State of Illinois
92^nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_SR0517enr

 
92SR0517 Enrolled                              LRB9218081HShs

 1                          STATE OF ILLINOIS
 2                   NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
 3                               SENATE
 4                      Senate Resolution No. 517
 5         Offered by Senator Philip, President of the Senate;
 6                   and Senators Demuzio and Jacobs

 7        WHEREAS, Combat is inherently dangerous, for both  ground
 8    forces  and  aircrews;  in a combat environment, aircrews are
 9    called upon to make split-second, life  or  death  decisions;
10    and

11        WHEREAS,  Combat  operations on the ground and in the air
12    in a war zone can be chaotic and complete information on  the
13    location  of  both  friendly  and  hostile  forces  is  often
14    unavailable; and

15        WHEREAS,  Major  William  Umbach  and Major Harry Schmidt
16    were  the  pilots  in  a  friendly-fire  incident   involving
17    Canadian ground forces on April 17, 2002 in Afghanistan; and

18        WHEREAS,  Neither  pilot  had reliable information on the
19    disposition of enemy or friendly forces on the ground  or  of
20    live-fire exercises being conducted by coalition forces; and

21        WHEREAS,  Both  Major  Schmidt  and Major Umbach believed
22    that they were taking ground fire from an unknown source  and
23    that   they   were   required   to   suppress  that  fire  in
24    self-defense; and

25        WHEREAS, Friendly fire accidents  have  been  present  in
26    every major conflict and have always been considered a tragic
27    part of warfare; and

28        WHEREAS,  These  two  pilots  are  highly  qualified  and
29    experienced and both are members of the Illinois Air National
30    Guard; therefore, be it
 
92SR0517 Enrolled           -2-                LRB9218081HShs
 1        RESOLVED,  BY  THE  SENATE  OF  THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
 2    ASSEMBLY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  ILLINOIS,  that  together  with
 3    Governor George Ryan, the VFW Northenders Post  Number  10302
 4    of Springfield, and many other individuals and organizations,
 5    we stand in support of Major Umbach and Major Schmidt; and be
 6    it further

 7        RESOLVED,  That  a  suitable  copy  of this resolution be
 8    presented to President George W. Bush,  Commander  in  Chief,
 9    General  Richard  B.  Myers,  Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
10    Staff, General John P. Jumper, Chief of Staff of  the  United
11    States Air Force, and the VFW Northenders Post Number 10302.

12        Adopted by the Senate, December 5, 2002.


13                                          _______________________
14                                          President of the Senate


15    _______________________
16    Secretary of the Senate

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