Courtesy Photo | Holly Petraeus,assistant director of Service Member Affairs for the new federal...... read more read more
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WESTHAMPTON BEACH, N.Y. - Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Holly Petraeus, assistant director of Service Member Affairs for the new federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau included the New York Air National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing on their schedule during a day of visits to New York military facilities on Friday, March 2.
Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, and Petraeus, the wife of retired Gen. David Petraeus, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, also visited the United States Military Academy at West Point and Fort Drum, N.Y.
Gillibrand and Petraeus were joined by Rep. Tim Bishop during a question-and-answer session with 200 airmen stationed at F.S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base and family members. The three fielded questions dealing with reductions in the military budget, benefits for service members and their families, and the lack of jobs for reservists and National Guard soldiers and airmen.
Maj. Gen. Patrick Murphy, the adjutant general of New York, and Brig. Gen. Anthony German, the director of staff for the Air National Guard, were also on hand for the visit.
In her remarks, Gillibrand told the airmen that she saw her role as being an advocate for New York's military facilities and the missions they perform. As the Department of Defense seeks to cut billions from the budget it is vital to advocate for New York's military role, she said.
She is confident that the important mission performed by the 106th Rescue Wing-whose members are trained to conduct search and rescue missions behind enemy lines-and the nearness of the base to New York City, will preserve the mission at Gabreski, Gillibrand said.
Petraeus told the Guard airmen that service members sometimes face special financial challenges and it is her job to be their advocate in dealing with the financial services industry. For-profit colleges are aggressively recruiting young veterans because of their education benefits and all to often, those veterans are seeing their money wasted,she warned.
Petraeus said her 37-years as an Army wife, dealing with deployments and separation, have helped her to understand the challenges military families face.
She urged the airmen to contact her agency for assistance with financial problems and to let her agency know when they feel they have been taken advantage off.
Along with participating in the hourlong town hall style meeting, Gillibrand and her party were given a tour of the base by Col. Tom Owens, the commander of the 106th Rescue Wing.
It was great to hear directly from the senator on these issues, said Master Sgt. Mark Russitano, a hydraulic systems specialist in the 106th. With military budget cuts in the offing, and plenty of speculation about what that will mean, it's important to hear directly from the people who represent New York, Russitano said.
| Date Taken: | 03.02.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 03.02.2012 17:19 |
| Story ID: | 84657 |
| Location: | WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 168 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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