[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 9, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E609-E610]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE DISTINGUISHED SERVICE OF COLONEL DAVID J. PINTER, SR.

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RON KIND

                              of wisconsin

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 9, 2018

  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the distinguished 
service of Colonel David J. Pinter, Sr. whose tenure as Garrison 
Commander at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, concludes May 19, 2018. Colonel 
Pinter assumed duties as Garrison Commander at Fort McCoy on March 11, 
2016.
   Colonel Pinter's 29 years of dedicated service in the U.S. Army is 
noteworthy in every respect. He earned a bachelor's degree from the 
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa; a master's degree in Business and 
Policy Studies from Empire State College, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; and a 
master's degree in National Security Strategy from the National War 
College, Washington, D.C. His military education includes the Combined 
Arms and Service Staff School, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff 
College, and the National War College.
   Colonel Pinter received his Army commission in 1989 from the 
University of Iowa Reserve Officer Training Corps program. He entered 
active duty and attended the Army Aviation School for flight training 
and then was assigned as a Platoon Leader with the 1st Battalion, 501st 
Aviation Regiment in Korea. He next served with the 10th Mountain 
Division, Fort Drum, N.Y., as a Platoon Leader and Battalion Flight 
Operations Officer. He then was assigned as Aviation Company Commander 
and 12th Aviation Brigade Operations Planner with support to V Corps in 
Germany. Pinter returned to the 10th Mountain Division and began 
training for certification in the Army Acquisition Corps. He deployed 
to Kosovo in support of the Joint Contracting Cell and continued his 
Acquisition career as an Aviation Material Development Branch Chief 
with the Aviation Combat Development Directorate. His follow-on 
assignment was as the Project Manager and Operations Officer to the 
Soldier, Biological, Chemical Command, and he then worked with the 
Office of the Surgeon General to field Chem-bio Protective Systems to 
Combat Support Hospitals and Forward Surgical Teams in the Iraq theater 
prior to and during the onset of the war.
   Colonel Pinter entered the Active Guard Reserve program in 2003 with 
duty at the University of Iowa as the Senior Assistant Military 
Professor. He then served as the Logistics Officer with the newly 
formed 11th Aviation Command leading efforts to establish logistical 
support for the Army Reserve Aviation Operations of 17 units in 14 
states, followed by Aviation Battalion Command in support of Operation 
Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Then, he served as a 
force management staff member in the Office of the Chief of the Army 
Reserve, as well as in the Office of the Assistants to the Chairman of 
the

[[Page E610]]

Joint Chiefs of Staff for National Guard and Reserve Matters. 
Immediately prior to his assignment at Fort McCoy, he served as 
Division Chief for the Homeland Defense Division of the Joint Staff J3 
Operations Directorate, Washington, D.C.
   Colonel Pinter's deployments include Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, 
and Iraq. Colonel Pinter has committed his life to serving our country 
and has received many deserving awards and decorations, including the 
Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, 
Meritorious Service Medal with seven Oak Leaf Clusters, Army 
Commendation Medal with six Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal 
with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with 
three Bronze Service Stars, Humanitarian Service Medal with two Bronze 
Service Stars, NATO medal with two Bronze Service Stars, United Nations 
Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, Joint Staff Identification Badge, 
Army Staff Identification Badge, Airborne Badge, Air Assault Badge, 
Combat Patch, Senior Aviator Badge, Ranger Tab, and Combat Action 
Badge.
   Under Colonel Pinter's effective leadership, which has fostered the 
success of ``Team McCoy,'' Fort McCoy has received heightened awareness 
by senior leaders that have led to an increase in the transit training 
population, mobilization, medical and mission readiness of the U.S. 
military. Fort McCoy is one of six major Army Reserve garrisons, within 
the seventy-five Army installation command garrisons, and under Colonel 
Pinter's guidance, it is the only one to receive the Army Community of 
Excellence Award two years in a row. Additionally, during his tenure, 
Colonel Pinter transitioned Fort McCoy's business model into a four-
seasons, cold-weather focused training model. Thanks to Colonel Pinter, 
Fort McCoy is well positioned for the future.
   It has been an honor for me to serve as U.S. Representative for 
Wisconsin's Third Congressional District during Colonel Pinter's tenure 
at Fort McCoy. I know Colonel Pinter's leadership will be greatly 
missed at the base and surrounding communities, but I am thankful for 
his leadership and contributions to ensuring that Fort McCoy remains a 
shining star in the nation's military training infrastructure.
   On behalf of my constituents in Wisconsin and a grateful nation, I 
would like to thank and commend Colonel David J. Pinter, Sr. for his 
years of dedicated service in the U.S. Army and in particular as 
Garrison Commander at Fort McCoy. I wish him, his wife, and children 
the very best as they turn the page on the next chapter of their lives.

                          ____________________