The construction of this project will enable the Department of the Army to provide 90 percent of the maximum gross housing requirement based on the long-range troop forecast.

Lake Mead base, Nev.: Armed Forces special weapons project; installation located 8 miles northeast of North Las Vegas; initially occupied in 1954; designated "permanent."

Mission: Classified.

Total cost (based on price when acquired), $13,381,667.

Cost of improvements (permanent and other), $13,377,487.

Cost of land (7,735 acres), $4,180.

Present strength: Military, 805; civilian employees, 96.

Line items requested for fiscal year 1959 authorization ($161,000 total): Noncommissioned officers' mess.

Detailed justification follows:

Noncommissioned officers' open mess ($161,000): This facility is required to provide an adequate meeting place for 255 noncommissioned officers and their families. There is no facility at Lake Mead base for ordinary social activities of this group. Many noncommissioned officer personnel seek recreational and social life in Las Vegas, Nev., which, due to the predominance of gambling as the chief form of recreation, is not considered desirable for personnel engaged in highly classified work and is greatly beyond the financial means of military personnel. If this noncommissioned officer mess is not provided, personnel will be denied facilities required for the high level of morale required at Armed Forces special weapons project installations.

Sandia Base, N. Mex.: Armed Forces special weapons project; installation located at Albuquerque; initially occupied in 1942; designated "permanent."

Mission: Training, technical, logistical, and operational support of Armed Forces special weapons project.

Total cost (based on price when acquired), $45,941,981.

Cost of improvements (permanent and other), $45,269,645.
Cost of land (44,388 acres), $672,336.

Present strength: Military, 2,083; civilian employees, 1,428.

Line items requested for fiscal year 1959 authorization ($39,000 total):

Evaporative cooling, WAC barracks, and bachelor officers' quarters.

Two hundred and thirteen family quarters (Capehart). Detailed justification follows:

Evaporative cooling, WAC barracks, and bachelor officers' quarters ($39,000): This project is required to provide acceptable living conditions essential for promotion of health and well-being of personnel residing therein. It is essential that evaporative cooling be provided in order that occupants will have cool and comfortable surroundings in which to relax during off-duty hours. Saudia Base is located in an area having a high sunload (78 percent sunshine as compared with the national average of 60 percent) and low humidity typical of arid desert terrain (humidity averages 20 percent during afternoon periods). The need for this cooling is best indicated by the fact that heat absorbed by the flat roofs and masonry walls is transferred into the buildings for several hours after sundown and during the period of off-duty relaxation. This area is a mile above sea level,

and is subject to greater intensity of the sun's rays. Evaporative cooling is uniformly installed in up-to-date residences and places of business in Albuquerque and throughout housing and all other bachelor officers' quarters at Sandia Base. Failure to provide this cooling will result in military personnel at the base living under conditions which adversely affect their health and efficiency.

Mr. RIVERS. Could I inquire, Mr. Chairman?

Where is Bossier? Isn't Bossier in Shreveport, La.?
General SHULER. It is in Louisiana, sir, and I believe
Mr. RIVERS. It is mighty close to Shreveport.

General SHULER. Next to Shreveport.

Mr. RIVERS. Mighty close to Shreveport.

General SHULER. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, the item is approved. Take the next item. "Various locations: Maintenance facilities, $6,311,000. Tactical installations support facilities."

General SHULER. Tactical support facilities: ARADCOM; installation located in continental United States.

Mission: Facilities, at various locations, to support Army antiaircraft and guided-missile units, made up of Active Army, United States Army Reserve, Reserve Officers' Training Corps, and National Guard

units.

Total cost (based on price when acquired), not available.

Cost of improvements (permanent and other), not available.
Cost of land (acres, not available), not available.

Present strength: Military, not available; civilian employees, not available.

Line items requested for fiscal year 1959 authorization ($6,311,000 total): Guided missile field maintenance shops.

Detailed justification follows:

Guided missile field maintenance shops ($6,311,000): Project is required to provide logistic support facilities for surface-to-air missile operations in areas where insufficient or no facilities exist for the field maintenance of guided missiles and ordnance, signal, and/or engineer equipment. These facilities are essential for the support of tactical units at the time of deployment. Failure to provide these facilities will adversely affect maintenance capabilities required for proper conduct of assigned mission.

