[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 179 (Thursday, December 10, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S8597]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO REAR ADMIRAL CHRISTOPHER J. PAUL

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize the service of 
RADM Christopher J. Paul, Deputy Commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. 
Pacific Fleet, who is retiring from the United States Navy after more 
than 38 years of faithful service to our Nation.
  Having enlisted in the Navy in 1977, Rear Admiral Paul went on to 
attend the U.S. Naval Academy Preparatory School and U.S. Naval 
Academy, where he distinguished himself as a valued leader of the 
varsity cross country, indoor, and outdoor Track teams under famed 
coach Al Cantello and a 10-time letterman. After graduating from the 
Naval Academy in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical 
science, RADM Paul served on USS KIDD, DDG 993, a destroyer homeported 
in Norfolk, VA, until 1987 and qualified as a surface warfare officer 
during deployments to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans; the 
Mediterranean, Black, North, Baltic, Red, and Caribbean Seas; and the 
Arabian Gulf.
  Rear Admiral Paul's Pentagon staff assignments included service on 
the Joint Staff as an action officer in the Operations Directorate J-3 
and U.S. Senate liaison officer and assistant surface warfare program 
officer in the Secretary of the Navy's Office of legislative affairs 
from 1987 to 1991. During that assignment, Rear Admiral Paul had the 
opportunity to work on behalf of Members of Congress on the Senate 
Armed Services Committee and was subsequently assigned to serve in my 
office to help write a $600 million package of veterans benefits for 
servicemembers and veterans of Operation Desert Storm. While working on 
that legislative matter, I had the privilege of promoting then 
Lieutenant Paul to the grade of lieutenant commander, when he 
transitioned to the Navy Reserve, which allowed him to continue to 
serve on my staff in Washington, DC, while also serving at the 
Pentagon's Navy Command Center as assistant operations department head.
  Rear Admiral Paul went on to faithfully serve on my Senate 
legislative staff for a total of 16 years, followed by 6 years as a 
professional staff member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed 
Services, while simultaneously serving in numerous Navy positions of 
increasing responsibility over the course of more than 22 years. Those 
assignments included serving on the Chief of Naval Operations staff as 
executive officer of Reserve Component Augment Units to the director of 
Surface Warfare OPNAV N86 and the director of Expeditionary Warfare 
OPNAV N85 between 1997 and 1999.
  Rear Admiral Paul's Navy Reserve unit command assignments included 
CVNE-0109, from 1999 to 2001, supporting AIRLANT aircraft carriers, 
during which he was recognized with the Commander Naval Air Force 
Reserve Robert I. Barto Award; Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian 
Head, from 2001 to 2003; and, rapid response to full unit-mobilization 
in support of Operation Noble Eagle, which was recognized by the 
Secretary of the Navy with the Meritorious Unit Commendation. His 
command assignments also included Navy Region, Mid-Atlantic, from 2003 
to 2005, where he was mobilized in support of Joint Task Force Katrina 
as chief of staff, Joint Force Maritime Component Commander; U.S. 
Forces, Japan from 2005 to 2007, where the unit received the Joint 
Meritorious Unit Award for its contingency and exercise support that 
greatly enhanced the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance; and deputy regional 
commander to Commandant, Naval District Washington, from 2007 to 2008, 
supporting the Navy Total Force in the national capital area.
  During Rear Admiral Paul's flag officer assignments, he led several 
type commands responsible for manning, training, and equipping naval 
warships and expeditionary forces. In his first flag assignment, Rear 
Admiral Paul served as deputy commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat 
Command from 2008 to 2011, receiving the Navy Unit Commendation for its 
outstanding success in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi 
Freedom; deputy commander, Naval Surface Forces Atlantic from 2011 to 
2012; and deputy commander, Naval Surface Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet 
from 2012 to 2015, where he culminated his Navy career. During his flag 
officer positions, Rear Admiral Paul distinguished himself in the 
performance of his duties while demonstrating a uniquely comprehensive 
knowledge of manpower, personnel, training, enlisted personnel 
distribution, and surface warfare officer career management issues. His 
effective leadership and initiatives helped transform how surface 
forces are trained and prepared to fight in naval warships during a 
vital period of change in the surface warfare community.
  As a loyal and dedicated member of my staff for over 22 years, Rear 
Admiral Paul worked tirelessly as a valued legislative aide to me in my 
U.S. Senate office and on the professional staff of the Senate Armed 
Services Committee. In that capacity, Rear Admiral Paul played an 
important role in policy matters affecting our Nation and the U.S. 
military, helping to advance countless legislative initiatives enacted 
into law that will have a lasting impact on U.S. policy, including the 
Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, which prohibits the inhumane treatment 
of prisoners of the United States; legislation that reauthorized the 
FAA in 1996, which is still recognized as the largest aviation reform 
law since the deregulation act of 1977; laws that help improve the 
lives of our servicemembers, veterans, and military families; and 
numerous provisions that have improved the ability of the military to 
procure needed combat capability, enhanced the readiness of ships, 
submarines, and aircraft, and maintained global superiority--all while 
ensuring that the Department of Defense acts as a responsible steward 
of diminishing defense dollars.
  As a determined Reserve Component surface warfare leader and 
dedicated public servant, it is fitting that we honor Rear Admiral 
Paul's service during the centennial of the U.S. Navy Reserve. Rear 
Admiral Paul embodies the moral character and dedication of our 
Nation's citizen-sailors who bring unique skill sets through their 
military and civilian training and serve our country honorably by the 
core values of the United States of America. I heartily thank Rear 
Admiral Paul; his wife, Shannon; daughter, Catherine; and son, 
Christopher, for their honorable service to our Nation and the U.S. 
Navy; and wish Rear Admiral Paul fair winds and following seas as he 
concludes a career in the U.S. Navy exemplary in honor and distinction.
  Thank you.

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