Checkpoints December 2004

CH E C K POIN T S

V A SSO CI A T I O N

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G RA D UA T ES OF T H E

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The brave m en and w o m en w ho serve in o ur

armed forces protect our freedom and t he f reedom of t he world. We honor t heir courage

and t heir unselfish commit ment to duty.

Hero es, every o ne. \ '

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A year of unprecedented support to the Academy -

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T O H A N O I A N D BA C K

Lt. Gen. Ed Mechenbier, ’64, makes a fi nal fl ight to bring home tw o of our fallen heroes 57 T H E C O U RA G E O F LA N C E SIJ A N

The ordeal in the jungle didn’t break him. Neither d i d h i s

N orth Vietnamese captors 84

A B RIEF H IST O RY O F T H E H O N O R SY ST EM

W E W I L L N O T L I E. S T E A L . O R C H E A T. N O R TO L ERA T E A M ON G U S A N YO N E W HO D 0 ES ,

Fred M almstrom, ’64, chronicles T he Code 84

O N TH E CO VER-.

The enduring beauty of theAir ForceAcademy isseenf rom every perspectivealong the terrazzo. (Photo by Ken Wright)

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A sso c iat io n o f G r ad uat S U N I T E D ST A T E S A I R F O R C E A C A D E M Y

3116 Academy Drive, USAF Academy, CO 80840-4475

C u st o m e r Se rv ic e

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EX E C U T IV E O F F IC E

Presid e nt/ C EO : Ja m e s A . Shaw , ' 6 7 C O M M U N IC A T IO N S

V ice Presid e nt : D ick Ra u sch ko lb , ' 7 0 Ed it o r: Bo b M cA llist e r

Assistant Edit or: Ken Wright Media Designer: Sarah Wright Photography: Ken Wright Writer: Christ opher St ewart Web Site: Brenda George

C lass N ew s Ed it o r: To m K ro b o t h

Advertising: Christ opher St ew art and Bob McA llist er

CHECKPOIN TS {\SSN 0274-7391) USPS 898-080 is published quarterly in M arch, June, September and December by the Association of G rad uates, U .S. Air ForceAcademy. (Phone: 719-472-0300, DSN : 333-2067 . FAX : 7 19333-4194, E-mail: aog@aog-usafa.org.) It isprovided as part of a membership packageof which themagazinesubscription annually accounts for $ 10. Single copies of CHECKPOINTS for members $2.50. Periodicals postage paid at theU.S. Air ForceAcademy, CO and additional mailingoffi ces. PO ST M A S

T ER: Send change of address to CHECKPOINTS, Association of Graduates, Doolittle Hall, 3116 Academy Dr., USAF Academy, CO 8 0 84 0 -4 4 7 5 .

Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors. T hey do not necessarily refl ect theopinions, policy or attitudeof the Associat ion of G rad u ates, itsoffi cersor theeditorial staff. Theappearanceof advertisemen ts in th is publication doesnot constitutean endorsement by theA ssociation of G rad uates of theproductsor servicesadvertised. Copyright, A ssociat ion of G rad uates of the U.S. Air Force Academy, FALL 2004.

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related activities in the private sector, unheard of just a few years ago, are also beginning to blossom. Being market-driven, they are of necessity for now more modest in scope than r et u r n t o t h e moon or on to Mars, but these activities are also pivotal in truly opening up the fi nal frontier.

Serving as chief judge for the recently won $10 million A n sar i X Prize, I was privileged to closely follow an aerospace develop ment program second-to-none and witness history in the making from the Spaceship One control room Oct. 4. Many other truly pioneering efforts in the realm of totally private sp ace v en t u r es are also underway. The talents of USAFA grads will also surely be needed in this fi eld .

Geoffrey Michael, ’73, highlighted his incredible experi ence fl ying a parabolic zero g-fl ight at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. From almost a thousand hours in space, I attest that weightless parabolic fl ight feels exactly t h e sam e and is one of the most fun things you can do on or of f t h e planet! Since fi nal certifi cation in September, we at t h e Zero Gravity Corporation have operated a modifi ed Boeing 727 under FAA Part 121 to bring real weightlessness t o t h e public. So all you 9g, grunt-and-groan Viper drivers, an d anyone else, we invite you to come on over to the “light si d e” for a fl ight unlike any you’ve ever taken! Feel free t o c o n t a c t me at info@astronautspeaker.com for more details.

Col. (Ret.) Rick Searf oss, Class of 1978 VP Program Development, Zero Gravity Corporation c a n

Last , but not least

To be honest, I usually just skim over the last few cl ass n ew s articles, since these folks haven’t typically done much to grab my attention at this point in their careers. Such was n o t t h e case with the input from 2004 in the last Checkpoints. Although there were probably fewer wordswritten than from any other class, I was inspired, proud, and probably a little awed and hum bled as well. If there is any doubt these young men and going to do great things — and, further, if there is any doubt our institution of higher learning is still turning out a quality product beyond the classroom — it should be dissolved by reading t h o se w

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w ords from the heart of a f ut ure leader.

Don Myers, Class of 1980 Ever higher

I read with great personal interest two space-related ar t i cl es i n the latest Checkpoints. As a former astronaut myself, I appreci ated Fred Gregory’s, ’64, sanguine vision for a bright gov er n ment space exploration future. Certainly USAFA grads w i l l indeed fi gure prominently in helping us expand human p r es ence in the solar system.

While our national leadership is beginning to redirect N A SA back along paths of true exploration, incredible human sp ace4

Former superintendent remembered

I’ve been pleased to read all the Checkpoints articles i n r ecen t years about cadets’ involvement in community service, particu larly in the fall 2003 issue. Forming the Cadet Service Learning Program in 1998 was a great idea — kudos to whoever got that off the ground. I thought I’d share a service-related an ecd o t e t h at our readers may fi nd interesting.

Having been quite involved in community service prior to arriving at USAFA in 1978, I sought out opportunities t o continue during my four years there. The most memorable e v e n t was during my three-degree year. As an Eagle Scout, I h ad an interest in the local scouting program and found out that a Boy Scout summer camp, west of Colorado Springs, would be having

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a service project weekend. So, I borrowed my sponsor’s t r u ck and roped my roommate, Steve Herzig, ’82, into going w i t h m e.

At sunrise, we gathered in the camp chow hall for pancakes an d coffee and then split up into teams. An older gentleman assigned to work with Steve and me. We were honored t o r eceiv e the most prestigious task - to dig a pit for a two-holer o u t h o u se.

We dug and chatted. It turned out our teammate had sp en t so m e w a s

t i m e i n t h e A i r Fo r ce.

After several hours of shoveling the rock-hard soil, t h e sw eat st ained m an revealed h is last nam e: C lark . Steve and I stopped.

“Sir, do you mean Lt. Gen. Clark, former USAFA superin tendent?” The smile on his face answered my question. W e hacked at that rock and sand all day, eventually doing o u r p ar t to add some comfort to many scouts’ wilderness experiences.

So, now you know the rest of the story about a man w h o h as given so much to his country and USAFA — from the top fl oor of H armon H all, to the bottom of an outhouse in the R o ck i es

— he believed community service is important.

MikeHonsinger, Class of 1982 Read a l l a bo ut it

I just fi nished reading the latest Checkpoints— wow! A n o t h er great publication. I wish more people had the opportunity t o read this, especially on the Academy. It would make t h em m o r e appreciative what goes on here and how much you all co n t r i b ute. Again, great job.

CharlieDye Chief Logistics Readiness, 10th Mission Support Group

Mitchell Hall was appalling and therewasn’t an offi cer in sight, cadets openly ridiculed oneAOC in my presence, and I almost couldn’t buy a salute w hen I w alked dow n the Terrazzo in Service D ress.

All of that is now changed. I found today’s cadets to be eager, attentive, and proud to be at the Academy — they were clear eyed and eager to talk about their school and future r o l e i n the Air Force. Squadron areas were clean and orderly, military dress and appearance were fi rst rate, and every cadet I m et w as on top of customs and courtesies. Additionally, Maj . Pr ev et t is an impressive young offi cer, one who has a fi rm grasp of his duties and is highly respected by his cadets. If Maj . Pr ev et t i s an example of today’sAOC, you’ve got a great bunch. All in all , I was very, very pleased with all I observed this time around , and I’m taking every opportunity to let fellow zoomies k n ow t h at USAFA is on an upward vector once again.

Again, I wanted to provide you with some direct, positive f eed back. I imagine you get lots of negatives [and I’m su r e t h er e ar e a few], but this grad certainly feels much better about h i s sch o o l and the future of our Air Force. Thanks for an opportunity t o work with the cadets in CS-10. It’s always a pleasure t o m e e t young folks with that “spark” and a clear vision for t hei r fut ure.

Col. Jim Moschgat, Class of 1977 Vice Commandant, Air Command and Staf College

Tell us what you t hink!

To t he Supt .

Sir, I hope you’ll forgive the direct email, but I wanted to give you some feedback from my recent visit to the Academy.

Two weeks ago, my wife and I fl ew to Colorado to attend The Friends and Family of the Medal of Honor Convention in Pueblo. We invited two cadets to join us for the ev en t an d then, on Saturday morning, I coordinated with Maj . Tyler Prevett, ’93, CS-l O’s AOC, to give his cadets a pitch leadership in a deployed combat location. I cannot begin to describe the positive differences I noted between this r e c e n t visit and my last a little over three years ago, j ust b ef o r e I l ef t o n

f o r t h e d eser t .

I spent two daysat USAFA during thewinter of 2001 an d came away with a very disappointing opinion of theAcademy, the overall military climate there, and some in the Cadet Wing. Cadets addressed one another with disrespect, both malesand fem al es openly and oft en referred to women as “chicks” or “babes,” th ere w as absolutely no pride or uniformity in uniform wear, co n d u ct i n t h e

Each quarter the staff of Checkpoints magazine works hard to provide you with pertinent and entertaining articles about the U.S. Air Force Academy and the graduate community.

If you would like to let us know how we’re doing or make a suggestion for future articles and coverage, please send your feedback to: A ssociat ion of G rad uates

Attn: Checkpoints Editor 3116 Academy Drive USAF Academy, CO 80840-4475 Or you can e-mail us at: editor@usafa.org. We welcome any and all suggestions. Thank you!

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G R E ET I N G S F E L L O W G R A D U A T E S A N D F R I E N D S O F T H E A C A D E M Y - T h e new A O G W eb si t e w en t l ive N ov. 15. T h i s h as been som e t i m e i n coming,

and we are happy that it is now available for your u se. T h e site includes many new features and should help enable b et t er communication between the AOG and you, our members.

Thanks to all who worked hard to implement the new si t e.

The new site provides a facile way to poll members on topics of interest and should help improve “connectedness” b et w een m em bers an d t h e associ at i on st af f an d board . T h e si t e al so

includes improved means to search for and locate fellow graduates, an on-line shopping mall, a discussion forum f o r members to exchange ideas on topics of interest, a to contribute to the Academy on-line, and we will add on-line voting system that we plan to use in the 2005 b o ar d elections. As with all new systems, this one will undoubtedly have some growing pains. We welcome your comments and suggestions for continued improvement (please e-mail u s y o u r comments at aog@usaf a.org). m

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A l so rel at ed t o enh anced com m un icat ions, t h e board

recently reviewed a preliminary strategic communications work plan that is intended to help us enhance communica tions overall. You may recall that Burson-Marstellar provided pro bono services to facilitate a two-day communications 6

workshop with key AOG staff, board and members at-large.

This session was preceded by a touch-call survey of a n u m b er of members. During the session, the group identifi ed organi zational objectives, communication goals, and target au d i ences along with current and desired perceptions, critical issues and strategic priorities. The preliminary work plan documented these fi ndings and laid out courses of action that the AOG staff is now developing into specifi c act i ons f or implementation. M any thanks to the Burson-Marstellar t e a m and all others who participated in this effort thus f ar .

As many of you are aware, the AOG has been exploring t h e feasibility of a comprehensive campaign to raise signifi cant private funds to support key Academy needs. This initiative is not without precedent. Private philanthropy has played an important role at the Academy since it was founded i n 19 54 .

T h e G ol dw at er V i si t ors C en t er, Fal con St ad i um and t h e

Eisenhower Golf Course are visible symbols of how such phi lanthropy has impacted the Academy over the years. Beyond these projects, many of the character enrichment programs and start-up funds for innovative classes have been funded by private contributions.

O ur sist er academ i es h ave al so h ad recen t success i n si m i l ar

fundraising endeavors. West Point recently raised more t h an $200 million in a campaign that had $150 million as a goal.

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Also at the board meeting, the nominating committee presented, and the board approved, a slate of candidates for

and the Naval Academy is currently conducting a campaign whose original goal of $175 million has been raised t o $22 5 million. Both academies have expanded their character p r o grams, built numerous athletic facilities, and funded a variety of cadet activities through these campaigns. And, interest ingly, nearly all of the gifts received by both West Po i n t an d Annapolis have come from individuals who graduated af t er 1959 - our fi rst graduating class.

In conjunction with the board meeting in November, t h e Campaign Co-Chairs, Harry Pearce, ’64, and Dick Schlossberg, ’65, convened a steering committee composed of seven b o ar d members and seven distinguished alumni who have recently volunteered to help steer the campaign. The volunteers ar e B i l l Simpson, ’63; Bill Wecker, ’63; Terry Drabant, ’65; John Kelly, ’65; John Muse, ’73; Jack Kucera, ’78; and Tim Fyda, ’79 . T he committee met with the superintendent for several hours t o discuss the needs of the Academy and the plan for the paign. This meeting marks the beginning of the next step in preparing for the campaign.

t he board el ect ions i n 200 5. T h is slat e i ncl udes 20 can d i d at es

for three at-large board seats; fi ve candidates for t h e o n e seat t o represent the decade of the 1970s, and fi ve candidates f or t he one seat to represent the decade of the 1990s. All who applied to run for the board are now being notifi ed and the list of candidates will appear in the next issue of Checkpoints an d o n t he W eb sit e. T hank s t o all w ho vol un t eered to r un an d t o t h e com m i t t ee f or th ei r h ard w ork .

As we enter this holiday season, let us all pause to ber our fellow Americans, including our fellow graduates, who are engaged in combat and their families who await r e m

t h ei r saf e r et u r n .

Thanks for your continuing support.

Ted Legasey, ’67

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By Ke r ry McGin ley , T he Gazet t e As Bry a n Free m a n sca ied a w o od e n w a li lead ing d o w n t he 17t h a n d f in a l o bst a c le , h is f e l l o w c a d e t s r a l l i e d a t t h e f i n i s h l i n e .

Free m a n , a so p h o m o r e f ro m Ma r io n , Va ., w as o n e of t h o u sa nd s of A ir Fo rce Acad e m y c a d e t s t o t a k e o n t h e o b s t a c le c o u r s e

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utt ing-edge changes

make the Air For ce Academy an exemplary inst it ut ion “I have come herea number of times with General Jumper and Chief M urray. I think theAir ForceAcademy is on the right course.

The leadership, ojfi cersand cadets continue to help make changes. I think it is a spec ta cu la r i nst i t u t i on . ”

- Secretary of theAir Eorce Dr. James Roche What a difference a year makes!

Although still the exemplary institu tion it has always been, the Air Force Academy, since last summer, has traversed an incredible circuit through diffi culties

BY BRIG. GEN . JOH N W EIDA, 7 8

t o self-assessm ent to self-correct ion and

C O M M A N D A N T O F C A D ET S

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now, to national leadership in addressing cultural change. The Academy has long C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

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prided itself in excellence in general and, as with any successful organization, has met its challenges head-on and worked t o ov er co m e t h em . O u r r ev i sed v i si o n

statement, “USAFA ... the nation’s pre mier institution for developing leaders of character,” embodies that pride. The task this statement communicates naturally demands performance above and beyond that of our peers - in fact, we would fail in th is t ask if w e w ere to relax our efforts,

even slightly. Within the broad standard of excellence that guides us at the Academy, we have spent considerable time and effort in pursuit of superior performance in a n u m b er o f ar eas.

The 34th Training Wing took a number of steps to change the culture at the Academy and establish clear standards of behavior, communicate them widely, and hold cadets accountable for violat ions of

those standards. We have set the bar high with our standards and expectations, and I am pleased to report the majority of our cadets generally meet, if not exceed, them.

As we go about the long-term rebuilding of many parts of the culture and climate, I believe we have now laid a strong founda tion and we’ve begun framing our new structure. We have a long way to go before the new structure is complete, but we’re off to a good start. The results of the 2004 Spring and Fall Cadet Climate Surveys confi rm we have made good initial progress and we’re headed in the right direction in most areas. (The Fall Climate Survey results can be found by visiting the USAFA Web site http://www.usafa.af mil/Fall2004Cadet ClimateSurveyl 2-oct-04.ppt.)

Consider some of the positive evidence we’ve received that we’re moving in the right direction: ■ Cadets understand and are buying

through with care for both the victim and the alleged perpetrator. Not only do the cadets agree, but the program has been expanded to the rest of the Academy and has become a model for

i n t o w h at w e n eed t o d o at U SA FA t o

w e have m ade to m ak e cadets feel safe.

turn this culture around. The majority participate eagerly in our efforts.

■The Academy ResponseTeam is a recognized success in the areas of reporting and responding to sexual assault allegations, then following

■ Race and minority relations are gen erally very good.

■ Making our summer training “tough, but professional” resulted in a highly successful Basic Cadet Training experi

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

t h e en t i r e U .S. A i r Fo r ce.

■Were building confi dence in our system. If assaulted, more women seem willing to come forward and report the incident, and are doing so at twice the national average. Of course, we want all victims to trust our reporting system, but the trend is positive.

■ An unprecedented percentage of men are more accepting of women at USAFA and in the military at large.

■Female applicants are on the increase, a sign that the public recognizes the strides

ence for the C lass of 2008. W e w ill 9

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continue that approach with all military training we conduct with all classes throughout the year.

■The Cadet Climate Survey of fi rst-class cadets found that thosewho believe they live honorably are on the increase, as are thosewilling to enforce standards.

■The Offi cer Development System that implemented a “four-class system” last January is taking hold throughout the Cadet Wing, as well as across all elements of the staff and faculty. It is the linchpin of our leadership- and character-development mission here.

■We now have a single disciplinary system for cadets that mirrors the system - the Uniform Code of Military Justice- that governs the rest of theAir Force. Cadetswill leave theAcademy knowing how to effectively use the dis ciplinary system they will live and serve under after they graduate.

■ Even t he new w ords above the “ C ore

Values Ramp” - “ Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence In All W e D o’

r efl ect a d et er m i n at i o n t o

continue the Academy as the preemi nent institution for producing strong, capable leaders of character.

These changes represent signifi cant progress, but we still have a long row to h o e. T h e sex u al assau l t si t u at i o n w as a

lightning rod that forced us to zero in on many aspects of Academy life and train ing. We examined all of the 34th Training Wing’s programs to include cadet disci pline, yet more challenges remain. There are still too many alcohol-related inci dents. The gender climate has improved, but many challenges remain before it’s ideal. Likewise, religious respect and tolerance concerns require our attention as issues and differences among Christians and other religions remain. The percep tion of dual standards for intercollegiate and non-IC cadets persists. Although m uch rarer, there are st ill occasional - and 10

unacceptable - sexual, racial and reli giousjokes and inappropriate comments.

Finally, we still have progress to make on reducing the fear of reprisal for reporting crimes, rules infractions, foul play and h o n o r v i o l at i o n s.

So where do we go from here?At the 34th Training Wing, we will continue to focus and orient our programs and proce dures on those that cadets will experience when they enter the operational Air Force.

Along these lines, we requested funding to expand Operation Air Force to increase the amount of time cadets spend in opera tional units from the current average of 24 to 76 days for the summer of 2005. Such a dramatic change forced us to change our summer line up. We considered dropping Global Engagement, a third-class cadet program that teaches expeditionary skills, but the cost-benefi t analysis told us that

need work. Two tiger teams were commis sioned to study the system and recom mend improvements. In addition, we will co n t i n u e t o co m m u n i cat e co n si st en t m es

sages about professional conduct, values and a positive culture to USAFA cadets.

We expect more front-line leadership from our staff, faculty and cadets. All must k now, live and enforce our standards and

set examples. Cadets must engage each other at the peer level - a tough, but rea sonable, challenge for young people. We must continually integrate and refi ne our plans and processes to improve our culture and climate. Focus groups for specifi c issues and problems will delve into root causes and propose solutions.

Finally, and central to these efforts, we will continue to conduct periodic prog ress assessm ent s and inst it ute m id-course

to defer Combat Survival Training to the post-graduation period. We currently send those who need resistance training to Fairchild AFB, Washington, since that’s where the USAF experts run a professional program. Deferring the other components of the training was the most economical approach to ensure the right people get the best skills at the right time - and the move of CST created time for cadet participation in the revamped Operation Air Force.

Similarly, we have fi ne-tuned many of our cadet programs and have tried to streamline or do away with processes and procedures that either don’t make sense

corrections, as necessary. This fall, the Academy will for the fi rst time conduct a graduate survey to measure how opera tional Air Force supervisors view the qual ity of Academy graduates. Next fall, the Academy will issue its third cadet survey to again measure our progress in develop ing leaders of character. In these efforts, we’re engaging cadets to step forward and assess, suggest, and improve.

To sum it all up, our Air Force Academy has made great strides toward not only addressing the problems that have visited the institution, but we’re also making tough calls and changes in the quest for excellence. We aren’t there yet - in fact, I estimate that we’re running only

or add no value t o our m ission . W e are

t he second m ile of our m arathon . M ore

adding rigor and more substance to our character and leadership programs in recognition of the integral roles these traits play in an Air Force leader’s contribution to national security.

importantly, to quote the chief of staff, “there’s a zero percent chance we have this one hundred percent right.” But the results of our efforts to date are promis ing and indicate we’re moving forward to ensure the Academy indeed remains “the nation’s premier institution for producing

w ould not be sm art . I nstead , w e decided

A t the terrazzo level , w e w ill con ti nue

to address persistent issues and diffi culties.

The Honor System, not the Code itself, and i ts associated values and standards st ill C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

leaders of character.” 9

PE R SPE C T I V E

Therecomesa time in every martslif e when he is called up on to do something very special f or which heand healonehas the capahilitiesyhas theskillsyand has thenecessary training. What apity if the momentfi nds theman unprepared a

- W i n st o n C h u r ch i l l

A Co m m it m e n t t o Ex c e l le n c e T H ROUGH OUT T H E PAST YEAR AN D A HALF, the Cadet

Wing has undergone two signifi cant transformations i n an eff o rt to more eff ectively align theAcademy with the operational A i r Force. The fundamental premisewas to design the Cadet W ing so that cadetsare more prepared to transition into theAir Force upon commissioning. As theAir Force Cadet Wing, it is imperative th at theAcademy experienceeducates cadets on the leadership principles embraced by Air Force offi cers, and furthermore, it must equip cadets with the toolswewill be expected to use as second lieutenants. Upon graduating, we need to have developed the character, attim de, and leadership perspectives that will empower us to realize an d ach i eve our potential asAir Force offi cers. To further do this, the Cadet Wing has transitioned fr om the Cadet Disciplinary System t o th e U n if o r m Code of Military Justice and has adopted the Offi cer Development System. Though both of these changeswere implemented last year, we arestill in the process of fully embracing these new developments.

The UCMJ and the ODSwork in conjunction to more effectively develop the leader-follower dynamic within the Cadet Wing. Both challenge cadets to become more engaged with the development an d growth of their subordinates. The two systems emphasize the concept of what it means to be a commander and provide cadets the opportu nity to use these tools as leaders. The leader-follower dynamic stands as a fundamental principal that greatly contributes to the leadership development and culture within the Cadet Wing.

Throughout this semester, we have continued to successfully implement these systems, and we are progressively learning h ow t o utilize them as we endeavor to becom e second lieutenan ts.

TheAcademy experience is one that many ambitiously seek , but few are off ered, and so, we have a responsibility to our nation to pursue our potential as offi cerswith resolve and purpose. TheAcademy

presents each individual with an arduousjourney, and o n e o n w h i ch he or she must endeavor to defi ne meaning and direction f o r h is or her pursuit of leadership, character, and personal potential. It is the challengeswe face on thisjourney that make both theAcademy and usprogressand develop, and so, just as each individual isbeing refi ned so is theAcademy. Though theAcademy provides u s t h i s invaluable experience, we must earn our title asAir ForceAcademy graduates. Personal commitment is the key to truly internalizing the lessons learned here and undergoing an internal t r an sfo r m at i o n involving values, leadership qualities, conviction and integrity.

At the beginning of the semester, the cadet group command ers and I set forth to compose a vision for the Cadet Wing. We established the preferred state of the Cadet Wing and aft er iden tify ing the factors impeding our attainment of that end st ate, w e constructed the following vision: “We are the Air Force Cadet Wing, and — at graduation will have the pride, professional qualities, and personal co n v i ct i o n to establish our identity as the fi nest offi cers in t h e A i r Fo r ce.”

As proud members of the United StatesAir Force Academy, are committed to a deliberate offi cer development system founded on the tenets of integrity, service and excellence. C haracter stands fi rmly as the chief principle we dedicate ourselves to daily. Guided by this, we aspire to attain an unwavering warrior spirit, profession —

w e

w e

alism founded on ethics, and a resolute com m itm ent t o su p p o r t

and defend the blessings of freedom and liberty afforded t o t h i s great nation. We are committed to an ideal, we accept challenge with vigor, and we are dedicated to becoming the world’s fi n est off icers, prepared to lead and inspire the nation’s best through the strength of our character. Together, we take this noble calling with

pride, passion and perseverance that will not fail. S

C H E C K PO I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

11

AOG|

O'

LW

CH E CK P O I N T S CI RC U LAT I O N R E PO RT I SSU E D AT E : N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 4

Y O U R A SSO C I A T I O N B O A R D O F D I RE C T O R S Mr. Edward E. Legasey, ’67, Board Chair Mr. William W. Maywhort , ’68, Board Vice Chair Mr. John T. Moore, ’78 , Treasurer

Col. (Ret .) Martin T. Daack, '66, Secretary Average no.

No. copies

copies each issue

of single issue

Col. (Ret .) James A. Shaw, ’67, President & CEO Col. (Ret .) Victor C. Andrews, ’66 Mr. Bill Boist ure Jr., ’6 7

Maj . Gen. (Ret.) Larry D. Fort ner, ’59

Total number of copies (net press run)

24 , 150

24 ,500

Mr. Charles P. Garcia, ’83 Col. Susan J. Helms, ’80 Mr. Gilbert D. Mook, ’6 7

Capt . Amber D. O’Grady, ’96

Paid/requested outsidecounty mail subscriptions

Mr. Harry J. Pearce, ’64 23 ,746

23,966

st ated on form 354 1

Maj . Gen. (Ret .) Alan V. Rogers, ’64 Mr. Dick Schlosberg, ’65 Dr. Leon Smit h-Harrison, ’75

Brig. Gen. (Ret .) James P. Ulm, ’61 Gen. (Ret .) Ronald W. Yates, ’60

Total paid and/or requested circul ation

23,7 59

23,982

N O M I N A T I O N S O PE N F O R

A O G B O A R D O F D I RE C T O R S

Free di st r i b ut i on ou t si de m ai l

196

207

All members of t he Associat ion of Graduates are eligible f o r no m inat io n f o r e lect io n t o t he AOG Boa rd of Direc

t ors. The nominat ing committee, a st anding committee Tot al f ree di st r i bu t i on

196

19 6

of t he board, is responsible for ident ifying, researching, interviewing, evaluat ing and recommending to t he board ca nd idat es f o r f ut u re boa rd m e m be rs h ip.

The nominat ing committee maint ains a cont inual list Tot al d i st r i b ut i on

23,9 55

24 , 189

of potent ial candidates for f ut ure elect ions. Names m a y be added to t he list of nominees at any t ime by cont act

ing the AOG at 3116 Academy Drive, USAF Academy, CO Copies not distributed

19 5

3 11

8 084 0-4 475 , or by e-mail to aog@aog-usafa.org.

Boa rd m e m be rs s e rve a t e rm of e it he r t w o o r f o u r

years and may serve no more t han eight consecut ive T o t al

24, 150

24 ,500

years. A t wo-year break is required before serving again.

Approximately half of t he director posit ions are open for elect ion every two years in odd-numbered years.

Percent paid and/or requested circul ation

Boa rd m e m be rs a re vo lu nt ee rs a nd m ust at t e nd q ua r 99%

99%

terly board meet ings in Colorado Springs at t heir own expense. Go to www.usaf a.org for f urt her det ails.

T he Secr et Lif e of

Waldo?. Dumbsquat

C4C Waldo F. Dumbsquat stood at the base of the BRING ME MEN ramp. This was his favorite place to contemplate theAcademy core values. His room mate, Regs Buch, double-timed to the BOR, disturb ing Waldo’s philosophical thoughts. Both doolies clutched an awol bag filled with civilian clothes.

“Thinking about the core values again?”

“Yeah, wejust don’t get enough professionalism ...

“Well, let’s turn down Platte and make a pit stop at

Fargo’s Pizza,” suggested Regs. , “We aren’t going anywhere ...”

V “Why not?”

friendsplotted a coursedown Academy Boulevard. Pikes Peak silently observed the tiny vehicle’sprogress.

“Be sure to stop at Tack’s so we can cash a check,” advised Regs.

“When are we going to change clothes?” whined Waldo. “ I ’m getting a nasty crease in my Alpha blouse!”

“Yeah, you’ve already wiped out my shoes!” Regscomplained.

“You should have worn your parade shoes like I did,” ch or t l ed W arren .

At the next stoplight, a blue corvette, issuing a challenge,

revved its engine. Warren smiled and nodded.

The light turned green.

M ot ors roared and t ires scream ed . O ver the fi rst few feet ,

Warren held aslim, fast and furious lead. The doolie grabbed what he thought was the gear lever and slammed it into seco n d .

“Hey, that’s my knee!” shouted Waldo.

The corvette pulled away and raced into the distance. T h e Porsche lurched to a stop on the side of the road as W ar r en slipped Waldo’s knee into neutral.

“Wheredid you learn to drive like that?” asked Regs. “ I use to w at ch a lot of N A SCA R .”

1

T he fresh m en ext ract ed t hem selves f rom the

I askedWaldo.

ODP now! I’m so excited, I almost forgot to sign

full of gas, tires rotated, and a few other odds and en d s.”

“Seems reasonable,” noted Regs.

Flying past the Bomarc missile and out the South Gate, t h e

“ I t feels lik e w e have a fl at t ire.”

I squatted airless in the gravel.

I “Okay, anybody know how to change a tire?”

“Well, I think we need to be thinking about our

loaned me hiscar. Wejust have to bring it back washed, w axed ,

i

I vehicleandinspectedthewheels.Theright rear t i r e

it should be etched in stone som ew here around here.”

out. Colorado Springs here we come!”

Warren Heels roared up in a red Porsche 914 and skidded to a stop in front of the freshmen.

“Climb in boys!” exclaimed Warren.

The three cadets, putting the Shriners to shame, crammed into the sports car.

“I can’t believe a firstie would loan you his car,” said W aldo.

“Cadet Baldachi is serving confinements this weekend. So h e

by Don Hall, '76

'

“No, but I watched the Dayton 500. This should only take us eight seconds...” said Warren.

■

Five hours later, the doolies, covered in brake dust

and grease, climbed back into the car.

“I’m afraid we have to go back to the dorm now.”

“Why?” Well, by the time we get the car waxed, it will be late and

we don’t want to be late for TAPS,” Regs informed hisbuddies.

“Wow, I can’t believe borrowing a car has wasted our o n e an d only Off Duty Privilege!” exclaimed a dejected Warren.

Waldo thought furiously on how he could salvage thesi t u at i o n .

“Warren, do you have a cell phone?”

Warren hesitated. “Well, the author set thisstory in 1975, but he’swritten a little camera phone into my pocket.”

“Good, then maybewestill haveachance...givemethat phone.”

Warren fi shed the phone out of his pants and handed i t t o t h e doolie. Waldo ducked into thecar trunk and whispered the magic

words“Fifty Yearsof Excellence”. Unseen, the puny d o o l i e t r an s formed into themassiveframeof Colonel Waldo F. Dumbsquat, man who fought in thecombined federal campaign. The impres

a

sive offi cer dialed the cell phone and reached the squadron CQ.

“Listen up, pilgrim. This isColonel Dumbsquat. Sign o u t al l the freshmen on a motivational Air Forceweekend privilege. T h at is all. Carry on.” “ Yes, Sir!”

Flipping thephoneclosed, thecolonel disappeared, leaving Waldo thefourthclassman in hiswake. Hejoined hisfriends next to the spare tire.

“The squadron is giving us a free weekend!”

