Landstuhl, Germany

My trip to visit our service men and women in the Middle East began with a stop at Ramstein Air Force Base and Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany. Landstuhl Medical Center is the facility where all our troops that are seriously injured in battle in Afghanistan and Iraq are sent to receive advanced medical care. One of the doctors in the intensive care unit stated that: “the emergency cases seen at Landstuhl are like almost no other in the world.” Utilizing cutting edge technology and medical techniques, the doctors at Landstuhl currently are able to help 99% of the troops they give care to survive their injuries, most of which are limb and traumatic brain injuries. It was inspiring to see the courage of our injured service members and the skill and dedication of the medical professionals who care for them.

Pictured (From Right to Left): Congressman Geoff Davis (R-KY), Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Congressman Joe Donnelly (D-IN), and Congressman Michele Bachmann (D-MN)

Islamabad, Pakistan

From Germany, we flew to Islamabad, Pakistan where we met with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Vice Chief of Army Staff General Ahsan Saleem Hayat to discuss the Pakistani government’s progress in undermining Al Qaeda’s influence in the northwest region of the country that borders Afghanistan. However, during our stay in Islamabad, fighting erupted between General Pervez Musharraf’s government and radical Islamists at Lal Masjid, the Red mosque, located four blocks from our hotel. Tensions between radical Islamists and Musharraf’s government are not uncommon in Pakistan but that violence does not often manifest itself in Islamabad, instead occurring in the more tribal regions that were the focus of our discussions with the country’s leaders. The fact that this fighting had spread to the usually orderly Islamabad reinforced to me that Islamic extremism is gaining ground in this region and that parts of Pakistan have become a safe haven for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. I left Pakistan with an even stronger belief
that America must refocus its mission abroad on fighting militant Islamists intent on destroying us and I hope Pakistan will reconsider America’s offer of assistance from Special Forces to seal off the Afghan border.

Pictured: Congressman Joe Donnelly with U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne Patterson, at a reception hosted by the U.S. Embassy.

Kuwait City, Kuwait

Our next stop was Kuwait City, Kuwait. We arrived in the afternoon and spent the remainder of the day preparing to travel to Iraq the next morning.

Baghdad, Iraq

Early the next morning, we boarded a Blackhawk helicopter for transport into Baghdad. Our helicopter had one soldier on each side armed with a machine gun to lookout for rooftop snipers.

Pictured: Congressman Joe Donnelly with Colonel Robert Swisher of the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing preparing to board the flight to Baghdad.

Once we arrived in Baghdad, we met with joint American-Iraqi police forces and also with General David Petraeus, the Commander of the Multi-National Force-Iraq. I wanted to travel to the Middle East to assess our progress on the ground and speak with General Petraeus about our successes and failures. I’m glad I was able to see our troops in action and see first-hand what I’d only seen on TV and in the papers. Our troops have done and are doing a magnificent job. But, I believe it is time for Iraqis to step up and begin taking over the roles currently carried out by American soldiers. Until the Iraqis want peace as much as we want it for them, no number of American troops will be able to stabilize the country.

Pictured: Congresswoman Gillibrand, Delegation Leader Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-CA), Congressman Donnelly, Congressman Bill Schuster (R-PA), General David Petraeus, Congressman Davis and Congresswoman Bachmann.

After our meetings in the morning, I had the opportunity to eat lunch with National Guardsmen from Indiana. In addition to assessing our progress in Iraq, my other main intention in traveling to the Middle East was to meet with our servicemen and women and express my gratitude in person for the sacrifices they have made for our country. Eating lunch and learning about the personal experiences of our Hoosier servicemen and women was a very special part of my trip and gave me a perspective I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Congressman Joe Donnelly with Indiana National Guardsmen after eating lunch at an airbase in Baghdad. Pictured (from left to right):LTC Kevin Vedder (back), 1LT Peggy Hu (front), MAJ Tim Baldwin (back), CSM Paul Foster (front), SGM James Hancock (partially hidden), Dongressman, MAJ Thomas McEvilly(back), CSM Dale Shetler (front)

In the afternoon, the delegation met with Ambassador Ryan Crocker at the U.S. Embassy compound, located in the green zone. During the meeting, incoming rocket fire landed in the compound. The Ambassador shared his views about the challenges and the “road forward” in Iraq.

Pictured (From Left to Right): Congresswoman Bachmann, Congresswoman Gillibrand, Congresswoman Davis, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, Congressman Davis, Congressman Donnelly, and Congressman Shuster

That evening, we returned to Kuwait aboard a C-130 with members of the 82nd Airborne Division. During this flight, I had the opportunity to speak with soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division who were returning to the U.S. for a fifteen-day rest leave.  Once we returned to Kuwait, we boarded the aircraft that had brought us from the U.S. and began our trip back home.