[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 12 (Monday, January 22, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S825]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO JOSEPH W. WHITAKER

 Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, today I acknowledge the 
contributions of a dedicated public servant, Joe Whitaker. Joe 
currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army, 
Installations and Housing. This makes Joe Whitaker the most senior 
career civilian official in the Army responsible for military 
installation issues such as the construction of new facilities and 
housing for our soldiers and their families. Joe Whitaker's service to 
the Army includes both military and civilian service, and he is 
retiring as a member of the Senior Executive Service at the end of this 
month after a career of over 35 years of dedicated public service to 
the U.S. Army.
  As chairman of the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, 
I appreciate the challenges Joe Whitaker has faced over the past few 
years trying to modernize the facilities where our soldiers live and 
work. These challenges include: an Army at war; the 2005 round of base 
realignment and closures; the so-called modular conversion of the Army 
from a division-based force to a brigade-based force; and the 
relocation of thousands of Army personnel and dependents from Europe to 
the United States. This would be a significant set of challenges to 
deal with even if they had occurred one after the other, but Joe 
Whitaker and the Army have had to address them simultaneously, and I 
commend him for the job he has done in meeting these challenges.
  As a Senator from the State of Hawaii, I have seen first hand the 
improvements in both military capability and quality of life that have 
taken place for the Army in Hawaii thanks to the efforts of Joe 
Whitaker and others in the executive and legislative branches. This 
includes the privatization and improvement of over 7,800 homes for Army 
families in Hawaii under the Residential Communities Initiative and the 
construction of facilities to stand up a Stryker Brigade Combat Team in 
Hawaii. Our Army forces in Hawaii are better off because of Joe 
Whitaker's contributions.
  Dedicated career civil servants like Joe Whitaker are so important to 
the work of the Army and other Federal agencies. They provide the 
continuity, background of knowledge and experience, and relationships 
that the political appointees representing any administration need to 
get things accomplished. This is even more true in the military, where 
effective command during the relatively brief tours of senior military 
leaders would not be possible without the expertise of career civil 
servants like Joe Whitaker.
  Finally, the members and staff of our committee have also known they 
could rely on Joe Whitaker as a candid, hard-working partner in our 
shared responsibility for providing for our men and women in uniform 
and their families. On behalf of the Subcommittee on Readiness and 
Management Support and the entire Senate Armed Services Committee, I 
express our appreciation to Joe Whitaker for his contributions, and 
dedication to, the soldiers of the U.S. Army and his country, and I 
wish him success in his future endeavors.

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