[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 22]
[House]
[Page 30685]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   LIEUTENANT GENERAL DAVID POYTHRESS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ellison). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, as we approach Veterans Day, I proudly rise 
to honor a Georgia native, Lieutenant General David Poythress, who has 
served the State of Georgia as our adjutant general since 1999.
  Two weeks ago, I attended the change of command ceremony for General 
Poythress as he stepped down from his post as commander of the Georgia 
National Guard.
  General Poythress's long and distinguished military career began at 
Emory University in Atlanta, where in 1967 he received his law degree, 
and he graduated as a distinguished military graduate of the Emory ROTC 
program.
  After graduation, Mr. Speaker, General Poythress served 4 years on 
active duty with the United States Air Force as a judge advocate 
officer, including 1 year as chief of military justice at Da Nang Air 
Force Base in Vietnam.
  Upon returning to civilian life, General Poythress remained in the 
Air Force Reserve, serving as a judge advocate officer in various 
positions of increasing responsibility. In 1991, General Poythress 
returned to active duty to oversee the reserve legal officers during 
Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield. He was promoted to brigadier 
general in 1994, and to major general in July of 1999.
  It was in 1999 that General Poythress took over as the adjutant 
general of the State of Georgia, where he has commanded 12,000 
personnel of the Georgia Army National Guard, the Georgia Air National 
Guard, and the Georgia State Defense Force now for nearly a decade.
  Mr. Speaker, in 2006, General Poythress became the first adjutant 
general in Georgia's 273-year history to wear a third star as a 
lieutenant general. And for the past 8 years, General Poythress has led 
Georgia's Guard through some historic changes, and our men and women 
have performed admirably under his leadership.
  Not only has General Poythress made a major impact on our Nation's 
military, but he has also been an irreplaceable asset, Mr. Speaker, to 
the State of Georgia. General Poythress spent much of his civilian 
career in public service to the citizens of our great State. He served 
first as deputy state revenue commissioner, then secretary of the State 
of Georgia, and finally, commissioner of labor in Georgia. Needless to 
say, General Poythress's retirement will leave huge shoes to fill in 
the State of Georgia.
  Over the past several years, Mr. Speaker, I have enjoyed getting to 
know General Poythress and his lovely wife, Elizabeth, as personal 
friends, and I appreciate their singular dedication to our Guardsmen.
  Last year, Mr. Speaker, I even had the opportunity to travel to Iraq 
with the general, and we met with Georgia's 48th Brigade Combat Team. I 
know it must have been a joy for General Poythress to see his troops 
and General Rhodheaver serving our Nation so honorably, but also a 
painful time, as he remembered the 26 fallen soldiers from the 48th who 
were lost in some of the most dangerous combat in the Sunni Triangle 
outside of the city of Baghdad.
  Through all of the struggles, including the difficult task of 
assisting Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, General 
Poythress has led Georgia's Guard with the strength of a commander and 
the heart, Mr. Speaker, of a public servant.
  And so I ask my colleagues tonight, join me in honoring Lieutenant 
General David Poythress for his dedicated service to defending the 
State of Georgia and the United States of America.

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