The CHAIRMAN. What page in the book is that?
Mr. KELLEHER. 105, Mr. Chairman.

General SHULER. Mr. Chairman, these are maintenance shops for signal maintenance, ordnance maintenance, and engineer maintenance for our Nike and Hawk system. They give us the close field maintenance we need, sir, to keep our missiles ready to fire at all times. The CHAIRMAN. Now, let's see. They are for what?

General SHULER. These are signal, ordnance, and engineering maintenance shops-guided missile maintenance shops to keep our Nike and Hawk system functioning at all times, sir.

Mr. RIVERS. That is under the Continental Air Command setup? General SHULER. That is right, sir, the Nike and Hawk is. The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, that item is approved. Now, "Outside continental United States, Alaskan area. Eielson Air Force Base: Operational and training facilities, $222,000."

General SHULER. Eielson AFB (Army): USARAL; installation located 23 miles northwest of Fairbanks; initially occupied in 1944; designated "permanent."

Mission: Ground and antiaircraft and logistical support of Army units in northern Alaska.

Total cost of land and improvements accounted for by Alaskan Air Command.

Present strength: Military, 1,852; civilian employees, 11.

Line items requested for fiscal year 1959 authorization ($222,000 total): Field training facilities.

Detailed justification follows:

Field training facilities ($222,000): This item is required to provide adequate field and tactical training of troops assigned to this installation, including infantry, field artillery, and tank units. Existing facilities consists of an obsolete 20 point KD rifle range. There are no existing facilities for the type of training required to be conducted on the proposed facilities. The existing KD rifle range will continue in use for certain types of competitive firing. Without the proposed training facilities, adequate troop training cannot be accomplished, leaving unqualified personnel to handle the Army's basic mission. The mock practice areas are located north of North Street. The 15 point small-bore range will be loctted in the basement of existing enilsted men's barracks. Other facilities will be located in the Beaver Creek withdrawal area of 256,000 acres, adjacent to and easterly of Eielson AFB.

Mr. KELLEHER. Page 108.

The CHAIRMAN. All right.

What have you to say about that?

General SHULER. Mr. Chairman, we have the mission in Alaska for the ground security of the Air Force bases there.

This facility is needed to keep our people proficient in their arms, to carry out this mission of protection.

They do not now have any proper facilities to train for this mission, sir, and this would give them the ranges necessary to become proficient in their weapons.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, this is very low in your priority also.

And in studying this Saturday, we concluded that we could with. propriety forget it for this go round.

Now, Mr. Kelleher, what is it?

Mr. KELLEHER. It is the whole item, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. Yes, sir.

Mr. KELLEHER. Field training facilities as described by General Shuler.

The CHAIRMAN. That is right.

I think we will let this one go by without any disturbance to the program in Alaska. Without objection, we will delete this item from the bill.

Now, Fairbanks, $7,000, for real estate. What about that one, General?

General SHULER. Fairbanks permafrost research area: Alaska (engineers); installation located 2 miles northeast of Fairbanks; initially occupied in 1946; designated "temporary."

Mission: Performance of field tests of construction methods in permafrost areas for use in the development of design criteria for military construction in arctic and subarctic regions.

Total cost (based on price when acquired), none.

Cost of improvements (permanent and other), none.
Cost of land
acres), none.

Present strength: Military, none; civilian employees, none. Line items requested for fiscal year 1959 authorization ($7,000 total): Land acquisition.

Detailed justification follows:

Land acquisition ($7,000): The land comprising the Fairbanks permafrost research area is required in the continuing research and investigation of military construction on permanently frozen ground to develop design methods and criteria. Of the total area required 120 acres is public domain and 13.64 acres is privately owned. The privately owned land was under lease at $1 per annum until December 31, 1956; ownership of the company owning the land has changed hands, and the new owner no longer wishes to lease but wishes to sell the property. He has granted use of the land to the Government free of rental until June 1, 1958, in order to provide time in which funds can be appropriated for acquisition of the land. This item proposes acquisition of the 13.64 acres of privately owned land. If this land is not acquired the owner intends to sell and there probably will be no likelihood of leasing from any new owner. Termination of the use of these 13.64 acres would interrupt the accumulation of data which are required over a period of years, and would render incomplete and useless much of the data which have been obtained by the Government at a cost of several hundred thousands of dollars. General SHULER. Sir, this is a piece of privately owned land which was under lease by us at $1 per year until December 31, 1956. The ownership of the company owning the land has changed hands and the new owner no longer wishes to lease it but wishes to sell it, and he has let us use it until we can-until actually June 1, 1958, and until we can come to Congress and get authority to acquire it.

