| This week I traveled to Ft. Polk, Louisiana, to visit members of the
Arkansas National Guard’s 39th Brigade, who will soon be departing for
a tour of duty in Iraq. The Brigade is heading to Iraq along with thousands
of other American soldiers, to relieve nearly 130,000 U.S. troops who have
been stationed in Iraq for nearly a year.
I was truly honored to meet with these soldiers, and was inspired by
their brave spirit. I felt it was important to thank these courageous men
and women -- in person -- for their dedicated service to our country. I
also wanted to show them how committed I am to making sure they have the
resources they need to get their job done quickly and safely, so they may
return home to their families as soon as possible.
I was also heartened by a recurring theme I heard from the soldiers
throughout the day, and that is how committed and ready they are to serve
our country. I’m happy to report these soldiers are undergoing the best
training in the world, and I have all the utmost confidence they will serve
our country extraordinarily well.
This week in Washington, I also met with the Arkansas National Guard’s
General Don Morrow, who briefed me on issues concerning Arkansas’s guardsmen.
General Morrow assured me the 39th Brigade has received the best training
possible. We also discussed the need to extend TriCare, which currently
provides health insurance to active duty and retired uniformed service
members and their families, to all military reserve soldiers.
Extending TriCare to reserve soldiers is simply the right thing to do.
They are risking their lives to protect our freedoms, and we should provide
these soldiers and their families the same health insurance benefits that
active duty soldiers receive. I anticipate that I will offer legislation
in Congress in the next several months that will address this issue.
I hope you will join me in keeping these soldiers in your thoughts and
prayers in the days and months ahead. |
