Mr. BROOKS. That is this particular facility? General WILSON. This particular facility right here. General WILSON. Seventeen acres, and then they have given the guard a 50-year lease for $1 a year, sir. Mr. BROOKS. That is, then, a permanent operation of yours. General WILSON. That is a permanent base for us there; yes, sir. We have been operating there since 1947, sir. Mr. BROOKS. If there is no objection to that item, we will approve it. Mrs. ST. GEORGE. Mr. Chairman, how near to Spokane is this field? General WILSON. It is about 51⁄2 miles from the center of Spokane. Mr. BROOKS. Grenier Air Force Base, Manchester, N. H.; operational and training facilities, $170,000. We have that in one other part of this bill, too. Mr. DUCANDER. Yes, sir. Mr. BROOKS. What was that-Navy? Mr. DUCANDER. No; Air Force Reserve. General WILSON. That was the Air Force Reserve, sir. That is to resurface the taxiways and rehabilitate the shoulders of the taxiways, sir. Mr. BROOKS. You are using that in connection with the Air Reserve? General WILSON. We are using it both for the Air Reserve and the Air National Guard, sir. Mr. BROOKS. Who has the control of it? General WILSON. The control is by the Continental Air Command. Mr. BROOKS. So you are both operating under the Continental Air Command? General WILSON. That's correct, sir. Mr. BROOKS. What is the Air Force putting in on that Mr. Ducander? Mr. DUCANDER. Operational and training facilities, $180,000. General WILSON. That's correct, sir. Mr. BROOKS. Will you say again what that is for, General? General WILSON. This is for the resurfacing of the taxiways with 2 courses of bituminous concrete consisting of 12 inches of leveling course, and a 1-inch surface course. It is to clear the joints and cracks prior to application. It is the rehabilitation of the taxiways, sir, from the guard area over to the main runway, and then that joins with the main runway, sir. Mr. BROOKS. So you are dividing the cost really. That is what it means. General WILSON. In a way, sir, we are taking care of our portion of the requirements. Mr. BROOKS. You are constructing just what you tell me, and the Air Reserve is handling a different part of the work. General WILSON. That's correct, sir. Mr. BROOKS. But the sum total is dividing the cost. General WILSON. That's correct, sir. Mr. BROOKS. If there is no objection, that item is approved. Gulfport Municipal Airport, Gulfport, Miss.; supply facilities, $362,000. General WILSON. Here again, Mr. Chairman, is a permanent field training site for the guard in which all the Southern States will train. It will be something between 8,000 and 10,000 guardsmen training at this base. This particular project is for 1 standard 10,000-barrel aviation jet fuel, and it will be tied in to the present fuel distribution systems. Mr. BROOKS. That is pretty expensive; isn't it? General WILSON. Ten thousand barrels is a pretty good size fuel facility. When we have as many as-well, many times a hundred jets operating off of there at one time, it takes a big supply of fuel to furnish them. Mr. BROOKS. Are you going to fly out over the gulf? General WILSON. Yes, sir. We use that for gunnery, for rocketry, and we use the range there at Gulfport for dive bombing. Mr. BROOKS. That is not the base that I flew down to with you to see? General WILSON. No, sir; we landed at Meridian. Mr. BROOKS. No, not Meridian. General WILSON. Keesler; yes, sir. Mr. BROOKS. Tell me, have you quit using Keesler? General WILSON. No, sir; that is an Air Force base. The runways at Keesler are not satisfactory for tactical jet operation, sir. Mr. BROOKS. We had an Air Guard there. It came over from Texas. General WILSON. No, sir, they were at Gulfport. There is only 8 miles difference between the 2. it. Mr. BROOKS. This is Gulfport? General WILSON. This is Gulfport. Mr. BROOKS. Are they there at this base? General WILSON. They are at this base, yes, sir. Mr. BROOKS. Any objection to this item? If not, we will approve Hayward Municipal Airport, Hayward, Calif.; operational and training facilities, $113,000. General WILSON. This is to repair the existing 6,750 foot by 50-foot taxiway with a 3-inch minimum overlay of macadam; provide new base material where necessary; and provide treatment to shoulders to prevent erosion. This is the rehabilitation of a taxiway that, if we don't do it now, we will probably have to replace the whole thing in later years at a much greater cost. Mr. BROOKS. If there is no objection to it, it is approved. Hensley Field, Grand Prairie, Tex.; operational and