[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12310]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO GENERAL JAMES E. CARTWRIGHT

  Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to GEN James 
E. Cartwright, who is retiring after 40 years of accomplished military 
service. Since becoming the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 
on August 4, 2007, General ``Hoss'' Cartwright has testified numerous 
times and provided expert testimony, leadership, and advice to 
Congress, the President, and the American people regarding our Nation's 
security and the future of our Armed Forces.
  General Cartwright hails from Rockford, IL. He graduated from the 
University of Iowa in 1971 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 
the U.S. Marine Corps shortly thereafter. The general served as a naval 
flight officer in the F-4 and as a pilot in the F-4, OA-4 and the F-18. 
His flying career culminated with command of the First Marine Aircraft 
Wing in Okinawa, Japan. The general is also a distinguished graduate of 
the Air Command and Staff College and earned his master of arts in 
national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College.
  After an assignment as the Director for Force Structure, Resources 
and Assessment, J-8, on the Joint Staff, then-Lieutenant General 
Cartwright was selected for promotion to general and became the first 
Marine Corps officer to lead U.S. Strategic Command. While at STRATCOM, 
General Cartwright led the development of strategies during a rapidly 
evolving national security environment, particularly in the areas of 
cyber, space, nuclear proliferation, and missile defense. He 
reorganized the command to increase interagency cooperation and 
streamlined operations. As a result of the changes the general 
implemented at STRATCOM, the effectiveness of the command for the 
deployed warfighter increased substantially to meet the new challenges 
of the 21st century.
  During the last 4 years, General Cartwright has served as Vice 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. One of his top priorities has 
been to reduce the loss of American lives in combat by leveraging 
technology and streamlining acquisition processes to quickly iver new 
capabilities to the battlefield. His efforts to lead the MRAP program 
resulted in a 50 percent decrease in deaths attributed to improvised 
explosive device attacks.
  The general can take pride in many other notable accomplishments, 
including the integration of technologies that enabled the destruction 
of a failing satellite by a missile for the first time and the 
successful raid against Osama bin Laden.
  During his service, General Cartwright took every opportunity to 
recognize the efforts and sacrifice of the 2.4 million active, guard 
and reserve members of the Armed Forces and their families. He remains 
actively engaged for the benefit of our wounded warriors and always 
remembers the families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice on our 
battlefields. General Cartwright will be remembered for his strategic 
intellect and his ability to drive innovative change. His tenure leaves 
a lasting legacy to the Armed Forces. I appreciate his extraordinary 
service to our country and wish him all the best in the next chapter of 
his life.

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