Environmental concern, the financial concern, which is a lot of individuals in oakland. It is this in the feeling of sadness when you see wasted food. There is something within us that we cannot name, and it is difficult to talk about. That is something we are trying to tap him as well. We have different angles. Thealk about how 25 of freshwater used in Food Production goes to food we never eat. We talk about how one in six people in Alameda County do not know where the next meal is going to come from. The majority are children or Senior Citizens. We talk about the financial implications that up to 2200 a year for the average consumer and what they are spending on food they never eat. We do a lot of different levels. I think the Biggest Issue is it is coalition building, working together. We need macro and micro change. In the trenches, we need more food recovery programs. We need people working on gleaming programs. We need to figure out different ways that in everyday practice we get food from what would be the trashcan and into peoples bellies. We also need macro change. We talk about policy changes. We need to evaluate the way food recovery operates. The other issue we are finding is that, for example, San Francisco food runners is an amazing program. 200 volunteers. They moved 15 tons of food a week. They are just making a dent in the food that goes to waste in this city. Art of the issue is, they are going for foundation funding. They are in the meyer a lot of us in the nonprofit world are in. Payare not able to volunteers and cannot provide reliable service. How do we change that . We are working on a job training and job placement program. We cany, we can use train people. We can pay them to recover food, to process food. That money comes back not as profit, but goes back into the programs. We can get another Grocery Store on board, another restaurant. Another program we are working on in terms of restaurants started in brazil. It is similar to a program out of austin, texas. Inis encouraging consumers restaurants to have smaller portions. For example, you have a restaurant that signs on, and they can offer an entree that is about 2 3 of the size but the same price. The difference goes toward a local nonprofit working to end childhood hunger. These different tactics made to Work Together and we need to Work Together to be able to, when we have a client that comes in or an issue you know what . That is not what we do. ,et me tell you about lean pass and how they can help a large scale Grocery Store deal with waste in terms of production. You want to chime in . That is interesting technology. They are starting to be developed related to oxygen. Oxygen is the key factor affecting food. For it to age. There is one Company Called fresh paper and one called blue apple that have created products you can have in your refrigerator that you can put with your produce. It extends the shelf life anywhere from five days to up to three weeks. There are technologies that are now becoming developed. There are technologies that are coaching fruits and vegetables in a vegetablebased gel that extends the shelf life of them. There are other innovative practices that Forward Thinking Companies are using. We have a Company Called organic girl. You may have seen the product in the markets. It is an organic salad business. I have created in their own packaging some oxygen deprivation. It reduces the amount of oxidation that occurs in food. Aslso are focused on soon as it is picked in the morning, within 24 hours, that project is in your store. There are ways that even the growers can become much more efficient. It is truly economical for them to do this. For those who want to reduce food waste farmers hate seeing this food being thrown away. We all hate seeing the green mike in our refrigerator. There is a San Franciscobased company which is using interesting applications for consumers, forgiving recipes. When you have stuff that is aging, you can cut it up. You can make a sauce or a soup. Reduce the 23 figure, which is so significant. I think it is worth tensioning on this topic there is a lot of great writing on this. Food labels, expiration dates there is no uniformity and standard there. It is up to the food manufacturer what they put on there. That anchor may mean something or may not. Typically, it would signify what should be moved out of retail. It may have months over for duration life. Does anyone want to speak to innovation in that space and Consumer Education . To your first question, one of the things i can say as far as education get some teenagers on board. They will get out there and tell everybody what you are telling them, and make her parents do what i am telling them to do. They are very effective and persistent. They are super irritating when they get on their soapbox. That i havehings been trying to work on, as far as what do we do with all the food . For instance, i think you were talking about recipes for different things. We see things like bananas will come in. That and salad greens are constant. Once they look a certain way, people do not want them. It has nothing to do with taste or what you can do with the banana. It has only to do with the fact that it has got burned on it. Trying to educate people around aesthetics can be really difficult. I would say generational. Innovative in that space with these foods salad greens, i have not figured out what to do it. You have to eat them or compost them. That is what i do. With bananas, i have discovered different ways you can use them. Art of it is the reeducation process for me is for me as well. I am noticing i have to change the way i think about things in order to create something out of them. I am fine with eating brown bananas. I think they taste good myself. Have five cases are brown bananas, suddenly you hate them with a passion. I have probably eight different recipes that i have just figured out. Recipes, and there are none. I have the recipes, if you want them. Is notcation process just about educating other people. It is about educating ourselves as well. It is about understanding what we need to do. I think i just circumvented your whole question and went bananas. Rate, the education process really does start at home first. It starts with act with asking certain questions about what we will eat. These atrisk kids i work with these are from families where homes are broken. The mother might be in jail because she did something to the dad, or the dad might be in jail because he did something to the mom. Or they shot somebody they were pissed off at because they were drunk. These kids do not always eat that night. What they eat is often what i am bringing them from whole foods, or just donated to me. These are the kids that need food. I will go to the local high school where kids have money, and they do not need food so much. But when you talk to these different demographics, the kids who need food for who you think do not know anything actually are a lot more open to listening to what i have to say than the kids who have food. That blew me away. I did not expect kids who are educated, who come from good families, that they would not want to listen. I do not want to change their habits, because it is too hard. It is too hard to take something from your refrigerator that is going to keep your food from turning brown. It is hard to move your food from the back to the front. It is easier to just stick it in when you get it. That is the attitude a lot of these kids have. I was like, little punk. I went to the atrisk kids, and they listen to what i said, because nobody had said it to them before. There were not being inundated with media or their ipad or iphone, or their nanny or whatever. It would listen to what i said and would make a change. They would take the tomato they use in their households, as most of them are hispanic, and they would cut the brown spot off of it rather than throwing it away. As they started doing that, their mom started to do it. Made be their brother never will do it, but their grandma started to do it. Dad would not throw the tomato away, and would wait for mom to cut it. I know we are talking about cultural differences, but the fact is, behaviors started to change. I am small. I only had eight employees over this last year. I am cycling it through my Insurance Business to afford it. The fact of the matter is, i did see change. It is possible. The education process does require a lot of work and passion. We can figure out a way to clone my dna. Then, we will be able to do it. A topic for another time, perhaps. Retail is still a problem. This is where you deal with the consumer picking this issue. I know you are both addressing this with their respective operations. Question . Re economics if you drop the price low enough, people are happy to take it . Or create value where there was none, the distribution part of the supply chain . What do you see work, and what does not question mark we waste around 28 of the produce we buy at a supermarket. Produce makes up 10 of sales, but 15 of problems. If we were to cut down our produce waste to 14 , we would go from profit to loss. Right now tontial america. If we stop wasting