Interior Alaska – The “Place” To Do Business 100 Cushman St., Suite 102 | Fairbanks, Alaska 99701-4665

Phone (907) 452-1105 | Fax (907) 456-6968 | www.FairbanksChamber.org

MILITARY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA Mt McKinley Bank – 4th Floor Conference Room

Friday, November 14, 2014 – 9:00 AM

ACTION INFO Notes

1. Call to Order

2. Conflict of Interest Disclosure X Only related to actionable items on the agenda. Declaring a conflict does not prevent a member from participating in discussion; it ensures the Chamber is operating in a transparent manner.

3. Approval of Agenda X

4. Approval of Minutes a. September 12, 2014 Minutes b. October 10, 2014 Notes

X

X

Need vote to approve minutes, Notes info only, no action required

PRESENTATION

5. VIDEO: US Chamber of Commerce “Hiring our Heroes”

X

OLD BUSINESS

6. Hiring our Heroes / Soldier for Life Program discussion

X What are the next steps for the committee?

7. Operation: Standing Together debrief X

8. Committee Program of Work X Approval needed

NEW BUSINESS

REPORTS & COMMUNICATIONS

9. Military Updates a. 168th Air Refueling Wing b. 354th Fighter Wing c. Fort Wainwright / US Army Alaska d. Army National Guard e. Army Reserve

X

10. Congressional Updates a. Senator Murkowski’s Office b. Senator Begich’s Office c. Congressman Young’s Office

X X X

11. Programs and Support Updates a. Family Readiness b. ASYMCA c. AFA d. AUSA

X

12. Committee Updates a. Committee Chair b. Committee Members c. Staff d. Guests

X X X X

REVIEW ACTION ITEMS FROM MEETING & RESPONSIBLE COMMITTEE MEMBERS(S) and/or STAFF

Upcoming Meetings & Events

Next Military Affairs Committee meeting - a. Friday, December 12, 2014, 9:00AM Mt McKinley

Bank – Presentation: Fort Wainwright Survivor Outreach Services with Rhonda Carson

b. Friday, January 9, 2015 – UAF ROTC tour c. Friday, February 13, 2015 – tour of Armory

X

Adjourn

Committee Package Attachments: 9/12/2014 minutes, 10/10/2014 notes, Draft 2015 program of work

Our Mission

The Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce represents our members by advocating for a healthy economic environment and by building partnerships that promote the greater Fairbanks area as an attractive place for business and community.

Interior Alaska - The "Place" To Do Business 100 Cushman St., Suite 102 | Fairbanks, Alaska 99701-4665

Phone (907) 452-1105 | Fax (907) 456-6968 | www.FairbanksChamber.org

MILITARY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Mt McKinley Bank - 4th Floor Conference Room

Friday, September 12, 2014 - 9:00 AM

Committee members present: Guests present: Staff present:

Bill Brophy, Jennifer Davis, Tim Jones, Raelynn Radway, Shea Bredlie, Janice Golub, Kristin Baysinger, Tim Holmes, Mike Sfraga Mandy Sullivan, Col Mike Winkler, Tom Moyer, Althea StMartin, SSgt Kirsten Wicker, Allen Shaw, Jennifer Sabo, Jeff Roach, Lori Hollett. Jonni Roos

1 Call to Order Tim Jones, committee chair, called the meeting to order at 9:00AM. A quorum was established. Member and guest introductions were made.

2 Approval of Agenda The agenda was reviewed and approved with no objection.

3 Approval of Minutes a. August 8, 2014

The minutes were approved with a correction to the WEIO event dates for 2015.

PRESENTATION

4 Discussion on presentations this committee would like scheduled for Oct - Dec & in 2015

Ideas from the committee on future presentations 1. Hosting meetings at FWW and EAFB. Col Winkler offered to host the November meeting, Tim will follow up with Col Zemp on a meeting on Fort Wainwright 2. UAV - information from UAF work in Iceland and onsite. (Mike Sfraga will look into the hosting the December meeting) 3. Tour of Armory - Jeff Roach will follow up on this 4. ROTC/JROTC/ Veterans services - leadership change, change of venue at UAF and comingling with Veterans group (Mike Sfraga will follow up on this) 5. Debrief from Commander of 1-52. (spring Bill Brophy/Tim will follow up on this) 6. Update from Clear Air Station / long range radar and Ft Greely - missile defense 7. ANG Partnership for Peace exercise (Jeff Roach will follow up on this) 8. Debrief from ANG returning from Guantanamo Bay (Jeff Roach will follow up on this)

