[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13929]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        INTRODUCTION OF CAPTAIN JEFF STRUECKER AS GUEST CHAPLAIN

  (Mr. COLLINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to introduce Captain Jeff 
Struecker, Chaplain, United States Army, 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute 
Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. 
Chaplain Jeff Struecker was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa. He entered the 
Army as an enlisted soldier in September, 1987. He attended basic 
training, AIT, airborne school, and the Ranger Indoctrination Program 
at Fort Benning, Georgia.
  His combat experience includes participation in Operation Just Cause 
in Panama, Operation Iris Gold in Kuwait, and Operation Gothic Serpent, 
UNOSOM Two, Mogadishu, Somalia.
  Mr. Speaker, Captain Struecker served in the United States Army as an 
enlisted soldier until April of 2000. Afterward he entered the Chaplain 
Officers Basic Course. While serving in Mogadishu, Somalia, Sergeant 
Struecker was involved in a 17-hour firefight which was later portrayed 
in the book and movie ``Black Hawk Down.'' As a teenager, Jeff 
Struecker accepted Christ as his Savior. His faith was strengthened in 
Mogadishu as Captain Struecker recounted, and I quote, ``In the middle 
of that firefight, I had to decide whether I believed what I say I 
believe. And when I finally answered that question, my faith became so 
strong, it gave me the strength to fight for the rest of the night.''
  Captain Struecker has received many awards and citations for his 
bravery, including the Bronze Star with the V device. He and his wife, 
Dawn, reside in Linden, North Carolina, with their five children, 
Aaron, Jacob, Joseph, Abigail, and Lydia.
  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to have Chaplain Jeff Struecker as 
Chaplain today in the United States House of Representatives.

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