The third item is a repetitive item for the construction of an auto maintenance shop.

The fourth item is also a repetitive item, and this is an enlargement and alteration of the existing Air Force clinic.

The fifth item provides for an addition of 2,360 square feet to the existing 3,240-square-foot administrative wing maintenance control space; with the addition of 15 KC-135's flying four and five sorties a day, the present area is inadequate.

The sixth item, for air conditioning the dining hall, would promote greater efficiency and increase the morale of personnel eating and working in this facility. The summer temperatures at this base are extremely high and it is also very humid.

The seventh item is a repetitive item, an addition to the existing commissary.

The eighth item is a repetitive item, the construction of a library. Senator STENNIS. Members of the committee, I will read a brief memorandum prepared by Mr. Nease who visited this installation recently. We picked out several for him to visit. He says that these items are generally well justified and worthy of comment is the commissary addition which we denied in fiscal 1965. He says that the present commissary is quite small and they do need extra space. The request to enlarge the existing hospital was made but denied in fiscal 1962. It was built as a dispensary and enlarged to provide 25 beds. It is now very crowded and lacks administrative space for the doctors. There is a shortage of space in the hospitals in the Blytheville area for obstetrical care, and it is believed a 10-bed addition for obstetrical care should be made if this hospital is to be enlarged. The local hospitals are saturated.

Now, you did not ask for this 10-bed addition this year.

General CURTIN. I believe the Air Force asked for the OB care, Mr. Chairman, and this was either denied by OSD or the Bureau of the Budget. I would like to call on Colonel Jarboe to speak to that. Senator STENNIS. Colonel, speak right up. Give your name. Colonel JARBOE. Colonel Jarboe.

Mr. Chairman, we did ask for the extra building there to provide obstetrical service, but it was denied based on OSD policy when adequate facilities are available in the community-in their interpretation facilities are available in the community-then it is denied on this basis.

Our concern here is the ability of the community to do the job on a continuing basis as there is a doctors hospital, proprietary hospital privately owned, which over the past several years has had a history of opening and closing. Whenever it is closed, then the large hospital in town is saturated.

Senator STENNIS. How much was involved in this addition you asked for? You can supply that for the record.

Colonel JARBOE. Yes, sir.

Senator STENNIS. We want to get the justification so that we can consider it. You will be asking for it probably next year, and it will cost a good deal more.

Colonel JARBOE. Right, sir.

Senator STENNIS. Could you give us something on that?

Colonel JARBOE. All right, sir.

Senator STENNIS. Mr. Reporter, put it in the record at this point. (The information referred to follows:)

What are the additional scope and dollars required to provide a complete composite medical facility, to include obstetrical service, at Blytheville Air Force Base, Ark.?

The additional scope and dollars required to provide a complete composite medical facility, to include obstetrical service, at Blytheville Air Force Base, Ark., are as follows:

(a) An additional 7,263 square feet of new construction to include 10 obstetrical beds.

(b) An additional cost of $218,000.

Senator SMITH. Mr. Chairman, did Mr. Nease check into the community hospital?

Senator STENNIS. Yes, he concluded that the local hospital was saturated and overloaded. On items of this kind, we accumulate the facts and submit them for consideration of the committee in the markup.

Does anyone else have anything to add on that? This is just something Mr. Nease found under the circumstances I have told you. All right. The next item.

BUNKER HILL AIR FORCE BASE, IND.

Colonel FENLON. Page 28, Mr. Chairman. Bunker Hill Air Force Base located 9 miles south of Peru, Ind.

The use of this base is for a Strategic Air Command medium bombardment wing and a heavy air refueling squadron. The total program requested for the base is $1,835,000.

The first item is required to provide 50-foot shoulders on the existing 12,500-foot by 200-foot wide runway to permit safer crosswind landing operations for the B-58 aircraft. A landing attitude of 14° nose high combined with a speed of around 180 knots on final approach. have resulted in the loss of azimuth reference for the pilot, thus requiring the wider landing surface.

