Aviano welcomes congressional delegates

by Staff Sgt. Jessica Hines
31st Fighter Wing Public Affairs

9/4/2014 - AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy -- U.S. congressional delegates from six states visited Team Aviano during an orientation visit to the 31st Fighter Wing, Sept. 3.

The visit gave the guests a chance to meet with wing leadership, talk with Airmen and receive important mission briefs and a tour of the base.

"When you are actually out there in the trenches, experiencing it first hand, those are the people we like to talk to learn even more," said Senator Lyndsey Graham, South Carolina. "If you're a policy maker and you don't visit the troops and go out where the action is, I think you are restricting your ability to serve your country."

The senators, hailing from Georgia, North Carolina, Wyoming, West Virginia, Indiana and South Carolina, also took time to meet with Airmen from their respective states during a special luncheon.

"With all the work we do and how fast this base operates all the time, it's very important for these types of visits to happen here at Aviano. It gives us a chance to have our voices heard," said Staff Sgt. Timothy West, 724th Air Mobility Squadron.

"They may know what our capabilities are because of what someone reads off a piece of paper, but to actually see it and be here to experience it, is something totally different," added West.

While visiting overseas bases may seem out of the territorial norm, congressional delegates aim not to only connect with service members abroad, but encourage them to exercise their constitutional rights and stay connected with news and events back home.

"We are trying to make it easier for service members stationed overseas to vote, using the absentee program," said Graham.

"The best thing you can do as a military member is lead by example. If you are an NCO, you should vote. If you're an officer, you should vote," he added.

While only a short stay, senators and Airmen enjoyed conversing and exchanging stories from their home towns, bringing a small piece of home to Italy.

"Being stationed overseas is hard sometimes for Airmen being away from home for the first time. But, to have the senator of your home state join us for an hour during lunch to talk about things that only him and I might know about, feels good and brings me back home for a little while," said West.