[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 159 (Friday, September 29, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E914]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING COLONEL ROBERT SOLENBERGER USA, RETIRED, WITH A 
                   CONGRESSIONAL VETERAN COMMENDATION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. PETE SESSIONS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 29, 2023

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, it is my great honor to present retired 
Colonel Robert I. Solenberger, United States Army, with the 2023 
Congressional Veteran Commendation. He is the epitome of the U.S. 
Army's slogan, ``Be All You Can Be.''
  Robert Solenberger was born in 1943 in Oakland, California, earning a 
bachelor's degree in engineering chemistry from the University of New 
Mexico in 1965. In the midst of the Vietnam War, a young twenty-five-
year-old patriot commenced thirty years of active military service when 
he enlisted in 1968. While engaged in infantry training at New Jersey's 
Fort Dix, Robert incurred extensive lung damage, spending months in 
what was then the Valley Forge Army Hospital in Pennsylvania.
  Medically discharged from the Army in 1972, with access to 
rehabilitation funding, Robert attended medical school at the 
University of Maryland, obtaining a Doctor of Medicine in 1974, later 
training in surgery. Ever the patriot, he then applied for a direct 
commission as a surgeon in the Army Medical Corps; with his acceptance 
in 1984, and assignment to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam 
Houston, Texas, Robert began his final twenty-six years of active duty.
  Some of Robert's deployments included Operation Desert Storm with the 
longest and largest Mass Casualty (MASCAL) exercise; Bright Star 95, 
for which he would be commended by the Army of Egypt; Ulchi Focus Lens 
99 in Korea; supporting USMC forces in Afghanistan in 2002 with the 555 
Forward Surgical Team; as well as Kuwait, Honduras, and Panama. Colonel 
Solenberger held the post of Chief Surgeon at Fort Cavazos in Killeen, 
Texas--the world's largest military base. Uniquely, he led the surgical 
team in delivering Conjoined Twins--and the workup leading to the only 
successfbl separation in a DOD hospital.
  Among Colonel Solenberger's decorations are a Bronze Star, the Legion 
of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, National Defense Service 
Ribbon (three stars), Joint Service, Commendation Medal, Joint Service 
Achievement Medal, Army Commendation Medal, and Army Achievement Medal. 
He received an Order of Military Medical Merit in 1990; the ``A'' 
Designator (academic full professor), with pediatric surgery 
credentials in 1997, and the Combat Medics Badge.
  Since retiring from active duty in 1994, Robert continues to mentor 
future military surgeons through his work with surgical residents at 
both the VA hospital system at Waco, Texas and the VA's Temple, Texas 
facility. Adding to his remarkable career is the also remarkable fact 
that Robert has performed in active military duty and as a hands-on, 
teaching surgeon with the Veterans Administration despite more than a 
sixty percent disability rating. Battlefield tested, Robert brings both 
empathy and inspiration to the Texas veterans he now serves with 
dedication and compassion.
  For his love of country, tireless service and continuing to ``Be All 
You Can Be'' it gives me great pleasure to award retired United States 
Army Medical Corps Colonel Robert I. Solenberger with the 2023 
Congressional Veteran Commendation.

                          ____________________