Honoring the sacrifices and commitments of the men, women, and families of the United States Transportation Command, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of House Resolution 640, as amended, a resolution that honors the sacrifices and commitments of the men, women and families of the United States Transportation Command. U.S. TRANSCOM was established in 1987 as one of the nine U.S. unified commands. TRANSCOM is tasked with coordination of people and transportation assets to allow our country to sustain forces whenever, wherever and for as long as they are needed. The men, women and families of TRANSCOM have done an extraordinary job of supporting this Nation and our national defense over the past 20 years.

I would like to take a moment to share a story with you that exemplifies the incredible capabilities of this unique organization. On an early morning in July, one of our sergeants was on a raid in Baghdad and found himself the victim of a brutal attack that resulted in a severe head injury. The soldier was immediately transported to Balad Air Base in Iraq for treatment. The wonderful people at the 332nd expeditionary medical group, whom I met on a recent trip to Iraq, examined this wounded soldier and determined that he needed to be quickly returned to the United States for a level of care that they could not provide in the field.

This is the point where the amazing men and women of the U.S. TRANSCOM went into action. A C-17 crew was just getting ready to start their day making normal cargo runs around the theater. As they arrived for duty, they were told of the wounded soldier. They immediately began planning the mission to get him the critical care that he needed. While U.S. TRANSCOM deals with urgent requests almost daily, this one was different. The C-17 crew was notified that due to the nature of the sergeant's head injury, they would have to keep the cabin pressure no higher than 4,000 feet on the flight home. They were also told, by the way, that it wouldn't be prudent to land anywhere on their trip as the pressure changes from climbing and descending could trigger bleeding and the patient would possibly lose his life. In order to make the flight home at a lower than normal altitude, the C-17 would need to be refueled twice along the way. The folks at U.S. TRANSCOM coordinated for the air refueling support over Turkey and England. As the flight was en route, this refueling took place. The extraordinary skills and capabilities of U.S. TRANSCOM personnel brought that flight safely to the ground at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, in record time. The wounded soldier was under the care of a neurosurgeon at Bethesda less than 24 hours from the moment of attack.

Now, that miracle is pretty impressive. But there are a few other details that you should know about this story. First of all, the C-17 was a McChord Air Force Base, Washington, airplane, where I happen to serve. It was flown by an active duty crew from Charleston Air Force Base. The doctor who cared for the patient while in flight is a reservist from Langley Air Force Base. The nurse is also a reservist, but he is from MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. The rest of the critical care team is a part of the Air National Guard. The entire mission, Mr. Speaker, was being controlled from Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, by the Tanker Airlift Control Center. That is what U.S. TRANSCOM is all about, bringing together the mobility assets needed to support our war fighters to the medical service that they need.

This is why I am proud to support H.R. 640. The men, women and families of U.S. TRANSCOM have served this Nation well. As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of U.S. TRANSCOM today, let's send them a strong message and support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 640) honoring the sacrifices and commitments of the men, women, and families of the United States Transportation Command, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 640, to honor the sacrifices and commitments of the men, women, and families of the United States Transportation Command, or TRANSCOM.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of TRANSCOM's activation at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, and I would like to thank my colleague from Illinois (Mr. Costello) for bringing this measure before the House.

Charged with the vital duty of providing air, land and sea transportation for the Department of Defense, both in times of peace and war, TRANSCOM consists of the Air Mobility Command, the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, and the Military Sea Lift Command.

Established in 1978, TRANSCOM is the single manager of America's global defense transportation system, and its skilled coordination allows our country to project and sustain our Armed Forces whenever, wherever and for as long as they are needed.

Responding quickly and effectively to the demands of our warfighting commanders, TRANSCOM first proved its crucial capability during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm, with the movement of more than 500,000 passengers, 3.7 million tons of dry cargo, and 6.1 million tons of petroleum products in only 7 months.

TRANSCOM has continued to serve the Nation and the world through many contingency and peacekeeping operations around the globe. It has supported numerous humanitarian relief operations, transporting supplies to victims of foreign and domestic natural disasters.

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, TRANSCOM became an especially vital asset to our Nation, supporting our Armed Forces in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

From October 2001 to September 2007, TRANSCOM and its components have transported approximately 4 million passengers, 9 million tons of cargo, and over 4 billion gallons of fuel. House Resolution 640 honors these great achievements and the men and women who make them happen.

TRANSCOM provides a vital service to our Nation and enables our Armed Forces to carry out their missions effectively and efficiently.

I hope you will join me today in congratulating TRANSCOM on its 20th anniversary, and expressing gratitude to the 155,000 men and women who comprise it for their continued sacrifice and commitment to this country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 640.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Washington (Mr. Reichert), and I thank our colleague from Illinois (Mr. Costello) for bringing this resolution to the floor of the House, House Resolution 640, honoring the sacrifices and commitments of the men, women and families of the United States Transportation Command.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 640.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 640, a resolution honoring the United States Transportation Command (US TRANSCOM) on its 20th Anniversary at Scott AFB, IL. I would like to thank Chairman Skelton and Ranking Member Hunter for working with me to bring this to the floor expeditiously.

TRANSCOM is responsible for creating and implementing first-class global deployment and distribution solutions to support the President, Secretary of Defense, and our Combatant Commander assigned missions.

Scott AFB, home of US TRANSCOM, Air Mobility Command, the Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, the 375th AW, the

932nd AW, and the 126th ARW, among other units, have made countless contributions to the OEF/OIF.

Since Oct 10, 2001, the US TRANSCOM has moved over 4 million passengers, almost 4.654 billion gallons of fuel, over 9.4 million tons of cargo, over 88,000 airlift missions, over 760 ship loads, more than 164,000 rail car shipments, and approximately 2 million CONUS truck shipments.

They have done all of this with only 2 fatalities in the aeromedical system. Those statistics demonstrate a remarkable commitment to excellence and an indication of true leadership, strong spirit and continued sacrifice.

Each day, the people at TRANSCOM and Scott AFB and their families and friends, are asked to sacrifice for the good of our country. They make that sacrifice without hesitation and should be commended for it.

Mr. Speaker, as we mark TRANSCOM's 20th anniversary at Scott AFB, I would like to commend General Norton Schwartz and the men and women who serve with him. It is truly an honor to have this command at Scott AFB and I look forward to countless more years of this unique partnership. I urge my colleagues to join me in honoring TRANSCOM and supporting this resolution.