WEBVTT 00:01.344 --> 00:02.844 - So good morning. 00:03.216 --> 00:04.884 Welcome to the meeting of the Advisory Committee 00:04.884 --> 00:07.255 on Arlington National Cemetery. 00:07.255 --> 00:09.515 I am the committee's Designated Federal Officer. 00:09.515 --> 00:12.056 Present in person today are Mr. Tim Keating, 00:12.056 --> 00:14.331 Alternate Designated Federal Officer, 00:14.331 --> 00:17.831 Major Shannon Way, ANTC Strategic Planner. 00:18.122 --> 00:20.968 Miss Katharine Kelley, ANC Superintendent, 00:20.968 --> 00:24.360 and Miss Karen Durham-Aguilera, Executive Director, 00:24.360 --> 00:26.622 Arlington National Military Cemeteries. 00:26.622 --> 00:28.583 This open committee meeting is pursuant 00:28.583 --> 00:31.139 to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, 00:31.139 --> 00:33.222 codified in 10 USC, 4723. 00:34.174 --> 00:36.401 The committee operates under the authority of the provisions 00:36.401 --> 00:39.132 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, 00:39.132 --> 00:41.299 5th US Code, and 41st CFR. 00:43.279 --> 00:44.964 Arlington National Cemetery is the agency 00:44.964 --> 00:46.424 that receives the benefit 00:46.424 --> 00:48.292 of the committee's advice and recommendations. 00:48.292 --> 00:50.424 ANC provides a designated federal officer 00:50.424 --> 00:52.251 nominated by the executive director 00:52.251 --> 00:55.388 and appointed by the administrative assistant 00:55.388 --> 00:57.192 to the Secretary of the Army. 00:57.192 --> 00:59.925 ANC will provide administrative support to the subcommittee, 00:59.925 --> 01:01.762 the committee and subcommittees. 01:01.762 --> 01:03.573 Once again, this meeting is open to the public. 01:03.573 --> 01:05.950 However, members of the public are not authorized 01:05.950 --> 01:08.614 to present questions from the floor without, 01:08.614 --> 01:10.706 or to speak to any issue under discussion 01:10.706 --> 01:13.533 without first approval by the chairperson. 01:13.533 --> 01:15.037 Any member of the public was eligible 01:15.037 --> 01:16.693 to file a written statement 01:16.693 --> 01:19.124 or request to make a verbal presentation to the committee 01:19.124 --> 01:21.638 in accordance with the published Federal Register Notice 01:21.638 --> 01:25.519 as posted in the binder at the entrance of the meeting room. 01:25.519 --> 01:27.069 The proceedings are being recorded, 01:27.069 --> 01:29.777 and the summarized minutes of the meeting will be prepared. 01:29.777 --> 01:31.838 Please give your attention to Mr. James Peake, 01:31.838 --> 01:33.576 committee co-chairman. 01:33.576 --> 01:35.072 - The committee is now called to order, 01:35.072 --> 01:37.155 and please call the roll. 01:37.180 --> 01:40.232 - For the record, the following members are in attendance. 01:40.232 --> 01:43.403 Secretary of the Army nominees, Mr. James Peake, 01:43.403 --> 01:44.986 committee co-chair. 01:45.587 --> 01:47.337 Mr. Gene Castagnetti, 01:47.883 --> 01:49.383 Mr. Russell Davis, 01:50.685 --> 01:52.435 Mr. Ronald Fetherson, 01:53.278 --> 01:54.528 Miss Debra Fix; 01:55.056 --> 01:56.770 Secretary of the American Battle Monuments, 01:56.770 --> 02:00.937 commission nominee, Mr. Chet Edwards, committee co-chair; 02:01.113 --> 02:03.187 Secretary of the Veterans Administration nominee, 02:03.187 --> 02:04.687 Mr. Thomas Kelley. 02:05.354 --> 02:06.852 Mr. Chairman, based on the committee members 02:06.852 --> 02:10.256 in attendance today, we have a complete, full quorum. 02:10.256 --> 02:11.748 At this time, the floor is yours 02:11.748 --> 02:13.464 for any open comments to the committee. 02:13.464 --> 02:14.374 - Renea, thank you very much, 02:14.374 --> 02:16.372 and thank all of you for attending. 02:16.372 --> 02:18.315 Thank you to those from the, 02:18.315 --> 02:20.482 coming in from the public. 02:20.667 --> 02:22.695 We appreciate you all being here as well. 02:22.695 --> 02:26.528 Particularly want to acknowledge, Karen, your, 02:27.017 --> 02:28.901 congratulations on your appointment. 02:28.901 --> 02:30.884 We're excited to work with you, 02:30.884 --> 02:35.041 and Kate, you know, as our, finally approved superintendent, 02:35.041 --> 02:38.102 we're pleased to have that announcement as well. 02:38.102 --> 02:39.134 - [Kate] Thank you. 02:39.134 --> 02:43.301 - And I guess I would say, on behalf of both of us, 02:43.687 --> 02:45.800 that I think the importance of this committee 02:45.800 --> 02:48.883 is really centered around how we feel 02:49.356 --> 02:51.853 the importance of Arlington is to this nation, 02:51.853 --> 02:54.436 and what it does for the nation 02:55.103 --> 02:58.458 in terms of recognizing service and sacrifice 02:58.458 --> 03:02.625 and the iconic nature of it being an important part of that. 03:04.771 --> 03:08.938 We were actually hearing people yesterday from the public 03:09.775 --> 03:12.691 talk about the number of people that come here 03:12.691 --> 03:15.052 and get educated about our nation's history, 03:15.052 --> 03:17.034 and it's important, it talks to, really, 03:17.034 --> 03:20.701 the importance of what this committee feels. 03:24.427 --> 03:27.413 I think we are all honored to be a part of it, 03:27.413 --> 03:30.350 and let me turn over to my co-chairman, 03:30.350 --> 03:32.017 Congressman Edwards. 03:32.752 --> 03:36.334 - Well, I just want to follow up on what the chairman said. 03:36.334 --> 03:38.528 Thank you for your leadership, both of you. 03:38.528 --> 03:40.464 Every one of us feels it's a great honor 03:40.464 --> 03:44.214 to be a small voice to your leadership voice. 03:44.595 --> 03:46.844 I know you will continue to make a difference. 03:46.844 --> 03:51.011 We look forward to supporting you and working with you. 03:51.236 --> 03:54.492 If I can make just one administrative announcement. 03:54.492 --> 03:55.986 A number of us, not everyone here, 03:55.986 --> 03:58.177 but a number of us worked with John Marshall, 03:58.177 --> 04:00.623 who is Chief of Staff to Max Cleland. 04:00.623 --> 04:03.534 His daughter recently died a few weeks ago 04:03.534 --> 04:06.365 from brain cancer, and we have a card. 04:06.365 --> 04:09.588 We'll just leave it up at the table today 04:09.588 --> 04:11.081 during the lunch hour for those of you 04:11.081 --> 04:13.602 who feel comfortable and would want to sign it, 04:13.602 --> 04:15.639 we'll leave it on the table. 04:15.639 --> 04:16.472 Thank you. 04:18.047 --> 04:21.071 - Well, we have a pretty significant agenda here today, 04:21.071 --> 04:23.765 so, Renea, why don't we move forward. 04:23.765 --> 04:24.994 - Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 04:24.994 --> 04:26.446 Committee members, please take note that 04:26.446 --> 04:28.308 the approved minutes from the previous committee meeting 04:28.308 --> 04:31.057 on the 25th of October can be found in your binders. 04:31.057 --> 04:33.140 Those are found at tab K. 04:34.639 --> 04:36.417 Mr. Chairman, there are no reports for discussion 04:36.417 --> 04:39.243 or unfinished actions from the previous committee work. 04:39.243 --> 04:43.410 The letter the committee sent to the Secretary of the Army 04:43.463 --> 04:46.299 was received and acknowledged by Secretary Fanning 04:46.299 --> 04:48.216 prior to his departure. 04:49.172 --> 04:51.045 Mr. Chairman, members of the advisory committee 04:51.045 --> 04:53.243 on Arlington National Cemetery, this morning, 04:53.243 --> 04:54.854 I have the distinct honor and privilege 04:54.854 --> 04:57.506 to introduce to you our new Executive Director, 04:57.506 --> 04:59.437 Miss Karen Durham-Aguilera, 04:59.437 --> 05:01.516 and we will start off with opening remarks from her 05:01.516 --> 05:04.377 followed by the state of Arlington National Cemetery. 05:04.377 --> 05:05.814 - All right, well, thank you, Renea. 05:05.814 --> 05:08.276 It's just such an honor to be here, you know, 05:08.276 --> 05:12.443 and it's very humbling that the army has trusted me 05:12.445 --> 05:13.847 to take on this leadership role 05:13.847 --> 05:15.477 as the Executive Director for the 05:15.477 --> 05:17.386 Army National Military Cemetery. 05:17.386 --> 05:19.991 I've been out here for several years 05:19.991 --> 05:22.938 as a volunteer supporting our veterans, 05:22.938 --> 05:25.105 so it's a personal passion 05:25.137 --> 05:27.761 as well as the professional passion for public service, 05:27.761 --> 05:31.892 and I just can't think of any place I'd rather be right now 05:31.892 --> 05:34.613 than to be out here as the Executive Director. 05:34.613 --> 05:37.113 It's already been a few weeks. 05:37.911 --> 05:41.078 The team here, military and civilians, 05:41.153 --> 05:44.994 are dedicated professionals, each and every day, 05:44.994 --> 05:46.639 to be trusted to take care 05:46.639 --> 05:48.764 of our veterans and patriots and our families, 05:48.764 --> 05:52.097 it's a responsibility that everyone here 05:52.119 --> 05:54.560 doesn't take lightly but it is also just 05:54.560 --> 05:57.974 extremely passionate to get to do, to get to do. 05:57.974 --> 06:01.057 So we talked about what Arlington is. 06:01.762 --> 06:05.667 Chairman Peake mentioned iconic, sacred grounds. 06:05.667 --> 06:07.495 Well, we live that every day, 06:07.495 --> 06:08.954 and to make things special for the families 06:08.954 --> 06:11.746 each and every day, and it's an amazing operation 06:11.746 --> 06:14.870 to make that happen, it's just absolutely incredible. 06:14.870 --> 06:18.120 So I've been following the improvements 06:18.495 --> 06:20.383 here for several years, 06:20.383 --> 06:23.682 so the advisory committee is very important to us, 06:23.682 --> 06:27.158 to inform us on the things that we take on. 06:27.158 --> 06:29.543 We welcome your-all's guidance and recommendations 06:29.543 --> 06:31.914 because it's a big part of what we do 06:31.914 --> 06:33.331 and especially as we go forward, 06:33.331 --> 06:35.657 so thank you for the time that you're dedicating 06:35.657 --> 06:36.824 to doing this. 06:37.072 --> 06:39.158 So we're going to do a few things this morning. 06:39.158 --> 06:43.211 First is the year in review of the fiscal year 2016, 06:43.211 --> 06:44.645 so I'm going to go through some of that, 06:44.645 --> 06:46.632 and some of the team is also, 06:46.632 --> 06:48.956 I'm going to call them in to give parts of it as well. 06:48.956 --> 06:52.511 And then we'll talk about the next steps up, 06:52.511 --> 06:54.466 and then kind of end it on some of the other things 06:54.466 --> 06:56.270 that we're taking on that we'll be looking for 06:56.270 --> 06:59.263 this committee to continue to help us, 06:59.263 --> 07:01.509 that can give us good recommendation. 07:01.509 --> 07:03.921 So why don't we just go on to the next slide. 07:03.921 --> 07:05.953 So we just talked about this. 07:05.953 --> 07:10.120 It is unique, it is iconic to serve those who have earned, 07:12.996 --> 07:14.287 earned their final resting place 07:14.287 --> 07:15.902 here on these hallowed grounds. 07:15.902 --> 07:19.652 And it was no small measure that on Thursday, 07:20.342 --> 07:23.262 which is the day before the inauguration of a new president, 07:23.262 --> 07:25.449 at that time the president-elect 07:25.449 --> 07:29.616 and the vice-president elect and for President Trump, 07:29.930 --> 07:32.064 he had a good part of his family with him as well, 07:32.064 --> 07:34.783 and Vice-President Pence had his wife. 07:34.783 --> 07:38.008 They came out here and it was a private ceremony. 07:38.008 --> 07:39.687 I mean, there were long-distance cameras 07:39.687 --> 07:41.886 so that people on the Mall could watch it, 07:41.886 --> 07:45.767 but the ceremony itself was a private ceremony. 07:45.767 --> 07:48.283 For them to come out and talk to us and greet us 07:48.283 --> 07:51.480 and pay homage and honor at the Tomb of the Unknown 07:51.480 --> 07:54.248 and the also to spend a few minutes talking to us, 07:54.248 --> 07:56.080 you know, about Arlington National Cemetery, 07:56.080 --> 07:57.997 it was very meaningful. 08:00.441 --> 08:03.699 You'll see some of the the words from those in the past 08:03.699 --> 08:05.709 to include the Honor Subcommittee 08:05.709 --> 08:08.662 here for the the Advisory Committee, 08:08.662 --> 08:11.227 but also some of the things that we continue to hear 08:11.227 --> 08:12.993 about this being a place of remembrance 08:12.993 --> 08:14.125 for all citizens. 08:14.125 --> 08:16.112 It's also a connection to our rich history, 08:16.112 --> 08:17.612 it's just amazing. 08:17.642 --> 08:20.861 As we go back and look at the history that's occurred there 08:20.861 --> 08:22.308 and in the history we know 08:22.308 --> 08:24.148 that's going to continue to occur. 08:24.148 --> 08:26.911 I was able to spend time yesterday with our historians. 08:26.911 --> 08:29.134 I've got to go spend more time with them. 08:29.134 --> 08:32.595 But just to see the way that they care for the history 08:32.595 --> 08:35.194 to make sure that it is preserved for the generations 08:35.194 --> 08:36.777 is just incredible. 08:37.155 --> 08:39.551 So this is part of the fabric of our nation. 08:39.551 --> 08:43.301 A lot of my friends that have loved ones here 08:45.057 --> 08:47.176 tell me that whenever they come to DC, 08:47.176 --> 08:49.001 this is one of the first places they come to 08:49.001 --> 08:52.598 so they can reflect on the sacrifice that their family made 08:52.598 --> 08:54.981 and all of our veterans and patriots. 08:54.981 --> 08:57.100 It truly is a national shrine. 08:57.100 --> 08:58.810 Let's go to the next slide. 08:58.810 --> 09:00.433 So I'm going to spend a few minutes 09:00.433 --> 09:03.016 talking about some the FY 2106, 09:04.777 --> 09:06.985 fiscal year 2016 year-end views. 09:06.985 --> 09:09.765 So I'll call your attention to the middle of the slide. 09:09.765 --> 09:11.882 The first part is funeral honors, 09:11.882 --> 09:14.975 and you see a breakdown of our full honors, 09:14.975 --> 09:16.596 our standard honors, 09:16.596 --> 09:19.207 the other, which are the Saturday services, 09:19.207 --> 09:21.932 there's normally about 10 of those each Saturday, 09:21.932 --> 09:23.709 and then independent honors. 09:23.709 --> 09:26.331 So it really is a full-scale service 09:26.331 --> 09:28.379 that we provide for the veterans and patriots 09:28.379 --> 09:29.796 that reside here. 09:30.126 --> 09:33.376 If you look at the chart in the middle, 09:33.605 --> 09:37.772 we still are roughly in the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 breakdown, 09:37.889 --> 09:41.897 as in 1/3, roughly, of burials in-ground, 09:41.897 --> 09:44.319 1/3 of cremations in-ground, 09:44.319 --> 09:45.407 and then the rest of that 09:45.407 --> 09:48.097 are the cremations that are above-ground 09:48.097 --> 09:50.525 in our niches in columbariums. 09:50.525 --> 09:53.527 Another thing to note, too, is that next block 09:53.527 --> 09:56.322 where you see the breakdown of the first interment 09:56.322 --> 09:57.806 and the subsequent interment. 