[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 96 (Tuesday, June 13, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8204-S8205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 TRIBUTE TO COMDR. ROBERT MEISSNER, USN

  MR. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I rise to recognize the dedication, 
public service, and patriotism of Comdr. Robert M. Meissner, U.S. Navy, 
on the occasion of his retirement after 20 years of faithful service to 
our Nation.
  Today Commander Meissner, a 1975 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, 
is [[Page S8205]] serving his last day of a 12-month assignment as the 
Director of Senate Affairs for the Secretary of Defense. During this 
and previous assignments over the past decade in the legislative 
affairs offices of the Department of the Navy and the Office of the 
Secretary of Defense [OSD] and in Senator Gramm's office, many of us 
have come to know Bob Meissner well and he has earned the admiration 
and respect of Members on both sides of the aisle.
  Legislative liaison is often a thankless job. Interpreting the 
Pentagon to the Congress and the Congress to the Pentagon is certainly 
no easy task. There is a well-known tendency in Washington to shoot 
messengers of bad tidings. Commander Meissner has had to convey bad 
news both to Members of Congress and to senior Department of Defense 
officials on many occasions. The fact that he has survived to his 
retirement, and not only survived, but thrived and continually advanced 
in responsibility, is testament to his grace, skill, honesty, and 
strong commitment to excellence in carrying out his duties.
  Commander Meissner also brought a keen sense of humor to the job, 
which is probably an essential qualification for any legislative 
liaison officer. I am sure that many of my colleagues would join me in 
saying that Commander Bob Meissner represents the epitome of the 
Pentagon legislative liaison officer and we will miss his contributions 
to our joint effort with the Pentagon to advance our Nation's security.
  Let me briefly now summarize Commander Meissner's career as a Naval 
officer.
  Commander Meissner holds a master's degree in government with 
distinction, from Georgetown University, and is a graduate of Harvard's 
John F. Kennedy School of Government's Senior Officials in National 
Security Program. His military experience includes four operational 
carrier deployments, two with an air antisubmarine squadron and two as 
a strike operations officer with the ship's company, a staff assignment 
as aide and executive assistant, post graduate studies, and several 
joint duty staff assignments. He is an antisubmarine warfare mission 
commander in the S-3A aircraft and qualified as an underway command 
duty officer.
  In October l983, as the U.S. task force's only on-scene strike 
operations officer, Commander Meissner singularly scheduled and planned 
the weapons for all Navy tactical combat air missions during the first 
5 days of the successful Grenada Operation Urgent Fury. Two months 
later he was cited for his extraordinary contribution in the successful 
execution of the December 1983 retaliatory air strike over Beirut and 
the Bekaa Valley. In March 1985, Commander Meissner reported to the 
Navy's Office of Legislative Affairs as a Senate liaison officer, where 
he assisted the Office of the Secretary of the Navy on political and 
legislative issues before the U.S. Senate. In early 1987, he was 
selected to serve on the Secretary of Defense's Legislative Affairs 
staff as an Assistant, responsible for weapon systems' procurement 
legislation.
  After the U.S.S. Stark was attacked in the Persian Gulf in May 1987, 
Commander Meissner became Secretary of Defense Weinberger's legislative 
point of contact to Congress on the Kuwaiti reflagging and escort 
issue. Within 9 months, he coordinated over 50 congressional briefings 
and hearings, made 10 trips to the region with 28 Members of Congress, 
and was cited by Congressmen, U.S. State Department officials, and 
Middle East foreign leaders for his efforts in promoting the 
administration's successful Persian Gulf policy. He assisted in writing 
a section of the Persian Gulf chapter of former Secretary of Defense 
Weinberger's book, Fighting for Peace.
  In March 1988, he was selected by the Secretary of Navy as the first 
naval officer to receive a LEGIS congressional fellowship. He was 
assigned to the personal staff of Senator Phil Gramm, then the ranking 
member on the Armed Services Defense Industry and Technology 
Subcommittee, and served as his senior defense advisor and National 
Security Affairs legislative assistant. Upon completion of his 
fellowship, Commander Meissner returned to OSD [Legislative Affairs], 
where he assumed the responsibilities of the assistant for research, 
development, test and evaluation.
  In June 1990, he was promoted to Director for House Affairs, where he 
provided direct liaison between the Secretary of Defense and the U.S. 
House of Representatives. In early 1991, Commander Meissner left the 
OSD staff and reported to the President's General Advisory Committee on 
Arms Control and Disarmament as its Executive Director. Commander 
Meissner returned to OSD [Legislative Affairs] in January 1993 and 
assumed responsibility for the Research and Technology legislative 
portfolio with particular emphasis on representing the Advanced 
Research Projects Agency [ARPA] and the administration's dual-use and 
technology reinvestment programs.
  In May 1994, Commander Meissner assumed his current position as the 
Director of Senate Affairs for the Department of Defense. Commander 
Meissner has lectured at the Naval Postgraduate School and the Defense 
System's Management College on civil-military affairs and congressional 
relations.
  His military awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the 
Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Meritorious Service Medal, 
the Navy Commendation Medal [fourth award], and several unit 
commendations, expeditionary, and service ribbons. Bob is married and 
resides with his wife, Denise, in Falls Church, VA.
  Our Nation, the U.S. Navy, the Department of Defense as a whole, and 
especially his wife, Denise, can truly be proud of Commander Meissner's 
many accomplishments. A man of his extraordinary talent and integrity 
is rare indeed. While his honorable service will be genuinely missed in 
the Department of Defense and here in the Senate, it gives me great 
pleasure to recognize Comdr. Bob Meissner before my colleagues and send 
him all of our best wishes in his new and exciting career.


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