[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Pages 9406-9407]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO COAST GUARD AWARD RECIPIENTS

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and pay 
tribute to the brave men and women of the United States Coast Guard who 
came to the rescue of the citizens of the Gulf Coast in the wake of 
Hurricane Katrina. On May 12, 2006, in one of the largest awards 
ceremonies in Coast Guard history, 95 Coast Guard members received 
medals for their heroic efforts while rescuing thousands of victims 
stranded along the central Gulf Coast. The awards ceremony highlighted 
the Aviation Training Center near the Mobile Regional Airport. The 
center served as the staging base for more than 50 helicopters 
conducting rescue operations along the central Gulf Coast and--along 
with Sector Mobile personnel--is credited with saving more than 4,700 
lives in the two weeks after Katrina.
  The highest of the four awards presented--the Legion of Merit--went 
to Capt. David Callahan, commanding officer of the Coast Guard Aviation 
Training Center, and Capt. James Bjostad, commanding officer of Coast 
Guard Sector Mobile. They received the award for their outstanding 
leadership in the aftermath of Katrina.
  The Distinguished Flying Cross--the second highest award presented at 
the ceremony--went to 19 local Coast Guard personnel Commander Michael 
McCraw, Commander Patrick Gorman, Commander James O'Keefe, Lieutenant 
Commander Brian Hudson, Lieutenant Commander Jacob Brown, Lieutenant 
Commander William Sasser, Lieutenant Commander Mark Vislay, Lieutenant 
Commander Scott Langum, Lieutenant Gregory Houghton, Senior Chief 
Aviation Survival Technician Christopher Walker, Chief Aviation 
Survival Technician Martin Nelson, First Class Aviation Survival 
Technician Timothy

[[Page 9407]]

Fortney, First Class Aviation Survival Technician John Williams, First 
Class Aviation Survival Technician Jason Shepard, Second Class Aviation 
Survival Technician Brian Doolittle, Second Class Aviation Survival 
Technician Joel Sayers, Third Class Aviation Survival Technician 
Mitchell Latta, Third Class Aviation Survival Technician William Lawson 
and Third Class Aviation Survival Technician Jason Leahr.
  The Meritorious Service Medal--the third highest award presented--was 
pinned on 13 Coast Guard members Captain Edwin Stanton, Commander Barry 
Compagnoni, Commander Mark Hemann, Commander Jason Fosdick, Commander 
Bradley Bean, Commander Melvin Bouboulis, Commander Thomas Tardibuono, 
Commander Ronald Cantin, Lieutenant Commander James Elliot, Chief 
Warrant Officer Four Thomas Milligan, Chief Warrant Officer Three 
Kenneth Hardenbrook, Senior Chief Aviation Maintenance Technician 
Robert Gagliano and Chief Aviation Maintenance Technician Scott Corner.
  The Air Medal was awarded to 61 Coast Guard members Lieutenant 
Commander Christopher Chase, Lieutenant Commander Christopher Conley, 
Lieutenant Commander Robert DeCoop-
man, Lieutenant Commander David Edwards, Lieutenant Commander Christian 
Ferguson, Lieutenant Commander Eric Gleason, Lieutenant Commander Mark 
Hiigel, Lieutenant Commander Thomas McCormick, Lieutenant Commander 
Edward Sandlin, Lieutenant Commander Patrick Shaw, Lieutenant Commander 
Thomas Swanberg, Lieutenant Thomas Bailey, Lieutenant Karen Cagle, 
Lieutenant Steven Cerveny, Lieutenant Cornelius Cummings, Lieutenant 
William Dronen, Lieutenant John Druelle, Lieutenant Thomas English, 
Lieutenant Todd Fisher, Lieutenant Mark Graboski, Lieutenant Wendy 
Hart, Lieutenant Brian Hopkins, Lieutenant Joseph Klatt, Lieutenant 
Richard Nameniuk, Lieutenant Stephen Priebe, Lieutenant Michael Rasch, 
Lieutenant William Strickland, Lieutenant Keith Trepanier, Lieutenant 
Charles Webb, Lieutenant Martin Simpson, Lieutenant Donnis Waters, 
Senior Chief Aviation Maintenance Technician John Burns, Senior Chief 
Aviation Survival Technician Jeffery Tunks, First Class Avionics 
Electrical Technician Ronald Jester, First Class Avionics Electrical 
Technician Jon Schroeder, First Class Aviation Maintenance Technician 
Anthony Johnson, First Class Aviation Survival Technician James Dix, 
First Class Aviation Survival Technician Blain Elkins, First Class 
Aviation Survival Technician Jeffrey Galbraith, First Class Aviation 
Survival Technician Dustin Skarra, Second Class Aviation Survival 
Technician Jason Edmiston, Second Class Avionics Electrical Technician 
Benjamin Berman, Second Class Avionics Electrical Technician Charles 
Lowmaster, Second Class Avionics Electrical Technician Stephanie Sera, 
Second Class Aviation Maintenance Technician Robert Bradley, Second 
Class Aviation Maintenance Technician Stevenjohn Conrad, Second Class 
Aviation Maintenance Technician Stephen Fruzan, Second Class Aviation 
Maintenance Technician Gabriel Grise, Second Class Aviation Maintenance 
Technician Michael Lewis, Second Class Aviation Maintenance Technician 
Karl Williams, Second Class Aviation Maintenance Technician Daniel 
Hoffmeier, Second Class Aviation Maintenance Technician David 
Villarreal, Second Class Aviation Survival Technician William Johnson, 
Second Class Aviation Survival Technician James Farmer, Third Class 
Aviation Maintenance Technician Richard Amelio, Third Class Aviation 
Maintenance Technician Joshua Nichols, Third Class Aviation Maintenance 
Technician Mathew Quiggle, Third Class Aviation Survival Technician 
Keric Allen, Third Class Aviation Survival Technician Sara Faulkner, 
Third Class Aviation Survival Technician Jeff Lowe, Third Class 
Aviation Survival Technician Jonathan Ptak and Third Class Aviation 
Survival Technician Aaron Raines.
  Mr. President, these awards are a small token of the appreciation and 
thanks that are owed to the dedication to duty and self sacrifice these 
helicopter crews, technicians and support personnel displayed. The 
impact of the brave and tireless efforts of these 95 personnel directly 
impacted the rescue of 50 times their number. These individuals deserve 
our gratitude, our praise and most importantly our continued support as 
they conduct on a daily basis, vital rescue and relief missions for the 
citizens of the Gulf Coast. Thank you for a job well done and for 
continuing to support our Nation.

                          ____________________