[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 11556-11557]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                IN RECOGNITION OF COLONEL SCOTT B. AVERY

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 14, 2015

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and 
commend Colonel Scott B. Avery, Commander of Martin Army Community 
Hospital, for his distinguished service to the United States of 
America. Colonel Avery was instrumental in the partnership between the 
United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Martin Army 
Community Hospital at Fort Benning, Georgia to greatly improve the 
healthcare services provided by the VA in the Columbus, Georgia area. 
On Tuesday, July 14, 2015, Colonel Avery relinquished Command of Martin 
Army Community Hospital to Colonel Marie A. Dominguez.
  Colonel Avery was commissioned as a Medical Service Corps Officer in 
the U.S. Army after graduating from the University of Washington in 
June 1988 with a baccalaureate degree in Political Science. After 
completing the Medical Service Corps Officer Basic Course in November 
1988, Colonel Avery was stationed in Kirchgoens, Germany as a Medical 
Platoon Leader for 4th BN, 32nd Armor, and 3rd Armor Division. From 
there, he went on to hone his leadership skills as he successfully 
completed numerous command and staff assignments at Fort Irwin, 
California; Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Ansbach, Germany; Wiesbaden, 
Germany; Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; and Fort Benning, 
Georgia. In between his staff and command positions, Colonel Avery 
became a UH-60 Blackhawk pilot and a Master Navigator. He also 
completed numerous combat tours during his career. He deployed to 
Bosnia-Herzegovina during Operation Joint Guard; to the Middle East in 
support of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm; to Kosovo twice in 
support Operation of Joint Guardian II; and to Iraq twice in support of 
Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn.
  The Second Congressional District of Georgia gained a respected and 
compassionate leader when Colonel Avery arrived in Ft. Benning, Georgia 
in June 2011 to serve as Commander of the Martin Army Community 
Hospital. In this capacity, Colonel Avery was instrumental in improving 
the lives and health of veterans in the Chattahoochee Valley. Colonel 
Avery's partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 
resulted in the opening of a new 19,000-square foot Veterans Affairs 
Clinic at Fort Benning on July 6, 2015. The new VA clinic will improve 
access to health care for veterans, as well as its quality and cost 
effectiveness. The new clinic will offer a full complement of primary 
care providers with integrated mental health services which will serve 
more than 13,000 veterans and implement tele-health hubs to provide an 
additional 96 appointments per week.
  Colonel Avery is the epitome of the U.S. Army values: Loyalty, Duty, 
Respect, Selfless

[[Page 11557]]

Service, Honor, and Personal Courage. The new clinic would not exist 
today without Colonel Avery's personal courage, selfless service, 
relentless desire, and tireless duty to improve the lives of those who 
have fought to protect our cherished liberties. His loyalty and respect 
to the current and former servicemen and servicewomen is commendable 
and should be emulated by leaders in the military and in Congress.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me, my wife Vivian, the 
Chattahoochee Valley community, and the 730,000 residents of Georgia's 
Second Congressional District in honoring Colonel Scott B. Avery for 
his contributions to the veterans of Southwest Georgia. We extend our 
best wishes to Colonel Avery and his family in his next assignment and 
throughout his career as he continues to be a champion for veterans.

                          ____________________