[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 122 (Thursday, August 6, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S8990]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        COMMENDING COLONEL (RETIRED) WILLIAM L. ROBINSON (ROBBY)

 Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, today I recognize and 
pay tribute to COL (Ret.) William ``Robby'' Robinson, who was 
commissioned as an infantry officer in 1968 through the U.S. Military 
Academy and who will retire next month after 13 years working for 
Colorado's Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. We owe him a 
debt of gratitude for his contributions to our Nation.
  Colonel Robinson's civilian education includes a bachelor of science 
from West Point and a master's degree in public administration from 
Harvard University. His professional military education includes the 
infantry officer basic and advanced courses, Ranger, Airborne, 
Jumpmaster and Pathfinder schools at Fort Benning, GA; the College of 
Naval Command and Staff in Rhode Island; and the Army War College in 
Pennsylvania as the USCINCPAC Fellow.
  His assignments have included the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort 
Bragg, NC; 173rd Airborne Brigade, Vietnam; A Company, 1st Battalion 
502nd Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, Vietnam; 75th Infantry, 
Ranger, 101st Airborne Division, Vietnam; Logistics Plans Officer and 
Division Training Officer in the 24th Infantry Division at Fort 
Stewart, Georgia; and Task Force Commander of 2nd Battalion 8th 
Infantry in the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, CO.
  Among Colonel Robinson's awards and decorations are the Defense 
Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, 
eight Air Medals, two Defense Meritorious Service Medals, and three 
Meritorious Service Medals.
  Colonel Robinson has also served as an instructor of political 
sciences at West Point; Aide de Camp to the U.S. Representative to the 
NATO Military Committee in Brussels, Belgium; speechwriter for the 
Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command; chief of strategy at 
USCINCPAC in Hawaii; and as Fifth U.S. Army senior active duty adviser 
to the Colorado Army National Guard.
  He retired from active duty in June 1996 and became the resource 
manager and legislative liaison for Colorado's Department of Military 
Affairs. In 1999, he began serving as deputy director of the Department 
of Military and Veterans Affairs. He will retire next month, after 13 
years with the department.
  It was in his capacity as deputy director that I first met Colonel 
Robinson, when he and the department's legislative director, LTC (Ret.) 
Walter Paul, visited my office in my first year as a Member of the 
House of Representatives from Colorado's Second District. Over the 
years, Colonel Robinson and Lieutenant Colonel Paul worked very closely 
with my office on issues important to the Guard in Colorado, and helped 
me and my staff understand the critical role the Guard plays in times 
of peace and war.
  Colonel Robinson is a man of integrity, whose counsel is widely 
sought. In his years of service, he has demonstrated his deep 
commitment to our Guard members, our veterans, and their families. 
Retirement will allow him to spend more time with his wife Cathy, who 
is program director for Elbert County Social Services, their daughter 
Meredith, a veterinarian in Wheat Ridge, and their son Will, a student 
at the University of Colorado, Denver. But we will miss him and will 
continue to seek his counsel.
  I know all my colleagues join me in saluting COL (Ret.) William 
``Robby'' Robinson for his many years of truly outstanding service to 
the United States Army, the Colorado National Guard, our veterans, and 
our Nation.

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