{"id":1472,"date":"2008-04-07T19:12:43","date_gmt":"2008-04-07T23:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/valorguardians.com\/blog\/?p=1472"},"modified":"2008-04-07T20:06:10","modified_gmt":"2008-04-08T00:06:10","slug":"vets-on-the-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/?p=1472","title":{"rendered":"Vets take the Hill Tuesday"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"voth_hm1.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

More than 400 veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq operations are expected descend on the Capitol offices tomorrow morning. According to my buddy Thus Spake Ortner, from The Sniper <\/a>and Veterans for Freedom, the schedule looks like this;<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

Morning Preparation at the Sheraton National Hotel<\/strong><\/p>\n

PLAN TO ARRIVE AT THE COMMONWEALTH BALLROOM BY 5:15 AM!<\/strong><\/p>\n

PLEASE BE SEATED BY 5:30 AM SO WE CAN BEGIN PROMPTLY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Location: Commonwealth Ballroom, Main Floor<\/strong><\/p>\n

0530<\/strong>: Welcome and Introduction, Executive Director Pete Hegseth
\n0545<\/strong>: Agenda for the Day, National Field Director Joel Arends
\n0555<\/strong>: Congressional Meeting Overview, Legislative Director Josh Grodin<\/p>\n

* Continental Breakfast Served *
\n0605<\/strong>: Communications Strategy, Communications Director Adam Fife
\n<\/u><\/p>\n

0615<\/strong>: Q & A with Executive Director Pete Hegseth<\/p>\n

Guest Speakers:<\/p>\n

0625<\/strong>: Georgetown Men\u2019s Basketball Head Coach: John Thompson III
\n0640<\/strong>: Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, USAF<\/em> (Ret.)
\n0700<\/strong>: Final Remarks, Pete Hegseth
\n0705<\/strong>: Load buses and depart for Capitol Hill<\/p>\n

0745:<\/strong> Arrive at Union Station\/VFF<\/em> Rally Point (Union Station Theater)<\/p>\n

* Please KEEP your bags on your bus until after the 8:30 event is over *<\/p>\n

0800<\/strong>: Walk to Upper Senate Park (2 blocks away)<\/p>\n

Capitol Hill<\/u><\/p>\n

0830<\/strong>: Vets for Freedom<\/em> Capitol Hill Media Event with Senate & House members<\/p>\n

Attendees<\/u><\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Senators<\/strong>: McCain, Lieberman, Graham, Barrasso, Bond, Coburn, Inhofe, Isakson, Roberts, Sessions<\/p>\n

Members<\/strong>: Burgess, Johnson, King, McCotter, Poe, Reichert, Wamp, Whittman, Diaz- Balart, Wilson, Hayes<\/p>\n

Proposed Timeline:<\/strong><\/p>\n

0830 \u2013 Pete Hegseth opening remarks, introduces David Bellavia<\/p>\n

0833 \u2013 David Bellavia makes brief remarks, introduces Senator McCain<\/p>\n

0835 \u2013 Senator McCain remarks<\/p>\n

0850 \u2013 Senator McCain concludes participation in VOTH<\/p>\n

0850 \u2013 Senator Lieberman remarks<\/p>\n

0852 \u2013 Senator Graham remarks<\/p>\n

0854 \u2013 Senator Inhofe remarks<\/p>\n

0856 \u2013 Senate Leadership remarks (TBD)<\/p>\n

0858 \u2013 Senator Bond remarks<\/p>\n

0900 \u2013 Congressman Marshall remarks<\/p>\n

0905 \u2013 Congressman Sam Johnson remarks<\/p>\n

0907 \u2013 House Leadership remarks (TBD)<\/p>\n

0910 \u2013 Marcus Luttrell concluding remarks, introduces Steve Russell<\/p>\n

0915 \u2013 Steve Russell concluding remarks<\/p>\n

0920 \u2013 Press Availability concludes<\/p>\n

1000<\/strong>: Vets arrive on Capitol Hill for full day of meetings<\/p>\n

* At any time during the day, and preferably before 12noon, vets can return to the VFF<\/em> Rally Point (Union Station Theater) for free lunch and to unload bags from the bus *<\/p>\n

1700: <\/strong>Meetings complete<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I’m hooking up with them at Union Station with my trusty camera to get all of the pictures and videos I can for you. If you’re in the area, won’t you take a coupla hours off from work to join in?<\/p>\n

The Boston Herald<\/a> warns that Code Pink plans to be there for General Petreaus’ testimony;<\/p>\n

Pegged to the fifth anniversary of Saddam Hussein\u2019s fall, Congress is set for the latest progress report Tuesday and Wednesday by Army Gen. David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker. The hearings will draw overflow crowds, innumerable cameras and kibitzers galore.<\/p>\n

The last time Petraeus and Crocker testified, in September, three tiara-wearing protesters from Code Pink shouted until police escorted them from the hearing room. The anti-war activists will be back.<\/p>\n

“Yes,” Code Pink spokeswoman Dana Balicki said Friday, “we will be there, (and) I know other (peace) groups who will be in attendance.”<\/p>\n

Also in attendance will be Iraq Veterans Against the War, a group that wants the United States to withdraw from Iraq immediately.<\/p>\n

Vets for Freedom brings a markedly different message, representing what the organization calls the “trigger-pulling class.” As it did in September, when some 250 veterans flocked to Capitol Hill, Vets for Freedom is again trying to stiffen the congressional spine.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’ll be nice to spend time with the “trigger-pulling class” for a change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 400 veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq operations are expected descend on the Capitol … Vets take the Hill Tuesday<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,18,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bloggers-and-stuff","category-support-the-troops","category-terror-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1472","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1472"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1472\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1472"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1472"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1472"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}