12 2 STA T .70 1 PUBLIC LA W 110 – 20 3— AP R .23 , 200 8PublicLaw1 1 0–2 0 3 110 thCongres s J oint R esolution Congratul at i ngt heA r myR e s er v eonits c entennial ,w hich will b e f ormally celebrate d onA p ril 23 ,2 0 0 8 , and commemorating the historic contributions of its veterans and continuing contributions of its soldiers to the vital national security interests and homeland defense missions of the U nited S tates .Wher e asonJ an u ar y9,1 9 05 , t he 26 th P res id ent o f the U nited S tates, T heodore R oose v e l t, dis p at c hed a ‘ ‘special m essa g e ’ ’to the Senate and the H ouse of Representatives that ‘‘earnestly recommended passage’’ of legislation to esta b lish a F ederal reserve force of s k illed and trained personnel to bring ‘‘our A rmy
- * to the highest point of efficiency’’
Whereas on D ecember 1 4 , 1905, the then - Secretary of War and later 2 7 th President of the United States, William Ho w ard Taft, transmitted to the Senate and the House of Representatives a draft bill and letter authored by M a j or G eneral L eonard Wood, ‘‘strongly commending * * * proposed legislation’’ to ‘‘increase the efficiency of the Medical C orps of the Army’’ by establishing a Federal reserve force comprised of specially trained personnel; Whereas in response to the recommendations of President Theodore Roosevelt and senior military and civilian leaders, the 60th Con- gress enacted Public Law 101, entitled ‘‘An Act to increase the efficiency of the Medical Department of the United States Army’’, ch . 150, 3 5 Stat. 66, which was signed into law on April 23, 190 8 , by President Theodore Roosevelt; Whereas Public Law 101 authori z ed the establishment of the first Federal reserve force and the first reservoir of trained officers in a reserve status for a United States military service; Whereas Congress subse q uently adapted, e x panded, and amended the reserve organization of the Army to include additional mili- tary occupational specialties and capabilities and established the organization today known as the Army Reserve; Whereas the Army Reserve has played a major role in the defense of our N ation and in furtherance of United States interests for 100 years; Whereas many distinguished Americans have served honorably and with distinction in the Army Reserve, including Presidents Harry S Truman and Ronald W. Reagan, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Henry H. Shelton, B rigadier Gen- eral Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., Major General William J. Donovan ( Director of the O ffice of Strategic Services during World War I I ) , Drs. Charles H. Mayo and William J. Mayo, and Captain E ddie Rickenbacker; Apr.23, 2 0 0 8[H . J . Res . 7 0 ]
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