Duncan Hunter

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Davis) who served as an Army officer in the U.S. Airborne.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/4\ minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Hefley), the chairman of the Readiness Subcommittee and does so much for the quality of life for our troops.

Mr. HUNTER. Let me ask, Mr. Speaker, we have the right to close on this side?

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, let me answer my friend. This is a letter from an army captain in Iraq. He says in this e- mail: ``I am a U.S. Army captain currently serving in Iraq, and I am shocked and appalled by Rep Murtha's call for an immediate withdrawal. Please, please, please convince your colleague to let us finish this critical job. He is correct that the deployments and service and casualties are hard on all of us. He is wrong about what is demoralizing to us. What is demoralizing is a Congress which no longer stands behind our mission.'' That is why we are offering this resolution. That is obviously the message that is going out to thousands of servicemen around the world.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, legislation which I have introduced, H.R. 1101, revoking a Public Land Order for certain lands erroneously included in the Cibola National Wildlife Refuge in California, was passed by this body on May 23, 2005. Additionally, this legislation was recently reported out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on September 28, 2005, and referred to the full Senate for consideration. It is my understanding that the Committee included report language with this bill expressing its intent that the 140 acres H.R. 1101 transfers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management not be viewed as an endorsement for development and that any management changes proposed by the Bureau be made through the appropriate planning process and include the continued protection of natural, cultural, and historical resources located on this land. I rise today to state my concurrence with this report language and encourage the Senate to act quickly on passage of this important legislation.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, around the world right now American troops are being disserved by a mistake promulgated by the American and international news media to the effect that American law allows torture. That is the lie that is being propagated by electronic and written news media around the world. Mr. Speaker, we have the law here. It is title 18, section 2340A; and I want to read it. It says, ``Whoever outside the United States commits or attempts to commit torture shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both, and if death results to any person from conduct prohibited by this subsection, shall be punished by death or imprisoned for any term of years or for life.'' That law was signed by then President Bill Clinton on September 13, 1994. The United States does not allow torture. It is against the law to torture people, and if you torture someone to death you may be executed.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. I thank my friend for yielding. Mr. Speaker, when I came out to speak about another issue that was very important to me, I did not realize that we were doing 1-minutes on our great friend Ed Roybal. I just wanted to add my voice as a Californian who came to Congress and was subject to Ed Roybal's kindness and goodness and great sense of courtliness and courtesy, that he will be deeply missed. Because the fabric of Ed Roybal is what makes this House run and gives us civility in difficult times. What a wonderful, fine gentleman and what wonderful treatment he accorded all of us in the California delegation, Republican and Democrat.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman. She has done a wonderful job of leading this Special Order, and I want to thank all the Members who participated. They did a great job, and I think our message to all of our troops, to everyone that wears the uniform of the United States is this: you have great value. You are our best citizens. Your cause is just. You will prevail, and we will stand behind you. I thank the gentlewoman.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, tonight marks the end of a long and difficult process for selecting military installations for closure and realignment. Under BRAC law, the realignment and closure recommendations by the BRAC 2005 Commission will become binding, unless a joint resolution of disapproval, such as the one before us today, is enacted. For those of us with military installations in our districts, the BRAC process is a trying one. And I might mention we have had four BRAC rounds previous to this one. Every one of us spent the last 4 years making a case to the Pentagon and the BRAC Commission with respect to the military value of our bases. Nevertheless, both DOD and the BRAC Commission have determined that a portion of our military infrastructure should be closed or realigned. As a result, the final recommendations of the Commission include 22 closures that we would designate as major closures, 33 major realignments, and many smaller closure and realignment actions. According to the Commission, these actions will save more than $15 billion over the next two decades with annual savings of more than $2.5 billion after implementation. Some of my colleagues have questioned the need for a round of BRAC and the timing of this round. While I understand and appreciate such concerns, I believe that these issues have been thoroughly discussed and debated. In addition, by a vote of 43 to 14, the Armed Services Committee reported this resolution adversely to the House with a recommendation that it do not pass. As such, I intend to vote against House Joint Resolution 65 today, thereby allowing the BRAC Commission recommendations to stand, and I would urge my colleagues to join me in doing so. On a final note, I would like to thank the BRAC Commissioners for their service. Since their appointments this spring, the Commissioners visited more than 170 installations, conducted 20 regional hearings and 20 deliberative hearings, and participated in hundreds of meetings with public officials. Also, Mr. Chairman, I would particularly like to thank the chairman of the Commission, Anthony J. Principi. Tony Principi took on another tough one in chairing this BRAC Commission. It is a commission in which you get beaten up lots of times, second- guessed a lot, and cross-examined a lot. Yet, it is a necessary position, and it is one that requires a guy or a lady with a lot of integrity. Chairman Principi is just such a person. Also, we had on our committee two former members of the Armed Services Committee who were on the BRAC Commission, Jim Bilbray and Jim Hansen, and Mr. Chairman, they have served us well as senior statesmen in again what amounted to very, very difficult roles. I would like to acknowledge the good work of all of the commissioners. It is not an easy job and it is, to some degree, a very thankless job. Nonetheless, it is necessary and they put a lot of time and a lot of sweat into this process. So I want to thank them. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Skelton), and I ask unanimous consent that he be allowed to control that time. I also ask unanimous consent that I be allowed to designate the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Hefley) as controlling our time.

