[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 25, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: January 25, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 STATEMENTS OF REPRESENTATIVE SKELTON, SECRETARY OF THE ARMY WEST, AND 
                        CHIEF OF STAFF SULLIVAN

  Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity to 
welcome back my colleagues and to wish everyone a healthy and rewarding 
new year. This will be a challenging session; however, I am optimistic 
that it will be a productive one which will achieve historic 
legislation on crime and health care.
  Mr. President, it should be no surprise to any of us that despite the 
absence of the Congress, life in the Nation's Capitol continues. During 
the past 2 months, I had the opportunity to participate in two 
ceremonies during which I was privileged to hear several noteworthy 
speeches. I want to share three of those statements with the Senate and 
ask that they be included in the Record immediately following this 
statement.
  The first statement is by our distinguished House colleague, the 
Honorable Ike Skelton. Representative Skelton spoke at the 357th 
birthday celebration of the National Guard. His statement is notable 
not only for its praise of the National Guard, but also for its 
visionary view on the future of NATO.
  The second statement is by the Honorable Togo West, the Secretary of 
the Army, at his welcoming ceremony at Fort Meyer, VA. Secretary West 
simply and eloquently outlined his goals to provide our Nation the best 
trained and ready Army in its history.
  Finally, I submit Gen. Gordon Sullivan's statement welcoming 
Secretary West. As the Army's senior military officer, General Sullivan 
graciously spoke on behalf of the Army's over 1 million men and women 
and their families in tribute to Secretary West.
  Mr. President, I hope my colleagues will take a moment to become 
familiar with these statements. Each of these men will have a prominent 
role as we deal with the Nation's problems during the coming months.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

The 357th Birthday of the National Guard--An Address By Congressman Ike 
                                Skelton


                            I. Introduction

       It is a pleasure to be with you today on this 357th 
     anniversary of the National Guard. Let me thank Major General 
     Rees for the honor he has done me by his kind invitation to 
     address this group today. It is also a pleasure to see Major 
     General Killey and General * * *
       Allow me to also say how much of a pleasure it is to see a 
     very special friend of mine and of the National Guard--The 
     Honorable Deborah Lee, Assistant Secretary of Defense for 
     Reserve Affairs. Debbie is doing a very good job in the 
     Pentagon and to make the total force better than ever. Her 
     efforts are already beginning to bear fruit as the agreement 
     announced this past Friday on restructuring the Army Guard 
     and Reserve. I have not seen the details yet, so I will 
     reserve judgment on the agreement. But anytime you can get 
     the active Army, the National Guard and the Army Reserve 
     singing from the same sheet of music that has to be counted 
     as positive.
       My favorite Assistant Secretary earlier this year gave a 
     speech in which she said ``The total force is no longer a 
     concept but a reality.'' I believe she is right. I hope last 
     week's agreement means we will no longer have an us vs. them 
     attitude between active and reserve component forces. Active, 
     Guard, and Reserve partisans must work together to help put a 
     brake to the free fall in defense spending. That will be a 
     very difficult task in today's budget climate. Past 
     differences cannot be allowed to continue among the various 
     components. All of us who want a strong national defense, a 
     capable military--active and reserve--need to work together. 
     I hope last week's agreement will help us toward that goal.
       Debbie, keep up the good work.


