[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 10272]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             TRIBUTE TO LIEUTENANT GENERAL ROBERT E. DURBIN

 Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
exceptional officer in the U.S. Army. LTG Robert E. Durbin will retire 
on August 1 after more than 36 years of distinguished service to the 
Army and the Nation.
  Throughout his career, General Durbin has personified the Army values 
of duty, integrity, and selfless service across the many missions to 
which he has contributed.
  General Durbin, a resident of Pennsylvania, graduated from the U.S. 
Military Academy in 1975 and then went on to receive a master's degree 
in mechanical engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
  He has served in a variety of command and staff assignments, leading 
men and women during times of peace and war. Over the course of almost 
four decades of service, he has commanded at the platoon, company, 
battalion, and brigade levels.
  Furthermore, he served as the commanding general of the Combined 
Security Transition Command--Afghanistan, the command that plays such a 
critical role in training the Afghan National Security Forces. He 
subsequently became the commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division 
and Fort Riley.
  General Durbin has spent the last 3 years serving as the director of 
the Army's Office of Business Transformation, where he was responsible 
for leading the Army's efforts to operate more cost-consciously while 
still providing the best trained and equipped force. During one of the 
most challenging economic periods in our history, General Durbin has 
helped foster and institutionalize better business practices among our 
Army's senior leaders. His personal efforts were instrumental in 
leading the Army through significant changes in the way it grows, 
resets, modernizes, and transforms. He made these processes more 
relevant to current operational requirements and significantly 
increased the Army's capability to support combatant commanders.
  In all of his assignments, General Durbin has provided outstanding 
leadership, integrity, and sound advice on numerous issues of 
importance to the Army and our nation.
  I would like to thank General Durbin, his wife Diana, and his entire 
family for their commitment, sacrifices, and service to our nation. 
Congratulations and best wishes.

                          ____________________