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Bush praises Gunfighters, Guard
Elmore County had a huge presence at the Idaho Center in Nampa last week when President George W. Bush offered what the White House described as "a major policy speech on Iraq," as part of his brief visit to Idaho.
The president opened his speech by praising the personnel at Mountain Home AFB, the Idaho National Guardsmen in Iraq, and promised his administration's full support for seeing to the needs of their families.
More than 2,000 Gunfighters and their families from Mountain Home AFB had begun boarding buses at 5:30 a.m. that morning to attend the speech. The convoy of more than 40 buses stretched for over two miles as it caravaned down the interstate, delivering the uniformed troops to the site of the president's speech.
In addition, a large presence of Idaho National Guard families were in attendance, many from Mountain Home, as well as other citizens and local officials, the combined total filling about one-third of the audience at the Idaho Center.
The 366th Wing at MHAFB provided more than a supportive audience for the president, it also provided a significant portion of his security during his trip to Idaho, one of the rare times a sitting president has ever visited the state.
Aircraft from the wing's 390th and 391st Fighter Squadrons provided CAP air patrols for Air Force One and the Marine One helicopter that flew the president into and around the state.
The planes made seven intercepts of aircraft that intruded into the no-fly security zone around the president. Five were single-engine propeller aircraft, one was a helicopter, and one was not identified before it left the security area. In one case, near the McCall airport, a wing fighter dropped a flare in front of one of the small planes to get its attention. The plane was diverted to a landing in Cascade.
"None of the intercepts resulted in any kind of incident," Capt. Mike Chillstrom, deputy chief of the wing's public affairs detachment said. "Everything was quite smooth, an indication of the high quality of training our pilots have."
Among the local officials who attended the speech in Nampa were members of the Chamber of Commerce and the city council. Police Chief Tom Berry and Sheriff Rick Layher were among the law enforcement officials from around the state who were invited to appear on the stage with the president, and Berry got a chance to shake hands with the president.
"I felt humbled to be on stage with the president and shake his hand," Berry said. "I felt it shows what an opportunity we have to live in a country that allows us that kind of contact with a world leader. There's a lot of countries where someone like me would never get a chance to do that.
"It doesn't matter whether you were a Democrat or a Republican, just to be a part of it was a humbling experience."
Billy Richey, the governor's military liaison, who has rubbed elbows with national leaders before, nevertheless described being at the president's speech as "exciting."
"There was a tremendous amount of energy there. It was a packed house."
Richey said his party stood in line for nearly two hours to get into the auditorium and security was very tight, but once in the Idaho Center the audience was allowed to approach the stage to shoot pictures, and at the conclusion of the his speech the president walked down into the crowd where he signed autographs and shook hands.
"It was like a rock concert, with everyone trying to get to the stage to see him and get his autograph."
Richey called the president's speech "outstanding," and noted that when he introduced the Gunfighters in the audience "a huge cheer went up, the biggest one of the day."
Chamber of Commerce Director Debra Shoemaker (and the mother of a U.S. Marine) described the experience as "awesome. What a dynamic speaker. He assured all of us he wouldn't give up the fight" in Iraq.
Jerry Rost, a member of the Chamber's Military Affairs Committee, described the setting as a "relaxed atmosphere" and called it a unique opportunity to see the president up close. "I walked to within 20 feet of him to take a picture," he said.
The president opened his speech by saying he was "proud to be here with the Gunfighters at Mountain Home Air Force Base" -- and then had to pause while a huge cheer roared up from the crowd, before continuing by noting the wing's quick response to the nation's defense after 9/11 and the huge role it played in the war in Afghanistan, where it flew over 3,000 missions.
"You bring justice to our enemies and honor to your uniform, and the nation is grateful for your service," he told the wing personnel.
He also praised the Idaho National Guard, noting that Idaho has had the highest percentage of its guardsmen mobilized for federal service to fight in the war in Iraq than any other state in the nation, and that it was the largest Guard mobilization in the state's history.
In addition to their federal service, he noted the work done by Guardsmen at home. "The people of this state take comfort in the fact that you're on call," he said.
He also reached out to the families of the soldiers and airmen deployed in the war.
"A time of war is a time of sacrifice," he told the crowd, "and a heavy burden falls on our military families. America appreciates the service and sacrifice of the military families."
He also praised the employers of the Guardsmen who had been mobilized, noting the hardships it placed on them as well.
Telling the Guardsmen and their families that "this nation owes you for your sacrifice," he described policies of his administration designed to cut extensions of deployments and repeat mobilizations, as well as providing improved access to military health benefits and increased GI Bill benefits.
"As the Guard and Reserve stand up for America," the president said, "this administration will stand up for the Guard and Reserve."
And, he added, as he began a recapitulation in his speech of the administration's position on the war in Iraq and the war against terrorism, "your service is needed in these dangerous times."
"We face a clear choice," the president said. "We can hunker down, or we can bring the war to the terrorists, striking them before they could strike us. I made the decision that America would not wait to be attacked again," adding, "if you harbor terrorists, you are just as guilty as the terrorists," a line that brought a huge round of applause from the audience.
The terrorists, he said, "know that the only way to win is to break our will.... They are going to fail.
"We will prevail because we have on our side the greatest force in the world, the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces."
"America," he told the largely military crowd, "is grateful to your devotion to duty and your courage under fire."
After the speech the president met with families who had lost loved ones in Iraq, and then, with a somber face, boarded Air Force One and flew back to Texas, having left a lasting impression on thousands of Idahoans and Elmore County citizens, soldiers and airmen.