Bill Text: PA HR121 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Designating March 10, 2009, as "National Guard Day" in Pennsylvania.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 60-38)

Status: (Passed) 2009-03-10 - Adopted [HR121 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-HR121-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 912
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 121 Session of2009
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
Designating March 10, 2009, as "National Guard Day" in
Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, In 1747, Benjamin Franklin organized the
“Associators” in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Units of today's Pennsylvania National Guard trace
their lineage to the first Associators; and
WHEREAS, In 1755, the General Assembly of the Province of
Pennsylvania received a great number of petitions from the
several counties of the province "setting forth that the
petitioners were very willing to defend themselves and their
country and desirous of being formed into regular bodies for
that purpose, instructed and disciplined under proper officers
with suitable and legal authority"; and
WHEREAS, Responding to these petitions, the representatives
of the Province of Pennsylvania, meeting in General Assembly,
passed this Commonwealth's first militia law on November 25,
1755; and
WHEREAS, The militia law, passed "for the better ordering and
regulating such as are willing and desirous to be united for
military purposes within this province," created the volunteer
militia and laid the legal foundation for the militia and the
Pennsylvania National Guard; and
WHEREAS, Enactment of the act of November 25, 1755, marked
the beginning of more than 250 years of cooperation and support
from the General Assembly for the Pennsylvania militia, the
Pennsylvania National Guard and the soldiers and airmen who
proudly serve this Commonwealth and this nation; and
WHEREAS, For more than 250 years, in war and in peace,
Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers and airmen have served at
home and abroad, serving in every war and responding to floods,
blizzards and other emergencies at home; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania’s National Guard force reaches from the
Joint Force Headquarters located at Fort Indiantown Gap, Lebanon
County, to some 90 communities across this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, Today, the Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the
top ten employers in this Commonwealth with approximately 3,000
of its members serving in a full-time capacity, with the
remaining 16,000 members serving as “traditional” guard members
who train on a part-time basis while pursuing civilian
educations or careers; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the
largest National Guard forces in the nation with its army
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component being the largest and air component the fourth largest
in the country; and
WHEREAS, The 28th Infantry Division is the oldest,
continuous-serving division in the United States Army; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania was selected as the only National Guard
force in the country to field a Stryker Brigade Combat Team
(SBCT), which is one of only seven Stryker brigades in the
United States ; and
WHEREAS, The 213th Area Support Group is the Pennsylvania
National Guard’s second major army unit that handles combat
support missions, including transportation, finance and
personnel services; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Air National Guard is made up of
the 111th Fighter Wing for air support missions; the 171st Air
Refueling Wing for worldwide aerial refueling capabilities; and
the 193rd Special Operations Wing for providing the only aerial
broadcasting capability in the world; and
WHEREAS, In time of war, national or State emergency, or in
support of any military operation worldwide, the President may
mobilize units of the National Guard into active Federal
service; and
WHEREAS, The active Federal service of the Pennsylvania
National Guard has included service in every conflict America
has faced, from the Revolutionary War through Iraqi Freedom, as
well as peacekeeping missions around the globe; and
WHEREAS, More than 450,000 members of the United States Army
Reserve Components have been called to active service around the
world since 2001, including more than 20,000 of Pennsylvania’s
soldiers and airmen; and
WHEREAS, The 56th Stryker Brigade consisting of more than
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4,000 soldiers has been recently deployed to Iraq and more than
1,000 soldiers from the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade will join
the Stryker Brigade in Iraq; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania National Guard, in peacetime,
offers broad support to the civilian community through the
Counterdrug Program, which provides trained personnel and
specialized equipment to assist State and local law enforcement
agencies in the fight against illegal drugs; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania National Guard members serve as role
models, as well as community volunteers and civic leaders
throughout this Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, It is the intent of the House of Representatives to
recognize the men and women of our armed forces for their
dedicated service to this Commonwealth and this nation and
commend them especially for the outstanding performance of their
duties around the world and in the Global War On Terror and in
response to natural disasters; and
WHEREAS, The continued support of the General Assembly has
been and is critical to the success of the Pennsylvania National
Guard; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives recognize and
designate March 10, 2009, as "National Guard Day" in
Pennsylvania; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives give thanks for
the Pennsylvania National Guard and the service of generations
of soldiers and airmen from across Pennsylvania from our days as
a royal colony to the great Commonwealth we are today; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to
the Governor and to The Adjutant General of Pennsylvania.
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