On December 18, 2025, the New Orleans City Council convened a special session dedicated to the 31st Annual Military Appreciation Day, featuring senior military leadership, community presentations, and the honoring of Colonel Terry Ebert as the 2025 Veteran of the Year. Following the ceremonial proceedings, the Council addressed urgent budgetary matters, overriding the Mayor's veto of the 2026 operating budget, and conducted extensive legislative business including zoning changes, historic district appeals, and voting tabulations from the November 2025 elections.
Ladies and gentlemen, please have your seats. Please take your seats. I know we have three minutes, Jerome. I know we're very we were very detailed on line. Councilmember, can I please call the role? Yes, there you go. Council Member Morrel. We have five members. We have a core. I'm calling upon you to conduct the Military Appreciation Day activities. Thank you, Count Council President. I'm going to first call on Navy Chaplain Aaron Carleton to deliver our invocation this morning. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Would you stand with me as we begin our time in a word of prayer? Let us pray. Living God, today in the heart of this great city, a place of vibrant history and enduring spirit. We are grateful for the men and women of our armed forces who stand as guardians of peace and symbols of strength. We celebrate the storied military history of New Orleans from the battle which secured our nation's future to the shipyards that produce innovative warships, from ongoing presence of our installations to our national museum, from the countless citizens who have answered the call to serve to the organizations that support our veterans. This city has been a bastion of service and sacrifice. So we honor the active community, the veteran community that enriches New Orleans. May we continue to strengthen our mutual appreciation and partnership so that New Orleans may forever be a city that welcomes its service members, veterans, and their families. Bless the leaders of our city and of the services represented here today for the good of us all. In your holy name we pray. Amen. Please remain standing for the presentation of the colors, uh, the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthems. Advance the colors. Coast Guard Petty Officer First Class Brian Higgs will now lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Please be seated. It's a pleasure to be in front of the city council for another of our annual military appreciation days. This is the 31st year the city has celebrated this event. We truly appreciate this enduring support of our city for our military. This event comes as a time of change for our city. This will be the last military appreciation day for Councilman Thomas, and we appreciate his support for the military over the years. Council members Marino and Jeruso will also be leaving the council, but not city government. We also appreciate your sustained support and look forward to working with you as our new mayor and CAO. Today, as in every military appreciation day, we think that the military music that you hear, the wonderful and very representative military personnel you see in the audience, and the reports you receive from our senior officers will be very uplifting. Our local military organizations continue to make great contributions to our region and our country. From remaining on perpetual standby for disaster relief to protecting our rivers and ports and rescuing our boaters in distress, to sending individuals and units to operations around the world, our military supports us across the board. It continues to be very appropriate for New Orleans to show appreciation for all the military in our region does for us. The sad reality is that there does not appear to be any let up in the global challenge of terrorism. In addition to that, the conventional threats to our security from countries like Russia, North Korea, Iran, and particularly China seem to be growing significantly. Many military personnel have given extraordinary sacrifices in the recent decades, but there is no rest for the weary as our national security appears to require that we ask our military to do even more in the future. There are some real and current challenges to maintaining the world's best military. Among today's youth of recruiting age, which is from 18 to 27 years old, only 27% of that population can qualify to join the military, either because of physical, mental, or moral issues. We have about a hundred military personnel from all the services sitting in the audience today. These are among those who have met the military's high standards and volunteered to serve their country. They represent our young and talented U.S. military personnel, whether they are currently in Louisiana or deployed around the world. They are part of our armed forces, who will be asked to do even more in the future to protect our nation and our people's security.