some 30 days later my battalion, third battalion ninth infantry was desegregated august of 1950. why? because of a battlefield decision the difficulty or inability of the department army to provide replacements based on race. i'm still talking about some of those unique challenges that we had. another interesting coincidence a search and charlie rangel was a member of the other black battalion and you have heard about charlie wheatley in good things and not so good things. from march 51 when i assumed command of company l ninth infantry my first company and a leader had to other companies until i retired in 1983 some 32 years later i was fortunate to have commanded every level of the army through core. my first job following the army came in january 1984 some five months after retiring at fort monroe where i was the deputy commander for training at trading command and was also task to be army inspector training as set up by a separate program. and by the way i had four jobs after leaving the army and in each of those jobs i followed someone who had been fired. that also makes for

some 30 days later, my battalion, the third battalion, 9th infantry, was desegregated. august of 1950. why? because battlefield decision, the difficulty or inability department of army to provide replacements, based on race. i'm estimate talk being about -- estimate talking about some of those unique challenges that we had. another interesting coincidence, a sergeant charlie rangle was a member of the other black battalion, field artillery. and you may have heard about charlie lately, in good things and not so good things. from march of 1951, when i assumed command of company l, 9th infantry, my first company, and i later had two other companies, until i retired in 1983, some 32 years later, i was fortunate to have commanded at every level in the army through corps. my first job following the army came if january of 1984. some five months after retiring. at fort monroe. where i was the deputy commander for training, training in doctrine command and was also cast to be the army inspector of training, that shy mighter set up as a separate program and by the way, i had fou

battalion commanders come up with their own way to bring leads from the other side. general david petraeus emphasized the model. >> mark, you ignorant slut. that takes us back to 40 years ago. when local officials and afghanistan were abusive or corrupt that was the failure of doctrine and leadership. one of the problems american officials have to face is your host government if it is corrupt, you need to go against that because that is your goal, to get people to support the government, not to get them to support you. you don't care whether they give some form of grudging allegiance or tolerant to the host government. the afghan villagers were explaining why they prefer the taliban to the afghan police. we don't like the taliban, the women can't go to the marketplace and we have to grow beards believes they don't take our little boys away. that is a problem. that is something you need to deal with and that is why general stanley mcchrystal's plan that says you need to get troops out with the afghan police in order to police their behavior, we have two enemies in afg

we will and isley ewald and then he also added an entire bluff, that there was a parachute battalion that had dropped behind the hills and that they were ready to annihilate these german forces. .. like i treated your men and trouble looked at him and said of course. [laughter] what happened next is the nature of the 504 tygart -- tiger battalion wasn't going to let fruiter push him around here didn't want to surrender. he agreed to surrender his entire force of 5,000 men that day to howard chuckle a single agent. what schroeder then reluctantly agreed to surrender as well and what happens is one of the more amazing stories of world war ii. thousands of ss troops as well as members of an elite german tiger battalion center a single individual and it changes -- it has an amazing impact on his life as well as the lives of the other people there. in many ways this is exactly what happens in the book i have now called they their return where these men that were the part of the jewish life go back behind the lines, they blow up 26 trains and they are captured but turn the tables on their

rifles serving as part of three rifles battle group and corporal daniel cooper who served battalion rifles who died in afghanistan. they were heroes who displayed extraordinary courage and absolute commitment to the task before them and their colleagues along with their families and friends who will remember them with great pride. >> can i join the leader of the house in paying tribute to those who lost their lives in service to their country. the compensation paid by the ministry of defense to the families of those killed in action does not take into account when calculating benefit assessments with the result that some families receive no compensation at all and others left worse off. you look at this as a matter of urgency to see what can be done. >> the ministry of defence has been concerned to ensure that we support those who have been injured in the line of service. as the secretary of defense produced a commend paper which particularly addressed the issue. there has been a big upgrade in the compensation scheme and a further review of the compensation scheme is underway and t

