Gov. Jim Gibbons: Trip to Iraq, Afghanistan reveals soldiers' needs

Gov. Jim Gibbons said Thursday his weeklong trip to Iraq and Afghanistan was designed to find out what Nevada's troops need from the state and those back home.

"What the folks back home can do is help with those needs," he said. "Whether it's a plumbing problem or a legal problem, we can do a lot to make sure they've got the right support at home and the right equipment there."

Nevada has about 800 troops in Afghanistan, and about 150 guard members in Iraq.

One of the major causes of soldiers' stress, he said, is the worry they won't have a job to return to. Gibbons said that won't be an issue for those who left state jobs to serve.

"Their position is just being held open until they get back," he said.

But many of those in the private sector, he said, are concerned their old job won't be there.

"That's a terrible pressure on them," Gibbons said. "That's why we have to work to make sure private industry is able to continue providing jobs."

That, he quickly added, is why he is worried about the impact of legislatively approved tax increases on private businesses.

"Unemployment rates continue rising and I'm very concerned we haven't seen the end of this recession.

"Every day, I'm focused on bringing more tourists, bringing more jobs to Nevada."

As for the resignations by six of his Carson City staff in less than a month, Gibbons termed that "pretty traditional" after a stressful legislative session.

"It's a pretty ordinary and common thing," he said, mentioning that, in eight years, his predecessor Kenny Guinn had a half dozen chiefs of staff. "It's a very stressful environment."

He said after gaining experience in high-level government positions, people move on to private posts that pay well for that experience.

"Government is not easy to work in," he said. "They get so little thanks from the general public."

"I'm not at all disappointed," he said. "I think people look at these positions as stepping stones. It's hard to keep them."

His new Chief of Staff Robin Reedy has said the office will have to fill some of those posts but that she is working with remaining staff and the governor to reorganize the office.

Gibbons said he chose Reedy "because she's a financial expert." He cited her long experience as debt manager in the treasurer's office and her time as a deputy in business and industry.

While in Afghanistan, he said he was proud to discover that some of the electronic equipment helping disrupt enemy communications and protect the troops was made by a high tech company in Reno. He said that's why, when he was in Congress, he was dedicated to helping small, high tech companies "get through the door at the Pentagon."

Without that help, he said too often only the giants like Boeing or Lockheed have the ear of the generals in charge.

"I took great pride in helping these companies," Gibbons said.

He was at one point investigated by federal officials amid allegations of using his influence to help a Reno company and taking gifts from its owner in exchange. He denied any wrongdoing, saying part of his job in Congress is to help Nevada companies negotiate the bureaucracy.

Gibbons said the trip, paid for by the Defense Department, was exhausting in part because, after years as a military and airline pilot, he can't sleep on an airplane. Pilots, after all, are required not to fall asleep in the air.

While there, he said the heavy schedule meant getting very little sleep.

But what he disliked most, he said, was being required to wear 24 pounds of body armor and a heavy helmet.

"It was like being in a convection oven," he said, adding that he doesn't know how the troops function wearing that armor.

Gibbons returns to work at the Capitol today.