Tribute to Captain Norreen Considine

TRIBUTE TO CAPTAIN NOREEN CONSIDINE-HON. KEN CALVERT (Extensions of Remarks - June 18, 2004)

HON. KEN CALVERT
OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Friday, June 18, 2004

Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and pay tribute to an individual whose dedication and contributions to the community of Riverside, CA, and the U.S. Navy Reserve are exceptional. On June 21, Captain Noreen Considine will retire from the Naval Reserves after 27 years of active and reserve military service. We are fortunate to have dynamic and dedicated military and community leaders who willingly and unselfishly give their time and talent to make their communities and nation a better place to live and work. Captain Considine is one of these individuals.

Over the past 27 years Captain Considine has contributed to the Navy, Marine Corps, and Department of Defense in the areas of medical surveillance, hazardous materials management, preventative medicine, and occupational safety and health matters. She has also trained Navy Hospital Corpsmen in managing hazardous materials and workplace hazards.

Since 1997, Captain Considine has served with the Chief of Naval Operations' Occupational Safety and Health Branch, working with full-time safety experts on pinpointing the causes of mishaps and targeting remedial actions that maximize force protection. She led the establishment of the Navy's 1,001 Safety Success Stories Project, which now serves as a web based showcase of the U.S. Navy's safety accomplishments. Additionally, Captain Considine developed a multimedia presentation of the Navy's occupational safety and health program for safety professionals and Navy Public Affairs. In fact, in March 2003, she was selected to speak on a panel before the Royal Australian Navy regarding military safety. Over the years, Captain Considine has been called up to active duty over a dozen times when her country needed her, including during Desert Storm.

Captain Considine's awards include two U.S. Navy Commendations and the Alaska Humanitarian Services Medal, earned in 1995 as an Officer in charge of a medical detachment to the Northwest Arctic.

Outside of her military accomplishments, Captain Considine is actively involved as an adult literacy program volunteer, a pro-bono technical book reviewer for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a community advocate for school board accountability and public safety, and much more. As a recent example of her care and service to others, she purchased and shipped several hundred pounds of supplies and personal care items to our military members serving in the War on Terrorism out of her own pocketbook.

Mr. Speaker, Captain Noreen Considine is a woman dedicated to her community and country. Her tireless dedication to the U.S. Navy Reserve and Riverside, CA, has contributed immensely to the betterment of those with whom she comes into contact. For all that Captain Considine has done and given over the years, I am privileged to recognize her accomplishments as she retires from a profession that she gave her heart and soul too, the U.S. Navy Reserve.