SENATE RESOLUTION

                         1997-8611

By Senators Oke and Horn

     WHEREAS, The defense of our grand Republic and the freedoms we have derived therefrom were purchased by the sacrifices of our Armed Forces of our nation; and

     WHEREAS, Our Military Forces are trained to preserve and defend the Constitution of the United States and the citizens; and be capable of accomplishing their mission to be successful in combat defending our inalienable rights as Americans; and

     WHEREAS, Since the undeclared end of the Cold War, our Armed Forces have been drained to a potentially dangerous level by downsizing in personnel strengths and commitments to missions other than war, thereby decreasing our military capability to be prepared to confront a potential enemy or foe and to repel and deter their objectives on simultaneous fronts in our realm of economic, political, or defense posturing interests of the United States; and

     WHEREAS, The number of nondeployable combat trained personnel is increasing at an alarming rate, thereby further decreasing our operational readiness capability for wartime preparedness, coupled with the reduction of our National Guard and Reserve strengths, two major contributing factors to our readiness; and

     WHEREAS, The Congress is constitutionally empowered to raise, maintain, and appropriate funds for Armies, Navies, and Militias including the Washington Military and Reserves, and provide for the defense of this nation and its international scopes of interest;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Senate is deeply concerned with the operational capabilities of our Armed Forces, their welfare, and the defense of this great nation, we recognize that the Congress must exercise to their fullest extent their constitutional mandate to retain, restore, and appropriate necessary funding to maintain a viable combat-ready Armed Forces, in a perpetual wartime posture and a secondary force capable of providing for operations other than war for humanitarian or peacekeeping missions around the globe; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the Allied Veterans Council of Kitsap County.

I, Mike O=Connell, Secretary of the Senate,

do hereby certify that this is a true and

correct copy of Senate Resolution 1997-8611,

adopted by the Senate February 7, 1997.

MIKE O=CONNELL

Secretary of the Senate