[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 112 (Friday, July 25, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1589]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING THE MISSION OF THE DIAGEO IRAQ HUMANITARIAN AIRLIFT TEAM

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                          HON. JOHN B. LARSON

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 24, 2003

  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, to recognize 
and pay tribute to the effort of the Diageo Iraq Humanitarian Airlift 
Team, who in four days, covered 12,000 miles, and delivered school 
supplies, hygienic and food products to the children of Iraq. The 
Diageo Iraq Humanitarian Airlift, one of the first U.S. corporate 
humanitarian missions into Iraq, provided 90,000 pounds of aid and 
supplies to improve the health and lives of thousands of Iraqi 
children.
  As a project endorsed by both U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld 
and Commanding General Tommy Franks, this team of Diageo employees and 
Ground Zero Heroes--current and former New York City Firefighters and 
Policemen who provided emergency services on September 11th--left for 
Baghdad on June 22, 2003. This humanitarian team flew from New York to 
Amsterdam, where they loaded a DC-8 cargo transport plane with supplies 
that included such things as school materials, infant formula, milk 
powder, rice and sugar. With temperatures exceeding 115 degrees, the 
cargo plane carrying these supplies touched down at the Baghdad 
International Airport. In a city mostly without power and water, the 
Diageo Iraq Humanitarian Airlift volunteers visited among thousands of 
small children suffering from malnutrition, severe dehydration and 
other illnesses at the Habibya Children's Hospital and the Pediatric 
ward, formerly the Saddam Pediatric Hospital. These supplies have not 
only helped improve the health of these children, but have offered some 
relief to the many troubled parents who cannot afford the basic needs 
for their children.
  The Diageo Iraq Humanitarian Airlift, marks the second time Diageo 
has embarked on a humanitarian airlift. In December 2001, New York Fire 
Department and Police Department officers participated in the Diageo 
``Ground Zero to Ground Zero'' airlift taking food and emergency relief 
supplies to an orphanage in Kabul, Afghanistan.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me today in thanking the 
volunteers of the Diageo Iraq Humanitarian Airlift and Diageo North 
America, who represent the finest and most compassionate qualities of 
America.

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