                           ii. anniversaries

                    357th Birthday of National Guard

       Today, we celebrate the 357th birthday of the National 
     Guard. By my arithmetic that means that the year of the birth 
     of the National Guard was 1636, more than a century before 
     this Nation declared its independence from Great Britain.
       Despite the break that eventually took place between the 
     American colonies and Great Britain. The Guard still retains 
     a number of the customs that came from both the English and 
     the colonial American militia traditions.
       England's geographic position as an island separated from 
     the European continent guaranteed its security from invasion. 
     The need that other continental countries felt to maintain 
     large standing armies was largely absent in England. It was 
     able to man its armies with contingents raised locally and 
     commanded by the local nobility. Equally important, such 
     units were called to service on a temporary basis to respond 
     to an immediate crisis. For example, at Tilbury in 1585, 
     Elizabeth I reviewed such a militia brought together to 
     resist an invasion of England threatened by the approach of 
     the Spanish armada.
       Those hardy souls who made the voyage across the Atlantic 
     in the early seventeenth century took with them the 
     traditions of the mother country including the militia 
     system. The first colonists were few in number, ignorant of 
     the new land to which they had come, and highly vulnerable to 
     attack from native inhabitants. The militia concept, actively 
     implemented and rigidly enforced in the first decades of 
     colonization after 1607, helped ensure the survival of the 
     tiny English communities from some of the most savage Indian 
     wars in American history. The American colonial militias 
     relied on local recruiting, short period of active duty in 
     response to immediate threats, and territorial restrictions 
     on service. The essential features of that early period are 
     still part of the Guard today.

                    75th Anniversary of World War I

       This year is also the 75th anniversary of the end of World 
     War I, long known as the Great War. Last month I gave a 
     speech in Missouri in which I recalled the great 
     contributions of Missourians who distinguished themselves 
     throughout our Nation's history. One of those Missourians was 
     Harry S Truman. As those in this audience know, Harry Truman 
     served in the National Guard in that conflict.
       As a boy he had decided that he wanted to be a military 
     man, although he was afraid of a gun and would rather run 
     than fight. He had originally enlisted in the Guard on June 
     14, 1905, Flag Day, at the age of 21. Twelve years later, he 
     was still in the Guard. Though he was beyond the draft age, 
     was operating a 600 acre farm, and had an oil lease on 320 
     acres of land, he left all this to join the artillery. He was 
     motivated by a spirit of deep patriotism.
       He sailed to France aboard the USS George Washington, on 
     Good Friday 1918. After a voyage of 12 to 13 days, he arrived 
     in Brest. Soon after his arrival, his regiment, the 129th 
     Field Artillery embarked upon a 6 week training course. 
     Promoted to Captain, he commanded Battery D, and took it into 
     action in August, participating in the Meuse-Argonne 
     offensive until October 3. He saw further action in the 
     Verdun sector from October 16 to November 7 and yet again in 
     the Meuse-Argonne from November 7 until November 11 when the 
     Armistice went into effect.
       He returned from France in April 1919 and left service in 
     May. Yet the following year, he accepted appointment as a 
     Major of Field Artillery in the Officer's Reserve Corps. He 
     attained the rank of Colonel, commanding a field artillery 
     regiment in July 1932. He attended summer military camp every 
     year but one from 1923 to 1933.
       Years later he said ``I've always been sorry I did not get 
     a university education in the regular way. But I got it in 
     the army the hard way--and it stuck.''


