[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 51 (Friday, April 8, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   IN RECOGNITION OF COLONEL STEPHANIE E. DAWSON SERVICE AS BRIGADE 
      COMMANDER OF THE 369TH SUSTAINMENT HARLEM HELLFIGHTERS UNIT

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                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, April 8, 2011

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Colonel 
Stephanie E. Dawson Service as Brigade Commander of the 369th 
Sustainment Harlem Hellfighters Unit. Col. Stephanie Dawson is the 
first female officer in New York National Guard history to command a 
brigade level unit.
  Col. Dawson became the Commander of the 369th Sustainment Brigade on 
October 1st, 2008. Prior to that time, she was the Deputy Commander of 
the 369th Sustainment Brigade, a position she held for two years. As a 
Lieutenant Colonel, she commanded the 27th Rear Area Operations Center. 
Dawson's unit was one of the first New York Army National Guard units 
to be mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in February 2003 
and returned in April 2004.
  Colonel Dawson also served as Battalion Executive Officer; Support 
Operations officer; Ammunition Officer; Maintenance Officer; Tank/
Automotive Officer; Material Maintenance Management Officer; 42nd 
Division, Material Management Center; Commander, Headquarters & Light 
Maintenance Company; Operations Readiness Platoon Leader; and 
Automotive Maintenance Platoon Leader.
  As executive officer for the 369th Corps Support Battalion during the 
unit's 9-11 activation, she helped spearhead battalion relief, 
security, supply, transportation, and other logistics support missions 
for initial Ground Zero operations. Colonel Dawson was credited and 
acknowledged by her colleagues and company commanders for her quick and 
decisive response during the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center and 
their aftermath.
  Dawson is a 2007 graduate of the Army War College, as well as the 
Army's Command and General Staff College and the Combined Arms and 
Services School. She also completed the Support Operations Course; the 
Senior Transportation Officer Advanced Qualification Course; the 
Ordnance Advanced Officer Course; the Ordnance Basic Officer Course; 
and the Academy of Health Sciences (AMEDD) Officer Basic Course.
  Colonel Stephanie Dawson's military honors and awards include the 
Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation 
Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, 
and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.
  In civilian life she is a certified Project Management Professional 
(PMP) and works for the Chief Operating Officer for the Port Authority 
of New York & New Jersey where she is the Chief of Staff of Operations, 
and has previously served as the Assistant Director of Capital 
Programs; General Manager and Program Manager for Security Systems at 
the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.
  Prior to joining the Port Authority, she was an Operations Manager in 
banking and then held a number of positions at the Department of 
General Services in New York City. Col. Dawson's civilian education 
includes a Masters in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, 
a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Marist College, and a 
Bachelors of Arts in Economics from Cornell University. Dawson is also 
a life member of her local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post and 369th 
Historical Society.
  Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, April 10 at 1300 hours, Colonel Stephanie E. 
Dawson will conclude her service as Brigade Commander of the 369th 
Sustainment Harlem Hellfighters Unit during the Change of Command 
Ceremony taking place at the 369th Harlem Hellfighters Armory in my 
15th Congressional District. Please join me and a very grateful nation 
in a special House of Representatives salute and thank you to Brigade 
Commander Colonel Stephanie E. Dawson for her continued distinguished 
service to the New York Army National Guard and the United States of 
America.
  The 369th Sustainment Brigade is one of nine such support units in 
the Army National Guard. A Sustainment Brigade provides command and 
control for combat service and combat service support units which 
enable the Army's combat teams to fight by providing fuel, ammunition, 
medical supplies, repair parts, and medical and other services. A 
Sustainment Brigade can support from one to 10 brigade combat teams 
depending on the number of service and support units it controls.
  The 369th traces its heritage back to the 15th Infantry Regiment of 
the New York National Guard, an all African-American unit organized in 
1916. In 1917 the regiment was sent to France and renumbered as the 
369th Infantry, but because American Army officers maintained 
segregated combat formations, the Soldiers were initially used for 
supply duties. The French Army, though, was more than happy to have 
these Soldiers fight for them and in May 1918 the 369th went into the 
trenches.
  Corporal Henry Johnson, a railroad porter from Albany, New York 
became the first American to win the French Croix de Guerre, when he 
fought off a German attack on his listening post. During this hand-to-
hand combat, Johnson saved another soldier from capture. In tough 
fighting in France the 369th unit won a regimental Croix de Guerre from 
the French Army, and 200 individual Croix de Guerre were awarded. The 
unit also sustained 1,500 casualties and won itself the nickname 
``Harlem Hell fighters'' and the respect of the German opponents and 
French allies. The 369th saw more frontline service than any other 
American unit in World War I.
  In World War II the unit served as the 369th Anti-aircraft Artillery 
Regiment, and in the Gulf War of 1991 it served as the 369th 
Transportation Battalion.

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