[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 195 (Wednesday, December 19, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S15973-S15974]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       WELCOMING RETURNING TROOPS

  Madam President, I note that in my hometown of Anchorage, AK, this 
afternoon, there is a wonderful celebration taking place. The 495th out 
of Fort Richardson has all come home. They have come home after 15 
months being over in Iraq, doing incredible work under incredibly 
difficult situations.
  We mourn the loss of those who are not home, who will not be home. 
But today in Anchorage, the community is coming together to say: 
Welcome back. Please let us know how we can support you and your 
families, not only at this holiday season, but throughout the year, and 
support you for all the support you have given us.
  We take time during the holiday season to show our thanks, to show 
our appreciation to so many. But I wish to recognize the soldiers and 
the veterans from Alaska, from throughout the whole country, who have 
given so much and who continue to give so much. We want them to know 
their sacrifices in serving us, whether it be in Afghanistan or in 
Iraq, have not gone unnoticed. Their sacrifices have certainly not gone 
unnoticed by my fellow Alaskans.

  When I was in Iraq earlier in the year, I had the pleasure of meeting 
with soldiers and guardsmen from Anchorage, Fairbanks, Seward, 
Soldotna, Eagle River, Slana, and Wasilla, all over the State. In 
hearing their stories and their commitment, you cannot help but feel 
proud as an American. I was certainly proud as an Alaskan. Every day I 
have Alaskans who write my office to praise the servicemen and the 
servicewomen who have returned and those who are still in combat. 
Sometimes it is a quick e-mail, saying: I support all of those who are 
serving, and other times they are very long, heartfelt letters praising 
our heroes and truly expressing a solidarity with them for the 
sacrifice they have made.
  The fact that Alaska has the largest number of veterans per capita, I 
think says a lot about our State's character. Our Alaska veterans are 
some of the most exemplary in the Armed Forces. The 172nd Stryker 
Brigade out of Fairbanks was on tour in Iraq, and they were extended to 
16 months. But when they were asked to give more, they remained strong, 
they remained proud. Last week, I received an e-mail from the former 
commander of the 172nd, and he sent along an article of an Iraqi, a 
young Iraqi girl who had been blind. Some of the solders in the 172nd 
had helped facilitate this young girl coming to the United States for 
eye surgery. This young child, this beautiful little Iraqi girl, is now 
able to see. She was given that gift of sight because of the caring and 
compassion of these solders.
  Another story was shared with me by the former commander. He noted 
that on December 12, SGT Gregory Williams from the 172nd was presented 
with the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest award for 
valor, for his actions while in combat in Baghdad. Despite being 
injured himself when their vehicle was struck by a bomb, Sergeant 
Williams was able to return fire and help a wounded comrade to safety. 
To date, there have only been eight Distinguished Service Crosses 
awarded since the war began in 2001. So we are very proud of SGT 
Gregory Williams.
  We say that we do things a little bit differently in Alaska. We enjoy 
doing things a little differently. There was one Alaskan marine who was 
over in Iraq. He discovered that he had some hidden talents he did not 
imagine. His innovative approach to searching out insurgents earned him 
a Marine Corps Commendation Medal. SGT Aaron A. Henehan led his squad 
to search out and detain 18 black list or high-value insurgents while 
in his third tour in Iraq. He is an adventurous young man. Sergeant 
Henehan was barely out of high school and was anxious to see the world 
when he first thought of signing up to serve his country. September 11 
and the outbreak of war did not cause his decision to waiver an inch.
  Sergeant Henehan deployed in April of 2003 and spent his first tour 
in the town of Babylon. He served his country well. Like many who 
fought alongside him, he began to learn the undercurrents, the inner 
workings of Iraqi society. He returned for a second tour to Husaybah, 
near Iraq's border with Syria in August of 2004. At that time Husaybah 
was a dangerous town.
  Sergeant Henehan served his second tour in Iraq with distinction, but 
still he felt he needed to do more. Before deploying for his third and 
final tour in February of 2006, he told his friends and his family back 
home that he wanted to make a difference in Iraq, a sentiment many 
American soldiers and guardsmen share. He spent a lot of time between 
his second and his third tours thinking about what he might be able to 
do differently, how he could learn from his experiences in the two 
deployments prior, and how he might be able to achieve a better result.
  Combining his Marine training with information he learned from a 
retired Los Angeles police officer who was deployed to Iraq to teach 
the troops urban tactics, Sergeant Henehan approached his third tour 
with what he referred to as a beat cop mentality. He wanted to approach 
the problem of rounding up insurgents as if he were a native of the 
area. He spent his free time studying the tribal history and the 
geography of Husaybah for hours at a time. The ability to put his plan 
in motion, Sergeant Henehan says, was made possible in part by 
Operation Steel Curtain, which had cleared Husaybah block by block, and 
set up outposts called ``firm bases'' throughout the city.

[[Page S15974]]

  So upon returning for his third tour, Sergeant Henehan immediately 
noticed that after this push, while not always willing to openly 
support the coalition forces, Iraqis felt safe enough to give him tips 
on where the insurgents were hiding. This change in mentality, coupled 
with Sergeant Henehan's knowledge of family and tribal connections, 
allowed him to determine which people to ask about each of the 18 high-
value insurgents he located. He knew exactly who would be willing to 
tip him off about a social rival or historic foe.
  Traveling with an interpreter, Sergeant Henehan had a talent for 
remembering names and personal details. He took every opportunity he 
could to talk with locals and learn about the town's social 
organizations and tribal boundaries, often returning several times to 
talk with the same families to gain their trust. He would bring with 
him candy, good humor, even doctors. He would knock on the doors and 
politely ask to chat. Entire families opened up to him. Sometimes it 
would start with a toy given to a child, sometimes it was a heartfelt 
conversation with a shopkeeper. The response he got astonished 
everyone, including the insurgents hiding out in the town.
  The 12 marines in his squad called him a fair but tough leader with 
whom they felt very safe. His intense and proactive preparation for the 
more than 80 combat missions which he led and his personal attention to 
each of his 12 soldier's well-being gave them a sense of security. 
They, too, noted how his relaxed Alaskan exterior quickly helped earn 
him the respect of the townspeople.
  Even more remarkably, Sergeant Henehan's reputation for being fair 
and caring allowed him to detain all 18 high-value insurgents without 
any real violence. These 18 also led him to their associates, 
significantly disrupting insurgent operations in that part of Al Anbar 
Province.
  Sergeant Henehan remained behind after his unit returned to the 
States to train new troops about how he had learned to wage urban 
warfare while gaining the trust of the townspeople. The downturn in 
violence in Al Anbar can be linked perhaps in part to his efforts and 
the efforts of those like him.
  Sergeant Henehan is currently attending a California community 
college and plans to transfer to a larger State school after completing 
his distribution credits. He wants to major in computer games and even 
talks of one day creating video games that more accurately portray what 
war in the modern era is like. He has already begun organizing 
photographs from his three tours to use as backdrops. Clearly, his 
talent for careful planning and his desire to share his knowledge and 
experiences with others did not leave with his donning of civilian 
clothes.
  I wish him the best in all of his future endeavors, just as I wish 
the best for all Alaskan veterans and those now serving.

                          ____________________