[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 13] [Senate] [Pages 19197-19200] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]GENERAL CHARLES E. WILHELM Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, late in the afternoon of this coming Thursday, the U.S. Marine Corps will conduct a retirement ceremony at the Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, VA. It would not be too surprising for all who know the honoree, if those legendary marines raising the flag atop Mt. Suribachi at the Iwo Jima Memorial and ensconced in statuary history might actually plant the flag, come to attention and give a proud salute to Gen. Charles E. Wilhelm. Now retired after 35 years of service and the former commander of the U.S. Southern Command, Charles Wilhelm has been the epitome of dedication, professionalism, and pride. Simply put, he has been a marine's marine. In paying tribute to General Wilhelm, my remarks are in keeping with the appreciation, admiration, and thanks of my colleagues in the Senate, more especially the chairman and members of the Armed Services Committee, all those privileged to serve on committees of jurisdiction dealing with our national defense and foreign policy and former marines who serve in the Congress. I think Charles Wilhelm was destined to serve in our Nation's sea service and become an outstanding marine in that he was born of the shores of Albemarle Sound in historic Edenton, NC. He graduated from Florida State University and later earned a master of science degree from Salve Regina College in Newport, RI. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1964 and saw two tours of service in Vietnam where in the full component of command positions, he served with distinction: as a rifle platoon commander; company commander; and senior advisor to a Vietnamese Army battalion. For his heroism under fire, he was awarded the Silver Star Medal, Bronze Star Medal with Combat V, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V, and the Army Commendation Medal with Combat V. General Wilhelm's other personal decorations include the Defense Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service [[Page 19198]] Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, and Combat Action Ribbon. The last thing that Charley Wilhelm would want or stand for would be for some Senator like myself to stand on the Senate floor and list the rest of all of the assignments and tours and accomplishments that make up his outstanding career. But, since I am on the Senate floor and relatively safe, I hope, from the well known and respected iron will of the general, a marine, who with respect and admiration and a great deal of circumspect care--certainly not in his presence--was called ``Kaiser Wilhelm,'' I'm going to give it a try. I do so because of the immense respect this man has within the ranks of all the services, U.S. and international, whohave served under his command. General Wilhelm's service was universal in scope and outstanding in performance: inspector-instructor to the 4th Reconnaissance Battalion, a Reserve unit in Gulfport, Mississippi; Deputy Provost Marshal, U.S. Naval Forces Philippines; operations officer and executive officer, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, Camp Pendleton, California; staff officer for Logistics, Plans and Policy Branch, Installations and Logistics Department, Headquarters Marine Corps; J-3, Headquarters, U.S. European Command. Then in August of 1998, while assigned as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations of the Second Marine Expeditionary Force, Charles Wilhelm was promoted to brigadier general and assigned as the Director of Operations, Headquarters Marine Corps. Two years later, he was chosen to serve as Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Policy and Missions within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict. This experience served him well, when, as commanding general of the 1st Marine Division, General Wilhelm served as Commander, Marine Forces Somalia as part of Operation Restore Hope. I might add a personal observation at this point in stating with Charles Wilhelm, the United States has a respected resource with regard to the difficult but necessary challenge our military has in meeting vital national security interests and balancing those interests with the many, if not overwhelming, peacekeeping and humanitarian missions we find ourselves involved in today. It goes without saying that in the past members of our military have been sent into peacekeeping missions where there was no peace to be kept. When that happens, why peacekeepers become targets and tragedy results. Gen. Charles Wilhelm knows the difference and we should take heed. He went on to serve in a series of command positions to include: Commanding General, Marine Corps Combat Development Command; Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Atlantic; Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South; Commanding General, Second Marine Expeditionary Force; Commanding General, Marine Strike Force Atlantic. General Wilhelm assumed duties at U.S. Southern Command in September, in 1997 where he served until his retirement just a few weeks ago. As commander of the U.S. Southern Command, General Wilhelm devoted his enormous personal energy--and boy does he have that--his