Napolitano in Afghanistan
by The Associated Press on Mar. 08, 2007, under Local, Special
In this photo provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, left, talks with an Army National Guard specialist, a member of the 222nd Truck Unit, at Balad Air Base during her recent trip to Iraq in March 2007.
PHOENIX – Gov. Janet Napolitano arrived in Afghanistan today after a visit to troops and military leaders in Iraq.
Napolitano and two other governors, Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Brad Henry of Oklahoma, met with President Hamid Karzai in the presidential palace in Kabul, the U.S. Embassy announced.
They are expected to visit troops as well during the unannounced visit, but details have not been released for security reasons.
An Arizona National Guard Apache helicopter battalion is stationed in Afghanistan providing close air support for ground troops. The 481 members of the 285th Aviation Battalion, home-based at the Silverbell Army Heliport in Marana, deployed to the region in January.
After leaving Iraq Wednesday, Napolitano voiced cautious support for the U.S. military’s current push to improve security there.
Napolitano said it’s too soon to tell if a new plan being implemented by U.S. military commanders to surge more troops into Baghdad and other steps will produce lasting improvements. But she said the effort is needed.
“We’re already committed to so many years here. The key thing to restoring stability … (is) to reduce the amount of sectarian violence,” Napolitano said Wednesday. “That is being sought after now. That has not always been the strategy.”.
The governor’s trip was not announced in advance for security reasons, spokeswoman Jeanine L’Ecuyer said Wednesday.
Napolitano said the visit enabled her to demonstrate support for Arizona troops there and to learn about troops’ circumstances because of her role as commander of the state National Guard.
While at Baghdad and other locations in Iraq on Tuesday, the governors met with Iraqi ministers, were briefed by the U.S. military commander, Army Gen. David Petraeus, and visited several U.S. military installations, L’Ecuyer said.
The visit to Iraq was the first for Napolitano, who in the past expressed support for the ouster of Saddam Hussein.
The Arizona National Guard said 1,480 of its personnel are now deployed in the Middle East. That count includes personnel with units in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Napolitano is chair of the National Governors Association, and she and other governors have expressed concern that the National Guard is being stretched thin by U.S. commitments to Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
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AZ GUARD DEPLOYMENTS
Selected Arizona National Guard deployments:
• 158th Service & Support, 22 personnel. Iraq.
• 222nd Transportation Company, 168, Iraq. Convoys into Iraq from Kuwait. Based in Casa Grande and Yuma. Expected to return in August.
• 258th Rear Area Operations Command, 27, Iraq. Base support. Based in Glendale. Expected to return in September.
• 259th Engineer Company, 168. Iraq. Convoy security. Based in Phoenix and Flagstaff. Expected to return in November.
• 1/285th Attack Helicopter Battalion, 481, Afghanistan. Close air support of ground units. Based in Marana. Expected to return in January.
• 158th Infantry Battalion, 560, now training at Fort Bragg, N.C., awaiting deployment to Afghanistan.
• Arizona Guard members on the U.S.-Mexico border, 514.
