SLS 15RS-605 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 45
BY SENATOR ADLEY
CONDOLENCES. Expresses condolences of the Louisiana Senate upon the death of
Louisiana Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Thomas Florich.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To express the sincere condolences of the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana to the
3 family of Louisiana Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Thomas Florich upon his
4 death.
5 WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Thomas Florich of Fairfax County, Virginia, enlisted in
6 the Louisiana Army National Guard in 2007, as a Black Hawk repairer, served state
7 deployments for Operation Deepwater Horizon and Hurricane Isaac, earning more than one
8 hundred twenty-five flight hours, and was also a graduate of the warrior leader course; and
9 WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Thomas Florich was a member of A Company, 1st
10 Assault Helicopter Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment, headquartered in Hammond,
11 Louisiana; and
12 WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Florich was living in Baton Rouge as he served in the
13 guard while he attended Louisiana State University, and his family believed that he intended
14 to make a career in the military after completing college; and
15 WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Florich was twenty-six years old when he and his crew
16 flew out of Eglin Air Force Base near Pensacola, Florida, on March 10, 2015, to engage in
17 a nighttime water insertion operation with Marine Special Operations Command personnel
18 from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina; and
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SLS 15RS-605 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Florich and his crew planned to fly the Marines to a site
2 off shore and allow them to fast rope down to the water and then swim ashore, in a technique
3 typically used for reconnaissance missions, but the aircraft, without warning, suddenly
4 crashed into Santa Rosa Sound and all aboard perished; and
5 WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Florich was married and leaves behind his wife, and
6 father and stepmother; and
7 WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Florich was preceded in death by his mother who died
8 while he was a child; and
9 WHEREAS, Staff Sergeant Florich's awards and decorations include the Army
10 Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with Oak Leaf
11 Cluster, National Defense Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional
12 Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Components Overseas Training
13 Ribbon, Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon, Louisiana Emergency Service
14 Ribbon with Oak Leaf Cluster, Louisiana General Excellence Ribbon, Louisiana Longevity
15 Ribbon, and the Basic Aviation Badge.
16 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
17 does hereby extend its deepest and most profound condolences to the family of Louisiana
18 Army National Guard Staff Sergeant Thomas Florich for their immeasurable loss and his
19 brave service.
20 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
21 family of Staff Sergeant Thomas Florich.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Heyward Jeffers.
DIGEST
SR 45 Original 2015 Regular Session Adley
Expresses condolences upon the death of LANG SSG Thomas Florich.
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