[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16343]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          TRIBUTE TO LIEUTENANT GENERAL EMERSON N. GARDNER JR.

 Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, today I pay tribute to a marine 
officer from my home State of Maryland, LTG Emerson N. Gardner, Jr., 
now serving as the Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources, 
Headquarters, United States Marine Corps, as he prepares to leave this 
position for one of even greater importance.
  The position of Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources is one 
of the most demanding and important jobs within Marine Corps 
Headquarters. For the past 2 years, as Deputy Commandant, Lieutenant 
General Gardner has been responsible for planning, programming, 
budgeting and executing total appropriations in excess of $100 billion. 
He has led the effort to ensure that the Marine Corps had the resources 
they needed for success in the current conflict and prepared to answer 
the nation's call in the future.
  While Lieutenant General Gardner is responsible for many critical 
issues, he has been a champion in protecting our forces deployed to 
Iraq and Afghanistan. He has been a particularly strong advocate for 
the mine resistant ambush protected family of vehicles, or MRAP. These 
vehicles have the possibility of drastically reducing American 
casualties caused by improvised explosive devices and Lieutenant 
General Gardner has been leading the effort to secure support for them. 
Lieutenant General Gardner has taken the time to educate, encourage, 
guide--and when necessary to cajole and prod--decisionmakers and action 
officers wherever necessary to accelerate the fielding of MRAP 
vehicles. Throughout this process, he has been everywhere and involved 
in every aspect of the MRAP program. So ardent has Lieutenant General 
Gardner been in support of this life saving program, that he has become 
known within Headquarters Marine Corps and throughout the Pentagon as 
``Mr. MRAP.''
  I know that a grateful nation shares my admiration for Lieutenant 
General Gardner an indomitable leader whose tireless efforts have 
directly contributed to the timely delivery of MRAP vehicles to 
theater. I am confident that my colleagues will join me in expressing 
the gratitude of the Senate, and bestowing upon him the unofficial 
title of ``Mr. MRAP.''

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