Political Quotes

“I rise to recognize and commend ADM Bill Gortney, who will retire on June 1 of this year after 39 years of exceptional leadership and service to our country. Most recently, Admiral Gortney served as commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, CO. In his current capacity, Admiral Gortney is responsible for homeland defense, defense support for civil authorities, and theater security cooperation with Mexico and the Bahamas. Additionally, as head of the binational NORAD command with Canada, he is responsible for aerospace warning, aerospace control, and maritime warning in the defense of North America. For those of you who have children, I think you may know what NORAD also does, which is, of course, the very famous Santa tracker every year on Christmas Eve. It has been a tremendous pleasure to work closely with Admiral Gortney since joining the Senate. In particular, as the chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific, I have often sought his advice and counsel to gauge the threat of North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile program to our homeland. Born to William and Gloria Gortney in La Jolla, CA, Admiral Gortney is no stranger to military service. He is a second-generation naval aviator.…”