General Seitter, we are doing our very best to provide some small amount of assistance to veterans who would not be afforded any assistance by the VA, unless they were specifically hospitalized by the VA for service connected illness or disability. The staff at Tripler should be commended by you and others within the Department of the Army for their compassion and treatment. I am sorry to say, that I cannot in good conscience make a similar statement for the local VA authorities.

Senator Inouye, one cannot forget the trauma of being a patient in the old Chalfonte Haddon Hall in the spring time in Atlantic City, after World War II, waiting to return to your home. One cannot forget you and your sergeant, Dan Aoki, walking the boards in an effort to recuperate far from home from your wounds in the service to your country. Senator, over 100,000 veterans live in Hawaii and many more in the Pacific Basin, and we cry out to you and the other members of the United States Senate to urge the Office of Veterans Affairs to expedite their plans to temporarily move our veterans into Unit E, and get to the business of constructing the Spark M. Matsunaga VA Medical Facility, Hawaii. Again, Senator I am extremely honored to offer this testimony to you and the Subcommittee on Defense Appropriations and I hope that you and your committee will be successful in your efforts to see that Hawaii's veterans finally earn their just due. Mahalo.

ADDITIONAL COMMITTEE QUESTIONS

[CLERK'S NOTE.-Additional questions submitted by subcommittee members, together with the Department's responses, will appear in the appendix portion of the hearings.]

SUBCOMMITTEE RECESS

Senator INOUYE. This subcommittee will stand in recess until 9 a.m. tomorrow morning, March 28. At that time, we will hold a hearing on Pacific rim issues at the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii, Manoa campus.

Thank you very much.

[Whereupon at 12:26 p.m., Wednesday, March 27, the subcommittee was recessed, to reconvene at 9 a.m., Thursday, March 28.]

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS

FOR FISCAL YEAR 1992

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1991

U.S. SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS,

Honolulu, HI.

The subcommittee met at 9 a.m., in the Keoni Auditorium of Jefferson Hall, East-West Center, University of Hawaii, Hon. Daniel K. Inouye (chairman) presiding.

Present: Senator Inouye.

Also present: Senator Akaka and Representative Neil Abercrombie.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

PACIFIC RIM ISSUES

STATEMENT OF ADM. CHARLES LARSON, COMMANDER IN CHIEF, U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND

ACCOMPANIED BY:

ADM. ROBERT J. KELLY, COMMANDER IN CHIEF, U.S. PACIFIC
FLEET

GEN. JIMMIE V. ADAMS, COMMANDER IN CHIEF, PACIFIC AIR
FORCES

LT. GEN. ROBERT F. MILLIGAN, COMMANDING GENERAL, FLEET
MARINE FORCE, PACIFIC

LT. GEN. JACK D. WOODALL, COMMANDER, U.S. ARMY JAPAN

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR INOUYE

Senator INOUYE. The hearing will please come to order.

As we begin this hearing, I wish to extend my warm aloha to my colleagues from the Hawaii congressional delegation, Senator Akaka, members of the public, military who are in attendance. The subcommittee welcomes all of you to a hearing on Pacific rim is

sues.

This session is the subcommittee's 10th hearing this year on the many issues surrounding the Pentagon's fiscal year 1992 defense budget request. Our hearing is to be a broad overview of the U.S. security interests in the Pacific region and a review of many of the topics very important to the U.S. Pacific Command, the component commands, and the people of the State of Hawaii.

Because of the importance of the Pacific Command to our national security, this will be one of only two hearings we will hold this year to receive testimony from our principal commanders-in-chief.

We will hear later from our NATO Commander about the many changes in Europe affecting our national security.

Today we will hear about the national security implications of the many changes and developments occurring in the Pacific rim region. Those of us from the State of Hawaii know full well how vital to our Nation's economic and military security are America's interests, friends, and allies in the Pacific region.

I wanted to hold this hearing in Honolulu, the home of the Pacific Command, to underscore this importance to the Defense Subcommittee and to the full Senate.

Our witnesses this morning are Adm. Charles Larson, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Command, and his principal component commanders. The admiral is accompanied by Adm. Robert J. Kelly, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet; Gen. Jimmie Adams, Commander, Pacific Air Forces; Lt. Gen. Robert Milligan, Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force Pacific; Lt. Gen. Jack D. Woodall, Commander, U.S. Army Japan, who is representing the Commander of the U.S. Army Pacific, Lt. Gen. Claude Kicklighter, who is unavoidably unable to appear before us today.

I wish to give my personal assurance to members of the public who are here that the subcommittee will arrange another session in the near future to hear from public witnesses. I can assure you that your voice will be heard.

At the outset I know I speak for the full committee when I said that I wished to salute all the members of our armed services for a job well done in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. I am particularly proud of the key role played by the forces based in the State of Hawaii.

As with the U.S. forces elsewhere, American forces in Hawaii face one of the most challenging periods in their history. The struggle to manage defense builddown while protecting essential military capabilities will be long and arduous. So the subcommittee is most interested in learning from the commanders as to how the Pacific Command forces are coping with this challenge and how they are going about redefining their missions and requirements for the future.

We also want to focus on the impacts these actions will have on the forces and military installations in the State of Hawaii. Congress will be laboring hard to understand the military and fiscal implications of the budget request and future defense plan. So we will need the candid advice and insight of military leaders such as you assembled here to help us in this very important task.

We have won the first real world war we have fought in the last 15 years and like all of you, I pray that we will not have another for many years, if ever. However, the world remains an uncertain and unfriendly environment in many ways. So we must make our defense spending decisions in this and future years with great care and foresight, make certain that the United States and our friends will prevail in any future conflict.

