Year of The Non-Commissioned Officer; Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard (2009)

Year of The Non-Commissioned Officer; Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard

WHEREAS, for more than 200 years the U.S. defense branches’ Non-Commissioned Officer Corps have distinguished themselves worldwide as dedicated, highly trained and highly motivated organizations of military professionals; and

WHEREAS, Non-Commissioned Officers occupy positions of respect and leadership, and have been the guardians of the service branches’ standards as trainers, technical experts and small unit leaders; and

WHEREAS, many Virginians have answered the call to defend Commonwealth and Country, and our Non-Commissioned Officers have been celebrated for courageous service from yesterday’s victories at Yorktown and Normandy to today’s fight in Baghdad and Kandahar; and

WHEREAS, Non-Commissioned Officers and their families have made daily sacrifices and exemplified courage and patriotism in their commitment to provide continual and invaluable service to the Commonwealth of Virginia and to this great Nation; and

WHEREAS, in the Commonwealth, Non-Commissioned Officers are the backbone of a defense presence of more than 130,000 active-duty personnel and more than 35,000 citizen-soldiers in our National Guard and Reserve;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Timothy M. Kaine, do hereby recognize 2009 as the YEAR OF THE NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER; ARMY, NAVY, AIR FORCE, MARINE CORPS AND COAST GUARD in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.