[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 53 (Tuesday, April 23, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H3715-H3718]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
A TRIBUTE TO THE U.S. ARMY RESERVES
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Collins of Georgia). Under the Speaker's
announced policy of May 12, 1995, the remainder of the majority
leader's hour is designated to the gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. Lewis].
The gentleman from Kentucky is recognized for 25 minutes.
Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to pay tribute to
the men and women who serve in our U.S. Army Reserves. Today, April 23,
is the 88th birthday of the U.S. Army Reserves. I hope the American
people pause for a moment to reflect on the contributions of the more
than 600,000 soldiers in our Selected and Ready Reserve Forces.
For less than 6 percent of the total Army budget, reservists help
fellow Americans with floods, hurricane, and other emergency relief;
support peace operations in Bosnia, Somalia, southwest Asia, and Haiti.
More than 3,000 Army reservists are in Bosnia. They help with
counternarcotic operations in South America and elsewhere. They do a
tremendous job for this country.
From the early stages of our Nation, Americans have served as citizen
soldiers. Indeed, it was ordinary men who left their jobs and fired the
first shots of the Revolutionary War. We had no standing Army then.
Eventually this citizen militia gave way to trained reservists who have
served proudly in wartime and peacetime for more than 200 years.
Today's Army reservists are a highly trained, highly motivated group.
Many of them hold down full-time jobs with families, and then offer
their services one weekend every month and an additional 2 weeks each
year. Even then, they never know when they will be called upon for
greater sacrifice. This is nothing to take lightly in the post-cold-war
era, not when we have reservists in Bosnia and a number of other
dangerous places.
Mr. Speaker, let us also pay tribute to the employers of today's
reservists and National Guardsmen. I am sure some of them are
occasionally inconvenienced when a valuable employee changes uniform
for a weekend or 2 weeks or longer. The men and women who employ our
reservists and guardsmen also play a part in their valuable mission,
and we should thank them for their heroic and patriotic contribution.
Mr. Speaker, let me close by recognizing the contributions of a
valuable Reserve unit in Kentucky's Second Congressional District, the
100th Army Division. Though its name, mission, and even headquarters
has changed over the years, these soldiers have served proudly for 78
years. They just missed action in World War I, but were critical
components to our armed services in the Battle of Europe during World
War II. They helped capture many towns, took nearly 6,000 prisoners,
and three ``Century Division'' soldiers were awarded the Medal of
Honor.
In January 1991, more than 1,100 soldiers again went to war in
Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The 100th Division truly
represents the finest tradition of volunteerism in our
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country. These men and women have all the responsibilities and
challenges most of us face every day, but for 30 days and often more
each year they shed their business suits for cammies and fatigues. I am
proud to pay tribute to our Army reservists and National Guardsmen on
their 88th anniversary, and to their families and their employers.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to my good friend, the gentleman from Indiana
[Mr. Hostettler].
Mr. HOSTETTLER. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from
Kentucky, for this opportunity to celebrate the citizen soldier; the
citizen soldier that goes to the very heart of America. The heart of
the Reserves is the heart of true Americans, and I congratulate the
Army Reserves on its formal 88th birthday.
However, I think it is appropriate to note that the spirit which
drives what we now call the Army Reserves is the spirit upon which
America was founded over 200 years ago. When the British garrison at
Boston marched against the Massachusetts provincial military stores at
Concord on April 18, 1775, the citizen soldiers at the Massachusetts
militia gathered together to drive them back into the city. These
patriotic Americans realized that if they did not take it upon
themselves, their values, faith, and livelihood were in jeopardy.
Fortunately, since the time of the War of Independence, America has
always had citizen soldiers ready to protect the liberty we value in
America. The Reserves and National Guard are special. I do not want to
detract from our professional active services. They are certainly
needed, and we could not maintain our defenses without them.
