds, would
be extremely helpful.
Even as small as we are, we have got projects that have
been impacted by having to come back and be delayed during a
reprogramming action.
Senator Boozman. Very good. Thank you.
Lieutenant General Evans, over the last few years there
have been multiple issues with privatized housing, I am really
following up on Senator Tester's remarks earlier. You and I
have had some great discussions about this. I know that nobody
cares more about this than you do, taking care of the men and
women that are serving.
But again, privatized housings and barracks, in the last
few weeks the Army has had some tough, pointed questions at
other hearings on their quality of life investments or lack
thereof. Can you share the Army's investment strategy, and what
you are doing to improve housing for soldiers?
General Evans. Yes, sir. Thank you, for the question. So we
talk about housing, we talk about both privatized housing Army-
owned housing, and then barracks, and that is the number one
priority under the Quality of Life Initiative for the Army. We
have, currently, for barracks we have got a ten-year MILCON R&M
plan that will address over 1,600 barracks, and to date, in
2021 of 2022, that will be about $10.3 billion, we are about
$2.3 billion into that now.
We have got two barracks in the program for 2023, along
with 78 R&M projects, because we believe the R&M sustainment is
just as important as the military construction.
For the privatized housing, we continue to hold ourselves
accountable, as well as the private partners for performance.
We have implemented the 18 Bill of Rights across the 44
installations that have privatized housing. Right now we have a
couple partners that have invested about $3 billion to build
new homes. That work has started for lend-lease in places like
Fort Hood, about 586 homes; in places like Fort Campbell.
For Army-owned housing, which the preponderance about 93
percent of that is overseas, we are investing about $1.5
billion in that, and in much needed places like the Vicenza
housing area. And so to add to that, I would like to throw in,
also the child care, because that is an important facility
investment, or a capacity issue that we have in the Army. And
we thank the committee for their support for three of the
child-care facilities in 2021 that are in high wait areas, or
high demand areas, like Alaska, and too in Hawaii.
And then last year on a UPL you gave us one for
Leavenworth, and one for Fort Knox, and then we have seven more
in the program. So we are very appreciative of the support of
the committee, and we think we are on a good path to create
increased capacity with childcare, along with incentivizing
staff, incentivizing family childcare homes, by providing
$1,000 for people getting that.
The Fee Assistance Program, that monthly will raise the fee
assistance for folks who take advantage of that, from 1,500 to
1,700. And so we are ecstatic about where we are going with
increasing the capacity for all of those.
Senator Boozman. Good. And that is a good story.
Senator Murkowski.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
And General Evans, I was glad to hear your response to
Senator Boozman's question here. Obviously housing is a key
priority, but we also need to focus on childcare, and what we
are doing to provide for our families there. The number one
item listed on the Army's unfunded priorities list is a new
multi-purpose field house, physical fitness facility.
I think we recognize, maybe it is not so apparent in a
place like Arkansas where your weather is more decent most
times of the year and we require a level of readiness, and you
can't just be out jogging when it is 40-below, and getting the
fitness training that you need without appropriate facilities.
And so I appreciate the focus and the attention that has been
made to this field house or this fitness facility.
We are all very, very targeted on what we are seeing, with
alarming rates of suicide, and we recognize that when we
provide for certain quality of life initiatives, whether it is
childcare, whether it is fitness centers, these are just not
nice to haves, this is part of what our soldiers need.
I had an opportunity at a recent SACD hearing, to hear from
the secretary as well as the chief of staff of the Army on the
importance of this particular facility up north. And I asked
the question about why this fitness facility is needed, why it
is number one on the unfunded priority list. And also I asked
about the price tag, because we sit here on the Appropriations
Committee, and it is $99 million. And that figure will get the
attention of folks. And I would like you to, for the record,
provide to this committee the reason why it is your number one
unfunded priority?
And to the issue of cost, we recognize that it is just more
expensive to build up north. But I don't want people to think
that this is some gold-plated Taj Mahal, what we are doing is
we are building a necessary facility. But I would like you to
speak to that, if you would?
General Evans. Yes, ma'am. Thank you for the question.
First of all, I had the opportunity to travel to Alaska during
the winter months with the vice chief of staff of the Army.
Senator Murkowski. It was kind of dark.
General Evans. Yes, ma'am. It is kind of dark there for a
longer period of time, and it is kind of dark here, and the
extreme weather conditions do not lend themselves to soldiers
performing physical exercise outside. The physical fitness
center gets directly to soldier resiliency, as well as fitness,
and the ability to be ready, combat ready, physical ready,
because you can perform the Army combat physical fitness test
indoors.
The price tag, ma'am, in the area cost factor is much
higher there in Alaska because only from early spring to early
fall when that is the only time that you can really conduct
construction.
We are in a planning and design phase now, and we
anticipate construction in early 2024 in completion, and we are
just ecstatic about this. This is the chief of staff's number
one priority, is that physical fitness center, because it gets
directly to our number one priority of people, and supporting
soldiers. And you mentioned the issues we have had up there,
and we think this is something that gets right at that, in
terms of resiliency and fitness for the soldiers.
Senator Murkowski. Appreciate that, and know that we are
looking forward to seeing that completion.
Let me turn to you, Lieutenant General Berry. With Eielson
Air Force Base now home to 54F-35s, where we are looking at
areas within the MILCON budget request, there is an absence, in
my view, when it comes to increased storage and coverings to
protect them from these winter climates.
You not only can't--your soldiers can't train out there--it
is tough on those airplanes, it is tough on the aircraft. We
are going to get four additional KC-135s in addition to the F-
35s, but what I am hearing is that we just don't have enough
hangars and storage to safely accommodate this influx of
aircraft and equipment.
