[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 16 (Wednesday, February 1, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H227]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    WELCOMING REVEREND KAREN HALLETT

  The SPEAKER. Without objection, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Garrett) is recognized for 1 minute.
  Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the words of the chaplain who says 
may we indeed know the Lord.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Chaplain Karen Hallett on her 
selection as the 2012 Reserve Officers Association Chaplain of the 
Year. She is a resident of Vernon, New Jersey, which is a part of the 
Fifth Congressional District.
  The chaplain enlisted in the Army in 1983 and completed basic combat 
training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. She went on from there to graduate 
from West Point and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 
United States Army Ordnance Corps in 1988.
  After that and after fulfilling her enlistment obligations, she spent 
18 years in the civilian sector, successfully managing businesses while 
remaining engaged in full-time ministry. In 2009, after completing her 
master's of divinity degree at Bethel Seminary, she returned to 
military service as a captain in the United States Army Reserves. She 
currently serves as a brigade chaplain for the 411th Engineer Brigade.
  Throughout her more than 20 years of ministerial service and 
missionary work, and now through her military service to our country, 
she has dedicated herself to ministering to the spiritual needs of 
others. It is her selflessness and her service that exemplify the 
mandate to esteem others better than ourselves.
  I thank her for her service. I congratulate her on receiving this 
recognition as Chaplain of the Year.

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