FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Brian Baluta, [email protected]
LAS VEGAS – On the eve of Armed Forces Day, May 21, 2016, Iraq veteran, brigadier general in the Army Reserve, and Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Joe Heck released the following statement:
“Since 1950, on the third Saturday in May, Nevadans across the Silver State join our fellow Americans to celebrate Armed Forces Day, when we honor the brave men and women who currently serve in the five U.S. military branches – the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard.
“This day is a recognition of a simple truth — that those who volunteer to serve, more than any piece of technology or equipment, are the most valuable asset in our military.
“Therefore, it is only fitting that the U.S. House this week passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — the legislation that funds our Armed Forces. As chairman of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee, I have the awesome responsibility of seeing that our warfighters, retirees and their families receive the funding, care and support they need, deserve and earned.
“This year, I am particularly proud of the subcommittee’s work, as we were able to achieve a fully-funded pay raise for all our service members. With our troop strength at the lowest levels since 1940, and the world not getting any safer, it is not fair to continue to ask our soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and Coast Guardsmen to do more with less.
“To that end, the bill also stops the sequester-driven reductions to the end-strengths of our Armed Forces, which increases readiness while reducing the stress and strain on the force and their families.
“From improving the military health system for service members and health care providers to reforming the Commissary system in a way that preserves the benefit and ensures it remains a good value for shoppers and taxpayers, this year’s NDAA pays proper respect to the people who make up the finest fighting force in the world.
“In my 25 years with the Army Reserve, I’ve had the privilege of leading and caring for some of these important men and women. If you have the good fortune to meet them over the weekend, be sure to tell them thank you.”
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