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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate Sergeant First
4 Class Kenneth Buccafurri on his retirement from the United
5 States Army on April 1, 2007; and
 
6     WHEREAS, SFC Buccafurri completed Basic Combat Training at
7 Fort Dix, New Jersey; his Advanced Individual Training as a
8 Single Chatmel Radio and Teletype Operator, and training in
9 International Morse Code was completed at Fort Gordon, Georgia,
10 where he was an Honor Graduate; he later attended the Basic
11 Airborne course at Fort Benning, Georgia; his first duty
12 assignment in 1987 was the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces
13 Group (Airborne), at Fort Davis, Panama; he served with the US
14 MILGROUP of the US Embassy in San Salvador, El Salvador from
15 1988 through 1989; and saw combat during the invasion of Panama
16 in Operation Just Cause; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Sergeant Buccafurri attended and graduated from
18 the Primary Leadership Development Course at Fort Sherman,
19 Panama; upon completion of his overseas tour in 1990, SFC
20 Buccafurri was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 327th
21 Infantry, 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division (Air
22 Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he attended and
23 graduated from the 101st Air Assault Course in August 1990; his

 

 

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1 unit was called up to support Operation Desert Shield and
2 Desert Storm; during this time he took part in the largest Air
3 Assault operation into Iraq as his Battalion Commander's Radio
4 Operator; and
 
5     WHEREAS, In 1994, he was reclassified to a Cable Systems
6 Installer and reassigned to the Joint Security Area, Panmunjom,
7 Camp Liberty Bell and Camp Bonifas, Republic of Korea, as
8 NCOIC, Battalion Communications; during his time in Korea he
9 worked closely with the Night Vision Lab to replace 27 night
10 vision cameras along the Demilitarized Zone; in 1996, he was
11 assigned to the 51st Signal Battalion, 35th Signal Brigade,
12 Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he attended the 82nd Airborne
13 Division's Jumpmaster Course; after graduation from the
14 course, he was transferred to Company A, 50th Signal Battalion
15 to serve in the Assault Command Platoon, serving as the
16 Commanding General's Radio Operator during Airborne
17 Operations; for his exceptional performance, he received
18 numerous coins, praise, and recognition; and
 
19     WHEREAS, In 2001 SFC Buccafurri attended the Advanced
20 Noncommissioned Officers Course at Fort Gordon, Georgia; upon
21 his graduation he was instrumental in preparing his unit for
22 deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq; after completion of his
23 deployment with his unit, he attended the U.S. Army Battlefield
24 Spectrum Manager's Course at Fort Gordon with follow-on orders

 

 

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1 to the 22nd Signal Brigade in Darmstadt, Germany; he again was
2 deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and was
3 assigned to Camp Victory, serving with the Coalition Provision
4 Authority and the Ministry of Communications; and
 
5     WHEREAS, SFC Kenneth Buccafurri's military awards and
6 decorations include the Army Commendation Medal with seven oak
7 leaf clusters, the Joint Service Achievement Medal with two oak
8 leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with six oak leaf
9 clusters, the Good Conduct Medal sixth award, the National
10 Defense Service Medal with bronze star, Armed Forces Field
11 Expeditionary Medal with two bronze stars, Southwest Asia
12 Service Medal with two bronze stars, Global War on Terrorism
13 Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal,
14 Korea Defense Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, the
15 NCO Professional Development Ribbon with numeral 3, the Army
16 Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon with numeral 4, the
17 Kuwait Liberation Medal Government of Saudi Arabia, the Kuwait
18 Liberation Medal Government of Kuwait, the Joint Meritorious
19 Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters, the Valorous Unit Award,
20 Meritorious Unit Commendation, the Master Parachutist Badge,
21 Air Assault Badge, the Drivers Badge, and the British
22 Parachutist Badge; and
 
23     WHEREAS, Over the years SFC Kenneth Buccafurri has seen
24 action in several foreign locales, attended school and

 

 

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1 continued his education, and found time to be a great father to
2 Kenneth, Sage, and Angelo; therefore, be it
 
3     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
4 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
5 congratulate Sergeant First Class Kenneth Buccafurri on his
6 retirement and thank him for his willingness to serve his
7 country as a member of the Armed Forces; and be it further
 
8     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
9 presented to SFC Kenneth Buccafurri as a symbol of our respect.