. >> reporter: it's a drill the men and women serving in the united states armed forces know by heart. so does carol mcgaflin, a retiree and private citizen who has attended almost every deployment of the army's 3rd infantry division since 2007. >> i wanted to really be involved in the war effort. i mean, i wanted to contribute in some concrete way. >> carol's contribution, pairing service members deploying to war zones with what she calls adopted families or sponsors. >> they just want contact with ordinary civilian life. that's what we try to provide. >> reporter: since starting the adopt-a-soldier program nearly six years ago, carol estimates the number of service members who have been adopted has surpassed 15,000. >> i thought it would be a good program for new soldiers like myself that would love to receive mail over in afghanistan. >> it's always good to feel appreciated, you know, and see the people that are supporting us, that believe in us. >> reporter: cards, care packages and letters are sent by families to soldiers eager for reminders of home. >> "thank you for your servic

by thanking tonight's co hosts, the senior enlisted advisors of the five branches of the united states armed forces[applause] i want to acknowledge the joint chiefs of staff, the chairmen of the joint chiefs of staff, who are here with us as well. thank you, gentlemen. i also want to recognize some very special guests. three hundred wounded warriors who are joining us. [applause] i want to thank all of you for your service. i wish you quick and healthy recoveries. i know that you are more than ready to get home to your families. i know they are more than ready to have you back. i also want to take a moment to honor the families of the fallen, who are here with us tonight. [applause] you have given so much to this country. i know that your loved ones sacrifice has been your sacrifice as well. please know that you in our thoughts and prayers. today, everyday, forever. and finally, i want to thank all of the enlisted men and women and junior officers here tonight. [applause] it is wonderful to be surround by some of the very best and bravest americans. your courage, grace, and your patriotism inspire

>> my response is that women who served in our united states armed forces are more likely, more likely to be sexually battered and abused by their brethren in their own service. you know, the fact of the matter is we have been brushing under the rug, you know, the incidences of rape between soldiers and marines and sailors for any number of years. they don't get investigated. and at the end of the day those women are sent home, their careers are often ended, and the men are simply moved from duty station to duty station and continue to serve. so this is a reality that we already face today. it's not something brand new. at the end of the day being in the armed forces really is a man's world, but we've been operating in it and we've been doing it well. >> all right. goldie taylor, thank you for joining us tonight. appreciate it so much. that's "the ed show." i'm ed schultz. the "rachel maddow show" starts right now. good evening, rachel. >> good evening, ed. thank you, my friend. >> thank you. >> and thanks to you at home for joining us this hour. it is a weird paradox, in 21st century

this commander in chief of the delaware national guard or the commander in chief of our united states armed forces sends soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. these are weapons of mass destruction that are meant for battle. >> joining us now live is the attorney general for the state of delaware, beau biden. mr. attorney general, thank you very much for being with us tonight. >> happy to be on, rachel. >> i wanted to play that clip of you mentioning your service in the military at the press conference today just because i wanted to hear in your own words why you raised that issue and how -- how your time in the service informs your thinking on this issue. >> well, i've been in the military now for nearly ten years. and for most of my career, i had an m-16 assigned to me. i now am assigned an m-9, a 9 millimeter pistol. these are weapons that are designed to protect the soldier or the military personnel, do damage. and it's what we take into battle. they're made for the military. but they're not made for our neighborhoods and our communities. and so that's why i came out today, joining my governor

>> my response is that women who served in our united states armed forces are more likely, more likely sexually battered and abused by their brethren in their own service. you know, the fact of the matter is we have been brushing under the rug, you know, the incidences of rape between soldiers and marines and sailors for any number of years. they don't get investigated. and at the end of the day those women are sent home, their careers are often ended, and the men are simply moved from duty station to duty station and continue to serve. so this is a reality that we already face today. it's not something brand new. at the end of the day being in the armed forces really is a man'

today we are acting to expand the opportunities for women to serve in the united states armed forces and to better align our policies with the experiences we have had over the past decade of war. ultimately, we are acting to strengthen the force. congress acted first in 1948 by legislating that women became a permanent part of the armed forces. last year, as the secretary mentioned, we acted to open thousands of mission-essential occupations at more echelons and more ground combat units. after months of work, the joint chiefs and i recently submitted to the secretary our unanimous recommendation to rescind the direct combat exclusion role for women. in so doing, we are acting to eliminate all unnecessary gender-based barriers to service. the joint chiefs share a common cause on the needed to start this now and to do it right. we are committed to a purposeful and principled approach, specifically, we would extend opportunities to wick in a way that would maintain readiness. and we will uphold the trust and confidence of the american people as we go forward. our nation demands no less.

