IA
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. J. RES. 94
Honoring the members of the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd
Fighter Wing for their extraordinary performance, leadership, and dedi-
cation to duty in support of Operation Noble Eagle and in providing
combat air patrols during and immediately following the terrorist attacks
on the Nation on September 11, 2001.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 22, 2002
Mr. CAPUANO (for himself, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. OLVER, Mr.
MEEHAN, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr.
FRANK, and Mr. TIERNEY) introduced the following joint resolution;
which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
JOINT RESOLUTION
Honoring the members of the Massachusetts Air National
Guard’s 102nd Fighter Wing for their extraordinary per-
formance, leadership, and dedication to duty in support
of Operation Noble Eagle and in providing combat air
patrols during and immediately following the terrorist
attacks on the Nation on September 11, 2001.
Whereas on the morning of September 11, 2001, the 102nd
Fighter Wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard
became the Nation’s first airborne responder to the ter-
rorist attacks of that day when it scrambled two F–15
fighter aircraft just six minutes after being informed of
the terrorist hijackings of commercial airliners;
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Whereas within the first hour of the terrorist attacks, the
102nd Fighter Wing launched six armed aircraft on com-
bat air patrol over New York City and Boston;
Whereas as a result of its ability to respond so quickly and
effectively, the 102nd Fighter Wing became the country’s
lead air defense squadron for Operation Noble Eagle;
Whereas the 102nd Fighter Wing established a twenty-four
hours a day, seven days a week presence in the skies over
the northeast and mid-Atlantic portions of the country;
Whereas in the first three days of the national crisis, the
102nd Fighter Wing was the country’s sole clearance and
identification authority for air traffic, and its flawless
execution expedited the flow of medevac and recovery air-
craft to the World Trade Center site;
Whereas from September 11, 2001, until receiving orders to
stand down on February 1, 2002, the 102nd Fighter
Wing flew a total of 770 sorties, compiling over 3,200
hours in direct support of Operation Noble Eagle and
combat air patrols over New York City, Washington,
D.C., and Boston;
Whereas during this nearly five-month period, the unit came
close to surpassing its annual allocation of flying hours
and sustained a remarkable 300 percent increase in oper-
ational tempo;
Whereas the 102nd Fighter Wing’s maintenance crews pro-
vided fully mission capable aircraft that enabled the
squadron to meet 100 percent of its combat air patrol
and alert taskings as well as to provide fill in for other
units when those units could not meet their taskings; and
Whereas the 102nd Fighter Wing was selected as the 2002
recipient of the Winston P. Wilson Trophy, given annu-
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ally to the country’s most outstanding Air National
Guard fighter unit, and is a finalist for the 2002 Hughes
Achievement Award, which recognizes the top fighter unit
in the entire United States Air Force: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
That Congress—
(1) acknowledges the tremendous accomplish-
ments of the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s
102nd Fighter Wing in response to the terrorist at-
tacks on the Nation on September 11, 2001; and
(2) commends the members of the 102nd Fight-
er Wing for their extraordinary performance, leader-
ship, and dedication to duty in support of Operation
Noble Eagle and in providing combat air patrols
during and immediately following those attacks.
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