The Pentagon

Another day of rising early and moving in mass. We had an 8:30 a.m.appointment at the Pentagon. This day had been scheduled by the Department of the Army for us. After going through the security checkpoints and getting our official visitor badges, we were escorted to meet the honorable Pete Geren, the Secretary of the Army. We took pictures with him and then we were lead to a conference room for a question and answer session with him. We kept him plenty busy! The kids asked insightful and interesting questions. He maintains a busy schedule so we were delighted to have an audience with him. After a short break, we had the opportunity to hear from 3 highly ranked officials who briefed us on what it was like to be a soldier from a variety of perspectives. The first was Major General Bergner who was impressive to say the least. He was followed by Colonel Potter and Lt.Col. McLeary who all spoke of their experience in the military as well as their current assignments. Again, the students asked insightful and probing questions. (can you tell how proud I am of them?) After all was said and done, we were lead on a short tour of the Pentagon which included the 9/11 memorial. I think we were all moved by that; it was sad. The tour ended at the food court which was one of many. It included McDonalds, Taco Bell, Panda Express, etc.; the kids were thrilled. Yes, there is a gift shop in the Pentagon and 29 of us descended upon it. We departed and agreed that the Pentagon was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. We could not have asked for more gracious hosts. We owe a special thanks for Lt. Col. Odom for being such a terrific escort. He's the one in the camo that is in the picture. We were all trying to convince him that he needed to come and speak to our classes. We'll see....

With a couple of hours to spare, we decided to go to Arlington National Cemetary to watch the changing of the guard. It was a moving and reverent tribute and one that every American should see. Then, it was back to the hotel. Tonight is the farewell banquet and tomorrow we depart for home. It will be sad to leave but I think that all of us would agree that it has truly been the trip of a lifetime. Get ready, we are armed with lots of stories!