Representative Ike Skelton

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact: Lara Battles or
Tuesday, February 1, 2005	Whitney Frost (202)225-2876

SKELTON HONORED BY INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE OF THE ARMED FORCES

Skelton Named "Honorary Commandant of ICAF"

Washington, DC – Congressman Ike Skelton (D-MO), the Ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, was honored for his outstanding service to joint professional military education by the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) at its annual awards banquet on Friday, January 28, 2005. Hosted by Air Force General Richard B. Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the formal banquet took place at the Fort Myer Officers' Club in Arlington, Virginia, and was the culminating event of ICAF's 80^th anniversary celebration.

Skelton was given the title of "Honorary Commandant of ICAF" and presented with a small bronze tiger, the ICAF mascot, mounted on a plaque, and an ICAF sports jacket and baseball cap by Marine Corps Major General Frances C. Wilson, Commandant of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, and Major General James E. McInerney, Jr., USAF (Ret.), who served as the 24^th Commandant of ICAF from July 1978 to January 1979.

Major General Wilson said that Congressman Skelton "stood unparalleled as a steadfast champion of excellence and rigor in professional military education (PME) in general, and in Joint PME at the National Defense University and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in particular."

In accepting the title of Honorary Commandant, Skelton said, "I am deeply honored to receive this special award from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Joint Professional Military Education is the lifeblood of future military leadership. My goal is to enable our nation's war colleges, intermediate and senior, to achieve a golden era of military intellectual study."

During 1987-88, Skelton served as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee's Panel on Professional Military Education. The panel's investigation brought about a review of military war college course requirements and highlighted the importance of professional military education across service lines. As Ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, Skelton remains actively involved in overseeing the operation of programs related to professional military education.

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Congressman Ike Skelton (D-MO) serves as Ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. For further information, please contact Lara Battles or Whitney Frost at (202)225-2876, or check Congressman Skelton's web site at http://www.house.gov/skelton.