09:57.806 --> 10:01.039 And the things that strikes me about this 10:01.039 --> 10:03.415 is it shows the demand signal, 10:03.415 --> 10:06.515 and the continued demand signal for space 10:06.515 --> 10:10.432 so that this will stay, and as long as possible 10:10.730 --> 10:12.151 be an active burial ground. 10:12.151 --> 10:15.090 So notice that about 2/3 of our interments 10:15.090 --> 10:16.923 are first interments. 10:18.875 --> 10:20.587 Another question that we get are 10:20.587 --> 10:23.337 where do the decedents come from? 10:23.337 --> 10:25.756 Well, only about 25% of the service 10:25.756 --> 10:28.376 are from the neighboring states, 10:28.376 --> 10:31.228 so, Shannon, could you go to that hyperlink? 10:31.228 --> 10:33.145 - [Shannon] Yes, ma'am. 10:33.343 --> 10:35.042 - So I asked the team to break this down, 10:35.042 --> 10:36.826 and so what you see there on the left, 10:36.826 --> 10:39.561 are you see the percentages from the neighboring states 10:39.561 --> 10:41.678 and the national capital region, 10:41.678 --> 10:45.845 but notice that 75% are decedents from states, 10:46.314 --> 10:49.397 so this is truly a national cemetery. 10:49.778 --> 10:51.846 And then on the right where you see the map, 10:51.846 --> 10:54.352 those are the states where 100 or more 10:54.352 --> 10:55.749 of the average of the decedents 10:55.749 --> 10:57.300 come from each of those states. 10:57.300 --> 11:00.173 Now, we have people that come from all over the US, 11:00.173 --> 11:03.991 but this is kind of the top decedents that we have 11:03.991 --> 11:05.269 from across the nation, 11:05.269 --> 11:08.352 so this is truly a national cemetery. 11:09.205 --> 11:10.505 Okay, thank you, Shannon. 11:10.505 --> 11:12.588 So a couple other things. 11:12.600 --> 11:14.178 So, optimal performance, you know, 11:14.178 --> 11:15.325 in the last several years, 11:15.325 --> 11:18.044 we have benchmarked our performance, 11:18.044 --> 11:19.603 and we continue to do that, 11:19.603 --> 11:21.351 and so I'm going to ask Kate Kelley, 11:21.351 --> 11:24.518 our new, I can say new superintendent, 11:24.906 --> 11:26.770 now that you've been officially blessed 11:26.770 --> 11:29.815 and selected as a member of the senior executive service. 11:29.815 --> 11:31.383 Kate, can you spend a few times 11:31.383 --> 11:33.585 talking about our performance? 11:33.585 --> 11:35.585 - Absolutely, thank you. 11:35.595 --> 11:37.544 I think the committee is well aware 11:37.544 --> 11:39.886 of one of the continuing challenges 11:39.886 --> 11:41.654 that we've had here at the cemetery, 11:41.654 --> 11:43.976 which is not only maximizing our resources 11:43.976 --> 11:47.217 to ensure that we're serving as many as we can, 11:47.217 --> 11:50.469 but to make sure that we actually understand 11:50.469 --> 11:51.692 the challenge and the trend 11:51.692 --> 11:54.958 in terms of what it takes to make that happen. 11:54.958 --> 11:57.630 What you see in this particular chart at the top 11:57.630 --> 12:01.797 is FY '17, the number of services we've conducted to date, 12:04.579 --> 12:06.079 that's that 3,481, 12:06.688 --> 12:10.221 and that's compared against the FY '16 performance, 12:10.221 --> 12:11.638 that's the 7,140. 12:12.209 --> 12:15.006 So 7,140 is essentially the number of services 12:15.006 --> 12:19.126 we were able to conduct throughout the entirety of FY '16. 12:19.126 --> 12:23.293 What the bar chart is showing you, once it comes back up, 12:25.452 --> 12:28.535 is a comparison from the prior years, 12:29.365 --> 12:33.282 meaning the high three years of what we've had. 12:33.720 --> 12:36.623 And that's really important for a couple of reasons. 12:36.623 --> 12:39.790 One is, essentially, do we really know 12:39.971 --> 12:42.638 what our true top line could be? 12:43.516 --> 12:46.463 And so we've looked back at our data 12:46.463 --> 12:48.384 to find out what our average 12:48.384 --> 12:50.889 high three performance has been, 12:50.889 --> 12:52.766 I mean, that's what you'll see in your books 12:52.766 --> 12:55.070 on the bar chart, but really, 12:55.070 --> 12:56.723 can we then benchmark ourselves 12:56.723 --> 12:59.723 against that high three performance? 12:59.821 --> 13:01.425 And what I think you'll see 13:01.425 --> 13:03.865 is that we are achieving and on target 13:03.865 --> 13:07.107 for breaking an additional year in FY '17 13:07.107 --> 13:09.940 to go above and beyond that 7,140, 13:10.102 --> 13:13.269 and that 7,140 also is a stride number 13:14.025 --> 13:17.874 in comparison to what our high three performance has been. 13:17.874 --> 13:20.288 So a couple of takeaways on this. 13:20.288 --> 13:22.205 Four to five years ago, 13:23.428 --> 13:27.595 we wouldn't have even had this data to share with you. 13:28.276 --> 13:30.173 If you think about 2010, 13:30.173 --> 13:34.340 when they were still using index cards to manage burials, 13:35.306 --> 13:37.107 this is a huge stride forward 13:37.107 --> 13:40.284 in terms of the capability that this organization now has 13:40.284 --> 13:43.034 to see itself, and quite frankly, 13:43.443 --> 13:46.593 when it comes to the kind of iterative service 13:46.593 --> 13:48.877 that we provide to veterans and their families, 13:48.877 --> 13:51.587 it is crucial that we actually see ourselves 13:51.587 --> 13:53.692 in terms of our effectiveness. 13:53.692 --> 13:55.677 And so we're quite proud of being able 13:55.677 --> 13:57.677 to put these charts in front of you. 13:57.677 --> 13:59.872 Clearly we have some IT technology 13:59.872 --> 14:01.872 we still need to get up. 14:01.918 --> 14:03.568 - It's coming, ma'am. 14:03.568 --> 14:05.285 - But the data that we're showing you 14:05.285 --> 14:07.011 is real stride forward. 14:07.011 --> 14:10.162 We could not even array this a few years back. 14:10.162 --> 14:13.207 So we now know what some of our targets are. 14:13.207 --> 14:15.546 The ED has put us on a glide path 14:15.546 --> 14:18.796 with a goal of trying to achieve 7,500, 14:20.042 --> 14:23.209 and again, we were at 7,140 last year, 14:23.934 --> 14:26.934 and so I think we're in a good place 14:27.238 --> 14:29.423 to be able to reach towards that goal. 14:29.423 --> 14:31.176 I do believe it's a stretch goal, 14:31.176 --> 14:33.400 and a lot of it is obviously constrained 14:33.400 --> 14:36.353 by the amount of resources we have available, 14:36.353 --> 14:38.520 juxtaposed against demand. 14:39.127 --> 14:41.485 A quick little soundbite while we're waiting 14:41.485 --> 14:43.526 for the slide to come back up, 14:43.526 --> 14:47.693 we typically, as you know, do around 30 services a day, 14:48.566 --> 14:50.983 Monday to Friday, on average. 14:51.353 --> 14:54.497 The additional 10 that the ED mentioned on a Saturday. 14:54.497 --> 14:56.534 Two important facts to that. 14:56.534 --> 14:58.117 Those additional 10 14:58.762 --> 15:01.345 that we have consistently done on Saturday 15:01.345 --> 15:03.714 have allowed us to decrease our queue, 15:03.714 --> 15:04.842 which is important, 15:04.842 --> 15:06.765 because that's one of the biggest challenges 15:06.765 --> 15:08.598 that we're faced, how, 15:08.811 --> 15:11.436 the length of wait time it takes to get here. 15:11.436 --> 15:13.839 So that Saturday service that we've been able to offer 15:13.839 --> 15:16.033 is not only a benefit to families 15:16.033 --> 15:18.274 who would like it for convenience, 15:18.274 --> 15:20.360 but it's also allowing us to decrement 15:20.360 --> 15:22.670 the overall wait time queue. 15:22.670 --> 15:24.909 The second piece is that even though 15:24.909 --> 15:26.562 we're doing about 30 a day, 15:26.562 --> 15:30.169 and we probably get demand for more like 38 to 40. 15:30.169 --> 15:32.769 So our demand number is constantly outweighing 15:32.769 --> 15:35.096 the resources we have available. 15:35.096 --> 15:37.346 But what you see on this chart 15:37.346 --> 15:39.981 is that even with those constraining factors, 15:39.981 --> 15:42.255 we've not only been able to benchmark ourself, 15:42.255 --> 15:43.818 we've been able to show improvement 15:43.818 --> 15:45.029 over the last three years, 15:45.029 --> 15:46.485 and we're on a glide path to continue 15:46.485 --> 15:48.818 to break that 7,140 for '17. 15:49.843 --> 15:51.362 So, very proud of the team 15:51.362 --> 15:53.716 in terms of what they've been able to accomplish, 15:53.716 --> 15:55.174 and very proud of our ability 15:55.174 --> 15:57.373 to be able to array this data openly 15:57.373 --> 16:00.952 for not only the committee, but also the public to see. 16:00.952 --> 16:01.785 Ma'am? 16:01.847 --> 16:02.742 - Very good, thank you. 16:02.742 --> 16:04.914 So I think the other thing that's of note is we're, 16:04.914 --> 16:07.193 it's not just being able to capture the data 16:07.193 --> 16:10.782 so we can continue to track and improve our performance, 16:10.782 --> 16:13.845 but that we're confident in the data that we've captured, 16:13.845 --> 16:16.284 so that's very, very important. 16:16.284 --> 16:17.456 - Mr. Kelley, did you have-- 16:17.456 --> 16:18.462 - Yeah, one quick question. 16:18.462 --> 16:22.571 Is 7,140, is that a record, or is that the highest ever, 16:22.571 --> 16:23.768 or do you not... 16:23.768 --> 16:24.667 - No, it's not. 16:24.667 --> 16:25.949 - It's a high three-year. 16:25.949 --> 16:29.882 Shannon, the highest year was one, two something? 16:29.882 --> 16:32.320 - [Shannon] I'd have to go back and look. 16:32.320 --> 16:34.820 - [Renea] 7,200 and something? 16:35.170 --> 16:36.284 - [Shannon] I'd have to go back and look, 16:36.284 --> 16:39.617 but we definitely had a high three-year. 16:39.974 --> 16:43.724 - And that's comparative against, since 2010? 16:46.790 --> 16:48.303 - All right, thank you. 16:48.303 --> 16:50.864 So let's talk about our people, 16:50.864 --> 16:53.383 and you'll see some of the number there 16:53.383 --> 16:54.883 in the lower left. 16:55.697 --> 16:59.326 The Chief of Staff of the Army has three priorities. 16:59.326 --> 17:00.818 Readiness is number one. 17:00.818 --> 17:03.235 There is no other number one. 17:03.536 --> 17:04.841 Taking care of people, 17:04.841 --> 17:06.648 taking care of our troops and civilians, 17:06.648 --> 17:08.643 and looking toward the future. 17:08.643 --> 17:11.910 So out here, our readiness is our readiness to be able 17:11.910 --> 17:14.528 to serve the veterans and their families 17:14.528 --> 17:16.111 each and every day. 17:16.174 --> 17:18.579 And so we can't do that without having a good team 17:18.579 --> 17:20.002 and being able to take care of our people, 17:20.002 --> 17:23.942 and so just looking at the workforce that serves here, 17:23.942 --> 17:26.447 it's a combination of military and civilians, 17:26.447 --> 17:29.670 and I truly believe that the strength of the Arlington team 17:29.670 --> 17:30.872 is in the strength of the Army, 17:30.872 --> 17:32.727 is that combination of having 17:32.727 --> 17:34.492 a military and civilian workforce. 17:34.492 --> 17:37.485 Right now we have 192 civilian employees. 17:37.485 --> 17:39.152 We have 14 military. 17:39.215 --> 17:41.298 We have 30 new employees. 17:41.542 --> 17:43.315 But one thing that's of note 17:43.315 --> 17:45.143 compared to many other agencies 17:45.143 --> 17:47.609 in the federal government workforce, 17:47.609 --> 17:49.518 we have a young workforce. 17:49.518 --> 17:51.658 Only nine years average government service. 17:51.658 --> 17:53.073 Now, that's just civilian service. 17:53.073 --> 17:54.289 That doesn't count people 17:54.289 --> 17:56.209 that have prior military service 17:56.209 --> 17:58.912 that come here and serve like our Renea Yates. 17:58.912 --> 18:01.162 We only have nine employees 18:01.431 --> 18:03.243 that have over 30 years of service, 18:03.243 --> 18:05.228 and so what this means is, first, 18:05.228 --> 18:07.066 we have a young workforce, which is good. 18:07.066 --> 18:08.986 But it also means that we have to make sure 18:08.986 --> 18:11.817 we pay attention to the training needs and the skills 18:11.817 --> 18:13.121 and the readiness, 18:13.121 --> 18:15.035 so we can help our folks continue to grow 18:15.035 --> 18:18.952 so that they continue to serve out here at ANC. 18:20.531 --> 18:22.299 - Karen, what is, how does that compare 18:22.299 --> 18:24.192 to your authorized end strength? 18:24.192 --> 18:26.382 - Our authorized strength is over 200, 18:26.382 --> 18:29.820 so we're below the authorized strength right now. 18:29.820 --> 18:32.153 - Can I ask, do you know yet 18:32.494 --> 18:35.821 whether the announced hiring freeze yesterday 18:35.821 --> 18:38.681 will impact the Arlington Cemetery staff, 18:38.681 --> 18:42.181 or will it be exempted because of its ties 18:42.424 --> 18:43.674 to the US Army? 18:43.796 --> 18:44.995 - We do not know. 18:44.995 --> 18:46.926 That executive order was just issued yesterday. 18:46.926 --> 18:48.427 We have to get the guidance in 18:48.427 --> 18:50.123 that the Army will issue, 18:50.123 --> 18:51.230 and then we'll have to look through that 18:51.230 --> 18:54.311 and see how it applies to the team here at ANC. 18:54.311 --> 18:57.512 - But how many open spots that you have wanted to fill 18:57.512 --> 18:58.512 do you have? 19:00.853 --> 19:02.686 - Right now we have... 19:03.154 --> 19:05.557 - You mean from our full authorization, sir? 19:05.557 --> 19:08.592 - From either full authorization or what you truly believe, 19:08.592 --> 19:11.607 your legal authorization or what you truly feel you need. 19:11.607 --> 19:15.126 - 210 is our authorized strength on the TDA, 19:15.126 --> 19:18.959 so we're about 20 shy of that at 190 right now. 19:18.959 --> 19:22.726 - Sir, working at the Pentagon, we was told yesterday 19:22.726 --> 19:26.676 that the hiring freeze would not affect DOD right now. 19:26.676 --> 19:27.509 - Hmm. 19:28.159 --> 19:30.211 - There will be other organizations within the government, 19:30.211 --> 19:31.211 but not DOD. 19:31.444 --> 19:32.406 - Okay. - Okay. 19:32.406 --> 19:34.600 Well, again, we don't have any official guidance yet, 19:34.600 --> 19:36.173 so we will be watching for that 19:36.173 --> 19:38.765 and then seeing how it impacts us. 19:38.765 --> 19:41.450 And so I don't wanna make any predictions now 19:41.450 --> 19:44.450 until we get guidance from the army. 19:44.953 --> 19:45.786 We'll see. 19:46.411 --> 19:48.217 - Thank you. - Yes, ma'am. 19:48.217 --> 19:49.385 - [Kate] Fingers crossed. 19:49.385 --> 19:50.968 - Yes, we will see. 19:54.906 --> 19:57.186 Talk about what this means to the nation. 19:57.186 --> 20:01.353 So I'll call your attention to the top right-hand block. 