[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 21014]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                COMMENDING WISCONSIN NATIONAL GUARD UNIT

 Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, I proudly rise today to recognize the 
achievements of the members of 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry, part of 
Wisconsin's 32nd Infantry Brigade, for its selection as the top 
battalion in the Army National Guard of the United States. Mr. 
President, 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry has been selected as the 
winner of the Walter T. Kerwin Jr. Award for Readiness and Training for 
2009. The award is given annually to the Army National Guard unit found 
to have the highest deployment readiness in the Nation, and I am 
pleased that the men and women of this Eau Claire-based unit were found 
to have standards of training and maintenance that exceeded the 
standards for deployment.
  The U.S. Army has selected 2009 to be the ``Year of the NCO'' to pay 
tribute to the day-to-day leadership qualities of the noncommissioned 
officers charged with executing the training and maintenance that make 
their units function. In the spirit of the ``Year of the NCO,'' I would 
like to pay a special tribute to the NCOs of 1st Battalion, 128th 
Infantry, as their leadership helped make it possible for the unit to 
achieve the standards that earned them this award.
  I had the honor of attending the February send-off ceremony prior to 
the unit's deployment to Iraq. I consider myself privileged to have 
attended the ceremony where the State of Wisconsin and the soldiers' 
families paid tribute to the State's largest National Guard deployment 
since World War II. The soldiers of 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry spent 
nearly years training for their mission, and the high standards 
established during that preparation are now nationally recognized. I 
applaud the service of the members of the brigade, and I wish them 
success in their mission to help stabilize Iraq and look forward to 
their return home next year.

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