[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 39 (Monday, April 3, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S2037]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     TRIBUTE TO BRIGADIER GENERAL WEBSTER, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I wish to take this opportunity to recognize 
and say farewell to an outstanding Air Force officer and former Marine, 
Brigadier General Ernest R. Webster, upon his retirement from the Air 
Force after more than thirty-two years of commissioned service. 
Throughout his career, Brigadier General Webster has served with 
distinction, and it is my privilege to recognize his many 
accomplishments and to commend him for the superb service he has 
provided the Air Force and our Nation.
  General Webster is a native of my home State, having been born in 
Anguilla, Mississippi. He entered the United States Marine Corps 
Officer Candidate School Quantico, Virginia in 1967. After successfully 
qualifying as a Marine aviator, he served as a pilot and intelligence 
officer for the Naval Special Landing Forces in the Caribbean region. 
He served his nation as an aviator in Southeast Asia while stationed 
with the 1st Marine Air Wing in the Republic of Vietnam. General 
Webster was an aircraft maintenance officer and test pilot at New 
River, North Carolina prior to his transfer into the United States Air 
Force in January 1972. After attending Maintenance Officer School at 
Chanute Air Force Base, Illinois, he was assigned to Homestead Air 
Force Base, Florida, where he was chief of maintenance, flight 
examiner, chief of safety, and operations officer for the 301st 
Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron.
  As a major, he was assigned to Sheppard and Little Rock Air Force 
Bases for flight training where he mastered the C-130 Hercules weapon 
system. His next assignment was chief of safety for the 920th Weather 
Reconnaissance Group at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. 
He then moved to March Air Force Base, California, serving as deputy 
commander for operations at the 303rd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery 
Squadron. He was promoted to colonel in 1985.
  During that same year, Colonel Webster took command of the 907th 
Tactical Airlift Group, Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, in Ohio. 
He was promoted to deputy chief of staff for operations, Headquarters 
14th Air Force, Dobbins Air Force Base, Headquarters Air Force Reserve, 
to serve as assistant deputy chief of staff for operations where he 
played a critical role in the call-up of thousands of Air Force reserve 
members to Southwest Asia during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm. 
He then moved to Duke Field, Florida, to assume command of the 919th 
Special Operations Wing where he directed critical tactical operations. 
In 1994 he assumed command of the 403rd Wing at Keesler Air Force Base, 
Mississippi. Colonel Webster was promoted to Brigadier General in 1995.
  General Webster's accomplishments are many. Units under his command 
received the Outstanding Unit Award in three of the five years he was 
in command. His ``Flying Jennies'' of the 815th Airlift Squadron 
accomplished Denton Amendment humanitarian missions in Honduras, 
Argentina, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Russia, 
and many other areas struck by disaster. His ``Hurricane Hunters'' of 
the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron were world-famous for 
providing critical hurricane information to residents of coastal areas 
in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
  During his stellar career, General Webster has served the United 
States Marine Corps, the United States Air Force, and our great Nation 
with excellence and distinction. He provided exemplary leadership to 
the best-trained, best-equipped, and best-prepared citizen-airmen force 
in the history of our Nation. General Webster is a model of leadership 
and is a living example of our military's dedication to the core values 
of service before self, integrity first, and excellence in all 
endeavors.
  General Webster will retire from the United States Air Force on April 
3, 2000 after thirty-two years and six months of dedicated commissioned 
service. On behalf of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I wish 
General Webster blue skies and safe landings. Congratulations on 
completion of an outstanding and successful career.

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