[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 46 (Thursday, April 23, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3556-S3557]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING BRIGADIER GENERAL WALLER ON HIS RETIREMENT

 Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise to honor Brigadier General 
Joseph N. Waller on the occasion of his retirement from the Rhode 
Island Air National Guard.
  For the past thirty-one years, General Waller has dedicated himself 
to the citizens of our country and the Ocean state. He was first 
assigned to the 143rd Special Operations Squadron in July 1967 as a 
troop carrier pilot. The next year he was assigned as a tactical 
airlift pilot, a duty he performed for the next twenty-three years. 
During this time, he also served as a flight leader and instructor 
pilot. General Waller is a command pilot who has logged 4,500 flying 
hours.
  General Waller is noted not only for his piloting skills, but also 
for his leadership. In 1981, he was selected as commander of the 143rd 
Tactical Airlift Squadron. In December 1987, he was reassigned to 
Headquarters, Rhode Island National Guard and named Deputy Chief of 
Staff. Three years later he became Chief of Staff. The very next year

[[Page S3557]]

he was elevated to the position of Assistant Adjutant General, the 
position he holds today.
  General Waller chairs the Eastern Region of the Air National Guard 
Long Range Planning Process and serves as the Air National Guard 
Assistant of Strategic Planning to the US Air Force Long Range Planning 
Office. He is well suited to these positions because during his thirty 
years in the Rhode Island National Guard, General Waller has witnessed 
and provided leadership through immense change. When General Waller 
first joined the Guard in the 1960s, the United States was immersed in 
turmoil both at home and abroad. The goals and role of the military in 
the states and overseas were confused and conflicted. During the next 
decade, the United States moved to an all volunteer force, 
fundamentally changing the nature of the Guard. Then in the 1980s, 
military goals and perspectives shifted again during an enormous 
buildup which peaked in 1985 with a record budget of $300 billion.
  Now, once again, the Guard is adjusting to new era of reduced force 
structure, budget constraints, and base closures. Members of the Guard 
no longer train one weekend a month and two weeks each summer. Instead, 
they participate 110-120 days a year and work side-by-side with their 
active duty colleagues on missions in countries around the world. 
General Waller has been through it all and has never wavered from the 
core values of the Guard: integrity first, service before self, and 
excellence in all that is done.
  General Waller is clearly an outstanding soldier. His military awards 
and decorations include the Legion of Merit; Meritorious Service Medal 
with two bronze oak leaf clusters; Air Force Commendation Medal; Air 
Force Achievement Medal; Outstanding Unit Award; Combat Readiness medal 
with three bronze oak leaf clusters; National Defense Service Medal 
with one star; Air Force Longevity Service Award Ribbon with one silver 
and three bronze oak leaf clusters; Armed Forces Reserve medal with 
gold hourglass; Small Arms Expert Markmanship Ribbon; Air Force 
Training Ribbon; Rhode Island Star with one oak leaf cluster; Rhode 
Island Defense Medal; and Rhode Island National Guard Service Medal 
with eagle and ``V'' device.
  General Waller is also an outstanding citizen. He is the devoted 
husband of Carol, the loving father of Wendy, Jay and Jill and the 
proud grandfather of three boys. Throughout the years he has also given 
to his community as a Boy Scout Master and a Sunday school teacher.
  General Waller rose from the enlisted ranks and has occupied and 
succeeded at virtually every level of command. He inspired and 
empowered those around him. He cares deeply for the Guard and the 
people in it. We are honored by the legacy he leaves behind and aspire 
to ensure that General Waller is always proud of the Guard in the 
future.

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