Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  I join you in welcoming our nominees and their families.  We have three well-qualified nominees, each of them with unique experiences that have prepared them for the positions for which they will assume.  I would also like to take a moment to thank the families here for the support they provide the nominees.

Mr. Kurta, nominated to be the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, is a retired Navy Admiral and member of the Senior Executive Service who, since January 20th, has been the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.  Mr. Kurta, you will face numerous military and civilian personnel challenges if you are confirmed.  Among these challenges will be ensuring that the services can recruit and retain adequate numbers of ready and qualified service members to meet national defense objectives, managing and reforming a civilian workforce that is vital to the health of our military and our national defense.  I look forward to working with you to address these challenges.

Mr. McPherson, nominated to be the General Counsel of the Department of the Army, is also a retired Navy admiral, serving as Judge Advocate General of the Navy from July 2002 to August 2006.  Mr. McPherson, you will also face many of the same challenges as Mr. Kurta within the Army.  I also want to note that Mr. McPherson has been a friend to the State of Rhode Island.  While serving as the Navy TJAG, Mr. McPherson maintained the highly regarded Naval Justice School to train Navy JAGs.

Mr. Maggs, nominated to be a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, is a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate Generals Corps, where he has served as both a trial judge and as an appellate judge on the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.  He is the coauthor of a leading textbook on military justice.  In his civilian capacity, he served as a law clerk for Judge Joseph Sneed of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for Justice Anthony Kennedy and Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mr. Chairman, all three of these nominees have impressive credentials that make them highly qualified for the positions for which they have been nominated.  I look forward to hearing their insights on the challenges that they will face in their positions.