There are plenty of public issues right now that i want to ask you about, but i want to defer that for a moment and talk about service itself. And i want to start by talking about how you came by service, because you came by it naturally. You grew up in a family of service. Tell me about your dad, who was quite an interesting person. Adm. Mcraven first, thank you for the invitation to join you today, this is terrific. I certainly enjoy spending time with you and the students of the iop. You are right, i came by it naturally. My father was a world war ii Fighter Pilot. Flew spitfires, actually, which was a british airplane, because at the time when we entered the war, americans did not have planes to take on the german messersmith, so the british loaned us spitfires. But my grandfather also served in world war i and in world war ii. He was an army surgeon. My dad, later in life as i was getting ready to join the service, he said, i remember what got me in the service. It was when i was
Mr. Axelrod admiral, great to see you again. We are two days after veterans day and that was the occasion for this event. There are plenty of public issues right now that i want to ask you about, but i want to defer that for a moment and talk about service itself. And i want to start by talking about how you came by service, because you came by it naturally. You grew up in a family of service. Tell me about your dad, who was quite an interesting person. Adm. Mcraven first, thank you for the invitation to join you today, this is terrific. I certainly enjoy spending time with you and the students of the iop. You are right, i came by it naturally. My father was a world war ii Fighter Pilot. Flew spitfires, actually, which was a british airplane, because at the time when we entered the war, americans did not have planes to take on the german messersmith, so the british loaned us spitfires. Dad flew that for about two years during the war. But my grandfather also served in world war i and i
This hearing will come to order. Good morning. Next week americans will honor our nations veterans who have paid the price for our freedom in times of conflict and served as our shield in times of peace. Today, nearly 20 million americans have earned the title of veteran. Im proud to say that maine is home to more than 114,000 veterans. The second highest percentage in our entire country. We owe them such a great debt. The gratitude we express in words on veterans day can repay this debt only in small measure. A truly grateful nation must match its words with actions. As we will learn today, one issue that calls for our immediate action is to fight a newer enemy facing our veterans and that is those relentless con artists who seek to rob them of their life savings and defraud them of the benefits they have earned in service to our country. Often, veterans fall victim to the same scams that this committee has highlighted in recent years such as the irs imposter scam, the grandparent sca
This hearing will come to order. Good morning. Next week americans will honor our nations veterans who have paid the price for our freedom in times of conflict and served as our shield in times of peace. Today, nearly 20 million americans have earned the title of veteran. Im proud to say that maine is home to more than 114,000 veterans. The second highest percentage in our entire country. We owe them such a great debt. The gratitude we express in words on veterans day can repay this debt only in small measure. A truly grateful nation must match its words with actions. As we will learn today, one issue that calls for our immediate action is to fight a newer enemy facing our veterans and that is those relentless con artists who seek to rob them of their life savings and defraud them of the benefits they have earned in service to our country. Often, veterans fall victim to the same scams that this committee has highlighted in recent years such as the irs imposter scam, the grandparent sca
Collins this hearing will come to order. Good morning. Next week americans will honor our nations veterans who have paid the price for our freedom in times of conflict and served as our shield in times of peace. Today, nearly 20 million americans have earned the title of veteran. Im proud to say that maine is home to more than 114,000 veterans. The second highest percentage in our entire country. We owe them such a great debt. The gratitude we express in words on veterans day can repay this debt only in small measure. A truly grateful nation must match its words with actions. As we will learn today, one issue that calls for our immediate action is to fight a newer enemy facing our veterans and that is those relentless con artists who seek to rob them of their life savings and defraud them of the benefits they have earned in service to our country. Often, veterans fall victim to the same scams that this committee has highlighted in recent years such as the irs imposter scam, the grandpa