Petreaus To Speak At Military Weekend Banquet

A retired four-star general is headlining the activities for this year’s Currahee Military Weekend in Stephens County.

Organizers have announced that Retired General David Petreaus will appear at the annual Currahee Military Weekend banquet, which takes place on the evening of Saturday, October 1 at the National Guard Armory on Savannah Street in downtown Toccoa.

Steve Tilley with the Stephens County Historical Society and the Camp Toccoa at Currahee project said it is an honor to have Petreaus visit Toccoa.

“I have been trying to get him here for about three years and we were finally able to get worked into his schedule,” said Tilley. “We are really excited about it. Everybody is looking forward to him being here.”

General Petreaus formerly led troops in Iraq and served as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

He is also a member of the Camp Toccoa at Currahee board that is overseeing work taking place at the site of Camp Toccoa on Currahee Mountain, where paratroopers trained for World War II.

Tilley said that Petreaus will not deliver a speech, but take part in a moderated question and answer session.

“We will ask him some questions on the military, homeland security, paratroopers today,” said Tilley. “It will be an interesting talk.”

Tickets are available for the Military Weekend banquet on Saturday, October 1.

They cost $50 at the current time and can be purchased by contacting the Currahee Military Museum at 706-282-5055.

The 16th annual Currahee Military Weekend takes place from Thursday, September 29 to Sunday, October 2.

Each year, the event honors the World War II paratroopers who trained at Camp Toccoa and have been profiled in series like “Band of Brothers.”