food, the entire economy would go into hardier arrest. It would be like a longtime alcoholic going dry cold turkey. It would be catastrophic. Readpportunity if you danas report, 10 of freshwater, 20 of freshwater, eight percent of the energy, and 25 of the land. If we, as consumers, stop wasting money, supermarkets would be laying off people. We did not get into this touation overnight. We need restructure the american economy. It is a longterm process, but it has to be done because of the resources we are burning through. What we are trying to do here is invest in new sectors. You can recapture some of that energy if you do it right. It is tough, but you can do it. You can use some food to feed animals, to replace chemical fertilizers. That is a lot of displacement of existing investments and lobbying dollars. That it requires organization. The other thing is, we have come to look at hunger as a monolithic thing. People million hungry number is a result of answering the question, in the last year, did you feel hungry, or did you worry about your next meal is coming from . That creates people on the streets with longterm comorbidities, with people who just lost their job and will not get another one. What are the behaviors that lead to hunger and the behaviors that lead to waste . For example, Senior Citizens a lot of them are hungry and have poor nutritional outcomes, because when the spouse dies, they do not like to be or cook alone. And who does . There are programs of College Students going in, not just dropping off the meal, but sitting down and eating. You can do all sorts of things with social media to put people together. If you look at it simply as a logistics program, it is always going to boil down to a cultural problem. D. C. Central kitchen, starting retired marine corps, spent 30 years in the marine corps, i started running the greater chicago food depository, and brought it up to speed logistically. Change the face of the industry. Can have all the Freight Management systems. Ultimately, it comes down to culture. Build a new has to economy and a new culture. That is the goal. That is what you do. Essentiallysaying this is all about economics at some point. It is really hard for the farmer, for the retailer, to look at this and justify making investments and changing relatively entrenched industries to say, how can we make this more efficient . How can we make this more profitable for us . The key driver we are seeing is more of a moral issue. We want to do well. We want to look at this issue. No one wants to throw the food away. Originally our first customer was walmart. We took this idea to walmart to reduce food waste. The not going to quote numbers, but it is insanely high, the food they throw away each year. Everyore they measure piece of food that goes through their system, and they know what is happening with it. We gave them some solutions. What they ended up doing is realizing there was an opportunity for them to change their supply chain and look at their purchasing patterns and how they take certain of their products. And take it to distribution centers. They probably bought so much they will never have enough consumer demand, because they get so much at such great prices. Hold it there, and figure out producty can take that them donate that food. They are donating. The numbers are, once again, so large. They truly are interested in caring. They want to do this. It is going to start with his feelgood basis. The economics behind this are really important and really valuable. Not just where it is lost, but where there is true profit margin opportunity. As of the tools we are bringing forward, and the partners that have those tools. It shows there are really significant economics and we do not just have to accept the fact that we are going to throw away a certain amount of our food, whoever we are and wherever we are in the supply change. Supply chain. Walmart can tell if anyone has a leaky seal. They can read the temperature in any cooler. Most food banks cannot tell you where the trucks are. Everyone in the supply chain, 24 7, 365. Food banks are open monday through friday. They do not have the money. Omar can vary every food bank in produce every day of the week. Food banks are the problem. They do not have the resources to move that food. They should be in the composting business, so they are always the answer to problems. I should aggregate it someplace so you can get it in without using more gas than you generate. When walmart says do it, every walmart in the world would do it. The culture is solvable on the business end. It is the nonprofits, the charities, that do not have the iran nonprofits for years. How would you like to do it . At some point, the policy issue is not just food policy or tax benefit policy. Do you really give these people the resources to do what you say you are going to do . It is not just shoving food into a hopper. It is a real question. Do we want to make the investment it takes to do it the right way . A quick comment. We have multiple business articles, colleges and universities, health care, casinos, hotels the ones we have had the most challenging time with our the retail. You obviously have more exposure than i do. First of all, it was a concept of, waste is negligence. To jobre, it could lead insecurity. There are a lot of reasons. It all comes down to economics. They dont want to see the numbers. They did not want to have to create a solution. We are still struggling with it. We know there is a huge amount there. Depending on how big they are or how small they are, they are receptive. The bigger they get it is a thing here. They are exposing me to stuff i had not thought too. I thought psychology was not ready to see that in black and white. Stunning sudden things. I want to invite audience questions. Make your way to the microphone. I am going to ask one final question of the panelists, and request short answers. The European Union they have a common food waste policy across 27 different countries. Foodhave a target of 50 waste reduction and a 20 reduction of food chain inputs by 2020. That is an aggressive goal. On the heels of the least productive session of the u. S. Congress in history, is there something we can do on par with that, federal or state level food reduction targets . Or is there something people in the audience should be asking representatives to do to grease the wheels for your various goals . Is there something missing that the government could spur . As i mentioned before, in the state of california, there is actually legislation that is sector to dealte with organic waste, or a diversion from landfills by 2020. Really make people confront that. Interest in other places, where people are realizing there is an economic benefit to do it. We are starting to see that type of legislation in the United States. One thing i would say about europe as well is, the biogas the European Biogas Association or german Biogas Association they have digesters and are expecting that to increase to by 2020. They are putting a big emphasis on biogas. We are seeing that in california, and it is creeping up other places. There really will be movement in that direction. A section of the irs code needs to be changed to give a credit. That will spur a lot of movement. The federal Food Waste Reduction act is the most hypocritical thing you have ever read. Will requireators the contractor to take measures to reduce food waste and to recover food. They said the administrator shall in take financial responsibility for those efforts. If that were true, you guys would be able to find yourselves like that. Make some change. I already said it. Eens. He tt we launched a petition to the epa administrators. There was a project called the food too good to waste toolkit. It is aimed at municipalities, but expanding. Them to put their backing and funding behind this toolkit. There are people giving cooking lessons. There are Training Programs for people who are interested in spreading the word about food may food waste and what you can do with that. Go to our website and sign that petition, and help us get epa funding behind the toolkit. I am sorry to say there is not any optimism there. To become educated is the process. The more we become educated in understanding what we can do in our own personal life and personal homes, and how we can thegrate that. And for businesses, understand how it is truly an economic benefit for them, whether it is profit driven or marketing, branding, and feeling good about it. That is the approach we think is going to drive the change we need to see happen. On the not confident federal level, but i have a lot of confidence in the system, dealing with a lot of municipalities that are very accurate very active. They are putting bans on local organics in the landfill. Right now, it is very bottomup. I am very pleased with the level of specificity. We had the tax code cited over there. One of the things that i think is very important is how we frame this. We say, there are lots of problems with food waste. There are lots of problems everywhere. But there is not just a problem. There are opportunities now. Thatf us are in things now did not exist before. I am sure you are involved in movements that did not exist before. This is not just about the problem of food waste. It is about the opportunities that did not exist before, making sure people are aware of the opportunities. People hear about problems every day. But what could happen there that was not before . That is where we could make headway. