Obamas visit US military base

2010-12-26 09:00

Hawaii - US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama on Saturday visited a US military base here to celebrate Christmas with men and women in uniform.

The first family, which is spending its Christmas vacations in Kailua, in the northeast of Oahu Island, made the unannounced visit the marine base at 15:30 local time (02:30 GMT on Sunday).

The president and the first lady spent about an hour and a half with the marines, shaking hands, taking pictures and sharing a Christmas meal.

Obama had already visited this base during his previous Christmas vacations in 2008 and 2009.

Earlier on Saturday, the president and the first lady paid tribute to members of the US military and urged Americans to support men and women in uniform.

"Today, we're also thinking of those who can't be home for the holidays - especially all our courageous countrymen serving overseas," Obama said in his Saturday radio address, which he delivered together with his wife.

Michelle Obama urged Americans to support troops either personally or through volunteer work at "organisations that support military families".

"And anybody can send a care package or pre-paid calling card to the front lines, or give what's sometimes the most important gift of all: simply saying 'Thank you'," the first lady noted.

Since moving into the White House in January 2009, Obama has tripled the number of US troops in Afghanistan, bringing the numbers up to about 100 000.

At the same time, he has reduced the number of US servicemen stationed in Iraq to about 50 000, with a full withdrawal of US forces scheduled for next year.

- AFP