[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24525]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING COLONEL KIMBERLY B. SIEVERS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ALLYSON Y. SCHWARTZ

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 8, 2009

  Ms. SCHWARTZ. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Kimberly B. 
Sievers, Colonel, United States Air Force on her retirement from active 
duty service on October 1, 2009, after serving for 27 years in uniform 
in defense of our country.
  In 1982, Colonel Sievers reported to the U.S. Air Force Academy. She 
graduated in 1986 and began training as an intelligence officer at 
Lowery Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado. She spent the next several 
years directly supporting flying operations, providing intelligence and 
training to pilots at the fighter squadron level--including the 80th 
Tactical Fighter Squadron in Kunsan Air Base, Republic of South Korea, 
and the 50th Tactical Fighter Wing in Hahn Air Base, Germany.
  Colonel Sievers continued to develop her analytical and leadership 
skills at Ramstein Air Base in Germany at both the 7450th Tactical 
Intelligence Squadron and the European Command staff, ending her time 
at Ramstein as the Team Leader for Intelligence Force Management. She 
returned to Korea for a second tour at the operation level, leading the 
Intelligence Plans and Manpower section at 7th Air Force and then the 
Analyst Element at the 607th Air Intelligence Squadron. From there, 
Colonel Sievers moved to the Pacific Air Force staff in Hawaii where 
she directed the liaison efforts between the staff and intelligence 
elements of all the Air Force squadrons in the Pacific.
  Colonel Sievers was then selected to serve in the first of what would 
be many future leadership positions, as the Director of Operations for 
the Pacific Intelligence Squadron. She spent a year in residence at the 
Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, 
Alabama. From there, she was selected to command the Intelligence 
Division at the elite USAF Weapons School at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas, 
Nevada.
  Colonel Sievers was herself one of the very first intelligence 
officers to graduate from the Weapons School and only the second ``home 
grown'' Intelligence Weapons Officer to command the division. Building 
on that experience, Colonel Sievers was selected to command the 93rd 
Intelligence Squadron at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas. The 93rd 
is the largest intelligence squadron in the Air Force with over 800 
personnel.
  Following that successful command, the Air Force sent Colonel Sievers 
back to school at the National Defense University, here in Washington, 
DC. During times of war the best and brightest are needed to lead our 
young men and women and the Air Force turned to Colonel Sievers to 
serve as the forward Director of Intelligence for the entire Air Force 
component under Central Command. Deployed forward to Al Udeid Air Base 
in Qatar, Colonel Sievers directed the efforts of all intelligence 
personnel supporting combat operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
  Returning to the U.S., Colonel Sievers utilized her war experience to 
help guide the Department of Defense intelligence, surveillance and 
reconnaissance enterprise as the Collection Requirements Division Chief 
at the Joint Functional Component Command for Intelligence, 
Surveillance and Reconnaissance. This would be her final assignment as 
both she and her husband have chosen to retire from active duty.
  I am proud to represent Colonel Sievers in the U.S. Congress. She has 
forged many new paths within both the intelligence career field and the 
Air Force, and has led thousands of men and women in both peace and 
war. Our nation is safer because of her dedication. Colonel Sievers is 
a unique leader, inspiring those around her to perform at the very 
highest levels in pursuit of mission accomplishment, yet at the same 
time possessing the compassion to ensure that those in her charge--and 
their families--are cared for properly. Madam Speaker, I ask that my 
colleagues join me in recognizing and thanking Colonel Sievers for her 
exemplary service, leadership, dedication, and sacrifice to our nation.

                          ____________________