[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 129 (Wednesday, November 15, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H8660-H8661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1230
  TRIBUTE TO MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH WEBB, JR., DEPUTY SURGEON GENERAL, 
                           UNITED STATES ARMY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Buyer) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I come to the floor with a heavy heart to 
honor a great man, particularly because this comes on the eve of his 
retirement from the United States Army. I have had the privilege of 
working with this distinguished gentleman in the service of our country 
for the last 14 years. His name is Major General Joe Webb, Jr. He has 
distinguished himself by his exceptional service to the United States 
of America while in positions of increasing responsibility within the 
Army Medical Department, a career that was launched in June of 1961 
when he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.
  From January 1 of 1996 through 31 December of 2006, he served in 
successive positions of increasing responsibility as the Senior Dental 
Corps Staff Officer, with the Office of the Surgeon General; Commander 
of the United States Army Dental Command; the Assistant Surgeon General 
for Force Sustainment; Commanding General of Tripler Army Medical 
Center and DOD Lead Agent for TRICARE in the Pacific region; and 
culminating his illustrious career in the position of United States 
Army Deputy Surgeon General.
  Major General Webb was an officer and leader who approached each of 
his assignments with great tenacity. In a career spanning more than 35 
years, this soldier, clinician and commander displayed throughout his 
distinguished military service the highest levels of leadership, 
professional competence, integrity and moral courage.
  Much is spoken and written about Major General Joe Webb. The 
consensus and the prose consistently agree that this man is the genuine 
article. Because of my extensive contact with general officers, I know 
what attributes are necessary for success at the strategic level. You 
see, I work with generals that do generals' work, I also have worked 
with generals that do colonels' work. The most refreshing encounters 
that I have experienced are with colonels that do generals' work. This 
was the epitome of Joe Webb.
  In 1996, the Dental Corps was confronted with significant recruiting 
and retention compromises that would have had a detrimental impact on 
the dental health of soldiers, sailors and airmen if it was not 
remedied.
  I served on the Personnel Committee of the House Armed Services and 
later chaired that committee, with responsibility for the oversight of 
the military health delivery system.
  My brother, John, is now a Colonel and dentist in the Army Medical 
Corps; at the time, I went to my brother to say, John, what is the 
problem? We are not able to retain these dentists. There are so many 
open slots. We are having an exodus. At the time President Clinton was 
doing a drawdown. I know a lot of the warriors are leaving the service, 
but we have to stop the leak.
  My brother explained the situation to me and the order of the 
consequences. He proposed a strategy for success, but more importantly, 
my brother identified the major players, even mapped out a strategy of 
success on the back of a napkin and said, I must put you with Joe Webb. 
Joe Webb was a Colonel at the time, and was a key element of ensuring a 
successful remedy to this looming problem.
  The following day Congressman Norwood, Joe Webb, my brother, John, 
and I initiated a dialogue that focused on a strategy for 
implementation. The impact of the continuation pay package reached all 
three services and preserved the human capital necessary to deliver 
world-class dentistry. This is a living legacy that continues to have 
far-reaching implications. Many call it propay, but those who receive 
that check know exactly what it means.
  I called upon the combined and extensive expertise of Joe Webb and my 
brother, John Buyer, as critical resources to make the legislation a 
reality from its introduction, through conference, and into law. 
Without their dedicated focus on this issue, it is likely that the 
continuation pay bill would never have met with the success it had. The 
Air Force, the Navy and Marine Corps programs rested their future upon 
the shoulders of then Colonel Joe Webb. But this was common through 
this man's career.

[[Page H8661]]

  Having been excited by this success, the team of Joe Webb and John 
Buyer then elevated the health expectations throughout the dental 
enterprise. They devised the concept of dental wellness to replace the 
only adequate dental health standard of dental readiness with an 
optimal dental health standard of wellness. Dental wellness is now the 
standard in all three services. Legislation to assist the services in 
achieving higher levels of dental wellness will continue to have a 
profound and lasting impact upon future forces.
  The team of Joe and John then broke down parochial barriers to 
successfully make the UHQ MEDIVAC training program at Fort Rucker a 
reality in time to have a successful impact on the Second Gulf War. So 
now when a dust-off helicopter comes in, and these litters need to be 
reconfigured, even at night or under trying circumstances, they have 
been trained under the difficult standards and are prepared to save 
lives. This project would never have occurred had it not been for their 
insights and their strategies.
  As a Colonel, Joe Webb also served as the Commander of the largest 
dental command in the Department of Defense. The United States Army 
Dental Command, called DENTCOM, is comprised of more than 3,800 
personnel and 172 clinics worldwide, and had an operating budget of 
over $200 million.
  A strategic visionary, Major General Webb impacted the implementation 
of the dental care reengineering initiative, which revolutionized the 
provisions of the dental care to soldiers to improve the quality of 
practice for dental care officers.
  This gifted leader then was assigned as the Assistant Surgeon General 
for Force Development and Sustainment. He moved from a colonel at 
DENTCOM to this new job as a brigadier general. In this capacity, he 
was responsible for the Army Medical Department's contracting logistics 
facilities and information management across the Medical Corps.
  This proven and tested leader was then selected for promotion to 
major general and assigned to command the Pacific Region Medical 
Command and Tripler Army Medical Center. In this capacity, he was 
responsible for providing primary, specialty and tertiary care to over 
500,000 in the Pacific Command, and over 100,000 VA beneficiaries. He 
led and managed the day-to-day operations for a 229-bed medical center 
which is the primary referral medical center in the Pacific. A 
strategic leader, he played a lead role in the Army's theater security 
cooperation program, working closely to establish professional medical 
relationships with other countries. He also reached out to the 
underserved Pacific Islanders and used all means available to increase 
access to care for those in need.
  In July of 2004, he was selected to serve as the Army Deputy Surgeon 
General and Chief of Staff of the United States Army Medical Command. 
He masterfully guided the activities of an organization which executes 
an $8 billion annual operating budget, encompassing over $6 billion in 
facilities assets through 12 major subordinate commands, comprised of 
more than 48,000 military and civilian personnel, eight medical 
centers, 47 hospitals, 73 separate clinics, 172 dental clinics, 14 
biomedical research facilities worldwide. While serving as the Deputy 
Surgeon General, Major General Webb also placed a renewed emphasis on 
issues related to the physical and mental well-being of the United 
States Army Reserve and Army National Guard Members. Under his 
management and direction, training opportunities for the Reserve AMEDD 
components were synchronized and improved to meet current and future 
needs.
  Major General Webb's imprint on military medicine extends beyond the 
Army throughout the Department of Defense and into the national and 
international communities. His extraordinary achievements are 
characterized by profound dedication, compassion, intellect and 
professionalism. Major General Webb's distinguished performance of duty 
is in keeping with the most proud and cherished traditions of military 
service and reflects great credit upon himself, the United States Army 
Medical Command, the United States Army and the United States of 
America.
  I have first- and secondhand knowledge of Joe Webb that few have. 
That is why I have come to the floor. This is a man that has internal 
anchors. He has a backbone of steel. When it comes to his passion and 
his commitment, no one can match him. He requests the noblest of things 
from the noble, and he achieves great results. This is a great man who 
served our country for over 39 years and I thank him for his service. 
This is my friend, Joe Webb.

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