[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 6 (Tuesday, January 13, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S199]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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             REMEMBERING LIEUTENANT COLONEL STEPHANIE RILEY

 Ms. AYOTTE. Mr. President, I wish to recognize the exceptional 
service and the extraordinary life of Lt. Col. Stephanie Riley of 
Concord, NH.
  Born and raised in Henniker, NH, Stephanie graduated from Henniker 
High School in 1984. An excellent student, Stephanie attended St. 
Paul's advance studies program the summer before her senior year and 
was the valedictorian of her high school class. In 1988, she graduated 
cum laude from Boston College's School of Nursing and in 1989 was 
commissioned into the U.S. Air Force, where she completed a 4-month 
nursing internship at Travis Air Force Base in California. Following 
her internship, she was stationed at the Barksdale Air Force Base in 
Louisiana for the remainder of her 3-year tour.
  In 1992, Colonel Riley entered the Inactive Ready Reserve and became 
a civilian travel nurse. Showing both her love for the military and her 
home State, she returned to New Hampshire in 2000 and joined the U.S. 
Air Force Reserves in Westover, MA, and then the NH Air National Guard 
in 2003. She subsequently volunteered for a tour abroad and deployed to 
Qatar in support of both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi 
Freedom. She held appointments in the Medical Group as officer in 
charge of staff development, assistant chief nurse, and the chief of 
education and training. Colonel Riley was employed by the New Hampshire 
Army National Guard as a case manager and was active on State and 
national committees. She became a voice for National Guard members and 
New Hampshire veterans and was a key member of New Hampshire's State 
Veteran's Advisory Committee, the Military Officers Association of 
America, and the national and State chapters of the National Guard 
Association. She served in key leadership positions on the New 
Hampshire Legislative Commission on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, 
PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury, TBI.
  In October 2013, Steph was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer, 
and in what may have been her most heroic effort, she channeled her 
energy into a personal and sustained effort to promote health 
screenings and cancer awareness. She posted openly on social media and 
spoke courageously about her decision to undergo a preemptive double 
mastectomy. She sparked a team, ``Steph Strong,'' that helped raise 
several thousand dollars for Concord Hospital. Her important message 
for all was to take preventative health screening seriously.
  From her extensive military service, to her work as a civilian nurse, 
Stephanie devoted her life to serving others--a commitment that endured 
even while battling her own illness. She was taken from us far too soon 
but her legacy of compassion and her inspiring dedication to caring for 
her fellow citizens will live on through all those whose lives she 
touched.
  Steph leaves behind the love of her life, her husband Shawn Riley, a 
deputy fire chief with the Laconia Fire Department, and their son 
Shane, age 13, and daughter Sammie Riley, age 9. We are all deeply 
saddened by the loss of our friend Lt. Col. Stephanie Riley, an 
extraordinary woman and proud New Hampshire daughter who served our 
State and Nation with honor, courage, and dedication. She represented 
the very best of our State, and I ask my colleagues to join me in 
sending Shawn and his family our deepest condolences and our gratitude 
for Steph's life and for her work.

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