Our Community Salutes of Eastern Iowa" ("OCS-EI") will hold our 2nd annual High School Graduate/Military Enlistee Recognition Event for local graduates at the Rock Island Arsenal ("RIA") in the Quad Cities on Saturday May 16th, in conjunction with RIA's annual Armed Forces Weekend gala.

ATTENDANCE: Enlistees are encouraged to bring their parents, grandparents, other family members, favorite teachers/counselors, etc; there is no limit to how many guests can attend. All. however, must register on-line.

REGISTRATION AND ENTRY TO POST: On-line pre-registration is required. See the Registration box above

Entry to RIA, which is a restricted Army Military Post, will require a valid photo ID to gain entrance, such as a Star Driver’s license, regular driver’s license, passport, etc. Access to the Post will be through the Moline Gate. Parking is located behind building 60

See Map below for more details

TIMES: Doors will open at 12:30 with the main Event from 1 - 2 PM. Our Event and the RIA Weekend activities require no entry fee. Light hors de oeuvres, soft drinks as well as barbeque from Mission BBQ (pending) will be topped off with Whitey’s famous ice cream before the ceremony. Family group pictures will be taken (and available free of charge, online, afterwards) before the ceremony with our Guest of Honor and other dignitaries.

LOCATION: The Event will be held adjacent to Quarters 1, the former residence of the Arsenal's commanding generals. This 22,000 S.F. home was built in the early 1870s and is the second largest federal residence in the United States, behind only the White House. Qtrs. 1 tours will be provided after our Event. Fireworks will also follow. For more details on the weekend’s activities, please visit the following two websites. https://www.facebook.com/RIAFMWR/ or https://rockisland.armymwr.com/

LAST YEAR’S EVENT - at Clarke University in Dubuque, attracted 166 attendees of which 46 were graduate/enlistees from 20 local high schools. Because of the RIA big Armed Forces weekend gala, we expect a much larger attendance this year.

GUEST OF HONOR AND VIP’S: Our Guest of Honor (Invited) is a former Iowa National Guard retired veteran and the current, junior Senator from Iowa, (LTC-Army-Ret) Joni Ernst. Other dignitaries expected to attend will include several General Officers from RIA as well as mayors and community leaders from the various municipalities in the Quad Cities area. We will also have as our distinguished guests, recent Honor Flight veterans (Korea, Vietnam, etc.) from each of the military Services.

GRADUATE/ENLISTEES: Must have signed their enlistment paperwork before the Event. At the Event, all will be formally sworn in by our Guest of Honor, will each receive a Senatorial Certificate of Appreciation as well as other “goodies” from their Services, our sponsors and OCS.

This is our community’s way – eastern Iowa’s way, of honoring these outstanding young men and women who have stepped forward to join millions of others in the service of our Country.

We hope that you will join us!

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