Mr. HUNTER. Madam Speaker, pursuant to section 2908(d) of Public Law 101-510, I move that the House resolve itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union for the consideration of the joint resolution (H.J. Res 65) disapproving the recommendations of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to a true American patriot who has maintained a reputation as a protector of American manufacturing--Mr. Roger Milliken. Roger recently celebrated his 90th birthday and, not to the surprise of many, continues to faithfully sit at the helm of Milliken & Company, one of the largest and most successful textile and chemical manufacturing companies in the world. On the special occasion of his 90th birthday, I feel it prudent to ensure that my colleagues in the House are made aware of Roger's immeasurable commitment to the protection and development of our domestic manufacturing base. Roger has long deflected the enticements of outsourcing and importation, believing the divestment of American industry in foreign markets is not conducive to economic growth and detrimental to our nation's productivity and ingenuity. Roger's personal success can be credited to his entrepreneurial spirit and his strong work ethic, both professionally and academically. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University in 1937 and was named President of Deering Milliken in less than ten years. Under Roger's leadership, Deering Milliken officially became known as Milliken & Company and gained its status as a nationally recognized textile manufacturer. He served as President of Milliken & Company until 1988, when he was named Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, the title which he continues to hold today. Roger maintains an inclusive relationship with his employees and each Milliken associate is encouraged to share their thoughts on how quality and excellence can be achieved. As a matter of fact, much of Milliken & Company's success can be attributed to its network of faithful employees who tirelessly strive for nothing less than perfection. Mr. Speaker, President Ronald Reagan once said, ``My goal is to keep America the premier job-creating nation on Earth and we must unleash the full power of entrepreneurship. We can make our land that of the future, offering unlimited opportunity to all Americans who dare to live for their dreams.'' We are fortunate to have individuals like Roger Milliken, who never relent in their quest to foster and protect American industry, and believe the industrial climate envisioned by President Reagan is achievable. Roger is recognized as someone who takes pride in the craftsmanship of the American workforce and fights for the preservation of those jobs. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in 1995, Roger said, ``I'm going to keep on doing what I'm doing. I'm going to die in the saddle, fighting for American manufacturing supremacy.'' While this statement is certainly indicative of Roger's tenacity and entrepreneurial ambition, it more importantly demonstrates the elements of selflessness and confidence that need to be revived within our industrial community. Roger's desire for American manufacturing supremacy is not unrealistic and one in which I believe we can achieve. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring Roger Milliken's contribution and commitment to American industry and manufacturing. In celebration of his 90th birthday, I wish him many more years of good health and happiness.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Madam Speaker, I take the floor tonight with my colleagues to talk about the values of freedom and the men and women who have, in very difficult places around the world, but especially in the warfighting theaters in Afghanistan and Iraq, have fought to change the world for freedom and, in doing so, to secure the United States of America, and to make us a more secure Nation, and to accrue to the benefit of generations over the next 10, 20 or 30 years. I thought to talk a little bit about, especially following the speakers who have deplored our policy and condemned our policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, I thought it might be important to remind ourselves why we are in those theaters. Madam Speaker, I brought tonight some of the citations for gallantry, gallantry that was carried out by American soldiers and sailors and airmen and marines in Iraq. I wanted to read one of those. Then I wanted to talk about what these soldiers and sailors and airmen and marines have purchased for the United States of America. I want to talk about the value of what they have done for our country. This individual is Lance Corporal Aaron C. Austin. This is a commendation, a copy of a commendation, and a posthumous Silver Star medal, the Nation's third highest award for valor that was sent over to our office by the Secretary of the Navy. It talks about the incredible job that this young lance corporal, one of the guys who makes the Marine Corps work, that is an enlisted man just a couple of ranks up from private, but somebody who has taken a leadership position, who leads a fire team or a squad in places like Fallujah or Ramadi. For conspicuous gallantry and bravery in action against the enemy as a Machine Gun Team Leader, Company E, 2d Battalion, 1st Marines, Regimental Combat Team-1, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force. That is a force that takes a very dangerous difficult area west of Baghdad. This great lance corporal, in an incredible firefight in which they were attacked from many different directions, by dozens of rocket- propelled grenades, RPGs, attacked by thousands of machine gun rounds, and then assaulted to within 20 meters of their position, Lance Corporal Austin supported his fellow marines, 16 of whom were wounded in this firefight, ensured that they receive