[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 57 (Wednesday, April 24, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING COLONEL EDGAR J. YANGER ON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT 
                      FROM THE UNITED STATES ARMY

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. MADELEINE Z. BORDALLO

                                of guam

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 24, 2013

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Colonel Edgar J. 
Yanger on the occasion of his retirement from the United States Army 
after 32 years of service.
   Colonel Yanger was born and raised on Guam, the eldest son of 
Felizardo and Cecilia Taitano Yanger. He has served our country with 
distinction since 1981, when he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant 
in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following his graduation from the 
University of Hawaii at Manoa. He later earned a Master's of 
Architecture degree from the University of Hawaii, and was assigned to 
the Los Angeles District, Army Corps of Engineers, first as the Deputy 
Resident Engineer of Fort Irwin, California, and then as the 
Construction Program Manager for projects in California, Arizona and 
Nevada. His work included the planning and management of numerous 
military and Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) construction projects.
   Colonel Yanger's exemplary service also includes assignments as the 
Chief of Operations for the Director of Military Support (DOMS) in the 
Army Operations Center in the Pentagon; in this position, he was the 
principal action officer for the Department of Defense support to all 
local, state or federal government emergency or disaster requests, 
including DoD support for Typhoon Paka in Guam, the 1998 Northeast Ice 
Storm, Hurricane Bonnie and support for the recovery of the John F. 
Kennedy Jr. plane crash. He also served as a BRAC Program Manager with 
the Army's Installation Management Agency in the Pentagon responsible 
for BRAC construction projects, environmental cleanup and property 
transfers in California, Alaska and Hawaii. Additionally, he served as 
the Chief of Staff for the Korea Region Office, Installation Management 
Agency, as well as the Director of the Army's BRAC Program from 2006 to 
2007, and was responsible for executing a $20 billion program of legacy 
and new 2005 BRAC requirements.
   In 2007, Colonel Yanger was chosen to serve as a Board member on the 
Army's Discharge Review Board, a Secretary of the Army level Board 
responsible for the review of 3,000 discharge cases annually. He was 
appointed President of the ADRB in 2008, and in 2010 was as the 
Director of the Military Review Boards (MRB). Although he retired in 
2011, he was recalled to active duty to serve an additional two years 
on the MRB. During this time, he improved the timeliness and accuracy 
of case reviews, and personally rendered decisions on more than 13,000 
applications to the MRB.
   Colonel Yanger's exemplary service earned him numerous awards and 
military decorations including the Legion of Merit with oak leaf 
cluster, the Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Defense Meritorious Service 
Medal, Army Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Army 
Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Army Achievement Medal, 
Humanitarian Service Medal, and Airborne Badge.
   On behalf of the people of Guam and a grateful nation, I commend 
Colonel Edgar J. Yanger for his many years of dedicated service to our 
country. He has demonstrated exceptional meritorious service during his 
career with the United States Army and has proved himself to be a 
distinguished leader. I wish the very best to Colonel Yanger, his wife, 
Doris, and their two adult children, E. Jonathan and Melina.

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