[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 127 (Wednesday, September 19, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1565-E1566]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TRIBUTE TO LIEUTENANT GENERAL PATRICK J. O'REILLY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. MO BROOKS

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 19, 2012

  Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to Lieutenant 
General Patrick J. O'Reilly, United States Army and Director of the 
Missile Defense Agency.
  Lieutenant General O'Reilly will be retiring from the United States 
Army after 38 years of honorable and faithful service to the United 
States of America: four years as a cadet at West Point, and for 34 
years as a Commissioned Officer. His service to this great nation spans 
nearly four decades that witnessed dramatic changes to the strategic 
national security landscape, organizational structure of the United 
States Army, and military services.
  From humble beginnings growing up in Richland, Texas, to working long 
hot summers as a teenager on his mother's family farm in Davey, 
Nebraska, General O'Reilly recognized and believed that service to 
country was not only an obligation, but a calling. He entered West 
Point in 1974, at a time when many Americans shunned military service 
and military values as the United States exited the Vietnam War.
  He started his commissioned Army career as a Maintenance Officer; he 
later served as an Ordnance Officer and a Physics Instructor at West 
Point. He then transitioned to the Army Acquisition Corps where his 
contributions and leadership have strengthened the security of the 
United States, our friends, allies, and international partners. Like 
all distinguished military careers, General O'Reilly has served in many 
assignments, including joint assignments that culminated with his 
service as the Director of the Missile Defense Agency.
  General O'Reilly helped make missile defense a reality. He served as 
the Project Manager for the Directed Energy Directorate and as Program 
Manager for the Theater High Altitude Area Defense Missile Project of 
the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, which later became the 
Ballistic Missile Defense Organization. He also served as the Product 
Manager for the Patriot Advanced Capability 3 Program. His outstanding 
work as an acquisition specialist and his engineering expertise earned 
him a career assignment as the Executive Officer to the Military Deputy 
to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and 
Technology.
  The Army, the Joint Staff, and the nation recognized his talent and 
expertise and appointed him to be the Program Manager for the Theater 
High Altitude Area Defense system in 1999. The Army later assigned him 
to be the Program Executive Officer for the Combat Support/Combat 
Service Support Program to provide Up-Armored vehicles to combat troops 
in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  He returned to the Missile Defense Agency in 2005 and served as the 
Program Manager for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system (GMD). In 
this role, General O'Reilly oversaw the development and acquisition of 
one of the most important weapon systems in the history of the United 
States, one designed to defend the homeland against long-range 
ballistic missile attacks. General O'Reilly was instrumental in 
successfully advancing the program following a challenging period. 
During his tenure as Program Manager, the Missile Defense Agency 
conducted the first successful flight test of the operationally 
configured Ground-Based Interceptor, and executed the first successful 
intercept flight test of the GMD system.
  General O'Reilly's work as the GMD Program manager directly 
contributed to the fielding of the nation's first limited defense 
capability, the operational Ground-based Midcourse Defense System that 
was part of the initial Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). This 
was the first ever deployed system to protect the United States 
homeland against a limited ICBM attack. His achievements and technical 
missile defense knowledge were well recognized by civilian and military 
leadership, and as a result, he was assigned in January 2007 to be the 
Missile Defense Agency's Deputy Director. Just a little over a year 
later, following his elevation to Deputy Director, the Department of 
Defense hand-picked General O'Reilly to be promoted to Lieutenant 
General. He was then nominated by the President of the United States 
and confirmed by the United States Senate to become the Director of the 
Missile Defense Agency.
  As the Director of the Missile Defense Agency, General O'Reilly 
successfully applied his insightful and decisive leadership to a series 
of national and international challenges as the Agency developed, 
tested, fielded, and expanded the BMDS to protect the United States, 
its deployed forces, and allies and friends against the growing and 
diverse threat posed by ballistic missiles.
  As Director, he completed the construction of an additional missile 
field in Alaska for the GMD infrastructure to ensure a more robust 
defense of the homeland. As part of this plan, he made a commitment to 
Congress and the American people to field and deploy 30 Ground Base 
Interceptors by the end of 2010, and he fulfilled this important 
milestone in September 2010. He also initiated a Ground Based 
Interceptor fleet refurbishment and reliability enhancement program 
that resulted in upgrades and improvements to 10 Ground Based missiles 
deployed at Fort Greely, Alaska. Moreover, under his direction, the 
Missile Defense Agency completed the upgrades and integration of the 
Thule Early Warning Radar in Greenland, and the Clear Early Warning 
Radar in Alaska.

[[Page E1566]]

  In January 2009, strategic direction on how the nation would deploy 
missile defenses in Europe directed a renewed focus on the ballistic 
missile threat from the Middle East to our NATO European allies. 
General O'Reilly was called upon to work with the Office of the 
Secretary of Defense (OSD), and the Department of State to develop and 
implement a four phased plan for the deployment of the European Phased 
Adaptive Approach (EPAA).
  His work resulted in a unique solution to phase and convert shipped-
based SM-3 missiles for land-based use. In December 2011, General 
O'Reilly and the Missile Defense Agency achieved a historical milestone 
by issuing a technical declaration for EPAA Phase 1 in December 2011. 
As a result, the United States has now successfully deployed a command 
and control battle management system in Germany and a forward-based 
radar in Turkey, and has assigned an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense 
(BMD) ship to patrol the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
  During his tenure, his organization further completed BMD 
installations on 11 Aegis warships, including the upgrade of three 
ships from 3.6 to 4.0.1, giving them a ballistic missile defense 
capability utilizing the most capable interceptors available. During 
this time the Aegis BMD program delivered 66 SM-3 IA interceptors and 
four SM-3 IBs for flight testing. At the tactical level, he oversaw the 
delivery of the United States Artny's first two operational THAAD 
batteries, initiated production of two additional THAAD batteries, and 
managed the delivery of 51 THAAD interceptors to meet the needs of our 
Combatant Commanders and the needs of our allies.
  General O'Reilly's missile defense vision extended far beyond the 
current set of fielded and planned capabilities. During his tenure, the 
nation witnessed the Airborne Laser Test Bed (ALTB) demonstrate 
revolutionary technology by achieving two historic shoot-downs of two 
short-range ballistic missile targets using directed energy technology. 
He also advocated and began program implementation to provide Precision 
Tracking Space System satellites to one day provide persistent overhead 
coverage from space as well as birth to death tracking of enemy 
ballistic missiles.
  Mr. Speaker, these are but a few of the many accomplishments in 
General O'Reilly's storied and distinguished career. As I reviewed his 
experiences and contributions, I am reminded that his career has made 
national security history, and that he has also provided a vision for 
future generations of military officers.
  I also believe all distinguished careers are helped, aided, and 
encouraged by friends and family. As a nation we also owe a debt of 
gratitude to General O'Reilly's wife, Judith, and his two daughters, 
Siobhan and Brighid. General O'Reilly and family, thank you for your 
service to God and Country. General O'Reilly, you have held true to 
your West Point Class of 1978 motto--``Proud and Great `78.''

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