[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 21]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 29148]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE DEDICATION AND SERVICE OF GENERAL MONTGOMERY C. MEIGS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ELLEN O. TAUSCHER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 1, 2007

  Mrs. TAUSCHER. Madam Speaker, with the support of my colleagues on 
the House Armed Services Committee, I rise to recognize the outstanding 
service of GEN Montgomery C. Meigs, on the occasion of his upcoming 
retirement from the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat 
Organization (JIEDDO).
  General Meigs' leadership of JIEDDO is just the latest chapter in a 
storied career which has been singularly focused on protecting our 
nation and advancing American values at home and abroad.
  General Meigs served in the Army for 35 years until January 2003. On 
active duty he commanded units in harm's way in the Ashau Valley in 
Vietnam, at Medina Ridge during Desert Storm and in Multi-National 
Division North in Bosnia.
  From October 1998 to December 2002, he commanded U.S. Army Europe 
(USAREUR) where he led over 57,000 soldiers. In the first year of this 
assignment and during the Kosovo Air Campaign he also commanded SFOR, 
NATO's peacekeeping operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Between 1999 and 
2003, USAREUR worked closely to forge new relationships with Russian 
Ground Forces and the Armies of the new NATO member nations.
  In his capacity as USAREUR, General Meigs also achieved a number of 
unprecedented innovations in command and control capability, Blue Force 
Tracking among them.
  The Secretary of Defense appointed General Montgomery Meigs Director 
of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) 
on 16 December 2005. The Task Force has the responsibility to lead, 
advocate, and coordinate all Department of Defense actions in support 
of the Combatant Commanders' efforts to defeat improvised explosive 
devices (IED) as weapons of strategic influence.
  In other key assignments during his military career, General Meigs 
specialized in leader development, military education, war planning, 
support and execution of contingency operations, and finding and 
implementing technological solutions for intelligence and command and 
control capability.
  As Commandant of the Army's Command and General Staff College, he led 
the effort to write a new leadership manual for the Army and 
implemented case study methods in the Staff College's leadership 
instruction. In addition he has published a book, Slide Rules and 
Submarines, as well as numerous articles in professional journals.
  Following his retirement, General Meigs assumed the duties as the Tom 
Slick Visiting Professor of World Peace at the LBJ School of Public 
Affairs, University of Texas at Austin. He then moved to the Louis A. 
Battle Chair of Business and Government Policy at the Maxwell School of 
Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He also served 
as a consultant for NBC News and as a member of the Board of Trustees 
of the MITRE Corporation.
  General Meigs has served our nation as an exemplary officer, a 
strategic thinker, and an innovator. His leadership of our anti-IED 
effort is currently saving lives by bringing critical technology and 
training to our men and women in harm's way.
  I would like to express my sincere gratitude to General Meigs and 
wish him continued success in his future endeavors.

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