But I must confess that there is something special about America's
Reserves and the Guard. There is something special about taking the
butcher, the mechanic, the engineer, the pilot, men and women who
would, in other times, be at home with their children, mowing the lawn
and washing the car, and suddenly whisking them into action as needed
by their country.
There is something special about men and women who do not feel led to
pursue the military as a career, but feel strongly enough about their
country to be there when needed; people who agree, for modest benefit,
to train on a regular basis and develop the necessary skills to operate
today's modern war fighting machines. The Reserves and Guard are
critical to America. The Reserves and the Guard are absolutely
necessary if America is to maintain the level of security that we have
been accustomed to.
{time} 2030
We simply cannot financially maintain our force structure without
them. However, even if we could afford to maintain our defenses only
with active forces, I am not so sure that this would be the best idea.
We must allow Americans the opportunity to be able to stand up and be
counted. We must allow them to say, ``I will be there if you need me.''
And frankly, under today's force structure we need them more than ever,
which is perhaps our country's highest possible compliment to the Guard
and Reserves. Thank God there are Americans who continue to volunteer.
Tonight, I salute the Guard and Reserves. I also salute those
employers who work so hard to enable their employees to serve. America
would not be the same without them.
I thank the gentleman again, Ron Lewis, for this opportunity to
speak.
Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, later this week I will be
introducing a resolution to honor the men and women in all our Reserve
forces, and it will call upon the American people to honor the families
of employers and all those who assist reservists in their valuable
mission. I encourage all Members of this body to honor our reservists.
I now yield time to the gentleman from Indiana [Mr. Buyer], who is a
major in the Reserves, and we certainly appreciate him coming tonight.
Mr. BUYER. I thank the gentleman from Kentucky very much for yielding
me time. Also let me compliment both of the gentlemen, who are valued
members of the Committee on National Security. The support by the
gentlemen of the total force concept in this Nation is to be
congratulated, and I appreciate your service.
Actually, gentlemen, kind of what was going through my mind as I
listened to both your comments is that while time marches on, there are
certain values and principles which most of us hold dear, which are
ageless, and that is duty, honor, and country. They are ageless.
When I think of the citizen soldier, the citizen soldier was a
concept that was brought about by General George Washington who
presented it, the idea, before a congressional committee created by
Alexander Hamilton in 1783. So it has been a concept and principle that
has been with us for a very long time.
The other thought that was going through my mind as I listened to
both of the gentlemen is that there are many things and there are many
places which define our national character, our struggles and our
triumphs, from the revolution that the gentleman from Indiana [Mr.
Hostettler] mentioned, where enraged revolutionaries first ran at
Lexington Green.
We do not like to talk about that, though, do we? It is interesting,
we forget about that part. But they first ran at Lexington Green to the
Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. It marks the spot where
merchants and farmers actually grabbed the muskets and took a stand.
That is why the Old North Bridge now is so famous, is because that is
where the first stand was taken. They challenged the British army on
April 19, 1775.
So from the Civil War to the Spanish-American War, World War I, World
War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, a lot of these peace operations
that are about, whether it is Somalia or Haiti or in fact in Bosnia,
that the gentleman from Kentucky [Mr. Lewis] in fact mentioned, the
Reserves have been there. They are citizen soldiers who have answered
the call to duty.
But when I said nothing defines our national character more, it is
the individual who steps forward to answer the call to duty. The
easiest thing when an individual is called is to say, ``I am too
busy,'' or ``I have got other things to do. I have other commitments. I
have my family to take care of. I have my business to take care of. Oh,
the Nation, you do not need me.''
We, as a nation, struggled through that during the Vietnam era, where
there were many that disagreed with the war and chose their personal
values over that of the country or the national interest at the time.
But when I said nothing defines our character more, I think it has to
do with through the emotions of war, because why is it that the soldier
serves?
