[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 24, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E399]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING COAST GUARD CAPTAIN ANDY BLOMME

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                          HON. DAVID E. PRICE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 24, 2015

  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
and honor a proud son of North Carolina, Captain Carlyle ``Andy'' 
Blomme, as he prepares to retire from the United States Coast Guard.
  Captain Blomme has served as the Coast Guard Chief of Congressional 
Affairs since June 2012, where he has been an excellent representative 
of the Coast Guard here on Capitol Hill. Captain Blomme has worked 
diligently to ensure the Coast Guard has the resources and authorities 
necessary to not only keep our nation safe, but to be a steward of its 
natural resources. His deep knowledge of Coast Guard operations, 
acquisitions, and strategic priorities has been invaluable to the 
members who work closely with the Coast Guard, which I came to 
appreciate as Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee of 
Homeland Security. This has been especially true as we have worked to 
recapitalize the Coast Guard's aging fleet in a time of shrinking 
budgets.
  There has been no better advocate for, or representative of, the 
Coast Guard than Captain Blomme and I am proud to have had the 
opportunity to work closely with Andy during this time. My staff and I 
have often relied on him and his staff's knowledge and understanding of 
the missions, challenges and responsibilities of the Coast Guard.
  Captain Blomme comes from a distinguished family of seafarers from 
North Carolina. His great, great grandfather was First Mate on the SS 
Ella and Annie, a Blockade Running Steamship in the Civil War. Ella and 
Annie ran the Federal blockade on behalf of the Confederacy until 
November 1863, when she was captured by USS Niphon off New Inlet, North 
Carolina. Demonstrating his pride as the son, of the son, of a sailor, 
Captain Blomme came back to the same proud roots decades later as the 
Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Cutter Diligence, homeported in 
Wilmington, North Carolina.
  Captain Blomme is a 1985 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 
New London, Connecticut. He has served at sea and ashore in a variety 
of operational and staff tours throughout his distinguished career, 
including serving in Command of Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville, as 
well as Coast Guard Cutters Diligence, Nantucket, and Point Huron. He 
also rounded out his nearly twelve years of sea duty with tours aboard 
Coast Guard Cutters Gallatin and Chase. Aside from an impressive record 
of sea service, Andy has also served ashore as a controller in the 
Coast Guard's Fifth District Command Center in Portsmouth, VA, as the 
Operations Officer at Coast Guard Group Miami and as Military Assistant 
to the Secretary of Homeland Security during the tenures of Secretaries 
Michael Chertoff and Janet Napolitano.
  This week, Captain Blomme will depart his post on Capitol Hill and 
retire after 30 years of honorable service. During that time, he has 
embodied the spirit of the Coast Guard and its motto, Semper Paratus, 
Always Ready. We thank him and his family for his service to the United 
States Congress and to the country. On behalf of the House of 
Representatives, we wish Captain Blomme, his wife Peg, and their two 
sons, Matthew and Alex, the best in their future endeavors. We 
congratulate Captain Andy Blomme on his retirement and wish him fair 
winds and following seas.

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