Sean Reyes: “Mr. Speaker, it is with a great sense of loss that I rise to remember the 28 U.S. soldiers who sacrificed their lives on…”

“Mr. Speaker, it is with a great sense of loss that I rise to remember the 28 U.S. soldiers who sacrificed their lives on the evening of February 25, 1991 when a Scud missile hit and destroyed the converted warehouse where they were housed. These men and women, most from the 14th Quartermaster Detachment, an Army Reserve unit from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, had answered the call and were serving their Nation when and where they were needed. Although our air defenders tried valiantly to use the Patriot system to protect our soldiers and our allies during the Gulf War, that system was simply not designed for missile defense. Since then, however, we have made great strides in the Patriot program and are nearly ready to deploy the advanced Patriot system called PAC-3. The PAC-3 system is proven to engage and destroy ballistic missiles like Scuds. If this missile system had been in our inventory 10 years ago, it could have prevented this Scud missile tragedy.”