On the recordMay 12, 2022
Today I am proud and honored to recognize the accomplishments and sacrifices of our National Guard and Reserve component men and women. The history of the National Guard and Reserve predates the birth of our Nation. In Mississippi we have the sixth oldest active regiment, the First Battalion, 155th Infantry Regiment--the Mississippi Rifles. For over 250 years, brave Americans have answered the call to service to protect both our homeland and democracies abroad, and to conduct disaster response or support to civilian authorities during a crisis. Our reservists and Guard members bring a unique skill set to our Armed Forces, leveraging their expertise and real-world experiences from the civilian workforce to bring an exceptional and innovative perspective to our national defense. In addition to deployments overseas, Guard and reservists are employed across the broad and diverse mission set, whether it is responding to civil unrest in our Nation's Capitol, defending our borders, providing relief from hurricanes or other natural disasters, as well as responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. I will tell you, Mr. Speaker, the Guard did a yeoman's work in the COVID response, and it was much less by building testing sites, by giving vaccinations, and by helping with all the logistics. We would not have gone as smoothly without our Guard. As of today the Mississippi National Guard has forces deployed in support of four combatant commands around the world.…
