the president also announced a new vice-chairman of the joint chiefs to replace marine general james cartwright, who is also retiring. the nominee is navy admiral james winnefeld. he's been head of the u.s. northern command and served as a nato commander and on the joint staff. >> i've selected general dempsey between them, they bring deep experience in virtually every domain-- land, air, space, sea, cyber. both of them have the respect and the trust of our troops on the frontlines, our friends in congress, and allies and partners abroad. and both of them have my full confidence. they both have something else. for the first time, the chairman and vice chairman will have the experience of leading combat operations in the years since 9/11. >> brown: and with general dempsey moving up, the president chose general ray odierno to be the next army chief of staff. odierno is currently head of the u.s. joint forces command. he previously served three tours of duty in iraq, including as top u.s. commander. all three men-- dempsey, winnefeld and odierno-- face a series of daunting challenges, as the pres

on c-span 3, a pentagon briefing on the role of reserve units including comments from general james cartwright, a vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. president obama went to new york yesterday for a wreath laying ceremony at the 9/11 memorial perry previously planned a trip followed the send a mission that killed osama bin laden. before the ceremony, the president visited firefighters at the pride of midtown fire house which lost 50 men on 9/11, more than any other fire house in new york city. this is about 5 minutes. [applause] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] >> the main reason i came here is because i heard the food is pretty good. mayor guiliani performed heroic? almost 10 years ago but most of all to you, i wanted to come up here to thank you. this is a symbolic sites of extraordinary sacrifice that was made on that terrible day. almost 10 years ago. obviously, we cannot bring back the friends that were lost. i know each and everyone of you not only grieve for them but also dealt with their families, their children and tried to give them comfort and support over the last 10 years.

also, a pentagon briefing on the role of reserve units including comments from general james cartwright, a vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. >> congratulations again to all the winners of the issues student can documentary. you can view all the winning videos on their website. >> now a hearing on security concerns in europe and asia. this is a little more than one play five hours. >> first of all, welcome. we will be started here pretty close on time. i want to apologize. some of my colleagues found out there getting out early today. i think we all hit the airport. i hope they show up. we have a few more of my republican colleagues. it is within the jurisdictions of this subcommittee. to terrorism. last sunday night, america learned an elite american unit has killed osama bin laden. i'd like to personally congratulate the bush situations, as well as our intelligence kmooet, law enforcement, most importantly i'd like to thank all of our fighting men and women in uniform, especially those in the unit six that did such a great job under great stress. great risk and relentless res

host: the associated press reporting this morning that defense officials said a marine general james cartwright is no longer in the running to be the next chair of the joint chiefs of staff. he had been considered a top candidate. what is your reaction? guest: first i have heard about it. i don't have a reaction. i will get back to my office and figure out what is all about. host: do you know general, right? guest: i do as a witness to the committee. i don't know him personally. host: mary, you are on. caller: i just wanted to say that everywhere we have ever been in was -- [unintelligible] as far as medicare goes -- no doctors in our area to take medicare or medicaid any more. .'m a disabled nurse i've been a nurse for 30 years. i have an advantage plan. if i did not have the advantage plan with my medicate, i would not make it. i am in the hospitals every six months. guest: i'm not exactly sure what to personal circumstances are, what the doctors are in your area. we do know that the medicaid program which to depend upon would be very significantly reduced by the republican budget. huge, near

host: the associated press reporting this morning that defense officials said a marine general james cartwrightno longer in the running to be the next chair of the joint chiefs of staff. he had been considered a top candidate. what is your reaction? guest: first i have heard about it. i don't have a reaction. i will get back to my office and figure out what is all about. host: do you know general, right? guest: i do as a witness to the committee. i don't know him personally. host: mary, you are on. caller: i just wanted to say that everywhere we have ever been in was -- [unintelligible] as far as medicare goes -- no doctors in our area to take medicare or medicaid any more. .'m a disabled nurse i've been a nurse for 30 years. i have an advantage plan. if i did not have the advantage plan with my medicate, i would not make it. i am in the hospitals every six months. guest: i'm not exactly sure what to personal circumstances are, what the doctors are in your area. we do know that the medicaid program which to depend upon would be very significantly reduced by the republican budget. huge, nearly $