President DePaolo attends Defense Department conference

Georgia College & State University President Rosemary DePaolo recently took a trip to Washington D.C.

DePaolo accepted an invitation from the Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld to participate in the Defense Department’s Educators and Defense Conference from Oct. 7 through Oct. 10.

The conference, which gave participants an opportunity to learn first-hand about U.S. military personnel, their equipment, capabilities and national defense strategies, included a tour of a flight on military aircraft and a chance to observe amphibious landings, urban area combat techniques and more.

“I had breakfast with three marines that day, had the chance to talk to them for about 45 minutes. That was tremendously interesting, to see people your age and then the age of GC&SU’s students, that had just come back from Afghanistan,” said DePaolo.

As a guest of the Secretary of Defense, DePaolo visited military bases of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.

The program began in Washington, D.C., where DePaolo met Defense Department leaders including Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Richard B. Myers and other senior military and civilian officials.

“The best part of the trip was the last day at Camp Tribune because there was a lot of action,” said DePaolo. “From planes landing on the beach, to watching artillery shooting from over head, we had to wear ear plugs the entire day.”

The team then traveled by military aircraft to Langley Air Force Base to meet fighter pilots and crews that have supported the world wide Air Force mission. Next they went to Fort Eustis, Va., where they trained side by side with enlisted men and women repairing helicopters and managing water craft in a simulation trainer designed to train crews on water port procedures.

The next day, participants moved on to the Joint Forces Command and visited the Defense Department’s premier Joint War Fighting Center where leaders train in a simulated and real world training environment.

Next was the U.S. Naval Facility, in Norfolk, Va., where they boarded an aircraft carrier and toured other Navy ships and submarines.

“They talked to me about the mine fields and the possibility of now going to Iraq. The comparison to all of you (GC&SU students) was never out of my mind. Think what would happen if the draft was in effect today,” said DePaolo.

They then traveled to Camp Lejeune, N.C., where the Marine Corps executed operations exercise showcasing the combat power of its Marine Air-Ground Task Force.

The conference is part of the Secretary of Defense’s premier civic leader program known as the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference or JCOC. JCOC was initiated in 1948 and has introduced thousands of community leaders to the Department of Defense. Although they get to experience the military first-hand, the participants pay all of their own expenses, including travel to and from the conference, lodging and meals.

“The most important thing I learned was how well trained the military is,” said DePaolo.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Oct 30 2002. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry