By Luna                                                 H.R. No. 81
         76R3733 GMW-D                           
                                 R E S O L U T I O N
 1-1           WHEREAS, The year 1999 marks the maiden voyage of the USNS
 1-2     Sisler, and it is most fitting that the memory of the vessel's
 1-3     namesake, First Lieutenant George Kenneth Sisler, be honored at
 1-4     this time; and
 1-5           WHEREAS, A Missouri native and United States Army special
 1-6     forces officer, First Lieutenant Sisler was posthumously awarded
 1-7     the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroic service during the
 1-8     Vietnam War; at the request of his widow, Jane Sisler, a Corpus
 1-9     Christi schoolteacher and the honorary sponsor of the USNS Sisler,
1-10     the ship will make a port of call on January 28-31, 1999, at the
1-11     Port of Corpus Christi; and
1-12           WHEREAS, The USNS Sisler is a large ro-ro cargo ship assigned
1-13     to the Military Sealift Command whose tactical responsibilities
1-14     include forward prepositioning and surge sealift of United States
1-15     forces overseas during military emergencies; it is the second of 19
1-16     such vessels being built at the NASSCO shipyard in San Diego; and
1-17           WHEREAS, These vessels and their deployment ports are of
1-18     profound strategic importance to our national defense and the cause
1-19     of freedom worldwide, and the addition of the USNS Sisler to the
1-20     Navy's fleet is indeed deserving of special recognition; now,
1-21     therefore, be it
1-22           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 76th Texas
1-23     Legislature hereby honor the memory of First Lieutenant George
1-24     Kenneth Sisler and commemorate the inaugural voyage of the USNS
 2-1     Sisler.