I am told that the Air Force often uses off-base civilian
storage to rent space for large exercises when we have things
like Arctic Edge, but it is becoming more challenging, I guess
it is less reliable as the civilian companies are increasingly
utilizing their own space.
So I don't know if you can speak to whether or not the Air
Force currently has a plan to address this shortfall through
future military construction projects; if you are looking at
the issue of hangar and storage space in the Arctic and what
you can share here.
General Berry. Thank you, Senator. I will say, in the 2017
Appropriations we had $161 million to build two 16-bay weather
shelter facilities for the F-35s, those are in place. There are
another 18 parking locations indoors for F-35, and when
necessary then we can clear out some more space to make room
for another 4, which handles all of 54 of the F-35s.
So from what we see, we don't see a shortfall of storage
locations for housing F-35s indoor. If you are hearing
something different, we will probably need to go reconcile
that, and we will go back up to the folks at Eielson to make
sure we have the same site picture. But that is how we view the
situation up there at Eielson.
And we also had, in fiscal year 2020, a project to build
storage facilities for the support equipment that goes for the
F-35s as well, so that project is underway to provide some
indoor storage for those support equipment--requirements for
the F-35.
The KC-135, we will have to take a closer look and see what
that requirement will be. Those airplanes won't start arriving
right now until fiscal year 2023, so we will go back to Eielson
and make sure that we have that ground covered as well.
And then as far as Arctic Edge, I will have to get back to
you on that one. I had not heard that as a concern for off-base
storage for that particular exercise. But we will go back up
and make sure that that is--square in that corner as well.
Senator Murkowski. I appreciate that. And particularly as
it relates to the KC-135s there, and just anticipating their
arrival. But thank you for that.
Mr. Chairman, I am out of time, but I do want to just note
to Mr. Hollywood, my appreciation that this year's budget
request does include this dormitory to house 84 Guardians at
Clear Space Force Station. I think it was recognized in the
budget that this place, Clear, is one of the most strategically
important installations in our country. We know that, but we
also have to have a place to house our Guardians there at Clear
Space Force Station.
The community just doesn't have a lot of housing, and I
certainly know that, and I am sure that you do as well, so we
were pleased to see that addition.
Mr. Hollywood. Thank you for your support, Senator.
Senator Murkowski. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Boozman. Senator Hoeven.
Senator Hoeven. Are you the chairman?
Senator Murkowski. Yes.
Senator Hoeven. Are you the chairman now? I thought you
were the ranking member. When did you switch parties?
Senator Boozman. Behave.
[Laughter.]
Senator Hoeven. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
My first question is for General Evans. We expected the
Jamestown Readiness Center, which is the 817th Engineer
Company, Sapper Company. We expected that they would be in the
FYDP. Can you tell me how come they are not, and when they are
going to be?
General Evans. Thank you for the question, sir. So we
prioritize based on the Army simulators, and the top line. I
will go back to see where that project is for 2024, sir.
Senator Hoeven. Yeah. That was their number one ask, so we
need to get them in the FYDP, so I would appreciate that very
much, if you would.
General Evans. Yes, sir.
Senator Hoeven. And then also the Line of Communications
Bridge, can you tell me where you are in terms of the LOCB
training capability, are you familiar with that?
General Evans. Sir, I am not, but I can get you the answer
to that question.
Senator Hoeven. Okay; because we had included in the
Approps Bill, report language directing you to establish a
training pipeline for that program.
General Evans. Yes.
Senator Hoeven. So if you would check on that and let us
know; will you?
General Evans. Yes, sir.
Senator Hoeven. Okay. Thank you, General.
General Berry, Minot Air Force Base is the only base that
has a dual nuclear mission, both the bombers, B-52 bombers,
with the ALCM nuclear weapon, but also then the ICBMs. And so
we need a new weapons generation facility. And I guess my
question is; where are we in terms of the design, and then
getting that new facility underway?
General Berry. Yes, Senator. I think we agree with you,
there is a need for a weapons generation facility at Minot. It
is not yet in our FYDP. As we discussed, I think last year, the
complexity of this particular weapons generation facility,
having to deal with both the large missiles and the bomber,
make it a uniquely difficult program and project to design, and
then build.
So our strategy is to learn the lessons that we can learn
from the big missile bases, i.e. F.E. Warren, we have learned
some lessons in that design on blast containment and fire
suppression. Those are informing future designs so that we can
correct those and make sure that we have robust designs in the
future ones.
And then with the bomber bases such as Barksdale, again,
learning from those construction efforts as to what will be a
good design for something that gets very complex because of
Minot, which will have both missions. So we will, we will get
to it, we are committed to do a WGF at Minot but we, our
strategy is to learn those lessons first.
Senator Hoeven. Yeah. But you are you are actually moving
forward on both, so it seems to me, unless you tell me you are
going to build some--either a deficient facility for the ICBMs,
or a deficient facility for the nuclear bombers. I don't
understand why you don't use those designs and proceed with
ours.
General Berry. We are going to be----
Senator Hoeven. It seems like more of a reason to push it
back in the FYDP----
General Berry. No. Actually we are going to use those
designs to inform the Minot design, so for example----
Senator Hoeven. Starting when?
General Berry. We don't have it right now in the FY DP, so
I think we still need to mature the design on Barksdale and
Ellsworth to understand what that facility looks like and what
a good design is. So when we did F.E. Warren, as I said, we
learned some lessons there with blast suppression--I am sorry
blast containment and fire suppression that actually changed
the design at Malmstrom. And so those lessons I think are very
important for us to learn before we start putting designs
together for a complex facility like North Dakota.
