Obama focuses on veterans, military at Fort Bliss, on anniversary of Iraq combat end

EL PASO — President Obama continued his emphasis on serving veterans and military families with a visit to Fort Bliss on Friday to announce a new executive order expanding suicide prevention and substance-abuse services for those who have served in the armed forces.

Obama appeared in Texas on the second anniversary of the end of combat in Iraq, which is not a coincidence, White House advisers said. The president has traveled the country speaking to military audiences about his decision to end that war as well as combat operations in Afghanistan. Along the way, he has promised to continue his commitment to service members, veterans and their families after they return home.

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Obama spoke in a large hangar at Fort Bliss, an Army installation close to the Mexican border used for missile and artillery training and testing and home of the 1st Armored Division as well as the 32nd Army Air & Missile Defense Command.

The president jogged down the steps of Air Force One, stepping onto a sprawling tarmac where the temperature was 92 degrees. His motorcade passed huge fleets of neatly parked Blackhawk, Chinook and Apache helicopters on the way to the hangar, where 5,000 soldiers and an Army brass band were assembled to listen to him.

“Coming home can be its own struggle, especially for wounded warriors, so we’ve poured tremendous resources into this effort,” Obama said, the soldiers listening to him shouting “Hooah” after almost every line. “Everyone has a responsibility to help a comrade who’s hurting.”

“Part of ending these wars responsibly is caring for those who fought in them,” Obama said. “We may be turning a page on a decade of war, but America’s responsibilities to you have only just begun.”

Obama said he would send troops into harm’s way only when “absolutely necessary,” and only with the best equipment to keep them safe.

The president also drew what sounded like a contrast with his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, who has accused the president of drawing down too quickly in Afghanistan.

“We’re not just ending these wars,” Obama said. “We’re doing it in a way that keeps America safe and makes America stronger. And that includes our military. Think about it. Just four years ago there were some 180,000 troops in Iraq and afghan. By next month we will have cut that number by nearly two thirds. So most of our troops have come home.”

Soldiers in heavy fatigues fanned themselves to stay cool against a backdrop of desert, mountains and an Apache helicopter visible through the wide-open hangar doors.

Obama also told the story of meeting a young wounded soldier when he visited Afghanistan this spring. The crowd grew silent as he described walking into Sgt. Chase Haag’s hospital room, where the soldier was suffering a broken leg, fractured back and a face so swollen that his eyes couldn’t open.

The doctor encouraged the president to speak to the soldier anyway anyway, and he did. As Obama walked out of the room, he said, he heard a rustling sound, turned around, and saw that Haag was extending his arm to shake the president’s hand.