will wish to join me in paying tribute to corporal lee bronson, and rifleman luke farmer from third battalion the rifles that they died in afghanistan this week in our thoughts are with their families and friends at this very sad time. last night i went to the moving tribute of their fellow soldiers to their selflessness and camaraderie which they displayed serving their colleagues, the british people, and the people of afghanistan. and they will not be forgotten. mr. speaker, all of us have also been deeply moved to action ivies to unfold tragic of the people of haiti. some of the poorest people in world facing some of the most extreme hardships and imaginable. our thoughts and condolences go to those families also in the united kingdom being directly affected by the tragedy. we must first provide also for improved international cooperation and we must help the government of haiti. mr. speaker, this point i met with colleagues about this. i shall have further such duties later today. >> aisha the prime minister's condolences to the true brave soldiers who lost their lives in afghanistan, and

will wish to join me in paying tribute to corporal lee brownson and rifleman luke farmer from 3rd battalion the rifles. they died in afghanistan this week, and our thoughts are with their families and friends at this very sad time. last night, i read through the moving tributes of their fellow soldiers to the immense bravery, selflessness, and camaraderie which they displayed serving their colleagues, the british people, and the people of afghanistan, and they will not be forgotten. mr. speaker, all of us have also been deeply moved to action by the still unfolding tragedy of the people of haiti, some of the poorest people in the world facing some of the most extreme hardships imaginable. and our thoughts and condolences go also to those families in the united kingdom who have been directly affected by the tragedy. we must, first, provide all support. secondly, improve international co-ordination. and third, we must help put the government of haiti back on their feet so that they are able to deliver reconstruction. this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. in addit

i said i would like to parachute with a famed israeli battalion. they said nobody does that. i said that's all right, i signed a release. the last time i did was i was 75. i did it three times. each time they had to go to the school again. i wasn't doing the tether jumped either. >> the last time i got caught by the wind and slammed on the ground. my son retired as commander as a navy seals. he served in 37 different countries, mostly they call a black operator. specially trained by the agency, my youngest son is a full serving colonel. >> one of my boys served and did not. my second son was in the peace corps and an educator, but he's good. third son served in the navy, made lieutenant, maybe not goest farsighted, in a profession. they are improving on the previous separation. >> my grandson just graduated from parris island. >> marines. my son, he went to the m. i am -- vmi. >> good school. >> it is. >> ladies and gentlemen, my guest in the studio is admiral jeremiah denton. we're discussing his book, "when hell was in session." and i want to tell you, folks, 30 percent of

battalions there -- various levels of capability.ered? we took those numbers off the chart that you have. how many are imbedded? we do not have those numbers yet. we have a promise from general rodriguez to give us those numbers, because so much better that they be embedded after they have been living together shoulder to shoulder then if they simply plan together and operate their third fully integrated operations is what the goal is. we do not have the numbers yet but we're going to tell the men. and then in terms of the additional trainers for the army and police, you see the requirement there taken from the chart that i gave you, and how much of that requirement has been filled, how much is not filled, and we will fill in the numbers for the goals for october in 2010, and july 2011 when we get there. but we need a way to track the progress in achieving what i think and most of our military believe, if not the number one mission, which from my view it is, but a key message for our troops, the training and equipping of the afghan s

in being a member of that battalion, he received a medal of honor.f the american military that has received more medals of honor than any other single unit. it started out with several thousand people and by the end of the war there were only a few hundred people still alive. in his visits over here to the department over the last year, his mind is very sharp. as an elder statesman of america, when he reflects on the department, he says is the best department in america. he says we are the custodians of the natural resources and the history of this country. when you hear it coming from someone like him who has watched this department over many years, it means a lot to me, and should mean a lot to you. it is the kind of story we will tell around the country so people understand the importance of the department. in my first week here as secretary, tom strickland suggested i should go to the statue of liberty. i went, and i wanted to send a strong message to the american people that we really work the department for america and not just for the west. i

