Welcome to the "Militarily Speaking" podcast with Tom McLean and Jodi Vickery.

In this episode of “Militarily Speaking,” Tom, Jodi, and guests Col. Roderick Cox and Lora Morgan discuss the Command and General Staff College (CGSC) Foundation. They dig into the different schools CGSC has to offer, their fervid community involvement, and how you can donate to support the Foundation.

“Militarily Speaking” is a podcast produced by Armed Forces Bank that is dedicated to the military lifestyle and all the things that makes military community who they are. 

Ep. 16 — Command and General Staff College with Col. Roderick Cox and Lora Morgan

Introducing CGSC, the CGSC Foundation, and Guests Col. Cox and Lora Morgan

Jodi and Tom begin by introducing their guests Col. Roderick Cox and Lora Morgan

• Col. Cox became the third President of CGSC in 2018, and became a board member of CGSC Foundation a few year later.
• Prior to his role he has held a number of positions and was awarded many medals.
• Lora Morgan is the Director of Operations at CGSC Foundation.

Jodi asks for their guests to describe the vision of CGSC Foundation and how it got started.

• Col. Cox talks about the vision of CGSC Foundation is to support CGSC and its operations that might not be otherwise funded.
• These areas include scholarships, outreach, and soldier and family support.

Tom asks Col. Cox to talk about the student enrollment at CGSC and how student enrollment works.

• Col. Cox notes that there are actually four different schools at CGSC, and shares details about each of the four and what their main curriculum includes
• The Command and General Staff School (CGSS)
• The School of Advanced Military Studies
• The School for Command Preparation
• The Sergeants Major Academy (SGM-A)
• He continues by talking about the international students that are coming from around the world to take part in these programs.
• He notes how important these students are to helping share cultures and creating lifelong friendships
• Tom then talks about Armed Forces Bank’s participation in the Training With Industry Program.
• Col. Cox talks about how great that program is and how many of their students who might be part-time military take advantage of that program.

CGSC Foundation Community Involvement

Tom asks Lora to speak about their involvement with the Combined Arms Research Library’s reading program.

• Lora notes that the CARL is not only the on-post library, but also the community library for the families.
• The reading program, she continues, was a way to get kids involved in reading by recording live readings and then posting those videos to their facebook page.
• Lora adds by giving descriptions of a number of other different reading programs that the library runs, and CGSC Foundation supports.
• Tom thanks them for their support and participation that CGSC always shows for their community.

Students at CGSC

Jodi asks how students are selected to join the programs that CGSC offers.

• Col. Cox talks about how students are selected to enroll in the programs
• He notes that these tax-funded programs are for the best of the best, and it is highly competitive and the school is very selective.
• He continues talking about the world class faculty that teach at the school as well.
• He says that students have had a decade or more of service, and they are required to bring that experience into the classroom.
• Col. Cox notes that while the school is tax-funded, it is not necessarily open to the public because of its location.
• He discusses the campus and the historical aspects of the facilities and the grounds, including two halls of fame and desks from Generals past, and the largest auditorium in the state of Kansas.

Tom discusses how the facilities are state of the art and how great of an experience it must be for the students there.

• Col. Cox then discusses how the entire school district is within their purview, which includes a junior high and three grade schools.
• Typically those schools are for the families that are living on post.

How to Support CGSC Foundation

Tom asks how people can support the foundation and their different causes.

• Col. Cox says that the CGSC Foundation is completely donor funded, and to donate you can go to the CGSC Donation webpage.
• He says that while the tax dollars provide for quite a bit, there are certain things that they cannot be used for, and that is where the foundation comes into play.
• He adds that you can denote your donation to a specific program, or leave it as general then lists out a number of specific things those donations have helped the CGSC Foundation fund in the past, and events in the future.

Military Minute

Jodi introduces the Military Minute segment of the show, beginning by closing out last episode’s Military Minute.

• Last episode’s Military Minute:How many types of Thrift Savings contributions are there?
• Answer: Three
• This week’s Military Minute question: What year was the inception of the school of applications for infantry and cavalry born?
• Watch for Facebook and Instagram posts about this episode.
• Answer with the correct answer and you plus a charity of your choice can each win $50.

Tom closes the episode by asking listeners to go to www.afbank.com and subscribe to the show, as well as leave a rating and comment on your favorite podcast platform such as Apple Podcasts or Spotify. 

Join us to hear how to better navigate your finances, military life, and the crossroads of the two.

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