Senator STENNIS. This is a modest sum. You have one of these or want one of these for every battalion? Major General SHULER. Yes, sir. We have to have one for each battalion, sir. These are included normally in the barracks complex which we discussed. In this case this was knocked out of the program somewhere along the line back in the 1950's and we wish now to make up this deficiency. Senator STENNIS. And put the other area back into barracks use? Major General SHULER. Yes, sir. Senator STENNIS. You can do that out of your general funds? Major General SHULER. Sir, when we divert barracks, we normally do not make very many alterations because we intend in the end to use them as barracks. Senator STENNIS. All right. I understand if this is allowed you will put the barracks back into use? Major General SHULER. Yes, sir; that is correct. RAILROAD TRACK Major General SHULER. The next item on page 35 is the last item at Fort Knox, at $304,000 and this is for 13,710 feet of railroad track on the main post to the Muldraugh magazine area. This will provide us a more economical means for delivering ammunition than from the commercial trucklines now employed. Based on estimated savings we feel that the facility cost we are asking for here could be amortized in 4 years. This would give us rail entry into the post which we do not have now. Senator PROXMIRE. A savings in 3 years, a savings of $121,000 a year and total cost of around $400,000? Major General SHULER. I got the 4 years, sir, by comparing the difference between the truck costs and the rail costs and then relating that to the cost of the project. Senator PROXMIRE. Thank you. FORT GEORGE G. MEADE Major General SHULER. The next station, sir, is the Fort George G. Meade on page 36. We are requesting three line items. The first item the House Ipropriations Committee denied the appropriations for. This item is an operations building addition of 5,600 square feet sting $133,000 at the airfield. The units are presently utilizing pace in the maintenance hangar for operations, classrooms, briefing and ready rooms, and flight surgeon. Most units must use space of the parent unit on the main post for storage and this is a 4-mile round trip to the main post. Upon completion of this item the present accommodations will revert to their intended use. What this amounts to is a makeshift use, with some items at the sirfield and some at the post with a 4-mile round trip involved, and we are asking for a small addition in the building to put this thing on a more convenient and more economical method of operation. Mr. Chairman, I would like to insert in the record our reclama for this item. Senator STENNIS. You may. 25-747-633 This item is badly needed to provide additional airfield operation space at the Fort Meade airfield to alleviate the overcrowded conditions of the existing buildings, and to accommodate activities now using unit space in a hangar lean-to. The units at the airfield are now forced to utilize space in the maintenance hangar for operations, classrooms, briefing and ready rooms, thereby diverting space needed for maintenance and storage. Most units find it necessary to occupy space with their parent units on the main part of the post thus lowering operational efficiency. Some equipment must be stored on hangar floors occupying areas needed for aircraft maintenance. The lack of an adequate classroom and briefing area at the airfield is particularly serious as existing on-post classrooms are beyond walking distance and difficult to schedule as a result of use by other units. The classrooms used average 1 mile from the aviation section and at least 6,000 man-hours are lost annually in commuting to and from them. Provision of this addition will make available at the airfield urgently needed facilities for the pilot briefing room, readyroom, weather status, classroom, flight surgeon, equipment maintenance, and storage. Additionally it will permit reverting of existing maintenance areas to their intended use. Deferment of this project would continue diversion of space intended and needed for operational purposes. HOUSE REPORT STATEMENT (P. 6) "Present facilities used for an operation building at Fort Meade, Md., are adequate and the committee has not approved the request of $133,000 for an addition to the existing facility." ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM The next item on page 39 is for improvement of the electrical distribution system at a cost of $104,000. The Fort Meade load, which is exclusive of the National Security Agency load, is carried on two 13.8-kilovolt loop feeders. One is a No. 4/0 conductor and another a No. 1/0, so arranged that a load may be transferred one to the other in emergencies or for maintenance. The load on the west loop has grown to also twice the rated capacity of the conductor, making it necessary to replace the No. 1/0 wire conductor with a No. 4/0 wire conductor. Senator STENNIS. I do not understand that very much. Major General SHULER. In simple language-I don't understand it too well, either, myself, but in simple language the load at this post has gone up to where the size of the wires will not accommodate the load. Senator STENNIS. You are overloaded? Major General SHULER. Yes, sir; that is right. Senator STENNIS. All right, if there are no further questions proceed. BOQ ITEM DENIED BY HOUSE Major General SHULER. Page 40 we come to the next item and the House Appropriations Committee denied all appropriations for this item. This item has prior authorization, Public Law 87-554. This is for bachelor officers' quarters which will provide 50 spaces against an outstanding requirement for 265 spaces. This structure will replace a typical World War II completely inadequate deterioratedtype building in which are living young bachelor officers. As I said before, our investment in each of them is $38,000 at the time they have completed 2 years' service. Very frankly, sir, I think it is a very worthwhile project and I do not know why the House Appropriations Committee denied it. Senator PROXMIRE. Do you show any savings? I notice these men are paid for offpost housing because there is not adequate housing on the post; is that correct? Major General SHULER. If the housing is declared inadequate, yes, sir, they live off the post and get their living allowance. Senator PROXMIRE. Could you demonstrate there would be an economy to the Government in going into this project? Major General SHULER. Yes. Senator PROXMIRE. Will you demonstrate what the economy is and how long it will be paid for? Major General SHULER. I can demonstrate how we invested $38,000 in these people and I can demonstrate that many of them get out of the