[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 62 (Tuesday, May 8, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4505-S4506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TRIBUTE TO LIEUTENANT GENERAL DANIEL W. CHRISTMAN

 Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise to recognize the outstanding 
service to our nation of Lieutenant General Daniel William Christman, 
the 55th Superintendent of the United States Military Academy. On June 
30, 2001, General Christman will retire from the United States Army 
after an outstanding career of more than 36 years of service in peace 
and in war to the Army and the Nation.
  General Christman is a modern model of the soldier-scholar. After 
graduating first in his class from West Point in 1965, then young 
second Lieutenant Christman traveled to Fort Benning to undertake the 
Ranger Course. He then served as a Platoon Leader and later as a 
Commander in the 2d Infantry Division, Korea. In 1969, he commanded a 
company in the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam.
  Returning from combat, General Christman went on to distinguish 
himself in numerous command and staff positions with U.S. Forces, both 
overseas and in the Continental United States. In Europe, his 
assignments included serving as the 19th U.S. Representative to the 
NATO Military Committee in Brussels, Belgium, and Commander of the 54th 
Engineer Battalion in Wildflecken, Germany.
  General Christman's key command positions included service as the 
Commanding General of the U.S. Army Engineer Center and Commandant of 
the U.S. Army Engineer School at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and 
Commander of the Savannah District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 
Savannah, Georgia.
  General Christman occupied senior executive positions in Washington, 
D.C. which required creative leadership and strategic vision. He served 
as a Staff Assistant with the National Security Council during the Ford 
Administration, and as Assistant to the U.S. Attorney General for 
National Security Affairs in the Reagan Administration. General 
Christman was the Director of Strategy, Plans and Policy at the 
Department of Army Headquarters. In this capacity, he supported 
negotiations relating to the Conventional Forces in Europe arms control 
talks between NATO and the Warsaw Pact on behalf of the Chief of Staff 
of the Army and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also 
served as Assistant to General Shalikashvili, Chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff advising the Secretary of State on a broad range of 
military and national security issues such as arms control with the 
Russian Federation and the Middle East peace negotiations between 
Israel and Syria.
  Over the years, General Christman also found time to continue his own 
education. He earned a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering and a 
Masters Degree in Public Administration from Princeton University, and 
holds a Law Degree from George Washington University.
  For his service, General Christman has received, among others, the 
Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Distinguished Service 
Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star 
Medal, Merit Service Medal and the Air Medal.
  General Christman has made many valuable contributions to our nation 
and the Army, but I believe that he has left his most indelible mark on 
the United States Military Academy, the institution where he began, and 
will soon end his Army career. After his graduation, General Christman 
first returned to his alma mater in 1970 as an Instructor, and later 
Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences. Then in 1996, 
General Christman undertook his last assignment as Superintendent. For 
the past five years, he charted the course for officer education into 
the new century.
  Under his guidance, the Academy crafted a new mission statement, 
strategic vision, and a new public funding paradigm to enable the 
institution to compete and excel in an era of transformation. His 
assessment of current needs and insight of future possibilities

[[Page S4506]]

has resulted in a revised academic curriculum and an increased focus on 
the profession of officership. From the outset, General Christman 
sought the insight of Academy graduates and the neighboring community, 
where appropriate, to give these groups a closer identification with 
his decisions.
  A consummate professional, General Christman's dedication to 
excellence and his unsurpassed devotion to duty, honor, and country 
have marked his distinguished service over the last 36 years. His 
service reflects a deep commitment to West Point, the Army, and our 
nation. I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking General Christman 
for his honorable service to the citizens of the United States of 
America. I wish him, his wife Susan, and their children, continued 
success and happiness in all their future endeavors.

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