House Resolution 164 - Introduced
PAG LIN
1 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. ___
1 2 BY WHITAKER, WISE, HEATON, GREINER, GASKILL, SANDS,
1 3 COHOON, SWAIM, DE BOEF, MILLER, THOMAS, HUTTER,
1 4 D. TAYLOR, WATTS, BAUDLER, SHOMSHOR, REASONER,
1 5 DOLECHECK, KURTENBACH, DANDEKAR, BOAL, HEDDENS,
1 6 GRANZOW, STRUYK, LUKAN, REICHERT, HUSEMAN, HUNTER,
1 7 PETTENGILL, TYMESON, BERRY, EICHHORN, KRESSIG,
1 8 DAVITT, MURPHY, D. OLSON, BUKTA, PETERSEN, JACOBY,
1 9 and TJEPKES
1 10 A Resolution to honor the 224th Combat Engineer Battalion
1 11 of the Iowa National Guard for its service and
1 12 sacrifice in the Iraq War.
1 13 WHEREAS, the 224th Combat Engineer Battalion of the
1 14 Iowa National Guard is based in Fairfield and has
1 15 units in Burlington, Keokuk, Mount Pleasant, and
1 16 Ottumwa; and
1 17 WHEREAS, about 500 soldiers of the 224th have
1 18 returned to Iowa after a year on duty in Iraq; and
1 19 WHEREAS, to date, that contingent of the 224th is
1 20 the largest Iowa group which has returned from Iraq;
1 21 and
1 22 WHEREAS, the work of the 224th was long, hard, and
1 23 dangerous, including finding and disarming the so=
1 24 called "improvised explosive devices" while conducting
1 25 combat operations in support of the 1st Marine
1 26 Division, 2nd Marine Division, and other Army and
1 27 Marine organizations in the Al Anbar province of Iraq;
1 28 and
1 29 WHEREAS, that deadly work resulted in locating over
1 30 500 of these deadly devices, saving countless lives,
2 1 and earned the 224th the respect and gratitude of
2 2 soldiers throughout Iraq; and
2 3 WHEREAS, during that service four soldiers of the
2 4 224th were killed and 37 soldiers were recognized with
2 5 Purple Heart Medals; and
2 6 WHEREAS, the 224th Combat Engineer Battalion
2 7 concluded combat operations in the Al Anbar province
2 8 of Iraq on December 2, 2005, after having supported
2 9 the I Marine Expeditionary Force, II Marine
2 10 Expeditionary Force, 1st Marine Division, 2nd Marine
2 11 Division, the United States Marine Corps Regimental
2 12 Combat Teams 1, 2, 7, and 8, the 11th and 13th Marine
2 13 Expeditionary Units, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team 2nd
2 14 Infantry Division, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team 28th
2 15 Infantry Division, the 155th Brigade Combat Team, and
2 16 over 35 maneuver battalions and task forces during
2 17 2005; and
2 18 WHEREAS, soldiers of the 224th Combat Engineer
2 19 Battalion cleared over 500 improvised explosive
2 20 devices from over 16,000 kilometers of roadways
2 21 between March 15 and November 29, 2005; and
2 22 WHEREAS, these explosive devices ranged in size
2 23 from a aurface=laid 122 millimeter round up to the
2 24 size of a refrigerator, buried beneath the surface of
2 25 a road; and
2 26 WHEREAS, Company C of Mount Pleasant and Keokuk
2 27 cleared most of the distance, operating in support of
2 28 the United States Marine Corps' Regimental Combat
2 29 Teams 1, 2, 7, and 8 in Fallujah, Hit, Hadithah, Al
2 30 Qaim, Husaybah, Ar Rutbah, and other areas in the
3 1 western areas of the province, spending many weeks
3 2 working out of base camps and forward operating bases
3 3 in these areas of operation; and
3 4 WHEREAS, Companies A and B of Burlington and
3 5 Ottumwa, respectively, conducted route clearance
3 6 operations primarily in Ar Ramadi, the provincial
3 7 capitol of Iraq. The convoy security escort teams,
3 8 which are comprised of soldiers and Marines of Company
3 9 A, Company B, Battery B 2nd Battalion 11th Marines
3 10 (United States Marine Corps), and Company C 4th Tank
3 11 Battalion (United States Marine Corps), traveled over
3 12 900,000 miles throughout the country of Iraq,
3 13 providing security to combat support and combat
3 14 service support units, as well as civilian
3 15 contractors, as they delivered the sustainment items
3 16 to the camps and forward operating bases throughout
3 17 Iraq; and
3 18 WHEREAS, the battalion was headquartered at Camp
3 19 Ramadi, a former Iraqi Republican Guard installation
3 20 on the western outskirts of Ar Ramadi, where they were
3 21 engaged by indirect fire over 219 times between March
3 22 1, 2005, and November 27, 2005; NOW THEREFORE,
3 23 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
3 24 That the House of Representatives thanks the soldiers
3 25 of the 224th Combat Engineer Battalion of the Iowa
3 26 National Guard for their service in Iraq; and
3 27 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of
3 28 Representatives honors the memory of Sergeant Casey
3 29 Byers, Sergeant Seth Garceau, Second Lieutenant
3 30 Richard B. "Brian" Gienau, and Specialist John W.
4 1 Miller, who gave their lives in service to their
4 2 country and to the cause of freedom.
4 3 LSB 6663HH 81
4 4 jr:nh/gg/14
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