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Veterans’ Committee member John Salazar (D-Colo.) visits with fellow Coloradoan Spec. Thomas Stocker at the Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, dining facility on August 15.

Photo credit: Army Sgt. Patrick N. Moes, 40th Public Affairs Detachment, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

Leading a congressional delegation to U.S. military facilities supporting the global war on terror, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) on August 15 inspected the military’s capability to provide seamless medical and dental care for servicemembers returning from combat, and shared a GI meal with soldiers from their home states. From left, delegation members Buyer, John Salazar (D-Colo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson learn about the capabilities of the U.S. Military Hospital Kuwait, located at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait (http://www.arcent.army.mil/news/archive/2005_news/february/military_hospital.asp ).

Photo credit: Army Sgt. Patrick N. Moes, 40th Public Affairs Detachment, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.) talks with Army Pfc. Brian Rusher of Arkansas about his work on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, which he chairs, at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, on August 15.

Photo credit: Army Sgt. Patrick N. Moes, 40th Public Affairs Detachment, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

Veterans' Committee Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) praises servicemembers for their dedication and commitment at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, on August 15. “We are here to show appreciation for your service to our nation,” Buyer, himself a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, said to troops during supper in the Camp Arifjan dining facility. “What you are doing here is important and we in Congress must give you the resources to finish the job.”

Photo credit: Army Sgt. Patrick N. Moes, 40th Public Affairs Detachment, Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) eats dinner at the Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, dining facility with an Indiana soldier on August 15 during a visit to inspect the military’s capability to provide seamless medical and dental care for servicemembers returning from combat.

“There is a resolve for victory in this war against radical Islam, a will to see this through. People also recognize that in addition to defeating the enemy, victory means training Iraqis and Afghans to stand on their own, with capable, well-equipped combat units and the logistics to sustain them,” Buyer told the troops.

Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.) visits with Arkansas troops at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, on August 15 during a visit to inspect the military’s capability to provide seamless medical and dental care for servicemembers returning from combat.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson shares a meal conversation with Army Lt. Col. Terry Toler at the Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, dining facility on August 15 during his visit to inspect military health care and talk with U.S troops in Kuwait, Iraq and Germany.

House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Staff Director Kelly Craven talks with a fellow Hoosier at the Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, dining facility August 15.

From left, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), and committee members John Salazar (D-Colo.) and John Boozman (R-Ark.) are briefed on capabilities of the U.S. Military Hospital Kuwait, at Camp Arifjan, on August 15. (http://www.arcent.army.mil/news/archive/2005_news/february/military_hospital.asp ).

Preparing their stories even as they leave Kuwait for Baghdad, Karen Hensel and Eric Miller, of Indianapolis CBS affiliate WISH-TV, covered the delegation’s activities from its arrival on August 15 to its departure from Germany on the 19th. Their stories are available at http://www.wishtv.com/.

The delegation is briefed by Lt. Gen. Steve Whitcomb, commanding general of 3rd U.S. Army, on August 15. Whitcomb’s command serves as the land forces component within the U.S. Central Command, which is conducting military activities in the Middle East. “There is a resolve for victory in this war against radical Islam, a will to see this through. People also recognize that in addition to defeating the enemy, victory means training Iraqis and Afghanis to stand on their own, with capable, well-equipped combat units and the logistics to sustain them,” Buyer told Whitcomb.

Chairman Buyer stands with proud Hoosier soldiers, at Camp Arifjan.

Chairman Buyer visits with soldiers from his home state of Indiana after a dinner at the Camp Arifjan dining facility in Kuwait on August 15.

Inside the U.S. Military Hospital Kuwait, at Camp Arifjan. Demonstrating the extent to which the U.S. military effort in the region has been integrated between the services, this is a Navy hospital that treats mostly Army soldiers with a staff drawn from throughout the armed forces, and from active duty forces, reservists and the National Guard.

The operating room of the U.S. Military Hospital Kuwait, at Camp Arifjan.

A four-star greeting in Baghdad is extended by Gen. George Casey, Multi-National Force-Iraq commanding general, who gave VA Secretary Nicholson (left), Chairman Buyer, Rep. Salazar and Rep. Boozman a briefing on their arrival from Kuwait, August 16. General Casey stressed the progress of the Iraqi security forces being trained by his command, and their growing ability to carry out missions formerly undertaken by Coalition forces.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson with members of the U.S. Marine security detachment that secures the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

At his Baghdad home, Iraq’s president, Jalal Talabani (center), welcomes the delegation, conveys the appreciation of the Iraqi people and urges Chairman Buyer (third from left) to communicate to Congress the need for America’s continued support of his government and his nation. From left, U.S. ambassador to Iraq Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad, Chairman Buyer, President Talabani, Rep. John Salazar. Not pictured to Salazar’s left is Rep. John Boozman.

Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), on the left, with Iraq’s president, Jalal Talabani, on August 16.

Speaking to a free Iraq press, President Talabani (right) addresses Iraqi and Arab media outside his home after a meeting and lunch with the delegation and the president’s cabinet. Responding to his words of appreciation for the support of Congress and the American people, Buyer (on interpreter’s right) said, “I believe the United States needs to have the resolve to stand behind this unity government. There are challenges in front of them, but Iraq has a very proud people and they have a country of vast and great resources, and they can be a leader in this region.”

Chairman Buyer accepts a plaque from Iraqi Minister of Defense Abdul Qadir Mohammed Jasim, a former Iraqi Army commander who opposed the 1990 invasion of Kuwait and was imprisoned by Saddam Hussein.

Reflecting on the day’s impressions, Rep John Salazar (D-Colo.) on the left and Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.) visit outside President Talabani’s home on August 16.

Face of the Coalition, a British Army lieutenant colonel and surgeon briefs the congressional delegation on the surgical capabilities of the 10^th

Combat Surgical Hospital, in Baghdad on August 16. The 10th CSH is a midway stage for many wounded in Iraq, who arrive here from their unit medical stations. If necessary, they proceed to the military’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and to facilities in the U.S., such as Walter Reed Army Medical Center. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) (on officer’s right) and John Boozman (behind officer) as well as John Salazar (D-Colo.) and Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson visited medical facilities in Kuwait, Iraq and Germany to assess the U.S. military’s ability to provide seamless medical and dental care for servicemembers returning from combat.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson visits with an Army second lieutenant recovering from wounds at the 10th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad, on August 16.

Air ambulance UH-60s of the 57th Medical Company await the next mission, at Camp Anaconda, Balad, Iraq. The unit, then called the 57th Medical Detachment, first acquired the now-famous call sign “Dustoff” in Vietnam in 1964. (http://www.bragg.army.mil/www-44md/57th/DUSTOFF.htm)

Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Steve Buyer takes in the array of assets available for aerial evacuation and care of wounded and injured soldiers, at Camp Anaconda, Balad, Iraq, on August 17.

In the shade and protection of a hardened aircraft shelter, this 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing F-16 Fighting Falcon is the descendent of the P-51 Mustang fighter plane, flown by the “Tuskegee Airmen,” the 332nd Fighter Group of the Second World War, after whom the wing is named.

Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) visits with a medic of the 57th Medical Company, beside his UH-60 air ambulance at Camp Anaconda, Iraq, on August 17. The 57th provides “dustoff” aero medical evacuation support and services, clears the battlefield of wounded soldiers, and moves medical equipment, supplies, blood, and medical personnel (http://www.bragg.army.mil/www-44md/57th/default.htm ).

Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.) visits with a member of the 57th Medical Company (Air Ambulance), at Camp Anaconda, Iraq, on August 17. The 57th provides “dustoff’ aero medical evacuation support and services, clears the battlefield of wounded soldiers, and moves medical equipment, supplies, blood, and medical personnel(http://www.bragg.army.mil/www-44md/57th/default.htm ).

Serving those who served, on August 17, an Air Force surgeon at the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group’s theater hospital, in Balad, Iraq, examines a swollen knee that has only barely slowed down Secretary of Veterans Affairs Jim Nicholson, himself a Vietnam veteran. (http://www.balad.afnews.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=4033 ).

Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson (left) and Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.) add their messages of support to others on the Salute to Heroes wall at the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group’s theater hospital, in Balad, Iraq, on August 17. The group is part of the U.S. Air Force’s 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, which traces its heritage from the famed 332nd Fighter Group, the “Tuskegee Airmen” of WW II http://www.balad.afnews.af.mil/units/ ).

Writing, “If the jobs were easy – you wouldn’t have been called! Godspeed, Steve Buyer,” the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and Desert Storm veteran offers his thanks to troops of the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group’s theater hospital, on their Salute to Heroes wall, in Balad, Iraq, on August 17.

Flanked by Hoosiers at Camp Anaconda, Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) stands proudly with members of the Army Reserve’s 209th Quartermaster Company, headquartered in Lafayette, Indiana. The company arrived in Iraq this month to serve its second Operation Iraqi Freedom tour.

Marines of the I Marine Expeditionary Force, show Rep John Boozman (left, in blue), Chairman Buyer, and VA Secretary Nicholson the latest developments in individual body armor at Camp Falluja on August 17.

Showing examples of improvements in individual body armor to his fellow congressmen, Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) at Camp Fallujah on August 17 emphasizes the importance of developing armor that weighs less and protects against both penetration and blast. Buyer’s leadership on this issue was reflected in a recent Marine Corps decision to research better helmets ( http://veterans.house.gov/news/109/6-29-06.html ).

