 Welcome back to Think Tech here at the two o'clock block on a given Thursday, and you know what that means, the military in Hawaii. We want to connect with the military, we want to understand what they're doing and how they relate to the community. We want to meet the people and today we're meeting Timothy Young, Captain Timothy Young, US Navy, who is the commander of Barking Sands, and that is the Pacific Missile Range Facility, PMRF in Kauai, northwestern point of Kauai, I guess. Hi Captain Young, nice to see you smiling face. Good afternoon Jay. Thank you so much for this opportunity. It's a pleasure to join you. Yeah, well we want to know more about Barking Sands and I was saying before the show that your website is impressive because it gives us a lot of information. It tells us the history, which I find fascinating. It tells us what you're doing and what the opportunities are in a connection with Kauai and the community valuable. That's a transparency that we should all appreciate, and I guess it's intentional. Indeed it is, yes. We're proud of what we do here at PMRF. We've often been called the crown jewel of the Pacific from four stars and other leaders in the region at the Indo-Pacific Command, and we have a very important mission here, but we do cherish our relationship with the community and our partnerships here and all the things that we do to keep this part of Hawaii the special place that it is. Well, you know, it has a very interesting history back in the 1920s. It was, let's see, I'm just looking at your website. It was acquired by the Kahala Sugar Company and became a runway. And that was the beginning of its use as an airport and then later a missile range. So what is it to have a missile range? That differs a lot from just an airport. And I guess this happened in the 50s when it became a U.S. It was it was it was it was Bonham Air Force Base named for Major Carlos Bonham, a commanding officer of the fighter squadron and the territorial Air National Guard. But then it became, in 1954, it was transferred to the Navy Department. I guess that's when it got serious. Yeah, that's correct. So the after World War Two, as you mentioned, the Air Force took it over. And then in the early 60s, the Navy and its testing needed a space where there was a lot of sea space, a lot of air space unencumbered by everything else. The regular missile was getting tested at the time. And so it was transferred over to the Navy in the early 60s. And we've had it ever since. We've gone through a couple iterations of who the ultimate element is in charge of the base right now under Commander Pacific Fleet. And we've kept the moniker the name of Pacific Missile Range. But there's definitely so many more things that we do here. You know, when when the question is what is Pacific Missile Range facility, the formal answer is that we are the world's largest instrumented multi environment range capable of supporting subsurface surface air and space testing and training operations. So those who are familiar with the with military training ranges, I kind of use the analogy of a stadium or a playing field. And so we we use this area of the space which we can extend out to 2 million square nautical miles, which is about half the size of the continental United States. And we use that that area for for testing and training. And we can have the capability to replay those events for our customers and for all those who use the range. Yeah, you know, it may be remote and we should talk about that. But it's not really remote for the Navy, because you get plenty of traffic coming and going. You have an airfield there and an aircraft land and take off all the time. It's not really quiet, is it? Well, it depends who you ask. We have something going on the range almost every single day of the year. It may not be apparent to the naked eye or the year, but there's something happening. Some some element of improving our nation's defense, whether it's readiness or a system getting tested. So it may not always be a noisy aircraft flying overhead at low altitudes. But there's something happening here all the time. And yet, at the same time, I tell you, I stayed at the cottages there a few years ago and back into the cottage overlooked this huge wonderful beach. And then beyond the beach, there was knee-high. I don't think I ever saw a knee-high before that day. But it was really a sight to see. It was it was beautiful. It was right out there. And I was very impressed with not only the isolation, but the purity of it and the respect for the environment and the respect for the cultural heritage that knee-high ever get over there because I know you have some kind of radar facility on the EOW. We do have a couple of assets over there, some electronic warfare structures. And we have a partnership with the landowner out there as well. And the knee-high is, you know, it's they call it the Forbidden Island, but it is spectacular out there. And I have I had had the opportunity to go set foot on it and it is quite a sight from the beaches of PMRF. That was a desired duty to be at the marking sense. Is it the kind of duty where you put it on your wish list all the time and try to get there throughout your career. And then one day you get there. It definitely was for me towards a lot of part of my career when I found out what's out here. But we kind of have one of those things that you don't want to talk about it too much. Otherwise, you'll create an unnatural affinity for it across the whole forest. So if everybody knew what it was like out here, outside the gate of Navy officers like me trying