Kaine visits Fishburne Military School
Virginia U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine often takes his breaks from duties in Washington, D.C. to focus on the strong military connections Virginia has.
On Thursday, Virginia's new senator -- a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee -- came to Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro to see how that storied institution is training the citizen soldiers of the future.
After a nearly two-hour visit, Kaine, D-Va., came away impressed with what Fishburne offers its cadets. He described what he saw Thursday "as the same feeling I had at VWIL a couple of months ago." Kaine visited the Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership corps of cadets at Mary Baldwin College in May.
Kaine said whether he is visiting a Virginia National Guard unit or the Newport News Shipyard, he learns information that will help him with his committee duties on Armed Services.
"I need to see the training of the future leaders," Kaine said of his Fishburne visit.
He spent time watching a presentation on the school's new technology program, and observed cadets perform certain exercises, including rappelling down a building and one called one-rope bridging. He also ate lunch with Fishburne cadets and staff.
Fishburne extended an invitation to Kaine, and was pleased to see him attend on Thursday, said Fishburne Superintendent Gary Morrison.
"His time is precious and we were tremendously honored to have him here,'' said Morrison.
A rising senior at Fishburne and the school's battalion commander, Harold McCoo of Haymarket, spent much of Kaine's visit talking to him. "I received a better understanding of what he does in the Senate,'' said McCoo, who said Kaine explained how being a senator is different from previous elected positions, such as being mayor of Richmond. McCoo also said Kaine displayed a strong interest in Fishburne.
Kaine told Fishburne students and staff how deep the military presence is in Virginia. The senator said while one of every eight Virginians is a veteran, there are also civilian Department of Defense employees and active duty members of the National Guard and military reserves.
As he prepared to leave, Kaine expressed concern about the violence in Egypt, which has resulted in the death of hundreds. Kaine, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs, said the violence is taking Egypt "backwards'' from its goal of democracy.
In a prepared statement, Kaine said "I urge the government to pursue a national reconciliation dialogue and swiftly lift the state of emergency to show the Egyptian people and the world -- it respects the right of the Egyptican people to peacefully assemble and be granted due process of law."
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