[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7097]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  PAYING TRIBUTE TO LIEUTENANT COLONEL KENT A. D. CLARK'S 24 YEARS OF 
                         SERVICE TO OUR NATION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. C.W. BILL YOUNG

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 11, 2011

  Mr. YOUNG of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to 
Lieutenant Colonel Kent A. D. Clark for his extraordinary dedication to 
duty and service to the United States of America. Lieutenant Colonel 
Clark will retire from active military duty in May 2011 after 24 
distinguished years of service to the United States Army and of those 
years over 43 months were spent in combat.
  Lieutenant Colonel Kent A. D. Clark is a resident of Florida and 
entered the United States Army in April 1987. He entered the Army and 
while serving his first enlistment decided to pursue a career in the 
United States Army by entering the Special Forces. He has served in 
every enlisted leadership position through the rank of Sergeant First 
Class and then pursued a career as a Commissioned Officer by attending 
Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia.
  Mr. Speaker, It has been a pleasure to work closely with Lieutenant 
Colonel Kent Clark over the last several years of his career. He has 
proven himself to be a tremendous wartime leader who demonstrated 
unselfish devotion to the Nation and the soldiers he led. He has been a 
friend and trusted advisor to my colleagues and I on the Appropriations 
Committee as he worked tirelessly to restore balance to a force 
stressed by the demands of the war on terrorism. He was instrumental in 
significantly improving our Armed Forces equipment modernization and 
funding of critical systems affecting the Department of Defense while 
he served here on Capitol Hill. In 2010 Kent went back to the United 
States Army and Represented the Secretary of the Army and Chief of 
Staff of the Army as a liaison officer with the United States 
Congressional Appropriations Committees for Defense and Military 
Construction. Prior to his retirement he was the principal point of 
contact for Members of Congress and staff on matters concerning the 
Wheel Track Combat Vehicle Program, Brigade Combat Team Modernization, 
and Other Procurement Army One & Three Appropriations; He provided 
direct interface between Congress and the Army; Integrated the Office 
of the Chief Army Reserve staff and Congress for all United States Army 
Reserve related issues and questions; Gathered information, prepared 
strategies and recommended Army positions for corresponding with the 
Congress on appropriation issues; Organized briefings and responded to 
requests for information across all appropriations for Congressional 
Members, their staff and Professional Staff Members; Coordinated 
Congressional travel for fact-finding opportunities and education on 
Army programs. The impact of his efforts will benefit the United States 
Army for decades to come.
  Lieutenant Colonel Kent A. D. Clark's observations and advice to the 
Army leadership have impacted the decisions to implement the most 
comprehensive transformation of the Army since World War II, building 
versatile and modular units capable of conducting a full-spectrum of 
operations. This Commissioned Officer has continued the traditions of 
the United States Army and is an American hero who has been selfless in 
his service to the Nation through war, peace, and personal trial. His 
performance and accomplishments throughout his long and distinguished 
career have left a legacy of trained, disciplined professional leaders 
at all levels and care for families that is without equal. When history 
looks back at this leader and his legacy it will be clear that his 
abilities as a trainer, leader, advisor, Commander and Soldier produced 
the best Army in the world.
  Mr. Speaker, On behalf of a grateful Nation, I join my colleagues 
today in saying thank you to Lieutenant Colonel Kent A. D. Clark for 
his extraordinary dedication to duty and service to this country 
throughout his distinguished career in the United States Army and we 
wish him, his wife Nicole, and his daughter Kaitlyn Grace all the best 
in his well-deserved retirement.

                          ____________________