General & Mrs. Tommy Franks Presented with Guns, Knives · PDF filethe left slide in gold, ......
3
Seen here at the Nov. 30 presentations of highly customized and decorated North American Arms (NAA) pistols are, left to right: Gen. Tommy Franks, his wife, Catherine, and Sandy Ch!sholm, president of NAA. (Photo by Ronnie) The highly customized presentation North American Arms pistols have a similarity of design. Gen. Franks' .380-caliber pistol is on the right; It has his name engraved on the left slide in gold, while the right has six faceted 2-point diamonds set in white 18K gold alternating with the stars. Mrs. Franks' pistol, on the left, has her name engraved in gold on the left side of the slide, while the right side, visible here, has the 18-karet gold stars interspersed with 2-point rubies. Each pistol has a unique serial number. (Photo by Ronnie) General & Mrs. Tommy Franks Presented with Guns, Knives On Nov. 30, two American companies recognized a modern military hero and presented him and his wife with firearms and cutlery as a token of thanks and appreciation of their service to the United States. Sandy Chisholm, president and CEO of North American Arms Inc. (NAA) of Provo, UT, presented Gen. Tommy Franks (US Army, ret.) and his wife, Catherine, with two highly-customized .380 ACP caliber Guardian pistols in the general's Tampa, FL, office. Les deAsis, president of Benchmade Knife Company of Oregon City, OR, presented the general with a set of engraved military knives and Mrs. Franks with a special set of household cutlery. DeAsis told Gun Week that it was a unique and me.morable meeting of well over an hour with a family that has done so much for our nation. The Benchmade presentation to the general included a Special Ops folding knife (the company's Model 5000 Presidio) and a fixed-blade Airborne knife in a special sheath (Model 140). Both knives featured unique presentation engraving. Chisholm said, "We are honored to present these pistols as a small token of appreciation of the fantastic job that General Franks preformed in both Afghanistan and Iraq. "Tommy Franks is an original American hero and my staff at North American Arms is proud of what he accomplished," Chisholm added. On the NAA website (www.naaminis.com) Chisholm added some personal comments about the meeting with the general and his wife, which he titled "A visit with a military hero." "This afternoon (11/30/06), I had the privilege and pleasure of visiting with Tommy Franks, retired 4-star general and Commander in Chief of United States Central Command, the man responsible for conducting the initial, devastating and successful invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. The purpose of my visit was to present General Franks, and his wife Cathy, each with a highly embellished (compliments of our partners at Baron Technologies) .380ACP Guardian. This was intended as just a very small way that NAA and I could show our respect and ) appreciation for General Franks' leadership and career of service to our country. "While I would like to say that the general and his staff approached us to express his interest in obtaining an NAA firearm, that wouldn't be wholly accurate. Notwithstanding, the interest shown by his wife and staff officer, Col. Michael Hayes US Army, ret., who was responsible for orchestrating this presentation, was initiated on their end. I couldn't be any prouder of the honor bestowed on me and my company of the general's time, hospitality and the flattering remarks he made about our product and initiative. "The general was as gracious, charming and engaging as you might expect from a man so accomplished and so successful, charged with leading countless thousands of men (and women) into battle. Regardless of your politics or your level of dissatisfaction with the war decision or the current state of affairs in Iraq, no one can reasonably criticize the effective execution of the battle plan that General Franks, his team and our allies crafted," Chisholm continued. He concluded, "I left his office with an autographed copy of his recent book, American Soldier, as well as a solicitation for the General Tommy Franks Leadership I Institute and Museum which will be built in Hobart, OK, a presidential library of sorts. More information can be found at www.tommyfranks.com. For those of you not "fortunate" enough to own a gun company which makes presentation- grade firearms, and/or to be invited to
Transcript of General & Mrs. Tommy Franks Presented with Guns, Knives · PDF filethe left slide in gold, ......
Seen here at the Nov. 30 presentations of highly customized and decoratedNorth American Arms (NAA) pistols are, left to right: Gen. Tommy Franks, hiswife, Catherine, and Sandy Ch!sholm, president of NAA. (Photo by Ronnie)
The highly customized presentation North American Arms pistols have a similarity ofdesign. Gen. Franks' .380-caliber pistol is on the right; It has his name engraved onthe left slide in gold, while the right has six faceted 2-point diamonds set in white18K gold alternating with the stars. Mrs. Franks' pistol, on the left, has her nameengraved in gold on the left side of the slide, while the right side, visible here, hasthe 18-karet gold stars interspersed with 2-point rubies. Each pistol has a uniqueserial number. (Photo by Ronnie)
General & Mrs. Tommy FranksPresented with Guns, Knives
On Nov. 30, two Americancompanies recognized a modern militaryhero and presented him and his wifewith firearms and cutlery as a token ofthanks and appreciation of their serviceto the United States.
Sandy Chisholm, president andCEO of North American Arms Inc.(NAA) of Provo, UT, presented Gen.Tommy Franks (US Army, ret.) and hiswife, Catherine, with twohighly-customized .380 ACP caliberGuardian pistols in the general's Tampa,FL, office.
Les deAsis, president ofBenchmade Knife Company of OregonCity, OR, presented the general with aset of engraved military knives and Mrs. Franks witha special set of household cutlery.
DeAsis told Gun Week that it was a unique andme.morable meeting of well over an hour with afamily that has done so much for our nation.
