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9 LONG TITLE
10 General Description:
11 This bill strongly urges support for moving Air National Guard operations to Hill Air
12 Force Base.
13 Highlighted Provisions:
14 This resolution:
15 ▸ acknowledges and urges the integration of Reserve, National Guard, and Active
16 Duty military components;
17 ▸ notes the 2014 legislative study regarding the value and benefits of co-locating Utah
18 Air National Guard with other components at Hill Air Force Base;
19 ▸ supports the strategic value and location of Hill Air Force Base and the open air
20 training and test ranges; and
21 ▸ strongly encourages continuing Utah's legacy of collaborative support for national
22 and state defense.
23 Special Clauses:
24 None
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26 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
27 WHEREAS, the National Commission on the Structure of the Air Force Act
28 (Commission) was adopted by Congress in 2012 for the purpose of undertaking a
29 comprehensive study of the structure of the Air Force to determine how best to fulfill current
30 and future mission requirements;
31 WHEREAS, the Commission was required to submit its final report and
32 recommendation not later than February 1, 2014, for legislation and administrative actions that
33 may be appropriate;
34 WHEREAS, this concurrent resolution is a result of some of the recommendations from
35 the study;
36 WHEREAS, the Commission notes that increasing integration of Reserve, National
37 Guard, and Active Duty Component Airmen at headquarters and units, and increasing the
38 number of integrated or multi-component or associate units will lead directly to improved
39 processes as well as more effective and efficient employment of the total Air Force;
40 WHEREAS, the Commission noted that increasing the number of associate units could
41 allow for consolidation of support infrastructure, which would create added efficiencies;
42 WHEREAS, the Commission noted that continuing to operate all current bases at the
43 same level of effort will require the Air Force to reallocate present and future funding and
44 reduce some of the benefits that would otherwise be gained by the Commission's force
45 structure recommendations;
46 WHEREAS, the increasingly complex security environment with its evolving
47 asymmetric threats require greater collaboration between Utah communities and local, state,
48 and federal authorities;
49 WHEREAS, the Legislature of the state of Utah and the Governor of Utah in the 2014
50 legislative session appropriated $300,000 to study the value and benefit of co-locating the Utah
51 Air National Guard with its KC-135R, Air Control, Intelligence, and other support missions
52 with other active and reserve components at Hill Air Force Base to achieve the integration and
53 efficiencies identified by the Commission;
54 WHEREAS, the United States Congress has provided ample authority to enable
55 innovative solutions to reduce infrastructure, consolidate military forces, and increase total
56 force integration, including the exchange authority in United States Code, Title 10, Section
57 18240, allowing the exchange of reserve component facilities such as those located at the Salt
58 Lake International Airport at the Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base;
59 WHEREAS, the United States Air Force, recognizing the strategic value and location of
60 Hill Air Force Base, adjacent to the Utah Test and Training Range, selected the 388th Fighter
61 Wing and the Air Force Reserve 419th Fighter Wing to become the USAF's first operational
62 units flying the F-35A Lightning II, with the first jet projected to arrive at Hill Air Force Base
63 in September 2015 and at least 72 jets projected to arrive in total;
64 WHEREAS, the Utah Test and Training Range provides responsive open air training
65 and test services that support day-to-day training, large force training exercises, and large
66 footprint weapons testing, thus assuring superiority for America's war fighters and their
67 weapons systems; and
68 WHEREAS, the citizens of the state of Utah have demonstrated a legacy of support for
69 national defense-Hill Air Force Base being the direct result of a collaborative community,
70 state, and federal effort beginning in 1935:
71 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
72 Governor concurring therein, expresses support for continuing Utah's legacy of support for
73 national defense by collaboratively working with community, state, and national stakeholders
74 to meet the challenge of today's budgetary and security environment by using the reserve
75 component exchange and other authority to achieve required force integration, infrastructure
76 consolidation, cost savings, and new efficiencies in the interest of the nation's long-term
77 security.
78 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge support for
79 expansion, consolidation, and protection of the Utah Test and Training Range to preserve this
80 invaluable training area for future generations.
81 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the United
82 States Department of Defense, the United States Air Force, the National Guard Bureau, and the
83 members of Utah's congressional delegation.