Under Secretary Carson, governors travel to Afghanistan, Germany

By Lt. Col. Juanita Chang, Under Secretary of the Army Public AffairsApril 28, 2015

Under Secretary of the Army Carson takes four governors to Afghanistan
1 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Govenors Andrew Cuomo, N.Y., Bill Haslam, Tenn., Jay Nixon, Mo., Brian Sandoval, Nev., and Under Secretary of the Army Brad Carson traveled to Afghanistan to visit with deployed service members at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Sept. 28, 2014. During ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Under Secretary of the Army Carson and governors visit LRMC
2 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Under Secretary of the Army Brad Carson (right) is flanked by Governors Brian Sandoval, Nev., Bill Haslam, Tenn., Jay Nixon, Mo., and Andrew Cuomo, N.Y., during their Sept. 27, 2014, visit with staff and patients at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center,... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Under Secretary of the Army and governors visit wounded
3 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Under Secretary of the Army visits Army civlians and troops at Bagram
4 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Under Secretary of the Army Brad Carson visited with Army civilians and Soldiers at the retrosort yard at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Sept. 28, 2014, during a visit to Afghanistan to bring four United States governors to get a first-hand look at op... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Under Secretary of the Army thanks Army Civilians for service in Afghanistan
5 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Under Secretary of the Army Brad Carson visited with Army civilians and Soldiers at the retrosort yard at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Sept. 28, 2014, during a visit to Afghanistan to bring four United States governors to get a first-hand look at op... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Under Secretary of the Army, governors receive update on Afghanistan
6 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Govenors Andrew Cuomo, N.Y., Bill Haslam, Tenn., Jay Nixon, Mo., Brian Sandoval, Nev., and Under Secretary of the Army Brad Carson traveled to Afghanistan to visit with deployed service members at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Sept. 28, 2014. During ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Under Secretary of the Army, governors at Bagram, Afghanistan
7 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Govenors Andrew Cuomo, N.Y., Bill Haslam, Tenn., Jay Nixon, Mo., Brian Sandoval, N.V., and Under Secretary of the Army Brad Carson traveled to Afghanistan to visit with deployed service members at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Sept. 28, 2014. During ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Under Secretary of the Army, governors meet with ISAF
8 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Under Secrtary of the Army Brad Carson traveled to Afghanistan with Govenors Jay Nixon, Mo., Brian Sandoval, N.V., Andrew Cuomo, N.Y., and Bill Haslam, Tenn. During their visit they met with Gen. John F. Campbell, commander of International Security ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

WASHINGTON (Sept. 30, 2014) -- The Under Secretary of the Army Brad Carson recently escorted four state governors to Afghanistan, to get a first-hand look at operations on the ground as well as meet with constituents there.

Governors William "Bill" Haslam from Tennessee, Jay Nixon from Missouri, and Brian Sandoval from Nevada, are each members of the Council of Governors, along with Governor Andrew Cuomo from New York, traveled with Carson to Afghanistan, with a short stop in Germany, Sept. 26-29, 2014.

In Germany, the delegation met with staff and patients receiving care at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. LMRC is the largest American hospital outside the United States, and provides trauma care to Service members from the wars in Afghanistan, and elsewhere overseas.

After arriving in Afghanistan, they traveled to Bagram Airfield, and met with Regional Command-East Commander Maj. Gen. Stephen Townsend and Command Sgt. Maj. Ray Lewis, and toured Bagram's retrosort yard. The retrosort yard is a vital facility in the reduction of the amount of excess materiel in Afghanistan. The governors also met with their respective constituents and shared lunch with them.

In Kabul, the delegation met with Gen. John F. Campbell, commander of International Security Assistance Force, and U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, and received an update on the situation on the ground in Afghanistan.

Also in Kabul, the delegation met with U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan James B. Cunningham and Deputy Ambassador P. Michael McKinley.

As their plane departed to return to the United States, VIPs were arriving in Kabul to attend the presidential inauguration of Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, during the country's first-ever democratic transfer of power, taking place the same day.

The Council of Governors consists of 10 governors appointed by the president - five from each party - with two governors serving as co-chairs. The executive order specifically names a number of federal participants in the council, including the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security, the President's Homeland Security and Counter-terrorism Advisor, the Commander of U.S. Northern Command and the Chief of the National Guard Bureau, among others.

This was Carson's second trip to Afghanistan since becoming the under secretary of the Army, March 27.

More photos of the trip are available on Landstuhl Regional Medical Center flickr site, RC-East Flickr, and ISAF Flickr using the links on the right under "Related Links."

Related Links:

Under Secretary of the Army

More Army News

ISAF Flickr photos of constituent BBQ

International Security Assistance Force

Council of Governors

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center

International Security Assistance Force on Facebook

More photos of visit on Gen. John F. Campbell's Facebook page

RC-East on Facebook

Landstuhl Regional Medical Center flickr photos of trip

RC-East Flickr photos of trip