[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 94 (Wednesday, July 13, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S8212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


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                   A TRIBUTE TO COLONEL RAY ALEXANDER

 Mr. BURR. Mr. President, I rise today to offer my thanks and 
appreciation, and those of all North Carolinians, to Colonel Charles 
``Ray'' Alexander, Jr., Commander of the Army Corps of Engineers 
Wilmington, NC district. Today is Colonel Alexander's last day as 
commanding officer of the district. While we celebrate his retirement 
with his family, we will miss the impact he has had on North Carolina 
and the Nation.
  Colonel Alexander has distinguished himself with exceptionally 
meritorious service as district commander since 2002. Under his 
command, the district continued construction of the Wilmington Harbor 
deepening project and met the target for delivering deep water to the 
State port docks in January 2004 despite numerous fiscal challenges. 
The Wilmington Harbor deepening is the largest civil works project in 
the district's history and a very important navigation project, 
providing economic benefit to the State. Additionally, the deeper 
channel has been an asset to the local military installations in 
support of the global war on terror.
  Under Colonel Alexander's direction, the district has been involved 
and successful in protecting the Nation's environment. Numerous 
environmental enhancement projects, including the Roanoke Island 
Festival Park aquatic habitat restoration and protection project, are 
testament to this highly successful program.
  This and many other projects earned the district the 2004 Coastal 
America Partnership Award and North Carolina Coast Federal Pelican 
Award, the 2003 Chief of Engineers' Environmental Award for product 
delivery team design and construction of an island estuarine habitat, 
and nomination and subsequent recognition as the North Carolina 
Conservationist Partner of 2003 by the North Carolina Land Trust 
Council. A district project delivery team under Colonel Alexander's 
command also earned an environmental award from the Environmental 
Protection Agency for its work cleaning up EPA facilities in the 
Research Triangle Park.
  Colonel Alexander also executed a systematic plan to improve 
relationships with local, State, and Federal entities. Locally, we 
completed renourishment of Kure, Carolina, and Bald Head Island Beaches 
and a project to reinstitute the use of dredged materials on Bogue 
Banks. Additionally, the district created a water management committee 
to meet the needs of over 40 agencies and many private citizens.
  Colonel Alexander also led the efforts in 2003 to provide 
exceptionally responsive emergency management services during Hurricane 
Isabel in North Carolina, including the highly successful 
reconstruction of vital road infrastructure for the Cape Hatteras 
breach. He also led the Wilmington effort in aiding the recovery from 
the recordbreaking 2004 hurricane storm season.
  I would also like to commend Colonel Alexander for his support of the 
Army Corps outside his district and in the war on terror. His 
selflessness was exhibited by his leadership for the $84 million 
recovery effort in 2004 after Hurricane Ivan devastated Alabama. This 
highly complex operation included providing emergency power, ice, 
water, housing, debris collection and reduction, roofing, and technical 
assistance to the citizens of Alabama following the storm, which made 
landfall 700 miles from the district headquarters. Hundreds of Corps of 
Engineers employees from all over the Nation were brought in to this 
well executed operation.
  Colonel Alexander's leadership and commitment in the global war on 
terror is evident in his ability to motivate more than 20 team members 
to volunteer to serve abroad as members of South Atlantic Division's 
Forward Engineer Support Teams, Task Force Restore Iraqi Electricity, 
the Gulf Region Division, and the Afghanistan District. The number 
continues to grow and several members have served on multiple 
deployments.
  In closing, generations of North Carolinians who have never met 
Colonel Alexander will benefit from the results of his work. At this 
special time in his career, I wish him all the best and thank him for a 
job well done.

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