PORTLAND, Maine—Rep. Michael Michaud and five other lawmakers, including John Salazar, D-Colo., are returning home after visiting U.S. military health care facilities in Iraq, Kuwait and Germany.
The Maine Democrat said Wednesday he organized the trip to get a firsthand look at the quality of health care provided to U.S. military personnel.
The delegation included three members of Michaud’s House veterans affairs health subcommittee, along with Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake and two other congressmen.
The group visited Kuwaiti Emergency Medical Facility, medical aid stations in Baghdad, Balad Theater Support Hospital, and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. During the trip, the delegation also met with Gen. David Petraeus and other U.S. officials.
“We met and talked face-to-face with key medical personnel at these facilities to understand the challenges of combat health care in Iraq. It is crucial that my fellow committee members and Secretary Peake understand the health care services that our brave men and women receive before they enter the VA health care system,” Michaud said in a statement from Germany.
The three members of Michaud’s subcommittee were Reps. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., Phil Hare, D-Ill., and Salazar. Also making the trip were Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, D-Texas, a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee, and Rep. Bill Sali, R-Idaho.
The trip was kept secret for the entire time the delegation was in Iraq and Kuwait because of security concerns, said Ed Gilman, Michaud’s spokesman.
The delegation arrived in Germany on Wednesday and was expected to return to the U.S. on Thursday. It was Michaud’s second visit to Iraq.
