GOP congressman reports for Air Guard duty

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, is headed for a two-week tour with the Air National Guard.

“I’m off for duty with the Air Guard. Feel free to contact my offices with any questions you may have while I’m gone,” he wrote Tuesday on Twitter.

{mosads}Kinzinger, who served as a pilot in the Air National Guard and flew KC-135 tankers, mid-air refuelers, and RC-26 planes during multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, will be stationed in Madison, Wis., according to communications director Zach Hunter.

Truax Field Air National Guard Base is located near the Badger State’s capital city. The base is home to the Wisconsin Air National Guard’s 115th Fighter Wing.

The congressman usually flies intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions aboard an RC-26 aircraft, Hunter said, though in recent years he has piloted flights along the Texas-Mexico border.

Hunter said the congressman’s latest deployment is part of his “normal rotation,” noting that Kinzinger reports for Guard duty one weekend every month for a standard drill, as well as a one-week stint in April during the Easter recess for Congress.

The Illinois lawmaker will go back to his monthly rotation in September, Hunter said. 

— This story was updated at 3:09 p.m.