Senator STENNIS. Explain to us how you selected these projects that are in the bill for authorization. State X has projects Y and Z. How are they selected? General McGoWAN. Generally within the State, Mr. Chairman, the adjutant general determines the priority for construction, and we take those projects in that order, A, B, C, unless there were some disabling feature with respect to Project B which would not permit its construction, then we would omit B and pick up D. Senator STENNIS. So that applies throughout all these presentations here, whether it is Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts or wherever they are. General MCGOWAN. That is correct. Senator STENNIS. You first have a list from your State adjutant general's office. Then they have to clear with the National Guard Bureau? General MCGOWAN. Yes. Senator STENNIS. And then they go into the bill, and you don't have any in here except the ones that went through that method, is that correct? General McGOWAN. Yes, sir. Senator STENNIS. Now the House did add some, and we will ask you about that later, but we want to get your budget position first clear. We will have many questions asked about this. So that is a complete explanation of how they got into the bill, is that correct? General McGOWAN. That is correct, sir. Senator STENNIS. All right. Is there anything else you want to say, General, before we get into the particular units? General McGoWAN. No further statement for my part, sir. Senator STENNIS. I am going to suggest, gentlemen, or just observe to the committee that we have heard now the ground rules the way these projects were put together. They cleared every State adjutant general's office. I mean they were presented first by them in their priority list according to the way they saw it, went before the National Guard Bureau, and they took that list or as much of it as they were going to have funds for, in the order that they were presented subject to their power to say yes or no or make a substitution in the priority list and they come into the bill in that way. Are there any questions that you gentlemen want to ask? We do have projects here that represent area projects I know. General McGOWAN. Yes, sir. Senator STENNIS. And of course that is not a State matter, but that is something that the National Guard Bureau proposes, like your training site at Camp Stewart. I know you have a frail facility down at Camp Shelby in Mississippi, but that is an area project and not a State Guard project, is that right? General McGoWAN. That is correct, they serve all the States, or the major part of the States, of an Army area rather than the requirements of just one State in that area. Senator STENNIS. And to that extent they are purely national? General MCGOWAN. Yes, sir. |