On the recordMarch 10, 2010
As Chairman Berman has said, I am one of just a handful of Members who have served in Afghanistan. I remember serving on the ground there as I was deployed as a tactics officer in Operation Vigilant Sentinel. As a C-130 pilot, they sent some forward-deployed troops there to make sure that our troops got the right supplies, and that the missions that we were doing were safe, and that our crews would come home very honorably and soon. I have to tell you that I remember that day walking to the chow hall. I had my 9-millimeter strapped to my side, walking in my uniform. And there were soldiers gathered along the streets on either side. I kind of peeked my head around, and then a Humvee drove by with the flag on it. And everybody was standing at perfect attention. I was asking somebody what that was. And they said, well, that was one of the soldiers who had recently been killed in action, and he is on his journey back to the United States. I began to think about that soldier. Who were they? What branch of service were they in? How did they meet their fate? Did they know after C-130 pilots would fly in and unload them, cargo and troops on that very geographic spot, if they knew that they were going to fly home that way. And I remember that anonymous soldier because the mission that we have there is very important.
