Service members tend pin at AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

  • Published
  • Presidio of Monterey Public Affairs
PRESIDIO OF MONTERERY, Calif.-- --  United States servicemembers from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center and members of the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Monterey participated during the weekend rounds of the nationally-televised AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament by "tending" the pin at Pebble Beach's 15th hole.

The 15th green's pin was uniquely adorned with the U.S. flag for the occasion and was featured prominently during the tournament's live broadcast.

The rotating team of "pin tenders" proudly demonstrated respect and pride for the national flag in front of today's greatest golf stars and celebrities, as well as a worldwide audience of golf fans. The flag detail, consisting of Air Force, Navy, Army and Coast Guard members, was arranged by Lyndon Tarver of DLIFLC at the behest of the tournament director.

The school was honored to support this request, according to Col. William "Terry" Bare, assistant commandant of DLIFLC. "The young participants put on a great display of military discipline and esprit de corps," said Col. Bare.

Tech. Sgt. Kenneth Ali Shaheed coordinated the transportation, supervised the flag detail onsite and even procured a replacement flag at the last minute when it was discovered the flag that had been ordered was unsuitable for the task and the TV audience.

Actor and funnyman Bill Murray took five minutes to stop and talk to the servicemembers beside the green on Feb. 13. Part of the conversation was captured on the television coverage of Murray's group that included tournament leader D.A. Points. Mr. Points would go on to win the tournament three holes later. He and Mr. Murray teamed up to win the Pro-Am portion of the tournament as well.

"This small squad and their display of patriotism made an already exciting weekend extraordinary for everyone who attended," said Col. Bare.

Servicemembers and their families received more than 500 passes to attend the weekend rounds as part of the tournament's outreach to the local military community. They were also treated to a "Military Appreciation Hospitality Tent" adjacent to the 15th hole. Many of these servicemembers will be assigned to operational combat units or ships following their graduation from the Defense Language Institute and Naval Postgraduate School.

The DLIFLC is regarded as one of the finest schools for foreign language instruction in the nation. As part of the Army Training and Doctrine Command, the institute provides resident instruction at the Presidio of Monterey in 24 languages and several dialects, five days a week, seven hours per day. Courses last between 26 and 64 weeks, depending on the difficulty of the language. DLIFLC is a multi-service school for active and reserve components, foreign military students, and civilian personnel working in the federal government and various law enforcement agencies.

Instruction takes place in eight separate language schools. The present facilities at the Presidio of Monterey accommodate approximately 3,500 Soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen, as well as select Department of Defense members and the U.S. Coast Guard. To attend DLIFLC one must be a member of the Armed Forces or be sponsored by a government agency.

DLIFLC students are taught by more than 1,700 highly educated instructors, 98 percent of whom are native speakers of the languages they teach. Aside from classroom instruction, faculty also write course materials in the Curriculum Development Division, design tests called the Defense Language Proficiency Test, and conduct research and analysis.