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2013] about covering washington politics and elections. Catch the entire conversation beginning at 7 00 eastern. Led to thevents that u. S. Senate changing its rules surrounding the filibustering of president ial nominees. We will show you how it happened, with a reaction from readers. Plus, a conversation with alex rogers, who covered the issue this year. 9 00, a look at elena roosevelt, the first first lady to travel overseas. Ms. Roosevelt held regular News Conference advocating on behalf of fdrs policies, and later served as a delegate to the united nations. We explore the life and legacy of eleanor roosevelt. Over the weekend, a Memorial Service was held at the lockerbie memorial at Arlington National cemetery. The victims killed fromg the pan am flight london to new york city. Among the casualties were 189 americans, including 35 Syracuse University students who had been studying abroad. Speakers include eric holder, tsa administrator john pistole, and robert mueller. He led the investigation as head of the Justice DepartmentCriminal Division at the time. The ceremony was 45 minutes. [applause] thank you, mary kay, for that kind introduction. I hold you personally responsible for the weather today. Congratulations. [laughter] it has been said time heals all wounds. You here know that that is not necessarily true. I always are member, will never forget one of the visits i made to lockerbie, where he had the occasion to see the small wooden warehouse in which were stored the various effects of your loved ones. A white sneaker, a syracuse sweatshirt, christmas presents, photographs. These ordinary items brought home to me came to symbolize for me your pain and your loss, pain and loss that have not diminished even after so many years. They brought home to me the certainty that not all losses are equal. In those early days, you live the words of king david from psalm 11. Fly away like a bird to the mountain, for the wicked have drawn their bows and aim their arrows to shoot from the shadows at good people, and there is nothing a good person can do when everything falls apart. And yet you did not fly away. You did not hide. You stood your ground and maintain the courage of your convictions day after day and year after year. You sought answers and accountability. You sought solace through memorials, lovingly undertaken by so many around the world, and you worked diligently to ensure that other families would not have to endure such suffering. Through your actions, through the lives you had led and choices you have made, we see that there is much a good person can do when the world falls apart. You created light out of darkness, and out of that light has come a Lasting Legacy. A legacy of courage in the face of the greatest anniversary, a adversity. A legacy of solidarity and friendship in the face of isolation, and loneliness. A legacy of peace and understanding in the face of hatred. There can be no greater legacy than that. For many years now, we have stood together to mark this dark day. As we do so, we mark your strengths and your steadfastness. We mark the love between parent and child, husband and wife, sister and brother, friends and family alike, and we mark the friendship of like nations united in a common cause. Time cannot heal all wounds, and yet time breathes and shifts with the seasons, much like the storms of winter herald spring and the warmth of the sun. Time does swallow pain and burnish is the sweetest of memories. Time ensures that nothing remains firmly in place, nothing but the promise of better days to come, the promise of hope, and the promise of light. Today, may the thought of your loved ones bring a smile to your lips. May you feel the warmth of those who have blessed your lives, even for too brief a time, and may we continue to do everything in our power to ensure a world that is safe and secure for all. May god bless you, your families, and your loved ones. Thank you. [applause] i let him get away too fast. The victims of pan am flight 103, our organization is based on four objectives. Seeking the truth, providing emotional support, improving Aviation Security and safety, and combating terrorism. There is an award we set aside for some special recipients. It is called keeping the spirit alive. It was developed to recognize the person or persons who over a long period of time have succeeded in keeping the government and public aware of the important Lessons Learned from this terrorist action. We honor those working with the victims of pan am flight 103, to achieve these goals while remembering those lost by keeping their spirits alive. I would like to present this award to robert mueller. [applause] good afternoon. I have another introduction much like mary kays of a longtime friend of the pan am families. The attorney general of the United States is, to my mind, ahead of the most important government agency. He is the nations top lawyer, much like frank mulholland, he doesnt have a title hes not called reverend wright, honorable, whatever it is. [laughter] they dont even call our attorney general secretary, but the department which has thousands and thousands of lawyers, many of whom are here today, and fbi members are here today, but it is an agency to some of us, its the most important. If you ask someone what the word justice means, i asked 10 people out there. You would probably get at least five different answers. Another five would google it and see what wikipedia says justice means. We know what it means. We have an innate feeling of what it is. Its the main reason our group was formed. Were not there yet. We are very close, and their close because of people like eric holder, who has worked on this case from the very beginning, and kept us apprised of what was going on to the extent he could. Hes been here several times. Last year the weather was terrible and he had to leave because he said his boss had called a meeting. If you are in cabinet, you know who the boss is. He said, i will be here next year. And he is. We are very honored to have the chief lawyer of the United States, and a longtime friend of the families. Eric holder. [applause] good afternoon. Thank you for those kind words, and for your many years of service and leadership alongside your fellow members of the families of the victims of pan am flight 10 three. 103 i would also like to recognize the dedicated Public Servants here today, including my dear friend bob mueller, who has been involved in this case since he led the Justice Departments criminal justice division. That was more than two decades ago. A tenacious former Justice Department prosecutors from the u. S. Attorneys office in washington, d. C. Worked tirelessly on this case for over 20 years. A u. S. Attorney from the Northern District of new york, whose sister was aboard flight 103 on that fateful night. He became an original member of the Victims Group which calls for a president ial commission on airport security. I know the ricks mother and sister and their families are among the many family members in the crowd today. I had a chance to meet with them yesterday in the Justice Department. Although a quartercentury passed since the world was shaken, and so many lives were devastated by a heinous and cowardly act of terror, no amount of distance or time can ease the pain or erase a loss that was inflicted on that day. Even now it is difficult to comprehend the magnitude of a senseless crime that claimed the lives of 259 innocent men, women, and children in the skies above scotland, all with lives of 11 residents of the peaceful town of lockerbie. Some were traveling to the u. S. For the very first time. Some were enjoying quiet evenings with their families. Some were on their way to visit with friends and relatives. Some were subtly trying to come home. And although their respective journeys and individual lives were cut tragically short, all will continue to be dearly loved and deeply missed by everyone who knew them, and especially by those who come together on this patch of what is truly Hallowed Ground each year to pay tribute to the lives that were stolen, and heal those who were irreparably changed. We will always member the heartache and the pain that was etched into our collective memory on the 21st of december, 1988. We also recall as we gather each year the tremendous generosity of the scottish people, in particular the people of lockerbie, who despite their own losses, open their homes to the families and victims who streamed into that small town from around the world in the days after the bombing. In the midst of their anguish, these generous men and women gave what comfort they could offer. They shared what solace they could provide. We recall the determination that the families and victim advocates to join together to seek answers