[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 23520]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO GARY DIONNE

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, next month marks the retirement of Mr. 
Gary Dionne after 34 years in government service. Throughout this time, 
Gary has been both the consummate professional and a friendly presence 
in the halls here on Capitol Hill.
  Mr. Dionne currently is the deputy director of the Office of 
Legislative Affairs for the Office of the Director of National 
Intelligence, and will be retiring from Federal service after 
fulfilling a career of dedicated support to the U.S. intelligence 
community and the National Security mission. A senior intelligence 
officer, Mr. Dionne has had a varied and distinguished career, having 
worked in different positions and capacities for the Department of 
Navy, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Office of the Director 
of National Intelligence. For most of that time, Gary worked in the 
intelligence field where efforts and successes are not always rewarded 
publicly. I am glad we can do so here today.
  Mr. Dionne, the son of Roland and Eva Dionne, a draftsman and 
consumer sales representative respectively, was raised in the small 
suburban town of Leominster, MA, a town known best as a hub for plastic 
factories but gained world-renowned fame as the originator of the 
plastic pink flamingo!
  Following graduation from Leominster High School in 1975, Mr. Dionne 
enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a cryptologic technician radioman. Trained 
in Morse code and high frequency direction Finding, Petty Officer 
Dionne supported U.S. Naval Intelligence while stationed in Augsburg, 
Germany, followed by a fleet assignment to the Command for Middle East 
Forces. As a member of the admiral's staff, Mr. Dionne provided 
intelligence support aboard the U.S.S. La Salle, U.S.S. Vreeland, 
U.S.S. Elmer Montgomery, U.S.S. Blandy, and the U.S.S. Aylwin.
  Completing an enlistment with the U.S. Navy, Mr. Dionne subsequently 
joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1981. Following training as a 
communications officer within the Office of Communications, Mr. Dionne 
supported intelligence activities in Central America and on back-to-
back assignments to West Africa where he was promoted to Officer in 
Charge of the Telecommunications Unit. In this position he was 
responsible for the daily supervision of personnel and technical 
resources to maintain a multimillion-dollar communications facility.
  After returning to CIA Headquarters, Mr. Dionne was assigned as 
deputy chief, headquarters operations branch, where he was responsible 
for VIP communications in domestic and foreign activities. This 
included communications support for the Director of Central 
Intelligence as well as support for Presidential and Cabinet members 
travel. Building on his technical background, he attended classes at 
George Mason University working toward a bachelor's degree in network 
management.
  In 1994, Mr. Dionne assumed the responsibility of associate director, 
of the Agency Network Management Center where he had oversight 
responsibility for the daily health and welfare of the domestic 
telecommunications network. Mr. Dionne was then selected as chief of 
the resource management staff, operations group, where he managed the 
tactical and strategic direction for a multimillion-dollar 
telecommunications operational budget. This was an extremely rewarding 
assignment for Mr. Dionne where his efforts directly supported for the 
agency's world-wide activities.
  Mr. Dionne was selected to participate as a congressional fellow 
through the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University where 
he acquired a certificate in legislative studies. Mr. Dionne accepted a 
position on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and 
Commerce staff and provided technical support to the Subcommittee on 
Communications, Technology and the Internet, as well as to the 
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Mr. Dionne viewed his 
experience in Congress as an awe-inspiring, humbling experience where 
he witnessed truly remarkable people working the most difficult 
challenges on behalf of America.
  In 2002, following his fellowship in Congress, Mr. Dionne returned to 
the CIA in the Office of Congressional Affairs where as a liaison 
officer, he managed congressional activities for the community 
management account and the directorate of operations. Following the 
tragedy of September 11, 2001, Mr. Dionne was identified as the 
responsible congressional liaison officer for all intelligence 
community engagements with the Congressional Joint Intelligence 
Committee as Congress conducted their review of the intelligence 
failures leading up to September 11. From there Mr. Dionne served as 
the congressional liaison to the National Counter Terrorism Center and 
to its predecessor, the Terrorist Threat Integration Center. In 2007, 
Mr. Dionne was selected in to his current assignment as the deputy 
director of the Office of Legislative Affairs, for the Office of the 
Director of National Intelligence.
  Throughout his career and travels around the world, Mr. Dionne is 
most grateful to have had the loving support of his wife Catherine who 
grew up in the same little factory town and whom he has known since 
they were in middle school together. He is so proud of his two 
daughters, Danielle, for serving as a 1st grade school teacher in 
Loudoun County, VA, and his daughter Antonia, for her ability to master 
Mandarin and who is presently working at the U.S.-China Policy 
Foundation in Washington, DC.
  Mr. Dionne, thank you for your service to our country and good luck 
in all your future endeavors.

                          ____________________