[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 19]
[Senate]
[Page 25527]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO LES BROWNLEE

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I wish to take a few minutes to speak 
about a truly remarkable American who, after serving his country with 
remarkable competence and quiet excellence, has moved on with little 
fanfare.
  I am talking about Les Brownlee, a man we worked with very closely 
for a long period of time. So often you learn to love these people when 
you work with them over the years, and then they move on and you 
prepare to miss them, as we will.
  Les Brownlee would probably not want me to talk about him. He 
normally avoids that type of thing. He shunned public recognition for 
his achievements, while compiling a stellar record of support and 
leadership for the men and women of the U.S. Army.
  Mr. Brownlee was a highly decorated Vietnam veteran and executive 
officer to Army Under Secretary James Ambrose when he retired as a 
colonel in the U.S. Army in 1984. The experience he gained during his 
time in uniform made him an attractive candidate to advise my colleague 
from Virginia, Senator Warner.
  Mr. Brownlee served on Senator Warner's staff for several years 
before joining the Senate Armed Services Committee as a professional 
staff member, where I worked with him for 7 years. From 1994, when I 
first came from the House to the Senate, until 2001, when he accepted a 
job as Under Secretary of the Army, Mr. Brownlee proved his expertise 
again and again while deflecting the accolades he deserved.
  It is hard to conceive of a more tumultuous time for an acting 
Secretary of the Army to hold that position. From the events of 9/11, 
which helped convince Mr. Brownlee to take the Under Secretary 
position, to the campaigns of Afghanistan and Iraq, to the myriad 
challenges faced by the Army today, these times are like no other. In 
the face of these daunting events, Mr. Brownlee provided incredibly 
strong leadership from the top without losing touch with the personal 
integrity that characterizes the finest members of the Army he oversaw. 
Moreover, while executing the high-level concerns of his office, he 
also worked to ensure that the pressing needs of individual soldiers 
were met. He reflected on the old days, and he knew he had the instinct 
as to what those needs were. I am thinking particularly of the need for 
more and better body armor for our troops.
  My only disappointment now is that Mr. Brownlee is moving on. It is 
clear his successors will have big shoes to fill, and the trajectory 
that Mr. Brownlee set for the service and coordination with the 
Secretary of Defense and Joint Chiefs is one that will lead to 
transformation and victory in our current engagements and dominance in 
the decades to come. Perhaps more importantly, Mr. Brownlee has 
established a gold standard for character to which all of our military 
personnel should aspire.
  I thank him for his service, the time he spent, and the dedication 
and commitment he made to his country.

                          ____________________