The second item is a repetitive item, an addition to and alteration of the existing Air Force clinic.

The third item is another repetitive item. It is air conditioning of the base service club. That is the last item, sir.

Senator STENNIS. One point I want to make. You have asked over $1 million for your runways. I thought that years ago we finished the runways that you gentleman wanted. Is this a replacement? I see there are primary instrument shoulders. Why was it not built correctly to start with?

Colonel FENLON. Sir, this is brought about by the utilization of the B-58 aircraft, the peculiarities associated with the landing attitude, and the reference of the crew to the landing area in this particular airplane have created the problem. The problem is twofold.

First, the B-58 has a very high landing attitude. Secondly, the pilot's seat is offset, which also gives him a blind spot on one side, and with crosswind conditions, where he has a considerable crab-in when he is landing, the safety factor of a 200-foot-wide runway has proven totally insufficient.

Senator STENNIS. This is what plane?

Colonel FENLON. The B-58 Hustler, the Mach II light bomber. Senator STENNIS. You are going to have to do this at all runways where you use the B-58?

Colonel FENLON. We have two stations in the program, Bunker Hill and Little Rock.

Senator STENNIS. How many squadrons of B-58's do we have?

Colonel LUSCHEN. Two wings; one wing each at Little Rock and Bunker Hill, three squadrons per wing.

Senator SMITH. Mr. Chairman.

Senator STENNIS. Senator Smith.

Senator SMITH. Have there been any accidents on that runway so far?

Colonel LUSCHEN. There were two accidents at Bunker Hill, because the aircraft landed in the crosswind, as Colonel Fenlon mentioned, drifted, so to speak, off the edge of the runway, hit the dirt or lighting fixtures, and caused damage to the aircraft.

The reason they are proposing the extension of 50 feet or widening of 50 feet on the runway at each side-is that for similar B-58 operations at Carswell Air Force Base, where we initially started B-58 operations when the aircraft was built, has a 300-foot-wide runway and no problems were encountered. The lights being further out to the side, the pilot can see them out to the side and it gives him a reference. We had no trouble there. When they moved on to the narrower runway, the pilot lost the reference.

An additional factor is that in our initial operations we did not have an escape capsule in the aircraft. The aircraft have since been modified with an escape capsule that comes free and parachutes down in case of an emergency. This escape capsule built inside the cabin caused the pilot to have to sit a little lower in the seat which again reduced his forward visibility and compounded the problem.

These are the factors which brought about the problem that we presently have.

Senator SMITH. Thank you.

Senator STENNIS. So this is a safety factor.

General CURTIN. Yes, sir.

Senator STENNIS. One question about your hospital. You do not show an increase in your personnel. Why do you have to have this addition to the hospital?

Colonel JARBOE. Sir, this is essentially a matter of upgrading the facility. It was constructed in 1957 based on the practice of medicine in the late 1940's and early 1950's. It is a matter of having adequate clinical space and supporting activities to provide an adequate medical service. There are no beds involved here.

Senator STENNIS. You just built this 8 years ago, and you have not had any increase in personnel.

Colonel JARBOE. Yes, sir.

Senator STENNIS. Still you are having to build this addition. Go over that again. You will have to make a strong case, it seems to me. Colonel JARBOE. The problem here, sir, is related to design of facilities even later than 1957 wherein the total square footage and dollars authorized was related essentially to beds. In other words, a hundredbed hospital would get you so much clinic space. In recent years the Air Force has changed its philosophy of operating composite medical

facilities to emphasize care of patients on an outpatient basis. In other words, keeping personnel out of the hospital.

This, in effect, has lowered the noneffectiveness rate within the Air Force. Actually it is the lowest of the three services, has been for several years. At the same time it has caused us to provide larger clinics, laboratories, X-rays, and so forth to support the outpatient workload. This is the problem at Bunker Hill.

Senator STENNIS. This brings the hospital into your composite medical facility—

Colonel JARBOE. Yes, sir.

Senator STENNIS. We have your definition of a composite medical facility.

