[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11756]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO BRIGADIER GENERAL MARK O'NEILL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. NANCY E. BOYDA

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 5, 2008

  Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas. Madam Speaker, I hope the House will join with 
me today to pay tribute to an exceptional General Officer in the United 
States Army, Brigadier General Mark O'Neill, upon his retirement from 
active military service.
  General O'Neill's distinguished career spans over 30 years of service 
to our great Nation, culminating as Deputy Commandant of the United 
States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, 
Kansas. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, he was commissioned as an 
infantry officer in 1978 after graduating from the United States 
Military Academy at West Point. He has served in command and staff 
positions with the 82d Airborne Division, 10th Mountain Division, 25th 
Infantry Division, and the 3rd Infantry Division. He has commanded 
tactical units at the platoon, company, battalion and brigade level, 
and served as the Chief of Staff of the 10th Mountain Division. He has 
also served as Assistant Army Attache in the Defense Attache Office, 
American Embassy, Beijing, China, and as a strategic analyst on the 
Army Staff at the Pentagon. In addition to service during Operation 
Iraqi Freedom, General O'Neill has served during Operation Uphold 
Democracy in Haiti and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
  In addition to attendance at numerous U.S. Army and Joint Force 
tactical courses and schools, General O'Neill is a graduate of the U.S. 
Army Foreign Area Officer's Course, the Defense Language Institute, and 
the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California, where he earned a 
Master of Arts degree in National Security Affairs. He completed 
advanced Chinese language and area studies while assigned to the U.S. 
Defense Liaison Office in Hong Kong where he studied at the Beijing 
University School of Foreign Languages and the British Ministry of 
Defense Chinese Language School. General O'Neill is a graduate of the 
Armed Forces Staff College and the U.S. Army War College. He is a 
member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
  His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit with four Oak 
Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, 
Meritorious Service Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, Army 
Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Achievement Medal, Iraq 
Campaign Medal, War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense 
Service Medal with Star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Humanitarian 
Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, four awards of the Overseas Service 
Ribbon, the Combat Action Badge, Army Staff Identification Badge, 
Master Parachutist Badge, Pathfinder Badge, Ranger Tab, and the Expert 
Infantryman's Badge.
  As a Member of Congress, I am extremely fortunate to call Mark a 
friend. In fact, Mark and I were junior high and high school classmates 
and we've taken advantage of our existing friendship to foster a strong 
working relationship. I will miss his candor and his guidance. I ask my 
colleagues to join me today to thank General O'Neill, his wife Lori, 
and his entire family for the commitment, sacrifice and contribution 
that they have made throughout his honorable military career.

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