STATEMENT BY
MR. GEOFFREY G. PROSCH
ACTING ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE ARMY
(INSTALLATIONS AND ENVIRONMENT)
AND
MAJOR GENERAL LARRY J. LUST
ASSISTANT CHIEF OF STAFF FOR INSTALLATION
MANAGEMENT
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
AND
MAJOR GENERAL WALTER F. PUDLOWSKI
SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR
ARMY NATIONAL GUARD
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
AND
BRIGADIER GENERAL GARY M. PROFIT
DEPUTY CHIEF, ARMY RESERVE
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON ARMED SERVICES
SUBCOMMITTEE ON READINESS
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SECOND SESSION, 108TH CONGRESS
ON THE FISCAL YEAR 2005
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION BUDGET
4 MARCH 2004
INTRODUCTION
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, it is a pleasure to appear before you to discuss the Army's Military Construction budget request for Fiscal Year 2005. This request includes initiatives of critical importance to the Army and this committee, and we appreciate the opportunity to report on them to you. We would like to begin by expressing our appreciation for the tremendous support that the Congress has provided to our Soldiers and their families who are serving our country around the world. We are a Nation and an Army at war, and our Soldiers would not be able to perform their missions so well without your support.
OVERVIEW
The Army has begun
one of the most
significant periods of
transformation in its 228-year history. We
are "An Army at War - Relevant and Ready."
This maxim will define how we meet the
Nation's military requirements today and
into the future.
As we are fighting the Global
War
on Terrorism,
we are simultaneously
transforming to be a more relevant and ready
Army. We are on the road to
a transformation that will
allow us to continue to dominate
conventional battlefields and provide the
ability to deter and defeat adversaries who
rely on surprise, deception, and asymmetric
warfare to achieve their objectives.
To accomplish our objective, our operational
force will
temporarily
increase by 30,000 soldiers. We currently
have almost 250,000 soldiers mobilizing and
demobilizing, deploying and redeploying
- more troops are coming and going on our
installations than in any era since World
War II.
Military Construction is an important tool
to our network of installations to meet our
challenging requirements.
As part
of this transformation, the Army is fielding
and equipping six Stryker Brigade Combat
Teams (SBCT) to meet Combatant Commanders'
requirements and to continue the Army's
commitment to the Global War on Terrorism.
These SBCTs allow the Army to continue
modernizing and transforming the Current
Force. The rapid development and fielding
of six SBCTs is leading the transformation
of the Army - physically and culturally.
To meet the challenges of today's missions,
the Army must sustain a force of high
quality, well-trained people; acquire and
maintain the right mix of weapons and
equipment; and maintain effective
infrastructure and deployment platforms to
generate the capabilities necessary to
sustain a lethal force. We must ensure that
a trained and qualified force will be in
place to support the Future Force of a
transformed Army. To meet that goal and
ensure continued readiness, we must take
care of Soldiers and families. Our
installations are a key component in this
effort.
INSTALLATIONS AS FLAGSHIPS
The Army recently identified 17 Army Focus Areas to channel our efforts to win the Global War on Terrorism and to increase the relevance and readiness of the Army. One of the Focus Areas - Installations as Flagships - enhances the ability of an Army installation to project power and support families. Our installations support an expeditionary force where Soldiers train, mobilize, and deploy to fight and are sustained as they reach back for support. Soldiers and their families who live on and off the installation deserve the same quality of life as is afforded the society they are pledged to defend. Installations are a key component in the tenets of the Army Vision. Our worldwide installations structure is inextricably linked to Army transformation and the successful fielding of the Future Force.
INSTALLATION STRATEGIES
There is much work to be done if all
installations are to be flagships with the
ability to both project power and support
families
to an equitable standard. We
are a
world-class
combat ready force being
supported by
substandard facilities that
impair our ability to meet the mission. To
improve our facilities posture, we have
specific initiatives to focus our resources
on the most important areas - Barracks,
Family Housing, Focused Facilities, Ranges,
and Transformation.
Barracks. The Army is in the 11th year of its campaign to modernize barracks to provide 136,000 single enlisted permanent party Soldiers with quality living environments. This year's budget request includes 19 barracks projects providing new or improved housing for 4,200 Soldiers. The new complexes provide two-soldier suites, increased personal privacy, larger rooms, walk-in closets, new furnishings, adequate parking, landscaping, and unit administrative offices separated from the barracks. With the approval of $700.4 million for barracks in this request, a significant portion of our requirement will be funded. We are making considerable progress at U.S. installations and the Army funded two barracks projects for Grafenwoehr, Germany, based upon the Combatant Commander's request.