training facilities, and supply facilities, $1,862,000. General WILSON. This is a package, Mr. Chairman, to replace the existing and inadequate facilities that we have had at Hensley Field for the past 5 years. I personally have been trying to rebuild the facilities at Hensley for several years, and it hasn't been until we were able to get the necessary land at no cost to the Federal Government divided up properly that we could have a place to put our facilities. Mr. BROOKS. Hensley Field is municipally owned? General WILSON. No, sir. It is a naval station in which they have Naval Reserve, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard, along with some contractor operators using the field, sir. Mr. BROOKS. This involves no purchase of land? General WILSON. No, sir. Mr. BROOKS. It is Government owned? General WILSON. Government owned. Mr. BROOKS. Any objection? If not, it is approved. Hubbard Field, Reno, Nev., operational and training facilities, and supply facilities, $159,000. General WILSON. Here again, Mr. Chairman, this is to provide additional parking apron in an amount of 10,824 square yards, to provide 220 by 100 base to the existing supply building, to construct 1 bay addition to the motor service shop to match the existing facilities, and to construct a 300-foot addition to the present paint, oil, and dope building to meet our requirements there, sir. This is to modernize a present existing plant for the operation of the present equipment that we have there. Mr. BROOKS. Who owns this? General WILSON. This is on a 50-year leased land to the Federal Government. It is owned by the city of Reno, Nev. Mr. BROOKS. If there is no objection to the item, it will be approved. Kellogg Field, Battle Creek, Mich.; operational and training facilities, maintenance facilities, and utilities and ground improvements, $1,136,000. General WILSON. Mr. Chairman, this is to replace a World War II inadequate type hangar with the standard Reserve type hangar, to install a motor service shop, and to hard surface and pave the area and put in the necessary security fencing. Mr. BROOKS. Who owns that? General WILSON. This land is owned by the city. It is leased to the Federal Government on a 50-year lease for $1 a year, sir. Mr. BROOKS. If there is no objection to that item, it is approved. Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, N. Mex.; operational and training facilities, and supply facilities, $570,000. That is an Air Force base? General WILSON. Yes, sir. Mr. BROOKS. I remember when we provided for it. General WILSON. This is to provide an additional 30,300 square yards of aircraft parking to meet the necessary requirements. This is the first unit in the guard that has been equipped with the 100 series Super-Sabre aircraft. This is our first unit to be equipped with the latest first-line aircraft that the Air Force has given to us. Mr. BROOKS. This provides concrete, 30,000 square yards? General WILSON. 30,300 square yards, yes, sir, plus a rocket storage building to store the necessary rockets and armament to be fired from the new aircraft, sir. Mr. BROOKS. If there is no obection, this item is approved. Martinsburg Municipal Airport, Martinsburg, W. Va.; operational and training facilities, $123,000. General WILSON. This is to construct a control tower and to establish a barrier for the jet aircraft. This is a part of our overall longrange plan. We completed the runway extension and the other buildings approximately last year, and this is another phase to phase in with the jet aircraft. Mr. BROOKS. This is owned by the city? General WILSON. This is owned by the city on a 50-year lease for $1 a year to the Government. Mr. BROOKS. And we are putting in these facilities? General WILSON. Yes, sir. Mr. BROOKS. If there is no objection to that item, it is approved. O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Ill.; operational and training facilities, $1,099,000. General WILSON. Here we are replacing a hangar that has been condemned for the past 2 years, and replacing an arresting barrier for the operation of jet aircraft on the long runway, sir. Mr. BROOKS. That is owned by the city of Chicago? General WILSON. That is correct, sir. Mr. BROOKS. That will take the whole item of $1,099,000? Mr. BROOKS. Is this a major training facility? General WILSON. Sir, we have a wing and an Air Defense Group with an Air Defense Squadron located at O'Hare. Mr. BROOKS. If there is no objection, the item is approved. Ontario International Airport, Ontario, Calif.; operational and training