was over in 194 that president harry truman issued an executive order to desegregate the united states armed forces by race. nonwhite service members had been there all along. they had just never been treated equally. president truman ordered that to change. and it was not easy, and it was not even, but it was 1948. and the military having an overt policy of desegregation as of 1948 was a groundbreaking thing, not just for the military, but for our country. and in that same year of racial integration, in 1948, it's pretty much long forgotten, but in that same year in 1948, the congress also passed the women's armed services integration act. 1948. there had been of course the wac, the women's army corps and the marine corps women's reserve there had been a coast guard women's reserve group. but in 1948, the year truman said the military would be racially integrated, women would too. they wouldn't be in a lady's auxiliary to the unit, they would just be in the military, sort of. that women's integration act in 1948 also set a limit on what proportion of the regular u.s. military women could be. it se

today we are acting to expand opportunities for women to serve in the united states armed forces and better align our policy is with the experiences we've had over the past decade of work. ultimately we are acting to strengthen the joint force. congress acted first by legislating that women became a permanent part of the armed forces. blaster is the secretary mentioned we acted to open thousands of mission essential occupations that were echelons and in more units. after months of work, we recently submitted to the secretary are unanimous recommendation to resend the rule and so we are acting to eliminate all unnecessary gender-based barriers to service. the joint chief share, cause on the need start this now and to do it right. were committed to a purposeful and principled approach, specifically to extend opportunities to women in a way that maintains readiness, morale and unit cohesion. we'll preserve our war fighting capability to defend the nation will uphold the trust and confidence of the american people as we go forward. our nation demands no less. but integrate women in a way

congressman, you did not vote against the law that authorized the united states use the armed forces of the united states as he determines to be necessary. that gives the president the right to use guns at will. these need to be stopped. >> thank you. [applause] >> good evening, congressman. can you hear me ok? i am a retired law enforcement and the critical instant negotiator for number of years. i have a lot of opinions on this issue but what i came to talk to you about was a group of people that are working in our schools, not in the classified section, but as staff and volunteers in after-school programs throughout the state. we are providing training and issues for staff. we have about 450,000 kids per day in after-school programs with about 22,000 staff that are not being given the training or ability to respond to these incidents should they occur after school hours on school property. there is some fear with these folks and i don't really think it is being looked at and i was asked if i would bring this forward tonight. thank you for your time. >> thank you very much. [applaus

united states capitol. >> ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the presentation of the colors by the united states armed forcesg of our national anthem, and the retiring of the colors. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> halt! present colors! ♪ o say can you see by the dawn's early light -- ♪ what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last dwhreeming. ♪ whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous night; ♪ or the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming. ♪ and the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. ♪ o say does that star-spangled banner yet wave; ♪ o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ♪ >> right shoulder! ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing at the chaplain of the united states house of representatives, the reverend patrick conroy, gives the invocation. >> let us pray. god of the universe, we give you thanks for the gift of life and for the many blessings that life brings. today we gather in this hallowed temple to representative government dedicated to the enjoyment of life and it blessings by its citi

who is in line to become the next defense secretary by the former least chief of the armed forces of the united stateswho described in front of the armed services committee in congress the relationship with israel as a strategic liability for the united states and he was certainly telling the truth in that nothing could be more damaging to the united states than its absolutely unhealthy obsessively. close relationship to a regime in tel aviv which is regarded by most people in the world as a terrorist rogue state yet it's endless later wanted for every crime that it commits and every crime that it commits is paid for by the u.s. taxpayer but undoubtedly the palestine question is the heart of the matter it's the flaw at the heart of western policy towards the east and until there is justice for the palestinian people there will never be peace in the region and if there's no peace in that region there'll be no peace in the world yet netanyahu the serial killer the man who's literally paving the illegally occupied west bank of the jordan with illegal israeli settlements will be received in washington and

former least chief of the armed forces of the united states who described in front of the armed servicescommittee in congress the relationship with israel as a strategic liability for the united states and he was certainly telling the truth in that nothing could be more damaging to the united states than its absolutely unhealthy obsessively. close relationship to a regime in tel aviv which is regarded by most people in the world as a terrorist rogue state yet it's endless later wanted for every crime that it commits and every crime that it commits is paid for by the u.s. taxpayer but undoubtedly the palestine question is the heart of the matter it's the flaw at the heart of western policy towards the east and until there is justice for the palestinian people there will never be peace in the region and if there's no peace in that region there'll be no peace in the world yet netanyahu the serial killer the man who's literally paving the illegally occupied west bank of the jordan with illegal israeli settlements will be received in washington and london with the same red carpet no matter wh

