[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 68 (Wednesday, May 21, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1008-E1009]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING CAPTAIN LEROY A. FARR, A MILITARY AND AMERICAN HERO

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 21, 1997

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a friend 
and a true military giant, an American hero--U.S. Navy Captain Leroy 
Farr.
  Captain Farr is retiring from the Navy after 30 years of service to 
our country. As a test pilot, landing signal officer, operations and 
maintenance officer, squadron commanding officer, air boss, program 
manager, and inspector general, Captain Farr has a record in naval 
aviation that is second to none.
  In 30 years Captain Farr has racked up numerous accomplishments but 
one of the greatest achievements in his distinguished record is the 
quiet but critical role he played in helping to save a strategic 
military asset--the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in 
Lakehurst, NJ.
  Lakehurst, Mr. Speaker, is the heart of naval aviation. It is a 
unique, one-of-its-kind, world-class facility whose primary function is 
to ensure that aircraft safely launch and recover from the deck of a 
carrier or other platform, and that support equipment assist in the 
service of planes, parts, and ordinance at sea. The safety and success 
of every single naval aircraft depends on the work and skill housed at 
Navy Lakehurst.
  Despite its military value, the Department of Defense erroneously 
targeted Navy Lakehurst for closure--and then for a radical 
realignment. As part of the realignment scenario, the critical 
manufacturing, design, and research that goes on at Lakehurst was to be 
split apart and relocated at other bases.
  Knowing that we had to act quickly to respond to this disaster, I 
immediately called together business and community leaders to discuss a 
plan to defend our base. We formed the Save Lakehurst Committee and 
organized a massive effort to save Navy Lakehurst. But

[[Page E1009]]

without reliable facts and figures, our effort would have been for 
naught.
  As commanding officer of Lakehurst, Captain Farr was undoubtedly 
between a rock and a hard place. He knew the facts; he knew the 
figures. But as a Navy officer, Captain Farr could not and would not 
violate his chain of command. At the same time, as a Captain, a pilot, 
a former air boss, and the current commanding officer of Navy 
Lakehurst, Captain Farr knew better than anyone just how devastating 
the close Lakehurst scenario would be for national security and pilot 
safety.
  It was an unusual situation where one's own military command was 
supporting a plan not in the best interest of the military. A 
predicament in which a man of less character, less courage, less 
fortitude and less grit might decide to look the other way--and let the 
chips fall where they may. But not Leroy Farr.
  Captain Farr drew strength from his own personal skills and 
attributes enabling him to strike a balance between the plans of his 
Pentagon and the needs of his Nation. I remember his wife, Barbara, 
telling me just how much he grieved for the future of Navy Lakehurst 
and the future of any pilot who might fly off an aircraft carrier 
without the support of the skilled workers and artisans at Navy 
Lakehurst.
  I had the good fortune of sitting in on Captain Farr's many briefings 
when BRAC officials would come to the base to see for themselves what 
went on at Navy Lakehurst. It was in these skillful presentations that 
Captain Farr laid the groundwork for the ultimate reversal of the close 
Lakehurst scenario. Captain Farr was informed, clear, concise, fair, 
direct, honest, sincere, and always careful to never publicly repudiate 
the Pentagon's plans.
  Yet, on those critical points and questions when the facts simply did 
not fit the Pentagon's proposal, Captain Farr was sure to let the facts 
speak for themselves.
  And the facts spoke volumes. Each fact introduced or underscored in a 
Captain Farr briefing became amplified by our community effort. We 
catapulted--to coin a phrase--the information to the BRAC Commission 
who in turn were persuaded not by rhetoric but by data--real hard 
evidence. They reversed the Pentagon proposal and secured the future of 
Navy Lakehurst and naval aviation and the safety of every Navy pilot.
  Captain Farr's love of his country and love of his military--and his 
ability to withstand the heat--enabled him to educate and guide all of 
us who could openly and publicly challenge the Pentagon on the basis of 
military value and pilot safety. He did it not in a brash, self-
promoting, self-serving or destructive manner but with class, dignity, 
firmness, integrity, valor, and resolve. And in this effort Captain 
Farr demonstrated that he is the personification of what our future 
military leaders should always strive to be: brave, decent, honorable 
leaders who put the safety of the Nation at the forefront of every 
decision.
  It has been my distinct honor and privilege to have worked with 
Captain Farr and I know I speak not only for myself but for all who 
support Navy Lakehurst and are dedicated to a strong, capable military 
defense when I say that we will sincerely miss you and your brand of 
military leadership. Our gratitude for your dedication, contribution, 
and success is immeasurable.
  We wish you the absolute best in your future endeavors with your wife 
Barbara and your children, Patty, Sherry, and Andrew--you, Captain, 
have earned it.

                          ____________________