The Association of the United States Army’s Arizona Territorial Chapter sponsored its annual Armed Forces Career Officers’ Day Luncheon Nov. 23, the largest hosted by the chapter in the lunch’s 22-year existence.Designed to encourage young men and women to pursue a career in the armed forces, the 2010 luncheon had 350 Junior ROTC cadets and representatives from all the services in attendance.Two-hundred and twenty male and female cadets from over 40 high schools came to the event to learn the procedures on how to become officers in the armed forces.Chapter officials noted that "it was particularly rewarding to see how far some schools travelled to be here. A High School from Sierra Vista came 200 miles to attend for the first time."The cadets were met by representatives from commissioning schools throughout Arizona to include Army, Navy and Air Force Senior ROTC departments from the four major Arizona universities.Also on the program were representatives from all the service academies, Norwich University, Wentworth Military Academy, the New Mexico Military Academy and local recruiters from the Phoenix Recruiting Battalion and the Arizona National Guard.At the luncheon, held at the McCormick Ranch Golf Course, following the posting of the colors by a JROTC unit from Trevor Browne High School and the National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Maj. Fred Ferguson, USA, Ret., Medal of Honor recipient who was cited for gallantry while assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division during the Vietnam War.The lunch’s guest speakers were Lt. Kelsey Rae Ternes, USN, who received her commission through the Navy Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., and Army Capt. Jon R. Cope, who graduated from the University of Oregon, and earned a master’s degree from Northern Arizona University.He enlisted in the Army from Fort Sill, Okla., and was commissioned in the Military Police Corps through the Officer Candidate School (OCS) program.Ternes, now a naval aviator who served on the USS John Stennis, is now a NROTC instructor at Arizona State University.Cope, who served in Iraq and led an MP platoon in Baghdad for two years and participated in over 500 missions and eight major battles, now commands a company in the 301st Military Intelligence Battalion based in both Phoenix, Ariz., and Honolulu, Hawaii.A chapter official said, "The [JROTC] cadets were held spell bound by both these young officers’ experiences, and their obvious love of the military and their service to the country.  Both stressed how all services offered interesting challenges and how much they enjoyed working with other branches of the armed forces." Adding, "Since they were so close in age to the audience, the students really related to them and were swept up by their enthusiasm."