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92_SR0517sam001
LRB9218081HShsam
1 AMENDMENT TO SENATE RESOLUTION 517
2 AMENDMENT NO. . Amend Senate Resolution 517 on page
3 1, by replacing lines 2 through 30 with the following:
4 "WHEREAS, Combat is inherently dangerous, for both ground
5 forces and aircrews; in a combat environment, aircrews are
6 called upon to make split-second, life or death decisions;
7 and
8 WHEREAS, Combat operations on the ground and in the air
9 in a war zone can be chaotic and complete information on the
10 location of both friendly and hostile forces is often
11 unavailable; and
12 WHEREAS, Major William Umbach and Major Harry Schmidt
13 were the pilots in a friendly-fire incident involving
14 Canadian ground forces on April 17, 2002 in Afghanistan; and
15 WHEREAS, Neither pilot had reliable information on the
16 disposition of enemy or friendly forces on the ground or of
17 live-fire exercises being conducted by coalition forces; and
18 WHEREAS, Both Major Schmidt and Major Umbach believed
19 that they were taking ground fire from an unknown source and
20 that they were required to suppress that fire in
21 self-defense; and
-2- LRB9218081HShsam
1 WHEREAS, Friendly fire accidents have been present in
2 every major conflict and have always been considered a tragic
3 part of warfare; and
4 WHEREAS, These two pilots are highly qualified and
5 experienced and both are members of the Illinois Air National
6 Guard; therefore, be it
7 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SECOND GENERAL
8 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that together with
9 Governor George Ryan, the VFW Northenders Post Number 10302
10 of Springfield, and many other individuals and organizations,
11 we stand in support of Major Umbach and Major Schmidt; and be
12 it further
13 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
14 presented to President George W. Bush, Commander in Chief,
15 General Richard B. Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
16 Staff, General John P. Jumper, Chief of Staff of the United
17 States Air Force, and the VFW Northenders Post Number
18 10302.".
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