[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 183 (Tuesday, December 8, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2908]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




COMMENDING THE SOLDIERS AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL STATIONED AT FORT GORDON

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. PHIL GINGREY

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 7, 2009

  Mr. GINGREY of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a cosponsor of 
H. Con. Res. 206, a resolution commending the soldiers and civilian 
personnel stationed at Fort Gordon and their families for their service 
and dedication to the United States and recognizing the contributions 
of Fort Gordon to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring 
Freedom and its role as a pivotal communications training installation.
  Fort Gordon dates to 1940, when the United States Army recognized a 
need for a military installation near Augusta, Georgia that could aid 
in combat during the ensuing Second World War. The groundbreaking 
actually took place in 1941, and the base was originally named Camp 
Gordon after John B. Gordon, a general during the Civil War and former 
Governor of Georgia. During World War II, Camp Gordon was home to the 
4th Infantry Division, 26th Infantry Division, and 10th Armored 
Division of the Army until they were deployed to Europe. However, in 
1948, Camp Gordon became the home of the Signal Corps Training Center--
for which it is most commonly known today.
  Throughout the Korean war the need for signalmen grew, and the Signal 
Corps Training Center became the largest single source for Army 
communications specialists. Camp Gordon was also made a permanent 
installation in 1956 and was renamed Fort Gordon. Further, during the 
Vietnam war era and after, communications specialists became an 
absolutely necessary component of highly technological and modernized 
warfare, and Fort Gordon was recognized as an exemplary institution for 
these soldiers as the Signal Corps Training Center came to be known as 
the United States Army Signal Center at Fort Gordon.
  Fort Gordon and the troops and families stationed there were 
instrumental in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and during 
the 1990s the installation was responsible for training most of the DoD 
personnel who operate and maintain satellites, as well as training 
signal troops of allied and former nations.
  Currently, approximately 19,000 soldiers are stationed at Fort 
Gordon, and Augusta has been a welcome home to all of them. To this 
day, the base continues its tradition of success in the Signal Corps, 
as it trains soldiers for deployment into theater in Iraq and 
Afghanistan. On behalf of Georgia's 11th Congressional District, I am 
proud of the continued dedication to the safety and security of the 
United States of the men and women at Fort Gordon and thank them for 
their nearly 60 years of service to this Nation. Georgia has been 
blessed with an abundance of willing men and women who are committed to 
ensuring freedom and liberty for America, and I thank each of them for 
their service.
  I believe that the brave men and women at Fort Gordon and every 
military installation who sacrifice for our present freedoms deserve 
our fullest support. Our Nation's service men and women represent the 
best our country has to offer, and they must be treated with the 
respect and honor they deserve. As we ask these courageous soldiers, 
sailors, airmen, and marines--and their families--to do more and more, 
it's only right we continue doing all we can for them. Commending the 
accomplishments and service of our troops at Fort Gordon is just one 
small example of the gratitude that every American should express to 
our troops at home and abroad.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I ask all of my colleagues to support this 
resolution.

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