WASHINGTON -- Rep. Tom Petri handed over a VIP inauguration ceremony ticket Wednesday to Jeff Uhlig, a veteran of the war in Iraq and a Manitowoc resident. "Members of Congress only get a very limited number of seats to the inauguration, and I feel privileged to give one of the best to Command Sergeant Major Uhlig," Petri said.

Petri explained that Uhlig had intended to work in the 2004 Bush presidential campaign, "but then he was called up for another campaign, in Iraq."

Karen Deeds-Jarvic, who corresponded with Uhlig by e-mail when he was in Iraq, wrote to her congressman, Paul Gillmor, to request that he get a ticket for Uhlig to attend the inauguration. "Paul approached me on the floor of the House and said that since Command Sergeant Major Uhlig is one of my constituents, that I should have the first opportunity to provide him with a prime seat," Petri said. "Of course, I said I'd be honored to do it"

Rep. Tom Petri presents Sergeant Major Jeff Uhlig with a VIP inauguration ceremony ticket during a visit in Petri's Washington office.

Uhlig said, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I can't tell you how honored I am to be here."

As a Command Sergeant Major, the 30-year veteran is one of an elite few who hold the highest enlisted rank in the Army. Starting in February of 2004, Uhlig was in charge of a 2,500- soldier transportation battalion which transported war fighters and their equipment from Kuwait to forward posts in Iraq. "We were part of the largest logistical movement in history, at least since D-Day," he told Petri.