Legislators from a dozen states take tour of JBER

by Air Force Staff Sgt. Robert Barnett
JBER Public Affairs

8/14/2014 - JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- A cross-section of state legislators from more than a dozen states across the U.S. visited Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Monday as part of the Council of State Governments of the West.

Air Force Col. Brian Bruckbauer, 673d Air Base Wing and JBER commander, briefed the group of approximately 50 legislators.

They were shown around the installation and saw demonstrations of the importance and capabilities of the joint base.

"It's a real pleasure to be able to share the people, facilities and missions of JBER with my colleagues from around the country," said Alaska state representative Dan Saddler. "CSG brings some people from the legislative, judicial and executive branches of the entire country here. It's great to be able to show the rest of the country what Alaska has to offer and the responsibilities JBER bears for our nation's defense.

"It's a real thrill to educate them about what the military does here."

The lawmakers toured the 90th Fighter Squadron to view a static display of an F-22 Raptor, and visited U.S. Army Alaska's Combatives Academy for demonstrations of modern hand-to-hand training. Through these activities, the politicians learned about the scope of the JBER mission.

"I really enjoyed the hand-to-hand combatives," Saddler said. "It's an aspect of the military people don't get to see that often. It's a rough, mean world out there and I'm pleased to know that there's good training to make sure that the Soldiers and the Airmen can stay safe and take the fight to the bad guys. It was very entertaining, too. "

At the end of their tour, the group met with members of the Alaska Civil Air Patrol to learn what CAP does in the Final Frontier state.

"I love Civil Air Patrol. I'm a pilot myself and if I ever go down by mistake, I want young, skilled people like these out there looking for me," Saddler said. "It's great to get young people the opportunity to learn leadership skills, and to plus-up the great search-and-rescue team here in Alaska. I wish more kids knew about it, and more kids were involved in it."

The tour was part of an annual legislature meeting in Anchorage.

The CSG West is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that serves the western legislatures of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. 

Associate members include the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia and the Pacific islands of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and Guam.

Founded in 1947, CSG West is one of four regions of the Council of State Governments that form part of a national community of states. 

CSG's regional and national structure invites focused participation from members on a more intimate, regional level while also providing a national platform to exchange ideas and information. 

This structure allows western lawmakers to engage with state officials of all three branches of state government, access national policy research and stay abreast of national trends and developments in Washington, D.C. impacting state governments, according to their website.