| |
|
| |
| THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA |
| |
| HOUSE RESOLUTION |
|
| |
| |
| INTRODUCED BY FAIRCHILD, MELIO, BARRAR, BELFANTI, BEYER, BISHOP, BRENNAN, CLYMER, COHEN, D. COSTA, COX, DeLUCA, DiGIROLAMO, DONATUCCI, EVERETT, FLECK, GEIST, GEORGE, GIBBONS, GINGRICH, GODSHALL, GOODMAN, GRELL, GROVE, GRUCELA, HARHAI, HARHART, HELM, HENNESSEY, HESS, HORNAMAN, HUTCHINSON, JOHNSON, M. KELLER, KILLION, KOTIK, KULA, MAHONEY, MANN, MARSICO, McCALL, MENSCH, MILLARD, MILLER, MOUL, MUNDY, MURPHY, MUSTIO, M. O'BRIEN, O'NEILL, PARKER, PASHINSKI, PAYNE, PHILLIPS, QUIGLEY, QUINN, RAPP, READSHAW, REICHLEY, ROAE, SANTONI, SAYLOR, SCAVELLO, SIPTROTH, S. H. SMITH, SOLOBAY, SONNEY, STERN, STEVENSON, SWANGER, TALLMAN, TRUE, TURZAI, VEREB, WALKO, WATSON, YUDICHAK AND CONKLIN, MARCH 9, 2009 |
| |
| |
| INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35, MARCH 9, 2009 |
| |
| |
| |
| A RESOLUTION |
| |
1 | Designating March 10, 2009, as "National Guard Day" in |
2 | Pennsylvania. |
3 | WHEREAS, In 1747, Benjamin Franklin organized the |
4 | “Associators” in Philadelphia; and |
5 | WHEREAS, Units of today's Pennsylvania National Guard trace |
6 | their lineage to the first Associators; and |
7 | WHEREAS, In 1755, the General Assembly of the Province of |
8 | Pennsylvania received a great number of petitions from the |
9 | several counties of the province "setting forth that the |
10 | petitioners were very willing to defend themselves and their |
11 | country and desirous of being formed into regular bodies for |
12 | that purpose, instructed and disciplined under proper officers |
|
1 | with suitable and legal authority"; and |
2 | WHEREAS, Responding to these petitions, the representatives |
3 | of the Province of Pennsylvania, meeting in General Assembly, |
4 | passed this Commonwealth's first militia law on November 25, |
5 | 1755; and |
6 | WHEREAS, The militia law, passed "for the better ordering and |
7 | regulating such as are willing and desirous to be united for |
8 | military purposes within this province," created the volunteer |
9 | militia and laid the legal foundation for the militia and the |
10 | Pennsylvania National Guard; and |
11 | WHEREAS, Enactment of the act of November 25, 1755, marked |
12 | the beginning of more than 250 years of cooperation and support |
13 | from the General Assembly for the Pennsylvania militia, the |
14 | Pennsylvania National Guard and the soldiers and airmen who |
15 | proudly serve this Commonwealth and this nation; and |
16 | WHEREAS, For more than 250 years, in war and in peace, |
17 | Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers and airmen have served at |
18 | home and abroad, serving in every war and responding to floods, |
19 | blizzards and other emergencies at home; and |
20 | WHEREAS, Pennsylvania’s National Guard force reaches from the |
21 | Joint Force Headquarters located at Fort Indiantown Gap, Lebanon |
22 | County, to some 90 communities across this Commonwealth; and |
23 | WHEREAS, Today, the Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the |
24 | top ten employers in this Commonwealth with approximately 3,000 |
25 | of its members serving in a full-time capacity, with the |
26 | remaining 16,000 members serving as “traditional” guard members |
27 | who train on a part-time basis while pursuing civilian |
28 | educations or careers; and |
29 | WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the |
30 | largest National Guard forces in the nation with its army |
|
1 | component being the largest and air component the fourth largest |
2 | in the country; and |
3 | WHEREAS, The 28th Infantry Division is the oldest, |
4 | continuous-serving division in the United States Army; and |
5 | WHEREAS, Pennsylvania was selected as the only National Guard |
6 | force in the country to field a Stryker Brigade Combat Team |
7 | (SBCT), which is one of only seven Stryker brigades in the |
8 | United States ; and |
9 | WHEREAS, The 213th Area Support Group is the Pennsylvania |
10 | National Guard’s second major army unit that handles combat |
11 | support missions, including transportation, finance and |
12 | personnel services; and |
13 | WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Air National Guard is made up of |
14 | the 111th Fighter Wing for air support missions; the 171st Air |
15 | Refueling Wing for worldwide aerial refueling capabilities; and |
16 | the 193rd Special Operations Wing for providing the only aerial |
17 | broadcasting capability in the world; and |
18 | WHEREAS, In time of war, national or State emergency, or in |
19 | support of any military operation worldwide, the President may |
20 | mobilize units of the National Guard into active Federal |
21 | service; and |
22 | WHEREAS, The active Federal service of the Pennsylvania |
23 | National Guard has included service in every conflict America |
24 | has faced, from the Revolutionary War through Iraqi Freedom, as |
25 | well as peacekeeping missions around the globe; and |
26 | WHEREAS, More than 450,000 members of the United States Army |
27 | Reserve Components have been called to active service around the |
28 | world since 2001, including more than 20,000 of Pennsylvania’s |
29 | soldiers and airmen; and |
30 | WHEREAS, The 56th Stryker Brigade consisting of more than |
|
1 | 4,000 soldiers has been recently deployed to Iraq and more than |
2 | 1,000 soldiers from the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade will join |
3 | the Stryker Brigade in Iraq; and |
4 | WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania National Guard, in peacetime, |
5 | offers broad support to the civilian community through the |
6 | Counterdrug Program, which provides trained personnel and |
7 | specialized equipment to assist State and local law enforcement |
8 | agencies in the fight against illegal drugs; and |
9 | WHEREAS, Pennsylvania National Guard members serve as role |
10 | models, as well as community volunteers and civic leaders |
11 | throughout this Commonwealth; and |
12 | WHEREAS, It is the intent of the House of Representatives to |
13 | recognize the men and women of our armed forces for their |
14 | dedicated service to this Commonwealth and this nation and |
15 | commend them especially for the outstanding performance of their |
16 | duties around the world and in the Global War On Terror and in |
17 | response to natural disasters; and |
18 | WHEREAS, The continued support of the General Assembly has |
19 | been and is critical to the success of the Pennsylvania National |
20 | Guard; therefore be it |
21 | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize and |
22 | designate March 10, 2009, as "National Guard Day" in |
23 | Pennsylvania; and be it further |
24 | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives give thanks for |
25 | the Pennsylvania National Guard and the service of generations |
26 | of soldiers and airmen from across Pennsylvania from our days as |
27 | a royal colony to the great Commonwealth we are today; and be it |
28 | further |
29 | RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to |
30 | the Governor and to The Adjutant General of Pennsylvania. |
|