[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 10, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1165-E1166]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE OUTSTANDING MILITARY SERVICE OF COL. PETER HUISKING

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DAVID DREIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 1997

  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the outstanding 
military service and contributions to our country of a native of 
Pomona, CA, on the occasion of his retirement from military service on 
December 1, 1996: Col. Peter V. Huisking, Military Intelligence Corps, 
U.S. Army.
  Born in Pomona, CA, in 1949, Colonel Huisking attended St. Joseph 
Elementary School and the Webb School of California, and received an 
Army Reserve Officer Training Corps [ROTC] scholarship to attend Pomona 
College in 1967. He was commissioned in field artillery upon graduation 
from Pomona College in 1971. He served in junior officer positions at 
the artillery battery level with 2d Battalion, 92d Field Artillery, V 
Corps, in Giessen, Germany, from 1972 to 1974. As a first lieutenant, 
he was commander of Battery C, 2d Battalion, 92d Field Artillery.
  Colonel Huisking transferred to the Military Intelligence branch in 
1974, and served in numerous tactical and strategic intelligence 
assignments over the next few years: assistant S2, 42d Field Artillery 
Group, 1974 to 1975; chief, all source production section, 2d Armored 
Division, Fort Hood, TX, 1975 to 1977; commander, Headquarters and 
Operations Company, 522d Military Intelligence Battalion, Fort Hood, 
TX, 1977 to 1978; and staff and faculty, Defense Intelligence College, 
Washington, DC, 1979 to 1982.
  Other overseas assignments included G2 operations officer, 2d 
Infantry Division, Republic of Korea, from 1982 to 1983; chief, 
Intelligence Systems Branch, Headquarters U.S. Army, Europe, 
Heidelberg, Germany, from 1984 to 1986; deputy G2, 1st Armored 
Division, Ansbach, Germany, 1986; and executive officer, 501st Military 
Intelligence Battalion, 1986 to 1988.
  Colonel Huisking was assigned to Fort Huachuca, AZ, in 1988, where he 
served as the manager of the Intelligence-Electronic Warfare Program 
Office. He later commanded the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion at 
Fort Huachuca, from 1989 to 1991, and served with Headquarters, United 
States Armed Forces, Central Command in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during 
Operation Desert Storm as the G2 plans officer for unmanned aerial 
vehicles.
  Following service as the Assistant Chief of Staff, G2, 1st Cavalry 
Division, at Fort Hood, TX, from 1991 to 1992, Colonel Huisking was 
assigned as a staff officer in the Directorate of Force Development in 
the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans at 
Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington, DC, from 1992 to 
1993. He later served as the deputy director for planning in the 
Directorate of Strategy, Plans, and Policy on the Department of the 
Army staff from 1993 to 1994. Colonel Huisking's last military 
assignment was Assistant Chief of Staff, G2, for the U.S. Army Signal 
Command at Fort Huachuca, AZ, from 1994 until his retirement in 
December 1996.
  Colonel Huisking is a graduate of the U.S. Army Field Artillery 
School, 1972; the Defense Intelligence College, 1979; the U.S. Army 
Command and General Staff College, 1984; and the U.S. Army War College, 
1996. He also graduated from Georgetown University with a master of 
arts degree in Government, 1980.
  His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf 
Cluster, the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the 
Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, and several service 
medals including the Saudi Arabia Kuwait Liberation Medal. He is also a 
recipient of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Regiment's Order of Mercury. 
Additionally, Colonel Huisking is authorized to wear the Army staff 
identification badge.
  Colonel Huisking is married to the former Henrietta Hardy of Tucson, 
AZ. They have three children: Elisabeth, who lives in Virginia; Thomas, 
a college student in Texas; and Andrea, a student at Smith Middle 
School, Fort Huachuca, AZ. Colonel Huisking is joining JBL&H Associates 
of Falls Church, VA, and will work at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center 
in support of the Directorate of Combat Developments.
  Colonel Huisking has served at all military echelons from platoon to 
the Army staff. He has led American soldiers as a platoon leader, a 
company commander, and a battalion commander. He served as a 
intelligence officer in key positions from Artillery Group to Major 
Army Command. His service has been characterized by his emphasis on two 
key elements: training for war and taking care of soldiers. This 
emphasis paid off during the successful deployment of elements of his 
battalion to Desert Storm. In the words of Maj. Gen. John Stewart, the 
Assistant Chief of Staff, G2, U.S. Army Forces Central Command, during 
the gulf war:

       Lieutenant Colonel Huisking's tireless, professional, and 
     consistently correct staff work was a major factor in the 
     success of Intelligence and Electronics Warfare during the 
     Persian Gulf War. A great job.

  Colonel Huisking was also an outstanding supporter of every military 
community he lived in, both in the United States and overseas. He was a 
strong supporter of the Scouting Program, both boys and girls, and 
served as committee chairman of the Cub Scout programs. His involvement 
in youth athletics included coaching in youth T-ball and soccer, and 
service on Catholic parish councils in communities

[[Page E1166]]

in Germany and Fort Huachuca, AZ. Additionally, he has served as a lay 
eucharistic minister and lector since 1979.
  As a professional intelligence officer, Colonel Huisking has made a 
particular impact on tactical intelligence units, having served in four 
combat divisions, and having been instrumental in the successful 
implementation of the combat electronic warfare intelligence [CEWI] 
concept in the Army beginning in 1976. Additionally, his training of 
the Army's only unmanned aerial vehicle unit before the Persian Gulf 
war led to its successful development and use during the conflict. His 
pioneering work in this area ensured that the Army will always go to 
war with this important intelligence capability.
  Colonel Huisking's service to the Army and his country spans a 
quarter of a century. It included the years of rebuilding the Army 
after the Vietnam war; standing guard on the frontiers of freedom from 
the demilitarized zone in Korea to the Iron Curtain in Central Europe; 
training units which ensured the readiness of the Army to deter 
aggression and ensure the victory of the United States in the cold war; 
preparing and leading soldiers to victory in the gulf war; and 
maintaining and equipping a force ready to deploy to Somalia, Haiti, 
Bosnia, and other areas of the world during a time of declining 
resources and increased requirements. Colonel Huisking played an 
important role in all of these areas. His legacy is in the outstanding 
soldiers and units who benefited from his leadership, and who will 
carry the Army into the 21st century.
  The citizens of the State of California, particularly the 28th 
Congressional District, are proud of the service of this native son. 
They join me in thanking him and his family for their contributions to 
the Army and the United States, and in wishing them all the best both 
now and in the future.

                          ____________________