[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 147 (Tuesday, September 12, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S5212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         TRIBUTE TO MASTER GUNNERY SERGEANT WILLIAM T. MAHONEY

  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute and honor the 
distinguished service of one of my former Defense fellows, Marine Corps 
MGySgt William T. Mahoney. Will and his family have faithfully served 
our Nation for 30 years, and for that, we are forever grateful. Will's 
service has always been exemplary, and he will be sorely missed as he 
moves on to enjoy his well-deserved retirement.
  Will enlisted in the Marine Corps on January 7, 1987, and attended 
basic training in Parris Island, SC. His occupational specialty 
training as a ground-to-air missile systems operator took place at Fort 
Bliss in El Paso, TX. Tours in Yuma, AZ, and Okinawa, Japan, followed, 
with deployments to San Clemente Island, CA, and South Korea.
  Will was selected for Marine security guard duty while in Japan and, 
after graduating, went to school in Quantico, VA, and served at the 
U.S. Embassy security detachments in Vienna, Austria, and Lusaka, 
Zambia. Upon his return to the United States, he was assigned to Marine 
Corps Air Station in Cherry Point, NC. Following this tour, Will was 
assigned to 8th Marine Corps District Recruiting Headquarters in New 
Orleans, LA.
  Selected for Marine security guard duty for a second time while 
serving in New Orleans, Will returned to Quantico for training as a 
security detachment commander. After completing his training as the 
class honor graduate, Will assumed command of the Marine detachment at 
the American Embassy in Ljubljana, Slovenia. He later served as command 
of the security detachment in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, where he 
was meritoriously promoted to the rank of gunnery sergeant and selected 
for instructor duty in Quantico.
  Will served as an instructor-adviser and the operations chief for 
Marine Corps Embassy Security Guard School, where he was responsible 
for training the men and women who guard America's embassies and 
consulates around the world. Upon completion of that tour, Will was 
assigned to Marine Corps Air Station, New River, NC. He deployed to 
Anbar Province, Iraq, in late 2008.
  While serving in Iraq, Will was selected for the prestigious 
congressional fellowship program, one of only four enlisted 
servicemembers to have been selected for this program at that time. 
After returning stateside in August 2009 and completing several months 
of familiarization training and education in Washington, DC, he was 
assigned to serve as a member of my legislative staff. Will provided 
invaluable insight on matters ranging from the New START Nuclear 
Disarmament Treaty to veterans' affairs issues to weapons procurement 
programs for the Department of Defense.
  Following his fellowship in my office, Will was assigned as the 
senior enlisted adviser to the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel 
and Readiness. In this position, he advised senior Department of 
Defense officials on all matters pertaining to the enlisted members of 
the Armed Forces, their families, and retirees. Additionally, Will 
assumed the additional duty of senior enlisted adviser to the Assistant 
Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs for more than 2 years, 
providing senior military medical leadership with a line perspective on 
many initiatives and policies.
  After completing his time in the Pentagon, Will was selected to serve 
as the senior enlisted adviser to the director of the White House 
Military Office, WHMO. In this position, he advised the director and 
other senior White House officials on all matters pertaining to the 
members of the Armed Forces assigned to support the office of the 
Presidency.
  Will's humble character rarely does justice to his accomplishments 
and accolades. However, he does speak very proudly of his wife, Claire, 
and their three daughters, Katrina, Shannon, and Sophie. Military 
families are true testaments of both strength and pride. They are 
constantly challenged by deployments, changes in duty stations, and 
uncertainties. These hurdles create resiliency, which the Mahoney 
family patriotically embodies. Will's family is his pride and joy and 
will be equally missed by all they have served with.
  While we will miss seeing Will in uniform, his future endeavors will 
continue to make us proud. I want to again thank Will and his family 
for their service to our great Nation and congratulate him on his 
retirement.

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