2000 Keeper of the Flame Award: Floyd Spence

In the company of over 37 senior military officers — including two members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, top legislators, senior congressional staff, executive branch officials (past and present), corporate leaders, diplomats and other admirers — Congressman Floyd D. Spence was honored on 27 September by the Center for Security Policy for his lifetime of service to the Nation. In recognition of his achievements, including during the past six years Chairman of the United States House of Representatives Committee on Armed Services, Congressman Spence received the Center’s prestigious “Keeper of the Flame” award for 2000.

In receiving the award, Rep. Spence observed: “People ask me my top priority in Congress, I say ‘Defense’. They say why, and I say, ‘if we are free and secure as a nation, we are provided with an environment that allows us to consider all these other problems we have.'”

Rep. Spence was introduced by last year’s recipient of the “Flame” award, the 32nd Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, General James L. Jones. In addition to praising Chairman Spence’s innumerable contributions to the national security, Gen. Jones briefly summarized highlights of the testimony he and his fellow Chiefs provided earlier in the day before the two Armed Services Committees.

Particularly noteworthy was the emphasis General Jones placed — both on Capitol Hill and at the Four Seasons and, of course, in internal Pentagon deliberations — on the need to address not only the serious problems confronting today’s military but those that threaten the combat readiness and deterrent potential of tomorrow’s armed forces. As he put it in his testimony before the Armed Services Committees: “We are, in essence, continuing to maintain our current status at the expense of future readiness. We are at a point where failure to rectify modernization shortfalls can no longer be ignored.” Gen. Jones used the occasion of the Center event to reiterate his view that a national commitment of at least four percent of Gross Domestic Product to the national security.

Two other featured speakers contributed greatly to the success of the evening:

Rep. Ike Skelton (D-MO), the ranking minority member of the House Armed Services Committee, who served as one of the Co-Chairmen of the Dinner’s Honorary Host Committee and provided a touching tribute to his long-time friend and valued colleague, Floyd Spence. And,

Rep. Tillie Fowler (R-FL), a four-term member of the House Armed Services Committee and, by dint of her role as the Vice Chairman of the House Republican Conference, the senior female legislator in the 106th Congress. Rep. Fowler spoke with great affection of her Chairman and mentor and thanked him for his leadership in making security policy a priority for their colleagues and for our government more generally.

Throughout his career, Congressman Spence has exemplified — and has played an indispensable role in the application of — the principle of “peace through strength.” Under his Chairmanship, the Armed Services Committee has taken the lead in addressing such issues as the “erosion by design” of our nuclear deterrent during the Clinton years, the urgent need for missile defense, the threat of electromagnetic pulse attacks and the need to recapitalize the U.S. armed forces and the defense industrial base.

The elegant black-tie dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel also marked the 11th anniversary of the Center’s awarding of its “Keeper of the Flame” tribute. Previous recipients recognized for devoting their public careers to the propagation of democracy and the respect for individual rights throughout the world have included: President Ronald Reagan, former Secretaries of Defense Caspar Weinberger and Donald Rumsfeld, then-Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Gen. Jones, Senator Jon Kyl, Rep. Chris Cox and Steve Forbes. Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher also received the Center’s “Freedom Flame” award.

Among those who joined in celebrating Congressman Spence’s ongoing efforts on behalf of the national security were:

Gen. Michael E. Ryan, Chief of Staff, U.S. Air Force; Gen. Carl E. Mundy Jr. USMC (Ret.), Chairman of the Center’s Military Committee and former Commander of the Marine Corps; Adm. Frank L. ‘Skip’ Bowman USN, Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion, Major General Edward Hanlon, USMC; Lt. Gen. John Pickler, USA; Hon. Donald H. Rumsfeld; Hon. Solomon P. Ortiz (D-TX); Hon. Christopher Cox (R-CA); Hon. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ); Hon. Frank R. Wolf (R-VA); Hon. Richard K. Armey (R-TX); Hon Robin Hayes (R-NC), and many others.

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., the Center’s President, used the occasion to pay a special tribute and call the company’s attention to the plight of Lieutenant Commander Jack Daly (USN), a naval officer who, in the course of safeguarding our security, was severely wounded in 1997 by an unprovoked laser attack from a Russian intelligence ship. Mr. Gaffney noted that, to its lasting shame, the United States government has ever since regarded Commander Daly as an “inconvenient” man — to the point of denying him proper medical treatment for the partial blinding he suffered and even preventing him from gaining access to the medical records he needs to seek help elsewhere. He called upon those present, and indeed, all others who are outraged by this travesty to seek due recognition and redress for Cmdr. Daly.