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| Friday, August 21 , 2009 Senator Collins: Senate Armed Forces Committee visit to Middle East Last week, Senator Collins travelled with some of her colleagues from the Senate Armed Services Committee to the Middle East. Senator Collins was joined on the trip by Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Senator Collins blogged from various points on the trip, below is a selection from her posts. Click here to read more. Travelling from Libya to Iraq After a press conference in Tripoli first thing this morning, we departed for Kuwait where we boarded a C-130 cargo plane to fly into Iraq. The C-130 is jammed full of soldiers and their gear. Along the sides of the plane and in the middle are red webbed canvas and metal frame seats that fold down from the walls of the plane and from the steel posts in the middle. Every inch of the plane is utilized for equipment and cargo. Gear is suspended from the walls, clipped to the ceilings, and piled high on the metal floor. Each of us is handed ear plugs and an air sickness bag as we board, and assigned a bullet-proof vest and helmet that we don as we get closer to landing. Read more >> Meeting with General Odierno and Ambassador Hill The helicopter ride from the Baghdad airport to the Green Zone was the first indication that life has improved for the Iraqis. When last I took that ride in December 2006, during what General Odierno refers to as the "dark days," the streets were largely empty, barricades were prevalent, and evidence of explosions was everywhere. Now from the air I could see many cars on the roads, people congregating in front of cafes and stores, and intact buildings and fewer checkpoints. Still I had only to look at the gunners manning the open helicopter windows to be reminded that Iraq is still a dangerous country. Upon arrival in the Green Zone, we went immediately into a briefing with General Ray Odierno, the Commanding General of our forces in Iraq, and our new Ambassador Chris Hill, a 1974 graduate of Bowdoin. Read more >> Mainers in Iraq  Mainers are everywhere. In Iraq, the State Department security guard assigned to our group is Justin Alderman, a former Portland police officer who grew up in Scarborough and has a home in Windham. At the embassy is Kim DeCesare , the deputy chief of protocal, who is from Kezar Falls.Serving on a provincial reconstruction team and working on rule of law issues in Diyala Province is Jon Nass, an attorney from York County. Jon worked several years on my staff in Washington, and I am delighted to see him again. And tonight I had dinner at Sather Air Base in Baghdad with seven National Guard members from Maine. And is it ever a small world -- one of them is Bill Bruns whose parents I know in Bangor. I remembered that Bill had sent me a military unit coin prior to his deployment a couple of months ago. Read more >> Afghanistan Afghanistan is the most important part of our journey because the United States will soon face a difficult and weighty decision on whether or not to further augment our troops beyond the 20,000 additional troops already deployed by the Obama Administration. This latest deployment brings the total number of American troops in Afghanistan to approximately 68,000. General Stan McChrystal, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Iraq, meets us at the airport with helicopters that take us to his headquarters very near where a suicide bomber has caused the death of several people and the injury of about 90 others earlier in the day. It is a unwelcome reminder of how much more dangerous Afghanistan has become since my last visit here in December 2006. General McChrystal is a smart, focused counter-insurgency expert who previously headed the Special Forces Command. A straight-forward leader, he won my confidence with his frank answers to my questions about Afghanistan in a meeting in my office prior to his confirmation. Read more >> Helmand Province At 7:45 a.m., we board a C-130 leaving Kabul for the two-hour flight to Camp Leatherneck in southern Afghanistan. Although slightly less crowded than usual, the plane is full of exhaust fumes and very hot. The pilot executes a steep, fast, stomach-turning combat landing. Sitting next to me is a big, strong Special Operations Forces guy with an M-4, who also happens to be a medic. He kindly hands me two Dramamine to take before the return trip. Helmand Province is much hotter, drier, and windier than Kabul. The Marine base is carved out of a featureless desert. Everything from tents to vehicles is coated with wind-blown sand. Helmand is a Taliban stronghold and part of RC-3 (Regional Command-3.) General Nicholson, the terrific commander of RC-3, has sacrificed a lot for our country. Seriously wounded in Iraq, he recovered and, rather than retiring, is now in charge of the new strategy to reclaim southern Afghanistan from the Taliban. Read more >> Visit Senator Collins' blog at http://senatorcollins.blogspot.com/ |  Senator Collins touches down in Afghanistan  Senator Collins with Maine Marines in Afghanistan  Senator Collins eating with members of the Maine Air National Guard in Iraq  Senator Collins with Senators McCain and Graham, meeting with General Odierno and Ambassador Hill  Senator Collins at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan Stay up to date with Senator Collins:    |
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