School President Says He Got Special Coin From Obama
WATERTOWN, S.D. (AP) — The president of a South Dakota technical school was stealthily handed a special medallion by President Barack Obama during a visit to the state earlier this month.
Lake Area Technical Institute President Mark Cartney received a “challenge coin” from Obama while shaking his hand, the Watertown Public Opinion ( ) reported. Cartney quickly put the coin in his pants pocket and didn’t sneak a peek at it until later.
“I saw it in his hand when he started to shake mine,” Cartney said. “I was stunned. I really don’t remember much of what happened after that.”
One person who witnessed the coin exchange was school vice president Diane Stiles.
“I saw that (Obama) had given something to Mike, but I didn’t find out what it was until later,” she said. “He said he was proud of Mike’s military service, and that he was still serving the country through education.”
The coins are well-known inside the military and are typically given by commanders, according to the newspaper. Cartney is a retired Air Force colonel and has collected many challenge coins, but the one from Obama basically means he “will never have to buy a drink at a military bar” again.
His most prized challenge coin previously had been one given by Gen. John Shalikashvili, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and supreme allied commander from 1993 to 1997.
Cartney, a Watertown High School graduate, entered the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs in 1977 and has been decorated for his duty in several operations, including Operation Iraqi Freedom.
During the country’s response to the 9/11 attacks, Cartney directed the activities of nearly 1,000 people worldwide and the operational management of billions of dollars in equipment.
Cartney, as operational director, oversaw all Department of Defense satellite and terrestrial communications worldwide. He later represented the interests of the U.S. Air Force Academy superintendent to the White House, Congress, the defense secretary and others.
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Information from: Watertown Public Opinion,
