and he kept a young soldier like until we got to the helicopter medevac. unfortunately that soldier died later in surgery that might. the minute that i heard this story from one rubio i knew that i wanted to include it in my book. so i pressed him for details. i said you remember what day it was? and he said, what day? i don't know what day it was. all the days ran together when we were there. so i said, would you know what unit it was? he said they were soldiers. we were carrying soldiers. they were hitching a ride. i don't know who they were. i said you have any idea what the soldier's name was? he said no, i don't. so i got back in touch with dan wittman and i asked him for more information. he said well, i have all the writeups that i did, and rewards for all my min. some got awards and other student that i can send you all of my writeups. i said sure, please do. and he did. lo and behold, he had written one of his boat captains up for a bronze star for that very ambush. and in the right up it said that the ambush was on december 5. so now i had the da

they lived but where medevaced to the united states. sergeant q e who had been a squad leader and father figure for all the guys i have mentioned died. i am going to join up where kenneth eastridge has gotten the news that his father died. as the sun went down, kenneth eastridge tried to keep himself squared away. he was guarding the same early where the blast had knocked him to the dirt. in the failing light a spine way in the narrow path between the wall. no flesh, no ribs, no explanation. just a human spine. kenneth eastridge's battalion spent months preparing for iraq and here they were totally unprepared. he was told to shoot and had been an attack that wounded several soldiers and killed the man he counted on most. he had not been able to fire a shot. guns were almost useless on route michigan. there was no good way to defend against a roadside bomb or suicide bomber. all the training to outshoot, outmaneuver and out of sync enemy soldiers proved fertile -- field because the enemy in iraq is not a soldier. he is a shadow. disease

. -- medevac for soldiers. i just visited walter reed and the ability to get soldiers who are injured on the front lines back to the united states in time is remarkable. this is one of those instruments that allows them to do it. it's a technology which has been proven not just in the battlefield but also has been proven by its performance. they have worked out the kinks. they have paid for it. this is the thing the marine corps is asking for that's consistently within the boundaries of the existing defense budget. the soldiers on the front line are asking for the v-22 osprey because it helps them do their job. we must stand in support of the soldiers doing the work defending our nation most effectively. they are the ones who are proving that it works. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment 63 printed in the congressional record offered by mr. gutierrez of illinois. the c

access to joint effects, air being the most important one, but some artillery, and then logistics and medevac. those things take longer time to build than an infantry company. as we look over time, that -- those are the ones that will be there longer relative to all the combat troops. >> we saw some reports at the beginning of the year that iran was stopping -- stopping shipment of fuel across its border into afghanistan, which does not affect your -- your soldiers and your vehicles have their own supplies and can operate as they will. how does that dynamic continue to affect the way afghan forces can work in the way the population can go about their business in the areas you are trying to protect? >> we did not see a huge negative impact on security from that, but it did make it harder on the people out there in the west to go about their daily activities. the afghan government and the iranian government are working hard to solve those issues, and there has been a decrease in the limiting of that fuel moving forward here, especially being tough in the wintertime. >> cannot fall on your comme

access to joint effects, air being the most important one, but some artillery, and then logistics and medevac. those things take longer time to build than an infantry company. as we look over time, that -- those are the ones that will be there longer relative to all the combat troops. >> we saw some reports at the beginning of the year that iran was stopping -- stopping shipment of fuel across its border into afghanistan, which does not affect your -- your soldiers and your vehicles have their own supplies and can operate as they will. how does that dynamic continue to affect the way afghan forces can work in the way the population can go about their business in the areas you are trying to protect? >> we did not see a huge negative impact on security from that, but it did make it harder on the people out there in the west to go about their daily activities. the afghan government and the iranian government are working hard to solve those issues, and there has been a decrease in the limiting of that fuel moving forward here, especially being tough in the wintertime. >> cannot fall on your comme