[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 55 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 55

    Honoring General Bernard A. Schriever, United States Air Force 
  (retired), for his dedication and service to the United States Air 
   Force, for his essential service in the development of the United 
   States ballistic missile program, and for his lifetime of work to 
               enhance the security of the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 25, 2003

 Mr. Stearns submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
    Honoring General Bernard A. Schriever, United States Air Force 
  (retired), for his dedication and service to the United States Air 
   Force, for his essential service in the development of the United 
   States ballistic missile program, and for his lifetime of work to 
               enhance the security of the United States.

Whereas the United States Air Force recognizes General Bernard A. Schriever, 
        United States Air Force (retired), as the architect of the Nation's 
        ballistic missile and military space program;
Whereas General Schriever began his military career in 1931 as an Army artillery 
        officer, later transferring to the Army Air Corps and attending flight 
        school and flying 36 combat missions during World War II;
Whereas in 1943, General Schriever became chief of the Maintenance and 
        Engineering Division, 5th Air Force Service Command, and then commander 
        of the advance headquarters, Far East Air Service Command, which 
        supported theater operations from bases in Hollandia, New Guinea, Leyte, 
        Manila, and Okinawa;
Whereas General Schriever was promoted to the grade of colonel at the remarkably 
        young age of 33;
Whereas following World War II, General Schriever was assigned to the position 
        of Chief of the Scientific Liaison Section under the Deputy Chief of 
        Staff for Material, Army Air Forces headquarters, and while in that 
        post, introduced the development planning documents that linked ongoing 
        research and development efforts with long-range military planning;
Whereas General Schriever's leadership and technological expertise were 
        responsible for the creation of an operational intercontinental 
        ballistic missile (ICBM);
Whereas in 1954, the Air Force's highest priority was the development of the 
        first intercontinental ballistic missile, the Atlas, and soon thereafter 
        development of that missile became a top national priority under the 
        Eisenhower administration to counter the Soviet nuclear threat;
Whereas at that time the Soviet Union had produced nuclear and thermonuclear 
        bombs and was pursuing an ``aggressive rocket technology program'' 
        culminating in the October 1957 launch and orbit of the Sputnik 
        satellite;
Whereas General Schriever was assigned to head the Air Force's Western 
        Development Division (later called the Ballistic Missile Division), 
        which was solely responsible for planning, programming, and developing 
        the intercontinental ballistic missile;
Whereas the size and funding of the Western Development Division was larger than 
        that of the Manhattan project;
Whereas the Air Force conducted the first successful test launch of an Atlas 
        missile on December 17, 1957, and by 1963 the Strategic Air Command had 
        deployed 13 Atlas missiles squadrons with 120 missiles on alert to meet 
        the contemporary Soviet threat;
Whereas General Schriever oversaw the simultaneous development of the Atlas 
        missile and the intermediate-range ballistic missile, Thor, which 
        achieved an initial operating capability in 1959;
Whereas in April 1961 General Schriever was assigned command of the newly 
        created Air Force Systems Command;
Whereas the more advanced Titan intercontinental ballistic missile reached 
        initial operating capability by April 1962, and 10 Minuteman 
        intercontinental ballistic missiles were placed in service in October 
        1962 in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis;
Whereas General Schriever's efforts produced, within eight years, four complete 
        missile systems for the United States;
Whereas, by contrast, the F-102 fighter aircraft alone took 10 years to develop;
Whereas the Atlas missile is still used as a satellite launch vehicle;
Whereas Walter J. Boyne, former Director of the National Air and Space Museum of 
        the Smithsonian Institution, states ``Today's navigational, 
        meteorological, intelligence, and communication satellites owe their 
        existence to the work of Schriever and his team'';
Whereas General Schriever retired from the Air Force in the grade of general in 
        1966 after 33 years of service;
Whereas after retirement, General Schriever served as a member of the 
        President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, the Defense Science 
        Board, and the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization Advisory 
        Committee; and
Whereas America's dominance in space today is due in large part to the 
        leadership, talent, and selfless service of General Bernard A. 
        Schriever: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress recognizes and honors General Bernard A. Schriever, 
United States Air Force (retired), for his dedication and service to 
the United States Air Force, for his essential service in the 
development of the United States ballistic missile program, and for his 
lifetime of work to enhance the security of the United States.
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