HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 98-4683, by Representatives D. Schmidt, Sullivan, Conway, Regala, Hankins, Dyer, D. Sommers, L. Thomas, Zellinsky, Carlson, Skinner, McMorris, Talcott, Wensman, Dunn, Koster, Van Luven, Kastama, Robertson, Sehlin, Honeyford, Clements, Pennington, Huff, Lisk, Thompson, Cooke, Butler, Backlund, Chandler, Costa, Hatfield, McDonald, B. Thomas, Ogden and Cooper

       WHEREAS, Over eight thousand eight hundred men and women of the Washington National Guard, consisting of the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard, continue to serve the country as a key part of our national defense; and

       WHEREAS, These citizen soldiers and airmen reside in every legislative district throughout Washington and, through the gift of their time and personal energies, serve the needs of the people of Washington State; and

       WHEREAS, The Guard is active in promoting positive activities for the youth of our state through involvement in the Guard's helicopter outreach programs, drug demand reduction presentations at local schools, and Camp Minuteman, a motivational summer youth experience at Camp Murray; and

       WHEREAS, The Guard makes a major contribution to our State's antidrug effort by providing over seventy on-duty soldiers and airmen throughout the year in twenty-six local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, and the Guard supported and participated in over one thousand three hundred thirty-one arrests and in seizure of over eighty-five million dollars in drugs, assets, and cash; and

       WHEREAS, The Guard continues to be an essential source of social and civil support in communities throughout the State, making armories available for public use as classrooms, food banks, and centers for community and youth activities and answering numerous calls for assistance, ranging from providing the traditional Color Guard to hauling food in support of antihunger initiatives; and

       WHEREAS, The Guard continues to demonstrate its essential role as an integral part of the State's ability to protect and sustain the lives and property of its citizens, serving when winter storms and ice threatened Washington citizens during December 1996 and January 1997, responding with over three hundred fifty airmen when disasterous floods struck in May of 1997, evacuating people from rooftops and flooded homes and farms, delivering hundreds of thousands of sandbags to stricken communities throughout our state, helping the citizens of Spokane when an ice storm disrupted power and water supplies for thousands of homes, answering the call in December 1996 when devastating storms and floods struck thirty Washington counties, working side by side evacuating stricken homes, directing traffic and assisting overburdened law enforcement officials, transporting medical personnel through snow-blocked streets, and filling and placing sandbags in flooded areas; and

       WHEREAS, These soldiers and airmen sacrifice their time, comfort, and energies to protect and preserve the lives and property of their fellow citizens, and while doing so, demonstrate the vitality of the great tradition of sacrifice and service to our state and our nation that characterize the Washington National Guard; and

       WHEREAS, The Washington National Guard is composed of citizen soldiers and airmen who, in the noble and time-honored tradition of the Minutemen, stand ready at a moment's notice to answer the call of need from their state or country to protect and guaranty the blessings of liberty and providence and to respond to calamity and natural disaster;

       NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State House of Representatives expresses its appreciation to the families and employers of our Guard soldiers and airmen for their support, without which the Guard's mission could not be successful; and

       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives specifically recognizes the value of a strong Washington National Guard to the economy and well-being of this State, through the Guard's performance of its state disaster relief mission, and through the Guard's ongoing contributions to local communities by the presence of productively employed, drug-free, and efficiently trained Guard members and by the armories that house them; and

       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives to The Adjutant General of the Washington National Guard, the Governor of the State of Washington, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Air Force, and to the President of the United States, the Honorable William J. Clinton.

              I hereby certify this to be a true and correct copy of

              Resolution 4683 adopted by the House of Representatives

                                 January 26, 1998.

                         ________________________________

                          Timothy A. Martin, Chief Clerk