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VIENNA - The national commander-in-chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars said President Barack Obama's decision to send additional troops to Afghanistan would strengthen U.S. forces overseas and ultimately make the world a safer place.

Thomas Tradewell visited a group of veterans at Post 8127 in Vienna Tuesday, minutes after Obama announced he planned to send about 30,000 additional U.S. troops to Afghanistan.

"I have visited our troops overseas, and I believe they are well-trained and well-prepared. We must give them the best equipment and training possible," said Tradewell. "I believe President Obama will add a significant number of troops so they can get the job done and make the world a safer place."

Tradewell, a Vietnam War veteran, was elected commander-in-chief in August. He served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1968, and joined the VFW in 1968 at Post 6498 in Milwaukee.

During his national tour of VFW posts, Tradewell said he hopes to motivate posts around the country to keep up memberships. Tradewell began a four-day tour of posts throughout West Virginia on Monday.

"We have half a million VFW members and 7,600 posts throughout the country. If we stay in headquarters, we don't really see the good that is going on in individual communities," he said.

"My main goal in visiting the posts is to motivate members and encourage them during a time when the VFW is losing members, many of which were World War II veterans," Tradewell said.

Tradewell said he is confident Obama's decision to increase troops will give U.S. forces the strength to fight terror overseas.

Lt. Col. Mike Cadle, a spokesman for the West Virginia Army National Guard, said troops in West Virginia have no immediate plans to deploy.

"We really don't know what will happen yet," said Cadle. "But what I can say is, the deployments we have pending right now are not tied to the president's announcement."

Many of the new deployments could begin as early as February.

The president told the American people a troop increase was necessary to dismantle al-Qaida and maintain security overseas. An exit plan, with specific pull-out dates, was also laid out by the president, with a goal to start withdrawing forces by July 2011.

"The National Guard has tried to make deployments more predictable by trying to give about a year's notice before deploying troops," Cadle said. "It's not policy, but officials aim for about a year of notice. That way, it gives the troops and their families sufficient time to prepare."

The West Virginia Army National Guard has 38 units stationed in 22 counties throughout West Virginia, with the 1092 Engineering Battalion stationed in Parkersburg.

Cadle said nearly 1,000 West Virginia National Guard troops are stationed overseas, with the majority in Iraq.

"We have troops all over the world, but most of them are in Iraq right now. But we have some in Afghanistan and Kosovo as well," said Cadle. "Generally, our approach is to let the president make the decisions, and then we react once we get our orders."