communications from the leadership

Since 1952 members of the Defense Orientation Conference Association (DOCA) have received briefings on national defense and national security from senior military leaders, senior Department of State staff members and Ambassadors and their country teams in U. S. Embassies. Throughout the years since the formation of DOCA, DOCA members have received briefings at countless military installations throughout the United States and abroad. For example, in 2017 DOCA visited Vandenburg AFB in California, Buenos Aires in Argentina, Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Beijing in China, Seoul in South Korea, and Nellis and Creech AFBs in Las Vegas, Nevada. After Covid struck, DOCA members had access to virtual conferences on topics such as the U. S. Space Force, Afghanistan, USSTRATCOM and missile defense and Latin America and U. S. national security.

If you were a member of DOCA, you could answer in the affirmative that you experienced the following:

• Visited a nuclear fast attack submarine.
• Visited a nuclear ballistic missile submarine.
• Received briefings at NORCOM, SOUTHCOM, INDOPACOM and NATO
• Saw the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier being built.
• Visited and received briefings at U. S. Embassies throughout the world.
• Visited the demilitarized zone in Korea and stepped into North Korea.
• Received briefings at the National Defense University.
• Received briefings at the Naval War College.
• Visited all the military academies.
• Visited Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Plans for 2022 include: visiting US Naval Base Ventura County (NAS Point Mugu and Port Hueneme) and Vandenburg SFB; visiting Italy (NATO War College, HQ Navy Region Europe, the Navy’s 6th Fleet, the Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade and the USAF’s 31st Fighter Wing; visiting San Diego for briefings about the USS Zumwalt (a new guided missile destroyer), US Navy Special Warfare operations, and MCAS Miramar for Marine air operations.

By way of a summary, DOCA members over the years have been exposed to all facets of military operations and facilities and received briefings from the people in the know about national security and national defense. Joining DOCA allows one to meet likeminded individuals and attend conferences on the subjects such as outlined above.