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| [ Enrolled ] | [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
92_SR0517
LRB9218081HShs
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Combat is inherently dangerous, for both ground
3 forces and aircrews; in a combat environment, aircrews are
4 called upon to make split-second, life or death decisions;
5 and
6 WHEREAS, Major William Umbach and Major Harry Schmidt
7 were the pilots in the friendly-fire incident involving
8 Canadian ground forces on April 17, 2002; and
9 WHEREAS, the Coalition Air Operations Center was aware of
10 the Canadian live-fire training exercise, and yet neither
11 pilot was briefed regarding the exercise prior to the
12 mission; and
13 WHEREAS, Both Major Schmidt and Major Umbach honestly and
14 reasonably believed that they were taking ground fire from an
15 unknown source and that they were required to suppress that
16 fire in self-defense; and
17 WHEREAS, Friendly fire accidents have been present in
18 every major conflict and have always been considered a
19 tragedy, not a crime; therefore be it
20 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
21 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that together with
22 Governor George Ryan, the VFW Northenders Post Number 10302
23 of Springfield, and many other individuals and organizations,
24 we stand in support of Major Umbach and Major Schmidt; and be
25 it further
26 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
27 presented to President George W. Bush, Commander in Chief,
28 General Richard B. Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
29 Staff, General John P. Jumper, Chief of Staff of the United
30 States Air Force, and the VFW Northenders Post Number 10302.