[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 7, 2026)]
[House]
[Pages H106-H107]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
             HONORING THE SERVICE OF COLONEL PATRICK FLOOD

  (Mr. Bacon of Nebraska was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Mr. BACON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Colonel Patrick Flood, 
United States Air Force retired, who recently departed the House of 
Representatives as our deputy chief of staff and national security 
advisor after more than 39 years of Federal service.
  Colonel Flood comes from a family with a distinguished record of 
Federal and military service dating back to the American Civil War.
  Born in Baltimore, Colonel Flood was raised in Ohio and entered 
military service at the age of 18. He was nominated in 1986 to attend 
the United States Air Force Academy by Representative Ralph Regula of 
Ohio's 16th Congressional District.
  A distinguished graduate of the Academy, Pat established an early 
reputation for excellence in military leadership, academics, and 
athletics.
  In his senior year at the Academy, Flood commanded Cadet Squadron 33 
and was honored as one of the top squadron commanders in the cadet 
wing.
  As a commissioned officer, Colonel Flood's remarkable career spanned 
more than 26 years in the combat air forces and special operations 
communities. Serving in nearly every major U.S. military operation 
since 1991, Colonel Flood deployed for operations Southern Watch, 
Provide Comfort II, Deny Flight/Provide Promise, Uphold Democracy, 
Enduring Freedom, and Odyssey Dawn.
  His distinguished record also includes two tours of duty in Korea 
with service as a corridor patrol officer for the eastern demilitarized 
zone, service as a continuity of operations officer for the Air Force 
Chief of Staff during the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon, and aviation 
duty as an RC-135 crewmember flying long-range combat operations over 
Afghanistan.

[[Page H107]]

  Selected to lead several of the Air Force's most engaged combat 
intelligence units from 2006 to 2013, Colonel Flood commanded the 55th 
Wing's 488th Intelligence Squadron at RAF Mildenhall, England; led the 
603rd Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Division at Ramstein 
Air Force Base, Germany; and commanded Distributed Ground Station 2 and 
the 548th Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group at Beale 
Air Force Base, California.
  Following my election to the House in 2016, I invited Pat to help me 
establish our Washington, D.C., office. We both arrived in Congress in 
January of 2017 with no prior legislative experience. Without 
hesitation or any formal training, for the next 9 years Pat selflessly 
committed himself to learning and mastering Congress' complex 
legislative processes. Pat personally drafted hundreds of legislative 
bills and amendments, shaping America's national defense policy, force 
structure, and capabilities.
  The results of his efforts have been remarkable with a significant 
number of his proposals enacted into law via the National Defense 
Authorization Act and the Defense Appropriations Act from the years 
2018 to 2025.
  While by no means exhaustive, here are some of the accomplishments: 
quality of life reforms for the all-volunteer force and military 
families; comprehensive management reforms for DOD's electromagnetic 
spectrum superiority policy; numerous casualty assistance policies; 
program reforms for Gold Star and surviving families; the first DOD 
program for integrated military-civilian national emergency medical 
response; the reconstruction of Offutt Air Force Base following the 
devastating 2019 floods; the DOD's Warfighter Brain Health Initiative; 
the elimination of Russian fuel at U.S. military installations in 
Europe; the significant expansion of the EA-37B Compass Call electronic 
attack combat aircraft fleet; academic copyright ownership for civilian 
faculty members of DOD academic institutions; direct support to 
military service academy foundations; sustained funding for the Baltic 
Security Initiative; and significant funding to establish the first 
secure software development facility to modernize our aging nuclear 
command, control, and communications enterprise.
  However, these legislative victories only tell a small part of the 
story of the impact Pat has had. As my closest and most trusted 
adviser, he turned my intent and aspirations as a member of the 
Committee on Armed Services into legislative action that delivered 
tangible progress and results for DOD, Nebraska, and for the men and 
women who commit, and sometimes sacrifice, their lives for our security 
and the defense of our freedom.
  I was selected multiple times as the most effective Member of 
Congress, and I owe much of this to Pat Flood.
  Mr. Speaker, I thank Pat for his years of service to our great 
Nation.

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