The Benchmade presentation to the generalincluded a Special Ops folding knife (the company'sModel 5000 Presidio) and a fixed-blade Airborneknife in a special sheath (Model 140). Both knivesfeatured unique presentation engraving.
Chisholm said, "We are honored to presentthese pistols as a small token of appreciation of thefantastic job that General Franks preformed in bothAfghanistan and Iraq.
"Tommy Franks is an original American heroand my staff at North American Arms is proud ofwhat he accomplished," Chisholm added.
On the NAA website (www.naaminis.com)Chisholm added some personal comments about themeeting with the general and his wife, which he titled"A visit with a military hero."
"This afternoon (11/30/06), I had the privilegeand pleasure of visiting with Tommy Franks, retired
4-star general and Commander in Chief of UnitedStates Central Command, the man responsible forconducting the initial, devastating and successfulinvasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. The purpose ofmy visit was to present General Franks, and his wifeCathy, each with a highly embellished (complimentsof our partners at Baron Technologies) .380ACPGuardian. This was intended as just a very small waythat NAA and I could show our respect and )appreciation for General Franks' leadership andcareer of service to our country.
"While I would like to say that the general andhis staff approached us to express his interest inobtaining an NAA firearm, that wouldn't be whollyaccurate. Notwithstanding, the interest shown by hiswife and staff officer, Col. Michael Hayes US Army,ret., who was responsible for orchestrating thispresentation, was initiated on their end. I couldn't beany prouder of the honor bestowed on me and mycompany of the general's time, hospitality and theflattering remarks he made about our product andinitiative.
"The general was as gracious, charming andengaging as you might expect from a man soaccomplished and so successful, charged with leading
countless thousands of men (andwomen) into battle. Regardless of yourpolitics or your level of dissatisfactionwith the war decision or the current stateof affairs in Iraq, no one can reasonablycriticize the effective execution of thebattle plan that General Franks, his teamand our allies crafted," Chisholmcontinued.
He concluded, "I left his officewith an autographed copy of his recentbook, American Soldier, as well as asolicitation for the General TommyFranks Leadership I Institute andMuseum which will be built in Hobart,OK, a presidential library of sorts. Moreinformation can be found atwww.tommyfranks.com. For those ofyou not "fortunate" enough to own a guncompany which makes presentation-grade firearms, and/or to be invited to
Also on Nov. 30, Benchmade Knife Company of Oregon City, OR, presentedGen. Franks with a set of custom knives and Mrs. Franks with a specialpresentation cutlery set. Seen here, left to right, are: Paulo Magalhaes,Benchmade federal government field representative, Franks, Mrs.Franks, and Les deAsis, president of Benchmade Knives. (Photo by Ronnie)
express your appreciation and admiration in person, agenerous expression of support of this project wouldbe well received.
The pistol for Gen. Franks has four stars on theslide in 24K gold plate with six faceted 2-pointdiamonds set in white 18K gold alternating with thestars. The serial number has the general's initials andhis date of birth.Mrs. Franks' matching pistol also came with 24KGold plating in the stars and has faceted six 2-pointrubies between the stars; the serial number on herpistol has her initials and their marriage date. Theopposite side of the slide includes an engraved andgilded logo of CENTCOM.
Baron Technology Inc. of Trumbull, CT,(www.baronengraving.com) donated theirhand-engraved scroll work and the gems used onboth pistols were donated from Signity of Texas(www.signity.com).
North American Arms manufactures a family offinely crafted, small caliber personal protection tools.
Franks, who was the keynote speaker at the2006 National Rifle Association annual banquet inMilwaukee WI, was born in Winnewood, OK, andgrew up in Midland, TX, where he graduated fromRobert E. Lee High School. After two years at theUniversity of Texas, he joined the US Army and in1967, as a distinguished graduate of the ArtilleryOfficer Candidate School, he was commissioned asecond lieutenant and sent to Vietnam.
His service in Vietnam earned him six awardsfor valor and three Purple Hearts. It was the start of along and distinguished career that would take himfrom one world hot spot to another – from WestGermany at the height of the Cold War to theDemilitarized Zone in Korea, to the deserts of Arabia– where he gained the knowledge and experience thatwould prepare him for the leadership role that wouldmark his place in the annals of American history.
In June 2000, he was promoted to four-stargeneral and assigned as Commander-in-Chief, USCentral Command. It's in this position that the worldknows Tommy Franks best – the culmination of analmost four-decade military career that saw him leadAmerican and Coalition troops in two strategicallyunprecedented campaigns in two years – OperationEnduring Freedom in Afghanistan and OperationIraqi Freedom in Iraq.
The General's awards include fiveDistinguished Service Medals, four Legions of Merit,four Bronze Stars and three Purple Hearts in additionto numerous foreign awards. He was appointedKnight Commander of the Order of the BritishEmpire (KBE) by order of Her Majesty QueenElizabeth II on May 25, 2004. And President GeorgeW. Bush awarded him the Nation's highest civilianaward, the Presidential Medal of Freedom inDecember 2004.
Since his retirement from the military in 2003,General Franks has traveled the world speaking onleadership, character and the value of democracy. Hisautobiography, American Soldier, debuted asNumber #1 on The New York Times best seller-listin August 2004.
From the Business column in the December 20, 2006 Edition of Gun WeekSee www.gunweek.com for more information
![Michael Franks - Michael Franks (Book)[1]](https://static.fdocuments.net/doc/165x107/5571f41c49795947648f070b/michael-franks-michael-franks-book1.jpg)
