00                      HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 29                                                                     
01 Designating 2009 as the Year of the Noncommissioned Officer Corps of the United                                         
02 States Army.                                                                                                            
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS the Secretary of the Army has designated 2009 as the Year of the United                                 
05 States Army Noncommissioned Officer to honor more than 200 years of service by the                                      
06 noncommissioned officers to the Army and the American people; and                                                       
07       WHEREAS the United States Army's professional Noncommissioned Officer Corps                                     
08 has a proud history and has distinguished itself throughout the world as the backbone of the                            
09 Army by leading the way with two tasks in mind: obeying the orders of the Corps' superior                               
10 officers to accomplish the mission and looking out for the welfare of the Corps' soldiers; and                          
11       WHEREAS noncommissioned officers in the Corps occupy a position of respect and                                  
12 leadership and have performed fundamental tasks, such as serving as small unit leaders,                                 
13 technical experts, trainers, and perhaps most importantly, guardians of the Army's standards;                           
14 and                                                                                                                     
15       WHEREAS every officer fresh from basic training remembers the officer's first                                   
16 noncommissioned officer leader, because it is these great leaders that help finish the                                  

01 rudimentary training with which every officer comes into the service; and                                               
02       WHEREAS the United States Army depends on the knowledge and timeless qualities                                  
03 of leadership and courage that those dedicated men and women possess, assigning them to                                 
04 lead the charge from the front on today's battlefields in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation                            
05 Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and the Philippines, and in other locations throughout the                              
06 world; and                                                                                                              
07       WHEREAS noncommissioned officers and their families have made daily sacrifices                                  
08 and exemplified courage and a deep sense of patriotism in their commitment to providing                                 
09 continual and invaluable service to our state and to this great nation and have demonstrated                            
10 their dedication and willingness to sacrifice on behalf of their fellow Americans; and                                  
11       WHEREAS the Noncommissioned Officer Corps of the United States Army has                                         
12 faced danger, endured hardships, and made the ultimate sacrifice to defend our nation's                                 
13 freedoms; and                                                                                                           
14       WHEREAS the Noncommissioned Officer Corps of the United States Army is                                          
15 unrivaled by any other army in the world, envied by our allies, and, feared by our enemies,                             
16 and, throughout the Army's history, the Noncommissioned Officer Corps has been pivotal, but                             
17 never more so than today, with our full spectrum of operations;                                                         
18       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature designates 2009 as the Year of                                 
19 the Noncommissioned Officer Corps of the United States Army; and be it                                                  
20       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages the people of                                     
21 the United States to recognize 2009 as the Year of the Noncommissioned Officer Corps of the                             
22 United States Army with appropriate ceremonies and activities.                                                          
23       COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Pete Geren, United States                              
24 Secretary of the Army; General George W. Casey, Jr., Chief of Staff of the United States                                
25 Army; the Honorable Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska; and the Honorable Lisa Murkowski                                   
26 and the Honorable Mark Begich, U.S. Senators, and the Honorable Don Young, U.S.                                         
27 Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.