[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 107 (Thursday, June 26, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S6280]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO DR. CHARLES CONSTANTINE MOSKOS

 Mr. WARNER. Mr. President, on May 31, 2008, the Nation lost a 
great patriot, an avid student and supporter of the military, and a 
true friend of the enlisted soldier--Northwestern University professor 
emeritus of sociology, Charles Constantine Moskos.
  But he wasn't ``professor'' or ``doctor'' Moskos. He was always known 
as ``Charlie.'' He was ``Charlie'' to admirals and generals; he was 
``Charlie'' to his students; and he was ``Charlie'' to the enlisted 
soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines he loved so much. He was 
``Charlie'' to many Members of Congress who worked with and admired 
him.
  After graduating with honors from Princeton University in 1956, 
Charlie was drafted into the Army. He quickly became enamored with the 
amazing cross-section of Americans who served in the Armed Forces and 
decided the military institution would be his lifelong, academic focus. 
After he received his doctorate from UCLA in 1963, Charlie taught for 2 
years at the University of Michigan before moving on to Northwestern 
University. At Northwestern, Charlie began a storied 40-year career as 
a professor of sociology and traveled to war zones, military bases 
across the globe, the Pentagon, and the Congress. Over those four 
decades he became known as one of the world's foremost military 
sociologists and a key adviser to policymakers.
  Charlie's field was political sociology, and he studied the Caribbean 
and the Greek-American community, but his biggest contribution was in 
addressing the civil-military bond, the integration of the military and 
our society. He wrote extensively about the culture in the military, 
the success story of racial integration in the services, particularly 
the Army. He also focused his writings on the changing nature of the 
military as we moved from Vietnam to the end of the Cold War and into 
today's conflicts against terrorists around the globe. As one of the 
preeminent military sociologists of his time, he was a founding member 
of the prestigious Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and 
Society, an international association of academics and military 
scholars.
  Charlie's research took him to combat units in Vietnam, Kuwait, 
Somalia, Kosovo, and Iraq. For over three decades, he also served as an 
independent adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Always concerned that 
the All-Volunteer Force could separate the military from its larger 
society as it draws from more narrow segments of the population, 
Charlie is also credited with inspiring President Clinton to create the 
AmeriCorps Program.
  Among other awards, Charlie received the Distinguished Service Medal, 
the highest honor the Army awards to civilians. He is survived by his 
beloved wife of 41 years, Ilca Hoan Moskos, of Santa Monica, CA; two 
sons, Andrew Moskos of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and Peter Moskos of 
Astoria, NY; and two grandchildren.

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