[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17360]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO COLONEL ROBERT J. McALEER

 Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I wish to pay tribute to my 
constituent COL Robert J. McAleer for his exemplary dedication to duty 
and his service to the U.S. Army and to the United States of America. 
He has served his last 2 years in the Army as Chief of the Army's 
Senate Liaison Division, representing the Army on Capitol Hill.
  A native of Washington State, Colonel McAleer earned a commission as 
a distinguished graduate from the U.S. Military Academy in 1988. 
Colonel McAleer has served in a broad range of challenging operational 
assignments and an unusually diverse set of Army units: cannon 
artillery, rocket and missile, air defense, light infantry, cavalry, 
Ranger, Special Forces, and Stryker.
  Colonel McAleer spent more than a decade overseas, including two 
tours each in Germany and Korea, and two 15-month tours in Iraq. As a 
lieutenant, he completed critical assignments in austere locations on 
the Demilitarized Zone in Korea. As a captain and major with the Army 
Special Operations Command, he participated in the detention of Bosnian 
war criminals, served as a fire support officer for twenty AC-130 
gunship and similar missions in Kosovo, an operation to rescue American 
hostages in South America, and numerous exercises that served as 
blueprints for post-9/11 operations. In Iraq, as battalion operations 
officer and, later, Squadron Commander, he worked to secure dangerous 
areas in southwest Baghdad, Abu Ghraib, and then Diyala Province. His 
units were marked by their discipline, determination, purposeful 
operations, and focus on the needs of the civilian population. He led 
efforts in intelligence, governance, essential services, and 
reconciliation. As a colonel, serving as Chief of Future Operations for 
Combined Forces Command in Korea, he synchronized the U.S. and South 
Korean response to North Korea's artillery shelling of Yong Pyong 
Island, the death of Kim Jong Il, and a North Korean ballistic missile 
launch. He led major joint and international planning efforts on the 
Korean Peninsula to prepare military forces and governments for 
contingencies, especially in the areas of rear area logistics, 
noncombatant evacuation, and countering and preventing the use of 
weapons of mass destruction.
  With the exception of his current assignment as an Army legislative 
liaison, Colonel McAleer spent his entire career in combat units, 
either in command or operations positions. He spent 6 years in command 
of four units: Bravo Battery 1-39 Field Artillery, Airborne; Bravo 
Battery 1-321 Field Artillery, Airborne; 2nd Battalion, 8th Field 
Artillery; and Fires Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment. A 
soldier's soldier, focused on his assigned mission and the wellbeing of 
those under his command, he touched thousands of lives, developing 
countless leaders and young soldiers in his units.
  On behalf of a grateful nation, I join my colleagues today in 
recognizing and commending Colonel McAleer for over 26 years of service 
to his country. He played a key role in defending our national 
interests while positively impacting the soldiers and families under 
his command. He has been an excellent Army liaison to the Senate. We 
wish Bob, his wife Kate, daughter Catherine, and son Colin all the best 
as they continue their journey of service.

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