; Whereas, on November 29, 2003, the USS Cole (DDG–67) redeployed on its first overseas deployment following the attack; Whereas, on April 7, 2017, destroyers USS Ross (DDG–78) and USS Porter (DDG–71) fired a total of 59 Tomahawk land attack missiles on Syria’s air base at al-Shayrat, from the eastern Mediterranean Sea in response to Syria’s use of banned chemical weapons; Whereas destroyers remain a critical component of United States naval capability around the world, serving to protect the free flow of commerce, reassure America’s allies and partners, and deter acts of aggression against American and allied forces; and Whereas the establishment of the month of August as National Destroyer Recognition Month will recognize the important contributions that United States destroyers and those sailors serving aboard them have made to naval warfare and American military success: Now, therefore, be it