[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 90 (Wednesday, July 12, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1386]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  CONGRATULATING COLONEL ELLIS AS HE IS HONORED BY THE TOBYHANNA ARMY 
                         DEPOT OF MONROE COUNTY

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. PAUL E. KANJORSKI

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 12, 2006

  Mr. KANJORSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask you and my esteemed 
colleagues in the House of Representatives to pay tribute to COL Tracy 
L. Ellis, who has commanded the Tobyhanna Army Depot in Monroe County, 
Pennsylvania, from July 31, 2003 to July 20, 2006, when he will turn 
over command to COL Ronald Alberto.
  The Tobyhanna Army Depot is the Nation's largest repair station for 
military communications equipment and weapons targeting systems. It 
employs more than 3,000 people and circulates more than $450 million 
each year to the local economy.
  Under Colonel Ellis' command, mission workload surged by 40 percent 
between 2003 and 2004 and 60 percent between 2003 and 2005. The depot 
effectively incorporated hundreds of new employees to meet the expanded 
workload.
  The depot also expanded maintenance support of other critical systems 
including aircraft survivability equipment, aircrew survival radios, 
secure communications equipment, air defense and air traffic control, 
landing systems and tactical satellite communications systems.
  Tobyhanna Army Depot effectively prepared for the 2005 Base 
Realignment and Closure process, and will gain new missions from two 
other installations as a result.
  During his command tour, Colonel Ellis added to Tobyhanna's 
environmental stewardship, winning the Secretary of the Army 
Environmental Quality Award in both 2004 and 2005. The 2005 award 
recognized the depot for pollution prevention in the industrial 
installation category for recycling more than 40 percent of the solid 
waste generated annually.
  The depot's special employment programs earned further recognition 
with receipt of the 2003 Army Disability Program of the Year Award.
  Colonel Ellis also directed that the depot's Army Community Services 
program allot its limited resources to provide maximum assistance to 
the large National Guard and Reserve population surrounding the 
installation. ACS has conducted many briefings for hundreds of families 
of military personnel before, during and after their deployments.
  Colonel Ellis' command of Tobyhanna Army Depot is one marked by rapid 
increases in maintenance production, growth of depot employees, 
innovation and improvement in business and production management and 
sustained performance in environmental stewardship.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in congratulating Colonel Ellis on a job 
well done. His devotion to duty and country as well as his commitment 
to excellence have bolstered the already superb reputation of the 
Tobyhanna Army Depot as an indispensable resource for the American 
Armed Forces, and insured that the depot will remain a key element in 
the region's economic well-being.

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