[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 26, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S1015]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO MAJ. GEN. WILLIAM P. BLAND, JR.

 Mr. CLELAND. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Major 
General William P. Bland, Jr., a native of Statesboro, Georgia, who 
after more than four decades of dedicated service to the State of 
Georgia and to this country as an officer in the Georgia National 
Guard, is retiring and coming home to the Savannah area. On January 31, 
1999, Maj. Gen. Bland will be honored during a retirement ceremony at 
the 165th Airlift Wing's headquarters in Savannah, where he started his 
career with the Georgia Air National Guard in 1962.
  General Bland began his military service with the 165th Tactical 
Airlift Group in Savannah and later served as Deputy Commander of the 
Air National Guard at Air National Guard Support Center at Andrews Air 
Force Base. During the past eight years he has served as the Adjutant 
General for Georgia during which time he and his staff responded to 
blizzards and floods, directed 15,000 National Guardsmen for Olympic 
security, beefed up training for Guard volunteers, upgraded the state's 
military capabilities and reorganized the state defense department. As 
adjutant general, Bland led the Georgia Department of Defense and 
commanded more than 12,000 volunteer and full-time members of the 
Georgia Army and Air National Guards.
  Bill's most challenging year as adjutant general came in 1996. He 
supervised the largest relocation of an Air National Guard unit in 
history with the move of the 116th Bomb Wing, which included 1,000 
people and eight B-1 bomber airplanes, to Robins Air Force Base near 
Macon. The bomb wing's move helps ensure Robins' future as a military 
base because the B-1 is one of the Air Force's newest bombers and will 
remain in active service for many years to come. Bland also oversaw the 
48th Infantry Brigade's deployment to the National Training Center at 
Fort Irwin, California, and witnessed the deployment of two units of 
the Georgia Army National Guard to Bosnia.
  However, the most demanding duty in Bland's career came with the 1996 
Olympics in Atlanta when he organized 15,000 National Guard volunteers 
from 47 states to help with security. Most recently he restructured the 
state Department of Defense by changing the department's contracting 
system and placing the Army and Air Guard recruiting under one office.
  General Bland has made a positive impact on the lives of many 
Americans and personifies the definition of a true and loyal American 
who sets the standard for all citizens to live by. He is an outstanding 
example to his family and friends, and has been an asset to the many 
communities, states and nations that he has touched over the years.
  Mr. President, I would like to honor and commend Major General 
William Bland for his outstanding and innumerable contributions over 
the years to the State of Georgia and to our entire nation, and I ask 
my colleagues to join me in saluting and congratulating Bill on his 
retirement and in wishing him many more joyous and successful years to 
come.

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