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Thursday, March 22, 2001
Army Depot hosts hearing about budget
Military officials will discuss challenges depots are facing
By Stephanie L. Jordan
Caller-Times

Witnesses for CCAD hearing
Panel 1:
David Warren, director of defense management issues, National Security and International Affairs Division, General Accounting Office
Panel 2:
Gen. John G. Coburn, commander, Army Materiel Command
Gen. Lester Lyles, commander, Air Force Materiel Command
Vice Adm. Joseph W. Dyer, commander, Naval Air Systems Command
Maj. Gen. General Paul M. Lee, commanding general, Marine Corps Materiel Command
Panel 3:
Col. Mitch Dockens, commanding officer, Corpus Christi Army Depot
Maj. Gen. Scott Bergren, U.S. Air Force, commanding officer, Ogden Air Logistics Center
Col. Gilda Jackson, U.S. Marine Corps, commanding officer, Cherry Point Naval Aviation Depot
Col. Aaron Hayes, commanding officer, Anniston Army Depot
Maj. Gen. Dennis Haines, commanding officer, Warner-Robins Air Logistics Center
Col. Robert W. Cerney, director, Multi-commodity Maintenance Center, Marine Corps Base, Albany
Col. Fred Hart, commanding officer, Red River Army Depot
Capt. Chris Roum, commanding officer, Jacksonville Naval Aviation Depot
Maj. Gen. Charles L. Johnson II, commanding officer, Tinker Air Logistics Center
Col. Kurt Weidenthal, commanding officer, Tobyhanna Army Depot
Capt. Emory Chenoweth, commanding officer, North Island Naval Aviation Depot
Col. Ervin Rivers, director, Multi-Commodity Maintenance Center, Marine Corps Base, Barstow
Col. Robert English, commanding officer, Letterkenny Army Depot

A congressional subcommittee that controls a third of the proposed $325-billion defense budget and influences the amount of federal money earmarked for military facilities will hold a hearing Friday at the Corpus Christi Army Depot.
   The hearing is being held so military officers from around the country can brief subcommittee members on challenges depots are facing in an age of tight defense budgets, said Vickie Plunkett, deputy chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz.
   "We're holding it at the depot because we wanted (subcommittee members) to have a first-hand look at a first-class depot," Plunkett said.
   Friday's hearing will be the first the U.S. House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Military Readiness has held at the depot here.
   The depot, which opened in 1961, is among the region's largest employers. Convincing the subcommittee to meet in South Texas was a coup, said Col. Mitch Dockens, commanding officer of the depot.
   "This is a really good thing," Dockens said. "Mr. Ortiz has tried really hard to get a hearing here and now he's finally gotten what he wants. This is a great opportunity to show off the depot."
   The day's testimony begins with an official from the General Accounting Office. The second panel of speakers features military officers overseeing depots for all four branches of the armed forces - the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps.
   The last panel features commanders of depots across the country in all military branches.
   "Each of the panel members will give a statement and then each one will open up for questions from the members," said Dockens, who will testify at the hearing.
   U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon, D-Pa., chairs the military readiness subcommittee, which advises the Committee on Armed Services. Members will use the information gathered at the hearings to shape the National Defense Authorization Act, the annual bill authorizing spending by the Department of Defense.
   This information will be used in drafting the defense budget for the 2002 fiscal year.
   In past years, subcommittees of the House Armed Services Committee have held similar field hearings on subjects ranging from health care to domestic counter-terrorism preparedness in the military.
   The subcommittee is responsible for authorizing funding for operation and maintenance, the readiness and preparedness requirements of the defense establishment and related legislative oversight.
   The hearing at the depot will be the first for the subcommittee this year. What's important about this subcommittee is that the money it controls is that which is most readily available to the troops, said Cathy Travis, spokeswoman for Ortiz's office.
   "This is the subcommittee that most effects our readiness to fight and win wars, because this committee controls the operations and maintenance accounts," Travis said. "Those accounts are the most readily available."
   The public hearing will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the depot's Pre-shop Analysis Building.
   There will be a two-hour break for lunch and a tour for the eight U.S. Representatives who will hold the hearing.

Staff writer Stephanie L. Jordan can be reached at 886-3724 or by e-mail at jordans@caller.com

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