Barrington man gets inside look at U.S. forces
In a whirlwind week that included stops in Cuba, Brazil, Colombia and Honduras, Barrington's Dirk Beveridge got a rare civilian's look inside the U.S. military.
The president of a marketing and leadership development firm and organizer of Barrington's Family Freedom Festival, Beveridge, 46, was chosen to participate in the Department of Defense's 75th Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, which took place last month.
Started in 1948, this military version of a citizens police academy is the oldest existing Pentagon outreach program.
Program Director Anne MacDonald said its goal is to give civilians insight into daily military life and how their tax dollars are spent.
"We hope they all come out of this with a much better understanding of what the military is doing on their behalf and on behalf of other countries," she said.
Beveridge was among nearly 50 business, civic and education leaders selected from more than 400 applicants, all of whom were nominated by officials in the Department of Defense.
Others included David Oreck, founder of the vacuum company; Michael McKinney, chancellor of the Texas A&M University System; and Terry Strle, the mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska.
Beveridge was nominated by Lt. Col. Jack Amberg, director of Chicago's Army Public Affairs Office, and Deputy Director Brandi Schiff.
They met Beveridge through his work with the Family Freedom Festival, held in Barrington around the Sept. 11 anniversary -- this year it's Sept. 6 -- to "celebrate our freedom, our way of life and the goodness of America."
"He is a true patriot," Amberg said. "His organization (We Do Care) does a lot for troops."
The trip, which cost each attendee $3,500, was truly hands-on.
"We keep the briefings to a minimum and … the experiential learning to the highest level," MacDonald said.
While their tour might have been heavily structured and controlled, Beveridge said participants were given no restrictions on what they could say about it.
"It was an open book," he said. "They encouraged us to audiotape, photograph and videotape everything."
Stops on the seven-day trip included the Pentagon; Guantanamo Bay; an aircraft carrier off the Brazilian coast; three Colombian cities; the Joint Task Force-Bravo station in Honduras; the Joint Interagency Task Force in Key West, Fla.; and the U.S. Southern Command Station in Miami.
Guantanamo Bay
After Pentagon briefings and a visit to its 9/11 memorial, the group boarded a C-17 cargo plane for Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It was Beveridge's first time on a military base.
"There was a McDonald's and a grocery," he said. "I (had) thought it was a little place with some detention facilities."
Weapons training was first, and Beveridge got to take aim with 50-mm and 16-mm rifles.
"I have a new appreciation for sharpshooters," he said. "I could not hit the target."
The group also toured Camp Justice as officials there prepared for upcoming trials of Iraqi detainees.
"We went and saw the court facility that they were just completing so the commission hearings can begin," he said. "We saw the holding facilities and we learned about the process they are going to be going through."
Though access was admittedly limited -- the group saw medium-level prisoners but had very limited access to high-level detainees -- Beveridge said he saw no evidence of poor treatment.
"Everyone still has that mental picture of Camp X-Ray, but that is the furthest from what is going on down at Guantanamo Bay," he said.
Off Brazilian coast
Next was the U.S.S. George Washington aircraft carrier off the coast of Brazil, where the group spent five hours touring the hangar, battle stations and communication operations.
Landing on the massive carrier was among Beveridge's most memorable experiences. The group flew in on a C-2A "Greyhound," known as a Carrier Onboard Delivery Aircraft.
A highlight was the aircraft maneuvers, which he said seemed like they were happening just 10 feet off the side of the carrier.
"They put on quite an air show for us. It was almost like you could reach out and touch them," he said. "You cannot help but be amazed by the technology, the capabilities and the power of those aircraft and of those individuals who are flying them."
Colombia
Here, the group learned about operations to halt drug trafficking. The country was not what Beveridge expected.
"Colombia, while they have their challenges, is a vibrant country," he said "The people of Colombia are just great, kind people."
From 4 feet away, the group watched a Colombian Special Forces unit perform a hostage rescue drill.
"They are using live explosives and live bullets," he said. "When they breached that door -- bam! -- you feel the power of that across your flak jacket. You feel it across your helmet, and you are scared to death."
That's a feeling Beveridge said he'll never forget.
"I stood there for three minutes frozen, scared to death, and I wasn't even in harm's way," he said. "It was just a simulation."
Honduras
At Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras, Beveridge said the group got to see the military's humanitarian side.
"We had a chance to leave the confines of the air base and visit a village where our military has an initiative going on to build schools, clinics, and lavatories," he said.
The base is home to Joint Task Force-Bravo, comprised of 550 U.S. military personnel and more than 650 U.S. and Honduran civilians. Since 1983, it's provided support for joint training exercises.
A highlight was being able to help pass out school supplies to needy children.
"You should have seen their faces," Beveridge said.
Key West
The last stop was Florida to learn about the Coast Guard, where the group got a sense of what it's like for the guard to speed out into the middle of the ocean to confront boats making illegal approaches to U.S. waters.
He said he left with a newfound respect for the guard.
"I think (it's) the forgotten branch of the services," he said. "What they do is dangerous, dangerous work."
More information
• For more on the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, see defenselink.mil/home/features/2008/0408_jcoc75/index.html.