ROA Executive Director Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Jeff Phillips is published in The Hill as an opinion contributor.

“I will advocate until they drape the flag over my coffin.” That’s what Rosie Lopez-Torres told the Reserve Officers Association her husband, Army Reserve Capt. Leroy Torres, would say about his struggle for fair treatment after being disabled by toxic fumes spewing from burn pits in Iraq in 2007.

“You pretty much have to be a full-time advocate, just to ensure that the system doesn’t lose you in the process … if you come back from fighting a war and have to fight to keep your job.  It’s been a huge sacrifice; it’s had a huge impact on our lives,” she said. “How do you endure being stripped of your dignity and the one thing that was your life’s dream?”

The House has left town for the August Recess and will return on Tuesday, September 4, 2018. The Senate has started a shorter August Recess and will return on Wednesday, August 15, 2018.

The National Defense Authorization Act of FY 2019 passed both the House and Senate and will now go to the President for signature or veto. After Congress sends the president a final bill, he has 10 days (not counting Sunday) to act on it.  President Trump can sign the bill, not sign the bill so that it automatically becomes law after 10 days, or veto (Latin for “I forbid”) the bill.

The Department of Defense appropriations bill passed in the House on 28 June 2018. The Senate is expected to vote on the DoD bill mid-August when they return from August recess.

Major General (Ret.) Jeffrey Phillips, Mission: Readiness member and executive director of the Reserve Officers Association, writes in the Military Times about the impact of obesity on the military and the importance of PE and healthy school meals.

Whether or not you consider military service an attractive option, it’s hard to argue against a strong military being essential to America’s security.

Yet the U.S. military faces increasing difficulty finding enough quality recruits to meet its already slimmed-down goals. According to the Pentagon, 71 percent of Americans age 17 to 24 are ineligible to join the military, primarily because they are too overweight or too poorly educated, or they have a record of serious crime or drug abuse.

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ROA is now becoming prominent in Washington media; this is our sixth op-ed in The Hill since March; Military Times is considering two more.

“The common bond that unites every soldier, sailor, airman and Marine is a commitment to duty, honor and country. Whether native born, naturalized, or not U.S. citizens at all, service members are unified not by a common heritage, race, religion or creed, but rather by this universal code that builds character, breeds conviction and encourages valor,” Emilio T. Gonzalez, then the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an immigrant and former U.S. Army soldier, testified before the Senate Committee on Armed Services in July 2006.

The ongoing discharge of immigrant recruits robs a U.S. military that is struggling to meet enlistment goals and profoundly betrays the very national values these young people seek to defend.

Now that the House and Senate have passed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019, the Armed Services Committee members and staff will start negotiating the differences between the two bill versions. Here are the agreed upon Conferees:

On the Republican side, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) named the following conferees:

• From the House Armed Services Committee: Chairman Mac Thornberry (Texas), Reps. Joe Wilson (S.C.), Frank LoBiondo (N.J.), Rob Bishop (Utah), Michael Turner (Ohio), Mike Rogers (Ala.), Bill Shuster (Pa.), Mike Conaway (Texas), Doug Lamborn (Colo.), Robert Wittman (Va.), Mike Coffman (Colo.), Vicky Hartzler (Mo.), Austin Scott (Ga.), Paul Cook (Calif.), Bradley Byrne (Ala.), Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), Don Bacon (Neb.) and Jim Banks (Ind.).

• From the Energy and Commerce Committee: Reps. Bob Latta (Ohio) and Bill Johnson (Ohio).
• From the Foreign Affairs Committee: Chairman Ed Royce (Calif.) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.).
• From the Financial Services Committee: Chairman Jeb Hensarling (Texas) and Rep. Andy Barr (Ky.).

On the Democratic side, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) named the following conferees:

• From the Senate Armed Services Committee: Ranking member Adam Smith (Wash.), Reps. Susan Davis (Calif.), James Langevin (R.I.), Jim Cooper (Tenn.), Joe Courtney (Conn.), Niki Tsongas (Mass.), John Garamendi (Calif.), Jackie Speier (Calif.), Marc Veasey (Texas), Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), Beto O'Rourke (Texas) and Stephanie Murphy (Fla.), as well as Del. Madeleine Bordallo (Guam).
• From Energy and Commerce: Ranking member Frank Pallone (N.J.).
• From Financial Services: Ranking member Maxine Waters (Calif.).
• From Foreign Affairs: Ranking member Eliot Engel (N.Y.).

The non-Armed Services conferees from other committees are there to negotiate on a provision related to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, according to news releases.