HR1405 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1405 LRB095 21706 KXB 51916 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel John W. Amberg II entered the United States Army in 1982 and completed basic training at Fort Knox earning the Military Occupational Skill, 19D, Cavalry Scout; and

WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel John Amberg holds a Bachelor's degree in Leadership from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Master's degree in Business Administration from Eastern New Mexico University; and

WHEREAS, He is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College, the Public Affairs Officer's Course, the Combined Arms Services Staff School, the Field Artillery Basic and Advanced Courses, and holds the Airborne Badge; and

WHEREAS, Serving as an Artillery Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Amberg was stationed at Fort Hood (1995) and participated in an operational deployment to Kuwait; he also served as the deputy operations officer for the Artillery Battalion and was deployed to fight forest fires in Idaho and Montana in support of the United States Forest Service; and

WHEREAS, Prior to his assignment at Fort Hood, Lieutenant Colonel Amberg served as a Gunnery Instructor for the Officer Basic Course at the Artillery School, Fort Sill, Oklahoma; and

WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel Amberg also was deployed to Desert Shield/Desert Storm (1991) from Neu Ulm, Germany as part of the 1st Infantry Division and VII Corps, the largest overseas theater-to-theater deployment in the history of the Army; and

WHEREAS, From 1997 to 2000 Lieutenant Colonel Amberg taught Military Leadership at the Reserve Officer Training Course (ROTC), New Mexico Military Institute at Roswell, New Mexico, and assisted the University in commissioning over 150 officers, the second largest commissioning source for United States Army officers, other than West Point; and

WHEREAS, In 2001, Lieutenant Colonel Amberg attended the Command and General Staff College and then was assigned to the United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC), Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he served as the Secretary of the General Staff (SGS), and was responsible for the management of all administrative records for the students and staff for the Deputy Commandant; and

WHEREAS, From January 2003 to March 2003, Lieutenant Colonel Amberg was deployed to Zamboanga City, Republic of the Philippines, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom; during the deployment, Lieutenant Colonel Amberg served as the principle PAO for the Joint Special Operation Task Force Philippines as they conducted humanitarian assistance and military training missions; and

WHEREAS, He was the Chief of Public Affairs for the United States Army Japan/9th Theater Support Command at Camp Zama, Japan; Lieutenant Colonel Amberg served as the principle PAO for the 2004 military desertion trial of the former Korean War Army Sergeant Charles Jenkins; Lieutenant Colonel Amberg, serving as the Army spokesperson, assured that the public understood the military trial was merely the United States Army enforcing the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) with one of its own; the case was internationally significant due to the personal interest of Japan's Prime Minister, Jerinichi Koizumi; and

WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel Amberg arrived in Chicago in July of 2005 and participated in the Army's Training with Industry Program and has now retired as Midwest Director, United States Army Public Affairs, after serving 26 years in the military; and

WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel Amberg played an instrumental role as a liaison between the United States Army and an array of non-profit charitable organizations dedicated to serving both veteran and current members of the United States military in and around the Midwest area, and was vital in providing guidance to these organizations; and

WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel Amberg was central to the successful re-launch of the Purple Heart Cruise, a Chicago institution dedicated to serving the veterans of Illinois and America and provided assistance, advice, and council to the leadership of the hosting organization, Kup's Purple Heart Foundation; and

WHEREAS, Lieutenant Colonel Amberg will officially retire from the military on September 2008; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate and recognize Lieutenant Colonel John Amberg for his dedication to the citizens of Illinois, for having accomplished all missions tasked to him and his respective units, and for having served this State and the nation honorably for 26 years and that we declare September 30, 2008 as Lieutenant Colonel John Amberg Day in the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Lieutenant Colonel John Amberg as a symbol of our respect and esteem.