and understanding. Some of these individuals, including many of the current and former fbi agents, Justice Department, prosecutors and other officials who are with us today help selflessly defined the quest for justice in the aftermath of this crime as their lifes work. More than anything, as we assemble in this place of remembrance year after year, we recall the moments of unity and of love that have arisen from the grief that we share. We remember the occasions that have brought this community together. Not only in morning, but in search of healing and hope. And in celebration of the extraordinary lives. They bind us together. We keep calling for change and fighting for justice on behalf of those no longer with us. We rededicate ourselves and our nation to the quality that defined the men and women that we lost. We continue to be drawn together every year on this date, faces old and faces new, friends long departed, and members of fresh generations, including some who bear the names of absent loved ones to lend our voices to this solemn memorial homage. To hear stories and to exchange joyous memories. And to be part of a community that, a quartercentury after that terrible day, is still striving to build from an unspeakable evil and Lasting Legacy of compassion, fellowship, and love. Today, this legacy is all around us, and it is very much alive. It lives in the resolve that brings us together and pushes us forward each day. It persists in our unfinished but ongoing work to see that justice is done and to ensure that those who commit acts of terror are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. It endures in our determination to secure a Brighter Future for ourselves and our fellow citizens, a future that is free from hatred and senseless discretion that has touched your senseless destruction that has touched your lives and far too many others great may our continuing efforts serve as a monument to those who were taken from us 25 years ago. May we never tire in our work to forge a society and a world worthy of the empathy and grace that unites this remarkable group. And may god bless the memories of those we have lost. The cause of justice that we are humbled to serve. And the great nation we will forever hold the victims of pan am flight 103 in our hearts. Each of the loving families as well that we hold near and dear in our hearts. Thank you all. [applause] the next thing on our program is playing taps. And the wreath laying. I would ask that everybody stand for that. We will have the wreath laying first, and then taps. The wreath laying is by several family members. You may be seated. The next part in the program is we have a couple of awards to give out. It says me, but im not going to hand them out, and i would ask for glen johnson and brian flynn, if they would please come forward and help me with this next part of the program. There have been very many people who have been able to devote their talents to helping this organization, people we do not always acknowledge. I would like to take this time to take a couple and let them know how much we really appreciate what they have done. They have worked with her organization for a long time. They have done so much for us, in ways in which they do not receive recognition. When they took our little newsletter and in three years created it into the news we are able to publish not only for our families, but also for others in the government and people who want to help us in our efforts, it is a worthy publication of which everyone is aware of. Also, every time we have been able to put on a major event, they have been working very diligently to prepare and let everyone see what we are about. If we take a look today at the program, you will see the quality. There is a lot of love and work that has gone into this, and steve and wendy, would you come forward, i would like to show appreciation from the organization. [applause] the first thing i would like to do is thank the victims of pan am flight 103. It is amazing when Extraordinary People come together and accomplish extraordinary things. Mary kay and frank and a group of families that have come together through the years have inspired us. I want to thank them. I am quite honored to sit here and pay tribute to my mother. That is quite stressful. You might imagine. I better not screw that up. Kathleen has been a tireless crusader from the moment she learned her son was murdered on pan am flight 103. When she first learned about what was called an accident, she knew seconds later it was a bombing. Mothers have an instinct about this thing. Also, suspicious mothers have especially strong instinct about such things. I remembered more than two weeks after the bombing we went over to lockerbie, and i saw my mother crossed the room and start lecturing Margaret Thatcher about how justice had to be done. I thought, what is she doing . But that was just her getting started. Her good friend, ann mclachlan, i remember kathleen on the phone with her. We were not getting much sleep back then. I was half asleep on the couch. I remember her yelling at her friend, saying, i will not have my son die in vain. Justice has to be done. I knew then that even though my brother was dead that our lives were going to change. When ann was asked to lead the commission to investigate what happened and how i could have been prevented, she knew she had no choice, or kathleen would have killed her as well. [applause] [laughter] the family moved to washington very early that year, by coincidence or serendipity. Kathleen helped work with frank and and on the commission as a pseudostaff member. She walked the halls of congress. She quickly became a force. She made many trips back to new york to join protests at the u. N. People in the situations often use their gifts for different things. Kathleen had many gifts, and one of which was imposed on her by the nuns at marymount, the gift of the pen. Kathleen wrote opeds for the new york times, the daily record, and dozens of others. She made hundreds of tv and radio appearances, including a memorable one where she accomplished the impossible. She shamed Alan Dershowitz on the today show, not an easy feat. Alan was considering supporting fema and quickly changed his mind after facing kathleen. She also served as a commissioner on the president ial commission on Aviation Security, representing the families of victims of pan am 103. During the trial, she told her husband, were not leaving until there is a verdict. Which she did. On the day of the verdict, kathleen was scheduled for Breast Cancer surgery. After watching closedcircuit television, she hopped in a cab to get to her appointment. The verdict was too important, and her surgery would have to wait. I remember the doctor saying, why cant you get here on time . She made her son and daughter inlaw to bear witness. We were given very specific instructions on what our messaging points were, which appeared in an oped in the wall street journal. She has used her gifts and her passion to honor her justice, protect others from the act of terrorism, and to honor her country. With all this, she still managed to be a great mom. Thanks. [applause] this is mary lous niece, and she will perform a beyonce song probably as good or better than beyonce. [laughter] what i left behind i wont regret ey wont forget i love you it was more than i wanted and more than i thought it would be i want to say ill live each day until i die i know that i was something in somebodys eyes the hearts i have touched will be the proof that i lived that i made a difference and this world will see i was here i lived i loved i was here i did ive done everything that i wanted and it was more than i thought it would be i will leave my mark so everyone will know i was here i lived i loved i was here i did ive done everything that i wanted and it was more than i thought it would be i will leave my mark so everyone will know i was here i just want them to know i gave my all did my best brought the world some happiness left this world a little better just because i was here i was here i lived i was here i was here was here what will you do . I was here [applause] thank you. That was beautiful. It really, really was. In addition to thanking diane, i want to make sure i think the choir. They first started singing for us because i think mary kay used to go to that church many years ago, when she lived in virginia. She got the connection started. They have been coming back ever since. They have been wonderful. We have a new piper this yes. Yes, thank you. [applause] we have a new piper this year, ray bilter. Our piper we had the last few years has injured his hand. I do not know if he will be able to continue. But i thought ray did a magnificent job. We will have scottish pipers a little bit later. If they want to come back, i will be glad for them to. You will hear them later. Anyway, i do want to make note of the people that have helped us a lot in this service. The arlington people that have been over backwards. We have already mentioned steve. We could not do this ourselves, melanie and me. Our next it says in the program that the next speaker will be fbi director james komi. There