The Lunch

My boss asked me to attend the Board of Directors (BOD) lunch on his behalf since he would be visiting a project site last Friday. I was honored to be at the lunch table with General Petraeus and his senior staff. Since the Gulf Region Division (GRD) is one of the major supporting commands (MSC) to the organization that he commands (Multi-National Forces – Iraq or MNF-I), he has given us a seat at his board meetings. I was the only Air Force officer in the room and the lowest ranking of the board members (a 4-star general, three 3-stars, five 2-stars, a 1-star and me). We had salmon, potatoes, steamed vegetables, salad, desert and a variety of beverages to choose (I drank my typical water). General Petraeus sits at the head of the table and there is a screen and video projector at the other (not used this time). My commanding general (CG) and I prepared some items to share specifically for the BOD lunch and he warned me that GRD always goes first. After we ate and enjoyed some casual conversation, General Petraeus looked down the table toward me and said, “Let’s go ahead and start … Sir”. Overall, I was humbled to be there with our senior leaders and a part of the warm and collegiate atmosphere he has created as part of his “commander’s climate”.