[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 30, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S1326]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      COMMANDER LEDA MEI LI CHONG

 Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President, I am pleased to congratulate 
Commander Leda Mei Li Chong upon the completion of her career of 
service in the U.S. Navy. Throughout her 20-year military career, 
Commander Chong served with distinction and dedication.
  As the first member in her family to serve in the military, Commander 
Chong received her commission from the United States Navy in 1987. She 
went on to teach math, chemistry, materials, and radiological controls 
at the Naval Nuclear Power School in Orlando, FL. From there, Commander 
Chong served in various technical positions always providing vital 
operational and training support to the naval fleet. Highlights include 
having been the Department of Defense military satellite communications 
liaison to the U.S. Coast Guard where she provided expert technical and 
policy guidance on ultra high frequency satellite capabilities. She was 
also deputy J6 to the commander, Iceland Defense Force where she 
provided critical command, control, and communications in support of 
NATO defense. Commander Chong volunteered as a White House social aide 
where she provided support to the President of the United States during 
important State events. Her most recent assignments were as a Navy 
congressional liaison to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees 
as well as to the Senate and House Defense Appropriations 
subcommittees. As a congressional liaison, her straightforward approach 
and complete grasp of all facets concerning C4ISR, information 
technology, and space programs have been of great benefit to my staff, 
the U.S. Congress and our national security. Commander Chong ensured 
that the U.S. congress had the information necessary to determine how 
to best equip, maintain and support the U.S. Navy.
  Her family and her fellow shipmates can be proud of her distinguished 
service. Her parents Paul and Su and her husband Kevin have given her 
strong support during her naval career. As she departs the Pentagon to 
start her second career, I call upon my colleagues to wish Commander 
Chong and her family every success, and the traditional Navy ``fair 
winds and following seas.''

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