[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 136 (Thursday, October 26, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1952]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO MAJOR GENERAL CHARLES W. THOMAS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM McCRERY

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 26, 2000

  Mr. McCRERY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take this opportunity to 
pay tribute to a fellow Louisianan, Major General Charles W. Thomas, 
who is retiring after more than 32 years of service to the Nation in 
the United States Army.
  General Thomas served the past two years as the Chief of Staff, U.S. 
Army Training Doctrine Command (TRADOC), responsible for managing the 
day-to-day operations of this major Army element and its 15 
installations, 27 Army schools, and 67 thousand military and civilian 
personnel located throughout the United States. TRADOC's mission is to 
prepare the U.S. Army for war and is the architect of the future Army. 
In the fast paced world of change we have witnessed at a national and 
international level over the past three decades, General Thomas has 
been instrumental in steering the U.S. Army on a path to meet current 
and future threats to our national security. Equally important, he has 
contributed significantly to the readiness of the Army by ensuring the 
men and women in uniform were well trained and well equipped for their 
missions during peace and war. His leadership and mentoring played a 
major role in the development of an Army in which the citizens of our 
great nation can be justifiably proud.
  Serving under such daunting responsibilities has been a pattern in 
General Thomas' military career, a career which began in October 1968 
and saw him serve in the Military Intelligence Corps at such diverse 
locations as Turkey, Thailand, Germany, and in Saudi Arabia during 
Operation DESERT STORM. These tours of duty and a variety of other 
command and staff assignments have taken this alumnus of Northwestern 
State University in Louisiana with undergraduate and graduate degrees 
in Zoology across the seas and around the United States with duty in 
Georgia, Arizona, Hawaii, and Virginia, among other states. But his 
home has always been Natchitoches, Louisiana, where his parents, Dr. 
and Mrs. Charles and Sadie Thomas, still reside today.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to recognize this respected Army leader. I 
wish General Thomas and his wife Sharon all the best, and am certain 
that Members of the House will join me in tribute to this outstanding 
American.

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