[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14437]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    IN HONOR OF AN AMERICAN PATRIOT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MICHAEL T. McCAUL

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 16, 2016

  Mr. McCAUL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the courage, 
dedication, and extraordinary career of Colonel Andrea Thompson, who 
retired on October 31, 2016 after 28 years in the United States Army.
  Colonel Thompson has spent her life devoted to others--and in defense 
of our great nation. In May of 1988 Andrea was commissioned into the 
U.S. Army, and like thousands of other selfless soldiers, stood up and 
said ``send me.'' She served as a skillful advisor, a steadfast leader, 
and a committed mentor to younger soldiers while deployed in dangerous 
places far from home.
  A career military intelligence officer, Colonel Thompson has 
commanded missions from the tactical to the strategic, and the result 
is clear: her work has made our country safer. Her career is marked by 
notable achievements--including leadership roles in critical combat 
tours and operational deployments around the world, including in 
Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, in the NATO Stabilization 
Force operations in Bosnia, as the Senior Intelligence Officer for the 
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and 
in Afghanistan as the Intelligence Directorate/J2 Chief of Staff with 
General McChrystal during Operation Enduring Freedom.
  But Colonel Thompson's service to the United States has extended 
beyond the military. She was a key advisor to multiple Congressional 
Committees, including the first Senior Military Advisor to the Chairman 
of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the U.S. House of 
Representatives. Colonel Thompson also served as my National Security 
Advisor on the Committee on Homeland Security, where she proved to be 
tough, honest, and relentless in her work to defend our country against 
emerging and persistent threats.
  I want to personally recognize the achievements of this patriot and 
thank Colonel Thompson for her dedication to duty and to the United 
States of America. Simply put, she embodies what is best about our 
country. Her grit is unquestioned, and her bedrock beliefs reflect the 
heart of American values.
  We face great challenges in this still-young century, and we must 
inspire new generations to be equal to the task. To that end, we need 
guiding lights. Colonel Thompson is one of them. She is a woman whose 
life is a testament to the age-old truth that we are defined by our 
character and by our readiness to do what is right. She has already 
inspired many, but it is clear that Colonel Thompson's continued 
example will have a ripple effect far beyond our view. For that, she 
deserves the thanks of a very grateful nation.

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