Senator Hoeven. The ranking member here, now acting
chairman I guess, and I worked very hard to support the B-21,
so now you are putting weapons generation facilities in the
bases that will get the B-21, which moved them ahead of Minot
Air Force Base wherein we are reengineering the B-52 as part of
that whole process, but which will carry that same weapon
system.
Now, they are all ahead of us in terms of getting new
weapons generation facility, as well as the other missile
bases. And I keep getting these rationales that we are going to
learn from everybody else. Well, why don't we start building
something at the Minot Air Force Base and learn from the Minot
Air Force Base?
We can't be--we are the only dual nuclear base, and we are
behind everybody else, and we keep getting pushed back. That is
not acceptable.
General Berry. Senator, what I can do, is I can offer to
come talk to you, and have our team come talk to you about the
lessons that we are learning, and why we think that is a good
strategy. We would be happy to dive into those details for you.
Senator Hoeven. Let us do that.
General Berry. Okay.
Senator Hoeven. Thank you. On the Grey Wolf, I guess this
one you are progressing on, and I do thank you for that, and if
you could, please give me an update on the hangar for the Grey
Wolf helicopter?
Also, worked very hard with Senator Tester to make sure we
funded new helicopters for those missile fields, so we need a
place to house them. The current ``Hueys'' are older than the
fantastic Air Force Pilots that are flying them.
General Berry. Yes, sir. Sadly true. The facilities are
currently out for bid, and so those bids should close the end
of May for that facility. They will go through the source
selection process; we think that will be done later in the
summer. Unfortunately, I think last year I told you that we
were trying to reconcile the bids because it was coming in
higher than we thought for some of the inflationary pressures
we had----
Senator Hoeven. And we added after the first 66 million
another 5-plus million to your appropriation.
General Berry. We did, and we think we are going to be
higher than that. And we think we are going to be higher than
that. So that will drive another reprogramming much to the
inflationary pressures we are talking about.
Senator Hoeven. We will work with you to get it, but you
have got to prioritize it.
General Berry. Yeah. Sir, we will. We will absolutely
prioritize that. But we expect it to be awarded in March of
2023, and with the first helicopter coming in fiscal year 2027,
we think that is pretty good timing.
Senator Hoeven. Yes.
General Berry. But we are committed to that.
Senator Hoeven. And again, this is the only dual nuclear
base.
General Berry. Yes, sir.
Senator Hoeven. We do need some more security work on the
front gate. Which is another thing we are working with you on.
General Berry. Yes, sir. And we will continue to work with
the installation commander up there to understand those
requirements to make sure they get programmed.
Senator Hoeven. Yeah, and I think you are--yeah?
General Berry. Yes, sir.
Senator Hoeven. That being said, can I just thank all of
you, and tell you how much we appreciate you, and all you do.
You do an incredible job and we really appreciate it. Thank
you, so much for your service.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Senator Boozman. Thank you. On behalf of Chairman Heinrich
and myself, we want to thank both panels of witnesses, and the
senators who participated today, in today's hearing. I look
forward to working together on this year's appropriations to
ensure we are providing the Department Service members and
their families with the military construction, and family
housing resources that they need. And I know you all are
totally committed in that regard also.
ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS
Finally, we will keep the hearing record open for one week.
Committee members who would like to submit written questions
for the record should be able to do so by 5:00 p.m., Wednesday,
May 25th.
We appreciate the Department responding to them in a
reasonable period of time.
Questions Submitted to Mr. Paul Cramer
Questions Submitted by Senator Senator Brian Schatz
pacific deterrence initiative (pdi)
Question. Expanding our posture and sphere of influence in
INDOPACOM heavily relies on investments made in infrastructure,
responsiveness, and resilience throughout the Indo-Pacific.
How is the Department addressing the infrastructure needs in the
Indo-Pacific to address the region's scant logistical concerns and
projected force posture in a way that is responsible and assumes
climate change and environmental risk mitigation?
Answer. INDOPACOM is undertaking a review of past climate events at
its posture locations to inform how future planning for exercises,
basing, and strategies should incorporate components of resilience.
Additionally, the Department is supporting INDOPACOM in its development
of design criteria that address the twin challenges of reducing the
risks of climate change and utilizing local materials and techniques.
defense community resilience
Question. Our military and civilian communities are becoming
increasingly integrated and dependent on each other. According to the
Pentagon, there are over 4,000 military installations in the U.S., most
of which are surrounded by local communities that are tightly linked to
their military neighbors. These ``defense communities'' have a close
civil-military connection that presents both challenges and
opportunities for local governments and stakeholders. The military are
trained and equipped to assist in community resiliency, further
cultivating and building upon defense community partnerships.
Would it benefit defense communities to conduct vulnerability
assessments with local stakeholders to determine the current and
projected risks to military and surrounding community infrastructure
that could affect installation resilience?
Answer. Recognizing the importance of partnering with the States
and communities that support our installations, the Department works to
ensure that vulnerability assessments and response actions leverage the
expertise of local public and private civilian stakeholders, consider
the economic and environmental comparative advantages of options,
embrace an actionable plan, and continue to work together to address
the risks appropriately. The Office of Local Defense Community
Cooperation provides assistance to civilian jurisdictions to enable
them to work closely with installations to undertake and respond these
assessments.
Question. Does DoD share projections and vulnerability models with
state, Tribal, and local officials?
