SPS 2016: Fantastic Final Field Trip to the Pentagon to Attend the Daily Press Briefing

St. Albans school of Public Service Class of 2016 with Pentagon Press Secretary Mr. George Cook

As the four weeks of the 2016 St. Albans School of Public Service draw to a close, we took our last field trip of the session -- and it was a great one.  During our visit to the Pentagon today, we began with a tour of the building.  The different art collections celebrating Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines were of great interest, and then we were able to spend a contemplative few minutes at the 9/11 Memorial honoring the victims of the September 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon.

Even with the fantastic tour, the highlight of the day was still to come.  We were fortunate enough to be able to attend Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook's briefing of reporters.  (CLICK HERE for a link to his briefing -- at the very beginning he welcomes SPS!)  After the briefing, Mr. Cook, Colonel Steven Warren (Director of Defense Press Operations), and Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs Ms. Kelly Magsamen met with SPS 2016 and answered questions from our group on issues ranging from the future of the F-35 jet to the recent ruling of the Hague about territorial claims of China in the South China Sea.

Throw in a few great photo ops (see below -- from the top: Nina, Bradford, and Zoe), and there couldn't have been a better trip for our last SPS 2016 field trip.