Joe Manchin

I have a hard time, especially in West Virginia we have a hard time, understanding why we would be cutting back the military men and women in uniform and not cutting back the contractors.

We wanted to practice that and we want to practice what we preach in our own offices.

If it had not been for the large pay that attracted you to leave the military, would you still be in the military? Unequivocally, yes.

General Odierno, what are the effects of arming a MEDEVAC helicopter?

What are the survivability rates of casualties in Afghanistan?

With that being said, I know right now we have about 130,000 contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq.

General Odierno, why are Army MEDEVAC helicopters unarmed?

I support DOD's efforts to rebalance the share of costs incurred by the Department and the beneficiary, while preserving and enhancing the quality and range of care.

Why are we spending so much money trying to rebuild a nation in Afghanistan that doesn't care for us that much and doesn't want us there?

I have problems with the presence that we have and the direction that we've gone in Afghanistan.

As a civilian, a taxpayer, and a lawmaker, it's disturbing.

To me, we could cut back on contractors and basically put a certain amount of that towards our men and women in uniform.

As a West Virginian, and the people in West Virginia support the military as strong as any State that I know of, we believe that we can strengthen the military's position by being responsible with the budget, but it would come off the…

I'm troubled by this.

As an American and a West Virginian, I appreciate your service and I'm very, very proud of what you do for our country.

I don't think that should be a political football. That's just common sense in West Virginia.

The recent London Conference on Somalia reinforced the international community's commitment to working with the Somali people to support the political and economic progress needed to consolidate recent security gain.

There will be moments when no matter how effective the plan, the message is not going to have any effect.

Strategically, we will always have some sort of a presence or platform in Europe.

Last month the terrorist groups, al Shabaab and al Qaeda, have merged or we were told they merged.

A sustainable solution to piracy requires addressing conditions on land. Stability and economic development are necessary to provide viable economic alternatives to pirate activity.

I'd rather have American dollars spent in West Virginia than in Germany.

I'm very proud of what our Active Military and our National Guard have done in Kosovo.

If I may start with Admiral Stavridis. West Virginia is a very patriotic State.

Did the Air Force consider alternative plans that you have said 'reduce the cost of doing business,' such as relying more heavily on the National Guard and Reserves?