U.S. Army General Joseph Votel made a secret visit to Syria on Saturday in order to meet with local Arab and Kurdish fighters near the Turkish border.

General Votel visited several sites where U.S. Army personnel are training Syrian Arab fighters from from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria.

Accompanied by a small group of reporters, General Votel’s whereabouts were kept secret due to security reasons; however, he did issue a public statement.

“I have responsibility for this mission, and I have responsibility for the people that we put here,” Army Gen. Joseph Votel said in an interview as dusk fell on the remote outpost where he had arrived 11 hours earlier.

“So it’s imperative for me to come and see what they’re dealing with — to share the risk they are dealing with.”

General Votel is the highest ranking U.S. military officer that has visited Syria since the inception of their airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS).