HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 834 Offered January 31, 2007 Commending Potomac Field Gear. ---------- Patron-- Bowling ----------

WHEREAS, Potomac Field Gear, a clothing manufacturer in the community of Council in Buchanan County, produces a line of tactical garments that has received rave reviews from the Army and the Marines; and

WHEREAS, Robert Bonin, president of Potomac Field Gear, met with an Army official in 2003 to discuss the production of a tactical clothing line and soon after began working with the Marine Corps Systems Command in Quantico as part of a clothing procurement program called Flame-Resistant Organizational Gear; and

WHEREAS, the program's initial focus has been on procuring items that provide protection to the face, neck, upper torso, and extremities against flame and heat; and

WHEREAS, Potomac Field Gear garments, including T-shirts, boxers, vests, and balaclavas, are fire resistant and self-extinguishing, which means they don't drip or melt when ignited; and

WHEREAS, Potomac Field Gear clothing features X-Static fibers, textile fibers with a layer of pure silver bonded to them, which help the body to regulate temperature more evenly in extreme heat or cold, have important anti-microbial and anti-static properties, and provide protection from ultraviolet light; and

WHEREAS, the Potomac Field Gear T-shirt was selected as the official T-shirt for the Army's 2006 Best Ranger Competition at Fort Benning, Georgia, and received the 2006 Best Ranger Sponsor Award; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Potomac Field Gear on its success in manufacturing high-quality, protective garments; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Potomac Field Gear as an expression of the General Assembly's appreciation for its commitment to developing products that will help safeguard the members of our armed forces.