Mary Beth Garrison talks Air Force War College

Provided.

To thank Mary Beth Garrison for her presentation, President Jennifer Palakiko presented her with a certificate, and a donation was made to the Rotary Foundation in her honor.

At the Jan. 9 meeting of the Rotary Club of Tehachapi, the Club heard an engaging and informative presentation from Mary Beth Garrison who, as the External Affairs and Communities & Social Performance Manager at Rio Tinto-U.S. Borax in Boron, attended the National Security Forum at the Air War College on May 7-9, 2024, held at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama.

Mary Beth shared that she was invited to the Air War College by former Edwards Airforce Base employee Danny Bazzell, who passed away a few months earlier, so she dedicated her presentation to him.

Mary Beth said she was honored to attend the Air Force War College, as she met and networked with representatives from all over the country. The War College is a 10-month intensive leadership training program for future military leaders. They engage in high-level war game simulations, then engage with local community members during the final week of their training. This allows for collaboration, so the local community understands the military's priorities and the challenges they face.

Mary Beth said the most important points she learned was that, "We war over there, not at home." The military focuses on sending our military personnel overseas because they do not want that danger in our own backyard. Everything the military does is designed for global missions, and political and financial policies can put us at risk. Timely appropriation of funding is important for military and national security, and holding back approval is a political tool that is sometimes used.

The military focuses on developing our people and our capabilities so we can project military power across the globe. Mary Beth shared that currently the top three threats are China, Russia and interestingly, the weather, as weather events can really impact and debilitate our military bases. To build a strong military, they focus on some core points of integrity, such as being good diplomats, being accurate/timely with information and providing their miliary people with the training and equipment to do the job.

Mary Beth shared, as she listened to the Air Force experts, she became concerned about the role of U.S. Borax, as China is an important customer to the mine. She explained that Boron, the chemical element that is mined, is important in the manufacture of electronics, especially cell phones, tablets, laptops, basically anything with a screen. She wanted to know how to explain the role of U.S. Borax to her supervisors in relation to the imposing threat of China to national security, and address the question if they should continue to do business with China. Their response was, "Absolutely YES, and do as much as possible, because it is important to increase China's economic dependence on the U.S." She explained that there is another competitor in Turkey, which does not have tariffs nor equitable wages; however, the United States has an advantage in the Boron market due to the purity of the product, as Turkey cannot compete on that level. She explained that U.S. Borax has very smart people to strategize and find the best ways to maintain the trade relationships and develop strategies to manage the competition. Cooperation is a critical component in competition, because it creates incentives for peace.

Mary Beth appreciated the opportunity to participate in the War College, and shared her takeaways from the experience. She said that she has a deep respect for the Air Force personnel, as they are committed to the protection of each citizen, without exception. She especially learned about how community partnerships are vital to our military strength and engagement with Edwards Air Force Base is important. She emphasized that the experience shifted her viewpoint in military, economic and cultural topics, and the non-political analysis of world events reinforced her belief that the military is strategic, well-run by smart people, and "They have our back!"

The Tehachapi Rotary Club meets at noon every Thursday at Kelcy's, and is a time to gather for fellowship, learn about important and relevant topics and work together to support our local community. Rotary is the largest service organization in the world, and is committed to "Service Above Self," devoting time and resources to projects that make a difference around the globe. For more information about the Rotary Club, you can visit their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/RotaryClubofTehachapi/.