[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 112 (Friday, August 12, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      TRIBUTE TO NICK C. AQUILINA

  Mr. REID. Madam President, on September 3, 1994, Nick Aquilina will 
retire from the Department of Energy after 32 years of Federal service. 
As the manager of the Nevada Operations Office of the Department of 
Energy for the last 7 years, he has been a valuable partner to the 
elected officials of the State of Nevada and the community of southern 
Nevada. We, along with all his coworkers, will miss him.
  Nick Aquilina's career chronicles the vision and achievement of our 
nuclear weapons program and the people who made it possible. He 
characterizes the spirit and dedication of a generation of Americans 
who dedicated their lives to maintaining our nuclear deterrent.
  Nick began his career at the Nevada Test Site in 1962 as an employee 
of Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Company. He went on to 
management positions in the Atomic Energy Commission, the Energy 
Research and Development Agency and in the Department of Energy.
  His career started as our country emerged from its first nuclear 
testing moratorium and it is ending as we find ourselves in our second 
moratorium, one which will likely be followed by a comprehensive test 
ban. During those intervening years, Nick and his coworkers developed a 
nuclear arsenal that was a critical element of our Nation's national 
security policy. That policy lead to the demise of the Soviet Union and 
the end of the cold war.
  Throughout his career, and in his capacity as manager of the Nevada 
Operations Office, Nick has shown us the importance of commitment; 
commitment to the mission, commitment to the community, and commitment 
to his values and his heritage.
  Nick has never lost sight of the mission of the test site and of the 
Department. He has always worked with the test side customers to meet 
their mission needs and with the Department leadership to make sure 
that the programs was conducted safely and in compliance with national 
objectives.
  Nick has been committed to the community and the positive role that 
the Department can play in the community. He has supported educational 
and outreach programs in the Las Vegas area and contributed innumerable 
hours of his personal time to the community.
  As he has risen through his career he has never forgotten his roots, 
his Italian heritage with its sense of family and community, and his 
youthful test site days with its hard work and dedication to excellence 
and achievement. These early values have become the foundation for the 
outstanding character and the leadership that Nick has shown us as 
manager of the Nevada Operations Office.
  Over the last decade, Nick has held various management positions in 
the Department of Energy. During this same period, the leadership of 
the Department and the world situation has changed dramatically. While 
immersed in this sea of change, Nick has shown an outstanding ability 
to assess the changing environment, to keep focused on the important 
elements of the missions and his values, and to lead the Nevada 
Operation and its partners into the future.
  Nick has built on the strong culture of the testing community to meet 
the challenge of change. By focusing on teamwork, the needs of the 
customer, and a positive, can-do, attitude in the face of uncertainty, 
Nick and the test community are creating a new future for the test 
site. Their new vision, created under Nick's leadership, will be a 
final legacy that Nick leaves to provide guidance and leadership to a 
future generation of test site workers.
  Nick believed in the mission, he dedicated his career to the mission, 
and he accomplished the mission. And finally he set the vision of the 
future.
  I wish to extend my recognition and appreciation to Nick C. Aquilina, 
who has served his Nation and the community of southern Nevada so well.

                          ____________________