[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 212 (Wednesday, December 8, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1341]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING DAVE KILCULLEN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELISSA SLOTKIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 8, 2021

  Ms. SLOTKIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a former soldier 
and diplomat, and now author and scholar, Mr. David Kilcullen.
  For both his homeland, Australia, and for the United States, Mr. 
Kilcullen has enjoyed a long career in national security and counter-
insurgency. After commissioning as a lieutenant with the Australian 
Army, he would go on to serve in a number of operational, strategic, 
command, and staff positions both in the Royal Australian Infantry 
Corps and Australian Defence Force. In 2005, after leaving active duty, 
he began working with our State Department in the Office of the 
Coordinator for Counterterrorism.
  Working in the field led Mr. Kilcullen to Pakistan, Afghanistan, 
Iraq, the Horn of Africa and Southeast Asia, and he would ultimately 
assist with the drafting of Army's Field Manual on counter-insurgency. 
He advised senior officials, from General David Petraeus to Secretary 
of State Condoleeza Rice to NATO headquarters, on addressing the threat 
posed by insurgencies and guerilla warfare. He's both a brilliant 
thought-leader as well as a man of action who supports aid agencies, 
non-government organizations, and local communities in conflict and 
disaster-affected regions around the world.
  Simply put, Madam Speaker, Mr. Kilcullen's expertise is second to 
none, and when I needed a trusted partner for a mission as complex as 
the evacuation of Afghan allies from Kabul, he was exactly the right 
person at the right time to pull it off. He personifies the Aussie 
notion of ``mateship,'' that unbreakable bond of friendship, loyalty, 
and shared purpose.
  Without Dave's help, I'm not sure we would have been able to wrangle 
the caravan of buses and make sure they made it safely through the 
wire. When we were in the thick of it, we relied on his expertise and 
his determination, and only because of both were we able to prevent our 
Afghan allies--and the lives of so many others--from being lost.
  Madam Speaker, I rise to honor Mr. Dave Kilcullen 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 his 
unique ability to think outside the box to obtain safe passage for 
vulnerable Afghans and for his calm demeanor and resourcefulness in the 
midst of chaos and uncertainty, I submit these words--may they stand as 
a tribute to his dedicated service when the moment called for it most.

                          ____________________