[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 170 (Tuesday, December 3, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1770]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING JOSE ORTEGA ON HIS RETIREMENT AFTER 40 YEARS OF SERVICE

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                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 3, 2013

  Mr. CONNOLLY . Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Mr. Jose Ortega on 
his retirement and to congratulate him on a career spanning 40 years of 
both military and federal civil service.
   Mr. Ortega's service began in September 1972 with the United States 
Army. After 20 years of exemplary active duty military service, Mr. 
Ortega continued making contributions to this country's defense with an 
additional 20 years in support of the Department of the Army as a 
civilian employee. As an Information Technology expert for the 
Department of Defense, Mr. Ortega has been dedicated to supporting 
several highly complex programs that will have a lasting impact on the 
readiness of the Army.
   In his final assignment as Technical Director for the Product 
Director of Enterprise Email, Mr. Ortega provided acquisition oversight 
of Enterprise Email, the Army's number-one IT initiative. Enterprise 
Email is a service that provides cloud-based email to the Department of 
Defense. While allowing agencies to share information easily and 
effectively, Enterprise Email also reduces the cost of operations and 
maintenance. During Mr. Ortega's two years as Technical Director, the 
Army successfully migrated over 1.6 million classified and unclassified 
users from legacy email systems to the Department of Defense Enterprise 
Email service. Mr. Ortega has played an instrumental role in keeping 
the operations of DoD agencies secure and is recognized not only for 
overcoming obstacles and setting specific objectives in his work, but 
also for displaying exceptional character and serving as a mentor to 
others. In recognition of his many accomplishments, I am pleased to say 
that Mr. Ortega has been recommended for the Superior Civilian Service 
Award.
   Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in commending Jose 
Ortega for his dedication and service. I also thank his family--his 
wife Sharon and son William--for their support and sacrifices, which 
have enabled Jose to contribute so greatly to our country.

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