[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 21, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1899]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         THE SOUTHWEST DEFENSE COMPLEX AND MILITARY SUPERIORITY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. WILLIAM M. THOMAS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 21, 1999

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, I hope our House colleagues will support the 
Southwest Defense Complex, a proposal to consolidate defense research, 
development, testing, evaluation, and training in the Southwest United 
States. This proposal would link as many as 12 bases in 5 states 
(California, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona) to work to ensure 
our armed forces' technical superiority. Moreover, at a time of 
diminishing defense budgets, we must enhance the performance of 
military weaponry at lower costs. The consolidation of defense 
resources made possible by the Complex will help the Department of 
Defense achieve optimum use of its facilities.
  The threats to our national security around the world are rapidly 
changing, unpredictable, but extremely dangerous. Americans in uniform 
are clearly going to need accurate and secure information systems, and 
high impact weapons with extreme precision. We need to develop new 
systems to meet the challenges of warfare in the 21st century to remain 
the best military in the world. Yet, conflicting demands and competing 
interests for dwindling defense dollars has spurred inefficiencies in 
military research, development, training, and evaluation that threaten 
our long-term combat readiness. The Complex proposal offers a strategy 
of consolidation that is cost-effective and affordable and most 
important, allows us to redirect needed funds to military needs.
  The objective of the Southwest Defense Complex is to remedy the 
inefficiencies that hinder Department of Defense research, development, 
testing, and evaluation programs from strengthening our military 
superiority. The Department of Defense currently spends $80 billion 
annually to maintain an inefficient defense logistic infrastructure. 
Each service maintains facilities that are expensive and perform 
redundant capabilities with little regard for cost-efficient 
coordinated investment.
  Underutilized and non-competitive infrastructure must be eliminated 
if we are to get the maximum value for our defense dollars. We must 
equip our soldiers with the right equipment to protect our national 
security and deter any potential threats. It is our research and 
training infrastructure that ensures that our armed forces are strong.
  The advantages of the Southwest Defense Complex are numerous. First, 
bases in the Southwest United States are already becoming 
electronically linked and a number of them cooperate in solving 
problems and using facilities. In fact, western research and training 
facilities are already cooperating on sharing optical sensors between 
the Navy and Air Force for aircraft tracking devices, testing the 
weaponry of the F-15 at Edwards Air Force Base against drones at the 
Navy's Pt. Mugu range, and developing the Global Positioning Systems 
with shared information from all western facilities. Second, it is the 
only area in the U.S. where advanced technology can be used and tested 
in a realistic, high fidelity environment with minimal impact upon the 
general population. Third, the area provides ideal weather conditions 
for testing and training operations largely free of commercial 
activity. Fourth, the Southwest provides the physical space necessary 
for the testing and training that uses advanced technology. It is a 
region that offers 335 million acres of federally owned land. Over 490 
thousand square miles of air space; and 484 thousand square miles of 
sea that can be used for training personnel. No other area in the 
country can offer these benefits.
  The Southwest is a critical area to develop a stronger defense for 
our nation. The coordination of western facilities can allow for an 
effective and streamlined system to replace the status quo. The land, 
air and sea ranges available in the west will permit new technology to 
be developed, tested in the field, improved in the lab, and evaluated 
in a combat simulated environment. The most cost-effective way to test 
and adapt commercial technology for military purposes is to have 
facilities in the vicinity of where the field tests were held.
  The Department of Defense has taken the first step in changing the 
way it researches, develops, and tests new technologies and trains 
personnel with the recommendation of the Western Test Range Command. 
The next step should be creation of the Southwest Defense Complex. Such 
a complex can provide long-term solutions to current military 
inefficiencies to develop, test, and deploy new weapon systems. I urge 
my colleagues to join me in supporting the Southwest Defense Complex to 
strengthen our national security in the future.

                          ____________________