[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 78 (Wednesday, June 5, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E803]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 HONORING LIEUTENANT COLONEL PETER FORD

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 5, 2013

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Lieutenant Colonel 
Peter Ford for his extraordinary service to the Nation while serving in 
the United States Army Reserves and National Guard for the past 32 
years.
  Lieutenant Colonel Ford started his military career in 1981 as an 
enlisted Soldier--an infantryman--in the Virginia National Guard. After 
graduating from Gustavus Adolphus College, where he was the only ROTC 
Cadet at Gustavus, Lieutenant Colonel Ford was commissioned as a second 
lieutenant in the Army Ordinance Corps. After the Officer Basic Course, 
Lieutenant Colonel Ford in his civilian capacity was sworn in as a 
Special Agent with the State Department Diplomatic Security Service.
  While serving as the Regional Security Officer (RSO) at the embassy 
in Switzerland, Lieutenant Colonel Ford was assigned as a Military 
Intelligence Officer at the Military Intelligence Group at the 7th Army 
Reserve Command in Germany. In 1997, he was called up to support the 
war in Bosnia. Upon his return to the United States, he joined the 
Office, Chief of the Army Reserves, as a Reserve Congressional Liaison 
Officer and also served as a Reservist with the 157th Individual 
Mobilization Augmentee Detachment.
  In 2003, Lieutenant Colonel Ford was assigned as a Congressional 
Detailee to the Homeland Security Committee and was named Executive 
Officer of the 157th that same year. After serving as RSO in Armenia, 
he was detailed to the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
  In the fall of 2007, at the beginning of the ``surge'' in Iraq, 
Lieutenant Colonel Ford volunteered to serve as an Army Reservist in 
Iraq. He was attached to the American Embassy in Baghdad and, as the 
Director of the Office of Hostage Affairs, was responsible for 
resolving U.S. kidnapping cases in Iraq. Following the completion of 
his military tour, Peter continued his service in Iraq. For an 
additional year, he worked as a DSS Agent with the State Department in 
the same position.
  Returning to the U.S., Peter obtained a Masters Degree from the 
National Defense Intelligence College and joined Prisoner of War/
Missing in Action Affairs as a drilling Reservist. He was subsequently 
assigned to the Diplomatic Security's Overseas Security Advisory 
Council (OSAC). In October 2011, Lieutenant Colonel Ford took command 
of the 157th Individual Mobilization Augmentee Detachment. During his 
military and civilian careers, Lieutenant Ford has worked in over 110 
countries.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the grateful Nation, I join my colleagues 
today in saying thank you to Lieutenant Colonel Peter Ford for his 
extraordinary dedication to duty and service to the country throughout 
his distinguished career in the United States Army.

                          ____________________