are things that changed in this program. He is out of town. He sends his regrets. That was an unavoidable thing that happened after the program had been printed. Anyway, he is not here. But i get to introduce our next speaker, who is the head of the tsa. And he is a wonderful man that has been coming for the last i dont know. Three or four years, maybe. He has been the tsa administrator since july 2010, and he is in charge of 450 airports across the United States, and the air marshal program, and security for highways and railroads. All kinds of transit systems and stuff. Before that, he was an fbi agent. We have got plenty of fbi guys here, former and present. And i i wish i talked to him earlier, because this year was kind of a rough year for him. This is the first time in the tsa history that they have lost an agent in the line of duty. Hernandez, right . We offer our condolences. But i would like to welcome tsa director john pistole right now. [applause] thank you. It is good to be here once again as we gather together to thank you. It is good to be here once again as we gather together to remember those souls that were lost that fateful day 25 years ago now. It is good to see so many people again, whether you have come have come from scotland or from syracuse or anywhere else. Welcome. These grounds at Arlington National cemetery know no borders. It belongs to you. I appreciate the opportunity to speak once again as we commemorate that event and the lives that were lost. As we have noted in ceremonies past, there is nothing we can say to undo the horror or lasting damage caused by the monstrous and cowardly act of terror carried out over lockerbie. Yet we see the ability of the human spirit to heal and grow at in the loving eyes and faces of our children and grandchildren. There is some comfort. The healing that began following that unspeakable act will continue as young ones grow older and are taught to Carry Forward the memories of those we honor here today. Even though the pain of your loss may be somewhat tempered by the 25 years that have gone by, all of us remain fully committed in our search for the truth and our desire to hold everybody accountable for their crimes. Your advocacy and support in support of earning justice for your loved ones honors them. Those of you who travel every day, whether it is for business, to visit family, or simply to explore the wonders of our world, you deserve to do so safely and securely. This is a small and steady victory over the hatred carried out by terrorists throughout the world. Since being called into Service Following the atrocities of 9 11, the men and women of the Transportation Security Administration have devoted themselves to protecting our freedom to travel. We are eager to safeguard the free flow of goods. We help you world do business free from the district of desires of criminals and terrorists alike. The vigilance of the global Law Enforcement community teaches us lessons that help to strengthen our international Aviation Security efforts and make it less likely that our adversaries can succeed, focusing our resources in such a way as to mitigate this and enables us to stay ahead of those determined to strike fear into the lives of good and decent people. A few weeks ago, we saw the world come together to mourn the loss and celebrate the life of the remarkable nelson mandela. In his struggle, we were reminded that the gears of justice may at times move quite slowly. But it was also affirmed that in the end good wins over evil. It is the same spirit that our search for justice must remain unstoppable. We owe to each of you and the families who have built, and in many cases rebuilt no one can return what was taken from you that night. But we can and will continue to work and fight for each of you. Thank you. May god bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon you and give you peace. [applause] he is a tall man. Thank you so much, mr. Pistole, for your remarks. At this time, i am very pleased and honored to introduce our next guest. The right honorable david mundell, member of parliament, and the parliamentary undersecretary of state for scotland. He is a member of the parliament representing the scottish constituency of Dumfries And Galloway and clydesdale at westminster. He grew up in lockerbie. He went to Lockerbie Academy and was head boy, which is the equivalent of president of his class. He studied law at the university of edinburgh and gained a diploma in Legal Practice there. He received an mba from the University Business school. He worked as a solicitor and then joined in 1991 bt, a British Telecommunications services company, one of the largest in the world, as Group Legal Advisor for scotland. He became their head of national affairs, remaining with et until becoming a member of Scottish Parliament. He was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999. In 2003 as a list member of the Scottish Parliament for the southland. Being the sole conservative representative of his constituency. He quickly gained public attention, relative to newly elected mps. He was appointed to shadow cabinet as shadow secretary of state for scotland in december 2005, a post in which he served until 2010, the 2010 general election in the u. K. At which time he assumed the role of parliamentary under secretary of state for scotland. He has been a strong supporter of the syracuselockerbie scholarships, which support Lockerbie Academy students to study at Syracuse University each year. The connections made by these young people are a good indication of the strong bond between our countries that he has nurtured through his career. He has come to Syracuse University several times, most recently this past art prober, during remembrance week, for the observances. He took the time to attend the annual meeting for our membership, and took part in the panel of scottish representatives as they made their remarks and answered our questions. We are very grateful to him that he was able to join us at that time, and for his interest in our story and in our case. Please join me in welcoming the right honorable david mundell. [applause] thank you very much. As someone who grew up in lockerbie and has the privilege ever presenting my hometown in parliament, it is an honor for me to be here today to represent both my community and my country. To demonstrate our solidarity with you on a day of remembrance, a day of reflection and a day for looking forward. I want you to know that you are in the thoughts and prayers of people in and around lockerbie and across the united kingdom, as Church Services are going on simultaneously with this event in drysdale parish church, in lockerbie, and in westminster abbey. Although compared to this afternoon in arlington, it is cold and very in scotland today, the warmth of our feelings toward everyone here in the United States affected by the events of the 21st of december 1988 remains as strong as it was on those first days and weeks, when many present visited lockerbie for the first time. The lockerbie air disaster remains the largest ever loss of life in a single event in the united kingdom. Like everybody from the lockerbie area, i remember exactly where i was when i heard the news, and the emotions i felt as the event unfolded. That is, however, nothing to what you and families back in the u. K. And other parts of the world have had to bear. To lose a loved one in unexpected locality, especially a young person, is heartbreaking. But to do so under an unprecedented global media spotlight, which has lasted all of these 25 years, is beyond compare. And for that, you, along with the townspeople of lockerbie and everyone else caught in these events, have our utmost admiration and respect. Many people in and around lockerbie never have and never will speak openly about these events, although they have in as deeply affected by them and the loss of anonymity for our small town. On behalf of them and everyone else in and around lockerbie, i offer you our continuing sympathy for your loss, our gratitude for the friendships forged and the bonds strengthened, and our determination to continue to support you in the years ahead. Thank you. [applause] i would also like to take this opportunity to read a message from our british prime minister, david cameron. Mr. Cameron says, the loss of pan am flight 103 over lockerbie that 7 03 p. M. , december 21, 1988, was a shocking event, a loss made more poignant still by being so close to christmas. Lockerbie remains one of the worst aviation disasters in history, and the deadliest act of terrorism ever committed in the united kingdom. Although 25 years have passed, memories of the 243 passengers, 16 crew, and 11 lockerbie residents who lost their lives on that terrible night have not dimmed. Over the last quarter of a century, much attention has been focused on the perpetrators of the atrocity. Today, our thoughts turn to its victims and to those whose lives have been touched and changed by what happened at lockerbie that night. Two families, friends, neighbors, loved ones, and all those caught up in the painful process of recovery, let us say to them our admiration for you is unconditional. For the fortitude and resilience you have shown. For the determination never to give up. You have shown that terrorist acts cannot crush the human spirit. And that is why terrorism will never prevail. And even in the darkest moments of grief, it is possible to glimpse the flickering flame of hope. The tragedy of pan am 103 continues to forge a strong bond between Lockerbie Academy and Syracuse University. Syracuse lost 35 of its own that fateful evening. Nothing can restore the promise of those young lives cut short. Yet their memory is honored by the scholarships syracuse awards each year to two lockerbie students and 35 of its own undergraduates. They represent a growing band of beneficiaries given the chance to fulfill their own youthful promise. This is a lasting and optimistic legacy bequeathed to future generations on behalf of those who lost their lives on this day 25 years ago, and who we remember here today. Thank you. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2013] we asked her about the political joan at jeffrey thompson. In current minutes and great. Heres a look. This. Wrote why . He had been in the news. He is a local businessman who is at the center of a major situation. No one knew who he was. I am i said i wanted were the profile. Hopefully i accomplish that. Why do we want to know about it . Right now he is at the center of d. C. Politics. Some folk say he is at the center of d. C. Politics falling apart. Tor years he has been given candidates. He had several contracts. One worth 22 million year. And no one really knew who he was until things came to light in 2011 over problems with the current mayors. The current Mayors Campaign in 2010. We have one former city councilmember, the son of ron brown, the former head of the committee, and we have marion barry who was in and out of prison and all of that stuff. Is this a more corrupt town than any other . I dont think so. I have been covering politics for a long time. I actually covered politics in new jersey before i came to the district of columbia. So i dont think any more corrupt than any other place. But the interesting thing about d. C. , remember, it is not a state. It is a city and of the council and the mayor still have functions that are very much like both city and state. A look at the events that led to the u. S. Senate changing its rules surrounding the filibustering of president ial nominees. How it happened. That is that it 00 eastern. At 9 00, we look at eleanor roosevelt, the first first lady to travel overseas. Exploring the life and legacy of elena roosevelt. A group of Women Veterans of the iraq and afghanistan wars recently came together to share their decisions for entering the military. Theyincluded the dangers encountered and the tradition back to civilian life. The New York Public Library hosted the event as part of the series. It is one hour and 40 minutes. I would like to thank everyone for coming out today on pearl harbor day for a very important discussion. I work with Outreach Services on the veterans programming. This is the third and final Panel Discussion you have posted here as part of our New York Public Library, new york veteran series. We are truly honored to have some individuals to share their stories on this stage. Discussion really seeks to celebrate the complete story. As veterans tell their own stories, civilians and veterans can learn to work with them to reflect the periods of our country better. In your program, you will see more information about the project which is truly the backdrop, backbone of these Panel Discussions. Horrible oral history itself is an opportunity for everyone to share their story in exactly the way they want to share it. I look forward to listening to more interviews. With thelaborate library of congress to make sure the stories are well reserved for future generations. If you would like to interview somebody for this project, let me know. The Contact Information is on the back of the program. I would like to thank the Women Veteran and Families Network for hosting this event with us and providing some incredible resources and programs for Women Veterans and their families. Would you stand up for a moment . Where are you . She is back there. Ok. All to encourage you ask her about the resources she has for veterans around the city. She is amazing to work with. To move to meg, our moderator this afternoon. We worked to make sure this panel was collaborative. Whating all the veterans question do you want us to ask and what question would you like us to stay away from . Wanteduestions have you to be asked are rarely ever are . Her most recent film tells a story of women who were sent of anirect combat as part unofficial u. S. Army program. Theodirected the center for filmmaker award. It was broadcast on the pbs series independent lens. Activism about media, and the documentary form amateurs only coedited sensible politics. We are truly honored to have her moderate this handle. It upwould like to open to remarks. Thank you. I would like to start by thinking ill ask kelly and the New York Public Library for inviting me to moderate today. It is a real honor to be on the same page with all who have served in these post9 11 conflicts. These are working in 2005. We started with the sunni triangle and now allmale military arterial unit to help deal with some that were arriving when they were encountering iraqi women and children. We saw the american women who were doing this work as important to historical act others in an transformation of the Ongoing Services in the transformation to this. Very Little Information was available with what was going on in iraq in terms of what the women were doing. They told us there were primary sources of information of the way the women were being used in iraq. Then a new generation of combat veteran women have emerged welcome home from these conflicts. They have gotten organized and. Re changing the narrative they are raising Critical Issues including Sexual Harassment. It is visible on the radio, television and film. But that i will like to get started in and have the opportunity to hear some more of their stories. I am going to introduce each panelist briefly and then we will start with the questions. Nicole beaudoin all the way down at the end. Army ined in the u. S. 2001. She was deployed to iraq in july 2000 345. 5 months. 2003 45 months. She was featured in the documentary when i came home. City wheren new york she is raising her daughter and writing poetry, fiction and nonfiction. She graduated college in 2001 a ba in english and it apology. Nicolegrew up next to and white plains new york. As a communications 2006, twoom 2002 two point one to a rock. Shes writing a memoir to iraq. Shes writing a memoir. She lives and works in new york city. I you are that is a former Army Sergeant felt a technician serving on active duty from 20032008. I did shout from 2007. Masters degree in International Affairs with a concentration on media and culture. Recently transitioned from the capital. She is currently working as the she deployednager here in 2007. While there she manage logistics to conduct intelligence operations across southern iraq. In 2000 and she deployed to kandahar as a unit intelligence calvaryfor the air squadron of the 101st airborne division. Ok. These are our panelists. I would like to start by asking you to talk about your experience. A little bit about why you chose to enlist . Why i chose to the situation in my home. I come from a very impoverished, dysfunctional family. Not as many options open for me to elevate myself at that time. I was very young. I was 19 going on 20. Its him at options had run out. South bronx and living this impoverished life and wanting more in the states is motivated me to search for a way out as soon as possible. That is why i enlisted. It but of an economic motivation. I did to pay for college. I did rotc in undergrad. I probably would not have been able to pay for school otherwise. Every single male in my family is in the military. Option. As an i grew up in a very religious environment where women were supposed to stay at home and get pregnant. It was not my thing. I decided that i wanted to pursue military service. It was interesting. I had open heart surgery without a little child. Years to get a medical examiner to let me in the military. Into the bombng squad. I did a relatively challenging job. Economics plays a big role. That played a part in it. Was still a patriotism factor as well coming to what i would refer to as the deep south. Everything that everyone just said. This was a chance to travel. Though it is bearable to be taken out of my comfort zone. I join my summary here of college. It paid for school. It was great to think once i graduated i would not have any debt. College, sophomore in that was 2001. That happened. I got a letter from the rotc apartments and will pay for school but this is the opportunity for you to serve after college. I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to be a bigger part of something bigger than me. I was searching for a way to give back and rotc was it. It turned out to be a great spirits for me altogether just being on active duty. I got everything i wanted and then some. Can you talk a little bit about how others reacted to your decision . The unit on my campus was pretty active. It is a small school. It is a Small Organization on campus. I was in a sorority. 