8 minute read
All Hands
Editor’s Note
Spring at the Naval Academy is invigorating. It’s beautiful in Annapolis at this time of year. USNA is bustling with activity. Regimental Receptions at Dahlgren Hall on 25-26 April gave us a chance to celebrate and welcome the Class of 2022. Representatives of Alumni Chapters, Shared Interest Groups (SIGs), the Alumni Mentoring Program (AMP) and our tireless staff gathered for dinner and shared information about their organizations and how we are positioned to support them after graduation. It’s motivating to see the Class of ‘22 ready to hit the fleet.
We also hosted the Council of Class Presidents at Akerson Towerr at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on 22 April. It was motivating to see and interact with those dedicated volunteer leaders representing seven decades of alumni.
We are excited to welcome aboard Jeff Webb ’95 as the Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation’s new President and CEO. Jeff has been actively involved as a volunteer in a variety of alumni association programs for better than a decade.
Our career services team hosted more than 125 Fortune 500 companies and more than 600 service academy graduates in early May at our Washington, DC, Service Academy Career Conference. Helping Alumni Find jobs remains our number one priority. At the time of this writing, we have more than 1,000 jobs on our job board (www.sacc-jobfair.com/jobs/ joblistings) that are only available to our alumni. If you need help, or have a job to list—please contact our career services team.
We concluded the 2021-22 academic year with a record-setting performance by Navy varsity athletics. Navy was 20-4 in the N-Star Series versus Army— that’s the first time in the history of the series that one school achieved 20 wins over the other. Congratulations to our fantastic Navy athletes and coaches. As Superintendent Vice Admiral Buck ’83 likes to say, beating Army has become a core competency. Let’s get 23 in 23!
Among the first to congratulate the Class of 2022 at their commissioning ceremony on 27 May was their 50-year Another Link in the Chain class, the Class of 1972, who presented each graduate with their ensign and second lieutenant insignia. One month prior, on 28 April in Memorial Hall, the Classes of 1924 and 1974 donated rings to the Class of 2024, the rising second class, in the annual Bond of Gold ceremony. 2024’s class rings will contain gold from the donated rings, a symbol of the bond that unites all alumni. I want to thank Jostens for their great partnership in this important tradition.
Work progresses on the new Alumni Association and Foundation Center being built alongside College Creek. The foundation for the 65,000-square-foot facility has been laid and walls and steel are going up. (see more about the project on page 34). Please monitor construction progress with our webcam—go to usna.com.
Finally, I want to applaud the 2021 Distinguished Chapters that were recognized this spring. This year’s awardees are: Columbus and Central Ohio (Second Award); Greater Washington, DC (Second Award); Hampton Roads (Fourth Award); North Carolina Triangle (Fifth Award); Oregon and Southwest Washington (Fourth Award); Puget Sound (Second Award); Quantico (Third Award); San Diego (Fourth Award); Tampa Bay (Second Award); Texas Gulf Coast (Fourth Award) and Tulsa (Second Award). Among our main findings from the 2021 Alumni Survey is the vitally important role our chapters play in harnessing the power of personal relationships that drive engagement across the community. Thank you for everything you do.
Go Navy! Beat Army!
Commander Craig Washington ’89, USN (Ret.)
Editor-in-Chief ®
Alumni Couple Donates To Aid Montana Heritage Center Veteran Displays
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MONTANA HISTORICAL SOCIETY Tim P. ’08 and Carmen L. Sheehy ’09, recently donated $500,000 to the Montana Historical Society to be used for construction of the $63.7 million Montana Heritage Center in Helena, MT, including enhanced military displays and incorporating the history of the wildfire in Montana. An industrialist, aviator, former Navy SEAL and the founder and chief executive officer of Bridger Aerospace, Sheehy’s love of history and his desire to preserve the past combined with his wife’s passions for Tim '08 and Carmen Sheehy '09 recently donated towards the expansion of military education and youth engagement, prompted the couple to approach the displays in the Montana Heritage Center. historical society with the donation. “I have visited the museum in Helena with my children and we always enjoy it, but I was very encouraged to hear a new museum is now under construction. Montana has a rich military heritage and a rich veteran community, and it is time to share that with a wider audience,” Sheehy said.
