[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. ____________________