Soldiers at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth on Friday were in the presence of a nation’s president.

Lt. Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, president of the Republic of Uganda, and Ugandan first lady Janet K. Museveni watched the graduation of their son Maj. Muhozi Museveni Kainerugaba.

“I am very proud of (Kainerugaba) because he was born when we were fighting for our freedom,” Museveni said at a press conference after the ceremony in which about 750 U.S. military officers and about 50 international military officers graduated.

“I am glad that he took up a military career. I am glad he has taken up the role as a freedom fighter.”

Museveni said his son was born in 1974, during the dictatorial regime of Idi Amin.

Receiving the highest honor in the class, the Gen. George C. Marshall Award, was Maj. Kellie McCoy from St. Louis. She is only the second woman to receive the honor since it was established in 1960. The top award for an international student, the Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower Award, was given to Maj. Paul Fai Cheak, of Singapore, who said he would take many memories with him as he returns to Singapore to command a battalion.

“The friends that we made we will always remember for the rest of our lives, even after we retire from the military,” Cheak said.

And he won’t forget last winter.

“It’s not very often that I get to shovel snow,” he said. “I tried to enjoy the experience as much as I can.”