Tweet
'Eye-opening' trip takes civic leaders overseas
By VINCE DEVLIN of the Missoulian
26 Sept 04
The C-17 fell 20,000 feet in the space of 60 seconds.
Then it dropped 13,000 more feet in 30 seconds.
"My stomach's still somewhere over Guam," said Bryan Ardouny of
Missoula, who was on the U.S. military flight. "If you hadn't heeded
their request and strapped in your briefcase, it was floating 10 feet
in the air and heading for the front of the plane."
The C-17 crew had asked the 50 civilians on board if they minded
participating in a tactical descent landing.
"They told us it was an exercise," Ardouny, a real estate agent for
Lambros Realty, said. "When a C-17 is flying in with cargo in a war
area, oftentimes they come in under hostile fire, so they have to
practice coming in fast and hard. They asked us first, and not exactly
knowing all the details, we said yes."
Ardouny participated in the Defense Department's Joint Civilian
Orientation Conference earlier this month. The weeklong program has
brought together 50 civic leaders from around the country every year
since 1948 to inform them about national defense issues.
Ardouny was nominated in his capacity as executive director of the
Armenian American Political Action Committee.
Other participants included the lieutenant governor of Massachusetts,
the mayor of Yuma, Ariz., the CEOs of Jelly Belly Candy Co. and Vail
Resorts, the head of a Spokane credit union and the president of a
sand and gravel company in Rapid City, S.D.
"It was eye-opening in two ways," Ardouny said. "One, we all hear
about Iraq and Afghanistan, but I don't think people are aware of the
defense of this country taking place in the Pacific. And two, it's
amazing to see these young people, in their early 20s, how
well-trained they are, how articulate they are, and confident, and
really dedicated to fulfilling whatever mission they're assigned to,
whether they're a guard at a gate or the pilot of a plane or on the
crew of an aircraft carrier. It really left an impression on me."
The group met in Hawaii on Sept. 11, and went on to Korea, Japan,
Singapore and Guam as they visited bases for the Army, Navy, Air
Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
The goal of the program "is to reach individuals who have neutral,
negative, or unformed opinions on DOD or the U.S. military" according
to the Department of Defense. Participants pay a registration fee and
for their transportation to and from the conference's origination
point.
Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, briefed the
group on threats facing the United States.
"The Pacific Command is becoming a center of gravity for security
measures," Ardouny said. "Especially when you look at North Korea
possibly developing the technology to reach the U.S. with nuclear
weapons."
He was also struck by "how the Coast Guard is really on the front line
in helping to secure our ports, patrolling shipping lanes, doing cargo
container inspections, making sure what happened on the USS Cole
doesn't happen again."
Ardouny occasionally worked on issues important to Armenian Americans
while serving as legal counsel for U.S. Rep. Michael Bilirakis,
R-Fla., and later was deputy executive director and director of
government relations at the Armenian Assembly of America in
Washington, D.C.
The West Palm Beach, Fla., native and graduate of Hofstra University
and California Western School of Law moved to Missoula 18 months ago
to be closer to family.
His grandparents escaped the Armenian genocide in what is present-day
Turkey in 1915 and came to America.
Armenia, which gained its independence in 1991 with the collapse of
the Soviet Union, is a Christian and democratic country surrounded by
Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
The political action committee he directs works with politicians on
both sides of the aisle, he said, on issues important to Armenian
Americans.
"Like any American, they're worried about taxes, health care,
education and affordable housing," Ardouny said.
But they're also concerned with Turkey's blockade of Armenia. Turkey
supported Azerbaijan, which engaged in ethnic cleansing of Armenians
in Nagorno Karabakh. Armenia won a five-year war to take control of
the territory inside Azerbaijan's borders, and a fragile cease-fire
exists.
Ardouny's PAC works to educate politicians about the situation there,
and hopes the United States will lean on Turkey to end the blockade.
Ardouny, who left for a conference in Armenia on Saturday, said his
participation in the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference should help
as Armenia seeks American assistance and training for its military.
