Congressional Record—Senate S6942
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S6942 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD Ð SENATE June 14, 1999 the majority leader indicated he was ple will understand that some of these One can assess the career of a soldier satisfied with the status of this bill and we can't accept. There may be votes re- very quickly by looking at his or her ready to move to the floor. It is my quired on them. uniform, and General Reimer's ``Class hope we can adopt this legislation, that Frankly, with all the work we have A's'' reveal that he is a soldier's sol- we can bring it here, that we can de- done on the bill, I suggest it would be dier, someone who never shied away bate it, and we can move it forward. If very hard to get some of these amend- from a challenge, and an officer who we do so, we will be providing an oppor- ments agreed to that we haven't been believed in leading by example. He tunity for disabled Americans all able to work out with their staff, our wears the coveted ``Ranger'' tab on his across this country to use their talents staff, and the two managers of the bill. left shoulder, a mark of a man who has for their own benefit and to contribute We have worked very hard on this for proven himself to be a tough, resource- to the communities and to this Nation. the last couple of weeks. I hope that, ful, and diligent soldier. The 9th Infan- That, I think, is the essence of why we with the two leaders, we can find some try Division patch on his right shoul- are hereÐfor wise legislative policies time so we can wrap this up. I think we der tells people he went to war with that allow Americans to use their tal- can do it in a couple of hours at the this unit. The Combat Infantryman's ents to benefit themselves and this most. Badge he wears on his left chest indi- country. f cates that he participated in combat I hope we adopt this very quickly. operations; the Purple Heart that he MORNING BUSINESS That means, of course, we schedule this was wounded in action; and, the Bronze legislation; that we will, in fact, bring Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask Star with ``V'' for Valor Device and the to the floor the Work Incentives Im- unanimous consent that we now pro- Distinguished Flying Cross both stand provement Act for a vote. If we do so, ceed to morning business with state- as testament to the fact that he is a we will be doing the work we were sent ments allowed by each Senator for up hero. He has also earned some of the here to do by our constituents. to 5 minutes. nation's most respected decorations in- I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without cluding the Defense Distinguished The PRESIDING OFFICER. The objection, it is so ordered. Service Medal, the Distinguished Serv- clerk will call the roll. f ice Medal, two Legions of Merit, and The legislative assistant proceeded five additional Bronze Stars. RETIREMENT OF GENERAL It has been a long road that Dennis to call the roll. DENNIS J. REIMER Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I ask Reimer has traveled from West Point's unanimous consent that the order for Mr. THURMOND. Mr. President, I Trophy Point where he entered the the quorum call be rescinded. rise today to recognize the service, sac- Corps of Cadets, to the ``E'' Ring of the The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. BEN- rifices, and numerous contributions to Pentagon where he now commands NETT). Without objection, it is so or- the security of our nation that United every single soldier in the United dered. States Army Chief of Staff, General States Army. His journey has taken f Dennis J. Reimer has made throughout him to many different assignments in his career as a soldier and a leader. many different places, all of which ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOP- As have many of our nation's great- helped to prepare him for his job as MENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, est warriors, General Reimer began his Chief of Staff of the Army. In the field, 2000 Army career as a Cadet at the United he served as a commander at the com- The Senate continued with the con- States Military Academy. Leaving his pany, battalion, and division levels; sideration of the bill. hometown of Medford, Oklahoma and and, he was the Chief of Staff, Com- Mr. DOMENICI. Senator REID is on arriving on the banks of the Hudson bined Field Army and Assistant Chief his way. River on what must certainly have of Staff for Operations and Training, Mr. President and fellow Senators, been a hot day in July of 1958, I suspect Republic of Korea/United States Com- the ranking member and I have decided that the last thought that crossed the bined Forces Command. His assign- that it won't do us any good to remain mind of a young Dennis Reimer was ments to the Pentagon were also in- any longer on the energy and water ap- that he would one day hold the highest valuable as he benefitted from first- propriations bill, because we are now in job a soldier in the United States Army hand exposure to how the Department the process of working out a number of can hold. Yet that is just what destiny of the Army works as an institution. amendments and apparently there is had in store for this tall, unassuming, Clearly he has drawn on his experi- one that may have to be voted on; we and plain speaking westerner. ences as the aide-de-camp to Chief of just got it, and participants would not In 1962, when Dennis Reimer grad- Staff of the Army General Creighton be ready this evening in any event. Ev- uated from West Point and was com- Abrams, and he no doubt learned many eryone understood that they needed missioned a Second Lieutenant in the lessons at the side of this impressive some time at the earliest convenience Field Artillery, we were well into the soldier and mentor. In short, General tomorrow, or when we can get back on ``Cold War'', the French had lost their Dennis Reimer was probably one of the the bill. war in Indochina, and the United best prepared individuals to have Let me say to the Senator from Ne- States had not yet established a large served as Chief of Staff of the Army vada, the ranking member, we are military presence in South Vietnam. and the legacy he leaves is one that is ready to get off the bill tonight and As events unfolded and a policy to con- impressive and noteworthy. wait our turn as early as possible in tain communism was established, it The past four-years have been busy the process tomorrow. We are working was not long before we did begin to ones for General Reimer as he dis- on a number of amendments. There is commit troops to Southeast Asia. charged his duties as the Army's head probably one that is going to require a Among the hundreds of thousands of soldier and worked to represent the in- vote tomorrow. But they won't be soldiers to eventually serve in Vietnam terests of his people and service in the ready this evening in any event. We was Dennis Reimer, who spent two halls of Congress. During his watch, he knew that. combat tours in Vietnam, one as an ad- has helped to define just what the post- Mr. REID. Mr. President, I only say visor to the Army of the Republic of Cold War Army will look like, what its to my friend, the manager of this bill, Vietnam and the second as an execu- missions will be, and how it will fight that the amendments are now in. We, tive officer for an artillery battalion in and win on the battlefields of the fu- together with our staff, have worked the 9th Infantry Division. The Amer- ture. General Reimer has been a tire- very hard to see what we can do to ac- ican military experience in Vietnam less advocate for the modernization of cept amendments. Some of them are unquestionably influenced the profes- the Army by championing new weapons just not acceptable. We have tried sional and personal outlooks of anyone systems that will continue to give our every way possible. But some of them who served in that theater, and the les- troops the tactical and technological are not authorized, and there are var- sons learned in Vietnam would serve advantage they require to overwhelm ious other reasons we can't accept a Dennis Reimer, the Army, and that na- any and all potential enemies. An ex- number of the amendments. I hope peo- tion well in the following years. pert in efficiencies, he has dedicated.