[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 151 (Tuesday, September 19, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5856-S5857]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TRIBUTE TO COMMAND SERGEANT MAJOR BRUNK W. CONLEY

 Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, I want to take a few minutes today 
to thank my friend Brunk Conley and to honor his long and distinguished 
career as he retires from the Oregon National Guard.
  After more than 35 years of service to the Oregon Guard, the State of 
Oregon, and the United States--including his most recent position as 
the 10th Command Sergeant Major of the Army National Guard--he has 
certainly earned it.
  Brunk, as we call him in Oregon, enlisted in December of 1981 and 
completed both airborne and ranger schools soon after his basic 
training. He demonstrated an early talent for leadership, and it wasn't 
long before he was being selected for command.
  He deployed to Iraq with Oregon's 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team 
in 2003 as command sergeant major of the 162nd Infantry's 2nd Battalion 
and to Afghanistan in 2006, after being selected as command sergeant 
major of the 41st.
  Between those overseas deployments, he served in New Orleans as part 
of the relief effort following Hurricane Katrina, helping to provide 
stability and support to Americans in desperate need of both.
  Anybody who knows Brunk knows that he has been tireless in his 
pursuit of excellence and has served as an example to his colleagues in 
the Oregon Guard and elsewhere.
  During his service in uniform, he earned a Bronze Star, Meritorious 
Service Medal, and Oregon Distinguished Service Medal.
  Now I have always believed in the principle that friends don't 
filibuster friends, so I will not read the long list of Brunk's awards 
and commendations here, but let me tell you how pleased I was to learn 
in 2012 that Brunk had been promoted from command sergeant major of the 
Oregon National Guard to command sergeant major of the entire Army 
National Guard.
  As the most senior enlisted member of the Army National Guard, Brunk 
made sure Army National Guard leaders took the needs of enlisted 
guardsmen into account and worked with his Active Duty counterparts to 
ensure policies made sense from a total Army perspective.

[[Page S5857]]

  It was a pleasure and a privilege of mine to work with him here in 
Washington over these past few years, particularly on issues like 
tuition benefits, which he rightly championed.
  Brunk's dedication to the troops under his command was legendary, and 
during his 2012 promotion ceremony, he said, ``I want it to be clear 
that in my mind there is nobody more important than the Citizen-Soldier 
[ . . . ] we live and breathe to support the Citizen-Soldier.''
  Before I finish, I want to point out that Brunk sprung his retirement 
on everybody, announcing it on his Facebook account. In true Brunk 
fashion, he noted that nobody celebrated when he joined the Guard, and 
so he didn't see a need to celebrate anything now.
  This is the only time I can remember disagreeing with Brunk's 
assessment, and so it is my distinct honor to add my name to the long 
list of those who want to celebrate his career.
  I wish Brunk, his wife, Laura, and their five sons many happy years 
together, and I join the rest of Oregon in thanking him for his 
dedication to our National Guard, our State, and our Nation.

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