Gov. Linda Lingle took time from her stump stops on the presidential campaign trail yesterday to have dinner with the more than 1,700 Hawai'i-based National Guard members in Fort Hood, Texas, who have been training for their deployment to Kuwait.

Before entering the dining hall at the base, which is near Waco, Lingle donned a T-shirt with all the brigade units insignia given to her by the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

After dinner, Lingle said via a phone interview that the soldiers all seemed in high spirits and ready for their mission.

"The morale is very high, and they all seemed fit," Lingle said. "I had a good briefing from Col. Bruce Olivera. He will command them in Kuwait."

The soldiers leave next week for their nine-month tour in Kuwait, where they will be working with convoy missions north into Iraq as far as Mosul and manning security outposts at U.S. military installations.

"They are looking forward to going so they can come home," Lingle said. "The quicker they get there and complete their mission, the quicker they can come home."

The Hawai'i men and women first arrived at Fort Hood Aug. 19.

On Oct. 8, Sgt. Julian Manglona, an Army Reserve soldier, died after a six-mile run. Manglona, a 39-year-old police officer on Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, was with the 100th Battalion assigned to the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Lingle said she was not given any more information on the cause of Manglona's death, which has not been released.

Today, Lingle will make her appearance for Sen. John McCain in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pa., and later in Cleveland. Both states are considered battlegrounds. Pennsylvania, in particular, has been identified as essential for Republican McCain to win the White House over Democrat Sen. Barack Obama.

This is Lingle's third trip as a national surrogate for McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. During her past trips, Lingle has been criticized for leaving the state at a time when its economy is in trouble and requires her leadership. Lingle said she is paying for her trip herself and using her own vacation time.

"The only criticism I hear is from Democratic partisans attached to the Obama campaign," Lingle said. "The majority of people I run into at the Y or at Longs who come up to me say they are proud that I'm involved at the national level helping a candidate who I believe is the best for Hawai'i and our nation."

Before leaving, Lingle said, she met with 300 members of the state's leadership to discuss financial issues and to map out plans to deal with "what lies ahead in this challenging time."

There are more than 2,200 soldiers in the 29th Brigade Combat Team training at Fort Hood, 1,700 from Hawai'i. The unit went to Iraq in 2004-2005. More than 80 percent of the soldiers from Hawai'i have made at least one combat tour. Some of them have made as many as four.

"The colonel at Fort Hood doing the training of our Guard said it was a pleasure because of the caliber of the 29th brigade," Lingle said. "I was very proud."