~ Following visit to Iraq, delegation travels to Afghanistan ~

On the second leg of his trip through Southwest Asia, Governor Tim Pawlenty visited Afghanistan on Thursday and Friday to meet with government and military leaders and Minnesota military troops.

Pawlenty is traveling with Lieutenant General H. Steven Blum, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, Governor Janet Napolitano (D-Arizona) and Governor Brad Henry (D-Oklahoma).

On Tuesday and Wednesday the delegation was in Kuwait and Iraq. On Thursday, the governors met with President Hamid Karzai in the presidential palace in Kabul and with General Dan McNeil, commander of the International Security and Assistance Force.

On Friday, Governor Pawlenty traveled to Bagram, just north of Kabul. He had breakfast with Minnesota National Guard soldiers in the 147th Personnel Services Battalion (147th PSB), which is headquartered in Roseville. Governor Pawlenty spoke at the unit’s deployment ceremony on January 3, 2007. The battalion, which is part of the 347th Regional Support Group, is scheduled to return home in March 2008.

There are approximately 160 Minnesota National Guard members serving in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

“As governor, I’ve been to a lot of different events, met a lot of different people, been to a lot of different places, and I have never, ever, been associated with a finer group of people than the men and women of the Minnesota National Guard and our United States military,” Governor Pawlenty said. “It is my hope and prayer that every Minnesotan will join me in showing their respect and appreciation for these heroes as they continued to serve us at home and around the world.”

In Afghanistan, Governor Pawlenty visited a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) project that combines military personnel and civilian staff from diplomatic corps and developmental agencies. He also visited with troops of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Airfield.

The delegation is flying to Ramstein, Germany today and will visit Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a military hospital, on Saturday.