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Brig. Gen. Michele Compton '83 has since completed her tour as deputy director, J5, plans, strategy, and assessments for U.S. forces in Iraq and was the senior female officer serving in that country. She was also the first female graduate of the corps of cadets to attain the rank of general or flag officer. Compton is the proud parent of current cadet Leigh Compton of Kailua, Hawaii, a junior majoring in animal and poultry sciences and pursuing a minor in leadership studies. Leigh is a recipient of both the Emerging Leader and ROTC scholarships.
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For the first time, the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets' highly regarded Gunfighter Panel series was interrupted by incoming fire.
In Iraq.
Thanks to the inspired efforts of Brig. Gen. Michele Compton (geology '83), who was until recently the senior female officer serving in Iraq, cadets spoke directly with corps alumni serving in a combat zone. Called Remote Gunfighter Panels, the events were held this spring as part of the corps' leadership development training.
The videoconferences are a spinoff of the Gunfighter Panels the corps has sponsored on campus for the past 13 semesters. In the traditional Gunfighter Panel, three or four alumni return to campus as part of the Leaders in Action lecture series hosted by the corps' Rice Center for Leader Development. The officers share combat deployment experiences, lessons learned, and leadership challenges and discuss how their corps experiences prepared them for life after college.
Using the new Global Technology Center in Norris Hall, cadets heard from alumni who were serving in a combat zone at the time. With Compton's help, these lessons came to life in real time from Baghdad--the alumni even had to take an accountability check to see if anyone was injured after receiving incoming fire during one session.
Three remote sessions were held between January and March. About 30 cadets attended each session and asked panelists about their day-to-day lives at Camp Victory in Baghdad and at Contingency Operating Base Adder. Virginia Tech's video/broadcast services recorded each event, and all cadets were able to view the discussion online as part of the corps leadership course.
Besides Compton, the alumni who shared their experiences with cadets were Maj. Rafael "Pete" Pazos (mechanical engineering '93), Maj. Patrick Hogeboom (civil engineering '94), Maj. Heather Clevenger (hospitality and tourism management '99), Capt. George Mallory (interdisciplinary studies '05), 1st Lt. Amir Abu-Akeel (aerospace engineering '06), and 1st Lt. Brian Orlino (management '07), all in the U.S. Army; and Capt. Angela Jacobson (mathematics '00) of the U.S. Air Force.
From Iraq to Blacksburg, the videoconferencing technology gave cadets a valuable insight into what their futures may hold.
