Vets take the Hill Tuesday
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 and Veterans for Freedom, the schedule looks like this;
Morning Preparation at the Sheraton National Hotel
PLAN TO ARRIVE AT THE COMMONWEALTH BALLROOM BY 5:15 AM!
PLEASE BE SEATED BY 5:30 AM SO WE CAN BEGIN PROMPTLY
Location: Commonwealth Ballroom, Main Floor
0530: Welcome and Introduction, Executive Director Pete Hegseth
0545: Agenda for the Day, National Field Director Joel Arends
0555: Congressional Meeting Overview, Legislative Director Josh Grodin* Continental Breakfast Served *
0605: Communications Strategy, Communications Director Adam Fife
0615: Q & A with Executive Director Pete Hegseth
Guest Speakers:
0625: Georgetown Men’s Basketball Head Coach: John Thompson III
0640: Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, USAF (Ret.)
0700: Final Remarks, Pete Hegseth
0705: Load buses and depart for Capitol Hill0745: Arrive at Union Station/VFF Rally Point (Union Station Theater)
* Please KEEP your bags on your bus until after the 8:30 event is over *
0800: Walk to Upper Senate Park (2 blocks away)
Capitol Hill
0830: Vets for Freedom Capitol Hill Media Event with Senate & House members
Attendees:
Senators: McCain, Lieberman, Graham, Barrasso, Bond, Coburn, Inhofe, Isakson, Roberts, Sessions
Members: Burgess, Johnson, King, McCotter, Poe, Reichert, Wamp, Whittman, Diaz- Balart, Wilson, Hayes
Proposed Timeline:
0830 – Pete Hegseth opening remarks, introduces David Bellavia
0833 – David Bellavia makes brief remarks, introduces Senator McCain
0835 – Senator McCain remarks
0850 – Senator McCain concludes participation in VOTH
0850 – Senator Lieberman remarks
0852 – Senator Graham remarks
0854 – Senator Inhofe remarks
0856 – Senate Leadership remarks (TBD)
0858 – Senator Bond remarks
0900 – Congressman Marshall remarks
0905 – Congressman Sam Johnson remarks
0907 – House Leadership remarks (TBD)
0910 – Marcus Luttrell concluding remarks, introduces Steve Russell
0915 – Steve Russell concluding remarks
0920 – Press Availability concludes
1000: Vets arrive on Capitol Hill for full day of meetings
* At any time during the day, and preferably before 12noon, vets can return to the VFF Rally Point (Union Station Theater) for free lunch and to unload bags from the bus *
1700: Meetings complete
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?
The Boston Herald warns that Code Pink plans to be there for General Petreaus’ testimony;
Pegged to the fifth anniversary of Saddam Hussein’s 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.
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.
“Yes,” Code Pink spokeswoman Dana Balicki said Friday, “we will be there, (and) I know other (peace) groups who will be in attendance.”
Also in attendance will be Iraq Veterans Against the War, a group that wants the United States to withdraw from Iraq immediately.
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.
It’ll be nice to spend time with the “trigger-pulling class” for a change.
Category: Bloggers, Support the troops, Terror War
