[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 116 (Thursday, July 11, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S4803]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             REMEMBERING LIEUTENANT COLONEL MICHAEL HEALEY

 Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, today I wish in tribute to 
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Healey of the British Royal Artillery 
Regiment, a great gunner, an officer of the highest quality, a British 
patriot, and a beloved friend of Oklahoma and America.
  On June 29, we lost Mike Healey at the age of 67 after a 4-year 
battle with cancer. Just as in life, he faced his last fight with 
courage and vigor, without complaint, and with that famous British 
stiff upper lip. Mike was taken from us too soon, but his memory will 
be with us always, and his service will live on as a testament to the 
bonds of affection and friendship that still animate the special 
relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.
  Mike spent a lot of time in my State during the 1980s, 1990s, and 
early 2000s at a little place called Fort Sill, in Lawton, OK. Many of 
you know that Fort Sill is the home of the U.S. Army Field Artillery 
and Air Defense Artillery.
  Major Mike Healey first came to Fort Sill in January 1988 to replace 
Major Ian Dowdswell as the british exchange instructor in the field 
artillery advanced course, which is now called the captains career 
course.
  Mike was already very experienced as a major in the British Artillery 
and brought that tactical and technical knowledge to share with U.S. 
students and faculty. He made it through the instructor ``murder 
boards'' in record time, as he had been an instructor in his own Army. 
He very quickly grasped the American acronyms and organization for 
combat. Mike did a fantastic job as an instructor and was respected by 
his students and colleagues.
  Mike came back to Fort Sill in 1997, after a promotion to lieutenant 
colonel, and became the British liaison officer to the U.S. Field 
Artillery. He represented the British Army exceptionally well in all 
aspects of the new position. One of the main reasons he was promoted 
and was allowed to return to America so soon was that he spoke 
``American'' so well.
  Lieutenant Colonel Healey returned for a third time to Oklahoma in 
2005 to be, once again, the British LNO to the U.S. Field Artillery 
School but with the added responsibility of also serving as the British 
air defense artillery liaison officer. LTG Dave Valcourt was the 
commanding general of Fort Sill at the time, and specifically requested 
that the British Army send Mike back to Fort Sill for yet another tour 
to help guide the base through a critical period as it absorbed the 
U.S. Army ADA School from Fort Bliss.
  Lieutenant Colonel Healey's combat theater service gave him immediate 
credibility with his American comrades in arms. Mike served in the 
Falklands War with British forces in 1984 and in Iraq alongside 
American units in 1991. In addition to his combat credentials, he 
coordinated joint/combined Cold War exercises and security procedures, 
working with Americans in Germany in 1979 and 1990 and in Turkey in 
1996.
  As a truly solemn and high-visibility assignment, Mike commanded the 
Queen's Guard at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, marching the men down 
the Royal Mile to Holyrood Castle, followed by dinner with the Queen in 
1983.
  Mike was a graduate of Sandhurst Military Academy, the Royal Field 
Artillery School at Larkhill, and earned a master's degree at 
Schrivenham. He also had a BA in economics from Manchester University.
  His military awards include the U.S. Army Field Artillery Association 
St. Barbara's Medal, the U.S. Army Meritorious Service Medal, the 
British Gulf War Medal, and the Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal 
for special recognition during the commemoration of the Queen's 50th 
year on the throne.
  Lieutenant Colonel Healey's greatest satisfaction and proudest 
moment, by his own admission, was when he authored, staffed, and 
presented a new Ministry of Defense Command policy to House of Commons 
on ensuring military members were not forgotten once they left the 
military and that their sacrifices were acknowledged in the civilian 
world with special accommodations.
  He and his wife, Mo, were the consummate hosts at numerous official 
functions they personally planned and catered at Fort Sill, to include 
their memorable farewell bash in 2007 at the Polo Field.
  Mike Healey loved America, Oklahoma, and the U.S. Army Field 
Artillery. He was constantly amazed by the wide-open spaces in the 
American West, the 300-plus sunny days per year, and how friendly the 
people were.
  Mike unabashedly adopted the United States as his second home and 
voluntarily spent nearly a third of his military career in Oklahoma.
  In fact, he thought so much of this great land that he specifically 
requested Old Glory be draped across his casket next to the Union Jack 
at his military funeral, which will be on July 19 in Thirsk, England. I 
am personally requesting that an American flag be flown over the 
Capitol in honor of Mike Healey and his service, not just to his own 
country but also for his service to our country. That flag will then be 
transported to England for the burial by Lieutenant General Valcourt, 
Retired, who will also deliver a portion of Mike's eulogy.
  With this extraordinary request, Mike performed one last act of 
service by reminding his British compatriots and his American friends 
of our proud history and all that we still have to achieve together.
  In January 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt sent Harry Hopkins as 
his personal envoy to meet Prime Minister Winston Churchill. At dinner 
one night, Hopkins rose and quoted from the Book of Ruth: ``Whither 
thou goest I will go, and whither thou lodgest I will lodge. Thy people 
shall be my people, and thy God my God.'' He then added, ``even to the 
end.'' Mike Healey lived those words. He saw firsthand why Americans 
love their country, and he became a true ``forward observer'' of the 
American dream. We are all better off for knowing Mike, and we will 
never forget all he has done for the U.S. Army, the Field Artillery 
School, the State of Oklahoma, and the United States of 
America.

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