UA News

Several UA officials attended a luncheon with officers and sailors of the USS Tucson and further emphasized the UA's commitment to aiding veterans who would like to pursue a higher education.

To further solidify a commitment to supporting military personnel who are interested in pursuing a higher education, University of Arizona officials held a luncheon meeting with members of the USS Tucson on Tuesday.

During the luncheon, UA officials presented three sailors who had earned the designation of "Sailor of the Year" – Gregory Casper, Kevin Barron and Sammuel Diaz – with a certificate to denote that "it is our promise to support them," said Dan Adams, the associate vice president for UA Student Affairs.

Adams, who visited the USS Tucson in October, said there exists at the UA "a high level of awareness about the need to work with veterans. We want you to know that there are people at The University of Arizona who can help you."

Numerous UA students and University officials attended the luncheon, including Beth Acree, the UA's interim registrar; Amanda Kraus, the Veterans Reintegration and Education Project at the UA Disability Resource Center; and Col. Thomas Abel, a UA naval sciences professor and commanding office of the Naval ROTC Unit.

"We want to make sure they know exactly what things they need to have," said Cindy Lynn, UA's assistant registrar, who also attended the event at the UA.

Lynn, whose office is among those that have been trained to handle veterans benefits, such as the GI Bill, said veterans sometimes need additional support in their transition – and that includes help with admissions, enrollment and being acclimated to the campus.

Last year, the UA opened its Veterans Education and Transition Services office in response to the hike in college and university enrollment among military veterans, particularly those returning from serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The V.E.T.S. office, which opened at Old Main at the beginning of the fall semester, supports existing UA students as well as veterans who would like to attend the University. Currently, hundreds of veterans are taking courses at the UA, and Adams said the purpose of the Tuesday afternoon gathering was to ensure that military personnel are aware of the resources the UA has available to them.

Each year, Navy officers and sailors with the USS Tucson and USS Tucson 770 Club visit the UA campus to recognize the "namesake" relationship between the ship and the city.

The USS Tucson 770 Club is a nonprofit support group for sailors and families associated with the vessel, the only active U.S. Navy vessel to be named after a city in Arizona.

The USS Tucson was commissioned in September 1995. It is the second U.S. Navy ship to carry the name of "Tucson," and is homeported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The ship's complement includes 14 officers, 14 petty officers and 110 enlisted sailors.

The sailors arrived on Monday and will remain in Tucson through Sunday. During their visit, they are scheduled to visit patients in University Medical Center's pediatric ward, get tours of the UA, museums on an off campus, to speak with students and student leaders, talk to local elementary and high school students about the importance of math and careers and also attend a number of social events.

Ben Buehler-Garcia, the vice chairman of the USS Tucson 770 Club, who also attended the luncheon, said the vessel's sailors and officers continue to visit Tucson and the UA because the connection between them "is very strong."