[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 94 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. J. RES. 94

 Honoring the members of the Massachusetts Air National Guard's 102nd 
   Fighter Wing for their extraordinary performance, leadership, and 
dedication to duty in support of Operation Noble Eagle and in providing 
   combat air patrols during and immediately following the terrorist 
              attacks on the Nation on September 11, 2001.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2002

  Mr. Capuano (for himself, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. Markey, Mr. Olver, Mr. 
Meehan, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Frank, 
 and Mr. Tierney) introduced the following joint resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION


 
 Honoring the members of the Massachusetts Air National Guard's 102nd 
   Fighter Wing for their extraordinary performance, leadership, and 
dedication to duty in support of Operation Noble Eagle and in providing 
   combat air patrols during and immediately following the terrorist 
              attacks on the Nation on September 11, 2001.

Whereas on the morning of September 11, 2001, the 102nd Fighter Wing of the 
        Massachusetts Air National Guard became the Nation's first airborne 
        responder to the terrorist attacks of that day when it scrambled two F-
        15 fighter aircraft just six minutes after being informed of the 
        terrorist hijackings of commercial airliners;
Whereas within the first hour of the terrorist attacks, the 102nd Fighter Wing 
        launched six armed aircraft on combat air patrol over New York City and 
        Boston;
Whereas as a result of its ability to respond so quickly and effectively, the 
        102nd Fighter Wing became the country's lead air defense squadron for 
        Operation Noble Eagle;
Whereas the 102nd Fighter Wing established a twenty-four hours a day, seven days 
        a week presence in the skies over the northeast and mid-Atlantic 
        portions of the country;
Whereas in the first three days of the national crisis, the 102nd Fighter Wing 
        was the country's sole clearance and identification authority for air 
        traffic, and its flawless execution expedited the flow of medevac and 
        recovery aircraft to the World Trade Center site;
Whereas from September 11, 2001, until receiving orders to stand down on 
        February 1, 2002, the 102nd Fighter Wing flew a total of 770 sorties, 
        compiling over 3,200 hours in direct support of Operation Noble Eagle 
        and combat air patrols over New York City, Washington, D.C., and Boston;
Whereas during this nearly five-month period, the unit came close to surpassing 
        its annual allocation of flying hours and sustained a remarkable 300 
        percent increase in operational tempo;
Whereas the 102nd Fighter Wing's maintenance crews provided fully mission 
        capable aircraft that enabled the squadron to meet 100 percent of its 
        combat air patrol and alert taskings as well as to provide fill in for 
        other units when those units could not meet their taskings; and
Whereas the 102nd Fighter Wing was selected as the 2002 recipient of the Winston 
        P. Wilson Trophy, given annually to the country's most outstanding Air 
        National Guard fighter unit, and is a finalist for the 2002 Hughes 
        Achievement Award, which recognizes the top fighter unit in the entire 
        United States Air Force: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That Congress--
            (1) acknowledges the tremendous accomplishments of the 
        Massachusetts Air National Guard's 102nd Fighter Wing in 
        response to the terrorist attacks on the Nation on September 
        11, 2001; and
            (2) commends the members of the 102nd Fighter Wing for 
        their extraordinary performance, leadership, and dedication to 
        duty in support of Operation Noble Eagle and in providing 
        combat air patrols during and immediately following those 
        attacks.
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