[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 132 (Thursday, October 19, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1844]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO LTC THOMAS J. LEE, ARMY NATIONAL GUARD, FOR HIS 
                           DEDICATED SERVICE

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                          HON. PAUL E. GILLMOR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 18, 2000

  Mr. GILLMOR. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to 
pay special tribute to an outstanding officer in the Army National 
Guard. Lieutenant Colonel Thomas J. Lee recently transferred from his 
position as the Plans and Action Support Officer in the National Guard 
Bureau's Counterdrug Program.
  Tom Lee began his service to country when he enlisted in the United 
States Air Force in 1968 as a weather observer. After tours at Anderson 
Air Force Base, Guam, and Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, he entered 
Officer Candidate School in the New York Army National Guard as a field 
artillery officer in 1982.
  Tom Lee first became active in the counterdrug effort when he left 
his assignment as Chief of the National Guard Protocol Branch to become 
the National Guard Counter Narcotics Liaison with the Headquarters of 
the Sixth Army at the Presidio in San Francisco, California in May, 
1994. He then served as the Operations Officer for the Southwest 
Region, and as Chief of the Southeast Region Branch in the National 
Guard Bureau's Counterdrug Program before assuming his position as 
Plans, Action Officer in October, 1997.
  Mr. Speaker, in each of these counterdrug positions, Lieutenant 
Colonel Lee has made a personal impact in an ongoing struggle that, as 
a nation, we have yet to win. He has labored passionately to educate 
Members of Congress and their staff members on the unique abilities of 
the Army and Air National Guard in stemming the plague of illegal drugs 
from our neighborhoods. Our nation is stronger today because his sound 
counsel, his practical knowledge and his tireless pursuit of the 
possible.
  Lieutenant Colonel Lee has received numerous, well-deserved, military 
awards and decorations for his service to the nation. No award is more 
appropriate, nor more fulfilling for him, than the knowledge that his 
efforts give America's youth a better chance at a drug-free future.
  Mr. Speaker, I am confident that Lieutenant Colonel Thomas J. Lee 
will demonstrate the same dedication and high competence in his new 
instructional position at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas that has been his 
trademark with the National Guard Bureau. I would ask my colleagues of 
the 106th Congress to join me in paying special tribute to this 
citizen-soldier and patriot. We thank him, and wish him the very best 
in his continued service as an officer in the Army National Guard.

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