[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 72 (Thursday, June 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1052-E1053]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO COLONEL JAMIE L. ADAMS, USAF

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB INGLIS

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 7, 2006

  Mr. INGLIS of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
congratulate Colonel Jamie L. Adams on the occasion of his retirement 
from the United States Air Force after more than 30 years of 
distinguished service to the Department of Defense and his country.

[[Page E1053]]

  A native son of South Carolina, Jamie grew up in Greenville, just a 
stone's throw from my home in Travelers Rest. After graduating from 
Carolina High School in Greenville, he set out on a military career, 
heading across the state to Charleston, and enrolling in The Citadel, 
earning a degree in business administration and a commission as a 
second lieutenant in the United States Air Force in 1973. Now, some 33 
years later, this highly respected Air Force acquisition professional 
will end his military career while serving as the chief of staff of the 
Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). DCMA is a worldwide 
organization of 11,000 military and civilian personnel responsible for 
ensuring that the supplies and materials going to our men and women in 
uniform are delivered on time and are of the highest quality.
  As a newly commissioned officer, Jamie was assigned to the 
procurement office at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia. It was there 
that his ascent to the top echelons of the Defense acquisition 
community began. Displaying a penchant for understanding the 
intricacies of Federal contracting, he blazed a career path that in the 
ensuing decade took him to various contracting assignments throughout 
the United States and saw him rise through the junior-officer ranks.
  In the mid-1980s, Jamie was named chief of the contracting division 
of the 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Bergstrom AFB, Texas, and 
promoted to the rank of major. While there, he earned a master's degree 
in business administration, an academic credential that would serve him 
well as he took on positions of increasing authority and responsibility 
within the pressure-packed realm of Air Force acquisition management. 
In 1999, after having been promoted to the rank of colonel, he was 
tapped to be the chief of contracting for the Air Mobility Command at 
Scott AFB, Illinois, a demanding job in which he led a cadre of more 
than 600 contracting professionals who exercised stewardship of $1.4 
billion for procurement in support of America's strategic and tactical 
airlift mobility network.
  But all that was prelude to his capstone assignment for the past two 
years as DCMA chief of staff, a position that showcased his acquisition 
knowledge, his human-relations skills, and his results-producing 
leadership. With Col. Adams in the vanguard, DCMA successfully adopted 
the principles of performance based management, ensuring effective, 
outcome-centered support to its customers--principally the military 
services and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He 
consistently demonstrated a blend of technical competence and 
affability, reconciling divergent points of view and catalyzing the 
agency's pursuit of acquisition excellence, workforce re-engineering, 
and customer satisfaction. This past spring, in firm testament to his 
stature within in the Defense acquisition community, Jamie was a 
featured presenter at the Institute for Defense and Government 
Advancement-sponsored Defense Acquisition 2006 forum, where he shared 
his insights on contingency contracting and the management of 
contractors on today's battlefield--a challenge of considerable import 
over the past three years.
  Whether he was approving base-level purchase orders, maintaining 
vigilance over major systems acquisitions, or steering a large Defense 
agency through the white waters of change, Col. Adams served with 
unwavering diligence, integrity, and competence. On the occasion of his 
retirement from the United States Air Force, I offer my congratulations 
to one of South Carolina's finest sons and wish him and his wife, 
Sandra, well in their future pursuits.

                          ____________________