During his opening statement Thursday at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the nomination of Chuck Hagel to lead the Defense Department, Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), chairman of the panel, said confirming the former GOP senator from Nebraska “would be a positive message for our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in harm’s way around the world.”
Senator Hagel’s background provides an invaluable perspective not only with respect to the difficult decisions and recommendations that a Secretary of Defense must make regarding the use of force and the commitment of U.S. troops overseas, but also with respect to the day-to-day decisions a Secretary must make to ensure that our men and women in uniform and their families receive the support and assistance that they need and deserve. It would be a positive message for our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines in harm’s way around the world to know that one of their own holds the highest office in the Department of Defense and that he has their backs.
