[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 95 (Wednesday, June 4, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E520]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING LIEUTENANT COLONEL DEAN MATHIS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOHN JOYCE

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 4, 2025

  Mr. JOYCE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise to present this 
citation to Lieutenant Colonel Dean Mathis, on the occasion of his 
retirement with twenty years of honorable service in the United States 
Army, from May 28, 2005, through May 31, 2025.
  Born in 1983 at Andrews Air Force Base, Dean was raised in a family 
with a long history of military service to the country. Dean's great-
grandfather, Corporal James T. Plummer, served a distinction in the 
U.S. Army field artillery during WWI. His grandfather, Commander 
Raymond J. Plummer, served 23 years in the U.S. Navy Reserves from 1952 
through 1975. Dean's mother, Julia Plummer, was commissioned at Penn 
State University by her father, Commander Plummer, in May 1979 and 
served 6 years active duty in the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
  In 2001, Dean graduated from Bishop Guilfoyle Catholic High School, 
Altoona, Pennsylvania, where he was a member of the National Honor 
Society and played varsity football. Dean's military career started in 
June 2001 when he was accepted as a cadet into the U.S. Military 
Academy at West Point, Class of 2005.
  On May 28, 2005, Dean's grandfather, Commander Raymond Plummer (USNR 
ret.), commissioned 2nd Lieutenant Dean A. Mathis into the U.S. Army 
Infantry. Dean served with distinction and courage through three combat 
tours in Iraq in 2006, 2008, and 2011, rising to the rank of Captain. 
On his third combat tour, Captain Mathis commanded Apache Troop, 6-9 
CAV, 1 Cavalry Division. Captain Mathis was awarded the Bronze Star 
medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Air Assault Badge, Global War on 
Terrorism medal, the Iraq campaign medal with four campaign stars, and 
the Overseas Service ribbon.
  From 2012 through 2014, he earned a Master's Degree in Nuclear 
Engineering at Texas A&M University as part of his transition from the 
Infantry Branch to Functional Area 52, or the Army's nuclear 
counterproliferation branch. Following graduation, Major Mathis was 
assigned to teach Physics and Nuclear Engineering at West Point. From 
there, he served in both the Defense Intelligence and Defense Threat 
Reduction agencies from 2017 through 2025 with a focus on assessing and 
reducing the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to the United 
States.
  In addition to the medals previously listed, Lieutenant Colonel Dean 
A. Mathis was awarded the following medals during his distinguished 
career: Defense Meritorious Service medal, the Army Commendation medal, 
Joint Service Achievement medal, the Army Achievement medal, Joint 
Meritorious Unit Award, National Defense Service medal, and the Army 
Service ribbon.
  The United States of America and the 119th Congress of the United 
States thank him for his honorable and dedicated military service in 
the United States Army from 2005 through 2025.
  On behalf of the 13th Congressional District of Pennsylvania, I 
commend Lieutenant Colonel Dean A. Mathis and thank him for his 
distinguished service.

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