[Page: E1165]

• Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize the outstanding military service and contributions to our country of a native of Pomona, CA, on the occasion of his retirement from military service on December 1, 1996: Col. Peter V. Huisking, Military Intelligence Corps, U.S. Army.

• Born in Pomona, CA, in 1949, Colonel Huisking attended St. Joseph Elementary School and the Webb School of California, and received an Army Reserve Officer Training Corps [ROTC] scholarship to attend Pomona College in 1967. He was commissioned in field artillery upon graduation from Pomona College in 1971. He served in junior officer positions at the artillery battery level with 2d Battalion, 92d Field Artillery, V Corps, in Giessen, Germany, from 1972 to 1974. As a first lieutenant, he was commander of Battery C, 2d Battalion, 92d Field Artillery.

• Colonel Huisking transferred to the Military Intelligence branch in 1974, and served in numerous tactical and strategic intelligence assignments over the next few years: assistant S2, 42d Field Artillery Group, 1974 to 1975; chief, all source production section, 2d Armored Division, Fort Hood, TX, 1975 to 1977; commander, Headquarters and Operations Company, 522d Military Intelligence Battalion, Fort Hood, TX, 1977 to 1978; and staff and faculty, Defense Intelligence College, Washington, DC, 1979 to 1982.

• Other overseas assignments included G2 operations officer, 2d Infantry Division, Republic of Korea, from 1982 to 1983; chief, Intelligence Systems Branch, Headquarters U.S. Army, Europe, Heidelberg, Germany, from 1984 to 1986; deputy G2, 1st Armored Division, Ansbach, Germany, 1986; and executive officer, 501st Military Intelligence Battalion, 1986 to 1988.

• Colonel Huisking was assigned to Fort Huachuca, AZ, in 1988, where he served as the manager of the Intelligence-Electronic Warfare Program Office. He later commanded the 304th Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Huachuca, from 1989 to 1991, and served with Headquarters, United States Armed Forces, Central Command in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during Operation Desert Storm as the G2 plans officer for unmanned aerial vehicles.

• Following service as the Assistant Chief of Staff, G2, 1st Cavalry Division, at Fort Hood, TX, from 1991 to 1992, Colonel Huisking was assigned as a staff officer in the Directorate of Force Development in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans at Headquarters, Department of the Army, Washington, DC, from 1992 to 1993. He later served as the deputy director for planning in the Directorate of Strategy, Plans, and Policy on the Department of the Army staff from 1993 to 1994. Colonel Huisking's last military assignment was Assistant Chief of Staff, G2, for the U.S. Army Signal Command at Fort Huachuca, AZ, from 1994 until his retirement in December 1996.

• Colonel Huisking is a graduate of the U.S. Army Field Artillery School, 1972; the Defense Intelligence College, 1979; the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 1984; and the U.S. Army War College, 1996. He also graduated from Georgetown University with a master of arts degree in Government, 1980.

• His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, and several service medals including the Saudi Arabia Kuwait Liberation Medal. He is also a recipient of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Regiment's Order of Mercury. Additionally, Colonel Huisking is authorized to wear the Army staff identification badge.

• Colonel Huisking is married to the former Henrietta Hardy of Tucson, AZ. They have three children: Elisabeth, who lives in Virginia; Thomas, a college student in Texas; and Andrea, a student at Smith Middle School, Fort Huachuca, AZ. Colonel Huisking is joining JBL&H Associates of Falls Church, VA, and will work at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center in support of the Directorate of Combat Developments.

• Colonel Huisking has served at all military echelons from platoon to the Army staff. He has led American soldiers as a platoon leader, a company commander, and a battalion commander. He served as a intelligence officer in key positions from Artillery Group to Major Army Command. His service has been characterized by his emphasis on two key elements: training for war and taking care of soldiers. This emphasis paid off during the successful deployment of elements of his battalion to Desert Storm. In the words of Maj. Gen. John Stewart, the Assistant Chief of Staff, G2, U.S. Army Forces Central Command, during the gulf war:

Lieutenant Colonel Huisking's tireless, professional, and consistently correct staff work was a major factor in the success of Intelligence and Electronics Warfare during the Persian Gulf War. A great job.

• Colonel Huisking was also an outstanding supporter of every military community he lived in, both in the United States and overseas. He was a strong supporter of the Scouting Program, both boys and girls, and served as committee chairman of the Cub Scout programs. His involvement in youth athletics included coaching in youth T-ball and soccer, and service on Catholic parish councils in communities in Germany and Fort Huachuca, AZ. Additionally, he has served as a lay eucharistic minister and lector since 1979.

• As a professional intelligence officer, Colonel Huisking has made a particular impact on tactical intelligence units, having served in four combat divisions, and having been instrumental in the successful implementation of the combat electronic warfare intelligence [CEWI] concept in the Army beginning in 1976. Additionally, his training of the Army's only unmanned aerial vehicle unit before the Persian Gulf war led to its successful development and use during the conflict. His pioneering work in this area ensured that the Army will always go to war with this important intelligence capability.

• Colonel Huisking's service to the Army and his country spans a quarter of a century. It included the years of rebuilding the Army after the Vietnam war; standing guard on the frontiers of freedom from the demilitarized zone in Korea to the Iron Curtain in Central Europe; training units which ensured the readiness of the Army to deter aggression and ensure the victory of the United States in the cold war; preparing and leading soldiers to victory in the gulf war; and maintaining and equipping a force ready to deploy to Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, and other areas of the world during a time of declining resources and increased requirements. Colonel Huisking played an important role in all of these areas. His legacy is in the outstanding soldiers and units who benefited from his leadership, and who will carry the Army into the 21st century.

• The citizens of the State of California, particularly the 28th Congressional District, are proud of the service of this native son. They join me in thanking him and his family for their contributions to the Army and the United States, and in wishing them all the best both now and in the future.

[Page: E1166]

END