[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 13367-13368]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  IN RECOGNITION OF THE RETIREMENT OF ADMIRAL JAMES A. WINNEFELD, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MIKE ROGERS

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 29, 2015

  Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, I ask for the House's attention 
today to recognize Admiral James A. Winnefeld, Jr., who is retiring 
July 31, 2015, after serving with distinction for more than 37 years, 
culminating his career as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
  Throughout his service as a senior military leader, Admiral Winnefeld 
has provided this body, and in particular the House Armed Services 
Committee, with invaluable testimony and candid military advice. Over 
the last four years, Admiral Winnefeld has served as the ninth Vice 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I think I speak for all of my 
colleagues on the Armed Services Committee when I say his vast 
experience, knowledge, outstanding leadership and professionalism 
combined with his deep respect and consideration for all of our service 
men and women will be greatly missed.
  During his tenure as Vice Chairman, he provided military advice to 
not only the legislative branch, but also to the President of the 
United States, Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and the 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on a wide range of complex 
military and national security issues during an extremely challenging 
period in our country's history.
  In this challenging fiscal and security environment, Admiral 
Winnefeld helped lead our military through global events and threats to 
include the Department of Defense's rebalance to the Pacific, Iraq 
troop withdrawal, Afghanistan transition, the global threat of ISIL, 
instability in Syria and Russia's provocative actions in Eastern 
Europe. In addition, the Vice Chairman played key roles in advising our 
nation's leaders on and formulating plans for various counterterrorism 
efforts.
  As Vice Chairman, he led the development and implementation of the 
2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, an effort that involved thousands of 
senior leadership man-hours. Pivotal to his role as the Vice Chairman 
he also chaired the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (or JROC), 
where he worked tirelessly to transform the requirements processes to 
become more agile, transparent and inclusive. He focused its efforts on 
the immediate capability needs of the Combatant Commanders and the most 
pressing military issues of the Joint Warfighter. As co-chair of the 
Defense Acquisition Board, Admiral Winnefeld worked to link the 
requirements, resource and acquisition communities in developing 
programs to deliver appropriate capabilities to the Joint Warfighter at 
the right time and for the right price. Admiral Winnefeld's work as a 
co-chair of the nuclear weapons council ensured our military's nuclear 
enterprise and number one priority remained viable and relevant as a 
strategic deterrent to our nation's adversaries.
  Admiral Winnefeld graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology 
and received his commission from the Navy Reserve Officer Training 
Corps program. He subsequently served with three fighter squadrons 
flying the F-14 Tomcat and as an instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons 
School. Admiral Winnefeld's unit commands at sea include Fighter 
Squadron 211, USS Cleveland (LPD 7) and USS Enterprise (CVN 65). He led 
``Big E'' through her 18th deployment, which included combat operations 
in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom immediately 
after the terrorist acts of Sept. 11, 2001. As Commander, Carrier 
Strike Group TWO/Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group, he led Task 
Forces 50, 152 and 58 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and 
maritime interception operations in the Arabian Gulf. He also served as 
Commander, United States SIXTH Fleet, Commander NATO Allied Joint 
Command Lisbon and Commander Striking and Support Forces NATO.
  His shore tours include service in the Joint Staff Operations 
Directorate (J-3), as Senior Aide to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs 
of Staff and as Executive Assistant to the Vice Chief of Naval 
Operations. As a flag officer he served ashore as director, Warfare 
Programs and Transformational Concepts, United States Fleet Forces 
Command, as Director of Joint Innovation and Experimentation at United 
States Joint Forces Command and as the Director for Strategic Plans and 
Policy (J-5) on the Joint Staff. Prior to becoming the Vice Chairman, 
Admiral Winnefeld served as the Commander of North American Aerospace 
Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM).
  As the Commander of NORAD and USNORTHCOM, Admiral Winnefeld led 
historic advances in the working relationship between USNORTHCOM, 
Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 
Drug Enforcement Administration, Customs and Boarder Protection and the 
National Guard, specifically with the Dual-Status Commander concept. In 
addition, he led the U.S.-Mexican military-to-military relationship to 
a historic level of collaboration and brought very tangible results to 
our Nations' important struggle against the fast-growing transnational 
criminal organizations. Through his distinctive accomplishments, 
Admiral Winnefeld culminated a long and distinguished career in the 
service of our nation and his tenure leaves a lasting positive legacy 
to the Armed Forces. I appreciate his extraordinary reflected great 
credit upon himself, the United States Navy, and the Department of 
Defense.

[[Page 13368]]

  For nearly forty years Admiral Winnefeld has performed his duty 
professionally, honestly and with great dedication. Our nation will 
miss his leadership and expertise.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in wishing him and his family all the 
best as he moves to the next phase of his life.

                          ____________________