[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 79 (Thursday, May 21, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO COLONEL DIONYSIOS ANNINOS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. J. RANDY FORBES

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 21, 2009

  Mr. FORBES. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Colonel 
Dionysios Anninos, who will assume Command of the United States Army 
Corps of Engineers Gulf Region Central District, located in Baghdad, 
Iraq on July 7, 2009.
  There is without a doubt, few, if any, men who are as capable or 
prepared to oversee engineer projects in Iraq than Colonel Anninos. 
However, it is with reluctance and a heavy heart that we bid farewell 
to an officer who has served the Hampton Roads region of Virginia so 
well.
  For almost three years, Colonel Anninos has commanded the Norfolk 
District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. As Commander, Colonel Anninos 
managed the Corps' water resources development and navigable waterways 
operations for five river basins in the Commonwealth of Virginia. A key 
contributor to Chesapeake Bay restoration efforts, Colonel Anninos also 
oversaw projects helping to create jobs while improving the Nation's 
aging infrastructure.
  From maintaining the critical intercoastal waterways and the Great 
Dismal Swamp Canal, to laying the groundwork for the Deep Creek Bridge 
in Chesapeake, Colonel Anninos has demonstrated a level of 
professionalism and excellence that I have only rarely had the benefit 
to witness.
  For the many Virginians and residents of North Carolina within the 
sixteen counties and 5,000 square miles that lie within the Chowan 
River Basin, Colonel Anninos will be remembered for his tireless 
leadership to address the flooding there. Because of his efforts, we 
can look forward to a comprehensive Reconnaissance Study to investigate 
the flooding beginning in the next several months. In addition, Colonel 
Anninos' persistence and resourcefulness were central to bringing 
together federal, state, and local officials in a local-federal 
partnership to install a system of early-warning gauges on the River, 
which has risen to six of its highest flood levels in the last eleven 
years.
  Under Colonel Anninos' command, the Norfolk District has also 
provided support in response to several natural disasters within 
Virginia and some of our Nation's greatest natural disasters, including 
Hurricanes Katrina and Ike. All the while his District provided 
engineering support to Overseas Contingency Operations in Iraq and 
Afghanistan serving side-by-side with our men and women overseas.
  On behalf of the U.S. House of Representatives, the residents of the 
Chowan River Basin, and the residents of the Fourth congressional 
District of Virginia, I express my gratitude to Colonel Anninos for his 
service to our Nation, and for his friendship. I wish Colonel Anninos, 
his wife Catherine, and his two sons the very best as he continues to 
serve our great Nation.

                          ____________________