[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 155 (Monday, October 15, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12860-S12861]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO MAJOR VAUGHN L. WARD

  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. President, I wish to recognize the valor, leadership, 
and service of MAJ Vaughn L. Ward, a third-generation Idahoan who grew 
up working on his family's farm in southern Idaho. On October 22, 2007, 
Major Ward received the Bronze Star Medal with Combat Distinguishing 
Device for heroic achievement in combat while serving as a Marine Rifle 
Company Commander in Fallujah, Iraq, from March to October of 2006.
  During 7 months of combat operations, Major Ward distinguished 
himself as an exemplary leader of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 25th 
Marines, Regimental Combat Team 5. Charlie Company was centrally 
located in the center of Fallujah and colocated with the Iraqi Police 
Headquarters. Insurgent forces regularly attacked this strategic 
position. During the tour, insurgents launched over a dozen complex 
attacks against his position, utilizing more than 120 rounds of 
indirect fire, IDF, AK-47 and PKC fire, vehicle borne improvised 
explosive devices, VBIEDs, improvised explosive devices, IEDs, and 
sniper fire. Major Ward commanded his marines through these attacks and 
usually led the counterattack against enemy forces. From March through 
October, Charlie Company engaged the enemy over 130 times, conducted 
nearly a thousand foot and vehicle patrols, and carried out over 100 
raids against insurgent locations.
  Major Ward's military honors are only the latest in a career marked 
by excellence, leadership, and achievement. After graduating from Boise 
State University, he worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide for 
former Senator Dirk Kempthorne in 1993. He joined the Marine Corps in 
1995 and served until 2000, whereupon he entered the University of 
Maryland and obtained his masters in business administration, MBA, in 
2002. He continued his public service by joining the Central 
Intelligence Agency, CIA, where he trained as an operations officer and 
served in the Middle East and Africa. In January 2006, Vaughn went on 
military furlough from the CIA in order to reactivate with the Marines 
and serve in Iraq. He left active duty in January 2007 and resigned 
from the CIA in May 2007. Vaughn, his wife Kirsten, and their daughter 
Ave will return home to Idaho in November.
  Vaughn's penchant for leadership and hard work has its roots on a 
small family farm in Shoshone. As young as 8 years old, Vaughn was 
working at his family's farm, which included a dairy with 70 cows, and 
a few thousand acres of grain and hay, and hundreds of free-range 
cattle. By age 11, Vaughn was operating a tractor, plowing the fields 
in the spring and fall and swathing the summer hay crops. He helped to 
run the family farm throughout most of his teenage years and feels very 
fortunate to have had this childhood experience. His grandfather 
homesteaded the farm, and it was there that Vaughn internalized a true 
appreciation for the importance of hard work.
  He was cognizant at an early age of the family's financial 
challenges. At 14, the age when many teenagers were spending their 
money on things like music, clothes, and a new electronic invention--
computer games--Vaughn bought his family a Christmas tree. They would 
not have had one, otherwise.
  Vaughn credits his mom, Maria Tranmer, with his success and his 
character development. His mother recounts the circumstances of his 
birth: Due to complications, they did not expect Vaughn to survive. 
When the doctor came to his mother's room, he said, ``Little girl, I 
don't know what this boy is going to do in life, but it's going to be 
something special.'' Maria took these words to heart and, according to 
Vaughn, ``she never pushed me to be something I'm not, but she pushed 
me to realize my potential. She always supports me and, from the time I 
was young, told me to do what I am capable of doing, and be the best at 
it. Her and my family's belief in me is what pushes me to do what I do, 
and accomplish what I have.'' Maria is a remarkable woman herself, 
raising Vaughn and his sister, Shellie, through many years of hardship 
alone, yet, in Vaughn's words, ``never leaving us wanting for 
anything.''
  Vaughn also points to mentors that have been there for him along the 
way and helped him during his formative years--from a first-grade 
teacher who took the time to care to coaches in high school who acted 
as role models. At age 7, his stepfather, Andrew Ward, a former Marine 
Corps officer, introduced Vaughn to hunting and hiking in the Idaho 
mountains and taught him how to ride a motorcycle. He also calls his 
grandfather, William Tews, the primary male influence in his life. ``My 
grandfather taught me how to shoot a rifle, drive a tractor and what it 
means to pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.'' Vaughn continued 
stating that ``my grandpa, father, and coaches shaped the life of a 
young man and those experiences gave me courage and confidence and 
opened up unique opportunities for me.''
  Vaughn's time in Iraq cemented and honed his leadership skills. 
Vaughn observes that if the talk of leadership doesn't translate into 
the action of leadership, particularly in combat, your credibility 
dissolves. In war, he says, fear is a cancer, and leaders have to be 
willing to do themselves what they order others to do. He lived this in 
Iraq, personally leading foot patrols from the front against the advice 
of fellow officers. He felt that it was wrong to order his subordinates 
to do something that he was unwilling to do himself. This bravery and 
commitment to walk and stand with his men meant something to them. His 
award submission in part reads: ``Major Ward's strong leadership style 
and his willingness to always lead literally from the front inspired 
his Marines to continue to engage the enemy.''
  For Vaughn, excellent leadership also means not being fully committed 
to one's own ideas in the formulation stage of the decisionmaking 
process. An effective leader knows how and when to listen to the 
counsel of others, evaluate all available information, and have the 
confidence to make a decision and execute that decision. Good leaders 
are accountable for their actions, good and bad, and a good leader 
shares accolades with those who are part of the effort--a leader, by 
definition, has to have able and committed followers. One of the 
lessons he learned in Iraq was the result of the patrols that he led 
regularly. He tells of patrolling in unfamiliar territory and 
encountering times when the way ahead was unclear. ``All you could do 
was start walking,

[[Page S12861]]

and that was how you found your way.''
  Vaughn is a committed family man and has the priceless gift of a 
supportive and loving wife. ``My wife was my strength during the hard 
times when I suffered casualties and lost Marines. She was the only one 
I could talk to, and I can't believe how difficult it must have been to 
hear me broken up over the death of my Marines, and be powerless to do 
anything but listen and offer words of comfort, thousands of miles 
away. She got me through my deployment.'' Vaughn also has the support 
and love of two sisters, Shellie Amundson and Logan Tranmer, both who 
live in Idaho.
  Finally, Vaughn makes a point of sharing the good things that our 
military is doing in Iraq. He notes that Al Anbar Province has been 
transformed over the past year. The marines of Charlie Company engaged 
the enemy, purposefully, and fought al-Qaida on terms determined by the 
U.S. military, not the insurgents. As a direct result of the actions of 
Vaughn's company, the insurgents, at one point, issued a public message 
that if the Marines of Company C would stay ``inside the wire,'' they 
would cease attacks on coalition forces. Vaughn says, ``We did not let 
them dictate how we did our job, and we were successful. There are good 
stories out there--stories that need and must be told.''
  I have only highlighted a few of Vaughn's many accomplishments, both 
on the battlefield and off. He is more than deserving of these 
accolades, although he is quick to point out that his company deserves 
the responsibility for his Bronze Star. We can only hope that men of 
Vaughn's caliber will continue their public service to our great Nation 
as his generation begins to take the reigns. I am honored to be able to 
tell of this remarkable Idahoan, his family, and the men of Charlie 
Company here in the Senate and privileged to publicly offer my humble 
thanks and that of my family, State, and country for Major Vaughn 
Ward's extraordinary and valorous service to the United States of 
America, and I am proud to call him an Idaho son.

                          ____________________