                          iii. future of nato

       As we celebrate the birthday of the National Guard and 
     recall Harry Truman's role as a member of the Guard in World 
     War I, it is also appropriate to take some of those lessons 
     of history and apply them today.
       After Harry Truman and his fellow veterans came home after 
     World War I, the United States entered a period of 
     isolationism. We resisted involvement in the affairs of the 
     world, and did so at our own expense.
       After the defeat of the axis powers in 1945, the specter of 
     Soviet communism threatened a prostrate Western Europe. At 
     the time, the United States was the only Democratic country 
     with the military and economic resources able to thwart the 
     aims of the Soviet Union in Western Europe. Through the 
     policy of containment the United States vigorously resisted 
     this new threat. The Truman doctrine, which provided military 
     and economic aid to Greece and Turkey in 1947, was soon 
     followed by the Marshall Plan, which provided economic relief 
     to the rest of Europe. The signing of the NATO agreement in 
     1949 committed the military power of the United States to the 
     defense of Western Europe.
       The generation that had come to power in the 1940s was 
     determined not to repeat the mistakes of the 1920s and 1930s: 
     Isolationism did not guarantee peace; appeasement only 
     encouraged dictators. As the Soviets sought to gain elsewhere 
     what they were unable to achieve in Western Europe, this high 
     stakes contest between the two superpowers spread to 
     virtually every region of the world--from Europe to Asia, the 
     Middle East, Africa, and Latin America.
       The cost was considerable, close to 100,000 American lives 
     in two Asian wars. However, I believe that we can take a 
     certain measure of pride in our accomplishments. Like Atlas, 
     we shouldered our burdens well. Areas of the world that were 
     completely devastated were soon on the way to economic 
     recovery due to a combination of American generosity and 
     self-interest. Western Europe is strong, vigorous, and 
     prosperous, as is that island nation on the other side of the 
     globe, Japan. Europe and Japan prospered as a result of the 
     far-reaching economic, diplomatic, and military policies 
     adopted by the Truman administration and supported by every 
     American administration thereafter.
       Elsewhere in East Asia, a credible argument can be made 
     that the sacrifices made by the United States in Vietnam were 
     not in vain. True, despite our considerable efforts, 
     Indochina fell--Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. And yet, I 
     believe that the period of our involvement in Vietnam bought 
     time for the other countries of southeast Asia. If some of 
     the dominoes fell, not all of them did. Thailand, Malaysia, 
     Singapore, and Indonesia had time to develop and strengthen 
     themselves politically and economically. As members of the 
     Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN] their average 
     economic rate of growth in the decade after 1975 was 7 
     percent in real terms, twice the global average. Today East 
     Asia has replaced Western Europe as America's leading 
     overseas trading partner. Very few would have predicted such 
     a development in 1965.
       Today, there is a great debate concerning the future of 
     NATO. It succeeded in its original purpose--defending Western 
     Europe against the Soviet threat. That threat disappeared 2 
     years ago.
       This coming January President Clinton and the political 
     leaders of other NATO countries will meet in Brussels to 
     decide the future of history's most successful alliance.
       A key issue that will be discussed is NATO's enlargement. 
     Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia are 
     actively seeking membership in NATO. They are properly 
     concerned about developments in Russia, especially the 
     Russian military's new doctrine that seeks to re-establish 
     Russian control over the former Soviet Union.
       The recent meetings over the past 2 weeks by NATO foreign 
     and defense officials have led to the endorsement of the 
     policy known as Partnership for Peace. It is an effort to 
     give hope to those Central European countries wanting to 
     become NATO members without offending Russian leaders, 
     especially in the military establishment, who are suspicious 
     of an expansionist western military alliance. No countries 
     are named no timetables offered for those wanting to join 
     NATO. But the door is left opened.
       Having studied the matter at some length, I believe that 
     the Partnership for Peace Program is a good start but it must 
     be part of a broader effort.
       First, explicit criteria for membership should be listed: a 
     stable functioning democracy, protection of minority rights, 
     civilian control of the military, open and detailed defense 
     budgets.
       Second, I believe the inclusion of Hungary, Poland, the 
     Czech Republic, and Slovakia in NATO would actually increase 
     stability in Eastern Europe. Much the way the Soviet Union 
     acceded to unified Germany becoming part of NATO, I believe 
     Russia could be convinced that the inclusion of the four 
     Central European countries in NATO would be in its interest 
     also.
       Third, various NATO committees should be employed to 
     increase contacts among the countries now in NATO, those in 
     Central Europe wanting to join, and those in the Soviet 
     successor states, namely committees dealing with economics, 
     scientific affairs, environmental issues, airspace 
     coordination, and civil emergency planning.


