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2006 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 377
Commending the United States Army Reserve, 80th Division.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 24, 2006
Agreed to by the Senate, March 2, 2006

 

WHEREAS, the soldiers of the United States Army Reserve, 80th Institutional Training Division, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, were honored with the Warrior Citizen Award for their service in Afghanistan, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and the Global War on Terrorism; and

WHEREAS, twenty-five dedicated soldiers with the 80th Division were recognized at a “Welcome Home Warrior-Citizen” ceremony held at Meadowbrook High School on December 3, 2005, and other 80th Division troops serving in Iraq will also be honored as they return home in 2006; and

WHEREAS, the Warrior Citizen Award consists of an encased American flag, displayed with a commemorative coin, and includes a set of lapel pins for the soldiers and their spouses; and

WHEREAS, the 3,000-member division has soldiers assigned to 40 units in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware, and Pennsylvania and currently has 700 troops in Iraq; and

WHEREAS, the primary goal of the 80th Division is the critically important duty of training, equipping, and preparing the Iraqi army, police, and border forces to protect and defend their nation, which will allow United States troops to eventually return home; and

WHEREAS, the 80th Division’s mission is of foremost importance in the War on Terror as strong and skilled Iraqi army, police, and border units must be capable of combating a terrorist insurgency that may threaten the country’s newfound freedoms and fledgling democracy; and

WHEREAS, more than 300 80th Division soldiers have been divided into 10-member Military Transition Teams, or MITs, that are paired with Iraqi troops and accompany them on missions, patrols, and surveillance; and

WHEREAS, every aspect of military duty will be taught by 400 other 80th Division troops, including special military operations and skills, combat lifesaving, transportation, essential equipment and supply duties, as well as training future Iraqi soldiers and military personnel; and

WHEREAS, the 80th Division has a distinguished record of service and was originally activated in the National Army as Headquarters, 80th Infantry Division and based at what was then Camp Lee, Virginia, now Fort Lee, on August 5, 1917; and

WHEREAS, as part of the newly created First American Army, soldiers of the 80th Division, which at full strength in World War I numbered 23,000 soldiers, were deployed in preparation for the war in France on June 8, 1918; the courageous troops of the division played a major role in the Battle of Meuse-Argonne; and

WHEREAS, the first members of the 80th Division came from the Blue Ridge Mountain regions of Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania and were nicknamed the Blue Ridge Division, and the courage and tenacity of the division during the war gave birth to its inspirational motto, “The 80th Division Moves Only Forward”; and

WHEREAS, in March 1959, the primary focus of the division shifted to providing the outstanding initial entry training, basic combat training, and advanced individual, unit, and technical training that it is well-known and respected today; and

WHEREAS, the 80th Division has been reorganized and stationed at several bases over its prestigious history, but the continuity of its outstanding contributions has been paramount to the success of the United States military in major conflicts and peacekeeping around the world since its inception; and

WHEREAS, in the aftermath of September 11, 2001, the soldiers of the 80th  Division have been an invaluable and formidable force in the Global War on Terrorism; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend the 80th Institutional Training Division, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, for its immeasurable service to the United States Armed Forces and the soldiers of the division for their devotion to duty, freedom, and democracy; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Major General David L. Evans of the United States Army Reserve, 80th Division, and the patriotic soldiers under his command as an expression of the General Assembly’s gratitude for their dedication to their fellow citizens in the Commonwealth, the nation, and the world.