[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 143 (Tuesday, September 2, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E800]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RECOGNIZING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF CHARLES ``CHARLIE'' WEBB
______
HON. MIKE ROGERS
of alabama
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the
contributions of Mr. Charles ``Charlie'' Webb. Charlie graduated high
school in Colorado in May 1970 and in August 1970 reported to Fort
Knox, Kentucky. for Basic Training and Advanced Individual Training at
the Armor School. He was assigned to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment
in January 1971 in Bind Lach serving as border patrol between Germany
and Czechoslovakia. He and his company referred to themselves as The
Speed Bump because ``that's what it would have looked like if the
WARSAW Pact had decided to come across.'' This was his favorite
assignment.
He was then assigned to Fort Carson, Colorado, with the 10th Cavalry
(part of the 4th Infantry Division). It was while he was there that he
met his wife, Mary. His next assignment was back to Germany with the
1st Battalion 64th Armor Regiment for three years. During this time, he
transitioned to the M1 series tanks.
Later he was assigned to the 3rd Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss,
Texas. He was there for a year and transferred to Fort Hood, Texas,
because they already had M1 tanks. At Fort Hood, he was assigned to the
1st Battalion 8th Cavalry Regiment, part of the 1st Cavalry Division.
He served as a Platoon Sergeant, and eventually, as the First Sergeant
for D Company. While serving as the 1st Sergeant, he was notified he'd
be attending the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy. It was there, in
January of 1990, he went back to Fort Bliss for six months of school.
After graduation, he expected to be assigned to Korea since he had
never done a tour there, but instead, he was retained as faculty at
Fort Bliss for the next three years as a lesson writer and instructor.
In December 1992, Armor Branch contacted him concerning his next
assignment. The Assignments person gave him a choice; he could be the
First Sergeant of a tank company with the 2nd Infantry Division in
Korea, or a tank company supporting the Armor School at Fort Knox,
Kentucky. Neither choice was a desirable option, so he chose to retire
and in 1993. he moved to Anniston, Alabama, to work at Fort McClellan.
However, he had no intentions of ending his service to the United
States. Here, he was responsible for running the Battle Simulation
Center for the Chemical School. When Fort McClellan was closed, the
Anniston Chemical Demil Facility (ANCDF) was being built, and Charlie
was hired there in July 1999. While working at ANCDF, he had an
interest in making a scale model of the plant. Because cameras weren't
allowed on site, he observed and documented, from memory, the layout of
the facilities. He worked on a model at home for over four years. The
model is one of a kind, and the only one in existence. He donated the
large-scale model to the Army and it's on display at the Museum Support
Center in Anniston Alabama (MSCA).
Charlie worked from July 1999 until the completion of the ANCDF
mission and left in August 2013, He started in April 2014, as a
volunteer at MSCA and is still volunteering today. Charlie's vast
knowledge and dedication to detail has enhanced the effectiveness of
the museum. Mr. Speaker, please join me in recognizing Charlie and
thanking him for his service to our country and his dedication to the
MSCA.
____________________