Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Colonel and Ombudsman, I really appreciate the fact that you're here.
That's secondary, quite honestly, to the fact that we now have an ombudsman and that we have someone like you, with your credentials--someone who has been active and is so open to talking to people about your experience for us to understand, and you want to move ahead in an efficient manner.
I'm glad we have moved ahead with this position. Obviously it's a position I think should have been in place many years ago, but no one took the initiative to make that happen. I'm glad we're here.
With the number of applications you're talking about, I'm suspecting we will see some sort of a peak over a period of time. As we have talked with witnesses, people who have been in front of us on a number of events, from VIP to post-traumatic stress disorder to the Veterans Review and Appeal Board--all of those--there really has been an issue about having someone to speak for them, so I thank you for that.
Do you feel you do not have the latitude in your position to do your job?