he went on to form what became a battalion, and that a battalion was finally recognized by president allowed them to defend the united states of america. he, and leading that battalion received a medal of honor. even today it is the unit of the american military that has received more medal of honor is than any other single unit. to start out with several thousand people and by the end of the war there were down to less than 400 people still live in that effort. in his visits over here -- 400 people still alive in that effort. he does not have an hour because it was blown off during the war, but his mind is very sharp. as an elder statesman of america, when he reflects on his department, what he says is, this is the best department of america because, you in this department are the custodians of the natural resources and history of this country. . r@ @ @ @ @ @ $@ @ @ >> you asked for comments as well. ou last year, my name is ted cook, detailed to assistant secretary strickland. and i want to thank you for how you made my year better. >> we go live now to richmond, virginia, for cove

they have construction battalions, et cetera. i think that's how you bring stability as fast as you can. >> lehrer: do you agree with that, mr. natsios? >> i agree in major disasters like haiti. having the military there is very important but the international disaster assistance system is not based on military leadership. it's based on civilian leadership. it's u.s.a.i.d. under federal law that has that leadership role. we work very closely with the general in the kurdish emergency. that was very effectively. i think the two of us working together because he and i worked together in that emergency but there are 60 of these disasters a year that u.s.a.i.d. responds to and no one ever hears about them because they don't get in the news. they're very effectively run. most of them the military doesn't get involved. it's the non-governmental organizations, the u.n. agencies particularly unicef and the world food program which coordinates response and the red cross movement with the aid agencies like the european union and the canadia

the cia is relively small agency compared to an my or a mare battalion, to lose this ma agents at once musbe an enormous casualty. >> it's destating. we are talkingbout very all numbers of individuals, sotimes cia works in groups otwo or three, this is a basthat had maybe a few dozen ople at most when it's lly based. but this is essentiay like wiping out a batlion for a milita unit. and it going it to take a ve long time to recover from this. this not just a lo of life but the wealth of owledge these individuals ssess. probably talking maybe hundd of year in expeence, at counterterrorism of the individuals lled in this one incident. >> camp chapman was locate near the border with afghanistan and pakistan, a very turbulentlace in recent months. y idea why camp chapman would be targeted. >> it was probably dream targetor the taliban, because thiss a base that alsoappens to help coordinate theones strikes, the predator strikeshat we all here aut. they don't actlly fly drones from this base. t these guys are involved in the tarting, the sueillance. they coordinate these strikes so this is

it is a matter of fact, which i doubt many people in the room will realize, that when that battalion arrives in afghanistan in march, it will bring to 950, the number of georgian troops in the country, which on a per capita basis, will make georgia the largest single troop contributor of afghanistan. until the u.s. reaches its peak of 100,000 and then georgia and the u.s. will be the top two, and i should acknowledge that, and i should acknowledge the president of georgia's personal role in that and all the georgian people and look forward to going there to visit the troops before they leave, but we should all recognize this, because georgia's own history, particularly in the last year and a half, has been so extraordinary and they've made this commitment. without any request for anything in return, there's no quid pro quos here, they wanted to help, they saw the regional connections. secondly, in regard to your question about iran, when i said all the neighbors before, i obviously included all the neighbors. the iranians have a role to play in the region. and no one denies it, and a

it is a matter of fact, which i doubt many people in the room will realize, that when that battalionarrives in afghanistan in march, it will bring to 950, the number of georgian troops in the country, which on a per capita basis, will make georgia the largest single troop contributor of afghanistan. until the u.s. reaches its peak of 100,000 and then georgia and the u.s. will be the top two, and i should acknowledge that, and i should acknowledge the president of georgia's personal role in that and all the georgian people and look forward to going there to visit the troops before they leave, but we should all recognize this, because georgia's own history, particularly in the last year and a half, has been so extraordinary and they've made this commitment. without any request for anything in return, there's no quid pro quos here, they wanted to help, they saw the regional connections. secondly, in regard to your question about iran, when i said all the neighbors before, i obviously included all the neighbors. the iranians have a role to play in the region. and no one denies it, and at

