GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2007

H                                                                                                                                         Simple

                                                                                                                                     Resolution

                                                                                                                                          Adopted

HOUSE RESOLUTION 2266

Adopted 6/10/08

Sponsors:

Representatives Daughtridge, Killian, Wilkins, Parmon (Primary Sponsors);  Alexander, Allen, Avila, Barnhart, Bell, Blue, Bordsen, Braxton, Brisson, Brown, Bryant, Carney, Clary, Cleveland, Coates, Cole, Cotham, Current, Dickson, Dockham, Dollar, England, Faison, Farmer‑Butterfield, Folwell, Frye, Furr, Gibson, Glazier, Goforth, Grady, Gulley, Haire, Harrison, Hill, Hilton, Holloway, Howard, Hurley, Insko, Johnson, Justice, Justus, Kiser, Langdon, Lewis, Love, Lucas, Martin, McAllister, McElraft, McGee, McLawhorn, Moore, Neumann, Owens, Pate, Ross, Samuelson, Saunders, Setzer, Spear, Steen, Stiller, Sutton, Tarleton, Tillis, Tolson, Tucker, Underhill, Wainwright, Walend, Walker, E. Warren, R. Warren, Wiley, Williams, Wray, and Yongue.

Referred to:

Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House.

May 21, 2008

A HOUSE RESOLUTION honoring the HUNDREDTH anniversary of the United States army reserve.

Whereas, in the early twentieth century, Secretary of War Root proposed changes to the armed forces that included making citizen volunteers an essential part of the Army. Root's idea for a broad-based federal reserve force began to take form in April 1908, with the establishment of the Medical Reserve Corps. This first federal reserve force was made up of physicians who could be ordered to active duty by the Secretary of War during a time of emergency; and

Whereas, during World War I, 160,000 Reserve soldiers served on active duty, including Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, and Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, whose example set the standard that Army Reserve men and women have followed ever since; and

Whereas, with the national economy in tatters in the 1930s, reserve training became rare. However, in 1933 President Franklin Roosevelt directed the Army to take control of the Civilian Conservation Corps, and by the end of 1934 there were 5,000 Reserve officers working with the Civilian Conservation Corps. Between 1933 and 1939 more than 30,000 Reserve members served in 2,700 camps; and

Whereas, with the fall of France in 1940, the United States began rearming in earnest, and the nation's reserve soldiers were quickly called. By June of 1941 ninety percent of the Army's company grade officers were recently mobilized reserve officers. One reserve officer who sought active duty, unsuccessfully, was Senator Harry Truman. By the end of World War II, more than 200,000 reserve soldiers were on active duty, and more than twenty‑five percent of all Army officers who served during the war were Reserve officers. A few more notable reserve officers were Lieutenant General Doolittle, who received the Medal of Honor for leading the first air raid against Japan in 1942; Major General Donovan, who led the Office of Strategic Services which later became the CIA; and Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., who received the Medal of Honor for his action on Utah Beach on D‑Day; and

Whereas, by June 1950, more than 600,000 reserve soldiers were on the muster rolls, and more than 240,000 were called to active duty in Korea. In 1952, new legislation replaced the Officer Reserve Corps with the Army Reserve we know today; and

Whereas, the Army Reserve was reorganized in 1968 and has since participated in many domestic and national defense missions. Army Reserve authorization levels reached 315,000 in 1990, and are now at 205,000. The Army Reserve participated in Operation Just Cause in Panama in 1989, Operations Desert Shield and Storm in 1991, Operation Restore Hope in Somalia in 1993, Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia in 1995, and humanitarian missions including assisting victims of Typhoon Paka in Guam in 1997, and Hurricane Mitch in Central America in 1999; and

Whereas, following the events of September 11, 2001, over 9,000 Army Reserve soldiers were called to active duty under the partial mobilization order of the President in support of Operation Noble Eagle and Operation Enduring Freedom. In 2003 the Army Reserve began its ongoing support of Operation Iraqi Freedom while continuing its humanitarian mission, including support for victims of Hurricane Katrina; and 

Whereas, the Army Reserve that marks the end of its first 100 years of service and starts its second century in 2008 is a significantly more battle tested and experienced force than it has been since its creation in 1908. More than 180,000 Army Reserve warrior citizens have been called to active duty since the terrorists' attacks of September 11,  with more than 40,000 having been mobilized more than once. As the Army Reserve continues to evolve and transform throughout its next 100 years, it will do so as it always has, in the capable hands of those who choose to be "twice the citizen"; and

Whereas, on April 23, 2008, the Army Reserve celebrated its 100th anniversary; Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

SECTION 1.  The House of Representatives expresses the appreciation of this State and its citizens for the service that the members of the Army Reserve and their families have rendered to the State of North Carolina and the nation.

SECTION 2.  The Principal Clerk shall transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the Chief, United States Army Reserve.

SECTION 3.  This resolution is effective upon adoption.