HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 1004

         A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION,  Recognizing and honoring the service and achievements of the South Dakota National Guard.

     WHEREAS,  the South Dakota National Guard has spanned the history of this state, with combat service in the Philippine Insurrection in 1899 as the 1^st South Dakota Infantry Regiment, on the Mexican border in 1916-1917, in France during World War I, in Europe and the Pacific during World War II; and

     WHEREAS,  in recent years the South Dakota National Guard has participated in combat operations or served in hostile fire zones in Panama in 1989, in the Persian Gulf War in 1991, and in the Balkans and the Middle East participating in peacekeeping operations and patrolling the No-Fly Zone in Iraq, with duty in Kosovo, Bosnia, and Saudi Arabia over the last decade; and

     WHEREAS,  major units of the South Dakota National Guard were activated federally for service outside the combat zone during the Korean War and for extended service during the 1961 Berlin Crisis. South Dakota Guard Members were also called upon to provide domestic security measures after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States; and

     WHEREAS,  the citizen-soldiers of the South Dakota National Guard have responded on countless occasions to natural disasters and other emergencies at home as the need arose, including major relief efforts during the disastrous Rapid City Flood of 1972; and

     WHEREAS,  the South Dakota Army and Air National Guard include both combat and support units in such diverse areas as field artillery, combat engineers, construction engineers, medical units, a tactical fighter wing, and numerous transportation and administrative units; and

     WHEREAS,  the South Dakota National Guard is continuously upgrading its training and combat capabilities, while maintaining the ability to respond to local emergencies with its traditional high standards of skill, readiness, and dedication; and

     WHEREAS,  South Dakota National Guard units have participated in numerous domestic and overseas training exercises around the world, serving side-by-side with regular units of the Armed Forces of the United States; and

     WHEREAS,  the men and women of the South Dakota National Guard are again being called upon in uncertain times to leave their homes and their families in the service of this nation:

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     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED,  by the House of Representatives of the Seventy- eighth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, the Senate concurring therein, that the long and distinguished history of the South Dakota National Guard be recognized, and that the men and women of the South Dakota National Guard be honored and commended for their achievements and their devotion to duty in peace and in war; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,  that the members of the South Dakota Legislature wish the men and women of the South Dakota National Guard Godspeed and a safe return home.

Adopted by the House of Representatives,

Concurred in by the Senate,

Matthew Michels Speaker of the House	Karen Gerdes Chief Clerk of the House
Dennis Daugaard President of the Senate	Patricia Adam Secretary of the Senate