(Columbia) June 21, 2006 - South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford made a surprise trip to Tikrit, Iraq. WIS' Judi Gatson interviewed Sanford, and here's what he had to say:

Judi: First of all, Governor Sanford, tell me about your visit with the troops today and what the soldiers had to say.

Governor: It was amazing. We went up to a base outside Tikrit, a place...which is named after a soldier who never came home after the first Gulf War. And it was amazing to see, A, the conditions that people were operating in. The average temperature's around 120 degrees. And when you put body armor on, and a helmet on, and then try and do your job, whatever that might be, it is just amazing in and of itself, just given the temperatures.

The second thing that I think was amazing was the way that these South Carolinians had been amazingly adaptable in taking care of whatever they needed to take care of. You have, basically, two large Guard units from South Carolina, the 122nd and the 111th out of Greenwood and out of Saluda. And in some cases they are handling things that they weren't necessarily trained to do, but they're handling them well, according to the Master Chief, who was absolutely raving on the job that they are doing.

In one case, they're going out and basically clearing the roads of explosive ordinances. In another case they're laying down a fiber cable network that will make a difference, not just for the troops, but for Iraqis as well.

Judi: Let me ask you this, Governor Sanford. What did they tell you they missed most about South Carolina?

Governor: They missed, well, one fellow yelled that he missed Shealy's Bar-B-Que. Another fellow, and I actually wrote it down here. Hank Holliday asks that I send along a hello, and I ask that you do the same, to his mom Claudette Holliday, who lives in Lexington, South Carolina. So a number of folks wanted to send hello's back in home direction. Most of all, though, one of the amazing things they said was, in unison, 'tell our families that we love them.' So they missed a number of different things, family chief among them.

Judi: Well, we will certainly pass those messages along. Let's talk a little bit about your meeting at the Pentagon two weeks ago. Of course, the military was celebrating mission success when they took out Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in an airstrike. But with the recent brutal killings of two US soldiers in Iraq, things have certainly taken a different turn. Did you learn anything new from Secretary Rumsfeld or Secretary Rice about the strategy in Iraq?

Governor: Not that you wouldn't be aware of in following the videos of day to day and moment to moment reporting as to what's happening in Iraq. We had thorough visits, both with Secretary Rumsfeld and Condoleeza Rice. We subsequently had a number of substantive conversations both with State Department folks as well as military personnel. I think that, if I was to pick up any common thread of what I'm hearing, is that, that they are in fact making progress, in some cases progress that's not fully reported. One of the most amazing things that I saw today was, we went by helicopter from Baghdad up to Tikrit, and stopped at Balad on the way. Amazingly, as we went along, we were traveling at very low altitudes, there were a surprising number of people waving at the helicopter. And that was a response that I wasn't anticipating, wouldn't have imagined. Given the media reports, I would have thought that they'd be throwing rocks or making obscene gestures. In fact, they were waving. And that told me something's going on here that maybe I don't fully comprehend and maybe all of us that are watching events unfold in the Middle East don't fully comprehend.

Judi: Obviously, South Carolina troops have done a lot to support the war against terror. What do you think the strategy should be about how to get out of Iraq and when?

Governor: Again, well beyond my pay grade. I am here at the invitation of Secretary Rumsfeld. I'm one of about 30 governors now who's traveled to visit their Guard troops in this part of the world. And, you know, it's beyond my pay grade as to withdraw, not withdraw, all that sort of thing. But what I do know, is that these troops here from South Carolina are doing a remarkable job at the task that they've been assigned.

Judi: And, can you talk...

Governor: And I think it's incumbent upon all of us... I'm sorry?

Judi: I was just going to ask, you mentioned that they're doing a remarkable job at the task they've been assigned. Can you tell us about the specific task of these two units?

Governor: I did just a moment ago, when I mentioned that one group, the engineering group, is basically laying down fiber optic cable at the base...which is outside of Tikrit, that will have an impact, not just for military personnel, but frankly for Iraqis over time. The other unit is basically adaptive, and they're out there running the Buffalo IED truck, that is actually made in South Carolina. And they are out there on a daily basis, running patrols to clear the roads of these explosive ordinances that are laid along the roadway. It's incredibly dangerous work, but they have been just fine. They've not had any injury. They're in very secure equipment. In one case, there was a suicide car bomber that ran into the Buffalo itself. It exploded, but everybody walked away unhurt. So, so far so good. The amazing part, though, is again their attitude. And that's why I'd ask folks, whether it's sending a note, an e-mail, a care package, if you've got a friend or relative, cousin, aunt or uncle in some way tied to this effort, whether you agree or disagree with what's going on in the war, I think it's very, very important that you simply say thank you and express that thanks for the job they're, that these young folks are doing.

Judi: Well, I want to ask you about morale. Of course, US military officials believe that the torture and executions of the two US soldiers were in direct retaliation for the killing of Zarqawi. How has that affected the morale of our soldiers?

Governor: The morale that I saw was very good. These folks, I guess it's the old Irish prayer of God grant me the serenity to, you know, try and impact the things I can impact, and not worry about the things I can't impact and the grace to know the difference. In these cases, these soldiers are living by that Irish prayer. What they know is they can't impact the tragic loss of those two, two soldiers. But what they can impact is the job at hand. And they're going out and doing that job very, very thoroughly and very well on a daily and nightly basis.

Judi: And finally, you mentioned that we can all send notes and care packages. Did the soldiers have any special requests for things that they need?

Governor: They didn't. I mean, oddly, and this is a real servant's attitude, I mean you talk about a servant mentality. What they said was tell our families that we love them. And I said, I'm going to be talking to folks back home tonight. What would you ask for or what would you say? Their request was tell us that we love them. So they didn't ask for anything, they asked that I send along a little bit of love and a little bit of hello.

Posted 9:12pm by Chantelle Janelle