Kulongoski makes surprise visit to troops in Iraq

Speaking by telephone from Baghdad, where he was attending a barbecue with soldiers, the governor said Tuesday he was making good on a promise to visit before the holidays when he sent guard troops off for their latest deployment last summer.

The governor said morale is high, and he has been talking with troops about efforts to help them return to daily life after their time in Iraq is over.

"I think the kids need to be honored and need to be recognized for the sacrifice they are making for all of us," Kulongoski said. "A lot of them are deployed two or three times. They know I care deeply about the success of their mission."

Kulongoski said a hotline for Oregon troops returning home has been "used quite heavily right now - getting plenty of calls.

"They have a hard time adjusting to coming back home," Kulongoski said. "They worry about jobs, whether in fact they will be able to find a job or have a job to come back to. When you talk to them, what they are already thinking about is what is going to happen when they come home."

The Oregon National Guard currently has 2,943 troops on Iraq, most of them with the 41st Infantry Brigade, which deployed last summer. Another 628 are stationed at other locations overseas.

Kulongoski said he will be visiting members of the Oregon National Guard 41st Infantry Brigade on convoy guard duty, including some at a remote outpost guarding trucks driving from Jordan to Iraq.

The governor added he will be holding town hall meetings with troops, where he will speak about a bill from Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that would extend benefits for military personnel while making the transition to civilian life.

Kulongoski said he flew on Sunday to Washington, D.C., where he and governors from Wyoming, Mississippi and Georgia were briefed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Monday before flying to Kuwait. There he visited Oregon troops before boarding a C-130 and flying to Baghdad.

In Baghdad, he said he and the other governors were briefed by Gen. Raymond Odierno, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and met with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Christopher Hill.

Kulongoski recalled that on his first visit in 2004, he was able to walk through Baghdad with minimal security and stop for an ice cream. In 2007, at the height of the insurgency, he recalled hearing explosions and seeing columns of smoke.

This time, with the U.S. expecting to cut troop strength next year, the governor said he flew over Baghdad in a Blackhawk helicopter at night and saw streetlights and cars driving with their headlights on, "probably like you would see flying over Portland."

Iraqis he spoke with seemed positive and looking forward to new elections.

"Relying both on what was said (during briefings in Washington, D.C.) and what was said by the commanding officer here, there is a sense that it is better," Kulongoski said. "Whether in fact it is going to be what we originally said it was going to be, I don't think anybody believes that anymore. This is a work in progress."

Before leaving Washington, D.C., Kulongoski said he stopped at Walter Reed Medical Center, where he visited wounded soldiers from Oregon.

"I am just amazed at the resilience of people, these soldiers," the governor said. "It is still dangerous in places. I think it will be for some time. I don't think anyone expects the insurgence to be stamped out completely. I just come away with how brave these people are to actually do what they do."