House Resolution 44

(As Adopted by House)

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING LIEUTENANT COMMANDER BYRON E. THOMPSON, JR., FOR HIS MANY YEARS OF DEDICATED AND MERITORIOUS SERVICE UPON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT.

WHEREAS, Lieutenant Commander Byron E. Thompson, Jr., who hails from Los Alamos, New Mexico, and is a 1986 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, has announced plans of retirement after 20 years of dedicated and meritorious service; and

WHEREAS, in addition to being equipped with his bachelor of science degree from the Coast Guard Academy, Lieutenant Commander Thompson also holds a master's degree in business administration and finance from Rensesslear Polytechnic Institute and an accounting certificate from the University of South Alabama; and

WHEREAS, assigned to duties as a deck watch officer, first lieutenant and boarding officer aboard the Achushnet, homeported in Gulfport, Mississippi, upon his commission, Lieutenant Commander Thompson eagerly engaged in the task at hand of securing the national and international waters from illegal activity and facilitating search and rescue missions; and

WHEREAS, after completing his duties aboard the Achushnet, Lieutenant Commander Thompson was loaned to the United States Navy and assigned as Anti-Marine Warfare Officer onboard the USS Goldsborough (DDG-20), homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, following Goldsborough, Thompson was assigned as instructor of professional studies at the United States Coast Guard Academy, where he also served as the academy's hockey coach; and

WHEREAS, returning to sea as Executive Officer of the Cutter Papaw, Lieutenant Commander Thompson assumed a lead role in several major operations, including the rescue of over 530 Cuban migrants, lead ship of Operation Restore Democracy in Haiti and oil spill response for the Buffalo Six pipeline explosion in the Houston Ship Channel; and

WHEREAS, subsequent to his work on the open waters, Lieutenant Commander Thompson has served as the Operations Officer, Aids to Navigation Branch and later Assistant Chief of the Search and Rescue Branch at the Eighth Coast Guard District in New Orleans; Comptroller of the Coast Guard Aviation Training Command in Mobile, where he managed an annual budget in excess of $8.1 million and property valued at more than $101 million; and

WHEREAS, designated Coast Guard Logistics Chief for Hurricane Ivan response, this assignment provided him invaluable experience, which proved beneficial while serving as Coast Guard Liaison Officer to Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina when tasked with coordinating state and federal rescue efforts; and

WHEREAS, in his capacity as liaison officer, Lieutenant Commander Thompson coordinated 289 search and rescue cases, over 1,500 calls for medical assistance, recorded in excess of 5,000 missing persons reports and utilizing ground search teams contacted over 10,000 south Mississippi residents; and

WHEREAS, this highly decorated officer, who has to his credit three Coast Guard Commendation Medals, a Coast Guard Achievement Medal and designations as a Coast Guard Cutterman and United States Naval Surface Warfare Officer, has been supported throughout his career by his family: wife, Nancy Crosby Thompson; and children, Courtney, Chase and Morgan; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to recognize and commend the remarkable career of outstanding Mississippians such as Lieutenant Commander Thompson, whose service has exemplified the utmost characteristics of dedicated excellence:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend Lieutenant Commander Byron E. Thompson, Jr., upon his many years of dedicated and meritorious service, congratulate him upon the occasion of his retirement and express our sincerest wishes for continued success in all of his future endeavors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Lieutenant Commander Byron E. Thompson, Jr., and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.