Visit to CENTCOM Headquarters in Tampa, Florida

November 20, 2006, Tampa, Florida
Contact: Washington Foreign Press Center Program Officer Andrew Strike
Telephone: 202-504-6356; Email: strikeap2@state.gov

For the second time this year a group of a dozen print and radio and seven TV media from the Washington and New York Foreign Press Centers (FPC) visited the US Central Command (CENTCOM) Headquarters at MacDill AFB on a joint FPC and DOD program.  All world regions were represented, but media from NATO-allied nations currently involved in Afghanistan predominated.

Journalists attended an update briefing on current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and held a media roundtable with CENTCOM's Director for Coalition Coordination, Major General Minetti, who also did a series of one-on-one interviews for TV.  The journalists also interviewed several U.S. soldiers just back from the Middle East, as well as senior national representatives (SNRs) from the 63 countries who currently have a representative in Tampa.