Kansas City (KC) warmly welcomed 120 International Military Officers at a black-tie gala event at the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts (like the Sydney Opera House) on August 21^st, 2015.  The Officers will live at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas for a year or two and attend the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) which is considered the “brain” of the United States Military.  The West Point Glee club provided some lively entertainment for the evening.

The Officers who attend are the cream of the crop from their country with alumni including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Indonesia’s former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, to name a few. 

As Honorary Chair of the gala myself, the KC community and the Officers were deeply impacted by the message of friendship and peace from our guest speaker the Hon. Clive Palmer MP from Australia.   His message influenced the Officers to spend their year focusing on building strong alliances and friendships with each other that they may one day call upon to prevent a war between their respective countries.  Mr. Palmer was the major sponsor of the evening and is also known as the billionaire building the Titanic II. 

Ms. Mary Jean Eisenhower, the Chairman Emeritus of People to People International and the granddaughter of President Dwight also spoke at the gala.  She recalled a Jordanian Officer who attended the CGSC who connected her with the King of Jordan and the peace efforts established through that relationship.

This International Military Officer program has won the United Nations Peacekeepers Award and the relationships established between Officers from 130 different countries over the past  121 years have avoided war and conflict.  The real impact it has had around the world, however, can never truly be known.

Other major sponsors include the Beaham Family with the event dedicated in memory of David Beaham, Faultless Starch, Benny and Edith Lee Owners of Duracomm Corp, and People to People International.

As an Executive Officer Trustee on the Command and General Staff College Foundation Board and the Honorary Chair of the event, it was my absolute honor to help host this very important event.  If you would like any more information about it, or to find out how to be involved next year, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Gabrielle Reilly