                             iv. conclusion

       Some may wonder how we convince an American public that 
     NATO remains important even after the cold war has ended. 
     Twice this century we became involved in European wars 
     despite our intentions to stay out. During the period of time 
     that we have been a European power, with troops stationed in 
     Europe, Europe has experienced its longest period of peace 
     since Roman times. I believe Americans can be convinced that 
     it is in our strategic interest to remain in Europe, to 
     remain in NATO.
       The American National Guard, being part of the total force, 
     should be just as interested in the NATO process as its 
     active duty counterparts. Peace--just as conflict--affects 
     all who wear the uniform. So let's follow the work and 
     developments in progress. If it is successful, and peace in 
     Europe continues, the Harry Trumans of Tomorrow will not have 
     to bear the burden of freedom and security in another 
     European conflict.
       Again, congratulations on the anniversary of America's 
     National Guard. It has been and will long remain a steady 
     rock of our Nation's freedom.
                                  ____


     Remarks of the Honorable Togo D. West, Jr.--Welcoming Ceremony

       Thank you, General Sullivan, for those extremely gracious 
     comments and for your warm introduction. A special thanks as 
     well to the members of the Old Guard and the Army Band who 
     have participated here. The men and women of America's Army 
     around the world are certainly well represented by you here 
     today, and we in the West family are especially appreciative 
     of your efforts, as well as the efforts of the entire Army 
     community in making us feel welcome and at home. We are proud 
     to return to the Army and to join its leadership team, and we 
     look forward to our association with you.
       Deputy Secretary Perry, General Shalikashvili, General 
     Sullivan, Admiral Kelso, General Colin Powell, Senator 
     Thurmond, distinguished Members of the House of 
     Representatives, Mayor Kelly, distinguished guests, members 
     and friends of the United States Army, ladies and gentlemen 
     all, I am pleased to join you on this day and at this time. A 
     number of people have had a hand in making this day possible 
     and I owe thanks to them all.
       First, of course, I deeply appreciate the President's 
     nomination and, upon confirmation, appointment of me to lead 
     our Army. I am gratified by the recommendation in my behalf 
     by the Secretary of Defense and his Deputy, Bill Perry, to 
     the President and by their continued support and 
     encouragement of me during the period of nomination, 
     confirmation and transition.
       I appreciate as well the support and advice of the Members 
     of the Senate and of the House of Reprsentatives during this 
     period. I especially appreciate the time and thoughtfulness 
     of the Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and 
     their staffs as they went about their constitutional duties, 
     and the wisdom imparted to me by other Members of the Senate 
     as well. I am indebted to those Members of the House of 
     Representatives, including the Delegate from the District of 
     Columbia, the Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton, for their 
     counsel and support. We in the Army and in the Department of 
     Defense understand the constitutional role of the United 
     States Congress in raising and equipping the nation's Army, 
     and we value the cooperative relationship that exists between 
     the Department of Defense and the legislative branch of 
     government.
       I am grateful to the members of my family who, for a family 
     as small as ours, are here in unusual number--my law school 
     classmate, life's partner, severest critic, most dependable 
     friend, my wife Gail; our daughters Tiffany and Hilary, who 
     continue to grow in grace and beauty and wisdom, and who are 
     a constant source of joy and pride to their parents; their 
     uncle, Theodore Newton Berry, whom I have known since he was 
     eleven, then a fine boy, later a fine young man and, now, 
     somewhat older, but still a fine person; and his parents, my 
     mother-in-law, Johnnie Mae Berry, a warm and wonderful human 
     being, and my father-in-law, Theodore Moody Berry, a true 
     American hero who rose from selling newspapers on the street 
     corners of Cincinnati as a child to become the Mayor of that 
     city.
       My mother and father are here today; she, in person, he, 
     now dead some twenty years, in spirit. It is their 
     discipline--the discipline of two dedicated teachers in the 
     Winston-Salem public school system--and their high 
     expectations that have shaped me and that influence me still 
     to this day. They and their entire generation represent the 
     people on whose shoulders I and my generation have stood to 
     reach this point.
       You can see that this is, in many ways, for me, a family 
     day. And members of other families of which I am or have felt 
     a part, my church, my community, the National Cathedral, and 
