a concern that I have regarding the upcoming BRAC process is that DOD and Service civilian leaders may be predisposed to discount or ignore the views of the Services' uniformed professional leadership.

So good luck.

There was a new criteria that was added for the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission to consider, which was the measurement of an installation's value to homeland security.

As long as the uniformed military is directly involved in the decisionmaking, then I have a lot less worry.

You have the little bee-bee there right by you, so why don't you tell us, is DOE committed to support the NIF so that the goal of ignition can be once again no later than 2010?

Let me ask you, on the subject of this hearing, rumors continue to abound that Secretary Rumsfeld wants to combine NORTHCOM with Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).

I think your command is the place to be for the future.

USSOUTHCOM is not only in need of a military commander, but the USSOUTHCOM... has to be a diplomat and has to engage almost on a daily basis with the heads of government of all these countries to protect the interests of the United States.

Does this committee need to take note of any of the terrorist and narcotrafficking that is going on in Colombia that might be seeping into Venezuela?

Are we seeing any of the kidnapping that has been in Colombia start moving over into Venezuela?

In these upcoming elections in the Dominican Republic that we are worried about some questions of honesty in the elections, do you have a force structure that you can call on if chaos were to erupt there or, for example, in Venezuela…