The answer is that when you retire after 20, you are subject to being recalled as long as you are physically able. I know one individual who was recalled at age 56 who was a JAG officer who had been out of the military for years. He set up…

I think the Senator from Mississippi may have the exact number, and it amounts to a brigade of soldiers, almost. I ask the Senator from Mississippi, what is the number?

I thank the Senator. To follow on what Senator Wicker said, I have been trying to find out how this started to begin with too. Whose good idea was this? So I called the Secretary of Defense, and he said: We did not do this. I talked to…

I join with the Senators from New Hampshire and Alabama in trying to urge the body to take a pause here and see if we can right a wrong before it matures. The good news is that we have a bipartisan agreement to try to fund the government…

I rise today to address the nomination of Cornelia Pillard for the DC Circuit. My colleagues, I have enjoyed my time in the Senate very much, although we live in a very difficult time. Politically, there are a lot of influences on…

My time is about up. But I'd like to end with: where are we going to go?

Unsustainable without help. Don't you think?

If Jordan and Lebanon for some reason said, 'Hey, we can't handle it?'

What do you need to handle the Syrian crisis country by country?

What we need to do is to ensure that Jordan does not suffer any more than what it has.

It would be good for the Congress to understand the totality of the impact here.

Can we expect Assad to be in power this time next year?

This ugly war is still going on.

I think we have a humanitarian crisis on our hands of almost biblical proportions here.

I can't think of a more important time for the Congress to be engaged when it comes to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and the entire region.

This unusual situation for most Americans works in the military. It may not sound right to most, but it works because the military is about when you are ordered to do something, you answer the order; you don't debate. So if we don't…

There are situations where joint jurisdiction lies--the military has jurisdiction, the civilian community has jurisdiction. There have been cases where the civilian community went first. There were 49 cases in the Army where the civilian…

If you want to improve the system, and we all do--I am not questioning anybody's motives--if a commander knows that when they turn down the JAGS's advice in one of the four situations we have identified--sexual assault, the nature of the…

Exactly right. Every military lawyer who has looked at this is very worried about what we are about to do in terms of practical military justice. Imagine being 18 years of age. You have too much to drink and you write a bad check. Part of…

He loses that authority. Mrs. McCASKILL. That case to Washington--that soldier is not going to agree to nonjudicial punishment. He is going to say: I will take my chances with the lawyers in Washington. And if the lawyers in Washington say…

That is exactly right. A nonjudicial punishment is an authority the commander has to put people in confinement for up to 30 days, reduce in rank one or two levels, depending on the rank of the commander, and to withhold pay. It is…

Yes. Mrs. McCASKILL. I want to make sure I understand something about nontraditional punishment. Since the Senator is discussing the barracks thief in Afghanistan and the notion that everything is going to stop and this case is going to be…

I wish to speak in support of the McCaskill, Ayotte, Fischer, and Levin amendment. Before we begin, I wish to thank Senators Levin, Reed, McCaskill, Ayotte, Fischer, and others who have been trying to carry the burden here to make sure…

I have two stories from South Carolina I will quickly share with the body. Scott, from Goose Creek, SC: I am a college professor from Columbia, SC, at a private university. We are up for our insurance open enrollment. I am 35 years old, a…

Would the Senator yield? To conclude, why are the Iranians at the table? Because the sanctions are working. The Congress has passed tough sanctions. To the Obama administration's credit, they put together an international…