San Diego Journalists Report Back from Iraq with their Personal Experiences

By Barbara Metz

The event, jointly sponsored by the San Diego Press Club and the Citizen Diplomacy Council of San Diego (CDCSD), will be at the beautiful offices of Morrison & Foerster, 12531 High Bluff Drive, Suite 100, San Diego 92130. There is plenty of free parking on site. A hosted reception starts at 5:30 p.m., with the program beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Fuentes has been reporting on military issues since 1992. She is the San Diego bureau chief and a senior writer for Marine Corps Times and Navy Times newspapers. Previously she was the military writer for the North County Times. She has written on an assortment of defense issues, ranging from desert training and boot camp to experimental warfighting concepts and aviation, and she has reported from stateside and overseas bases and operations in Iraq and Somalia. A New York native, she double majored in print journalism and political science at American University.

Perry has been the San Diego bureau chief for The Los Angeles Times since 1987. Notable recent assignments include New York after 9/11, Afghanistan with the Marines in 2001, the Persian Gulf in 2002, and Iraq with the Marines every year since 2003. He was honored by the San Diego Press Club in 2001 for his Outstanding Contribution to Journalism and he was a member of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team for Southern California wildfire coverage in 2004. Perry has a bachelor's degree in English from UC Berkeley and graduate studies in English from UC Davis.

Rogers has been reporting on military affairs for 20 years, currently with The San Diego Union-Tribune. Previously, he worked for the Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia, and Stars & Stripes in Tokyo. In 2004, he was embedded for six weeks in Fallujah, Iraq. Rogers has a master's degree in Journalism from Northwestern University and a bachelor's degree from West Virginia University.

Schweitzer, a musician and conductor, served with the Marine Corps for 30 years. In February 2003, he deployed with his division in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While in Iraq and Kuwait, he served as the band's assistant platoon commander and Headquarters Battalion's embedded reporter liaison. Tony Perry was one of the reporters he shepherded.

Morrison & Foerster, facilities host for the evening, is a worldwide law firm that opened a San Diego office in 1999 and has grown to more than 70 attorneys. The largest law firm in California, it specializes in corporate finance, M&A, licensing, patent strategy and prosecution, intellectual property, securities and commercial litigation, white collar defense, and labor and employment.

The firm's beautiful offices feature a collection of artwork by renowned local artists, including Patricia Patterson of Leucadia, Kim MacConnel of Encinitas, and Jamex and Einar de la Torre of Ensenada. Attendees will be invited to tour the collection during the hosted reception. Wine host for the evening is Orfila Vineyards & Winery and Metz Public Relations.

Tickets, available for $15 prepaid or $20 at the door, are limited. Make your reservations as soon as possible by contacting the CDCSD office at (619) 291-8105 or Tanya@cdcsd.org

Posted April 2007