[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 182 (Wednesday, November 8, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1530]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        HONORING ROBERT L. SKEWES FOR HIS SERVICE TO THE NATION

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ROBERT J. WITTMAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 8, 2017

  Mr. WITTMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Robert Skewes 
upon his retirement from 48\1/2\ years of honorable service to the 
United States Coast Guard, and this great nation.
  Mr. Skewes has served as the Chief, Office of Work-Life, within the 
Coast Guard's Health, Safety, and Work-Life Directorate, under the 
direction of the Assistant Commandant of Human Resources. In this role 
he established work-life policy and interpreted program standards for 
Coast Guard-wide implementation of a myriad of individual and family 
support services. These services included health promotion, food 
services, employee assistance, critical incident stress management, 
transition relocation assistance, personal financial management, 
adoption reimbursement, child and elder care, special needs for family 
members, family advocacy, addiction and substance abuse prevention, and 
sexual assault prevention including response.
  Mr. Skewes is a 1973 graduate of the United States Coast Guard 
Academy. He began his Coast Guard career as an Engineering Officer and 
Damage Control Assistant aboard the USCG Cutter Hamilton in Boston, 
Massachusetts. Following a tour at the Coast Guard Headquarters Office 
of Research and Development, and postgraduate training at the 
University of Michigan, he was assigned to the Third Coast Guard 
District Merchant Marine Technical Branch at Governor's Island, New 
York, where he reviewed commercial vessel plans and specifications. In 
1983, he was assigned to the Marine Inspection Office in New Orleans, 
Louisiana, where he served as a Marine Inspector and Investigator, 
Administrative Officer, and Training Officer. From 1987 to 1990, Mr. 
Skewes was an instructor and Assistant Chief, Marine Safety Schools, at 
the Reserve Training Center in Yorktown, Virginia, where he was 
instrumental in the development and review of all marine safety program 
resident training. He served as the Executive Officer of the Marine 
Safety Office in Providence, RI, from 1990 to 1993, and as the 
Commanding Officer of the Marine Safety Office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 
from 1993 to 1995. From 1995 to 1999, as the Chief of the Office of 
Operating and Environmental Standards at Coast Guard Headquarters, Mr. 
Skewes was responsible for coordinating the development of 
international and domestic standards for personnel, vessels, 
facilities, hazardous materials, and environmental issues, and the 
activities of five industry Federal Advisory Committees. From 1999 to 
2003, he served as the Chief, Office of Work-Life, the same position he 
currently holds. In July 2003, Mr. Skewes retired as a Captain 
following a 30-year career in the Coast Guard. From July 2003 to June 
2007, he served as the Chief, Shore Safety Division within the Office 
of Safety and Environmental Health, at Coast Guard Headquarters, where 
he managed programs that focused on the safety concerns of personnel 
and their dependents that work and live at Coast Guard shore facilities 
as well as related safety concerns of personnel assigned to afloat 
units and aviation facilities. In this capacity, he provided oversight 
for a myriad of programs including risk management, emergency 
preparedness and response (including occupant emergency plans), traffic 
safety (including motor vehicles, motorcycles and trailering), fire 
prevention and safety, recreational safety, personal risk management 
and systems safety. Mr. Skewes has a Masters Degree in Mechanical 
Engineering, and a Masters Degree in Naval Architecture and Marine 
Engineering, from the University of Michigan. He also has a Bachelor's 
Degree in Ocean Science from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

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