Sill in line for $125.5 million

BY MITCH MEADOR

September 30, 2008

Passage of bill marks $357M for state installations

WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, ROkla., hailed Senate passage of defense authorization and appropriation legislation as "a tremendous victory for our men and women in the armed services, for Oklahoma and our efforts to win the War on Terror."

More than $357 million for military construction in Oklahoma is included in the bills approved over the weekend, with $125.5 million targeted for Fort Sill and more than $13 million for Altus Air Force Base.

Inhofe said the legislation provides funds for additional construction at Oklahoma bases, continues Base Realignment and Closure and "ensures the viability of our state's military installations for years to come."

The Fort Sill funding includes:

-$63 million for a training complex upgrade, including conversion of some of Fort Sill's old dining facilities and barracks to administrative facilities and building two new dining facilities, according to Inhofe spokesman Matt Dempsey;

-$47 million as the second increment on the Air Defense Artillery School;

- $9 million for additional child care centers;

- $4.5 million for Stanley Associates to operate the Call for Fire Trainer II and the Joint Fires and Effects Trainer System (JFETS) at Fort Sill; and

- $2 million for the Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) in Marina del Rey, Calif., to continue development of JFETS.

JFETS is a leading-edge, virtual reality training simulation that trains joint observers prior to deployments worldwide, with particular emphasis on Afghanistan and Iraq.

The work in 2009 will expand JFETS by allowing it to connect with remotely located U.S. Air Force flight simulators. It also will add support for naval gunfire and link with the Cognitive Air Defense Engagement Control Station Simulation, which will soon be moving to Fort Sill from Fort Bliss, Texas.

"JFETS would not exist were it not for Sen. Jim Inhofe," Randall Hill, executive director of ICT, said. "His insight and comprehension of the (JFETS) vision and importance is unmatched. Our efforts to forge JFETS into truly a joint forces trainer would have been impossible without the senator's belief and championing of the system. We at the ICT continue to be deeply cognizant and thankful for what he has done in his service to the American warfighter."

The Altus AFB funding includes $10.2 million to construct a Consolidated Digital Airport Surveillance Radar (DASR) and $2.85 million to replace fuel storage dikes. The first project will consolidate all functions of the operations and support squadron from eight different facilities. It will construct space and power requirements that are critical for installation of DASR equipment arriving in 2011, according a statement issued by Dempsey.

Air Education and Training Command is forced to spend its military construction money on runway and taxiway repairs, according to the statement. If funding weren't secured this year to build the building at Altus AFB, the DASR radar would have been sent somewhere else and Altus would have gone to the back of the list, pushing the construction of the radar back several years.

The DASR radar will enhance the radar picture not only for Altus AFB, but for Vance AFB, Fort Sill, Sheppard AFB and the Federal Aviation Administration's southwest region, Dempsey said. It will greatly increase regional military, commercial and general aviation safety, he said.

Inhofe said he was pleased with the legislation's 3.9 percent across-the-board pay raise for military personnel, and he said the bills provide the training and equipment the armed forces require.

Inhofe said he successfully fought to provide increased annual medical and dental exams and restorative care to reserve component individuals and units. The legislation provides funding for medical and dental care to meet readiness standards for members of the Ready Reserve who have been notified that they will be mobilized. It also authorizes the secretary of Defense to waive co-payments for members of the Selected Reserve enrolled in the TRICARE dental insurance program during a time of national emergency in order to ensure members of deploying units meet dental readiness standards.

The legislation requires payment of previously authorized bonuses to the survivors of members who die on active duty and to individuals who are retired or separated for combat-related disabilities.

Inhofe said he successfully added several amendments during committee consideration, including legislation to establish a Traumatic Extremity Injury and Amputee Center of Excellence, require the Department of Defense to provide a report on nutritional care for wounded warriors, establish a paternity leave policy providing 10 days of administrative leave for new fathers, and allow veterans and service members not in uniform to salute the flag during the national anthem.

The legislation provides $55 million in supplemental educational aid that will affect local school districts affected by the assignment or location of military families, Inhofe said.

It also fully funds the Army's Future Combat Systems and provides $523 million to continue the F-22 fighter aircraft production line in fiscal 2010, but would prohibit spending more than $140 million until the next president certifies whether continuing F-22 production is in the national interest.