facilities, $127,000. General WILSON. This, sir, is to provide an expansion to the existing ramp of 12,850 square yards to meet the requirement for the operation of a full squadron of jet aircraft. Mr. BROOKS. That is owned by the city? General WILSON. It is owned by the city of Ontario on a 50-year lease to the Federal Government for $1 a year. Mr. BROOKS. How large a place is Ontario, Calif.? General WILSON. Ontario, I imagine, would run close to a quarter of a million people. You can hardly tell when you leave Ontario to get into Los Angeles. Mr. BROOKS. It is a suburb of Los Angeles? General WILSON. Yes, sir, it is a suburb of Los Angeles. It is located about 25 to 30 miles east of the heart of Los Angeles. Mr. BROOKS. There is no objection to this item, I am sure. approved. It is Portland Municipal Airport, Portland, Oreg.; supply facilities and maintenance facilities, $233,000. General WILSON. This is to construct a 20,000 square-foot supply and armament storage building, and also to construct the standard motor service shop to complete the facility requirement that we have at the present time for Portland, sir. Mr. BROOKS. If there is no objection to that item, it is approved. Rosecrans Field, St. Joseph, Mo.; operational and training facilities, and supply facilities, $123,000. General WILSON. This is to provide a crash truck station and to provide an addition of 8,000 square feet to the present supply building, sir. Mr. BROOKS. What do you mean by a crash truck station? General WILSON. That is where we have our O. & T. fire trucks to maintain the safety of flying on the area, sir. Mr. BROOKS. You mean a building that will house these trucks? General WILSON. Yes, sir, it is a building to house these trucks, sir. Mr. BROOKS. $123,000. If there are no objections, it is ordered. San Juan International Airport, San Juan, P. R.; supply facilities, $70,000. General WILSON. This is to construct a rocket storage building for the operation of the San Juan unit, which has been just converted from the machinegun type equipped aircraft to the 68D, which is a rocket ring aircraft, sir. And it has to have special handling type facilities. Mr. BROOKS. You got this on the municipal airport? General WILSON. Yes, sir. That is at Isle Grande Airport. Mr. BROOKS. Do you have a satisfactory lease with them? Mr. BROOKS. A dollar a year? General WILSON. Yes, sir; a dollar a year. Mr. BROOKS. If there is no objection to the item, it is approved. Sky Harbor Airport, Phoenix, Ariz.: Operational and training facilities, $655,000. General WILSON. This is to provide a 6,000-foot by 75-foot taxiway, to complete the parallel taxiway to the instrument runway system at Sky Harbor; and also to put in an arresting barrier. This unit has now been converted to the F-86-D all-weather fighter interceptor. It is on a 5-minute runway alert for the Air Defense Command every day, and to adequately meet its mission we have to come in and put the runway in, similar to what we were doing, Mr. Ducander, at Honolulu. Mr. BROOKS. This is being done on the municipal airport, but it is required for our particular training? General WILSON. Our particular purposes; yes, sir. Mr. BROOKS. And not for the use of municipal necessities? Mr. BROOKS. If there is no objection to the item of $655,000, it is approved. Standiford Field, Louisville, Ky.: Operational and training facilities, and administrative facilities, $715,000. General WILSON. One part of that, sir, is to strengthen 5,000 feet of the original runway to meet our requirements for the heavier B-57 type et aircraft that is being assigned, and it is to construct a wing group operation and training building of 26,600 square feet. This will complete the construction requirement at Standiford, sir. Mr. BROOKS. This is a permanent facility on a municipal airbase. General WILSON. That is correct, sir. Mr. BROOKS. Tell me this, sir: How many reservists do you train at that base? General WILSON. At that base there is a total of 117 officers and 806 airmen. Mr. BROOKS. So you train nearly 1,000 there? General WILSON. Yes, sir. Mr. BROOKS. That seems to be a proper item. If there is no objection, that will be approved. Theodore F. Green Airport, Providence, R. I.: Operational and training facilities, $213,000. General WILSON. For about 5 years. Mr. Chairman, I have been trying to construct an adequate ramp at Theodore F. Green, and I finally have gotten the necessary land made available to us for construction during fiscal year 1959, and this is to construct a 21,500-square-yard ramp space. |