[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 168 (Wednesday, October 23, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H8396]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        CONGRATULATING STAFF SERGEANT DAKOTA BOWEN, NCO OF 2019

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, congratulations to Staff 
Sergeant Dakota Bowen, who serves with Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 
39th Infantry Regiment, at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He is the 
Army's 2019 Noncommissioned Officer of the Year.
  The NCO of the Year is the Army's top soldier, with competition 
annually on a variety of tasks testing their knowledge, skills, and 
abilities. Staff Sergeant Bowen emerged as the top NCO of the 
competition to win soldier of the year as this year's top NCO.
  General Joseph Martin, the Army Vice Chief of Staff, calls NCOs the 
heart and soul of the Army. ``When the Army desperately needs 
leadership, we turn to you, and you have never failed us,'' he said in 
a keynote speech at the awards ceremony.
  As a 30-year Army veteran myself with three sons who have served in 
the Army, I know firsthand that this analysis is correct.
  South Carolina is grateful for Staff Sergeant Dakota Bowen and his 
commitment to American families, promoting the truth that freedom is 
not free.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget 
September the 11th, or the anniversary today of the Beirut bombing, 
murdering 241 servicemembers, in the global war on terrorism.

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