Save the Date for the Annual Veteran’s Day Barbecue

Military students, veterans and family members, please join us on Tuesday, November 11, 2014 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for the annual Veteran’s Day Barbecue in the Washington Hall Towers (4th floor). It’s only a short walk across campus for pulled pork, baked beans, coleslaw and dessert. If you have time, stay to play a game of Corn Hole or enter the putting contest.

Staff and student veterans in the Office of Military & Veterans Services hope you will allow us to commemorate your service to our country with food, fellowship and fun!

Military Meet and Greet Kicks off the Fall 2014 Semester with a Thunk

Approximately 100 students, faculty and staff attended the Military/Veteran Meet & Greet Drop-In which was hosted by the Office of Military & Veterans Services (MVS) on Tuesday, September 30 in the Jaguar Student Activities Ballroom from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Representa-tives from the Augusta Warrior Project, Charlie Nor-wood VA Medical Center, Counseling Center, Element Funding, Military Science Department, Reese Library, Testing & Disability Services, SCORE, Student Veteran’s Organization, Vet Center, Veteran’s Curation Program, and Women Veterans of the CSRA were present to dis-cuss ways their organizations serve veterans.

Attendees enjoyed cake, ice cream, cookies and punch. Students participated in games and activities as corn hole bags flew through the air and landed with a thunk. Ed Harvey, MVS VA work-study student, defeated all contenders. He will be defending his Corn Hole championship at the annual Veteran’s Barbecue on November 11. MVS thanks all who participated, especially our event sponsors, Element Funding and SCORE.

Never Leave a Fellow Veteran Behind Across GRU campuses, veterans are making excellent grades, providing leadership in their classes, and graduating. They bring their experiences, discipline and a world view that few non-military stu-dents can match. Still, the traditional college classroom may be a very different environment than vet-erans are accustomed to. To assist new veteran students with the transition from the duty assignment to the classroom, the Office of Military & Veterans Services launched the VET 2 VET Mentoring Program this semester.

By introduction, our mentors are military veteran students who want to share what they’ve learned with others. Meet Adrienne Kambouris, Pre-Medicine major; Courtney Fairchild, Pre-PA (Physician Assistant) major; Shayla Born, Education major; Lillian Varner, Sociology major; Francesca De Rienzo, Business major; Brendon Ricciardi, Communications major; and Leslie Dodson, Business major. In some cases, mentors can provide tutoring in selected subjects as well.

If you are a veteran and would like a student mentor, please contact Carol Giardina at cgiardin@gru.edu or call 706-667-4087. We look forward to serving you!

The Green Zone: Safe Spaces for Veterans at Georgia Regents University

Staff from the Office of Military & Veterans Services attended a one-day Green Zone Training Work-shop at Armstrong Atlantic State University in September. We are excited about this program and plan

to bring it to Georgia Regents University. The Green Zone provides training for faculty and staff so they can better understand the issues that military veterans face when they return to the classroom. Training is offered in three phases. First, there is a general introduction to the program and recruitment of trainees. Next, trainees visit a military installation to learn more about what service members actually do every day. Finally, a panel of veterans pro-

vides information about why they returned to school, what barriers they encountered, and what helped them or hindered them. Faculty and staff who complete the training receive a Green Zone sticker to post on their doors. They will have access to a web site with resources to assist veterans who experience road blocks or problems. It is our goal to become as military helpful as possible on the GRU campus. If you have ideas about ways to accomplish this, please share them with Carol Giardina at cgiardin@gru.edu or call 706-667-4087.

What’s on Your Mind?

Come to room 314 in the Reese Library, on Tuesday, November 18, 2014 to participate in a Veteran’s Discussion Group. It’s a time to meet others and discuss the important issues of your day with a group of your peers. Mark the event on your calendar now and join us in November. We hope to meet you there!

Ft. Gordon GRU Host Peach Belt Championship Cross-Country Race

On November 8, 2014, Georgia Regents University will host NCAA Division II Peach Belt Champi-onships at Ft. Gordon. Head Cross-country and Track Coach Adam Ward says, “The conference cham-pionships will start at 9 and 9:45 a.m. at Barton Field. We will be happy to have volunteers help with course set-up on Friday, November 7, 2014, approximately noon - 3 p.m. — if there are enough helpers, it won’t take quite that long. If you can’t volunteer on November 7, please come to the Championships and cheer on the Jags as we compete on November 8th. Thanks for your support!”

Military Appreciation Week Scheduled February 16-21 In 2015, GRU and the Athletics Department have extended Military Appreciation Day to Military Appreciation Week. The week of activities will culminate in the Homecoming game with Lander at the Christenberry Fieldhouse on February 21 at noon, and will be broadcast to over 100 million homes by CBS. Please save the dates and look for future announcements.

