CONGRESSMAN ALAN GRAYSON PROUDLY SERVING FLORIDA’S 8th DISTRICT

Congressman Alan Grayson thanked our troops for their service during a recent official trip to Iraq and Kuwait.  Representative Grayson and the other members of a Congressional Delegation (CODEL) made stops at Camp Victory in Baghdad and a military base in Balad, Iraq. 

Congressman Grayson said, “It was a pleasure to spend time with our troops who unfortunately will endure another holiday season far from home.  I wanted to boost morale, and learn how we can help them.”

The CODEL first stopped at Camp Victory in Baghdad.  Congressman Grayson joined  troops from Florida for dinner on December 13th.  He wished them a happy and safe holiday season.  On Monday, December 14th, the Congressman and other members of the CODEL visited wounded troops at a surgical hospital in Balad, as well as soldiers at Balad’s nearby military base. 

 “I hope they can come home soon, all of them.  Because I care about them.  I want them home, safe and sound, not risking their lives in a desert 8,000 miles from home,” Congressman Grayson added. 

During his visit, Congressman Grayson met with Army Lt. Gen. Charles Jacoby, Jr., commander of multi-national forces in Iraq, to get a better understanding of the operational side of the U.S. military involvement there.  Congressman Grayson learned that U.S. casualties have declined sharply, because our troops no longer serve, in effect, as Baghdad’s police force.

“The Iraqis can take care of themselves. We can no longer afford to.  The cost is too high, in both money and blood,” Congressman Grayson said.   

The highlight of the trip for Congressman Grayson was serving dinner to the servicemen and servicewomen during a shrimp gumbo cookout on Monday evening.  He also met with the U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Ray Crocker, and visited a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle facility in Kuwait.

The CODEL left Washington D.C. on December 11th and returned on December 15th. 

You can see pictures from the CODEL here.