Helena is the home of the 1st Special Service force, known as the “Devil’s Brigade.” The Devil’s Brigade was made up of Americans and Canadians who trained for World War II at nearby Fort Harrison for commando operations. The 66,000-square-foot Montana Heritage Center addition has a topping-off ceremony expected in late June and will open in late 2024 or early 2025. ®
PHOTO COURTESY OF HONOR FLIGHT KENTUCKY
Honor Flight Kentucky completed its first all-female veteran flight this June. Named Operation HERoes, the all-female flight was organized in coordination with the Kentucky Department of Veterans Affairs, the Kentucky Historical Society and UPS, and hosted female veterans who helped pave the way for women in the military today. The Honor Flight program gives veterans a chance to visit memorials to the wars in which they served by flying them to Washington, DC, for a one-day, all-expenses-paid trip with the majority of attending veterans seeing the memorials in person for the first time.
Joanne T. Fry ’82—who graduated with the Naval Academy’s third class of women—was among the HERoes on the flight.
“I consider my experience as one that helped open the doors for women to serve. We all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity,” said Fry. ®
Tomlinson ’01 is a familiar face as a correspondent for FOX News but long before he found himself on the ground during a Russian attack on Ukraine, he was experiencing similar dangers in Afghanistan as a naval officer.
Tomlinson ’01 Reporting Live from Ukraine
Lucas Y. Tomlinson ’01 is no stranger to war zones but he never thought he’d find himself in one as a civilian. After serving as a surface warfare officer following his commissioning from the Naval Academy, Tomlinson went to work for the Department of Defense. There he was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division on a human terrain team in Afghanistan for more than a year spending much of his time on the ground, interviewing locals with an interpreter and writing reports on the locals to better the population. Tomlinson’s research was vital data for the Armed Forces missions and quickly led to him being offered a career in journalism and a position with FOX News in 2012. For years, Tomlinson worked as a producer from the Pentagon until receiving his current correspondent position in January 2022, never dreaming he would be sent back into a war zone.
Toward the end of January, Tomlinson received an assignment call to Ukraine and immediately said yes. Tensions between Ukraine and Russia were high, but most people were dismissive of the warnings of Russia attacking. Just three weeks after Tomlinson arrived on the ground, Russia advanced and began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine during which FOX News lost two of its own in attacks. An additional reporter was seriously wounded before being rescued by Save Our Allies. Embedded reporters with the U.S. military have access to medevacs in the event of an emergency but reporters working alongside the Ukraine military do not.
“This is down and dirty fighting. Certainly, as a journalist, there are incredible risks. Just knowing that journalists are getting killed, they have been killed. It’s just a tough situation but it’s a critically important vocation right now … Think about where we’d be if we did not have images of the destruction of Ukraine,” Tomlinson told wearthemighty.com about his decision to accept the dangerous assignment.
Tomlinson is adamant his time in the military prepared him for his role as a journalist and his weeks spent in Ukraine.
“As a veteran you know how to work under pressure and it’s a tremendous skill. It’s so important as a journalist for me, personally, to have been on the ground in Ukraine. It’s like mapping human terrain in Afghanistan. It’s so important to report on what people, the common man, the common woman, in some cases, the child, is thinking, feeling and saying and it’s very important to make their voices heard around the world,” said Tomlinson. ®
The Naval Academy mock trial team participated in its first-ever live competition on 16 April with the midshipmen taking first place over Army after winning both the first and second trial on points. Formed in 2021 and headed by Midshipman Sandy Guerraro ’22, the mock trial team teaches midshipmen how to be persuasive public speakers, to think critically and to learn how to make cohesive arguments that will transcend their time at the Academy and into the fleet.
The midshipmen were able to sway the jury through outstanding performances by Midshipman Matthew Sale ’24 acting as a witness and midshipman Max Bueno ’24, who acted as attorney. For more information about the team, visit the USNA Political Science Facebook page. ®
The Naval Academy mock trial team won both trials against Army during its first live competition this April.
“You see cities being destroyed, torn apart, thousands killed and children being made into orphans. That’s what I saw. Being a father, I think, had more of a profound impact on my reporting. There’s been some incredible reporters out there documenting this, not just at FOX. You see these photos of women and children putting their hands on the glass at the train station saying goodbye. It’s tough to witness.”
—Lucas Y. Tomlinson ’01 regarding his assignment as a FOX News correspondent on the ground in Ukraine during the Russian invasion.
