[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 27, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E26]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       RETIREMENT OF LEE G. MEYER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. WILLIAM M. THOMAS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 27, 1998

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, Lee G. Meyer, Deputy Director of the 
Phillips Laboratory, Propulsion Directorate at Edwards Air Force Base 
has retired. His departure means our nation will lose 30 years of 
exceptional experience and knowledge of rocket propulsion systems.
  For those unfamiliar with the Directorate, it is a little-known but 
vital part of Edwards Air Force Base. Over two hundred military and 
civilian personnel work at remote facilities to make efficient, 
dependable rocket propulsion technologies available to our military and 
space programs. In fact, it would be hard for us to image the events of 
the last thirty years without the technologies these people helped make 
available. The giant rocket motor test standards operated by the 
Directorate, for example, tested both the Saturn V boosters that took 
Americans into space and ballistic missile technologies that were so 
critical to this nation's security during the Cold War. Lee Meyer was 
essential part of these efforts.
  Lee's over three decades of work at the Laboratory have contributed 
greatly to the lab's and our nation's achievements. He started working 
at Edwards in 1963 as an Air Force officer and remained there for the 
rest of his career as a civilian Air Force employee. During that time, 
Lee Meyer worked on all kinds of innovative propulsion technologies and 
was selected to manage important projects such as the concept 
definition for the proposed Small ICBM as the Advanced Launch System 
program which will continue to explore the next generation of space 
launch technologies.
  Lee Meyer's retirement will mean the loss of years of knowledge and 
experience to his colleagues and to the nation. Given the service he 
has performed for the United States, I urge my colleagues to join me in 
thanking him for being an important part of our nation's defense.

                          ____________________