Answer. Yes, to the extent possible, DoD shares with the
neighboring jurisdiction working with the installation.
red hill
Question. It has been brought to my staff's attention that 8-10
percent of the $1 billion president's budget request for Red Hill will
supposedly be going to RDT&E. Which DoD directorate will serve as the
lead to manage this account?
Answer. The Department of Defense is still developing plans for the
permanent closure of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility (RHBFSF).
Specific costs and the appropriate accounts are not yet known for (1)
permanently closing RHBFSF, (2) conducting any and all necessary
environmental remediation around the facility, or (3) any other
associated longer term activities.
The management of the Red Hill Recovery Fund requested in the
fiscal Year2023 President's Budget will require an integrated approach
across the Department. The Department is in the early stages of
planning the complex, multi-step process to defuel and permanently
close the RHBFSF. The Department's plan for permanent closure is due to
the Hawaii State Department of Health in November 2022. The Department
expects that in the next few months, it will begin to have a better
understanding about the costs associated with the longer-term
requirements, including which components will be responsible for
meeting such requirements. The Department will provide a spend plan to
the committees by September of 2022. To the extent the Department has
reasonably reliable information on long-term costs by that time, the
Department will incorporate that information into the spend plan
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Bill Hagerty
Question. The National Defense Strategy States that the Chinese
Communist Party wants to shape a world consistent with its
authoritarian model-gaining veto authority over the economic,
diplomatic, and security decisions of other nations.
Each day the Chinese Communist Party is strengthening its military-
posing an ever-incurring threat to the United States and our allies.
That is why military posture of the United States and our allies in the
Indo-Pacific region is more important than ever. As the former U.S.
Ambassador to Japan, I worked with U.S. Forces in Japan, Indo-Pacific
Command, and the Japanese Government to strengthen our military
coordination.
Can you describe the strategic environment of the Indo-Pacific
today?
Answer. The Indo-Pacific area of operations is characterized by
strategic competition with our pacing challenge, China. The tyranny of
distance poses an especially significant challenge to our efforts to
counter Chinese influence in the region, as it places a heavy burden on
the infrastructure necessary to deploy and operate in a contested
environment.
Question. Which aspects of the Chinese military concerns you the
most?
Answer. China recognizes the strengths of our power projection and
sustainment, and possesses long-range weapons, significant anti-access/
area-denial (A2/AD) systems, and substantial cyber capabilities to
disrupt our operations in the Indo-Pacific AOR. I am concerned with the
Chinese military's continued development of these capabilities, as they
threaten both our installations and operations in the region, as well
as the energy and logistics infrastructure that support them.
Question. How should the United States address these concerns?
Answer. The United States must ensure that its installations,
operational forces, and supporting infrastructure can operate in
contested or degraded environments, regardless of the origin of the
threat. Therefore, the Department must build resilience against the
full range of man-made and natural threats through efforts such as:
building microgrids to mitigate disruptions to the power grid;
increasing the range and endurance of platforms to reduce operational
energy demand and risk; and improving the cybersecurity of Facility
Related Control Systems.
Question. Tennessee plays a vital role in the development of our
country's hypersonic systems. Tullahoma, Tennessee is home to the
Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC), a hypersonics testing
complex critical to the success of U.S. efforts to rapidly field
hypersonic systems.
On May 18, 2022, I meet with representatives of the Arnold
community and they told me the two most critical areas Congress must
invest in to meet our goals to develop hypersonics are testing
infrastructure and workforce development.
They also tell me, increased activity in hypersonic systems has
resulted in a very high-test tempo for these test capabilities and
there is no single test cell or single wind tunnel that can fully
duplicate all the key parameters of hypersonic flight simultaneously.
How would you characterize the state of our current hypersonics
testing infrastructure?
Answer. The Department's infrastructure can adequately support the
testing of current hypersonic prototypes; however, additional
investment may be needed to meet future hypersonic acquisition program
and operational test requirements along with the accelerated
prototyping program schedules. For hypersonics testing infrastructure,
the Department forecasts that aerodynamic wind test facilities demand
will increase up to three times current throughput, aeroshell test
facilities demand will increase up to five times current throughput,
and long-range flight testing demand will increase up to three times
the current throughput. Anticipated hypersonic test infrastructure
shortfalls will be amplified by concurrent and overlapping test
infrastructure requirements for strategic systems (nuclear
modernization) and missile defense further reinforcing the need to
assess and plan for capacity requirements moving forward.
Question. What are the limiting factors in modernizing our existing
facilities to meet the demand of today's testing operational tempo?
Answer. Several factors limit modernizing existing hypersonic
facilities to meet the demand of today's testing operational tempo,
including limited downtime due to program schedules, limited
availability of core infrastructure, substantial security requirements,
and existing scheduled maintenance. Most significantly, modernizing an
existing facility reduces testing throughput by taking the facility
offline in order to accomplish upgrades and delays the schedule for
accelerated programs requiring facility use. Hypersonics testing
requires extensive core infrastructure (high- pressure air, cooling
water, electrical power, and vacuum) which may not fit in the available
footprint of the existing facility. Building new facilities, provides
the opportunity to incorporate additional core infrastructure for
hypersonics and to optimally design the facility to satisfy security
requirements and enable concurrent testing of highly classified
hypersonic systems, with minimal downtime for scheduled maintenance.
Question. With the increased demand for testing, does the U.S.
require additional testing facilities, to include wind tunnels or
investments in our existing infrastructure?
