[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 7231]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         THANK YOU TO THE 218TH

  (Mr. WILSON of South Carolina asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Madam Speaker, soldiers of the 218th 
Brigade Combat Team of the South Carolina Army National Guard, under 
the leadership of Brigadier General Bob Livingston, are successfully 
returning to South Carolina. For the past year they have been in 
Afghanistan as part of Task Force Phoenix working to build the Afghan 
military and police.
  As a 28-year veteran of the 218th, I know firsthand of their 
competence and patriotism. These citizen soldiers have built one Afghan 
military battalion to be fully independent with 13 additional 
battalions to be operational by this summer. After overhauling the 
Afghani police forces to eliminate corruption, the 218th helped build 
an Afghan police force of 79,000.
  Additionally, the 218th provided humanitarian relief, including the 
construction of schools, hospitals and roads. They conducted 200 
medical assistance missions and delivered 300 tons of food and supplies 
to the 37,000 Afghans.
  At this time, we also remember the fallen. Staff Sergeant James D. 
Bullard, Sergeant Shawn F. Hill and Sergeant Edward O. Philpot lost 
their lives during the year-long deployment. These patriots gave the 
ultimate sacrifice in defense of American families by defeating 
terrorists overseas. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families.
  In conclusion, God bless our troops, and we will never forget 
September the 11th.
  In addition to the information provided above, the 218th Brigade 
Combat Team has had extraordinary success in working alongside the 
Afghan forces. During the past winter--a time when Taliban forces often 
regroup--soldiers from the 218th, along with Afghan soldiers, stayed in 
forwarding operating bases around Afghanistan and took the fight to the 
Taliban. This action kept the enemy from gathering strength.
  Due to the commitment and professionalism of the men and women of the 
218th, the Afghan army now has a reenlistment rate of 55 percent--more 
than double the 20 percent a year ago. The percentage of Afghan 
soldiers ready for duty has gone up from 55 percent to 85 percent. 
Their absent without leave percentage has dropped to eight percent, and 
they have 29,000 recruits that have completed basic training.
  The Afghan police continue to grow in size and ability. As a sign of 
success, this winter the police were able to defend and hold their 364 
district centers. This is something they have not been able to 
accomplish since the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001.
  I appreciate the above factual information provided by embedded 
reporter Chuck Crumbo from Kabul, Afghanistan, in The State of 
Columbia, South Carolina, on April 27, 2008.

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