“Wow, that’sgreat. Now we have enough time for that b r ak e

job I promised Cadet Baldachi.”

Regs groaned.

W aldo st ood on the side of t he road and st uck out his t h u m b .

“Demolition Derby ismorelikeit!” complained Waldo.

C H E C K PO I N T S. FA L L 2 0 0 4

13

It seems like every day

s o m ew h e r e

in t he world an Academy grad is recognized in t he news f o r a n outstanding achievement or for making our count ry better t h a n it was just yest erday. Here are a few from t he “Long B lu e L in e ”

who showed up on our radar screen t his past quart er .

Voas and Prather, ’99, earns CheneyAward

Capt. Craig Prather, ’99, earned theCheney

Aw ard fo r his role in a M arch 26, 2003,

airdrop mission of theU.S. Army’s 173rd

Airborne Brigade over Bashur in northern

Iraq. Themission wasthelargest combat airdrop since theVietnam War.

“ T hese tw o took their (M H -53M Pave

Low) helicopter from Greece, fl ew almost 700 miles to the drop area,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P. Jumper.

As part of a 1,000-soldier airdrop mission, the crew provided on-call fi re support, immediate casualty evacuation, triage and recovery for 37 paratroopers.

The fl ight was conducted at maximum

wartimeweight in deteriorating weather and included three aerial refuelings.

Prather shared the award with Capt.

Randell Voas.

Lyerly, ’75, receives Distinguished Member of t he Corps award

dent management and scienceadviser to the under secretary for science and technology.

Wilson, ’82, re-elected in New Mexico Fi eather W ilson, ’82, was re-elected to

the U.S. House of Representatives for the New Mexico First Congressional Dis

Pearce w i t h t h e aw ard .

current seat in a special election in 1998, won re-election in 2002 with a healthy 55 percent, her largest victory.

Crowell, ’65, named MSU’s outst and ing humanist

Outstanding Humanist Award.

Crowell isan associate professor emeritus and led the university in securing a $1 million U.S. Department of Fducation grant to sup port an innovativegraduate training program

fl ag-level position in theDepartment of

was given North Dakota’s highest honor, the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award. Gov. John Fi oeven presented

Boyt , ’73, named business dean at

the CorpsAward and medallion by the Civil Affairs Corps Regiment of the U.S. Army during a ceremony at the U.S. Spe cial Operations Command-Korea.

The only other American to receive this ’68, former commander of the U.S. Spe cial Operations Command.

Lyerly wasrecently promoted to a senior

vice chairman of General M otors Corp.,

Valparaiso

H istorian Lorenzo Crowell, ’65, of M issis

an nual aw ard w as G en . C harles H olland,

Pearce, ’64, receives N.D. highest honor Fi arry Pearce, ’64, a prominent Bis marck attorney and j udge who became

trict . W ilson, who was fi rst elected to her

William H . Lyerly Jr., ’75, was awarded

the prestigious Distinguished Member of

14

Fi omeland Security, where he currendy serves as the director of WMD operations and inci

sippi State received the university’s2004

organized around thehistorical studiescenter.

Under theprogram, teachersin 13 east and central Mississippi public school districtsare able to earn master’sdegreecredit through all-day Saturday classesat the university.

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

Thomas Boyt, ’73, is the new dean of the college of business at Valparaiso University. Boyt had been serving as the dean at the University of Central Okla homa business college. He also taught marketing there.

Before Boyt pursued his busi n ess career, h e w as a vet er i n ar i an . H e

received a doctor of veterinary medicine degree at Colorado State University

and operated a small animal hospital in O klahoma for 11 years.

Kim, ’04, awarded Fulbright scholarship 2nd Lt. Jeff Kim, ’04, will use his Ful

bright scholarship to study Chinese and

research the cul t ure of the C hi nese K orean

and AlliedSignal. Most recently, John son served as vice president of Northrop Grumman’s F-16 sensor systems.

M

Guertin, ’84, hits milestone 2,000-hour ma rk in U-2

f

minority in mainland China next year.

He will pursue his studies in Bejing and northeast China, near the Korean border,

the following year.

Dutch salute Hudson, ’73 Air Force Maj . Gen. John L. Hudson, ’73, assistant deputy undersecretary of

ity solutions in response to complex and diverse government initiatives.

As the President and CEO , H am is

charged with formulating thestrategic

vision for the company and he is the pri mary interface between the company and t he board of di rectors.

the Air Force for international affairs,

Sparks, ’70, named Denver museum’s CEO

w as aw arded the D utch M edal of M erit

T he D enver M useum of N ature & Science

in Gold at the Netherlands Embassy in Washington, D.C., Sept. 9.

has named George Sparks, ’70, as its new CEO. Sparks is a former executive with

H e received the m edal for h is role in

bringing the F-35Joint Strike Fighter to th e N etherlands ai r force.

“ G eneral H udson w as i nst rum ent al in

convincing the Dutch parliament that it was very nice to join theJSF program,” said Lt. Gen. D ick Starink, commander in ch ief of the N etherlands ai r force.

Ham, ’70, named president and CEO of homeland security corporation W illiam H am, ’70, has been named

president and CEO for Spectrum Sciences & Software Holdings Corp. Spectrum is an emerging leader in homeland security

through the provision of full-service, qual-

Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies

who recently worked with the NorthStone Group, a Louisville- based business-con sulting company.

Usually when one of the black, needle-like U-2 reconnaissance planes comes in from another long mission over Korea, its pilot is greeted by a handful of airmen, includ ing fellow pilots and the crew that will wheel the big plane into a hangar.

But when Maj . Jon Guertin, ’84, climbed from the cockpit Sept. 25 aft er another cramped, tiring, high-altitude U-2

fl ight, about 70 well-wisherswerewaiting

with applause, compliments and a bottle of champagne.

Guertin, a U-2 pilot for 13-and-a-half years, had just completed 2,000 fl ying hours in the fam ous ai rcraft that fl ies

classifi ed intelligence-gathering missions, becoming one of only 16 pilots in Air Force history to hit that mark. Of those pilots, he’s one of only three now on active duty.

Flanagan, ’62, named to GradPAC’s execut ive board

Johnson, ’70, named Northrop VP Northrop Grumman Corporation has appointed Craig L. Johnson, ’70, vice president of its newly formed NetworkCentric Systems department.

Johnson joined Northrop Grumman in 1999. His prior work includes fl ying i n the U .S. A i r Force and A i r N ational

Guard and advanced engineering and program management positions with

General Dynamics, McDonnell Douglas C H E C K PO I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

Brig. Gen. John F. Flanagan Jr., ’62, was appointed to GradPAC’sexecutive board, a political action committee for graduatesof the fi ve federal service academies. Flanagan fl ew 300 com bat m issions in V ietnam and w as a m em ber of the elite Green Beret’s

“Project Delta,” the forerunner to Delta Force, theArmy’s top secret special forces unit formed in the 1970s. He is currendy a professor of transportation and logistics at the

MassachusettsMaritimeAcademy. Ri

15

E D IT O R IA L

U SA FA T

"i he evening before the Falcons

faced UNLV on the gridiron, it was my opportunity (along with

maybe45 other membersand interested people) to attend theAcademy Today

seminar with Jim Shaw, ’67, and Lt. Gen. John Rosa at the local JW Marriott. It was a great seminar and I encourage you to attend as the opportunity may present itself Some key topics and impressions: Superintendent Lt. Gen. John Rosa was presented to AOG members in

Checkpointsmany months ago, with no

n um bers aft er h is nam e. I w ondered t hen

if this non-grad was another in a series of recen t m ist ak es. H e is not . T he m an

is superb. (And I am not given to idle

lf attery.) He has a command of the key issues facing the Academy, a rapport with

the wing, and a great vision for where the institution needs to go. With leadership

this good at the top, we all need to make

‘followership” is j ust as good among our ranks.

The things he is trying to do will take four to fi veyears, maybe more. TheAcademy su r e o u r

is at a critical tim e. H e needs to be able to

stay in the “left seat” to move theAcademy from where it is, to where it needs to be.

We’ll have to do it through politics- Board of Visitors, Congress ... let’s get the letters

going- our voiceheard. Heneedsfi veyears, and/or an overlapping “superintendent in training” so there can be continuity.

Today’s cadets are very smart, and (like us) they refl ect the culture that bred them and sent them to the school. They aren’t

16

A worthy investment

By Car l V an d er V een , A O G A sso c iat e M ember arriving where they need to be in terms of character development. They need aca demic development. They need military and athletic development. Why wouldn’t they also need character development as part of the growth process?This has

implicationsfor thepreciousHonor Code

(which has been under study many times in 50 years, and even suspended once.

And it’s not our Honor Code anymore - it’s theirs). The superintendent is going to lead another look. One implication is that the honor rules might be one way before the ethics and honor training is

completed, and another way afterward. It makes sense, if you think about it ... and I never thought I would think that way.

The “Bring Me Men” issue came up early. Once again. I’d had hard feel

ingsabout this, to leave it alone. But do

women belong in our Air Force?Yes. Do their opinions and morale therefore matter?Yes. Is it better to put the core values over the ramp instead? Yes. Shall the past be revered in a historical way at the AOG in a way to be determined? Yes. Let’s move on to bigger fi sh ... ... like sex and alcohol at theAcademy ... damn tough issue. Here’s a “toast to the host ... “ Drinking ispart of our heritage, right?

Young peopleand alcohol - gee- what

would we expect?It’s an issue that is both simple and complicated, and it will never go away, maybe merely controlled. Hall brawls.

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

The safety of theyoung people. No easy answers. But we have the best guy on it.

Stay the course. General Rosa.

Our AOG members seem to be polar ized and fractured (rather unlike those at

our sister academies). Many of us seem to be more passionate, and more b l ack and white” in our approach to things. We need to be able to disagree without pulling

apart at theseams. We need to remember

that the Academy is still the place for the best and brightest, that it still is pivotal for all of us who share love of country. We need to rem em ber w hat unites us.

The Academy does not belong to the AOG members. It belongs to the taxpay ers. It also belongs to the Air Force. I was surprised to hear that it seems the Navy embraces its academy at Annapolis, and the Army embraces its academy at West Point, but it is thought that our Air Force does not embrace its academy to the same

degree. Thesuperintendent hasa plan for

this, too - more “face time” for cadets out

in the “real Air Force,” and other plans.

I w ent to the sem inar w ith an investor’s

mentality — wondering if I should keep

investing (however humbly) in an Academy that I can’t relate to anymore. I came away from it knowing that I cannot afford to

stop investingin it. Neither can you. !9

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O n e Po w e r f u l V o ic e t U S A FA

Cad et s f ace Com m an d an t ’s

Challenge

By Butch Wehry, Academy Sp irit The Academy conducted the Comman dant’s Challenge Nov. 21-23, the largest

course, chemical warfare exercise, tent

build-up, combat rescue/self-aide and buddy care, and land navigation.

even t of i t s k i nd ever held here at t h is

A cademy welcomes space

base, according to event organizers.

T he challenge is modeled after activeduty operational readiness inspections and evaluates the Cadet Wing’s ability to accomplish its mission of building

Staff Sgt. Jennifer Thibaul t, Air Force Space Command Pubiic Aff airs The Air Force executive agent for space recently visited Academy cadets and staff

l eaders of charact er.

“This is the fi rst year this challenge took place,” said Maj . Debra Lee, Cadet Squadron 13 air offi cer commanding.

“The Academy is looking at expanding participation to 10th Air Base Wing teams and other service academ ies.”

Unlike training events in the past, which focused mainly on fourth-class training, this event was evaluated and challenged all four classes.

C adets t ested on drill and cerem onies,

uniform and room inspections, selection and evaluation boards, military knowledge and physical aptitude.

The fi eld training exercise portion of Commandant’s Challenge was con ducted in Jacks Valley and included six events designed to evaluate cadets’ performance in six different Air Force competencies. Events included combat 18

arms (M-16) competition, obstacle

l e ad er

T he H onorable Peter B. Teets, undersec

retary of theAir Force and director of the National Reconnaissance Offi ce, brought

messagesof thepast, present and futurerole

of space in relation to operations.

“National Security Space Assets are more important to national security than anytime in the past,” he said during a presentation to the cadets. “My highest priority is to develop, nurture and attract top talent into our national security space cadre arena. That’s why I’m talking to you today. You all represent the future of our Air Force, where we’re going and we need some of your talents to be directed into this national security space arena.”

This year the Academy will graduate its fi rst space operations majors. The curricu lum for cadets with this major can include space mission design, astrothermodynamics and astrodynamics.

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

Realizing he was speaking to many pilot-hopefuls at the Academy, Teets also stressed the importance of space in tomorrow’s Air Force. “I know many of you want to be pilots and that’s great. I understand we have the greatest Air Force on the planet and we want to maintain that. I also say in the Air Force there’s a great future in space.”

AOG grant funds student presentations at national c on v en t i on

Maj . Jerry Krueger, assistant professor, Department of Biology Thanks to a generous gift funds grant from theAssociation of Graduates, C2C Stepha

nie King and C3C Alex Maasattended the Beta Beta Beta (Tri Beta) Biological Honor Society Biennial National Convention at Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colo., this year. Thiswas the fi rst opportu nity Academy students have had to attend t h e n at i o n al co n v en t i o n .

T he biennial convention is a unique

and wonderful opportunity for under graduate biology students to interact and participate in research presentations.

Both King and Maas completed indepen dent research projects in microbiology in the spring semester under the mentor ship of Lt. Col. Erick Snellman. King

B E H I N D

gave an oral presentation titled “Effects of Pulsed Laser-Light on Human Retinal Pigmented Epithelial Tissue.” Maas, who also attended the regional Beta Beta Beta convention in April, gave a poster presen tation titled “Screening for Esterase activ ity in Thermophilic Bacteria.” In both cases, the high quality of the research and the students poise and professionalism refl ected highly on their preparation here at U SA FA .

Both cadets praised the trip as being “the greatest cadet trip-ever,” and an some opportunity.”

Participating in a national under graduate conference brought home the importance of quality research and com municating the information to your peers.

Aside from gift funds support, the AOG manages the Goodner Fund, a special endowment to the department of biol ogy. This fund is managed to promote improvements in cadet life and educa tion in that major. If you would like to support this or any other program, please aw e -

contact Sean Pieri at (7 19) 472-0300 or

sean.pieri@usafa.af mil.

Matesick, ’95, earns Kolligian Trophy A i r F o r ce P r i n t N ew s

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John P.

Jumper presented the Kolligian Trophy to Capt. Michael Matesick, ’95, during a recent ceremony at the Pentagon.

Capt. Matesick earned the air safety award for saving his damaged aircraft in the sky over Iraq in June 2003.

The fighter pilot is credited for his quick actions and smart thinking during an in-flight emergency during an Operation Iraqi Freedom mis sion. While piloting his F- 16 Fighting Falcon over Iraq on a moonless night at 25,000 feet, his aircraft experienced

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engine dif ficulties requiring him to abort the mission. T he engine suffered a major malfunction and was about to cease. He jettisoned his external fuel tanks and bombs and quickly estab

cargo planes were used during WWII. The C-46 was most famous for transport ing cargo over the Himalayas in 1943 after theJapanese closed the road through Burma. Pilots nicknamed the dangerous

l i sh ed h i s ai r c r af t o n co u r se f o r a f l am e-

I n d i a- C h i n a r o u t e o v er t h e m o u n t ai n s

out landing at Baghdad International Airport, 35 miles away.

“I started coordinating with Baghdad,” Matesick said. “As we got closer to Bagh dad, about 10 miles away, I was starting to feel more comfortable; started thinking this was going to be easy. Then I fi nd out the runway was closed.”

Matesick eventually found an available taxiway, and lined up on it.

The pilot executed a fl awless poweroff landing on the dimly lit, 90-footwide strip.

“The greatest landing I ever felt was when the (landing gear) hit the pavement that night,” Matesick said. “I had a grin

“The Hump.” The high altitude fl ight and heavy loads of these missions were very stressful on the planes, which required constant maintenance and suffered a high rate of loss. T he t reacherous rout e w as also

known by another name, “The Aluminum T rail ,” because of all the w recked ai rcraf t scat t er ed o n t h e m o u n t ai n s.

In the European theater, the C-46 dropped paratroopers during the crossing of the Rhi ne in 194 5. T he C -46 w as al so

used during the Korean War. The sculptor, Richard Henderson, used to fl y a C-46. His work can be seen in major airports and aviation museums ar o u n d t h e w o r l d . Sev er al o f h i s b r o n ze

airplanes can be seen at the Academy.

f r o m ear t o ear.”

The trophy is presented each year in memory of fi rst 1st Lt. Koren Kolligian Jr., who was declared missing in the line of duty when hisT-33 aircraft disappeared off the California coast Sept. 14, 1955.

T h e Bi r d b att l es f or ‘M ascot of t h e Y ear ’ T h e Bi rd has been select ed as one of

the top 12 mascots in the country by Capital One, who is hosting the 11week competition. Part of the competi tion includes online, popular voting.

All fans are encouraged to vote daily at www.capitalonebowl.com. You can also link to the contest through our new Web site at www.usafa.org. The contest

V et s d e d i c at e n ew

airplane sculpture

By Eddi e Kovsky, Academy Spi rit A new C-46 Commando aircraft sculpture was recently dedicated during a ceremony at H ar m o n H al l .

ends D ec. 26. 9

The statue was sponsored by the ChinaBurma-India Hump Pilots Association to com m em orate aviators w ho fl ew the C -46

cargo plane over the hazardous IndiaChina route during World War 11.

Nearly 300 members of the association’s D enver branch m et for a reun ion t h is

*

week and made the trip to the Academy for the ded icat ion .

Introduced in July 1942, 144 C-46 C H E C K P O I N T S , FA L L 2 0 0 4

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I

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Sinica, also from Lithuania,

Strategic thinking, problem solving, discipline and character are qualities needed to excel in the sport of chess. With no do-

grew up playing chess since he was 7 years old. He also likes to imagine that chess is like a

overs or tak e-back s, all i t tak es

b at d e b etw een t w o en em i es.

to lose the game is one wrong

“I see the pieces as sol diers, which you value a lot and the squares on the board are like priceless parts of the land, for which you fi ght,”

m ove. O ne m ust com e to the

chessboard with many moves planned ahead to win.

The perfect example of capital izing on these skills is fi ve of the Academy’s best chess players.

Si n ica said . “ T h e m ost

C 3C l eva K uzm inait e, a rare fem al e m em ber of t he t eam ,

won four awards including Top Cadet Player and C3C Vaidas Sinica won as top unrated player at t he 4 5t h A nn ual A rm ed

Forces Open chess tournament, Oct. 11, while Cl C Alex Kelly, C 2C L uk e Robert son , and C 3C I an Sanders received i ndiv idual

C2C Shawn Ingkiriwang is not above trying to gain an edge on his opponent by using psychological weapons such as “the st a re d ow n .”

honors in their rating category.

Kuzminaite, who is from Lithuania, has been playing ch ess sin ce shewas six yearsold. After watching her dad and uncle play it was obvious to them that shewas interested in the game, so they taught her. Eventually, as an extracurricular activity, she attended chess school where she had chess coachesanalyzing her moves an d t al k about the best strategy games.

“Like in the United States, chess isn’t very popular in L ith uania,” Kuzminaite said. “People sometimes look at me weird when I say I play chess, but I rather do something I like and that I’m good at.”

Although chess has been a traditionally male dominated gam e, K uzm inaite can hold her ow n . N o one in the chess club d en i es

that her ability to play the game is well above the o t h er s. K u zm i naite has won numerous awards and competitions that h av e more than proven her ability.

“I don’t feel that being awoman gives me an advantage over o th er players. In chess, nationality or gender doesn’t matter an d aft er 12 years of playing I don’t care if someone underestimates m e,” K uzm i naite said. “When I win, I prove them wrong.”

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By Tamara Wright, A cademy Spirit

interesting thing about chess is the fact that every game is different, every time you can learn something new.”

Kelly is one of the more experienced players and has also been playing since he was a boy. He attends the chess club regularly, and he co n ced es t h at K u zm i n ai t e’s

sk ill is bet t er than h is and on anot her level .

“Whenever I play leva, her strategy is so aggressive an d I fi n d myself playing more on the defensive,” Kelly said.

The game of chess contributes to the pillars of military t r ai n ing, academic excellence, character development and i n st i t u tional development, according to Maj . Antony Kolenc, assi st an t professor and chess club faculty advisor.

“Bad moves have extremely bad consequences. The expe rience gained by cadets playing and learning chess gives the cadet the ability to think critically and learn from past mistakes,” Kolenc said. “Humility is a constant lesson w h en dealing with them.”

The chess club continues to grow. This year more than 2 9 n ew m em bers w ere recruited f rom t he C lass of 2008.

The club’s members are close to 50 cadets, and on average about half of them show up every Tuesday night to take part in

thefun of dominatingeach other asthey play. S

Editor’s note: TheAOG isproud to support theAcademy’s chess club throughyour generousdonations to theAir ForceAcademy F u nd .

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

Grad uat es ret urned t o t he

Academy in October to speak to the Cadet Wing about the importance of applying the Academy’s core values while working in today’s operational Air Force. (Photo by Charley Starrt

BY M AJ. GREGG GI RT IN A N Y O C CA SI O N T O I N V I T E G RA D S BA C K T O U SA FA

Following the introductions, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Mark Anderson,

T O SH A RE T H EI R ST O RI ES W I T H CA D ET S I S A W I N -

’61, and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Bruce Fister, ’64, addressed the cadets,

W I N FO R EV ERYO N E I N V O LV ED . So i t w as w ith the recent

each sharing his own personal experience facing various challenges during his career and encouraging the cadets to embrace the legacy being passed to them as the next links in the Long B l u e L i n e.

On Friday at breakfast. Superintendent Lt. Gen. John Rosa pro vided an informative update on theAcademy to the grads, offering them the opportunity to dialogue about specifi c issues. The grads then m et their cadet escorts at Fairchild H all for morning classes and lunch at Mitchell Hall. During Commandant’s time, the grads spoke to their assigned squadrons, providing another opportunity for interaction and inspiration. At the FHF banquet Friday night, grads, cadet escorts and guests heard from Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Pete Todd, ’59, the fi rst Academy graduate to attain the rank of general; Maj . Gen. Frank Klotz, ’73, currently serving as the C o m m an d er

Falcon Heritage Forum sponsored by the Center for Character Development and supported by the Association of Graduates.

On October 7-9, one graduate from each of the fi rst 36 classes returned to USAFA to link up with the 36 cadet squadrons.

Graduates spent three days giving the cadets the inside sco o p on what the operational Air Force is all about, emphasizing t h e importance of applying our core values in daily life.

The Falcon Heritage Forum was initiated in 1996 as a w ay t o bring in distinguished veterans as positive role models to provide one-on-one interaction with the cadets, linking them w i t h t h e wealth of experience and military heritage they exemplifi ed. T h e forum provides an intimate way for cadets to engage i n d i scu s sions with those who have and still are living out o u r co r e v al u es in service to our nation. In doing so, they pass the t o r ch o f m o r al and ethical leadership to the next generation of military l ead er s.

After meeting their squadron escorts, the graduates introduced to the Cadet Wing. A few chuckles were heard each grad’s senior picture appeared on the screen in A r n o l d H al l as Cl C Emily Gross and C2C Karl ton Wolf gave a snapshot o f each guest’s accomplishments. More than a few oohs an d ah s w e re

a s

w ere heard as w ell , but none m ore so than w hen the cad et s h ear d

that Maj . Tony Mitchell, ’91, completed his Ph.D. in A er o n au tics - in French - with highest honors!

of 20th Air Force at FE Warren; and Lt. Col. Jim Cardoso, ’88,

who fl ew lead on the rescue of the downed F-117 pilot Belgrade, Serbia and who will soon command the fi rst C V - 2 2 squadron. Their messages spanned the earliest to more r e c e n t classes, drawing from their experience and convictions t o i l l u st r at e the importance of character-based leadership.

Thanks to the generous support of the AOG, this fall’s F H F was a remarkable success. The participants were grateful t o h av e a chance to reinvest what was entrusted to them during t h ei r cadet experience, and current cadets will long remember t h e n ea r

legacy that waspassed to them. H

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

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FR OM B A Si r

J

•

•

•

The experience of being a United StatesAir Force Academy cadet is one that takes a young man or women on a journey f ro m being a basic cadet to becoming part of the next generation to lead the world’s most powerful air and space force. Although the government provides a strong basic program as the backbone of this journey, private funding allows the Academy to reach n ew l ev els o f excell en ce.

f ♦

♦

♦

o cc c i 4 /C4i /c e

Your support of theAir ForceAcademy Fund is thebest way to directly impact theentireCadet Wing and enhance theA^ emy experience. Donations to the Air Force Academy Fund support vital programs in character development, acad^ ics, athleticsand heritage that would not exist without private funding. Annual giftsof $1,000 or more to theAir Force^ ademy Fund arerecognized at theSabreSociety level. Pleasemake a contribution to theAir ForceAcademy Fund. Help gr^x ontinue to m ove cadets from basic to excellence. For inform ation about theAir ForceAcademy Fund, please contact Gra

472-0300orgreg.knedler@usafa.af mil.

^

ledler at (719)

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^ea r i n R ev i ew

qulyl , 2003-June30,2004)

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T H E PA ST Y EA R theAOG hascontinued t o m o v e tOAvard its goal of becoming the premier organization dedicat ed to supporting the Academy mission of building leaders o f ch ar ac ter for the nation and providing lifelong leadership and support for cadets and graduates. This report contains concrete examples of the work the AOG staff has made during the past fi scal year.

As I look at our mission statement — to provide leadership an d service to the graduate community, support for the Academy mis sion, and preservation of institutional heritage and t r ad i t i o n — I see that we have made signifi cant progress in all areas.

We re-organized our alumni relations office to place greater emphasis on providing better service to our graduates.

Last year we hosted almost 3,000 graduates and their sp o u ses during the reunion season. We worked with the classes everything from selecting a hotel to procuring class-specifi c merchandise. Our chapters around the country continue to grow because we believe they are an important feedback and communications vehicle for the graduate community.

We now have 48 chapters of varying sizes. We work closely with the superintendent and the senior staff at the Academy to arrange for them to speak at chapter events. Last year Lt .

Gen. Rosa spoke at fi ve chapter events, and Air Force C h i ef of Staff Gen. John Jumper worked with us and spoke a t a Dallas chapter event. a

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Thissummer theAOG and Academy hosted the Graduate L ead er ship Conference. While thisevent occurred in thisfi scal year, much of the detailed planning and preparation took place in the last fi scal year.

Thiswasa highly successful event attended by almost 200 graduates.

Lt. Gen. Rosa spent more than six hourswith thegroup answering questionsand addressing the many changes at theAcademy. We plan to continue this program next summer. Several of the question and answer sessionsare on our new Web sitewww.usafa.org. If you haven’t visited the new Web site, I encourageyou to do so. It has several great features and it will allow us to communicatewith you better (see related articleon page 34).

We are actively involved in supporting the Academy m i ssi o n of “building leaders of character for the nation.” L t . G en . R o sa

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

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is concerned that the Academy isn’t placing enough emphasis on character development.

Your AOG Board of Directors agrees that character develop m ent is the crit ical foundat ion for all our offi cer development programs. Because of that shared belief, the AOG continues t o fund many of the character development programs offered t o cadets of each class. Each year we also fund a large portion of the National Gharacter and Leadership Symposium, and we w o r k closely with the Academy’s character development offi ce to bring graduates back to the symposium and other events. If you would like to participate or attend any of these programs, please let us know. The generosity of the graduate community and A cad emy supporters allows us to also fund other cadet activities, l i k e cultural immersion programs, our national-champion ruby teams, and other important cadet activities.

There are those who are critical of our fund raising eff orts, but I don’t know of an alumni association in the country t h at d o esn’t seek funds to improve its programs that benefi t student development.

G rad u at es at o u r sist er serv ice acad em i es at W est Po i n t and Annapo lis have raised more than $200 million to provide the extra margin of excellence for their cadets and midshipmen. USAFA graduates m u s t realize that the government no longer pays for all the programs at theAcademy — nor should it. Aft er 50 years, our graduate munity has reached the point in its development where i t sh o u l d consider making donations to improve the cadet experience. I n o rd er to remain one of the most highly respected schools in the country and attract the best and brightest students, theAcademy n eed s t o continually improve its programs to make it competitivew i t h th e most selective universities in the country. Private funding will give us that edge.

The AOG remains committed to preserving our most important traditions and heritage. That includes recommending to Academy leadership that a tough, mentally and physically challenging f o u r t h class system is a critical part of a cadet’s development. W e al so have weighed in with theAcademy’s senior leaders about proposed changes to the administration of the Honor Gode, and we fully agree with the superintendent that he and the graduate community would not support any changes to the code. The superintendent and his senior staff have also agreed to visit with chapters and receive input and feedback regarding process changes t o t h e co d e.

The HeritageTrail outside Doolittle Hall continues to expand.

The Glass of 1959 funded a Ghallenge Bridge. The Glass o f 2 0 0 8 was briefed at In-Processing by upper-class cadets an d m em b er s of ’59 on the signifi cance of the Bridge and the challenges they would face once they crossed the bridge and boarded t h e b u sses f o r the cadet area. Also, the Glass of 1970 funded a replica o f t h e W ar c o m

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Memorial along the HeritageTrail. It serves as a moving rem i n d er of the dangers of the profession of arms and the potential f o r each graduate to make the ultimate sacrifi ce in service to the nation .

This monument to our fallen heroes was also explained t o t h e Class of 2008 at In-Processing. We also have been working w i t h theAcademy to develop a Mall of Heroes that will recognize t h e accomplishments of graduates like Sijan, Richter and Borque.

Last spring we made the decision to mail Checkpoints t o al l cadets who have signed up for our Life Membership at G r ad u a tion Program. Almost 70 percent of the wing is signed up for this program. We believe it is important for the cadets t o see t h e acco m plishments of our many graduates. This program, combined w i t h our program to highlight graduate achievements at every m eal i n Mitchell Hall with a portrait of a graduates career and aw ards and the many briefi ngs we give to the cadets, serve to keep theAOG and the legacy of the Long Blue Line in front of the Cadet Wing.

Let me close by saying there are some that criticize your AOG for wanting a “seat at the table.” Yet that “seat” h as al l ow ed u s t o have a positive infl uence on many Academy programs. I at t en d the superintendent’s staff meeting and have virtual o p en access t o him and the senior leadership. As a result, our input and feedback are listened to and that has infl uenced policies from tightening BCT and the fourth-class system to keeping the dean of faculty a military offi cer and getting senior leadership on t h e r o ad t o speak to graduates and parents. The superintendent b el i ev es t h e graduate community is an important constituency, and h e i s committed to listening to them and addressing their Tow ard that end , he briefs our board of di rect ors at their quar terly meetings. Being a respected and responsible voice f o r t h e graduate community has also allowed us to brief at every meeting c o n c e r n s .

of the Board of V isitors. M embers of the BOV, too, ar e i n t er est ed

in hearing what concerns graduates have. As result o f o u r i n v o lv e m ent w it h the Board of V isitors, the FY 2005 D efense A u t h o

rization Bill contains a provision for two graduates t o b e o n t h e BO V

a fi rst for t he board .

I started this message by looking at the AOG mission. I hope you can see from these remarks and the signifi cant accomplish ments of the AOG staff described on the following pages t h at w e are striving to meet the goals of our mission statement. Through out the next year, we will do even more — count on i t !

Jim A . Shaw, ’67 Pr esi d en t an d G E O A sso ci at i o n o f G r ad u at es

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A L U M N I R E L AT I O N S

This past fi scal year was an exceptional year in every way. In addition to adding a new crop of graduates and swelling the ranks of living graduates to 35,883 we increased our graduate memberships to 18,759 total members, which is 52 percent o f the graduate community (16,624 life members and 2,135 an n u al m em bers. T he associat ion also incl udes 1,506 associat e m em b er s

(1,486 annual members and 20 life members). Additionally, 2,949 cadets (69 percent) are enrolled in the AOC’s L ife M em ber at Graduation program.

Among all graduate classes, the class of 1961 has the highest percentage of AOG members. The class of 1986 has the l ow est .

This year we added another reunion, a 45‘'’-anniversary-year reunion, for the Class of 1959. The AOG now hosts up t o seven reunions ( 10th, 20th, 25th, 30th, 35th, 40th, 45th) on

four separate weekends each year. The Academy and the A O G welcomed more than 2,800 graduates and spouses for r eu n i o n s this year. Four reunion classes selected the AOG to provide all of t h ei r reun i on m erchan d ise, and a fi f t h class ask ed t h e A O G

to provide some of their souvenir items. Reunion merchandise i n cl uded m ore t han 50 i n d ivi d ual i t em s cust om ized w i t h o n e

of fi ve different class crests (one class also used an ad d i t i o n al

logo) from 10 separate sources. Altogether, nearly $40 ,000 worth of specialized merchandise was ordered, packaged an d d el ivered t o reun i on cl asses.