At Camp Falluja, Iraq, headquarters of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.) on August 17 looks over improved individual body armor worn by Marines securing the Al Anbar province west of Baghdad ( http://www.imef-fwd.usmc.mil/imef/imef-public.nsf/sites/imeffwd?OpenDocument ).

A step forward in defeating the effects of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), the “Cougar” personnel carrier, originally manufactured in South Africa and now licensed to U.S. makers, has a one-piece V-shaped hull which deflects blast effects. This particular Cougar has survived multiple IED explosions.

What they say about the heat is true. Fallujah, Iraq, August 17. In the shade.

Enroute from camp Fallujah to Al Taqaddum Airbase, home of the 1st Marine Logistic Group and Taqaddum Surgical, a newly established U.S. hospital, a Marine CH-46 helicopter gunner keeps his .50-caliber machine gun ready.

A quarter-inch deeper or an inch to the left and this Marine, recovering from the impact of an insurgent’s automatic rifle bullet on his body armor plate, would have suffered far worse than bad bruises or a broken rib.

Navy Capt. H. R. Bohman, I Marine Logistics Group director of clinical services, briefs the delegation at newly established Al Taqaddum surgical hospital.

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center commander, Army Col. W. Bryan Gamble (left), briefs Chairman Buyer and VA Secretary R. James Nicholson on his hospital’s operations and describes the process that will shortly occur with the arrival of injured soldiers medically evacuated from Iraq. “These individuals are all heroes and I am in awe at their selflessness and dedication,” Buyer said of the medical personnel he had seen during the trip.

Off the battlefield in Iraq and headed home, a critically injured soldier is gently removed from an ambulance on August 18 at the U.S. military’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, near Ramstein Air Base, in Germany. The soldier was one of eight wounded by a suicide bomber and evacuated through Balad while the delegation was there. The congressional delegation led by House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), concluded its inspection of U.S. military health care at Landstuhl, which provides care for wounded, sick and injured service members being evacuated to the U.S.

Army Spec. Matthew Renner, of Pennsylvania, recuperating at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, tells Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) about the improvised explosive device that injured his arm and destroyed his HMMWV in Iraq earlier this month.

Rep John Boozman (R-Ark.) visits with Army Maj. Mary Adams-Challenger, a staff physical therapist at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, and fellow Arkansan, on August 18.

Subcommittee on economic Opportunity staff director, Mike Brinck (standing, left) and Democratic staff member Jeff Collver discuss the benefits of the military’s transition assistance program with a mixed group of U.S. military retires and separating service members at Spangdahlem Air Base, in Germany, on August 18.

Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, located just to the east of Luxembourg City, near where the 1944-45 Battle of the Bulge was fought. The cemetery is the resting place for 5,076 American dead, most of whom lost their lives in the Battle of the Bulge and the advance to the Rhine River the following spring. General George S. Patton, Jr., lies here among his men.

The chapel at the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial.

Members of the delegation look at the operations map in the west pylon at the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, August 18.

The mosaic ceiling of the chapel at the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial.

The stained glass window of the chapel at the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial. Set into the glass are insignia of major U.S. units that participated in the campaign.

Surrounded by the heroes of the Battle of the Bulge, Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial Superintendent Leland B. Atkinson (in uniform), tells John Salazar (D-Colo) and Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) the history of the cemetery, which is operated by the American Battle Monuments Commission (http://www.abmc.gov/home.php ).

Exemplifying the bipartisan nature of their visit with the U.S military in Kuwait, Iraq and Germany, John Salazar (D-Colo.) (left) and Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) pay tribute to the nation’s honored dead at the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, August 18.

Reflecting on a medic’s valor, Chairman Buyer (R-Ind.) recalls the sacrifice of Army Pvt. William McGee, a Hoosier of the 304th Infantry Regiment, 76th Infantry Division, who was killed on March 19, 1945 and awarded the Medal of Honor. On his own initiative, Private McGee entered a German minefield and rescued a soldier wounded by a mine. He returned to rescue a second victim when he stepped on a mine. Mortally wounded, he shouted to his comrades not to risk their lives by entering the minefield to get him.

Reflecting on the cost of war and the valor shown by those who secure our freedom, Rep. John Salazar (D-Colo.) pays tribute to a fellow Coloradoan, Army Pvt. Monte W. Kaufman, 55th Infantry Battalion, 11th Armored Division, killed on January 1, 1945.

Reflecting on the cost of war and the valor shown by those who secure our freedom, Rep. John Boozman (R-Ark.) pays tribute to a fellow Arkansan, Army Pvt. Albert L. Meyer, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Armored Division, killed on December 18, 1944, two days after the start of the Battle of the Bulge.

Final resting place of the audacious, irrepressible and brilliant American armor commander, Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., Third Army’s commanding general.