BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
JEFF DENHAM, CHAIRMAN
Bill No: SB 1386
Author: Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee
Version: As Introduced
Hearing Date: April 13, 2010
Fiscal: Yes
Consultant: Donald E. Wilson
SUBJECT OF BILL
Inventory of California's military assets.
PROPOSED LAW
1. Conduct an inventory of California's "military
resources" including personnel.
2. Report to the legislature the results of the
inventory.
EXISTING LAW AND BACKGROUND
1. The United States of America has traditionally
reduced the strength and number of its armed forces
after major conflicts. After the revolution and the
passage of the Articles of Confederation the
government was unable to combat insurrections such as
the Whiskey Rebellion.
2. The United States found itself in a similarly
precarious position when it entered into World War I.
In spite of an increase in military strength in
response to Pancho Villa's 1916 invasion of the United
States the Army, including National Guard units,
numbered fewer than 200,000 troops.
3. After reducing its stock of conventional weapons at
the end of World War II the United States found itself
unable to respond to emergencies unless it wanted to
rely on the nuclear option.
4. At the end of the Cold War the United States
continued its tradition of reducing its military
readiness and created the Base Realignment and Closure
Commission (BRAC).
5. Under the auspices of objectivity Congress gave up
its responsibility to represent the people and created
the BRAC commission of political appointees to make
base closure decisions. The people could not hold the
commission accountable since it was composed of
appointees rather than elected representatives.
6. In the end Congress had to vote up or down on the
list in its entirety without any amendments, which
minimized representative input.
7. There have been five rounds of BRAC closures: 1988,
1991, 1993, 1995, and 2005.
8. The 1988 round of closures was prior to the end of
the Cold War and closed mainly unused bases such as
the Presidio of San Francisco and Hamilton AFB in
Novato; small training bases such as Chanute AFB in
Chicago; and duplicative bases such as Jefferson
proving grounds in Indiana.
9. Subsequent BRAC rounds hammered California taking
front line bases such as Atwater's Castle AFB,
Sacramento's Mather AFB (the Air Force's Navigation
School) & McClellan AFB (one of only four air
logistics centers in the Air Force), as well as the
Long Beach Naval Shipyard, Naval Air Station Alameda,
the Marine Corps Air Station at Tustin, Mare Island
Naval Ship Yard in Vallejo, and Fort Ord in Monterey
County. Many other smaller bases were also closed.
10. California lost over two dozen military
installations in the first four BRAC rounds for an
average of over six closures per round.
11. Military retirees often pay the price
when they can no longer access certain benefits such
as commissary or pharmacy privileges due to the
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scarcity of a nearby base.
12. Base conversion to civilian use has
fallen far short of hoped for results.
13. Closed military facilities have much
unused land as a result of false expectations for
conversion.
14. Existing law establishes the National
Guard as a unit of the active state militia. Military
and Veterans' Code (MVC) section 120.
15. In return for being able to activate the
National Guard for Federal Government operations the
Federal Government pays for almost all of the costs
associated with keeping the guard component active.
16. The National Guard can be activated to
Federal Service under United States Code (U.S.C.)
Title 10.
17. The National Guard can be activated to
state service under U.S.C. Title 32.
18. Recent changes now also allow the
Federal Government to activate the guard under U.S.C.
Title 32 for state or regional emergencies such as
Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.
COMMENT
1. In spite of several historical examples to learn
from, Congress has continued its short-sighted
approach of haphazardly cutting forces with the end of
the Cold War.
2. There are rumors in Washington D.C. of another BRAC
round in the near future. California should not be
caught off guard if this happens and should be aware
of its military assets.
3. The BRAC appointees are commissioned to look at
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efficiency and dollars rather than the protection of
California and the sovereignty of the United States of
America. E.g.- Efficiency would tell one to close as
many bases as possible to cut down on overhead.
However strategy would tell a country to abide by the
maxim of not putting all of one's eggs in a single
basket. Strategy would tell a country to diversify
its assets over many bases to prevent one major strike
from crippling a regional force such as what happened
to the United States Navy in the attack at Pearl
Harbor.
4. California was hit especially hard by previous
rounds of BRAC closures and should be prepared to
defend its bases against more short-sighted
recommendations from unelected and unaccountable
appointees who cannot be held accountable by the
people of the United States of America.
5. An inventory of military assets could also be
useful in setting up different veterans' programs for
returning veterans. E.g.-There was a hospital at the
former March AFB that could have been used for a PTSD
treatment center or any number of programs to serve
veterans. Now that base is under the control of
another entity. The state could have asked for the
facility as part of the negotiating with the Federal
Government. Such an inventory would allow the state
or volunteer organizations to start serving veterans
immediately without requiring capital construction
costs.
6. An inventory of "military resources" also would
allow California to facilitate the federal Veterans'
Affairs Department to maximize available federal
funding to provide services and support for veterans.
7. RECOMMENDED AMENDMENTS -
a) include a consultation with the Military
Department on the inventory
b) Have the California Department of
Veterans' Affairs complete the study by January
1, 2012.
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c) Have the completed report to the
legislature by June 30, 2012.
d) Define more precisely the meaning of
assets in order to remove any overbroad or
ambiguous definition from not giving the intended
results of the bill. E.g. - For the purposes of
this inventory, "military and veteran resources"
includes, but is not limited to the following:
Federal active and reserve
component military units and installations,
which currently are operational, and
unclassified descriptions of their potential
to support the goals of this inventory;
State active and reserve component
military units and installations, which
currently are operational, and unclassified
descriptions of their potential to support the
goals of this inventory;
Military installations previously
closed under the Base Closure and Realignment
process, and their potential to support the
goals of this inventory;
Federal government veterans
resources, including, but not limited to,
veterans homes, hospitals, clinics,
post-traumatic stress syndrome and other
counseling services, and employment
assistance;
State government veterans
resources, including, but not limited to,
veterans homes, hospitals, clinics,
post-traumatic stress syndrome and other
counseling services, and employment
assistance;
Other resources, as may be
designated within a resolution passed by both
houses of the Legislature.
SUPPORT:
American Legion, Department of California
AMVETS, Department of California
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Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council
OPPOSE:
None received
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