Admiral Larson, thank you for being with us today and we look forward to receiving your testimony. But before we do, may I call upon my colleague from Hawaii, Senator Akaka.

STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL AKAKA, U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII Senator AKAKA. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I also want to welcome our distinguished witnesses, CINCPAC Admiral Larson and his commanders, Admiral Kelly, General Adams, my best to General Kicklighter, General Woodall, and Lieutenant General Milligan. Let me take this opportunity to congratulate you, Admiral, on your new appointment. I was happy to be out there on that beautiful day. I have no doubt that your proven leadership and years of experience will maintain the working relationship established by Admiral Hardisty and the others that preceded him. Mr. Chairman, I wish to commend you for your leadership in the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and to thank you for your invitation to attend today's hearing. This hearing will undoubtedly bring greater attention to the importance of the Pacific in our national security policies. I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this important process.

Mr. Chairman, last year Congress and the administration implemented a difficult but necessary national defense policy which included the reduction of almost 80,000 troops. In light of the Persian Gulf conflict, Congress recently allowed the Department of Defense to suspend its troop end strengths required by the Fiscal Year 1991 National Defense Authorization Act.

Mr. Chairman, I want to commend you for your leadership in the Persian Gulf war. There is no question that the war brought this Nation together. People around the country have shown that patriotism is at its peak. I also want to thank you for the briefings that I attended, in which I heard from some of the Kaneohe pilots and one of the training officers. I mentioned to the training officer that he is going to have to rewrite the training manual after the Persian Gulf war.

However, even with the overwhelming success in the Persian Gulf, many of our heroes returning home may find that they are no longer needed. Rumors have surfaced that the military is considering pulling out of the islands, and I hope these rumors are unfounded. The State of Hawaii and the Defense Department have had a long working relationship, one that I hope continues.

Therefore, if we are to encourage a military presence here in Hawaii, we must ensure that these military personnel and their families have access to decent and affordable housing. Like the civilian sector, the need for military housing in Hawaii is rapidly growing. The Oahu Consolidated Family Housing Office, which, as you know, oversees military housing in Hawaii, estimates that by fiscal year 1993 there will be a 6,000 housing unit deficit. In these austere budgetary times, cooperation and compromise will be the key to any successful venture.

The people of Hawaii support the military. No one will agree more than the residents of Kailua, hometown for many of our famous Kaneohe marines. These hometown heroes played an integral part in our overwhelming success in the Persian Gulf and my deepest respect and admiration go out to these dedicated men and women. The Kaneohe marines proved their effectiveness in the Persian Gulf and should continue to do so in the Pacific theater, along with the other branches of our military.

Mr. Chairman, let me thank you once again for this opportunity to join you here today and welcome today's witnesses. Thank you. [The statement follows:]

STATEMENT OF SENATOR AKAKA

Mr. Chairman, I would like to welcome our distinguished witnesses CINCPAC Admiral Larson and his commanders, Admiral Kelly, General Adams, Lt. Gen. Kicklighter, and Lt. Gen. Milligan.

Let me take this opportunity to congratulate you, Admiral, on your new appointment. I have no doubt that your proven leadership and years of experience will maintain the working relationship established by your predecessor, Admiral Hardisty.

Mr. Chairman, I wish to commend you for your leadership in the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, and to thank you for your invitation to attend today's hearing. This hearing will undoubtedly bring greater attention to the importance the Pacific plays in our national security policies. I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this important process.

Mr. Chairman, last year, Congress and the Administration implemented a difficult, but necessary, national defense policy which included the reduction of almost 80,000 troops. In light of the Persian Gulf conflict, Congress recently allowed the Department of Defense to suspend its troop end-strengths required by the fiscal year 1991 National Defense Authorization Act.

However, even with the overwhelming success in the Persian Gulf, many of these heroes returning home may find they are no longer needed. Rumors have surfaced that the military is considering pulling out of the Islands, I hope that these rumors are unfounded. The State of Hawaii and the Defense Department have had a long working relationship, one that I hope continues.

Therefore, if we are to encourage a military presence here in Hawaii, we must ensure that these military personnel and their families have access to decent and affordable housing. Like the civilian sector, the need for military housing in Hawaii is rapidly growing. The Oahu Consolidated Family Housing Office, which as you know oversees military housing in Hawaii, estimates that by fiscal year 1993 there will be a 6,000 housing unit deficit. In these austere budgetary times, cooperation and compromise will be the key to any successful venture.

The people of Hawaii support the military. No one will agree more than the residents of Kailua-hometown for many of our famous Kaneohe Marines. These hometown heroes played an integral part in our overwhelming success in the Persian Gulf and my deepest respect and admiration goes out to these dedicated men and women. The Kaneohe Marines proved their effectiveness in the Persian Gulf and should continue to do so in the Pacific theatre.

Mr. Chairman, let me thank you, once again, for this opportunity to join you here today and welcome today's witnesses.

Senator INOUYE. I thank you very much.

Admiral Larson, we have received your full statement and I can assure you and your component commanders that all of your statements have been incorporated in the full report. So you may proceed as you wish, sir.

OPENING REMARKS

Admiral LARSON. Mr. Chairman, Senator Akaka, I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to testify and answer your questions. I would like to take this opportunity, if I may, to make a few brief opening remarks.

First of all, I would like to express my deep appreciation to you, Mr. Chairman, and to Senator Stevens for the support that you and your committee have given to our Pacific forces. Your sincere interest and deep involvement have been critical to our successful national security policy in this area. You and your committee, and the other representatives here today have been regular visitors to the Pacific Command. You have been very instrumental in seeing how we put our resources to work and have helped us with our suc