Perot pledges $6.1 million to CGSCAca,!E+programs

By Fort Leavenworth LampNovember 5, 2009

Perot pledges $6.1 million to CGSCAca,!E+programs
H. Ross Perot converses with Brig. Gen. Edward Cardon, deputy commandant of the Command and General Staff College, during a visit to the college Oct. 20 at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. The CGSC Foundation sponsored the visit, after which Perot elected to c... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (Nov. 5, 2009) - Texas billionaire and philanthropist H. Ross Perot has pledged $6.1 million to fund the Col. Arthur D. Simons Center for the Study of Interagency Cooperation and the Gen. Hugh Shelton Chair in Ethics, retired Col. Bob Ulin, CEO of the Command and General Staff College Foundation, announced Nov. 3.

Perot visited CGSC Oct. 20 to view firsthand the education of military officers and their interagency and international counterparts. He made his decision to support the initiatives shortly thereafter.

"The Lewis and Clark Center was magnificent," Perot said. "But I really enjoyed my time with the Soldiers in class and at lunch. They're all heroes every day for what they do for our country."

Upon making the decision to support a center for interagency cooperation and the chair in ethics, Perot himself selected the people to name them for, rather than have them named after himself, which the foundation had planned to do.

He elected to name the center for the study of interagency cooperation after retired Col. Arthur "Bull" Simons, who led the 1970 Son Tay Raid to free prisoners of war in Vietnam. Simons also led a mission in 1979 - after his retirement - to rescue two of Perot's employees from a prison in Tehran, Iran.

Perot elected to name the chair in ethics after a close personal friend and renowned leader, retired Army Gen. Hugh Shelton, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"The Colonel Arthur D. Simons Center will break new ground in development of improved cooperation and understanding of interagency affairs," said CGSC Deputy Commandant Brig. Gen. Edward Cardon. "This is an area of increasing importance to the college and the Army. The General Hugh Shelton Chair in Ethics will add significantly to our ability to enhance the college's focus on ethics."

Ulin arranged Perot's visit to CGSC along with Mark "Ranger" Jones, the foundation's vice president for development. Perot spent time with students in seminar, toured the Lewis and Clark Center, attended a presentation by retired Lt. Gen. Russell HonorAfA in Eisenhower Auditorium and visited Memorial Chapel on post.

The CGSC Foundation was established Dec. 28, 2005, as a tax-exempt, non-profit private corporation. Programs supported by the foundation include awards for the students and faculty, support for symposia, conferences, lectures, and community outreach activities that help connect the American people to their Army.

To learn more about the CGSC Foundation and its mission to support the education of leaders, visit www.cgscfoundation.org.

(From a Command and General Staff College Foundation release.)