Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is in the Middle East today visiting service members from his state stationed there, as the AP first reported. The announcement of the surprise trip just happens to come one day after McDonnell released a statement saying he and his wife Maureen repaid more than $124,000 in loans from benefactor Johnnie R. Williams Sr. He also apologized for the “embarrassment” his relationship with the Star Scientific Inc. executive caused the people of Virginia.

McDonnell, traveling with Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, visited Walter Reed National Medical Center on Monday then flew to the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait. The delegation then traveled to Kabul on Wednesday, where McDonnell met with constituents from Virginia.

In a very patriotic statement about his first trip to the countries, McDonnell said as an Army veteran it was “particularly meaningful to me to have had this opportunity to visit our troops serving in Kuwait and Afghanistan, including members of the Virginia National Guard.”

“Freedom is not free, and the courageous men and women of the American military are heroes,” he continued. “We salute them.”

McDonnell is expected to return Friday from his trip, according to the statement. He told the AP he will not discuss his loan repayment until then.

In his royal baby-timed mea culpa yesterday, McDonnell maintained he had not committed a crime. He later told NBC4 he would not resign: “I love this job.”