[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 16540-16541]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



            RECOGNIZING THE WEST VIRGINIA AIR NATIONAL GUARD

 Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I ask that we take a moment 
today to recognize the enlisted men and women of the West Virginia Air 
National Guard. Earlier this year, Major General Paul A. Weaver, Jr., 
the director of the Air National Guard, declared 1999, ``The Year of 
the Enlisted Force'' in an effort to promote enlisted pride. In a March 
18th proclamation, Governor Cecil H. Underwood, Governor of the great 
State of West Virginia, made this designation effective.
  The Air National Guard is made up of about 95,000 people, nearly 88 
percent of whom comprise the enlisted corps. About 65,000 are 
traditional part-time members and about 30,000 are either full-time 
technicians or members of the Active Guard. They average about 12.7 
years of satisfactory service and perform 170 different specialty jobs. 
These enlisted men and women are America's friends, family, neighbors, 
and co-workers. They are educators, bank tellers, repair technicians, 
and builders. At the same time, they serve our nation as the enlisted 
force of the Air National Guard and they bring their diverse skills to 
the job. The enlisted men and women bring maturity and experience to 
the force and provide

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a much needed sense of stability and commitment.
  There are two units of the Air National Guard in West Virginia. The 
130th Airlift Wing in Charleston, West Virginia, and the 167th Airlift 
Wing in Martinsburg, West Virginia. These two units supported missions 
during the Korean conflict and in Vietnam. Both units were stationed in 
the Persian Gulf throughout the Gulf War. Recently these brave men and 
women have performed peacekeeping missions in support of the United 
Nations and NATO in Eastern Europe. In fact, many of them are there as 
we speak.
  The men and women of the West Virginia Air National Guard have won 
many awards. Some of the most prestigious include Air National Guard 
Distinguished Flying Unit Awards, four Air Force Outstanding Unit 
Awards, and four Spaatz trophies. It is important that we all take note 
of the accomplishments of these outstanding enlisted men and women who 
make up the backbone of the Air National Guard. They bring an 
incredible amount of dedication to their work as they perform jobs 
which are crucial to military operations. They deserve our deepest 
gratitude as they continue to serve our country.
  My sincere congratulations go to the enlisted men and women of the 
130th Airlift Wing in Charleston, West Virginia, and the 167th Airlift 
Wing in Martinsburg, West Virginia. I share in your pride and I proudly 
recognize 1999, as ``The Year of the Enlisted Force.''

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