[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 17, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE SERVICE OF CAPTAIN LUIS ALBERTO BENEVIDES

                                  _____
                                 

                             HON. JIM COSTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 17, 2014

  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Captain Luis 
Alberto Benevides for 30 years of military service in the United States 
Navy. His commitment and service to our great nation deserve to be 
commended.
  In 1980, Mr. Benevides graduated from Livingston High School in 
Livingston, California. After graduation, he attended Thomas A. Edison 
State College in New Jersey and graduated in 1986 with a Bachelor of 
Science degree in Biology.
  Mr. Benevides began his active duty career in 1983 as a U.S. Army 
Medical Laboratory Technician. In 1987, Mr. Benevides was commissioned 
as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy. His first assignment as 
an Ensign was onboard the USS Implicit, where he served as the 
Operations Officer.
  In 1988, Mr. Benevides transferred to the USS Conquest where he 
served as the Operations Officer and performed Mine Hunting and 
Clearance Operations in the Arabian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War. Soon 
after returning from the Arabian Gulf, he attained his Surface Warfare 
Qualification and was subsequently assigned as a Linguist Project 
Officer.
  Mr. Benevides transferred to the Medical Service Corps as a Radiation 
Health Officer in 1990 and served in Maryland and Hawaii. In 1996, he 
was selected to assume duties as the Clinic Director of the Pearl 
Harbor Naval Shipyard Branch Clinic and served as the mammography 
physicist for Hawaii, Japan, and Guam.
  While serving the U.S. Navy, Mr. Benevides continued his education 
and graduated from Georgetown University with a Master's of Science in 
Radiation Science, and Central Michigan University with a Master's of 
Science in Health Care Administration.
  While on assignment in Hawaii, Mr. Benevides held a professorship at 
Hawaii Pacific University, where he instructed classes in biology and 
mathematics. In 2005, after obtaining a Doctorate of Philosophy in 
Nuclear Engineering Sciences from the University of Florida, Mr. 
Benevides served as a science advisor and technical manager at the 
Naval Dosimetry Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
  In 2009, Mr. Benevides became the Director for Radiological Controls 
at Naval Sea Systems Command. His duties included oversight and 
management of all the research as well as industrial and operational 
uses of radiation sources in the Navy and Marine Corps. After the March 
2011 Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear accident, his responsibilities were 
expanded to include consequence management of 30 ships and over 200 
aircraft that may have been contaminated. He also provided humanitarian 
and disaster relief to the citizens of Japan following the earthquake 
and tsunami.
  Throughout his many years of service, Mr. Benevides has been honored 
with numerous military awards, including Legion of Merit, Defense 
Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with Gold Star, 
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, 
National Defense Service Medal with bronze star, Armed Forces 
Expeditionary Medal, and Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Captain 
Luis Alberto Benevides for his many years of service to the U.S. Navy. 
He is a source of pride for our Central Valley and the entire nation.

                          ____________________