[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 66 (Tuesday, May 24, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 24, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
TRIBUTE TO J. WILLIAM KIME ON HIS DEPARTURE AS COMMANDANT OF THE COAST 
                                 GUARD

                                 ______


                          HON. GERRY E. STUDDS

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 24, 1994

  Mr. STUDDS. Mr. Speaker, I wish to pay tribute to Admiral J. William 
Kime, Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, who will retire on 
June 1, 1994. When Admiral Kime assumed the helm of the Coast Guard in 
1990, he charted a course to pursue his vision for the Coast Guard: to 
support Coast Guard people, to balance Coast Guard missions, and to 
strive for excellence. ``People, Balance, and Excellence'' has been the 
hallmark of Admiral Kime's distinguished command and he has carried out 
these goals admirably.
  The Coast Guard and this Nation have been well served under Admiral 
Kime's leadership. He will be missed by the Members of the Committee on 
Merchant Marine and Fisheries who have come to rely on his wise counsel 
and spirited support for the men and women of the Coast Guard. 
Personnel retention in the Coast Guard is at an all time high, almost 
assuredly because of Admiral Kime's successful Work-Life and Total 
Quality Management initiatives. Admiral Kime recognized the increasing 
demands on Coast Guard personnel and the need to take care of the 
people who guard our safety at sea.
  Admiral Kime also implemented a Total Quality Management Program to 
ensure excellent performance in the execution of Coast Guard missions. 
As a result, high moral and job satisfaction within the Coast Guard 
have paid dividends to the public in the form of improved service in 
all Coast Guard mission areas.
  Through an era of changing operational missions and tight budgets, 
Admiral Kime made sure the Coast Guard focused on its four primary 
missions of maritime safety, marine environmental protection, maritime 
law enforcement, and national security. Let me take a moment to 
highlight a few of Admiral Kime's many accomplishments as Commandant. 
Admiral Kime commanded the Coast Guard's activities in Operation Desert 
Shield/Desert Storm. The Coast Guard established port security units 
throughout the Persian Gulf theater and supervised the operations for 
the sealift of persons and materiel from United States ports. Under 
Admiral Kime's supervision, the Coast Guard responded to the tragic oil 
well fires in the Persian Gulf and conducted maritime interdiction 
operations on the Red and Adriatic Seas.
  Admiral Kime guided the Coast Guard's implementation of the Oil 
Pollution Act of 1990, one of the most comprehensive laws Congress has 
ever assigned to the Coast Guard. He has attempted to resolve the 
complex regulatory issues under OPA 90 before his watch ends, so that 
the new commandant can start with a clean slate.
  Admiral Kime took the lead on domestic and international measures to 
improve marine environmental safety, such as the deployment of a 
differential global positioning system, and the early design and 
evaluation of a state of the art vessel traffic system, called VTS 
2000, to be implemented soon in major United States ports.
  Internationally, Admiral Kime promoted numerous proposals on behalf 
of the U.S. at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), all 
designed to minimize the threat to the global marine environment posed 
by substandard ships.
  Admiral Kime has balanced the Coast Guard's multiple law enforcement 
missions by enforcing regulations to protect our nation's important 
fish stocks, while aggressively pursuing the Coast Guard's high-seas 
drug interdiction and in-country narcotics eradication efforts as the 
President's Interdiction Coordinator. During his command, the Coast 
Guard has rescued over 44,000 Haitians from the perils of the sea.
  Admiral Kime's agenda of ``People, Balance, and Excellence'' served 
the Coast Guard and the public well, enabling the service to fight a 
war, to respond to devastating natural disasters, to rescue those in 
distress at sea, and to protect our marine environment. That so much is 
accomplished by so few is testament to Admiral Kime's energy, 
unflagging spirit, and leadership. On behalf of the Committee on 
Merchant Marine and Fisheries, and more importantly, on behalf of the 
American people, I salute Admiral J. William Kime for his outstanding 
leadership as Commandant of the United States Coast Guard and wish him 
well on all future voyages.

                          ____________________