WASHINGTON -- Rep. Rob Portman will travel to Iraq this weekend, possibly visiting Baghdad and Fallujah.
Spokesman Kyle Downey said many details of the trip are secret for security reasons. But the Terrace Park Republican leaves Friday and returns Monday.
"I look forward to meeting with the troops and expressing my personal gratitude for their hard work and many successes," Portman said in a statement. "I will also be assessing the situation on the ground after the historic Iraqi elections and making sure the troops have what they need to continue to fight the war on terror."
This is Portman's first trip to Iraq, Downey said.
He'll be traveling with a four-man delegation, stopping at a military hospital in Germany to visit wounded troops, delivering mail from Ohio students to soldiers and bringing candy bars from Graeter's.
He expects to meet with military officials to talk about the case of missing Army Spc. Matt Maupin, of Union Township. The Glen Este High School graduate was captured April 9, 2004, in Iraq .
Maupin's unit, the Bartonville, Ill.-based 724th Transportation Company, returned from Iraq this week. Portman met with the Maupin family Friday, Downey said.
Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell and Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine visited Iraq last month. During a meeting with Sunni sheiks, the walls rattled from a nearby mortar round, according to DeWine spokeswoman Amanda Flaig. Rep. Mike Turner, who represents northern Warren County, also visited Iraq last month.
Portman, like the entire tri-state delegation, voted for the resolution giving President Bush authority to use force against Iraq.
"I look forward to meeting with the troops and expressing my personal gratitude for their hard work and many successes. I will also be assessing the situation on the ground after the historic Iraqi elections and making sure the troops have what they need to continue to fight the war on terror."
Rep. Rob Portman