The AOG has 48 chapters of various sizes around the co u n t ry , and we helped coordinate speaking engagements in Albuquerque, N.M .; Provo, Utah; Washington, D.C.; Atlanta; Dallas; N ash ville, Tenn.; Santa Clara, Calif ; and Vandenberg AFB, C al if The AOG has a three-part mission of serving the gradu ate community; supporting the Academy and its cadets; an d recording, preserving and enhancing institutional heritage.

H o w w el l d i d w e d o ?

We hosted and/or supported at USAFA the foll owing events: Founders Day Dinner and the Distinguished Graduate A w ar d The AOG awarded two Distinguished GraduatesAwards t o L t .

Gen. (Ret.) Brad Hosmer, ’59, and Dick Schlosberg, ’6 5. T he annual Founders Day dinner and award presentation continues to grow in popularity and is expanding to events held in chapters around the country.

Jahara Award Dinner - Awarded by theAcademy, the 2004 Jabara Award for Ai rmanship was presented at a dinner hosted by theAOG to Maj. Jason L. Hanover, ’92, for his contributions t o airpower during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Fr eed o m .

26

Inprocessing - In 1992, appointees reported to Doolittle H al l to begin In-Processing and start their Academy journey. A l l o f theAOG s Doolittle Hall is used throughout the week prior to In-Processing and culminates in the arrival of 1,200-1,300 appointees and their families. This year, new appointeesw al k ed t o Doolittle Hall along the Class of 1960 walkway (a gift of the C lass of 1960) and, aft er beginning In-Processing inside, w er e sh ow n theWar Memorial Wall replica (a gift from the Class of 1970) and then walked across the ’59 Challenge Bridge (a gift f ro m t h e C l ass of 1959) before boarding buses that took them to the cad et ar ea. n ew

Bed & Breakfast —The Bed & Breakfast program for unaccom panied appointees was another great success. The AOG arranged for more than 360 appointees to be hosted by more than 2 0 0 local graduates. Academy staff and friends of the Academy Outstanding Squadron Banquet - Formerly planned, executed and funded by the Academy and the Air Force Association, t h e Outstanding Squadron Banquet is now planned and executed by the AOG and the Academy with support of the Air Force A sso ciation. Funding is through the Air Force Association, co r p o r at e support and ticket sales. This event honors the Outstanding Cadet Squadron each year.

Graduation open house at Doolittle Hall - The AOG open house during graduation offers parents and graduates a w el co m e respite from the busy graduation schedule and offers an o p p o r t u nity to have family photos taken.

Appointee Days - The AOG helps the Academy welcome t h e young men and women who have been offered appointments t o the Academy to visit and witness the U.S. Air Force Academy.

The AOG serves as welcoming spokesperson and participates i n the parent briefi ngs.

Parents Weekend Open House at Doolittle Hall - The A O G open house during Parents Weekend welcomes all parents, an d especially Doolie parents, to the Academy and demonstrates t h e success, heritage and history of the Long Blue Line.

Graduate Leadership Conference - The GLC, held in July, brought together nearly 180 graduates for two days of briefi ngs and question-and-answer sessions about the Academy. T he A cad emy and the AOG hope to continue this highly successful e v e n t on a recurring schedule.

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Commitment Dinner - With the support of Jostens, the A O G provided ceremonial second lieutenant bars engraved w it h “ 2005

eight lost rings to their rightful owners in several graduate classes.

The AOG was pleased to make Doolittle Hall available f o r 20 Academy events, 25 LIFT character development events, 2 5 retirements, fi ve promotions, two commissioning ceremonies and 27 wedding receptions. The building also supported class reunions, various Falcon Foundation meetings. Parent C lub meetings (including the Parent Club Presidents’ meeting t h at is held annually at Parents Weekend), as well as funeral receptions, anniversary parties, graduation parties, rehearsal d i n n er s an d many off-sites, seminars and conferences.

In somber news, theAOG was notifi ed of 42 graduate d eat h s this year. We were pleased to send notifi cations to the class, order fl owers for the funeral on behalf of the class, and provide

for t he C lass of 2005’s com m it m ent din ner.

inform at ion on m em orial funds t hat w ere established . A m em o

W ar ri or Run - T he C om m andant started a new tradition tw o y ear s

ago with a culmination BCT event, a 35-mile relay. H e w an t ed i t t o al so u n d ersco re t h e b asic cad ets’ co n n ect io n t o t h e Long Blue Line.

Since then, AOG arranged fo r representatives of each graduate class to participate in the ceremonies befo re and aft er the r u n .

Acceptance Parade and Contrails presentation - The A O G helped the Class of 1968 become the fi ft h class to sp o n so r Contrails and fi arther connect today’s classes with the graduate community and its legacy.

Ring Dining Out - One of our oldest traditions continues, t h e AOG working with Jostens to help the class design a unique class crest. With a gift from Jostens, the AOG helps fund the Ring Dining Out, provides the class crest, and ensures that all rings are present and accounted for.

100th Night - TheAOG workswith theAcademy to ensure t h at the mentor class, thegraduate class sponsoring Contrails, is i n v i t ed t o 100th Night and all signifi cant class-related dinnersan d even ts.

Exempl ar Dinner - Each class now chooses a class “exem plar” and associates that person forever with their cl ass. T h e AOG helps fund this event and also ensures that the m e n t o r cl ass i s i n v i t ed .

Falcon Heritage Forum - Each semester the Character Develop ment Center hosts a Falcon Heritage Forum to bring military veterans to the Academy to interact with cadets for t h e w eek en d .

The AOG helps the center locate graduates who fi t the t h em e o f the forum and funds the gatherings.

National Character and Leadership Symposium —The AOG funds this event, which brings students from around the country to the Academy to learn from scholars, individuals and graduates about the importance of character in daily life.

Graduate Dependent Scholarship - TheAOG presented a total of $10,000 in scholarships to 10 dependents of graduate m em b er s.

Class Rings - We worked with the classes of 2005 and 2 0 0 6 i n the design and acquisition of their rings, and the A O G r et u r n ed

sev e n

rial service was conducted for each class during their r eu n i o n . T h e AOG also helped sponsor the annual memorial service co n d u ct ed as part of Homecoming.

Networking opportunities were abundant this year. In ad d i tion to local networking opportunities offered through o u r 4 8 chapters, we were pleased to work with the other service acad emies to host three Service Academy Career Conferences i n Washington, D.C., Dallas, and San Diego. These career f ai r s brought more than 1,500 graduates from all service ac ad em i es in contact with more than 120 companies who are specifi cally interested in the skills that academy graduates offer. A d d i t i o n ally, the other AOG j ob opportunity programs - SABRD , iSABRD, and JSAJEPlus - continue to grow and assist gradu ates contemplating a career change. SABRD and iSABRD have entries from more than 28,000 service academy gradu ates, most of whom are willing to assist other graduates i n t h e transition process. These services continue to be an ex cel l en t way for graduates to network their way to a second third career. Reunions, too, offer opportunities for graduates to reconnect with other classmates and graduates.

In addition to the last printed Register of Graduates, t h e A O G published four editions, totaling 840 pages, of Checkpoints magazine. We published Contrails, the AOG Parent Hand book, videos, and much more. We published more than 1,000 photographs and more than 300 articles about the Academy and the AOG on our Web site www.usafa.org. We broadcast 8 e-mails to the 15,000 people for whom we have e-mail ad d r esses to keep them abreast of what is happening at the Academy an d the Association of Graduates. Additionally, we answered nearly 1,500 e-mails and 1,200 telephone calls. We developed a W eb page for the incoming class and their parents fi lled with helpful information for appointees and their families. \>

C H E C K PO I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

n o w

o r

ev e n

a

27

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We established the customer service center for one-stop ser v i ce.

Now you can get routine questions answered, register for events, buy merchandise, make golf reservations, rent sabers for weddings - all at one easy location and one central telephone n u m b er .

We coordinated access to the Academy for numerous gradu ates who don’t have military ID cards. The AOG is developing a system that will allow us to issue base passes directly f r o m t h e AOG. We conducted many tours of theAcademy.

In conjunction with the other service academies, we offered travel programs for graduates to take cruises and tours w i th other service Academy graduates.

We helped Academy Liaison offi cers and graduates connect t o provide assistance to the ALOs in recruiting the next generation of cadets. We also helped liaison offi cer directors i n t h ei r r ecr u i t ing of new liaison offi cers by helping them locate graduates in their regions of greatest need.

Thanks to gift s from several classes, we signifi cantly expanded the HeritageTrail. The Class of 1970 added a replica of the W ar Memorial, the Class of 1959 added the Challenge Bridge, t h e Class of 1960 landscaped the front of Doolittle Hall enabling us to better host In-Processing, and the Class of 1983 has helped fund the next extension to the HeritageTrail.

The AOG was pleased to help organize the ceremony making the United StatesAir Force Academy a National Historic Si t e.

April 1, 2004, marked the 50'*’ anniversary of the signing of the legislation creating the Academy. The U.S. Department of Interior designated theAcademy as a national historic si t e an d the U.S. Postal Service unveiled a fi rst-class stamp featuring the Cadet Chapel. Cooperation between the alumni relations st aff and the Academy contributed to the day’s excitement and t re mendous success. AOG Graphic Designer Sarah Wright creat ed the Academy’s offi cial 50'*’ anniversary logo.

C O M M U N I C AT I O N S

a r e

a

o u r

Our communications offi ce continued to garner kudos and accolades for its work this past fi scal year. Dick Rauschkolb, ’70 has a very talented group of professionals in Bob McAllister, K en Wright, Sarah Wright, Chris Stewart and Tom Kroboth. T h e Council for the Advancement and Support of Education aw ar d ed its Sweepstakes Award to our communications department for having the best communications for a school of our si ze i n t h e district. Sarah Wright received a Gold Award for her exceptional graphic design for the article “Recognition” in the spring 2003 issue of Checkpoints. Checkpoints once again was recognized one of the best alumni magazines at the District VI conference i n January. Ken Wright, our award-winning photographer, w o n t h e a s

28

ThomasJeff erson Award for the best photograph in the Depart ment of Defense by a contributor.

Checkpoints remains our fl agship publication for telling t h e Academy story. We continue to receive many accolades ab o u t the magazine. Other successful media projects include t h e A O G Parent Handbook, the appointee mini-CD, the Air Force A cad emy Fund wall calendar and Contrails. The AOG Parent H and book and the appointee mini-CD are important services t h at we provide free to parents and appointees. These products extremely well received and appreciated. They are extremely v al u able marketing tools that pay big dividends for the asso ci at i o n i n terms of cadet and parent membership and donations. (Sixty-six percent of the Class of 2008 are enrolled in the AOG’s L i f e M em bership at Graduation Program, and 401 parents of the C lass of 2008 are AOG members.) The return of the calendar last y ear was one of the factors leading to a record breaking year in annual fund donations. The Class of 1968 presented the Class of 2008 with copies of Contrails at this year’s Acceptance Par ad e. T h i s exchange between the 40-year anniversary class and the entering class is rapidly becoming a lasting and important tradition.

A close relationship to the Academy is critical to t h e su ccess o f our communication eff orts. Johnny Whitaker’s,’73, arrival l ast sum m er as t he new director of com m unicat ions for the Academy has been an extremely positive development for us. The Academy has realized the importance of staying in touch with the gradu ate community, and we have partnered in several areas ov er t h e past year. As most of you know, theAcademy implemented new training system — the Offi cer Development System — l ast January. With the support of the Academy, Bob McAllister fi l m ed and edit ed an inst ruct ional video that w e sent t o our chapters to ensure graduates understood all the changes.

The Academy’s 50th anniversary kickoff last April saw y o u r communications department play an important role in m an y activities. The AOG celebrated Founders Day and recognized two Distinguished Graduate Award selectees — Lt. Gen. (U SAFRet.) Brad Hosmer, ’59, and Richard T. Schlosberg III, ’6 5. Sarah Wright designed a beautiful mural for the airport that recognizes the Academy’s close ties to the Colorado Springs community f o r almost 50 years.

The Friends of the Library released their DVD , “Expect G r eat Things,” that captures the history of the Academy. T h e A O G funded this project and is marketing this highly acclaimed p r o duction by Jim Gaston, ’63, and his son Matt. This i s t h e fi r st documentary that fully captures the history of the Academy and the words of many of the early people who had a tremendous impact on where USAFA is today.

C H E C K P O I N T S, F A L L 2 0 0 4

Y EA R

The communications staff worked closely with Faircount Publishing to produce a fi rst-class magazine, Fif ty Years of Excel lence, which superbly captures graduate accomplishments an d t h e Academy experience. In exchange for our assistance and endorse ment, Faircount sent a free copy of the magazine to all A O G members. We also collaborated with the Colorado Springs p ap er.

The Gazette, on a major Sunday magazine paying tribute t o t h e Academy’s Golden Anniversary.

Last fi scal year we printed our next-to-last Register of Graduates.

Tom Kroboth and our IT staff once again did an excellent job in producing another great product. Dick and the staff ar e w o r k ing hard to take advantage of new technologies. The inform at ion contained in the Register will now be available on the W eb behi nd a fi rew al l — and it w ill be m uch m ore curren t .

With success comes increasing demands for information an d bet ter com m unicat ions.

Our new Web site offers a wide variety of information about the AOG and Academy, and it has several features that will allow you tell us what you think. Chris Stewart’s expertise and leadership were instrumental in the development and launching of theW eb si t e.

If you haven’t visited the new site, pleasedo at www.usafa.org. W e

want to “push” more information out to our constituents an d w e are looking at sending out an e-newsletter in the future. B ased o n therecommendationsof Burson-Marsteller, aleading public rela tions fi rm that did some pro bono work for us, we are looking at other ways of increasing our contact with you.

Throughout the next year, your communications staff w i l l

be working with Turner Publishing on a high-class coffee t abl e book that will capture the cadet experience from In-Processing to graduation. They are also working closely with CINE Fi l m s

to produce a major fi lm. Wings of Honor. This $2 million proj

ect will be paid for by donations from companies. LockheedMartin and Boeing have already signed up as sponsors. W e ar e

extremely excited about this project which will provide an u p close look at the Academy’s challenges and the accomplish

ments of its graduates. The Academy is a national treasure, and we want this fi lm to make theAmerican public feel proud

of the men and women who meet the many challenges of t h e

Academy experience and serve our nation as leaders o f ch ar ac ter in both war and peace.

FI N A N C E AN D H U M A N RESO U RC ES

In 2004, we continued to grow our development organization

and to enhance our fi nancial reporting process. We also signifi

cantly improved our investment program by moving from

I N

R EV I EW

reorganized our staff to strengthen our alumni relations p r o g r am .

To execute the board of director’s major fund raising campaign for the Academy, we implemented the next phase of our develop ment expansion. Our staff totaled 44 employees at year’s end , and our expenses reached $6.5 million. This growth helped us gross $8.4 million. In order to maintain our traditional su p p o r t to Academy programs during the expansion, the board auth orized

an internal loan of $3.4 million from the life membership fu nd .

I n 2004 , w e drew $ 1.2 m illion from that loan show n as bot h a

receivable and a payable in the statement of fi nancial position.

Loan withdrawals will slow as campaign contributions i n c r ease.

Once the campaign is complete, the loan will be repaid w i t h interest (prime plus 1 percent).

The charts included as part of this report are part of our

effort to enhance fi nancial reporting. The summary of fi nancial operations shows income and expense data for fi scal year 2004 (July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004) on an accrual basis. T h e st at e ment of fi nancial position displays AOG assets and l iabi li t ies as of June 30, 2004. T he cash fl ow charts show the so u r ces an d

uses of cash during FY 2004. A further breakdown of t h e cash out fl ows is also provided.

One of our biggest successes this year was the move t o a

more sophisticated investment program. Our single investment manager could not provide the diversifi ed, quality portfolio we needed. As a result, we moved to a multiple-manager approach

that allowed us to expand our investment asset classes and select the best manager in each to handle our investments. A n investment subcommittee comprising three graduates w i t h m o r e than 70 years experience handling institutional investments an d a professor from the Academy’s management department w a s

created to execute and then manage this change. They sel ec t ed

managers with a proven track record of strong performance an d consistent investment strategy. The asset classes and t ot al fu nds i nvest ed are show n i n t he I nvest m en t chart . T ot al ret urn s i n

2004 were 7.9 percent.

Last but not least, we reorganized our staff to provide emphasis on alumni relations. More resources were directed to chapter support and a customer service section was cr eat ed to meet member demand for career services, special fu nct ions, m

o r e

travel opportunitiesand merchandise. Member response h as b een

extremely positive.

Although we have much left to do, we had some signifi cant achievements in 2004 and hope to make even more in 2005. C>

a

single- to a multiple-investment manager approach. Finally, we C H E C K P O I N T S , FA L L 2 0 0 4

29

1

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F I SC A L Y E A R 2004 F I N A N C I A L ST A T E M E N T S f o r t he United St at es A ir Fo rce A cademy A ss o c iat io n o f G r a d u a t e s

S U M MA RY O F F INA NC IA L O P E RA T IO NS

II

For the Year Ended June 30, 2004

Beginning Net Assets

$ $

R ev e nue s

Expenses C hange In:

$

20,872,382

$ $ $ $

13 1,405 1,765,825 1,497,573 24 ,267,185

8,42 1,34 3 6,524 ,113

U n re st rict e d N e t A s s e t s R e st ricte d N e t A s s e ts

Agency/Deferred Income Assets Ending Net Assets

r.

STA T E M E NT O F F INA NC IA L PO S IT IO N A s o f J u ne 3 0 , 2 0 04 R EV E N U E S

A S S ET S C as h Inv e s t m e nts R e s a le M e rc h a n d ise R e c e iv a b le s Int e rn a l L o a n R e ce iv a b le *

Prepaids Prope rty and Equipment

$ $ $ $ $ $ $

T ota l A ssets

C o nt rib ut io n s **

696 ,448 20,453,118

Inv e s t m e nt Inc o m e

Membership Dues Special Funct ions and Reunions Advert ising Merchandising Royalties and Other

10 3 ,2 4 2

5,938 ,574 1,200,000 5 0 ,2 8 1

4 ,6 14 ,4 13 33,056 ,076

$ $ $ $ $ $ $

6,080,576 1,0 11,972 729,9 16

$

8,42 1,34 3

2 4 4 ,54 5

102,968 68,286 183,080

L IA B IL IT IE S A N D N E T A S S E T S L IA B IL IT IE S

Accounts Payable Internal Loan Payable* D e fe rre d D ue s In c o m e N ET A S S ET S T o ta l L ia b ilit ie s a n d N e t A s se t s

$ $ $

1,200,000 7,2 16 ,556

$

24 ,267,185

1

3 7 2 ,3 3 5

33,056,076

N o tes :

* Loan from the life membership fund to general operations to forward fund expense of the Campaign.

** Pledge portion of contribution is discounted for present value and estimated uncollectable debt; therefore the amount w ill b e less than that shown in the Development section. *** A complete review of old pledges was conducted in 2 0 0 4 .

As a result, many old pledges were written off and a n e w fulfillment system established to keep pledges current.

30

EX PENS ES

■

Member & Other Support USA FA Support

■ Fundraising

' Management & Ge neral H Uncollectible Debt***

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

1,294 ,789 1,5 13,362 1,9 17,594 94 2 ,027 8 5 6 ,34 1

6 ,524 ,113

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C A SH F L O W S For the Year Ended June 30, 2004

IN : S O U R C E S o f C A S H R e a liz e d In v e st m e nt In c o m e

$

Pledge Payments/Cash Gifts D ue s

$

277,7 13 $4 ,242 ,4 11 729,9 16 504 ,315 4 8 1,295 1,200 ,000

$

7,4 35,650

$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $

1,209,206 2 ,358,506 8 15,806 1,833,194 372,070 63,558 783,310 7,4 35,650

$ $

S e rv ice R e v e n u e

From Temporarily Restricted Re $ D ra w o n L o a n

O UT : U S ES o f C A S H

Member/Other Support USA FA Support Management & General

Fundraising

Capital Purchases T o E nd o w m e n ts T o U n re st ric te d R e se rv e s

Member/Other Support Membership A cquisition/ Maintenance $ Special Functions $ R e u n io n s $ Career Programs $ Chapter Support $ O t he r S e rv ice s $ Merchandise Operations $ P u b lic a t io n s/ M e d ia $ Building Maintenance O ut s id e C h a ritie s $

USA FA Support 294 ,639

A cademy Services/Events

10 6 ,18 1

P u b lic a t io n s/ M e d ia

155,4 35 42,842 68,834 50 ,788

270,374

$ $ $ $

3 3 ,5 9 4

$

3 2 4 ,6 0 8

$

Building Maintenance G ra nt s A c a d e m ic

Scholarships

6 8 ,8 3 0

Leadership & Character Development

34 8,4 33 4 3,224 30,000

C a d e t C lu b s A t h le t ic

$ $

$ $ $

A d m is s io n s/ M e d ia

Heritage Projects Cadet T rips

$ 1,209,206

A w a rd s

Superintendent's Discretionary

$ $ $ $

62,227 72,549 147,499 6 2 8 ,0 7 0

470,93 1 25,157 19 ,4 19

$ 2 ,054 ,428

274 ,563 24 ,790 4 ,7 2 5

2,054 ,428

$

$ $ $ $

$ $ $ 2 ,3 5 8 ,5 0 6

Management IT

$ Acco unting , Management, Adminis $ M e d ia $ Building Maintenance $

Fund Raising 14 7 , 15 1 4 84 , 17 5

138,144 46,336

$ $

7 6 2 ,2 4 4

A n n u a l F u n d G if ts

$

Temporarily Restricted Gifts

$ $

765,767 9,126

Computer Equipment

4 7 ,6 7 2

O th e r

C la s s G if ts

Building Maintenance 8 15 ,8 0 6

Ca p it a l P u r c h as es

Gift Processing Planned Gifts (Estate Gifts) Maj or Gifts

177,906 4 7 ,3 12

$

2 3 , 16 7

1

1,833,194

ii C H E C K PO I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

Building and Grounds Landscaping Office Equipment F u rn it u re & F ixt u re

$

$ $ $ $

258,9 17 32 ,377 12,856 3,931 8,989 55,000

J

3 7 2 ,0 7 0

$

31

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D EVEL O PM EN T

In partnership with the Air Force Academy, the Association o f Graduates is in the early stages of a major fund raising i n i t i at iv e that will change the face of the Academy for many years t o c o m e .

Throughout the next several years, the AOG will be asking the extended Academy family to assist us in securing funds t o : - Create a Nati onal Character and Leadership Development C en t er - Expand academic research opportunities for cadets - Provide additional funding for Falcon Foundation scholarships - Establish athletic leadership endowments - Build an admissions welcome center and a memorial pavilion in the cemetery

IN V E S T M E N T S & S T A F F A s of J une 30 , 2 004

As we begin thisjourney, I am happy to report that through the generosity of more than 8,400 graduates, parents, friends, co rp o r a tionsand foundations, gifts to theAssociation of Graduates in support of theAir ForceAcademy continue to make a difference. During the 2004 fi scal year, theAOG secured $6.3 million in contributions.

INVESTMENTS as of J u ne 30, 2004 ■ Domestic Equity

$

7,990,287

»

F ix e d In c o m e / C a s h

$

4 ,4 9 1,56 5

■ International Equity

$

3,555,6 16

A lt e r n a t iv e s

$

2 ,64 6 ,554

Re a l Estate Inv estm e nt T rusts

$

1,757 ,10 1

$

20,44 1,123

■

FY 2 0 04 T o ta l R e t u rn

7 .9 %

Air Force Academy Fund Annual gifts secured through the Air Force Academy Fund , w hich are primarily unrestricted (meaning the donor allows t h e A cad emy and theAOG to determine how the money is used), t o t al ed more than $2.1 million. These gifts are applied in a variety of ways, having a direct impact on broadening the cadet experience.

Every $35,000 in unrestricted support equates to the i n t er est earned from a $1 million endowment. These important enable the superintendent to meet unexpected needs as they arise.

More than 850 individuals made leadership gifts to t h e A i r Force Academy Fund at the Sabre Society level (unrestricted l ead ership gifts between $1,000 and $25,000 from July 1 - June 30).

In total, this important group of donors provided more than $ 1.7 million in private support. r e so u r c e s

Class Giving A special thanks goes out to our reunion classes who, as i n t h e past, were extremely generous. Of particular note, th e C lass of 1973 secured $500,000 in gift s and commitments, representing the largest class gift in the Academy’s history. These f unds w ill be used to underw rite the costs associated w i th the N at ional C h ar ac

A O G EM P L OY E ES a s o f J u n e 30 , 2004

■ R ■ ■

Member & Other Support USA FA Support Fundraising Management & General

17 5 12 10 44

32

ter and Leadership Symposium for the next fi ve years.

The Class of 1983 secured almost $250,000 in gift s in support of the HeritageTrail and the Memorial Pavilion. This class gift represents the largest gift at a 20-year reunion in Academy history.

Maj or Gif ts For the third year in a row, on behalf of the Academy, t h e A O G received a $1 million commitment (only the fourth of its kind).

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

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A ir Force A cademy Fund (Cash Raised/Cash Secured) $2,988,947* $2 ,500,000

$1,578,666

$2,000,000 H$1,303,295 $ 1,500,000

^

r

$2,423,948'

:$2 ,369 ,203

$3,000,000

$1,954,748*

$ 2 .3 4 1 .5 4 1

$2,120,293:71 "

T"

$ 1,000,000 $500,000 $0

m FY 0 1

FY 02

FY 0 3

FY 04

□ C a s h R a ise d □ C a s h S e c ure d

Total Sabre Society Cash Received by Paid Members (not including matching gifts) $ 1,200,000 $ 1,000,000

$721,233]

$895,788

!$994,199

$ 1,17 1,869

If

- Sft

$800,000

!

$600 ,000 $400,000 $200,000 $0

if

FY 0 1

FY 02

This generous gift will be used to create an endowment i n support of character and leadership development programs. I n addit ion t o th is cont ribut ion , the A O G received 2 1 o t h er co m

mitmentsfor theAcademy of $25,000 or more. Thesegifts are all

in support of initiatives outlined in the Academy’s strategic plan and are part of the Building Leaders of Character for t h e N at i o n campaign (see related story on page 72).

Corporation and Foundations In fi scal year 2004, corporations and foundations provided more than $1 million in gifts and commitments to the A cad emy. Included in this amount is nearly $200,000 in matching

FY 0 3

F Y 04

gifts from corporations - a 14 percent increase from the previ ous fi scal year.

Polaris Society (Estate and Planned Gift s) During the 2004 fi scal year, the AOG received one of the largest estate gifts ever to the Academy. This gift of $127,500 i s i n h o n o r of General Curtis E. LeMay and is to be used to support cad et activities. Through the end of the 2004 fi scal year, m ore than 30 individuals were members of the Polaris Society, a gift society that recognizes individuals who have remembered the Academy an d the AOG in their estate plans. Polaris gift s include bequests, life-

income gift sand life insurance policies. 9

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

33

B E H I N D

T H E

SC E N E S

w w w .u saTa .o rg

By Christopher A. Stewart

1

■ ^ he A ssociat ion of Graduates launched a new W eb sit e

in mid-November. The new site provides enhanced func tionality and navigation for Academy graduates, AOG

m em bers and other onl ine readers.

The new Web site’s address is the same as the prior W eb si t e: www.usafa.org.

“It’s critically important that all Academy graduates an d A O G members visit the new Web site, register by clicking ‘F i r st T i m e User,’ and update their contact information,” said Gary H owe, ’69, AOG vice president for alumni relations.

By registering with the site, graduates and AOG members w i l l be provided with a user name and password, which will give them access t o rest ricted areas of the sit e.

“I believe thisWeb site has changed the way we do b u si n ess at the AOG,” Howe said. “The new Web site provides our c u s t o m ers with tools to do things on our Web site that they’ve n ev e r

b een ab l e t o d o .”

N ovem ber w hen the new sit e w as launched .

“The AOG is proud to provide this new Web site to our gradu ates, cadets, parents and friends of the Academy,” said Jim Shaw, ’67, AOG president and CEO. “The information and tools n o w

T he new W eb site al low s readers t o:

available onl ine w ill allow the A O G t o cont in ue to ser v e as a g r eat

- Look up Academy graduates and AOG members - Update their biographical and contact information - Sign up for AOG membership - Shop online for Academy and AOG merchandise - Register for AOG events and activities, including r eu n i o n s - Read news and information about the Academy and AOG - View photo galleries and order professional-quality prints - Review a comprehensive list of AOG membership benefi ts and comprehensive list of services provided to all c u s t o m e r s - Make a gift to theAir ForceAcademy Fund and Sabre Society —Read and post comments on the AOG message board - Participate in online polls - Provide questions, comments and feedback to theAOG —Learn more about philanthropy at the Academy - Review AOG charter, bylaws and fi nancial information

resource for our graduates, members and others interested i n t h e Academy and Association of Graduates.”

Searching for graduates and AOG members, shopping in the online store, updating biographical and contact information, registering for events - including reunions, signing up for AOG memberships, reading and posting comments on the AOG sage board, and making gifts to the Air Force Academy F u n d and Sabre Society are new features of the Web site t h at w er e n o t

— A n d m u ch m o r e!

In September 2002 the AOG launched its fi rst sophisticated Web site, which included basic information and news st o r i es

34

about the association and Academy. The site’s popularity co n t i n ued to grow with the addition of online photo galleries. Especially among parents, the BCT galleries proved particularly popular. In 2003, more than 4 million hits in one month were registered a t www.usafa.org. Regular news-and-information updates an d t h e continued popularity of the photo galleries contribute t o t h e si t e’s regular traffi c of about 1 million hits per month.

Based on the advancements and new capabilities of Web t ech nology and a push from the AOG Board of Directors, t h e A O G solicited requests for proposals from leading companies special izing in alumni online communities and contracted with t h e Internet Association Corporation.

Months of planning, writing and testing culminated i n

m

e s

av ai l ab l e o n t h e o l d si t e.

“I’m very excited about the site’s capabilities that en h an ce o u r ability to communicate with Academy graduates and members o f the A O G ,” Shaw said .

Your questions, comments and feedback about the Web si t e are important in helping the AOG continue to provide c u s t o m e r service to graduates, cadets, parents and friends of the Academy.

Please send your thoughts to aog@usafa.org or visit t h e n ew si t e

at www.usafa.org. 9

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

My Profile Createyour own, customized personal profi le page. Search theAOG sonline directory of graduates and members, upload photographs to your galleries, createyour personal palslist, changeyour password, and more. Your personal profi lewill beviewed by all AOG members.

Becom e a M em ber

Sign up for AOG membership online. Graduates, cadets, parents and friends of the Academy can pur chase a membership using any major credit card.

Address/Bio Update Make changes to your address, phone number, e-mail address, rank/salutation, military assignment, employ ment history, and more. You also can indicate what information will be viewed by all AOG members on your personal profi le page

I-

» ■

i

Fi rst T i m e U sers

The fi rst time you visit www.usafa.org, click “First Time User” to receive your password and verify your biographical information.

A bout the A O G

Membership and Services A complete listing of membership benefi ts and services the AOG provides

W h o w e are, w hat w e do and

how we do it; AOG bylaws, fi nancial reports, privacy state m ent , D oolit t le H all reserva

tions, Heritage and Long Blue L ine and contact inform at ion

N ew s & I n f o r m at i o n

Article archive. Checkpointsarchive, 50'*’ anniversary.

Graduate Leadership Conference information. Distin guished GraduateAward winners and nomination cri teria, theJabaraAward for Airmanship, Commandant Guidance, Reports on theAcademy, and useful links.

s

Ph ot o G al l eri es

AOG members-only galleries and galleries you can view and/or order professional-quality prints.

Onl ine Directory Search for graduates and members by last name, fi rst name, class year, city, state, zip code and keyword.

Make a gift Give to the Air Force Academy Fund and Sabre Soci ety using any major credit card. r

I Online Store

View all AOG/Academy merchandise on sale at the AOG. Order your holiday gift s today! All transactions are processed by VeriSign and are fully secure.

M em ber D iscussion For um

Participate in members-only online discussions.

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C H E C K PO I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

35

U P C L O SE

A

”

s a co m m u n icatio n s

offi cer in the M arines,

t o Saudi A rabia for t he Persian G ulf

Maj . Kevin M . Shea, ’89, frequently e-mailed his family with photos from Iraq showing the big, burly military man next to smiling children.

“He was hoping [the military] could do a lot of good, rebuild the schools,”

War, then on assignments in Florida and in C al ifornia, w here he m et his

wife. Ami. The couple, whose home is near Camp Pendleton, the Marine Corps base in California, has a 10year-old daughter and 7-year-old son.

