Gov. Bob McDonnell has traveled to the Middle East as part of an official Department of Defense delegation visit to U.S. service members stationed in Kuwait and Afghanistan, including members of the Virginia National Guard. The governor’s trip was at the invitation of the Department of Defense, which regularly takes elected officials to observe military operations and visit with U.S. troops abroad. The governor is joined on this ongoing trip by Montana Gov. Steve Bullock. For security reasons, details of the governor’s trip were not publicly disclosed in advance. This is the governor’s first trip to Kuwait and Afghanistan.
On Monday morning, McDonnell and Bullock met with Lt. Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, Director of the Joint Staff, and Gen. Frank J. Grass, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, at the Pentagon for pre-trip briefings, as well as to discuss the current and future state of the U.S. military forces, both at home and abroad, with special emphasis on the National Guard. McDonnell was joined by Maj. Gen. Daniel E. Long, Jr., Adjutant General of the Virginia National Guard. Following the meeting, the governors visited Walter Reed National Medical Center. There, the governors met with wounded service members and visited the Military Advanced Training Center, a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of men and women recovering from injuries sustained in the service of their country. The visit also included a tour of the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, a Department of Defense institute that provides cutting-edge evaluation, treatment planning, research and education for service members struggling with mild traumatic brain injury and other psychological conditions.
The governors departed for the Middle East late Monday, arriving Tuesday afternoon at Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. The delegation then traveled to Udairi Army Air Field, where McDonnell toured the facility and held a town hall meeting with constituents from Virginia. Wednesday morning, following breakfast with the troops at the air base, the delegation traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan. While there, McDonnell was briefed on operations and met with service members.
Speaking about the trip, McDonnell said, “I was so incredibly humbled and inspired by the brave men and women I had the opportunity to meet at Walter Reed. Words cannot describe the trials they have been through on the battlefield, and the challenges they face as they work to regain their strength and recover. Visiting these soldiers prior to departing for the Middle East was a poignant reminder that every day someone’s mother, father, brother, sister, husband or wife is voluntarily protecting us overseas to ensure our safety and freedom back here at home. For that, we are eternally grateful.”
McDonnell is scheduled to return to Virginia on Friday. Additional details regarding the trip will be available following his return.
McDonnell served 21 years in the U.S. Army, both active duty and reserve, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1997. His oldest daughter, Jeanine, served in the U.S. Army, including a tour of duty in Baghdad, Iraq in 2005-2006. Both McDonnell’s father and father-in-law served in the military.
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