Charlottesville Goes to War

Last night, City Council unanimously approved a resolution honoring Charlottesville's own Monticello Guard (which is now on its way to Iraq) and encouraging members of our community to support the troops and their families during this challenging time. The resolution also calls upon the "powers that be" in Washington to do their part to support the troops by bringing an expeditious end to this tragic war. Here's the entire text of the resolution:

Whereas, Company A, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry of the Virginia National Guard, based in Charlottesville, has completed preparations for deployment to Iraq;

Whereas, the citizens of Charlottesville are proud of the Monticello Guard’s long and commendable record of service to our Commonwealth and our country;

Whereas, the Monticello Guard includes more than 100 soldiers from the Charlottesville area, with loved ones who are understandably concerned for their safety;

Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Charlottesville City Council:

Honors the soldiers of the Monticello Guard for their service and extends its sincere hope for their safe and speedy return to Charlottesville;

Encourages citizens and community organizations in Charlottesville to offer their full support to the soldiers being deployed to Iraq, and to the family members they are leaving behind;

Implores the President and Congress of the United States to begin an expedient drawdown and redeployment of U.S. forces in Iraq so that the members of the Monticello Guard and the many other American soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in Iraq can return to their loved ones as quickly and safely as possible; and,

Requests that copies of this resolution be distributed to President George Bush; U.S. Senator John Warner; U.S. Senator James Webb; and Representative Virgil Goode.

Signed this 4th day of September, 2007.

I grew up in a military family and even though I've grown to abhor the use of violence to solve problems large and small, I have a lot of respect for the people who serve our country in uniform and I firmly believe that we as a nation have failed them profoundly in the way we've conducted this war -- going back to the very decision to initiate the war in the first place.

When it's our own neighbors who are being sent off to Iraq, suddenly it's personal. That's why we on Council felt it was timely and important for us to go on record as we did last evening.

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Bryan McKenzie is doing a great job of keeping us all up-to-speed on the Monticello Guard's progress. Keep an eye on his Daily Progress blog for occasional updates from the front.