Shea was sent to Iraq in February.

He set out hoping that the U.S. mili tary could help the population, and that he could help young Marines.

“His goal was to bring them all back

said his m ot her, Eileen Shea.

B u t t h e d eco rat ed M ar i n e i n st ead

found himself involved in frequent skirmisheswith Iraqi insurgents, and on Sept. 14, hewas killed by hostile fi re.

safe and sound ,” h is m other said .

Sh ea “ co ul d n ’t h av e b een a m o re w o n

derful person,” said KaraAnna, who was a neighbor of Shea’s in recent years.

That was an opinion echoed by friends, relatives and colleagues. They described Shea, 38, as a caring, generous man who left a deep imprint on people during a military career that began at theAir ForceAcademy and continued through a teaching stint at the Naval Academy and two confl icts in the M iddle East .

m i

i l

I MI J (l

In one e-mail. Shea acknowledged that he didn’t agree with some of the political decisions being made in Iraq.

But, he told his parents in the message, “ O rd er s ar e o r d er s.”

“His attitude was, ‘I go where I’m

D .C . M ar i n e n ev er

di rected ,” ’ said h is fat her, W illiam .

faced struggles solo

faced blistering hot temperatures and constant peril from hostile fi re. But his

M A RY B ET H SH E R I D A N

I n recent m onths, the M arine

e-m ails w ere fi lled w ith concern for his

family. In one, he tells his parents that a brief satellite-phone conversation with his son, Michael, “made my day.”

Shea was an avid athlete who enjoyed running, sailing and espe cially rugby. He coached the rugby team during a three-year st i n t at the Naval Academy, where he taught electrical engineering.

Mike Flanagan coached with Shea. He said that when h e broke the news of Shea’s death to the rugby players, th e athlet es

WA SH I N G T O N P O S T Sr A ¥ ¥ W R I T E R

The Defense Department released a brief statement reporting the death of Shea, a communication information systems offi cer assigned t o t h e 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. It provided no details about the circumstances, other than to say that he w as killed by enemy fi re in Anbar province, west of Baghdad, where part of the Sunni-dominated population has resisted the U.S. military p resen ce.

Shea was born to D.C. natives but grew up elsewhere as h i s father’s civil-service jobs took the family to Dallas an d Seat t l e.

Aft er fi nishing high school in Seattle, Shea set his sights on the Air Force Academy - but didn’t get in.

Instead, he spent a year at the Academy’s preparatory school , boosting his grades, and eventually was accepted. The indicative of his tenacious personality, said his brother T o m .

“He always excelled, but he excelled because heworked hard,” he said. Kevin Sheawent on to earn a master’s degree in engineering.

While at the Air Force Academy, Shea discovered that his eye sight wasn’t good enough for him to qualify as a jet pilot, so he cross-com m issioned in the M arines, his brother said . Thus began m

36

a peripatetic military life that took him

o v e w

a s

d i sso lv ed i n t ear s.

“His infl uence was tremendous,” Flanagan said.

Shea was always available to help players, on and off th e fi el d, Flanagan said. With struggling students, “he would si t af t er practice for an hour, an hour and a half, to make sure they had the concepts down cold,” he said.

Flanagan also recalled how an offi cer came to one rugby gam e with bright-colored native skirts he had picked up on an assignment i n t h e So u t h Paci fi c. T h e o fi cer an d Sh ea t o o k t o the fi eld wearing the skirtsand fl ip-fl ops, sending everyone into gales of laughter.

“For all his achievements, he was just a regular guy,” Flanagan said, “and a damn fi ne M arine.” !9

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

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U P C L O SE

Fir st Hispanic

W OM A N GRA D

creditsAcademy N o t o n l y was L in da

f o r h er su c cess

Gar c ia C uber o , ’80, t h e FIRST H i spa n i c w o ma n t o GRADUATE FROM T H E A l R

BY RU D I W I L L IA M S

Fo r ce A cademy, sh e was

A M E R I C A N F O R C E S P R E SS SE RV I C E

T HE ONLY H i spa n i c w o ma n TO g r a d u at e f r o m a n y

OF THE n at io n ’s SERVI CE ACADEMIES IN 19 8 0 , WHEN T H E F I R ST C L A SSE S W I T H W O M E N G RA D U A T E D .

President Gerald R. Ford signed legisla tion Oct. 7, 1975, allowing women to enter the nation’s military academies. Women entered the Air Force Academy for the fi rst t ime June 28, 1976. T he fi rst class with

women graduated in May 1980.

A graduate of Chicopee Comprehensive High School in Chicopee, Mass., Cubero was t he fi rst w om an i n th at st at e t o receive an

appointment to any military academy.

Cubero said she decided to pursue an educa tion at the academy to follow her father’s foot stepsinto theAir Force as a commissioned offi cer.

She also w anted to travel and see the w orld.

“I wanted to get a really good education, and the opportunities at the service acad emies were just too good to pass up,” said 38

U P C L O SE

Cubero, who graduated with a bachelor of science degree i n political science and earned her free-fall parachutewings.

She spent seven years in the Air Force serving as a com m and briefer to a four-star general and on national-level t ask f o r ces at

the Pentagon. As a liaison to theWhite House, Cubero su p er

vised the development of a U.S. commemorative postage st am p honoring Hispanics in the defense of the nation. The st am p w as designed by the 10 surviving Hispanic Medal of Honor recipi ents and unveiled by President Ronald Reagan at the W h i t e H ouse in 1984.

The former Air Force captain said she spent four years at the

Pentagon with the Defense IntelligenceAgency and threey ear s

at theTactical Air Command at Langley Air Force Base, V a. Sh e resigned her commission after marrying a civilian and starting a family, and she enrolled in a graduate-degree program.

Cubero said her fi rst year at the Academy “was pretty rough.”

“I wasn’t used to being yelled at and being braced up against the wall and told to tuck your chin in and do push-ups an d sit-ups,” she said. “The academic environment didn’t b o t h er me; the physical aspect didn’t bother me, but the mental an d emotional challenge was tough. The intent is to strip you down as individuals and form you into fi rst a follower and t h en l ear n how to be a leader and how to be a part of a team. They do a very good job of that.”

But the transition is tough for an 18-year-old who h as n ev er been away from home, she said.

“Emotionally and mentally, it was quite a challenge, b u t o n e that I think created a foundation for my success today,” sai d Cubero, now a client director at H ewlett-Packard. She i s al so o n

the board of directors of the Girl Scouts’ Tejas Council.

In 1998, Cubero was inducted into the National Hispanic Engineering Hall of Fame. In 2002, Hispanic Business magazine named her as one of the “ 100 Most Infl uential Hispanics” i n the United States. She has been featured in several magazines an d i s a frequent keynote speaker.

She said the four years at the Academy, the discipline, t h e leadership, the skills she learned and the academic background all

“Make sure you share those learnings with others,” sh e sai d .

When she spoke at the National Latina Symposium honoring Hispanic women military academy graduates in early September, Cubero told the gathering that her lifelong motto is, “ Yo u t el l me I can’t, and I’ll show you I will.”

While at the Academy, she said she learned the value of an education is not just from books or classrooms, but al so f r o m experiences and relationships.

“I learned that the only barriers in your way are those y o u create yourself,” Cubero said. “I learned the value of t r ue f riend ship and what it means to serve others before self ” She said she also learned about an honor code that says, “Wewill not lie, cheat or steal, nor tolerate among us anyonew h o d o es.”

“And I learned that your integrity, your word, is something that no one can ever take away,” Cubero said. “I learned t h at serving your country is not just about putting on a uniform every day; it’s about duty, pride, honor, character an d ab o u t being part of a team.”

Since graduating from the Academy, Cubero said she l ear ned t he defi n i t ion of success “ i sn’t i n t he si ze of your paycheck, but in the opportunities you create for others an d in the differences you can make.

“I’ve also learned that when they said, ‘Just being an Academy grad will open up doors for you,’ they really meant it - it ’s t rue,” C u b er o sai d .

She gave her key ingredients necessary for success in today’s challenging times: • Develop relationships and cultivate networks: “You can’t survive on your skills alone. Good leaders don’t have t o have all the right answers - they just need to know w h er e to go to get them,” she said.

• Practice lifelong learning: “Seek to understand more t h an just your job. Look for ways to improve things around you.”

• Develop business acumen and judgment: “Ask questions.

Seek a mentor. Continue to learn and grow and be gener ous with what you learn. Don’t be afraid to fail or y o u w i l l n ev er su cceed .”

laid a foundation for her successes i n l ife.

“The self-confi dence I have today was built there,” C u b er o said. “It had a tremendous (effect) on my career and m y su ccess ... in theAir Force and in the corporate environment.”

Her advice to young Hispanic women who are contemplating attending a military academy is to “make sure it’s something you really want; make sure it’s for you. If it’s not for you, you will not survive. You’ll be very unhappy.”

Cubero said those who are given an opportunity to attend academy should give back as they grow and learn. a n

•

Develop leadership competencies: “Whether it’s govern ment, military, corporate America or an academic institu tion, every organization needs good leaders, at all l ev el s.”

• Achieve personal clarity: “Be curious about yourself Understand what brings you fully alive, what matters most to you, what motivates you, and design your life around those things. The better you take care of yourself,

themoreyou can betherefor others.” S

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

39

H E R I T A G E

TC ifiHt o/ E^ ellence

by Steven A. Simon, ’77

Gku ro ld e stib ln g ,th e U .S M ilta ryA ca d e m y,h a s A a great marketing slogan that goes something like “Much of the history we teach was made by peoplewe taught.” Aswe commemorate the

V U.S. Air ForceAcademy’sfi ftieth anniversary, we W havesomething similar going for us: Much of the

Air ForceAcademy’s history was made by people who are still available to talk about it. Okay, maybe mat’s not as exciting or impressive asWest Point’s slogan, but it isa great advantage to those of us currently researching and recording USAFA’shistory.

The advantage of that access to the history makers i s evident in many of the products documenting the Academy’s fi ftieth anniversary. First-hand reminisces and “There I w as ... ” descriptions bring even the earliest history of t h e A i r Force Academy to vivid life. Nowhere will this advantage b e more evident or more carefully harnessed than in the A O G ’s upcoming “coffee table” book. Flight of Excellence.

The book, to be produced by one of the nation’s leading publishers of military volumes. Turner Publishing Company of Nashville, Tenn., will consist of more than 200 full-color p ages of photographs, history and vignettes from those who b u i l t and/or attended theAcademy. Flight of Excellencewill t el l t h e story of theAcademy from President Eisenhower’sApril 1954 signing of theAir Academy Act, the Lowry days, and t h e co n struction of theAcademy, to the rich 50 years the sch o o l h as spent as one of the nation’s premier educational and military training institutions. The book will also highlight the school’s primary mission of training leaders of character for the nation, with an emphasis on some especially noteworthy graduates who have provided the nation with exceptional service.

40

a r : C X

Readers will get an insider’s view of what it takes t o g et into the Academy and to navigate through the four intense years of Academy instruction in search of the ultimate goals — an Air ForceAcademy diploma and an offi cer’s commis sion. As currently envisioned, the book will walk the r ead er through a typical year in the life of theAcademy. Inputs from graduates throughout the 50 years will highlight how, w hile theAcademy has undergone many substantive changes si n ce 1955, the basic tenets established by the Academy’s original

C H E C K P O I N T S , FA L L 2 0 0 4

planners and the Class of 1959 are still in place today. Among these bedrock features are: the Honor Code, the emphasis integrity, service and excellence, and the overwhelming s t r e s s to excel academically, militarily and athletically.

The focus of the book will range from the intimate, su ch as a look at a basic cadet who cried himself to sleep at night, to the monumental — graduates who have made the ultimate sacrifi ce in service to America. The overall emphasis o f t h e volume will be on the human aspects of the Academy. W h ile o n

Flight of Excellencewill touch on the amazing architecture, curricul um and ot her inst it ut ional feat ures, its f ocus w i l l n o t

stray far from the individuals who have worked to develop and maintain the Academy’s stellar reputation.

Flight of Excellence promises to be an outstanding h i st o r i cal record of the Academy’s fi rst half-century of existence. T h e keepsake is slated for publication in early 2006 and w i l l b e available for purchase through the Association of Graduates

new Web sitewww.usafa.org. S

C H E C K PO I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

41

H ER IT A G E

GUTS basic cadet squadron members complete survival training. Bottom from left : Tom Sullivan, unidentified, Phil Pacini. Top from left : Robert Stone, Dick Storer, Glen Tanner, William Walker, unidentified.

42

C H EC K PO I N T S, FA L L 20 04

I

l !T

H E R I T A G E

m at t e r of eat ing ...

B Y GLEN TA NNER, ' 72

B 7

'«» •

y far ... I am not proud of the way I found food as a doolie, but the story is true, as best I can recall it, from the fog of 36 years.

I arrived to read “Bring Me Men ... ” at the foot of the ramp in June of ’68, in the best shape of my life. Recruited as a football linem an , I w as a solid

220 lbs., full of excitement in fulfi lling my dream t o become a cadet , ever since I had visited the A cad

emy asan eight year old in thesummer of 1959.

Not a stalwart at reciting knowledge, I ate reasonably well after “sitting up” my fair share of the t im e. H ow ever, the calorie intak e I received

could not compensate for the constant daylong exertion, from the “O’dark-thirty” formation run to the shower formation beforeTaps. As did most of us, I sought any available morsel that might present itself “GUTS” basic cadet squadron’s policy, that all Boodle packages must be shared among element memberswas the right way to go, to advance espirit de corps among the team. I was able to snarf a few of my grandmother’s homemade oatmeal cookies, after passing the package around to my classmates.

I was energized when my squadron commander announced that any one running the obstacle course in less than (I believe) six minuteswould be awarded a pint of i ce cream . I t was all downhill aft er negotiating the monkey bars, w hen I heard “Dumbsquat! You failed to land across the boundary line of my obstacle. Do it again!” Weakened, I failed the obstacle t h r ee m o r e times before its “owner,” in complete disgust told me to get out of there. Of course, I busted the time and was greatly disappointed.

That evening, my squadron commander told me, “Tanner, i t ’s h ar d for big guys to get fast times on the obstacle course. I liked your effort. You get ice cream.” God, I loved him, and I loved that pint.

There were a couple times at the shower formation when I co u l d not say “Sir, I have had a bowel movement in the last 24 hours.”

Thankfully, since a number of my classmates were reporting at t h e same time, I was never brought up short for the omission. So m e time later, my squadron commander announced in frustration t h at a couple of my classmates had written their Congressman ab o u t not having enough to eat. He stated that any such complaints should come to him fi rst. I could not imagine doing either, the form er or the latter.

Jacks Valley was heaven. We could eat at ease and those boxed meals were big. Occasionally, classmates would give m e a chick en breast or pie they didn’t want. Aside from eating. M o t h er N at u r e made a big impression on me when a lightening bolt st r u ck ab o u t fi fty feet away, knocking us to the ground. Although my shaven head could not serve as a sensor, I can verify that t h e h ai r o n o n e’s ar m w i l l r i se b ef o r e a st r i k e.

Off to survival training, I greatly admired the skill of my element leader who was part NativeAmerican. During land navigation, he never took a misstep aswe passed those beautiful rocky cliffs, pine forests, aspen stands, wild fl owered valleys, an d b eav er d am s.

Each pair of us was awarded a live rabbit, a few potatoes, an d a pemmican bar. Those of us who were “men” popped down a r ab b i t eye-ball and sampled grass from its stomach “in case w e sh o u l d ev er become that hungry.” I wasn’t hungry enough to enjoy that sample, and haven’t been since. My classmate and I decided t o s t e w o u r rabbit. We threw all the ingredientswe had in a can an d ad d ed o u r iodized water. Since our fi re wasn’t hot enough, it cam e out awful r aw an d w e co u l d n ’t eat i t . W e d ro o l ed as w e w at ch ed o u r cl ass

mates chomp down on the rabbit they had barbequed on a spit.

W e heard that som e of our classm at es had raided an upper-class

tent and pigged out on cheeseburgers. Although somewhat en v i ous, w e concluded it w as an honor violation . W e also h eard so m e classm ates had m ade a bow, shot a deer, and st uffed t h em selv es w i th v en i so n . W ow !

Coming off the mountain, in about 10 buses, we learned t h at those kind and thoughtful chaplains, “our only friends,” h ad arranged a picnic for us at their housing complex, b ef o r e w e returned to the campus. In great anticipation, from ab o u t t h e eighth bus, I saw a row of about 15 tables piled with food . G et ting in line, I saw classmates returning with loaded plates full of cheeseburgers, hot dogs, potato salad and chips. Finally I reached

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

43

H E R IT A G E

service, I decided to learn about Catholicism. Trying t o rem ai n unobtrusive, I lined up to take communion from the priest like everyone else. Not making the proper hand movements, I receiv ed avery disapproving facial expression from our good priest and then gorged myself at breakfast. Leaving Mass from the side d o o r o n e day, I discovered the maintenance door on the far side of the chapel was open and decided to explore it. It led to the mnnels an d o n e o f the tunnels w ent underneath M itchell H all . I coul d ex i t t h e t u n n el

into a lower fl oor of M itchell H all, walk down the hall past the

Eyes glazed, C4C Tanner squeezes down t he winning pie.

the table and grabbed a paper plate. The food was gone! I m an aged to scrape up some broken chips to down.

Accepted into thewing, assigned to my permanent squadron (Thirsty Third), I hoped for an opportunity to eat more fully. Attend ing my fi rst football practice, I was able to weigh myself in the locker room. Thislineman weighed 175 lbs. I was astounded th at I h ad lost 45-pounds over thesummer. I wasweak and tired an d d id n o t perform well athletically or academically that fi rst se m e s t e r .

My squadron fi rst sergeant, a guy I never wanted to h av e an individual conversation with, approached meand said, “Tanner, I got theword you’re assigned to theJock Ramps.” My heart leaped with excitement. Hesaid, “This isan advantagefor you and you’ve got to fi nd other ways to help out your classmates.” Hardly ab l e t o co n t ai n my excitement, I said, “Yes sir!” Thejock table I was assigned to was comprised of my fellow linemen, the biggest guyson th e t eam . I sat at ease and the upperclassmen werevery pleasant to m e. W h en th e food arrived, they said, “Please pass it up.” I was able to casually watch them put largeportionson their plateand when the tray was returned to me empty, they asked me to “please send out for m o re.” I en t h u siastically sent out for more and reluctandy passed it up to the head of the tablewhen it remrned. When the upperclassmen left th e t ab le early, even at breakfast, I could grab the bread and thejar of peanut b u tt er an d h av e a fi n e san dw i ch .

I volunteered to help my classmates by entering a Hostesspie eating contest against a “3-degree” at Tattoo. If I won, my classmates would be able to eat at ease at Mitch’s the next day. I n 10 m inutes, I ate 11 to my opponent’snine. I’ve never again eaten a Hostesspie.

My best opportunity to eat was Sunday breakfast, when w e co u ld eat at ease an d t ak e as m u ch f o od as w e w an t ed f ro m t h e b u f et l i n e.

Unfortunately, when we had fi rst chapel, the food would o ft en b e exhausted by the time I got through the line. When I ob ser ved t h at C atholic M ass w as about 20 mi nutes shorter than the Pro t est an t 44

kitchens, climb the stairs, and enter the dining hall by the staff tower ... Eureka! When we marched to fi rst chapel, I would go down the steps to Catholic Chapel, slide to the left instead of entering, slither to the back of the chapel and enter the maintenance door. Entering M itchell H all from the tunnel, I w ould slither alcove t o alcov e o n

the kitchen fl oor and stealthily enter the dining fl oor near the staff tower ... then, eat enormously well. I know some cooks an d w ai t ers saw my slithering, yet none of them ever said a word. I recom m end al l cad et s t ak e a t o u r o f t h at en o r m o u s k i t ch en w i th the gigantic pots and utensils, it’s a phenomenal operation. It’s clear theAcademy invests signifi cantly in this enterprise to feed cadets properly.

Aft er Christmas break, I returned to my squadron tables an d eating remained a priority. My roommate and I decided w e could slip some food into our wheelcaps, to eat at our leisure i n t h e d o r m .

On this particular day, steak was served. My roommate managed to sneak a steak into hiswheelcap and I secured a couple large co o k i es. I f o l l ow ed h i m at d o u b l e- t i m e d ow n t h e m ar b l e strip, back to the dorm. I noticed some of the steak juice was dripping down his cheek. Then we heard, “Halt, Dumbsquat!” An upperclassmen came up to my roommate and asked “Are you all right?” t o w h i ch my roommate replied, “Yes, sir.” With a sneer, the upperclassman said something like “You need to shower more frequently, get o u t of here!” “Yes, sir!” Since doolieswere required to keep the door to their room open during the day, we rendezvoused in the latrine, each selecting a stall, we devoured our catch in privacy. T he fi rst and last time I have ever dined on thejohn.

My doolie eating experience taught me some life long l esso n s.

As an upperclassman, I always allowed my doolies a f u l l m eal .

During my career, I always fed the troops before feeding myself.

As a primary customer of Academy graduates, it’s the A i r Fo r ce standards of leadership and discipline that should prevail at the Academy, and I am very happy to see this turn being t ak en .

Training can be totally challenging, demanding, and test m et tle, without resorting to arbitrary, demeaning, and sophomoric “ r i t es of passage.” General Schofi eld’s quote was my favorite of all fourth-class knowledge; he was totally correct by saying: “ I t ’s the spirit in the breast of the commander ... ”

May you eat well and prosper. H

C H E C K P O I N T S , FA L L 2 0 0 4

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■ M EM B E R S ER V I C E S

USAA m eans U nit ed Se rv ices A ut o m obile A ssociat io n a n d it s s u b s id ia r ie s a n d a f f iliat e s .

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45

in t h e

Unit ed St at es A ir Force A cademy A S T H E EN D O F T H E CA LEN DA R Y EA R A PPRO A C H ES, N O W IS T H E B EST T IM E T O M A K E A SO LID IN V EST M E N T IN T H E U N IT E D STA T ES

A IR FORCE ACA DEMY by making a contribution of stock a n d o t h e r se c u r it ie s.

A gift of stock is a good way t o realize a tax break and avoid capit al gains t axes, and wit h your gift of stock to t he United States Air Force Academy you can direct ly impact t he Cadet Wing and enhance t he Academy experience. The ret urn on your invest ment will prod uce leaders of charact er for t he A ir Fo rce a n d o u r n at io n .

Donat ions t o t he Unit ed St at es Air Force Academy support vit al programs in charact er development , academics, at hlet ics and herit age t hat would not exist wit hout privat e funding. Transfers of st ock can be used t o support unrest rict ed annual needs t hrough t he Air Force Academy Fund, a class project , or ot her Academy funding priorit ies.

Building Leaders

o f C h aract e r fo r t h e N at io n

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For more information about making a gift of stock or other securities p lease contact

Sean Fieri at (719) 472-0300 or sean.pien@usafa.af .mil

Yearbooks Needed The USAFA Preparatory School needs

Advertise in Checkpoints magazine Advertisements in Checkpoints magazine support the A ss o c iat io n of G rad uat es a n d reac h an a ud ie nc e of

yearbooks (Malamutes) from the years 1962, 1963, 1965, and 1967 to complete the school’s

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Professor pulls curriculum from news Headlines

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BY BU T CH W EH RY, A CA D E M Y SPI RI T LESSON S LEARN ED FROM ABU GH RAI B, I RAQ , AN D G U A N T A N A M O BAY, C U BA , FO U N D T H EI R W AY I N T O A CA D EM Y C LA SSRO O M S T H I S FA L L W H ERE M I L I T A RY L AW T H EO RY A N D PRA C T I C E M EET .

This summer, Capt. Jeffrey Pozen divided his academic p r ep a ration time between preparing Law 220 for the next s e m e s t e r and developing a proposed curriculum for a computer and I n t er n et l aw co u r se.

It’s going to be timely, with points drawn from Iraq an d Guantanamo Bay.

“The big job for preparing the 220 course is researching t h e latest developments in the law,” said the 39-year-old i n st r u ct o r from La Grange, 111. “During the spring we had developments in both military and civilian justice systems that may not have m ade it int o the classroom last sem est er. O ver the su m m er w e t r y

to incorporate those changes into the fall syllabus.”

The Academy law department’s executive offi cer said t h e department tries to keep up with new developments and cases. One reason for this is to keep the classes current; case may better explain a topic.

“The main reason we try to track new developments is that the law itself does change when new statutes are passed

by Congress or new cases are decided by the Supreme Court,” Pozen said. “In the department we are frequently exchanging e-mails with information about the latest r ep o r t n ew

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o r case i n t h e n ew s.”

One example of a change will be the cases of prisoner ab u se at Abu Ghraib prison. Last semester his class had a hypothetical d i s cussion about the topic of torture and the treatment of prisoners when they discussed the law of armed confl ict.

“T his fall, we will look at the actual cases that are developing out of the situation in Iraq,” he said. “Another example is the GT M O 48

[Guantanamo] detainee cases. With the Supreme Court ruling and the developments that follov^ed at Guantanamo Bay, w e h av e n ew perspectives for discussing due process and constitutional l aw .” 'f ilelaw instructor expectsthefi rst fewweeksto be exciting because he will be working with the students’ preconceptions about the law and l awyers.

“Last spring I had my classes make lists of all theT V sh ow s and movies they have seen with lawyers in them,” Pozen said . “ I t is quite a list. I just read a cover story in USA Today about how TV shows like CSI are having an effect on what real life j uries are expecting to see in the courtroom. During the beginning of the course, I try to work with these preconceptions and how they infl uence th e cadet s’ view s of the law.”

Along with the new curriculum, the instructor is incorporating more hands on experience with the trial process.

Last year he did one mock trial and one reaction paper part of the class. This year he is replacing the reaction p ap er with a second mock trial. Every student in the class w i l l have the opportunity to be a lawyer or a witness in one of the mock trials. In the spring, he did one criminal t r i al . T h i s sem est er t h e cl ass w il l d o bot h a cri m i n al t ri al an d a negli gence lawsuit civil trial .

Pozen said he fi nds working with the cadets both challeng ing and rewarding. “I not only enjoy teaching cadets ab o u t t h e law, I especially enjoy teaching cadets about the military j ustice system,” he said.

All of the instructors in the law department are current or form er judge advocate generalswith experience in all facets of military law.

“When we are discussing the military justice system i n class, I have an opportunity to open a window into the future an d l et the cadets see the active duty Air Force and have them co n si d er a s

their role asfuture commanders,” the captain said. S

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U.S. Navy Lt . Cm dr. John Doolitt le, ’92 , a SEAL, pract ices in Monterey Bay f or a swim across t he English Channel. (Photo

by Orville Myers, The Herald) 4

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wenty-one miles swimming in near 58-degree water.

One year of persistent training. The gaining of 25 pounds of weight to sustain the water s temperature and to store energy. One seriously dedicated SEAL and mitment to fallen Naval special operators and their f am i l i es.

These components led to the inspiration, and ultimately t h e success, of Lt. Cmdr. John Doolittles, ’92, endeavor t o r ai se more than $17,000 for the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Fo u n dation while he swam across the English Channel in a l it t le more than 12 hours in August.

Doolittle was in.spired to honor fallen teammate and f el l ow SEAL Petty Offi cer Neil Roberts who was the fi rst NSW o p er a tor to be killed in combat actions during Operation Enduring a

c o m

F r eed o m i n M ar ch 2 0 0 2 .

The NSW Foundation supports the family members of Naval special operators killed since Sept. 11, 2001. The foundat ion donates college scholarships to the children of fallen Naval Special Operations Forces and provides catered support to the fam il ies of NSW in a wide range of capacities, including spouse scholarships, child care services, fi nancial support and wellness act iv i t ies.

Doolittle graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1992 an d then transferred to the Navy where he subsequently becam e qualifi ed as a parachutist, surface warfare offi cer and SEA L .

Although SEALs are known for their swimming ability, n o n e have succeeded in the channel crossing wearing only t heir sw im goggles, cap and Speedo-style swimsuit until now.

To f urt her i nsulate hi m self from t he cold ness o f the w a t e r

and to provide additional buoyancy, Doolittle gained 2 5 pounds of bodyweight.

In addition to the restrictions on clothing, as established by the Channel Swimming Association, Doolittle could not t ouch

the support boat that lead him across the 21-mile wide ch an nel. The support boat crew served as a guide and passed food and drinks to him during the swim. He consumed one l i t er o f water every hour as well as liquid carbohydrates supplements every 45 minutes.

A full-time schedule as a student at the Naval Postgraduate School in the defense analysis program, he built up his time speck in die chilly Monterey and San Francisco Bay waters t o 10 co n tinuous hours. The 56-degreewater in the Monterey Pen i n sul a helped him become acclimated to the frigid waters in the channel.

“The most diffi cult part of the training regime was the long sw im s.

Doolittle said. “I worked my way up to 10 hours in San Francisco Bay. Trying to mentally convince your body that you’re not cold in S.E bay is diffi cult.”

Doolittle said he had a lot of support to complete t he unique mission. “ My wife Katie really helped out as t h e t r ai n ing became more intense,” he said. “It’s tough to carve o u t a four or fi ve hour period to train each day when you h av e t w o little ones at home. Of course the Naval Postgraduate Sc h o o l supported me as did the NSW Foundation. John Doolittle, my dad, was my primary support crew member and was ab so lutely essential to helping ensure the swim went smoothly.”

D ooli t t le t rek ked f rom Brit ish t o French soil in 12 hours 24

minutes. “ It was all about raising money to help children an d spouses of fallen NSW heroes. Those donations to the were the most important part,” Doolittle said. “And i t w as spealdng with Neil’s wife and mother that gave me the p ow er c a u se

t o cross t he chan nel .

Everyone has the ability to make a difference. Just making a positive impression on one person makes it all worthwhile.” H

C H E C K P O I N T S, F A L L 2 0 0 4

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A sso c iat i o n o f G r a d u at es U N I T E D ST A T E S A I R F O R C E A C A D E M Y

The 37,000 graduates of the Long Blue Line proudly congratulate the U.S. Air Force Academy on 50 years of service and ex c el len c e t o t he nat io n .

A s s o c ia t io n o f G ra d u a t e s

Of c h a r a

3 116 Academy Drive USA FA , CO 80840-4475

(719) 472-0300, www.usafa.org

On s al e n o w :

Expect Great Things: The first 50 years of the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Expect Great Things is a comprehensive 50-year history of the U.S.Air Force Academy. Beginning with a vision for a U.S. Air Force separate from the other military services, the inception of an Air Force Academy, and its founding at Lowry Air Force Base, this captivating documentary features the construction of the Academy in Colorado Springs, presidential visits, a nd the

development of the Academy’s impressive character development, academic, military training and athletic programs.

To reserve your copy of this anniversary-issue DVD or VHS, call the Association of Graduates at (719) 4 72-0 300 .

Cost: $14.95 plus shipping and handling. Sponsored by the Association of Graduates and The Friends of the A ir Fo rce

Academy Library.

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Virgil " Gus" Grissom is t he Class of 2007 Exem plar.

G r eat E x p ect at i o n s Charles Precourt , 'l l , speaks at t he Class of 2007 Exem plar Dinner honoring " Gus" Grissom B Y C H R I ST O PH E R A . ST E W A RT

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Ast ronaut Charles Precourt , 7 7, was asked by t he fam iliy of Virgil " Gus" Grissom t o speak at t he Class of 2007 Exem plar Dinner.

harles Precourt, ’77, was the guest speaker at the C lass of 2007’s Exemplar Dinner Oct. 22. The Class of 2007 named astronaut C ol .

Virgil “Gus” Grissom as their exemplar.

Precourt, NASA’s international space station manager f o r i n t er n at i o n al partner negotiations, was asked by Grissom’s son Scott to speak on behalf of the Grissom family at the dinner. Precourt never met G rissom but adm ired and respected him for his service and ultimate sacrifi ce for his country.

Grissom fl ew in the Mercury and Gemini space programs and also helped with the fi rst Apollo Earth-orbit mission before he an d f el l o w ast r o n au t s E d White and Roger Chaffee died January 27, 1967, in the Apollo 204 fi re at Cape Kennedy.

T he Class of 2007’s exemplar was selected as the military m em b er w h o best exemplifies and enhances the class’s values of perseverance, profession alism and progress. “ T he class felt that G us G rissom w ould be t he obvious choice for our exem

plar because of how he conducted himself and for the positive example he set throughout his life,” said Class of 2007 President Tyler Rube. “By choosing Gus Grissom, my class is able to accomplish that goal and h av e a b et t er u n d er st an d ing of the triumphs and struggles that helped defi ne those w ho cam e before us.”

