March 2, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 41 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Page S1251]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              TRIBUTE TO MAJOR GENERAL WILSON A. SHOFFNER

  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I rise today to honor MG Wilson A. 
Shoffner, commanding general of the U.S. Army Fires Center of 
Excellence and Fort Sill, OK. Major General Shoffner is one of our 
Nation's finest military officers. Major General Shoffner will 
relinquish command and conduct his retirement ceremony on 6 March 2020, 
bringing to a close 32 years of distinguished service to our great 
Nation.
  In 1988, Major General Shoffner commissioned as a second lieutenant 
of field artillery upon graduation from the U.S. Military Academy at 
West Point. He commanded units at every echelon, from platoon to the 
Fires Center of Excellence, with duty in Saudi Arabia, Germany, Iraq, 
Afghanistan, and the United States. As a young officer, Major General 
Shoffner deployed with the 1st Cavalry Division in support of OPERATION 
DESERT STORM. Major General Shoffner commanded 2nd Battalion, 319th 
Field Artillery Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division during OPERATION 
IRAQI FREEDOM. Later, he served as deputy chief of staff, 
communications, Resolute Support Mission, North Atlantic Treaty 
Organization, during OPERATION FREEDOM'S SENTINEL in Afghanistan.
  As a general officer, Major General Shoffner served as the deputy 
chief of staff, G-3/5/7, for the Army's Training and Doctrine Command. 
He served as the director of the Army's Talent Management Task Force 
under the Army G1 and then as the director of operations for Rapid 
Equipment Fielding under the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the 
Army, Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology. Major General Shoffner's 
career culminated as the commanding general of the United States Army's 
Fires Center of Excellence and Fort Sill, where he helped forge the 
future of the Army's Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery 
branches.
  Major General Shoffner is an exceptional leader, an American patriot 
committed to our Armed Forces, our National Security, and our Nation, 
but most importantly, Major General Shoffner is a great man of 
character. It is for MG Al Shoffner, a soldier, leader, and selfless 
servant, whom we, with profound admiration and deep respect, pay 
tribute to for all he has done for the defense of our Nation for over 
three decades.
  We thank Major General Shoffner, his wife Carron, and their daughter, 
Kristin, for their dedication and sacrifice, and we wish them well in 
the years to come.

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