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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