By Preston Williams
Alumnus retired Col. Mark D. Troutman speaks at the 2013 Veterans Day Luncheon at the Fairfax Campus. Photo by Alexis Glenn
Retired Army Col. Mark D. Troutman, associate director of George Mason University’s Center for Infrastructure Protection & Homeland Security, told a Veterans Day luncheon audience Monday that veterans at Mason “have been blessed by our nation with the privilege of serving, and serving [at] a university that appreciates that service.”
Troutman, guest speaker at the luncheon in the Meese Conference Room of Mason Hall on the Fairfax Campus, joined the CIP/HS after 28 years in the Army, including deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan and commanding and planning assignments in Europe, South Korea and the Middle East.
“The most sincere form of appreciation you can show a veteran is to partner with them, and translate their unique experience of service into the pursuit that will be the next chapter in their lives,” said Troutman, who earned a PhD in economics at Mason.
“For George Mason, I think the possibilities here are limitless, and our university will be enriched as it enriches the lives of those who have served. Our nation and our world [are] better for the close partnership between our community of veterans and our community of scholars. I really look forward to Mason’s many veteran graduates who are going to turn this world upside down for good.”
About 100 people attended the luncheon, which honored students, alumni, faculty and staff who had served or are serving in the military. The luncheon was one of several campus events in the past week marking Veterans Day.