OLD BUSINESS

5 Red White and Blue Mixer (formerly Community Partnership Day 2014)

Reshaping community partnership day into a military /civilian social event to welcome and introduce leadership from both installations and National guard. Target date for event Wednesday, Nov 12 at Raven Landing, heavy hors d’oeuvres. Will be lieutenant commander and above. Chamber will join with AUSA. Will be $500 sponsorship opportunities. Volunteers to help - Althea, SSgt Wicker, Bill Brophy,

NEW BUSINESS

6 Local Legislative priorities

The committee had no changes to their current priority and did not have a new priority to submit for consideration

REPORTS & COMMUNICATIONS

7 Military Updates a. 168th Air Refueling Wing

b. 354th Fighter Wing

c. Fort Wainwright / US Army Alaska

d. Army National Guard

168th - Col Winkler invites committee members and public to visit at Eielson. 168th has been involved with active tanker activities at the Arctic Circle. There has been increased involvement from Russia at the Arctic Circle that has required up to three tankers to go into action. Russia has increased its long range maneuvers exponentially, especially in the Arctic Region, there needs to be more information to the public and more of a US presence in the Arctic. 354th will be hosting another Red Flag activity that will simulate the Korean War. There will be POW/MIA retreat at Eielson on September 19 the public is invited to. There is a Military Ball planned for October 4 at the Westmark Hotel, tickets sold out immediately, planning a second round of tickets to be printed.. Col Winkler offered to help bring the F35 cockpit demonstrator to the Military /Civilian Mixer in November. New commander of pacific forces may be coming to Fairbanks soon, this will be high visibility, hopefully in November. Last yard sale of the season Sept 13, open installation from 8am to 4pm. Sept 11 the Nike Air Veterans visited at Fort Wainwright, Veterans Advisory Committee visited last week. Solider for Life transition program employer day on Sept 30 from 9am - 3m at Last Frontier Community Center, would feature civilian garrison jobs. October 22 scheduled for Solider of the Quarter award, Community Spouses 32nd annual Holly Days celebration Oct 17-18 4pm-8pm and 10am-5pm at Hangar 5. National Guard deployment to Guantanamo Bay has ended, soldiers will be going through the reintegration process, a yellow ribbon ceremony will be held for the unit in Anchorage. The new Coast Guard forward base has opened in Barrow, will be assisting with maneuvers during open water season.

8 Congressional Updates a. Senator Murkowski's Office

b. Senator Begich's Office

Congress will get out October 3. The Senator attended a change of command ceremony

Senate passed a bill for COLA increases to disabled veterans and families of veterans. Sen Begich will be in the Interior more beginning in October.

9 Committee Updates a. Committee Chair

b. Committee Members

c. Staff

d. Guests

Army received a huge response to the SPEA from the Fairbanks area. ASYMCA will have welcome home ceremonies for 1-52 returning from Afghanistan, public is encouraged to take part in this None None North Haven offered the use of their new community center for a future MAC meeting. Nov 13 Rotary will have an update from MG Shields. Col Roach will be recognized by the UAF alumni association.

Upcoming Meetings & Events

Next Military Affairs Committee meeting - Friday, October 10, 2014, 9:00AM Mt McKinley Bank

Adjourn Tim adjourned the meeting at 10:00am

Respectfully submitted, Jonni Roos

Interior Alaska - The "Place" To Do Business 100 Cushman St., Suite 102 | Fairbanks, Alaska 99701-4665

Phone (907) 452-1105 | Fax (907) 456-6968 | www.FairbanksChamber.org

MILITARY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEETING NOTES Mt McKinley Bank - 4th Floor Conference Room

Friday, October 10, 2014 - 9:00 AM

Committee members present: Guests present: Staff present:

Tim Jones, Tim Holmes, Steve Lundgren, Keith Scruggs, Angela Major, Mandy Sullivan Althea St Martin, Harry Cook, SSGT Kirsten Wicker, Allen Shaw, Lori Hollett, Tom Moyer, CPT Jason Caldwell Jonni Roos

1. Call to Order Tim called the meeting to order at 9:07am. The committee was unable to establish a quorum

2. Conflict of Interest Disclosure

No conflicts of interest were noted.

