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general has done an excellent job in leading the National Guard and the Air Guard to its strong place. It is good to have you with us. General, go to it.

TESTIMONY OF MAJ. GEN. ALFRED F. AHNER, PRESIDENT OF THE ADJUTANTS GENERAL ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES AND ADJUTANT GENERAL OF INDIANA, ACCOMPANIED BY COL. WILLIAM BLATT, LEGAL COUNSEL, NATIONAL GUARD ASSOCIATION

General AHNER. Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the Adjutants General Association of the United States, I would like to thank you and your committee for affording this opportunity to address you and to recommend passage of Senate bill 1858.

This bill as written will fill a gap in the present law and will alleviate problems which have confronted the National Guard and litigants for

many years.

The Federal courts have held that National Guardsmen on title 32 training duty were not Federal employees, and therefore, not covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act. We disagree. This legislation will correct this holding by explicitly providing that guardsmen performing training and duties under title 32 are Federal employees under the purview of the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Under title 32, training is performed under Federal directives and guidelines; uniforms and equipment are furnished by the U.S. Government; guardsmen are paid for this training by U.S. Treasury checks; units are inspected and evaluated by the active services.

In our opinion, guardsmen are Federal employees since they are trained and controlled for their Federal missions by directives and regulations from the active services and the National Guard Bureau. Full-time technicians, employed by the Guard, are Federal employees during their employment but while performing their military duties on weekend training assemblies or annual training are not protected by the Federal Tort Claims Act. For the past year, at the direction of Congress, we have been converting some of these technican positions to full-time military positions under title 32. Technicians who have converted to full-time military status at the present time are not provided protection under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Permit me to cite one example of the inequity of our current law. Guardsmen, reservists and their active duty counterparts have identical missions, training and preparation for the defense of our country. In this posture, all military personnel are performing the same function, the only difference being the guardsmen and reservists do it on either a part-time basis or as a full-time technician.

A few years ago, the 1st Battalion, the 503d Infantry from Fort Campbell, Ky., trained for 2 weeks with Indiana Guardsmen at Camp Atterbury, Ind. A negligent wrong against a third party arising out of that training would have found a remedy in the Federal Tort Claims Act as to the active army soldier but not so as to the soldier in the Guard.

To say that these men or women were serving two different masters is hard to perceive and difficult to accept. They were, in fact, training for the same purpose and for the same master-the United States of America.

Mr. Chairman, with your permission, I will depart from the text here to cite one of the samples of the problems that this creates and Senator Thurmond, this comes from your State of South Carolina, the adjutant general of South Carolina.

This is 1 of 27 responses from the Adjutant Generals citing the problems caused in training, and I quote,

The absence of Federal Tort Claims Act coverage has severely restricted the training and operations of the military police of the South Carolina Army National Guard in the following areas:

A. Annual training. The South Carolina Army National Guard MPs have participated in joint training exercises solid support. The South Carolina Army National Guard had to perform duties without ammunition or weapons. This was detrimental to their effectiveness in that they were unable to respond adequately to real world requirements. They were vulnerable to any deadly force used by perpetrators. Additionally, the active Army was hesitant, and remains so, to depend on the Guard in a real situation. The Guard was and is unable to provide adequate back-up to life-and-death situations when operating on a one-on-one basis with the active Army.

B. The South Carolina Army National Guard MPs were utilized at West Point during the fall of 1979. Again unarmed and vulnerable.

C. The South Carolina Army National Guard MPs will attend at Camp Shelby, MS, in a law enforcement capacity. They will not be armed. They will be vulnerable to any excessive situation. They will be the only law enforcement personnel at Camp Shelby during that time frame.

D. The same holds true for law enforcement duty at Camp Pickett, Virginia, and any other camp they may be required to assist.

E. In all instances, the lack of Federal Torts Claim Act coverage impacts on morale, efficiency and real world relationships with the active components.

F. The South Carolina Army National Guard strongly urges legislation extending the Federal Torts Claim coverage to our personnel both Military Police and all others to preclude liability in travel out of State.

It seems to be universal in the States having the similar problems as they are having in South Carolina.