Reporter Vince Devlin can be reached at 523-5260 or at
[email protected]
By VINCE DEVLIN of the Missoulian
26 Sept 04
The C-17 fell 20,000 feet in the space of 60 seconds.
Then it dropped 13,000 more feet in 30 seconds.
"My stomach's still somewhere over Guam," said Bryan Ardouny of
Missoula, who was on the U.S. military flight. "If you hadn't heeded
their request and strapped in your briefcase, it was floating 10 feet
in the air and heading for the front of the plane."
The C-17 crew had asked the 50 civilians on board if they minded
participating in a tactical descent landing.
"They told us it was an exercise," Ardouny, a real estate agent for
Lambros Realty, said. "When a C-17 is flying in with cargo in a war
area, oftentimes they come in under hostile fire, so they have to
practice coming in fast and hard. They asked us first, and not exactly
knowing all the details, we said yes."
Ardouny participated in the Defense Department's Joint Civilian
Orientation Conference earlier this month. The weeklong program has
brought together 50 civic leaders from around the country every year
since 1948 to inform them about national defense issues.
Ardouny was nominated in his capacity as executive director of the
Armenian American Political Action Committee.
Other participants included the lieutenant governor of Massachusetts,
the mayor of Yuma, Ariz., the CEOs of Jelly Belly Candy Co. and Vail
Resorts, the head of a Spokane credit union and the president of a
sand and gravel company in Rapid City, S.D.
"It was eye-opening in two ways," Ardouny said. "One, we all hear
about Iraq and Afghanistan, but I don't think people are aware of the
defense of this country taking place in the Pacific. And two, it's
amazing to see these young people, in their early 20s, how
well-trained they are, how articulate they are, and confident, and
really dedicated to fulfilling whatever mission they're assigned to,
whether they're a guard at a gate or the pilot of a plane or on the
crew of an aircraft carrier. It really left an impression on me."
The group met in Hawaii on Sept. 11, and went on to Korea, Japan,
Singapore and Guam as they visited bases for the Army, Navy, Air
Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.
The goal of the program "is to reach individuals who have neutral,
negative, or unformed opinions on DOD or the U.S. military" according
to the Department of Defense. Participants pay a registration fee and
for their transportation to and from the conference's origination
point.
Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, briefed the
group on threats facing the United States.
"The Pacific Command is becoming a center of gravity for security
measures," Ardouny said. "Especially when you look at North Korea
possibly developing the technology to reach the U.S. with nuclear
weapons."
He was also struck by "how the Coast Guard is really on the front line
in helping to secure our ports, patrolling shipping lanes, doing cargo
container inspections, making sure what happened on the USS Cole
doesn't happen again."
Ardouny occasionally worked on issues important to Armenian Americans
while serving as legal counsel for U.S. Rep. Michael Bilirakis,
R-Fla., and later was deputy executive director and director of
government relations at the Armenian Assembly of America in
Washington, D.C.
The West Palm Beach, Fla., native and graduate of Hofstra University
and California Western School of Law moved to Missoula 18 months ago
to be closer to family.
His grandparents escaped the Armenian genocide in what is present-day
Turkey in 1915 and came to America.
Armenia, which gained its independence in 1991 with the collapse of
the Soviet Union, is a Christian and democratic country surrounded by
Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
The political action committee he directs works with politicians on
both sides of the aisle, he said, on issues important to Armenian
Americans.
"Like any American, they're worried about taxes, health care,
education and affordable housing," Ardouny said.
But they're also concerned with Turkey's blockade of Armenia. Turkey
supported Azerbaijan, which engaged in ethnic cleansing of Armenians
in Nagorno Karabakh. Armenia won a five-year war to take control of
the territory inside Azerbaijan's borders, and a fragile cease-fire
exists.
Ardouny's PAC works to educate politicians about the situation there,
and hopes the United States will lean on Turkey to end the blockade.
Ardouny, who left for a conference in Armenia on Saturday, said his
participation in the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference should help
as Armenia seeks American assistance and training for its military.
Reporter Vince Devlin can be reached at 523-5260 or at
[email protected]