[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 71 (Friday, June 9, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E942-E943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  SEEING FIRSTHAND NEW JERSEY'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR NATIONAL DEFENSE

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                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 8, 2000

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to report on a visit I 
made in April of this year to two of the U.S. Army's installations, one 
in California and the other in Arizona.
  Mr. Speaker, the upper Mojave Desert is a long way from Morristown. 
Frankly, when you think of southern California and the desert, you 
conjure up thoughts of oppressive heat, scorching sun and scorpions 
underfoot.
  During the Congressional Easter ``recess,'' I spent several days 
visiting Fort Irwin, home of the National Training Center and the U.S. 
Army's premier field combat training facility. There is nothing like it 
anywhere in the world, according to what I heard and saw during my 
visit.
  For almost two years now, I have had added to my assignment on the 
House Appropriations Committee, a seat on the Subcommittee on Defense, 
which includes budget jurisdiction over all of our nation's branches of 
the Armed Services and our national intelligence agencies.
  Whenever possible, I try to visit military installations, bases and 
especially our young troops in the field. After all, these young men 
and women need to know that Members of Congress appreciate what they do 
and that we are committed to their safety, proper training, and the 
acquisition of the best equipment and technology available.
  I saw firsthand the battlefield realism that the National Training 
Center provides. That location in the desert combines the scope, scale, 
and intensity of effort that past and future wars have provided.
  Take for example, the Persian Gulf War. On the morning of February 
24, 1991, combat-ready U.S. military forces launched the land phase of 
the Persian Gulf War with the objective of removing Iraqi forces from 
the Republic of Kuwait. One hundred hours later, they accomplished 
their objective.
  The majority of U.S. soldiers contributing to this victory received 
their combat field training at the National Training Center at Fort 
Irwin. Their success on the battlefields of Iraq and Kuwait confirmed 
that authentic, real-time combat training leads to decisive victory.

[[Page E943]]

  It is also at Fort Irwin that our New Jersey National Guard units, as 
well as active duty Army battalions from all across the world, train to 
be soldiers, improving their fighting skills without actual loss of 
life or loss of equipment.
  As fate would have it, I did meet with some members of the New Jersey 
National Guard's 1-114th Infantry Battalion as they got ready to fight 
in a mock battle with the regular stationed force. It was very cold out 
there and I even got caught in a blinding sandstorm as the temperatures 
dropped down below freezing.
  About 5500 U.S. soldiers are deployed to the National Training Center 
to engage in a strenuous 28 day training event called a ``rotation'' 
twelve times a year--you really have to admire these young men and 
women.
  From the sands of the Mojave and the arduous training at Ft. Irwin, I 
visited the Yuma Proving Grounds in Yuma, Arizona. At this facility, 
the Army tests weapons and munitions. Much of the technology tested at 
Yuma, near the Mexican border, is researched and developed in our own 
backyard at Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway Township.
  I had the good fortune of witnessing a test of the Crusader, an 
advanced tank artillery system that, as I mentioned, is designed at 
Picatinny Arsenal. In fact, the Crusader is one of Picatinny's major 
projects.
  The Crusader is the Army's future heavy artillery system and it will 
provide more reliable, more lethal firepower on the battlefield. The 
Crusader can fire faster, and more accurately than any existing tank or 
fighting vehicle in the Army's inventory. During tests at Yuma, the 
Crusader showed its stuff by successfully firing a round nearly 40 km!
  I look forward to showing Defense Secretary William Cohen where 
Crusader research and development takes place when he visits Picatinny 
on May 26. 1 have pursued his visit for several years because I believe 
it is important for the Defense Secretary to see firsthand the amazing 
work being done by the talented men and women of Picatinny--work that 
is critical to America's national security. I am glad Secretary Cohen 
has accepted my invitation to visit Picatinny; it's the first time in 
Picatinny's long history that a Secretary of Defense will have visited.
  Finally, back in Washington, last week my committee, the Defense 
Appropriations Subcommittee, gave its approval to our nation's military 
and intelligence programs for fiscal year 2001, including those 
critical programs at Picatinny and New Jersey's other military 
installations. You can be sure that I will continue working to 
strengthen our military.
  Most especially, I will continue working to see to it that our young 
soldiers are properly paid, have decent housing, and child care, 
remembering that 65 percent of our all-volunteer force is married, many 
with children. After all, these young men and women and their sense of 
self-sacrifice and duty, continue to serve as an inspiration for all 
Americans.

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