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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

  
 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 
3Representatives wish to congratulate  Mary Katey Hays on the 
4occasion of being named Captain of the USS Decatur; and
  
 
5    WHEREAS, Mary Katey Hays is a descendant of the great 
6Powlochwehill family; she grew up in Tampa, Florida and 
7graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1999; and
  
 
8    WHEREAS, Commander Hays has served aboard the USS Carney 
9(DDG 64), the USS Antietam (CG 54) and the USS Milius (DDG 69), 
10in addition to her recent deployment aboard the USS Decatur 
11(DDG 73); and
  
 
12    WHEREAS, Commander Hays has served as Commander, Third 
13Fleet Scheduler, and Congressional Liaison with the Surface 
14Warfare Division of the OPNAV Staff; she has also completed an 
15Individual Augmentation Assignment with Seal Team One and has 
16deployed to Iraq as the Civil Affairs Team Officer in Charge; 
17and
  
 
18    WHEREAS, Commander Hays holds a Masters of Arts Degree in 
19National Security Affairs with a Middle East subspecialty from 
20the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California; she also 
21graduated from the Defense Language Institute with a 
 
 
HR1473- 2 -LRB099 23814 GRL 51332 r

1Certification in Modern Standard Arabic; and
  
 
2    WHEREAS, Commander Hays has been awarded the Bronze Star, 
3two Meritorious Service Awards, three Navy Commendation 
4Medals, and two Navy Achievement Medals; and
 
5    WHEREAS, The United States Navy has selected Commander Hays 
6to be the Commanding Officer (CO) or Captain of the USS 
7Decatur; she will be installed in that position on November 18, 
82016; and
  
 
9    WHEREAS, The distinguished naval career of Commander Hays 
10makes her highly qualified to be Captain of this great ship and 
11its "Bold and Daring" crew; therefore, be it
  
 
12    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
13NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we 
14congratulate Mary Katey Hays on the occasion of being named 
15Captain of the USS Decatur and wish her great success in her 
16future endeavors; and be it further
  
 
17    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
18presented to Commander Hays as a symbol of our esteem and 
19respect.