[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 97 (Tuesday, July 9, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S5566]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         TRIBUTE TO LIEUTENANT GENERAL WILLIE J. WILLIAMS, JR.

 Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I wish to recognize Lt. Gen. 
Willie Williams for his exceptional service to our Nation of over 39 
years in the military and to congratulate him on his retirement 
tomorrow from the U.S. Marine Corps.
  General Williams has had nearly four decades of distinguished and 
honorable service to our Nation's defense. He joined the Marine Corps 
with a commission in 1974 from the Platoon Leaders Course after 
receiving his bachelor of arts degree in business administration from 
Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, AL. He started out as a supply officer 
with 11th Marines, an artillery regiment, but would go on to serve in 
numerous command and staff positions throughout his exemplary career in 
the Marine Corps.
  In the late 1980s, near the end of the Iran-Iraq war, General 
Williams was handpicked to lead the logistics element in the Marine 
air-ground task force that was a part of Operation Earnest Will, the 
mission to escort and protect oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. Lessons 
learned from that operation laid the foundation for how the corps would 
approach resupply into the region during the first Persian Gulf war and 
later during the occupation of Iraq.
  General Williams once said that the assignment during the Iran-Iraq 
war defined him as an ``operational logistician.'' He then went on to 
command the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit's Service Support Group 
followed by Brigade Service Support Group 1, both during the mid-1990s. 
Then, after serving a year as the commanding general of Camp Butler in 
Okinawa, General Williams took command of 3rd Force Service Support 
Group in 2001.
  From there, he was selected for the top job at Marine Corps Logistics 
Command in Albany, GA, a hub for the service's worldwide supply chain 
and equipment maintenance efforts. This hub helped with the logistical 
operation for as many as 25,000 Marines in Iraq's Anbar province at the 
time of his command.
  For his last assignment, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, then 
Gen. James T. Conway, called General Williams back to Washington in 
2009 to become the director of Marine Corps Staff. He was appointed by 
President Obama and pinned on his third star, placing him among the 
select group of only 16 lieutenant generals in the Marine Corps. In 
this new capacity, General Williams was the principal assistant and 
advisor to the Commandant and Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. 
Additionally, General Williams also maintained influential 
communication with his counterparts in the Army, Navy and Air Force for 
the crucial advancement of the Corps' point of view on matters in which 
all have vested interest.
  General Williams embodies everything that it means to be a U.S. 
Marine. The time he has spent in the Marine Corps has not only had a 
great impact on the institution, but he also helped professionally 
develop countless marines over his nearly 40 years of selfless service. 
Through his example, those marines have come to know and appreciate 
that only by sacrifice will the freedoms of others, with honor, courage 
and commitment be secured.
  Furthermore, General Williams has been a tremendous asset to me and 
my staff. He was a reliable source of information and advice in 
resolving a number of issues that affected Alabama. I got to know him 
then and to learn of his love for his home State and for her people. I 
will miss his guidance and leadership with the Marine Corps, but am 
very thankful that he will be bringing his considerable talents to 
Huntsville, AL.
  On behalf of the State of Alabama and the U.S. Senate, I congratulate 
Lt. General Willie J. Williams on his retirement from the U.S. Marine 
Corps and wish General Williams only the best as he takes off the 
uniform and begins a new chapter in his life of service in 
Huntsville.

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