Greetings from the Tar Heel State, Last week, I was in Fort Bragg, NC, a place our project managers and I visit often, and a place that played a significant role in my military career. I first arrived at Fort Bragg in December 2009 to attend Civil Affairs training at the US Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. After ten months of training, during which I learned a foreign language (French) and honed my tactical, interpersonal, and cross-cultural communications skills, I joined my unit, the 95th Civil Affairs Brigade. For the next three years, Fort Bragg was my base as I continued to train, go to the field, build lasting friendships, and deploy. Whether learning to survive in the pine forests of North Carolina, navigating the dense training areas of Camp Mackall, jumping out of planes on St Mere Eglise drop-zone, or running along Ardennes Rd., Fort Bragg always had something challenging and rewarding to offer. Now, with Spirit of America, I return to Fort Bragg often to meet with partners, strengthen relationships, and improve collaboration. Bragg is the largest military installation in the world (by population) and is the home of the US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), and many other units that we partner with regularly. Every trip is productive and rewarding but, for me, it is also something of a homecoming. Airborne! Chris VanJohnson Deputy Director of Field Operations