I think we have a responsibility, obviously, to protect the strongest military in the world, and to help defend this country.

Last January, the Secretary of Defense announced the budget plan and said that the Active Army will be reduced by 72,000 in the next 5 years.

Sequestration is not in the best interest of our national security.

Secretary Panetta concluded that the Air Force would retain the MC-12 Liberty aircraft.

This subcommittee enables our All-Volunteer Army to be the most decisive land force in the world.

We place an enormous value on the experience provided by the Reserve component, but we don't want to shift the warfighting burden to a part-time force.

It would be a disaster if sequestration happens, not only in terms of the amount of money that would be taken out of defense, but also in the way it would be taken out.

It is a distinct privilege and honor to have the opportunity to appear before this subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

that represents the potential for another Pearl Harbor, as far as the kind of attack that we could be the target of, using cyber.

I really want you to figure out how we can get some more money for that account.

It is a good thing we have the control of your budget in our hands.

I have suggested to the Naval Postgraduate School... that they actually implement a course in UXO technology.

You can't shortchange cleanup on the eve of asking Congress for another BRAC round.

Perhaps we should start by making sure we have learned the lesson and we recognize that Pakistan is no longer our friend, and that we should cut Pakistan's military off from any U.S. aid.

Yes, we should support those brave people struggling for freedom, as this bill does, but let us keep in mind that we cannot do their fighting for them, and there are lines to which we should not cross.

we should not, again, be lured into a situation where we are doing the fighting for people who should be fighting for their own liberty

Let's pray that America has learned something from these recent disastrous interventions.

Don had very strong beliefs in human rights and a concern for his fellow human beings.