Obama Honors Fallen Soldiers In Surprise Visit To Dover

October 29, 2009 9:55 a.m. EST

Dover Air Force Base, DE (AHN) - President Barack Obama made an unannounced visit to Dover Air Force Base after midnight on Thursday, honoring 15 American soldiers who died on Monday in Afghanistan, where U.S. troops suffered their deadliest month in the war this October. It was the first time Obama paid his respects to the nation's fallen by saluting their caskets as they returned home.

The President met with family members of the fallen in a chapel before boarding a cargo plane holding the flag-draped coffins. A military chaplain then said a prayer that signaled the start of a now recurring ritual for the past eight years: transferring those who died on the frontlines of the Afghan war.

Obama took part in four transfers, together with Attorney General Eric Holder, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and other officials. White House reporters joined him in one transfer, eight months after the Pentagon reversed the ban on press coverage of fallen troops.

Eighteen Americans were transferred in total, seven of whom were soldiers who died along with three civilian personnel from the Drug Enforcement Agency when their helicopter crashed in Afghanistan's Badghis province after a firefight that killed a dozen militants. The crash, which was caused by poor visibility and not hostile fire, occurred the same day eight troops were killed in the Arghandab River Valley by an improvised explosive device.

The President is currently under intense pressure to announce his strategy in Afghanistan. NATO and U.S. commander Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal has recommended sending additional troops in his strategic assessment, while Vice President Joe Biden has urged keeping troops at current levels and using more drone and missile attacks. Conservatives have criticized him for delaying his decision, while Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI), a leading liberal, has repeatedly called for a timetable for withdrawing troops and pledged to block any efforts to deploy more soldiers.

Obama has repeatedly said he will take a "very deliberate process" in determining the next steps in the war, and that no decisions on resources will be made without "absolute clarity" on the strategy.

On Monday, he told service members in a speech at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, "I will never hesitate to use force to protect the American people or our vital interests, I also promise you this -- and this is very important as we consider our next steps in Afghanistan: I will never rush the solemn decision of sending you into harm's way. You deserve the strategy, the clear mission, and the defined goals as well as the equipment and support that you need to get the job done."