Governor McDonnell hasn’t made many public appearances in Virginia while his connection with Star Scientific and its CEO are being investigated, but he is making appearances abroad. McDonnell has been in Kuwait this week; the first stop among several in the Middle East.
It’s the Governor’s first trip to Kuwait and Afghanistan and McDonnell is part of a small delegation which includes Montana Governor Steve Bullock. They were invited by the Department of Defense to first meet with injured service members at Walter Reed Medical Center and other U.S. military facilities on Monday. Later, they left for the Middle East and arrived in Kuwait. McDonnell traveled to an air field and toured the facility, then held a town hall meeting with Virginia based troops. Their Wednesday itinerary consisted of a morning breakfast with troops then a hop to Kabul, Afghanistan. There, they were briefed on military operations and met with more service members. Throughout his journey, McDonnell has been thanking troops for their service especially those who have suffered physical or psychological injuries. The rest of his travel plans are unknown and the trip wasn’t on his calendar for security reasons. He’s expected to return to the Commonwealth Friday.