we created an inspector general and a new battalion of fraud fighters to police this new era of higher standards. the dog that doesn't bark rarely gets noticed, but let's notice tonight, that armed with the tools you make possible, indiana has seen five years of scandal free government and we are determined to keep it that way. [applause] >> and so all hoosiers should welcome the excellent initiative of your leadership to bring similar reform to this, the senior branch of our government. mr. speaker, mr. pro tem, i applaud your proposals to raise the standards to which legislators will now be helped it will enhance the quality of your decisions and the confidence of our citizens in those decisions. thank you for stepping forward so boldly. i look forward to signing this important new law. while you're at it, please respond to the plea of mayors of both parties and all parts of our state, and in the egregious conflicts of interest that occur when public employees sit on city and county councils, boating on their own salaries and overriding the decisions of their own management. how we e

from first battalion the royal angrily private robert hays.rom the parachute regiment lance corporal tommy brown. and third battalion, the rifles lance corporal christopher bruni, riflemen ate and how. and from fourth regiment military police lance corporal michael pressured. our thoughts are with the families and friends who can't be rightly proud of the courage and dedication and bravery of the sacrifice that has been shown by these men and that sacrifice will never be forgotten. we have been reminded once again for the house last night that there are those who seek to harmonize with terrorist incidents. we must remain vigilant and ever grateful to all those serving in afghanistan and around the world, working for the safety of the british people. mr. speaker, i know the house will also want me to join in sending our condolences to the wife and children of david taylor was suddenly died. he was a tremendous constituency member of parliament who thoroughly deserved accolade of back adventure of his tireless work and the people of north west l

he served as a member of the second battalion, fourth brigade combat team, fourth infantry division, based in fort carson, colorado. soon after basic training, his brigade was reassigned to south korea, where he spent 10 months prior to his first deployment to iraq for a one-year tour. stationed in colorado, ingram would meet his future wife holly. their 2006 marriage preceded his return for a second iraq tour. however, this time, he had been promoted to sergeant. in 2007, sergeant ingram returned to colorado from theater wearing an impressive military decoration he wore one of the highest honors presented to soldiers wounded while serving his country, the purple heart. as his mother described, that was his most prized possession. his next call to duty was in afghanistan in may of 2009 and for the first time, he left not only a wife who he loved, but also a beautiful baby girl, chloe. his departure would be the last time this brave young soldier would ever embrace his family he loved so much. on august 20, 2009, army sergeant matthew ingram died from wounds suffered from an i.e.d. de

wish to join me in paying tribute to corporal league bronson and riflemen luke farmer for third battalion, the rival. they died in afghanistan this week and our thoughts are with their families and friends. at this very sad time. last night i read through the moving tribute of their fellow soldiers to emit bravery, selfishness and, roderick which they displayed serving their colleagues, the british people and the people of afghanistan. and they will not be forgotten. mr. speaker, all of us -- some of the poorest people in the world facing some of the most extreme hardships and manageable. and our thoughts and condolences go to those families also in the united kingdom have been directly affected by the tragedy. they must first define our support, and third we must help with the government of haiti to get back lazy to be able to deliver reconstruction. mr. speaker, this morning i have been meeting with others in addition to duties of my house. i shall have further such meets today. >> i sure the prime minister's condolences to the two brave soldiers who lost their lives in afghanistan. and