3. Approval of Agenda The committee reviewed the agenda, no action was taken at this time.

4. Approval of Minutes a. September 12, 2014

Tabled

PRESENTATION 5. TBD 6. Upcoming

presentations/field trips: a. November 14 -

Eielson AFB field trip b. December 12 - AK

ANG Armory tour c. January 9 - UAF tour

No presentation Need information from SSGT Wicker on times, location, program Armory tour will include a view of the new construction Tour of ROTC facilities on campus, vets center.

OLD BUSINESS

7. Operation: Standing Together

Operation: Standing Together is a civilian -military networking event to welcome the military leadership from Eielson AFB and Fort Wainwright. Commanders and Senior enlisted. Brief formal portion of the event. Sponsorships are available for $500. Volunteers are welcome.

NEW BUSINESS

8. Committee Program of Work

Draft 2015 Committee Program of Work will be due to the GRC in December. Suggested changes under programs and projects remove Community Partnership Day and change to Operation: Standing Together, add Soldier for Life. Committee members will send suggested changes to have at the next meeting.

9. Soldier for Life Program

With budget cuts in the military, there are a lot of soldiers departing service. In order to help with the transition, the Army is rolling out a program called Soldiers for Life concept - tying in to the communities for support in transitioning from military to civilian life. U S Chamber also has a similar programs called Hiring our Heroes that supports transitioning soldiers and their families. The Fairbanks community would be a great community to launch the program in Alaska. The committee discussed ways to implement Hiring our Heroes in the community. Efforts already ongoing are National Guard, looking for ways to bring this information to Chamber members. Could the chamber put together a webpage with links for services and employers? Steve will contact James Hastings with National Guard to see if he can present to the chamber. AUSA will be meeting this week and this will be a topic of discussion - Angela will send notes to the committee after the meeting. One of the difficulties is translating skills from service to the working world and there needs to be a way to match the qualifications to the needs in the community. Job fairs are an option but is difficult to get employers to participate if they are not currently hiring. While there are not a lot of high volume employers in the Fairbanks area, perhaps this could be extended to the Anchorage area. Tim is working with COL Zemp to find a way to make this program fit in the community. Althea suggested a virtual job fair by cooperating with the various agencies and the Department of Labor.

10. 3rd Quarter Committee Reports

Committee quarterly reports to the Board of Directors will be on Monday,

REPORTS & COMMUNICATIONS

11. Military Updates a. 168th Air Refueling

Wing

b. 354th Fighter Wing

c. Fort Wainwright / US Army Alaska

d. Army National Guard

168th –The tankers are participating in Red Flag, which is unique because they usually don’t participate due to real world issues. 354th - Red Flag is going on. Republic of South Korea is involved and have brought F16s that they flew over the ocean to be here, they have brought South Korean media. Part of red flag will occur at JBER and will involve an air drop over Donnelly field with C130s. Quarterly awards luncheon is on Oct 23. FWW - Soldiers from 1- battalion aviation is back. Redeployment ceremony will be in December. Garrison Soldier for Life employment education fair last week to educate soldiers and family members about positions available on FWW. FMWR will have a mini job fair in October. FWW Community Spouses Club will host 32nd annual Holly Days bazaar next week. 65th explosive ordinance will be conducting training so could be loud. National Guard - contractors and equipment are on site for the Armory remodel. Project was supposed to start in July but will start tearing things up in December. Tour will highlight the improvements. MPs are doing last yellow ribbon in Anchorage. New armory is still in the

works.

AUSA Soldier of the Quarter luncheon is still being planned for next month, looking for a location. Quarterly luncheons be back on track in the upcoming year. AUSA national convention starts next week, Angela will bring back key topics from the meeting AFA - AFA national convention was last month, local chapter received national recognition.

12. Congressional Updates a. Senator Murkowski's

Office

b. Senator Begich's

Office

Sen Murkowski in town Oct 15 on Fort Wainwright with updates and tours, looking longer term on infrastructure, then will stop in on Leadership Fairbanks. The permafrost tunnel received a grant for additional research. Operation Standing Together Sen Murkowski will not be available as this is the first day of session. Tom attended the deployment ceremony for 168th. Fort Greely celebrated anniversary for missile fields. Sen Begich was in town for discussions on Veterans mental health. UAF is playing Air Force in October. No action on EIS this month. Nov 25 Air Force Secretary Janes will be at EAFB. MDAA bill is in the works this year.

