[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 97 (Thursday, July 10, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H5026]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     SALUTING GEN. CHARLES LINK ON HIS RETIREMENT FROM ACTIVE DUTY

  (Mr. CHAMBLISS asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. Speaker, one of the great privileges of serving on 
the Committee on National Security is the opportunity to meet and work 
with people who have dedicated their lives to their fellow Americans. 
Today General Fogleman, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, will preside 
over the retirement of one such person, Gen. Charles D. Link.
  With his retirement from active duty, the military loses a true 
strategic, out-of-the-box thinker, a visionary, and a warrior. With his 
work on the Roles and Missions and the Quadrennial Defense Review, 
General Link has outlined the path the Air Force will follow for the 
next several years. This then is his legacy. But General Link is not to 
be one easily forgotten.
  He has been an inspiration to the troops and a respected leader 
within the service. From his days as a 17-year-old enlisted person 
fixing jets to his days as the commandant of the Air War College, he 
has mastered and mentored the art of war from the air. In the last 
several years he has been rightfully acknowledged as the strongest and 
most articulate proponent of air power. An exemplary accomplishment 
and, as is his way, a magnificent example of a life well-lived.
  Those who have taken up arms in the fight for and defense of this 
Nation are the ones that have delivered us our Constitution and the way 
of life that it has provided. Chuck Link is a shining example of this 
proud American spirit. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing 
General Link a long and prosperous future as he ends his 40 years of 
military service to a free and prosperous United States of America.

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