Full Text of SR0350 97th General Assembly
SR0350 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | SR0350 | | LRB097 13884 GRL 58455 r |
|
| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of
United States Marine Corps Major Jeffrey | 4 | | Carl Bland of Oceanside, California, formerly of Galesburg, who | 5 | | passed away on September 19, 2011; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Major Jeffrey Bland was born on January 15, 1974, | 7 | | and grew up in Galesburg; he was the son of Carl and Janet | 8 | | (Winslow) Bland; he married Heather Cook Bland, on April 20, | 9 | | 2002, at St. Vincent DePaul Church in Chicago; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Major Jeffrey Bland enlisted in the United States | 11 | | Marine Corps during his junior year at the University of | 12 | | Illinois; he attended recruit training at the Marine Corps | 13 | | Recruit Depot in San Diego, California, and then reported to | 14 | | the School of Infantry for training as a mortarman; after his | 15 | | training, he worked toward completing his bachelor of science | 16 | | in aviation administration at Indiana State University, during | 17 | | which time he rose to the rank of corporal; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, In 2000, Major Jeffrey Bland attended Officer | 19 | | Candidates School; he was commissioned as a second lieutenant | 20 | | on October 27, 2001; in 2002, he completed Basic School and | 21 | | proceeded to primary flight training at the Naval Air Station | 22 | | in Pensacola, Florida; he subsequently completed flight school |
| | | SR0350 | - 2 - | LRB097 13884 GRL 58455 r |
|
| 1 | | and was designated a naval aviator in June of 2004; he was then | 2 | | directed to report to HMLAT 303 to commence training with the | 3 | | AH-1W Super Cobra; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, In December of 2004, Major Jeffrey Bland was | 5 | | assigned to HMLA-369 and deployed with HMM-163 (REIN) with the | 6 | | 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU); he served as the Future | 7 | | Operations Officer and H-1 NATOPS Officer while supporting | 8 | | Operation Iraqi Freedom and Exercise Bright Star in Egypt; | 9 | | after completing his service with the 13th MEU, he returned to | 10 | | HMLA-267 and was promoted to the rank of captain; he then went | 11 | | to Okinawa, Japan with HMM-265 (REIN) as part of the 31st MEU | 12 | | from January of 2007 to December of 2007; during this time, he | 13 | | participated in Exercise FOAL Eagle, Exercise Ulchi Focus Lens | 14 | | Korea, the Philippine Bilateral Exercise and Exercise Talisman | 15 | | Saber in Australia; after a year-long deployment, he returned | 16 | | to HMLA-267 in December of 2007; he was later selected for an | 17 | | Individual Augment billet and deployed with the Point of Entry | 18 | | Transition Team in Iraq from August of 2008 to February of | 19 | | 2009; he then returned to HMLA-267, where he remained until | 20 | | September of 2009, when he began serving with HMLAT-303; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Major Jeffrey Bland was the recipient of numerous | 22 | | personal decorations for his meritorious service, including | 23 | | the Air Medal-Strike/Flight numeral 4 and the Navy and Marine | 24 | | Corps Commendation Medal with One Gold Star; and
|
| | | SR0350 | - 3 - | LRB097 13884 GRL 58455 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, Major Jeffrey Bland is survived by his loving | 2 | | wife, Heather; his daughter, Aliana; his parents, Carl and | 3 | | Janet Bland; and his sisters, Cynthia Marquith, and her | 4 | | children, Zac and Lindsay Marquith, Christine Ross and her | 5 | | children, Josh Bland, Matthew Young, and Natalie Ross, and | 6 | | Julie Griffin; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Major Jeffrey Bland's patriotism and courage will | 8 | | be remembered fondly by his loving family, his fellow soldiers, | 9 | | and the citizens of our grateful nation; therefore, be it | 10 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 11 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 12 | | his family and friends, the passing of United States Marine | 13 | | Corps Major Jeffrey Carl Bland; and be it further
| 14 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 15 | | presented to the family of Major Jeffrey Bland as an expression | 16 | | of our sympathy.
|
|