When you combine the men and women deployed from our military installations with activated reservists and members of the National Guard, Georgia is contributing more personnel to the theatre than any other State in our Union.
Its going to be a squeeze, but we have got to put our men and women in uniform ahead of everything else. We've got to be treating our reservists fairly before we move on to other procurements.
We all must be mindful that the United States has diplomatic, civilian, and military personnel deployed in other countries with both challenging security environments and active terrorist networks interested in targeting not just our facilities but our people. One of their greatest protections - knowing that the United States does not negotiate with terrorists - has been compromised.
Accomplishing this missile rebuild and our military retooling will be a 50-state effort. Every state in the union will be able to take part in rebuilding our military and developing technologies of tomorrow. In other words, the workers and the jobs will take place throughout the United States.
We need more of our young youth graduating from college trying to get their education, and trying to be contributing members, positive contributing members to the community.
Japan hosts more forward-deployed U.S. troops than any other country and serves as home port for our only forward-deployed aircraft carrier. In 2011, when a tsunami devastated Japan and created the disaster at the Fukushima nuclear facility, the United States stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our Japanese allies to respond and rebuild.
Our military men and women are our greatest national treasure. They should be safeguarded as such upon their return.
Our women's union members and other women are really excellent and praiseworthy.
I'm from Indiana, the home of more first-rate second-class men than any other state in the union.
We're happy to work with military or other government agencies in ways that are consistent with our principles. So if we want to help improve the safety of Coast Guard personnel, that's the kind of thing we'd be happy to work on.
The idea of America endures. Our destiny remains our choice. And tonight, more than two centuries later, it is because of our people that our future is hopeful, our journey goes forward, and the state of our union is strong.
To honor our national promise to our veterans, we must continue to improve services for our men and women in uniform today and provide long overdue benefits for the veterans and military retirees who have already served.
We need to look at how we can better fortify our force protection at military installations. But also, how can we deal with these mental health issues with our returning veterans? And our suicide rate in the military is twice as high as the average population.
When they return home from serving our country, our National Guard and Reserve members shouldn't have to be confronted with red tape in order to access the benefits they've earned fighting for our country.
I can't say enough about the tremendous work the Missouri National Guard has done as part of our military efforts in Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries.
Life does not stand still for families and local communities when our brave men and women are deployed, but we can make their time apart more bearable by recognizing their sacrifice and fulfilling our commitments to them.
I want to recognize and thank all Guard members for their service. It means so much to our state and our country.