in the eastern region, 41 out of 41 of the battalion's are partnered with the coalition forces.iption of how the current partnering compares to the partnering in june of 2009 is in the upper left-hand corner. you can see the combined planning is moving to fully invested partnership, and this has been improved just in those six months. the way in which this partnership is going to move forward, this is shown on the second page, with the afghan national security forces -- there is a force increase, and you can see the numbers on the bottom. this is going up to 51-51. the south and east, 55 out of 55. and you will see that they will be embedded in most of the units, operating as one combined team. that will be the impact of that force increase. that is the 30,000 that the president has ordered. that represents significant progress. you have to see how many of them are in bed with each other, how many are truly integrated, so that the planning of the operations take place very integrated, and again, we will keep track of that. i will show you the charts to help us keep track of that

in the eastern region 41 out of 41 of the afghan battalions are partnered with coalition forces.the description of how the current partner in compares to that in june 2009 is in the upper left-hand corner. you swill see the combined planning and operations, moving toward fully embedded partnership has been improved just in those six months or so. the way in which this partnership effort will move forward is shown on the second page. "afghan national security forces at partner impact of force increase." the number at the bottom, the partners going up to 51 out of 51. in the south and east 55 of 55. in the box in the upper left- hand corner you will see embedded partnership foremost units and operating as one combined team of the impact of that force increase. that is the 30,000. that the president has ordered. that represents some significant progress. the key in my judgment is how many of these troops are to the embedded with each other. how many are truly integrated, so that the planning and operations take place very closely together. and again, we will keep track of that. i wi

other battalions have also lost a lot of troops, but the united nations is there. you see them out on the streets. the united nations is providing security. the civilian leadership, which provides such a support for the government of haiti in in different ways -- they are there, active, present, and the leadership that they brought in is an experienced leadership that knows exactly what to do. let me pass this out to general keane, who will address the issues of what we're doing to provide assistance here in haiti. >> good morning. i and the deputy commander for u.s. southern command, and i would also like to reiterate to express our appreciation for the international community and for all of you being here this morning. i want to start by saying we are here at the request of the government of haiti, and we are working in partnership with the united nations forces. we are doing that on a daily basis and coordinating extremely closely. i have known the commander of minister for nearly 25 years. we have worked together various times. they are doing an extremely excep

it is a matter of fact, which i doubt many people in the room will realize, that when that battalion arrives in afghanistan in march, it will bring to 950, the number of georgian troops in the country, which on a per capita basis, will make georgia the largest single troop contributor of afghanistan. until the u.s. reaches its peak of 100,000 and then georgia and the u.s. will be the top two, and i should acknowledge that, and i should acknowledge the president of georgia's personal role in that and all the georgian people and look forward to going there to visit the troops before they leave, but we should all recognize this, because georgia's own history, particularly in the last year and a half, has been so extraordinary and they've made this commitment. without any request for anything in return, there's no quid pro quos here, they wanted to help, they saw the regional connections. secondly, in regard to your question about iran, when i said all the neighbors before, i obviously included all the neighbors. the iranians have a role to play in the region. and no one denies it, and a

right now i have got to in my back in the north i have got to cavalry squadrons battalion size units doing classic cavalry type operations in the open desert with an iraqi army division just inside the border. as you know, the border and horsemen units of iraq are literally on the border in border ports so they've got the first line in the an iraqi division in that particular part of western nineveh province has got the second line and we are bernard with them with more u.s. worse than we have had in a long time. two calories' squadrons. and so the decision will be -- how much do we as we draw down the really forces on the border doing that? the last place we draw down or do we leave forces there because of the importance of securing borders for a sovereign nation, helping them secure their borders? so that's the beefing up. and the other critical part of the beefing up is helping in the border enforcement brigades with their capability is. it is an iraqi central government efforts and it is happening. it is getting all of the equity needed to inspect, transit to other people and goo

