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:
ISAF Flickr photos of constituent BBQ
International Security Assistance Force
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center
International Security Assistance Force on Facebook
More photos of visit on Gen. John F. Campbell's Facebook page
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