general huber, i met general huber in kabul, afghanistan, and i saw his leadership and i saw the leadership up -- the men and women under his command. they are not all young. some of their romp -- are almost as old as me. they go to a very full board in place -- they go to a very foreboding place at the gates of hell, confronting al qaeda and the taliban in the mountains of afghanistan and never complained. it was inspiring to be there with them and, general huber, on behalf of a grateful state and a grateful nation, thank you very much for your great leadership. i think that we not only want to express our gratitude -- it was so inspiring across illinois going to many homecoming ceremonies in urbana, and freeport, in kankakee and chicago, to see our soldiers come marching home and to see them welcomed by our citizenry, the men and women of our state who understand how important it is to protect our democracy. and i think related to that is we always have in our state the very best programs in our states for our veterans. as we go through this year, we want to always make sure the programs