Michaud returning after visit to Iraq Military health care focus of 3-nation trip

PORTLAND – Rep. Michael Michaud of Maine and five other lawmakers are returning home after visiting U.S. military health care facilities in Iraq, Kuwait and Germany.

The 2nd District 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 the Kuwaiti Emergency Medical Facility, medical aid stations in Baghdad, the 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,” Michaud said in a statement from Germany, “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.”

The three members of Michaud’s subcommittee were Reps. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., Phil Hare, D-Ill. and John Salazar, D-Colo. 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.