[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 145 (Tuesday, October 13, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2153-E2154]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       COLONEL JAMES R. MARSHALL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. NORMAN SISISKY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 13, 1998

  Mr. SISISKY. Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize the honorable, 
selfless, and dedicated service to this country by Colonel James R. 
Marshall, who will be retiring from the U.S. Air Force on January 1, 
1999 after over 28 years of military service. Colonel Marshall began 
active duty in the Air Force on August 22, 1970, after graduating from 
the Virginia Military Institute.
  Colonel James R. Marshall distinguished himself by performing 
exceptionally meritorious services to the United States while serving 
in positions of increasing responsibility culminating as the Director, 
Environmental Restoration Program and Acting Assistant Deputy Under 
Secretary of Defense for Environmental Cleanup. During this period, his 
outstanding leadership and devoted service to the Office of the 
Secretary of Defense, the Department of Defense, the Services and the 
United States of America have been of the highest tradition of senior 
members of the United States Armed Forces.
  From his first assignment as a Communications Maintenance Officer in 
Montana to his last in the Pentagon, Colonel Marshall distinguished 
himself by his ability, diligence and selfless devotion to duty. His 
assignments took him to across the U.S. to Montana, New Jersey, Ohio, 
California, Hawaii, Georgia and Virginia as well as overseas to the 
Philippines and England.
  The exemplary ability, diligence, and devotion to duty of Colonel 
Marshall were instrumental factors in the resolution of many complex 
problems of major importance to the Air Force and the Department of 
Defense. As Commander of the Civil Engineer Squadron and the Base Civil 
Engineer at Mather AFB, from July 1987 to August 1990, he superbly 
provided direct, day-to-day management of installation engineer 
projects and programs and well as ensured that his personnel were 
trained and ready to meet mission requirements. The fact that he guided 
his unit to earn the Installation's Heating, Ventilation and Air 
Conditioning Award attested his keen sense of environmental awareness 
as well as his interest in conserving resources.
  In 1990, Colonel Marshall became the first Director for Environmental 
Management for the U.S. Pacific Air Force. While serving as the 
Director, from August 1990 to August 1993, he developed and established 
a program to oversee the closure of Clark Air Force Base in the 
Philippines. He readily identified environmental work that needed to be 
accomplished and successfully obtained a 70 percent increase in funding 
for the Environmental Program. Of particular note, Colonel Marshall 
ensured that hazardous material and hazardous waste was accounted for 
and properly disposed of, to include proper annotation of PCB's on the 
installation prior to base closure.
  Following his assignment in the Philippines, he served as the 
Director of Environmental Management at Warner Robbins Air Force Base, 
GA from August 1993 to June 1995. Under his superb leadership and 
environmental stewardship, Warner Robbins Air Force Base won the 
coveted Department of Defense Environmental Award for the best 
Environmental Program in 1994. He was also instrumental in obtaining 
funding to repair damage following the severe flooding caused by 
Hurricane Andrews in 1994. In addition to the providing oversight for 
repair of flood damaged facilities and proper disposal of hazardous 
materials, he identified requirements for, successfully designed, and 
found funding for a new state of the art hazardous materials storage 
facility which serves the base today.
  Colonel Marshall's superior performance as a Director of Air Force 
Environmental Management Programs resulted in his selection to

[[Page E2154]]

serve as the Environmental Restoration program manager for the Deputy 
Under Secretary of Defense for Environmental Security's Environmental 
Restoration Program. He was instrumental in the development and 
coordination of the ``Department of Defense Environmental Restoration'' 
Instruction, which was published in April 1996. This hallmark 
publication implemented and refined policies as well as prescribed 
procedures for the Defense Environmental Restoration Program, funded by 
environmental restoration accounts, and the Base Realignment and 
Closure environmental restoration program. Additionally, he developed 
and coordinated a publication, ``Management Guidance for the Defense 
Environmental Restoration Program,'' published in March 1998. The two 
publications serve as cornerstones for the entire Department of Defense 
Environmental Restoration Program.
  As the Acting Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for 
Environmental Cleanup, Colonel Marshall was a key player in the 
complete integration of realistic environmental cleanup funding 
requirements into the Department of Defense's Planning, Programming and 
Budget System Process. This herculean achievement resulted in the 
creation of planning and budgeting documentation as well as development 
of reporting systems to forecast requirements using reliable data from 
over 1700 Department of Defense installations and 9000 formerly used 
Department of Defense properties. In addition, he was instrumental in 
the development and implementation of measures of merit, based on site 
level data, to measure past progress and to project future performance 
of the Department of Defense Environmental Restoration Program against 
Defense Goals. His efforts resulted in stable funding for the 
Department of Defense Environmental Restoration Program.
  Throughout his military career he has brought innovative leadership 
skills to each of his assignments. He routinely demonstrated a superb 
ability to combine his extensive program management skills with certain 
intangibles that constitute leadership, promoting the best efforts of 
the Department of Defense's Environmental Restoration Program staff on 
a daily basis. He has gained the trust and confidence of everyone 
involved in this effort from installation commanders, to congressional 
representatives by building consensus among those with competing 
agendas.
  As a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute, an old and respected 
institution that has produced many fine leaders, Colonel Marshall 
absorbed a heritage of duty, honor, and country that he has more than 
fulfilled. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of Colonel 
Marshall culminate a long and distinguished career in the service of 
his country and reflect great credit upon him, the United States Air 
Force, the Department of Defense and his country.

                          ____________________