I am delighted to be serving with Senator Graham, as the ranking member, of this subcommittee.

Whether or not we could fight without them, we deserve to be able to have the same oversight over how they are used.

It was a considerable shift, when they decided to do that, back in the 1980s.

there's no better recruiter than a veteran who goes back to his or her home community, and is proud of what they did.

I tend to agree with your comment, too, by the way, on ROTC, have for a long time.

This is a really relevant question, in terms of whether or not we get the DOD budget under control.

This aid plays a critical role in our diplomacy, and nowhere is this more important than in East and Southeast Asia.

I am acutely mindful of our special obligation to see to the needs of servicemembers and their families and I take that responsibility very seriously.

I encourage you to express your views candidly and to tell us what is working well, and to raise any concerns and issues you may want to bring to this subcommittee's attention.

I don't know why that happens. I think we have computers now--you can figure out how many days people are in theater, if you're paying these sorts of benefits.

For the record, we'd like to see your best estimates on those numbers, as we move toward the Defense bill this year, which means fairly soon.

We have so many people, who are now contracting force, who are doing, at a minimum, quasi-military functions.