[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 100 (Wednesday, June 30, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5693-S5694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO CAPTAIN JOHN B. NOWELL, JR.

 Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, I would like to take a moment to 
recognize the extraordinary contributions of Captain John B. Nowell, 
Jr., U.S. Navy, to our Nation. Captain Nowell has served with 
exceptional distinction as the director, Navy Senate Liaison, a 
position of great responsibility, from August 2008 to June 2010.
  Captain Nowell's service to our country began with his induction into 
the U.S. Naval Academy in the summer of 1980. Upon his graduation and 
commissioning in 1984, he started out on what would become a 
distinguished career as a talented and respected surface warfare 
officer--a career that continues today. His naval service has literally 
taken him around the world, as he has served on ships from the east 
coast to the west coast, from Africa to Japan, and all of the oceans 
and seas in between.

[[Page S5694]]

  Recognizing the enormous talent and potential in him, the Navy 
rewarded Captain Nowell with command at sea, entrusting him with the 
leadership of the guided-missile destroyer USS Porter and her crew from 
April 2002 to December 2003. During this time, Captain Nowell was 
called upon to lead his crew into combat, surge-deploying for Operation 
Iraqi Freedom into the Fifth and Sixth Fleet Areas of Responsibility 
where the Porter conducted Tomahawk strikes and Theater Ballistic 
Missile Defense. The crew of the USS Porter earned numerous accolades 
during Captain Nowell's command, including the coveted Battle ``E'' 
Award.
  Captain Nowell's success as a wartime commander at sea ultimately led 
to command an entire Destroyer Squadron and to assume the role of the 
maritime force commander for Joint Task Force Lebanon. However, the 
most telling vote of confidence in his ability to lead would surely be 
his selection to command the inaugural Africa Partnership Station 
deployment, a multinational force of ships, submarines, aircraft, 
expeditionary partnership teams, and land-based forces charged with 
building partnership capacity throughout the African continent.
  Today, we say goodbye to Captain Nowell after nearly 2 years of 
extraordinary service as the Navy's lead liaison to the U.S. Senate. 
During this time he led 15 congressional and staff delegations to 30 
countries, often being requested by name to facilitate visits to combat 
zones and fleet locations for the most senior-ranking delegations. As 
he departs for his next challenging assignment as the head of surface 
warfare assignments at Naval Personnel Command, I honor him for his 
service to our country, his inspirational leadership, and his 
irrepressible drive. I call upon my colleagues to join me in wishing 
``fair winds and following seas'' to Captain Nowell, his wife Jo, and 
his children Katherine, Stephen, and John III, who will be following 
his father's legacy as a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy.

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