[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 58 (Monday, April 14, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2979-S2980]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS

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     SENATE RESOLUTION 513--CONGRATULATING THE ARMY RESERVE ON ITS 
 CENTENNIAL, WHICH WILL BE FORMALLY CELEBRATED ON APRIL 23, 2008, AND 
COMMEMORATING THE HISTORIC CONTRIBUTIONS OF ITS VETERANS AND CONTINUING 
CONTRIBUTIONS OF ITS SOLDIERS TO THE VITAL NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS 
           AND HOMELAND DEFENSE MISSIONS OF THE UNITED STATES

  Mr. PRYOR (for himself, Mr. Chambliss, Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Obama, Mr. 
Craig, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Casey, Mr. Biden, Mr. Salazar, Mr. Brown, Mr. 
Crapo, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Smith, Mr. Isakson, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Bingaman, 
Mr. Akaka, Mr. Burr, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Inhofe, 
Mr. Nelson of Florida, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Voinovich, Ms. 
Cantwell, Mr. Shelby, Ms. Collins, Mrs. Feinstein, Mrs. Murray, Mr. 
Dodd, Mr. Kerry, Mr. Bennett, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Allard, Mrs. Lincoln, 
Mr. Stevens, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Webb, Mr. Byrd, and Ms. Snowe) submitted 
the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to:

                              S. Res. 513

       Whereas on January 9, 1905, the 26th President of the 
     United States, Theodore Roosevelt, dispatched a ``special 
     message'' to the Senate and the House of Representatives that 
     ``earnestly recommended passage'' of legislation to establish 
     a Federal reserve force of skilled and trained personnel to 
     bring ``our Army . . . to the highest point of efficiency'';
       Whereas on December 14, 1905, the then-Secretary of War and 
     later 27th President of the United States, William Howard 
     Taft, transmitted to the Senate and the House of 
     Representatives a draft bill and letter authored by Major 
     General Leonard Wood, ``strongly commending . . . proposed 
     legislation'' to ``increase the efficiency of the Medical 
     Corps of the Army'' by establishing a Federal reserve force 
     comprised of specially trained personnel;
       Whereas in response to the recommendations of President 
     Theodore Roosevelt and senior military and civilian leaders, 
     the 60th Congress enacted Public Law 101, entitled ``An Act 
     to increase the efficiency of the Medical Department of the 
     United States Army'', ch. 150, 35 Stat. 66, which was signed 
     into law on April 23, 1908, by President Theodore Roosevelt;
       Whereas Public Law 101 authorized the establishment of the 
     first Federal reserve force and the first reservoir of 
     trained officers in a reserve status for a United States 
     military service;
       Whereas Congress subsequently adapted, expanded, and 
     amended the reserve organization of the Army to include 
     additional military occupational specialties and capabilities 
     and established the organization today known as the Army 
     Reserve;
       Whereas the Army Reserve has played a major role in the 
     defense of our Nation and in furtherance of United States 
     interests for 100 years;
       Whereas many distinguished Americans have served honorably 
     and with distinction in the Army Reserve, including 
     Presidents

[[Page S2980]]

