Congressional Representatives Visit Marines in Iraq

By Master Sgt. Keith A. Milks
Multi National Force-West Public Affairs

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq – For several hours on Feb. 6, the Marines of Multi-National Force-West in Iraq hosted members of the U.S. House of Representatives during a tour of U.S. military installations and units in the region.

These tours give elected officials a chance to get a first-hand look at real-world operations that will help them shape policy. For most of the visiting congressmen, this was not their first trip to Iraq, with one of the men having racked up ten previous visits to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This visit came just days before Maj. Gen. John Kelly of the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based I Marine Expeditionary Force relinquishes command of MNF-W to Maj. Gen. R.T. Tryon and his Marines from the II MEF, headquartered at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

For many of the Marines, this was their first exposure to the elected representatives from their home states. Sgt. David Valentin is a motor transport operator with the II MEF Headquarters Group and is on his third deployment to Iraq. At first, the Queens, N.Y., native was not quite sure what to say to Rep. John McHugh of New York, who is on his eighth visit to Iraq.

“He was very friendly and asked what we needed,” said Valentin. “We talked for a while, and he told us he came to Iraq to see what we needed so he could help us out.”

McHugh, the ranking republican on the House Armed Services Committee, was joined by Reps. Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, Tom Latham of Iowa, Jo Bonner of Alabama, Republican Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia, and the delegation leader, John Boehner of Ohio.

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