[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 103 (Friday, June 20, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1307]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO COLONEL BRIAN W. LAURITZEN

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. TOM DAVIS

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 20, 2008

  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize COL 
Brian W. Lauritzen, the Installation Commander at Fort Belvoir, 
Virginia. As a Member of Congress who represents Fort Belvoir, I know 
firsthand that Colonel Lauritzen has served with great competence, 
tireless determination and constant communication with the community 
during a time of great transition for his installation.
  Colonel Lauritzen took command of Fort Belvoir, one of our Nation's 
largest and most diverse military installations, in July 2005 with 
major challenges awaiting him and even more on the horizon. Fort 
Belvoir was already engaged in master planning for redevelopment to 
expand the number of Department of Defense tenants and stretch the 
functions of the already busy installation. Then, just a few months 
into his tenure, the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) 
Commission's final recommendations doubled the size of Fort Belvoir's 
incoming workforce by 2011.
  The BRAC changes at Fort Belvoir, among the most substantial of BRAC 
2005's mandates, will transform the installation into. the major 
support center for the Nation's most senior military leadership. 
Ensuring a successful transition has brought with it the great 
challenges of working with both the Department of Defense and the local 
community. These challenges include timely and transparent planning, 
assessing the environmental and societal impacts of absorbing more than 
19,000 new employees, managing the transportation infrastructure in an 
area already burdened by traffic, and ensuring that all of Fort 
Belvoir's defense tenants can still perform their vital national 
security missions.
  Colonel Lauritzen has ably met these daunting challenges with the 
superb attitude that, in order to be successful, Fort Belvoir must 
continue to be receptive and responsive to the concerns of all of the 
surrounding communities. His early promise to the community that there 
would be ``no daylight between us'' has held true. Colonel Lauritzen 
established the BRAC Board of Advisors, a first-in-the-nation group 
bringing together members of the Army, incoming agencies, and the 
region's elected officials and local civic activists to identify 
development issues and keep open the lines of communication.
  I have always found Colonel Lauritzen to be the consummate consensus 
builder. He personally has made more than 150 appearances and 
presentations before community groups to keep them apprised of the BRAC 
expansion, Fort Belvoir's other missions, and their impact on the 
community. Similarly, he built strong communication coalitions with and 
between the major commands headquartered at Fort Belvoir in support of 
their people and their global missions through the Installation Senior 
Leadership Council.
  More than just communication, Colonel Lauritzen continues to 
facilitate progress, even when progress is difficult. He worked 
directly with Fairfax and Prince William Counties, the Virginia 
Department of Transportation, and the Army Corps of Engineers to 
address some of the many transportation challenges facing the region. 
Especially noteworthy is his personal involvement to secure an 
agreement to complete the extension of the Fairfax County Parkway, a 
vital connection across the Fort's Engineer Proving Ground, something 
that had festered unresolved for more than 10 years.
  Inside the perimeter of his base, Colonel Lauritzen has steadfastly 
insisted that our Nation's Soldiers and their families deserve the 
highest quality of life. Fort Belvoir has one of the Army's most 
successful Residential Community Initiative programs that has 
revitalized the approach to military housing and neighborhood centers, 
creating first-class communities for those who serve our Nation in 
uniform.
  On a more personal note, Colonel Lauritzen and his staff have eagerly 
addressed questions or constituent concerns that my office has brought 
to their attention. Regardless of how complicated or involved these 
requests may have been, I have always found his door to be open to 
discuss the issues and, more often than not, find compromise to 
difficult situations.
  Madam Speaker, at Fort Belvoir's Change of Command Ceremony on 
Tuesday, July 2, Colonel Lauritzen--West Point graduate, Soldier, and 
extraordinary officer--will retire from the Army and enter a new 
chapter in his life. I have truly enjoyed working with him, and wish 
him all the best as he pursues new endeavors. He has truly served Fort 
Belvoir, Virginia, and our Nation with the highest standards of 
leadership expected from the very best of our military commanders.

                          ____________________