MURFREESBORO and NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The assistant secretary of the Air Force, Richard Anderson, along with commanders from the Tennessee Air National Guard and Civil Air Patrol, visited Middle Tennessee State University on Tuesday, Nov. 10, to tour the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center and join a special “Salute the Troops” event at the Grand Ole Opry.

Anderson’s portfolio at the Pentagon covers Manpower and Reserve Affairs for the Air Force, developing policy and providing oversight for all matters related to manpower, military and civilian personnel, the Air National Guard, the Air Force Reserve, Civil Air Patrol, and readiness support for 680,000 airmen, guardians and their families.

The secretary was accompanied on his campus visit by Maj. Gen. Regena Aye, national commander and CEO of Civil Air Patrol; Col. Chris Francis, commander of the 118th Wing of the Tennessee Air National Guard; Col. Tracy Scantland, commander of Civil Air Patrol’s Tennessee Wing, and cadre and cadets from Air Force ROTC and CAP. 

MTSU also dedicated a brick at the campus Veterans Memorial to honor Anderson, who served 30 years as an Air Force officer, and held a ceremony with Aye and President Sidney A. McPhee to renew MTSU’s partnership with CAP.

“I’ve been aware of what this great institution has been doing for many years,” Anderson said of the day’s activities. “I could not miss this event, this visit, to this great institution of higher learning that is so devoted to military veterans and their families.”

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Huber, MTSU’s senior advisor for veterans and leadership initiatives, welcomed Anderson and his delegation to the Daniels Center for a briefing on the services it provides to military connected students as well as any veteran, anywhere, regardless of affiliation to the university.

“I cannot thank you enough for your leadership and service, to your devotion, to those men and women who have worn the cloth of our country,” Anderson said.

Anderson, Aye and Francis joined Huber later that evening on the Opry stage for the iconic country music venue’s twice-annual show saluting active-duty troops and veterans. It was Huber’s 34th turn as a guest announcer at the Opry, an opportunity he uses to inform the public about the work by the Daniels Center.

“If you have questions about your earned (Veterans Administration) benefits, if you need assistance in filling out the applications, I’m your action officer,” Huber told the Opry audience. “Please come to me. Don’t you ever pay anybody to assist you in obtaining the VA benefits that are not a gift, that you have paid for with the wear and tear on your bodies.”

Meanwhile, during the secretary’s visit, Aye and McPhee renewed the partnership between MTSU and CAP, which was initiated in 2014 to advance aerospace education and connect with the Air Force auxiliary’s cadet program.

Over the years, MTSU, through its College of Basic and Applied Sciences has hosted numerous CAP events, including Tennessee Wing Conferences and Cadet Summer Encampments and, each year since 2017, the National Cadet Engineering Technology Academy.

“It is our great honor to host so many outstanding Civil Air Patrol cadets on our campus for these activities – and allow them to see the possibilities we offer here at MTSU,” McPhee said.

Aye said CAP was “very grateful for this amazing relationship.”

“There’s a tremendous connection between our members and this great institution of higher learning,” she said. “Through the activities hosted here, you have helped inspire countless future leaders of our nation.”

— Andrew Oppmann ([email protected])