visionary leadership and his remarkable diplomatic skills to achieving vital national security objectives and strengthening democratic institutions and governance--and thereby individual freedom and economic opportunity--throughout the Southern Hemisphere. General Wilhelm's personal decorations are testimony to his valor and bravery. He is indeed recognized within the U.S. Marine Corps as a warrior among warriors. But, he is also part military and political theorist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He enhanced civilian control of military institutions throughout Latin America; he improved multilateral relations among the 32 nations--that is 32 nations and 12.5 million square miles stretching from Antarctica to the Florida Keys. Concurrently, General Wilhelm oversaw the integration of the Caribbean into the command's theater, supervised the implementation of the 1977 Panama Canal treaties--no small feat--he energized United States Interagency efforts to counter the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States and finally, sought and obtained congressional support for the U.S. assistance plan for Colombia's counter drug program. While doing all of this in his 3 year stint, he restructured his command's architecture and theater engagement strategy to position the command to meet the challenges of the 21st century. I am tempted to say that in the midst of all this he rested on the 7th day but in fact he did not. As chairman of the Emerging Threats Subcommittee of the Senate Armed Services Committee--that is the subcommittee of jurisdiction over virtually all of the missions within the Southern Command--I want the record to show that the general accomplished his goals at precisely the same time the Southern Command suffered tremendous budget and infrastructure challenges. That is the nicest way I can put it. He always said he did not have problems; he had challenges. That was due to U.S. involvement in the Balkans and the drawdown of the tremendous budget and essential infrastructure support to the general's mission and the mission of the Southern Command. I do not know how, quite frankly, he accomplished his tasks. I might add, from my personal standpoint, in terms of our immediate and pressing challenges with regard to refugees, more than in the Balkans, the problems and challenges of immigration, drugs, terrorism, trade, the commonality of interests within our own hemisphere, and our domestic energy supply--we now get roughly 17 to 18 percent of our energy supply from Venezuela; there are real problems in Venezuela--our vital national interests, General Wilhelm has tried his very best to alert the Pentagon, the administration, and the Congress to these concerns and suggest rational and reasonable policy options. His advice is sound, based upon years of experience and hard, hard work. The value and worth of his policy recommendations, I will predict, and his cornerstone efforts to build on that success will be proven correct. Carol Rosenberg of the Miami Herald newspaper recently captured what I am trying to say in an article that accurately describes the successes General Wilhelm has achieved and the character of the man as well. Ms. Rosenberg simply put it this way: A Black Hawk helicopter landed in the center of a crude baseball diamond on a recent morning, delivering a four-star U.S. Marine general bearing baseballs and money. Chopper blades were still kicking dust when hundreds of residents crowded around, some sporting American League style uniforms donated by a California bike shop owner-- At the request of the general. Then a nine-man Nicaraguan band pulled out sheet music and played The Star Spangled Banner for the general. According to the article, he said: This is why I love this job. I've never heard it played any better. His career stretches back to Vietnam, as noted by Ms. Rosenberg. She went on to point out in her article the general has been part military strategist and diplomat. She outlined his leadership, as I said before, in the tremendous U.S. humanitarian efforts after Hurricane Mitch and other medical and disaster recovery missions demonstrating the United States bid to be a good neighbor and an ally in the Americas and the example of a civilian-controlled military to the emerging democracies. In the article, Ms. Rosenberg also pointed out that last month General Wilhelm paid a last visit to Managua, Nicaragua, and stood proudly as the Nicaragua Army chief, General Javier Carrion, draped him with a blue and white sash, the army's highest honor in Nicaragua, for ``building respectful relations'' between the two countries. For a decade, our Nation was allied with the Nicaraguan Army's adversary, i.e. the Contras, in a 10-year-old civil war. According to veteran observers, only 2 years ago, the tension and suspicion was still so thick between the two countries that you could cut it. Last month, through the efforts of one man, General Wilhelm received a [[Page 19199]] medal for building respect between the two nations. I ask unanimous consent that the article by Carol Rosenberg in the Miami Herald be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: [From the Miami Herald, Sept. 3, 2000] Southcom General Bows Out After 37 Years politics, strategy--and a dash of baseball diplomacy (By Carol Rosenberg) Boaco, Nicaragua--A Black Hawk helicopter