[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 17888] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO COL MICHAEL W. DeYOUNG, UNITED STATES ARMY ______ HON. TOM OSBORNE of nebraska in the house of representatives Tuesday, September 12, 2006 Mr. OSBORNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to a great American patriot, COL Mike DeYoung, who is retiring with over 27 years of honorable service in the United States Army. Colonel DeYoung was born in Lincoln, Nebraska. Then, as he says, he was given not only the normal baby inoculations of vitamin B, but also vitamin C for ``Cornhusker'' which began a lifelong passion for Nebraska football. He is well known to many Members of Congress in that for the last 4 years he has served as the chief of the House Liaison Division for the Army. In that time, many of us have had the privilege of working with Colonel DeYoung on a wide variety of legislative initiatives, programs and congressional travel. I can personally attest to his professionalism as it was Mike who escorted the delegations that I led to Iraq and other stops in the Middle East in the spring of 2005 and again in December last year. Thus, it is my distinct honor to recognize his many accomplishments over the course of a distinguished career and I commend his superb service to the United States Army and this great Nation. Colonel De Young is an Army ``brat'' as they say, the son of retired COL Dee De Young and Anne DeYoung. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Defense Artillery after graduating from the College of William and Mary. He began his military career with the 4th Infantry Division, serving as a platoon leader and later battery executive officer in the 4th Battalion, 71st Air Defense Artillery. Over the course of the next two decades, Colonel DeYoung served in a variety of command and staff assignments, with increasing levels of responsibility. Highlights during this period include commanding companies both here in the United States and in Europe at the height of the cold war, chief of the Joint Intelligence Center's Crisis Action Support Center in the Pacific region and then again commanding a battalion in Germany. There are few officers who could even begin to rival Colonel DeYoung's expertise and experience in working with the United States Congress. He was selected as an American Political Science Association Foreign Affairs Fellow at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and then served as a fellow in the office of former Senator Richard Bryan of Nevada, with subsequent assignments in the legislation liaison arena working for the Secretary of the Army and as a military assistant for the Secretary of Defense. Colonel DeYoung has played a significant role shaping the greatest Army on the planet. Upon graduating from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Mike expanded his legislative resume serving as the chief of the Congressional Inquiries Division for the Army and then finally, as was stated previously, the chief of Army Liaison to the House of Representatives. While Colonel DeYoung's duty titles and assignments sound impressive, what is far more impressive and more relevant is the character of this selfless soldier and the thousands of young men and women whose lives have been enriched by crossing paths with Mike DeYoung. This is his greatest legacy. Years after Colonel DeYoung is only a memory to the United States Army, the values that he imparted on those that he has served with will live on. These same values are what make our Army the most formidable military force on earth--loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. Mr. Speaker, as this great American patriot moves on, and as this invaluable friend of the House of Representatives begins the next chapter in his life, I know I speak for all the Members of the House, in thanking Colonel DeYoung for his many years of service to our Nation and extend my best wishes to him, his wife Deborah and their wonderful children Alex and Denia. ____________________