On her way to the 2006 Winter Olympics, the First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush, visited Aviano Air Base, Italy today.

As the head of the official U.S. delegation to the games in Turin, Mrs. Bush traveled here with her daughter, Barbara, and five former Olympic medalists.

“These athletes make America proud and this year U.S. Olympic athletes … will once again bring pride and honor to our nation,” Mrs. Bush said. “But I want you to know that the men and women of our armed forces bring the greatest pride and honor to our country.”

During her visit, Mrs. Bush spoke directly with Air Force and Army members who recently arrived home from deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“We see this visit as a huge sign of support for our efforts and there’s nothing like our leaders coming out to embrace the soldiers,” said Army Sgt. Maj. Randy Manns from the Southern European Task Force in Vicenza, Italy. He and his unit returned Jan. 6 from an 11-month deployment to Afghanistan.

Mrs. Bush also spoke to the troops and their families about how the mission of today’s military has changed since her last visit here.

“I was here at Aviano in July 2001 when the mission was totally different, before September 11. Little did we know then what was to happen. Since then, of course, the world has changed. Throughout the challenges of the last four years, you’ve served with courage and distinction. Defending America’s freedom is the core mission of our military and they have carried out that mission,” she said.

Mrs. Bush said she sees Americans support the troops in her travels around the country.

“Everywhere I go I see ‘America supports our troops’ signs. There is more support for our military now than there has been in a long time. One reason is the people see the military more and they see what they’re doing day-to-day and what a sacrifice and a danger it is (for them),” she said.

After her speech, Mrs. Bush, her daughter and the Olympic delegation posed for pictures and talked with the crowd.

“Her visit really touched the troops who recently arrived back from deployments. You could see that many were very emotional,” said Staff Sgt. Amanda Robles, 31st Maintenance Group communication administration noncommissioned officer in charge.