Colonel JARBOE. Yes, sir.

General CURTIN. The existing facilities, Mr. Chairman, were completed in December 1957 according to my records. That would mean it was probably based upon design of the 1953-54 time period-46,000 square feet.

Senator STENNIS. How much did it cost?

General CURTIN. It cost $1.7 million, Mr. Chairman. It was a 50bed hospital at that time built on a 100-bed chassis.

Senator STENNIS. You are not adding any beds in this addition. Colonel JARBOE. No, sir.

General CURTIN. No, sir.

Senator STENNIS. It would be fine to have everything perfect, but it seems to me you probably have other places that need hospital money more than you do for a place where you have so recently built a new one. We will take that up specially.

Anything further from any members on that item? (No response.)

Senator STENNIS. All right, that brings us to page 32.

CARSWELL AIR FORCE BASE, TEX.

Colonel FENLON. Yes, sir. Page 32 is Carswell Air Force Base at Fort Worth, Tex.

The use of this base is for two Strategic Air Command heavy bombardment squadrons, a heavy refueling squadron, and a Reserve troop carrier heavy wing.

The total program requested for Carswell amounts to $899,000 and consists of five items.

The first item is for blast deflectors to support parking of 15 additional B-52 aircraft.

The second item is to provide additional refueling capability. It is an extension of the refueling lines and the addition of five hydrants. The third item connected with the increased mission is a repetitive item for a ready crew facility.

The fourth item is a repetitive item for the air conditioning of airmen dormitories.

The fifth item is for air conditioning of the dining hall to provide suitable area for the health and comfort of the airmen dining in these buildings.

Senator STENNIS. Senator Ellender.

Senator ELLENDER. Are these central air-conditioning units?

General CURTIN. Yes, sir. We very seldom go to the individual units unless it is on a temporary basis or there is some peculiarities of the building structurally that you just cannot overcome on an economical basis.

Senator ELLENDER. How many people are involved in the dormitory for the airmen? How many people are housed there?

General CURTIN. Two buildings, 198 men each, almost 400 men are provided for in those dormitories.

Senator ELLENDER. You have no air conditioning of any kind there now?

General CURTIN. Not in these particular buildings; no, sir, unless again someone has provided out of nonappropriated funds a small window unit, but we have no record of that. No central air conditioning.

Senator STENNIS. Senator Inouye.

Senator INOUYE. This is going back to another item, Mr. Chairman, where you had air conditioning for a service club. Is it the policy to use appropriated or nonappropriated funds for air conditioning of service clubs?

General CURTIN. Service clubs, since these are for the lower grade airmen, have always been provided, both the facility and air conditioning, out of appropriated funds. There has been no exception to that, to my knowledge.

Senator STENNIS. If there is nothing further move to the next one. This is another case of closing down bases elsewhere, and having to build up this readiness crew. I have seen your demonstrations. Those men certainly need a place to stay-the readiness crew-but $430,000 is a lot of money in my book. Have you tried to get a place that you could re-do, remodel, and fix up for special services like that?

General CURTIN. Yes, sir. As you are aware, Senator Stennis, from having seen these operations, one of the primary factors here is location.

Senator STENNIS. Yes.

General CURTIN. The crews must be near and have ready access to the aircraft. In some cases we have-where there have been dormitories and other facilities near the line-we have modified those, and I think actually in this particular case we are using one dormitory to help us get along.

Senator STENNIS. But you have to have a new building, too.

General CURTIN. That is correct, Mr. Chairman.

Senator STENNIS. All right. That brings us to page 38.

CASTLE AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF.

Colonel FENLON. Castle Air Force Base is located 8 miles northwest of Merced, Calif.

The use of this base is for two Strategic Air Command heavy bombardment squadrons and two heavy air refueling squadrons. The program requested for Castle totals $369,000.

Senator STENNIS. This is a small amount for your library alteration. I suppose that can be approved without question. The officers quarters comes under the repetitive category. Unless there are some questions, we can pass on.