State Rep. Rice to ship out to Baghdad for fourth military deployment

Army Reserve Colonel and Littleton Democrat Joe Rice announced today that he will be deployed to Iraq this month — his fourth tour to the war-torn region to train Iraqi security forces.

Rice released a written statement via the Colorado House Majority Communications Office:

“While being away from home for six months will not be easy on me or my family, I am able to stay in touch with constituents and work on policy issues during my off-duty hours. Although I will be gone for a few months from my district, I will still stay in touch with my home community. I have an amazing group of volunteers that will be helping me stay informed and to prepare for the next legislative session that begins in January 2010.

“I’ll spend next week at Fort Benning, Georgia, for overseas processing and I will then head to Baghdad where I will be working with the Iraqi Army and Police units to aid in the transition to the Iraqi Security Forces. I was there at the beginning, a couple times since, and I feel that somehow this is my “farewell” tour.

“There is a saying in the Reserve and Guard that goes like this… ‘When we were needed, we were there. It wasn’t always easy, it wasn’t always fair. But when the call went out, we answered; we were there.'”

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