Family Housing.
This year's budget continues our significant
investment in our Soldiers and their
families by supporting our goal to have
funding in place by 2007 to eliminate
inadequate housing. We have included
funding in this year's budget request to
privatize 11,906 houses. In addition,
we will replace 1,313 houses, build 100 new
houses to support Stryker Brigade Combat
Team deployment, and upgrade another 875
houses using traditional Military
Construction. For families
living off-post, the budget request for
military personnel increases the basic
allowance for housing to eliminate our of
pocket expenses. Once overseas basing
decisions are made, we will adjust our plans
for new housing construction overseas.
Focused Facilities.
Building on the successes of our housing and
barracks programs, we are moving to
improve the overall condition of Army
infrastructure with the Focused Facility
Strategy. The Installation Readiness Report
is used to determine facilities quality
ratings of C-1 to C-4 based on their ability
to support mission requirements.
We are a C-1 Army living and
working in C-3 facilities. Our goal is to
reach an overall Army average of C-2 quality
by 2010 by concentrating on seven types of
C-3 and C-4 facilities.
These focus facilities are
general instruction buildings, Army National
Guard Readiness Centers, Army Reserve
Centers, tactical vehicle maintenance shops,
training barracks, physical fitness centers,
and chapels. We are requesting $207 million
in Fiscal Year 2005 to support this
initiative.
Army Range
and Training Land Strategy.
Providing ranges and training lands that
enable the Army to train and develop its
full capabilities is key to ensuring that
America's forces are relevant and ready
now. The Army's Deputy Chief of Staff G-3
developed the Army Range and Training Land
Strategy to support the
Department of Defense's
Training Transformation, Army
Transformation, and the Army's Sustainable
Range Program. It identifies priorities for
installations
requiring resources to modernize ranges,
mitigate encroachment, and acquire training
land. The
strategy serves as the mechanism to
prioritize investments for these
installations and seeks to optimize the use
of all range and land assets. The result is
a long-range plan that provides the best
range infrastructure and training lands
based on mission and training requirements.
Current to Future
Force. The Army
is undergoing the biggest internal
restructuring in the last 50 years. As part
of this transformation effort, we are
fielding and equipping six Stryker Brigade
Combat Teams throughout the Army. This
transformation will drive our efforts to
ensure that our "training battlefields"
continue to meet the demands of force
structure, weapons systems, and doctrinal
requirements. Providing ranges and training
lands that enable the Army to train and
develop its full capabilities is crucial to
ensure that America's forces are relevant
and ready now. Our Fiscal Year 2005
Military Construction budget requests $305
million for projects for operations and
training facilities, training ranges,
maintenance facilities, logistics
facilities, utilities,
and road upgrades in support of the Stryker
Brigade Combat Teams.
The
former Army Strategic Mobility
Program
ended in Fiscal Year 2003
with
the capability of moving five
and one-third divisions in 75 days. We must
improve current processes and platforms so
intact units arrive in theater in an
immediately employable configuration.
The
new Army Power Projection Program
(AP3) is a combat multiplier for Army
transformation and a catalyst for joint and
Service transformation efforts related to
force projection. AP3 is a set of
initiatives and strategic mobility enabling
systems, including infrastructure projects,
that ensures we are able to meet Current and
Future Force deployment requirements. AP3
funding began in Fiscal Year 2004. AP3
ensures the capability to deploy Army forces
in accordance with Regional Combatant
Commanders' operational plans.
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION
The Army's Fiscal Year 2005 request has increased over Fiscal Year 2004 and includes $3.7 billion for Military Construction appropriations and associated new authorizations.
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, ARMY
(MCA)
The active Army's
Fiscal Year 2005 Military Construction
request for $1,771,285,000 (for
appropriation and authorization of
appropriations) and $1,535,400,000 (for
authorization) is for People, Current
Readiness, and Transformation to the Future
Force. These funds are critically needed to
provide new barracks, invest in training
ranges and land, recapitalize existing
facilities, and support three Active Army
Stryker Brigade Combat Teams in Alaska,
Hawaii, and Louisiana. The request also
includes funds for planning and design for
future projects, along with Unspecified
Minor Military Construction.
