2015 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 52
BY SENATORS ADLEY, ALARIO, ALLAIN, AMEDEE, APPEL, BROOME, BROWN,
BUFFINGTON, CHABERT, CLAITOR, CORTEZ, CROWE,
DONAHUE, DORSEY-COLOMB, ERDEY, GALLOT, GUILLORY,
HEITMEIER, JOHNS, KOSTELKA, LAFLEUR, LONG, MARTINY,
MILLS, MORRELL, MORRISH, MURRAY, NEVERS, PEACOCK,
PERRY, PETERSON, RISER, GARY SMITH, JOHN SMITH,
TARVER, THOMPSON, WALSWORTH, WARD AND WHITE
A RESOLUTION
To express the sincere condolences of the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana to the
family of United States Army Private First Class Bailey Jerome Swaggart upon his
death.
WHEREAS, United States Army PFC Bailey Jerome Swaggart was a native of
Monroe, Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, PFC Swaggart joined the U.S. Army in 2013, as an infantryman and
took his training at Fort Benning, Georgia; and
WHEREAS, PFC Swaggart was stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas, where he was a
member of 1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 77th Armored Regiment, 4th
Brigade, 1st Armored Division; and
WHEREAS, PFC Swaggart was deployed with his unit to Kenya, in East Africa, in
support of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa and had been in the country only
since January; and
WHEREAS, he and the soldiers of his unit were assigned to the Manda Bay Naval
Base when he received his mission orders on February 19, 2015, to guard a nearby air strip,
and it was during this mission that PFC Swaggart left the Humvee he was riding in to
investigate a small brush fire; and
WHEREAS, PFC Swaggart was bitten by one of Africa's highly venomous snakes
such as a puff adder, a cobra, a viper or a black mamba, which are some of the largest and
most venomous snakes on earth; and
WHEREAS, PFC Swaggart's leg showed signs of fang marks and a subsequent
autopsy confirmed that snake venom was the cause of death for the twenty-five-year-old
Louisiana soldier; and
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WHEREAS, PFC Swaggart was the only United States soldier to die during his unit's
deployment to Kenya as the Regionally Aligned Brigade for Africa; and
WHEREAS, his loss has been devastating to his family, friends, and fellow soldiers
as they all try to make some sense of the incident; and
WHEREAS, PFC Swaggart served his country with courage and dedication and was
well liked by the people he served with and his awards and decorations include the National
Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby extend its most sincere and profound condolences to the family of United States
Army Private First Class Bailey Jerome Swaggart for their unmeasurable loss and his brave
and dedicated service to his country.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
family of United States Army Private First Class Bailey Jerome Swaggart.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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