20:03.078 --> 20:05.852 The team here has spent a lot of effort 20:05.852 --> 20:10.019 on the interface with the public on social media, etc. 20:10.804 --> 20:13.326 I've looked at the ANC explorer app. 20:13.326 --> 20:16.993 It's pretty good to be able to come out here 20:17.667 --> 20:19.322 and find what you're looking for 20:19.322 --> 20:22.142 and just being able to truly explore ANC. 20:22.142 --> 20:25.791 Almost 71,000 of that app has been downloaded. 20:25.791 --> 20:29.416 As far as each year, there are a lot of special ceremonies, 20:29.416 --> 20:33.583 nearly 3,000 wreath-laying ceremonies occurred in FY '16. 20:33.933 --> 20:36.516 Over 75,000 calls have come in. 20:37.543 --> 20:41.099 The Facebook followers, you see the number there for FY '16. 20:41.099 --> 20:45.020 I just checked this yesterday, and now it's over 500,000. 20:45.020 --> 20:49.187 So it's incredible, and we expect that to continue. 20:49.385 --> 20:51.912 There have been literally thousands of tours. 20:51.912 --> 20:56.042 3 to 4 million annual visitors occurred in FY '16, 20:56.042 --> 21:00.209 and there are over 9 million that engage via Facebook, 21:00.829 --> 21:04.442 so very, very active, you know, getting the word out 21:04.442 --> 21:07.942 to the public for their national cemetery. 21:08.385 --> 21:09.881 In regards to our budget, 21:09.881 --> 21:12.519 I know the committee is aware that we are capped 21:12.519 --> 21:16.186 at that 70.8 million, that is an annual cap. 21:16.462 --> 21:18.379 About a quarter of that 21:18.616 --> 21:21.465 is for the operations and maintenance, 21:21.465 --> 21:22.950 very important to make sure 21:22.950 --> 21:26.700 that this continues to be a working cemetery. 21:27.471 --> 21:29.283 And then the rest of that 21:29.283 --> 21:31.311 is the infrastructure modernization and repair. 21:31.311 --> 21:34.188 Now, this does not include the capital investment 21:34.188 --> 21:38.271 as yet to be funded as in the southern expansion. 21:40.620 --> 21:42.724 Just one other thing before we leave this slide. 21:42.724 --> 21:44.882 We checked the TripAdvisor, 21:44.882 --> 21:46.705 and coming to Arlington National Cemetery 21:46.705 --> 21:47.936 is the number one thing to do 21:47.936 --> 21:50.769 when visiting Arlington, Virginia. 21:53.303 --> 21:54.801 - [Woman] Who pays for the additional security 21:54.801 --> 21:56.046 that we see now? 21:56.046 --> 21:58.468 Is that coming out of the budget, or-- 21:58.468 --> 22:00.345 - It's coming out of our O&M, yes, it is. 22:00.345 --> 22:04.218 It's, I think it's a $3 million contract for the security. 22:04.218 --> 22:05.513 - Is that a year, or? 22:05.513 --> 22:07.725 - Yes, so that comes out of our annual budget 22:07.725 --> 22:09.058 on the O&M side. 22:09.980 --> 22:11.019 - Have there been threats, 22:11.019 --> 22:13.686 or was it just a policy decision 22:14.131 --> 22:16.381 based on potential threats? 22:18.865 --> 22:22.115 - There have been a couple of instances 22:22.229 --> 22:24.505 of people engaging the gates 22:24.505 --> 22:27.172 that have questionable behavior. 22:27.649 --> 22:30.026 But quite frankly, it's more in line 22:30.026 --> 22:32.558 with what the larger Army policy is 22:32.558 --> 22:35.891 with regard to post, Chattanooga issues, 22:38.668 --> 22:41.106 and how the Army's viewing security. 22:41.106 --> 22:43.366 So there's some directives out 22:43.366 --> 22:45.641 that we were finding a middle ground balance 22:45.641 --> 22:49.553 between not taking it to the full spectrum of, say, 22:49.553 --> 22:51.737 a full Army installation in terms of security, 22:51.737 --> 22:54.319 but finding that kind of hybrid, if you will. 22:54.319 --> 22:57.405 But more in line with recent shootings, quite frankly. 22:57.405 --> 23:01.572 And to my knowledge, no direct threats against the cemetery. 23:02.126 --> 23:03.126 - Thank you. 23:04.451 --> 23:05.880 - I want to make a point of clarification. 23:05.880 --> 23:08.158 We do have DA security guards 23:08.158 --> 23:10.139 that are DA civilian employees. 23:10.139 --> 23:12.156 They are providing the security, 23:12.156 --> 23:15.329 and they are enhanced by a contract that is screeners, 23:15.329 --> 23:17.121 so it's not a security contract, 23:17.121 --> 23:18.895 it's a screening contract that we have. 23:18.895 --> 23:20.952 - [Kate] Good point, thank you. 23:20.952 --> 23:22.173 - Yeah, thanks, Renea. 23:22.173 --> 23:23.090 Good point. 23:23.521 --> 23:25.643 Okay, so if I may, let's go to the next one. 23:25.643 --> 23:27.976 So we are evolving out here. 23:29.940 --> 23:32.556 We've all talked nearly every day, 23:32.556 --> 23:34.966 and then we've heard it echoed in this room about, 23:34.966 --> 23:36.035 you know, we are out here 23:36.035 --> 23:39.035 to honor, sacrifice, preserve space. 23:39.117 --> 23:42.148 We'll continue to transform our processes to do that 23:42.148 --> 23:44.902 in the most effective and efficient way possible. 23:44.902 --> 23:46.167 And then taking care of our people 23:46.167 --> 23:48.723 so they can continue to take care of our veterans 23:48.723 --> 23:50.453 and patriots and families. 23:50.453 --> 23:52.052 We have several things that are going on 23:52.052 --> 23:54.540 in the near term that the committee's been involved in 23:54.540 --> 23:56.185 for recommendations, and you'll be hearing 23:56.185 --> 23:58.185 from the status reports. 23:58.190 --> 24:01.334 First, of course, is the congressional report. 24:01.334 --> 24:04.251 I'm looking for the team to help us 24:04.902 --> 24:07.420 form the strategic plan on the way ahead 24:07.420 --> 24:08.863 after we've been making some of the progress 24:08.863 --> 24:10.764 on some of the things that we've taken on, 24:10.764 --> 24:12.155 and that includes the right resources 24:12.155 --> 24:16.048 and the training and that we're making the right plans. 24:16.048 --> 24:18.172 If there is an impact on the hiring freeze, 24:18.172 --> 24:20.350 we'll be looking on how to deal with that. 24:20.350 --> 24:23.624 We just don't know yet, as we've talked about. 24:23.624 --> 24:25.116 As far as mid-term, 24:25.116 --> 24:27.575 we have the expansion projects, the Millennium, 24:27.575 --> 24:29.728 that should complete this summer. 24:29.728 --> 24:32.207 We have the southern expansion that we're definitely, 24:32.207 --> 24:35.827 I won't say worried about it, but we wanna make it happen, 24:35.827 --> 24:37.546 but there's still a lot of planning to do 24:37.546 --> 24:39.228 and a lot of alternatives to take on 24:39.228 --> 24:41.661 to say what's the best way to go about that. 24:41.661 --> 24:43.462 But anything we do is going to be very thoughtful, 24:43.462 --> 24:46.837 very deliberate decision-making so we do succeed, 24:46.837 --> 24:50.420 and also will be transparent to the public. 24:50.463 --> 24:52.630 And then in the long term, 24:52.753 --> 24:55.375 well, it's achieving the end state, 24:55.375 --> 24:58.599 and that's to have Arlington National Cemetery 24:58.599 --> 25:00.682 be an active burial space 25:00.835 --> 25:03.292 just as long as we can make that happen, 25:03.292 --> 25:05.749 but it's also to preserve the history, 25:05.749 --> 25:08.083 both the past history that's occurred, 25:08.083 --> 25:10.210 and to preserve it for the generations to come 25:10.210 --> 25:13.627 and for the public to continue to be able 25:13.874 --> 25:17.825 to come out and honor and appreciate the cemetery 25:17.825 --> 25:19.658 and what it signifies. 25:20.328 --> 25:23.847 The guiding principles, we'll continue to look at those, 25:23.847 --> 25:27.558 but it is a place to honor individual sacrifice 25:27.558 --> 25:28.891 and the service. 25:29.054 --> 25:32.266 We have to protect the resources to do that, 25:32.266 --> 25:33.653 and then we have to set the conditions 25:33.653 --> 25:35.660 to say that we can do it well into the future 25:35.660 --> 25:38.533 as long as we can make that happen, 25:38.533 --> 25:42.700 so those are the overall goals that we're focused on. 25:42.785 --> 25:46.695 - May I just be clear, I think you've made this point, 25:46.695 --> 25:49.316 but something this committee's talked about a lot 25:49.316 --> 25:52.194 over the last several years, you know, 25:52.194 --> 25:54.111 we can maximize burials 25:54.745 --> 25:58.192 by just taking every square foot left at Arlington 25:58.192 --> 26:00.713 and putting a columbarium there. 26:00.713 --> 26:02.832 But many of us think that would not preserve 26:02.832 --> 26:04.573 the iconic nature of Arlington. 26:04.573 --> 26:08.490 So, and there's been some concern in past years 26:08.521 --> 26:12.688 of past leadership that maybe numbers dominated everything, 26:13.225 --> 26:15.258 including the question of preserving 26:15.258 --> 26:17.049 the iconic nature of Arlington 26:17.049 --> 26:19.544 is built into these principles, 26:19.544 --> 26:22.294 protecting the precious resource, 26:23.156 --> 26:25.455 or a place to honor individuals that were, 26:25.455 --> 26:28.048 you built in these three principles, 26:28.048 --> 26:31.798 the idea of we want this, 150 years from now, 26:32.302 --> 26:34.942 people will say this is still the Arlington 26:34.942 --> 26:36.983 that we, our country's always known. 26:36.983 --> 26:40.426 - Well, I'll just tell you what my impression is. 26:40.426 --> 26:42.025 It's gotta be a balance. 26:42.025 --> 26:43.984 You know, we want to preserve the iconic space, 26:43.984 --> 26:46.517 but we also have to balance as we've been doing. 26:46.517 --> 26:48.252 Are there ways to do that, you know, with the, 26:48.252 --> 26:50.419 providing the columbarium? 26:50.598 --> 26:52.122 There's been a real increase in people 26:52.122 --> 26:55.417 that have gone for cremations, you know, 26:55.417 --> 26:58.213 instead of a traditional in-ground burial. 26:58.213 --> 27:01.213 The report that Congress talks about 27:01.463 --> 27:03.023 numerous courses of actions 27:03.023 --> 27:05.468 and ways to go about preserving Arlington 27:05.468 --> 27:07.218 well into the future, 27:07.350 --> 27:08.705 so we'll be looking at those different actions 27:08.705 --> 27:10.733 and then trying to come to a determination 27:10.733 --> 27:12.338 which one of those we're going to proceed. 27:12.338 --> 27:14.429 It's going to be a long process. 27:14.429 --> 27:15.368 You know, in the meantime, 27:15.368 --> 27:17.349 we are going to pursue southern expansion 27:17.349 --> 27:19.206 and how we make that happen. 27:19.206 --> 27:21.892 I know we've got, the Millennium is ongoing right now, so-- 27:21.892 --> 27:22.984 - How would you make the determination whether 27:22.984 --> 27:26.959 southern expansion meets the iconic standards of Arlington? 27:26.959 --> 27:28.392 - Well, I don't know yet, you know. 27:28.392 --> 27:29.578 I'm still learning this. 27:29.578 --> 27:30.645 - Sure, that's fair. 27:30.645 --> 27:32.151 - And that's, I don't know. 27:32.151 --> 27:32.984 - We all. 27:33.466 --> 27:35.839 - I probably could be out here for some years 27:35.839 --> 27:38.328 and still, I hope that I'm still learning every day. 27:38.328 --> 27:39.793 But for southern expansion, 27:39.793 --> 27:42.946 there's a lot of branches of sequels of that. 27:42.946 --> 27:45.890 There's other agencies involved besides the Army, 27:45.890 --> 27:47.136 so we'll have to look at all of those 27:47.136 --> 27:48.984 and figure out the best way to go about it 27:48.984 --> 27:51.567 to both extend the burial space 27:52.655 --> 27:54.943 and the time that we have to do that, 27:54.943 --> 27:57.776 as well as keep Arlington special. 27:57.902 --> 27:59.993 - Not speaking for the advisory board, 27:59.993 --> 28:02.576 just myself, okay, as a member, 28:04.120 --> 28:05.596 but southern expansion would be an example of saying 28:05.596 --> 28:07.131 just because some member of Congress 28:07.131 --> 28:11.298 x number of years ago decided he wanted that space 28:11.772 --> 28:13.565 for Arlington Cemetery shouldn't mean 28:13.565 --> 28:16.565 we automatically, blindly go for it. 28:16.690 --> 28:20.360 I'm thrilled at the progress, the work that's being done, 28:20.360 --> 28:22.138 but that would be an example of not, 28:22.138 --> 28:24.012 just being blinded by numbers 28:24.012 --> 28:27.595 and understanding that maybe more Americans 28:27.613 --> 28:29.421 will see that space at Arlington 28:29.421 --> 28:32.356 than the whole rest of the cemetery combined, 28:32.356 --> 28:34.637 and so that's the kind of thing 28:34.637 --> 28:37.624 where I hope you will both feel the freedom 28:37.624 --> 28:39.645 to say, hey, wait a minute, 28:39.645 --> 28:42.326 this, you know, given the traffic congestion, 28:42.326 --> 28:45.882 given this and that, maybe we should second-guess it. 28:45.882 --> 28:47.448 And, ultimately, you may decide yes, 28:47.448 --> 28:48.997 we're going to move forward with it, 28:48.997 --> 28:50.499 and it does preserve the iconic nature. 28:50.499 --> 28:52.198 I just hope you'll feel that freedom 28:52.198 --> 28:54.554 to protect the iconic nature, 28:54.554 --> 28:56.565 even on major decisions like that, 28:56.565 --> 28:58.362 because I don't know who, 28:58.362 --> 29:00.763 what vision or wisdom the person had 29:00.763 --> 29:04.014 that said we ought to do that years ago. 29:04.014 --> 29:05.925 - Well, I think the team will tell you already 29:05.925 --> 29:08.106 that I'm already, I won't say second- or third-guessing, 29:08.106 --> 29:10.948 but I have the advantage of coming here 29:10.948 --> 29:13.904 and being able to bring a different perspective. 29:13.904 --> 29:18.071 So I am questioning the way we've gone about some things 29:18.889 --> 29:21.182 and saying, and also advising the team, 29:21.182 --> 29:24.023 don't be so quick to think we already have the answer. 29:24.023 --> 29:27.058 So that's one of the things I'm doing, 29:27.058 --> 29:28.827 and as an executive director, 29:28.827 --> 29:30.605 that's what I'm supposed to do. 29:30.605 --> 29:33.438 So I have what I call an advantage 29:34.101 --> 29:37.060 of coming in and bringing a new perspective 29:37.060 --> 29:39.221 and bringing a broad set of experiences 29:39.221 --> 29:40.619 from a lot of different places, 29:40.619 --> 29:43.286 and so I'm definitely re-looking 29:44.949 --> 29:46.330 at how we've been doing things, 29:46.330 --> 29:47.694 what our plans are, to say, well, 29:47.694 --> 29:48.772 isn't there a better way, 29:48.772 --> 29:50.253 or are there some things we haven't thought of yet? 29:50.253 --> 29:52.667 And we're already doing that. 29:52.667 --> 29:53.667 - Thank you. 29:54.069 --> 29:57.192 - It's not set based on what someone may have thought 29:57.192 --> 29:58.442 some years ago. 29:58.502 --> 29:59.335 - Right. 29:59.787 --> 30:00.912 - Kate, did I get that right? 30:00.912 --> 30:02.995 - Absolutely, absolutely. 