The Department of Defense continues to
assess its global stationing strategy. We
have included only minimal, but critical,
overseas projects in the Fiscal Year 2005
Military Construction budget request. These
projects are required to provide the
infrastructure necessary to ensure continued
Soldier readiness and family well-being that
is essential throughout any period of
transition.
People.
We are requesting $798 million to improve
the well-being of our Soldiers, civilians,
and families. Approximately 50 percent of
our MCA budget request will improve well
being in significant ways - providing 19
unit barracks complexes for 4,200
Soldiers ($700 million), a
basic trainee barracks
complex ($50 million), a
physical fitness center ($18 million), a
chapel ($10 million), two child development
centers and a youth center ($20 million).
Current Readiness.
Our budget request
includes $504 million to keep our Soldiers
trained and ready to respond to the Nation's
needs. Current readiness projects include
operational and training instructional
facilities ($92 million), training ranges
($122 million), logistics facilities ($31
million), utilities and land acquisition
($27 million), maintenance/ production and
tactical equipment facilities ($82 million),
communication/ administration facilities
($104 million),
a research and development
facility ($33 million), and community
support facilities ($13 million).
Current to Future Force.
Our budget request also includes $298
million for projects to ensure the Army is
trained, deployable, and ready to rapidly
respond to national security requirements
and support transformation for the Stryker
Brigade Combat Teams. Projects include
operations and training facilities ($63
million), training ranges ($79 million), a
maintenance facility ($49 million),
logistics facilities ($19 million), and
utilities and roads ($88 million).
Other
Worldwide Support Programs.
The Fiscal Year 2005 MCA
request includes $171 million for planning
and design, along with Unspecified Minor
Military Construction. Planning and design
funds ($151 million) are used to accomplish
final design of future projects and
oversight of host nation construction. As
Executive Agent for the Department of
Defense, the Army uses planning and design
funds for oversight of construction projects
funded by host nations for use by all
Services. Finally, the Fiscal Year 2005 MCA
budget contains $20 million for Unspecified
Minor Military Construction to address
unforeseen critical needs or emergent
mission requirements that cannot wait for
the normal programming cycle.
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, ARMY
NATIONAL GUARD (MCNG)
The Army
National Guard's Fiscal Year 2005 Military
Construction request for $265,657,000 (for
appropriation and authorization of
appropriations) is focused on Current
Readiness and transformation to the Future
Force.
Current Readiness.
In Fiscal Year 2005, the Army National Guard
has requested $116.1 million for nine
projects. These funds will provide the
facilities our Soldiers need as they train,
mobilize, and deploy. They include one
Readiness Center, one Armed Forces Reserve
Center, three Army Aviation Support
Facilities, two Ranges, and two Training
projects.
Current to Future Force.
This year, the Army National Guard is
requesting $114.2 million for 22
projects needed to transform from
Current to Future Force. There are 16
projects for
the Army Division Redesign
Study, two for Aviation Transformation, two
for the Range Modernization
Program, and two for the Stryker Brigade
Combat Team initiative.
Other
Worldwide Support Programs.
The Fiscal Year 2005 MCNG
budget request contains $30.8 million for
planning and design of future projects,
along with $4.5 million for Unspecified
Minor Military Construction to address
unforeseen critical needs or emergent
mission requirements that cannot wait for
the normal programming cycle.
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, ARMY
RESERVE (MCAR)
The Army
Reserve's Fiscal Year 2005 Military
Construction request for $87,070,000 (for
appropriation and authorization of
appropriations) is for current readiness and
other worldwide unspecified programs.
Current Readiness.
The Army Reserve will invest $72.9 million
in current readiness projects. We will
invest $58.6 million to construct four new
Reserve Centers, and one military equipment
park; invest $7.9 million to modernize and
expand one Reserve Center, invest $3.9
million to construct two ranges; and invest
$2.5 million to acquire land for a future
Armed Forces Reserve Center.
Other Worldwide
Unspecified Programs.
The Fiscal Year 2005 MCAR budget includes
$11.2 million for planning and design. The
funds will be used for planning and design
of future projects. The Fiscal Year 2005
MCAR budget also contains $2.9 million for
Unspecified Minor Military Construction to
address unforeseen critical needs or
emergent mission requirements that cannot
wait for the normal programming cycle.
ARMY FAMILY HOUSING
CONSTRUCTION (AFHC)
The Army's Fiscal Year 2005 family housing
request is $636,099,000 (for appropriation,
authorization of appropriation, and
authorization). It continues the successful
and well-received Whole Neighborhood
Revitalization initiative approved by
Congress in Fiscal Year 1992 and supported
consistently since that time, and our
Residential Communities Initiative program.
