[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 126 (Thursday, August 2, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10782-S10783]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING ADMIRAL EDMUND P. GIAMBASTIANI, JR.

 Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I wish to recognize ADM Edmund P. 
Giambastiani, Jr. for his 37 years of dedicated service to our Nation. 
Next month, Admiral Giambastiani, or ``Admiral G'' as he is known by 
those who have worked closely with him, will retire from his position 
as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A native New Yorker, 
Admiral Giambastiani hails from Canastota, a small town near Syracuse. 
Following his graduation from Canastota High School, he entered the 
U.S. Naval Academy in the summer of 1966. For the next 4 years, Admiral 
Giambastiani learned and practiced many of the values and skills that 
would guide him later in life and ultimately to the most senior levels 
of the Department of Defense.
  Admiral Giambastiani's early career brought him back to the State of 
New York where he served at the Naval Reserve Training Center in 
Whitestone and later at the Nuclear-Powered Training Unit in 
Schenectady. He served his first fleet assignments aboard the USS 
Puffer and USS Francis Scott Key. Later, Admiral Giambastiani commanded 
submarine NR-1, the Navy's only nuclear-powered, deep-diving ocean-
engineering and research

[[Page S10783]]

submarine, as well as the USS Richard B. Russell, whose crew was 
awarded three consecutive Battle Efficiency ``E'' awards, three Navy 
Unit Commendations, and two Fleet Commander Silver Anchors for 
excellence in enlisted retention.
  As his career progressed, so too did the assignments that the admiral 
was given. Admiral Giambastiani led the Submarine Development Squadron 
Twelve, an attack submarine squadron that serves as the Navy's Warfare 
Center of Excellence for submarine doctrine and attacks. He was also 
the first director of strategy and concepts at the Naval Doctrine 
Command and the commander of the Atlantic Fleet Submarine Force. He 
served as the commander of the Submarines Allied Command Atlantic; the 
Anti-Submarine and Reconnaissance Forces Atlantic in Norfolk, VA; and 
as NATO's first supreme allied commander for transformation. In each of 
these assignments, Admiral Giambastiani performed his duties with 
distinction.
  On the morning of September 11, 2001, Admiral Giambastiani was 
working in the Pentagon as the Senior Military Assistant to the 
Secretary of Defense. On that day and those that followed, Admiral 
Giambastiani worked tirelessly to respond to the aftermath of that 
attack.
  Admiral Giambastiani served as commander of Joint Forces Command from 
October of 2002 to August of 2005. During this period, Joint Forces 
Command deployed headquarters personnel in support of Operation Iraqi 
Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, established assessment teams 
for global contingency operations to ensure the application of joint 
doctrine and practices, and provided oversight of numerous training 
exercises for deploying task force headquarters staffs to Iraq.
  During this time, I worked closely with Admiral Giambastiani as a 
member of Joint Forces Command's Transformation Advisory Group, a body 
that the admiral formed to provide U.S. Joint Forces Command with 
independent advice and recommendations on strategic, scientific, 
technical, intelligence and policy-related issues. I have great 
personal and intellectual respect for Admiral Giambastiani and admire 
his openness to new ideas, his commitment to joint transformation, and 
his dedication to supporting our servicemembers.
  In 2005, Admiral Giambastiani was nominated to serve as Vice Chairman 
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and I had the honor of introducing 
Admiral Giambastiani at his confirmation hearing before the Senate 
Armed Services Committee. During his tenure as Vice Chairman, Admiral 
Giambastiani has worked diligently to improve and transform our 
Nation's defense capabilities. He has served as the chairman of the 
Joint Requirements Oversight Council, where he worked to make it more 
responsive to the requests of our military commanders and to 
synchronize the delivery of resources needed by our servicemembers.
  On behalf of my constituents in New York and of all Americans, I want 
to express my gratitude to Admiral Giambastiani for his many years of 
public service. I invite my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
join me today in recognizing and honoring Admiral Giambastiani for the 
service and commitment to the country that he represents.

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