On Tuesday, April 9th, Headmaster Schneider and 15 other members of the Belmont Hill faculty attended a gathering at General Mark Milley’s (Class of 1976) residence in Quarters 1, the renowned home of the Chief of Staff of the Army, located in Fort Myer. Quarters 1 has housed the Army Chief of Staff since 1910 and overlooks many landmarks, such as the Jefferson Memorial, in Washington D.C. Many alumni also attended the two-hour event. The gathering started with a fifteen-minute tour given by General Milley, in which he talked about the many artifacts and paintings placed throughout his home. Following the tour, there was an hour-long meet-and-greet session in which some of the faculty members had the opportunity to catch up with former students or athletes, whom they had coached or taught. Doc Fast, a well-respected English teacher and coach at Belmont Hill, reconnected with his former student, Chase Johnson, who is now a member of the Marine Reserves and a litigation attorney, as well as many other former English students of his and former members of the JV lacrosse team.
At the beginning of the second hour, the guests gathered in the dining room of General Milley’s household, where Mr. Schneider delivered a short and decisive speech. Afterward, General Milley fielded questions to which he gave insightful responses. Including comments about the current nature of war which is changing due to the lack of a super-state to enforce the law and new technology, many of the responses the General provided resonated with Doc Fast. Other comments addressed the ethics and morality of war, the cost of it, the value of honesty and respect, and the need to avoid a war between the great powers. Just months before the event occurred, General Milley was nominated by President Donald Trump to head the Joints Chief of Staff, which, if he is confirmed by Congress, would make him the highest-ranking military advisor to the President.
