Former TSA director talks to Dundee-Crown students
Anyone who thinks teenagers are clueless about current events should have been at Dundee-Crown High School Friday, when retired Rear Adm. David Stone spoke to four classes about his career in national defense.
The District 300 Foundation for Educational Excellence, which supports teachers and students in Community Unit District 300, has named Stone, an Algonquin native and 1970 graduate of Irving Crown High School, as one of the district's 2009 Distinguished Alumni.
During his talk Friday morning, Stone, drawing on his 30 years in the Navy and his stint as director of the Transportation Security Administration, did not shy away from contentious issues such as gays in the military and torture.
The roughly 50 history and government students in attendance kept up with their guest, posing questions about the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and the illegal drug trade.
Here are some of the best exchanges from Stone's one-hour discussion with Dundee-Crown students.
Q: How effective has the U.S. Department of Homeland Security been in the eight years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks?
A: There should be enormous pride that despite its weaknesses ... it has prevented another attack on U.S. soil.
Q: Did the Obama administration's release of previously classified documents detailing the CIA's use of torture make us less safe?
A: I think it did zero harm to our national security. We don't need to torture in order to win. We're the good guys.
Q: In your role as an assistant secretary for homeland security, how did you balance your personal appreciation for diversity and your professional duty to secure the country's borders?
A: You don't just arrest everybody who is trying to make a better living. There has to be a human element to that.
Q: Should gay men and women be allowed to serve openly in the military?
A: A person should be judged on their conduct, not their sexual preference.
Q: How do you balance security and freedom?
A: It's important that we don't give up our core values to protect ourselves. What we're admired for is not our aircraft carriers. What we're admired for is our respect for freedom.
Q: What is your position on gun rights?
A: I'm proud to be on the board of (major gun manufacturer) Smith & Wesson. A person should have the right to bear arms. They just have to be regulated.