Friday, March 4, 2011
BRAGGS — Gov. Mary Fallin said Thursday she couldn't be prouder of the 3,400 Oklahoma National Guard soldiers training for deployment to Afghanistan.
Fallin and a group of state legislators flew in a Black Hawk helicopter to visit some of the soldiers as they trained at Camp Gruber near Braggs.
The 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team will deploy to Afghanistan in late May or early June, military officials said.
Fallin and the legislators watched a group of soldiers go through a training exercise and then chatted with others in a mess hall.
“We want to make sure our soldiers have the training to not only perform their mission, but to be safe,” Fallin said. “It's comforting to see the great training for combat that is going on here at Camp Gruber.”
Fallin said the state and nation owe the soldiers and their families the best possible training and equipment before they step on foreign soil.
“We have one of the largest call-ups in the history of our Guard going over to Afghanistan,” Fallin said. “We want to make sure they are well-prepared, and I think their families need to know that.”
BY BRYAN DEAN, The Oklahoman
For more information, visit http://newsok.com/gov.-mary-fallin-visits-oklahoma-troops-at-camp-gruber/article/3545710