The Department of Defense will host a two-day symposium and luncheon in observance of Hispanic Heritage Month Oct. 16-17, 2003, at the Hyatt Regency Orange County Hotel, in Anaheim, Calif. The activities will be held in conjunction with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) 17TH Annual Conference.
Planned activities for this program include: a summit on Hispanic representation; a high school and college student career fair and exposition; technical workshops on “how to” obtain contracts, grants, and science and technology/research and development opportunities; a reception and luncheon; and a DoD/HACU partnership agreement signing.
This symposium and luncheon represent continuing initiatives within the Defense Department to achieve greater impact across a broad spectrum.
Currently, more than 125,000 Latinos serve on active duty, comprising about 9.1 percent of the military. The Defense Department hopes to grow those numbers while at the same time highlighting opportunities to serve as a civilian Defense employee.
All of the events will be open to news media except the summit on Hispanic representation.
The reception will be held on Thursday at 7 p.m. PDT and the luncheon on Friday at noon. These two programs will honor past and present Hispanic military heroes, including the Aztec Eagles, Mexican pilots of Squadron 201, and members of the Armed Forces returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Media interested in covering these events should contact Tina Greer, Los Angeles Air Force Base Public Affairs, (310) 363-6428.
