Getting paid as a soldier on active duty status is more than a state employee earns. |
I just know I had conversations with many of them who were opting not to take it and I was sad to see them go. |
It's a great morale boost to have their commander with them on foreign soil. |
It's also to ensure they have everything they need, to check on the leadership on the ground. It's a morale visit, but it's also an opportunity for her to have her eyes on the existing situation on the ground. |
It's certainly conceivable that based on the broad concerns of the mission they may require that training or that the battalion as a whole will do that kind of mission. |
She saw Task Force Green Mountain in Kuwait; she saw Task Force Catamount in Afghanistan. She has consistently done everything she can to check on the soldiers physically and shake their hands. |
The Air Force has done well with this program. It brings a lot of stability and predictability to the process. Families are able to plan ahead. |
Those are the same vests our soldiers are being issued. |
We've got about 550 soldiers and airmen deployed in support of operation Iraqi Freedom and operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. |