30:03.865 --> 30:04.782 Yes, ma'am. 30:04.944 --> 30:05.777 - Okay. 30:06.266 --> 30:07.099 Thank you. 30:08.407 --> 30:12.574 If there's nothing else, let's go to the next one. 30:15.916 --> 30:20.083 So I wanna thank the committee again for your time 30:20.120 --> 30:24.120 and your passion and your patriotism to help us, 30:24.286 --> 30:26.178 to help inform us and guide us 30:26.178 --> 30:28.678 on the things that we take on. 30:33.804 --> 30:35.637 - Thank you very much. 30:36.317 --> 30:38.751 We look forward to working with you 30:38.751 --> 30:41.251 and trying to contribute again 30:44.143 --> 30:47.270 the perspectives that this pretty unique group 30:47.270 --> 30:51.187 may have to offer you, so, thank you very much. 30:52.962 --> 30:54.654 - Do you think we could take a, you know, 30:54.654 --> 30:55.816 just kind of a break? 30:55.816 --> 30:57.171 We need to reset the (mumbles). 30:57.171 --> 30:58.902 - We gotta reset a bit? 30:58.902 --> 31:00.613 - So we're running a little early, 31:00.613 --> 31:03.301 so we're going to take a five-minute break, 31:03.301 --> 31:07.468 and if you can come back and be back in your seats at 10:35 31:09.284 --> 31:12.035 while the engineer make a presentation 31:12.035 --> 31:13.825 on Tomb of Remembrance. 31:13.825 --> 31:14.992 - Okay, great. 31:16.141 --> 31:18.891 (people chatter) 31:26.470 --> 31:29.714 - This will be presentation by Colonel Mike Peloquin, 31:29.714 --> 31:31.131 the ANC engineer. 31:31.267 --> 31:32.946 He's going to update us on the Tomb of Remembrance, 31:32.946 --> 31:34.594 and we'll talk a little bit about the policy 31:34.594 --> 31:37.177 for remains to be buried there. 31:37.793 --> 31:39.126 - Thanks, Renea. 31:40.547 --> 31:44.714 Gentlemen and ladies, I should say, Mike Peloquin. 31:45.072 --> 31:47.167 I spoke to maybe half of you yesterday. 31:47.167 --> 31:49.048 We talked about the amphitheater. 31:49.048 --> 31:50.941 Today we'll talk very briefly 31:50.941 --> 31:52.571 about the Tomb of Remembrance. 31:52.571 --> 31:53.829 So the good news is, 31:53.829 --> 31:56.642 when I spoke to you last in October, 31:56.642 --> 31:59.321 we weren't quite, I was talking about some delays. 31:59.321 --> 32:02.176 We hadn't got to the part of the groundbreaking. 32:02.176 --> 32:05.215 The groundbreaking did occur in November 32:05.215 --> 32:06.622 shortly before Thanksgiving. 32:06.622 --> 32:08.872 Go ahead to the next slide. 32:10.312 --> 32:11.297 Here you have a pictorial, 32:11.297 --> 32:13.201 but we're going to go ahead and jump forward. 32:13.201 --> 32:14.782 So I'm going to give you kind of an update 32:14.782 --> 32:16.025 on where we are in the construction, 32:16.025 --> 32:20.106 and talk about some of the, a few challenges very briefly, 32:20.106 --> 32:22.752 and then what the timeline looks like 32:22.752 --> 32:24.505 for finishing this up. 32:24.505 --> 32:25.922 So as you can see 32:26.014 --> 32:27.950 from probably down at the bottom right, 32:27.950 --> 32:29.465 the size of the vaults. 32:29.465 --> 32:31.351 That's a large concrete vault. 32:31.351 --> 32:34.925 There was, everything was essentially built off-site, 32:34.925 --> 32:37.596 even the cutting of the stone for the walkway, 32:37.596 --> 32:40.006 to exact piece, they're all numbered, 32:40.006 --> 32:41.418 they have everything for the right grade, 32:41.418 --> 32:43.855 the slope, and everything else that had to be brought in. 32:43.855 --> 32:46.985 But getting, and so what that means is, 32:46.985 --> 32:49.016 because you're not fitting pieces in place, 32:49.016 --> 32:52.188 that the surveying and setting everything 32:52.188 --> 32:55.105 off of the survey mark is critical, 32:55.196 --> 32:58.368 otherwise the pieces aren't going to come together right. 32:58.368 --> 33:00.346 They're all disjointed and whatever. 33:00.346 --> 33:03.988 So that has really been where we would face some delays 33:03.988 --> 33:06.290 and some struggles getting it installed 33:06.290 --> 33:08.010 is because they felt, initially, 33:08.010 --> 33:09.550 that maybe the survey wasn't right, 33:09.550 --> 33:11.345 so they went in and wanted to re-do it 33:11.345 --> 33:12.903 after they'd done a little bit of work, 33:12.903 --> 33:17.070 and now they've found that they might make an adjustment 33:17.522 --> 33:19.352 based on some plate conditions, 33:19.352 --> 33:21.508 so I'll talk about that briefly. 33:21.508 --> 33:24.071 So you have a large vault that has to be excavated, 33:24.071 --> 33:28.154 installed, I know that was done back in November, 33:29.181 --> 33:32.097 late November, they already get that in, 33:32.097 --> 33:34.482 and then it's a, they had to readjust the position 33:34.482 --> 33:36.338 of it again to get it just right 33:36.338 --> 33:37.972 so that when you have the shaft, 33:37.972 --> 33:39.640 which is the upper pictures are showing 33:39.640 --> 33:41.672 a couple things they had to do. 33:41.672 --> 33:43.061 So it wasn't a matter of just installing 33:43.061 --> 33:46.259 this big, concrete box with a lid and filling it up, 33:46.259 --> 33:48.076 you then had to have it marked exactly right 33:48.076 --> 33:51.705 so that the shaft that comes up into the cairn, 33:51.705 --> 33:53.788 go to the previous slide. 33:53.893 --> 33:55.933 There'll be a big shaft coming up 33:55.933 --> 33:57.130 through the middle of that, 33:57.130 --> 33:59.741 and we have the opening in the back of that stone cairn. 33:59.741 --> 34:01.602 So it has to be in exactly the right place 34:01.602 --> 34:04.145 so everything's centered and aligned just right. 34:04.145 --> 34:05.562 Next slide again. 34:05.888 --> 34:07.258 So they had to do all that. 34:07.258 --> 34:11.221 They also had to drill and install on the bottom side, 34:11.221 --> 34:13.985 so this is the top, it's been flipped over, 34:13.985 --> 34:15.152 and the fuses. 34:15.318 --> 34:16.983 And what that was, there was a concern 34:16.983 --> 34:20.066 that as remains are entered into this 34:20.273 --> 34:22.450 that they would drop down and they would pile up 34:22.450 --> 34:24.259 and you wouldn't be able to gain 34:24.259 --> 34:28.426 the full 500-year life based on the design specter of this. 34:29.671 --> 34:32.058 So they placed this diffuser, 34:32.058 --> 34:33.441 and they created a little mock, 34:33.441 --> 34:35.031 and they used a diffuser and show, 34:35.031 --> 34:37.364 they used chalk or, I can't remember, I guess it was sand, 34:37.364 --> 34:38.811 and we all stood there 34:38.811 --> 34:41.766 while they created this fake plastic box and dumped it in, 34:41.766 --> 34:43.594 and we watched it and said, ooh, ahh, 34:43.594 --> 34:45.111 yeah, it's spreading out, so, yeah. 34:45.111 --> 34:47.449 I think there's simpler ways to do it, 34:47.449 --> 34:51.199 but that was the way that the AE designed it, 34:51.426 --> 34:52.886 so they installed that thing, 34:52.886 --> 34:55.733 flipped it back around, got everything drilled out, 34:55.733 --> 34:59.316 installed the pipe, as I think you can see. 35:00.518 --> 35:02.233 Go ahead to the next slide. 35:02.233 --> 35:04.286 So once we got all that set, 35:04.286 --> 35:06.683 we got the shaft that'll be going up into the cairn, 35:06.683 --> 35:09.325 and then have to pour the foundation, 35:09.325 --> 35:12.950 so you have that big memorial wall and then the bench. 35:12.950 --> 35:15.565 So it's very heavy, large concrete structures 35:15.565 --> 35:18.815 that need stone, these big foundations. 35:19.077 --> 35:22.410 Again, it has to be set exactly perfect, 35:22.457 --> 35:25.259 because once you start pouring this 35:25.259 --> 35:29.036 and your pouring the concrete pad for the path itself 35:29.036 --> 35:32.036 and for the plaza, you're locked in, 35:32.123 --> 35:34.360 short of having to break everything back up. 35:34.360 --> 35:35.866 So they stepped back and they said, 35:35.866 --> 35:37.350 something doesn't seem quite right. 35:37.350 --> 35:39.047 They wanted to re-survey that, 35:39.047 --> 35:41.085 so they've had to do that two weeks ago, 35:41.085 --> 35:43.327 brought a team out, wanted to re-survey, 35:43.327 --> 35:45.660 and noticed that in the design, 35:45.660 --> 35:49.577 there was, I'll say, I'll just call it an error 35:49.859 --> 35:52.695 in how they were applying the slope. 35:52.695 --> 35:54.890 So this is high, as you come toward the road, 35:54.890 --> 35:56.770 it's lower ground, so water, 35:56.770 --> 35:59.112 you don't want water accumulating here or here, 35:59.112 --> 36:01.450 you want it all washing off, sheeting off, 36:01.450 --> 36:05.283 and it looked as though the wall and the bench 36:07.151 --> 36:10.004 were going to be canted because they were, 36:10.004 --> 36:13.671 the design had them aligned with the pathway 36:15.135 --> 36:19.302 rather than the completely, perfectly plumb cairn. 36:19.627 --> 36:23.794 And perhaps it would be okay if it was a small amount, 36:23.871 --> 36:27.704 but it was like five, six inches over 11 feet. 36:27.709 --> 36:29.792 And we all said time out. 36:30.898 --> 36:34.529 And last week the direction I gave them was, no, 36:34.529 --> 36:37.835 I want anything vertical to be completely plumb, 36:37.835 --> 36:39.864 so that's what they're going back doing now, 36:39.864 --> 36:42.307 is this will be completely level 36:42.307 --> 36:46.352 so that it's plumb with the cairn and with the wall, 36:46.352 --> 36:49.237 and what that will mean, because this is sloping, 36:49.237 --> 36:53.404 there will be a distance maybe, a greater distance 36:54.017 --> 36:56.446 from the ground to whatever vertical 36:56.446 --> 36:58.620 first vertical line you can see. 36:58.620 --> 37:00.884 There will be a longer depth here than there would be there, 37:00.884 --> 37:02.748 because the ground's sloping 37:02.748 --> 37:04.598 toward the foreground in the picture. 37:04.598 --> 37:06.728 But that's important that we have the slope, 37:06.728 --> 37:08.768 so we have sheet flow and we don't want ice 37:08.768 --> 37:10.086 or anything like that building up, 37:10.086 --> 37:12.138 but it's also important that you're sitting square 37:12.138 --> 37:13.668 and looking at everything square. 37:13.668 --> 37:15.402 If not, the lines are wrong. 37:15.402 --> 37:18.096 So that's, they're back at the AE, 37:18.096 --> 37:19.721 just making sure they get everything straight to that 37:19.721 --> 37:21.596 before they start pouring everything, 37:21.596 --> 37:23.836 and obviously the weather hasn't been helping 37:23.836 --> 37:25.841 of late either for doing concrete. 37:25.841 --> 37:28.924 All that said, we are still planning, 37:29.639 --> 37:32.222 well, looking at the way ahead. 37:32.630 --> 37:36.130 The first three are done pouring concrete. 37:36.325 --> 37:39.262 Could have been done had we not run into this problem, 37:39.262 --> 37:41.142 so they're waiting to do that. 37:41.142 --> 37:43.745 The papers, they're on-site, all the on-site, 37:43.745 --> 37:45.755 everything is ready to go. 37:45.755 --> 37:49.088 So we anticipate by the end of February, 37:50.170 --> 37:54.050 all the hardscape features here will be installed, 37:54.050 --> 37:55.575 and then it'll be a matter of waiting 37:55.575 --> 37:58.733 until appropriate weather to do the landscaping, 37:58.733 --> 38:02.434 several trees and obviously the side of everything else, 38:02.434 --> 38:04.573 it'll be even (mumbles). 38:04.573 --> 38:07.990 So from a when will this be actually done 38:08.323 --> 38:12.490 and ready to use, what I am recommending is we look at a, 38:14.258 --> 38:17.508 maybe we open it right around Memorial, 38:18.298 --> 38:20.806 excuse me, mid-May, just ahead of Memorial Day. 38:20.806 --> 38:22.349 That gives landscaping 38:22.349 --> 38:23.912 that would probably be installed in April 38:23.912 --> 38:26.045 time to get set and look nice 38:26.045 --> 38:29.212 before we actually lay everything down 38:29.612 --> 38:31.279 and put it into use. 38:32.977 --> 38:34.689 That said, I'm open to questions 38:34.689 --> 38:37.022 that the committee may have. 38:37.130 --> 38:37.963 Sir. 38:38.094 --> 38:39.012 - Yes, Colonel. 38:39.012 --> 38:42.595 Is there a location for some type of plaque 38:43.078 --> 38:45.822 with an inscription of the deceased? 38:45.822 --> 38:47.322 - I can take that. 38:47.645 --> 38:49.705 So the answer to the question is no, sir. 38:49.705 --> 38:53.872 So the nature of this location, no names will be depicted. 38:56.174 --> 39:00.341 It is for unidentifiable, unclaimed, commingled remains. 39:02.496 --> 39:05.913 So the intent is to, it initially started 39:06.038 --> 39:08.733 as a response to the Dover Report 39:08.733 --> 39:12.233 regarding the disposition of remains that, 39:12.247 --> 39:13.934 the volume of disposition of remains 39:13.934 --> 39:15.659 that were being buried at sea. 39:15.659 --> 39:17.992 And so these, this location, 39:19.268 --> 39:21.864 everyone whose remains are placed there 39:21.864 --> 39:23.714 will be an active duty death, 39:23.714 --> 39:26.468 and they will also have already been identified, 39:26.468 --> 39:28.850 there will be identifiable remains 39:28.850 --> 39:31.100 already interred elsewhere. 39:31.139 --> 39:33.879 So that's the category of remains that will come here, 39:33.879 --> 39:36.602 and they will come, there will be a simple ceremony, 39:36.602 --> 39:40.519 religious officiant, a cemetery representative, 39:41.138 --> 39:43.840 and a caretaker will be the ones that participate 39:43.840 --> 39:47.257 in depositing the remains into the cairn. 39:49.807 --> 39:53.224 - So with our visitor, how will they know 39:53.951 --> 39:55.868 that these are unknown? 39:55.960 --> 39:59.869 - Well, the irony of it is, they're not unknown, 39:59.869 --> 40:03.869 they're just not named in a commemoration plaque 40:05.122 --> 40:06.455 at the location. 40:07.763 --> 40:08.809 Do you have anything that will show 40:08.809 --> 40:11.059 what's written on the wall? 40:11.592 --> 40:15.556 - [Mike] Go back to the first, or is it the second slide. 40:15.556 --> 40:17.389 - So the ANC Explorer? 40:19.464 --> 40:20.590 - It's the Tomb of the American, 40:20.590 --> 40:24.423 the Tomb of Remembrance and, you can't see it. 40:24.469 --> 40:28.636 - [Renea] The ANC Explorer will have a full depiction of, 40:29.060 --> 40:31.727 an explanation of this location. 40:32.780 --> 40:34.144 - [Man] The explanation? 40:34.144 --> 40:36.732 - The explanation of what this location is, 40:36.732 --> 40:40.899 and one of the immediate savings for this location will be, 40:43.794 --> 40:47.627 currently, when we have a mass casualty event, 40:48.964 --> 40:52.797 like aircraft loss and everybody's identified, 40:54.658 --> 40:56.725 and they still have the commingled set of remains 40:56.725 --> 40:58.812 that cannot be individually identified. 40:58.812 --> 40:59.877 - Right, separated, right. 40:59.877 --> 41:01.792 - Right now, we take an entire grave space 41:01.792 --> 41:05.004 and put up a large government group marker 41:05.004 --> 41:06.999 at Arlington National Cemetery, 41:06.999 --> 41:10.390 because it's the only way since they were, 41:10.390 --> 41:13.394 since JPAC and now DPA is not authorized 41:13.394 --> 41:16.932 to do the disposition they were doing previously, 41:16.932 --> 41:19.317 so this will provide a disposition location 41:19.317 --> 41:23.484 that's dignified, it's honorable, and it's a place 41:23.502 --> 41:26.288 where commingled, already-identified remains 41:26.288 --> 41:27.455 can be placed. 