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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Legislature of the State of Texas is pleased to |
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join the airmen, the United States Department of Defense employees, |
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and the families of Dyess Air Force Base, along with the Abilene |
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community, in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the C-130 |
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Hercules aircraft in the Big Country; and |
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WHEREAS, On February 8, 1961, the 64th Troop Carrier Wing |
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began a distinguished era of service with the arrival of the first |
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C-130 on the base; the early missions of the C-130s included |
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responding to the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 and delivering |
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support to the Distant Early Warning radar sites along the Arctic |
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Circle with ski-equipped transport models; longer-range models |
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were developed over the years, and the latest version of the |
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aircraft, the C-130J Super Hercules, began arriving in 2010; and |
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WHEREAS, The 64th Troop Carrier Wing passed the leadership |
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torch to the 516th Tactical Airlift Wing in 1963, followed by the |
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463rd Airlift Wing in 1972 and the 7th Wing in 1993; the 317th |
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Airlift Group of today was activated in 1997; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the past 50 years, more than 17,000 maintenance |
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workers and aircrew members have kept the C-130 Hercules ready to |
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respond to the next crisis; the Dyess C-130s have delivered |
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critical cargo under enemy fire and have been used to carry out |
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numerous humanitarian missions, such as airlifting refugees to |
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safety, fighting forest fires, and responding to Gulf Coast |
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hurricanes; the steadfast support of the Abilene community has been |
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an intregal part of the outstanding success of the C-130 mission at |
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Dyess Air Force Base; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby pay tribute to all who have participated in the missions and |
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the maintenance of the Dyess Air Force Base C-130 Hercules aircraft |
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over the last 50 years; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be prepared in honor |
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of the 50th anniversary of the C-130 Hercules aircraft at Dyess Air |
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Force Base. |