[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 115 (Thursday, July 1, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E732-E733]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF MR. DALE EDWARD WHITEHEAD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. DIANA HARSHBARGER

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 1, 2021

  Mrs. HARSHBARGER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Mr. Dale Edward 
Whitehead,

[[Page E733]]

who recently lost his battle with lung cancer after spending his life 
serving his community and his country. Dale graduated from Pennsylvania 
State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Liberal Arts and 
Sciences before going on to graduate from the University of Maryland, 
Robert H. Smith School of Business with a Master's Degree in Business 
Administration. He also attended the United States Defense Language 
Institute, where he was awarded an Associate of Arts Degree in Arabic.
  Dale served as a Cryptologic Arabic Linguist, Sergeant E-5 in the 
United States Marine Corps from 1999 to 2004. Dale not only honorably 
served his country in Iraq, he was at the forefront of the search for 
weapons of mass destruction in Operation Iraqi Freedom. For his brave 
service, Dale was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal 
(with Combat ``V''), the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the Global 
War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, the 
National Defense Service Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation-Navy, 
and the Marine Corps Rifle Badge (Sharpshooter). After his return from 
Iraq, Dale worked as a program manager for 6 years for Poole & 
Associates as well as SAIC. In 2010, Dale joined General Dynamics where 
he became a Senior Program Manager and ultimately rose to the level of 
Director.
  In 2014, Dale played an important role in Range Generation Next 
(RGNext) (a joint venture of General Dynamics IT and Raytheon) in 
bidding and winning the United States Airforce's Launch and Test Range 
Integrated Services Contract valued at $2 billion. The contract 
provided a sole prime contractor responsible for operations, 
organizational and depot-level maintenance as well as sustainment at 
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Vandenberg Air Force Base. This 
was a significant and transformational contract which included the 
engineering support to all Space launch activities. RGNext was awarded 
this contract in April of 2015, and Dale was subsequently appointed as 
Deputy Program Manager of the contract. In this role he focused on 
mission and program leadership, organizational development, new 
business change proposals, and day to day management activities of the 
broad contract. Dale excelled in working with people and enjoyed the 
comradery of building successful teams in the workplace. His RGNext co-
workers have shared with me that his constant mentorship helped them 
professionally and personally and they will forever be better for it.
  As a non-smoker and fitness advocate with no family cancer history, 
it is strongly suspected by his doctors that Dale's terminal lung 
cancer was most likely due to his exposure to Yellow Cake Uranium and 
Burn Pit toxicities during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Dale's life 
underscores the need for the U.S. government to support veterans like 
him, who have been exposed to dangerous agents in the theatre of war 
and now face sickness or even death. We must uplift our veterans and 
honor their sacrifice to our country.
  Dale did an outstanding job while here on earth, and he served our 
country fearlessly. He made a difference in his professional career, 
and his many co-workers have described him as incredibly personable, a 
great supportive leader, a wonderful person, and a dependable friend 
whose love for his family was always self-evident. I believe one thing 
Dale had in common with my fellow East Tennesseans was his deep respect 
for his country that drove him to spend years in service both at home 
and abroad. Those who had the opportunity to interact with him have 
shared with me how very friendly and an openly giving person he was and 
will be remembered for all of eternity as. Dale will forever be 
cherished as a loving family man to his wife, Erin, and his sons Henry, 
Nathan, and George. Those who could find a way to describe him in a 
single short sentence would say he was and will forever always be a 
patriotic Marine veteran and a loving family man. All those touched by 
his life are better for knowing him.

                          ____________________