Political Quotes

“I rise today to honor Naval CPO Scott Dayton, a Virginian who became America's first combat casualty in Syria. Scott was a resident of Woodbridge, VA, here in Northern Virginia. He enlisted in the military in 1993, in the Navy, and had a distinguished 23-year career, finishing his time in one of the most dangerous billets in the military--as a bomb disposal expert. Scott was working in Syria pursuant to Operation Inherent Resolve, and on Thanksgiving day he was killed. He was a 42-year-old Virginian based out of Virginia Beach, but he was killed working to dispose of bombs about 30 miles from Raqqa, Syria, which is one of the two main headquarters of ISIS. Scott Dayton was a decorated sailor in his 23-year military career. He won virtually every award there was, including a Bronze Star--19 different awards and commendations. Because his death occurred over a holiday weekend, there wasn't a lot of attention paid to it, but it was something I really wanted to come to the floor today to talk about because he is the first combat death in Syria of an American servicemember in Operation Inherent Resolve. I wish we were paying more attention to this, and that is what I want to devote the rest of my comments to. ____________________”