Tribute to Major Roberta Kearney Chang

TRIBUTE TO MAJOR ROBERTA KEARNEY CHANG

Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize a great American and a true military heroine who has honorably served our country for over 20 years in the Army Medical Service Corps: MAJ Roberta Kearney Chang. As a resident of Bellevue, WA, MAJ Chang began her career at Fort Benning, GA, home of the Army's infantry, as a medical platoon leader.
There, she earned the coveted Parachutist Wings and Expert Field Medical Badge. Following in her father's footsteps, the late First Lieutenant Robert M. Kearney, United States Army, Retired, she quickly rose through the ranks and served at Army bases throughout the world.

MAJ Chang had two overseas tours, one in Honduras, Central America, and one in the Republic of Korea. In Honduras, she participated in humanitarian missions to provide aid and medical care to the people of this country. In Korea, she successfully completed two consecutive company commands for the 121st Evacuation Hospital and Headquarters, 18th Medical Command. MAJ Chang was handpicked to become an instructor at the U.S. Army Academy of Health Sciences, Fort Sam Houston, TX. In this capacity she taught health care administration subjects to over 5,000 officers annually.
MAJ Chang also served as the senior patient administrator for the Command Surgeon, United States Army Reserve Personnel Command. She counseled and assisted hundreds of reservists that were injured as a result of service in Operation Desert Storm. Her knowledge of the intricacies of the physical disability system for both the active duty and reserve component soldiers is unsurpassed, and she is considered an expert trainer in these areas. She served as a health care operations officer and the head of communications and customer service at the TRICARE Mid-Atlantic, Lead Agent Office Norfolk, VA for final assignment TRICARE Mid-Atlantic serves over 1 million military beneficiaries.

In each assignment, MAJ Chang excelled and met every challenge, and was rewarded with greater responsibilities and opportunities. Her talent for teaching and mentoring personnel, as well as her creativity and skill in management, were instrumental in providing army medicine the fine cadre of hospital administrators serving today. Above all, she is a stellar officer and leader who always put the welfare of her staff and patients first. MAJ Chang is a committed health care professional, and is an active member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American Health Information Management Association. MAJ Chang always went the extra mile to serve her country and her fellow man.

Her performance reflects greatly on herself, the United States Army, the Department of Defense, and the United States of America. I extend my deepest appreciation to MAJ Roberta Kearney Chang on behalf a grateful Nation for her over 20 years of dedicated military service. Congratulations, MAJ Chang, and let me be the one of the first to welcome you home to Washington State.