Answer. Future testing requirements may require additional U.S.
hypersonics testing facilities. To support testing across the
hypersonic spectrum, the Department has prioritized investments to
ensure the most critical hypersonic capability and throughput needs are
met to include the development of new facilities, upgrade of existing
facilities, and reactivation of mothballed facilities. Investments in
additional hypersonic test facilities include: development of new
aeroshell test facilities at Arnold Engineering Development Complex
(AEDC) in Tullahoma, TN and at CUBRC in Buffalo, NY; development of a
new propulsion hypersonic ground test facility at AEDC in Tullahoma,
TN; reactivation of a mothballed propulsion hypersonic ground test
facility at NASA Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, OH; and
restoration of the Holloman High Speed Test Track at Holloman AFB, NM.
These investments enhance infrastructure to support test demand for
hypersonic system development.
______
Questions Submitted to VADM Ricky Williamson
Questions Submitted by Senator Brian Schatz
red hill
Question. The Navy waived its right to contest the most recent
Hawaii DOH-issued emergency order on the defueling and closure of the
Red Hill storage facility. The DOH emergency order requires the Navy to
provide a plan to defuel by June 30th and a plan for closure by
November 1st.
How does the Navy plan to comply with the emergency order without
an appropriate cost estimate?
Answer. The superseding Emergency Order allows the Navy to provide
its plans in two parts: a defueling plan that was submitted on 30 June
and a tank closure plan due in November 2022. The DoD Defueling Plan
submitted to the Hawaii Department of Health includes five phases; the
Navy and Defense Logistics Agency are currently in Phase 2 of that
plan, which is the planning/cost estimation phase. The ASD A&S has
committed to providing a spend plan for defueling costs to Congress in
September. The Secretary of Defense also decided to stand up a Joint
Task Force for defueling; the JTF will be led by a senior Navy Flag
Officer that will report to the Secretary of Defense via INDOPACOM. The
JTF will execute the funds, the majority of which will flow through the
Defense Logistics Agency rather than the Navy.
Question. As the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Fleet
Readiness and Logistics, how does Secretary Austin's assessment on the
redistribution of the Red Hill fuel reserve best support the Warfighter
and do you agree with his assessment?
Answer. With the Secretary's decision to stand up a Joint Task
Force to oversee the defueling action, Secretary Austin has made it
clear that defueling of Red Hill and distribution of fuel in the
INDOPACOM area of responsibility are very high priorities. The Navy
supports the Secretary's decision.
Question. It has been brought to my staff's attention that 8-10
percent of the $1billion president's budget request for Red Hill will
supposedly be going to RDT&E. Which DoD directorate will serve as the
lead to manage this account?
Answer. Please redirect this question to OSD Comptroller, as the
funding line in the President's Budget Request is an OSD line.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Marco Rubio
Question. According to recent reporting, junior sailors at Naval
Air Station Key West (NASKW) are struggling to find housing
accommodations due to the closure of two of the base's barracks, high
prices for off base housing, and scarcity of available units.
How much advance notice did NASKW give its sailors living in the
barracks that they would have to move out during the enlisted barracks
renovation?
Answer. Late January 2022, Installation leadership and
Unaccompanied Housing (UH) staff began notifying residents of the
upcoming renovation project and indicating the Unaccompanied Housing
facilities would close in May 2022. Communications continued with
residents and leadership of tenant commands throughout the process via
town halls, command leadership meetings, flyers, and personal
interactions with residents until actual closure occurred on 1 June
2022.
Question. What plans were in place prior to the closure of the two
base barracks to help sailors find housing?
Answer. The Installation Housing Service Center instituted a
roommate program with either residents selecting roommates or being
included in a roommate-matching program. Navy Housing Service Center
provided lists of available rentals in the community as well as options
for installation housing through the Public Private Venture (PPV)
partner.
When initial notification of the UH closure was provided, 60
Sailors were residing in the facilities. 41 Sailors took immediate
action and found suitable housing in the community, 17 of which took
advantage of PPV housing. 19 Sailors remained in the UH facility in the
beginning of May. Of those 19, two enacted Permanent Change of Station
(PCS) orders, two returned to their USCG vessels, 10 moved into the
local community and five will take advantage of the vacation rentals.
Question. How long will the renovations take? What is the expected
date of return into the barracks?
Answer. Renovations are expected to take 18--24 months with the
building being returned for service in Fiscal Year 2024.
Question. Will the renovated barracks be able to house the same
number of enlisted members who lived there prior to the renovation?
Answer. Yes, the building previously and will continue to house 60
sailors after renovation is complete.
Question. For sailors having found other temporary housing, how
many used the trailers intended as ``vacation rental units?''
Answer. Five Sailors will take advantage of the vacation rentals.
Vacation rentals were delayed for occupancy until 1 July 2022. Those
Sailors are currently staying in Navy Gateway Inns and Suites.
Question. How much time will elapse from the point a sailor applies
for the ``partial dislocation allowance'' until it is paid to the
sailor?
Answer. The average time to process the partial DLA was 3--5 days
per Sailor. One Sailor needed to resubmit the request per the
processing administrative office.
Question. Is it a one-time payment?
Answer. Yes.
Question. Is it a set payment amount or does it vary depending a
sailor's rank?
Answer.. Set amount of $840.07 to help offset costs associated with
moving into a new residence, such as security deposits or advances.
Question. How is the Navy notifying incoming sailors who are coming
to NASKW with Permanent Change of Station (PCS) orders about the
barrack shutdown and the need to find alternate living arrangements?
Answer. NAS Key West is working closely with all the tenant
commands to modify the command's Welcome Aboard information and ensure
sponsors are aware of the barracks closure during renovations. Welcome
Aboard packages will include instructions on how to apply for Basic
Allowance for Housing (BAH) and detail all housing options available on
and off the installation. The packets will also include information on
the roommate program and contact information for the Navy Housing
Service Center.
