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“TRIBUTE TO MAJOR GENERAL BENNY LANDRENEAU” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Senate section on pages S8588-S8589 on Dec. 14, 2011.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO MAJOR GENERAL BENNY LANDRENEAU
Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, while we have a bit of quiet time on the Senate floor this evening, I thought I would make brief remarks about the extraordinary career of MG Benny Landreneau. General Landreneau recently retired as the most senior Adjutant General in the Nation, with nearly 14 years of service as head of the Louisiana National Guard, serving under three Governors, and nearly four decades of service to the State of Louisiana and our Nation.
Over many years I have had the joy and pleasure of calling General Landreneau a friend and a colleague and I have worked closely with him and the 11,000 members of our Louisiana National Guard. Through the September 11 attacks on our country and through Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustaf, and Ike and the recent BP oilspill--one of the largest environmental disasters in our Nation's history--General Landreneau has proven his leadership to the people of Louisiana and our Nation time and time again.
Benny, as he is known by his friends, credits his father with inspiring him to serve in the National Guard. His father Joseph Audley Landreneau was a World War II veteran and engineering soldier and a combat veteran. Benny, who grew up in Vidrine, LA, chose to follow in his father's footsteps and quickly rose through the ranks in the Louisiana National Guard.
As a young man, in 1969 he enlisted as a light weapons infantryman in the 773rd Maintenance Battalion. Two and a half years later he graduated from Officer Candidate School and became a second lieutenant platoon leader as part of the 3671st Maintenance Company. From those very early beginnings in the National Guard, he progressed rapidly through the ranks.
During his time with the Guard, General Landreneau was part of several major campaigns, including a deployment during Desert Storm. During the first gulf war General Landreneau and his 527th Engineer Battalion were tasked with any number of important missions, including the No. 1 mission for the gulf war commander himself, GEN Fred Franks.
General Franks needed an unmanned aerial vehicle landing strip built immediately, so he knew who to call to get that job done. He called Benny Landreneau and his battalion. Need I say that it was done, I am sure, under budget and before time.
After the 527th returned to the command headquarters, General Franks called General Landreneau to thank him for what he did, which was extraordinary, and asked the general what he could do as a return favor. Without blinking an eye, General Landreneau just said:
Sir, please, if you could get us home for Mother's Day, it would be appreciated.
So all of the mostly guys were home from other States--some women in the battalion as well--and they were thrilled to be home with their parents.
In 1996, shortly after the gulf war, General Landreneau retired from the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources where he served also as a State conservationist for almost 30 years. Since that time, he has taken the National Guard in Louisiana from a strategic reserve force to an operational force that continues to lead the Nation both on and off the battlefield, and I will talk about off the battlefield in just a minute.
General Landreneau was quoted as saying:
The Louisiana National Guard soldiers and airmen are part of the finest National Guard in America. It is their dedication and professionalism, their commitment and their hard work that has made the Louisiana National Guard the finest guard in America. The Louisiana National Guard has performed in such an outstanding matter in accepting these new challenges of being an operational force and responding to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and deploying throughout the world when called on and, at the same time, being able to take up the work of their State emergencies--
Which have been too numerous to count--
and being able to respond to the citizens of this State in an outstanding fashion.
This is due in part, I say, to his leadership and vision.
General Landreneau has also been instrumental in implementing one of the most phenomenal programs in our country: the Louisiana National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program. It is part of the National Youth ChalleNGe Program. This is what I mean by off-the-battlefield expertise as well as on-the-battlefield expertise.
Some years ago--I think about 15--when General Conway was the general for the National Guard, he helped to start this program that now has graduated over 100,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 18 who are unfortunately drifting from the straight and narrow path. They haven't ended up in prison yet, but they are headed that way. They have given up on themselves. They have gotten into a little bit of trouble and need a second chance. This program offers them that chance.
Under General Landreneau's leadership, we run three of the dozens of programs operating in the United States. I might say we run the best three, having been granted and acknowledged with awards in ceremonies for many years in Louisiana and having graduated the largest number of young people. This has been done because of General Landreneau's extraordinary commitment to the citizens of our State and to the young people of our State and the respect he has of his rank and file for these men and women to go beyond their regular duties and responsibilities and step up and say: There is an epidemic in America. Our dropout rate is too high. What can the National Guard do, in addition to everything else they do both abroad and at home, to help? It is extraordinary.
His grandchildren and his children are proud of him. I know he is very proud of them.
He has assembled over the last 14 years arguably the most tested staff in the Nation. He is being succeeded as Adjutant General by GEN Glenn Curtis, who has served as General Landreneau's right-hand man for the last 6 years. It is the hallmark of his leadership that General Landreneau leaves his staff ready to step up, ready to serve, and ready to continue the excellent service they have given to the people of our State and our Nation. Although General Curtis will bring his own brand of leadership to the National Guard, there is no doubt, as he has said to me many times, he has learned at the elbow of GEN Benny Landreneau.
In conclusion, I would like to personally, on behalf of the people of our State, thank GEN Benny Landreneau for his many years of service and dedication to the people of Louisiana and our country. I want him to know he has positively impacted our State in ways that will long be remembered. The people of Louisiana are grateful for his service and for his dedication, and we honor his admirable career in the National Guard.
Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. FRANKEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Begich). Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. FRANKEN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senator Whitehouse and I be permitted to engage in a colloquy.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
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