The soldier serves for the protection of the liberties, the freedoms,
the economic opportunities, the sense of equality, justice, and equity
from a free society. These are men and women that said, ``Yes, we will
protect the motherland of America, but we will also protect the vital
national security interests of the United States,'' which goes far
beyond the continental borders of the United States.
War has been with us through the ages of time, and from those of whom
have participated and others of whom have witnessed, stories have been
told and have been written, each capturing some form of glory about
war, but war may not be glorious in verse or prose. In reality, it is
the soldier, it is the airman, it is the marine, sailor, whether they
are on active, whether they are a guardsman, whether they are a
reservist.
They are the individuals who answered the call to duty, a sense of
honor and commitment to country, and they have felt the cold stings of
battle. They have witnessed new levels of fear and new levels of
courage that mankind would never witness had it not been for the
theater of war. They see the long dark shadow afore, and they have
challenged and spat into the face of death.
War is not glorious. But what the writers seem to try to capture is
that citizen soldier who answers the call to duty, left their family,
and felt new levels of fear and courage that could only be felt as
exhibited from the American character.
That is what is exciting. That is why my two colleagues have come
here today to say happy birthday. What they are saying, really, happy
birthday because they are paying tribute to many men and women who have
answered the call to duty who are a cut above, because the easiest
thing is not to participate. The easiest thing is to
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sit at home and to reap the reward and benefit of a free society
without the responsibility.
It is common, everyday people called upon to perform uncommon acts of
valor, and we witness that in a theater of war, but it does not
necessarily take a war to define it. We also see it as individuals in
our society respond to natural disasters. We have that, we have seen
that.
But we are here talking about the Army Reserves, and I congratulate
the gentlemen for coming to the floor to discuss that.
Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman.
Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I think as the gentleman
mentioned, we see these men and women not just willing to sacrifice
themselves to go to war, but they are usually the very people that are
willing to help out in any area, in their church, in their community.
They may be volunteer firemen, and they may be whatever they need, they
are usually there willing to help, help their community. They are there
to look out for the best interest of what is good in our society.
Mr. BUYER. Mr. Speaker, if I can reclaim my time.
Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. Yes.
Mr. BUYER. I think the challenge of those responsibilities that we
face on the Committee on National Security is that in this new modern
era, I guess that post-cold-war era, we have such greater reliance now
as the force has been downsized. Our belief in the total force concept
places great stress on the Reserve system and that of the National
Guard.
We have to be forever mindful and thoughtful with our hearts with
regard to the stressors that we are placing upon the employers that
both of the gentlemen mentioned, upon the families. Take the Air force
Reserve, for example. It is not like advertisements where they say
well, it is 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks in the summer or some plan.
They are spending so much time now with that Reserve commitment that
employers are being stressed and it is a great stress on the family,
and we have to be forever mindful with regard to how we take care of
the Reserves so we can keep quality men and women in the reserves.
Mr. HOSTETTLER. If the gentleman will yield, as we have discussed and
debated the issue of the force structure drawdown for the active duty
forces, one thing that I have notices is absent from all of this, and
that is the fact that there are no complaints from the Reserve
components of our national security system, no complaints about having
to be more active, having to be more accessible, more available for our
national security needs. I think that goes to the heart of the points
the gentlemen have made, especially earlier in their comments, is that
they do have this sense of duty to country, and even at a time when we
are using them at the most elevated levels probably in their history,
except for the Revolutionary War, there are no complaints. It is
strictly, ``I will be there when I am called.''
Mr. BUYER. Makes you feel good, does it not?
Mr. HOSTETTLER. Sure does.
Mr. BUYER. I think America right now can be very proud of the
Reserves and the Guard as they stand side-by-side, toe-to-toe with the
active forces. We have a total force concept today that works. Sure,
there are areas for which we can try to work out those differences, but
I stand here in the well of the U.S. Congress giving assurance to the
American people that they have a quality force.
