[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 42 (Thursday, March 13, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S1649]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO PATRICK SULLIVAN

 Mr. KIRK. Madam President, I wish to recognize and thank Mr. 
Patrick Sullivan, the retiring director of the Captain James A. Lovell 
Federal Health Care Center--FHCC--in North Chicago, IL. Lovell Hospital 
is a first-of-its-kind partnership between the U.S. Department of 
Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense--DoD,--integrating all 
medical care into the Nation's first truly joint Federal health care 
facility with a single combined VA and Navy mission. The men and women 
of Lovell Hospital serve approximately 67,000 servicemembers, veterans, 
and their families through a network of eight facilities in Illinois 
and Wisconsin.
  Mr. Sullivan served as the facility's first director when it was 
formally established in October 2010. As director, he took on the 
daunting task of integrating the North Chicago VA Medical Center and 
Naval Health Clinic Great Lakes and combining the missions of caring 
for active duty military members, their families, military retirees and 
veterans.
  Mr. Sullivan has skillfully led a VA/DoD team of over 3,000 as they 
have developed a national model for integrated Federal health care.
  Mr. Sullivan had a long and successful career caring for our Nation's 
heroes. He served as the director of the North Chicago VA Medical 
Center before its integration into the Lovell FHCC. He has worked at VA 
Medical Centers across the country, including centers in Prescott, AZ, 
Portland; OR, Martinez, CA and Poplar Bluff, MO. Mr. Sullivan also 
extends his leadership skills to his community, serving on the board of 
several community organizations in Lake County, Ill.
  I wish to personally thank Pat Sullivan for his service to our 
country and its veterans. His tireless efforts to make the Lovell 
Hospital vision a reality will not be forgotten. His work was ahead of 
its time and stands as a model for the future.
 Mrs. SHAHEEN. Madam President, I rise today to honor GEN 
Robert Cone, commanding general of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine 
Command. After 35 years of service, General Cone has announced he will 
retire from the Army on March 17, 2014, and it is my pleasure to 
celebrate General Cone's career and express the pride that all New 
Hampshire citizens feel in recognizing his accomplishments. As one of 
only 10 4-star generals in the U.S. Armed Forces, General Cone has 
reached the pinnacle of success for a professional soldier. Perhaps 
more importantly, he has left an indelible mark on the character of the 
U.S. Army and the young men and women who comprise the heart and soul 
of it.
  Born and raised in Manchester, NH, General Cone is a graduate of 
Memorial High School, where as a member of the football team he was 
inspired by his coach to pursue an appointment to the U.S. Military 
Academy at West Point. After successfully completing his studies at 
West Point, General Cone was commissioned as an armor officer and began 
a career that would take him around the United States and the world in 
a range of leadership roles, including Afghanistan as the commander of 
the Combined Security Transition Command and Iraq as commander of the 
III Corps.
  In addition to his role as an Army officer, General Cone embraced the 
role of scholar, earning a master's degree in sociology from the 
University of Texas, Austin, which he leveraged as an instructor and 
assistant professor at West Point in the Department of Behavioral 
Sciences and Leadership. General Cone also earned advanced degrees from 
the Command and General Staff College and the Naval War College. Fully 
engaged in the Army's efforts to improve training and leadership 
development, General Cone was appointed military director of the Joint 
Advanced Warfighting Program at the Institute of Defense Analysis, and 
also led the Joint Forces Command's Lessons Learned Team in Iraq. 
During his command of the Army's National Training Center at Fort 
Irvin, General Cone oversaw a shift in training towards 
counterinsurgency operations at a crucial time in the War on Terror.
  In 2011 General Cone assumed command of U.S. Army Training and 
Doctrine Command, TRADOC, placing him at the forefront of planning for 
the future of the Army. He has approached each challenge with the 
fundamental understanding that war is a human endeavor dependent on a 
person's will just as much as equipment and machinery. Just one of many 
examples of the leadership and foresight exhibited by General Cone, he 
has served as an articulate proponent of ``Soldier 2020'', a service-
wide effort to maximize combat effectiveness by casting aside gender 
constructs. General Cone leaves behind a well-established legacy as 
commander of TRADOC.
  The U.S. Army will no doubt continue to benefit from General Cone's 
leadership and vision for years to come. I ask my colleagues and all 
Americans to join me in thanking GEN Robert Cone for his service to our 
country and wish him the best in his retirement.

                          ____________________