[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 110 (Friday, June 29, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E956-E957]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          RECOGNIZING COLONEL MARK BENNETT, UNITED STATES ARMY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KAY GRANGER

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 29, 2018

  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the service of 
Colonel Mark Bennett who is coming to the end of his assignment as the 
Chief of the Congressional Budget Liaison for the Secretary of the 
Army.
  Mark is a native of Ohio. He received his Bachelor of Science degree 
in Business Administration and Accounting from John Carroll University, 
a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Syracuse 
University, and a Master of Science degree in National Security and 
Resource Strategy from the National Defense University.
  Over the last year, Mark has made meaningful, significant and 
enduring contributions while liaising with the House and Senate 
Appropriations Committees to provide critical resources for Army 
Warfighters. Mark and his liaison team worked closely with Members and 
Staff from every appropriation office in Congress; ensuring 
accountability to Congress and our Nation's taxpayers.
  Through 26 years of active duty, Mark has served in a variety of 
tactical, operational, and strategic assignments. In 1990, Colonel 
Bennett was recognized as a Distinguished Military Graduate and 
commissioned into the Army as a Field Artillery Officer. He began his 
operational assignments with the 6th Battalion, 37th Field Artillery in 
Korea and also served as the Task Force Finance Officer for 4th 
Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, for a Multi-national Force 
and Observers rotation to Sinai, Egypt. He had two company command 
experiences with the 82nd Finance Battalion at Fort Bragg, North 
Carolina, and the 177th Finance Battalion in Korea. Following 
completion of graduate school at Syracuse University, he served as the 
Executive Officer to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Resource Management, 
United States Army Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, 
Virginia. Shortly after arriving to the Pentagon, he supported the Army 
and Nation's response to the 9-11 attacks before attending Command and 
General Staff College.

[[Page E957]]

  Colonel Bennett returned to the 82nd Airborne Division as the 
Division Finance Support Operations Officer at Fort Bragg and deployed 
in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He then served as the Executive 
Officer to the Director of Army Budget, as a Program Examiner at the 
Office of Management and Budget, and as a Congressional Budget Liaison 
for the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Financial Management and 
Comptroller. He commanded the Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 
10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, New York for 31 
months including a deployment to Kandahar, Afghanistan. Mark returned 
to the Headquarters Department of the Army as the Executive Officer to 
the Military Deputy for Budget and Chief of the Planning, Programming, 
Budgeting, and Execution System Integration for the Assistant Secretary 
of the Army, Financial Management and Comptroller. Colonel Bennett also 
served as the Assistant Chief of Staff, G8, for two years at 
Headquarters, I Corps, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington before 
deploying again to Afghanistan with the Combined Security Transition 
Command--Afghanistan (CSTC-A).
  Mr. Speaker, as Colonel Mark Bennett moves on to a new Army 
assignment in Texas, he leaves behind a legacy of professionalism, 
service, and friendship. I extend my thanks for his service and wish 
him and his family great success in all future endeavors.