Haley Stevens: “I have come to the floor in a state of shock. Adm. Mike Boorda, a personal friend, traveled with me to my home State…”

“I have come to the floor in a state of shock. Adm. Mike Boorda, a personal friend, traveled with me to my home State this year. I have spent many times with him in my office and in his office. We will say a lot about him later, but Mike Boorda was the first Chief of Naval Operations to have been a walk-in enlistee. He was an enlisted man who worked his way through the Navy to the highest position in the Navy, as the CNO and Chief of Staff. I really say to the Senate that this is a great loss. He suffered the loss of his father this year, very dramatic for Mike Boorda. And we talked a lot about that. But I hope that this is something that we can find a way to deal with very quickly because he is going to be sorely missed in this mix of our national defenses. I think that from what I have heard, what the assistant majority leader just said, that we are in a different circumstance now. This is hard for us to take for certain what we have heard, which I hope is not true. It is a very difficult situation. Mike Boorda I think was one of the bright stars of our military system today as it stands and is responsible for a lot of the initiatives that would have brought the Navy back to its prominence of days gone by. So I am really sad to be here. I am pleased you have made the announcement, Senator Lott. But that it is a most disturbing development is all I can tell the Senate, very disturbing.”