On the recordAugust 1, 2011
The duty we perform today to cut and cap America's spending, to put us on track to a balanced budget, and to pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution are vitally important but pale in comparison to the sacrifices and duties of our Armed Forces, our men and women in uniform. It is with profound sadness today that I join with the family and friends and the neighbors of United States Army First Lieutenant Dimitri del Castillo in mourning his loss. On June 25, 2011, he was killed while fighting in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2004, it was my privilege to nominate Dimitri for an appointment as a cadet to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Upon his graduation, he was commissioned in the Infantry, where he sought out the Army's toughest challenges immediately. He graduated from the demanding Airborne and Ranger courses and later passed a series of rigorous skill and endurance tests to earn the Army's coveted Expert Infantryman Badge. Dimitri deployed with his unit to Afghanistan in April of 2011, and while conducting combat operations he was tragically killed when his unit came under fire by enemy forces. For his heroic actions that day, Dimitri was awarded posthumously the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart.…
