Commending Will Chesney of Lumberton for his distinguished service as a U.S. Navy SEAL.

The text as introduced · 433 words

90R1229 CW-D

By: Holt
H.R. No. 10

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, Will Chesney of Lumberton rendered exceptional

service to his country during his years as a U.S. Navy SEAL; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Chesney joined the elite Navy SEAL ranks in

2003, and he later deployed to Afghanistan with SEAL Team 6; upon

his return to the states, he embarked on K-9 handler training and

was paired with a Belgian Malinois named Cairo; he and Cairo

continued their work together in Virginia, and in 2009 and 2010, the

pair were sent to the Middle East for duty; ultimately, they were

selected for Operation Neptune Spear, a daring mission to capture

Osama bin Laden, the architect of the September 11, 2001, terrorist

attacks; on May 2, 2011, Mr. Chesney and Cairo, who was trained to

detect explosives and weapons, helped a Navy SEAL contingent

conduct the raid at bin Laden's compound in Pakistan; Cairo had

finished his check of the main building's lower floors when word

came that the mission was complete: bin Laden had been killed in his

third-floor bedroom; and

WHEREAS, Following the successful operation, President

Barack Obama awarded Mr. Chesney and his fellow SEAL Team 6 members

the Silver Star Medal for gallantry in action against an enemy of

the United States; subsequently deployed again, Mr. Chesney

returned to Afghanistan as a SEAL operator and was seriously

wounded when he sustained a traumatic brain injury from a grenade

blast; no longer able to take part in Navy SEAL missions, and

suffering from chronic pain, depression, and post-traumatic stress

disorder, he found solace in visiting Cairo at the navy kennels; he

went on to adopt Cairo after the K-9 was officially retired, and the

two spent a year together before Cairo's passing on April 2, 2015; a

book that Mr. Chesney wrote about him, No Ordinary Dog: My Partner

from the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid , was published in 2020;

and

WHEREAS, Demonstrating the utmost dedication and bravery

during his years in uniform, Will Chesney upheld the highest ideals

of the United States armed forces, and his fellow citizens owe him a

lasting debt of gratitude; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 90th Texas

Legislature hereby commend Will Chesney for his distinguished

service as a U.S. Navy SEAL and extend to him sincere best wishes

for the future; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be

prepared for Mr. Chesney as an expression of high regard by the

Texas House of Representatives.