COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS JOHN TABER, New York, Chairman RICHARD B. WIGGLESWORTH, Massachusetts H. CARL ANDERSEN, Minnesota IVOR D. FENTON, Pennsylvania JOHN PHILLIPS, California ERRETT P. SCRIVNER, Kansas FREDERIC R. COUDERT, JR., New York NORRIS COTTON, New Hampshire BENJAMIN F. JAMES, Pennsylvania CHARLES R. JONAS, North Carolina OTTO KRUEGER, North Dakota MELVIN R. LAIRD, Wisconsin ELFORD A. CEDERBERG, Michigan CLARENCE CANNON, Missouri J. VAUGHAN GARY, Virginia JOHN E. FOGARTY, Rhode Island ANTONIO M. FERNANDEZ, New Mexico OTTO E. PASSMAN, Louisiana ALFRED D. SIEMINSKI, New Jersey GEORGE Y. HARVEY, Clerk KENNETH SPRANKLE, Assistant Clerk (II) SUBCOMMITTEE ON CIVIL FUNCTIONS AND MILITARY CONSTRUCTION GLENN R. DAVIS, Wisconsin, Chairman T. MILLETT HAND, New Jersey CLARENCE CANNON, Missouri MILITARY PUBLIC WORKS MONDAY, JUNE 22, 1953. DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE WITNESSES HON. JAMES H. DOUGLAS, UNDER SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE MAJ. GEN. O. S. PICHER, ASSISTANT FOR PROGRAMING, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, OPERATIONS MAJ. GEN. LEE B. WASHBOURNE, DIRECTOR OF INSTALLATIONS, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, OPERATIONS MAJ. GEN. M. J. ASENSIO, DIRECTOR OF BUDGET, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, COMPTROLLER COL. R. W. STANLEY, CHIEF, PROGRAMS AND REQUIREMENTS BRANCH, OPERATIONAL PLANS DIVISION, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, OPERATIONS MAJ. GEN. J. M. WEIKERT, ASSISTANT DEPUTY CHIEF of staff, BRIG. GEN. OLIN F. McILAY, OFFICE OF THE AIR SURGEON J. R. GIBBENS, CIVILIAN ADVISER TO DEPUTY DIRECTOR, DEPUTY COL. A. G. SALISBURY, DEPUTY CHIEF PROGRAMING DIVISION, ASSISTANT FOR PROGRAMING, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, OPERATIONS COL. THOMAS H. HOLBROOK, CHIEF, FLYING TRAINING DIVISION, DIRECTORATE OF TRAINING, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, TRAIN ING LT. COL. J. R. BERRY, ACTING CHIEF, FACILITIES DIVISION, ASSISTANT FOR DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMING, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, DEVELOPMENT COL. W. F. COOK, CHIEF, FACILITIES DIVISION, SURGEON GENERAL LEWIS E. TURNER, CHIEF, MILITARY REQUIREMENTS AND CONSTRUCTION DIVISION, DIRECTORATE OF BUDGET, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, COMPTROLLER COL. WILLIAM M. KRICKER, CHIEF, CONSTRUCTION BRANCH, MILITARY REQUIREMENTS AND CONSTRUCTION DIVISION, DIRECTORATE OF BUDGET, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF, COMPTROLLER (1) Mr. DAVIS. We are pleased to have with us this morning representatives of the Air Force to begin the hearings on the military construction program for the Air Force for fiscal year 1954. USE OF EXISTING FUNDS TO COVER NEW AUTHORIZATIONS There has been a little delay in starting these hearings based on the feeling that we might get into confusion in attempting to deal with it on a piecemeal basis. In other words, this would represent one bite and later on, based on proposed new authorizations now pending, we might find ourselves dealing with another part of the same base in additional hearings. We felt that would be confusing. I understand now, however, that the pending authorizations would be covered by funds already on hand within the Department of Defense. Mr. DOUGLAS. That is correct. Mr. DAVIS. So, there would not be a problem of two separate appropriation bills, and the latter could be handled by the committee out of funds already on hand. We would not need to go to the Congress for appropriation of funds. General ASENSIO. That is correct. We would need your authority and the authority of the Senate Appropriations Committee to apply funds already on hand against new authorizations. Mr. DAVIS. We will be glad to hear your general statements. General ASENSIO. We should like to proceed, Mr. Chairman, in this order: We would like to have a presentation by Under Secretary Douglas giving salient aspects of our public works program and then a presentation by Colonel Stanley giving the operations requirements of the Air Force program; a presentation by me on the budgetary aspects and finally a presentation by General Washbourne who has the direct responsibility as Director of Installations for the progress on the installations program. SALIENT ASPECTS OF MILITARY PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAM Mr. DAVIS. We will be pleased to have you proceed in that manner and we will hear Secretary Douglas. ESTABLISHMENT OF SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR INSTALLATIONS Mr. DOUGLAS. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am very glad to have the opportunity to assist in presenting to you the Air Force request for 1954 funds which are required to meet the Air Force base installation construction program. Before launching into a discussion of the program and its requirements I would like to say just a few words about the organization of the Secretary's Office to provide supervision and assistance in the programing and construction of base installations. We have established this year in the Office of the Secretary the Office of Special Assistant to the Secretary for Installations. This Assistant with respect to installations is in a position similar to that of the statutory Assistant Secretaries with respect to their functional responsibilities. It has not been easy to find the individual with both the qualifications and the willingness to undertake supervision of our Air Force construction and the heavy responsibilities which go with that duty, but he is here today and has undertaken the installations job. He is John M. Ferry and I am very much pleased to be able to introduce him to you today. Mr. Ferry sits at my right. Mr. Ferry was an ensign in the Navy in the First World War, after which he had broad experience in the construction industry. In World War II he was with the Corps of Engineers, serving in the Caribbean area where he was active in the design and construction not only of airbases but also of other military installations. He comes to the Air Force from the New York Telephone Co. where he has been engineer for buildings. You may be sure that the Secretary and I are glad that he has joined our staff and undertaken his new responsibilities. With respect to our program, as all of you know, the Air Force has been engaged in a broad program of expansion to meet our military requirements in four principal categories of airpowerstrategic bombardment, air defense, tactical operations, and transport. As you know, this program of expansion has involved not only the procurement of modern aircraft and the training of personnel, but also the construction of base installations here in the United States, the Far East, Alaska, the North Atlantic area, Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. SIZE OF CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM The size of our construction program is attributable not only to a rapid increase in the size of the Air Force under its expansion program, but to the fact that a modern Air Force must mean bigger aircraft and jetpower, and calls for new facilities, longer runways, and stronger runways. The program involves some 155 airbases in the United States and some 117 airbases overseas. Almost any figures of that sort that we use, I might say in a word of caution, need to be carefully defined. If we speak of major installations we find we are speaking of installations that do not have airstrips and landing-field facilities sometimes, and we will run into a substantially high figure. The figures that are just indicated and which I tried to give you are really our major airfield installations both in the Zone of Interior and overseas. In the past this construction program, as several of you I think are aware, has been described as requiring a total funding of just over $9 billion. Of this amount $7 billion has been authorized by the Armed Services Committees; $5 billion has been funded by this committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee and about $3.5 billion has been obligated, that is, put under contract. To understand a little better the overall program and to have a better perspective as to our request for $400 million of new funds, I believe it may be useful to take a quick look at a chart showing the present status of the program. STATUS OF FUNDS This chart has not been perhaps fully brought up to date, because it shows this estimated final appropriations requirement of just over $9 billion that I referred to. These figures were fully applicable before the interim program was adopted which has deferred certain |