[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 1, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S193]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO LON PRIBBLE

  Mr. WICKER. Mr. President, today I am pleased to recognize the 
dedication of an exemplary civil servant, Mr. Lon Pribble, on the 
occasion of his upcoming retirement. Lon Pribble began his service to 
the Nation as a cadet in the U.S. Military Academy in 1979, serving as 
a military officer until his first retirement at the rank of lieutenant 
colonel in 2005. However, as a dedicated, energetic individual, he 
could not stay away from Army service for long. He soon began 
supporting the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, also 
known as ERDC, as a contractor analyst. In 2010, Lon became the 
director of government and legislative affairs for ERDC as a civil 
servant. My staff and I have had the pleasure of working with him ever 
since. In his role, Mr. Pribble has communicated the Army's emerging 
research priorities as well as how my constituents at ERDC help meet 
the needs of American warfighters. His deep knowledge of key 
legislative issues and advice to Army leaders and Members of Congress 
alike positively impacted the Army's interests with Congress. He has 
kept us informed about facility improvements, changes in the workforce, 
and partnerships that ERDC is developing throughout Mississippi and the 
rest of the Nation.
  Part of the legacy Lon Pribble leaves at ERDC is an enhanced 
capability to meet critical Army research needs. He did this through 
his work supporting facility upgrades, such as construction of the 
Fragmentation Research Laboratory, the Target Preparation Facility, and 
the Supercomputing Research Center. Through these efforts and many 
others, the four ERDC laboratories in Vicksburg have become world-class 
facilities, and I am proud to represent them. While I am particularly 
grateful for his work in Mississippi, I know that he similarly 
supported improvements to the Army's research and development 
capabilities in other locations across the Nation. These efforts 
include a new annex housing researchers who study military beach 
operations in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and an expansion of 
the Permafrost Research Tunnel near Fairbanks, AK, which is improving 
our understanding of the Arctic terrain. During his tenure at ERDC, Lon 
Pribble's experience in facilities led him to become a resource to the 
broader defense research enterprise by chairing a government panel 
charged with assessing defense laboratory infrastructure issues.
  Lon Pribble is an outgoing personality and was instrumental in making 
connections for industry and academic partners across the State and the 
Nation to help carry out ERDC's mission. I have appreciated his efforts 
to ensure that partnerships between ERDC and Mississippi universities 
continue to grow, advance the science and technology to meet Army 
needs, and develop a diverse student talent pool experienced in Army 
priorities.
  For these efforts, Lon Pribble has received numerous civilian 
recognitions in addition to his former military awards, including twice 
receiving the Commander's Award for Civilian Service in 2016 and in 
2020. These honors recognize that Lon Pribble has embodied the Army's 
ideal of selfless service as both a military officer and a civilian. I 
join my constituents in thanking Lon Pribble for his commitment to our 
State and the Nation and wish him a happy retirement.

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