Petraeus with Air Force Junior ROTC cadets from Lake Worth High School

Gen. David Petraeus stopped mid-anecdote to give a remarkably detailed shout-out during his speech at today’s Forum Club of the Palm Beaches luncheon:

“This country can never have too many Airborne, Air Assault, Pathfinder, Ranger-qualified infantry non-commissioned officers like that man right there,” Petraeus said, singling out retired Army Drill Sgt. Kurt Denmon of Boynton Beach in a crowd of 760.

The two haven’t met. But Denmon, a Desert Storm combat vet who teaches in the ROTC program at Florida Atlantic University, wasn’t surprised that Petraeus sized him up by looking at the various patches and badges on his Class A uniform.

“We can look at our uniforms and we can describe our careers,” Denmon said.