[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 139 (Wednesday, September 14, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1267]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       CALEB JAMES KOKER REMARKS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 14, 2016

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to acknowledge Sergeant Caleb James 
Koker for his many accomplishments in his service to the U.S. Army 
National Guard in Marion, IL. Caleb is a Fairfield, IL native who 
attends Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
  Caleb has a remarkable service record. He finished at the top of his 
class in all of his military training, and he also proved to be a 
proficient marksman by passing his M4 rifle training with a perfect 
score of 40/40. Caleb then joined Unit HHC2-130 INF of the U.S. Army 
National Guard in Marion, where he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant 
at only 20 years old. That made Caleb the youngest soldier to be 
promoted to the rank of Sergeant in the history of his unit. Since 
then, Caleb has gone on to earn three Army Achievement Medals while 
serving in his unit.
  The fact that Caleb has balanced a distinguished service career with 
a stellar academic career makes his accomplishments even more 
impressive. He has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout his undergraduate 
education at SIUC, and he will travel to Pennsylvania to train as a 
Multitrans System Operator in the next few weeks. Caleb will earn a 
degree in Criminal Justice when he graduates from SIUC this December, 
and he will enlist as an active duty member of the U.S. Army upon 
graduation. After that, Caleb plans to continue to serve our country by 
pursuing a career in Federal Law Enforcement.
  I offer my congratulations to Sergeant Caleb Koker for his 
accomplishments while serving in the U.S. Army National Guard and while 
pursuing his college degree, and I wish him the best of luck as he 
continues to serve our country with pride.

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