13. Committee Updates a. Committee Chair

b. Committee Members

c. Staff

d. Guests

A. Community had a good response to the SPEA, all the vote counts were 11,000 letters sent. Most were form letters, Fairbanks had 74 letters of support, Anchorage had 3. State Chamber asked Fairbanks Chamber to take the lead on the Heroes for Hire. Veterans Day Nov 11 celebrations at Westmark. There is a Women’s Veterans Day on Nov 10. Steve - commends AFA Harry Cook on award Reminder about upcoming Business after hours, RSVP for candidate forums at GML None

Upcoming Meetings & Events

a. Next Military Affairs Committee meeting - Friday, November 14, 2014, 9:00AM Eielson AFB

Adjourn Tim adjourned the meeting at 9:52am

Respectfully submitted, Jonni Roos

2015 Military Affairs Committee Program of Work

2015 MILITARY AFFAIRS COMMITTEE PROGRAM OF WORK

Chair: Tim Jones, Doyon Utilities

Meeting Time: Second Friday of Each Month, 9:00am in the Mt. McKinley Bank Board Room (4th Floor)

Mission Statement: The Military Affairs Committee encourages cooperative relationships between the Military and Interior Alaskan businesses and supports activities that promote maintaining existing mission capabilities and adding new mission capabilities at Interior military installations.

Advocate

Monitor and track military-related legislation associated to the adopted legislative priorities of the Board of Directors Military Affairs Committee related Chamber Legislative Priorities: Continue to Strengthen Military Presence in Alaska

In addition, obtain pertinent information from specialists, promoters, sponsors, or other knowledgeable spokespersons, and advocate through letters of support, chamber resolutions, or other means to support military policies or actions, pending board approval

Form work-groups, when needed, to further research and bring forward recommendations to the committee as a whole

Educate

Invite guest speakers to speak at committee meeting, identify speakers to provide information on relevant topics

Recommend general membership luncheon (GML) programs and/or panel discussions

Provide a quarterly committee report to the Board of Directors

Utilize Chamber resources (5-minute spotlights, newsletter, Chamber Chatter, News-Miner op-eds) to inform the general membership about military-related topics

Collaborate

Partner with other associations and organizations that support military in the Interior (refer to addendum for list of potential partner organizations)

Work with other Chamber committees and Board of Directors, as needed

Interior Alaska – The “Place” To Do Business

2015 Military Affairs Committee Program of Work

Goals for the Year:

Promote and support opportunities to bring new missions to Interior Alaska military installations and activities that support maintaining existing missions at Interior Alaska military installations

Monitor and support process/efforts to bring F-35s to Eielson

Promote the availability and abundance of land and airspace in Interior Alaska for realistic military training, and the strategic global location of Alaska

Foster interaction between the military and civilian communities

Encourage communications between the community, military leaders, and elected officials

Support and participate in activities and programs that positively reinforce the experience of all military service members and their families.

Encourage community participation in support of deployments

Promote the tremendously positive relationship between the military and civilian communities

Support adequate funding for military-related needs

Support the Federal and State budget as it relates to the military in the Interior of Alaska.

Support federal and state legislation for continued and enhanced benefits for military members, retirees, veterans, and their dependents.

Partner organizations that support the military in the Interior

Support and promote involvement in organizations including, but not limited to the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), the Air Force Association (AFA), Armed Services YMCA (ASYMCA), American Red Cross, Army Community Services (ACS), Airmen and Family Readiness Center (A & FRC), Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation (FMWR), Alaska National Guard Family Programs, Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), and military retiree and veterans’ groups.

Programs & Projects for the Year:

Military Appreciation Banquet -- This event honors military personnel and volunteers who exemplify the excellence of our Armed Services. Military families are hosted by civilians in the community for an evening of dinner and an awards ceremony. The event is typically held in the spring.

Operation: Standing Together --This event is an opportunity for Chamber members and civic leaders to show their support for our military friends and to visit with military members and leadership from the military in Interior Alaska.

Hiring our Heroes - A program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, launched in March 2011 as a nationwide initiative to help veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses find meaningful employment opportunities.

Commented [JR1]: Does it need to be a subbullet under this

topic or a stand alone topic?

Commented [JR2]: Replaces Community Partnership Day

Commented [JR3]: New program