[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 26456]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE 56TH BRIGADE (STRYKER) AND 2-112TH INFANTRY BATTALION 
                               (STRYKER)

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BILL SHUSTER

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, November 2, 2009

  Mr. SHUSTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the troops of the 
Second of the 112th Infantry Battalion (Stryker), 56th Stryker Brigade, 
28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard that was 
deployed and participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
  The 56th Brigade (Stryker) and 2-112th Infantry Battalion (Stryker) 
is the only reserve component selected to be a Stryker unit. 
Headquartered out of Lewistown, Pennsylvania, and based at Camp Liberty 
in Iraq, the brave soldiers of this Stryker unit went into the hostile 
Abu Ghraib sector of Iraq with approximately 800 soldiers. Company A 
hails from the Huntingdon-Everett area, Company B is comprised of 
soldiers from Altoona, and the Tyrone-Bellefonte area makes up Company 
C. These brave American heroes were a part of the particularly 
successful Stryker Task Force Paxton that conducted lethal terrorist 
operations against Al Qaeda and the insurgent forces. The 2-112th 
Infantry Battalion (Stryker) accomplished the most active and 
successful time sensitive enemy targeting in the highly contested 
Baghdad region of Iraq while suppressing the instability.
  Not only have these brave men and women put their lives on the line 
for the peace and prosperity of our nation, but they also contributed 
to the betterment of another. The 2-112th Infantry Battalion (Stryker) 
participated in operations which improved the human and physical 
infrastructure of Iraq to include its economic capacity and schools. 
Madam Speaker I would like to extend to these brave soldiers my most 
sincere personal thanks for their honorable service to our nation. They 
have helped maintain our security through some of our country's most 
trying times, as we adapt to unconventional threats. I know that my 
words reflect the feelings of all citizens of our Nation when I say 
that these men and women are true American heroes.

                          ____________________