landed in the center of a crude baseball diamond on a recent morning, delivering a four-star U.S. Marine general bearing baseballs and money. Chopper blades were still kicking up dust when hundreds of curious residents crowded around, some sporting American League-style uniforms donated by a California bike shop owner. Then, a nine-man Nicaraguan band pulled out sheet music and played The Star Spangled Banner for the general and his entourage--colonels and bodyguards, fixers and escort officers. ``This is why I love this job. I've never heard it played better,'' confided Gen. Charles Wilhelm, whose 37-year Marine career stretches back to Vietnam. Part military strategist, part diplomat, Wilhelm, 59 retires this week from a three-year tour of duty as chief of the Southern Command, the Pentagon's Miami-based nerve center for Latin America and the Caribbean, staffed by about 1,000 service members and civilians. Southcom, as it is called, is in charge of U.S. military activities across 12.5 million square miles stretching from Antarctica to the Florida Keys. Based in Panama for decades, it evolved out of U.S. construction of the Panama Canal and moved to Miami in 1997, as Wilhelm took charge. The move was part of a phased withdrawal to prepare for this past New Year's retreat from the Canal Zone. Among its most high-profile missions: the 1989 seizure of Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega. Southcom also directed U.S. support for the Nicaraguan contras in the 1980s and has for years sent doctors and other military experts for joint- training missions in Latin America. Now is a pivotal time: Congress has just approved $1.3 billion in U.S. aid for Plan Colombia--an ambitious campaign to fight the drug trade in the nation that supplies the bulk of the cocaine distributed in the United States. The effort-- the United States' most ambitious military activity in the Americas in years--provides for 60 helicopters, 500 U.S. troops, and 300 civilian contractors. And Wilhelm, an architect by virtue of his position at Southcom, is one of its greatest champions. Yet, as the recent dabble in baseball diplomacy shows, the job of Southcom's commander in chief is a curious blend of politics and strategy. A California congressman had asked Southcom to rebuild the baseball diamond, damaged by flooding, at the request of a constituent who had once played baseball in the area. But after crunching numbers back in Doral, Wilhelm concluded the cost of Operation Field of Dreams would be too high: $250,000 to move in heavy equipment, as unreasonable 1.25 percent of his discretionary budget. So, instead, he brought three-dozen baseballs, a $300 donation, and gave townspeople a first-hand look at U.S. helicopter technology, carefully monitored by U.S. Army flight crews watching to make sure nobody made off with a removable part. And he added the baseball diamond to a Southcom ``to-do'' list, just in case future relief efforts bring the necessary equipment and U.S. forces back to Boaco. The last August visit illustrated how much Southcom has changed since Wilhelm inherited the command. Now entrenched in Miami, Southcom today is leaner than its huge outpost in Panama of the 1990s, and with a curious mosaic of military relations. Thanks to U.S. humanitarian efforts after Hurricane Mitch, it has the best relationship in years with Nicaragua and a patchwork of mini bases for drug hunting and humanitarian relief missions in the Caribbean and Central America. U.S. troops that before Wilhelm's arrival swelled to 11,000-plus in Southcom's 12.5 million square miles of territory--most at sprawling bases in Panama--have been largely reassigned to the continental United States. Now Southcom has a permanent presence of 2,479 soldiers, sailors and air force personnel, most in Puerto Rico, and relies on periodic training exercises of reservists and National Guard members to carry out a key part of the command's activities--medical and disaster recovery missions offered to host countries by embassies. They demonstrate Washington's bid to be a good neighbor in the Americas and illustrate the grandeur of a civilian-controlled military, a good example for emerging democracies. On the down side, Washington has been unable so far to persuade Venezuela to permit flights over the country for U.S. drug-hunting operations--a significant blind spot in the hemispheric war on narcotrafficking. U.S. aircraft patrolling the skies over Latin America now have to fly around Venezuela, adding as much as 90 minutes to their missions in their pursuit of drug runners, mostly from Colombia. Nor has U.S. diplomacy convinced Panama to accept a permanent military presence, for drug operations or any other U.S. activities. The last U.S. forces departed on New Year's Eve and sentiments are not yet ripe for a return of U.S. military personnel. In Haiti, successive exercises and training programs by Southcom have not been able to meaningfully enhance the rule of law, and U.S. drug interdiction monitors, who see it as a trans-shipment spot, have not been able to enlist local authorities there as allies in their anti-drug campaign. Cooperation by foreign police and militaries is key to the U.S. war on drug trafficking. But drug monitors say they have not found partners in Port-au-Prince, whose security forces are still in chaos, to make seizures and