[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4485-4486]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO LEE RHYANT

  Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I rise for a brief moment to pay tribute 
to a great career in aviation and aviation manufacturing in the State 
of Georgia and the United States. Tomorrow, Lee Rhyant, of Lockheed 
Martin in Marietta, GA, will retire at the age of 60, after giving the 
last 11 years of his life to that plant and overseeing the remarkable 
C-130J Super Hercules, the best selling transport aircraft in the 
history of aviation; of overseeing the completion of the first 187 F-22 
Raptors, the stealth aircraft of the 21st century, the backbone of our 
Air Force; and then the development of the FA-35 Joint Strike Fighter, 
all being built in part or in whole in Marietta, GA.
  Lee Rhyant has guided that process through difficult times and he 
stood up for the Air Force and he stood up for America and he stood up 
for those airlines, knowing they were the right thing for the American 
people to have to ensure our defense and our strength nationally.
  I am sure, Mr. President, you have been to Iraq. I have been to Iraq, 
Afghanistan. We have flown in the C-130s. I flew out of Baghdad 2 years 
ago on one C-130 that was built in 1969 in the Marietta, GA, plant. It 
is still flying today, a great airplane built by great men and women.
  Lee Rhyant has been the leader of that great company at Lockheed 
Martin in Marietta for the last 11 years. He came there from Rolls 
Royce and has been a great leader in aviation throughout his 35 years 
in business--so great that 2 years ago, in 2009, he was selected the 
National Management Associate of the Year by the National Management 
Association, a tremendous credit that only 35 people have received in 
the past.
  Lee is my friend; he is my neighbor; he is a great American. He has 
led a great company and a great community in Georgia. I rise tonight to 
pay tribute to his dedication, to his commitment, and, most of all, his 
compassion for the

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American people and for the defense of our country.
  I wish him the best in his retirement, knowing that he has given to 
his country everything he could have given and earned every day of 
retirement he is about to receive.
  I yield the floor.

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