[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12778-12779]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO COLONEL PHILIP C. SKUTA

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to a close 
friend of the Senate, COL Phil Skuta. Over the past 2 years, Colonel 
Skuta has served as the Director of the Marine Corps Liaison Office to 
the U.S. Senate.
  Throughout Colonel Skuta's service in the Senate he has escorted 14 
CODELs to 27 countries. I have traveled with Phil to visit our troops 
in Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
  Last year, I had the privilege of spending Thanksgiving with the 
Wyoming Army National Guard 115th Fires Brigade in Kuwait. With only 2 
weeks' notice, Colonel Skuta and his team provided the support to 
execute this trip. As a selfless leader, he did not task a junior 
officer to take on the trip. He postponed his Thanksgiving plans with 
family to be with our troops in the Middle East.
  Throughout these travels I got to know Colonel Skuta very well. 
Colonel Skuta is a native of Williamsport, PA. Phil joined the Marine 
Corps in 1984 through the Platoon Leader's Class program while studying 
at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown.
  From Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm to Joint Guardian and 
Iraqi Freedom, Colonel Skuta has led his marines through many trying 
and

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dangerous situations. On his most recent deployment, he led the Second 
Battalion, Seventh Marines into Iraq to train and conduct operations 
with the Iraqi Security Forces. The 2d Battalion, seventh Marines' 
primary area of operations was Ramadi and west of the Euphrates River 
in Al Anbar province.
  Throughout his career he has handed down from one marine to the next 
his excellent leadership skills. Colonel Skuta's example will teach the 
next generation that will come to know the Marine Corps. Under Phil's 
leadership, steady hand and sharp instincts, the USMC Senate liaison 
team has well served General Conway and all marines. The USMC liaison 
office has provided invaluable support for the Senate.
  While the U.S. Senate and Marine Corps are losing a valuable and 
trusted ally in this body, we wish Colonel Skuta well on his next 
assignment to be Director of the USMC Strategic Initiatives Group.

                          ____________________