[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5296]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                   TRIBUTE TO OPERATION EAGLE'S NEST

 Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, I rise today to honor and pay 
tribute to Operation Eagle's Nest. The Military Affairs Committees of 
Hopkinsville and Oak Grove, KY, and Clarksville, TN, created this fund-
raising initiative to help the families of deployed soldiers from Fort 
Campbell.
  The communities surrounding Fort Campbell have a long tradition of 
supporting the more than 20,000 soldiers and their families of the 
101st Airborne Division and the other units stationed at Fort Campbell. 
Troops from Fort Campbell have played a vital role in the war against 
terrorism in Afghanistan and around the world. As thousands of troops 
and tons of machinery and equipment depart Fort Campbell for the Middle 
East, it is important that Americans not forget the sacrifices of the 
families that the men and women of our Armed Forces leave behind.
  Local businesses and citizens in Kentucky and Tennessee founded 
Operation Eagle's Nest with the goal of raising at least $1 million as 
a contingency fund to be used as needed at the base. The local citizens 
are excited about the initiative and the opportunity to once again show 
our soldiers and their families how much they appreciate the sacrifices 
they make for our great Nation. The Fort Campbell soldiers deployed in 
the Middle East feel at ease with the confidence that their families 
are supported by local citizens.
  For Campbell Division Commander MG David Petraeus recently praised 
``not just the monetary support but the symbolism of our communities 
coming together for the families.'' He is absolutely correct. The 
soldiers of Fort Campbell are heroically doing their part in the war on 
terror and the local citizens of Hopkinsville, Oak Grove, and 
Clarksville are graciously doing theirs. This is exactly what President 
Bush meant when he stated that all Americans must do their part in the 
war on terror.

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