     the Kennedy Center are also here. Those families, too, have 
     made this occasion possible. They include former teachers, 
     fellow students and friends from my hometown of Winston-
     Salem, North Carolina; colleagues and professors from our 
     days at Howard University; fellow lawyers and workers from 
     the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps, my former law firms, 
     the Navy General Counsel's Office, the Department of Defense 
     General Counsel's Office; and former colleagues from other 
     Army and Navy offices, from the Office of the Secretary of 
     Defense, and from my former corporation--all have helped to 
     bring me to this point. And for that, I am truly grateful.
       I have been called to lead the finest land force in the 
     world. Your United States Army is a force without equal 
     anywhere on the globe. Discharging the responsibilities of 
     this office will require my best efforts in caring for the 
     men and women who are America's Army. I will give that 
     effort. And I am encouraged by the realization that I will 
     not be required to do it alone.
       I could not ask for a better team than the one assembled 
     here. General Gordon Sullivan, our Chief of Staff, from whom 
     you have just heard, has been the key architect of the Army's 
     response to a constantly and swiftly changing world. His 
     service, especially over the past year, has been as an 
     exemplar of selfless, dedicated leadership. As Chief of Staff 
     and Acting Secretary over the past several months, he has 
     given the best of himself, and he has done it time and time 
     again. General Sullivan, there are not words to express nor 
     accolades sufficient to acknowledge your contributions to 
     this Army you so clearly love and this country you so ably 
     serve.
       Joe Reeder, the newly appointed Under Secretary of the 
     Army, brings an enthusiasm and high regard for America's 
     soldiers formed during his own time of active service, as 
     West Point cadet, commissioned officer, Ranger, Army lawyer 
     and staunch supporter of Army concerns. Together, with 
     General Sullivan, we are determined to deliver for our 
     soldiers just as they are delivering for us.
       Determination and pride, however, will not do the job 
     alone. For that reason, I have a specific message for the 
     Army's leadership, military and civilian, assembled here 
     today. These are my expectations, and they frame the 
     requirements I will impose. My goal for the Army is a simple 
     one, and I have already stated it: to make our Army better 
     tomorrow than it was yesterday, and to transmit that Army to 
     my successor better trained, better equipped and better 
     supported than the already high state in which it was 
     transmitted to me. To fulfill this goal, I will require 
     your personal support and your enthusiasm. But there is 
     more: I require that you adopt as a personal mandate that 
     you will fulfill your fullest potential in every action 
     you take, every responsibility you assume, every endeavor 
     you attempt. I direct this challenge to you not as a means 
     of your personal development, but rather because, as you 
     already know, the soldiers you serve and lead deserve your 
     best effort and, as I and this Administration know, the 
     American people demand it.
       Finally, this closing thought. This is a wonderful day. It 
     fills me with pride and joy, and I hope it is a source of 
     some fulfillment for my family and friends as well. But this 
     day is not about me. It is about America's Army.
       It is about that Army as it faces new challenges this year 
     and enters a new chapter in its history today. It is about 
     that Army as it faces a world grown newly--and gravely--
     complex, even as some old threats die. And it is about the 
     men and women who face the new complexity.
       They are the active duty members, reservists, National 
     Guardsmen and Guardswomen, and Department of the Army 
     civilians. And they are our family members.
       They are not strangers. They are the sons and daughters of 
     our neighborhoods, from next door, or the next block, or the 
     farm a few miles down. In the words of that traditional 
     Christmas carol, ``They are our neighbors' children, whom we 
     have seen before.'' They differ from us only in that they 
     have chosen to do our nation's business, and to do it in 
     uniform, thereby committing themselves to the timeless 
     traditions of duty and service and sacrifice.
       To them, I say, we are counting on you, just as we always 
     have. We know you will not let us down because, in the 
     history of this nation, you never have.
       And, just as you--America's sons and daughters--have stood 
     and are standing up for America; this President, this 
     Secretary of Defense, this Deputy Secretary of Defense, this 
     Under Secretary of the Army, this Chief of Staff, this 
     Secretary of the Army and this Nation will continue to stand 
     up for you. We can do no less.
       Bless you all; thanks for making this day possible and for 
     sharing it with me.
                                  ____


