[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 211 (Tuesday, December 7, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1317]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING LT. COL. BEN JACKMAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELISSA SLOTKIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 7, 2021

  Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Lieutenant Colonel 
Ben Jackman, Battalion Commander of the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry 
Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.
  Originally from Princeton, N.J., Lt. Col. Jackman has an elite 
pedigree from our nation's premier military institutions. After 
graduating from West Point, he completed Ranger School and served 
multiple deployments, first in Korea and subsequently in Iraq. In 
between tours abroad, he attended the Command and General Staff College 
and the Advanced Military Studies Program at Fort Leavenworth, before 
deploying to Afghanistan. In the almost 20 years that Lt. Col. Jackman 
has worn the uniform, he has earned multiple awards and decorations, 
including the Ranger Tab, the Combat Infantryman and Expert Infantryman 
Badges, the Bronze Star Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, and the 
Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters.
  In short, Lt. Col. Jackman is an officer's officer. He sets the 
standard for the other battalion commanders and officers around him--
which is why, when the mission to safeguard the airport in Kabul 
demanded our nation's best, Lt. Col. Jackman stepped into the breach. 
He came face to face with a chaotic, dangerous situation on the ground, 
full of risk for both the Afghans crowding the gates and the troops 
responsible for guarding them. The mission demanded equal parts 
strategic knowledge of perimeter security as well as the human skills 
to determine who could get through.
  The mission brought out the best of our nation's servicemen and 
women. It had them give up sleep and comfort to help load the sick, the 
elderly, and small children onto planes scheduled to depart. It 
required stamina and grit, and it involved sacrifice--11 Marines, an 
Army soldier and a Navy corpsman who gave their lives defending our 
allies.
  Through it all, Lt. Col. Jackman is the reason that our group of more 
than 100 Afghans was able to safely make it inside the airport gates. 
His bravery and his command spared them from the danger they faced to 
life and limb.
  Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Lt. Col. Ben Jackman for his 
willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty in our effort to 
evacuate Afghan allies from Kabul and support them in their new life. 
For the profound difference that he has made in the lives of hundreds, 
if not thousands of individuals who are now safe, and for his actions 
that are in keeping with the highest traditions of our military and our 
nation, I submit these words--may they stand as a tribute to his 
dedicated service when the moment called for it most.

                          ____________________