3/12: Lt. General (Ret.) Colby Broadwater: American College of Building Arts

March 12, 2019:  Our club was treated to a visit and tour of the American College of the Building Arts.

Founded in the aftermath of hurricane Hugo, the ACBA started in 1999 as a series of workshops and classes in different locations to respond to the lack of artisans made apparent by the rebuilding after Hugo. In 2004, ACBA was licensed by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education to recruit students for a Bachelor of Applied Science and an Associate of Applied Science in the building arts. In 2009 the College hired Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Colby M. Broadwater III as President of the College. Lt. Gen Broadwater gave us the overview of the program. Continue reading “3/12: Lt. General (Ret.) Colby Broadwater: American College of Building Arts”

3/5: Nick Wackym – War on Terror in Afghanistan

March 5, 2019:  Nick Wackym, retired USAF, joined our meeting and gave a gripping first-hand account of the early stage of the War on Terror in Afghanistan in the days after September 11, 2001. In addition to being a USAF pilot, Nick was Special Operations Forces (SOF), Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and more recently a private counter-intelligence advisor in Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, and South America. Continue reading “3/5: Nick Wackym – War on Terror in Afghanistan”

2/12: Pat Keaveny: USS Charleston

February 12, 2019:  Our club learned about the commissioning of the USS Charleston Littoral Combat Ship 18, from Patrick ‘Pat’ Keaveny.  Pat has been in the Defense Contracting industry for the past 15+ years, all in the Charleston, SC area.  In addition to serving as the Chairperson of the USS CHARLESTON (LCS 18) Commissioning Committee, Pat presently serves as President, Charleston Council, Navy League of the United States. As a Naval Officer, he served for 30 years in innumerable assignments with notable reserve mobilization tours as Chief Staff Officer to Naval Surface Group Mediterranean, as Counter-Drug Liaison to JIATF-East/USSOUTHCOM, and as Force Protection Director for the Surface Reserve Force following the attacks of 11 September 2001.  He retired in 2002 at the rank of Captain. Continue reading “2/12: Pat Keaveny: USS Charleston”