[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 134 (Thursday, December 7, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11493-S11494]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING SALVATORE FERRO

 Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, today I honor Salvatore Ferro's 40 
years of

[[Page S11494]]

dedicated service at the Defense Intelligence Agency, DIA. ``Sal,'' who 
has worked for all 16 Directors of the DIA, will be retiring on January 
3, 2007. He will be sorely missed by the Select Committee on 
Intelligence.
  Sal has had a long and distinguished Government career. Sal served 
with honor in the Army in the Vietnam War, working as an intelligence 
officer with the ``Phoenix'' program. After his discharge from the Army 
in 1969, Sal joined DIA, just 8 years after its establishment as an 
agency and went right back to Vietnam for a 1-year tour as a civilian 
intelligence officer.
  After finishing his service in Vietnam, Sal returned to the United 
States to work in DIA's Arlington Hall Station facility in northern 
Virginia. During the next decade, Mr. Ferro drew on his wartime 
experience and his analytical talents to work on issues related to 
American servicemen taken as prisoners of war or declared missing in 
action in Southeast Asia.
  In 1991, Sal moved over to DIA's Office for Congressional Affairs in 
the Pentagon. This is when our committee really came to know Sal. He 
has been an invaluable asset to the members and staff of the Senate 
Select Committee on Intelligence. He has been tenacious in getting 
answers to our many questions and requests for information. He has 
taken pride in being responsive and making sure that DIA consistently 
met our deadlines. More important, his professionalism, diplomatic 
skills, and amazingly positive personality have smoothed over countless 
ripples in DIA's relations with Congress. Ask any Intelligence 
Committee staffer who has dealt with Sal over the years, an they will 
tell you that he is not only a pleasure to work with, he is also a good 
friend. You can always count on Sal for a kind word and a ``happy 
Friday.''
  Sal has supported the Intelligence Committee's oversight work on 
countless topics. Some of the most significant and time-consuming 
include the 9/11 Joint Inquiry, the review of the intelligence 
community's prewar intelligence assessments on Iraq, and the Able 
Danger review. I will always be most grateful to Sal for his tireless 
support over the years in my efforts to resolve the status of Navy 
pilot CAPT Scott Speicher, who has been missing since the first gulf 
war.
  Mr. Sal Ferro is a true national intelligence asset, and he has been 
one of the Defense Intelligence Agency's secret weapons. He will be 
missed.
  Thank you for your service, Sal, and don't be a stranger.

                          ____________________