41:31.516 --> 41:33.360 - I'm trying to remember the words. 41:33.360 --> 41:36.758 So also when there are remains that are identified later, 41:36.758 --> 41:38.160 so the family member-- 41:38.160 --> 41:39.764 - So those are called unclaimed. 41:39.764 --> 41:42.061 So when, just to remind the committee, 41:42.061 --> 41:44.811 when an active duty death occurs, 41:45.591 --> 41:47.053 an active duty servicemember 41:47.053 --> 41:49.359 has personally authorized direct disposition, 41:49.359 --> 41:52.625 makes a selection on a Department of Defense form 41:52.625 --> 41:54.211 whether they wanna be notified 41:54.211 --> 41:56.552 of subsequent identifications. 41:56.552 --> 41:59.189 Some say yeah, they wanna be notified, 41:59.189 --> 42:00.859 but they don't want to take possession 42:00.859 --> 42:03.026 of the subsequent remains. 42:03.150 --> 42:04.327 They have multiple options. 42:04.327 --> 42:07.507 There's actually four variables that they can elect 42:07.507 --> 42:09.674 to not be notified at all, 42:10.242 --> 42:13.065 and that DOD will dispose of the remains 42:13.065 --> 42:16.440 in a dignified manner, Tomb of Remembrance. 42:16.440 --> 42:18.745 That they wanna be notified, but they want DOD 42:18.745 --> 42:22.420 to still take care of the disposition of the remains. 42:22.420 --> 42:26.587 That they wanna be notified and the remains be placed 42:27.292 --> 42:31.459 where the original set of identified remains were replaced, 42:31.625 --> 42:33.240 be that in a national cemetery, 42:33.240 --> 42:36.081 be that in a state cemetery or a private cemetery 42:36.081 --> 42:39.498 here at Arlington, or the last choice is, 42:39.820 --> 42:43.663 identified and then placed in, this will be an option, 42:43.663 --> 42:47.497 the Tomb of Remembrance at Arlington National Cemetery. 42:47.497 --> 42:49.830 - Along that line, if I may. 42:50.693 --> 42:53.754 Out at what used to be known as JPAC, 42:53.754 --> 42:55.917 and now I think it is DPO. 42:55.917 --> 42:56.917 - DPAA, sir. 42:58.508 --> 43:00.810 - They have a set of remains out there 43:00.810 --> 43:04.310 from an aircraft loss with four Americans, 43:04.513 --> 43:08.680 but 80 of them, Republic of Vietnam, commingled remains. 43:10.421 --> 43:12.421 Would they ever consider 43:13.855 --> 43:18.022 where you've got both US and foreign remains for interment? 43:21.434 --> 43:23.262 - That is part of the policy decisions 43:23.262 --> 43:24.929 that are being made. 43:24.931 --> 43:28.764 So we, our group burials at Arlington do have, 43:30.524 --> 43:33.196 we have several graves in section 60 43:33.196 --> 43:34.887 and elsewhere in the cemetery 43:34.887 --> 43:39.054 where Allied Forces are among those that were lost, 43:41.697 --> 43:43.011 and all the names are depicted 43:43.011 --> 43:45.511 on the marker in the cemetery, 43:45.760 --> 43:48.760 to include Kuwait, Kuwaitis, Iraqis. 43:49.271 --> 43:53.438 We have, you know, South Vietnamese, South Korean. 43:54.838 --> 43:58.338 So there are many in the cemetery already. 43:58.635 --> 44:00.552 - All right, very good. 44:01.918 --> 44:02.751 Thank you. 44:03.082 --> 44:04.189 - [Mike] Sure. 44:04.189 --> 44:06.010 Any other questions of me? 44:06.010 --> 44:06.843 Or Renea? 44:07.043 --> 44:09.293 (laughter) 44:09.758 --> 44:10.591 - Thank you, Mike. 44:10.591 --> 44:11.510 - That's fine, good update. 44:11.510 --> 44:12.677 Appreciate it. 44:13.782 --> 44:16.566 - I think the historians are in the hallway corridor, 44:16.566 --> 44:17.483 if I can... 44:21.804 --> 44:23.255 Chris was sitting in here. 44:23.255 --> 44:25.434 I don't know where he ran away to. 44:25.434 --> 44:27.217 Our next order of business, 44:27.217 --> 44:31.384 Dr. Carney will speak about the World War I display. 44:32.782 --> 44:34.199 Was he out there? 44:39.636 --> 44:41.288 Give us a couple minutes here. 44:41.288 --> 44:43.621 Just an administrative note. 44:43.857 --> 44:46.180 I was informed by Mr. Keating 44:46.180 --> 44:49.701 that we aired the presentations at the tabs. 44:49.701 --> 44:52.821 This one, you're going to be able to find this one at tab M 44:52.821 --> 44:54.154 in your binders. 44:55.833 --> 44:59.750 And I think we're gonna run and grab Dr. Carney 45:00.152 --> 45:02.723 to discuss the World War I, and remember, 45:02.723 --> 45:05.980 this is a joint with American Battle Monuments Commission. 45:05.980 --> 45:08.540 The exhibit we'll have here at the cemetery. 45:08.540 --> 45:10.522 We do apologize for those members 45:10.522 --> 45:14.689 who had intended on participating in the joint opening 45:16.979 --> 45:21.118 with the American Battle Monuments Commission commissioners. 45:21.118 --> 45:23.295 We were not able to do that. 45:23.295 --> 45:26.190 But I think Dr. Carney will tell us 45:26.190 --> 45:28.855 when we might be able to do that. 45:28.855 --> 45:33.022 I'm just speaking about the joint opening celebration 45:33.252 --> 45:35.252 that was going to occur. 45:36.618 --> 45:37.451 - Okay. 45:38.079 --> 45:41.246 Ladies and gentlemen, it's a pleasure. 45:41.445 --> 45:45.362 So I'll give you a quick update on where we are 45:46.072 --> 45:49.739 with our joint ABMC-ANC World War I exhibit. 45:50.764 --> 45:52.415 The last time we talked, 45:52.415 --> 45:54.941 we were sort of still in that phase I think 45:54.941 --> 45:57.083 where the contract had just been executed 45:57.083 --> 46:01.166 and we were getting ready to start going forward. 46:02.719 --> 46:06.136 Right now we are in the production phase, 46:07.776 --> 46:11.109 and things are tracking for our timeline 46:11.337 --> 46:13.373 that I'll talk to you about in a couple seconds. 46:13.373 --> 46:14.290 Next slide. 46:15.043 --> 46:17.543 So for our agenda, we'll talk, 46:17.834 --> 46:22.001 again, I'll give you a quick overview of the exhibit, 46:22.198 --> 46:23.781 just as a reminder. 46:23.995 --> 46:25.716 We'll talk about the timeline, 46:25.716 --> 46:29.825 and then we'll be able to show you a panel elevation 46:29.825 --> 46:33.992 to what then panel with a multimedia screen embedded 46:34.232 --> 46:36.065 is going to look like. 46:36.123 --> 46:39.790 And then as part of the World War I exhibit, 46:39.822 --> 46:41.613 you may remember we are doing some things 46:41.613 --> 46:44.273 in the Memorial Amphitheater as well. 46:44.273 --> 46:46.803 We're gonna have some items for exhibit 46:46.803 --> 46:48.970 there in the amphitheater, 46:48.997 --> 46:51.164 and I'll give you and update on that as well. 46:51.164 --> 46:52.081 Next slide. 46:53.038 --> 46:57.038 So as a reminder, the exhibit is a joint project 46:58.872 --> 47:02.622 between ABMC and Arlington National Cemetery. 47:03.040 --> 47:07.207 So that jointness includes everything from budget, 47:07.294 --> 47:10.711 so each organization is paying, you know, 47:10.822 --> 47:14.320 essentially half of the cost of the project. 47:14.320 --> 47:17.987 It, the history offices of both ANC and ABMC 47:21.415 --> 47:25.429 have worked together, really, for about 23 months 47:25.429 --> 47:28.429 at this point doing everything from, 47:28.863 --> 47:32.864 you know, developing the basic plan, writing the script, 47:32.864 --> 47:34.948 locating images, which is, 47:34.948 --> 47:37.138 some of you who will remember 47:37.138 --> 47:39.014 as we've talked about some of the projects 47:39.014 --> 47:41.931 here in the Welcome Center in 2013, 47:42.935 --> 47:46.208 as well as the 2014 amphitheater project, 47:46.208 --> 47:49.442 the images are really the most difficult piece 47:49.442 --> 47:51.679 of the exhibit, unfortunately, 47:51.679 --> 47:53.707 trying to find something that's high enough quality 47:53.707 --> 47:55.481 that will actually work. 47:55.481 --> 47:59.564 So we work together to get those images selected, 48:00.359 --> 48:04.526 and we've also collaborated on the multimedia that, 48:06.211 --> 48:08.448 the video elements that are going in. 48:08.448 --> 48:12.615 ABMC's filmmaker is doing some of the historic videos, 48:13.762 --> 48:16.845 and our PAO shop is doing some videos 48:17.518 --> 48:19.268 that talk about honor 48:20.335 --> 48:22.739 and the components of a full honors funeral 48:22.739 --> 48:26.076 as well as remember some of the ceremonial events 48:26.076 --> 48:27.654 that take place here at Arlington, 48:27.654 --> 48:29.492 they'll go on those videos. 48:29.492 --> 48:31.132 So truly across the board 48:31.132 --> 48:34.965 it has been a joint and collaborative project. 48:35.965 --> 48:39.132 Again, the intent, just as a reminder, 48:39.659 --> 48:41.585 the intent is to tell the story 48:41.585 --> 48:44.371 of America's involvement in World War I, 48:44.371 --> 48:46.664 since we are, you know, technically, 48:46.664 --> 48:49.914 our centennial starts on April 6, 2017, 48:50.926 --> 48:54.676 when the US declared war on Imperial Germany. 48:54.931 --> 48:58.764 So the declaration of war was 6 April of 1917. 49:00.516 --> 49:02.637 The real emphasis, though, 49:02.637 --> 49:05.372 because you got to be, you all know our Welcome Center. 49:05.372 --> 49:08.799 We have fairly limited space where we can tell a story. 49:08.799 --> 49:12.466 So the emphasis, the majority of the exhibit 49:13.253 --> 49:16.616 really talks about the cemeterial response, 49:16.616 --> 49:20.616 how we took care of the fallen of that conflict. 49:20.907 --> 49:24.157 So, and that story is told here at ANC, 49:25.553 --> 49:27.886 overseas at ABMC cemeteries, 49:28.258 --> 49:30.418 and, of course, we also call out 49:30.418 --> 49:33.668 other cemetery organizations like BNCA, 49:34.107 --> 49:35.682 the National Park Service, 49:35.682 --> 49:39.265 that also are caring for the fallen of our, 49:40.137 --> 49:42.470 of our World War I conflict. 49:46.143 --> 49:50.310 The, I think, most powerful thing about this exhibit 49:50.646 --> 49:53.396 is our visitation numbers, right. 49:53.471 --> 49:57.638 So in comparison, I think the number I threw out to you 49:58.537 --> 50:00.030 at one of our earlier meetings 50:00.030 --> 50:03.477 was the National World War I Museum in Kansas City, 50:03.477 --> 50:07.168 their peak visitation number is about 150,000 50:07.168 --> 50:08.585 in a single year. 50:09.296 --> 50:13.131 So our visitation numbers are pushing 4 million. 50:13.131 --> 50:17.298 So, of course, a visitor here in our Welcome Center 50:17.388 --> 50:20.986 wouldn't get the same breadth of experience, 50:20.986 --> 50:23.948 the same immersion in the history of World War I 50:23.948 --> 50:25.419 and America's involvement in it 50:25.419 --> 50:29.490 that you would at a museum dedicated just to that conflict. 50:29.490 --> 50:32.089 We are going to introduce and educate 50:32.089 --> 50:34.172 a much larger population. 50:35.089 --> 50:38.672 That did require us to make some tradeoffs, 50:40.339 --> 50:42.172 though, in leading it, 50:42.211 --> 50:44.711 because we have so many people 50:45.034 --> 50:46.560 that are gonna be coming through, 50:46.560 --> 50:49.942 we really had to ensure that every exhibit 50:49.942 --> 50:53.942 was a stand-alone, so that if a visitor walks in 50:54.106 --> 50:56.273 through our main entrance, 50:56.280 --> 50:59.367 and goes up to one panel and looks at it, 50:59.367 --> 51:02.933 and then turns to go out, it's stand-alone enough 51:02.933 --> 51:06.600 that they at least get a piece of the story. 51:11.810 --> 51:14.507 The exhibit, the way that it's laid out, 51:14.507 --> 51:18.674 is it really tells the story of Arlington National Cemetery 51:19.541 --> 51:21.708 and ABMC, their histories. 51:22.032 --> 51:24.212 But when it comes into World War I, 51:24.212 --> 51:28.379 we start talking about what was going on in World War I 51:28.827 --> 51:32.494 before the US entered, so beginning in 1914, 51:33.944 --> 51:36.777 the story really picks up in 1917, 51:37.020 --> 51:40.603 but it carries through all the way to 1921, 51:41.752 --> 51:43.835 because in 1921, by 1921, 51:45.413 --> 51:48.246 a large number of the individuals, 51:50.225 --> 51:52.423 the servicemembers who were killed in Europe 51:52.423 --> 51:53.568 and buried there, 51:53.568 --> 51:56.684 whose families chose to repatriate them to the United States 51:56.684 --> 51:59.554 and specifically to Arlington National Cemetery, 51:59.554 --> 52:02.721 were already re-interred here by 1921, 52:02.758 --> 52:06.925 and that massive interment of those World War I fallen, 52:07.270 --> 52:11.437 it changes forever the shape of Arlington National Cemetery. 52:12.311 --> 52:15.834 Our current southern boundary is there today 52:15.834 --> 52:20.001 because of the World War I sections that were added. 52:20.384 --> 52:24.431 So it has a massive impact on Arlington National Cemetery, 52:24.431 --> 52:26.563 and of course, sort of the close 52:26.563 --> 52:28.707 of our World War I commemoration 52:28.707 --> 52:31.122 is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 52:31.122 --> 52:33.304 The 100th anniversary of the dedication 52:33.304 --> 52:34.837 of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 52:34.837 --> 52:36.587 is November 11, 2021. 52:37.452 --> 52:40.619 So this exhibit really gets us through 52:40.666 --> 52:42.343 that commemorative period. 52:42.343 --> 52:44.343 It gets us through 2021. 52:45.007 --> 52:48.540 And some of you may remember from a long time ago, 52:48.540 --> 52:51.968 our life cycle replacement plan for our exhibits 52:51.968 --> 52:54.403 is roughly once every five years. 52:54.403 --> 52:57.968 So it also fits into that life cycle replacement plan 52:57.968 --> 52:58.968 of exhibits. 53:00.395 --> 53:04.140 One of the biggest things about the new exhibit, though, 53:04.140 --> 53:07.557 is it is a massive infrastructure upgrade 53:07.580 --> 53:09.844 from what we have there now. 53:09.844 --> 53:12.623 So if any of you were here in 2015, 53:12.623 --> 53:16.652 you'll remember that to get that initial exhibit in, 53:16.652 --> 53:18.371 there were compromises that were made, 53:18.371 --> 53:21.081 such as not being able to put in lighting 53:21.081 --> 53:23.498 to all of those glass panels. 53:23.951 --> 53:27.299 On a bright, sunny day, doesn't make a big difference, 53:27.299 --> 53:30.422 but on a cloudy day, early in the morning, 53:30.422 --> 53:32.183 later in the afternoon 53:32.183 --> 53:34.243 when you don't have that direct sunlight, 53:34.243 --> 53:36.576 those panels just look flat. 53:37.148 --> 53:39.250 They don't look very lively. 