Remarks by General Gordon R. Sullivan at the Welcome Ceremony in Honor 
        of the Honorable Togo D. West Jr., Secretary of the Army

       Members of Congress, Mayor Kelly (District of Columbia), 
     Mr. Perry (Deputy Secretary of Defense), Mr. Days (U.S. 
     Solicitor General), former Secretaries of the Army Mr. 
     Alexander, Mr. Ailes, and Mr. Stahr, General and Mrs. 
     Shalikashvili (Chairman of the JCS), General and Mrs. Powell 
     (former Chairman of the JCS), Admiral Kelso (Chief of Naval 
     Operations), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, it 
     is a real pleasure to see all of you here today for this 
     important ceremony. The Army today welcomes the Honorable Mr. 
     Togo West as the sixteenth Secretary of the Army, and I thank 
     all of you for being here in support of the Army.
       Let me also take a moment to thank the soldiers here 
     today--members of the Old Guard and the United States Army 
     band, ``Pershing's Own.'' As usual they are delivering a 
     superb performance--truly representing the spirit, pride, and 
     professionalism of all the soldiers, all the fine young men 
     and women, serving their nation today.
       This is a great day for the Army and a great day for the 
     Nation. It's a real pleasure to welcome a new leader to the 
     United States Army. But while he is new to the job of 
     Secretary of the Army, he is by no means new to leadership, 
     service with the military, or service to his fellow citizens.
       Mr. West has been associated with the Army, the armed 
     forces and public service since his graduation from law 
     school. A captain in the Army Judge Advocate General Corps, 
     early in his career he came to know soldiers and to value the 
     importance of the American soldier to a strong national 
     defense.
       Both his professional ability and his dedication to public 
     service are evident from his service across three 
     presidential administrations. Service in the Department of 
     Justice under President Ford; appointed General Counsel of 
     the Navy, and then General Counsel for the Department of 
     Defense by President Carter; and in 1982, service on a 
     special panel for the Secretary of State.
       A respected and accomplished attorney, he is also a leader 
     in the community as well. He is currently the Chairman of the 
     Kennedy Center Friends and Community Board, has previously 
     served as the Chairman of the Trustees Council of the YMCA, 
     and serves on the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese 
     of Washington--to name only a few of his numerous community 
     activities.
       An accomplished professional, an experienced public 
     servant, and a selfless contributor to the community--Mr. 
     West is a leader. The Army could not be more fortunate than 
     to be able to welcome Mr. West as the new Secretary at this 
     critical juncture in our history.
       The Army today stands at the threshold of the 21st Century, 
     and has in many ways already entered a new era. We are an 
     Army that has experienced significant change in the past 4 
     years--we are in many ways a changed Army.
       But we are by no means finished. There are challenges still 
     to be met. The future will not be placid--it never is. These 
     are very demanding times--tough missions--missions which 
     require strategic agility in thought and deed. We are 
     transforming ourselves and serving our Nation. We are doing 
     it. We are employing our forces and training our forces.
       Mr. West, the soldiers of America's Army--active, National 
     Guard, and Army Reserve--are fortunate to have a leader who 
     has a clear vision of the challenges we will face in the 21st 
     Century. We are fortunate to have in Mr. West a leader who 
     knows that Nation's defense depends on an Army that is 
     trained and ready, an Army with the absolute best equipment, 
     and an Army that is made up of top quality young men and 
     women, the top athletes, scholars and citizens, from every 
     one of our fifty states and territories.
       We are proud and honored to have Secretary West as our 
     leader. Today America's Army--over 1 million men and women 
     and their families; from every corner of our country; from 
     camps, posts and stations around the globe--America's Army 
     welcomes a new leader, our new Secretary.
       Mr. West, America's Army today stands trained and ready; we 
     are meeting the challenges of today; you will lead us in to 
     the 21st Century; we are ready. Count on us!

                          ____________________