[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 104 (Tuesday, June 28, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S4636]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TRIBUTE TO LIEUTENANT GENERAL JEFFERY W. TALLEY

 Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, today I honor a dedicated soldier 
and business entrepreneur who has demonstrated illustrious service to 
our Nation while in uniform and in private, public, and academic 
sectors. After 34 years of service as a model citizen-soldier, LTG 
Jeffery W. Talley is retiring from his distinguished Army career.
  LTG Jeffrey W. Talley served as both the Chief of the Army Reserve 
and the Commanding General of U.S. Army Reserve Command from 11 June 
2012 to 1 June 2016. Lieutenant General Talley led the Army Reserve 
through one of the most tumultuous times in its history, guiding the 
command through the initial phases of a drawdown of forces as it 
simultaneously supported the war in Afghanistan and executed multiple 
contingency deployments in support of our Nation. Through his 
leadership, Lieutenant General Talley has forever changed the mission, 
culture, and composition of the Army Reserve. He leaves a combat-tested 
component that is more responsive to the Joint and Army warfighting 
requirements and contributes directly to our ability to fight and win 
our Nation's wars.
  Lieutenant General Talley is responsible for developing and executing 
critical enabler capabilities to the Joint Force through the use of 
Army Reserve Engagement Cells and Teams, AREC/Ts. AREC/Ts assist Army 
Service Component Commands and Combatant Commands by integrating Army 
Reserve capabilities into plans, exercises, and operational activities 
and provide reachback capability to the whole of the U.S. Army Reserve 
Command's CONUS-based theater enabling commands. The Army Reserve 
possesses the majority of force structure of the Army's total 
capability in many key areas to include more than 90 percent of the 
Army's Civil Affairs capability, more than 50 percent of the Army's 
total logistics and medical capability, and nearly all of the Army's 
theater opening capability. Nothing is more important to Lieutenant 
General Talley than taking care of our Nation's most precious resource: 
our soldiers. As a citizen-soldier himself, Lieutenant General Talley 
is acutely aware of the challenges and sacrifices of Army Reserve 
soldiers as they juggle their service to the Nation, community, and 
family well-being. This focus on soldiers and their families, combined 
with the recognition that soldier support is a critical component of 
soldier readiness, led him to create the Private Public Partnership 
Office, P3O. P3O has blossomed into one of the DOD's most effective 
hiring and readiness generating programs. This indispensable capability 
recognizes the tie that Army Reserve soldiers have with their local 
communities.
  Lieutenant General Talley codified the comprehensive transformation 
of the Army Reserve from a strategic, static component of the Army, to 
an integral, operational asset critical to the success of the Army's 
mission to provide trained and ready forces. Lieutenant General 
Talley's accomplishments will benefit the Army Reserve, the Army, and 
the Joint Force for years to come.
  Jeffery Talley and his wife, Linda, have four children: Christopher, 
Joshua, and Matthew--a combat veteran--and Ashley. The Talley family 
moved 23 times throughout Jeffery's military career. During those 
times, Linda volunteered as a senior family readiness adviser. For her 
dedication, she was named ``Volunteer of the Year'' and received the 
Essayons Award for spouses who make significant contributions to the 
Army Engineer Regiment. I wish Jeffery, Linda, and the entire Talley 
family the best in their future endeavors and the next chapter of their 
lives.

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