IMSO holds Sponsorship Open House
“The IMSO Open House is valuable because it offers a chance to engage with and learn about the international community,” said Larry Matthews, IMSO deputy director. “On average, the Fort Lee IMSO supports more than 85 international military students representing over 35 countries.”
IMSO provides direct support to the international military student attending courses at LGS in the areas of administration, socialization, cultural enrichment, recreation and personal and family matters through briefings, presentations, subject matter expert contacts, and needed assistance to ensure success in academic programs.
“The IMSO Open House is valuable because it offers a chance to engage with and learn about the international community,” said Matthews.
One of the students was 2nd Lt. Nicole Ocampos who is in the Colombian Army and attending the Basic Officer Logistics Course said, “my country chose lieutenants to do this course because it is the basis of logistics, so we are supposed to lead platoons and companies.
“We have a lot of similar things because we are NATO, so we shared like some same things,” Ocampos said. “It's really good for me and for my country because that knowledge that I will get here, I will take it back and improve our doctrine.”
Many of the students come from their home countries to develop skills needed for effective operation and maintenance of equipment acquired from the United States and enhance U.S. and international partner interoperability by building international partner operational capabilities and capacity and expanding relationships with existing and new international partners.
Cpl. Karol Zakrzewski is in the Polish Army who has been at LGS for five months training. “At the start, it was really hard but now it’s really good for us to know about our equipment, gain better knowledge and develop our experience with the equipment.”
Zakrzewski went on to say he enjoyed the open house because “it’s very good for us to see another culture and to represent our country and talk about our country.”
IMSO uses sponsors to aid with helping the students gain a better understanding of the United States, its people, political system, institutions, democratic values, and way of life.
“Sponsors are essential to the IMSO, serving as goodwill ambassadors who help international military students adapt to life in the United States and experience American culture,” said Matthews. “The expectation of becoming a sponsor is to invite the IMS to participate in some type of activity at least once a month.
“Entertainment does need not be lavish, students prefer experiencing day-to-day activities such as picnics at recreational parks, videos or home movies or trips the sponsor has taken, sightseeing so he can take snapshots or videos to send home, or taking the students to football, baseball, or basketball games,” Matthews continued.
If an individual is interested in becoming a sponsor, call IMSO at (804) 821-7131.
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