During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) spoke about ensuring veterans who served at sensitive locations receive benefits for their exposure to harmful substances.
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00:00Thanks. Thank you very much, Senator Rosen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I'd also like to thank
00:08Secretary Mink, General Alvin, General Saltzman for testifying today for your service to our country.
00:15And General Alvin, thank you for taking the time to meet with me last week. I really appreciated
00:21our conversation ahead of this hearing. And I'm going to continue the discussion we had with both
00:26you and Secretary Mink on documenting exposure at classified locations. Excuse me. At General
00:33Cain's confirmation hearing, I raised the issue of documenting exposure at data masked locations
00:39where the duty station and even its existence are classified. This is to ensure that service
00:44members' records are accurately, they reflect the service-connected injuries incurred at those sites.
00:51I've heard from constituents who have served at such locations within the Nevada test and
00:56training range. They believe they were exposed to radiation from our days of conducting explosive
01:01nuclear weapons testing. And in addition to toxins from burn pits, which disposed of classified waste.
01:08However, DOD does not classify the range as a place where exposure occurred, despite the Department of
01:14Energy providing a presumption of exposure for their personnel who served at these exact same locations
01:21within the range, such as the Tonopah test range. And because their service is data masked, these veterans can't even prove
01:28to the VA that they were ever actually stationed there. Imagine that. So all of this have prevented them from being able to receive
01:36the veterans' benefits they deserve. So to Secretary Mink and General Alvin, I have a little bit more on this. So if you'll be brief, will you work with me to ensure that this committee, to ensure the Department of the Air Force provides a presumptive exposure,
01:40at relevant Air Force locations, and where the Department of Energy has done so for their personnel, we want to ensure that those who serve there, currently serving at these sites, receive sufficient documentation to support their health-related claims, all while still being able to protect the classified nature of their service.
01:55Secretary. Secretary? Yes, Secretary. Secretary? Senator, We take our health, our workforce seriously. We need to deal with this issue.
01:59Thank you. Department of Energy has. General?
02:05all while still being able to protect the classified nature of their service.
02:10Secretary.
02:11Yes, Senator.
02:12We take our health of our workforce seriously, and we need to deal with this issue.
02:18Department of Energy has.
02:20General.
02:21Absolutely, Senator.
02:22I would say that I don't know whether the Department of Air Force can do its own policy,
02:27but we certainly would be within the Department of Defense policy.
02:29We need to work.
02:30What I need to make sure of on the Air Force side is if it's determined that airmen, past
02:37or present, are qualified for those, they shouldn't be restricted from that because of the process
02:43and the process of being the data masked.
02:46That's something we need to work through.
02:47I have a solution, so you've teed me up for my next question because specifically, will
02:51you ensure, both of you, that your staff meets with my staff and the committee staff in the
02:56next few weeks so that we can ensure, correct this issue in the FY26 NDAA?
03:03We think that there's a fix for this.
03:05Senator, obviously, I'll defer to my secretary, but I think this is something that part is
03:09easily done to understand that once they're deemed qualified, we need to ensure that our
03:14process doesn't restrict them because of our...
03:17There's a template there that DOE's been using for years, so...
03:20We're happy to meet with their staff, Senator.
03:22I appreciate it.
03:23I want to talk a little bit about CCAs and the future of Creech.
03:27So, General Alvin, with the arrival of Experimental Operations Unit at Creech Air Force Base in
03:32the future deployment of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, CCA, if they're to be permanently
03:39based at Creech, which I'm really hopeful for, I'm curious when investments will be made
03:43to address housing deficiencies and support services in the area.
03:48Creech is remote, limited housing, limited services nearby, and airmen have to commute
03:53so many miles to the base from where they live.
03:55It's even longer commute for those folks who have kids.
03:58They have to drop them off to daycare, drive an hour to work, and Nellis Air Force Base,
04:03and so it's on the opposite...
04:05Nellis is on the opposite end of the Las Vegas Valley, excuse me.
04:07So, if CCAs are to be permanent based at Creech, what does the future of the base infrastructure
04:14look like, and how can we help support our personnel there, please?
04:19Thank you, Senator, and of course, we're very excited about the Collaborative Combat Aircraft,
04:23what it means for the future of our Air Force, and Creech is a natural location, not only
04:27because of the community support there, but also because of the range.
04:31But to your point, we need to ensure that a place that can already be challenging for
04:36the airmen who serve there now, as we add more airmen in, we need to make sure they're
04:40well cared for.
04:41And so, we have Site Activation Task Force that's going there now and assessing all of
04:44the needs.
04:46Everything from, as you mentioned, the childcare, making sure we have a better process and more
04:52rapidly expand the family childcare, because between the RPA pilots who now operate on
04:59off hours and what that might mean in the future for CCA, we need to make sure we have
05:03a more robust capability to take care of the families.
05:05Site Activation Task Force should be there.
05:07The Experimental Operations Unit will also be able to give us a sense of how many we think
05:12long-term, because this is really, we're uncovering new ground here.
05:16But between the Site Activation Task Force and the first months and years of the Experimental
05:21Operations Unit, we should understand, sort of have a bracket about what it really takes
05:25to take care of those airmen.
05:27We're committed to do that.
05:28Well, perfect.
05:28I'll look forward to scheduling a meeting.
05:30I want to talk about infrastructure adaptations, airspace control, and electromagnetic spectrum
05:35availability.
05:38Senator Tuberville.
05:39Good morning, gentlemen.
05:41How are you?