“He persevered as a young man to overcome his obstacles in his underprivi leged family to pursue his dreams to become a pilot. C o l o n el G u s G r i sso m 52

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represented change, which is a great part of what our cl ass represents,” said C3C Jocelyn Mitnaul, Class of 2007 exemplar chairperson. “Such change leads to extraordinary progress. G u s Grissom exemplifi es our class’s core values and we, as the C lass of 2007, aspire to exemplify him.”

Precourt, who graduated from the Academy 30 years before t he C lass of 2007 w ill , also follow ed in G rissom’s footsteps.

“I got to know his infl uence and the impact he had on the program just by the fact that we have a culture here t h at t r ai n s astronauts and conducts space missions in a way that grew out of what he was a big part of,” Precourt said.

One of Precourt’s NASA mentors wasJohn Young, and G r i s som commanded Young’s fi rst space mission. “I spent a l o t o f hours in the simulator training and developing emergency p r o ce dures with John, and certainly there was a lot of infl uence f r o m Gus in the way John did business,” Precourt said.

Precourt got his start in the U.S. space program after spending fi ve years at Edwards Air Force Base as a test pilot. After serving 10 years active duty at NASA, Precourt, who has 7,500 fl ying hours in 60 types of civil and military aircraft, retired i n 2 0 0 0 t o work for the space program as a civilian.

“I was chief astronaut for four years, two years as an A i r Fo r ce colonel, and two years as a civil servant,” Precourt sai d . “A n d then in 2002, I was reassigned to duties as a deputy manager for the space station program.”

He says that fl ying in space is truly phenomenal. “You under stand a little bit more about how fragile and precious our life is when you can see the Earth from a distance and see i t fl o at ing in this endless black sea of space,” Precourt said. “ W e’v e al l seen pictures of the Earth from space, but you see t h em i n t h e two-dimensions of a photograph or in video ... When you’re out there, you really feel the three-dimensionalness of i t . A n d t h e blackness goes on infi nitely behind you ... I wish everyone could experience it - even just for a few moments.”

T he mental pictures Precourt has from his time in space are unforgettable. “When the sun is out of your fi eld of v i ew, all you can see is the earth in front of you, and it l o o k s so bright that it appears to be glowing from inside,” P r ec o u r t said. “The power of nature is so evident when you look a t the surface of the Earth and you see even the beginnings o f a h u r r ican e over t h e A t l an t i c, or a san dst o rm t h at ’s b l o w

not a second goes by where you can’t see a lightning st r i k e . . .

They are very striking images that you can’t appreciate fully m a p i c t u r e.

A particularly memorable night in space for Precourt occurred July 4, 1995. “I was over the U.S. when it was very clear and I could see city lights that outlined the entire eastern map of the United States from Boston to the Florida Keys over t o N ew Orleans and Houston and up to St. Louis and Chicago and back through New York ... and it just so happened that that evening the whole East Coast was clear and you could make out t h e east ern United States just like a map with the lights.”

On June 29, 1995, the day of his 40'*’ birthday. Precourt docked the U.S. spacecraft with the Russian space station M i r - a fi rst for the American space program. Precourt, who piloted this historic mission, said the globalization of the sp ace p r o g r am was very exciting. “Suddenly you had all these foreign n at i o n al i ties walking through our halls, and you could hear d o zen s o f languages being spoken in the halls of the astronaut corps offi ce sp aces: h e sai d .

Precourt’s previous encounters with the Russians, however. were quite different. Before joining NASA, Precourt fl ew F- 15 al er t m i ssi o n s t o t h e east er n b o r d er w h en t h e R u ssi an s w e r e

still occupying East Germany. Precourt said that now working alongside the Russians in the space program provides a unique opportunity to learn more about the Slavic culture.

“The only thing I could think of was I’m going to be fl ying in space with somebody that used to be fl ying MiGs on t h e o t h er side of the border,” Precourt said . “ I need to learn t o b e ab l e

to speak their language and share a moment with them i n t h e window. And so I set out to learn their language.” The experi ence, he said, was very rewarding.

And while Precourt’s successes in his career are quite r ew ar d ing, he attributes part of his success in life to another challenging experience - his days as a cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

“I think the Academy teaches you that life is a struggle and that success comes from sticking with it and persevering and learning from mistakes and continuing to do better,” Pr eco u r t said. “Everything that meant anything in the end was a ch al

lengeand required someformof struggle.” fi

Butch Wehry, Academy Spirit, also contributed to thisstory.

ing out of Africa and blowing dust across the ocean, an d t h e blow-off of a volcano, or what might be occurring at an y o n e point in time that nature creates is really phenomenal. W h en you’re on the night side of the Earth, in the dark, t h er e ar e lightning strikes continuously in your fi eld of view. T h er e’s C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

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tN am e:C ol.(R et.)E dM ontgom ery Hometown: Tucson, Ariz.

Ciass/ Squadron: IS59/ CS-I2 Major: Public Affairs

Air For ce Car eer :

Instructor Pilot, T-33, F-4Dand T-41

OlmstedScholar, University of Aarhus, Denmark

Pilot, F-IDDC/ D. F-4C/ D/ E. F-5E "

Combat Duty, PhanRangABand DaNangAB, SouthVietnamI9BB-B7, Udorn AB, Thailand,

1972-73

Air Officer Commanding, CS-15 Director of Operations, Red Flag, Nellis AFB, Nev. Asst. Chief of Staff, BthATAF(NATO), Izmir, Turkey ViceCommander, 343rd CompositeWing, EilsonAPB, Alaska Chief, Middle East/ Africa Division, Joint Staff Pentagon Commander/ Editor inChief, Pacific Stars BStripes, Tokyo, Japan

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Role Model: General WilliamB. Yancey (As acaptain, hewas myfirst ADC) Academy Connections: Member, ADGBoardof Directors, 1991-99 Participant, CapstoneACESandNational Character andLeadershipSymposium

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Favoritememoryof USAFA: TheAcademy'sfirst football gameagainst ahighly ranked

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teamwas against Iowaearly inthefall of 1958. Over 9D%of theWingvolunteeredto pay their ownwaytoridebuses 25 hoursto Iowa City, root for their team, and then ride 25 hours backtotheAcademy.

Thankstoaquestionablecall onanAir Forcefourthandgoal andthel-yardline, Iowaescaped withatieandwent ontowintheBigTenandtheRoseBowl. Air Forceearnedtheir first (and, sofar, only) undefeatedseasonandwent ontotheCotton Bowl.

At graduation, you wanted to put theAcademy

i n y o u r r ear v i ew m i r r o r . . ... BUT TO DAY, YO U REA LIZE T HE IM PO RTA NT RO LE THAT T H E A IR FO RC E A C A D E M Y P LA Y E D IN Y O U R L IF E . In its short history, the Academy has established a tradition of producing quality leaders for the Air Force and t he nat ion - leaders wit h integrity, charact er, and t he moral courage to

do what is right in the most demanding situations. This tradition continues today and

w ill int o t h e f ut u re .

One of the most effective ways for you to assist our beloved Academy in continuing this tradition is through a planned gift. Gift planning is the process of carefully selecting the best met hods and assets for making a gift, such as cash, stocks, bonds, real estate, life insurance, t rusts, and bequests. A p lanned gift enables y ou t o assist USA FA in its mission while also reducing y our burden of income, cap ital gains or estat e taxes.

The Associat ion of Graduates development team can help you with everything from simple bequests to gifts of retirement plan assets, real property, appreciated securit ies,

and the complete range of life income gifts, including charit ab le remaind er t rusts, and pooled income funds.

For m o re informat ion, co nt act Sean Fieri

at (719) 472-0300 or sean.pieri@usaf a.af .mil

U P C L O SE

G EN E RA L

JAM ES P.

M C C A RT H Y

r eceiv es

AOG honorary membership B Y C H R I ST O P H E R A . ST EW A RT

TheA sociationofG raduatesproudlypresentedretired

USAF General JaniesP McCarthy with an honorary AOG membership Nov. 11during a banquet in McCarthy’shonor.

McCarthy, who got his start in the Air Force in the ROTC program at Kent State University, played a key role in the maturation of the Air Force Academy. And he contin ues to touch cadets’ lives as the Academy Research and Development Institute professor of f national security in theAcademy’s department of political sci en ce.

“I just don’t think anyone can understand what an honor this means to my husband,” said McCarthy’s wife Alice.

“An honorary AOG membership is the highest honor the graduate community bestows upon supporters of the U.S. Air Force Academy,” said Jim Shaw, ’67, president and CEO of the Association of Graduates. “Honorary memberships are awarded only to individualswho have rendered outstanding and conspicuous service to theAir Force and/or theAir Force Academy.”

Of his 35 years in theAir Force, McCarthy sayshis most rewardi ng assignment was to theAir ForceAcademy. He served as an Ai r Officer Commanding for cadet squadrons 2, 14 and 15 in 1964-1967. As an AOC, McCarthy experienced Academy life in its budding years.

“The most important thing is that I learned more than I was able to give in that assignment, just being in the environment, living the cadet life like theAOCs are supposed to do, understand ing all of the things that the cadetswere taught, and then knowing that, as a leader in a squadron, you had to comply with those same thingsyourself,” McCarthy said.

Whileat theAcademy, McCarthy started thecadet soaring program. “We started it as a club and we appealed for some non-appropriated funds to fund the program,” McCarthy said. “We 56

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only had fi ve cadets because that’s all we could handle at t h e t i m e.

It was a very limited capability.”

The soaring program, which today is one of cadets’ high est-rated Academy experiences, began with McCarthy, one sail plane, a winch launch, and fi ve cadets.

McCarthy also played a key role in the development of Jacks Valley, home to 2nd BCT, the second phase of basic cad et s’ m i l i tary training and immersion into the Academy experience.

Lt. Col. Jack Geyer, Maj. Earl Mickler and McCarthy w en t t o t h e near-northern boundary of theAcademy and planned for moving part of Basic Cadet Training from the cadet area to t h e fi el d .

“We’re going to put the tents here, the feeding facilities here, the support facilities there,” McCarthy remembered t h e d i scu s sions. “Here’s where we’re going to put the obstacle course, that’s where we’re going to put the assault course.”

McCarthy, who later returned to the Academy as vice mandant, experienced all the elements of Jacks Valley.

“I think it’s a wonderful learning experience. It helps y o u overcome your fears and gives you confi dence. And, of course,” McCarthy said, “that’s what the confi dence course is about , but that’s what the wholeJacksValley is really about.”

Aft er leaving the Academy following his fi rst assignment here, McCarthy moved to Japan and then Vietnam to command F-4 squadron, where he fl ew 152 combat missions.

McCarthy’scareer in theAir Force continued with 11 years at the Pentagon and a tour at the National War College. He t h en cam e back to theAir ForceAcademy in 1974 as the vice commandant.

“Probably the most signifi cant thing is that I was given the responsibility for planning for the admission of women at th e Air Force Academy. And not only did the Cadet Wing n o t w a n t women to come to the Air Force Academy, but neither d i d t h e faculty and staff And so our biggest challenge was to design a plan that recognized that acceptance of women was probably our principle hurdle. The rest of it would fall in place. And so we spent about a year, year and a half, planning and p r ep ar ing for women at the Air Force Academy. And, of course, t h e women that came in were superstars and did very, very w el l ,” McCarthy said.

For more than threeyearsMcCarthy was stationed at Smttgart, Germany, where he had day-to-day responsibilities for al l U .S. fo rces in Europe as the deputy commander in chief, European co m m an d .

“Those were pretty demanding times,” McCarthy remembered. c o m

a n

“T he Berlin Wall came down, [and] I was welcomed in M o scow

like an old friend ... We provided signifi cant forces and operations out of Turkey supporting Desert Storm. And then, in the aft ermath, a project called Provide Comfort, which was to bring the Kurdish people out of the mountains of northern Iraq.”

While retired, McCarthy isstill very activewithin th e A i r Fo rce community. He isthe chairman for the task force on Operation Enduring Freedom lessonslearned in Afghanistan and Iraq. He previ ously chaired the task forces on lessonslearned for K o sovo an d B osn i a.

“The task forces are made up of retired senior general o f fi cer s and som e senior civil ians that w ere either D O D offi cials or had

other experiences in industry,” McCarthy said. “And we go in and, during the combat phase, look at what’s going on, try and understand what the limitations are and how they could b e ov er come; and we report back directly to the Secretary of D efense.”

McCarthy’s attachment to the Academy runs much deeper than professional affi liation. “Our son Mark is a graduate o f the Class of 1985, and he was killed in an F- 16 off t h e co ast

of Bosnia,” McCarthy said. “And his classmates and f riends responded to us very warmly and sympathetically. And num ber of those classm at es from a class that I had no Academy association with have become close to us. And so it’s just another example of how that circle of friends from the Academy, o r t h e Academy family, expands under various circumstances.”

Today McCarthy is in his twelft h year of teaching at t h e A cad emy, and he says that theAir ForceAcademy continues t o b u i l d leaders of character for the A i r Force and nation . “TheAcademy attracts some of the fi nest young people in the nation, and you so

a

have to w ork hard to be able to teach them , to lead them , and that

can be very, very satisfying,” McCarthy said. “Yes we give them academic experiences, military experiences, athletic experiences, but when you gather them all together we’re looking for leader ship; and the fundamental princ' le of leadership is character.” SI Current honorary members

Deceased honorary members

of t he Associat ion of Graduates

of t he Associat ion of Graduat es

Donald J. Barrett

James I. Conboy James H. (Jimmie) Doolittle Barry M. Goldwater Gregory S. Kolligian

Benjamin N. Beilis

James N. Bowman A.P. Clark

Fisher DeBerry

Philip J. Erdle

William J. Hybl

John E. Kirkpatrick

Gail McComas Ben Martin

Joseph Moller Joseph A. Reich

Ha ro ld U . Litt re ll

Robert J. Smith

William Lyon James P. McCarthy

William Thayer Tutt

Ro be rt F. M c De rm ott

Russell T. Tutt

Dorothy Donnelley Moller

Norma C. Nottingham Winfield “Skip” Scott Harold C. Stuart

Malham M. Wakin Freida B. Weber

C H E C K PO I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

57

B E H I N D

T H E

SC E N E S

To H anoi ana b ack

Photos and story by M aster Sgt. K en Wright, A FNEWS AN ANCIENT CHINESE PROVERB states that “The journey of a thousand m iles begins with one step.”

Last May, members of theAir Force Reserve’s 445th Airlift Wing proved how far they were willing to go to help complete the journeys of three American service members; two who were killed in action in V ietnam, and another, Maj . Gen. Ed Mechenbier, ’64, who was the last former Vietnam prisoner of war still serving in theAir Force.

As a fi nal tribute to his 40 years of service and sacrifi ce, the general was chosen to lead the repatriation of the two service members a month before his retirement in June.

In 1967, then-Lt. Mechenbier narrowly escaped death after the F-4C he was piloting w as shot dow n on h is 80th com bat m ission in V iet nam . After his capture by Viet Cong forces, he endured nearly six years as a POW in numerous prisons, including the infa m o u s H an o i H i l t o n .

T he ai rcraft ch osen for the m ission w as one of the m ost fam ous in the A i r Force

inventory, the Hanoi Taxi. The old, but faithful C-141 was the fi rst aircraft to transport POW s to f reedom in 1973.

The40-year veteran piloted theHanoi Taxi alongthejourney of over 14,000 milesto Hanoi and back.At every opportunity thehumblehero shunned thespotlight and reminded every one the real heroes on the H an oi Taxi lie covered w ith 13 stripesand 50 starson afi eld of blue.

Along the journey to Vietnam Maj . Gen. Ed Mechenbier, ’64 , t old m em bers of t h e press, “The focus of today’s ceremony is really about th e brave A m ericans w e h onor.

We should be proud of our great nation to make these efforts to bring home our fallen heroes 30 years after the Vietnam experience ... ” Following a repatriation ceremony at Hickam AFB, Hawaii, reporters asked Mechen bier about his own experiences in Vietnam. With great humility the general said, “The focus of today’s ceremony is really about the brave A m ericans w e honor. W e should be proud of our great nation to make these efforts to bring home our fallen heroes 30 years after the Vietnam experience ... ” T he rem ai ns of the t wo serv ice m em bers w ere discovered last year by thej oint POW/ MIA Accounting Command, which facilitated their journey back to A m erican soil .

Forensic anthropologistsworking at JPAC’slaboratory at Hickam are now attempting to

determ ine their identities. [>

59

* ^

Top: A Viet namese sol

dier st ares ambivalently as A m e ric a n a i rm e n

prepare t o receive t he re m a i ns of t he t w o A m e ri ca n se rvic e m e m b e rs .

Bottom: Members of JPAC, t he American Embassy a nd Viet na m ese of f icia ls

inspect the contents of two wooden boxes cont aining t he rem ains.

f.

60

C H E C K PO I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

Mechenbier, ’64 , t akes one last look at t he 1 .

i

M

land where he spent nearly six years as a prisoner of war. As of the summer of 2004,

t here are st ill 1,800 service members unac co u nt ed f o r f ro m t he w a r in Viet na m .

B o t t o m Lef t : M e m b e rs o f t h e JPA C Ho n o r

Guard prepare t he remains of a fallen comrade for t he t rip home.

Bottom Right: A wreath presented by members of Andersen AB, Guam, lies upon the transfer case containing remains of an u nk now n so ld ie r.

61

Top: Members of Andersen AB, Guam,

say a prayer for their fallen comrades.

Cent er : At Andersen AB, Guam,

Col. Stephen Woborski, vice wing com mander, rests his hand on his son’s

back while paying respects to the two

service embers whose repat ri ation

journ ey to the United St ates included a

stopover at the strategic Pacific base.

During repatriation ceremonies at

Andersen and Hickam AFB, Hawaii,

where members of the military community paid t heir respects to the f a l le n he roes w ho ha d w a it ed t h ree d ecad es t o ret u rn ho m e .

Bot t o m : M e m b e rs of t he Jo i nt

Pacific Accounting Command Honor Guard carry t he remains off t he Ha no i Taxi i n Haw a i i .

The co m m a nd ’s m issio n is t o

achieve t he fullest possible account

ing of all Americans missing as a result of our nation’s previous conflicts - 78 ,000 f rom World War II, 8 ,100

from t he Korean War, 1,800 from t he Viet nam War, 120 from t he Cold War, a nd o ne f ro m t he f irst Gulf Wa r.

Ex p e c t G r e a t T h i n g s :

■

-'M

A h is t o r ic a l d o c u m e nt a r y o f t h e f ir st 5 0 y e a r s of t h e U.S. A i r Fo r c e A c a d e m y.

Ex p e c t Gr e a t T h i n g s isacomprehensive50-year historyof the U .S . A ir Force

Academy. Beginning with a vision for a U.S. Air Force separate from the other military

services, the inception of an Air Force Academy and its founding at Lowry Air Force Base, this captivating documentary features the construction of the Academy in Colorado Springs, presidential visits, and the development of the Academy’s impressive character development, academic, military training and athletic prog rams .

F i l l e d w i t h n e v e r -s e e n -b e f o r e b e h i n d - t h e -s c e n e s i n t e r v i e w s with Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. John Rosa, Falcon

Reser v e

Football Flead Coach Fisher DeBerry, and Operation Iraqi Freedom war hero Capt. Kim Campbell, ’97, this one-hour anniversary-issue DVD also highlights the impressive and storied accomplishments of the Long Blue Line.

T w e n t y -f o u r s p e c i a l f e a t u r e s examine I

THE r tBb i

the lives and accomplishments of graduates like Gen. Ron Fogleman, ’63, USAF (Ret.), former Air Force chief of staff and AOG distinguished graduate award winner; Congresswoman Fleather Wilson, ’82; Mr. Flarry Pearce, ’64, AOG distinguished graduate award winner; and many others who proudly share how their Academy experience continues to touch their lives .

To reserve your copy of this anniversary-issue DVD, call your Association of Graduates at

(7 19) 472-0300.

Cost: $14.95plusshipping and handling

Sponsored by the Association of Graduates and

The Friends of theAir ForceAcademy Library

1

;•

H E R I T A G E

nee Sij an, '65

CQu r a g e

The ordeal in the j ungle d i d n ’t b r e ak h i m .

N ei t h er d i d h i s N o r t h

Vi etn am ese captors.

By John T. Correll

A i r Force M agazi ne

I

n the fall of 1967, traffi c was surging on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the lifeline by which North Vietnam sustai ned the w ar in the south . T he trail ran dow n t h e

western side of theAnnam Mountains, through the Laotian panhandle and Cambodia, into South Vietnam. Truck con voys departing from the supply hub at Vinh in North V i et nam gained access to the Ho Chi Minh Trail through t h e M u Gia and Ban Karai Passes in the mountains. The passes heavily defended with anti-aircraft artillery. Traffi c o n t h e t r ai l moved mostly at night. During daylight hours, the trucks h i d under camoufl age or in concealed parking areas in thejungle.

In a renewed effort to interdict the fl ow of troops and sup plies, theAir Force, in November 1967, doubled the n u m b er of attack sorties fl own against the trail. The targets included not only the truck convoys, but also the choke points, l ik e t h e passes. Among the units taking part in the intensifi ed o p era tion was the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing, which fl ew t h e A i r Force’s newest fi ghter, the F-4C. Thewing was located at D a Nang, the northernmost of theAir Force’s principal b ases in Vietnam. First Lt. LancePeter Sijan, a25- year-old pilot from Milwaukee, had been stationed at Da Nang sinceJuly.

He graduated from theAir ForceAcademy in 1965 and w e n t from there to pilot training, F-4 fi ghter crew training, an d survival school. Da Nang was his fi rst duty assignment. Sijan was fl ying as a backseat pilot in the F-4C. Hewas crew ed w ith Lt. Col. John W. Armstrong, commander of the 480th T act i cal Fighter Squadron, to which Sijan was assigned. So far, he had fl own 66 combat missions. Hewas looking to upgrade t o w ere

.

T

j

:

c

*

7'

H E R I T A G E

the front seat of the F-4 before his tour w as over. Sijan was big — 6

feet 2 inches, 210 pounds— and athletic. Hewas an all-city football player during high school in Milwaukee. He had been o n t h e sw im and track teamsaswell. He played two years of varsity football at the Air ForceAcademy. Therewere other sides to Lance Sijan aswell.

He had been president of the student government association at Bay View High School. Hewas interested in photography an d d r am a. A t theAcademy, he had demonstrated a fl air for sculpture. Ph o to s sh ow him as a good-looking, muscular young man with a friendly sm il e.

Ban Loboy Ford On Nov. 9, Armstrong and Sijan briefed for a night at t ack m i s

sion. The target was the Ban Loboy Ford, a river crossing on the

n n uil

m

him several prearranged authentication questions to be sure i t w as

really Sijan and not an English-speaking enemy, using his radio to

lure the rescue aircraft into a trap.

One of the questions, chosen by Sijan ahead of time, w as, “ W ho is the greatest football team in the world?” He knew the answ er to that: “The Green Bay Packers.” The search and rescue t e a m a s s e m

bled rapidly. It included a C-130 airbornecommand post, code-

named Crown, Jolly Green Giant rescue helicopters, A-1 Sandy escorts, 0 -2 forward air controllers, F-4s, and F- l OOs. Sijan had

expended hisfl aresearly, signaling to the fi ghter aircraft before the Sandysand theJolly Greensgot there. Theattempt to locate Sijan and get him off the mountain went on all day. Eventually, 10 8

wing. It wasdark when they took off from Da Nang at 8 p.m.

aircraft were involved in the rescue operation on Nov. 1 1. A n t i aircraft guns, some of them as large as 37 mm, were fi ring from all directions. Nineof therescueaircraft werehit by ground fi re, and one, an A-1 Sandy, went down in the jungle. Sijan was diffi cult to fi nd in the triple-canopy jungle. The rescuers couldn’t see him , and

rises to form the Annam Cordillera chain, which divides V i et

hecouldn’t seethem. They tried homing in on Sijan’sbeeper signal aswell ashaving him tell them when theaircraft enginesso u n d ed

Ho Chi Minh Trail, just inside Laos at the Ban Karai Pass. I t was a two-ship fl ight. The call sign for Armstrong and Sijan was AWOL 01, with the second aircraft, AWOL 02, fl ying o n t h ei r Central Vietnam is narrow. Not very far inland, the landscape

nam from Laos. The Ban Karai Passcutsthrough the m o u n t ai n s

close to what was, in 1967, the border between North an d So u t h

Vietnam. Over the pass, the F-4s linked up with a forward ai r controller, who marked the Ban Loboy Ford for them w i th fl ares.

Each F-4C wascarrying six 750-pound bombs. At 8:39 p .m .,

AWOL 01 rolled in on the target and released the bombs. Su d

denly, the aircraft exploded and wasengulfed in a ball of fi re.

It plunged into the jungle below. Initial reports attributed t h e explosion to ground fi re, but there is considerable belief now that

defective fuzescaused the bombsto detonateprematurely, explod

ing within 50 feet of the airplane. Neither AWOL 02 n o r t h e f o r ward air controller saw a parachute, but therewas a su rv iv o r. AW O L 01 Bravo — Sijan — had gotten out. Armstrong was not h eard f ro m again and ispresumed to have been killed in action. Sijan struck the trees and then the granite slope in the darkness. The com bination of the explosion, the ejection, and impact with the mountain lef t h im badly injured. He had a compound fracture of his left leg, a skull

fractureand aconcussion. Hisright hand wasmangled, w i t h t h e

if ngers bent backward. He lay on the mountainside, amid high trees, about three miles northwest of the Ban Loboy Ford. A i rcraft circled

above, listening for asignal, but heard nothing. That night and all the next day, Sijan was unconscious or delirious.

A Signal from Sij an At fi rst light on Nov. 11, however, F-4s from Ubon and F- l OOs

from Phu Cat picked up a signal from Sijan. They madev o i ce

contact with him and were soon joined by other aircraft. Sijan

identifi ed himself asAWOL 01 Bravo. One of thepilotsask ed

loudest . T he best chance for success cam e late in the day when a

Jolly Green helicopter got a fi x on his approximate l o cat i o n .

Sijan told theJolly to send down its jungle penetrator cable

but not to put a pararescuejumper on theground, where N o r t h VietnameseArmy patrolswere moving. “There’s bad guys d ow n

here,” Sijan said. “Just drop the penetrator.” Then: “I see you, I see you. Stay where you are. I’m coming to you.”

The helicopter dropped the penetrator and hovered for 3 3 minutes, but could not raise Sijan again on the radio. Finally, with ground fi re increasing, theJolly Green pulled out. T h e sear ch an d

rescueeffort resumed thenext morning, but therewasn o f u r t h er

signal from Sijan. The rescue aircraft returned to base. Sijan was

listed asmissing in action for thenext seven years. He was pro

moted to captain in 1968, posthumously as it turned o u t . T h e A i r Force and his family did not learn what had become of him until the prisoners of war returned from North Vietnam in 19 7 3 .

Captured What we know of Sijan aft er he lost contact with the search an d rescue aircraft is from the reports of Robert R. Craner and Guy D. Gruters, ’64, with whom Sijan spent three weeks in captivity.

Today, Gruters lives in Minister, Ohio, and talks oft en ab o u t L an ce Sijan. Craner died in 1980, but he was interviewed extensively in

1977 by now-retired Lt. Col. Fred Meurer for Airman M agazine.

Meurer made his interview tapes available for this ar t icl e.

The next 46 dayswere painstakingly reconstructed by M al co l m

M cConnell in his book. Into the M outh of the Cat (N orton,

1985). Shortly after dawn on Dec. 25, a North Vietnamese t r u ck

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

65

H E R IT A G E

convoy — able to move in dayl ight because of a bombing hal t for Christmas — found Sijan lying in the road. He wfas t h r ee m i l es f rom w here he w ent dow n N ov. 9. Som ehow, he had survived and

had eluded the enemy for more than six weeks. He had l o st h i s survival k i t . H is radio bat teries had run dow n . H e w as i n t er m i t

tently unconscious or delirious and able to move only by crawl ing. He had no real food and little water. He subsisted marginally on ferns, cress leaves, moss, grubs and insects. He obt ained w ater from the dew, rainfall, and occasionally, a mountain s t r e a m .

H e could have at t racted the at ten tion of the N orth V i et n am ese

Army at any time by fi ring his handgun, but gaining shelt er as a prisoner was the last thing Sijan wanted. He was determined n o t only to survive but also to evade capture. The North V i et n am ese took him to a road camp near the Ban Karai Pass and put him in a bamboo hut with a thatched roof He lay on a bamboo m a t .

When he regained consciousness, the shredded remains o f h i s fl ight suit had been stripped away, and he was dressed i n a b l ack cotton shirt and trousers. The left leg of the trousers h ad b een cu t away to accommodate his swollen leg.

His captors gave him rice and boiled greens. He drank so m

e

w at er but w as not able t o eat m uch . T he N ort h V iet nam ese did

not give him any of their scarce medical supplies.

Several days after he was captured, Sijan noticed a m o u n t ai n tribesman outside the hut. He took him to be a Montagnard. H e had been told in training that if he could make contact w i t h t h e Montagnards, they might get him into the hands of a U .S. r eco n naissance patrol. Sijan’s account of what happened n ex t w as l at er confi rmed by “The Rodent,” a North Vietnamese offi cer w h o t al k ed to C raner and G ruters in V inh .

Sijan waited until a single soldier was left to guard h i m . H e lured the guard close, then overcame him and rendered h i m unconscious with a left-handed chop to the base of t h e sk u l l . H e tied the guard’s shirt around his swollen leg, took h is carbine, and crawled into the jungle. He was recaptured within half a day.

T h e B am b o o P r i so n

Maj. Bob Craner and Capt. Guy Gruters, fl ying an F-I OOF f rom the Misty forward air control wing at Phu Cat, were sh o t d ow n over North Vietnam on Dec. 20. Craner was paraded around th e l ocal villages, where hewas put on display. Thevillagerswere allowed to yell at him and hit him w ith sticks and their fi sts. H e was astounded at the

number of trucks hesaw, especially on Christmas Day. “They were lined up, bumper to bumper, as far as the eye could see,” he said.

Although U.S. intelligence would not realize it until lat er, the heavy traffi c on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in November an d December 1967 was part of the buildup for the assault o n K h e Sanh, which began Jan. 1, and for theTet Offensive, which began 66

Jan. 30. Eventually, Craner and Gruterswere brought together again, put on a truck, and taken on Dec. 26 to a holding point in Vinh. It was a North Vietnamese Army facility known variously t o POW s as the “ Bam boo Prison ,” “ Bao Gao,” or “ D ue’s Camp.”

The prison was a wood and frame structure, with dirt fl oors, bamboo partitions, and small cells on either side of a hallway that ran down the center. Craner and Gruters were interrogated an d tortured by an English-speaking rat-faced offi cer they cal l ed “ T h e Rodent.” (All American POWs were tortured, both locally Craner, Gruters, and later Sijan, were in Vinh — and w i t h m o r e sophistication in the prisons around Hanoi.)

Lance Sijan was brought into the Bamboo Prison on Jan. 1, 1968. His weight was down to 100 pounds, and he was cov er ed with sores. They put him in one of the end cells, directly from C raner. G ruters’s cell w as on t he sam e side of the hallway as Sijan’s, but there was an empty cell between them. I t w as night when Sijan arrived, and the prison was unlit, except for the interrogator’s fl ickering lamp.

Craner couldn’t see him through the partitions, but a t a distance of 10 feet, he could hear everything. The R o d en t pressed Sijan for military information. Sijan’s voice w as w eak b u t determined. “Sijan! My name is Lance Peter Sijan!” He gave his name, rank, and service number but refused to answer questions, even when The Rodent twisted his inj ured arm. “The w hole af fai r went on for an hour and a half, over and over again, and the guy just wouldn’t give in,” Craner said. “He’d say. All right, you son of a bitch, wait till I get better, you’re really going to get it,’ and giving him all kinds of lip but no information.”

Repeated attempts at Vinh to force Sijan to talk did n o t s u c ceed. Sijan had a cast on his left leg, reaching from his thigh to his ankle. It had been put on at the Ban Karai Pass, n o t f o r m ed i cal reasons but t o im m obilize him . T he Rodent told Craner they had found Sijan on the road and given him medical aid and t hat Sijan struck and injured a guard and ran away. “You m ust not let him do this any more,” The Rodent said.

Sometimes, Sijan was conscious and clearheaded, sometimes incoherent and rambling. Even when he had to struggle to get the words out, he asked, “How are we going to get out of h er e?” H e dwelled on the point that he had escaped once, at the B an K ar ai road camp, and could do it again. He did not talk about pain, and when asked, he minimized the importance of it. A f t er sev er al days, Craner and Gruters were taken to Sijan’s cell to help him to a truck that would transport the prisoners to Hanoi.

—

a s

a c r o ss

“We were both tall men,” Gruters said. “W hen we had h i m

upright and saw that he was taller than we were, I said, ‘This guy is pretty big.’ He had a large frame, but he wasjust sk i n an d b o n es.”