Question. Is it true that the sailors PCSing to NASKW are not
eligible for the partial dislocation allowance?
Answer. Yes, that is correct. Only Sailors dislocated from barracks
were eligible for the partial dislocation allowance. PCSing personnel
are authorized Temporary Lodging Expense (TLE), a 10-day allowance to
cover costs while securing permanent arrangements.
Question. What is the minimum time onboard NASKW or other Navy
facility before a sailor is eligible for the partial dislocation
allowance?
Answer. All Sailors that were residing in barracks after 27 April
22 were authorized, regardless of time onboard.
Question. Are there any other Navy installations in Florida where
sailors are or will have to relocate to temporary housing due to
barracks renovations now or through the end of the year?
Answer. There are no other Navy installations in Florida where this
will occur now or through the end of year.
Question. If so:
How many Sailors are impacted?
When will they be notified?
When will the renovations start?
How long will they be displaced to other housing?
Answer. N/A
______
Questions Submitted to Lt. Gen. Edward Banta
Questions Submitted by Senator Bill Hagerty
united states marine corps from
Question. The National Defense Strategy States that the Chinese
Communist Party wants to shape a world consistent with its
authoritarian model-gaining veto authority over the economic,
diplomatic, and security decisions of other nations.
Each day the Chinese Communist Party is strengthening its military-
posing an ever-incurring threat to the United States and our allies.
That is why military posture of the United States and our allies in the
Indo-Pacific region is more important than ever. As the former U.S.
Ambassador to Japan, I worked with U.S. Forces in Japan, Indo-Pacific
Command, and the Japanese Government to strengthen our military
coordination.
Can you describe the strategic environment of the Indo-Pacific
today?
Answer. The current strategic environment of the Indo-Pacific
theater is a complex system of systems where both nation States and
non-state actors are competing for ever-diminishing natural resources.
This is occurring while we see the People's Republic of China (PRC)
continuing to rapidly modernize in order to challenge the current order
in an attempt to ensure that it benefits the PRC's continued global
rise.
Question. Which aspects of the Chinese military concerns you the
most?
Answer. The People's Liberation Army (PLA's) rapid modernization,
including investment in new capabilities and greater capacities are
very concerning. More concerning than PLA modernization alone is how
the PRC views and leverages all instruments of national power to
achieve its ends.
While the U.S. separates conflict from competition, viewing those
as discrete events handled by different government agencies, the PRC is
willing and able to use all instruments to wage war. This directly
challenges the U.S. way of war, with kinetic and non-kinetic effects
that can contest the homeland and deter U.S., allies' and partners'
intervention.
Question. How should the United States address these concerns?
Answer. While PLA increased modernization and aggressive actions
represent a formidable adversary for current and future policy makers,
we also have systemic tools which will both give the PRC pause and
blunt future global growth and influence. A coherent, whole of
government approach to align and coordinate efforts across the
government agencies would facilitate integrated deterrence and build
the connections needed to rapidly respond to PRC malign actions. While
the PRC also now has a global reach, and significant soft power through
both official government channels and state- owned enterprises, the US
has a network of allies and likeminded partners to counter the PRC's
transactional, bilateral approach. This network, buttressed by codified
agreements and military presence, supports legitimacy of action and
forces the PRC to contend with multiple stakeholders contesting their
malign actions.
______
Questions Submitted to LTG Jason Evans
Questions Submitted by Senator Senator Brian Schatz
hawaii installation investments
Question. The Hawaii Infrastructure Readiness Initiative (HIRI) is
the Army's $2.6 billion 30-year plan to improve readiness and
addressing critical shortfalls in facilities on Hawaii, including at
Schofield Barracks, Fort Shafter, and Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA).
This year's Presidential Budget Request (PBR) does not include any
funding for critical infrastructure improvements in Hawaii; however, a
2018 MOU formalized a commitment to provide at least $100 million in
annual funding to address a backlog of infrastructure needs for the
Army in Hawaii. HIRI requires high-level attention and vigilance from
USARPAC to ensure the Army does not delay projects, including planning
and design funds.
Given the importance of the Indo-Pacific, particularly in a
changing threat environment, why were there no funds requested in the
PBR? Does that reflect the prioritization the Army places on critical
infrastructure in Hawaii?
Answer. The Army recognizes the original HIRI program outlined in
the 2018 MOU was to execute $1.02B over 10 years. The Army also
recognizes the importance of continued facility investment in the Indo-
Pacific Region. While constrained top lines and competing facility
priorities prevented the Army from making any investments in Hawaii in
Fiscal Year 2023, the Army plans to invest $1.37B in the Indo-Pacific
through the FY23-27 Future Years Defense Program, $575M of which is
planned for projects in Hawaii. including two projects upgrading water
distribution systems, two projects for training range modernization,
and $496M towards projects that were identified in the Hawaii
Infrastructure Readiness Initiative.
Question. My office was recently informed about the substandard
training and living conditions for Federal firefighters at PTA. How is
the Army addressing these concerns and when can we expect suitable
living conditions for Federal fire fighters on PTA? Does the Army have
a named project and budget estimate to upgrade existing--or construct
new--facilities at PTA?
Answer. The Army is aware of the substandard facility conditions of
its Operational Readiness Training Complex at the Pohakuloa Training
Area (PTA) in Hawaii and the U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii. A staff
assistance visit is being conducted to identify areas for improvement,
share best practices, and provide recommendations. The team will also
look at staffing, equipping, maintenance, current living quarters, the
new firefighting facility currently under renovation, and will speak
with members of the PTA Fire team. Once the visit is complete, I
understand that USAG-Hawaii will prioritize recommendations from the
visit requiring funding.
