[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 104 (Wednesday, July 27, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1652]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


    CONGRATULATIONS TO COMMANDER PETE RIEHM, ON THE OCCASION OF HIS 
                               RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 27, 2005

  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride and pleasure that I 
rise to pay tribute to Commander Pete Riehm on the occasion of his 
retirement as Commanding Officer of the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve 
Center in Mobile, Alabama.
  For the past three years, Commander Riehm has commanded this 
facility, with its complement of 200 Navy Reserve personnel and 250 
Marine reservists, with an incomparable level of leadership and 
professionalism.
  A graduate of the University of Houston, Commander Riehm received his 
master's degree in military arts and sciences from the Command and 
General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Following his 
commissioning in 1985, Commander Riehm was assigned to the USS DAHLGREN 
(DDG 43) as Missiles Officer and Damage Control Assistant. Following 
that assignment, he was transferred in 1989 to a new assignment as an 
officer recruiter in College Station, Texas. In 1991, during Operation 
Desert Storm, he was stationed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as the staff 
liaison to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces.
  In 1996, he was transferred to Naples, Italy, and was attached to the 
North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Naval Forces Southern 
Europe Command. Between 1997 and 1998, he served four months; temporary 
active duty as naval liaison officer to the Stabilization Force 
stationed in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and was attached to the staff of the 
fleet commander during the Kosovo campaign. Just prior to receiving his 
command in Mobile, Commander Riehm completed more military education 
courses in Newport, Rhode Island, and then served as Damage Control 
Assistant on board the USS IWO JIMA (LHD 7) during its pre-
commissioning, transfer, and shakedown cruises.
  Commander Riehm has been recognized for his outstanding performance 
and career with several awards and decorations, including two Defense 
Meritorious Service Medals, four Navy and Marine Corps Commendation 
Medals, and three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.
  Along with his tremendous involvement in the activities and mission 
of the Navy and Marine Corps Reserve Center, Commander Riehm is also 
actively involved in his community. A resident of Mobile, Alabama, he 
has been involved with numerous local organizations, including the 
Mobile Bay Area Veterans Day Commission, the Gulf Coast Chapter of the 
Korean War Veterans Association, Operation Home Front, the Navy League, 
and the Alabama Chapter of the Military Officers Association. He also 
serves as a member of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce's Military 
Affairs Committee, and was part of a group of Navy personnel 
which worked with Mobile's Forest Hill Elementary School as part of the 
Partners in Education program.

  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in recognizing 
Commander Pete Riehm for his tremendous contributions to the citizens 
of the First Congressional District of Alabama, the Navy and Marine 
Corps Reserve Center in Mobile, and the entire United States Navy. The 
experience and enthusiasm he has brought to his job and the 
professionalism he has displayed throughout his career are unquestioned 
and unparalleled.
  He has indeed been a genuine asset both to his office and to the 
United States military, and I am proud and honored to call him my mend. 
I wish him and his family--his son, Justin, and his daughters, Jessica 
and Jennifer--much happiness and success as they enter this new phase 
of their lives.

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