WASHINGTON — The United States Navy has presented U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre, a Lumberton native, with its Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest Navy civilian award.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this prestigious award, and I am thankful to have the opportunity to assist the men and women of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in their mission,” McIntyre said in a statement. “From the sea to the air and land, the Navy and Marines work day-in and day-out guarding and protecting our freedoms and security.”
The Navy Distinguished Public Service Award was established in 1951 and is presented to civilians for “specific courageous or heroic acts or exceptionally outstanding service of substantial and long-term benefit to the Navy, Marine Corps, or Department of the Navy as a whole.”
Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, presented McIntyre with the award for his service to the Navy as a member of Congress, the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Agriculture.
“… His courageous leadership as a member of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces as well as the Congressional Shipbuilding, Special Operations Forces, and Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucuses directly impacted the quality of life for the men and women of the Department of the Navy, ensuring that the Navy-Marine Corps team was the most lethal force in history,” Mabus said. “Rep. McIntyre’s ardent advocacy of ship-building programs and support for Navy energy initiatives assured the highest levels of readiness for our combat forces.”
McIntyre, a Democrat who is in his eighth term as the District 7 representative in the U.S. House, said that the honor was especially meaningful to him since his father, Doug McIntyre, was a World War II Navy veteran. McIntyre grew up in Lumberton, attended Lumberton High School and the the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He worked as a lawyer before being elected to Congress in 1996.
I'm just not that impressed with what he's done to represent the people who elected him.