[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 26, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S145]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    RECOGNIZING UTAH NATIONAL GUARD

  Mr. LEE. Mr. President, some of our Nation's finest answered the call 
of duty here in our Nation's Capitol over the last 2 weeks to assist 
with the peaceful transition of power and make sure that it was in fact 
peaceful. These dedicated men and women in the National Guard have 
taken an oath to protect that bedrock document, the Constitution of the 
United States, and, indeed, they have fulfilled that duty.
  Some of our very finest in the National Guard came here to serve from 
my home State of Utah; 321 troops that have discharged their duties 
with distinction and honor came from the Utah National Guard.
  The majority of Task Force Utah consisted of soldiers from the 2nd 
Battalion, 222nd Field Artillery, 65th Fires Brigade, also known as 
Triple Deuce. Additional soldiers came from 204th Maneuver Enhancement 
Brigade and the 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne).
  I rise today to honor and thank these really selfless women and men. 
These past weeks, the Utah guardsmen were stationed at the Madison 
Building of the Library of Congress, just across the street from the 
Capitol. For many of these soldiers, it was their first time ever 
visiting Washington, D.C.
  Major Brent Mangum of the Utah National Guard remarked that as the 
soldiers were stationed at buildings, they saw these quotes on the 
walls--quotes from our Founding Fathers--and as they were working in 
these buildings, you could see them pausing during the day, reading the 
quotes, and then stopping to reflect on them.
  I, myself, had the great privilege, in a couple of different groups, 
to give some of these men and women a tour of the Capitol Building 
before they left to go back to Utah. It was a great honor to meet and 
get to know these dedicated guardsmen and to learn from their stories 
and to see firsthand their caliber as people and, most importantly 
perhaps, their visible commitment to the United States of America.
  This idea, this principle, in this great land of ours--the greatest 
civilization human history has ever known--was something that they are 
independently committed to defending and protecting, even at the 
sacrifice of their own security and their own ease, which they would 
have otherwise enjoyed over the last couple of weeks.
  One of the most remarkable things about these citizen soldiers is the 
way in which they tirelessly serve their communities, and I say that 
meaning both inside and outside of their Guard duty.
  My Salt Lake City office was lucky enough to have one of these fine 
young soldiers, Alfredo Lopez, as an intern a few years ago.
  Alfredo immigrated with his family from Peru at the age of 10, and 
they began to build a life here in the United States. In addition to 
serving the people of Utah in my State office, he also was on Active 
Duty with the Marine Corps before he joined the National Guard. 
Alfredo, in all of his endeavors in our country, has sought only to 
give back. He is grateful for this country and wants to make sure it is 
a strong, safe, and secure place in which to live.
  Another guardsman who was here, Jay Bartholomew, is a prison guard at 
the Gunnison prison in Sanpete County, UT. He is the son of my friend 
Scott Bartholomew, a county commissioner in Sanpete County. Jay has 
followed in his family's footsteps to serve his local community.
  Other guardsmen in Utah are engaged in their communities in all sorts 
of ways. Some are teachers, some are firefighters, some are policemen, 
and some are medical professionals. You name it; they have done it.
  Many have now answered the call of duty on the frontlines of another 
crisis as our Nation faces the current pandemic. These guardsmen have 
played a significant role in providing testing, moving and storing 
personal protective equipment, and other support missions to assist 
Utah's Department of Health COVID-19 response.
  Now, Utah Governor Spencer Cox has entrusted them with another 
critical mission. The Guard will be on the frontlines to help ramp up 
the delivery of vaccines to our State. The Guard has put together teams 
that can mobilize throughout Utah to deliver vaccinations and antibody 
infusions within a matter of hours and save a whole lot of lives and 
prevent a whole lot of suffering in the process.
  I have no doubt that they will continue to administer this duty with 
dedication and with excellence, just as they do with every other 
assignment with which they are tasked. In everything they do, members 
of the Utah National Guard seek to serve and strengthen our 
communities, our country, and our State, and we are all better off for 
it.
  It has been such an honor to have these selfless men and women in our 
Nation's Capitol. I have enjoyed getting to know them and look forward 
to visiting again with them soon, and I thank them for their service

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