AFGHANISTAN –  Ten years ago, on Christmas Day 2007, then-FBI Special Agent Brian Fitzpatrick was deployed to Iraq as an Al-Qaeda Interrogator as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  A decade later to the day, Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-08) is returning to the region to spend Christmas Day with United States troops serving in Afghanistan, ground zero in the global fight against terrorism.

Fitzpatrick, a member of the House Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees, says the bipartisan trip not only provides an opportunity to thank these brave women and men in our military who will be missing their families on this holiday, but will also serve as an important examination of our counter-terrorism efforts, force posture and threat dynamics in the region.

“As families across our district enjoy another holiday season safe at home, it is often easy to forget that there are thousands of women and men serving our country in battlefields and barracks across the globe – including combat zones like Afghanistan. We owe a debt of gratitude to these brave servicemembers who stand ready to protect our freedom, even when it means being deployed overseas during this special season,” said Fitzpatrick. “This trip provides the opportunity to not only say ‘thank you’ to these heroes, but to speak directly with our troops, military generals and governmental and diplomatic officials about the situation on the ground in Afghanistan and throughout the region. As we enter a new phase in the War on Terror, it is crucial that Congress continue to work with our military and civilian partners to keep our homeland safe and to defeat the threat of terrorism; this mission will play an important part in shaping this strategy.”