April 23 2007

I am the mother of an active duty Sgt. who has done
two tours in Iraq as a Combat engineer. Due to his
current status, I have been requested to limit my
testimony to proposing adjustments to Senate Memorial
1, which I have attached. I am able to state for the
record that the extensions of duty have done serious
damage to the morale of soldiers serving in theater.
The consequences of the additional burden upon this
exhausted Army are expected to be deadly. I have
requested such be addressed in the Memorial as
identified in my attachment. I can also state that
the open-ended status of the Iraq occupation has not
produced stabilization, and is perceived as a means
that provokes sustained violence.

Respectfully submitted,

Mary Braunch