This bill will not only protect the guardsmen when fulfilling their Federal mission, but it will also provide legal redress for those persons who have been injured by guardsmen. These people have only limited relief under the National Guard Claims Act and in those cases of a catastrophic accident, the relief is provided by a special bill in Congress.

In summary, passage of this bill will accomplish three very important objectives, the first being it will provide equality and fairness by treating guardsmen as employees in the same manner as active duty personnel and Reservists; it will bring practice into line with reality, the reality being that guardsmen performing duty under title 32 are in fact Federal employees and this bill recognizes that fact; it will fill a void which exists in the coverage and protection of individual guardsmen. The gap now exists that guardsmen are not considered Federal employees yet since they are not performing any State activity, they are not considered State employees.

Finally, the United States will be adding coverage for an important part of the "total force" which we are all committed to, and the National Guard will receive coverage only for the benefit derived by the United States during that time he or she is serving their country. Such a bargain soldier, or part timer, will not overburden the Government with claims.

On behalf of all the States' adjutants general and Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia, I want to convey to you, Mr. Chairman, and the committee our thanks and appreciation for

providing us the opportunity to express our views on this most important piece of legislation. Thank you.

[Prepared statement of Maj. Gen. Alfred Ahner follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MAJ. GEN. ALFRED F. AHNER

Mr. Chairman: On behalf of the Adjutants General Association of the United States, I would like to thank you and your committee for affording this opportunity to address you and to recommend passage of Senate bill 1858. This bill as written will fill a gap in the present law and will alleviate problems which have confronted the National Guard and litigants for many years. The Federal courts have held that National Guardsmen on title 32 training duty were not Federal employees, and therefore, not covered by the Federal Tort Claims Act. We disagree. This legislation will correct this holding by explicity providing that guardsmen performing training and duties under title 32 are Federal employees under the purview of the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Under title 32, training is performed under Federal directives and guidelines, uniforms and equipment are furnished by the United States Government, Guardsmen are paid for this training by U.S. Treasury checks, units are inspected and evaluated by the active services. In our opinion, guardsmen are Federal employees since they are trained and controlled for their Federal missions by directives and regulations from the active services and the National Guard Bureau.

Full-time technicians, employed by the Guard, are Federal employees during their employment but while performing their military duties on weekend training assemblies or annual training are not protected by the Federal Tort Claims Act. For the past year, at the direction of Congress, we have been converting some of these technician positions to full-time military positions under title 32. Technicians who have converted to full time military status at the present time are not provided protection under the Federal Tort Claims Act.

Permit me to cite one example of the inequity of our current law. Guardsmen, reservists and their active duty counterparts have identical missions, training and preparation for the defense of our country. In this posture, all military personnel are performing the same function the only difference being the Guardsmen and reservists do it on either a part-time basis or as a full-time technician.

A few years ago, the 1st battalion, the 503, Infantry from Fort Campbell, Kentucky trained for two weeks with Indiana guardsmen at Camp Atterbury, Indiana. A negligent wrong against a third party arising out of that training would have found a remedy in the Federal Tort Claims Act as to the active army soldier but not so as to the soldier in the guard. To say that these men or women were serving two different masters is hard to perceive and difficult to accept. They were, in fact training for the same purpose and for the same master-the United States of America.

This bill will not only protect the guardsmen when fulfilling their Federal mission, but it will also provide legal redress for those persons who have been injured by guardsmen. These people have only limited relief under the National Guard Claims Act and in those cases of a catastrophic accident, the relief if provided by a speical bill in Congress.

In summary, passage of this bill will accomplish three very important objectives: the first being.

It will provide equality and fairness by treating guardsmen as employees in the same manner as active duty personnel and reservists.

It will bring practice into line with reality, the reality being that guardsmen performing duty under title 32 are in fact Federal employees and this bill recognizes that fact.

It will fill a void which exists in the coverage and protection of individual guardsmen. The gap now exists that guardsmen are not considered Federal employees yet since they are not performing any State activity they are not considered State employees.