medical treatment, and then rallied the few remaining members of his platoon and rushed to the critical rooftop defensive position to withstand the attack. I am quoting, ``Braving withering enemy machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire, he reached the rooftop and prepared to throw a hand grenade. As he moved into a position from which to launch or throw this grenade, enemy machine gunfire struck Lance Corporal Austin multiple times in the chest. Undaunted by his injuries, and with heroic effort, Lance Corporal Austin threw his grenade which exploded amidst the enemy, halting their furious attack.'' He did that with the last efforts of his body before he succumbed to that mortal wound. By his bold leadership, wise judgment and complete dedication to duty, Lance Corporal Austin reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest tradition of the Marine Corps and the United States naval service. That is what Gordon England, Secretary of the Navy, said in this posthumous award of the Silver Star medal to this lance corporal, one of thousands of about 140,000 personnel who have been in the theater consistently over the last several years, accomplishing their mission in Iraq. So we know that this lance corporal had incredible bravery, and I think following especially the speakers who have criticized this mission and said it is without value, I think it is important to talk about the value for this Nation that this lance corporal and the other hundreds of thousands of men and women who wear the uniform of the United States have delivered to us through their service to our country. To hear the speakers who have criticized this mission talk, we somehow have created a terrorist enemy and an insurgent enemy that, because of our own fault, attacks America, and the way for us to hold off these attacks, to dampen these attacks, is to be suppliant and to do nothing and to be compliant, and somehow we have agitated and upset the enemy who otherwise would not be intending to hurt Americans. I am reminded that when those planes hit the United States in 9/11, it was following two major military operations that this country undertook. Interestingly, we took them both on behalf of Muslim nations, protecting them from neighboring nations, from the attacks of neighboring nations. One good question to ask the speakers who just finished was what did the United States do to deserve those attacks? They further said, well, we did not find any nuclear weapons, other weapons of mass destruction, in Iraq, and, Madam Speaker, let me tell you what we did find and what the world found and what history will reflect to the end of time. I keep in my desk drawer a picture of Iraqi Kurdish mothers holding their babies tightly against them as they lie dead where they fell on the hillsides in northern Iraq where Saddam Hussein killed them with weapons of mass destruction; that is, chemical weapons; that is, poison gas; the only leader, to my knowledge, since Adolf Hitler to kill his own people with poison gas. Every time I hear a speech about how things would have been better if the Americans did not show up, I pull that picture out to remind myself that things only get better when the Americans show up, and sometimes it is lonely, and sometimes it is tough, and sometimes we only find a few of our really toughest, closest allies like the Aussies and the Brits standing side by side with us. Although we now have lots of people from those countries that we liberated, which Donald Rumsfeld refers to as the new Europe, people like the Polish troops, who are securing, taking part in the multinational organization, securing the southern part of Iraq. Sometimes we have a difficult mission, but it is very clear to us since September 11 that if we do not change the world, the world is going to change us. For Americans who wonder why we have not been attacked over the last several years, why there has not been another September 11, one answer is that we have kept the bad guy off balance. We pursued them in caves, in mountains, at 12,000 feet high where they thought we would never get to them. We have gotten them in safe houses where they thought they were totally safe, and we have pursued them to places where they never dreamed we would be able to find them. Because of that, we have kept them off balance, and we have kept them in a position where it has been very difficult for them to organize another attack against the United States. The idea that we can somehow pull back into the United States and not pursue this war against terrorism and everything will be fine is a very erroneous idea. The men and women of our Armed Forces who are undertaking this very difficult mission in Iraq are accomplishing the mission. The mission is of great value because we have discovered in this century that when we have brought freedom to countries, those countries have not been a threat to the United States. We are not worried about the nuclear weapons in Great Britain's arsenal because Great Britain is a free nation. We are not worried about the nuclear weapons in the arsenals, for example, of France or Israel because they are free nations. But we are worried about nuclear weapons and the possibility of nuclear weapons being obtained by nations which sponsor terrorism and which are themselves tyrannical to their people. Every time we establish a nation which is free, and it does not have to be a perfect democracy or a perfect republic, but a Nation that has a modicum of freedom for its own people, and which has a benign relationship, a good relationship with the United States, and which is not our enemy, and which will not be a launching point for future terrorist operations, then we have achieved something of value that will accrue to the benefit of future generations of Americans. That is what our troops are doing. Our troops are doing