Now, the reason we need this, sir, is that we have many thousands of dollars of experimentation in this ground in connection with experimenting with permafrost for construction, and we will lose, sir, several hundred thousand dollars of data that we have collected and are collecting if we don't retain this land and all the things we have in it for experimentation.

The CHAIRMAN. Without objection, the item is approved.
Now, the next one is the Pacific Command Area.

Mr. RIVERS. Could I ask the general, Mr. Chairman:

Is that a policy of the Army, to go out here and put a terrific investment on something with no more permanence there than that? General SHULER. Sir, we have 120 acres up there which is public domain, which we are on, and then we have this 13.64 acres privately owned, which we had a lease on.

I would agree with the Congressman that it would have been safer to have had a better hold on the land than we did.

Mr. RIVERS. It seems to me it would be better planning.

The CHAIRMAN. All right.

Mr. RIVERS. I hope you don't do that thing too often.

The CHAIRMAN. The next one is Kawaihae Harbor, T. H., "Operational and training facilities, $240,000."

General SHULER. Kawaihae Harbor, Hawaii: USARPAC; installation located 5 miles west of Kamuela; initially occupied in 1956; designated "temporary."

Mission: Port of embarkation to Pohakuloa training area.
Total cost (based on price when acquired), none.

Cost of improvements (permanent and other), none.

Cost of land (

- acres), none.

Present strength: Military, not available; civilian employees, not available.

Line items requested for fiscal year 1959 authorization ($240,000 total): LST facility.

Detailed justification follows:

LST facility ($240,000): Pohakuloa training area on the island of Hawaii is utilized jointly by the 25th Infantry Division, the Marines and the Hawaii National Guard for training problems and tests. Troops from Oahu are transported to the island of Hawaii on LST's. Currently, the LST's can dock either at Hilo Harbor, a deep water port or at Kawaihae, at present a barge harbor. Kawaihae is 52 miles or 6 hours LST sailing time closer to Honolulu than Hilo. The overland distance from Iilo to Pohakuloa is 56 miles while the distance from Kawaihae to Pohakuloa is only 36 miles. Moreover, the former route passes through the city of Hilo and other inhabited towns. The latter route traverses pastures and farmlands. It is therefore advantageous to utilize Kawaihae whenever possible. Currently LST's land at Kawaihae whenever weather permits. During the Army maneuvers in 1956 at Pohakuloa training area, the LST's landing at Kawaihae experienced great difficulty in entering the barge channel. The existing turning basin is of insufficient size for an LST to turn, therefore, it is necessary for the vessel to back out of the harbor through the narrow entrance channel.

LST's landing at Hilo pay full wharfage and dockage fees to the Territory of Hawaii and LST's landing at Kawaihae pay full dockage and one-half wharfage fees.

Improvement of Kawaihae Harbor to a deep water port is authorized by the River and Harbor Act approved May 17, 1950. Funds in the amount of $4,150,000 were appropriated by Congress. Construction of causeways, dikes, and revetments at cost of $696,419 were completed by the district engineer in July 1954. A contract for dredging of the harbor at $2,367,000 was awarded in July 1957. The total estimated cost of improvements to the harbor is approximately $6 million. Completion of the improvements will eliminate the present beach on which LST's land.

In conjunction with developments to the Kawaihae Harbor, the Honolulu district engineer has prepared plans for an LST landing facility for mooring of 2 LST's at the south corner of the harbor basin. The facility includes a berthing area 250 by 375 feet dredged to 11 feet with 2 feet overdepth referred to mean lower low water, 3 creosoted-timber-pile dolphins and a reinforced concrete ramp 49 feet 7 inches by 90 feet. Estimated cost of the facility, if constructed concurrently with the Kawaihae Harbor improvements, is $154,000 and if not constructed concurrently is $250,000.