Sijan looked at Gruters and said, “Aren’t you Guy Gruters?”

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

Th e A i r Fo rc e la u n c h e s a m a s s ive

effort to recover Sijan. Aircraft like the HC-130P (below) and HH-3EJolly Green Giant (right) took part in the rescue mission.

In all, over 100 aircraft searched for Sijan. Regrettably, one A-1 Sandy was lost.

Photo by SteveMcGill

“I was taken aback, for I could not recognize Lance, though he had been a squadron mate of mine at the Air Fo r ce Academy just three years before this date,” Gruters said . “ I said , ‘Yes,’ and then I asked, ‘Who are you?’ He said, ‘Lance.’ I said .

Lance who?’ He said, ‘Sijan, Lance Sijan.’ miserable. The prisoners The trip north from Vinh shackled and rode in the back of an open truck. They continuously buffeted by the shifting of two 55-gallon d rum s, ev e n

w

w

a s

w

e r e

e r e

i n w h ich t h e d river carr ied f uel f or t he t r uck . T h e r o ad s w er e

potholed from bombing and rutted by the monsoon rains.

Even when the truck moved at slow speeds, the prisoners an d t h e f uel d r um s bou nced aroun d . G r ut ers an d G ran er scream ed

U.S. Air Forcephoto

at t h e d river t o sl ow dow n , at no avai l . O n e of t h em w o u l d

cradle Sij an while the other tried to keep the fuel d r u m s f r o m rolling on them. They traveled at night and hid in villages under camoufl age during the day. Once Graner was convinced that Sij an was dead. “Then he stirred,” Graner said. “ W h en ever he was lucid, he was caught up with going ahead — w h at are we going to do next, how are we going to get out o f t h i s si t u at i o n ? H e w as f u l l o f d r i v e.”

Graner said. Initially, they were taken to the “New Guy Village” sect ion of t he H anoi H il t on , w here t he N or th V iet nam ese m ad e

a special effort to break the Americans early in their captivity.

The prisoners were kept apart except at meal time, twice a day, when Sijan was brought to Graner and Gruters so they co u l d help him eat. It was diffi cult to get him to take food. A f t er a f ew days, the three were put in the “Little Vegas” section o f t h e H o a Lo in a triple cell with three board bunks. There was standing

T h e H an o i H i l t o n

w ater on t he cem ent fl oor, and t he cell w as cold and d an k . A

The truck rolled up to Hoa Lo, the downtown prison t h e P O W s

medic they called “Camp Doctor” came in periodically, wearing a Red Cross armband. Camp Doctor would “look and cluck, walk back out,” Graner said. Eventually, he cut the cast o f f Sijan’s leg and gave him shots of a yellow fl uid presumed t o b e an antibiotic. He also set up an intravenous feeding ap p ar at u s, but Sijan pulled the needle out at night “when he was o f f i n space somewhere,” Graner said.

Often, though, Sijan was lucid, aware, and focused. “It was always, ‘How secure is this place?How arewe going to get o u t o f h ere?’ H e tried to do some arm exercises so hewould be ready to take part in the escape,” Graner said. “He really, really kept the faith , under

called the “Hanoi Hilton,” in the middle of the night on Jan. 13.

“We got Lance off the truck,” Graner said. “They brought o u t a wooden pallet used as a stretcher, just four boards nailed together.

We carried him into the Hoa Lo complex, and that’s w h er e w e met ‘The Bug,’ the most infamous English speaker in H an o i .”

The Bug was short and fat, with a cataract in one eye. A s an i n d i cation of his specialty, some of the POWs called him “ M r. Bl ue,” after the color of the torture rooms at one of the prison camps.

The Bug took Graner and Gruters to a cistern and told t h em to wash Sijan. “We did the best we could with cold w at er,”

C H E C K PO I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

67

11

H E R IT A G E m

y

C h in a N o rt h V i On th e n ig ht that Lan c e Sij an di sapp ear ed, A WOL 0 1’s targ et was B an L ob oy

G u lf o f T o n k in

Fo r d , a r i v er

cros s ing on the

H o C h i M i n h Tr a i i ,

Laos

j us t i ns i de Laos at m

th e B an K arai P as s . N o r th Vi e tn a m s en t

M u G ia P a s s B a n K a ra i Pa s s

s up p ii es and tr oop s d o wn t he tr a ii t o s u s ta i n

DMZ

T h a i a nd

Vi et Cong i ns ur g en ts i n the so uth.

To in te r d ic t t h e

fio w, th e A ir Fo r c e

s tr uc k c on voy s and c hok e p oi n ts, s uch as B an

Loboy For d and th e m o u n ta in

p as s es . Th ey wer e h eaviiy defen ded w i t h a n t i -a i r c r a f t

ar ti i iery .

ie t n a m

S o ut h C h in a S e a

Graphic courtesy of

A i r Force M agazine

horrifi c punishment,” Gruters said. Sijan developed pneumoniaJan. 18 and was removed from the cell on Jan. 21. H e died Jan. 22, but it was aw hile before C raner and G ruters knew that .

They were transferred to “The Plantation,” a smaller prison camp a couple of miles away. Craner encountered The Bug in the courtyard there and asked him about Sijan. “Sijan spend too long in the jungle,” The Bug said. “Sijan die.” When the P O W s cam e home in 1973, Craner nominated Lance Sijan for the M ed al o f Honor. “He was what the military hopes it can produce in every man but very rarely does,” Craner said.

68

M ed al o f H o n o r

Lance Sijan’s remains were returned to the United States in 1974 , along with the headstone used to mark his grave in V i et n am . H e is buried at Arlington Park Cemetery in Milwaukee.

He was awarded the Medal of Honor, posthumously, March 4 , 1976. It was presented to his parents, Sylvester and Jane Sijan, at the White House by President Gerald R. Ford.

“During interrogation, he was severely tortured; however, h e did not divulge any information to his captors,” the ci t at i o n sai d .

“During his intermittent periods of consciousness until h is death .

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

! Tn

H E R IT A G E

each year for outstanding leadership. This year, the aw ar d s w er e presented at the Pentagon on Sijan’s birthday, April 13 . H i s parents attended, as they have every year except one since 198 1, when the awards were fi rst given.

T h e Co d e o f Co n d u ct

Sijan was held at Hoa Lo prison, the notorious “Hanoi Hilton” where many POWs were tortured. Already badly injured, Sijan developed pneumonia in his cold, wet cell and

was frequently delirious. Up until his death, he planned escape. (U.S. Air Force photo)

he never complained of his physical condition, and, o n sev er al occasions, spoke of future escape attempts.”

Also in 1976, Sijan Hall, a new dormitory at theAir Fo r ce Academy, was dedicated in Lance Sijan’s memory. A large portrait of Sijan, painted by Maxine McCaffrey, hangs in Sijan H al l . L an ce Sijan is the only Air ForceAcademy graduate thus far t o r eceiv e t h e Medal of Honor, and he is remembered there with special h o n o r.

TheAcademy library displays a collection of Sijan bilia, including the headstone from Vietnam. It is m ar k ed w i t h Sijan’s initials in English and the date of his death. H e i s al so w el l remembered in his hometown. Jane and Sylvester Sijan bers of the Air Force Community Council at General M i t ch el l Airport in Milwaukee, where the 440th Airlift Wing has placed a replica of Sijan’s F-4 at the base entrance and where the dining m

e m

o r a

a r e

m

e m

h al l i s n am ed af t er h i m .

In June 2003, a Lance Sijan memorial was dedicated at t h e Arlington Park Cemetery. It is a 10-foot marble monument i n the shape of a stylized F-4, pointing straight upward. His parents, his sister, Janine Sijan Rozina, and his brother, Marc Sijan, were joined for the event by a host of dignitaries. Speakers i n cl u d ed Lance Sijan’s cell mate from Vietnam, Guy Gruters. T h er e ar e other remembrances. There is a Sijan Circle at Langley A FB, Va., a Sijan Street at Whiteman AFB, Mo., and, in Colorado Springs, Colo., home of theAcademy, the Lance P. Sijan Chapter of the A i r

The Code of Conduct for the U.S. armed forceswas adopted i n 1955 in response to the use of American prisoners for political propaganda in the Korean War, induced “confessions,” an d t h e co l laboration with the enemy on the part of some POWs. It was taught to every member of the force and covered again in survival training, part of helping those going into combat to know what to expect and how to respond if they are captured. Former POWs have said it gave them something to hold onto during their captivity.

Lance Sijan embodied the Code of Conduct, particularly t h ree articles of it. They read: vVrticle II: “I will never surrender of my own freewill.” Article III: “If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every eff ort to escape an d ai d o t h ers t o escape.” ArticleV: “When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am bound to give name, rank, service number, an d d at e of birth. I will evade answering further questions t o t h e u t m o st o f my ability. I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its alliesor harmful to their cause.”

The North Vietnamese routinely ignored the Geneva Conven tion and tortured POWs. In part, they were seeking military information, but equally important were written and o r al st at e ments they could broadcast as propaganda to undercut allied morale, buck up the North Vietnamese home front, and f eed the an t i -A m er i can m ov em en t ar o u n d t h e w o r l d .

John M cCain is now a U .S. Senator, but in 1967, he w a s a

prisoner in the Hanoi Hilton. He was a naval aviator, sh o t d ow n over Hanoi on Oct. 26, a few weeks before Lance Sijan’s l ast m i s si o n o n N ov. 9 .

McCain wrote in Faith of My Fathers (Random House, 1999) : “I never knew Lance Sijan, but I wish I had. I wish I had had one m om ent t o t ell him how m uch I adm i red him , how indebt ed I

was to him for showing me, for showing all of us, our duty — for showing us how to be free. “Few of us ever seriously c o n t e m plated escape, and our senior offi cers never encouraged it . A few brave men tried. All were caught and tortured. Neither did every prisoner refrain from providing information beyond t h e b ar e essentials sanctioned by the code. Many of us were t er r o r i zed into failure at one time or another. But Captain Sijan w asn ’t . H e

Fo r ce A sso ci at i o n . A i r Fo r ce R O T C cad et s at B o st o n University

obeyed the code to the letter.” H

have formed the Lance Sijan Squadron of theArnold Air Society.

The Air Force presents the Lance P. Sijan Award to four people

(This story was rep rinted with permissionfr om Air Force M agazine.^

C H E C K PO I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

69

ad et s resear ch

By ButchWehry, Academy Spirit ■ Photo by K^ir^ right E ar l ier t h is year Pen t a g o n o f f ic ial s w an t ed t o k n o w w h y t h e r e w a s a s i g n i f i c a n t

r a c ia l

DEMOGRAPH IC SHIFT FROM FISCAL YEAR 2 0 0 1 TO FISCAL YEAR 2 0 0 2 AM ONG ARMED SERVICE ENLISTEES.

The subject soon became a summer research project for C l C Brian Johnson. W hen Johnson’s summer research results differed from an Army study, he quickly attracted the attention of high-ranking Pentagon offi cials, but the fi rstclassman was more than up to the challenge when he was asked to explain his fi ndings.

“My advisor at the Pentagon, Maj . Angela Giddings, explained the issue and said that I could attack it an y way I wanted,” Johnson said. “She offered a few Web sites that she thought might be of assistance, but I w as o n my own from there. Basically, I started off blind and the pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place.”

70

C H E C K P O I N T S , FA L L 2 0 0 4

B E H I N D T H E SC E N E S

An Army study concluded that the demographic shift w as d u e

to a “9/ 11 Effect,” in that Caucasians typically enlist for intangi ble benefi ts such as duty/patriotism, and minorities tend t o enlist

for tangible benefi tssuch aseducation and training.

Pentagon offi cialswanted to see if Johnson, a behavioral

science major from Fort Dodge, Iowa, could come up w i t h another explanation.

“I was surprised to fi nd that this type of empirical r esear ch regularly occurs at the Pentagon and that many people’sjobs there are solely devoted to answering these types of questions,” said the 21 year-old cadet. “I was also surprised by th e f act th at researchers at the Pentagon do not have access to any special information resources. Rather, they use sources that people w i t hi n t he civ il ian w orld w ould use, such as t he U .S. C en su s

Bureau, the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Depart m en t of Ed ucat ion .”

Johnson compiled demographic data and found evidence t h at contradicts the belief that m i norit ies enlist in t he A r m ed Fo r ces

at higher rates when the economy is on a downturn. Johnson concluded that minority enlistment in the Armed Forces i s n o t affected by the ebb and fl ow of economic factors.

Johnson fo und himself befo re a meeting of high level offi cials

addressing the accession demographic mix among theser v i ces i n

Washington, D.C., Oct. 4.

The highly-placed collection of listeners included the deputy under secretary of defense for civilian personnel policy, t h e assi s tant secretary of the Army for manpower and Reserve affairs, the assistant secretary of the Navy for manpower and Reserve affairs, the deputy commandant for manpower and Reserve affairs an d

Marine Corps personnel chief, and the assistant secretary o f t h e Air Force for manpower and Reserve affairs.

“During a dry run of the brief, I was getting a little and quite fl ustered,” Johnson said. “However, during t h e act u al meeting, I was the third of three people to present, and I w as able to calm down during the fi rst two briefi ngs. The briefi ng w ent off without a hitch, and I was not nervous during the presentation.”

T he information seemed to be well received by those i n the briefi ng.

“We were able to provide useful information to each of the n e rv o u s

A rm ed Serv ices,” he said .

The work may be published in a special military edition of Human Resource Management Journal in the spring of 2005. H

m

SA B R D

The i nf ormat io n ref lect ed in t he direct ory

is obtained from members of the Service Academy Alumni Associations who wish to have their civilian positions l i st ed in the publication. Indexed by geographical area, industry, company name, graduate last name and class year, the directory contains entries of approximately 27,000 graduates i n b u si n ess across the country and worldwide. Born from the belief t h at t h e A ssoci at i o n s o f G r ad u at es an d al u m n i asso ci at i o n s ex i st

2 0 04 Service Ac,n .lemy Business Resource Di rectory OnKh w u ->.

A r otk-t A tuMler

A lu mn i K Hi ndul i

not only to serve their academies but their membership, t h i s directory is an excellent business leadership network. T h e information also provides those in need of certain ser v i c es an effi cient way to fi nd a fellow graduate.

flliu ry CoIWkc* Ctuh

SA B RD d at a is a ls o av a i l a b le

Ordev now and receiveyour copy of SABRD 2004 for only $45.00 plus

$8.95 shipping and handling. SABRD can be purchased o n o u r W eb si t e at www.usafa.org or by calling (719) 472-0300.

online (iSABRD). For information on subscribing to iSABRD log on to: www.usafa.org

paign will underwrite new levels of excellence.

TheAcademy represents a special chapter in the lives of graduates. The rigors of theAcademy forged lifelong friendships and special bonds. T he com m itm ent to integrity above all else formed the foundation of o u r ch ar act er.

We, the graduates of former years, are proud of today’s cad et s an d graduates. Their service is laudable and their accomplishments ad m i r ed .

We want to help today’s cadets achieve more by providing the best Academy experience possible.

Parents, friends, and supporters respect the Academy an d t h e val ues it represents. They too admire the young men and women w h o ch o se t o their country and, if necessary, to give their lives in its defense. They too want to help today’s cadets.

TheAssociation of Graduates in conjunction with the Superintendent’s stra tegic plan for the future is helping theAcademy achieve thisvision by securing private support for several key initiatives not funded by the government.

Although the Academy is a federally funded institution, and Congress continues to appropriate funds for the Academy’s “core” programs and operat ing needs, these programs alone are not enough to ensure the best possible experience for today’s cadets. Our sister service academies at W est Po i n t an d Annapolis have already shown how private support can m ak e a d i f f er en ce.

With your help, we can do even more for our Academy.

We hope you will be inspired to participate in this endeavor. To be success ful and reach our goal will require the “Extended Wing” - graduates, parents. friends, and supporters - to respond to this call for action. Your generosity ev e n

se r v e

Ri chard T . Schl osber g I II , 6 5

w ill be an investm ent in the fut ure of our nat ion .

Sincerely, Harry J. Pearce, ’64 Campaign Co-Chair

Richard T. Schlosberg, III, ’65 Campaign Co-Chair H arry J. Pearce, ’64

J The Campaign for g the Future of the

m Air Force Academy This campaign is about seizing t he opport unity to m a ke a d if fe re n ce n o w . T h e in it iat ive s set f o rt h in

the campaign will establish new levels of excellence and can only be made possible t hrough private

contributions. These new projects will set us apart f ro m our compet it ors and make t he Academy experience like no ot her. Examples of such init iat ives are: ■ A National Character and Leadership Development Center ■ A n A d m issio ns W e lco m e C e nt e r

■ Additional Funding for Falcon Foundation Scholarships ■ An Enhanced Academic Research Program for Cadet s ■ At hlet ic Leadership Endowments ■ Heritage Projects Honoring Graduate Accomplishments ■ Unrest ricted Funds for unforeseen opport unit ies to enhance Academy programs

B E H I N D

T H E

SC E N E S

Academy st udents t ra nsf o rm int o

*space cadet s’

By Staff Sgt. Jennifer Thibault, AFSPC Photo by Carleton Bailie

C dards and expectations but some classes have the students adets at the Academy have always been held to high s t a n

reaching for the stars.

The “space cadets are dedicating more of their curriculum to space endeavors to include rocket launches, building sat elli tes and cr eat i n g n ew sp ace sen so r s.

Although the heritage of theAcademy leans more towardspilot training than spaceoperations, the current military u se of an d rel ian ce on space technology drives theAcademy to join in thissp ace r ace.

“We’re integrating space into the Academy just as the A i r Fo r ce integrates space into active duty,” said Lt. Col. Dave Sw anson, chairman of the Academy’s Space Working Group. “We’re so ci al izing our cadets into a truly air and space mindset.”

During a recent visit, Peter B. Teets the Undersecretary of the A i r Forcewho is also the DoD’sexecutive agent for space and the direc tor of the N ational Reconnaissance O fi ce, backed the Academy’s transition in to the space arena. “You all [cadets] represent the future of our Air Force, wherewe’re going and we need some of your talents to be directed into thisNational Security SpaceArena,” he said.

T eet s r eassu r ed t h em t h at t h ei r car eer s an d co n t r i b u t i o n s

would be of vital importance even if they weren’t piloting ai rcraf t .

“National Security Space Assets are more important t o n at i o n al security than anytime in the past. We are actively integrating space capability with war-fi ghting operations; this only increases the importance of our space activity,” he added.

Although leaning in a new direction, the Academy is pull ing out all the stops to ensure the air and space components remain fully integrated. Just as the Air Force operates i n a j oint environment, space and air capabilities rely o n each other to get the job done.

“Every pilot in the future is going to need to have so m e ex p o sure to space capabilities and space information,” sai d T eet s.

74

C H E C K PO I N T S

B E H I N D

“There is nothing today that is not touched by space.

All cadets regardless of their career paths need to

h av e t h i s

exposure,” added Maj . Gen. Kathy T homas, mobilization assistant to the superintendent.

At the Academy now, there’s room for dreams of being a s t r o nauts, space operators, to be involved with the Mars project and even to be the fi rst Lithuanian in space. Dreams alone won’t help these cadets reach their goals. Hands on training and experience are the key to their success.

“There are important targets of opportunities for partnership with the local wings and bases. [These partnerships] coul d lead to additional engagement opportunities for cadets,” Teets sai d .

The Academy has already been taking steps in the partnership direction with six of their cadets interning at the N at i o n al R eco n naissance Offi ce this past summer.

“They did a wonderful job,” said Teets and encouraged t h e Academy to continue looking for opportunities for the cad et s t o see the space arena through local activeAi r Force

T H E

SC E N E S

This isn’t just a change in mindset, though; it’s also demic change. This year the Academy will graduate nine space operations majors — up from three last year.

“We’ve revamped our programs to ensure cadets are better apt to meet Air Force needs in regards to space,” Swanson a n

a c a

n ew

sai d . “ T h i s ex t en d s t o ou r basi c cou rse i n ast ron au t i cs, i n t r o

duction to space - the core course is required for al l cad et s attending the Academy.”

The Academy has big plans to extend this experience beyond the tactical to the operational level of war. The Space Operations Education Laboratory is currently under construction. T his 34t h Education Group initiative called Aim Higher is modeled af t er current airmanship programs. The laboratory will be t h e A cad e my’s space “fl ight line.” There cadets will be able t o ex t en d t h ei r understanding of Air Force space operations and progress f r o m

team to organizational leaders. H

v e n u es .

N orthw estern Preparatory L o c a t e d in S o u t h e rn C a lif o r n ia

4^ Post High School Service Academy Preparation Exclusively 4" Appointments to the U.S. Air Force Academy and other Service Academies have been received by over 90 percent o f o u r st u d en t s.

4" SAT /A CT Enhancement

4- PAE Improvement “Nor thwester n Prep p rovided me with an academic f oundation that raised my SA T scores by 200 p oints, as wel l as an abil ity to f ocus on the essential p rep aration to succeed at the Academy.

As a result of the self -confi dence I gained there, I b ec a m e Outstanding Student in CST, Outstanding 2nd Class Cadet i n 3rd Group , Team Cap tain of Women ’s F encing, and Outstanding Squadron Commander of the #1 ranked squadron of the wing ! ” 2 0 0 2 U SA F A G r a d u a t e

Suzan ne D urbeck , Execut ive D i rector 1-800-367-8839 / www.northwesternprep.com / E-mail: prepnwp@aol.com C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

75

A C RO SS C ad et 's expo sur e t o t he beaut y a n d in f amo us PAST OF Po l a n d t ea c h es l if el o n g l esso n s

Free. There is little feeling of freedom as I walk through the gate of the barbed wire fence into a maze of identical brick buildings. As I pass through those gates I think of the thou san d s o f m en an d w o m en w h o en t er ed i n t h e sam e m an n er as I had . I can feel the evil of the

’I

(7^

¥■

By C1C Edward Gilchrist

place, as if the camp were dormant rather than dead: A gaping maw waiting for the right m o m en t t o co n su m e al l w h o d ar e en t er. T h ese w er e t h e lucky ones, the workers. Those entering Birkenau had far less hope for survival.

Birkenau is the extermination camp connected with Auschwitz. Again the sun warms my face as I move along the railroad tracks and enter the gate of death. Here the huge expanse of the camp sprawls out in front of me. It is impossible to see the entire camp from where I stand, it is too vast. The same feeling of anticipation washes over me. Death seems only a switch away. One fl ip of a switch and the trains roll back in , the SS ret urn f rom thei r h iat us, the crematoria resurrect themselves and spew human ashes. These feelings are completely illogical and irrational, yet they insidiously slither into my conscience as I walk the grounds of the camp. Auschwitz-Birkenau is a sleeping giant. A behemoth waiting for its chance to once again unleash hell’s fury on humanity.

I will never forget the summer of 2004. Cl C Katherine Hippely and I spent over two weeks in Poland expanding our knowledge on the effects W o r l d W ar I I h ad o n Po l an d . O u r lectures were presented to us by experts in their fi elds. These lessons focused not only on the Holocaust, but also prewar Polish culture - both Jewish and non-Jewish alike. This gave us a greater appreciation for what was destroyed under N azi tyranny.

While in Poland, Katherine and I had the opportunity to tour the cities of W arsaw, K rak ow and Oswiecim. We also experienced the concentration and extermination camp of AuschwitzBirkenau. Thisextraordinary opportunity allowed Katherine and m e to learn of the horrors of the past while enjoying the beauty of a modernizing statew h ich m ai n t ai n s m u ch o f i t s ow n cu l t u re.

Poland is awonderful state populated by friendly and helpful citizens. Poland also holds a dark past which cannot, and should not be overlooked. My trip to Poland was a life altering experi ence that I feel is benefi cial to everyone, especially thosewho serve in the armed forces. Studying Polish history provides a greater appreciation for the freedomsweAmericans enjoy and demon strate the potential evilswhich threaten our world even today. B Editor’snote: Eachyear, the Olmsted Foundationprovidesimportant grantsthat enablecadetsthe opportunity to learn lif ebng lessonsfr om thehistory and culturesfr om abroad. In thepast year, cadets visi ted countries such as Tanzania, Vietnam, Chi na, Russia, Italy, Belgium, Korea and Poland.

76

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

H E D IST IN G U IS P G

T

D G R A D U AT E AW A R D

N o m i n a t i o n I n s t r u c t io n s

D G

^ he Distinguished Graduate Award is intended to recognize those exceptional graduates who have

set themselves apart by making extraordinarily significant con t r i b u t i o n s t o o u r n at i on an d / o r t h ei r communities. It is a unique honor bestowed by the Academy and the AOG recognizing graduateswhose accomplishmentshave inspired usall and elevated the reputation and the standing of the U .S. Air Force Academy. Distinguished Graduates should provide an example to all graduates and cadets of the st an d ard s t h at w e val u e an d of t h e ab il i t i es t h at h av e made our country and society great. This is our opportunity to recognize graduates who can serve as an inspiration to future generations of Americas leaders.

Anyone may submit a nomination package. The package should not exceed three pages. The first page is a concise information sheet on the candi

Distinguished GraduateAward Calendar of Events

addressing the following headings, if applicable:

M ay 2004 - April 2005

d at e an d sh o u l d co n t ai n a sh o r t n ar rat iv e o r b u ll et s

- Professional accomplishments - Education history - Professional organizations - Professional career summary, include job titles and location - El onors, awards and public recognition

- Community service - Three additional references (include

addresses and phone numbers)

The remaining page(s) should be a strong written justification.

Submit nomination package by April 30, 2005.

M ail t o :

Pu b l icize aw ard

Request nominations

Deadline for nominationsApril 30

M ay - July 2005

Sel ect i on co m m i t t ee rev iew s n om i n at i o n s

August 2005

Sel ect i on co m m i t t ee reco m m en d s aw ard

recipient to Chairman of the Board and U.S. Air ForceAcademy Superintendent Recipient notifi ed and agrees to accept award at the U.S. Air ForceAcademy

April 2006

Award presentation ceremony at U.S. Air Force Academy in conjunction with Founders Day

A ssoci at i o n of G r ad u at es

3116 Academy Drive USAF Academy, CO 80840-4475 OR

Em ail as a M S W o rd at t ach m en t t o :

di ck .rauschkolb@usafa.af.mil Questions:

C ontact Col . (Ret .) D ick Rauschkolb, ’70 A O G V ice Presid en t f o r C om m u n i cat i on s

Additional information may be found on the AOG Web site at www.usafa.org

Phone: (7 19) 472-0300

Email : di ck .rauschkolb@usafa.af.mil C H E C K PO I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

77

m

A

" 4- '

Cadet t radit ion fosters morale and unity

ED D I E K O V SK Y, A CA D EM Y SPI RI T I L L U ST R AT I O N BY SA R A H W R I G H T

y

etired Col. Ed Montgomery, ’59, recallshelpingto push

aT-28 down a road on Lowry in the middle of one dark night before a football game when the security police stopped them.

“We told them that they were responsible for ground t raffi c, but that this could be construed as air traffi c. Why they bought that logic, I don’t know, but they let us continue. I think they just thought it was a good prank.”

From the Academy’s early home at Lowry AFB, Colo., t o i t s current site in Colorado Springs, spirit missions have b een a t r a 78

dition at the Academy since the fi rst class graduated 45 years ago.

Both leadership and cadets agree that a spirit mission helps to foster the morale and unity of the squadron carrying out t he m is sion. They help build teamwork, which is of special importance to cadets as they begin their fi rst year.

“Thegreatest thing that we have here at theAcademy is th e f r ien d ships and bonds that are forged through yearsof experiencesw i th each other,” said Cl C John Tamasitis, president of the C lass of 2005.

“Spirit missionscreate another experience that we go through together as a group that strengthens those bonds that we already sh ar e.”

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

%

B E H I N D

“Spirit missions are very essential for cadets because they instill pride in the wing, in addition to lifting u p the morale of the wing,” said C3C Tyler Rube, presi dent of the Class of 2007. “Sometimes the daily rigors of theAcademy can dampen a person’s spirits, but to see an awesome spirit mission that was conducted earlier that morning really helps out with the morale I of the cadets. It’s nice to see that even though y o u r \ morale might not be too high, at least there are

A B B

otherswhosespiritsarestill high.”

Past spirit missionshave included countdown to recognition by fourth-class cadetsor count-

down to graduation by the senior class. Cadets post paper signs around campus or put the class year on the Flatiron spelled out in white sheets. Cadet Squadron 8 has been known to turn the planetarium into a giant eight-ball.

W hile these m issions w ere successful in

i

building unity among the participants,

they were also non-permanent in nature.

Although cadet initiative underscores such efforts, there are procedures to follow.

According to offi cialswith the 34th Training Wing, all spirit missions must be approved by the Cadet Wing com mander and a squadron air offi cer com manding prior to their initiation. At no time in the past has it ever been appropriate to conduct a spirit mission which was unprofessional, in poor taste, unsafe, or caused damage to government or personal p ro p er ty.

“In the mid ’90s, Army painted (with black enamel!) G O A R M Y

ii

dow n the back side of A rnold H all,” said Tom K roboth , form er

editor of theAssociation of Graduates Checkpoints magazine. “Sup posedly, West Point had to pay for the cleanup as the paint could not be removed and they had to replace numerous granite fascia blocks.

“Then therewas a Navy game (the squids seemed more creat iv e than theArmy guys). The night before the game, someone repainted the large stadium letters from AIR FORCE to AIR FARCE.” A spirit mission would be considered acceptable if i t w as professional, safe, non-damaging, in good taste and cleaned up within a 24-hour period or prior to the n e x t n o o n w

a s

meal formation (whichever occurs fi rst). T he Cadet Si t e

Picture should be consulted if there are any doubts ab o u t t h e appropriateness of a spirit mission.

“Basically, a spirit mission in which something gets t r ash ed i s not appropriate,” Rube said. “Some of the best spirit m i ssi o n s ar e those that obviously took a lot of time and effort to pull off ”

T H E

SC E N SE

“When people begin to question whether or not it’s appropri ate you know you’re toeing the line,” Tamasitis said. “ C ad et s ar e extremely intelligent people; they know when they’re not doing something appropriate.”

When cadets don’t demonstrate good judgment, a spirit m i s sion can go horribly wrong.

“Colorado State University was dedicating its new football stadium (Hughes Stadium) before a game with Air Force,” sai d retired Col. Richard S. Rauschkolb, ’70, AOG vice president for com m un icat ions. “ T he cadets st ole t he C SU m ascot . C am

the Ram, and brought it back to the Academy for a pep rally the Friday before the game. They paraded the ram into M i t ch el l Hall and tried to push/drag it up the steps of the st af f t ow er. A s you might expect, rams aren’t easily moved! Well, the ram’s leg slipped through the stairs and broke. Cam the Ram had to be put to sleep. Needless to say, when the entire wing went to C SU th e next day, we weren’t very well received by the student body and CSU fans. To add insult to injury, we beat them 31-0 an d r u i n ed the stadium dedication as well. The entire Cadet Wing charged fi ve or ten dollars to buy a new ram for CSU. A more recent example of crossing the line, according to t he training wing, is the “04” on Eagle’s Peak. The action w as p o t en tially unsafe and damaged federal property and took professional equipment, personnel, time, and resources for the paint t o b e removed from the landscape.

But spirit missions, when done well, boost not only t h e m o r al e of a squadron, but of the entire Cadet Wing.

“Nearly the entire wing signed up to ride a bus for ov er 2 0 hours to Iowa City for our fi rst game ever against a major power — and then ride over 20 hours back again,” said Montgomery as he recalled another occasion . “ O ver 800 cadets out of a wing of about 1,000 volunteered to pay their own way, as w el l as t o make up all the classes they missed. We had academics u n t i l noon on Saturdays in those days — so we had to make up Friday and Saturday classes. Of the 200 or so who didn’t go on the trip, many were football players, cheerleaders, or members o f o t h er f al l varsity athletic teams — so just about everybody not o n t o u r s o r w a s

co n fi n em en t s w en t !

“The decision to actually let us go wasn’t made until m i d week of the game, so the football team left without really being sure we’d make it. Seeing the effect on the team when the wing marched into the stadium was amazing. Iowa scored the fi r st t i m e they got the football, but we pushed them around for m o st o f t h e rest of the game. They scored late to tie the game at 13-all , but w e blocked the extra point that would have won the game f o r t h em .

Iowa won the Big 10 that year, as well as the Rose Bowl.” S

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B E H I N D

T H E

SC E N E S

T H E A L B E RT A B A R T H O L A D A Y SC H O L A R SH I P :

The fi rst vea

BY 2ND u

JUST I N BRON D ER, ’03

^ HETIMEI PUT INTOPREPARINGFORGRADUATESTUDYAT O X F O R D L E F T M E W I T H T H E H I G H E ST E X P E C T A T I O N S O F W H A T L I F E H E R E W O U L D

BE LIKE. Yet, even with my optimism, the fi rst year here has still completely surpassed those expectations. Before I left for Oxford, Bart Holaday, whose generosity made this opportunity possible for USAFA graduates through the Alberta Bart Holaday Scholarship, expressed that the years he spent at Exeter College were among the “best years” of his life.

