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Cadets take VIP Tour of Pentagon
Nine FUMA cadets, two staff members and a faculty member had the opportunity of a lifetime on November 14th by taking a VIP Tour of the Pentagon in Washington, DC. "This was not an ordinary tour by any means," states Bev Hanlin, FUMA Registrar and Community Service Coordinator. "When we arrived we were taken to a reception area where at that very moment the first female four-star General, Ann Dunwoody, was being sworn one floor below us and we watched it on the Pentagon network."
The cadets that took the tour included Troy Anthony, Trace Lacour, Jeremy Gencavage, Gunnar Knudson, Caleb Haney, Patrick Hayes, William Wilkinson, Joseph Edwards, Calvin Gudeman and Bennett Wales and Edward Jones. Staff members included Mrs. Hanlin and LTC Giszack, Assistant to the President, and teacher, LTC Hitchcock.
After the swearing in ceremony, the group received a tour of the Pentagon and then they were invited to the office of Admiral Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He greeted each one personally and asked the students about their hometowns, where they wanted to go to college, what plans each of them had for the future. He gave a very inspiring talk to the students and then presented each one with his official coin. A group photo was taken with the nine cadets.
Following the office tour, the cadets and staff were taken to the 911 Chapel which was a very moving and solemn experience. On the departure from the 911 Chapel General Ann Dunwoody and her family were the hallway. They had departed the swearing in ceremony and were on their way to the 911 Chapel.
Finally, the students and staff were treated to lunch in Admiral Mullen’s private dining room. His personal chef came out to greet the group and answered many questions. "It was a fun luncheon," recalled Mrs. Hanlin, "It gave the cadets a chance to inquire about the Admiral's favorite food and find out a little more about the office staff."
During lunch each student was presented with a copy of the photo that had just been taken about an hour earlier with Admiral Mullen. It was in a special folder with the Joint Chief of Staff's seal and it included his signature. Each one also received a baseball with his logo on it.
Upon the return to FUMA the whole group recalled the events of the day and were still amazed as to what each had encountered at the Pentagon. "It truly was an opporutnity of a lifetime and one I don't think any of us will soon forget," recalls Mrs. Hanlin.
Courtesy of Bev Hanlin
Posted by Elizabeth Liles, Monday, November 24, 2008 01:25 PM
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