Gov. Jay Nixon meets with troops from Missouri during visit to Iraq

Missourians stationed in Iraq are turning their thoughts more and more toward home and lives after deployment, Gov. Jay Nixon said Sunday while on a trip to the Middle East.

In a teleconference call with Missouri reporters, Nixon said he left Andrews Air Force Base on Friday morning and spent Saturday and Sunday morning meeting with top military and diplomatic officials as well as rank-and-file soldiers. Nixon's conference call originated in Kuwait, but because of military security he was unable to report his next destination or when he would return to the state.

Nixon is traveling with governors Pat Quinn of Illinois, Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Rick Perry of Texas. Nixon said he met men and women from Missouri who have been through three, four and more tours of duty. With U.S. troops confined to base camps since June 30 and violence decreasing, troop numbers are starting to decline and those repeat deployments will likely end.

"They are concerned about transitioning back, and they are concerned about their families back home," Nixon said.

One woman, he said, was worried about the stresses she has undergone in Iraq and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. Another young man, Nixon said, spoke of two friends who had been killed while they had been working close to him.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon is accompanied by Brig. Gen. Gerald Lang during a visit with troops Sunday at Contingency Operating Base in Basra, Iraq. (Sgt. Frank Vaughn ~ U.S. Army)

Those issues are among the worries troops have as they see less likelihood they will return to Iraq, Nixon said. "With the U.S. drawing down its troops, all the folks here are seeing in essence the end of the tunnel," he said.

The governors were invited to make the trip by the U.S. Department of Defense. Nixon, Pawlenty and Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons took part in a town-hall meeting with troops stationed at the Contingency Operation Base in Basra, Iraq, according to a U.S. Department of Defense news release.

The governors met Friday morning with deputy secretary of defense William J. Lynn III and other top Pentagon officials, Nixon said, and were briefed on the current military situation. Accompanied by Maj. Gen. John P. Basilica Jr. of the Louisiana National Guard, the governors had three goals, Nixon said.

The first goal was to provide moral support, "to look in the eyes of the troops that are serving us and let them know we are thinking of them and proud of their work," Nixon said.

The other purposes, Nixon said, were to study how the military has learned to make units that include National Guard, reserve and regular Army contingents work in harmony and to make a pitch for assigning equipment used in Iraq to Missouri's National Guard units.

"I am extremely proud of the Missourians who are here bringing stability and democracy to the country," Nixon said.

While in Iraq, Nixon said he spent the night at the U.S. Embassy and visited one of Saddam Hussein's palaces in addition to visiting soldiers in their barracks and mess halls. "I have sat down and talked with Missourians from across the state from Cabool to Kansas City to all walks of life who are over here," Nixon said.

And while many of those soldiers are sensing that they won't be sent back to Iraq when their current tour ends, they know that the U.S. is building up forces in Afghanistan. "They know the chance of getting called up for another theater is very real," Nixon said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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Pertinent addresses:

Iraq

Kuwait