Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Readiness Paul W. Mayberry and Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations and Environment Philip W. Grone, will conduct a press availability in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. at the 2007 Sustaining Military Readiness Conference at 5:30 p.m. EDT, July 31. They will be prepared to answer questions related to the conference and the Department's initiatives to sustain its military test and training mission.

The Sustaining Military Readiness Conference brings together Department of Defense personnel and partners to engage in discussion and training to promote military readiness through conservation, compatible land use planning, and encroachment mitigation. The military's traditional view of sustainability is rapidly broadening. Military leaders once only looked "inside the fenceline" for ways to maintain our troops' readiness. Sustainability now spans beyond military installation borders into the realms of local economy, community planning, and the preservation of our country's natural and cultural resources.

Journalists are to check in at the registration desk at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort Conference Center. The press availability will be held in the Acapulco Room, 1001 West Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista, Fla. A call-in number for the event is also available: (877) 336-1828 (access code 4497945).

For more information, contact Janice Larkin at (508) 274-7020.