80

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

B E H I N D

T H E

SC E N E S

“Just as theAcademy preparesAir Force leaders through an education characterized by its disciplined and rigorous schedule, at Oxf ord the academics are marked by an environment with much less structure that encourages a healthy balance of independence and collaboration.

If my fi rst year here is any indication, I am certain t h at I w i l l echo his sentiments exactly.

What struck me immediately about this University isj ust how different it is from anything at the Academy - an d i t i s precisely this that has made my time here so worthwhile. Just as the Academy preparesAir Force leaders through an education characterized by its disciplined and rigorous schedule, at O xford the academics are marked by an environment with much l ess structure that encourages a healthy balance of independence an d collaborat ion . T he educat ion here is based on a t utorial sy st em ,

where students pursue their own intermediate goals and then get additional guidance by meeting with accomplished academics t o review and expand their work. This approach, which is openended and fl exible, has been a great compliment to the educat ion I received at the Academy by teaching me how to successfully pursue advanced scientifi c research while setting my own goals and needs. These skills will undoubtedly be useful w h en I l eav e Oxford and assist the Air Force as a research physicist.

My personal experiences while studying in the department of astrophysics help illustrate the uniqueness and u sef u l n ess o f the Oxford education. The department is teamed with o t h er institutions across the United Kingdom and Europe, meaning

that the individual discussions betw een a st udent and a t u t o r

are often replayed on an international level. On a daily basis, I contact professionals and fellow students in Toronto, Padova,

or Stockholm to assist in the research of distant exploding s t a r s

called Type la Supernovae. Last winter my supervisor D r . I so b el Hook and I traveled to a meeting in Paris where I presented t h e nascent results of my supernovae research to physicists f r o m all over Europe. These discussions and meetings have given me great insight into the intricacies of working in an i n t er n at i o n al setting and exposed me to the different cultures and viewpoints of our international colleagues. Our differences both en h an ce

and hinder these relationships, and as I continue to p r ep ar e as a leader in a globally oriented Air Force, I am positive t h at t h ese lessons will serve me well for years to come.

I n addi t ion to t hese usef ul lessons, t he t ech n ical training I

have received at Oxford has been remarkable. Last April, t h e graduate studies department, with funds granted from t h e d ean of faculty, enabled me to work with Dr. Hook for nearly t w o weeks at the Gemini Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. T h i s telescope is one of the largest and most advanced optical i n st r u ments in the world and is equipped with a host of cutting-edge equipment. Regardless of where my career as an Air F o r ce

physicist takes me, this type of training will no doubt p r o v e a

very worthwhile experience. Even more memorably, the v i ew o f

the heavens from Mauna Kea vividly recalled the closing l i nes

of High Flight, when John Gillespie Magee tells of reaching out t o “t ouch t he face of G od .”

T he social l i fe an d ex t ra-curricul ar act ivi t ies h ere have been

amazing as well. From mornings spent rowing on the T ham es, to evening services at Exeter’s beautiful chapel and form al di n ners at the college’s antique halls, my time here has been fi ll ed with all of the highlights of the Oxford experience. I h av e al so been competing with the university boxing club and serving as the captain of the Oxford varsity club which b o ast s a rich 122-year history. Ultimately, the most rewarding p ar t of my studies has been the daily interactions at Exeter w i t h an assembly of future scholars and leaders from around t he world. While increasing my appreciation for other cultures, these interactions have allowed me to serve as a delegate f o r the United States and its Air Force. When one of my foreign peers remarked last year that I had changed his opinion o f U .S. military members for the better, I realized just how rewarding a m

n o w

my Oxford experience has truly been. B

C H E C K PO I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

81

B O O K

R EV I EW

r. ' f

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B ook

I h e I a st Fl ig h t

REV I EW

O F

B o m ber 3 1 H a r r o w i n g T a l es

BY C A P T . K E N N E T H U N D E RW O O D d e pa r t m e n t

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OF Amer ican an d Japan ese Pi l o t s

o f h i st o r y

W h o Fo u g h t i n W o r l d W ar H 's A r c t i c A i r C a m pa i g n

R a l p h W et t e r h a h n A u t h o r o f T H E LA ST BA T T L E

C

O LO N EL RAL PH W ET T ERH A H N ’S BO O K , TH E LA ST FLI GH T OF B OM BE R

31. SKI LLFULLY W EAVES T O GET H ER AN IN SIGHT FUL H I ST O RY O F T H E A RT I C CA M PA I GN S O F W O RL D WA R I I W H I L E U N C OV ERI N G T H E T RAGI C LAST M O M EN T S EX PERI EN C ED BY T H E C REW O F BO M BER 3 1 A N D C H RO N IC LI N G T H E RE C OV ERY O F SIX AM ERI CAN A I RM EN W H O RE M A I N E D M I SSI N G I N A C T I O N SI N C E M A RC H

25, 1944. Wetterhahns research of military archives, interview s w ith American and Japaneseveteransof theArtie campaigns, h is u se o f secondary sources, and experience as a pilot and aircraft cr ash i n ves tigator provides depth and detail rarely seen in a popular history.

Wetterhahn argues that the Aleutian campaign, while m u ch smaller in scope than other campaigns of the war, forced Japan to commit “hundreds of Japanese vessels, as many as fi ve h undred

fi ghtersand bombers (in 1945, that amounted to a sixth

of

the combined Imperial Air Forces), along with 41,000 ground troops” to defend the northern front, preventing these f o r ces from fi ghting against American troops in the South Pacifi c (P. 82

221). TheLast Flight of Bomber 31 provides intricate det ails of the planning and execution of the battles fought over t h e A l eu tian and Kurile Islands, honoring the many American military heroes of the war. Wetterhahn’s narrative skillfully captures the intense pressure on American bomber crews as bullets from Japa nese Oscar, Betty, and Zero fi ghter aircraft riddled t hei r PV - 1, PV-2, B-24, and B-25 bombers.

Japanese defenses in the Kurile Islands took a heavy t o l l o n American airmen. While American bombing missions were o ft en successful, Japanese ground defenses and attack aircraft: routinely destroyed American aircraft and greatly damaged many others.

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

B O O K

R EV I EW

preventing them from completing the 700-mile return Japanese soldiers and airmen serving in the Kurile Islands as Stalins army conquered the island chain in the aftermath of Japanese surrender, subsequendy sending them to trip to theAleutian Islands, oft en forcing them to divert to the K am chatka Peninsula of Russia. W h ile the Russian Gulagsof Siberia. Both the U.S. and Japan paid a heavy price in liveslost Russia w as al lied w ith the U nited States in the w ar and missing servicemen aft er thewar, a tale not lost in W ett erh ah n s acco u n t .

TheLast Flight of Bomber 31 is an exciting popular history describing the less with Germany, it remained neutral in the war between w ell k now n accoun ts of the W orld W ar I I bat tles in the North Pacifi c. The pages the United States and Japan to prevent the commit of history come to life through Wetterhahns interviews with American and Japa ment of Soviet troops already mobilized in the war b o r nese servicem en and his accoun t of th e fam ilies un ited by the memory of these against the Germans, for the defense of its eastern ders against theJapanese. While the Soviets refused t o war heroes fi nally returned to them sixty years after they were identifi ed as MIAs. repatriateAmerican airmen landing in Kamchatka, in Wetterhahns carefully crafted book is a must read for enthusiasts of airpower his accordance with international neutrality laws, Wetter- tory, World War II history, and MIA accounts. O hahn explains that American airmen continued to land their damaged aircraft in the Russian zone to avoid certain death from Japanese aggressors or crashing i n Transform your career! the freezing North Pacifi c. The ai rmen who diverted t o St eve Po lst o n Soviet territory were effectively removed from combat Ex e c ut iv e Vic e Pr esid e nt Intelicoat Technologies operations for the duration of the war. Wetterhahn W A KE FOREST M BA 1999 i n intimately describes the life of American servicemen Russia and their secretly planned “escapes” back to t h e United States aft er many months of internment.

T he U nited States continued to lose airm en and ai rcraft i n co m b at over t he N o r t h Paci fi c an d t o i n t er n

ment in Russia; however, bombing missions over the northern Japanese islands remained critical and contin ued unabated. On March 25, 1944, U.S. Navy Lt. Walt Whitman fl ew his crew of six personnel on their last m ission over the K urile Islands. A trained aircraft cr ash

investigator, Golonel Wetterhahn unravels the mystery of Bomber 3I s tragic last minutes in fl ight. Through expert technical analysis of Bomber 31 at the crash sit e and comparative analysis of several other aircraft cr ash accounts, which he seamlessly weaves into his narrative of the historical account of the N orthern Pacifi c cam

WAK E FOREST M BA

paigns, Wetterhahn details the most probable account of the crews decision to fl y toward Russia in bad weather, with severe engine trouble, likely casualties onboard, and possibly under pursuit by Japanese fi ghters.

Wetterhahn tells the history of theAleutian campaigns with special emphasisto recognize the many American and Japaneseservicemen who served their country gallandy, oft en giving the greatest sacrifi ce. While t h e majority of these servicemen returned to their homeland, many, like the crew of Bomber 31, remained missing i n action for many years. Wetterhahn reverendy describes the recovery operation as his team retrieved our brothers in armswho were lost for so long. He also describes th e capture and inhumane imprisonment of thousands of

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A B R I EF H I ST O RY O F T H E

SY ST EM PA RT 1 O F I I I

H ERITA G E

FRED ERIC K V. M A LM ST RO M , ’64 V ISIT IN G SC H O EA R FO R H O N O R

PHOT O BY JO EL ST RAY ER

T

he USAFA Honor System is a topic likely to get

graduateschoosing sidesand drawing sabers.

With the possible exception of the death penalty and abortion, the service academy honor systems

areguaranteed to generateheated debates- both

reasoned and emotional - well into the night. However, I found out quickly that what type of debate - or argument - o n e get s

from aUSAFA graduatedependsvery much on what year h e o r

she graduated. Most graduates view the Honor System only from a narrow peephole of four years (Wells, 2004).

An archivist since 1999, I’ve found 50 years of fascinating l es sons printed on these fading sheets of purple dittos an d cr u m

bling onionskin carbons. Although thewording of the H o n o r Code has changed little in the past half-century, the U SA FA

Honor System itself has changed greatly. The system has evolved since the late 1800s from West Point’s quasi-sanctioned vigilante

operation (Ball, 1997) into a highly structured quasi-legal sy st em .

In computerese, such a system would be labeled a kluge - a p o n derous and inelegant solution to a problem. But no m at ter that , for all law is a kluge.

A R EA C T I V E H O N O R SY ST EM

Ever since 1965, all substantive changes in the administration and interpretation of the Honor Code have been in reaction t o an incident. For instance, whenever a service academy cheating scandal has emerged, the usual reaction from authorities - C o n gress, Board of Visitors, Secretary of the Air Force, etc. - has been to appoint a board to study the problem and write a report. Alas, most often these appointed boards consist of retired generals, educators, and lawyers, all well-meaning persons but u n t r ai n ed i n scientifi c methodologies. These reports always come w it h a l ist of recommended changes.

The Honor Division then dutifully proceeds to make t h o se changes in the Honor System’s interpretation and administration.

As is true with most legal decisions, many honor “fi x its” have never been fi eld-tested, so many of the perceived problems and solutions may have remained undetected.

And so, it is my intent to take di e reader through the evolution of our Honor System and describe how we got from there t o h ere. Evo luti on is never a simple path. And it is inefficient. It is always either one improvement or error layered upon another. But, as ev o l u t io n always does, it keepswhatever works, but it also buries i t s m iscu es.

Finally, I conclude that the Honor System has survived despite severe internal and external pressures, and it is as strong a s e v e r .

G I V E EA R LY C R ED I T T O W EST P O I N T T he 1955 U SA FA H onor C ode read: “W e w ill not lie, cheat o r

steal, nor tolerate among us thosewho do.” This codew a s a n e x a c t copy of West Point’s. In 1965, for unknown reasons, t h e U SA FA Honor Codewording was altered to read, “Wewill not lie, steal , or cheat, nor tolerate among us anyone who does.” Since its creat ion, the Honor Code has always attempted to limit itself to t hose four narrow parcels of honorable behavior - lying, cheating, stealing, and tolerat ion of the fi rst three behaviors. T hus, t he H onor C ode, m ore

precisely ought to be called an honesty code.

Service academy honesty codes are believed to have thei r roots in chivalry and its “notions of gentlemanly honor.” The U nited States’ service academies take that chivalric code a few steps further.

Even W est Poi nt ’s honor code w as not form alized unt il 19 2 1

when Brig. Gen. Douglas MacArthur became superintendent. I n

fact, the initial USMA honor code was simply stated, “A cad et is fundamentally honest, and therefore taken at his word” (Yoos, 2003). Grammar and punctuation aside, the original U SM A Honor Code mentions nothing specifi c about lying, cheating, stealing or toleration.

When the Class of ’59 fi rst voted to accept the Honor C o d e o n a one-year trial basis in 1955, its administration w as i n t en d ed t o be simple. Total honor instruction was limited to 12 hours during

C H E C K P O I N T S, F A L L 2 0 0 4

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H E R IT A G E

Basic Cadet Training. The areas covered in detail were the use of “all-rights,” tact, plagiarism, quibbling, lying, and the necessity to report others who were suspected of honor violations. St eal ing was so obvious as to be not covered in detail. C ad et h o n o r instructors emphasized that although an accused cadet w a s n o t required to say anything in his defense, not to testify w o u l d b e self-destructive. Hence, the honor investigation and hearing offered no constitutional immunities against self-incrimination.

M I SU SES O F T H E H O N O R SY ST EM

Misuses of the Honor System occurred from the beginning. I ci t e two examples: The USMA Honor System was imported to USAFA with their

fourth-classsystem, including their “hard out” policy. A s w i t h

USMA Beast Barracks, no cadet was permitted to resign during Basic Cadet Training, and all efforts were made to dissuade any cadet from resigning during the regular academic year. Yet , a

fourthclassman had a few “involuntary” exit options. H e could, of

EA R LY H O N O R SY ST EM P R O C ED U R ES

The position of offi cer in charge was an additional duty assigned to an Air Offi cer Commanding, and each cadet squadron tributed two elected cadet honor representatives who t h em sel v es handled all honor investigations.

The accused cadet might be - and most often was - brought before the Honor Committee without previous warning, charges presented, and his case would be heard during evening academ ic call to quarters. The sole legal guarantee offered t o the accused was that anything he said before the committee would not be used against him in court-martial proceedings. All guilty verdicts had to be unanimous, and the guilty verdict resulted in a request for the cadet’s resignation. If the cadet refused, his case w ould be referred to a board of offi cers. It was the expressed desi re of the c o n

com m andant that all honor cases should be heard and r eso l v ed

within 24 hours (Per, 2003). And so it became normal procedure that the guilty cadet would be heard and out-processed w i t h i n 4 8 hours. If the cadet was found not guilty, all records of his hearing would be destroyed upon graduation.

course, get married. He might also fl unk himself out o r el se r u n up a string of demerits, but these options would take t i m e, and

they also could cripplehischancesat being accepted t o a ci v i l i an

college. But he had a fourth option. During the fi rst decade, i t became glaringly obvious that fully one-half of all honor vi ola tions were intentional ruses. Thus, as many as 50 cadets p er y ear were using the Honor System purely as a lever to depart t h e Academy. Subsequently, as the “hard out” policy was eased back in the m id- 1960s, the n um ber of i ntent ional honor violat ions

decreased accordingly.

Also, curiously from 1963 through 1972, 13 cadets were either administered or offered polygraphs (“lie detector” tests).

As a result of the polygraph, 12 of these cadets were con fi rm ed

guilty of honor violations, but one subsequently found-guilty

cadet had his fi nding reversed by the superintendent. B ecau se polygraphs have never been permitted as courtroom evidence, it is surprising this scientifi cally-fl awed method was permitted at all. After 1972, the use of the polygraph for honor investiga t i ons w as disal low ed .

T I M EL I N E O E EV EN T S LAT E

18 0 0 S USMA "vigilance

19 5 1

- 19 5 5

►U SN A h o n o r

U SA FA H o n o r C o d e

concept formalized

accept ed by vot e

►USMA cribbing incident

c o m m it t e e s " c re at e d

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Discretion" mtroducecf ?i s for fourthclassmen only

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H E R IT A G E

D I SCR ET I O N - A SECO N D CH A N CE

Considering that disenrollment as the sole penalty f or an honor violation might be excessive, the honor committee considered that rehabilitation might yet be possible. In effect, t h is i dea of

rehabilitation was a transplant from the legal probation p r o cess.

gradually more open to outside observers. As a beginning t o t he opennessof normal courtroom procedures, in 1966 membersof the ethics committee were permitted to attend the honor delib

v o t ed

erations (Ball, 1997).

w

T H E 19 6 5 C H EA T I N G SC A N D A L

Having rejected the idea in 1960, the honor committee again in 1961 and accepted the policy of “discretion.” H ow ever, it would be applied only to fourthclassmen. Discretion

Prior to 1966, honor committee hearings had an aura of C rom well’s Star Chamber. However, after this date the hearings b ecam e

a s

ext ended t o al l classes in 196 5. H encefort h , if a cadet w as f oun d

For the fi rst decade, the Honor System seemed to function

guilty of an honor violation on a (1) trivial matter, (2) he could

almost boringly well. But in January 1965 theworld w as st u n n ed by a nasty offi cial announcement that USAFA authoritiesh ad

demonstrate he had learned from the experience, and (3) the matter was entirely voluntarily self-reported, the cadet might

There were neither penalties nor corrective actions at t ach ed t o

uncovered a massive cheating scandal. It was, is, and r em ai n s t h e mother of all cheating scandals. Unlike the 1951 USMA cribbing experience, this was no mere “incident.”

was always used sparingly. Until 1975, fi ve or six w as t he norm , but in 1976 the number of discretion approvals ballooned briefl y to 39. It was clear that the trend towards r eh ab i l i t at i o n was gradually taking hold.

class whistleblowers if they revealed the scheme. Themselves

yet remain and graduate. (Point 3 was never fully adhered to.)

discretion. During the years 1961 until early 1990s, d i sc r et i o n

For pureegregiousness, the USAFA scandal was the fi rst an d only time that cadetsbroke into the academic building an d so l d pilfered examsto other cadets. One ringleader kept a loaded pistol in hisroom and personally threatened to shoot t w o f o u r t h totally innocent and in fear of their own safety, the tw o doolies

quickly resigned. (Wakin, 2001).

T H E I N T R O D U C T I O N O F ET H I C S

The total profi t realized by the two ringleaderswasl ess t h an

T he cadet s had est ablished t heir ow n eth ics com m it t ee as f ar b ack

as 1963. T hen in 1966 the Cadet Professional Ethics C o m m i t t ee

$2,000, and they even complained they had been stiffed by

became offi cial. Basically, the ethics committee covered al l ar eas of ethics not specifi cally related to lying, cheating, stealing, and tolerating. Itsgoal was to develop in cadets thehighest qualities of a professional offi cer. After all, integrity was an d is t he cardi nal virtue of the Academy.

thei r cust om ers. I t w as found that 11 cadets w ere involved i n

19 6 3

w e r e

given the equivalent of undesirable discharges, but t he other 107 participants (including two honor representatives!)

►

1

C a d e t e t h ic s

19 6 5

co m m it t ee creat ed f o r m a liz e d i n 19 6 6

either stealing or selling exams in a well-organized cheating ring, and eventually 109 cadets resigned. The two ringleaders

" Miranda Warnings

i nt ro d u c e d

^ »

►Honor hearings become " open'

►Thomas D. White Report published ►Ho no r C o d e rew o rd ed //

19 6 6 ►UC M J A rt ic le 3 1

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►USAFA cheat ing scandal

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H E R I T A G E

allowed honorable discharges. Except for four cases of t olera tion, the entire investigation and discharge process w as directed

by the Offi ce of Special Investigationsand thejudge ad v o cat e.

The Honor System wasbypassed. Even so, thejudicial penalties handed out werelight compared to what might have happened 30 yearslater. There is no doubt in my mind that today t h e t w o

principles. Cadet A and Cadet B, would have been handed h ar d t i m e i n L eav en w o r t h .

FA L L O U T S FR O M T H E 19 6 5 C H EA T I N G SC A N D A L

What led to the infamous 1965 cheating scandal?The M ay 1965 Thomas D. White Report listed what has come to be known the usual suspects: lack of honor instruction, failure of cadets to internalize the code, sloppy examination control procedures, competition for grades, and, of course, loyalty to classm at es over honesty. As remedy, the White Report recommended (1) honor instruction, (2) tighter examination control, (3) graduation by alphabetical order (rather than the previous order or merit), and (4) the establishment of a permanent honor review co m m i t a s

m

o r e

tee. O ne of the com m it t ee’s dut ies w ould be t o insure the H onor

System was not used to enforce regulations, a historic complaint.

Although not directly related to the White Report, all cadets under investigation would now be read the UCMJ Article 3 1 (i.e. “Miranda” warnings) to preclude possible self-incriminatio The permanent honor review committee would be composed o f prominent educators, businessmen, and retired senior offi cers.

(Here is a presumption that businessmen are inherently ethical.)

However, as I examined all the OSI reports I found nothing that n .

backed up the many White Report claims and itssubsequent

recommendations, especially the claim that loyalty to classm ates had preempted honesty.

Au contraire to the White Report, I found within the ringlead ers’ offi cial statementsa defi nitemotive of revenge. The primary ringleader. Cadet A, had an infl ated view of his own intelligence, and he was more than eager to get back at the commandant’s hard-line military system. (He also wrongly assumed that 109 cadets could be trusted to keep a secret.) And if he could t urn a profi t while doing so, so much the better. And, in a fi nal depart ing shot of blaming the victim, he criticized the Academy f o r having an exam system which was all too easy to infi ltrate. C ad et As position was that the cheese had pursued the mouse. Sm al l m at ter that C adet A and C adet B w ere both fort ifi ed w i t h w h i s

key whilst carrying out commando-style midnight raidso n t h e

6th fl oor Fairchild Hall academic complex, complete w i t h st o l en keys, black watch caps and sweat suits {Look, 1967). I n lat er l ife Cadet A continued unrepentant as ever, for years later h e b ecam e a pursuer of the good life, arrested for misdemeanor assau l t . O n 88

the other hand, another of the 11 ringleaders. Cadet C , later became a competent and respected lawyer.

Most of the expelled USAFA cadetsoffered an amazing p o t

pourri of justifi cations for their honor violations, including: (1) If other cadets are doing it, why shouldn’t I, (2) I’m j ust doing

a favor for other academically challenged cadets, (3) T he cadet

system expects us to do too much; I cheated because I w as r ushed for time, and [that tiresome old rationale], (4) The Honor System is good in theory, but it’s not real world.

Loyalty to fellow cadets was seldom - if ever - mentioned rationale. Rather, once cadets were approached with the offer t o a s a

buy into the cheating system, most of them readily accepted. The

cheating cancer seeds had spread rapidly.

According to the White Report, by mid-1965 the weaknesses of the Honor System had been addressed and fi xed. Examination security procedures had been tightened up markedly, and form al honor instruction wasincreased. Also, asUSMA had painfully discovered over a decade before (McWilliams, 2000), U SA FA auth orit ies now learned f or them selves the cadet H onor System

could not be relied upon to run itself

But, as the U SAFA administration was to learn, the 196 5

cheating scandal wasto be only one of many bumpsin the road .

Therewas to be much more excitement ahead on the learning curve of life. It seems no one had anticipated that by 1973 the

Federal courtsmight get involved. H

Selected Ref erences Ball, Peggy (1997). “The evolution of the honor code sy st em at the United StatesAir Force Academy: An historical case study analysis.” Austin, TX: University of Texas, Ph.D. Thesis.

Berry, Thomas (2004). [Deputy Director of The Center for Character Development.] Personal communication.

Fer, John (2003). [Former Commandant’s Executive for H o n o r and Ethics.] Personal communication.

McWilliams, William D. (2000). “A Return to Glory,” Lynch burg, VA: Warwick House Publishers.

“Air Academy’s Cheating Scandal” (January 24, 1967). L ook, 31(4), 23-26.

Wakin, Malham A. (2001). [Former Chairman, Department o f

Philosophy and Fine Arts.] Personal communication.

Wells, Rodney A. (2004). [Former Executive to the Superinten dent.] Personal communication.

Yoos, Chuck (October 2003). “ H abitat for honor within a

community of character” Unpublished paper available at y o o s_ c@fort lew is.edu .

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

B E H I N D

H

T H E

SC E N E S

o n o r

/ \ w ar (

JT^ turned toAcademy

BY E D D I E K O V SK Y A CA D EM Y SPI RI T

An

old military bowl has returned to the Academy, compliments of an I n t er n et sear ch .

The Honor Bowl, fi rst awarded to Maj. Mack Thies, ’64, was rededicated during a ceremony at theAcademy Oct. 8. Thieswas the Cadet Wing’shonor chairman for 1964.

In a short ceremony before the noon meal in Mitchell Hall, Col. (Ret.) Rodney W ells, ’64 , ret urned t he H onor Bow l aw ard to the C adet Wing for safekeeping.

“No value is held in higher esteem by the Class of 1964, or for that matter the Long Blue L ine, than honor,” said C olonel W ells. “ I am here today to return this bowl to its place of honor: To you, the cadets of the United StatesAir ForceAcademy.”

Every year theAcademy’s honor chairman is presented w ith an aw ard. I n 1964, the award was a silver bowl engraved with Thies’ name. The award was spotted on eBay by a member of the Class of 1967, who recovered it an d r et u r n ed i t t o t h e C ad et Wing. The Honor Division plans on displaying the bowl i n t h e H o n o r H al l u n d er glass as a permanent memorial.

“It took a mysterious path; we don’t really know how it ended up on eBay,” said Lt. Col. Kenneth Yaphe, ’85, honor division deputy chief “It disappeared before our time, about 40 years ago. It could have ended up in an estate sale or sitting in someone’s attic. We don’t really know.”

Each year theWing Honor Chairman, a fi rst class cadet, w as aw ard ed th i s b ow l f o r their performance throughout theyear. Now, the chairman is awarded an “Eagle and Fledglings” statue.

“It was a surprise that it ended up on eBay,” said C I C N at e Renes, the current wing honor chairman. “We as a Cadet Wing felt privileged t h at C o l o n el W el l s decided to give the bowl back and return it to a place of honor. This presentation to the Cadet Wing by the graduates of 1964 reaffi rmed that the graduate community trusts the cadets to be stewards of the code, uphold the integrity of the institution, and be leaders of character.” Si

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

89

Airmanship takes fliaht u n d e r A ET C 's w i

By 1st Lt . Elaine M. Larson Air Educat ion and Training Command Public Affairs

• -m . ? •«

The Academy’s airmanship operations

realigned under the Air Education and Training Command the newly named 306th Flying Training Group on Oct. 4 .

TheAcademy’s airmanship operations are elective courses aimed at giving cadets fi rst-hand knowledge and understanding of the fl ight environment.

“Airmanship operations allow them to develop an airsense,”’ sai d Alan Becker, ’77, theAETC Plans and Programs project o ffi cer.

Cadets can enroll in a soaring course, learning to pilot a sailplane, or do free-fall parachuting, earning their basic military parachute jump wings. Cadets also have the chance to b eco m e instructors in various aviation and airmanship programs.

The realignment should be fairly transparent to the rest of th e Ai r Force, Becker said. “It’s mostly paperwork and t r an sf er o f responsibilities.” The assets, to include the AETC people already at the Academy, will remain in place. “What will change i s a f ew more folks at headquarters AETC and 19th Air Force focusing their attention on theAcademy.”

The realignment allows the Academy to capitalize on AETC’s experiences.

“The change comes in an effort to form a big brother p ar t nership,” Becker said. “The Academy has successfully airmanship operations for more than 30 years. By realigning the management of cadet airmanship operations under A E T C ’s fl ying training experts, the Academy can now devote m o r e t i m e and focus on the leadership and training of cadets.” a s

r u n

90

m

“It just makes sense to align the (airmanship operations) u n d er these functional experts,” said Lt. Col. Kyle M . Lampela, ’84, the Academy’s 34th operations support squadron commander.

“We’re the trainers of theAir Force,” said Col. Bryon M ills, ’77, AETC Plans and Programs division chief AETC has extensive expertise in what works and what doesn’t work in training, m ai n t e nance, aircraft acquisition and managing day-to-day operations. iAETC will not be accomplishing this new initiative so l o .

The airmanship operations at the Academy will be AETC’s to fund and manage, but the airfi eld real estate remains t h e Academy’s, Mills said. Maintaining the facilities will be the job of the Academy, but AETC personnel will be operating them.

“Thewhole purpose of the airmanship program is leadership through fl ying,” Millssaid. “So, weend up basically sharing a mission with theAcademy. Although theAcademy isproviding u s su p p o r t t o run the facilities, we are in-mrn providing support b ack t o t h em .”

The transformation to a full-up AETC organization will n o t b e i m m ed i at e.

It may take up to two years, said Becker, before the t r an si t i o n is complete. “There are lots and lots of little things to get right - network connectivity, cadet management systems, syllabi ...

We’re peeling back the layers of the onion. We can’t d o i t t o o quickly or we’ll miss something very important.”

The 306 FTG’s organizational structure will mirror t h at o f other geographically separated units, and report directly to M aj .

Gen. Edward R. Ellis, 19th Air Force commander. fQ

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

THIS YEA R 1,325 CA D ETS FRO M THE CLA SS O F 2008 ENTERED T HE A CA DEMY, and the clock began to tick. In four years, t hese cad et s w ill graduate and become t he next generat ion to lead the world's most powerful air and

space force. Your contribution to the Air Force Academy Fund is the best way t o direct ly impact the entire Cadet Wing and enhance t he A cademy experience.

Donations to t he Air Force Academy Fund support vital programs in character development, academics, athletics and heritage that would not exist without private

funding. Annual gifts of $1,000 or more to the Air Force Academy Fund are recognized

at the Sabre Society level. Please make a cont ribut ion to the Air Force Academy Fund today. Every minute counts.

T h e A i r Fo r c e A c a d em y Fu n d

For more information about the Air Force Academy Fund, please contact Greg Knedler at

(719) 472-0300 or greg.knedler@usafa.df .mil

A sso c iat i o n o f G r a d uat es

f

U N I T E D ST A T E S A I R F O R C E A C A D E M Y

Buil ding Leaders of Character f or the Nation

T

he United StatesAir ForceAcademy provides superior educational and military training opportunities for tomorrows fi nest offi cers of the greatest air and space force in the world.

The Association of Graduates supports programs not fu n ded by the government that shape the cadet experience, such as th e National Character and Leadership Symposium, language an d cultural immersion programs, cadet clubs, integrated fi eld st udies and summer research internships.

With your continued support, the exciting momentum w e experience as theAcademy celebrates its 50'*’ anniversary w ill enable USAFA to reach new levels of excellence throughout the next 50 years.

T H E U .S. A I R F O R C E A C A D E M Y

U.S. News & World Rep ort #2 Aerospace/aeronautical/astronomical engineering p rogr am #5 Electrical/electronic/communications engineering p ro gram #6 Computer engineering program #7 Civil engineering program #10 Mechanical engineering program Th e P r i n cet on R evi ew

#18 Best overall experience for undergraduates # 5 Professors m ake them selves accessible

#13 Everyone plays intramural sports #3 L ots of race/ class interaction

I N TE GRI T Y

SE R VI CE .

EX CELL E N CE

- ^ Ser vic e Academy __

C a r eer C o n f er en c e W h at is SA CC?

TheSACC isthe ServiceAcademy Career Conference supported by the Associations of Graduates from the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Military Academy, and Alumni Associations from t h e U .S. Naval Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and U.S. Merchant MarineAcademy. Previousconferences have been attended by hundreds of companies and t h o usan d s o f al u m n i .

W he re w i l l t he SACC be he ld?

Thenext »S4CCwill beheld at theRitz-Carlton Pentagon City, 1250 South HayesStreet, Arlington, Va. You may obtain a room for the SACC rate, if available. Call (703)

4 15-5000 for reservations and ask for the SA CC rate.

A p r i l 2 8 -2 9 , 2 0 0 5 W A S H I N G T O N , D .C .