i'm absolutely confident the united states armed forces will recover rather quickly now that they're back and forth every few months and they have time to get back into training and we kicked themselves, refit their forces and learn the lesson. one of the lessons they looking at now and i still keep in touch with my army friends and read all the necessary magazines and torture. i'm retired, but i haven't resigned. they may call me back. [laughter] right after the cub scouts.

and we don't think we need a weapon to kill members of the united states armed forces.ant to be on? their future depends on which side they choose. >> and at the top of this block, you were talking about how this needs to be a campaign for the president. it was personal when newtown happened. this ad is personal, too. i can't imagine the president and his wife won't be horrified when they see what the nra is doing. will your advice be to react personally and to get involved on every level? >> absolutely. i think you've got to be all in on this. and i will say this, to build off of joe's point. it will be interesting today to see how long it takes republicans to get asked about this and walk away from it. and then i think it will be an important inflection point early on in this debate. >> great. >> puts everybody's children right into the jackpots. >> melody and robert, thank you so much. >>> up next, nbc news political director chuck todd and ben smith joins the conversation. you're watching "morning joe" brewed by starbucks. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. i just ser

today we are acting to expand the opportunities for women to serve in the united states armed forces and to better align our policies with the experiences we have had over the past decade of war. ultimately, we are acting to strengthen the force. congress acted first in 1948 by legislating that women became a permanent part of the armed forces. last year, as the secretary mentioned, we acted to open thousands of mission-essential occupations at more echelons and more ground combat units. after months of work, the joint chiefs and i recently submitted to the secretary are unanimous recommendation to rescind the direct combat exclusion role for women. in so doing, we are acting to eliminate all unnecessary gender-based barriers to service. the joint chiefs share a common cause on the needed to start this now and to do it specifically, we would extend opportunities to wick in a way that would maintain readiness, moral, and co-hention. and we will uphold the trust and confidence of the american people as we go forward. our nation demands no less. we'll also integrate women in a way that e

many people say but order that christian be gross he said commander in chief of the armed forces because the united states he say will to issue an order and have it and have it. big. the sad thing is that there has been a conspiracy from halls all three branches of government to keep the base open. political cowardice. administration of the executive. set of rules that has put and the terrible interpretations of the court of appeals in d.c. have conspired to make the thing go on for eleven years and who knows for how long well let's get right into what you've written about extensively the concept of dry boarding i think when people think of one tunnel they think of torture abu ghraib i mean they just care about waterboarding and that's that you know that's when they think of torture they think of that but they don't know about dry boarding what is it and i know i came i came to it by chance i have a google alerts that informs me you know news related to internal happening every day and they came to know about procedure what's called dry boarding i used against enemy combatants stateside in the united stat

just watch and listen for a second as we see what happens. [ cheering ] >> members of the united states armed forcesto the crowd on both sides of the street. the president and the first lady don't look very cold. it's not that cold today for our viewers who are wondering is it as cold as some inaugurals can be. no, it's not. this is actually pretty balmy for january. and obviously, this is the moment that everybody is waiting for on inauguration day when the president and the first lady step out of their limo and walk down pennsylvania avenue. you know, i feel like i should pinch myself right now, wolf. i can't believe i have this vantage point of history inhe making. >> you're literally what, about 15, 20 feet away from the president? >> i'm probably a good i would say 50 feet away from the president right now, wolf. >> oh, i see. >> very, very close. and you can see the secret service agents all around them. there is a steady cam next to them as well. i guess those are folks getting some really close shots. their vantage point is slightly better than ours, wolf. that's the pool camera right there.

think senator hagel is much more aligned with this traditional view that american armed forces exist to defend the united states not to attack other countries we're going to get your perspective on this thank you very much indeed retired u.s. army colonel douglas macgregor joining me live from washington d.c. appreciate on. well they get sent out to serve their country in foreign battles but many you are somehow not dying in battle but taking their own lives stay with us to discover why so many are finding it so tough when they get home from war. still to come but first thousands of health workers and spain's capital madrid have been venting their anger cuts to the health care system they were running against plans to privatized several hospitals and nearly thirty health centers for more on drugs desperate attempts to cut spending his political analysts miguel and what are the. madrid of course is in desperate need to save money and in desperate need of money so isn't this the time for private healthcare companies to step in and help. well that's supposed. companies private companies would naturally be more cos

. >> the united states is not going to put its armed forces or its diplomats or contractors under afghaney are representing sovereign american interests and our law controls. >> reporter: security remains shaky in the region. some fear a complete troop withdrawal will place afghanistan back into the chaos of the 1990s that enabled the taliban to seize power and provide a haven for al-qaeda. >> we are in afghanistan to protect american interests. we are not there to make afghanistan a nicer place. we are there to prevent terrorist attacks against the united states. >> reporter: when reporter asked president car sty how many u.s. troops he wanted to remain in the country, he answered playfully. >> i was told by the organizer of the senate to keep quiet. >> reporter: the u.s. has about 66,000 troops in afghanistan down from a peak about 100,000. in new york, lauren green, fox news. >>> vice president joe biden will meet with the nra today in a step towards reforming the nation's gun control laws. meanwhile, president obama is asking congress for several provisions to the law including banni

congressman, you did not vote against the law that authorized the united states use the armed forces of the united states as he determines to be necessary. that gives the president the right to use guns at will. these need to be stopped. >> thank you. [applause] >> good evening, congressman. can you hear me ok? i am a retired law enforcement and the critical instant negotiator for number of years. i have a lot of opinions on this issue but what i came to talk to you about was a group of people that are working in our schools, not in the classified section, but as staff and volunteers in after-school programs throughout the state. we are providing training and issues for staff. we have about 450,000 kids per day in after-school programs with about 22,000 staff that are not being given the training or ability to respond to these incidents should they occur after school hours on school property. there is some fear with these folks and i don't really think it is being looked at and i was asked if i would bring this forward tonight. thank you for your time. >> thank you very much. [applaus

united states; economically, politically. i mean, there is a focus there. but when you look at the articulation of the priorities that the nationing establishes for the -- that the nation establishes for the armed forces, we find that the activities that the united states military engages in in africa come through loud and clear. at the top of that list, unsurprisingly, is countering violent extremist organizations. sadly, that's a necessary function for us in africa today. but it's not the only thing that we do. we do a lot more. another priority in the defense strategic guidance is maintaining global access to and throughout the continent so as to facilitate global trade. and africa's a place that has two key, strategic chokepoints in the mamdeb and the straits of gibraltar. people forget that one-half of the straits of gibraltar are in africa. even thinks they're the european side, they forget about the african side. takes two sides to make us straight. and lots of economic traffic passes through those two chokepoints. for us, the gulf of guinea becoming strategic from an economic standpoint, so maintaining global access is important. a third priority articulated in this guidance is what we call bu

united states of america. we are here to ask blessings upon our armed forces, blessings upon all who contribute to the sense ofn, boy and girl be honored. may all your people, especially the least of these floorish in our blessed nation. 150 years after the emancipation proclamation and fifty years after the march on washington, we celebrate the spirit of our ancestors, which has allowed us to move from a nation of unborn hopes and a history of disfranchised to today's expression of a more perfect union. we ask too, almighty, that where our paths seem blanketed by forms of presentation, and rivelled by pains of despair, we ask for your guidance toward the light of deliverance. and that the vision of those who came before us and dreamed of this day, that we recognize that their visions still inspire us. they are a great cloud of witnesses unseen by the naked eye. but all around us, thankful that their living was not -- for every mountain. you gave us the strength to climb. your grace is pleaded to continue that climb for america and the world. we now stand beneath the shadow of the dome what reflects one nation

thinks that makes him a good candidate for secretary of defense, the men and women in the armed forces of the united states and their parents who know that this is a guy who will be very careful about putting their lives at risk, 'cause he put his life at risk. he know what is war is and he will fight a wars if the's necessary but a guy that will do it with great deliberation and care. beyond that he went back to nebraska, ran for senate. became a senator. said he would only serve two terms. only served two terms. and when he was elected the second time, he was elected with 83% of the vote. this is a guy respected by his fellow citizens of nebraska. served here for a total of 12 years. and what did he do when he left the senate? he came became an ac testimony knick georgetown, school of foreign service, teaching the new leaders. he also has been co-chairman of the president's intelligence advisory board. he is alsos on the defense policy board. this is a gentleman who knows all of these issues in depth. he is a fellow who speaks his mind. he sometimes gets in trouble with those who think he should not spea