Question. What risk is the Army assuming by allowing the Pacific's
land force to train, live, and work in substandard facilities?
Answer. The Army is aware of the substandard facility conditions of
its Operational Readiness Training Complex at the Pohakuloa Training
Area (PTA) in Hawaii and the U.S. Army Garrison. Hawaii is conducting a
staff assistance visit to identify areas for improvement, share best
practices, and provide recommendations. Our focus is on facilities with
a poor/failing rating, which includes, U.S Army Kwajalein Atoll and
U.S. Garrison Hawaii. Our current projected Restoration and
Modernization costs to bring these facilities at these garrisons up to
100 percent is approximately $3.8B.
Question. Will you commit to reengaging and reprioritizing HIRI so
we can avoid any long-term impacts to readiness as DoD prioritizes
Hawaii's role in the Pacific Deterrence Initiative?
Answer. The Army will continue to address the former Hawaii
Infrastructure Readiness Initiative (HIRI) projects as priority
facility investments, in consideration of the Army's overall facility
requirements. The Army plans to invest $1.37B in the Indo-Pacific
through the FY23-27 Future Years Defense Program, $496M of which
support projects that were identified in HIRI. All of these investments
promote force readiness under the Pacific Deterrence Initiative.
Question. What is the Army doing at Schofield Barracks, Fort
Shafter, and PTA to mitigate the effects of climate change to buildings
and family housing to effectively manage the future costs associated in
maintaining a degraded infrastructure?
Answer. The Army uses the DoD Climate Assessment Tool to understand
an installations' vulnerability to climate-related hazards. Using the
Climate Assessment Tool as part of a comprehensive analysis will help
the Army determine where best to apply resources to improve climate
adaptation and resiliency for facilities in Hawaii (e.g. Schofield
Barracks, Fort Shafter, and PTA) to mitigate the effects of climate
change to buildings and family housing.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Mitch McConnell
housing at kentucky's military installations
Question. Fort Knox is currently investing in renovating the
installation's junior enlisted housing and building new general/flag
officer quarters and four bedroom homes. Please provide an update on
these housing projects, including an estimated timeline for completion.
Answer. Over the next 5 years, Lendlease will fund and construct
four (4) new homes, renovate more than 1,600 homes, and replace more
than 500 roofs at its Fort Knox MHPI project. Lendlease has completed
400 renovations and over 200 roofs to date. Target completion date for
all development/construction work in 2025.
The construction of 50 new 4-bedroom homes as well as the GFOQ
homes are on hold pending a final determination regarding the
stationing of V Corps command headquarters.
Question. Fort Campbell is currently in a partnership with
Lendlease to renovate more than 1,100 junior enlisted homes. However,
it is my understanding that the installation will still have more than
1,800 legacy homes at the end of this project. What is Army's plan for
renovating or replacing all legacy homes in Fort Campbell's inventory?
Answer. The Army and Lendlease are in a privatized housing
partnership at Fort Campbell. The Army will not invest any funding in
the homes at Fort Campbell; instead, the Army has approved Lendlease's
plan to demo/replace up to 680 homes and complete Major Renovations on
an additional 444 homes at Fort Campbell through 2026. Upon completion
of the work there will be an estimated 1,500 legacy homes remaining.
All Army echelons are working with Lendlease on a strategy to continue
to either replace or renovate the remaining legacy homes at Fort
Campbell after 2026.
Question. The Fiscal Year 2022 omnibus appropriations bill provided
additional funding to increase the pace of renovating Fort Campbell's
1970's Volunteer Army (VOLAR) era barracks. What is Army's updated
timeline for renovating all remaining VOLAR barracks at Fort Campbell
to ensure the installation can provide updated housing for the 1st
Brigade Combat Team, a key readiness and retention issue?
Answer. There are 17 VOLAR barracks at Fort Campbell that require
renovation. However, not all of the barracks can be renovated at the
same time due to a lack of temporary space to house Soldiers whose
buildings are being renovated. Renovation projects for two barracks
were awarded in fiscal Year 2021 (in progress); and renovation projects
for three more barracks are scheduled for award in fiscal Year 2022.
The remaining 12 barracks are scheduled for renovation from fiscal Year
2023 to fiscal Year 2029.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Marco Rubio
Question. I continue to hear from operators from the 7th Special
Forces Group stationed at Camp Bull Simons at Eglin Air Force Base
about how the lack of child care has impacted readiness and quality of
life at the base. With traffic, service members have to drive three
hours every day to access a childcare facility, and while the
conversations with a potential provider have been encouraging, I still
have several concerns.
--Can the Army ensure that any new child care facility for 7th Group
operators will consider the accurate need at the facility
specifically for all of the children of 7th group operators?
--How is the Army working with operators and their families to ensure
that their voices are heard in the process, including potential
concerns over distance from the 7th Group compound,
affordability, and accessibility?
Answer. The Army continues to work with the Air Force to address
childcare needs to support the 7th Special Forces Group and the
population that lives north of the main post of Eglin Air Force Base
main post.
The Air Force is working with the Army to pursue an agreement with
two private providers to construct a child development center in
Crestview for 300 child care spaces for military families. These spaces
will be eligible for Army Fee Assistance. 7th SFG families would pay
the same fee that they would using an installation child care center.
