Manchin Statement Honoring Retiring Major General Tackett

 

 

M. President, today I rise to recognize General Allen Tackett, the Adjutant General for the West Virginia National Guard who will retire effective January 31, 2011. General Tackett’s outstanding leadership is responsible for an evolutionary change in the role of the National Guard in our nation’s security. No longer are National Guard and Reserve forces simply our strategic ‘ace-in-the-hole’ – they are a fully operational force, and one that our Nation depends upon to complete our mission abroad. 

 

In our lifetime, the Guard mission has been synonymous with being the first on the scene for disaster relief and for keeping the peace at home.  That mission remains.  However, since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Guard members have done double duty and become the essential soldier in our military missions overseas.  In fact, the success of our all-volunteer military has landed squarely on the shoulders of the Guard and Reserve components.

 

This new role means long and frequent deployments away from home, disruption to civilian careers, and new readiness challenges for the Guard leadership.   During global peacekeeping missions in Bosnia, Kosovo, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Guard leadership had to ensure the troops would have right equipment at the right time, train troops for new dangers, and be the glue that mends and holds together the families of Guard members.   The West Virginia National Guard, under General Tackett’s leadership, did all this and more.  With tenacious grace the General asked for - - and received - - new training facilities, planes, new runways, and Congressional support for expanded family support programs. 

 

Under General Tackett’s leadership, the soldier, especially the new and uninitiated, took center stage.  General Tackett believes a soldier’s success depends on higher education, the best training, and personal initiative. 
 

Under General Tackett’s leadership, the future success of West Virginia National Guard is secure because of his dogged support for the National Guard Youth Challenge Program, the Guard’s Tuition Assistance Program, and the technical skills program, Helmets to Hard Hats. 
 

And, under General Tackett’s leadership and vision, our Nation’s Guard, and Reserve components, and First Responders, use West Virginia’s best training resources to prepare defenses against 21^st century terrorist threats.
 

Like other Golden Gloves champions, General Tackett struck his own path in his youth -- he honed his individual athletic skills and refined the meaning of a disciplined work ethic.  His pride in his home state of West Virginia kept him giving back to the Mountaineer state with years of civilian successes while rising in the ranks of the Special Forces. 

Under General Tackett’s leadership, the readiness of the West Virginia National Guard skyrocketed to the best in the nation.

 

Under General Tackett’s leadership, the soldier, especially the new and uninitiated, took center stage.  General Tackett believes a soldier’s success depends on higher education, the best training, and personal initiative. 

 

Under General Tackett’s leadership, the future success of the West Virginia National Guard is secure because of his dogged support for the National Guard Youth Challenge Program, the Guard’s Tuition Assistance Program, and the technical skills program, Helmets to Hard Hats. 

 

And, under General Tackett’s leadership and vision, our Nation’s Guard, and Reserve components, and First Responders, use West Virginia’s best training resources to prepare defenses against 21^st century terrorist threats.

 

Like other Golden Gloves champions, General Tackett struck his own path in his youth -- he honed his individual athletic skills and refined the meaning of a disciplined work ethic.  His pride in his home state of West Virginia kept him giving back to the Mountaineer state with years of civilian successes while rising in the ranks of the Special Forces. 

 

His stellar leadership as Adjutant General for the West Virginia National Guard began on another September 11—1995 in fact.  As his one-time commander, I am proud to share in today’s celebration of General Tackett’s distinguished career, and will take this moment to thank him, and  remind him, that the trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.