[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 122 (Thursday, July 30, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S6184]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO COLONEL LEON PARROTT

  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, today I would like to recognize the 
outstanding career of COL Leon Parrott, District Commander of the 
Huntington District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Since the beginning 
of his tenure, Colonel Parrott has dutifully served our great State and 
was honored earlier this month during a Change of Command ceremony in 
Huntington.
  As District Commander, his jurisdiction encompassed an area of 
approximately 45,000 square miles in 5 States--West Virginia, Kentucky, 
Ohio, Virginia, and North Carolina. The District's staff of more than 
800 employees supports their mission of operating and maintaining 35 
multi-purpose reservoirs and 9 dams in addition to providing flood 
damage reduction, commercial navigation, recreation, and water supply 
protection. Colonel Parrott and his staff oversaw significant planning, 
design and construction efforts that imitated the replacement of 
outdated navigation structures, dam safety measures and other 
significant water resource challenges including emergency management.
  Throughout his career, Colonel Parrott has held a variety of command 
and staff assignments including: platoon leader, company executive 
officer and construction officer with the 94th Engineer Battalion, 18th 
Engineer Brigade and 249th Engineer Battalion; battalion maintenance 
officer and company commander with the 37th Engineer Battalion, 20th 
Engineer Brigade; assistant construction and operations officer with 
the 416th Engineering Command; environmental project officer and 
district executive officer, Europe District, U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers; battalion operations and executive officer with the 1st 
Battalion, 395th Engineer Regiment; group engineer with the 5th Special 
Forces Group, deputy and then chief of the Emergency Operations Center 
for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Commander of the 326th Engineer 
Battalion; deputy engineer for installations, Environment and Civil/
Military Operations, U.S. European Command; chief of engineering at the 
Defense Intelligence Agency; and, most recently, as corps engineer of 
the XVIII Airborne Corps.
  Colonel Parrott is an outstanding soldier, friend, husband, father 
and student. A 1988 graduate of the Citadel, he holds a bachelor of 
science degree in civil engineering as well as master's degree from the 
University of Phoenix and the U.S. Army War College. In addition, 
Colonel Parrott has received numerous awards for his heroism and 
military duty.
  I have had the honor to work with him as a Member of the U.S. House 
of Representatives and now in the U.S. Senate. During that time, I have 
come to admire his dedication and selfless commitment to the mission of 
the Huntington Corps and its employees. I would like to wish Colonel 
Parrott and his wife Judy well in his next command at the North 
Atlantic Division of USACE in Brooklyn, NY, where he will serve as 
deputy division commander. I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking 
Colonel Parrott for his service.

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