[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 70 (Thursday, May 7, 2009)] [Senate] [Pages S5275-S5276] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] RETIREMENT OF LIEUTENANT GENERAL CLYDE A. VAUGHN Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, this week, LTG Clyde Vaughn, Director of the Army National Guard, retires after almost 35 years of excellent service to the Army National Guard and the U.S. Army. He has been an absolutely superb Army Guard Director. Under General Vaughn's watch, the Guard has undertaken one of the most successful recruiting programs in history. The Army Guard has become more capable, ready, and better equipped than at any point over the past several decades. Under his watch, the Army Guard has helped make the country stronger. General Vaughn leaves big shoes to fill. The Army National Guard is a critically important part of the Army and the entire Armed Forces. Citizen-soldiers from the Army National Guard have comprised a high percentage of the forces on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan. The members of the Army Guard also are our military first responders for emergencies at home, ready to quickly support our elected leaders and other civilian authorities in such emergencies as flooding and hurricanes. General Vaughn has brought an acute understanding of the Army National Guard, built from his experiences in the Missouri National Guard and from successful joint assignments in Washington and further afield. During his time as Army Guard Director, the National Guard has racked up some extraordinary accomplishments. Soldiers--the proud citizen- soldiers from all the States and Territories--and families have remained [[Page S5276]] foremost in General Vaughn's mind. In recent years, the Army Guard has reversed a downward trend in filling its ranks and boosted enlistments tremendously. We have a more educated and a healthier force with more full-time personnel. In his last months on the job, General Vaughn has laid out a sensible plan to build readiness within the Army Guard, ending the harmful practice of counting untrained and transient soldiers against the end-strength of various units. Working closely with Congress, General Vaughn has also ensured that the Guard has more modern equipment. The Army Guard has much better gear today than it did 4 years ago. Lieutenant General Vaughn is a leader who forthrightly lays out his views, whether to Congress or his counterparts in the active Army. It is this deep honesty and intelligence that has made him an inspiration to his subordinates and a close adviser to his superiors. Lieutenant General Clyde Vaughn knows and loves the Army National Guard, having lived and breathed with this force of citizen-soldiers for more than three decades. The country owes General Vaughn, as well as his wife Carol and kids Chad and Kristi, our thanks and hearty congratulations on a job, very well done. ____________________