Photo By Chad Menegay | International Military Students shake hands with U.S. service members after a game of...... read more read more
FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. — The Army Sustainment University’s International Military Student Office hosted its annual Sports Extravaganza event Wednesday to build camaraderie and to raise awareness of the office’s sponsorship program.
About 200 people from around 40 countries divided into teams and competed in basketball, soccer and volleyball tournaments.
“Students gain experiences from people from different cultures and backgrounds, pulling together to work as a team to achieve a goal,” said Cyndolia Perry, IMSO Field Studies Program Manager. “They share their skills and focus on giving their best to support each other. This event allows international military students the opportunity to show their skills outside of the uniform they wear every day.”
The IMSO at ASU is typically responsible for over 100 foreign students at any given time, with numbers fluctuating depending on course schedules.
Over 20,000 foreign military students train in the U.S. annually, according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
One of those students, Ugandan Army Capt. Simon Peter Etiang, a Logistics Captain’s Career Course student at ASU, said that he appreciates being exposed to how other countries practice and execute force sustainment.
“It’s a very good thing that a country like the U.S. takes initiative to call together different countries from around the world to share doctrine and experience,” Etiang said.
Another LCCC student, Slovak Republic Army 1st Lt. Veronika Sedmakova, agreed that IMSO helps foster cohesion between allies and partner nations.
“We have a totally different system in my country’s Army, and I have learned a lot of new stuff that is helpful for interoperability,” Sedmakova said. “We have a lot of joint exercises with Americans and other countries, so this will help with understanding each other’s procedures, how to plan, how to resupply, all those things necessary for the operation.”
The IMSO has an important role in helping IMS’s to have a better understanding of the U.S., its people and way of life, Perry said.
“The IMSO exists to provide IMS’s the opportunity to get to know their allies, the assistance that each would provide to each other,” Perry said. “An understanding of fellowship, experiencing the U.S. way of life and how the militaries work together while supporting each other. The IMSO program is important because it nurtures relationships with the U.S. and international partners.”
The IMS Social Sponsorship Program is continually seeking volunteers to act as sponsors to take a genuine interest in IMS’s and assist them with learning about U.S. culture.
IMSO actively recruits sponsors both within the installation and without from neighboring communities.
To learn more about the IMSO Social Sponsorship Program or to volunteer as a social sponsor, call the ASU IMSO at 804-821-7131.
| Date Taken: | 04.18.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.18.2025 09:10 |
| Story ID: | 495646 |
| Location: | FORT GREGG-ADAMS, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 15 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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