[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 61 (Thursday, April 26, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S2813]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO MR. WAYNE R. GRACIE

 Mr. CHAMBLISS. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize Mr. 
Wayne R. Gracie upon his retirement after an outstanding career of 37 
years of distinguished civil service to our great Nation.
  Since 1975, through seven Presidential administrations, Wayne has 
worked with Congress and directly supported the Secretary and Chief of 
Staff of the Air Force, as well as the Chief of the Air Force Reserve. 
He has worked on logistics, budgets, and legislative interactions--
turning words into programming actions--that resulted in new Department 
of Defense policies and programs.
  Wayne excelled at providing both Houses of Congress with new insight 
and understanding of the Air Force Reserve's need to transition from a 
Cold War force to the modern force operating around the world today. 
His efforts resulted in new funding and development of both a 
``strategic reserve'' for surge operations, as well as a cost-effective 
``operational reserve'' for use in daily military missions.
  In 1997, backed by his credibility and good will on Capitol Hill, 
Wayne led the preparation, messaging, and testimony for congressional 
hearings that resulted in the formation of Air Force Reserve Command, 
the ninth major command in the Air Force. This authorized a three-star 
commander and energized new Reserve component personnel benefits.
  After conducting more than 20 years of continual combat operations in 
Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Horn of Africa, Libya, and many 
other locations around the globe, the Air Force Reserve's success is 
evident today. Wayne's efforts were critical to presenting, justifying, 
and enacting new legislation supporting Air Force reservists, their 
civilian employers, and their families who were impacted by increased 
Reserve operations. Thanks to his continuous dialogue with Congress, 
reservists now get improved health care, new credits toward retirement, 
inactive duty training travel pay, and post-9/11 G.I. Bill benefits.
  Also, Wayne was pivotal to facilitating Air Force Reserve testimonies 
before the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Appropriation 
Committee that resulted in additional funding for equipment 
modernization. His efforts directly led to increased combat 
effectiveness as well as improved humanitarian and disaster response 
operations. These updated capabilities were essential to successful 
relief missions in Japan and Haiti, as well as in the United States for 
Hurricanes Katrina and Ivan, for aerial firefighting in the Southwest, 
and for containing the gulf oil spill.
  Because of Wayne's visionary leadership, planning, and foresight, the 
Air Force, the Department of Defense, and the Nation will long reap the 
benefits of his tenure at the Pentagon and his work with us here on 
Capitol Hill. It is experienced, dedicated, professional people like 
Wayne who make the Department of Defense and Air Force Reserve the 
outstanding institutions that they are today.
  I thank Wayne for his many years of dedicated service and wish him 
and his wife Candace the very best as they enter retirement.

                          ____________________