Just months ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, about 100 high school students from the American Legion Boys Nation program visited the Pentagon July 21.
The trip included laying a wreath at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial before touring the building and hearing remarks on service, character and the responsibilities of leaders.
Joined by about 30 Legionnaires, counselors and staff, the delegates began at the memorial to see the 184 benches honoring those killed aboard American Airlines Flight 77 and inside the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
Jared Harrison, a Boys Nation counselor who was a White House intern on the day of the attacks, described the uncertainty in Washington that morning and the unity that followed. He told the delegates that the country needs their leadership now.
"You have been told several times this week that you're the leaders of tomorrow," Harrison said. "I want to impress upon you: you're the leaders of now; we need you today."
Brady Pace, Boys Nation's president pro tempore, connected the ceremony to the oath each delegate took as a senator.
"When we as senators took our oaths of office, we swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States," Pace said. "These souls made the ultimate sacrifice in both support and defense of our Constitution."
John Alley, the program's senate secretary, spoke about the resolve Americans displayed after the attack.
"In the face of unspeakable tragedy, we did not fracture as our enemies intended," Alley said. "Rather, we came together in a way the world never imagined that we could."
After two delegates placed the wreath, the group toured the Pentagon and gathered in the Hall of Heroes, where the names of Medal of Honor recipients line the walls.
"It was a powerful experience," said Thomas Farrell, a delegate from Huntington, West Virginia. "The military has always seemed so abstract to me, and the Pentagon seemed like an unreachable place, but actually going and seeing where our freedoms are defended was incredibly informative."
Before the formal briefing, delegates discussed their own ambitions — service academies, ROTC, aviation, intelligence, explosive ordnance disposal and other fields — and learned there is no single route into military service. They were encouraged to keep their options open and, once entrusted to lead, to listen to the noncommissioned officers and enlisted experts who have mastered their crafts.
Navy Vice Adm. Paul Spedero Jr., director of the Joint Staff, told the delegates that the republic prospers because of leadership and service. Speaking during the 250th anniversary year of the Declaration of Independence, Spedero focused on four attributes he said effective leaders share: integrity, resilience, decisiveness and humility.
"Your integrity is a currency," Spedero said. "Every time you tell the truth, even when it's inconvenient, every time you take responsibility for a failure instead of passing the blame, you make a deposit into that account. When you lie, cheat or deflect, you bankrupt it. Without integrity, you cannot build trust. And without trust, you cannot lead."
The questions ranged from combat decisions and command to servant leadership, drone warfare and artificial intelligence. Asked how leaders develop, Spedero said experience matters most.
"But the best contributor to your leadership development is experience," he said. "So, every opportunity that you have to be out there leading, don't miss it."
The annual Pentagon visit is part of Boys Nation's weeklong program in Washington, during which delegates study representative government and public service.
When asked about servant leadership, Spedero explained motive matters more than rank or status.
"If you're here for rank, if you're here for stature, if you're here for money, you're in the wrong place," he said. "If you're here because you want to make a difference, and you want to make a difference with other people that want to make a difference, then servant leadership is easy."
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