HVAC Markup Schedule July 29 – August 2
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Chairman Jeff Miller (FL-01) today released the markup schedule for July 29 – August 2. The following events are open to the press:
Thursday, August 1, 2013
Markup of Pending Legislation (Legislation TBD)
House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
(10:00 am – 334 Cannon and streaming at veterans.house.gov)
Sailors Posthumously Receive National Intelligence MedalBy Terri Moon Cronk MCLEAN, Va., July 24, 2013 - Two fallen Navy petty officers became the 18th and 19th recipients of the National Intelligence Medal for Valor in a July 22 ceremony at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence here.
Calling Day and Strange "two young heroes who gave the last full measure of devotion to their country," Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper presented the medals in front of a standing-room-only gathering of families, friends and shipmates. Knowing the valley served as an enemy safe haven with no sustained coalition force presence, and knowing that their mission was to interdict and ambush an armed enemy force, Day and Strange volunteered to pursue an enemy known to have attacked and killed coalition forces with plans for future attacks, the citations said. Both "selflessly chose to interdict the fleeing enemy when [they] boarded the helicopter with [their] teammates," the citations said, but the aggressive mission ended tragically when their helicopter was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade, causing it to crash and killing all on board. Twenty-eight other Americans, eight Afghans and a military working dog were en route to assist an Army Ranger unit engaged in a firefight with Taliban forces west of the Afghan capital of Kabul, Clapper added. "For each of them, the courageous choice to ride to the sound of gunfire was one they'd made many times before," he told the audience. The accident was the largest single loss of American life during the Afghanistan campaign and the greatest single loss of life ever suffered by the U.S. Special Operations community, Clapper said. The U.S. intelligence community looks up to Day and Strange for their heroism and for "setting the example for our entire community," Clapper said. "They served at an amazing nexus of the Navy, special operations and the intelligence community." Serving with the Navy SEALS, he added, Day and Strange were unique, elite and truly remarkable young men. "We continue to look to them as selfless examples of service to this great nation," Clapper said. "They were the best of us." Both men are now part of the history of this country, he said, calling them "a legacy of sacrifice toward something larger than just oneself." Sam Day and Karolyn Kimball Day of Salt Lake City received the medal for valor for their son. "He was just amazing," Elizabeth Kimball Day said of her son, adding that he was only 6 years old when he declared he wanted to join the Navy, and did so when he was 19. "He was always the funny one" she said. "He always got up with a smile, and went to bed with a smile. He always took the underdog under his wing." Michael Strange also joined the Navy at a young age, his mother said, adding that she and Michael's father had to sign papers when he was 17 to allow him to go into the Navy when he graduated from high school at age 18. "It was a decision he made, and he was really determined," she added. Strange's family didn't believe he wanted to join the military at first. His mother said he wasn't one to arrive at school on time, but he scored very high on tests and was excited when the Navy told him about the jobs he could perform. "He meshed well with the Navy, [and] I couldn't believe it," his mother said. "He excelled at it." | ||
| Biographies: James R. Clapper Related Articles: |
| Web: | http://americancoldwarvets.org/ |
| Blog: | Cold War Veterans Blog |
| Email: | Sean.Eagan@gmail.com |
| Phone: | |
| Network: | My Fast Pitch! Profile |
Stratcom Braces for 'Readiness Avalanche' from SequestrationBy Donna Miles WASHINGTON, July 24, 2013 - Recognizing that the services have made tough choices to ensure U.S. Strategic Command can maintain its deterrence mission in the face of sequestration, the Stratcom commander said he has grave concerns about the "readiness avalanche" that's ahead. The nuclear triad and Stratcom's space, cyber and other essential activities have not felt the day-to-day readiness impact of across-the-board budget cuts, Air Force Gen. C. Robert Kehler told reporters today at a Defense Writers Group breakfast roundtable. "Not yet," Kehler emphasized. "Because of the nature of Strategic Command's missions, the services have given us preferential treatment," he explained. "So far the services have been able to scrape together readiness money to keep it on things like the dual-capable bomber force," reprogramming funds as possible to cover those costs. "They are not going to be able to sustain that," Kehler said. "If sequestration continues, it is not going to continue." Kehler saw evidence of that during his recent visit to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., home of Global Strike Command. Walking the floor of the maintenance dock and talking to the flight crews, Kehler said he was struck by reactions to the sound of aircraft operations. "Everyone commented that they had not heard any flying activity for two or three days," he said. "They were motivated again, hearing aircraft fly." Those sounds reflected the Air Force's conscious decision to continue nuclear certification for B-52 Stratofortress aircraft crews, he said, recognizing that the funds came at the expense of something else. "I know, behind the scenes, both the Air Force and the Navy have had to make a lot of decisions" to be able to support Stratcom, he said. "I am worried about readiness," Kehler said. "It is like watching an avalanche where you see it start small, and if you ignore readiness accounts and the momentum builds, then eventually you have a readiness avalanche." Kehler said he's particularly concerned about "the human dimension" of sequestration and the long-term impact it could have on the Defense Department. While military units reduce flying hours and stand down units, civilian workers experiencing furloughs are reassessing their futures with DOD, he said. "I am worried that those [civilians] near retirement age will not hang on, because they will not be confident in us," Kehler said. Equally concerning, he said, is the discouraging impact sequestration is having on younger civilian workers who represent the command's and department's future. Kehler pointed to Stratcom's successful internship program that attracts talented young employees to the command. "Some [interns] have said they won't stay [because they] don't see the future here," he said. "So I am very concerned about the human dimension of all this." |
| Biographies: Air Force Gen. C. Robert Kehler Related Sites: Related Articles: |
| Web: | http://americancoldwarvets.org/ |
| Blog: | Cold War Veterans Blog |
| Email: | Sean.Eagan@gmail.com |
| Phone: | |
| Network: | My Fast Pitch! Profile |
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