I do think there needs to be a dialogue, and considering the fact that we are trying--I am sorry--the administration is trying to make our military forces, DOD, the most progressive employer out there.

I think when we look at Selective Service, the administration needs to own up to their decision

I am a strong supporter of SOCOM's preservation of the force and family initiatives.

Thank you very much.

We cannot keep on keeping on with what we are doing right now and expect things to get better.

We lose 22 veterans--from the VA's [Department of Veterans Affairs] numbers, 22 veterans every day to suicide.

If we don't have this issue resolved by then, the 193rd Iowa Air National Guard Wing, they may be faced with paying the full lease for the area that they occupy, which would severely disrupt their ISR mission and would further strain our…

I do support providing women with various opportunities to serve in any capacity as long as we are not lowering standards to allow participation, and that we are not decreasing our combat effectiveness.

I think the first point that you made, stating that we have not had an attack on our Homeland anything the scale we have seen since 9/11, I think that is a very important point for those who state we just simply need to pull out.

Unfortunately, in a move that defies comprehension, your predecessor revoked WASPs eligibility to be honored by having their cremated remains inurned at Arlington.

I just want to emphasize to my Committee Members, as well, here, those that are still remaining, it is a phenomenal program that THOR-3 provides for those operators.

I am concerned that Putin and the Assad regime has been weaponizing the migrants coming out of Syria.

If confirmed, I will obviously make it one of my priorities to understand their challenges and what we can do to better help them in that regard.

I do believe Russia is one of the greatest existential threats to our Nation.

Turkey, as you stated, is an important ally, a NATO member that sits on the southeastern flank.

I can commit to that.

But do you agree that a Fortune 500 company has a very different mission than that of our military members?

It is critical that we get this right.