something which is worthwhile and which is good. For my friends who read off very solemnly the names of dead Americans, please do not give the impression that their lives were given without value, without reason, without cause, because they were given as a result of a very important mission. They have given great value to our country, and we owe all of them a great debt of gratitude. Madam Speaker, I have some other citations that I will read at a later time. I am just talking a little bit about these great men and women who serve our country in uniform, who I think agreed with the proposition that what we are doing in Iraq is the right thing. What I would like to do right now, though, is yield to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn), because she has a few things to say about this issue, and then we have five or six other colleagues that I would like to discuss this very important American mission with. I yield to the gentlewoman from Tennessee.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his statement and for his service and for all of the wonderful people that he represents. I add my thanks to folks that wear the uniform. They are our very best citizens. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Fort Benning, Georgia (Mr. Gingrey), who has done such a wonderful job on the Armed Services Committee and then moved on, but still has us in his heart. I thank the gentleman for all of the help that he gives.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman for a very eloquent statement. And I would just protest to my colleague that I did absolutely nothing special in Vietnam, and these guys and women who are serving in Iraq are real heroes and have performed extraordinarily. And I thought that was a very fitting recitation of Flanders Fields because the last line that the gentleman recited where the soldier says, take up our quarrel with the foe and do not fail us, was forgotten several times in this last century because we came out of World War I, the war that was supposed to end all wars, was so horrible we could not envision having a successor to World War I, and we let our guard down. And when we got into World War II, we found that we had neglected our Armed Forces, and it took an incredible build-up and lots of casualties before we had the industrial might of the United States and all of our population working and about half of them under uniform and pushing back on the Axis powers. And then we demobilized so quickly after World War II that when somebody asked General George Marshall how the demobilization was going, he said, It is not a demobilization; it is a route. We are throwing our weapons away. And because of that we had a third-rate nation, Korea, push us down that peninsula in 1950 and almost pushed us into the ocean before we rallied and came back up to what is now the DMZ. And we went through other fluctuations where we forgot that the admonition in that poem from people who gave their lives was to be strong and to fight for freedom and not to give up what we had. And we now realize that in this war against terror, we have to be strong, and we have to be forward-leaning because if we let the terrorists have safe haven like they had in Afghanistan where they could assemble their operations, where they could do their training, where they could gather their allies and have a platform to operate from, then we now know they could strike into America with that assemblage of capabilities. And that is what we are trying to deny them. And if we can have an Iraq that has a modicum of freedom, and we are not threatened by free nations, and has a good relationship with the United States, and will not be a springboard for future terrorist operations, that is going to be good for generations of Americans especially in this neighborhood. So it is an important thing that we are fighting for. It is a value. And the troops who have achieved this for us and are pushing forward with this mission are of value, and I think that is the essence of what the gentleman just said very eloquently, and I really appreciate his statement. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway), who has been a stalwart on the committee and really cares about the soldiers.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I would like to yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman who has organized and led this Special Order, the great gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Drake), a great member of the Committee on Armed Services. She has waited until last, and she is our cleanup hitter. I yield to the gentlewoman, and I thank her for her great work and her trips to the warfighting theaters.

Mr. HUNTER. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman, and I want to thank her for being such a great representative of those men and women who serve, particularly coming out of her National Guard unit and the 101st Airborne, a legendary division. I might say to the gentlewoman that a lot was made of the movie Band of Brothers, a story of the 101st in World War II. Of course, we have referred to a lot of those people as the Greatest Generation, and indeed, they were a great generation. But in reading about the exploits and meeting with the individuals of the 101st Air Mobile Division, which today is, in fact, getting ready and going into the northern AO, a very difficult place, and having already served in Iraq, I think it can fairly be said they are the greatest generation. They are every bit as good and great and capable as the people that fought in the Battle of the Bulge and went up those cliffs at Normandy. We are very proud of them. I thank the gentlewoman, and I would like to yield to the gentleman from New Hampshire (Mr. Bradley), who has been a great supporter of the troops and worked with us to put together a great defense bill this year.