service because of the facilities in which they have to live. POSSIBLE SAVINGS Senator PROXMIRE. What I am talking about is the direct and immediate service inasmuch as now these men are paid their housing for their offpost cost of housing and that would be saved, I take it, by the taxpayers, if they have their housing on the post and therefore remain on the post and don't receive this additional housing pay. Major General SHULER. The total amount of quarters allowance is being paid to 1 colonel, 3 lieutenant colonels, 10 majors, 6 captains, 11 first lieutenants, and 8 second lieutenants and it is $49,016.80 per rear. Senator PROXMIRE. That is $50,000 a year and this costs $400,000? Is there any reason why you could not make the assumption, therefore, this savings alone would pay for it in approximately 8 or 10 Tears? Major General SHULER. That is right, it would pay it in 8 years jast on an amortization basis. Senator STENNIS. Now, how about the operation and maintenance cost? Major General SHULER. There would be some of that that would ave to be taken into account, but since it would be a new building, it would take quite a few years before it would run very heavy. But ver and above that is the factor of giving these officers something ferent so they will stay with us. Senator STENNIS. I understand that, but we are talking about money tow and the maintenance and operation was my question, not repairs, it maintenance and operation, and what would the cost of that be? Major General SHULER. I would have to furnish that, sir. We are not in that particular business on my side of the house here but I can get it for you. Senator STENNIS. But it is Government money, is it not? Major General SHULER. Yes, sir. Senator STENNIS. You have jurisdiction over all Government money for the Army. Senator Symington, how are you? Senator SYMINGTON. Fine, thank you. IMMEDIATE SAVINGS Senator STENNIS. Now, give us a sketch on this item here as to just what the savings would be, as Senator Proxmire says, the immediate savings, not the long term, but just the immediate. Major General SHULER. Yes, sir. Senator STENNIS. I am sure you have the figures on it available. Major General SHULER. Yes. Senator STENNIS. Provide that for the record and show it at this point. Major General SHULER. Yes, sir. (The information referred to follows:) Based on our experience, the average maintenance and operation costs for the 50-man BOQ in this program will be about $10,000 annually. The BOQ allowance forfeited by the 50 officers who will live in this BOQ is $49,016 per year. Substracting the $10,000 annual maintenance and operation cost and depreciation at 2 percent and interest at 3 percent on the construction cost of $403,000 from the $49,016 allowance forfeited results in a saving of $18,866 per year. Major General SHULER. Mr. Chairman, I would like to insert in the record our reclama for this item. Of the current 637 BOQ space requirement at Fort Meade, 258 spaces are in permanent buildings and 114 are in improved World War II buildings. The remaining 215 bachelors must rent off post or live in temporary unimproved BOQ's. Suitable off-post rentals within reasonable distance are scarce and costly. Although the Army would like to provide a larger BOQ increment at Fort Meade this year, the overall construction budget precludes this. However, 50 spaces is deemed a large enough increment for favorable construction economy and will be designed as part of the total station requirement. Because the continental U.S. deficit in permanent BOQ's is now well over 15,000 spaces, every increment is important toward accomplishing the Army plan approved by the Department of Defense to eliminate about two-thirds of that deficit by fiscal year 1969. The remaining temporary World War II BOQ's will then be over 25 years old, five times their design life. HOUSE REPORT STATEMENT (P. 6) "The large deficiency in permanent bachelor officer quarters at Fort Meade warrants a more economical method of replacement than the small incremental approach set forth in the fiscal year 1964 program, and the request of $403,000 for these facilities is denied." FORT MONROE, Va. Senator STENNIS. Proceed. Major General SHULER. The next station, sir, is on page 41, Fort Monroe, Va., and this is the headquarters of the U.S. Continental Army Command. The first item is on page 42 and this will provide 5.010 square feet of space for an emergency operations communications center at $115,000. The work consists of renovating a former coast artillery battery. This facility and an existing protected emergency operations center will provide the minimum essential command control and communications necessary for continuous operations during emergency. The existing post telephone exchange is located in a building having poor physical security due to the multiple occupancy of the building. The next item, sir, is on page 44 and it is the last item at Fort Monroe. This is the first increment, sir, of reconstruction of the storm drainage system at this post at a cost of $200,000. This is approximately one-fourth of the total scope. Existing lines are simply too small to carry the stormflow. They are clogged and broken. The post suffers floods from salt water at high tides, as well as from rain. Any time flooding involves salt water, it causes an awful lot of damage. Senator STENNIS. What is the total cost? TOTAL COST Major General SHULER. The total cost would be $800,000, which includes this $200,000. This about a fourth of the total cost. Senator STENNIS. We have not done anything to this since 1918? I mean increasing the size of these lines you are talking about? Major General SHULER. That is right. I might say, sir, that we asked for this 2 years ago and we were having a little difficulty with one of the committees and took the chairman down there and he came back and agreed we needed it very much. Senator STENNIS. All right, of course every item is open to questions, Senator Symington. If there are no other questions, proceed. FORT RITCHIE, MD. Major General SHULER. On page 45, Fort Ritchie, Md., the first item is on page 46 and this item, sir, is a request for security measures costing $267,000. This requirement is based on findings of a physical securities survey of this station by a qualified team. Increased security protection will prevent intrusions or other actions to damage the installation. I am sure the committee knows how important it is to us that this installation not be entered by unauthorized personnel or not be damaged. We feel this will make our security quite safe there. Senator STENNIS. Maybe we had better take that up in our closed hearings. Maybe you have written it all out? |