[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 26, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO ROY D. NEDROW

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM SAXTON

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 26, 1997

  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a man who has 
committed a lifetime to law and order in the United States. On March 1, 
1997, Mr. Roy D. Nedrow will retire as the Director of the Naval 
Criminal Investigative Service, ending 33 years of law enforcement 
service to the community at the local and Federal level.
  Mr. Nedrow began his law enforcement career in 1964 with the 
Berkeley, CA Police Department where he served for 6 years, first as a 
patrolman and later as a training sergeant and detective. In 1970, Mr. 
Nedrow was appointed a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service, 
distinguishing himself during assignments in the field and at the 
Service's headquarters. As a result of his outstanding performance and 
talents, Mr. Nedrow earned a number of promotions culminating in his 
appointment to the senior executive service and assignment as the 
Secret Service's Deputy Assistant Director for the Office of 
Investigations. As director, he oversaw all investigations and 
protective support activities conducted by the Service's 1,200 special 
agents at its more than 100 field locations.
  In 1992, Mr. Nedrow retired from the Secret Service to accept 
appointment as the first civilian Director of the Naval Criminal 
Investigative Service [NCIS]. His appointment came at a critical time 
in the Agency's history. His strong leadership and unquestionable 
integrity restored stability to an agency which needed greater 
independence and a change of direction. Assembling a team of highly 
qualified professionals, Director Nedrow overhauled the Service, 
reorganizing its bureaucracy and providing greater accountability and 
responsiveness to its customers. He provided the men and women of NCIS 
with a new vision, the necessary resources and support, and the 
inspiration to achieve positive change.
  Under Director Nedrow's leadership, the Naval Criminal Investigative 
Service gained national recognition for its innovation in homicide 
investigation. The Service's approach to the investigation of 
previously unresolved or cold case homicides was lauded for its 
innovation and excellence in October 1996 by the International Chiefs 
of Police [IACP] during its prestigious Webber Seavey Award for Quality 
in Law Enforcement Ceremony. The NCIS cold case methodology has since 
been adopted by numerous law enforcement agencies throughout the United 
States.
  Director Nedrow also recognized the problems and anxieties endured by 
families of deceased servicemembers whose deaths occurred under other 
than natural circumstances. He created and championed an NCIS Family 
Liaison Program to assure responsiveness to the needs of, and issues 
raised by, surviving family members during the death investigation 
process.
  Director Nedrow's legacy of achievements include his establishment of 
a proven, money-saving alternative dispute resolution personnel 
program, and a cutting edge and visionary computer crimes investigation 
group.
  Perhaps most impressive of all, Director Nedrow and the dedicated men 
and women of NCIS have done what very few Federal agencies can claim to 
have done--they have recovered more taxpayer dollars to the U.S. 
Treasury than it costs to run the entire agency! From 1993, Director 
Nedrow's first year at the helm of NCIS, to the end of fiscal year 
1996, NCIS procurement fraud special agents investigated 2,355 cases of 
fraud against the Government, obtained 658 felony indictments, achieved 
493 convictions, and recovered over $975.8 million in fraudulent 
payments, fines, and restitution.
  This is a remarkable achievement! This small, elite agency of only 
885 special agents, only 114 of whom are procurement fraud specialists 
assigned to Navy and Marine Corps bases around the world, have proven 
that while crime doesn't pay, crime fighting does!
  Although we are losing the leadership and talents of Director Nedrow 
to a well-earned retirement on March 1, he leaves behind a team of 
tenacious investigators working hard to keep our Armed Forces safe and 
ready. The NCIS team he leaves behind is a lasting tribute--I can think 
of no finer tribute--to a great leader and a great American. In 1945, 
renowned journalist Walter Lippman wrote, ``The final test of a leader 
is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will 
to carry on.'' Roy Nedrow has more than met the test. The Naval 
Criminal Investigative Service is indeed a better agency today than it 
was when he took over the reins.
  Mr. Speaker, I wish to commend Roy Nedrow for his outstanding 
leadership and life-long service to our country. I offer him my 
personal thanks and the thanks of an appreciative nation as he begins a 
new chapter in his life.

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