[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9429]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO CAPTAIN SARA A. JOYNER

  Mr. McCAIN. Mr. President, today I honor a superb leader, liaison, 
and warrior. After more than 2 years of service as Director of the Navy 
Senate Liaison Office, CAPT Sara Annette Joyner is very deservedly 
moving on and moving up to assume the responsibilities of a rear 
admiral, lower half. On this occasion, I believe it is fitting to 
recognize Captain Joyner's distinguished service and dedication to 
fostering the relationship between the U.S. Navy and this Chamber.
  Captain Joyner is a 1989 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. An 
attack pilot by designation, Captain Joyner has not only been training 
and teaching to fight aerial adversaries, she has been attacking 
history. Call sign ``Clutch,'' Captain Joyner is a groundbreaking 
leader, as the Navy's first female strike fighter squadron commanding 
officer at VFA-105 and the first female Carrier Air Wing Commander at 
CVW-3 aboard the USS Harry S. Truman. Captain Joyner has held numerous 
other leadership positions in the Navy, including assignment as the 
joint strike fighter requirements officer, with the CNO's strategic 
studies group, and most recently as director, Navy Senate liaison, from 
2015 to 2017.
  Over the course of the last 3 years, Captain Joyner has led 37 
Congressional Delegations to 47 different countries. She has escorted 
44 Members of Congress and over 48 personal and professional staff 
members. I have had the pleasure of traveling with Captain Joyner on 
many of these trips. She has distinguished herself by going above and 
beyond the call of duty to facilitate and successfully execute each and 
every trip, despite any number of weather, aircraft, and diplomatic 
complications.
  This Chamber will feel Captain Joyner's absence. I join many past and 
present Members of Congress in my gratitude and appreciation to Captain 
Joyner for her outstanding leadership and unwavering support of the 
missions of the U.S. Navy, and especially to her patient and supportive 
family, Commander James ``Bud'' Mitchell Joyner, Sara Elizabeth Joyner, 
and Mark Samuel Joyner, I wish ``fair winds and following seas.''

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