Should these providers not meet the Army's child care requirements,
the Army plans to fund the construction of a Child Development Center
in FY25 to serve the tenant Army population at Eglin AFB should
suitable installation land be identified.
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Bill Hagerty
Question. The Fiscal Year 2023 President' Budget Request cuts Army
military construction by 39% compared to what Congress provided in
Fiscal Year 2022. The Army also transmitted to Congress a $1.4 billion
``unfunded requirements list'' for Army military construction. These
are just priority unfunded requirements, which I will note do not
include World War II-era barracks or the 46-year-old Aircraft Control
Tower at Fort Campbell.
At the same time, the U.S. is facing historic inflation, I am told
that military construction is facing even higher inflation, about 22%.
Lieutenant General Evans, can you describe how this ``unfunded
priorities list'' is formulated? And how a project moves onto or off
the list?
Answer. Each component reviewed its highest priority facility
requirements that were not included in the President's Budget
Submission. These projects were further evaluated to ensure that they
supported the Army's top priorities of People, Readiness and
Modernization.
Question. Additionally, can you discuss what the risks will be if
Congress does not address these requirements that the President's
budget neglects.
Answer. If not funded the Army will be delayed in getting these
priority facilities constructed. Omission in this President's budget
could potentially delay construction starts to FY25 and beyond.
______
Questions Submitted to Lt. Gen. Warren Berry
Questions Submitted by Senator Marco Rubio
Question. As you are aware, in March 2021, the Air Force announced
that Tyndall Air Force Base would be the official location to host
three new squadrons of F-35s. Yet, in recent testimony to the House
Armed Services Committee, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall's stated
that the plans for the F-35s are currently on hold due to maintainers
who would be needed to support the aircraft being tied up supporting A-
10 warthogs.
Can you confirm the Air Force will continue all planned military
construction at Tyndall to ensure the base becomes the ``base of the
future,'' and that the F-35s are able to arrive at Tyndall without
issue?
Answer. The Air Force continues to execute all planned military
construction at Tyndall Air Force Base to include the beddown of the F-
35 mission. We remain on track for the first F-35 aircraft arrival in
late September 2023 using temporary facilities while construction of
permanent facilities, awarded in May 2022, continues.
Question. What workforce challenges does the current need for the
A-10s present for the F-35s both now and in the long term, and what is
the Air Force doing to address this situation?
Answer. The A-10 divestment restrictions have put pressure on the
Air Force's already strained maintenance and pilot manpower. As such,
the Air Force will be challenged to find the experienced personnel
needed to stand up the first of the three squadrons at Tyndall AFB on
the originally planned timeline. Until the Air Force can source
personnel required for the three combat-coded squadrons planned for
Tyndall AFB, the Air Force may need to accept risk and take experienced
pilots and maintainers from other currently operating F-35 locations,
leaving them undermanned. As we continue to work through the barriers
of legislative divestment restrictions, we believe we are on path to a
solution for the first squadron at Tyndall. We are committed to meeting
the September 2023 date for the first aircraft, as we continue
exploring solutions for the second and third squadrons.
More details regarding F-35 manpower and MILCON at Tyndall AFB are
addressed in the following article: Insinna, VI, (2022, 14 June) As
Tyndall Tries to Rebound, A-10 Fight Prompts F-35 Maintainer Shortfall,
'Significant Risk ', Breaking Defense: https://breakingdefense.com/
2022/06/as-tyndall-tries-to-rebound-a-10-fight-prompts-f-35-
maintainer-shortfall-significant-risk/
______
Questions Submitted by Senator Bill Hagerty
Question. Tennessee plays a vital role in the development of our
country's hypersonic systems. Tullahoma, Tennessee is home to the
Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC), a hypersonics testing
complex critical to the success of U.S. efforts to rapidly field
hypersonic systems.
On May 18, 2022, I meet with representatives of the Arnold
community and they told me the two most critical areas Congress must
invest in to meet our goals to develop hypersonics are testing
infrastructure and workforce development.
They also tell me, increased activity in hypersonic systems has
resulted in a very high-test tempo for these test capabilities and
there is no single test cell or single wind tunnel that can fully
duplicate all the key parameters of hypersonic flight simultaneously.
How would you characterize the state of our current hypersonics
testing infrastructure?
Answer. The AF recognizes the criticality of hypersonic test
infrastructure investment and accordingly, with support from the Office
of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) Test Resource Management Center
(TRMC), is making significant investments to include open air range
test capability (Edwards AFB), high-speed test track capabilities
(Holloman AFB) and high-temperature test facilities (Arnold Air Force
Base).
Question. What are the limiting factors in modernizing our existing
facilities to meet the demand of today's testing operational tempo?
Answer. Currently, the AF, in conjunction with the Office of the
Secretary of Defense (OSD) Test Resource Management Center (TRMC), is
addressing throughput limitations of our hypersonic ground test
facilities via the development of a new thermal protection test
facility, Dragon Fire, as well as planned improvements to other
hypersonic wind tunnels and a hypersonic high speed test track.
Question. With the increased demand for testing, does the U.S.
require additional testing facilities, to include wind tunnels or
investments in our existing infrastructure?
Answer. OSD/TRMC has created an extensive hypersonic investment
roadmap and has determined that the AF has the appropriate number of
wind tunnels.OSD/TRMC, as the lead for all Department of Defense
hypersonic investment, is in the best position to address the
Department's plans for additional testing facilities.
SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS
Senator Boozman. And again, thank you, all very much for
being here. Thank you for all you represent.
[Whereupon, at 5:15 p.m., Wednesday, May 18, the hearing
was adjourned, and the subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene
at a time subject to the call of the Chair.]