The Alaska Senate delegation continues to keep up the pressure on Panetta on the proposed Eielson base move to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson that is slated to happen.

Yesterday, Senator Begich penned a letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta after a meeting last month in Senator Begich’s office where Begich asked Panetta to provide additional data on the move. In his letter, Begich pointed out that some information was supplied Congress, but it was incomplete and missing credible data such as information on available housing and dorm space for military and their families. Housing data gleened from “Craig’s List,” Begich says is inadequate and instead an appropriate housing analysis needs to be completed with different, reliable data.

Begich also pointed out in his letter that contrary to what the Air Force told Congress, about an initial $3.5 million saving in FY13 alone, the Site Activation Task Force says that an additional $5.6 million would be needed to facilitate the move. In addition, Begich says, assessment of cost beyond FY13 weren’t done, meaning that cost savings for that period are nullified.

Begich penned in the letter, “I strongly urge you to consider the adverse impact hastily implementing a plan without the facts will have on more than 500 military members and two communities,” Begich writes. “In the interest of our military families and the Department of Defense’s relationship with communities across the country and with Congress, I implore you to issue a one-year delay so a comprehensive analysis can be completed as was adopted by the Senate Armed Services Committee in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 13.”

Meanwhile Alaska’s Senior Senator, Lisa Murkowski seized the opportunity of having the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to lay out the wide range of Alaskan concerns and the potential shortcomings surrounding the United States Air Force proposal to move the F-16s from Eielson Air Force Base.

Murkowski raised several key objections and possibly harmful impacts: the 168^th Air National Guard refueling unit’s operations and capacity; what the cuts could mean to the Army’s training ranges nearby; the housing shortage in the Anchorage area and the impacts of flooding the Fairbanks real estate market with the homes of departing airmen, as well as the fact this move will cost millions upfront when it was initially purported to save money. Then Murkowski boiled it down to a “direct question”:

“The very direct question I have for you is whether or not you will encourage the Air Force to abandon this plan for Eielson Air Force Base in 2013, take this proposal back to the drawing board and give it the thorough, comprehensive vetting that it must have to ensure that we are operating with the focus on the Asia-Pacific vision – so that this truly reflects the Pentagon’s new defense strategy.”

In response to that question Secretary Panetta replied, “I just want you to know … that we have no intention of closing down Eielson. It’s a very important base for us. It’s important for air refueling. It’s important in terms of the role that we want to be able to play with regards to the Pacific. Nothing that is being recommended here in any way is intended to impact Eielson as a future base for the Air Force.”

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also replied in saying, “I will commit to you that I will go back and make sure I understand their plan better and then I’ll engage with you on it personally.”

She voiced her concern, and the reason behind that concern by responding to their remarks, “Part of the proposed savings that the Air Force is looking to is demolishing several buildings within Eielson – the replacement of which looks to be about $150 million… It would appear to be a Backdoor BRAC and that is our concern, so again if I can ask you to do a very comprehensive review and work with us.”

Begich’s letter to the Secretary of Defense can be accessed here.

A clip of the dialogue from the Appropriations Subcommittee can be seen on the video player on the front page.