The governor's visit, Miller wrote, "was a great feat in and of itself. That's awesome he made it over here and had a chance to experience the war, and show his support to the Utah soldiers."

Even before touching down in Baghdad, Huntsman said he knew he was entering a war zone. "It became very real that we were in a theater of combat because we all had to don our body armor at that point inside the airplane," Huntsman said.

The C-130 aircraft approached the airport in a "corkscrew spiral," the governor said. He and the rest of the delegation were transported from the airport via low-flying Black Hawk helicopters because the road to the U.S. Embassy compound was too dangerous.

Huntsman said he visited with "a sense of confidence and courage," given that some 1,000 Utahns are currently serving in Iraq, but still felt vulnerable, especially when leaving the heavily protected "green zone" in Baghdad.

The governor, who returned to Utah Monday, said the U.S. Department of Defense paid for part of the trip and he personally picked up the additional cost, so that no Utah tax dollars were spent.

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Contributing: Steve Speckman