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Petraeus visits Benning en route to D.C.

COLUMBUS, Ga. — Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq who’s due to provide an assessment of the war to Congress on Monday, was in Georgia Friday afternoon on a much easier and more personal mission.

He visited the Fryar Drop Zone at Fort Benning to watch his son, Stephen, make his fifth and final jump as he graduates from Airborne School.

“I’d like to introduce our latest Airborne trooper,” Petraeus said as his son, a 20-year-old member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Army ROTC program, beamed.

The general also attended a memorial celebration for the dozens of World War II veterans who were members of the Army’s first black parachute infantry battalion, the 555th, also known as the Triple Nickel.

Speaking to them, Petraeus said, “You are true American pioneers. You challenged the conscience of a nation and its Army.”

Stephen Petraeus said he’s looking forward to his father’s much-anticipated appearance before Congress on Monday.

“My dad is a jumpmaster and a master parachutist,” he said. “I hardly think he’s nervous about giving a speech.”