Johnny Isakson: “today I wish to pay special tribute to an exceptional Federal civil servant of the United States of America, Dr. Susan…”

“today I wish to pay special tribute to an exceptional Federal civil servant of the United States of America, Dr. Susan S. Kelly, the director of the Transition to Veterans Program Office, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Dr. Kelly is retiring from the Federal Government on September 30, 2016, after 33 years of distinguished service to our Nation. Many of us on Capitol Hill have enjoyed the opportunity to work with Dr. Kelly on a wide variety of defense issues and programs, and it is my privilege and honor to recognize her many accomplishments. Dr. Kelly has an extensive history of helping organizations successfully transform, and I want to focus on her exceptional work since she took over as the director of the Transition to Veterans Program Office in June 2012. She has been instrumental in the ambitious effort to revitalize the Department of Defense Transition Assistance Program, which ensures that servicemembers transitioning to civilian life are provided with the information and training needed to effectively pursue their civilian career goals. In implementing the sweeping redesign of the Transition Assistance Program, she has helped the military move away from viewing transition as an end-of-career activity, instead making postmilitary preparation a careerlong process that servicemembers plan for throughout their military life cycle.…”