it is a matter of fact, which i doubt many people in the room will realize, that when that battalion arrives in afghanistan in march, it will bring to 950, the number of georgian troops in the country, which on a per capita basis, will make georgia the largest single troop contributor of afghanistan. until the u.s. reaches its peak of 100,000 and then georgia and the u.s. will be the top two, and i should acknowledge that, and i should acknowledge the president of georgia's personal role in that and all the georgian people and look forward to going there to visit the troops before they leave, but we should all recognize this, because georgia's own history, particularly in the last year and a half, has been so extraordinary and they've made this commitment. without any request for anything in return, there's no quid pro quos here, they wanted to help, they saw the regional connections. secondly, in regard to your question about iran, when i said all the neighbors before, i obviously included all the neighbors. the iranians have a role to play in the region. and no one denies it, and a

a minute and think the men and women and the families of the 1431 company of the 107th engineer battalion. they just came back from afghanistan after spending a year there. now they have come back after year in afghanistan. no matter what you think of the war or hallett is, we of those men and women and their families a great debt of gratitude for it to show your professionalism of the soldiers -- of the soldiers to come out of here, -- a great debt of gratitude. just look at the accolades that they earned in the 230 missions that have performed over in afghanistan. 107 army medals of commendation. 26 bronze stars, and more than 44 purple hearts. these are all testaments of the courageous efforts that these people made on our behalf. they did not ask about the politics of the war. they are part of our military and they did it. we owe them a great debt of gratitude. i hope that you join us in a round of applause for those men and women who served us. and while they are deployed, they have health care. all americans should have health care. so let's get into the health care legislation. let

this was done in conjunction with the brazilian battalion assigned to the united nations.s and still is in dire need of relief. it was one of the toughest neighborhoods in this city for years. our soldiers assigned to the 82nd airborne division handed out over 14,400 meals ready to eat and over 19,700 bottles of water. all done in about a six-hour period to a peaceful yet anxious crowd. other developments include the 22nd marine expeditionary unit from lamp lejeune, north carolina, continue its operations west of port-au-prince. the communities include the towns of petite guab, which last week you recall were in dire need of support. it is estimated that 10,000 people in these areas have been killed and 400,000 have been displaced. i was there yesterday visiting our marines who are working jointly with the sri lankan soldiers assigned to the united nations supporting the united states agency for international development and other international organizations so much needed relief supplies are provided to these areas. the second brigade combat team from the 82nd airborne di

the 201st engineer battalion, which returned last march, tip are in 467 and gauge meant with enemy forces. and our guard has done this in a year in which i had to order up the largest call up in history in response to last january's devastating ice storm. ladies and gentlemen, their courage and their commitment demand our gratitude. [applause] [applause] my second priority is to help beleaguered kentucky families survived this economic upheaval with immediate safety net health. our approach has been multidimensional, with help from the federal stimulus, we closed the deficit in our medicaid program, allowing us to fully provide all benefits to the increasing number of kentuckians who through no fault of their own, qualify for needed medical care are in this recession. to help those who can't find a job, and we have aggressively supported the repeated extension of unemployment insurance benefits. and we have created a task force to return solvency to a program that, like those in most other states, has required us to borrow from the federal government. my friends, that task force, composed

we created an inspector general and a battalion of fraud fighters to police this year of higher standards. the dog that doesn't bark rarely gets noticed but let's notice tonight that armed with the tools you made possible, indiana has seen five years of scandal free government and we are determined to keep it that way. [applause] [applause] and so, all hoosiers should welcome the excellent initiative of your leadership to bring similar reform to this, the senior branch of our government. mr. speaker, mr. president pro tem, all i applaud your proposals to raise the standards to which legislators will now be held. it will enhance the quality of your decisions and the confidence of our citizens in those decisions. thank you for stepping forward so boldly. i look forward to signing this important new wall. while you are at it, please respond to the plea of mayors of both parties and all parts of our state and into the egregious conflict of interest that occurred when public employees sit on city and county councils floating on their own salaries and overriding the decisions of their own manag

