[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14456]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO COLONEL TRACEY L. WATKINS, USAF

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I wish to recognize the service of COL 
Tracey L. Watkins of the U.S. Air Force on the occasion of his 
reassignment from the Air Force Congressional Budget and Appropriations 
Liaison Office and to say hail and farewell.
  Colonel Watkins graduated from the Citadel in 1991 and since then has 
served in a variety of comptroller assignments across the Air Force. He 
has held leadership positions at all field and staff levels, including 
assignments in personnel, logistics, and operational planning. Colonel 
Watkins' time in the Air Force has included three joint tours: on the 
Joint Staff, as part of Combined Joint Task Force 76 in Uzbekistan, and 
in the Multi National Corps in Iraq.
  Colonel Watkins' experiences in those tours were a benefit when he 
assumed the directorship of the Air Force's Congressional Budget and 
Appropriations Liaison Office. In that role, Colonel Watkins directed 
all Air Force appropriations liaison work on the Hill, including 
arranging key engagements for Air Force senior leaders with Members of 
Congress and helping to prepare their testimony during Appropriations 
Committee hearings. In each of those engagements, Colonel Watkins 
served as the Air Force point man for working with the Congress on all 
budgetary and appropriations issues. His office also supports 
congressional delegation trips and Colonel Watkins accompanied me on an 
important trip to Russia.
  I have been impressed with many of the staff that Colonel Watkins led 
during his tenure as Director of the Air Force Congressional Budget and 
Appropriations Liaison Office, which I find to be the mark of an 
outstanding leader and manager. I am sure that my colleagues join me in 
expressing our appreciation to Colonel Watkins for his service to the 
Air Force and to the Congress. On the occasion of his reassignment to 
command the Mission Support Group at Little Rock Air Force Base in 
Arkansas, I wish Colonel Watkins, his wife Kelly, and his children all 
the very best in the years to come.

                          ____________________