visit to a combat zone was with ahe first lady and give him chance to hear directly from commanders on the ground and the president noted the remarkable job u.s. forces have done, taking the fight to the islamic state terror group. with the near elimination of the isis territorial caliphate in iraq and in syria. the timing of the trip comes as the secretary of defensel d the special envoy for the correlation to defeat isis have both resigned. defense secretary jim mattis is out at the end of the year after being critical of the president s foreign policy and brett mcgurk was planningar to leave in early 2019 but turned in his resignation and protest of the president s plan to pull u.s. forces out of syria. the president invited the iraqi prime minister to the white house next year and we are told he accepted the invitation.. i should note, air force one has touched down in germany for a refueling stop where the commander in chief s meeting with more u.s. military personnel. tammy?