Responding to political statements about the war, Brent Taylor said he has seen "remarkable improvement in the conditions in Iraq" during his months there.

"I recently ran a mission through Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city. I was impressed with the number of people out in the streets, and with the number of businesses open and operating. The streets were cleaner than when we arrived, and the place just looks generally better. I firmly believe that we are winning in Iraq, and will win in Iraq as long as the American people support their military and this mission."

From Utah, the National Guard has deployed more than 7,800 men and women to the Middle East since 9/11 and currently has 40 Air National Guard and 1,050 Army National Guard members deployed to the Middle East.

Deployment numbers by state are not available from the Reserves or from the active-duty service branches, mainly because of variances in the way service members list the state they are from.

So far, 46 people from Utah or with close Utah ties have been killed or died of injuries sustained in Iraq or Afghanistan. The casualty-tracking Web site, icasualties.org, tallies 3,990 U.S. fatalities in Iraq alone as of Monday, making it likely the fatality count will reach the 4,000 mark on or close to today's fifth anniversary of the Iraq war.

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