[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 98 (Friday, June 26, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING THE SERVICE OF COLONEL KIRK W. HYMES

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN P. MURTHA

                            of Pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 26, 2009

  Mr. MURTHA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the service of 
Colonel Kirk W. Hymes, U.S.M.C., the director of the Joint Non-Lethal 
Weapons Directorate. After 26 years of honorable and distinguished 
service to our great nation, Colonel Hymes will be retiring.
  Colonel Hymes is a native of Altoona, Pennsylvania and graduated from 
the United States Naval Academy. After attending the Basic School, he 
trained at the Field Artillery Officer Basic Course at Fort Sill, 
Oklahoma. He also attended the Amphibious Warfare School in Quantico, 
Virginia and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
  Colonel Hymes served in a number of different places and in a variety 
of capacities, including the Recruiting Station in Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania where he served as the Operations Officer and Executive 
Officer and Twentynine Palms, California where he served with the 5th 
Battalion, 11th Marines. He also carried out a Unit Deployment to 
Okinawa, Japan and deployed with the 31st MEU (SOC). Following his 
return he became the Director of the 11th Marines Artillery Training 
School.
  Subsequently, Colonel Hymes became the Fire Support Operational Test 
Project Officer at the Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation 
Activity, Quantico, Virginia. After transferring to the 2d Marine 
Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina he served with the 10th Marine 
Regiment where he was the Operations Officer and Executive Officer for 
2d Battalion, 10th Marines and then the Regimental Operations Officer.
  After reporting to Okinawa for duty with III Marine Expeditionary 
Force, he served in the G-3 Exercise Branch as the South East Asia 
Exercise Branch Head and Tandem Thrust Exercise Planner. He then 
returned to Twentynine Palms, California for duty as the Commanding 
Officer, 3d Battalion, 11th Marines where he deployed the battalion to 
support Operation Enduring Freedom and then Operation Iraqi Freedom. 
Colonel Hymes was later assigned to the Expeditionary Force Development 
Center at the Marine Corps Combat Development Center as the Integration 
Branch Head and Deputy Director for Operations.
  Madam Speaker, throughout his career, Colonel Hymes received many 
personal awards including the Bronze Star with Combat ``V'', the 
Meritorious Service Medal with four Gold Stars, the Navy Marine Corps 
Achievement Medal, and the Combat Action Ribbon. Upon his retirement, I 
commend him for his outstanding service and wish him the best of luck 
in all of his future endeavors.

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