Graham Gillette, a contributor on The Des Moines Register’s Across the Spectrum blog, updated his status on his Facebook page to make reference to Governor Chet Culver being in Iraq. Since it was in the form of a question I thought that it wasn’t a settled matter.
In a snarky mood I commented:
More likely Florida, LOL. If he is in Iraq I’ll have to give him props for visiting Iowa Guard members over there.
Gillette pointed out this article over at KCCI and said he’s looking forward to my giving him props on my blog. KCCI reports:
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver is in Iraq on Friday meeting and talking with Iowa troops.
“I’m very very excited to be here and we’ve had some great meetings today with high ranking officials on the ground and Iowa guardsmen and women, and some Iowa reservists as well. We are here to support our troops and I came to Iraq to thank men and women from Iowa who are serving, serving our state and our country proudly,” said Culver.
Culver said he was not able to disclose exactly where in Iraq he was due to security reasons.
“It has been a wonderful day here on Iraq. I’m humbled to be here with these terrific Iowa soldiers and I’m going to meet as many of them as I possibly can during my stay here,” said Culver.
He said Iowa national guard troops are very proud of what they’re doing. Culver said he’s also there to remind Iowans about the sacrifices that the families are making.
“We’ve seen a lot of real progress here. There will be elections on March 7 so there is a lot of preparation going on related to those free and open elections. I’ve seen a lot of progress in terms of infrastructure being rebuilt. We’re very fortunate that the security is very good right now and we’ve made a lot of progress in terms of making this a safer place for not only our troops but for the citizens of Iraq,” said Culver.
Culver said he talked with the troops about the Hawkeye and Cyclone football seasons as well their mission.
“The morale is exceptionally high because the troops feel so good about the progress they’ve made here. Obviously they miss their loved ones back home so we’ve talked about some of those issues and challenges in terms of that separation,” said Culver. “Most importantly I wanted to convey directly to these soldiers how proud I am of their efforts and their service.”
Culver said the troops feel good about the mission and progress being made. He said the soldiers are focused and committed to their mission.
While I’m sure some will question his motives and timing, I’m going to put politics aside and say thank you to Governor Culver for taking time to visit our troops in Iraq. I’m sure it means a lot the members of the Iowa Army National Guard serving there to see their commander-in-chief in the field. Thank you for showing them support.