[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 11022]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO MAJOR GENERAL RAYMOND REES

 Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to MG 
Raymond F. Rees, one of Oregon's most remarkable military leaders. 
After 51 years of service to our Nation and the State of Oregon, 
General Rees will retire from the Oregon National Guard and the U.S. 
Army next week. I know I speak for Oregonians across the State in 
thanking him for his service.
  General Rees hails from the small eastern Oregon town of Helix, which 
boasts a proud population of 184. He learned the importance of hard 
work at an early age, putting in long hours on the family ranch. After 
graduating from West Point in 1966, he completed airborne and Ranger 
training, preparing himself for a tour in Vietnam with the 101st 
Airborne Division. Upon leaving the active Army, he joined the Oregon 
National Guard where he commanded at every level, serving both within 
the State and across the country.
  Those who know him were not surprised that General Rees held a number 
of impressive titles over his long and distinguished career. He served 
as the director of the Army National Guard, the vice chief of the 
National Guard Bureau, and as the acting chief of the entire National 
Guard. He also served as the chief of staff for U.S. Northern Command 
and the North American Aerospace Defense Command at Peterson Air Force 
Base in Colorado. This month, he steps down as Oregon's Adjutant 
General, a job he held twice before. In fact, General Rees is the 
longest serving Adjutant General in the United States, with over 17 
years of service to four different Oregon Governors.
  General Rees has always been a champion of the Guard, both locally 
and nationally. Policy decisions he helped shape in the early 1990s 
enabled the National Guard to better respond after the horrible attacks 
of September 11, 2001. Under his leadership, the Oregon Guard deployed 
to Afghanistan and Iraq. And Oregon units were able to respond rapidly 
in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, sending nearly 2,000 servicemembers 
within 72 hours.
  Nobody worked harder to strengthen the synergy between the Guard and 
communities across our State than General Rees, or to make sure that 
our returning men and women receive the vital services they earned. He 
helped establish the Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program, providing 
critical, sustaining support for Guardsmen and their families before, 
during, and after deployments. He led modernization efforts across 
Oregon, providing Guardsmen with the best equipment and facilities. He 
opened or improved projects across the State, including readiness 
centers in Pendleton, La Grande, Hermiston, Klamath Falls, Ontario, The 
Dalles, St. Helens, Clackamas, Gresham, Dallas and Salem. He was 
instrumental in helping us sign a new lease for the Portland Air 
National Guard Base, allowing the Air Guard to train and keep the skies 
safe along the west coast.
  Building bridges between the Guard and foreign militaries is another 
legacy that General Rees will leave behind, and the Guard's State 
Partnership Program enjoyed no stronger supporter. Under this 
initiative, State Guard folks are partnering with more than 60 nations 
to improve regional and cultural awareness, increase security 
cooperation, and help prevent threats from emerging. I am proud to say 
that under General Rees' leadership, Oregon has become one of the few 
States to partner with two countries simultaneously: Bangladesh and 
Vietnam.
  I could go on and on about the contributions General Rees made on 
behalf of servicemembers, their families, our citizens, and the State 
of Oregon. So today I want to join folks across the State and the 
country to stand and offer our congratulations to General Rees on his 
distinguished career. Whether as a cavalry troop commander, a cobra 
gunship pilot, or the Adjutant General of the Oregon National Guard, 
General Rees always shouldered more than his share of the task. We will 
miss this dedicated soldier, talented leader, and gifted diplomat--but 
his is a retirement well earned. I commend General Rees for his service 
to our country, and I want thank his wife, Mary Len, for her tireless 
support along the way. After decades of service, I wish Major General 
Rees a long and relaxing retirement. Well done!

                          ____________________