Sponsored by:
Senator MICHAEL J. DOHERTY
District 23 (Hunterdon, Somerset and Warren)
Senator JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senators Oroho, T.Kean, Pennacchio, Thompson, Bateman, Corrado, Cardinale and Brown
SYNOPSIS
Designates March of each year as “Women Veterans Month” in New Jersey.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Joint Resolution designating March of each year as “Women Veterans Month” in New Jersey.
Whereas, Throughout our State and Nation’s histories women have served in and alongside the United States Armed Forces to secure and preserve freedom and liberty for all Americans and our allies; and
Whereas, The long tradition of women serving honorably and with courage in our country’s military dates back to the American Revolution when they acted as nurses, cooks, and saboteurs; and
Whereas, The important contributions of women continued in the centuries that followed and included assignments as military nurses in fixed-facility hospitals in World Wars I and II, as medical staff in field combat hospitals during the Korean War and Vietnam Conflict, and as truck drivers and helicopter pilots in Iraq and Afghanistan; and
Whereas, In December 2015, the United States Department of Defense announced women were permitted to serve in combat roles such as infantry, artillery, and armor, which reversed a rule restricting women from combat roles; and
Whereas, Women veterans have demonstrated great skill, sacrifice, and commitment to defending the principles upon which our Nation was founded and continues to uphold; and
Whereas, Today, women constitute approximately 15 percent of the military personnel on active duty and 17 percent of active-duty officers in the military; and
Whereas, Women comprise nearly 19 percent of all active-duty personnel in the Air Force, 18 percent of the Navy, 14 percent of the Army, and eight percent of all Marines; and
Whereas, In New Jersey, women constitute roughly 18 percent of the membership of the New Jersey Army National Guard and make up 23 percent of the New Jersey Air National Guard; and
Whereas, The number of women veterans continues to grow in the United States and is expected to reach 20 percent of the military forces by 2020 increasing exponentially from 1.1 million in 1980 to a projected two million by 2020; and
Whereas, New Jersey is home to 25,678 women veterans who have proudly and valiantly served our State and Nation, and who have played an integral role in defending our homeland and preserving freedom around the word; and
Whereas, Former New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie, proclaimed March 2016 as “Women Veterans Month” during his tenure to pay respect to women veterans for their dutiful service to the State and Nation; and
Whereas, It is of the utmost importance for the residents of the Garden State to express our gratitude for the patriotic service of our women veterans who have risked their lives to defend our constitution and the sacred principles of liberty and freedom it represents; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The month of March of each year is designated as “Women Veterans Month” in honor and remembrance of all women veterans who have served honorably and with courage on behalf of this State and the United States of America since the Revolutionary War.
2. The Governor is respectfully requested to issue an annual proclamation recognizing March as “Women Veterans Month” in New Jersey and calling upon public officials and citizens of this State to observe the month with appropriate activities and programs.
3. This joint resolution shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
Women have served honorably and with courage in all of America’s wars and conflicts since the American Revolution. This joint resolution designates March of each year as “Women Veterans Month” in New Jersey in honor and remembrance of all women veterans who have proudly and valiantly served this State and Nation. Today, women constitute approximately 15 percent of the military personnel on active duty and demonstrate great skill, sacrifice, and commitment to defending the principles upon which our Nation was founded and continues to uphold.
To pay respect to the State and Nation’s women veterans for their dutiful service to the Nation, the Governor is respectfully requested to issue an annual proclamation calling upon public officials and the citizens of this State to observe March of each year as “Women Veterans Month” in New Jersey.