[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 136 (Friday, October 8, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S12324]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                     TRIBUTE TO SGT. JOHN M. FEILER

 Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to an Idaho 
native and his contributions to this nation. Early next week Sgt. John 
Feiler will be recognized here in Washington D.C. as Fort Hood's 
Noncommissioned Officer and Soldier of the third quarter of 1999.
  Let me to tell you a little about this wonderful Idahoan. John 
Feiler, a native of Burley, Idaho enlisted in the Army shortly after 
graduating from Burley High School. He began his training as a Combat 
Engineer in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He was then assigned to the 
Engineer Battalion at Camp Eschborn in Germany. While in Germany he was 
an active participant in Operations Desert Shield, Desert Storm, and 
Provide Comfort in Southwest Asia, for which he earned several awards 
and decorations.
  After the Persian Gulf War, John was reassigned to Fort Stewart, 
Georgia. While there, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant, and a 
short time later he attended the Staff Sergeant Selection Board. During 
his assignment in Fort Stewart, he was selected as the Commandant's 
Inspection Awardee, made the Commandant's list, was nominated as the 
24th ID Engineer Brigade NCO of the Year for two consecutive years (`93 
& `94), and nominated to represent the 24th ID as their NCO of the Year 
for the XVIII Airborne Corps NCO of the Year competition.
  In August of 1994 Sgt. Feiler pursued and completed the Army 
Recruiters Course. He served three years as a recruiter and was awarded 
the Gold Recruiter Badge as a permanent award.
  In December of 1997 he arrived in Fort Hood, Texas and was assigned 
to his current unit, A Company 299th Engineer Battalion. During the 
eighteen months that he has served in the battalion, he has been 
awarded the Army Commendation Medal, two Army Achievement medals, and 
was chosen as one of the ``Heroes of Battle'' during the battalion's 
99-05 NTC rotation. He is currently serving as a squad leader there.
  His awards include the following: the Army Commendation Medal with 
four oak leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with nine oak leaf 
clusters, the Army Good Conduct Medal (third award), the National 
Defense Service Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal (Saudi Arabia), 
and the Liberation of Kuwait Medal (Kuwait).
  Idaho and the nation are proud of the way in which Sgt. John Feiler 
has served our country. I am pleased to draw the Senate's attention to 
the outstanding contributions he has made and hope all my colleagues 
will join me in honoring him.

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