PRINTER'S NO. 3561
No. 698 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY GIBBONS, D. O'BRIEN, DeWEESE, BAKER, BARRAR, BEAR,
BELFANTI, BENNINGHOFF, BEYER, BIANCUCCI, BISHOP, BOBACK,
BOYD, BROOKS, BUXTON, CALTAGIRONE, CAUSER, CLYMER, COHEN,
CONKLIN, CREIGHTON, DALEY, DePASQUALE, DiGIROLAMO, D. EVANS,
EVERETT, FABRIZIO, FAIRCHILD, FLECK, FRANKEL, FREEMAN,
GALLOWAY, GEIST, GEORGE, GINGRICH, GODSHALL, GOODMAN,
GRUCELA, HARKINS, HARPER, HENNESSEY, HERSHEY, HESS,
HICKERNELL, HORNAMAN, HUTCHINSON, JAMES, W. KELLER, KULA,
LENTZ, MAHONEY, MAJOR, MANDERINO, MANN, MANTZ, MARKOSEK,
McCALL, McGEEHAN, McILHATTAN, MELIO, METCALFE, MICOZZIE,
MILLARD, MILNE, MOUL, MOYER, MUNDY, MURT, MUSTIO, MYERS,
NAILOR, M. O'BRIEN, O'NEILL, PALLONE, PARKER, PETRI, PETRONE,
PHILLIPS, PICKETT, PYLE, RAMALEY, RAPP, READSHAW, REED,
REICHLEY, ROAE, ROHRER, ROSS, SAINATO, SANTONI, SCAVELLO,
SEIP, SHIMKUS, SIPTROTH, K. SMITH, SOLOBAY, R. STEVENSON,
STURLA, SURRA, SWANGER, J. TAYLOR, THOMAS, TRUE, VULAKOVICH,
WALKO, WATSON, J. WHITE, WOJNAROSKI, YOUNGBLOOD AND YUDICHAK,
APRIL 7, 2008
INTRODUCED AS NONCONTROVERSIAL RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 35,
APRIL 7, 2008
A RESOLUTION
1 Recognizing the 100th anniversary of the United States Army
2 Reserve and honoring the commitment, dedication and service
3 of and extending gratitude and appreciation to the soldiers
4 and veterans of the Army Reserve.
5 WHEREAS, In 1908, the nation's leaders, knowing that the most
6 up-to-date medical experience resided in the civilian sector,
7 created the first reservoir of trained officers in a reserve
8 status, known as the Medical Reserve Corps; and
9 WHEREAS, Today, more than 59% of the Army's medical assets
10 lie within the Army Reserve; and
1 WHEREAS, In 1916, the Congress of the United States passed
2 the National Defense Act, creating the Officers' Reserve Corps,
3 the Enlisted Reserve Corps and the Reserve Officers' Training
4 Corps, later named the Organized Reserve Corps (ORC), all of
5 which are forerunners of the current Army Reserve; and
6 WHEREAS, In World War I and World War II, Army Reserve
7 soldiers answered the call of duty; and
8 WHEREAS, In World War I, 89,500 officers from the Officers'
9 Reserve Corps and 80,000 members of the Enlisted Reserve Corps
10 were mobilized, and during World War II, 200,000 members of the
11 ORC participated, with reserve officers providing 29% of the
12 Army's officers; and
13 WHEREAS, During the Korean War, 245,000 members of the ORC
14 were called to active duty and more than 400 Army Reserve units
15 were deployed to the Korean Peninsula; and
16 WHEREAS, During the Berlin Crisis of 1961, more than 60,000
17 Army Reserve soldiers were called to active duty; and
18 WHEREAS, Thirty-five Army Reserve units were mobilized and
19 deployed in support of operations in the Vietnam War, where they
20 served with distinction and honor; and
21 WHEREAS, The Army Reserve contributed indispensable support
22 in Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo; and
23 WHEREAS, More than 84,000 soldiers of the Army Reserve
24 provided combat support and combat service support during
25 Operation Desert Storm and Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and
26 1991; and
27 WHEREAS, The Army Reserve has provided sustained support for
28 Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Noble Eagle and Operation
29 Iraqi Freedom, with 98% of units either deploying or providing
30 mobilized soldiers, and more than 180,294 individual soldiers
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1 either being mobilized or deployed in support of the Global War
2 on Terrorism; and
3 WHEREAS, As of November 2007, more than 42,000 Army Reserve
4 soldiers have served multiple deployments since 2001 in
5 Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries; and
6 WHEREAS, In 1952, Congress renamed the ORC as the Army
7 Reserve and divided it into three reserves: the Ready Reserve,
8 the Standby Reserve and the Retired Reserve; and
9 WHEREAS, Legislation also provided that reserve units have 24
10 training days and up to 17 days of annual training; and
11 WHEREAS, The Army Reserve has been an integral part of
12 numerous conflicts; and
13 WHEREAS, The role of the Army Reserve has changed over time;
14 and
15 WHEREAS, Moving from a strategic reserve to an operational
16 force, the Army Reserve also provides resources and training to
17 first-responder organizations across the nation, trains
18 soldiers, implements national objectives, keeps the army mobile
19 and enables the army to do more with fewer resources; and
20 WHEREAS, The Army Reserve is community-based with an active
21 presence in 1,100 communities and 975 Army Reserve Centers
22 nationwide; and
23 WHEREAS, The ability of individual reservists to perform
24 their wartime missions is contingent on the active engagement
25 and support of families, friends and local communities; and
26 WHEREAS, The Army Reserve makes up 20% of the army's
27 organized units, but provides one-half of the army's combat
28 support and one-fourth of its mobilization base expansion
29 capabilities; therefore be it
30 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives congratulate the
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1 Army Reserve on its 100th anniversary, recognize and commend the
2 men and women of the Army Reserve for their selfless dedication,
3 personal courage and sacrifice as citizen soldiers who gave and
4 continue to give their utmost to the calls of freedom and extend
5 gratitude and appreciation from the members of the House of
6 Representatives and the people of this great Commonwealth to the
7 soldiers and veterans of the Army Reserve for a long tradition
8 of distinguished and dedicated service and sacrifice for 100
9 years.
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