FORT BENNING, Ga., (May 29, 2103) -- The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation's Command and General Staff Officer Course Class of 2012-13 graduated in a ceremony in Marshall Auditorium, McGinnis-Wickam Hall May 22.
The CGSOC is the Army's middle-management course, taught primarily at the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. The course is translated and taught in its entirety in Spanish at WHINSEC.
Fifty-eight officers from 10 countries completed the course, with 10 also earning the master of military arts and science degree and eight getting their master's degrees from Troy University.
Retired Maj. Gen. José Mayorga addressed the class, emphasizing the requirements they will face as they move into more senior leadership positions, talking of the necessity to do the right thing even when one is not being supervised.
Mayorga is the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Homeland Security and America's Security Affairs. He is a former adjutant general of the state of Texas. Mayorga served more than 33 years in active duty and National Guard positions, and had a 27-year career with the Railroad Commission of Texas. He is a registered professional engineer in Texas.
The graduation marks the end of a year of study designed to educate intermediate-level Army, sister-service, and partner-nation officers to be prepared to operate in full-spectrum Army, joint, interagency and multinational environments as field-grade commanders and staff officers.
U.S. military students attending the course (39 Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine officers) receive MEL-4 and Joint Military Professional Education (JMPE) Phase 1 designation as they graduate.
The first interagency student at WHINSEC, an officer in the U.S. Marshals Service, is the 40th U.S. graduate in the class.
International students come from the security forces of Belize, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay and Panama.
Dr. W. Chris King, Dean of Academics at the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kan., conferred the master of military arts & science during the ceremony, and Dr. John D. Van Doorn of Troy University-Columbus/Fort Benning presented master's degrees to those who completed requirements through Troy University.