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Alaskan Congressman Don Young introduced a House Concurrent Resolution today commending the Alaska Army National Guard for its service to the State of Alaska and the citizens of the United States.  Rep. Young had the privilege of welcoming back the Alaska Army National Guard’s 3^rd Battalion, 297^th Infantry last week upon their arrival at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, and thanking them in person for their incredible service to their country.

Rep. Young’s remarks for the Congressional Record:

“Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor 586 members of the Alaska Army National Guard’s 3^rd Battalion, 297^th Infantry who recently returned from their year long deployment to Southern Iraq and Kuwait.  The guardsmen have been successfully serving as security forces in northern Kuwait and southern Iraq since October 2006, guarding camps and convoys heading into Iraq.  The guardsmen come from all over my state, with members of the unit hailing from 80 different communities across Alaska including Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kodiak, Soldotna, Kenai, Nome and many Native villages.  The unit also included National Guardsmen from New York, Mississippi, Illinois, Georgia and Puerto Rico.

“This was the largest deployment of the Alaska National Guard since World War II and thankfully all 586 guardsmen who were deployed overseas returned home safely.  Many of these guardsmen had never left Alaska prior to joining the National Guard, but none hesitated to serve their country. 

“As I told the National Guardsmen at their Welcome Home ceremony at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, ‘You can’t support the troops unless you respect them.  And I humbly respect you because you have done your job as you were charged to do so, and as volunteers.  You left your families and you went forth and accomplished what you were taught to do.’ 

“I truly believe that the importance of the National Guard to our country cannot be overstated, which is why it is important that we honor these citizen-soldiers.  For this reason I am introducing the following resolution to honor these Guardsmen for their outstanding service to our country.”   

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