Mr. HUNTER. Madam Speaker, do not go too far in praising me. My son did serve a couple of tours in Iraq, but just like lots and lots of other sons.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman; and I am reminded also, as I look down through the last several days in October, in fact starting with October 2, Iraqi Army soldiers captured bombers in Fallujah; October 5, Iraqi troops found and cleared improvised explosive devices in Fallujah; October 5, Iraqi soldiers seized a large weapons cache hidden by anti-Iraq forces in a school in Ramadi; October 8, Iraqi Army forces detained a suspected Iraqi bomber in Fallujah. As we go down the line, we see the accomplishments of this force, which is a young new force, because we did not want to use the senior officers of Saddam Hussein's military. We needed to grow a force from scratch from this population. It has been tough. It has been rough. But these great Americans in the 2nd Marine Division, the 101st Airborne, the 3rd ID, which is going to be replaced shortly by the 4th ID in Baghdad, and all the rest of these tremendous troops who are serving, as we realized after New Orleans, are people with great talents, great ingenuity and great creativity. They can not only carry the day in a fire fight; they can also carry the day in training other personnel. The accomplishments of the new Iraqi military as it stands up and takes over these areas of responsibility, like Najaf, which previously was a very hot area, that is a reflection on the capability of our troops, an important capability, which is the capability to train others. And of course why would others not want to be like American troops, because they show the greatest characteristics and character of any troops in the world. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Davis), who has a daughter with a birthday today. Because of that, we have moved him to the front of the queue, but also because he has a great background in the military himself and really works hard for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman, and I just want to echo his comments. I am looking at what our young men and women are doing. The gentleman mentioned the Greatest Generation, and they did great stuff in Normandy and Bastone and Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima. And we had wonderful people, wonderful troops in Vietnam. The gentleman said I was a combat soldier. Compared to these guys, I was not a combat soldier. I had an easy tour in Vietnam. And compared to what these people went through, these young people who drove that iron spear up into Baghdad, who were told when they were going, and Tommy Franks testified before us on the Committee on Armed Services, General Franks testified that they heard on the radio back and forth between Saddam Hussein's commanders, ``Get ready to use the special weapon,'' and they thought that was nerve gas, those young people were moving ahead into what they thought was a nerve gas battlefield, and they moved ahead. And this maelstrom of IEDs, these remotely detonated devices, which are very deadly, very tough, all of the conditions that they have gone through and fought through, the massive dust storms, the ambushes and that intense heat that the gentleman from west Texas interestingly mentioned, that makes them, in my estimation, as good as the Greatest Generation, and from my point of view, the Greatest Generation are those folks that are over there right now. I appreciate the gentleman for his support for these people. We will keep on working. I know we will finish this mission, and we acknowledge the value of those men and women who have carried it to date.

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman would yield, I just wanted to thank the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Davis) as he goes out the door because I know he has his beautiful daughter, Hannah, with him tonight. It was good of Hannah to come over and to watch Dad and delay her birthday celebration for a little bit.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I take this time to talk a little bit about a great American leader who is winding up his tenure as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States of America, and that is, of course, General Richard Myers. General Myers had his last appearance before the Committee on Armed Services today, and I was reminded of all the many wonderful appearances that he has made in advising not only the President and the Secretary of Defense but also the membership of both of the Houses of Congress with respect to the United States and our military requirements. I was looking over the statements that were made by the President and others in 2001, really just a few days after 9/11, when General Myers was nominated for this position by the President of the United States, and I thought I would read that statement that the President made. I am quoting the President, George W. Bush, who said then in 2001: ``Today I name a new chairman of the Joint Chiefs, one of the most important appointments a President can make. ``This appointment is especially so because it comes at a time when we need great leadership. Secretary Rumsfeld and I thought long and hard about this important choice, and we enthusiastically agree that the right man to preserve the best traditions of our Armed Forces, while challenging them to innovate, to meet the threats of the future, is General Richard B. Myers.'' The President went on to say, ``General Myers is a man of steady resolve and determined leadership. He is a skilled and steady hand. He is someone who understands that the strengths of America's Armed Forces are our people and our technological superiority, and we must invest in both.'' Now, later, after the President had made that nomination, a number of people weighed in on this, commentators in the main weighed in on this nomination by the President and one, in one of the discussions, General Richard Hawley, retired, was asked about General Myers. He was asked to give his take on this particular appointment by the President. He said, ``Well, Dick Myers has wonderful credentials at the tactical, operational, and the