THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE RESOLUTION

INTRODUCED BY BAKER, SOLOBAY, SCARNATI, ALLOWAY, TOMLINSON, ARGALL, STACK, BREWSTER, VANCE, BRUBAKER, DINNIMAN, EARLL, ERICKSON, FARNESE, FERLO, FOLMER, FONTANA, GORDNER, GREENLEAF, HUGHES, KASUNIC, KITCHEN, MENSCH, ORIE, PILEGGI, PIPPY, RAFFERTY, ROBBINS, SCHWANK, TARTAGLIONE, VOGEL, WARD, WASHINGTON, WAUGH, D. WHITE, YAW AND YUDICHAK, JUNE 14, 2011

INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, JUNE 14, 2011  

A RESOLUTION

Commemorating the 256th anniversary of Pennsylvania's first

militia law and designating June 14, 2011, as "National Guard

Day" in Pennsylvania.

WHEREAS, In 1747 Benjamin Franklin organized the Associators

in Philadelphia; and

WHEREAS, Units of today's Pennsylvania National Guard can

trace their lineage to the original Associators; and

WHEREAS, In 1755 the General Assembly of the Province of

Pennsylvania received a great number of petitions from the

counties of the province "setting forth that the petitioners

were very willing to defend themselves and their country and

desirous of being formed into regular bodies for that purpose,

instructed and disciplined under proper officers with suitable

and legal authority"; and

WHEREAS, Responding to these petitions, the representatives

of the Province of Pennsylvania, meeting in General Assembly,

passed Pennsylvania's first militia law on November 25, 1755;

and

WHEREAS, The militia law, passed "for the better ordering and

regulating such as are willing and desirous to be united for

military purposes within this province," created the volunteer

militia and laid the legal foundation for the militia and the

Pennsylvania National Guard; and

WHEREAS, Enactment of the act of November 25, 1755, marked

the beginning of 256 years of cooperation and support from the

General Assembly for the Pennsylvania militia, the Pennsylvania

National Guard and the soldiers and airmen who proudly serve

this Commonwealth and this nation; and

WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania National Guard, the largest army

national guard in the United States and fourth largest air

national guard in the United States, has experienced historic

mobilization and deployment rates and has provided volunteers to

critical missions around the world; and

WHEREAS, In war and in peace, Pennsylvania National Guard

units have taken part in every conflict America has faced, from

the Revolutionary War through Operation Iraqi Freedom, as well

as ongoing peacekeeping missions around the globe; and

WHEREAS, Since September 11, 2001, thousands of this

Commonwealth's soldiers and airmen have deployed in support of

the Global War on Terror; and

WHEREAS, In times of national disaster, the Pennsylvania

National Guard responds to floods, blizzards and other domestic

emergencies, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, when

Commonwealth soldiers and airmen were deployed to the Gulf Coast

within a few days of the storms to provide communications,

humanitarian assistance and force protection; and

WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of this

Commonwealth's top ten employers with hundreds of civilian

employees and thousands of National Guard members in communities

across this Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, The continued support of the General Assembly has

been, and is today, critical to the success of the Pennsylvania

National Guard; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate celebrate the 256th anniversary of

Pennsylvania's first militia law and designate June 14, 2011, as

"National Guard Day" in Pennsylvania; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Senate ask all Pennsylvanians to recognize

the Pennsylvania National Guard and the service of generations

of soldiers and airmen with the utmost gratitude; and be it

further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be transmitted to

the Governor and to the Adjutant General.