53:39.250 --> 53:41.667 In this exhibit, we were able 53:43.893 --> 53:46.194 to get the electrical run to where it needs, 53:46.194 --> 53:49.277 so beginning on the 25th of February, 53:49.988 --> 53:53.405 you can come here and all of those panels 53:53.467 --> 53:56.146 will have individual lighting controls 53:56.146 --> 53:57.386 that all work on dimmer, 53:57.386 --> 53:59.641 so that's a huge upgrade from our current exhibit. 53:59.641 --> 54:02.620 The other thing that the exhibit allows us to do 54:02.620 --> 54:06.203 is quickly make replacements in the future. 54:06.310 --> 54:08.560 So this one, unfortunately, 54:09.030 --> 54:11.030 because the exhibit that we have there, 54:11.030 --> 54:12.726 all of that glass is etched, 54:12.726 --> 54:15.170 because it was set up for a single use, 54:15.170 --> 54:17.606 it didn't really maximize the amount 54:17.606 --> 54:19.882 of story that we could tell. 54:19.882 --> 54:23.882 The new exhibit will basically double the amount 54:24.150 --> 54:25.817 of viewable exhibits 54:25.901 --> 54:28.242 by placing glass on both sides, 54:28.242 --> 54:30.487 so at each of those four units, 54:30.487 --> 54:33.039 you'll be able to read a different story 54:33.039 --> 54:34.456 from either side. 54:35.446 --> 54:37.946 And it allows us in the future 54:38.767 --> 54:42.430 just to pop the top off, take the insert out, 54:42.430 --> 54:44.072 and pop a new exhibit in. 54:44.072 --> 54:45.739 So this is an event. 54:45.948 --> 54:47.545 It's going to take us essentially five days 54:47.545 --> 54:48.732 to get installed. 54:48.732 --> 54:51.649 An update in, say, 2021 would take, 54:52.183 --> 54:54.433 or 2022 will take us a day, 54:55.128 --> 54:57.755 maybe a day and a half of install time. 54:57.755 --> 55:01.755 So it really allows for the ease of future updates, 55:01.755 --> 55:03.877 so huge infrastructure upgrade. 55:03.877 --> 55:05.460 Next slide, please. 55:06.216 --> 55:07.549 So the timeline. 55:08.169 --> 55:11.086 The timeline as it exists right now 55:11.227 --> 55:15.394 is that the exhibit install will start after you close 55:16.528 --> 55:20.611 on February 21st, and we will be mission complete 55:21.960 --> 55:25.710 and the new exhibit will open in its totality 55:26.818 --> 55:29.318 on the morning of 25 February. 55:30.048 --> 55:33.070 So Tuesday night basically to Saturday morning 55:33.070 --> 55:34.737 is the install time. 55:35.424 --> 55:37.507 All the work will be done 55:38.129 --> 55:40.963 while the Welcome Center is closed, 55:40.963 --> 55:43.880 so it will begin around 17:30 every night 55:43.880 --> 55:45.929 and we will be cleaned up 55:45.929 --> 55:49.679 and ready to reopen the next morning by 0600. 55:49.905 --> 55:53.072 And during that actual install period, 55:54.800 --> 55:58.449 a visitor that would come in, it's going to be seamless. 55:58.449 --> 55:59.699 They won't see, 56:00.076 --> 56:03.267 there won't be any signs of construction while we're open. 56:03.267 --> 56:05.491 The only difference is if someone comes in on, 56:05.491 --> 56:07.076 say, Wednesday morning, 56:07.076 --> 56:09.254 you'll see some of the new exhibit panels 56:09.254 --> 56:12.504 and then the rest of the exhibit space. 56:13.022 --> 56:14.666 You'll still have the old exhibit, 56:14.666 --> 56:17.655 but there is no concern for visitor safety 56:17.655 --> 56:19.192 or anything like that. 56:19.192 --> 56:22.025 Everything will be done in stages. 56:24.668 --> 56:26.918 That's your Welcome Center. 56:27.315 --> 56:28.948 In our display group, 56:28.948 --> 56:31.180 which I'll tell you about in a few minutes, 56:31.180 --> 56:34.930 all the items that we're going to place there 56:36.451 --> 56:38.871 as part of our World War I commemoration 56:38.871 --> 56:41.425 will be in place by the 29th of March, 56:41.425 --> 56:43.508 so the install is phased. 56:44.284 --> 56:47.224 Phase one is here in the Welcome Center 56:47.224 --> 56:51.057 and phase two is in the Memorial Amphitheater. 56:51.427 --> 56:54.641 - It says preview event planned on the 30th of March, 56:54.641 --> 56:57.963 a month after (mumbles). 56:57.963 --> 57:00.468 Preview of, I'm not quite sure what that, 57:00.468 --> 57:01.660 what you're talking about there. 57:01.660 --> 57:03.818 - Probably not the greatest choice of words 57:03.818 --> 57:06.568 for the timeline, but originally, 57:06.725 --> 57:09.386 when the project was conceptualized, 57:09.386 --> 57:12.542 the idea would have been on the 6th of April 57:12.542 --> 57:16.209 to have a joint ANC and ABMC ribbon-cutting, 57:17.843 --> 57:19.190 for lack of a better term. 57:19.190 --> 57:22.357 However, the number of senior leaders, 57:23.537 --> 57:25.433 especially within the Department of Defense, 57:25.433 --> 57:29.600 who plan to be out at the actual World War I location 57:30.276 --> 57:33.214 themselves in Kansas City on the 6th 57:33.214 --> 57:35.793 made that particular day not make sense 57:35.793 --> 57:37.402 for us to host it on that day. 57:37.402 --> 57:39.116 So what we're planning to do 57:39.116 --> 57:42.283 is on the Thursday prior to April 6th, 57:42.387 --> 57:44.185 which is the 30th of March, 57:44.185 --> 57:46.174 is to have an evening event 57:46.174 --> 57:48.816 and let some of the key leaders, 57:48.816 --> 57:51.138 and we'll of course invite the committee 57:51.138 --> 57:53.675 and some of our Congressional stakeholders as well 57:53.675 --> 57:56.675 to come in and preview, if you will. 57:56.870 --> 58:00.349 However, we had to get the installation done well in advance 58:00.349 --> 58:02.418 and we wanted to give ourselves a little bit of time 58:02.418 --> 58:04.390 to make sure that we had some flexibility 58:04.390 --> 58:05.996 if something didn't quite go right. 58:05.996 --> 58:07.885 So it will be in in February, 58:07.885 --> 58:12.052 but we plan to unveil it more openly, if you will, 58:12.071 --> 58:13.738 at the end of March. 58:16.806 --> 58:18.556 - Next slide, please. 58:19.187 --> 58:22.520 Oh, and if we could pull up the J drive. 58:25.574 --> 58:26.984 - [Kate] While he's doing that, Dr. Carney? 58:26.984 --> 58:27.817 - Yes? 58:27.992 --> 58:29.783 - Talk a little bit about the, 58:29.783 --> 58:32.139 you talked about the numbers that we expect 58:32.139 --> 58:34.972 we'll see this particular exhibit. 58:35.997 --> 58:38.664 When we went to the Smithsonian, 58:38.912 --> 58:43.079 it was noticeably not such a big deal in their plans 58:43.844 --> 58:45.011 for this 2017. 58:46.761 --> 58:48.344 Is that a diplomatic way to say that? 58:48.344 --> 58:49.427 - Yes, ma'am. 58:49.622 --> 58:52.126 So in the national capital region, 58:52.126 --> 58:54.095 the largest World War I exhibit 58:54.095 --> 58:57.924 is going to be located here in our Welcome Center, 58:57.924 --> 58:59.257 without a doubt. 58:59.540 --> 59:03.373 So at the Smithsonian American History Museum, 59:04.551 --> 59:06.518 if any of you have ever walked through, 59:06.518 --> 59:10.685 the World War I exhibit is actually a very small room. 59:10.952 --> 59:13.489 The only real changes that they're making 59:13.489 --> 59:16.046 for the 100th anniversary is online. 59:16.046 --> 59:19.088 So they're doing some online exhibitry, 59:19.088 --> 59:23.005 but no major changes or temporary exhibit space 59:25.897 --> 59:27.636 at the actual Smithsonian 59:27.636 --> 59:30.469 is being dedicated to World War I. 59:31.386 --> 59:34.607 - Are we a doing a special piece on the app 59:34.607 --> 59:36.517 and so forth around this? 59:36.517 --> 59:39.846 - [Kate] Yes, to highlight it, you mean? 59:39.846 --> 59:41.704 The idea would be to use the technology 59:41.704 --> 59:43.688 to not only advertise the change, 59:43.688 --> 59:45.242 but to put the content in there as well. 59:45.242 --> 59:46.958 - The content as well. 59:46.958 --> 59:48.774 - So there will be a special, 59:48.774 --> 59:51.688 if we do the tours and they will highlight 59:51.688 --> 59:55.138 with the opportunities on the app that we'll have. 59:55.138 --> 59:59.305 - So, and we're doing a couple of different things. 59:59.621 --> 01:00:02.204 So we, in conjunction with PAO, 01:00:02.623 --> 01:00:06.790 we have our 2017 tour schedule already established, 01:00:07.817 --> 01:00:10.067 and in each of those tours, 01:00:10.492 --> 01:00:12.805 so for example, Medal of Honor Day. 01:00:12.805 --> 01:00:14.314 A Medal of Honor Day, 01:00:14.314 --> 01:00:16.893 we'll conduct it like we do all of our tours, 01:00:16.893 --> 01:00:19.109 so we'll give a brief history of the Medal of Honor. 01:00:19.109 --> 01:00:20.767 Probably in this room, 01:00:20.767 --> 01:00:22.795 depending on the number of people who sign up. 01:00:22.795 --> 01:00:24.509 And then when we go out 01:00:24.509 --> 01:00:26.173 and actually start visiting gravesites, 01:00:26.173 --> 01:00:30.098 we are going to choose World War I Medal of Honor recipients 01:00:30.098 --> 01:00:34.098 but instead of just making it about World War I, 01:00:34.264 --> 01:00:36.597 we are going to include, so, 01:00:37.639 --> 01:00:39.214 the same would be true for all of our tours, 01:00:39.214 --> 01:00:41.326 so Women's History Month, but we're going to stay 01:00:41.326 --> 01:00:43.556 as World War I centric as possible. 01:00:43.556 --> 01:00:46.132 And then as we talked about yesterday 01:00:46.132 --> 01:00:48.939 with our content management of the app, 01:00:48.939 --> 01:00:51.210 once we get that functionality back, 01:00:51.210 --> 01:00:54.240 we can put up all kinds of specialized World War I tours, 01:00:54.240 --> 01:00:55.073 so... 01:00:55.779 --> 01:00:57.895 - I'm struck by what you'd said before, Kate, 01:00:57.895 --> 01:00:59.747 about the data that we had. 01:00:59.747 --> 01:01:02.080 (mumblings) 01:01:04.741 --> 01:01:08.908 Technology and thought (mumbles). 01:01:10.305 --> 01:01:11.412 - Oh, absolutely. 01:01:11.412 --> 01:01:13.845 And the technology that allows us 01:01:13.845 --> 01:01:16.704 to actually reach out and touch that domain, 01:01:16.704 --> 01:01:19.731 that really wasn't, to a huge extent, 01:01:19.731 --> 01:01:22.648 so it's been a really impactful way 01:01:22.648 --> 01:01:24.565 to expand the presence. 01:01:26.073 --> 01:01:28.133 - Now, this is pushing the edge 01:01:28.133 --> 01:01:30.716 beyond my technology abilities, 01:01:30.823 --> 01:01:33.753 but virtual reality, I've said this, 01:01:33.753 --> 01:01:35.834 I know it's beginning now. 01:01:35.834 --> 01:01:37.794 I see it advertised on TV. 01:01:37.794 --> 01:01:40.289 But in the future as some of us get older, 01:01:40.289 --> 01:01:41.992 we won't have to leave the living room 01:01:41.992 --> 01:01:44.250 and we can travel the world. 01:01:44.250 --> 01:01:46.271 Has there been any similar discussion 01:01:46.271 --> 01:01:50.354 about bringing Arlington into that world someday? 01:01:50.997 --> 01:01:52.802 - So I can't say that we've talked 01:01:52.802 --> 01:01:54.496 in any great detail about that, 01:01:54.496 --> 01:01:58.099 but I think that's a glide path that we're actually on, 01:01:58.099 --> 01:02:00.045 because one of the initiatives 01:02:00.045 --> 01:02:03.295 that the new ED and I have talked about 01:02:03.470 --> 01:02:06.970 is how to improve the external engagement, 01:02:07.063 --> 01:02:09.313 and what are the techniques 01:02:10.134 --> 01:02:12.051 that we use to do that. 01:02:12.398 --> 01:02:14.548 That's also been one of the gains 01:02:14.548 --> 01:02:17.609 that our partnership with ABMC has really helped us with. 01:02:17.609 --> 01:02:20.631 They do tremendous things in public outreach. 01:02:20.631 --> 01:02:24.714 That's more, I would argue, a lot of what they do 01:02:24.978 --> 01:02:27.352 from a perspective of maintaining 01:02:27.352 --> 01:02:29.535 their particular cemeteries, 01:02:29.535 --> 01:02:31.752 and so they've really perfected 01:02:31.752 --> 01:02:33.377 how to do that kind of engagement 01:02:33.377 --> 01:02:34.697 and how to reach people, 01:02:34.697 --> 01:02:36.058 and while I wouldn't call them 01:02:36.058 --> 01:02:38.100 on the bleeding edge of technology, 01:02:38.100 --> 01:02:40.243 they're bringing us along with them, 01:02:40.243 --> 01:02:42.806 and so I think that's a glide path that we're on. 01:02:42.806 --> 01:02:46.973 - Do we still have a formal liaison officer from ANC? 01:02:47.154 --> 01:02:48.335 - We do, mm-hmm, we do. 01:02:48.335 --> 01:02:49.549 - And that's continuing after this mission? 01:02:49.549 --> 01:02:51.216 - It is, it is, yes. 01:02:53.391 --> 01:02:56.558 - Will these panels, will they include 01:02:56.705 --> 01:02:59.288 a little bit about the soldiers 01:02:59.842 --> 01:03:02.660 that are buried in the battlefields 01:03:02.660 --> 01:03:06.660 in like France, and will you introduce that well 01:03:07.306 --> 01:03:08.668 with these panels? 01:03:08.668 --> 01:03:09.811 - Right, absolutely. 01:03:09.811 --> 01:03:11.434 - A lot of Americans, they don't know 01:03:11.434 --> 01:03:14.101 that we do have many cemeteries, 01:03:14.331 --> 01:03:16.248 particularly in France, 01:03:16.396 --> 01:03:20.063 where there are fallen World War I soldiers. 01:03:21.357 --> 01:03:22.440 - Yes, ma'am. 01:03:23.049 --> 01:03:27.049 And we, so we talked in depth about specifically 01:03:27.139 --> 01:03:29.590 the World War I ABMC cemeteries 01:03:29.590 --> 01:03:31.688 that are located in Europe, 01:03:31.688 --> 01:03:34.086 so we try to explain the difference 01:03:34.086 --> 01:03:38.253 between grave markers in the ABMC cemeteries overseas 01:03:38.549 --> 01:03:41.331 versus ours, because a very common remedy, 01:03:41.331 --> 01:03:43.019 other than why isn't this person 01:03:43.019 --> 01:03:44.765 on the noble graves list that we get is, 01:03:44.765 --> 01:03:46.471 when did all the crosses get taken out 01:03:46.471 --> 01:03:48.297 of Arlington National Cemetery? 01:03:48.297 --> 01:03:50.446 So we use this as an opportunity 01:03:50.446 --> 01:03:54.613 to visually show the differences in the cemeteries as well. 01:03:56.550 --> 01:04:00.300 So what we have for you is one of the videos, 01:04:00.858 --> 01:04:04.358 and this is the video that is going to run 01:04:04.751 --> 01:04:07.334 on the technology in war panel, 01:04:07.792 --> 01:04:11.709 so this is one of the ones that ABMC completed, 01:04:12.904 --> 01:04:15.356 and of course there's no sound, 01:04:15.356 --> 01:04:17.356 but the way we do it is, 01:04:18.482 --> 01:04:21.600 essentially everything that is discussed in words 01:04:21.600 --> 01:04:24.350 on that panel we show visuals of. 01:04:26.282 --> 01:04:27.382 And it might take a-- 01:04:27.382 --> 01:04:28.632 - Working here. 01:04:29.080 --> 01:04:31.497 - They're rather large files. 01:04:31.847 --> 01:04:34.930 So visually, though, when you go out, 01:04:36.336 --> 01:04:38.355 the panels are going to look very much like 01:04:38.355 --> 01:04:40.772 what we have out there today. 01:04:41.058 --> 01:04:43.069 So we have one main panel 01:04:43.069 --> 01:04:45.560 where all the primary text is located, 01:04:45.560 --> 01:04:48.560 and then we have a background image, 01:04:48.890 --> 01:04:51.942 which actually will be much sharper, much clearer. 