11 my Sorority Sisters were shocked when i said i wanted to join rotc. Im five foot nothing. It surprised them. We had drills. We had to wear uniforms. At the time it was the olive green uniforms. I think they referred to me as the pickle. It was a joke. I wasnt being made fun of. Awareness thatd anybody can join rotc. A lot more we had a pretty good turnout of people wanting to become a part of them program. At first it was like really after the could not imagine me a part of the organization. I was in a sorority, is share leader in high school and people in the army would he surprised once they saw me in the uniform. Its interesting dynamic. You shocked them both ways. I went to have each of you talk m. O. S. Was,your how you made that decision, and what sorts of skills you made in the process. [no audio] [technical difficulties] plex as you can see, we are having some technical difficulties with the discussion of female veterans of iraq and afghanistan. Were working on the problem and hope to have it solved shortly. Id like to thank everyone for coming out today. Weve been showing you the discussion with female veterans of iraq and afghanistan. We are working on the tech ipo difficulties and hope have it back on the year. Prime time tonight on cspan, the year in review, taking a look at the change in Senate Filibuster rules. An encore presentation of our first ladies series tonight with one of roosevelt. Washingtonning, journal with what is working and not with the Affordable Care act. We have a healthcare editor with the lytic around also the and the author of in the balance, law and politics on the Roberts Court looking at some of the key court cases of 2013. Atusual, getting underway seven a clock a. M. Eastern. We will show you that program, a discussion with female veterans of iraq and afghanistan. Take a look now. Its an opportunity for anyone to share their story in exactly the way they want to share it. Im looking forward to listening to more interviews with veterans for this project. As we collaborate with the library of congress to make sure that these stories are well preserved for future generations. If you would like to interview someone for this project, let me know. Familiar faces in the audience for people who have been interviewed for this project or have interviewed others. I would like to thank the women that worknd families for hosting this event with us and providing incredible resources and programs for Women Veterans. Could you stand up for a moment . Shes back there. Ok. I encourage you all after talk todiscussion to her and ask her about the resources she has for veterans around the city. Shes raising to work with. Shes amazing to work with. I went to introduce you to our moderator this afternoon. We worked to make sure the panel was collaborative. Oning all of the veterans our panel what questions they want us to ask and what they would like us to stay away from. Which questions have you been asked quite often and which you have wanted to be asked but rarely ever are. An independent filmmaker and a cultural anthropologist based in new york ornd her move recent most recent film talks about movements in iraq and it won the center for documentary award and was broadcast in the pbs series, independent lens in 2008. She coedited sensible politics, the visual culture of nongovernmental lack of is him published by zone books in 2012 and we are honored to have her moderate panel so now i would like to invite her to give a few opening remarks. Thank you. I would like to start by thinking alex kelly in the New York Public Library for inviting me to moderate today. A real honor to be on the same stage with people who have served in the post9 11 conflict in iraq and afghanistan. My connection to this issue is as a filmmaker. Film that we started working on in 2005 and finished in 2008 about a group of army women who served in the sunni triangle and were sent out with allmale infantry units to help deal with some of the problems arising when they were going into homes and in countering iraq he women and children, civilians. Iraqi women and children. We saw this as important historical lack or is in an ongoing action of the a fulleration to gender integration. At this time when we were making the film, very Little Information was available about what was going on in terms of what the women were doing. The stories at the women told us were primary sources of information about the new way int women were being used iraq and the defector combat integration taking place. Generation ofnew women in combat veterans have emerged. They have come home from the this generation including the women on the panel today have organized and are changing the narrative and the militarythat affect women and Women Veterans. They are raising Critical Issues that the military needs to address including Sexual Harassment and rape. They express themselves and their writing, memoirs, poetry, are visible in radio, television, and film. With that, i would like to get started and have the opportunity to have them tell more of their stories. I will introduce each panelist briefly and we will start with the questions. At the end,in, down and listed in the u. S. Army in 2001. She served as a supply specialist and was deployed to iraq in july 2003 for five and a half months. When she returned to the bronx she was one of the first Homeless Veterans and was featured in the documentary, when i came home, as well as many news programs. She lives in new york city where she is raising her daughter and writing poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. She graduated with a ba in english and creative writing, anthropology. Up in white plains, new york, serving as a Marine Corps Communications officer 2006 deploying wants a memoirnd is writing about the deployment relationship and its aftermath. Writing at the Kennedy Center and washington, d. C. She lives and works in new york city. Right . Did i say that an explosive Ordnance Disposal technician serving on act of 2008. Rom 2004 2 and in the Army Reserves from 20082 thousand 10 deployed to 20062007n in currently working towards a masters degree in International Affairs with a concentration in media and culture. Recently transitioning from the u. S. Army as a cap than having served seven years in active duty currently working as a board event manager in a the newg division at York Stock Exchange euro next. She deployed to iraq in 2007 as a Company Executive officer with the first to gauge combat team. There she managed logistics and operations for her unit to conduct intelligence operations across southern iraq. She deployed to kandahar is a unit Intelligence Officer for the 217 air calverley calgary squadron. These are the panelists. Talk about your reasons for joining. Can you talk about why you chose to enlist . Ok, thank you. The reason why i chose to enlist was that it was a dire situation in my home. I come from a very impoverished dysfunctional family and there were not many options open for. E to elevate myself at that time, i was very young, 19 going on 20, and it seemed like my options had run out. Bronx andthe south the living this impoverished life, wanting more, wanting an education and these things motivated me to search for a way out as soon as possible. Thats why i enlisted. I had a bit of an economic motivation for joining. I did it to pay for college. I did rotc in undergrad and i would not have been able to a for school otherwise. I went to m. I. T. Im from the south. Every single male in my family has been in the military. I grew up in a very religious environment where women was supposed to stay home barefoot and pregnant and that was not my thing. I decided i wanted to pursue military service. It was interesting. Long story short, i had open heart surgery so it took me almost two used to get a medical going intoi ended up explosive ordinance disposal, basically the bomb squad. I did that relatively challenging job. Economics played a big role in it. Bute in the middle of a war i want a College Degree and i dont want to have any debt. There was still a patriotism factor as well, what i would refer to from the deep south in my family heritage. I think we all share the idea of the camaraderie and that it was a chance to travel and meet a lot of new people, be taken out of my comfort zone. Sophomorehe rotc my year of college and paid for my school. When i was a sophomore in 9 11 that001, post happened and i got a letter from the rotc department who said we would pay for school but this is an opportunity for you to serve after college. Be a greatt would opportunity for me to be apart of something bigger than me especially after 9 11. I was searching for a way to give back and rotc was that. It was a great experience all together being on active duty. I got everything i wanted and then some. To talk about how others reacted to your decision to join up . Unit on my campus was ready at it. , a smallall School Organization on campus. I was in a