Two GRU Veterans Capture Savannah River Remediation Internships

On September 22, 2014, Patrick Fitzgerald (Pre-engineering major) and Harry Zane (AIST major) captured paid internship positions with Savannah River Remediation (SRR). SRR President and Project Manager Stuart Mac Vean has this to say about the company’s mission, “Since our U.S. Department of Energy Savannah River Site (SRS) liquid waste disposition contract began in 2009, Savannah

River Remediation (SRR) has been committed to reducing our state’s number one environmental risk: Cold War legacy liquid waste.” The internships not only provide significant supplemental income and degree-related work experience, but may eventually lead to full-time employment.

Beyond the internship’s tangible advantages, Fitzgerald said, “This is an opportunity for employment in a unique environment, where people are actively working to safely clean and remove some very nasty, harmful things from our community. I’ve always believed that the path to a better future is paved with new methods and hard work, and I’m happy to have the opportunity to be part of a team of people that will leave a lasting, positive mark!”

Harry Zane has this to say about his SRR internship, “This is the experience of a lifetime due to the moral support from the receptive team members at Savannah River Site (SRS) and SRR Cyber Security. It is a blessing with benefits because they put no demands on you and support you during every step of the integration process. This win-win scenario is a testament to our local community and has made the quality of my life so much better.”

Workforce Study Program and ADP Offer Part-Time Work and Training Experiences for Veterans

Qualified veterans are invited to apply to the Veterans Workforce Study Program. Classes begin December 2014. Selected applicants will participate in a 20-week academic program which leads to a Certificate in Business Operations Support from Georgia Tech Professional Education. After successful completion of the certificate, veterans will work full-time as consultants at ADP and may lead to permanent employment. To apply, go to

www.wforce.org and click on the “VETERANS” tab.

Research Librarian, Carol Waggoner-Angleton: Research Assistance for You

Starting November 12 and lasting until December 10, 2014, Carol Angleton Waggoner will be in the Military Resource Center (Washington Hall, room 234) on Wednesdays from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. to assist students with research methods for papers and projects. Don’t hesitate to contact her for an appointment at cwaggon@gru.edu or stop by the MRC on Wednesdays from11-2 p.m. beginning on November 12, 2014.

GRU Cyber Education Summit Opens Dialogue

Georgia Regents University held its first Cyber Educa-tion Summit on Thursday, October 23, 2014 in its beautiful J. Harold Harrison, M.D. Education Commons Building on the Health Sciences Campus. The honorary host was

Saxby Chambliss, Georgia Senator and Vice Chairman of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelli-gence. Senator Chambliss said audiences are very attentive when dangers like terrorist attacks are the topic; however, he can see eyes in the audience glaze over when he speaks about less tangible threats that occur in the cyber domain. Senator Chambliss introduced the keynote speaker, Admiral Michael S. Rogers, Commander, U.S. Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency who ad-dressed more than 700 members of the community including GRU students, military personnel, leaders of business and industry, and GRU educators as well as educators from several other colleges and uni-versities.

Admiral Roger’s remarks centered on these topics: cyber partnerships, cyber ethics and cyber re-cruitment. He said, “Cyber is the ultimate team sport—it develops strong partnerships and doesn’t recognize geography. We must have a dialogue with others in our society about the importance of protection from cyber threats.” There are fourteen domains of cyber threat which impact our national security including, but not limited to, our energy grid, our financial institutions, technology research & development, counterterrorism, and our communications network. We use many of these resources in these domains each day and simply take most for granted. Roger’s burning question was, “How do we develop these partnerships between government and private industry?”

In addition, Rogers made these comments about the National Security Agency, “NSA Georgia has amazing cyber and technical capabilities… it is the largest entity at Ft. Gordon.” Although much has been reported about NSA’s alleged illegal activities, reviews by two Congres-sional committees have determined that NSA did not violate laws. Rogers further stated, “NSA employees do not care about receiving credit but have a sense of work-ing for some greater good…The agency is accountable to the citizens of the nation we defend.” He says that those with cyber defense skills command higher salaries in private industry. Those employed at NSA work there because they are determined to develop counterterrorism measures, locate vulnerabilities in a dynamic environment and create defensive intervention to serve and protect the nation.

Rogers closed by describing the ideal cyber defender. According to him, these individuals need four qualities: aptitude, curiosity, creativity and persistence. “We (at NSA) need a system to asses these qual-ities. Once selected, cyber defenders need to be taught a core set of standards and receive a continuum of training.”

The following breakout sessions were offered in the afternoon and included esteemed moderators and panelists from all over the nation: Industry & Cyber Security: How Industry Supports the DoD and Homeland Cyber Mission; Higher Education & Cyber Security: The CAE (Center for Academic Excel-lence) Process; and Industry & Cyber Security: Grooming Youth for Careers in Military Cyber Security. Organization of the summit, which began with outreach in the Office of Government Relations and Community Affairs, involved many GRU departments during implementation and execution. Follow-ing the event, Monty Philpot, GRU Government Relations, thanked all who worked to make the summit a success. Her words were echoed by many, the Cyber Education Summit was a wonderful “opportunity to shine a national spotlight on our great university, GRU employees, and our hometown.”