SLS 15RS-740 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 52
BY SENATOR ADLEY
CONDOLENCES. Expresses condolences of the Louisiana Senate upon the death of United
States Army Private First Class Bailey Jerome Swaggart.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To express the sincere condolences of the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana to the
3 family of United States Army Private First Class Bailey Jerome Swaggart upon his
4 death.
5 WHEREAS, United States Army PFC Bailey Jerome Swaggart was a native of
6 Monroe, Louisiana; and
7 WHEREAS, PFC Swaggart joined the U.S. Army in 2013, as an infantryman and
8 took his training at Fort Benning, Georgia; and
9 WHEREAS, PFC Swaggart was stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas, where he was a
10 member of 1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 77th Armored Regiment, 4th
11 Brigade, 1st Armored Division; and
12 WHEREAS, PFC Swaggart was deployed with his unit to Kenya, in East Africa, in
13 support of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa and had been in the country only
14 since January; and
15 WHEREAS, he and the soldiers of his unit were assigned to the Manda Bay Naval
16 Base when he received his mission orders on February 19, 2015, to guard a nearby air strip,
17 and it was during this mission that PFC Swaggart left the Humvee he was riding in to
18 investigate a small brush fire; and
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SLS 15RS-740 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, PFC Swaggart was bitten by one of Africa's highly venomous snakes
2 such as a puff adder, a cobra, a viper or a black mamba, which are some of the largest and
3 most venomous snakes on earth; and
4 WHEREAS, PFC Swaggart's leg showed signs of fang marks and a subsequent
5 autopsy confirmed that snake venom was the cause of death for the twenty-five-year-old
6 Louisiana soldier; and
7 WHEREAS, PFC Swaggart was the only United States soldier to die during his unit's
8 deployment to Kenya as the Regionally Aligned Brigade for Africa; and
9 WHEREAS, his loss has been devastating to his family, friends, and fellow soldiers
10 as they all try to make some sense of the incident; and
11 WHEREAS, PFC Swaggart served his country with courage and dedication and was
12 well liked by the people he served with and his awards and decorations include the National
13 Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
14 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
15 does hereby extend its most sincere and profound condolences to the family of United States
16 Army Private First Class Bailey Jerome Swaggart for their unmeasurable loss and his brave
17 and dedicated service to his country.
18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
19 family of United States Army Private First Class Bailey Jerome Swaggart.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Heyward Jeffers.
DIGEST
SR 52 Original 2015 Regular Session Adley
Expresses condolences upon the death of U.S. Army PFC Bailey Jerome Swaggart.
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