[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 20]
[Senate]
[Page 29014]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



SENATE RESOLUTION 224--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE TO DESIGNATE 
NOVEMBER 11, 1999, AS A SPECIAL DAY FOR RECOGNIZING THE MEMBERS OF THE 
   ARMED FORCES AND THE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES OF THE UNITED STATES WHO 
     PARTICIPATED IN THE RECENT CONFLICT IN KOSOVO AND THE BALKANS

  Mr. CLELAND submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 224

       Whereas approximately 39,000 members of the Armed Forces 
     and civilian employees of the United States were deployed at 
     the peak of the 1999 conflict in Kosovo;
       Whereas approximately 700 United States aircraft were 
     deployed and committed to combat missions during that 
     conflict;
       Whereas approximately 37,000 combat sorties were flown by 
     aircraft of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) 
     during that conflict;
       Whereas approximately 25,000 combat sorties were flown by 
     United States aircraft during that conflict;
       Whereas more than 5,000 weapons strike missions were 
     completed during that conflict;
       Whereas that conflict was the largest combat operation in 
     the history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization;
       Whereas the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty 
     Organization achieved all the military objectives of that 
     conflict;
       Whereas there were no United States or North Atlantic 
     Treaty Organization combat fatalities during that conflict; 
     and
       Whereas that conflict was the most precise air assault in 
     history: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That it is the Sense of the Senate--
       (1) to designate November 11, 1999, as a special day for 
     recognizing and welcoming home the members of the Armed 
     Forces (including active component and reserve component 
     personnel), and the civilian personnel of the United States, 
     who participated in the recently-completed operations in 
     Kosovo and the Balkans, including combat operations and 
     humanitarian assistance operations;
       (2) to designate November 11, 1999, as a special day for 
     remembering the members of the Armed Forces deployed in 
     Kosovo and throughout the world, and the families of such 
     members;
       (3) to make the designations under paragraphs (1) and (2) 
     on November 11, 1999, in light of the traditional celebration 
     and recognition of the veterans of the United States on 
     November 11 each year;
       (4) to acknowledge that the members of the Armed Forces who 
     served in Kosovo and the Balkans responded to the call to 
     arms during a time of change in world history;
       (5) to recognize that we live in times of international 
     unrest and that the conflict in Kosovo was a dangerous 
     military operation, as all combat operations are; and
       (6) to acknowledge that the United States owes a debt of 
     gratitude to the members of the Armed Forces who served in 
     the conflict in Kosovo, to their families, and to all the 
     members of the Armed Forces who place themselves in harm's 
     way each and every day.

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