Juneau -- The Alaska Senate Tuesday unanimously passed House Joint Resolution 21, which asks the Federal Government to reform the selection and evaluation criteria used in any future military base closure actions.

"In previous rounds of Base Realignment And Closure (BRAC) actions, Alaska has been seriously short-changed," said Representative Eldon Mulder (R-Anchorage), sponsor of HJR 21. "Our bases have some unique strong points - strategic location and Army-Air Force compatibility. But, because each of the services was permitted to establish its own criteria, these strong points have not been fully recognized. Meanwhile, their weakest point - their high cost in relation to other bases - has been overemphasized."

HJR 21 asks the President, the Secretary of Defense, and Congress to establish Joint Cross Service Groups, to study the issues which will shape the Armed Forces in the 21st Century. These Joint Cross Service Groups would then develop new evaluation and selection criteria for future BRAC Commissions.

HJR 21 has already been unanimously approved by the House.