Guard leader says Afghanistan trip reinforced his confidence in troops

The Iowa National Guard’s adjutant general says his recent trip to Afghanistan reinforced his confidence in the troops he commands. Major General Ron Dardis traveled to Afghanistan a couple of months ago and for the first time he talked publicly about his trip during his annual “Condition of the Guard” address at the statehouse on Monday. Dardis visited the 750 Iowa soldiers in Task Force 168 in Afghanistan — the largest number of soldiers in any single unit deployed since World War II. Dardis says those and other Iowa soldiers are stationed throughout the country. “They are providing security for the reconstruction efforts. They are resupplying fire bases close to Pakistan and Iraq and they’re working with the Afghan people in their communities,” Dardis says. “It’s hard to explain what I saw. You have to be on the ground and see it first-hand in order to realize what is going on in Afghanistan.” In one area, Iowa soldiers helped build a school for children — and for women who had been denied an education by the Taliban. “Women and children fill the streets…new highways, new wells are being dug and various other infrastructure projects are underway,” Dardis says. “It was an incredible site to behold.” Dardis says he could see the impact of 40 years of war in Afghanistan. Dardis says he few Afghanistan wearing shoes and many children had open sores from lack of medical care. He says the people of Afghanistan have embraced democracy and the reconstruction of their country. “They want all the Taliban, the al Qaeda and the remnants of the old Afghanistan military gone,” Dardis says. Before he left the country, Dardis had tea with the new head of the Afghanistan National Army and met with Iowa soldiers all across the country. Dardis flew Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters with Apache helicopters as escort as he visited units to present combat badges, patches and medals — including Purple Hearts — to Iowa troops. “It was truly a unique experience,” Dardis says. “They truly are our hometown heroes.”