Haslam Tours Kuwait, Iraq Military Bases

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam meets with service members at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. (U.S. Airforce photo by Senior Airman Jeffrey Schultze)

Governor Bill Haslam called home today from Kuwait, where he and three other governors are touring military facilities. The trip to the Middle East was unannounced, and Haslam said he couldn’t say exactly which bases he’s visiting.

Haslam hosted a conference call after a long day in one-hundred-thirty degree heat.
The governor says he’s met 30 to 100 Tennessee troops on the tour so far.

“[I’ve] seen a lot of soldiers. I think the reason I got asked was because of the high number of Tennessee men and women who are here both guard and regular army,” he said.

The governor says the tour will continue to several bases in Iraq but couldn’t reveal them in advance. He says the group is moving by air, in Blackhawk helicopters and Air Force C-130 cargo planes.

“It’s just hot as blazes. It’s hard to describe. And you’re sitting there and sitting on the ground and thinking “God, start the engine so we can get out of there.” And then you look over here at these guys—these men and women—who’ve been here for a year and they’re getting to go home and you’re thinking, you know—don’t even think about complaining,” he said.

In addition to long hours and seven-day weeks, U.S. troops are confined to their bases, the governor says. He said he appreciates what the troops have accomplished in the war zone.

Haslam was accompanied by the governors of Kentucky, Utah and Nevada. Former Governor Phil Bredesen made a similar trip in April 2009.

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Haslam is with Governors Steve Beshear of Kentucky, Gary R. Herbert of Utah, and Brian Sandoval of Nevada. The Department of Defense regularly brings governors to the war zones to visit with troops, especially those from their states.

In 2009, when Bredesen visited, several separate units of the Tennessee National Guard were stationed in Iraq. As the troop drawdown has continued in Iraq, fewer Tennessee groups are stationed there.

Haslam:
“The guard units obviously tend to be together as Tennesseans, and so you can see big groups of them at a time. The regular army folks are a little more spread out.
But probably everywhere we’ve been, there’ve been about 30 to 100 Tennesseans, including at the base where I am right now…They haven’t done these trips in awhile and I was flattered to get asked, and I think the real reason is because Tennessee has such a strong representation.”

The governor made the call about 1 p.m. Central Standard Time, or 11 p.m. in Iraq. He said the trip had been slowed by the Air Force cutting down on its daytime flight hours to show respect for the Muslim religious holiday Ramadan, which began Aug. 1.

Haslam said in losing Monday night to travel, he hadn’t slept.
He said he was appreciative of the work of the soldiers “on the ground” in the war zone. He said most of them will be stationed in Iraq until the end of the year, when the final separation of U.S. soldiers from the zone is scheduled.

The governor said the group wouldn’t return to the States until the end of the week.

Randy Harris, public information officer for the Tennessee National Guard, says the state is represented in Kuwait by the 230th Sustainment Brigade, Chattanooga.
The Tennessee National Guard has about 900 members deployed worldwide, Harris says.