Topeka ? Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will travel next month to visit Kansas troops on peacekeeping duty in Bosnia.

Sebelius, who serves as commander in chief of the Kansas National Guard, will travel with the state adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Greg Gardner, legislators and other Kansas officials.

The five-day trip will begin Aug. 22 in Germany before moving to Bosnia.

About 400 Kansas Army National Guard troops are in Bosnia as part of the 35th Infantry Division, based at Fort Leavenworth. In all, more than 1,000 soldiers from Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Alabama are serving as part of the 35th Division.

Nicole Corcoran, the governor’s spokeswoman, said Sebelius had tried to demonstrate her support for soldiers, airmen and their families since taking office in January.

“She just thought it was important to have a presence over there,” Corcoran said. “It says a lot about a governor who wants to see herself what they are doing and how they are living.”

The governor will travel by military aircraft to Europe, with the state paying for Sebelius’ travel expenses.

Sebelius attended a deployment ceremony for members of the 35th Division in January in Manhattan. Since then, she also has attended other deployment ceremonies for Kansas troops, as well as visiting with the family of Sgt. Jacob Butler, of Wellsville, a soldier based at Fort Riley who was killed April 1 in Iraq.