On the recordJanuary 16, 2014
Thank you, Representative Dent. I appreciate your comments and I appreciate your support for our Guard. Again, that is the discussion--a discussion about a process that should be open, that we should have a part in. What we would ask at this point is that the DOD not proceed with the plan until they have had input from everybody involved, which includes our Nation's Guard and Reserve and includes hometown heroes that serve right in every single town, every city, every hamlet, every village across the country, and serve their Nation well. In this Nation's wars in the last 10 to 15 years, they have been 50 percent of the fighting force. Why haven't we included them in the conversation in a meaningful way? With that, I would like to again yield to another colleague of mine from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus).
