[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12715]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   ON THE OCCASION OF THE RETIREMENT OF COLONEL JOHN R. PRIDDY, USMC

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ERNEST J. ISTOOK, JR.

                              of oklahoma

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 20, 2003

  Mr. ISTOOK. Mr. Speaker, I would like to pay tribute to Colonel John 
R. Priddy who is about to retire and return to private life after more 
than 28 years of selfless service to our great Nation as a United 
States Marine. Colonel Priddy graduated from the University of Central 
Oklahoma, and after completing Marine Corps Officer Candidate School 
was commissioned a Second Lieutenant.
  He has served with numerous operational commands including the Third 
Marine Division; Second Battalion, Tenth Marines; the First Marine 
Expeditionary Brigade; and First Battalion (Reinforced), 12th Marines. 
He has served as a commanding officer three times; first aboard the USS 
Midway (CV-41) where he served as Commanding Officer of the Marine 
Detachment; next as the Commanding Officer of First Battalion 
(Reinforced), 12th Marines; and finally as Commanding Officer of the 
Marine Corps Combined Arms Training Center at Camp Fuji, Japan. Colonel 
Priddy is also a veteran of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
  He has also served with support units at Marine Corps Development and 
Education Command, Quantico, Virginia; Naval Amphibious School, Little 
Creek, Virginia; Headquarters, United States Marine Corps; and in the 
Office of the Secretary of Defense. He is a graduate of the Marine 
Corps Amphibious Warfare School, the U.S. Army Command and General 
Staff College, and the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies.
  Colonel Priddy has served as the Commandant of the Marine Corps 
Fellow to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and as 
the Chief of Staff of the Marine Corps Quadrennial Defense Review 2001 
Group. In August 2001 he assumed duties as Executive Assistant to the 
Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources, his last active duty 
position.
  Throughout his career as a United States Marine, Colonel Priddy 
demonstrated uncompromising character, discerning wisdom, and a 
sincere, profound sense of duty to his country, his Corps, and 
especially to his Marines and their families. On behalf of my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I would like to recognize 
Colonel Priddy's accomplishments and his devoted service to the Nation. 
Congratulations to him and his wife Diana, on the completion of a long 
and distinguished career.

                          ____________________