general chiarelli. -- one other -- >> please. general chiarelli. -- thing? we just signed an mou with the va on credentialing and privileging, which is a key and critical piece, here. and we can do that with the va so their doctors can be part of our virtual behavioral health -- >> excellent. yes. >> but, that is a real issue when you're trying to provide the same kind of care across state lines, and even within state lines. and in the area of behavioral health, i think we really need to look at some of those rules, and think about, do we -- do they need to be the same for this branch of medicine as they do, say, for a heart surgeon or someone else? >> you just got to my next question, so i'm going to start with you and then come down the row here. i'll leave my friend, howie chandler to last. but, let me -- if i -- you just hit on -- and that is -- my next question was, what do we need to do -- i mean, it's kind of the question that hasn't been asked; i think senator mccaskill kind of started to get to it -- what do we need to do, here in congress, to help

we will start with the general chiarelli. >> thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to provide a status of the army's ongoing efforts to reduce the number of suicides across our border. also to carry the tag for cylinders suffering from post- traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, and other issues. i have submitted a statement for the record and i look forward to answering your questions at the conclusion of my remarks. as you are aware, in a mandate is a time for our military. we are in the night wore of our -- my dear of the war. patience is increasingly high. i am proud to report the men and women serving in our army today are doing an outstanding job. they are well-trained, highly motivated, and deeply patriotic. our nation has asked a great deal of them and their families, and they have exceeded expectations by a long shot. however, the prolonged if demand continues to put a significant strain on the force. one of the symptoms of this, although -- albeit the most severe, it is the high number of suicides we have experienced. fortunately, we have seen a signif