[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8728]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO COLONEL LAURA RICHARDSON

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize the 
dedication and selfless service of Colonel Laura J. Richardson, who has 
served as the chief of the Army's Senate Liaison Division since 
October, 2009. As a member of the Secretary of the Army's Office of 
Legislative Liaison, Colonel Richardson was responsible for advising 
Army senior leadership on legislative and congressional issues and for 
educating Senators and staff on Army matters. Colonel Richardson's 
outstanding leadership and hard work was made clear by the tremendous 
support that she and her office provided to the U.S. Senate for both 
sessions of the 111th Congress and the first session of the 112th 
Congress.
  It is a personal honor and a privilege to recognize Colonel 
Richardson today on the floor of the U.S. Senate. She is a native of 
the great State of Colorado and was a tremendous athlete at Northglenn 
High School. She attended Metropolitan State College in Denver, and 
upon graduation; she was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 
U.S. Army. She then attended flight school and earned her wings as an 
Army aviator.
  Colonel Richardson's career highlights include a variety of command 
and staff positions including three years of service in the 17th 
Aviation Brigade in Korea. She went on to serve on the III Corps Staff, 
with the 6th Cavalry Brigade, and with the 101st Airborne Division, Air 
Assault. She was also selected to serve as the military aide to Vice 
President Gore from 1999 to 2001, and following her tour at the White 
House, she returned to the 101st to take command of the 5th Battalion, 
101st Aviation Regiment. Colonel Richardson's skill and leadership were 
clearly displayed when she led 5th Battalion into Iraq in support of 
Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. Following her highly successful 
battalion command, she served in a variety of positions on the Army 
staff in the Pentagon and as the installation commander at Fort Myer, 
VA.
  Throughout her service to our Nation Laura has been a shining example 
for the people of Colorado and the United States. Her selfless service, 
professionalism, and outstanding performance in each of her assignments 
led to her recent selection for the rank of brigadier general. This 
well-deserved promotion will take her to Fort Hood, TX, where she will 
serve the next commanding general of the Operational Test Command. That 
move will also reunite Laura with her husband, BG Jim Richardson, who 
is currently serving at Fort Hood. I want to say a special thank you to 
their daughter Lauren. She is a wonderful young woman, and she is a 
great role model for other military children.
  I am proud to call Colonel Richardson a friend and a fellow 
Coloradan. Her tireless work helped to further strengthen the 
relationship between the Senate and the Department of the Army, and 
through her leadership, new doors were opened between our proud 
institutions. We will miss her here in the Senate, but I know that she 
will continue to excel in her next assignment and any endeavor that 
follows. On behalf of my colleagues and all Coloradans, thank you for 
your service, Laura, and all the best to you and your family.

                          ____________________