Bob Carlson writes:

I had the privilege of hearing Barry speak last night at a Twin Cities Smith Barney hosted event. Barry was superb. His clear, concise, well thought out presentation was delivered with humor and humility. Those of you who knew Barry well can especially appreciate his self-deprecating and disarming humor. He took a lot of shots at himself, but none at others. If Barry's consulting business goes in the tank, a highly unlikely happening, he might want to consider being a stand up comic. He was long on common sense and his opinions focused on the actions and situations, not the people.

There didn't seem to be any political agenda. He was both complimentary and critical of current policies and the execution of those policies, but did not get into mud-slinging. In other words, he focused on the actions, not the people nor their political parties, a good lesson for all of us. At the same time he didn't shy away from telling it like he sees it. He referred to Iraq as a "…huge mess that didn't have to be that way." At the same time, he still articulated his belief that an outcome consistent with US strategic interests in the Middle East is possible. The audience loved it, and so did I. His overall theme was terrorism and the big threats. He spoke about Iraq/Iran, Afghanistan/Pakistan, North Korea, Latin American/Venezuala/Columbia/Cuba and our border security problem. I won't go into the details of his presentation as much of it is available on his webside at www.mccaffreyassociates.com.

Suffice it to say that the Barry provided the facts and opinions to support what we all know, the world is a very dangerous place. As time goes on, I am more and more in awe of our class, who we are, what we stand for, and what we have accomplished. Obviously, Barry has achieved the pinnacle of success within the military and I felt very proud last night to be able to say that I am a classmate of Barry's. I was hoping that some of what Barry is all about would somehow rub off on me, but I was quick to realize that it doesn't work that way. West Point gave us many opportunities, but we each had to make our own way. And that we did. There are so many other fabulous success stories in our class. Many of you have heard Barry speak and can affirm my comments. If he comes your way and you get an opportunity to hear him, I highly recommend it.

Bob Carlson