It should come as no surprise that life at the Department of Defense never ceases to be uneventful. By the time I arrive in my office before 0800 and leave, there’s been a great deal that certainly keeps me busy and on the move. Besides my current internship project, I attend lectures and presentations featuring prominent military figures.
On October 4th, I attended a meeting at CSIS featuring U.S. Army General Carter Ham, commander of American forces in Africa. On October 17th, I visited the Naval Heritage Foundation at the Navy Yard and had a one-on-one meeting with former Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral James Holloway.
In addition to these events, I’ve manage to personally arrange one-on-one meetings with some of the senior-most military and civilian leaders in the Department of Defense. So far, I’ve met over a dozen of these officials and have another dozen currently scheduled.
For instance, this was the line-up of events today:
• Talked with the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Reserve Matters, Major General Charles Luckey in his office. He advises the Joint Staff on all reserve force matters so he handles a great deal of responsibilities. An Ohio Native, he’s a loyal Browns fan, but just doesn’t get those Buckeyes.
On October 4th, I attended a meeting at CSIS featuring U.S. Army General Carter Ham, commander of American forces in Africa. On October 17th, I visited the Naval Heritage Foundation at the Navy Yard and had a one-on-one meeting with former Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral James Holloway.
In addition to these events, I’ve manage to personally arrange one-on-one meetings with some of the senior-most military and civilian leaders in the Department of Defense. So far, I’ve met over a dozen of these officials and have another dozen currently scheduled.
For instance, this was the line-up of events today:
• Talked with the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for Reserve Matters, Major General Charles Luckey in his office. He advises the Joint Staff on all reserve force matters so he handles a great deal of responsibilities. An Ohio Native, he’s a loyal Browns fan, but just doesn’t get those Buckeyes.
• Had a Burger King lunch with the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General Philip Breedlove and discussed aviation history in his office. As the Number 2 in the Air Force, he helps oversee the training, organizing, and equipping of some 680,000 active-duty, guard, military reserve, and civilian forces. He shared some of his insights and experiences as a F-16 pilot and wing commander of various units over the world.
• Met Deputy Director of Nuclear Operations, Brigadier General Michael Carey in the National Military Command Center in the lower-levels of the Pentagon. Since he’s a Michigan fan, we joked about football and I tried to convince him to go to a Buckeye game. An hour after our meeting, he was promoted to Major General so I’m the last to talk with him as a Brigadier General.
• Finally, attended a presentation by the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army, General Chiarelli at the Willard Hotel discussing the effects of military suicide and the challenges the military faces.
These one-on-one meetings have been a great way to gain a better insight to the leadership roles within the DoD. Following these half-hour to an hour meetings, I’ve collected a great deal of business cards, military challenge coins, gained additional DoD contacts, been added to invite lists for future military functions in DC, kicked back and joked with the top generals and admirals, and been offered to come back to their office(s) to further discuss career opportunities.
Needless to say, I think I’ll return home with a great deal of military, DoD contacts.
KN
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