[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 111 (Tuesday, July 27, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1429-E1430]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING COLONEL THOMAS C. CHAPMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 27, 2010

  Ms. MATSUI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor COL Thomas C. 
Chapman upon his retirement from the United States Army Corps of 
Engineers. For the past three years I have had the pleasure of working 
with Colonel Chapman on a number of flood protection projects that are 
key to my hometown of Sacramento. I found Colonel Chapman to be a man 
of intelligence and integrity, a man who never forgot the public he 
served. As he retires, I would like to pause today and ask that my 
colleagues join with me in offering our thanks to a distinguished 
American.
  Beginning with his graduation from the United States Military Academy 
at West Point in 1984, Colonel Chapman has led a distinguished and 
notable career in the Corps of Engineers. He has assisted with and led 
many projects which have helped to maintain the integrity and vitality 
of our nation's infrastructure and worked to improve the security of 
our military bases abroad.
  Colonel Chapman's career has taken him and his family from Fort Knox 
to South Korea, from Philadelphia to Afghanistan and a number of stops 
in between. Each stop has been characterized by success. At Camp Red 
Cloud in South Korea, he developed a new master plan for installations, 
which was later adopted as a model for all U.S. forces in Korea. As the 
Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Engineer School, he oversaw the 
integration of the Engineer School into the Army's Maneuver Support 
Center. In Afghanistan, he served as the senior engineer at NATO Corps 
Headquarters, where he managed both the construction of all NATO 
facilities and oversaw NATO's Counter-IED training. Colonel Chapman 
aided Coalition Forces by developing a new engineer organizational 
structure and by developing NATO's first Counter-IED doctrine.
  In July of 2007, Colonel Chapman was installed as the Commander of 
the Corps of Engineers' Sacramento Division. Lying at the confluence of 
the Sacramento and American Rivers, the City of Sacramento and 
surrounding region faces the constant threat of flooding. Our levee and 
flood protection systems require continuous attention and the Corps of 
Engineers is actively involved with major upgrades currently being 
undertaken at Folsom Dam and along local rivers and streams.
  In particular, Colonel Chapman's leadership has helped keep the 
Folsom Dam Joint Federal Project, a collaborative effort with the 
Bureau of Reclamation, on schedule and on budget. When completed, this 
immense project will strengthen the dam and add a second spillway, 
which will allow more water to be released in anticipation of a storm, 
giving much of Sacramento over 200-year protection. Colonel Chapman has 
also worked diligently to advance the Natomas Levee Improvement 
Project, which will also give 200-year protection to the 75,000 people 
that call Natomas home. On these and other projects, Colonel Chapman 
has worked with local and state officials to ensure there is a strong 
partnership between all levels of government.

[[Page E1430]]

  Madam Speaker, I am truly honored to stand here today to congratulate 
COL Thomas Chapman, for his tireless work in Sacramento and throughout 
his 26-year career with the Army Corps of Engineers. As his colleagues, 
friends and family gather today, including his wife Deidre and their 
seven children, I once again ask my colleagues to join me in saluting 
Colonel Chapman. His work has kept American servicemen and women safe 
abroad and the public safe at home. I offer him my warmest thanks and 
wish him continued success in the next chapter of his life.

                          ____________________