2009 Assembly Joint Resolution 60
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: the public service of Anthony D. Hardie.
Whereas, from 2003 to 2009, Anthony Hardie provided invaluable assistance to us as legislators and to countless of our constituents as the executive assistant for the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA), where he was the agency's liaison to the state legislature and to Congress, and he oversaw the department's external affairs; and
Whereas, Anthony Hardie capably represented DVA as a member of the Legislative Council special committees on the recodification of the chapters of the Wisconsin Statutes governing veterans affairs and military affairs; and
Whereas, from 1999 to 2003, Anthony Hardie was senior field representative for United States Representative Tammy Baldwin, where his areas of responsibility included federal procurement and grants, housing, veterans and military affairs, and economic development; and
Whereas, in 1998, Anthony Hardie received his bachelor of science degree with a triple major in international relations, economics, and political science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he participated in the Pre-Law Society, the United States Student Association, Pi Sigma Alpha, the Golden Key International Honor Society, the National Coalition of Student Veterans, Vets for Vets, and the Gulf War Veterans of Wisconsin; and
Whereas, Anthony Hardie studied architecture and international relations at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee from 1994 to 1995, where he was a member of the student senate and attended a United Nations summer seminar; and
Whereas, Anthony Hardie proudly and honorably served as a psychological operations specialist with the United States Army from 1986 to 1993, and he saw action in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, in Somalia, and did several additional tours of duty in Africa, and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, during the Haitian boat lift refugee crisis; and
Whereas, for his many years of dedicated service and sacrifice in the military on behalf of the American people, Anthony Hardie was awarded the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with five oak leaf clusters, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Southwest Asia Service Medal with three bronze service stars, the Humanitarian Service Medal, and several other medals, ribbons, and badges; and
Whereas, Anthony Hardie is a graduate of the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio of Monterey, California, and the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and
Whereas, in the years following his active military service, Anthony Hardie has remained thoroughly engaged in and has worked on national policy issues related to the health of deployed service members, redeployment, and Gulf War veterans' illnesses; and
Whereas, Anthony Hardie has adroitly worked with numerous governmental and nonprofit organizations on behalf of veterans, including as a panelist for the United States Centers for Disease Control Gulf War Research Planning Conference; an appointed member of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses; a member of the United States Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program Gulf War Illness Research Program Integration Panel; as vice president, national secretary, and board member of the National Gulf War Resource Center; and as national secretary and legislative chair of Veterans of Modern Warfare; and
Whereas, Anthony Hardie is a life member of Disabled American Veterans and Veterans of Foreign Wars, and is a member of AMVETS, the American Legion, and Veterans of Modern Warfare; and
Whereas, in 2005 Anthony Hardie received the Disabled American Veterans Department Distinguished Service Award, the organization's highest annual state award, and in 2007 received the AMVETS Department of Wisconsin Legislative Advocacy Award; and
Whereas, everyone who worked with Anthony knew that he had the best interests of veterans first and foremost in his heart, that our constituents were in extremely good hands because Anthony was all about solving problems for people, and that he truly was an excellent representative of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the
assembly, the senate concurring, That the members of the Wisconsin legislature commend Anthony Hardie for his decades of public service, his contributions to state and federal government, the sacrifices he made serving his country as a member of the United States armed forces, and the work he has done on behalf of veterans across this state and nation.
