[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 73 (Tuesday, June 9, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1079]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO STERLING HAALAND

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. WILLIAM M. THOMAS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 9, 1998

  Mr. THOMAS. Mr. Speaker, on July 2nd, the United States will lose 30 
years of defense research experience and program management skills when 
Mr. Sterling Haaland, the Executive Director of the Naval Air Warfare 
Center, Weapons Division, takes retirement. His knowledge and 
experience are going to be sorely missed.
  If you consider the measure of our nation's ability to defend us to 
be an ability to accurately deliver force, Sterling Haaland's work 
stands out. His expertise and accomplishments have produced more 
accurate weapons systems, better flight software for pilots and state 
of the art facilities for weapons development and testing at the Navy's 
China Lake and Pt. Mugu ranges into the Naval Air Warfare Center, 
Weapons Division.
  More than senior executive, program manager or researcher, Sterling 
Haaland's work embodies the skill and dedication this country has come 
to depend on getting from its defense professionals in times of crisis. 
When called upon to ensure our troops in Desert Storm had the best 
equipment we could provide, Haaland's organization made critical 
improvements to the AIM-9M Sidewinder missile, adapted the HARM anti-
radar missile to Persian Gulf conditions, adjusted fuzes, missiles and 
bomb subsystems to meet new conditions and delivered improved 
electronic warfare systems to Navy and Marine pilots.
  The legacy Sterling Haaland leaves behind him is one of 
accomplishment. A new generation of professionals is assuming the 
responsibilities he has carried. His example and the premier defense 
research organization he leaves behind are blueprints his successors 
will be able to follow in keeping the Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons 
Division, in the forefront of defense technology development and 
testing.