Senator McCaskill visits National Guard at Whiteman

  • Published
  • By Bethany Buckingham
  • 20th Combat Aviation Brigade
WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. --  Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., visited Whiteman Oct. 10, and toured the Missouri Army National Guard 1-135th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, the Air Force 509th Bomb Wing and the Air Force Reserve 442nd Fighter Wing.

"I am always impressed by the character of the men and women of our armed forces and the commitment and professionalism they have," Mrs. McCaskill said. "They are ready at a moment's notice to do what needs to be done, no questions asked."

Mrs. McCaskill and her husband, Joseph Shepard, were greeted to a warm Whiteman welcome. They arrived early in the morning and had breakfast with members from the 442nd FW and the 509th BW. They the toured the base, saw the B-2 up close and toured the A-10 maintenance hangar.

Maj. Gen. King Sidwell, Missouri National Guard adjutant general, walked with them over to the Missouri Army National Guard Apache maintenance hangar, where they toured the AH-64 Apache helicopter with 1-135th Aviation Reconnaissance Battalion commander Lt. Col. Thomas Burson.

Mrs. McCaskill also had lunch with several Missouri National Guard members. Colonel Burson gave a short briefing of the accomplishments of the 1-135th ARB over the past two years. Namely, the battalion has almost doubled in size and more than 200 people have been deployed to various missions including: Iraq, Bosnia and Hurricane Katrina.

Most recently, members of the 1-135th ARB were deployed to Iraq with the 36th Combat Aviation Brigade from Texas. One member was 1st Sgt. David Gail, 1-135th ARB, of Smithton, Mo.

"It is good to see you again," Mrs. McCaskill told Sergeant Gail. "It's great you are back home in Missouri."

Mrs. McCaskill wanted to hear what the troops had to say about their recent deployment to Iraq and any questions or concerns they had for her.

Members of the 1-135th ARB discussed the long deployment and two short visits during their 18 months in Iraq. The strain away from family was the hardest part during the deployment, but being separated from each other once going to the Texas National Guard unit was also difficult.

"We are a team," Sergeant Gail said. "When we arrived in Texas, they split us up, and that was hard when you have worked with these guys for a long time to be separated and isolated like that."

Missouri National Guard members were separated and assigned to different components within the 36th CAB. But the separation did not hinder the Missourians efforts. Of the four Distinguished Flying Crosses received by the 36th CAB, three of those were by Missouri National Guardsmen.

"I have learned a lot from visiting Iraq and my visit today to Whiteman," Mrs. McCaskill said after hearing their testimonies. "The sacrifices the Guard, their family members and employers make is unbelievable."

While Mrs. McCaskill had to catch her flight to the next stop on her tour of Missouri's military, she wanted to make one thing certain.

"You are doing a great job," she said. "I leave here with a better understanding and bigger commitment to the military than I did before."