Forty individuals from around the state gathered for a day-long leadership workshop about Pearl Harbor in Tucson, AZ. The day began on the University of Arizona campus near Old Main at USS Arizona Mall Memorial, to mark the 83rd anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack. 

December 7, a day that, in the words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “will live in infamy” was commemorated in a special way this year by Arizona Center for Rural Leadership. Conducted by  Diamond 6 Leadership and Strategy LLC, the session included observer participants with long military background to help provide perspective and background.    Participants were assigned to a squad named for each of six battleships in Pearl Harbor that were attacked.   We were tasked with watching “Day of Infamy” and “Tora, Tora, Tora” prior to the seminar in order to have a common, solid background of the Pearl Harbor attack.  That basic understanding the motives, resources, assumptions, prejudices, military values and goals of both the Americans and the Japanese was further enriched by Diamond 6 staff with certified military historian background.  This enabled each squad to explain their answers to the leadership challenge at the end of six  “case studies” – the First Wave of the Attack; the Pineapple Pentagon; Hospital Point and the USS Nevada; The Punch Bowl; Was Japan’s Attach Successful? and The Aftermath.   Throughout, participants were encouraged to ask questions, to challenge the conclusions of other squads (and the squad leader, which changed for each case study)  to discuss gray areas  - and, of course, gaining an appreciation of the difficulty of making decisions without the benefit of hindsight.    It was a profoundly information rich, intellectually stimulating day.  The opportunity to interact with Project CENTRL friends, alumni, staff and current class members was especially satisfying.  Many thanks to the U of A, whose additional funding made this kind of workshop experience possible*, and to Executive Director Scott Koenig for his foresight in scheduling this superb opportunity on December 7th.