[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 68 (Tuesday, May 5, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1060]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO COMMANDER KEITH ALAN WILLIS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HOWARD COBLE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 5, 2009

  Mr. COBLE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay final tribute to one of 
North Carolina's native sons and a veteran of the United States Coast 
Guard. A beloved son, husband and father, Commander Keith Alan Willis, 
U.S. Coast Guard, passed suddenly while serving as Commanding Officer 
in Coast Guard Cutter TAHOMA (WMEC 908) since May 2007. He most 
recently served as the Coast Guard Liaison as Commander, U.S. Second 
Fleet after having served as Assistant Coast Guard Liaison at U.S. 
Fleet Forces Command and Joint Forces Command from August 2004 through 
August 2006. Commander Willis was a 1989 graduate of the United States 
Coast Guard Academy, with a Bachelor of Science in Government. In 2000, 
he completed a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Troy State 
University, and in 2004, he completed a Master's Degree in National 
Security Policy from the U.S. Naval War College.
  Commander Willis' prior assignments included enlisted service from 
1983 to 1985, during which time he was stationed on USCGC DAUNTLESS and 
at the Broadened Opportunity for Officer Selection and Training (BOOST) 
program in San Diego, California. After BOOST, Commander Willis 
reported to the Coast Guard Academy. Following graduation in 1989, he 
reported to USCGC HARRIET LANE in Portsmouth, Virginia, where he served 
as a Deck Watch Officer, Combat Information Center Officer, Weapons 
Officer, and Assistant Navigator.
  Upon departure from USCGC HARRIET LANE in 1992, Commander Willis 
reported to Law Enforcement Detachment 8-G in Corpus Christi, Texas, 
where he served as Officer in Charge, and made deployments on a variety 
of U.S. Navy ships, and a deployment to the Middle East to assist in 
enforcement of the U.N. Sanctions against Iraq. Commander Willis 
reported to USCGC BEAR in Portsmouth, Virginia, as the Operations 
Officer from 1994 to 1997. In August 1997, he reported to the Coast 
Guard's Atlantic Area command staff, where he served until July 2001 as 
a member of the International Operations branch. In that capacity, 
Commander Willis helped direct and execute the Tradewinds series of 
exercises in the Caribbean, which included participation by fourteen 
Caribbean nations.
  Commander Willis then reported to USCGC DAUNTLESS in Galveston, 
Texas, as Executive Officer in August 2001, after which CDR Willis 
reported to the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, 
graduating in May 2004. Following graduation, Commander Willis then 
reported as Assistant Coast Guard Liaison to Fleet Forces Command and 
Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia, and served in that billet 
until assignment in August 2006 to the newly established position of 
Coast Guard Liaison to Commander Second Fleet.
  Commander Keith Willis, born in Frisco, North Carolina, is remembered 
for his Christian faith, devotion to his family and dedicated service 
to the United States Coast Guard. May God rest his soul and provide 
comfort to his family.

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