[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 51 (Friday, March 22, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E285]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING MR. JAMES MILLER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ELISE M. STEFANIK

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 22, 2024

  Ms. STEFANIK. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Mr. James Miller 
and to thank him for his long and exemplary career serving our 
constituents and servicemen.
  Jim's service to our troops began four decades ago while he was 
pursuing his second Master's Degree at Florida State University, after 
earning his first from Slippery Rock University. While pursuing his 
educational goals, he interned with the Mental Hygiene Clinic at the 
Erie County, Pennsylvania Veteran Affairs Hospital. This would prove to 
be a formative experience for Jim who, upon graduation in 1989, took a 
job at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. During his time at Fort Campbell, Jim 
served in a variety of roles including the Chief of Community Mental 
Health and the Chief of Discharge Planning. In these roles, Jim assumed 
responsibility for the well-being of countless troops and their family 
members. He flourished in Kentucky, but when Americans were called to 
serve during Operation Desert Storm, Jim followed the 101st Airborne--
the mighty Screaming Eagles--across the waves as the division's social 
work officer. While deployed, he went above and beyond, providing 
counseling services to the troops and even establishing a mental health 
clinic similar to the one in which he had once worked in.
  Jim stayed with the 101st until 1993, afterward continuing his 
service at various installations across the nation. Though his capacity 
differed at each station, the quality of service he delivered never 
diminished. His nine-year journey concluded in 2002 when he settled in 
with the North Country's own 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum. 
During the height of the global War on Terror, Jim provided the 
Division with the same essential, high-quality care that had defined 
his time with the 101st years prior. After serving during Operation 
Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, he returned to his roots 
at the very same Erie VA Hospital where his career had started. 
Eventually, Jim would return to the North Country, first as the chief 
of the Watertown Veterans Center and then as a clinical social worker 
with Fort Drum's Soldier Recovery Program.
  After a long career tending to our warfighters in their hours of 
need, Jim is ready for one last transition: on March 14th, he 
celebrated a richly deserved retirement after a lifetime of service. On 
behalf of New York's 21st District, it is my distinct honor to thank 
him for all he has done in service of the North Country, the 10th 
Mountain Division, and our Country.

                          ____________________