HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 59 Offered February 9, 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, That Potomac Field Gear hereby be commended 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 in appreciation of its commitment to developing products that will help safeguard the members of our armed forces.