[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 90 (Friday, June 25, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Page S7517]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING BRIGADIER GENERAL WILLIAM ``BUNKER BILL'' KANE

 Mr. MILLER. Madam President, today I wish to pay tribute to BG 
William P. Kane, who on July 10, 2004, will complete nearly 6 years of 
command at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, GA, and who will move 
on to command at Peterson Air Force Base, CO.
  When we were young, many of us were exposed to the phrase ``you can 
do anything that you set your mind to.'' Some of us live out that 
desire by finding success as academics, others as scientists or 
politicians. Some of us find passion in the freedom of flight, while 
some of us thrive in the structure of the military. However, very few 
of us are able to test our limits and succeed in multiple areas. I 
stand before you to recognize one such person.
  BG William P. Kane is the current commander of the 94th Airlift Wing 
at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, leading both the 94th Airlift Wing and 
Dobbins ARB. Although Dobbins is a small base in physical size, it also 
happens to be the largest multiservice Reserve training base in the 
world. Owned by the Air Force Reserve, Dobbins supports more than 
10,000 guardsmen and reservists from the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air 
Force. It is home to nearly 50 aircraft assigned to different flying 
units and boasts more than 7,000 takeoffs and landings each month. This 
enormous flying mission is what General Kane manages on a daily basis, 
around, I would like to point out, one of the busiest airports in the 
Nation, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
  After our Nation was attacked on September 11, 2001, the military had 
to quickly adapt to a new mission. As operational tempo increased, 
commanders had to take on expanding roles. General Kane immediately 
took the necessary and innovative steps to transform the mission of 
Dobbins ARB and the 94th Airlift Wing. While Dobbins continued to 
embrace its role in training C-130 crew members and maintaining combat-
ready units to deploy on short notice, General Kane had to ``batten 
down the hatches'' in the heightened security atmosphere. And in 
typical fashion, General Kane took on his force protection mission with 
vigor, even relishing in the nickname ``Bunker Bill,'' as he erected 
sandbags and barriers at the base.
  General Kane began his impressive Air Force career after graduating 
from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1969 with a 
bachelor's degree in biology. He entered the Air Force soon thereafter 
and obtained his commission through Officers Training School. After 
serving 5 years on active duty at Dyess Air Force Base, TX, General 
Kane joined the Reserves at Niagara Falls International Airport, NY, 
and served in the 328th Tactical Airlift Squadron while attending 
graduate school. He completed his graduate work in 1982 and was awarded 
his Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology. He then went on to conduct 
basic biological research as a postdoctoral fellow at the Fox Chase 
Cancer Institute in Philadelphia, PA, and the State University of New 
York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY. He then joined the Air Reserve technician 
program in 1984 at March Air Force Base, CA. General Kane is a command 
pilot with more than 6,500 flying hours.
  Looking back over General Kane's illustrious career thus far, I am 
reminded of a quote by Orison Swett Marden, a famed 19th century 
thinker. Marden stated that:

       the greatest thing a man can do in this world is to make 
     the most possible out of the stuff that has been given to 
     him. This is success and there is none other.

  Officer, pilot, academic, scientist, husband, father. I believe that 
Marden, were he still alive today, would not hesitate to proclaim GEN 
William P. Kane a completely successful man. People spend most of their 
lives attempting to do one thing well. Few and far between are the 
people who have the courage to try and the determination to achieve 
success at multiple levels, as General Kane certainly has. And he is 
not finished.
  I thank him for his years of service to the Air Force Reserve and to 
Georgia. I wish him and his family all the best as he continues with 
his Air Force career in Colorado and with all future endeavors. Georgia 
will miss General Kane. He is Georgia at its finest.

                          ____________________