We can discuss whether or not it is of the correct size, whether it
is prepared and the readiness, and those are debates that we have with
the administration, but there are individuals who came before us who
laid the groundwork which we are very proud of. There is an individual,
he is going to be leaving us soon, but we are ever mindful reverent and
respectful for the gentleman from Mississippi who has laid a lot of
groundwork with regard to making sure that the total force concept and
the volunteer force works.
I yield back my time to the gentleman from Kentucky.
Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. I would like to yield now to the gentleman
that Mr. Buyer was just mentioning, a great American, a gentleman that
has given his heart in service to this country and to the great group
of men and women that make up the National Guard. I would like to yield
now to our friend, the gentleman from Mississippi, Sonny Montgomery.
Mr. MONTGOMERY. Well, I thank the gentleman for giving me this time.
I was watching the three gentlemen and I was very, very impressed, the
gentlemen from Kentucky, from Indiana and Indiana, by what they said
tonight. It is close to my heart. I have been a citizen soldier all of
my life and very, very proud of it most of my life.
I have worked with the three gentlemen on the Armed Services
Committee for a number of years, and it has been a real privilege to be
a part of the citizen soldier and the National Guard and Reserve.
Finally, thanks to the gentlemen and others, we do have the total force
that is now working.
Like some of the Members, I just returned from Bosnia and Germany,
and without the guardsmen and reservists they could not make it over
there now. Today we are talking, and the other gentleman from Indiana,
we are talking about military construction, about the problems of
funding for the National Guard and Reserve.
It was pointed out in this construction bill for next year
recommended by the Defense Department, 3 percent of those funds will go
to the National Guard and Reserve for construction. That is not enough.
If we are going to keep a strong defense and citizen soldiers, they are
going to have to get more funding on military construction and also on
equipment.
But that was pointed out today. It is distressing. They are going to
have to, the Defense Department is going to have to share and these
assets. The Guard and Reserve have between 35 and 40 percent of all the
missions of our Defense Department, so they do deserve fair treatment.
Thank you very much for doing this. This is a wonderful idea to let
Members, our colleagues, know how important the citizen soldier is. I
thank the gentleman very much for yielding me this time.
{time} 2045
Mr. BUYER. If the gentleman will yield, let me just say, Sonny, when
I look back, I am going to look back with warm memories of having
served in this Congress with you. You are really one of the true
statesmen that serve in this body. I want to recognize you for that.
Also I want to share with you, I read a passage not long ago, you are
one of the American heroes. You landed there at D-Day and you marched
across Europe, and I read a passage, a story about the policing of the
battlefield. As a battlefield in Europe was policed of the dead, they
came upon a body where there was no one around to listen to a soldier's
last words. He pulled out a pad and wrote his last words down on a
piece of paper and it was found. And it said, ``When you go home, tell
them that I gave this day for their tomorrow.''
It is very powerful. There are many people, unfortunately, that take
our freedoms and liberty and economic opportunities for granted. That
is unfortunate. But hopefully people will begin to recognize that there
are men and women who serve in the Army Reserve, in the National Guard,
who are committed to duty, honor, and country, and recognize that upon
their first breath was free air, because of the sacrifices given by a
lot of people who came before them.
General Patton went and paid homage at a cemetery there in Europe,
and he said ``I didn't come here to pay homage that they died; I came
here to pay homage that they lived.'' And that is what is exciting.
That is the rejoicing part, that we have men and women in the Army
Reserve and the National Guard, that we stand here tonight to celebrate
their service to country, out of their value and commitment to freedom
and liberty and preservation for future generations.
Sonny, you are one of my heroes. Thank you.
Mr. LEWIS of Kentucky. I just wanted to say in closing tonight that I
agree with you, Sonny, 100 percent, that if these men and women are
going to be willing, and they are always willing, to serve their
country, we need to be willing to meet their needs, to make
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sure that they are provided for, to make sure that we are able to
recruit and to keep fine men and women in our reserves and National
Guard and in our active military.
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