strategic level. He has had diplomatic assignments. I think perhaps as an example when he was at U.S. Space Command, he really helped our combatant commanders understand how to fully integrate our space capabilities into their operations. And he also helped particularly those of us in the Air Force, but also I think others who work in defense issues understand what the potential is of our space forces to contribute in the future of our operational success.'' Now, of course, after that initial nomination and confirmation by the Senate, General Myers was thrust into this role, this very demanding role at a time in which we were engaged in a shooting war in Afghanistan on the heels of 9/11 and, shortly thereafter, combat operations in Iraq which have been ongoing. Through all of that, General Dick Myers has truly been a steady hand. He has been thoughtful, he has been able to handle the exigencies, the emergencies of the moment and, at the same time, look over the horizon to the problems that may face us 5 or 10 or 15 years down the line. All the while he was operating or maintaining this understanding of our operational requirements in a combat sense, General Myers has been there when we have had national emergencies. I remember the hail of firestorms that we had in California. We had massive parts of our State literally on fire, and we desperately needed help. I remember the bureaucracy that we had in California in those days, and the fact that the State of California had not requested that our military capabilities, our military aircraft, that have a tremendous capability to put out forest fires, they had not requested that those be brought in because, in their words, they wanted to use all the contractors that they could before they went to the military. While that was happening, much of California was burning up. I remember the decision that General Myers made to not wait on the bureaucrats in California, but to send these units, these emergency units out to California, and his reasoning was, by the time the planes got there, California would understand that they, in fact, needed some help in putting those fires out. Sure enough, before that first unit landed at Point Magoo, the State of California had, in fact, decided that they were not going to be able to put this one out in an expeditious fashion, and they requested the aircraft that General Myers had already sent. So it was an example of a leader who understood how important it was to act quickly. Now, he has acted quickly as an adviser to the President and the Secretary of Defense. He is not in the chain of command. The combatant commanders go directly up to Secretary Rumsfeld and the President when they are receiving their orders for the prosecution of a war. But General Myers' advice on operations, on moving troops, on putting together a plan to handle the challenges of things like these improvised explosive devices, to handle rotations, this tremendous stress on our forces as we move forces in and out of theater, and as we bring the Guard and Reserve in and we match them up with the active duty forces and have them in the present combat situation in Iraq and in Afghanistan, have the Reserve and Guard forces working side-by-side with the active duty forces to the point in which they cannot be distinguished, one from the other is, to a large degree, a function of General Myers' leadership. So he leaves us with his last appearance before the House Committee on Armed Services today, and he is going to enjoy hopefully a little free time with his wonderful wife, Mary Jo. I know that we will be calling on him to give us his great judgment in the future, because he is a great American with lots of integrity, lots of respect from all sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill in both bodies, and also a great deal of respect from those people that work and serve this country every day, wearing the uniform of the United States. We are going to call on General Richard B. Myers many times. A wonderful, wonderful American. Now, I would also like to talk very briefly about another great American, and an American family. I was reminded about this family when General John Kelly came in and we discussed some of the challenges that we are facing in Iraq. He is the liaison for the United States Marine Corps on Capitol Hill. I thought about that family, that Kelly family as he walked out the door, and about the fact that while General Kelly was the Deputy Commander of the First Marine Division, and a very tough conflict and contest in Fallujah, in the western area of operations in Iraq, one of the most volatile and one which is very, very dangerous. While he was the Deputy Commander of the First Marine Division, his son John was a communications officer, also a United States marine in country, and his other son Robert was a rifleman, a member of a marine fire team, an enlisted marine who was, in fact, on the ground floor going house-to- house, street-to-street, and carrying out the mandates of the leadership of the First Marine Division in which his dad was the Deputy Division Commander. What a great American family. What a tradition this Kelly family has manifested. Of course, General Kelly has a wonderful daughter, Kathleen Kelly, who has spent a lot of time in places like Bethesda Hospital, comforting wounded marines and letting them know that Americans care about them. That is the tradition of this country, and it is one that the Kelly family has done a lot to promote and to extend, and our great thanks to them for what they have done. Also, Mr. Speaker, today I wanted to mention two wonderful leaders in my community who have passed on very recently. I have discussed before Jim Kuhn, who is a great, wonderful guy from the Imperial Valley, the guy who started the Salton Sea International Bird Festival. We are down there in Imperial Valley, we are very close to, and in fact, touch the Mexican border; we have an immense inland sea that is full of salt water, the Salton Sea. Jim Kuhn was a farmer who was a stand-out citizen who started in football and wrestling and went to Stanford, but came back to his beloved Imperial Valley and became one of the leading