NATO Command inspires boys' state particpants

The Morrisville State College gymnasium where Boys’ State participants gathered for their final assembly fell suddenly silent when Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani, Jr., approached the podium.

Giambastiani, who has been nominated by President Bush to be vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) and commander of the U.S. Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia.

A former Canastota resident, he oversees the command’s mission of leading the transformation of the Armed Forces of the United States. He exercises combatant command of approximately 1.1 million personnel through his Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps service components.

He offered his advice on life and cited four important attributes successful people possess: confidence, competence, integrity and stamina. Each has played an integral part in helping him throughout his career. He also urged participants to be persistent.    

Morrisville State College hosted Boys’ State June 26 to July 2. Participants, who are from various high schools throughout New York State and rank at the top of their classes, were nominated by their high schools and sponsored by their local Legionnaires.

Boys’ State is a program in which participants learn about government by becoming a mock or virtual government. The program, which is in operation nationwide, provides the experience, opportunity and organization to teach young men citizenship and workings of the government.