[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 81 (Tuesday, June 2, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5982-S5983]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      YEAR OF THE MILITARY FAMILY

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the 
Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of S. Res. 165, submitted 
earlier today.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 165) to encourage the recognition of 
     2009 as the ``Year of the Military Family.''

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. LEVIN. Madam President, there are more than 1.8 million family 
members of active duty servicemembers and an additional 1.1 million 
family members of reserve component members. Every one of these 
families makes sacrifices each and every day along with their 
servicemember and plays a very significant role in serving our country.
  Military families often face unique challenges and difficulties 
throughout their loved one's career, including frequent relocations to 
bases across the country and overseas as well as the various demands 
stemming from continued deployments of members from every service. The 
Nation must ensure that all the needs of military dependent children 
and spouses are being met. The life of a military family member has 
never been an easy one, but in our 8th year of war, families are facing 
even more hardships.
  Deployments are an undeniable strain on families. While a 
servicemember is away, spouses are often forced into the role of a 
single parent--juggling employment, child care, and household duties 
each and every day, all the while living with the pressure of having a 
family member deployed to a combat zone. Families are an integral part 
of the force, and stress on the force affects overall readiness.
  Servicemembers will experience less stress in the field if they are 
assured their families are well taken care of back home. And it is 
imperative that families remain as resilient as possible in order to 
provide a stable environment for loved ones when they return home from 
those deployments. Families are often the first line of defense against 
posttraumatic stress and suicide, but may be experiencing similar 
feelings themselves. We must ensure that families and servicemembers 
have timely access to mental health resources and programs. We must 
make every dependent aware of the resources available to them to assist 
in everything from finances to job placement to health care and 
counseling.
  Thousands of military family members have taken it upon themselves to 
confront these challenges by volunteering to provide critical 
assistance during deployments to servicemembers, their spouses, and 
children, as well as giving vital support to families relocating to a 
new area. And sadly, many families have made the ultimate sacrifice in 
the loss of a servicemember who proudly defended our Nation.
  We in Congress have tried to do our part to help, and have made 
family support programs and initiatives a priority. In recent bills we 
have called for: the establishment of a Department of Defense Military 
Family Readiness Council; education, training, and tuition assistance 
to help spouses maintain careers; respite care for parents caring for 
children on their own due to deployments; authorized increased levels 
of Impact Aid for military dependents' education; and established and 
supported the nationwide expansion of the Department's Yellow Ribbon 
Reintegration Program which is aimed at helping members and families of 
the Guard and Reserve. But there is still more to do.
  With President and Mrs. Obama placing the support of our military 
families among their top priorities, we must take this opportunity to 
renew our commitment and express our deepest appreciation to military 
family members who bravely serve this Nation alongside their 
servicemembers. It is my hope that this Year of the Military Family 
inspires us, the Department of Defense, the military Services, and 
Americans everywhere to commit to helping military families and 
servicemembers in any way we can, and to ensure that these strong men, 
women, and children are given the recognition, appreciation, and 
support that they so truly deserve.
  Mr. McCAIN. Madam President, it is my privilege to support S. Res. 
165, a resolution encouraging the recognition of 2009 as the ``Year of 
the Military Family.'' I am honored to be an original cosponsor of this 
resolution, along with my colleagues on the Committee on Armed 
Services, Senator Levin, Senator Ben Nelson and Senator Graham.
  Our Nation is honored by the brave men and women who selflessly risk 
their lives for our freedom, and by their families, who accept risks, 
both known and unknown, in support of their country and loved ones who 
serve. The programs and resources our Nation provides must match the 
quality of the service and sacrifice of military families. That is why 
I and others fought so hard to include a special provision in the post-
9/11 G.I. bill to allow career service members the opportunity to share 
the educational benefits that they earn with their immediate family 
members.
  Many military families are distinguished by generations, who have 
served, from the American Revolution, to the American Civil War, World 
Wars, Korea, Vietnam, the first gulf war and recent conflicts. The 
resolution before us today recognizes the contributions and resilience 
of all military families, and especially those who have endured 
multiple deployments, or the loss of a loved one who answered the call 
to service and paid the ultimate price in defense of our Nation.
  SFC Kimberly Hazelgrove was serving as an intelligence expert in the 
U.S. Army when she received the news on January 23, 2004, that her 
husband, Army CW2 Brian Hazelgrove, had died. His helicopter crashed on 
its return from a combat mission in northern Iraq. On that tragic day, 
Kimberly Hazelgrove became a survivor of an American hero. But, like so 
many whose spouses have died as a consequence of their service to our 
Nation, she is also a hero in her own right. Kimberly had to abandon 
her own promising military career to care for four young children. She 
struggled, with the help of family and friends, to start over--to 
transition to civilian life, to find employment in which to apply her 
military skills, and return to school--and with courage and 
determination she succeeded. Today she balances a new career with the 
needs of the children that she and Brian had planned to raise, and has 
never abandoned her selfless advocacy on behalf of survivors of the 
fallen. Kimberly Hazelgrove represents the essence of service and 
sacrifice of military families, and I salute her.
  Not all military families are defined only as the service member, a 
spouse,

