[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 178 (Thursday, November 7, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6472]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO COLONEL JAMES LONG

 Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, today I congratulate a former staff 
member of mine, James Long, on his recent promotion to colonel in the 
Air Force Reserve.
  Jim served for a year as an Air Force fellow on my staff back in 
2011. He worked hard and did a great job for us as we worked to make 
sure the men and women of the military were properly funded, organized, 
trained, and equipped. In particular, Jim was very helpful with respect 
to intelligence community issues, having previously served as a senior 
special agent at the Central Intelligence Agency's Office of the 
Inspector General, where he conducted and oversaw investigations of CIA 
officers and contractor personnel. After leaving my office, he went on 
to work with the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations as the 
chief of the Crime Integration Desk, as well as being individual 
mobilization augmentee to the Commander of the Investigations 
Collections Operations Nexus Center at Marine Corps Base Quantico.
  Last year, while continuing his work in the Air Force Reserve, Jim 
was hired by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector 
General to build its first Major Frauds and Corruption Unit. He 
currently oversees large-scale criminal investigations and has put 
together a team of anti-fraud professionals, including special agents, 
forensic auditors, forensic accountants, data scientists, and analysts, 
to investigate and uncover significant fraud schemes. His team was also 
an integral part of the recent high-profile fraud case involving misuse 
of disaster relief funds that the Federal Emergency Management Agency 
administered in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.
  Jim has had a long and distinguished career in the military, where he 
has served for over 26 years. He first served for 4 years in the Marine 
Corps, and after going to college, he joined the Air Force Reserve, 
where he has risen through the ranks to his current position as 
colonel.
  Jim continues to have a stellar career serving the Nation, including 
being deployed to Kirkuk, Iraq, in 2008, where he commanded 57 combat 
missions.
  Again, I wish to congratulate Colonel Long on his promotion and wish 
him and his family the very best as he continues to serve our Nation, 
both in his capacities at the Air Force Reserve and at the Department 
of Homeland Security.

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