The Fiscal Year 2005 new construction
program provides additional housing
Alaska in support of a Stryker
Brigade Combat Team and Whole Neighborhood
replacement projects at nine locations
- in
support of 1,413 families
for
$394.9 million.
The Construction Improvements Program is an
integral part of our housing revitalization
and privatization programs. In Fiscal Year
2005, we are requesting $75.4 million for
improvements to 875 existing units at three
locations in the United States and two
locations in Europe, as well as $136.6
million for scoring and direct investment in
support of privatization of 11,906 units at
six
Residential
Communities Initiative (RCI)
locations.
In Fiscal Year 2005, we are also requesting
$29.2 million for planning and design in
support of future family housing
construction projects critically needed for
our Soldiers.
Privatization.
RCI, the Army's Family Housing privatization
program, is providing quality, sustainable
housing and communities that our Soldiers
and their families can proudly call home.
RCI is a critical component of the Army's
effort to eliminate inadequate family
housing in the United States. The Fiscal
Year 2005 budget request provides support to
continue implementation of this highly
successful program.
We are leveraging appropriated funds and
Government assets by entering into long-term
partnerships with nationally recognized
private sector real estate development and
management firms to obtain financing and
management expertise to construct, repair,
maintain, and operate family housing
communities.
The RCI
program
currently includes 34
installations with almost 71,000 housing
units - over 80 percent of the family
housing inventory in the United States. By
the end of Fiscal Year 2004, the Army will
have privatized 19 installations with an end
state of 42,000 homes.
ARMY FAMILY HOUSING
OPERATIONS (AFHO)
The Army's Fiscal
Year 2005 family housing operations request
is $928,900,000 (for appropriation and
authorization of appropriations), which is
approximately 59 percent of the total family
housing budget. This budget provides for
annual operations, municipal-type services,
furnishings, maintenance and repair,
utilities, leased family housing, demolition
of surplus or uneconomical housing, and
funds supporting management of the Military
Housing Privatization Initiative.
Operations ($150
million). The
operations account includes four
sub-accounts: management, services,
furnishings, and a small miscellaneous
account. All operations sub-accounts are
considered "must pay accounts" based on
actual bills that must be paid to manage and
operate family housing.
Utilities ($132
million). The
utilities account includes the costs of
heat, air conditioning, electricity, water,
and sewage for family housing units. While
the overall size of the utilities account is
decreasing with the reduction in supported
inventory, per-unit costs have increased due
to general inflation and the increased costs
of fuel.
Maintenance and
Repair ($402 million).
The maintenance and repair account supports
annual recurring maintenance and major
maintenance and repair projects to maintain
and revitalize family housing real property
assets. While the overall account is
smaller than Fiscal Year 2004, the reduced
inventory allows for greater per-unit
funding than has been possible in the recent
past. This allows us to better sustain our
housing inventory.
Leasing ($218
million). The
leasing program provides another way of
adequately housing our military families.
The Fiscal Year 2005 request includes
funding for over 13,600 housing units,
including existing Section 2835
("build-to-lease" - formerly known as 801
leases) project requirements, temporary
domestic leases in the United States, and
approximately 7,700 units overseas.
RCI Management ($27
million).
The RCI management program funding includes
procurement requirements, environmental
studies, real estate requirements,
and management, operations,
implementation, and oversight of the overall
RCI program.
BASE REALIGNMENT AND
CLOSURE (BRAC)
In 1988, Congress
established the Defense Base Closure and
Realignment Commission to ensure a timely,
independent and fair process for closing and
realigning military installations. Since
then, the Department of Defense has
successfully executed four rounds of base
closures to rid the Department of excess
infrastructure and align the military's base
infrastructure to a reduced threat and force
structure. Through this effort, the Army
estimates approximately $9 billion in
savings through 2004.
The Army is requesting $100.3 million in
Fiscal Year 2005 for prior BRAC rounds ($8.3
million to fund caretaking operations of
remaining properties and $92.0 million for
environmental restoration). In Fiscal Year
2005, the Army will complete environmental
restoration efforts at three installations, leaving 11
installations requiring environmental
restoration. We also plan to dispose of an
additional 8,000 acres in Fiscal Year 2005.