to get in here and serve here. But it's definitely hands down the best, you know, it's the most beautiful place I've ever been. But it's really the people that I get to serve with here and the community that I get to serve in and serve with it that make the difference. Yeah, can you talk about the staff you've got? And for that matter, your website is replete with references to jobs and all. So what sort of a staff do you have? What kind of specialties do you have within that staff? How many civilian? How many, you know, active duty? And what kind of jobs are available for, you know, white residents? So that's a great question, Jay. I appreciate you bringing that up. We do have, we are a Navy installation, but our active duty Navy footprint is fairly small. We have about 100 sailors here. We have about 100 government civilians and then close to 700 contractors that work on the base. And so total population of about 1000. And, you know, most of the civilian workforce here, they come from multi-generational families from either Kauai or Oahu. Very proud to say that a lot of them have technical backgrounds, highly qualified. And a lot of them are the 2030 year mark of their employment here. And so, you know, we endeavor to, it's beneficial for us to have a workforce that comes locally. I think most of us know that if we hire someone from the mainland, there's a potential for a flight risk, if you will, or for them to leave shortly thereafter for whatever reason. But it's a very, great thing to say that most of our folks here are local Hawaiians or local Hawaiians and they couldn't do our mission here without it. We're in the local community. Obviously in times that's not COVID, we like to get out and volunteer in the local community in our schools and volunteering and mentoring and math and science and the other STEM programs just to kind of continue to facilitate that partnership. Oh, sounds like the shipyard in Pearl Harbor. And multi-generational, you know, my wife's family, I've been working there for years and years. I know a lot of people, you know, whose families have been working there for years and years, integrated as part of the community that way. And that's a good life, you know. So isolation doesn't trouble you being, it's very isolated. I mean, geographically from many population centers. And for that matter, from Lihui, it's a long way. But does that make you read a lot of books and so forth? I wish I had time to read a lot of books. But you know, it's all relative. Some people love it. I love it out here. It's, you know, it's not quite as isolated as you think. There's so many things to do here on the Island of Kauai. And that's what we try to tell our new folks that come here is, you know, get out of the office, get out of your rooms, go experience all the beautiful, phenomenal things that Kauai has to offer, whether that's hiking up in the state parks up in Kauai, where it's typically 20 degrees cooler than it is here on the West side, or exploring the North Shore, just the multitude of activities out on the water. I mean, it just, it just doesn't get any better than Kauai. And I'll take that, that remote and isolated characterization any day. And then of course, everything that's happened with the past year, I think the vast majority of us living out here on the West side would argue there is absolutely no better place to be than, than right here where we are. Yeah. And the numbers are good. The COVID numbers are good in Kauai for many reasons. I mean, I remember you, you talk about Kokei and I remember this hiking trail called Abba Abha Puhi in the rim around Kokei. It's the most beautiful trail in all the islands there. It's a fabulous place to walk. And I guess it's not too far away. But let's talk about the technology. I mean, you know, this is steeped in technology. It's always been steeped in technology. It was organized to do technology. And I'm sure that missiles are only part of it. But I wonder what, you know, to the extent you can talk about what kind of technology have you got going. And if I'm a technology nut, you know, what would I, what would I want to study to understand this, you know, the activities you have there? So I think when it, certainly when it comes to the Department of Defense, if you could pick a weapons system or a capability, it's most likely being tested here at PMRF. It has been at one point or will be at one point. Currently on the base, we have Raytheon is here testing their latest technologies for radars that are going to be going on the latest Navy destroyers called the Spy 6. We have one of our most frequent customers is the Missile Defense Agency. They'll come out several times a year and test their latest capabilities when it comes to defending the homeland, whether that's firing a simulated target or firing the interceptor itself. And then, of course, all the units in the Navy and other branches of service will come out on the range, whether that's underwater on the surface or in the air and hone their skills and their readiness, testing their latest tactics, techniques and procedures out on the range. There's really no other place in the world better to do it than right here off the coast of Kauai. Yeah, the operative word being testing. So that's probably central in your mission to test the technologies in various weapons systems and reconnaissance and defense systems and so forth right there. I'm very valuable. So one thing that struck me is that the Navy runs this and you as a Navy captain, you run it and it's a Navy managed facility, if you will. It's been that way since 1964. But