01:04:51.942 --> 01:04:54.609 It basically serves as a mosaic. 01:04:54.754 --> 01:04:57.538 And then there are actually images, 01:04:57.538 --> 01:04:59.371 just like we have now, 01:04:59.992 --> 01:05:02.956 affixed to the front of those glass panes. 01:05:02.956 --> 01:05:05.289 So that is kind of visually, 01:05:05.764 --> 01:05:08.967 and then as I said we have five of the monitors, 01:05:08.967 --> 01:05:11.550 and on the main floor displays, 01:05:13.178 --> 01:05:16.939 the exhibit panel that talks about World War I 01:05:16.939 --> 01:05:19.886 prior to US entry, technology and war, 01:05:19.886 --> 01:05:21.391 which is coming up, 01:05:21.391 --> 01:05:23.119 and the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, 01:05:23.119 --> 01:05:26.202 that the selection, the state funeral 01:05:27.675 --> 01:05:31.842 for the World War I Unknown and his interment here 01:05:32.487 --> 01:05:35.820 at Arlington is highlighted on that one. 01:05:39.259 --> 01:05:42.531 So we talked a lot about advances in weapons technology. 01:05:42.531 --> 01:05:44.698 Primarily the machine gun. 01:05:45.499 --> 01:05:49.499 So we, ABMC used the same cut scenes, basically, 01:05:50.153 --> 01:05:53.251 that US Army Signal Corps films would have used. 01:05:53.251 --> 01:05:55.433 So of course there is a big discussion 01:05:55.433 --> 01:05:58.399 about advances in artillery as well, 01:05:58.399 --> 01:06:02.149 and just the mass destruction that it caused. 01:06:06.313 --> 01:06:10.480 So we made sure we talked about all the branches of service. 01:06:19.026 --> 01:06:22.193 So the run time should be short enough 01:06:22.258 --> 01:06:24.915 that it doesn't cause major congestion 01:06:24.915 --> 01:06:26.998 at those panel locations. 01:06:39.704 --> 01:06:42.066 So the ANC history office secured 01:06:42.066 --> 01:06:45.893 most of this original footage from the Archives, 01:06:45.893 --> 01:06:49.767 and then ABMC used one of their existing contracts 01:06:49.767 --> 01:06:53.100 basically to remaster that original film 01:06:53.940 --> 01:06:55.940 to really sharpen it up, 01:06:56.033 --> 01:06:59.020 and then of course did the actual editing 01:06:59.020 --> 01:07:01.187 to put the films together. 01:07:02.763 --> 01:07:03.596 Tanks. 01:07:05.055 --> 01:07:07.397 So then these are all components that, 01:07:07.397 --> 01:07:10.230 so we talked about the technology, 01:07:10.349 --> 01:07:12.322 new technology of World War I on this panel, 01:07:12.322 --> 01:07:15.124 and on the back side of this location, 01:07:15.124 --> 01:07:17.139 we talked about the aftermath of the conflict, 01:07:17.139 --> 01:07:20.372 that the number of dead, the property destroyed, 01:07:20.372 --> 01:07:23.653 the economic and human cost of the conflict. 01:07:23.653 --> 01:07:27.820 So this really supports everything that's talked about 01:07:29.305 --> 01:07:30.472 in that panel. 01:07:39.220 --> 01:07:40.427 That should just cut away. 01:07:40.427 --> 01:07:44.594 And then if we can go back and then to next slide. 01:07:46.268 --> 01:07:48.518 (mumbling) 01:07:50.006 --> 01:07:53.482 So just an example of sort of our four steps 01:07:53.482 --> 01:07:57.232 into incorporating technology, new technology 01:07:58.519 --> 01:08:00.019 into our exhibits. 01:08:02.308 --> 01:08:04.975 Then as we go to the next slide. 01:08:05.327 --> 01:08:06.357 - Steve, can you talk for a second 01:08:06.357 --> 01:08:09.067 about the challenge, about the sound, 01:08:09.067 --> 01:08:11.827 and kind of our internal staff discussions 01:08:11.827 --> 01:08:14.660 about how do you incorporate sound 01:08:15.105 --> 01:08:17.855 in an already very loud location. 01:08:18.129 --> 01:08:20.552 - So there are a number of problems 01:08:20.552 --> 01:08:24.302 I think that we first realized in 2012, 2013, 01:08:25.097 --> 01:08:27.669 when we were doing the existing exhibit, 01:08:27.669 --> 01:08:30.541 and we talked about potentially adding sound in. 01:08:30.541 --> 01:08:34.708 So, one, the acoustics of the room, of the welcome center, 01:08:35.516 --> 01:08:38.683 and the Memorial Amphitheater as well, 01:08:38.724 --> 01:08:41.807 the display room, it's very difficult 01:08:42.650 --> 01:08:44.757 for sound to play loudly enough 01:08:44.757 --> 01:08:48.924 that you don't lose that in the vastness of the space, 01:08:50.542 --> 01:08:52.651 so it would actually have to be quite loud 01:08:52.651 --> 01:08:55.865 so that someone standing there could hear it. 01:08:55.865 --> 01:08:59.461 But, additionally, because of the number of people 01:08:59.461 --> 01:09:01.233 that are coming through, 01:09:01.233 --> 01:09:04.650 any type of live audio gets, or of audio, 01:09:04.867 --> 01:09:07.284 gets washed out very quickly. 01:09:07.698 --> 01:09:11.865 So, you know, here in the Welcome Center, that's a problem. 01:09:12.197 --> 01:09:14.839 At our display room, that's even a larger problem, 01:09:14.839 --> 01:09:16.896 because you have the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 01:09:16.896 --> 01:09:19.308 right outside the front door. 01:09:19.308 --> 01:09:22.475 So without really a significant change 01:09:23.572 --> 01:09:26.315 of the space in the Welcome Center, 01:09:26.315 --> 01:09:28.833 like being able to put in acoustic tiles 01:09:28.833 --> 01:09:33.000 on the lower portions of the roof on the two wings 01:09:33.300 --> 01:09:37.467 to sort of keep that sound from refracting all around 01:09:37.505 --> 01:09:41.261 and losing it, or coming up with some kind of cone 01:09:41.261 --> 01:09:45.038 so that it's projected to where you're standing, 01:09:45.038 --> 01:09:47.538 it would be almost impossible, 01:09:47.968 --> 01:09:51.459 it would be impossible to have audio playing out there. 01:09:51.459 --> 01:09:54.792 So for now, I think that the solution is 01:09:55.468 --> 01:09:57.635 to do the, just the video, 01:09:58.468 --> 01:10:01.755 and then hopefully be able to leverage technology 01:10:01.755 --> 01:10:04.622 so that you could pull something like this 01:10:04.622 --> 01:10:08.539 onto a smart device and be able to listen to it 01:10:08.583 --> 01:10:12.750 through your own earbuds or something along those lines. 01:10:13.603 --> 01:10:15.286 So definitely something that, 01:10:15.286 --> 01:10:19.178 the good thing about what, the way we're doing this exhibit 01:10:19.178 --> 01:10:22.324 and integrating the multimedia panels, 01:10:22.324 --> 01:10:26.324 there's actually a commercial grade media player 01:10:26.441 --> 01:10:30.240 that's being used for all of those monitor locations 01:10:30.240 --> 01:10:33.001 which give us some future proofing, 01:10:33.001 --> 01:10:35.584 so that if there is a way, say, 01:10:36.073 --> 01:10:38.904 in two years that we could have sound 01:10:38.904 --> 01:10:42.308 go directly to a device that you're standing there 01:10:42.308 --> 01:10:44.008 in front of that exhibit panel, 01:10:44.008 --> 01:10:45.535 it gives us that flexibility. 01:10:45.535 --> 01:10:48.812 Or it gives us the ability to purchase additional modules 01:10:48.812 --> 01:10:51.237 to add into that commercial system. 01:10:51.237 --> 01:10:55.191 So that was one of the reasons we went with that route 01:10:55.191 --> 01:10:57.472 in contracting to ensure that 01:10:57.472 --> 01:11:00.057 as technology continues to advance, 01:11:00.057 --> 01:11:02.974 we have some options in the future. 01:11:02.987 --> 01:11:06.070 Without having to replace everything. 01:11:06.662 --> 01:11:08.971 So that's our Welcome Center. 01:11:08.971 --> 01:11:10.638 In our display room, 01:11:10.675 --> 01:11:13.092 we have two significant items 01:11:14.556 --> 01:11:16.372 that are going on display. 01:11:16.372 --> 01:11:19.064 They're definitely part of this World War I 01:11:19.064 --> 01:11:21.511 commemorative period for the cemetery. 01:11:21.511 --> 01:11:24.844 So many of you will remember, I believe, 01:11:25.247 --> 01:11:28.566 the Chief Plenty Coups war bonnet or headdress. 01:11:28.566 --> 01:11:32.733 That had been on exhibit in the Memorial Amphitheater 01:11:32.811 --> 01:11:35.394 display room from 1921 to 2014. 01:11:38.464 --> 01:11:42.131 2014, all the items from Chief Plenty Coups, 01:11:42.976 --> 01:11:45.343 who represented all Native Americans 01:11:45.343 --> 01:11:48.109 at the interment of the World War I Unknown 01:11:48.109 --> 01:11:50.359 were sent for conservation. 01:11:50.704 --> 01:11:54.037 They had been on display in unsafe cases 01:11:54.380 --> 01:11:55.880 for 90 plus years, 01:11:57.417 --> 01:12:00.445 and they were in dire need of conservation. 01:12:00.445 --> 01:12:01.528 So our first, 01:12:02.146 --> 01:12:06.138 the history office's first major conservation effort 01:12:06.138 --> 01:12:10.305 was Plenty Coups' headdress as well as his coup sticks, 01:12:10.462 --> 01:12:13.346 which are the riding staffs that he would use 01:12:13.346 --> 01:12:15.596 to count coup on the enemy, 01:12:15.685 --> 01:12:19.183 which is ride up and touch an enemy and ride away. 01:12:19.183 --> 01:12:21.766 The idea wasn't to take a life, 01:12:22.158 --> 01:12:26.325 it was to gain honor by doing this incredible feat 01:12:26.395 --> 01:12:28.216 of riding up an enemy. 01:12:28.216 --> 01:12:31.056 So Plenty Coups had two of these riding staffs 01:12:31.056 --> 01:12:33.366 that he used to count coups. 01:12:33.366 --> 01:12:37.283 At the end of the World War I Unknown's burial, 01:12:38.634 --> 01:12:41.051 Plenty Coups stepped forward, 01:12:41.066 --> 01:12:44.320 and placed his headdress and coups sticks 01:12:44.320 --> 01:12:45.903 on top of the tomb. 01:12:46.601 --> 01:12:49.857 So this is very different than most of the gifts 01:12:49.857 --> 01:12:51.582 for any of you that have walked through 01:12:51.582 --> 01:12:54.579 the display room since 2014, at least, 01:12:54.579 --> 01:12:58.746 you see all the items that foreign governments left. 01:12:59.167 --> 01:13:03.084 England awarded our Unknown the Victoria Cross. 01:13:03.767 --> 01:13:07.065 Other high medals and honors from all of our allies. 01:13:07.065 --> 01:13:10.179 Chief Plenty Coups made a very personal gift. 01:13:10.179 --> 01:13:13.929 The symbol of his authority to rule the Crow, 01:13:14.073 --> 01:13:16.892 his war bonnet, and the coup sticks 01:13:16.892 --> 01:13:19.309 that he had used for decades. 01:13:19.404 --> 01:13:21.821 So those both were conserved. 01:13:23.123 --> 01:13:25.873 The headdress was back on exhibit 01:13:26.096 --> 01:13:28.346 in a proper case last year, 01:13:30.062 --> 01:13:33.229 and this year we did another contract, 01:13:33.665 --> 01:13:37.007 I'll show you a quick image on the next slide, 01:13:37.007 --> 01:13:40.135 of the case, but it's an eight-foot-long, 01:13:40.135 --> 01:13:42.218 archival-safe table case, 01:13:42.877 --> 01:13:45.870 which the riding staffs will be placed in. 01:13:45.870 --> 01:13:49.115 So basically all the Plenty Coups material 01:13:49.115 --> 01:13:50.848 will now be back on display 01:13:50.848 --> 01:13:55.015 after a 3 1/2 or four-year hiatus to get into it. 01:13:57.964 --> 01:13:59.214 Winged Victory. 01:13:59.807 --> 01:14:03.122 Some of you may have seen her down in the lower level 01:14:03.122 --> 01:14:05.539 of the Memorial Amphitheater. 01:14:06.898 --> 01:14:09.731 Winged Victory was gift from China 01:14:10.274 --> 01:14:12.539 on November 11, well, actually, 01:14:12.539 --> 01:14:14.165 it was probably November 10th. 01:14:14.165 --> 01:14:16.082 She's in all the images 01:14:16.261 --> 01:14:18.611 of the World War I Unknown's funeral, 01:14:18.611 --> 01:14:21.176 lying in state at the Capitol Rotunda, 01:14:21.176 --> 01:14:23.443 here at Arlington National Cemetery, 01:14:23.443 --> 01:14:26.443 and she actually had been on display 01:14:26.773 --> 01:14:29.273 in the display room from 1921, 01:14:33.126 --> 01:14:36.876 probably the 11th or 12th of November of 1921 01:14:36.952 --> 01:14:38.952 up until the late 1940s. 01:14:38.965 --> 01:14:43.132 After China became communist, the statue was removed 01:14:44.124 --> 01:14:47.319 and brought down to the lower level of the amphitheater, 01:14:47.319 --> 01:14:49.526 where she's been ever since. 01:14:49.526 --> 01:14:52.943 So part of the World War I exhibit effort 01:14:53.842 --> 01:14:56.665 at the amphitheater is to take her back up 01:14:56.665 --> 01:15:00.082 in a spot very close to her original home 01:15:00.544 --> 01:15:02.211 in the amphitheater. 01:15:02.346 --> 01:15:03.263 Next slide. 01:15:04.566 --> 01:15:06.905 On the left, you see Chief Plenty Coups standing 01:15:06.905 --> 01:15:09.430 in front of the original Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 01:15:09.430 --> 01:15:13.180 with his war bonnet and then his riding staffs, 01:15:13.180 --> 01:15:15.845 or his coup stick that he's holding in his left hand. 01:15:15.845 --> 01:15:20.012 So those coup sticks are to be placed in a table case, 01:15:20.935 --> 01:15:23.009 much like many of the other ones we have 01:15:23.009 --> 01:15:25.065 there in the display room. 01:15:25.065 --> 01:15:29.232 So the entire vitrine, or the glass top, lifts up. 01:15:29.311 --> 01:15:33.478 This one, unlike the ones we use for our ceremony, 01:15:33.675 --> 01:15:37.758 our daily ceremony, this one will be opened once, 01:15:38.106 --> 01:15:41.466 the coup stick will be, the riding staffs will be placed in, 01:15:41.466 --> 01:15:43.500 and it'll be closed and provide 01:15:43.500 --> 01:15:45.380 the highest level of protection 01:15:45.380 --> 01:15:47.713 that we can give those items 01:15:48.142 --> 01:15:50.611 of a national historical significance. 01:15:50.611 --> 01:15:53.528 And on the right is Winged Victory. 01:15:53.905 --> 01:15:55.681 So right in front of the Capitol, 01:15:55.681 --> 01:15:57.598 at the Capitol Rotunda. 01:15:58.514 --> 01:16:01.882 So she will be getting some light cleaning 01:16:01.882 --> 01:16:03.465 from a conservator. 01:16:03.964 --> 01:16:06.089 I mean, speaking of joint projects, 01:16:06.089 --> 01:16:09.538 the Corps of Engineers, St. Paul district, 01:16:09.538 --> 01:16:13.621 is going to be providing support for conservation 01:16:13.989 --> 01:16:17.906 to get her cleaned as well as find arts in her. 01:16:18.778 --> 01:16:22.595 So the same outfit that's moving the date around 01:16:22.595 --> 01:16:26.512 and doing work on it is also going to assist us 01:16:26.775 --> 01:16:30.424 in getting Winged Victory cleaned and brought up 01:16:30.424 --> 01:16:32.507 and placed in a new case. 01:16:33.622 --> 01:16:36.789 So this case is very much like the one 01:16:36.922 --> 01:16:38.974 The Bugler is in now in the Welcome Center. 01:16:38.974 --> 01:16:42.141 It's anti-reflective glass all around. 01:16:43.067 --> 01:16:45.737 The only difference is because of her size, 01:16:45.737 --> 01:16:49.154 you wanna view her at a higher elevation. 