[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 6725-6726]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   A TRIBUTE TO CHIEF ROBERT LANGSTON

  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, today I rise before you to honor the service 
of recently retired Chief Robert E. Langston of the U.S. Park Police. 
Chief Langston has honorably served the Department of the Interior, the 
National Park Service, and U.S. Park Police for over 30 years.
  Chief Langston has led America's oldest Federal uniformed law 
enforcement agency, formed by President George Washington to serve the 
public squares of the District of Columbia. Congress later gave the 
Park Police the same powers and duties as the D.C. Metropolitan Police, 
and the Park Police have become a primary partner in keeping the peace.
  Countless numbers of the visiting public tour Washington's monuments 
at all hours of the day and night with a confidence that they can visit 
these

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national treasures safely. What a testament that is to the Park Police, 
and to the Park Police leadership. How many other places, in a major 
urban area, can so many have so much confidence on such a regular 
basis, at all hours of the night? In fact, the Park Police are so good 
at what they do, that it is sometimes all too easy to take their 
valiant services for granted.
  So in honoring Chief Langston, today, we also honor the entire Park 
Police, a full service department with over 800 officers and 
investigators and over 100 civilian employees. Among its jurisdiction, 
the Park Police are assigned to National Park Service lands, parkways, 
monuments, and memorials in Washington, DC, New York City, and San 
Francisco, CA.
  Members of the force are trained at the Federal Law Enforcement 
Training Center in Georgia, and provide a complete range of police 
services from foot and cruiser patrols to highly complex missions such 
as search and rescue, antinarcotics operations, and dignitary 
protection that includes protecting the President of the United States.
  To support its operations, the force draws on resources that include 
award-winning air, water, and horseback units. The Park Police are so 
renowned for their attention to detail that they often are called upon 
by other law enforcement agencies to sites often far away from their 
permanent headquarters.
  For over three decades, Chief Robert Langston has been an active and 
integral part of this esteemed and proud organization. Indeed, it is 
from a long tradition of police personnel who are of his high caliber 
that the Park Police have drawn their source of pride in their 
competence and their quality.
  Chief Langston began his career with a bachelor of science degree in 
criminology from Florida State University. He started work as a Park 
Police patrolman covering foot, cruiser and motorcycle assignments. 
Even with the challenge of full-time police duty and a young family, he 
continued his education at the University of Virginia with master level 
courses in police administration, and at the FBI Academy in Quantico, 
VA. He was promoted to sergeant in 1971 with service in the training 
branch and later in the operations division as a patrol sergeant. In 
1973, he was promoted to lieutenant and served as shift commander 
before accepting command of the communications section. He was promoted 
again, in 1975, to the rank of captain, and assigned as watch commander 
in the National Park Service's Southeast Region. Upon returning to 
Washington, he served as commander of the operations division's central 
district, and was promoted to major. His upward progress only 
continued, and he was selected as deputy chief in charge of the field 
offices division. In 1988, he became the assistant chief of police, and 
was named Chief of Police in 1991.
  After nearly a decade of service as chief, Bob Langston still is the 
same gentleman of great enthusiasm and commitment that shows through in 
everything he does. His selfless dedication to duty has been thoroughly 
time-tested and consistently proven throughout each stage of his 
career. Even when resources were stretched and duty was intense, he 
calmly provided direction and oversight for the department. Through 
some of the most trying times literally in our Nation's history, Chief 
Langston always did much more than his duty.
  Through it all, he stayed active in professional and civic 
organizations, such as the International Association of Chiefs of 
Police, the D.C. and Maryland Chiefs of Police Association, and the 
Federal Law Enforcement Training Commission, to name only a few. Here, 
too, he willingly accepted the call to leadership, and served as 
president of the FBI National Academy Associates, and a member of the 
Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad for over 40 years, with 15 years as 
rescue squad president.
  Chief Langston has gained much recognition for his service and 
exceptional efforts as part of the U.S. Park Police. He has been 
awarded the regional director's award for excellence as well as the 
Marshals Service award for outstanding service and the State 
Department's diplomatic service award for outstanding service.
  For all his professional achievements, Chief Robert Langston is most 
admired and respected for simply being a kind, decent human being who 
never let rising through the ranks cloud his eyes from seeing things 
from the grassroots perspective as well as from the bird's eye view. 
His associates know him as a seasoned professional and his subordinates 
know him as a mentor; but, his neighbors know him simply as a trusted 
friend, and his wife Beverly, son Robert and daughter Kellie know him 
as a caring husband and faithful father. All who know Bob Langston know 
him as an upstanding Christian man of sterling integrity who is a role 
model in all that he does.
  I know his colleagues, friends and family join me today when we say 
to Chief Robert Langston, thank you for staying the course and thank 
you for helping mold and maintain the Park Police into one of the truly 
great police forces of our Nation. In an unpredictable world, Chief 
Langston and the men and women of the Park Police do their duty with a 
diligence that is dependable, supporting us and keeping us safe to 
enjoy sacred symbols of freedom that the Department of the Interior, 
the National Park Service, and the U.S. Park Police both protect and in 
fact embody for the people of America and for the future of our Nation.

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