[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 109 (Tuesday, September 6, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1749]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN HONOR OF COLONEL MICHAEL R. SIMONE

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 6, 2005

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a tremendous public 
servant. Col. Michael R. Simone, United States Army, recently retired 
after 30 years of uniformed service to our Nation. I know him both as a 
friend and as the Commandant of the Defense Language Institute located 
in my Central California District. DLI is the premier language training 
institution in the world, instructing U.S. troops in any language 
required to meet national security demands. I can think of no other 
single training officer in the U.S. military other than Colonel Simone 
who has done more to directly prepare our service men and women to meet 
the challenges we face in Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, and in the 
broader struggle against international terrorism.
  In 1975, Colonel Simone earned a bachelor of science at the U.S. 
Military Academy at West Point. After serving in field artillery, he 
went on to earn a masters in International Affairs from Columbia 
University in 1985. Colonel Simone served as assistant professor of 
Soviet Studies at West Point, completed a masters in Political Science 
at Columbia University, and also earned a Certificate of Advanced 
Training in Soviet Studies from the Averell Harriman Institute. 
Finally, he attended the Armed Forces Staff College, the U.S. Army 
Russian Institute, and completed the Defense Attache Course.
  Then Colonel Simone became a diplomat. From 1993 to 1995, he served 
as the Assistant Army Attache in Embassy Moscow. Colonel Simone then 
moved to Vienna as the Assistant Joint Staff Representative to the U.S. 
Delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. 
In 1998, he returned to Moscow as the Army Attache. Then from August 
2000 until May 2003, he commanded the European Operations Division of 
the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's On-Site Inspection Directorate in 
Darmstadt, Germany. On June 4, 2003, Colonel Simone became the 
Commandant of the Defense Language Institute. And the rest, as they 
say, is history.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I wish to close with a short personal anecdote. 
One of the greatest pleasures as a Member of Congress is to nominate 
the brightest high school graduates of our districts to the service 
academies. Every year, I host a small reception for the nominees and 
their families just before the students leave for their first academy 
year. This year, I asked Colonel Simone to host this reception. Not 
only did he and his wonderful wife Jan open their home, but they made 
sure, more importantly, that every room was full of serving junior 
officers, academy graduates all, who could offer the students advice 
and support as they began their great journey. This happy evening gave 
me a first-hand look at Colonel Simone's all-consuming dedication to 
training soldiers.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to applaud Col. Michael R. Simone, a 
person who has served his country with great distinction for so many 
years. I join with all his friends and family in honoring this talented 
man and his many achievements.

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