[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 144 (Monday, December 1, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1673]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING LT. COL. MICHELLE R. BRUNSWICK ON THE OCCASION OF HER 
                               RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACK KINGSTON

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 1, 2014

  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Lieutenant Colonel 
Michelle R. ``Shelli'' Brunswick for her 29 years of dedicated service 
to our country. In her most recent assignment, she served as the House 
Budget and Appropriations Liaison for the United States Air Force. In 
this role, Colonel Brunswick was responsible for Congressional 
interaction between the U.S. Air Force and Congressional Appropriations 
and Budget committees, Members, and staffers. She was the most seasoned 
Air Force liaison on Capitol Hill and an agent trusted to prepare the 
Secretary of the Air Force and Chief of Staff of the Air Force for 
Congressional delegation meetings and defense posture hearings with 
Members of Congress.
  In her nearly three decades of active duty military service, Colonel 
Brunswick held numerous leadership positions that have helped shape Air 
Force acquisitions and ensured the ``tip of the spear'' was always 
sharp. Her duties covered the spectrum of Air Force operations and 
ranged from managing the careers of service members to serving as a 
direct representative of the Air Force charged with resolving issues 
pertaining to the President's Budget.
  As a native of Clearwater, Florida, Colonel Brunswick's career in the 
Air Force began in 1985 after receiving her enlistment through the 
Basic Military Training program at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. 
After earning a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and 
Management in 1994, Colonel Brunswick received her commission from the 
Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama in 1997. In 
1998, she earned a Master's degree in Business Administration and 
Management. While her active duty career had many different facets, 
Colonel Brunswick excelled in every assignment. These assignments 
included positions as a personnel specialist, project officer, project 
manager, program integrator, professor, and program chief.
  Throughout Colonel Brunswick's 29 years in the Air Force, she always 
exemplified the Air Force core value of excellence in everything she 
did. As a testament to this, Colonel Brunswick was a Distinguished 
Graduate from the Officer Training School, one of a few handpicked 
program managers selected Air Force-wide to participate in the Air 
Force Institute of Technology's Education with Industry at The Boeing 
Corporation. She was certified in Program Management Level III per the 
Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act, a certified Space 
Professional Level III by the U.S. Air Force Space Professional 
Functional Authority, and earned the Project Management Professional 
certification.
  Before joining the Air Staff, she was a Professor of Acquisition 
Management at Defense Acquisition University, where she co-authored a 
book on the future of Project Management. She served two deployments 
with Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq with the Defense Contract 
Management Agency and completed a joint Operation Enduring Freedom tour 
in Washington, DC and Cuba with the Office for the Administrative 
Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants under the authority of the 
Deputy Secretary of Defense.
  Colonel Brunswick became known for her exceptional ability to 
identify real issues and then move to solve them. As all great leaders 
do, she led from the front by setting the example for others to follow 
and has been a stalwart advocate for the Department of Defense. These 
traits will greatly benefit her and those with whom she serves now and 
in the future.
  During her final tour at the Pentagon, Colonel Brunswick's superior 
leadership orchestrating and executing Hill appropriations strategy 
enabled enactment of four Air Force budgets, totaling $646 billion 
dollars, from Fiscal Year 2011 through Fiscal Year 2014. As the Air 
Force acquisition subject matter expert on Capitol Hill to the United 
States House of Representatives, she shaped the fiscal environment and 
executed over 400 Congressional events, resulting in broad support for 
the Air Force's top acquisition priorities including the Joint Strike 
Fighter, KC-46 Air Refueling Tanker, and Long Range Strike Bomber 
programs.
  Mr. Speaker, Colonel Brunswick leaves a legacy of integrity, selfless 
service, and excellence that is of the highest standard. Her exemplary 
character and years of service have resulted in a career of which she 
and her family can be very proud. On behalf of the entire United States 
Congress, and along with Colonel Brunswick's parents, Marshall and 
Betty Harris, Doug and Margaret Goodman, and fiance, Jerry, it is an 
honor to recognize the career and service of Lieutenant Colonel 
Michelle R. Brunswick. My wife Libby and I congratulate her and wish 
SheIli and her family all the best.

                          ____________________