TROY – Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, who has gained worldwide attention for commanding post-hurricane relief efforts on the U.S. Gulf Coast, told Troy University graduates Friday that they need to prepare to assume leadership roles in the years to come.

“The world needs your mind, the world needs your ideas,” Honore, commander of the First U.S. Army, told students receiving diplomas at Sartain Hall on the Troy Campus. “No matter what you choose to do, the world needs you.”

Honore recited the famous prayer of St. Francis of Assisi, which includes the famous opening line, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.” He said St. Francis’ admonition of love and forgiveness still rings true in 2006.

“What would it be like if every nation valued peace?” he said.

Honore urged the graduates to work to solve five challenges:

Poverty and hunger in less dependent nations and at home. “There is a 9th Ward in every big city in America,” he said, referring to New Orleans’s notoriously impoverished district that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Reduce dependence on fossil fuels
Protect the environment and preserve natural resources.
Find cures for infectious diseases.
Eliminate religious, political and ethnic intolerance in the world.

The general, who received his master’s degree in human resources from Troy University, also participated in ROTC commissioning ceremonies on the Troy Campus.

Dr. Jack Hawkins, chancellor of Troy University, introduced Honoree, as “one of the foremost military leaders” in the United States. “He has performed heroically at a time when America needs more heroes,” Dr. Hawkins said.

Dr. Hawkins awarded diplomas to more than 500 graduates from 17 U.S. states and 12 nations outside the United States.

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