     Harry S. Truman and Ronald W. Reagan, the former Chairman of 
     the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Henry H. Shelton, 
     Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., Major General 
     William J. Donovan (Director of the Office of Strategic 
     Services during World War II), Drs. Charles H. Mayo and 
     William J. Mayo, and Captain Eddie Rickenbacker;
       Whereas the Army Reserve contributed 169,500 soldiers to 
     the Army during World War I;
       Whereas the Army Reserve contributed 200,000 soldiers and 
     29 percent of the Army's officers during World War II and was 
     recognized by General George C. Marshall for its unique and 
     invaluable contributions to the national defense;
       Whereas 240,500 soldiers of the Army Reserve were called to 
     active duty during the Korean War;
       Whereas more than 60,000 Army Reserve soldiers were called 
     to active duty during the Berlin Crisis;
       Whereas 35 Army Reserve units were activated and deployed 
     in support of operations in Vietnam, where they served with 
     distinction and honor;
       Whereas the Army Reserve contributed more than 94,000 
     soldiers in support of Operations Desert Storm and Desert 
     Shield in 1990 and 1991;
       Whereas the Army Reserve contributed more than 48 percent 
     of the reserve component soldiers mobilized in support of 
     Operation Joint Endeavor and Joint Guard in Bosnia;
       Whereas since September 11, 2001, the Army Reserve has 
     provided indispensable and sustained support for Operations 
     Enduring Freedom, Noble Eagle, and Iraqi Freedom, with 98 
     percent of units either deploying or providing mobilized 
     soldiers and more than 147,000 individual soldiers being 
     mobilized (of which more than 110,000 individual soldiers 
     have deployed) in support of the Global War on Terrorism;
       Whereas more than 39,000 individual soldiers of the Army 
     Reserve have served multiple deployments since September 11, 
     2001;
       Whereas 13,003 Army Reserve soldiers were forward-deployed 
     in the Central Command Area of Responsibility on October 31, 
     2007, and 102 soldiers of the Army Reserve had borne the 
     ultimate sacrifice in support of Operations Enduring Freedom 
     and Iraqi Freedom through October 31, 2007;
       Whereas the Army Reserve is organized into 3 components, 
     the Ready Reserve, the Standby Reserve, and the Retired 
     Reserve, which together contain more than 601,000 soldiers;
       Whereas the Army cannot go to war or sustain a military 
     operation without the highly skilled and trained personnel of 
     the Army Reserve;
       Whereas the Army Reserve provides more than 37 percent of 
     the mission essential combat support and combat service 
     support forces of the Army;
       Whereas 100 percent of the Army's Internment Settlement 
     Brigades, Judge Advocate General Units (Legal Support 
     Organizations), Medical Groups, Railway Units, and Training 
     and Exercise Divisions are in the Army Reserve;
       Whereas more than 66 percent of the Army's Civil Affairs 
     Units, Psychological Operations Units, Theater Signal 
     Commands, Expeditionary Sustainment Commands, and Medical 
     Capabilities are in the Army Reserve;
       Whereas the Army Reserve is no longer a force held in 
     strategic reserve but today functions as an integral and 
     essential operational reserve in support of the missions of 
     the active Army;
       Whereas the Army cannot go to war or sustain a military 
     operation without the skilled and trained Ready Reserve and 
     Retired Reserve soldiers of the Army Reserve;
       Whereas the Selected Reserve component of the Army Reserve 
     is comprised of more than 30,000 officers and 150,000 
     enlisted soldiers who have volunteered their personal service 
     in defense of the Constitution and their fellow citizens;
       Whereas the Army and the Army Reserve are recognized as 
     institutions that have played historic and decisive roles in 
     promoting the cause of individual dignity and the value of 
     integration;
       Whereas more than one in four Selected Reserve soldiers and 
     more than one in five Individual Ready Reserve soldiers are 
     women whose contributions have consistently been marked by a 
     high degree of commitment, professionalism, and military 
     bearing;
       Whereas the ability of individual soldiers and the Army 
     Reserve to perform their wartime missions is contingent on 
     the active engagement and support of their families, 
     employers, and local communities;
       Whereas the Army Reserve is a community-based force with an 
     active presence in 1,100 communities and 975 Army Reserve 
     centers in operation throughout the United States;
       Whereas Sir Winston Churchill once remarked that 
     ``Reservists are twice the citizen'', a sentiment that 
     applies especially to the soldiers of the Army Reserve; and
       Whereas the Army Reserve makes these contributions to the 
     security of our nation in return for less than 5 percent of 
     the Army's total budget: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) congratulates the Army Reserve on the occasion of the 
     100th anniversary of the enactment of its original 
     authorizing law;
       (2) recognizes and commends the Army Reserve for the 
     selfless and dedicated service of its past and present 
     citizen-soldiers whose personal courage, contributions, and 
     sacrifices have helped preserve the freedom and advance the 
     national security and homeland defense of the United States; 
     and
       (3) extends its gratitude to the veterans, soldiers, 
     families, and employers whose essential and constant support 
     have enabled the Army Reserve to accomplish its vital 
     missions and renews our Nation's commitment in support of 
     their noble efforts.

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