good morning, everybody. the committee meets this morning to receive testimony on the progress on the campaign of afghanistan. our witnesses are dr. jim miller, acting underbe secretary of defense and john allen, commander of u.s. forces afghanistan. a warm welcome and thanks to you both. i m going to interrupt at this moment to take care of some nominations because we have kworum present. our troops in afghanistan are being asked to perform demanding and often dangerous missions and they re carrying them out superbly and professionally. general allen, on behalf of the committee, please pass along our unwavering support for our military men and women serving with you in afghanistan, our gratitude for their courageous and dedicated service and the support of their families. talking about families, i know that you have with you this morning, general, your wife, kathy allen and your daughter bobbi allen. i hope i got their names correctly. i temporarily got them mixed up a li