Photo By Karlheinz Wedhorn | Graduates of the U.S. Army Russian Institute in 1983 (above) and those gathered June 4...... read more read more
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GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany – Russian studies and work taking place before the creation of the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies took center stage at a reunion here June 4.
Eight graduates of the U.S. Army Russia Institute gathered at the Marshall Center for a 30th anniversary commemoration. The visitors, all former foreign area officers specializing in Russian/Soviet studies, were guests of the center’s Eurasian Security Studies Department, which is home to the current FAO program.
During the event, visitors received a Marshall Center mission briefing and learned how today’s Eurasian FAO program works. The guests also sat down with retired Lt. Gen. Keith W. Dayton, Marshall Center director and 1979 USARI alumnus, and talked about Marshall Center history and its prospects for the future.
Army Col. Bob Mathers, who runs the FAO program here, said the gathering of the alums and the event was an extremely rewarding opportunity.
“It was amazing to have these folks back in the fold and be able to talk to them about what’s happening now,” said Mathers, also a Eurasian FAO. “They were eager to spend time with General Dayton and I think that conversation went very well.”
The group also ventured to the Marshall Center Research Library. The library is home to one of the largest collection of Russian and Soviet-era periodicals in the region. As for Marshall Center participants now, the library was a vital hub for USARI students then. In conjunction with the anniversary, the library has created an exhibit of books, posters and other periodicals relating to the institute’s past.
The Army started training FAOs here in 1964. USARI, launched in May 1947, closed when the Marshall Center opened in 1993.
The reunion tour finished with a visit to the Nicholson Room in Building 101. Dedicated to Army Maj. Arthur D. Nicholson, a 1982 USARI graduate who was killed in East Germany in 1985, the room contains class pictures for practically every FAO class that have passed through Garmisch since FAOs began training here.
“The room, now a Marshall Center classroom, is the closest thing to a ‘shrine’ for USARI/GCMC-trained FAOs. Most of the visiting alumni personally knew Major Nicholson, thus their visit was a solemn reminder of colleagues both present and no longer present,” Mathers said.
The USARI anniversary comes on the heels of the Marshall Center’s 20th anniversary, which will be commemorated locally June 12.
| Date Taken: | 06.10.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 06.10.2013 10:45 |
| Story ID: | 108393 |
| Location: | GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, BAYERN, DE |
| Web Views: | 1,149 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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