from second battalion duke of lancaster regiment.the anglican regiment robert hayes from the parachute regiment brown, from the third christopher rooney, the rifleman and forth regimen military police. lance corporal michael pritchard. our thoughts are with the family and friends who can be rightly proud of the courage, dedication, the bravery and the sacrifice that is being shown by these men and that sacrifice will never be forgotten. we have been reminded once again since the house last met there are those who seek to harm us with terrorist incidents. we must remain vigilant and ever grateful to all of those serving in afghanistan and around the world working for the safety of the british people. mr. speaker i know the house will also want to join in sending our condolences to the wife and children of david taylor. she was a tremendous constituency member of parliament who deserved the backbencher of the year for his tireless work for the people of northwest. he will be greatly missed not only by his family here in the house today

there are smaller units, whether they be an infantry battalion an engineer company, an explosive ordinance detachment that might be deployed for various missions around the world. so i think when you ask when will we apply this 100%, never is probably the answer. i do think, though, that this is an area that we should begin exercising. and i've argued this for a long time that the pentagon should exercise this. move people in and out of korea. to, one, attenuate koreans to the coming and going, but, two, building up that confidence when something leaves itbk@11e comes back or it -- it's replaced with another capability that the deterrent and defense capability on the peninsula is not degraded by strategic flexibility. thank you. >> excuse me. i'd like to take the prerogative of the chair to address a question to each of the three. the premise of our leaders in the united states and korea and the premise of this project is that we can increase the alliance's value by working together on a broader set of problems than has -- than we've worked on before. butpgÑ i suspect the contrary i also

a minute and thank the men and women and the family of the 1431 stafford humvee of the engineer battalion. they just came back from affling after spending a year there. they were in iraqi freedom. now they came back after a year in afghanistan. no matter what you think of the wars or how it is, we owe those men and women, their families a great debt of gratitude. to show you the professionalism of the soldiers we have that come out of copper country here and in northern michigan, just give you some idea of the numerous military accolades the company earned in their 231 missions that they performed over in afghanistan. they include 10 army commendation medals of valor. 94 combat action badges. 26 bronze stars. and more than 34 purple hearts. these are all testments of the courageous efforts that these people made on our behalf. they didn't ask about the politics of the war. they are part of our military. they did t we owe them a great debt of gratitude. i hope you'll join me in a round of applause for those men and women who are serving. [applause] while they are deployed they need health

he was a field artillery cannonner with the third battalion, 10th marine from camp lejeune. he was an active member of his community back in west wood, new jersey. he was a volunteer fireman for two years. but in 2003 in response to the attacks on september 11, 2001, he enlisted with the united states marines. he heard the call of duty and he answered it. as a marine now, he has served multiple tours of duty which include combat in iraq and afghanistan. and on december 23 of this year, 2009, under enemy fire, he saved the life of his sergeant major who stepped on an i.e.d. for this he was to be awarded a bronze star with a combat v. he then set the highest example of someone who was willing to risk his life to save the life of others. sadly on january 14, 2010, he himself stepped on an i.e.d. and died in the service of his country. he now is survived by his wife, jamie, mother, mary, stepfather, father, step mother, two sisters, amy and lori, and two step brothers, jim and bo hodges. his dedication to his country and to his fellow soldiers represents a tremendous sense of lo

he went on the form what became a battalion and that battalion was finally recognized by president rooseveltin an executive order that allowed them to defend the united states of america. he, loo n leading or being a member of that battalion received a medal of honor. even today it is the unit of the american military that has received more medal of honors than any other single unit. started out with several,000 people and by the end of the war they were down to less than 400 people. last year, those of you who know the senator, he still -- he doesn't have an arm because it was blown off during the war but his mind is very sharp and as an elder statesman of america, when he reflects on this department, what he says this is the best department of america because he says you in this department are the custodians of the natural resources and the history of this country. when you hear it coming from someone like him, who has watched this department now over some 50 years, it means a lot to me and it should mean a lot to you. it is the kind of story that we will tell around the country so people