Aerospace - Defense

Chairman Olds further indicated that General (Retired) Pete Dawkins will be the featured speaker at the gathering of political, business and military dignitaries.

The Veterans for National Security Foundation event will take place on Wednesday, October 5, 2005 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. It will be held at the Union Club, 101 East 69th Street, New York, New York 10021.

General Dawkins is Vice Chairman of The Citigroup Private Bank, which provides a full spectrum of wealth management services to individuals worldwide. A 1959 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Dawkins served for 24 years in the United States Army, retiring as a Brigadier General. At West Point, he was First Captain of the Corps of Cadets, President of the Class of 1959, Captain of Army’s undefeated football team and an All-American halfback. In 1958, he won the Heisman Trophy as the nation’s outstanding football player. Selected as a Rhodes Scholar, Dawkins studied at Oxford University, and later received a Master’s degree and Ph.D. from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University.

Parachute and Ranger qualified, General Dawkins spent much of his time in the military in command positions with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, as well as in policy assignments in the White House and the Pentagon. Following his Army career, he joined the Wall Street firm of Lehman Brothers as a Partner. In 1989, he became the Managing Director of Bain & Company, one of the nation’s premier strategy consulting firms. In 1991, Dawkins became Chairman and CEO of Primerica Financial Services. Later, he became Vice Chairman and Executive Vice President of Travelers Insurance. In 1998, Dawkins began an 18-month assignment chairing a committee of CEOs to identify and recommend ways to bring into the Department of Defense such competencies that exist in the private sector that would increase its overall efficiency and effectiveness.

The Veterans for National Security (VNS) Foundation is dedicated to distinguished military veterans who seek to continue a lifetime of service to the nation. In nonpartisan fashion, VNS supports veterans of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines who currently serve in elected government positions at both the federal and state levels. Additionally, the foundation further supports those deserving veterans who run for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate or the Presidency of the United States. For more information, log onto www.TheVNSF.org or contact Thomas J. Ratcliff, Communications Director, at e-mail protected from spam bots