I recently returned from one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life: the Hawaii Civic Leaders Tour at Fort Hood, Texas. The event gave local business and community leaders a chance to see up close the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Hawaii Army National Guard and the vital mission it performs.

As you might know, 1,700 of our citizen soldiers, including my daughter, 1st Lt. Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo, a former Hawaii state representative, deployed last week to Kuwait for a 12-month tour of duty. Our 29th Brigade has joined with 600 soldiers of the 45th Field Artillery Brigade from Oklahoma for this mission to form Task Force Lava Thunder.

As we observed and actually participated in some of the field training exercises, I gradually began to appreciate what incredible austerities and sacrifices our soldiers and their families make for each of us in Hawaii and the nation.

There was something extraordinary about being in the field on a hot day in Texas with our Hawaii soldiers, with 50-caliber gunfire ringing in our ears and watching them perform an improvised explosive device (IED) clearing exercise that quite dramatically got my attention.

For some reason, there I was, a grown man with tears streaming down my face as I watched the training rescue mission of our “;wounded”; soldier on that dusty road. He had an IV needle stuck in his arm and real blood dripping to the ground, as his comrades surrounded him, encouraging him to hang tough. I knew he wasn't actually wounded, but still, the emotion, the surroundings and the warlike ambience got to me in a very real way.

Later, I found myself in an intense training exercise as the gunner on top of a Humvee with an M-240 machine gun cradled in my arms, firing virtual bullets at the bad guys. As Jimmy Kuroiwa, president of the Go for Broke Association, was yelling, “;Short bursts, Gabbard, short bursts, or you'll melt the barrel”; in my ear, Ramsay Wharton from KGMB-TV was on my left, and Bob Barrett, vice president of Coastal Windows Inc., was on my right in their own Humvees, whaling away as our life-size enemies popped up on a virtual screen of urban buildings and landscapes. Wow! You talk about adrenaline rushing out of every pore.

When I climbed down from the Humvee, with my whole body covered in “;chicken skin,”; Gen. Joe Chavez commented, “;Senator, try to imagine what our soldiers feel like in that situation in the Mideast, with the enemy shooting back at them.”;

On the final day of the tour, I attended the farewell deployment ceremony with U.S. Sens. Dan Akaka and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, plus many families from Hawaii and Oklahoma. It was humbling to congratulate and present an honorary certificate from the Hawaii Legislature to Hawaii's Col. Bruce E. Oliveira, 29th IBCT commander, and Oklahoma's Col. Glen Moore, 45th FiB commander, and the heroes of Task Force Lava Thunder.

As I listened to Sgt. Sam Hesch's beautiful a cappella rendition of “;Hawai'i Pono'i,”; I looked out at the field with all of our brave warriors standing at attention, and I lost it again.

I extend my heartfelt mahalo nui loa to Gens. Lee, Miyagi, Hara and Chavez; retired Maj. Gen. Lau; Cols. Oliveira, Slowey and Mullins; Maj. Ellison; Sgts. Mitsui, Kumalae, Lum and Hesch; and Brooks Akana, not only for making this trip unforgettable, but for all that they do for our state and country. I ask you to please keep all of our soldiers and their families in your prayers.