Fresh from his testimony before Congress, Gen. David Petraeus, head of U.S. military forces in Iraq, was in Atlanta tonight to speak to the 82nd Airborne Division Association awards banquet.

Petraeus, who recently returned to the States to give an assessment of the war in Iraq, said he wouldn't speak much about the conflict tonight.

"I'm here to honor all of these men," he said, gesturing to the many retired and active airborne infantrymen and women in attendance. "They're all heroes."

The general declined to release a written copy of his speech.

Retired Col. Ross Goddard, of Decatur, said he was proud of the general, who served with the 82nd.

"We're here to honor him," Goddard said. "I think he's the next Chief of Staff. There's no one better qualified."

Craig Meyer, of Cumming, spent three years in the 82nd Airborne as an infantryman and he said he came to show his support.

"He, in my opinion, has probably the toughest job in the world right now," Meyer said.

Despite Petraeus' stated plan to eschew talk of the war, many here are hoping to here some good news from the front lines.

"I hope he'll say that the troops are doing a good job," Meyer said.

Don Lassen, who organized the banquet, said the general should feel comfortable with fellow 82nd Airborne members.

"He's among friends," Lassen said.

Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad, this week gave two days of testimony before a skeptical Congress. They said the U.S. should temporarily halt its withdrawals of troops from Iraq once force levels reach 140,000 this summer, allowing the effects of the drawdowns to be evaluated.

On Thursday, President Bush ordered an indefinite halt in U.S. troop withdrawals from Iraq after July. Bush said Petraeus will "have all the time he needs" to consider when more forces could return home.

The president also announced he will seek to relieve the heavy strain on the Army by reducing the length of combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan to 12 months, down from the current level of 15 months. The change takes effect Aug. 1 and will not affect U.S. forces already deployed on the front lines.

Now in its sixth year, the Iraq war has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 U.S. troops and cost more than $500 billion.

— The Associated Press contributed to this story.