[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2728]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



         TRIBUTE TO SENIOR MASTER SERGEANT GEORGE C. FINCH, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES T. WALSH

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 1, 2001

  Mr. WALSH. Mr. Speaker, on February 28, 2001 Senior Master Sergeant 
George C. Finch, Jr. will retire as the Assistant Superintendent for 
the 174th Logistics Support Flight, New York Air National Guard in 
Syracuse, New York after 10 years at the position and 35 years of 
dedicated service in the United States Armed Forces.
  A native of Central New York, Sergeant Finch's long and distinguished 
career in the United States Armed Forces began after graduating from 
Whitesboro High School when he entered the United States Air Force in 
June of 1966 as an Administrative Specialist. Since then, Sergeant 
Finch has honorably served in United States military operations around 
the world including Operation Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia, where 
Sergeant Finch acted as the Noncommissioned Officer in Charge of Plans, 
Scheduling and Documentation. After his return from Saudi Arabia, 
Sergeant Finch was reassigned as the Noncommissioned Officer in Charge 
of Plans, Scheduling, and Documentation, of the 174th Consolidated 
Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, and subsequently the 174th Logistics 
Support Flight. Since then, Sergeant Finch has served in Operation 
Provide Comfort in Turkey and Operation Northern Watch, also in Turkey, 
before finally being deployed to Prince Sultan Air Base, Kingdom of 
Saudi Arabia in March of 2000.
  Sergeant Finch's military decorations include the Meritorious Service 
Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal and the Air Force Achievement 
Medal. His military unit awards include the Joint Meritorious Service 
Award with one oak leaf cluster and the Air Force Outstanding Unit 
Award with Combat ``V'' Device and five oak leaf clusters. He also 
holds the Air Force Good Conduct Medal, the Air Reserve Forces 
Meritorious Service Medal with six oak leaf clusters, the National 
Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star, the Southwest Asia 
Service Medal with three campaign stars, and the Armed Forces 
Expeditionary Medal. Other service awards include the Air Force 
Overseas Service Long Tour Ribbon, the Air Force Longevity Service 
Award with seven oak leaf clusters, the Armed Forces Service Medal with 
Silver hourglass device, Mobilization ``M'' device and numeral four. 
His Foreign Service awards include the Kuwait Liberation Medal from 
Saudi Arabia and the Kuwait Liberation Medal from Kuwait.
  On behalf of the 26th Congressional District, it is my honor to 
congratulate Sergeant Finch on his well deserved retirement and to 
thank him for 35 years of service to our Nation. We wish him and his 
family the very best.

                          ____________________