HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 1013

         A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION,  Recognizing Ellsworth Air Force Base personnel as an outstanding component of our nation's defenses.

     WHEREAS,  Ellsworth Air Force Base has been hosted by the Western South Dakota's Black Hills communities of Rapid City and Box Elder for the past sixty years; and

     WHEREAS,  Ellsworth personnel have been called upon in a demanding series of national defense responses over decades of conflicts extending throughout World War II, an enduring Cold War spanning over forty-five years, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, other armed conflicts in Southwest Asia, the NATO liberation of Kosovo, and most recently in response to direct attacks upon New York City and our nation's capital, Washington, D.C.; and

     WHEREAS,  Ellsworth's military and civilian personnel endured the rigors of over thirty years of strategic nuclear deterrence, were often deployed in support of various world crisis situations for extended periods of time, and sacrificed their lives and individual liberties to represent our nation's defense policies and treaty obligations; and

     WHEREAS,  Ellsworth's aircrews and support personnel have transformed their B-1B aircraft from a Cold War nuclear deterrent to a 21^st Century conventional strike aircraft capable of flying nonstop from Ellsworth to any worldwide location and directly engaging the enemy with the most advanced precision weapons using unprecedented timing and accuracy; and

     WHEREAS,  in the current War Against Terror, Ellsworth's personnel, both deployed in direct support of the Afghanistan Campaign against the al-Qaida and Taliban and those who remained at Ellsworth to protect its aircraft and facilities as valuable national defense assets, have performed their wartime missions with the professionalism of true patriots:

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED,  by the House of Representatives of the Seventy- seventh Legislature of the State of South Dakota, the Senate concurring therein, that February 6, 2002, be declared a day to salute Ellsworth Air Force Base, its 28^th Bomb Wing, the military and civilian personnel assigned to its critical national defense mission, and those family members who so proudly stand in support of our "Defenders of Democracy."

---

Adopted by the House of Representatives,

Concurred in by the Senate,

Scott Eccarius Speaker of the House	Karen Gerdes Chief Clerk of the House
Carole Hillard President of the Senate	Patricia Adam Secretary of the Senate