Fiscal Year 2003 was a superb year! Using
all the tools the Congress provided,
including the
Conservation
Conveyance Authority and Early Transfer
Authority,
the Army transferred 100,957
acres of BRAC property. This is almost 40
percent of the total Army BRAC excess
acreage, and almost as many acres as all
prior years combined. To date, the
Army has disposed of 223,911 acres (85
percent of the total acreage disposal
requirement of 262,705 acres).
We have 38,794 acres remaining to dispose of
at 28 installations.
The Army continues to save
more than $900 million annually from
previous BRAC rounds.
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
The Fiscal Year 2005 Operation
and Maintenance budget includes funding for Sustainment, Restoration, and Modernization
(SRM - $2.54 billion) and Base Operations
Support (BOS - $6.57 billion). The SRM and
BOS accounts are inextricably linked with
our Military Construction programs to
successfully support Installations as
Flagships.
Sustainment, Restoration, and
Modernization
(SRM).
The Fiscal Year 2005
budget for SRM is $2.5 billion, of which
$2.42 billion funds sustainment at 95
percent of the requirement. SRM provides
funding for the Active and Reserve
Components to continue making positive
progress towards our goal to prevent
deterioration and obsolescence and restore
the lost readiness of facilities.
Sustainment is the primary
account in installation base support funding
responsible for maintaining the
infrastructure to achieve a successful
readiness posture for the Army's fighting
force. It is the first step in our
long-term facilities strategy. Installation
facilities are the deployment platforms of
America's Army and must be properly
maintained to be ready to support current
Army missions and any future deployments.
The second step in our
long-term facilities strategy is the
recapitalization by restoring and
modernizing our existing facility assets.
In Fiscal Year 2005, the Active Army request
for Restoration and Modernization is $93.2
million. Restoration includes repair and
restoration of facilities damaged by
inadequate sustainment, excessive age,
natural disaster, fire, accident, or other
causes. Modernization includes
alteration or modernization of facilities
solely to implement new or higher standards,
including regulatory changes, to accommodate
new functions, or to replace building
components that typically last more than 50
years, such as foundations and structural
members.
Base Operations Support.
The Fiscal Year 2005 budget for
Base
Operations Support is $6.57 billion
(Active Army, Army National Guard, Army
Reserve).
This is 70 percent of the requirement.
This funds programs to
operate the bases, installations, camps,
posts, and stations of the Army worldwide.
The program includes municipal services,
family programs, environmental programs,
force protection, audio/visual,
base communication services
and installation support contracts.
Army Community Service and Reserve Component
family programs include a network of
integrated support service that directly
impact Soldier readiness, retention, and
spouse adaptability to military life during
peacetime and through all phases of
mobilization, deployment, and
demobilization.
HOMEOWNERS ASSISTANCE FUND, DEFENSE
The Army is the Department of Defense Executive Agent for the Homeowners Assistance Program. This program provides assistance to homeowners by reducing their losses incident to the disposal of their homes when military installations at or near where they are serving or employed are ordered to be closed or the scope of operations reduced. For Fiscal Year 2005, there is no request for appropriations and authorization of appropriations. Requirements for the program will be funded from prior year carryover and revenue from sales of homes. Assistance will be continued for personnel at ten installations that are impacted with either a base closure or a realignment of personnel, resulting in adverse economic effects on local communities.
SUMMARY
Mr. Chairman, our Fiscal Year
2005 budget is a balanced program that
supports our Soldiers and their families,
the Global War on Terrorism, transformation
to the Future Force, and current readiness.
We are proud to present this
budget for your consideration because of
what this $3.7 billion Fiscal Year 2005
request will provide for the Army:
-
New barracks for 4,200 Solders
-
Adequate housing for 14,200 families
-
Increase in Army National Guard and Army Reserve funding over Fiscal Year 2004
-
New Readiness Centers for over 3,000 Army National Guard Soldiers
-
New Reserve Centers for over 2,800 Army Reserve Soldiers
-
80-year recapitalization rate for the Army
-
$287 million investment in training ranges
-
A new Basic Combat Training Complex
-
Facilities support for four new Stryker Brigades
Our long-term strategies for
Installations as Flagships will be
accomplished through sustained and balanced
funding, and with your support, we will
continue to improve Soldier and family
quality of life, while remaining focused on
the Army's transformation to the Future
Force.
In closing, we would like to
thank you again for the opportunity to
appear before you today and for your
continued support for our Army.
This concludes my statement. Thank you.
2120 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
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