01:16:50.677 --> 01:16:54.611 There is a steel infrastructure on the inside of that case 01:16:54.611 --> 01:16:58.601 that will get her at the proper height for viewing. 01:16:58.601 --> 01:17:01.851 And then we'll have both of those items 01:17:02.180 --> 01:17:05.115 will be on display in the amphitheater 01:17:05.115 --> 01:17:07.395 no later than the 29th of March, 01:17:07.395 --> 01:17:09.187 so that's sort of the last day 01:17:09.187 --> 01:17:13.020 for our period of performance for the contact, 01:17:13.242 --> 01:17:15.961 so phase two will definitely end by that date 01:17:15.961 --> 01:17:17.961 if not a little earlier. 01:17:18.815 --> 01:17:20.957 Next slide, I think that's all. 01:17:20.957 --> 01:17:23.124 So that's a quick overview 01:17:23.248 --> 01:17:26.081 of the World War I exhibit efforts 01:17:26.888 --> 01:17:28.257 here in the Welcome Center 01:17:28.257 --> 01:17:31.840 and the Memorial Amphitheater display room. 01:17:32.992 --> 01:17:34.270 Any questions, comments? 01:17:34.270 --> 01:17:36.520 (mumbling) 01:17:38.697 --> 01:17:39.712 - All right, thank you very much. 01:17:39.712 --> 01:17:41.035 I do have a question. 01:17:41.035 --> 01:17:42.654 You mentioned about our southern boundary. 01:17:42.654 --> 01:17:46.106 What was there when we expanded into that southern boundary? 01:17:46.106 --> 01:17:49.689 - So, at the time, it was just green space. 01:17:50.199 --> 01:17:52.064 - That's what I thought. 01:17:52.064 --> 01:17:53.920 I just wanted to make that point. 01:17:53.920 --> 01:17:56.337 It's not green space anymore. 01:17:57.561 --> 01:17:58.394 Thank you. 01:18:04.518 --> 01:18:08.268 We have time, I think, to go and move forward 01:18:08.425 --> 01:18:11.592 with the discussion around the budget. 01:18:19.586 --> 01:18:20.498 - [Man] Good morning. 01:18:20.498 --> 01:18:21.475 - I appreciate it. 01:18:21.475 --> 01:18:22.827 - My name is Paul Zucharzik. 01:18:22.827 --> 01:18:25.286 I'm the ANC RM, and I'm going to provide 01:18:25.286 --> 01:18:27.703 a very brief budget overview. 01:18:29.483 --> 01:18:31.316 ANC is very fortunate. 01:18:31.702 --> 01:18:34.785 Our appropriation was signed into law 01:18:37.840 --> 01:18:39.757 on 29 September of '16. 01:18:41.459 --> 01:18:43.243 So while most of the government right now 01:18:43.243 --> 01:18:45.268 is operating under a CRA, 01:18:45.268 --> 01:18:47.608 we have our full budget this year, 01:18:47.608 --> 01:18:49.025 and that's great, 01:18:50.764 --> 01:18:52.949 because we can continue with our, 01:18:52.949 --> 01:18:55.001 many of our engineering projects 01:18:55.001 --> 01:18:56.918 that have been started. 01:18:59.701 --> 01:19:02.451 Our budget total is 70.8 million, 01:19:03.522 --> 01:19:06.939 and that is bipartisan budget act tapped. 01:19:08.633 --> 01:19:11.960 And so we cannot request anything more than 70.8 million. 01:19:11.960 --> 01:19:14.866 I'll come back to that in couple slides. 01:19:14.866 --> 01:19:16.449 That's a key point. 01:19:17.774 --> 01:19:19.607 From FY '13 to FY '17, 01:19:20.464 --> 01:19:24.631 we have roughly received between $20 and $33 million 01:19:26.268 --> 01:19:29.935 each year for infrastructure revitalization, 01:19:30.423 --> 01:19:34.006 repairing roads, utilities, and facilities. 01:19:34.792 --> 01:19:36.278 Right now we have received, 01:19:36.278 --> 01:19:39.028 the total is 123 million to date. 01:19:42.038 --> 01:19:44.543 We also had major construction funding. 01:19:44.543 --> 01:19:47.799 The last time we received it was FY '13, 01:19:47.799 --> 01:19:49.659 and that's five-year money. 01:19:49.659 --> 01:19:53.659 We received 81.7 million for Millennium Project, 01:19:53.980 --> 01:19:57.230 and then 18.5 million for future plans, 01:19:58.570 --> 01:20:01.629 which really equates to the southern expansion, 01:20:01.629 --> 01:20:04.629 the final expansion project we have. 01:20:07.031 --> 01:20:10.480 What we use to justify our budget requests 01:20:10.480 --> 01:20:14.397 in front of both OMB and our Congressional staffers 01:20:14.397 --> 01:20:17.220 is the master plan, the engineer master plan. 01:20:17.220 --> 01:20:21.387 And that master plan, with its critical investment strategy, 01:20:22.799 --> 01:20:25.716 is a key resourcing document we use 01:20:26.674 --> 01:20:30.841 for both of those forms to justify that 25 million. 01:20:36.703 --> 01:20:39.824 We have a couple operational projects that are ongoing. 01:20:39.824 --> 01:20:42.002 I think the engineers have already talked about 01:20:42.002 --> 01:20:43.631 the Tomb of Remembrance, 01:20:43.631 --> 01:20:46.964 and the funeral processing queuing area. 01:20:47.777 --> 01:20:51.935 Was the funeral processing area already discussed? 01:20:51.935 --> 01:20:53.205 - [Renea] No, that-- 01:20:53.205 --> 01:20:54.471 (mumblings) 01:20:54.471 --> 01:20:55.304 - Good. 01:20:55.946 --> 01:20:58.140 And then three expansion projects 01:20:58.140 --> 01:21:01.307 that we've either funded, are funding, 01:21:01.963 --> 01:21:04.051 or will fund in the future. 01:21:04.051 --> 01:21:05.683 The first the Columbarium. 01:21:05.683 --> 01:21:09.850 We funded that with recovered prior year no year funds 01:21:10.948 --> 01:21:12.448 from 2004 to 2010. 01:21:13.648 --> 01:21:16.341 That was about a $14 million project. 01:21:16.341 --> 01:21:18.591 Millennium is 81.7 million, 01:21:18.768 --> 01:21:21.817 and then the southern expansion project, 01:21:21.817 --> 01:21:25.984 we expect to request funding in the '19 time frame, FY '19. 01:21:27.698 --> 01:21:31.865 And it's a rough order of magnitude of $274 million. 01:21:33.144 --> 01:21:34.817 - [Kate] Let me jump in there for one sec, Paul. 01:21:34.817 --> 01:21:35.650 - Yes. 01:21:35.861 --> 01:21:37.649 - So the southern expansion piece, 01:21:37.649 --> 01:21:39.482 to your point earlier, 01:21:40.222 --> 01:21:44.389 while we have a rough order of magnitude on the number, 01:21:44.904 --> 01:21:47.226 what we really haven't had is the dialogue 01:21:47.226 --> 01:21:50.037 after we submit the report to Congress. 01:21:50.037 --> 01:21:51.860 Getting to your point earlier, sir. 01:21:51.860 --> 01:21:55.290 And having that honest discussion about the expansion 01:21:55.290 --> 01:21:57.373 and is the nation viewing 01:21:59.944 --> 01:22:03.277 that expansion requirement collectively, 01:22:03.952 --> 01:22:07.202 and do we have a good path forward, so. 01:22:07.389 --> 01:22:09.996 I think the report to Congress will help that discussion 01:22:09.996 --> 01:22:12.827 and that dialog to make sure that we do the right thing, 01:22:12.827 --> 01:22:15.744 whichever route it turns out to be. 01:22:16.495 --> 01:22:17.995 - Just on the cap. 01:22:19.451 --> 01:22:22.147 Is that in perpetuity, the way that thing's written, 01:22:22.147 --> 01:22:23.230 or is that... 01:22:23.792 --> 01:22:26.542 - It's the current law right now. 01:22:27.454 --> 01:22:31.371 What will happen in three months, I don't know. 01:22:31.919 --> 01:22:33.669 - But doesn't sunset? 01:22:36.386 --> 01:22:38.636 - [Paul] Sir, I'm not sure. 01:22:40.098 --> 01:22:41.098 - Thank you. 01:22:41.212 --> 01:22:43.545 - Find out, get back to you. 01:22:43.647 --> 01:22:46.064 The cap, from my perspective, 01:22:46.443 --> 01:22:48.706 regardless of the sunset or not, 01:22:48.706 --> 01:22:51.789 it's been great in the last few years 01:22:52.384 --> 01:22:55.566 in terms of jumping us up from where we were previously, 01:22:55.566 --> 01:22:59.175 but I think now is the time to start the dialogue 01:22:59.175 --> 01:23:02.390 of whether or not that needs to continue to be the cap, 01:23:02.390 --> 01:23:04.057 given some of the... 01:23:04.419 --> 01:23:05.783 - That's why I bring it up, yeah. 01:23:05.783 --> 01:23:06.700 - Yes, yes. 01:23:07.459 --> 01:23:08.810 - And at some point, inflation will 01:23:08.810 --> 01:23:12.310 take its toll on the viability of the cap. 01:23:12.587 --> 01:23:14.432 - Absolutely, absolutely. 01:23:14.432 --> 01:23:16.631 And some of those enhancement projects 01:23:16.631 --> 01:23:19.172 that we've been kind of talking about conceptually, 01:23:19.172 --> 01:23:21.746 I don't think you can continue to repair 01:23:21.746 --> 01:23:23.956 all the infrastructure that we still need to do 01:23:23.956 --> 01:23:26.200 and still make those incremental improvements, 01:23:26.200 --> 01:23:28.617 so there's opportunity there. 01:23:31.045 --> 01:23:32.649 - This chart is a bit of an eye test. 01:23:32.649 --> 01:23:35.928 I would direct you to the far right column, 01:23:35.928 --> 01:23:37.928 the 2017 actual funding. 01:23:39.004 --> 01:23:43.087 As you can see, our base budget is $70.8 million. 01:23:43.542 --> 01:23:45.373 The first couple lines, 01:23:45.373 --> 01:23:47.339 the operations maintenance line 01:23:47.339 --> 01:23:49.237 and the minor construction lines. 01:23:49.237 --> 01:23:51.513 Those numbers have been consistent 01:23:51.513 --> 01:23:53.513 over the past few years. 01:23:54.027 --> 01:23:58.110 What had varied is the infrastructure total here, 01:23:58.833 --> 01:24:00.777 and you can see we've received 01:24:00.777 --> 01:24:04.527 between 20 and 33.7 million from our staffers 01:24:05.880 --> 01:24:10.047 to assist us in the repairing aging infrastructure. 01:24:12.086 --> 01:24:15.086 Once again, we also received major construction funding 01:24:15.086 --> 01:24:16.336 back in FY '13. 01:24:19.375 --> 01:24:20.958 Next chart, please. 01:24:22.410 --> 01:24:25.077 Now, southern expansion funding. 01:24:25.951 --> 01:24:27.951 It's a bit of a dilemma. 01:24:28.384 --> 01:24:30.171 We have not requested it. 01:24:30.171 --> 01:24:33.267 We're still in the early planning stages of it, 01:24:33.267 --> 01:24:35.611 and that's why we have a rough order of magnitude 01:24:35.611 --> 01:24:36.944 for that number. 01:24:37.616 --> 01:24:39.449 But we have a dilemma, 01:24:39.888 --> 01:24:41.796 and we've socialized this dilemma 01:24:41.796 --> 01:24:44.463 with our Congressional staffers. 01:24:44.791 --> 01:24:47.381 The budget, the bipartisan budget act 01:24:47.381 --> 01:24:51.048 caps our budget submissions at 70.8 million. 01:24:51.293 --> 01:24:55.460 Public law prevents military construction, DOD or Army, 01:24:55.570 --> 01:24:57.487 from being used at ANC. 01:24:58.515 --> 01:24:59.939 So our committees wanna make sure 01:24:59.939 --> 01:25:03.692 that our funding is completely separate and distinct. 01:25:03.692 --> 01:25:05.775 And so we have a dilemma. 01:25:06.161 --> 01:25:07.555 We can't request it, 01:25:07.555 --> 01:25:11.722 and Army cannot request military construction funding. 01:25:12.557 --> 01:25:15.723 Our committees understand that, they've noted it, 01:25:15.723 --> 01:25:19.890 and as we get closer to that timeframe of requesting, 01:25:22.202 --> 01:25:25.994 then we'll have more and more discussion on that. 01:25:25.994 --> 01:25:27.836 That concludes your very-- 01:25:27.836 --> 01:25:29.340 - Do you have enough money to do the planning 01:25:29.340 --> 01:25:31.306 for the (mumbles). 01:25:31.306 --> 01:25:33.096 - [Kate] We have a portion of it. 01:25:33.096 --> 01:25:35.193 I think we have to do a little bit more assessment 01:25:35.193 --> 01:25:37.148 about whether we've got enough to do 01:25:37.148 --> 01:25:39.166 the entirety of the P and D funds. 01:25:39.166 --> 01:25:41.749 But we do have a portion of it. 01:25:42.204 --> 01:25:45.155 - [Man] So that 18 million that was mentioned earlier, 01:25:45.155 --> 01:25:49.127 does that include planning funds for the southern expansion? 01:25:49.127 --> 01:25:52.572 - [Paul] Yes, sir, that is what it's being used for. 01:25:52.572 --> 01:25:56.739 - Let me ask quickly, the privatization of some utilities 01:25:56.945 --> 01:25:59.945 reduced our cap on investment costs, 01:26:00.662 --> 01:26:02.427 but that SP built in obviously 01:26:02.427 --> 01:26:05.760 to an annual operating maintenance cost. 01:26:06.378 --> 01:26:10.295 How much a year do we pay for the O and M costs 01:26:10.502 --> 01:26:13.419 for the privatization of utilities? 01:26:14.905 --> 01:26:18.572 - Ballpark, $6 million for the first tranche 01:26:18.962 --> 01:26:23.129 of privatization, that was the electrical privatization. 01:26:23.873 --> 01:26:27.206 - So that's about 15% of your total 01:26:27.347 --> 01:26:29.774 operations and maintenance costs. 01:26:29.774 --> 01:26:32.274 Were they fixed on them costs? 01:26:32.349 --> 01:26:35.179 How did that 6 million really cause me 01:26:35.179 --> 01:26:37.346 to cut corners on O and M? 01:26:37.849 --> 01:26:40.557 - Well, we used, that 6 million came from 01:26:40.557 --> 01:26:42.640 the actually SRM funding, 01:26:43.878 --> 01:26:48.045 because it's gonna offset SRM costs down the road. 01:26:48.540 --> 01:26:50.491 - [Kate] Is that in one year, though, Paul, or over-- 01:26:50.491 --> 01:26:53.824 - Yes, that was pretty much in one year. 01:26:56.073 --> 01:26:59.737 - And you've determined that over the lifetime of utilities, 01:26:59.737 --> 01:27:03.904 the taxpayers are getting a good deal on that privatization, 01:27:04.135 --> 01:27:07.791 that whoever the investor for the utility companies 01:27:07.791 --> 01:27:11.458 aren't reaping a windfall of profit on that. 01:27:11.512 --> 01:27:15.679 They're not making a 40% annual return on their investment. 01:27:16.841 --> 01:27:17.758 - Yes, sir. 01:27:17.821 --> 01:27:21.607 We've invested quite a bit of money on utilities here. 01:27:21.607 --> 01:27:23.714 Several years ago, as you remember, 01:27:23.714 --> 01:27:26.381 we had water main breaks weekly, 01:27:26.968 --> 01:27:30.801 and we've spent a considerable amount of money 01:27:31.027 --> 01:27:33.154 repairing those water mains. 01:27:33.154 --> 01:27:35.131 Well, when we turn those over, 01:27:35.131 --> 01:27:38.865 we will not have that cost 30 years from now. 01:27:38.865 --> 01:27:42.115 And part of our challenge of the future 01:27:42.927 --> 01:27:46.927 is that 25 million in the FY '20, '21 timeframe, 01:27:48.297 --> 01:27:52.464 we will be largely done with SRM infrastructure repair 01:27:53.597 --> 01:27:55.097 and modernization. 01:27:55.298 --> 01:27:57.465 But we have to sustain it, 01:27:57.599 --> 01:27:59.607 and that's our challenge for the future, 01:27:59.607 --> 01:28:02.461 and we've, the engineers are populating 01:28:02.461 --> 01:28:04.628 this model called Builder, 01:28:04.696 --> 01:28:07.086 which will capture sustainment costs 01:28:07.086 --> 01:28:10.586 or for future infrastructure requirements, 01:28:13.138 --> 01:28:15.556 and will hopefully prevent having 01:28:15.556 --> 01:28:18.889 and $135 million infrastructure backlog. 01:28:22.578 --> 01:28:24.245 - [James] Thank you. 01:28:26.275 --> 01:28:28.608 Other questions or comments? 01:28:29.972 --> 01:28:31.555 - [Paul] Thank you. 01:28:31.876 --> 01:28:34.209 (mumblings) 01:28:36.937 --> 01:28:38.089 - We're going to break for lunch 01:28:38.089 --> 01:28:39.980 and reconvene at 12:45. 01:28:39.980 --> 01:28:41.313 - 12:45, right?