farmers, one of the leading innovators, a guy who was very creative in his area of agriculture, but also a guy with a great heart for the community. He founded this International Bird Festival which has brought people from all over the world to the banks of the Salton Sea there in Imperial Valley, California. Jim died, as I noted earlier, very tragically in an automobile accident. He leaves a wonderful wife Heidi and the children, Vienna and Fritz, to carry on his legacy, and I know that they will. Another dear friend and a great leader in California passed away, and we had services for him yesterday, and that was Corky McMillan. Corky McMillan was a guy who started his business with a pickup truck and a few carpenter's tools and rose from that and I might say is a guy who built much of San Diego, built a career and built a community in San Diego from those humble beginnings to become San Diego's finest homebuilder, one of the finest homebuilders in the Nation, and a person who literally built communities, not only in San Diego, but also in other parts of California and in other States. Corky McMillan was a guy with a great heart. He was a guy who did lots of stuff for the community and was centered on his family. His family, Scott and Mark and Lauri and, of course, his beloved wife Bonnie were everything to Corky. He became one of the great off-road racers in southern California. Those are the people that go down into Baja, California, with machines that go over holes in the ground that are 2 and 3 feet deep over ravines, literally taking those vehicles, those desert vehicles over them in a surreal manner, sometimes at speeds far exceeding 100 miles an hour, and manage to survive all of that. It is a rare breed of people. It started out with guys like Parnelli Jones, and has become a very high-tech sport, and it is one in which Corky McMillan and his sons Scott and Mark excelled and elevated to a level in which it is appreciated by people throughout the world. Corky McMillan was a wonderful guy who gave a lot to his community and a lot to his country and a lot to the sport of racing, and we are going to miss Corky McMillan. So I thank my colleagues for letting me reflect on some transitions today and talk about some Americans who truly deserve to be well remembered.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and pay tribute to an outstanding American who has given so much to our nation, yet asks for so little--former U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Bayard ``Vic'' Taylor. Vic did not just wear the uniform of a United States Marine. From the beginning of his Marine Corps career, he lived the life of a Marine, dedicated to serving his country and improving the primary responsibility of each Marine--to understand and execute the tactics of the rifleman. Vic first enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1957 and served in Hawaii and the Far East until his release from military duty in 1960. With the war in Vietnam intensifying, he reenlisted in the Marine Corps in 1967 to fight during what many consider to be the war's darkest years. The Second Battalion, Fourth Marines were fortunate to have Vic as both a rifle platoon and company commander, where he was awarded the distinguished Silver Star, two Bronze Stars with Combat V, two Purple Hearts, the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star. In the jungles and battlefields of Vietnam, Vic quickly became familiar with intense and close quarter combat. Aside from leading a number of attacks against North Vietnamese Army fortifications along the Cua Viet River, he fought in the infamous battle for Dai Do. For many Vietnam veterans, the battle for Dai Do is not only a story of extreme heroism and courage, but also remains a testament to the brave men and fighting spirit of the United States Marine Corps. The victory at Dai Do can be credited to the extraordinary bravery, competence, initiative, toughness, and selflessness of individual Marines and small unit leaders like Vic Taylor who carried the day. Vic's demonstrated knowledge of infantry tactics, techniques, and weaponry led to an assignment as an instructor at the Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, where he was later tasked with the responsibility of creating an improved Infantry Officer's Course (IOC). The need for such a course was predicated on the threat posed by our Cold War enemies and its purpose was to ensure Marines possessed the knowledge and training beyond basic infantry courses that were completed by officers in all occupational fields. With the first class scheduled for May of 1977, Vic immediately gathered two equally creative and knowledgeable Marines, Terry Paul and Will Oler, as partners in this endeavor. They first determined the course should prepare newly acquainted infantry officers for the realities of combat. This meant managing a rifle platoon, obtaining increased weapons proficiency, and leading a rifle company in the event the Captain is either wounded or killed. However, during the course's development, it grew beyond expectations and featured not only tactics and weaponry, but also communications, demolitions, rough terrain skills and operations. While part of the instruction was derived from existing Marine Corps field manuals, much of it was original, drawn from Vic's personal experiences. The IOC was completed on schedule and graduated its first class in June of 1977. The Marine Corps had a new Lieutenant, schooled to confront the dangers of combat and lead his fellow Marine through its peril. The course has since increased in breadth and length, and rather than a six week curriculum as originally planned, it has expanded to 13 weeks and now includes an instructive desert operation course that has undoubtedly prepared our Marines for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Vic took great pride in knowing that this course would challenge each infantry officer with extreme circumstances and unique environments, similar to what he faced in the battle of Dai Do. The infantryman shares a common bond that unlike many other service occupations, strengthens amongst trial and adversity. Their