By Staff
FT. LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – Army Major Ronald Beadenkopf graduated on June 15 from the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. The school was designed as the premier school for mid-level officers who then go on to fill command and general staff positions throughout the military.
He also graduated on June 14 with his Master's Degree in Management from Webster University, along with other CGSC students who completed the Master's program. Major Beadenkopf started working on his Master's degree with the University of Phoenix in South Korea during his spare time, but deployed directly to Iraq in 2005, which interrupted his studies.
At Ft. Leavenworth he transferred to the local Webster University for its integrated program with CGSC. He has had to work on both Master's level courses of study at the same time, which has been very challenging; but he is no stranger to challenges.
Since graduation from CGSC, Ron and his wife Ari are posted to Ft. Gordon in Augusta, Ga., with the 513th Military Intelligence Brigade
Here are some of his experiences in his own words, including going running with General David Petraeus:
"I did go running with General Petraeus – shortly after I got here to Ft. Leavenworth, I received an email asking if I was interested in running with him. He has a practice of inviting students out to run with him on select days, and I accepted. I guess a lot of people don't accept, because he's known to be quite the athlete, and a lot of people are intimidated. I figured that he wouldn't want to embarrass us too much, as that would mitigate the reason for asking us along in the first place. The morning of the run, I met him and his aide-de-camp at the post gymnasium; the sky was still black in the early hours, and tremendous flashes of lightning filled the sky, accompanied by ear-splitting crashes of thunder. Because of this the general almost called off the run, deciding instead to do calisthenics on the gym floor.
"We all grabbed mats and set ourselves up in a semi-circle around the general; he kept up a steady patter of conversation while he learned a little more about us. For about 45 minutes, we went through some pretty exhausting exercises, till I felt rubbery. General Petraeus never slowed, never faltered in his discussion, even after 100 or so jumping jacks, where I had difficulty even answering in a noncommittal 'yes' or 'no.'
"For better or worse, his aide came over after this and said that the sky was clearing up and we could go running. I was worried I wouldn't have the energy, but we all gathered together and started off. I had no idea how far we would go, but prepared myself for a difficult run – the General is known to be an exceptional athlete who designed and starred in Ft. Leavenworth's own 'Iron Major' competition, which is basically a pentathlon that only the very fittest can compete in.
"For the first few miles I felt good; the general called me up to run along side him, and asked me about my military experiences being deployed, and my thoughts about the school in general. I gave him some feedback on things I thought were going well, and things I thought could be covered in more detail. At one point he yelled to his aide to add a slide on a certain subject into his next briefing, so maybe I provided some good input – who knows – maybe it was just good theater, but I felt gratified, so I guess the strategy was working. Then he called someone else up to talk, which was good, as we started going up a steep hill after that and I needed all my energy just to keep up. About three miles into the run, we were going up and down hills, and some of our group started fading away. By this time we were high in the hills behind the fort, and had to 'circle the wagons' to pick up stragglers. I thought the general would slow his pace a little, but he never stopped talking, or struggled for breath, even on the steepest hills. I don't even think he sweated.
"When we hit the downhill stretch with only a mile or so to go, I was relieved; but that was short lived, as we started sprinting toward the finish line. I didn't know where the finish line was, and was rapidly reaching the point where my energy would be completely gone. I was only happy that I wasn't the female military police officer talking to the general at this point, because I know that my responses to his conversation would not have been much more coherent than her gasped attempts at reply.
"Finally we slowed to a walk, and worked our way back to the gym. I thought that we were done, as the general got towels from the manager and handed them out to us. But he led the way into the gym where we did a series of chinups and dips, and other exercises until I truly had no energy left. Still, at the end, he thanked us all for participating, and presented each of us with a large, ornate 'Commanding General's Coin of Excellence.'
"This sort of emblem is a rather common sort of informal recognition of achievement in the Army, and was very nice. It will go with my collection of other coins I have received from other generals throughout my career."