Finally, the United States will be adding coverage for an important part of the total force which we are all committed to, and the National Guard will receive coverage only for the benefit derived by the United States during that time he or she is serving their country. Such a bargain soldier, or part-timer will not overburden the Government with claims.

On behalf of all the States adjutants general and Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia, I want to convey to you Mr. Chairman and the committee our thanks and appreciation for providing us the opportunity to express our views on this most important piece of legislation.

MAJ. GEN. ALFRED F. AHNER

THE ADJUTANT GENERAL, INDIANA NATIONAL GUARD

General Alfred F. Ahner enlisted 22 August 1942 in what was then the Enlisted Reserve Corps and was ordered to active duty as a private on 27 March 1943. He completed basic training at Camp Wallace, Texas. After basic training, he was assigned to the 138th AAA Gun Battalion and embarked to England. He engaged in combat in France, Belgium, Germany and Austria. He attended Officer Candidate School in 1945 where he received his commission, and was assigned to Company A, 222d Regiment, 42d Infantry Division as a platoon leader. General Ahner was released from active duty as 1st lieutenant on 4 June 1946 and assigned to the Officers Reserve Corps. In January 1948 he was appointed a 1st lieutenant, Infantry in the Indiana Army National Guard with assignment to Co K, 293d Infantry. He was transferred to S-3, 1st Battalion 293d Infantry in December 1948, and was promoted to captain in March 1950. He was then transferred to S-3, 2d Battalion, 151st Infantry in October 1951. In October 1953 General Ahner was transferred to Assistant G-3, HHC, 38th Infantry Division and promoted to major in April 1954.

On 14 January 1957 he was appointed Assistant Adjutant General of the State of Indiana and promoted to lieutenant colonel in April 1958. In June 1960 General Ahner was transferred to G-4, HHC, 38th Infantry Division. In August 1960 he was appointed to the Adjutant General and received the rank of bigadier general on 8 November 1960. In January 1961 he was reassigned as Executive Officer to the Adjutant General in the grade of lieutenant colonel. He was assigned as G-3, HHC, 38th Infantry Division in February 1961, and as Chief of Staff, HHD, Indiana Army National Guard on 1 February 1956 and promoted to colonel the same day.

On 1 April 1968, General Ahner was assigned as Military Support to Civil Authorities Officer, HHD, Indiana Army National Guard. He held this assignment until his appointment as Adjutant General on 1 August 1972. General Ahner received Federal recognition as brigadier general on 28 February 1973. He was promoted and federally recognized as major general on 24 April 1974. Decorations and awards

Certificate of Commendation from General Mark Clark; Commendation Ribbon with Metal Pendant; Good Conduct Medal; Army of Occupation Medal; American Theater Service Medal; Victory Medal; Armed Forces Reserve Medal; Indiana Long Service Medal; Indiana Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster; European Theater Medal; Battle Stars for Ground Combat, Rhineland, and Ardennes; National Guard Minute Man Award; Indiana Distinguished Service Medal.

Civic Affiliations

National Guard Association of the United States and Indiana; Indiana Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Army; Indiana Central Alumni Association; Rainbow Division Veterans Association; Indianapolis Northwood Christian Church.

Civilian Occupation

The Adjutant General, State of Indiana.

Senator BAYH. General, thank you very much. I appreciate your being here with us, and I want to reemphasize as I did earlier your services that you add both to our country and to the National Guard. It is typical of your record that you would help resolve a further problem. Thank you for your attendence and all the work you have put into this problem.

Senator Thurmond?

Senator THURMOND. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. Gentlemen, I want to thank you for your appearance here, and we appreciate your being here, and General Greenlief and Mr. Blatt, Mr.

It appears now that the questions that have been raised in the minds of some people have been clarified. I feel we can bring our unanimous support on this bill for you gentlemen.

Senator BAYH. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, General, Mr. Blatt, General Ahner. We appreciate your taking time from your very busy schedule to be with us. We will conclude our hearing at this time. Hopefully we can move this on to the subcommittee and get the full committee to move this out quickly so we can get it over to the House in time for passage this year.

Thank you very much, gentlemen.

[Whereupon, at 11:35 a.m., the subcommittee recessed to reconvene subject to the call of the Chair.]

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