[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 32 (Wednesday, February 27, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO LT. GENERAL RICARDO S. SANCHEZ

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HENRY CUELLAR

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 27, 2008

  Mr. CUELLAR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor LTG Ricardo S. 
Sanchez on being the recipient of the 2008 Border Texan of the Year.
   General Sanchez is a truly deserving recipient of this honor, which 
was given to him for his extraordinary contributions to the security of 
our Nation over the past 33 years. He served overseas in service of his 
country in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm as commander of the 
2nd Battalion, 69th Armor, 197th (Separate) Infantry Brigade, which 
then transitioned to the 3rd Brigade, 24th Infantry Division 
(Mechanized) once redeployed. General Sanchez also has served in the 
Federal Government as an investigator in the Office of the Inspector 
General Agency, and in the years following his brigade command tour in 
1994, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, and later as Director of 
Operations and Director of Strategy, Policy and Plans, with the United 
States Southern Command in Miami, Florida.
  General Sanchez served as commander of the Multi-National Brigade 
(East), KFOR, in Kosovo in 1999. He also served as commanding general 
of the 1st Armored Division, which was deployed to Operation Iraqi 
Freedom in May 2003, and then was nominated to his present rank of 
lieutenant general in June 2003. He commanded the V Corps and 
simultaneously became commander of the Combined Joint Task Force 7, 
responsible for one of the largest combat forces deployed in U.S. 
military history in Iraq. General Sanchez was the longest-serving corps 
commander in V Corps history, and he retired on November 1, 2006, after 
33 years of service.
  His awards include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the 
Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Defense Superior 
Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with two oak leaf clusters, the 
Bronze Star Medal with ``V'' device and oak leaf cluster, the Joint 
Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the National 
Defense Service Medal with two service stars, the Liberation of Kuwait 
Medals, and the NATO Medal.
  Madam Speaker, I am honored to have had this time to recognize the 
dedication and commitment of LTG Ricardo Sanchez to the United States 
of America as the deserving 2008 Border Texan of the Year.

                          ____________________