[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 8, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6726-S6727]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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               RETIREMENT OF COL. WILLIAM ALEXANDER, USAF

 Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, as the Senate proceeds with its 
debate on the Defense Appropriations Bill, it is appropriate that we 
pause and recognize the contribution of a Defense Procurement Official 
on the occasion of his retirement. Colonel William Alexander--Alex to 
his friends--is retiring this month after an Air Force career spanning 
almost 30 years. Alex has spent much of his career leading and 
mentoring Defense Acquisition Professionals, leaving as his legacy a 
new generation of experienced procurement managers.
  Born in the baby boom era between WWII and the Korean War, Alex grew 
up in Indiana, where he attended DePauw and Indiana Universities. After 
completing his Masters Degree in 1970, he entered the Air Force at 
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Some of his early 
projects started the development for today's generation of precision 
guided weapons. It was a whole lot trickier then, without the advantage 
of the Global Positioning System, but his team worked to develop a way 
to triangulate a target designation to improve bomb targeting 
reliability.
  The Air Force recognized the contributions of this young officer and 
moved him into a career in procurement and satellite operations. Alex 
spent the next 20 years of his career moving between different aspects 
of the complex world of keeping satellites operating successfully on 
orbit. He was a procurement official in a number of software source 
selections, using his abilities to aid the Air Force in getting 
revolutionary operating software for its expanding fleet of satellites. 
After his work in operations, the Air Force wisely transferred him into 
the National Reconnaissance Office as the Director of the Acquisition 
and Engineering Group within the Communications System Acquisition and 
Operations Directorate. When the Deputy Director of the Communications 
Directorate was reassigned, Alex was selected for this position in 
light of his vast experience in successful acquisitions.
  However, I don't want to spend too much time discussing the technical 
details of Colonel Alexander's career. There are many successful 
procurement officials within the Air Force and the Department of 
Defense, but few are as widely recognized for their crafting of 
personnel in addition to their acquisition expertise. Although the 
project was always treated with importance, Alex always made sure that 
his people came first. He was always looking to find ways to challenge 
his staff to grow both in technical ability and in interpersonal 
relationships. His success gives credence to the philosophy of 
empowering and caring for your people, which ultimately leads to the 
program success. One night during his time in satellite operations, a 
satellite was having difficulties getting initialized. Scores of people 
were working around the clock trying to work through the complex issues 
involved. Recognizing that people do not perform at their best when 
they are exhausted, Colonel Alexander banished a number of people from 
the operations floor until they had a rest period. The engineers 
returned to the floor with clearer heads and ultimately were able to 
get the satellite up and running successfully on orbit.

[[Page S6727]]

  When there was a tragic death of an employee on official travel, Alex 
temporarily set aside his own grief to assist others in the office in 
addition to the employee's family. In the confusion that surrounded the 
funeral, Alex took time to meet with all of the family members to try 
to help them understand the events that had taken place. It was a 
difficult time for all involved, but Alex clearly demonstrated his 
caring for his co-workers and should be commended for his actions.
  One area where Colonel Alexander should be especially proud is in his 
initiatives for acquisition reform. Alex was always driving to improve 
all aspects of buying satellites and software, looking for new and 
innovative ways to execute the program. At his encouragement, one 
division has studied purchasing satellites on-orbit, which would be a 
first for the NRO. He has been an advocate for openness and 
revolutionary thinking, balancing trusted methods with new ideas. Under 
his leadership, a security rebaselining was started which resulted in 
his program appearing on CBS' Eye on America. His drive in this area 
has literally saved the federal government millions of dollars.
  Finally, I want to thank Colonel Alexander for one final initiative. 
After being nominated for a Congressional Fellowship by Colonel 
Alexander, a member of his staff has joined my staff for the 
legislative year. This staff member has been of great assistance 
already in the Defense bills that have gone to the floor, and I look 
forward to his continuing contribution through the rest of the Senate's 
session.
  I'm sure that there are still many details for Colonel Alexander to 
work out as he transitions to a ``former'' military life. I wish him 
the best in his endeavors and pass along a sincere thank you on behalf 
of Congress for passing along his life's philosophy to the generation 
that will follow in his procurement footsteps. The legacy left behind 
is greater than mere relics of satellites and software, which will age 
and be disregarded. Colonel Alexander's heritage is in a corps of 
people who now have a greater understanding of the balances and 
pressures in life and a toolkit with how to deal with them. This is a 
true success, and one that I hope will be a sustained source of pride 
throughout his retirement.

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