Photo By Staff Sgt. Leon Cook | U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Stephen R. Lanza, I Corps commanding general, greets civilian aides...... read more read more
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JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. - Sixty-eight civilian aides to the secretary of the Army, or CASAs, representing the 50 states, five territories, and the District of Columbia, met at Joint Base Lewis-McChord for the 59th annual CASA conference June 23.
CASAs give the secretary of the Army feedback on the impression of the Army in their communities while working with individual service members and their families to help improve their quality of life, said Laura DeFrancisco, the director of the CASA program.
“Every year, we try to take the CASAs to a different Army installation so they can learn a different mission and learn something new about the Army, because wherever they are, they get to know that area very, very well,” DeFrancisco said. “They can take that back to their communities and have a little more knowledge and understanding about the Army, more than just what’s in their area.”
This year’s three-day conference kicked off at the American Lake Conference Center when Lt. Gen. Stephen R. Lanza, I Corps commanding general, gave the assembled aides an overview of the functions and capabilities of I Corps, as well as the corps’ new focus on the Pacific.
CASAs then traveled to the joint base’s Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention Resource Center to learn about the steps the Army is taking to protect Soldiers.
Aides from east of the Mississippi River ate lunch at Arrowhead Inn, while those west of the Mississippi went to Courage Inn. Any questions as to why they were broken up geographically were answered when CASAs arrived to find Soldiers from the areas they represent waiting to eat with them.
“We had a great time talking about home, about family, and about their future in the military,” said retired Brig. Gen. Tracy Beckette, CASA for eastern Missouri, who had lunch with two Soldiers from the St. Louis area.
CASAs got back on the bus for a tour of JBLM which ended at McChord Field. There they saw a demonstration of the joint expeditionary capabilities JBLM has to offer via a Stryker manned by Soldiers with 3-2 Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division loading onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. Some CASAs then boarded the same aircraft and took a short flight to Gray Army Airfield.
The C-17 flight was Beckette’s favorite part of the day.
“I had never been in [a C-17] before,” Beckette said. “I’ve always wanted to see how they operate so that was pretty exciting.”
More demonstrations awaited the CASAs when they landed including rides in 3-2 SBCT Strykers, weapons displays from 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), and helicopter displays from the Washington Army National Guard.
Beckette, who served 34 years including time assigned to I Corps, said the tour and displays offered a reassuring view of what today’s Army is capable of.
“I’m very upbeat about the Army. The young men and women that we have in it are positive. They’re well-trained. They have a good sense of what their mission is,” Beckette said.
| Date Taken: | 06.23.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.23.2014 23:05 |
| Story ID: | 134135 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 131 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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