necessity, coupled with their sacrifice, should never be forgotten in the minds of Americans and will surely never be forgotten in the mind of the Marine. For each distinguished graduate leaving the IOC, nothing is more appropriate than expressing appreciation for this type of warrior's accomplishment than honoring him with tools of the trade. Knowing that the respect and history of the infantry lives in its weaponry, Vic thought it essential to provide each distinguished IOC graduate with a .45 caliber automatic Colt pistol--the weapon he often resorted to in combat and the weapon many of these Marines will continue to rely on in similar circumstances. He took it upon himself and endowed the Marine Corps University Foundation to maintain this distinguished award in perpetuity, citing each of these Marines as ``the Lieutenant I'd most like to have on my flank.'' Mr. Speaker, President Ronald Reagan once said, ``Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem.'' While I fully believe this to be true, I also feel that it is the service and dedication of Marines like Vic Taylor that validates this statement. Without his contribution and concern, it is likely that our fighting men and women on the ground would not have the knowledge and experience they posses today. Despite Vic's retirement from the military in 1985, his leadership and guidance continues to serve the Marine Corps and will do so for years to come. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in giving the thanks and respect Bayard ``Vic'' Taylor deserves for his service to the Marine Corps and to our nation.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Madam Speaker, I want to talk a little bit about the wonderful people of Rescue Task Force who are headquartered in San Diego, who have been operating in the disaster area in New Orleans, and use that discussion about them to reflect on all the great private efforts and public efforts to help the victims who have been created by this incredible disaster in New Orleans. Rescue Task Force is a small group. It is headed up by Wendell Cutting, who is my chief of staff in San Diego and a guy who a couple of years ago was given only 3 months to live with terminal cancer and who has continued to survive and I think survive as an inspiration based on his continued drive and enthusiasm for helping people. Wendell and Gary Becks have gone around the world in setting up medical clinics, providing food, providing medical services in Afghanistan and Iraq, in Albania, in Central America, and now are providing a helping hand in New Orleans. A couple of days ago, they allowed me to go along on one of their missions. We went to Houma, Louisiana. I had with me Scott Turner, who is retiring this year after 10 years in the NFL, a wonderful cornerback who played for the Redskins and the Chargers and the Broncos. And along with Scott was Larry Nelson, the mayor of Yuma, Arizona; and Roy Tyler, who is a businessman from San Diego who now has Tyler's restaurants in Yuma, Arizona. We brought along some help, but we also stopped in Houston. When we landed in Houston, we had a lot of supplies there ready, and we trucked them into the affected area in Houma. We went to the civic center in Houma with the rescue task force personnel, and one of the things that they needed was beds because you have literally tens of thousands of people who are living in gymnasium settings; that is, where they go into a civic center or a gymnasium and they may have a blanket or two, but they do not have a bed, a mattress, between them and the ground. So we had a need there, and rescue task force personnel managed to run down, working with some of the big stores, 1,000 beds for the folks there, and we got those paid for. I got a call yesterday that they, in fact, had been delivered. Then we delivered lots of baby food and canned food to the various locations. But I was really impressed when I was at the civic center there, this refugee center, or evacuee center. I was impressed with the people of Louisiana, because they had so many volunteers, they actually were having to turn them away, and they had mountains of clothes that had been donated to the point where they said, do not bring any more clothes. They had a great medical system set up where people from the disaster were getting, in most cases, more checkups than they had had in years with the doctors and nurses available, and they were getting good, hot meals. We went in the next day by air boat, into the streets and the communities that were under water in New Orleans, and I want to report that our military personnel, the National Guard folks, the active duty folks, and also lots of other folks from other agencies like ATF and reserve sheriffs' organizations are doing a wonderful job now in providing that very necessary security. Now, I think it is a shame that we have to spend so much manpower on security and have active duty military forces come in that have to provide that security, but that is a fact of life, and they are doing a great job. Madam Speaker, along those lines, I think that the real tragedy of this hurricane, aside from those individuals who lost their lives, is not the water and it is not the hurricane itself or the damage, the property damage, because all of that can and will be rebuilt. The real tragedy to me was that group of people, part of that generation of folks who live in New Orleans, which included people who shot at the rescue helicopters, who looted, and who committed crimes against their fellow citizens during this time of tragedy, during and shortly after the hurricane. I think we need to put together a program or legislation to make sure that we do not reinstitute the projects, the location where people have lived for generations in a system that has not produced a high degree of moral compass and a high work ethic, and all of the other things you need to have for a solid community. So let us work to rebuild not just New Orleans, but let us build a new generation of young people in New Orleans who will be outstanding citizens.

Mr. HUNTER

Mr. HUNTER. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take my Special Order at this time.