[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 77 (Monday, June 15, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S6326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO LIEUTENANT COMMANDER GARY MAYES

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I wish to take this opportunity to recognize 
and say farewell to an outstanding Naval Officer, Lieutenant Commander 
Gary Mayes, who has served with distinction for the past two years in 
the Navy's Senate Liaison Office. It is a privilege for me to recognize 
his many outstanding achievements and to commend him for the superb 
service he has provided this legislative body, the Navy and our great 
Nation.
  Lieutenant Commander Mayes is a graduate of Purdue University and was 
commissioned an Ensign upon graduation from Aviation Officer Candidate 
School in Pensacola, Florida, in May 1988. He proceeded to flight 
training where he received his ``Wings of Gold'' and was designated a 
Naval Aviator in October 1989.
  Lieutenant Commander Mayes' first assignment in the Navy was as a 
pilot flying the UH-1N and C-12B at Naval Air Station Guantanamo Bay, 
Cuba, from July 1990 to May 1991. Following training in the SH-60B 
Seahawk helicopter, he reported to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron, 
Light Four Eight (HSL-48) as the Detachment Five Assistant Maintenance 
Officer. He qualified as an Aircraft Commander and deployed aboard USS 
Boone (FFG-28) to the Mediterranean. He was next assigned to Detachment 
One as the Maintenance Officer during Operation Support Democracy to 
Haiti while embarked on USS Spruance (DD-963). He also was deployed on 
USS Comte de Grasse in 1995, flying missions in support of exercise 
UNITAS around South America.
  Lieutenant Commander Mayes joined the Navy's Senate Liaison team in 
January 1996. During his service as a Navy Liaison Officer, he provided 
members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, personal staffs, as 
well as Senators from both sides of the aisle, with timely support 
regarding Navy plans, programs and constituent casework. His valuable 
contributions have enabled Congress and the Department of the Navy to 
work close together to preserve the well-trained and well-equipped 
naval forces upon which our country has come to depend.
  Mr. President, Gary Mayes, his wife Stephanie and their daughter 
Gabrielle have made many sacrifices during his 10-year Navy career. He 
has served proudly with a dedication and enthusiasm that only comes 
from our Nation's best and brightest. Lieutenant Commander Mayes is a 
great credit to both our Navy and our country. As he now departs to 
attend the Marine Corps Command and Staff War College, I call upon my 
colleagues from both sides of the aisle to wish him fair winds and 
following seas.

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