arrests when they detect drug smugglers. No funding yet And Wilhelm has yet to win congressional funding to permanently base Southcom in Miami, now in an industrial park not far from the airport, a $40 million measure. Wilhelm's tenure ends Friday with a change-of-command ceremony presided over by Defense Secretary William Cohen. If Congress confirms President Clinton's choice of Marine Lt. Gen. Peter Pace in time, it will be only the second time in history that a Marine will head Southcom, a job traditionally held by the Army. Wilhelm will wind up his Marine career by moving back to suburban Washington, D.C. under mandatory retirement, which only could have been averted by promotion to the Joint Chiefs of Staff--or a transfer to another four-star post--for example, overseeing military operations in Europe or the Persian Gulf. But, Wilhelm said, he aspires to re-emerge in civilian life as a player in Latin America--perhaps as a troubleshooter, capitalizing on his civilian and military contacts throughout the Americas. He espouses a fascination with the region. ``It interests me for a lot of very good reasons--and they're not all altruistic,'' he said in a recent interview. ``I see our future prosperity in the Americas, not in the Far East . . . Forty-six percent of our exports flow within the Americas, 28 percent to the FAR East and 26 percent to Europe and I see that balance shifting even more to the Americas at least over the first 25 years of this century. So I think the future prosperity of the United States is inextricably linked to the Americas.'' Last month's two-day trip to Nicaragua and Honduras-- Wilhelm's last on the road aside from Wednesday's trip to Colombia with President Clinton--gave a glimpse into the hemisphere-hopping style of work he seems to relish. In Tegucigalpa, he met President Carlos Flores and then choppered to Honduras' Soto Cano Air Base, where the U.S. has its only permanent military outpost in the region. With a single landing strip stocked with Chinook and Black Hawk helicopters, it is home to about 600 Air Force and Army personnel who mostly support disaster relief and drug operations. There he took part in a promotion ceremony, and gave U.S. soldiers and airmen a pep talk. ``When I call, you haul--no whimpering or whining. That's what service is all about,'' said Wilhelm. ``respectful'' In Managua, he stood surrounded by dozens of local reporters and camera crews as Nicaraguan Army Chief Gen. Javier Carrion draped him in a blue and white sash--the army's highest honor--``for building respectful relations'' between the armies. Army Col. Charles Jacoby, Wilhelm's executive officer, was in awe. In early 1998, Jacoby came to Managua as head of a mission to negotiate the return of an old B-26 aircraft that crashed in the jungle after flying missions from a clandestine CIA airfield for the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion. The tension and suspicion was so thick, you could cut it. Months later, Hurricane Mitch cut a swath of destruction through Central America. Wilhelm sent thousands of U.S. forces to rebuild bridges and schools, clinics and roads--a goodwill gesture that broke the ice in chilly relations with the Nicaraguan Army. For a decade, Washington had allied with the army's adversary, the contras, in a decade-long civil war that ended in 1990. ``To see him standing here today getting an award is just unbelievable,'' Jacoby said moments before a Nicaraguan officer served champagne. Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I am not really surprised at this man's many accomplishments. Several years ago, our distinguished majority leader, Senator Lott, took an overdue codel to Latin and Central America. I was privileged to go. On one of our first stops, we were briefed on the overall situation, again within the 32-nation sprawling Southern Command. Pressed for time, General Charles Wilhelm gave one of the most complete, pertinent, [[Page 19200]] and helpful briefings I have ever heard. I have been a Wilhelm fan ever since, and I certainly value his advice and his suggestions. General Wilhelm stated our vital national security interests very well when he said the following: I see our future prosperity in the Americas, not in the Far East. . . . Forty-six percent of our exports flow within the Americas, 28 percent to the Far East and 26 percent to Europe. I see the balance shifting even more to the Americas over the first 25 years of this century. The future prosperity of the United States is linked to the Americas. Throughout his career as a United States Marine, General Charles Wilhelm demonstrated uncompromising character, discerning wisdom, and a sincere, selfless sense of duty to his Marines and members of other services assigned to his numerous joint commands. His powerful leadership inspired his Marines to success, no matter what the task. All Marines everywhere join me in saying to the general: Thank you and well done. The results have guaranteed United States security in this hemisphere and throughout the world. In behalf of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, our congratulations to him and to his wife Valerie and his son Elliot on the completion of a long and distinguished career, and I trust more to come. God bless this great American and Marine. Semper Fi, General, Semper Fi. ____________________