[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 7, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E4]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING A-10 PILOTS BRIGADIER GENERAL MACKEY AND LIEUTENANT COLONEL 
                                  ROE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. VICKY HARTZLER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 7, 2014

  Mrs. HARTZLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the brave 
airmen of the 442d Fighter Wing of Whiteman Air Force Base.
   Specifically, I want to commend the A-10 pilots who courageously 
protected Sergeant Mauricio Alejandro Arias and 16 of his fellow 
soldiers as they came under fire while serving in Afghanistan.
   I sincerely applaud Colonel James Mackey (now Brigadier General 
Mackey) and Lieutenant Colonel Tony Roe for their actions of June 5, 
2008, as they provided close air support for 17 soldiers of the 201st 
Engineer Battalion of the Kentucky National Guard. The soldiers were 
pinned down for a lengthy time by enemy heavy-arms fire and running low 
on ammunition when these pilots intervened and suppressed the enemy 
threat. Sergeant Arias credits these pilots for saving his and the 
lives of 16 fellow soldiers that day and I stand with him in 
recognizing the heroic acts of these two pilots.
   In closing, Mr. Speaker, I ask all my colleagues to join me in 
applauding the bravery and commitment to service that General Mackey, 
Lieutenant Colonel Roe and the airmen of the 442d Fighter Wing 
exemplify. In doing so, they ask for no recognition, yet they protect 
our way of life while risking their own and are very deserving of such 
recognition.

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