JEFFERSON CITY – Less than a day after returning home from a 13 month call-up to active military duty in Iraq, Rep. Jim Avery (R-Crestwood) reported for duty at the Missouri House of Representatives.

At a press conference March 1, Avery spoke about his experience in Iraq while serving as a combat engineer with the 1140th Engineering Battalion of the Missouri National Guard in Farmington.

One of the primary responsibilities of his unit was to locate and destroy roadside bombs.

“It was kind of like an Easter egg hunt, you drive down the road and see the bombs alongside the road. Everyone would get down in the vehicle, and we would pull up next to it to check it out,” Avery said. “And we would get out and disable the IED (Improvised Explosive Devise).”

Avery said he was proud of his unit, and the state of Missouri should be proud of the unit. Everyone came back alive and in one piece.

“What is going on in Iraq today is not Iraqis rebelling, it is terrorist activity,” Avery said.

The unit located and destroyed over 300 IED devices while patrolling outside Baghdad. The battalion also paved over 40 miles of roads.

“I always claimed that things weren’t being reported as they should have been,” Avery said.

His experience in Iraq has prompted him to sponsor legislation to support members of the Guard and other military services, which he will introduce later this week.

Members of the guard and reserve would be eligible for free hunting and fishing licenses in one of the bills Avery is planning to sponsor and introduce later this week.

Other planned legislation would address adding financial support for members of the military.

“The state should honor the same income tax obligations as the federal government when a soldier or any military member is in a combat zone,” he said. “I am going to sponsor legislation that will mirror the federal guidelines for income tax exemptions in a combat zone.”

While Avery was serving in Iraq, he was re-elected to the House.

“I was probably the only state Representative in the country that got re-elected while he was in Iraq,” Avery said. “It was easy because I was lucky enough because I didn’t have an opponent.”

“It made going door to door a lot easier,” he said.