SLS 16RS-3470 ORIGINAL
2016 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 187
BY SENATOR PERRY
COMMENDAT IONS. Commends U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Melanie R. Rowton
upon her retirement after a distinguished military career.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Melanie R. Rowton on her retirement after a
3 distinguished military career.
4 WHEREAS, Sergeant First Class Melanie R. Rowton is a native of West Monroe,
5 Louisiana, where she dreamed of serving her country in uniform as a member of the U.S.
6 Armed Forces; and
7 WHEREAS, Sergeant First Class Rowton did enlist in the U.S. Army National Guard
8 on January 10, 1990, when she began her outstanding military career during which she
9 would distinguish herself through a succession of exceptional positions of great importance
10 and responsibility to the U.S. Army and the nation; and
11 WHEREAS, SFC Rowton demonstrated great leadership in her role as a webmaster
12 of LAARNG while she was a member of Central Command and edited and maintained three
13 CENTCOM websites that included unclassified, classified, and coalition country sites where
14 she coordinated with fifty-one coalition countries for clearances and timely posting of each
15 country's contributions to the Global War on Terrorism; and
16 WHEREAS, SFC Rowton also provided extraordinary and expert assistance with
17 media escorts and VIP visits; and
18 WHEREAS, SFC Rowton's performance was exceptional and lead to her
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SLS 16RS-3470 ORIGINAL
1 commander's decision to assign her as the news consolidator for the Commanding General,
2 Central Command, where she provided morning updates on all news within Central
3 Command's area of operations; and
4 WHEREAS, as the State Public Affairs Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge for
5 the LAARNG, SFC Rowton served as editor for the state quarterly magazine and as the
6 emergency operations NCO during natural disasters where she planned, edited, and
7 submitted daily media content, coordinated press interview schedules, and managed
8 twenty-three unit public affairs representatives statewide; and
9 WHEREAS, she assisted the command group and state Public Affairs Officer during
10 Hurricane Gustav that resulted in more than fifty command interviews that communicated
11 vital information to areas hit by the storm; and
12 WHEREAS, SFC Rowton also served with great proficiency as a Small Group
13 Leader for the ARNG 79T Non-Commissioned Officer Academy, as well as a senior
14 instructor and recruiter; and
15 WHEREAS, her awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal,
16 Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with
17 two oak leaf clusters, the Good Conduct Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the
18 Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, the NATO Medal,
19 the NCODP Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Global War on Terrorism Medal, the
20 Senior NG Recruiter Badge, the Drill Sergeant Identification Badge, Army Basic Instructor
21 Badge, and the German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge.
22 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
23 does hereby extend its highest commendations to U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Melanie
24 R. Rowton upon her retirement after a truly outstanding and highly distinguished career in
25 service to her country, while deployed both overseas and in the United States of America,
26 always putting the needs of her country before her own.
27 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to U.S.
28 Army Sergeant First Class Melanie R. Rowton.
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The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Heyward Jeffers.
DIGEST
SR 187 Original 2016 Regular Session Perry
Commends U.S. Army SFC Melanie R. Rowton on her retirement after a distinguished
military career.
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