I think, as Senator McCain and others have suggested, that we are going to see an exodus from the Guard and Reserves that is going to be very harmful because of these repeated deployments.

I will be following up in writing with some of those concerns.

I very much appreciate the commitment that you've shown in your budget to fully fund the construction of three guided missile destroyers (DDGs) this year.

General Hagee, in preparation for OIF 2, you mentioned that the Marines are drawing on lessons learned from your sister Services, coalition partners, inter-departmental agencies, and the Marine Corps' own 'Small Wars' experience.

If this occurs, it would be the first year in more than 20 years that our Navy will not be procuring a major surface combatant.

Thank you very much. That's good news.

I feel we have a moral obligation to make sure that they have all of the supplies and equipment, and most of all, protection that they need.

It is our duty. This is not a case where we're not eager to give you the money you need.

I continue to receive e-mails from soldiers in Iraq who tell me that they still lack the equipment they need.

We do need to exercise our constitutional responsibilities.

All of us want to make sure that we do that quickly and fully.

We really do need to preserve the important role that Congress plays.

I hope you will consider working with the committee to come up with a more traditional request.

How do you envision the U.S. Navy's capability to meet current and growing worldwide threats with less than a 300-ship Navy?

As of January 30, 2004, our fleet consists of only 294 ships.

You have suggested that a more appropriate fleet size would be approximately 375 ships to meet current and future threats.

I've been following with interest your thoughts about a 'maritime' North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

We seem to be driven by litigation and judicial-based remedies and decisions. This is really a failure of the system at all levels.