[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 106 (Friday, July 31, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9553-S9554]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO MR. ERNEST A. YOUNG

  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Mr. Ernest A. Young 
on the occasion of his retirement from the Department of the Army. 
Throughout his 40 years of Federal Service, culminating in his current 
position as Deputy to the Commanding General, U.S. Army Aviation and 
Missile Command, Mr. Young has distinguished himself time and time 
again as an individual of the utmost integrity, capability, and 
foresight.
  Mr. Young began his career as an Army civilian employee in 1958, as a 
technical program specialist. He held managerial positions for various 
missile programs, including the very successful HAWK missile. Twenty-
three years later, in September 1981, he was appointed to the Senior 
Executive Service where he held several key command and staff positions 
with the U.S. Army Missile Command.
  Mr. Young continued to rise through the ranks, and in June 1993, he 
was the first civilian to be selected as the Deputy to the Commanding 
General of the U.S. Army Missile Command (MICOM). In this position, Mr. 
Young was responsible for achieving all of the command's missions. Due 
in large part to his leadership, MICOM maintained a high state of 
readiness by adhering to procurement schedules and successfully 
executing weapons development programs despite the enormous challenge 
posed by shrinking annual defense budgets. Mr. Young's dedication to 
efficiency was recognized as MICOM became the first major subordinate 
command of the Army Materiel Command to be designated as a Reinvention 
Laboratory. Though faced with funding shortages, his skills also 
enabled him to implement several human resource initiatives that 
obviated the need for a reduction in force during his tenure as Deputy 
to the MICOM Commander.
  Mr. Young, however, may best be remembered for his personal attention 
to the implementation of the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure decision 
to consolidate the U.S. Army Aviation and Troop Command (ATCOM) with 
MICOM at Redstone Arsenal. The fact that 55 percent of ATCOM's aviation 
managerial workforce successfully moved to Redstone serves as a 
testament to Mr. Young's leadership and professionalism during this 
transition.
  Since the formation of the Aviation and Missile Command, Mr. Young 
has continued in his role as Deputy to the Commanding General. While 
the AMCOM formally merged the various aspects of aviation and missile 
program management into a single commodity command, Mr. Young 
diligently

[[Page S9554]]

worked to integrate the aviation and missile cultures. He continued to 
work closely with the Commanding General to ensure the uninterrupted 
accomplishment of the procurement, readiness, and materiel development 
missions and functions of the command.
  In addition to Mr. Young's exemplary career, his frequent 
participation in seminars and workshops designed for senior government 
executives demonstrated his continual desire to better himself and 
improve his technical and managerial capabilities. Moreover, Mr. 
Young's involvement in such noteworthy associations as the American 
Society of Military Comptrollers, American Institute of Physics, 
Society of Logistics Engineers, the American Society for Public 
Administration and Rotary Club, exemplify his steadfast commitment to 
professional improvement and civic duty.
  Mr. President, for 40 years, Ernest Young has been an asset to the 
U.S. Army, Alabama, and the nation. On behalf of the United States 
Senate and a grateful nation, I thank Mr. Young for his dedicated 
service as he closes one chapter in his life and begins another.

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