[[Page S5983]]

and children. Many of the young men and women serving our country are 
unmarried and identify as a family with their parents and siblings. My 
friend 1LT Andrew Kinard graduated from the Naval Academy in 2005 and 
chose to lead Marines in Iraq. Andrew deployed as a platoon leader with 
the Second Marine Division in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 
September 2006. He was gravely wounded by an IED attack while leading a 
security patrol in Al Anbar Province. His father Harry immediately left 
his surgical practice so that he could buoy Andrew's spirit through 
dozens of surgeries that followed. His mother, Mary, remained with 
Andrew for 5 more months after her husband returned to his medical 
practice. The separation that Andrew's parents and siblings endured 
represents a family's selfless sacrifice, to support Andrew and his 
quality of life even as he faced many surgeries and grueling physical 
therapy. Andrew Kinard is now a retired marine and will enter Harvard 
Law School in the fall. The Kinard family represents the unifying, 
supportive force of a military family that helps a service member 
survive the most grievous wounds of war, and then get back to the 
important work of citizenship. I salute them.
  MAJ Brian Love is a Green Beret. His family accompanied him to 
assignment in Germany where, in 2004, their son Patrick was diagnosed 
with autism. Today Brian and his wife Naomi apply the unique problem 
solving skills of military special forces to the daily challenge of 
meeting Patrick's complex needs--a challenge compounded by the rigors 
of a career as a military leader, and the uncertain limitations of 
Federal, State and local programs. Major Love has deployed to Iraq 
twice since 2005. He believes that he is a better leader--that his 
family relationships are stronger--for having seen the world through 
the eyes of a child with special needs. Brian is now preparing to 
assume command of an Army special forces unit and faces the possibility 
of future deployments. His service, and that of his wife Naomi, honors 
each of us. Because of their service, and thousands like them, we can 
all view our victories differently. As an emblem of the dedicated 
service of military families and to their children, I salute them.
  Finally, Mary Scott modestly asserts that hers is a ``normal military 
family.'' Her father was killed in 1972 in Vietnam; her husband served 
for 30 years in the U.S. Army; each one of their six children serves 
their nation in the military today. Kate is an Army captain and lawyer 
and now serves in Iraq; Karoline, an Air Force captain and public 
affairs officer; Andy, an Army captain and lawyer who has also deployed 
to Iraq; 1LT Kerney Scott pilots an Army Blackhawk in Korea; 2LT Alec 
Scott is a newly commissioned officer in the Army Chaplain Corps, and 
Cadet Adam Scott, followed his family's well worn path to the U.S. 
Military Academy. ``It's not unusual,'' Mary says, ``for kids to go 
into the family business.''
  All of those whom I have described and their families, live the 
values of military service, and enrich us all. They volunteer and 
advocate on behalf of causes greater than their own. They support one 
another during challenging times, and find that even in difficulty they 
are bound more closely together.
  I rise in support of the resolution encouraging the recognition of 
2009 as the ``Year of the Military Family.'' I salute all military 
families, and it is to their service that I dedicate my own.
  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. I ask unanimous consent the resolution be 
agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid 
upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any 
statements related to the resolution be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 165) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 165

       Whereas there are more than 1.8 million family members of 
     regular component members of the Armed Forces and an 
     additional 1.1 million family members of reserve component 
     members;
       Whereas slightly more than half of all members of the 
     regular and reserve components are married, and just over 40 
     percent of military spouses are 30 years or younger and 60 
     percent of military spouses are under 36 years of age;
       Whereas there are nearly 1.2 million children between the 
     ages of birth and 23 years who are dependents of regular 
     component members, and there are over 713,000 children 
     between such ages who are dependents of reserve component 
     members;
       Whereas the largest group of minor children of regular 
     component members consist of children between the ages of 
     birth and 5 years, while the largest group of minor children 
     of reserve component members consist of children between the 
     ages of 6 and 14 years;
       Whereas the needs, resources, and challenges confronting a 
     military family, particularly when a member of the family has 
     been deployed, vastly differ between younger age children and 
     children who are older;
       Whereas the United States recognizes that military families 
     are also serving their country, and the United States must 
     ensure that all the needs of military dependent children are 
     being met, for children of members of both the regular and 
     reserve components;
       Whereas military families often face unique challenges and 
     difficulties that are inherent to military life, including 
     long separations from loved ones, the repetitive demands of 
     frequent deployments, and frequent uprooting of community 
     ties resulting from moves to bases across the country and 
     overseas;
       Whereas thousands of military family members have taken on 
     volunteer responsibilities to assist units and members of the 
     Armed Forces who have been deployed by supporting family 
     readiness groups, helping military spouses meet the demands 
     of a single parent during a deployment, or providing a 
     shoulder to cry on or the comfort of understanding;
       Whereas military families provide members of the Armed 
     Forces with the strength and emotional support that is needed 
     from the home front for members preparing to deploy, who are 
     deployed, or who are returning from deployment;
       Whereas some military families have given the ultimate 
     sacrifice in the loss of a principal family member in defense 
     of the United States; and
       Whereas 2009 would be an appropriate year to designate as 
     the ``Year of the Military Family'': Now, therefore be it
       Resolved by the Senate, That the Senate--
       (1) expresses its deepest appreciation to the families of 
     members of the Armed Forces who serve, or have served, in 
     defense of the United States;
       (2) recognizes the contributions that military families 
     make, and encourages the people of the United States to share 
     their appreciation for the sacrifices military families give 
     on behalf of the United States; and
       (3) encourages the people of the United States and the 
     Department of Defense to observe the ``Year of Military 
     Family'' with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

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