[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 28, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H2455-H2456]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   RECOGNITION OF JUNIOR ROTC PROGRAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, recently in my home district, I was 
invited to participate in a special banquet sponsored by the high 
school leaders who are members of the Junior ROTC program. The program 
is administered by a retired military officer and the instructors are 
usually retired senior noncommissioned officers.
  That evening, Mr. Speaker, I was very impressed with the discipline, 
decorum and the conduct of these young high school students. These 
young Junior ROTC cadets learn about honor, duty and responsibility to 
their families, to their communities and to their nation. These young 
people learn also what it means to live as a free people, to understand 
and appreciate more what democracy and freedom is all about.
  But what impressed me even more, Mr. Speaker, was that as part of the 
opening ceremony, three candles were brought forth and placed on the 
head table. The candles were lit, and then the young cadet started 
explaining that these three candles represented Staff Sergeant Andrew 
Ramirez from Los Angeles, California; Sergeant Christopher Stone from 
Smith's Creek, Michigan; and Specialist Steve Gonzalez from Huntsville, 
Texas. These three soldiers are currently being held captive by the 
Serbian Army of Yugoslavia. The young cadet then reminded her cadet 
corps members and the entire audience that on behalf of approximately 
1,000 Junior ROTC cadets and all the young people of American Samoa 
that we should all pray for the safety and welfare of these three 
soldiers and a special prayer for their families and loved ones.
  And I want to thank Major Ernest Logoleo and his administrative staff 
for doing an outstanding job with the JR-ROTC program in Samoa. And I 
also want to commend our JR-ROTC instructors for their commitment to 
excellence and teaching these young people the importance of living 
under a democratic form of government. Our instructors are--from the 
Samoana High School . . . CW3 Vasaga Tilo, MSG Afiafi Tinae, MSG Roy 
Peeble, and SFC Willie Togafau; from Leone High School . . . 1SG 
Mikaele Taliloa, 1SG Ben Laussen, MSG Tasiga Tofili, and SFC Vainuupo 
Nuusa; from Fagaitua High School . . . MSG Fatuesi Fatuesi, SFC Ofisa 
Asoau, and SSG Ernest Misaalafua; from Tafuna High School . . . MSG 
Lorn Cramer, MSG Arona Gabriel, and MSG Fesili Bryant; from Manu'a High 
School . . . 1SG Siaosi Asalele and SFC Mose Mata'utia.
  Mr. Speaker, I also want to commend the student cadet leaders from 
their respective high schools for their demonstration of leadership and 
example among their peers--Cadet Colonel Fatherday Sele of Samoana High 
School; Cadet Colonel Diamond Otto of Tafuna High School; Cadet Colonel 
Bert Fuiava of Manu'a High School; Cadet Colonel Rea Vele and Jason 
Poyer of Fagaitua High School; and Cadet Colonel Jessica Afalava of 
Leone High School.
  Mr. Speaker, as I was preparing my remarks for this special order, I 
had a difficult time trying to say with some sense of certainty, how 
the current debate now pending before the House Floor, is going to 
end--the options on whether Congress is going to officially ``declare 
war'' against the Republic of Yugoslavia, or whether Congress is simply 
going to pull the plug and tell the President of the United States to 
take our military presence completely out of Yugoslavia; or, that the 
President is not to move an inch until and unless the Congress says 
otherwise. Mr. Speaker, these options do not paint a very pretty 
picture for our nation and to our NATO Allies, let alone the lives of 
the three American soldiers that are now being held at risk. And Mr. 
Speaker, whether it be three American soldiers, 30,000 or 300,000--this 
begs the question how does America value the lives of our men and women 
in uniform? whether it be three, 3,000 or more? Mr. Speaker, I consider 
the life of any American soldier just as important as 3,000 or more.
  Mr. Speaker, how is it possible for this Congress to declare war 
against Yugoslavia and then decide to take our armed forces out of that 
country? The fact of the matter is, Mr. Speaker, we already have 
committed our soldiers to Yugoslavia by keeping the peace in the State 
of Bosnia and already has cost our government some $9.4 billion to 
maintain the peace in this area of Yugoslavia.
  Mr. Speaker, there have been some arguments made that our Nation is 
not the ``policeman of the world,'' that this matter of Bosnia and 
Kosovo is not in our national interest. Mr. Speaker, my colleagues may 
have already forgotten the fact that we did say that the Balkans is a 
European issue, and it should be handled by the Europeans. In fact, as 
I recall, President Chirac of France was quite specific about this 
matter, saying to the effect, ``You Americans stay out of this 
controversy. We in Europe will handle this.'' Well, we did. After 3 
years of utter failure by France, England, Germany and other leading 
European countries to solve the crisis in Bosnia, our President was 
then asked to step in and the Dayton negotiations resulted in where we 
are now maintaining the peace in Bosnia.
  Mr. Speaker, it is not easy to be king of the mountain, the leader of 
the free world and the most powerful nation on this planet. I remember 
once mentioning to a foreign diplomat here in Washington that the 
United States is getting tired of being the world's policeman. This 
gentleman turned to me and said, ``So you would prefer China and Russia 
filling the vacuum? You would now prefer that we negotiate with China 
or Russia the global issues that will affect the life and death 
struggles of many nations that look up to America as their last hope 
for freedom and for economic and political stability?'' Mr. Speaker, I 
had to think again about what this diplomat said to me and wondered 
what would this world be like if America was not the premier leader of 
the free world, if America was to take the third or fourth seat down 
the line and allow China or Russia to lead the world on issues that 
affect the lives of every human being living in this world.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to stay the course, let the 
President lead this Nation, and that we should support his efforts to 
resolve the crisis in Kosovo. And if it becomes necessary that we 
utilize whatever force of arms to bring Milosevic to properly negotiate 
a peace agreement in that area of the world, so be it. And let us 
remember those three soldiers who are now held as hostages in 
Yugoslavia.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Major Logoleo and his administrative 
staff, the instructors of the Junior ROTC program, and more especially 
some 1,000 high school cadet students who participate in this program. 
My only hope is that in the future the program will continue to give 
these young people excellent training in leadership, organization and a 
love and appreciation of the principles that our Nation was

[[Page H2456]]

founded upon, equality, freedom and democracy.

                          ____________________