sorority and a lot of my sisters were just shocked when i said i wanted to join rotc. I am five foot thing and it really surprised them. Wear theills, had to uniform and at that time it was the olive green uniform. They referred to me as the pickle. It was a joke. I was not being made fun of. It was a term of endearment. It almost raised awareness that anyone could join the rotc if i could do it and im only five foot. I will not say i led that alone but we had a pretty good turnout next year people wanting to become a part of the program. At first it was just like, really . They could imagine me becoming a part of that organization. Sororityid i was in a or a cheerleader in high school, people in the army were surprised by that when they saw me more in uniform. It was an interesting dynamic. You shocked them both ways. I want to have each of you talk a bit about what your m. O. S. Was, how you made the decision to choose it, and what skills you learned in the process to get down to some of the brass tacks. Could you start . To be a duty and be special forces but that was not an option. I picked what i thought was the next best thing and i went dod eod i was in the bomb squad. I always ask people if they have and that hurt locker, was me except it was not all that realistic but it gives a Vantage Point to start from. Missions,did ied respond to them when people found them or after they went off. Are basically roadside bombs. I did a lot of work with explosives and then i did a lot of work when we were in afghanistan because i was the only female in the unit i was assigned and attached to, i did a lot of biometric Data Collection being a woman and having the skill set i have. Canare a woman and you disarm bombs. We will bring you and you will the local women population that all of our men can deal with. I got cross trained in a lot of the different skill sets outside of my actual job description. Ae of the things i do miss blowing stuff up. Its awesome and fun. I miss the challenges, everyday something different. You never knew what youre going to get yourself into. Arelayed it honestly to be policeman or a firefighter because theres a lot of downtime followed by a lot of weve got to go. Get your stuff and lets hit the road. Being the ironies about in afghanistan and in the bomb squad is doing my actual job was not the most restful. Driving through the mountains was the most stressful. Driving a 20 ton vehicle on Mountain Pass with a 600 foot drop to your righthand side. Please, just get me there. I can deal with whatever i need to when i get there but i have to get there first. There were a lot of interesting contradictions and ironies associated with my position but 20042008, there were about 50 women in the whole field in the army. Very infrequently did you ever see another woman who was in eod so that made me an anomaly. Sometimes just doing a woman in an anomalyy can be in and of itself but its even more isolating in a sense which is challenging. I really enjoyed my job and i kind of miss it sometimes. It would be nice to make something go boom every once in a while. You were in a team of how many . Four. S teams of three to you were assigned to different locations. Most of the time he would send a whole unit over but our unit, a lot of people think about companies being a couple hundred people or so. Ours was 20 people. We were very small, very handsome in. Everybody knew at everyone but we were centrally located and we would disburse so you were only with two or three people that you specifically have deployed with from your unit at any given time. It is a very different set up than what we consider to be outside of the mainstream military and we did things a little bit differently. It was a unique set up at the time. And can you give us a sense . You would be told there might be something you need to go check out in this place and your group of three or four would be assigned that task . You never go out by yourself. You always have to have an escort. Paladin,th task force a counter ied task force. We had an Intelligence Officer and post blast analysis that would go out and collect biometric data from the actual blast site itself and then we had our team who would deal with actual ordinance or ieds that were not exploded. We would kind of sit around and wait. They were always outside doing this and all the time. We would get a call. We think weve found something. We need you to respond. You have to have an escort and a lot of times, combat engineers and military police were already out on mission and they would have to come back and get us in our two vehicles and escort us out to the site where we were in order for us to take care of what we needed to take care of. Were an Intelligence Officer. We worked with Task Force Paladin. I was not directly assigned with them but we did work with them. , it wasas in Iraq Security force missions were the we ran convoys through the entire country starting in the south. Baghdad, back down. If there was a threat along any of the routes, they would assess those threats through what Task Force Paladin was able to preside. Indirectly, we probably supported one another. Yourn you talk about training and what you did in iraq . That was my first appointment. I studied psychology in college. When i wanted to become an officer i was told that you should have a business degree and i used psychology every single day regardless of my specialty. First and foremost, i wanted to be an officer because i wanted to be a leader and intelligence happened to be the branch i chose going in. I liked intelligence because a new officer, second lieutenant, i was responsible for a platoon, aerial assets. I was responsible for a 24 person platoon that operated these unmanned drones for the unit. Which part . This was seven iraq. Southern iraq. I was with a manned helicopter unit. I went in with some experience from that understanding more of the aerial respect they are and int needed to be looked at terms of intelligence but we were in southern afghanistan during the same thing except now im dealing with pilots putting outselves at risk going several times a day and flying helicopters themselves. With were small aircraft two pilots, no passengers, singleengine aircraft. 1970sre built in the and in terms of technology, it did not really improve from what was used in vietnam. It was an interesting dynamic between iraq and afghanistan and what my mission was all within the intelligence cycle. Afghanistan, where there are people flying at the helicopters during the reconnaissance . Kyowasad apaches and that went out. The difference between the two, the ability to target where as the other is the smaller craft going out not so much in an role,several offensive but theyre looking for information, taking pictures, literally hanging their arms out. They were frequently targeted because they are small aircraft. They do not fly fast like an apache or an air hawk. Was up to my group to assess the damage to the aircraft and understand where they were being targeted and at what level. It was to identify the capabilities of the enemy so that we were protecting the ground troops. There were times when our pilots time theyut every were directly supporting someone on the ground and often times they were shot at because they were supposed to disrupt those. Click sets interesting. Can you talk about your role . I was a Communications Officer in the marine corps. You dont get to pick. They picked for you. I saw that i had a technical degree from undergrad and they made mickey and indications officer. I worked with radio, satellite,. Ired telephone i was deployed for seven months i 2004 and one of the reasons became an officer also was the leadership asset aspect. With three younger brothers and having been a Camp Counselor was the best preparation for that ever except for in iraq with machine guns. The main role was to be on a and which did get mortared lay cable underground. This was before the marine corps had a lot of multichanneled communication between different bases. , we had toown base make sure all of the telephone, fiberoptic was the difference. My marines were really hard working. They would go out there and dig trenches to lay cable underground. We would get the entire company, 200 marines, to help us out. They took out all of the old iraqi telephone wires and replaced it with 30 kilometers through the total base. Then we would get a mortar and the cable would you cut and then the repair marines would have to go repair it. Its being in charge of the whole cycle but i work with a lot of fantastic people. That was really great. Thats great. Nicole . My story is a story of misdirection. I wanted to be a journalist, actually. The recruiter told me that i could not make the cut. I did not get the proper schooling to to get the journalism slot. I was like, what do you guys have to offer. Moss,ioned a few other and then he mentioned supply, and i was like, well, i have retail experience. I have office experience. Supply and garrison versus a deployment is really two different atmospheres, different tribes of stressors, whereas when i was and garrison in germany, it was a lot more fun. I felt like i felt very