ENROLLED
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 80
BY REPRESENTATIVE COX
A RESOLUTION
To commend Lieutenant Colonel Chris Sylvia upon his retirement from the Natchitoches
Central High School Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program.
WHEREAS, born in Alexandria, Chris Sylvia matriculated at Northwestern State
University; he graduated in 1975 and was commissioned in the Armored Corps as a 2nd
lieutenant; and
WHEREAS, upon completion of the Armor Officer Basic Course, Sylvia was
assigned to the 2nd Battalion 66th Armored at Fort Hood, Texas, where he served as tank
platoon leader and executive officer; and
WHEREAS, in 1979, as part of a forward combat brigade for the 2nd Armored
Division, Sylvia was deployed to Germany and was the battalion maintenance officer and
tank company commander for A Company, 2nd Battalion 66th Armored; and
WHEREAS, after completing the Infantry Officer Advanced Course in 1984,
Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) Sylvia was assigned to Wofford College in Spartanburg, South
Carolina, where he served as the assistant professor of military science; and
WHEREAS, in 1986, LTC Sylvia graduated from the Command and General Staff
College and was assigned to the Division Support Command, 5th Infantry Division, Fort
Polk, where he held several integral posts: he was division supply officer, support operations
officer for 5th Support Battalion, and the Brigade S-3 operations officer; in the course of this
assignment he supported the 5th Infantry Division's ground forces in Panama during
Operation Just Cause; and
WHEREAS, LTC Sylvia was reassigned to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville,
Alabama, in 1989, where he served eleven months preparing National Guard units in
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Georgia, Tennessee, and Mississippi for the Gulf War; his skills led to assignment to the
531st Logistical Support Group in Fort Lewis, Washington, where he served in Saudi Arabia
and Kuwait; and
WHEREAS, in the summer of 1991, LTC Sylvia was assigned to the Joint Readiness
Training Center at Little Rock Air Force Base in Little Rock, Arkansas; he was the senior
combat service support observer controller and was responsible for training combat service
and combat service support units assigned to light infantry divisions; LTC Sylvia became
the installation materiel management officer at Fort Polk in 1995; and
WHEREAS, over the course of his illustrious and tenured career, LTC Sylvia was
awarded the Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation
Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the National Defense Service Medal with a star, the Army
Superior Unit Award, and a parachutist badge; and
WHEREAS, in August of 1995, LTC Sylvia retired from the U.S. Army and took on
the mantle of senior army instructor at Natchitoches Central High School, where he managed
the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program, which has a current
enrollment of one hundred fourteen students; and
WHEREAS LTC Sylvia will step away from formal training assignments upon his
retirement, allowing him and his wife Frances to spend happy moments with their children
and grandchildren.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend Lieutenant Colonel Chris Sylvia upon his
retirement from the Natchitoches Central High School Junior Reserve Officer Training
Corps program and does hereby extend best wishes for health, happiness, and many years
of family joy.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to LTC Chris Sylvia.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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