query, doesn't the Air Force have a role in all of this? The Air Force has all kinds of missile systems and weapons systems that are totally relevant to the testing we are talking about. Where is the Air Force in this picture? Well, they're probably at the club as usual, but I have my public affairs officer sitting here me and the former Air Force. And we always make fun of each other, of course. But the Air Force, there's other ranges in the world. There's several on the mainland side. The Air Force has other airspace within the Hawaii region that they operate as well. But this is the Navy's range and so they get the first vote on the schedule. And it's not every day that the Navy's here. So there's space within the schedule to accommodate other services as required. But if there's a conflict, then we try to manage it here at PMRF. Otherwise, it will go up to higher headquarters and we'll let the heavies figure out who takes precedence on the range. But certainly the Air Force is a valuable contributor to all the things that we do out here on the range. And oftentimes it's a joint evolution where we have more than just the Navy participating. I also want to add that our partner nations in the region will come out to PMRF often and hone their skills and test their latest and greatest. So it's not just U.S. Department of Defense. It's our partner nations which are those relationships that you see are vitally important. Yeah. Just like the joint operations, the Navy does a rib pack. Same thing. We share and work together, collaborate to get to meet each other and so forth. It's all good and it's all part of what we call a military diplomacy, if you will. Yes, it is. So one thing, you talk about the millions of miles that you cover looking west, looking to Asia. It's a fabulous vantage point from the point of view of being aware of what's going on of being, if you will, a first line of defense actually from Asia. And I wonder if what happens at the missile range also relates to the defense of the country on an active capacity and a defense of Hawaii on an active capacity. I mean, should we see you as somebody who would protect us at a given point in time if anything was flying overhead and, you know, such as the 2017 experience with the missiles that weren't missiles, January 2017? I mean, should we see the missile range as somebody who would spot that sort of thing and who would protect us? That's not our current mission right now. There may come a time where PMRF has a larger role or not. That is yet to be determined. And there are some assessments currently going on if that's possible or if that makes sense to do. But right now, our mission and where our leaders at PMRF doing its thing is in the testing and training. That keeps us busy enough. And when it comes to, you know, defense of Hawaii or protecting all of our interests here within the state, there are certainly other capabilities and capacities not resident here at PMRF that currently can adequately do that. As we move into the future, that question, that answer becomes less clear. And I know there's, you know, if we continue, that's where we move forward with that. Yeah, I don't know if people realize, but missions of particular facilities change over time. There's this sort of organic evolution of the deployment of people and materiel and technology for that matter all over the world. And I'm sure this never a day that goes by when something isn't changing in the way the United States positions itself in the world. And I'm sure that, you know, civic missile range is no exception to that. It's part of a larger network, so to speak of our defense capability. So, you know, one thing is Kauai. Kauai is a special place. And Kauai, for example, I'm just thinking back historically has had a fair amount of activism around the crops, which I don't think it's too far away from the Pacific Missile Range, where, you know, there was, there were activists who were opposing, for example, the crop, the Monsanto and the like were growing, you know, seed crops and testing facilities there. And so you have in Kauai a certain amount of, I call it environmental activists. And I guess that's still the case at least to some extent, although there was a point in time a few years ago where they were very, very active. But I wonder if you've been, you know, involved in discussions with them in that process of, you know, people who object to activities of, you know, multinational companies and for that matter, the military in Kauai. I have not in my tenure here, Jay, and I know that's not necessarily a characteristic of just Kauai. But fortunately, I haven't had to experience that. But, you know, when it comes to kind of our partnership here in Kauai, you know, if you were to look at the four biggest contributors within the state of Hawaii, I think you can boil them down to tourism, Department of Defense, agriculture, and then everything that happens out on the ocean nearby. And so, you know, all those four elements are here with us on the west side of Kauai, particularly. We have an agreement with the state for agricultural lands to our east that's certainly beneficial for us as a testing and training. We have on our Makai side on the ocean. We have tour boats that go by 20 times a day during a normal year, and they coordinate with us to go through with our range operations and get approval. And nine times out of ten, there's not anything going on that would impede their progress. And then, of course, in the tourism industry or bringing money to the economy, PMRF, with its employment of about 1,000 folks, brings about $150 million to the local economy. And then those big tests from the Missile Defense Agency that I was referring to, about three or four times a year, they usually bring about two to four hundred folks for those for those evolutions. And so that adds a couple more million dollars. And so, you know, that would certainly be in front of my mind as a companion view to those others who would naysayers about our presence here on the west side. Yeah. And, you know, you've been part of the fabric of Kauai for a long time. You're a major employer. And as you say, a contributor to the economy of Kauai for a long time. So, you know, you're in an interrelationship that's certainly worth maintaining. And talk about that. You know, what is the future for a parking sense, Pacific Missile Range facility? Is it expanding? Have you seen it expand? Do you find that more and more elements and resources and people are being assigned and deployed to the facility? Is it flat? Is it declining? How has COVID affected the deployment of material and technology and people? And what do you see in the future? You know, I don't know, you really can't speak out the national plan, but what do you see the relevance of parking sense for us and for the country in the future? So, we're not expanding in a physical sense. You know, our role as that crown jewel, like I mentioned, particularly for the Pacific Fleet, is going to remain as strong as it is today. Is it future? And I think that expansion is going to come from technological advances that we have. There's this thing called live virtual constructive training. And being able to do that simulated advanced training with the fleet is going to make them more ready for any kind of future conflict. And so technological advances with capabilities within the range are going to be where we see the evolution here. And so more skills, more capability that we can deliver to the fleet is where we see the way forward. As far as COVID goes and the impact that it's had, we've maintained a steady drumbeat of meeting our requirements for our customers. We haven't led up. There's been a few external customers that have had to reschedule some events, but that's not because of lack of capability here at PMRF. And so I think the biggest thing, the biggest impact that it's had out here for us is just we haven't been able to travel as much as we usually do, whether that's to visit home or go on leave or something like that. But that just gives us more opportunity to enjoy Kauai a little bit more and appreciate the times when we can travel, which I don't think is in the far distant future. Sound like a great job, Captain. You know, I mean, if you're talking about a career, this would be also a gem in your career, wouldn't it? This would be a great way to advance the national interest and the technology that we use to defend ourselves and also satisfy your curiosity about what is at the front end of things and where we are going in terms of national defense. I would imagine it's really attractive for you. And I like your view of it, but I also like to know how you got there so I can do the same thing. So I could go to the same schools, study the same subjects and get your job. What do you think? I tell you what, Jay, I am extremely blessed to be here. I've gained a lot more optimism about the course where we're going and where our future is with respect to our capabilities within the fleet, no doubt about it. But I don't know, my philosophy is that it's better to be lucky than good sometimes and I got in here. But no, my background is I joined the Navy to become an aviator and I was lucky enough to do that and I flew F-18s for a number of years and never in my wildest dreams that I did number one, I think I'd be in this long number two that I'd have a chance to be stationed here and serve with this phenomenal group that we have here and live amongst our friends here on the West Side of Kauai. So yeah, I myself every day, Jay, and it'll be a sad day when I have to leave, but it'll be one that I know I'll have to promise myself I come back every year to come see that vision of knee-how. Let me ask you for closing words, Captain. What would you like people to think of in terms of the Pacific Missile Range facility and how would you like to see them sort of characterised as a part of our islands? Yeah, so I think when people think of Pacific Missile Range facility, I think a couple of words come to mind. Number one is people, the dedicated group of professionals that we have out here serving our country, serving the local community and highly skilled that doing their technical work. And then the second one is just readiness, just the contribution that PMRF provides due to the dedication and skill set of those people to the readiness of the fleet, the readiness of our testing customers. And I think you combine those two things. I think you understand why our leaders call this the crown jewel of the Pacific. And it doesn't help to have the most beautiful beaches in the world right on the coastline here, the base. Yeah, it's part of the great tradition between the military and Hawaii. It's a statement of that for sure. Well, thank you very much, Captain. I really appreciate you coming on and sharing with us and answering my questions. And as soon as COVID is over, I'm going to pay a visit to Kauai. And maybe if I have enough gas in my car, I'll come up and see you and say hi. Please do, Jay. We're absolutely privileged to have you. And we'll have you for a restaurant here, shenanigans on base. But it's a privilege day. Thank you for having me. Thank you, Captain.