[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24678]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING MG RON DARDIS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BRUCE L. BRALEY

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 10, 2008

  Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 
Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard, MG Ron Dardis, and to 
express gratitude for his many years of extraordinary service and 
leadership. General Dardis is retiring after almost 43 years of service 
with the Iowa National Guard. He enlisted in the Iowa Air National 
Guard in 1966 as a jet mechanic, and has served as the top uniformed 
officer of the Iowa Guard for the past 9 years. As Adjutant General, 
he's led the Iowa Guard through the transformation from a strategic 
reserve to an operational force, and overseen the deployment of 
thousands of Iowa National Guard members to Iraq and Afghanistan. As 
chairman of the Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission, General Dardis has 
also led the state's recovery efforts after this year's devastating 
storms. It's been my privilege to work with General Dardis on issues of 
importance to the Iowa Guard, including ensuring that soldiers who 
served in Iraq received the education benefits they deserved. It's also 
been an honor to work with him on our State's vital storm recovery 
efforts. I thank General Dardis for his invaluable service to the 
National Guard, the State of Iowa, and the United States, and wish him 
the best of luck in retirement.

                          ____________________