SACC Sc hed ule of Event s

Regist rat ion Fee

The SACC Candidate registration fee is $35 and may be paid by check or credit card. Please mail the attached registration with form of payment and a copy of your resume- resumes must be one page/one sided and on plain copy paper. Please mail your registration, or email to: sacc@usna.com. Please d o not fax- we need a nice, clean copy of your resume. Regi stra

Thursday, April 28 , 200 5

Interview Prep Seminar at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm Friday, April 29 , 2005

Breakfast (provided) ..

Registration

8 :0 0 am

-

9 :0 0 am

9 :0 0 am

-

SA C C

9 :0 0 am

-

All Day

Lunch (not provided)

12:30pm -

SA C C

There are many other hotelsavailable in thearea or st ay with classmates or family.

2:00 pm -

12:30 pm 2:00 pm

ti on deadline Apri l 15, 2005.

6:00 pm

SACC Hot el Inf ormat io n

Sat urday, April 30 , 200 5

The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Pentagon City 1250 South Hayes Street Arlington, Va., 22202

Interviews only if directly scheduled between company recruiters and candidates; Companies will contact you

directly regarding any on-site interviews during the SA C C .

(703) 4 15-5000

If you have any questions, please contact WayneTaylor a t

Next S c h ed u l ed SA CC

(719) 472-0300 or D SN 333-4513.

San Diego, Calif , August 18- 19, 2005 ;' :

SACC Candidate Registration Form (Washington, D.C.) NAM E (for name tag, no ranks):

U SA FA C L A SS:

A D D R E SS:

PH ON E (H ome):

(Work):.

Will you attend the free Interview Prep Seminar?

Pleaseinclude: □ Registration Form

(E-mail):

□ y,

□ Fee $35

es

□ No □ Resume

M ai l t o : SA C C

247 King George St. Annapolis, MD 21402-5068

B E H IN D

T H E

SC E N E S

C a d et C lim a t e

Survey releasee

By Tech. Sgt. James A. Rush, Academy Spirit Photos by Ken Wright

s

exual assault, gender issues, race relationsand alcohol areamong the key subject areasof theAcademy’sfall 2 0 0 4 u se

C adet Social C l im at e A ssessm ent .

Overall, cadets report support for cultural changes, accord

ing to survey statistics. Positive changes were noted i n cad et s’ knowledge of how to report sexual assault and their willing ness t o con f ron t ot hers w h o fai l t o m eet st an dards. R ac e an d

ethnicity issues remain positive at the Academy with sm al l gaps between majority and minority perceptions.

Intercollegiate athletes, religion and gender seem t o b e t h e climate areas facing the most challenges. Despite this, m an y q u es tions show movement in a positive direction, according t o L t .

Col. Chris Luedtke, director of the Commandant’s Issues T eam .

“All behavioral items are moving in the right direction. T h e attitudinal items will take some time though,” he said.

The survey shows underage drinking remains an issue as w el l .

The fall 2004 results are compared to the previous year’s survey data. Information was briefed to Academy staff and faculty Oct. 1 an d t o t h e cad et s O ct . 3 .

94

Thereport beginswith data related to thesexual assault cl i m at e.

The survey did not ask cadets if they have been sexually assaulted

sincecoming to theAcademy. That information wascovered i n a DoD Inspector General survey completed in April. Thelo cal cl i m at e survey showsthat cadetshaveconfi dencein theAcademy Response Team, that more of them know how to report sexual assault an d are

willing to do so. Fear of punishment for related violationso r b ack l ash from peers remain barriers to reporting however.

Added to this year’s survey was a question addressing w h et h er men and women were sexually assaulted before coming t o t h e

Academy. Thesurvey showsone in fi vewomen and one i n 2 0 men said yes. This is lower than national results - one in four

w om en and one i n six m en .

The favorable data is at least partly attributed to a very active

Academy ResponseTeam that held a breakfast meeting w i t h each cadet squadron throughout the year.

“TheAcademy ResponseTeam [will continue] to go around t o

all the mission elements on base to keep this issue on everyone’s radar,” said Col. Debra Gray, ’80, vice commandant o f cad et s.

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

B E H I N D T H E SC E N E S

Gender-related questions indicate greater acceptance of w om en at the Academy. A record 84 percent of male cadets agreed that

women belong at theAcademy. The number of women agreeing

~T 0

dropped slightly. By comparison, the Economist (November 2003) reports that 24 percent of Americans feel women should r e t u r n t o ‘traditional” roles in society.

For the top three classes, this year’s survey added t h e st at e ment “Female cadets are accepted as equals in the Cadet Wing.” Responses from sophomores, j uniors and seniors sh o w most agree, but there large gaps between male and female perceptions on the topic.

Race relations is the most positive climate assessment a r e a . according to offi cials. Nearly all survey items in this area show improvement. This includes a lower frequency of use of racial a r e

slurs, demeaning comments and racially explicit jokes, but offi cialsstill feel the number of instances is too high.

Alcohol use by cadets in the dormsor among underage students remainsa challenge. More than 70 percent of cadets

responding to the survey were under age 21, yet 43 to 58 percent

of them (by class) report drinking alcohol.

We’re not ready to say we’ve had success in this area.

Luedtke said. S

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

95

C 2C N I C K

W E L C H

FIRED

A new cast gets ready fo r a no t he r ru n at t he u

B IG D A N C E

5)

Photo by Matthew Staver

BY

J E R RY

A FA

I

C RO S S

hand in hand last season as the

changes heading into the 2004-05 campaign.

Chris Mooney takes over as head coach after spend ing four seasons as an assistant, including the last t w o as associate head coach for Joe Scott, who left the Fal cons to take the head coaching job at his alma mater, Princeton. The new coach, also a Princeton grad, takes over with a history of winning as a player, an assistant

A i r Force m en’s bask et ball t eam

coach and a head coach .

found the glass slipper, producing the best season in school history

Mooney, who helped Air Force win the national scoring defense title last season for the second consecu tive year, will lean on three returning starters in hopes of defending the MWC title. Team captain Cl C Tim

A T H L ET IC S

t ’s not t oo oft en t hat the w ord “ C i n d er el l a” i s asso ci at ed w i t h a

military college. Well, they went

w it h a 22-7 record , the M ountain

West Conference championship and its fi rst trip to the NCAA T o u r n am en t si n ce 19 6 2 .

K eller and C 2C s N ick W elch and A nt oine Fl ood w ill

provide the experience and leadership necessary for A i r

The season came to an abrupt end with a 63-52 loss to North Carolina in the fi rst round of the “Big

Force t o m ak e anot her run at the N CA A Tournam ent .

D ance,” but the Falcons show ed t he nat ion that

thi rd-t eam al l-M W C select ion last season . I n addit ion

they are a group to be reckoned with, despite some

to his all-tournament team pick at the Golden Bear

Keller, a 6’3” guard, started all 29 games and was

C H E C K P O I N T S , FA L L 2 0 0 4

a

m Classic, in which the Falcons won just their second regular-season tournament title in school history with a 49-44 victory over Cal in the fi nal, Keller was named to the all-District 13 second-team by the National A ssociat ion of Bask et ball C oaches. H e fi nished second

on the team in scoring at 11.0 points per game and needs just 112 points to become the 17th player in school history with 1,000 career points.

“Tim has already had a terrifi c career here at Air Force, and he is one season away from going down as one of the school’s best players ever,” Mooney said. “ O ur success coi ncided w i t h h is arrival here, and t hat

means something. He has been outstanding on and o f f t h e co u r t .”

Welch, meanwhile, became just the fi f th player in program history to achieve All-America status with

or from the three-point area. We are also pleased with the way he has improved his defense.”

The two other returning centers are Cl Cs Caleb Buchanan and David Peterson. Buchanan appeared in 21 games last season as the team’s backup center and averaged 1.5 points and 1.0 rebounds per game. He scored a career-high eight points against Wyoming and pulled down a career-best four rebounds vs. Savannah State. Peterson appeared in 14 games last season, aver aging 1.2 points and 0.7 rebounds per game.

“Caleb has been an outstanding member of program and has improved tremendously since his freshman season,” Mooney said. “He has worked as hard as anyone to improve, while David has been a valuable reserve throughout the transition to a championship team. He is a skillful big man and a terrifi c passer.”

C 2C M arc H olum , a 6-6 forw ard , ret urns to the

an h o n o r ab l e m en t i o n f r o m t h e A sso ci at ed Press.

The 6’8” center also earned MWC Co-Player of the Year honors with Rafael Araujo of BYU. Welch led the team in scoring (11.4 points per game), rebound ing (4.0 rebounds per game) and steals (40) and was second in assists (80). He scored double fi gures in all 14 MWC games and 17 of his last 18 overall and fi nished in the top 10 in the MWC in steals (fourth), three point percentage (sixth), fi eld goal percentage

iL

Falcons after a one-year hiatus. Holum played in 23 games as a sophomore in 2002-03 and will add experi-

K E F.L E R

(ninth) and assists (tenth).

“Nick is coming off a super sophomore season, and we expect even better things from him this year,” Mooney said. “He is a natural leader who has worked hard to become one of the best players in country.

Nick is an outstanding shooter and competitor that causes match-up problems with his versatility.”

Hood had a very solid sophomore campaign, starting all 29 games and earning honorable mention all-MWC accolades. He averaged 10.4 points and was second on the team with 92 rebounds, including 32 on the offensive end. The 6-4 guard shot an impres sive 55.4 percent (108-of-195) from the fi eld, good for No. 7 in the MWC and the only guard in the top 10. He also set a new school record by shooting 55.9 percent (52-93) from the fi eld in conference games.

Mooney and the coaching staff expect an even better junior campaign from Hood.

“Antoine has had a couple of very good seasons at Air Force,” said the coach. “He is tall, has long arms and can score from anywhere, whether it’s in the paint

iP

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

> Photo by D anny M ey er

97

ence and some bulk along the front line. Mooney is excited to have some more leadership.

“We are very happy to have M arc back,” he said. “He is a veteran player who got stronger and better conditioned during his time away from the program. His leadership will show through this year.”

The play of last year’s freshman class was a pleas ant surprise to the coaching staff With a year of Air Force basketball under their belts, they should fl ourish as sophomores. C3CsJacob Burtschi and Matt McCraw were standards in the Falcon lineup last season. Burtschi played the sixth-man role to perfection, appearing in all 29 games and averaging just under 16 minutes per contest. The bruising, 6-6 forw ard fi nished fourth on the t eam w ith 73 rebounds and w as th ird w ith 26 offensive boards.

He scored 3.7 points per game, including a careerhigh 11 against Auburn and Prairie View A& M , and played a career-best 23 minutes in the NCAA Tournament game against North Carolina.

“Jacob Burtschi provided us with a very good freshman season, despite playing the second half of the season with a shoulder inj ury,” Mooney said.

“He is a unique player and does all the little things like take charges and diving on the fl oor. He has a great knack for game, much likeA.J. Kuhle did.”

McCraw played in 27 games as a freshman and proved himself as a clutch performer who can do many things on the court. He led the team in three-point percentage last season, making 48.5 percent (16-33) of his long-range shots. He pulled down 18 rebounds, including 11 offensive, and

C 2C N I C K W

dished out 14 assists. He also shot 91 percent (20-22) f r o m t h e f r ee- t h r ow l i n e.

“Matt gained valuable experience as a reserve last season,” Mooney said. “He hit some huge shots for us i n big games and is avery good rebounder for a guard.”

If Mooney can get as much out of this year’s freshman class as last year, the Falcons should produce similar results in 04-05. Five players will attempt to create the necessary symmetry and cohe si o n w i t h t h e r et u r n er s.

All fi ve played for the USAFA Preparatory School team that produced a 31-3 record last season. Guards Tim Anderson and Adam Hood join forwards Keith Maren, Eric Kenzik and Chris Swan from the Prep School. Anderson averaged 16 points per game last season for t he H usk ies and w as a second-t eam all -st at e

selection at Franklin High School in El Paso, Texas, his senior campaign. Hood, the younger brother of junior Antoine Hood, was the MVP of the AfricanAmerican Heritage Tournament and led Poteet High School (Mesquite, Texas) to a district championship.

M aren , f rom W est M i lw auk ee, W i se., w as a ID ( ( )A ( MI ( I I K I S M O O N E Y

second-team all-conference performer and team cap-

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

'•>] ■‘■ri

tain as a senior at West Allis High School. Kenzik was a third-team all-state selection and helped Father Lopez High School in Ormond Beach, Fla.,

I

L At press time, the Falcons were 3-1 and off to their best start since the 1998-99 season. They began the season in the eight-team BCA Classic and brought home the runner-up trophy after a hardfought 69-65 loss to tournament host Marquette in the title game. Welch and Hood were named to the

ad v an ce t o t h e E l i t e 8 at t h e st at e t o u r n am en t . H e

was team captain and MVP his senior campaign.

Swan, meanwhile, led St . John Bosco to the GI F

all-tournament team . 9

Division IIA championship as a senior and was the wing commander at the Prep School last year.

“Each of the freshmen brings a little something different to our team,” Mooney said. “We have a strong ball handler in Anderson and Hood is a strong shooter. Maren and Kenzik are both strong, physical players, while Swan may be the best athlete on this

f

en t i r e t eam .”

The 2004-05 schedule contains three opponents that advanced to the 2004 N CAA Tournam ent ,

including a match-up against national runner-up Georgia Tech in Atlanta. In addition, fi ve teams that played in the NIT are on the year’s slate. The Falcons will travel to perennial Big Ten contender Iowa on Dec. 28 and NIT fi nalist Rutgers comes to Clune vVrena for a N ew Year’s Eve bat tle.

es a UcVinq and Vee

§

C2C ANTOI NE HOOD ij

r

T h e B i r d b at t le s f o r ' M a sc o t o f t h e Ye a r ' The Bird has been selected as one of t he top 12 mascots in t he count ry by Capit al One, w ho is host ing t he 1 1-wee k co m pet it io n . Pa rt

of t he compet it ion includes online, popular vot ing. All fans are encouraged to vote daily at www.ca p it a lo ne bow l.co m . Yo u ca n a ls o lin k

to t he contest t hrough our new Web site at www.usafa.org. The contest ends Dec. 26 .

C H EC K PO I N T

99

From t he ice t o t he air, f ormer A ir Force Academy

hockey player lands in t he cockpit of Air Force One

By Greg Anzeic, reprint ed wit h permission from American Hockey Magazine

M

ark Manney returned home at 2 a.m. from a long business trip and managed a few hours of sleep before driving fourand-a half hours to watch his son, Nick, play in a 2 0 0 3 Thanksgiving hockey tournament in Pittsburgh.

No big deal, right?A lot of hockey parents make similar sacrifi ces so they can watch their kids play.

But Mark Manney, ’83, is not your typical hockey dad, mostly because he does not have a typical job.

10 0

Manney’s business trip took him to Iraq, where he fl ew the president of the United States into enemy territory so he could spend last Thanksgiving with surprised American troops.

“We knew that we would be leaving for Iraq but, of course, we could not say anything to anyone,” Manney says. “In fact, there were a bunch of people on the ai rcrew that did not k now w here w e w ere

going until about one hour before takeoff ”

C H E C K PO I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

m The trip was a shock to everyone outside of a small t r ust ed circle of presidential advisers. Even Manney’s own family fi g ured he would be spending the holidays in Texas as P r esi d en t

GeorgeW. Bush spent Thanksgiving at his ranch in Crawford.

With their mission to improve the morale of the troops complete, Air Force One returned to the U.S., stopping at i t s home at Andrews AFB, Md., to refuel before the president went on to spend the rest of the holidays in Texas. M anney spent his holidays with his family in a rink. Both home for the holidays.

The countdown of the fi nal seconds of a hockey game i s often the most intense and pressure-packed moments of t he contest. As the ticks of the clock play through the m inds of the players on both teams, everything that they’ve l ear n ed an d trained for is put on the line.

Growing up playing hockey in Minnesota, Manney was v er y familiar with the pressures associated with the game and today, long after the fi nal buzzer sounded in his last hockey game, he credits many of his experiences from hockey for safely landing him in a career 40,000 feet above any rink.

A 1983 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, where he skated with the Falcons’ hockey team, Manney i s cu r rently a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force. His responsibiliti fall under his title as the deputy commander of the Pr esi d en t i al Airlift Group in the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews.

Recognized as “The Gateway to the Nation’s Capital,” Andrews has welcomed kings, queens, prime ministers an d military leaders from more than 50 nations over the past few years, and this former centerman is once again right i n t h e m

e n

w e r e

e s

m i d d l e o f t h e ac t i o n .

Just like the years he spent at the rink, Manney still h as t eam m at es - 170 of t hem i n t he President ial A i rli f t Group - only his mission during fi nal countdowns is different. I t ’s n o longer about winning a hockey game, but rather safely t r a n s porting the president of the United States around the co u n t r y

m

O N E SH IFT A T A T IM E

So how exactly does a person come to fl y the president on global missions aboard the most recognizable aircraft in the w o r l d ?

For Manney, it all started through hockey.

“The biggest infl uences in my life, outside of my parents of course, were my coaches,” he says. “Growing up, there w ere also many [high school] players in the community that we i d o l i zed .

That’s where my interest in hockey started. I was surrounded by these people who were successful and did well, and that gave me my base and foundation to get going.”

Capitalizing on these lessons learned from coaches an d peers around the hockey rink, Manney focused his sights attending the Air Force Academy. His high school coach former University of Minnesota-Duluth Head Coach Terry Shercliffe. It was Shercliffe who put him in touch w i t h M i n nesota legend John Matchefts, who at the time, was coaching at Air Force. But true to his motto, M anney was not looking further than simply getting a great education and continuing his hockey career.

“There was no desire to fl y, it didn’t cross my mind at t h e time,” recalls Manney. “I was just excited to go play f o r co ach o n

w

a s

M at chefts.”

Hockey was in Manney’s blood, and it was on the rink where he excelled. After spending a year at the Academy Prep School, he was accepted into the four-year school and i m m e diately began making a name for himself on the ice. His goal to beat intrastate rival Denver University remains o n e o f h i s Academy highlights.

“Academy life prepared me for life today,” Manney proudly says. “They keep you busy from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. It is a big eye opener to a kid who isn’t used to it. But the great thing is, once you get into the routine it kinds of stays with you for life. Pretty soon you can’t stand just sitting around doing nothing, y o u always want to be doing something.”

And do something he did.

an d t h e w o r l d .

“My approach to fl ying is very similar to how I approached playing hockey,” Manney says as he intently watches t h e act i o n at the Minnesota High School League StateTournament, event he annually attends.

“In hockey there’s a motto along the lines of ‘wanting to play as well as you can on this shift, and worry about the next sh ift later.’ I think it’s the same with fl ying; you never w an t t o l o o k at the long term of fl ying.”

Manney’s transition from the ice to air was exactly t h at : “Shift by shift.” That approach eventually landed him ab o ar d a n

A i r F o r ce O n e.

T A K I N G F L IG H T

“The great thing about being an athlete is that you l ear n ab o u t leadership, remaining calm under pressure and, specifi cally a t the Academy, what it’s like being out in the battle fi eld,” says Manney. “Then as a hockey player, you are placed into si t u a tions that test you in these areas.”

Both on and off the ice Manney passed those tests with fl ying colors, and like all Academy graduates, he was faced w i t h t h e decision of where and how to continue his fi ve-year co m m i t ment to the Air Force. A commanding offi cer at the Academy encouraged Manney to pursue an aviation career that l ed h i m t o

C H E C K P O I N T S , FA L L 2 0 0 4

10 1

Vance AFB, Okla. Again, at this stop, it was the valu able lessons learned on the rink that got him airborn.

“My approach was different from all the other

A i r Fo r ce O n e.

guysin that I didn’t eat, drink and sleep fl ying,” say s

Texas for the fu neral of the shut tle ast ronauts aft er t h e

Manney. “I approached fl ying like athletics: Go out and do the best you can today, and just perform asw ell as you can on that fl ight. When you get distracted and start looking ahead to a big fl ight - just like an o p p o nent will beat you in sportswhen you look ahead to big game - you may perform poorly on the fl ight.

“I’m constantly thinking what happens if I don’t get the altitude I want, do I have enough gas, etc. The held true playing hockey: what happens if the puck get s turned over in the neutral zone, who do I pick up, et c.”

Graduation from fl ight school landed Manney in a C-l 4l cargo plane at Norton AFB, Calif. From that point in 1985 until he landed at Andrews in 1991, Manney visited more than 30 states and 30 countries.

“It was a nice way to see the world,” he admits. a

sa m

e

SC O RIN G G O A LS

In 1991 Manney arrived at the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews. After surviving a very competitive selection process, he was assigned to the aircraft Gulfstream III that carried with it the responsibil ity of fl ying around the VIPs within the nation’s government. “Everyone with the exception of the president,” Manney points out.

The Gulfstream III assignment ultimately led to his current position aboard Air Force One. To be considered for the position a pilot must have more than 2,000 hours in the cockpit, worldwide fl ight experience, and a spotless record.

“It’s a thrill, really indescribable in words,” says Manney of fl ying the jumbo jet. “The thought that you are entrusted with the responsibility of fl ying t h e president really doesn’t sink in until after you have been doing it for a while.”

Manney has been doing it a while and has more than 400 m issions aboard A i r Force O ne under his

belt. Over that time he has experienced plenty of memorable and historic fl ights.

Manney’s mental scrapbook include those aboard

“Oneof my most memorablefl ightswasthetrip to

Columbia tragedy,” he recalls. “Both John Glenn and

Neal Armstrong wereaboard theplanetraveling with

the president. It was a very somber time in our nation’s

history, but both of them cameup to thecockpit and

sat up on the fl ight deck for the fl ight. They traded o l d stories about the days when they were astronauts. It w as a thrill to listen t o those stories.”

“Then when we were getting close to Houston, they asked to stay up in the cockpit for the entire

landing. Being pilotsat heart, they didn’t want to go

back down to sit with the rest of the passengers; they felt like their place was in the cockpit, so they sat there for the entire landing.”

Suddenly Manney found himself sitting next to two of history’smost famousastronautsduring his final count down to landing. Once again, the nerveswere similar t o thosehe felt during the fi nal secondsof a hockey gam e.

“Don’t make a mistake is the fi rst thought that went through my mind,” Manney says with a laugh.

“Next you think about their marks on history, two of the most famous aviators of all time critiquing, appreciating your work as it may be. Certainly it’s little intimidating, but it was an absolute thrill.”

Even aft er rubbing elbows with aviation greatness, Manney has a simpler idea of what his ideal Air Force One passenger list would look like.

“It all goes back to where I started. I think about those high school kids who got me started in sports and taught me that you can be anything you want if you put your mind to it. I wish they could be there to share the experience with me,” he says.

“I wish that one day, instead of fl ying around the president, that I could grab all the people who made a difference in my life, including my coaches and teammates growing up, and bring them along with me for one fl ight to kind of share in it and help o r a

cel eb r at e t h e ach i ev em en t .”

Now that’s a wingman any hockey player would

want on his team. H

FO R T H E REC O RD BO O K

Manney’s numbers in the Air Force Hockey record book read 55 goals and 65 assists in 100 games, and he has a story for just about every one of those 55 goals. But some of the most fascinating stories from

Reprinted with permissionf rom American Hockey Mag azine. To becomean Allied Member of USA Hockey and receive 10 issues of American Hockey Magazine, please visit to WWW.USAHockey.com.

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

Foot ball Coach Fisher DeBerry

ind u ct e d int o FCA H a ll o f

Champions

A FA A t h le t i c s

A

ir Force head football coach Fisher DeBerry was recently induct ed into the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Ffall of Champions.

DeBerry joins a group of men and women widely known f o r t h ei r ach ievem ents on and off the fi eld . C urrent inductees include legends such as Tom Landry, Bobby Richardson, Kay Yow and Branch Rickey. Along with DeBerry, this year’s class includes Otto Graham, football coach Jim Rexilius and two-time PGA champion Larry Nelson.

DeBerry’s involvement in the FCA is extensive. He has served as a speaker at various FCA coaches’ events, including clinics and conventions, and also partici pates at annual ministry Game Day events at theAcademy. O n a nat ional level , DeBerry also has served on the FCA’s National Board o f A d v iso r s.

“Goach DeBerry and his staff have been a God-send for myself and the ministry,” said Golorado FCA Coaches Ministry Director R o d O l so n . “ I t ’s a blessing to be able to tell coaches around the state ab o u t a m an l i k e Fi sh er an d how he is committed to coaching for the glory of God.” DeBerry is a 1960 graduate of Wofford College where h e l et t er ed i n football and baseball. Following a high school coaching and teaching career, DeBerry returned to Wofford to coach for two years. He then went to Appa lachian State for nine years before coming to the Academy i n 19 8 0 as an assi s tant. DeBerry became the head coach at Air Force in 1984 and just completed his 21st season. He is the winningest service academy f o o t b al l co ach . H e h as led the Falcons to 12 post-season bowl games and 14 o f t h e sch o o l ’s 16 C o m -

mander-in-Chief’s trophy titles. S

A ir Fo rc e w in ;

Go lf Ciassicc i!

7

Photo by Ken Wright

t b-st raight Service Academy ■

^ heAir Forcegolf team extended itswin streak during the annual Service Academy Golf Classic in September i n D al l as. T h e

Falcons fi nished four strokes ahead of Army with a three-round total of 1107. Navy was third in the team standings (1132),

while the M erchant M arines came in fourth. C3C Ben Jackman shooting a three-over par 219 for the tournament, earned co-

medalist honors along with Army’s Scott Manley, who was awarded the individual trophy based on his performance in the fi nal round.

Four other Falcons earned All-Service Academy honors, fi nishing among the top eight competitors. CI C Kala’e Leong and C3C Tyler Goulding were part of a three-way tie for third place with a 221, while C4C Tyler Labrum, who started the fi nal day in a tie for l 4th, had the low round of the day (along with Manley) with a two-under 70 to fi nish in seventh place. Rounding out the all-t our nament team for Air Force CI C Daryl McCoy, who came in eighth with a three-day total of 224.

Also helping the Falcons to their l Oth-consecutive Reemtsma Trophy were C3C Chad Follett, who came in l 6 t h w i t h a sco re o f 23 1, and C 2C Scot t Redm ond , w ho fi nished in a tie for 17th at a 15-over 234. H

C H E C K P O I N T S , FA L L 2 0 0 4

10 3

Rud zinski, Cart e r

T h e rev i ew t eam also recom m en ded t h e A cad

emy continue its membership both in NCAA

n a m e d a ca d e m ic A ll- D ist r ict V II

D iv i si on I -A an d t h e M oun t ai n W est C on f er

ence. Other recommendations focused on process adjustments for recruiting and admitting athletes,

A FA A t h let ics

A

increasing emphasis on intramural sports and aligning competitive sports clubs under the ath

ir Force Gl C football playersJohn Rudz inski and Ryan Carter were each named

l et i c d i r ec t o r .

t o the Verizon A cadem ic A ll-D ist rict V I I

athletic director be assigned to oversee discipline, intramurals and physical fi tness, while reporting to

team, as voted on by the College Sports Information Director’s of America. Both players will appear on t h e nat ional ballot for A cadem ic A l l-Am erican honors.

Carter is a repeat member of the all-district team and w as a second-t eam A cadem ic A l l-A m erican in

2003. A native of Waterloo, W is., Carter led all Air

Force defensive linemen with 47 total tacklesgoing

in to N ovem ber. H e also led the t eam in t ackles for

loss with seven for 26 yards and in quarterback sacks with fi ve for 23 yards. Carter has a 3.55 grade point average and is majoring in astronautical engineering.

Rudzinski has a 3.56 grade point average and ismajor ing in management. He ranked second on the team in tackles w ith 59. Rudzinski had 5.5 tackles for loss fo r

17 yardsand a sack for nineyards. Hewas tied for th e team lead in passbreakupswith two and ranksamong the M ountai n W est C onference leaders w ith three forced

fumbles. Rudzinski isa native of Green Bay, Wis. He recently selected to play in the East West Shrine game i n Palo Alto, Calif , on Jan. 7, 2005. To date, the gameh as raised more than $14 million for Shriners Hospitals an d

w as

The review also recommended that a new deputy

both t he com m andant and t he at hlet ic di rect or. T he

review group also recommended Academy leadership institute an annual program to educate all assigned personnel about the interrelationships and benefi ts

of the academic, military and athletic aspectsof the cadet curriculum .

The review team, which presented its recommen dations to the secretary and chief of staff of the A i r ForceJune 3, was led by the former Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. (Ret.) Michael Ryan, ’65.

“The review provided a comprehensive look at the USAFA athletic department and its support to the Academy’s mission of graduating offi cers of character for service to our nation,” said Lt . Gen.

John Rosa, the Academy’s superintendent. “Under the leadership of Gen. M ike Ryan, the review team did an outstanding j ob. I feel changes will greatly enhance our efforts.” H

hashelped inform millionsof people. H

V is it t h e n e w

At hlet ic depart ment

A O G W e b s it e !

m o v e s b ack u nd e r

T h e A sso c iat io n o f G rad u at e s

superint end ent

T h e ad d re ss f o r t he n e w sit e

A FA A t h le t i c s

7

h as la u n c h e d a n ew W e b sit e .

is www.usafa.org . The new sit e o f fe rs re ad e rs e n h a n ce d

^ heAcademy athletic department has

moved back under the direct supervision of the superintendent. The move is one of 15 recommendations for the Academy athletic department presented to and accepted by the secretary of the Air Force following on a fi ve-month review of the department.

C H E C K PO I N T S, FA L L 2 0

functionality and navigation.

G rad u at e s an d A O G m e m b e rs

should regist er t he first t ime t hey visit t he site by clicking on " First T im e Use r."

Link to chapt er Web sit es at www.usa f a.org At la nt a Cha pt e r The chapter is excited by the prospect of attending the Air Force vs. GeorgiaTech men’s basketball game Dec. 11 at PhillipsArena. Then on May 9, chap ter members are invited to participate in the annual Army-Navy Golf Classic. Please see our Web site ww w.atlantaaog.com for d et ai l s o n b o t h ev en t s.

Hea rt la nd-Le May Cha pt e r (Ne b.)

The chapter serves graduates in the

N ebrask a, w estern I ow a, nort hw est ern M is

souri, northeastern Kansas, and douth-

eastern South Dakota area. The Chapter cont in ues to host inform al lunch-t im e

get-togethers in the Offutt AFB area on the fourth Tuesday of each month.

Ou tlo o k AFA Soc iet y of No rt h Ca ro l i na Monthly lunches and/or evening socials continue during the third week of each m onth . C heck out our new W eb site at

www.usafa.org.

Arizo na Cha pt e r Jim and Chirl Sienicki , ’74, again hosted a holiday party at their house Dec. 4. You’ll be reading this after the fact, but we hope we have a big turnout and can spread some holiday cheer. In January 2005, we will continue our tradition of an Arizona chapter Super Bowl party. The party will be hosted by Jack and Kitty Frost, ’68. The party will begin an hour before kickoff so all may enjoy the pre-game hype and have a chance to participate in pre-game eating and drinking rituals. This annually is a “super” event. In mid-to-late April, Doug and C arol Pel t on , ’74 , have i nv i t ed th e

chapter to a pig roast. Details on all of

th ese event s can be f ound on our new W eb

Los AngOlOS Chaptor A new chapter is on the move! LosAngeles area graduates met Sept. 11 to create a new chapter. At the initial meeting, it was “standing-room” only as about 50 graduates showed up. The new Web site can be found at www.usafa.org. Bylaws have been approved, the board of directors have been approved (President - Joe Facenda, ’75, Vice President - Willie Cosby, ’75, Treasurer - Roger Smith, ’62, Secretary - John Reinheimer, ’81, At-Large Board Members- Inga Coupe, ’91; Jason Spindler, ’04; Nathan Vosters, ’02), and serious tailgate gatherings at one member’s pub have begun the social activ ities. A holiday party and business meeting is

Cfia 1.

Celebrat e Academy herit age

2.

Keep abreast of Air Force and USAFA t opics

3.

Keep t he local com munit y abreast of USAFA t opics

4.

Provide g raduat es net w ork ing opport unit ies

5.

I nt e ra c t w it h ot h e r s e r v ic e

academy g raduat es 6.

Give back t o t he communit y

7.

Support t he needs and obj ect ives of t he Academy

8.

A s s is t l ia iso n o f f ic e rs a n d

recruit qualif ied candidat es 9.

Assist parent s clubs/ cadet s

G OA L l

CelebrateAcademy heritage

Air Force Academy Society of DC - Ear lier this year, the Society and Chapter put on a wonderful Founders Day Celebration, bringing together graduates from all around the DC/Northern Virginia area.

GOA L 4

Providegraduates networking opp ortunities

Alamo Chapter - The Service Academy

C areer C onference for t he southw est area

in the works for the weekend of Dec. 18. (If

w as held in San A n tonio N ov. 4- 5. L inks

anyone is in L.A., pleasejoin us). For contact information, pleasevisit www.usafa.org.

for m ore in form at ion w ere on our W eb

site, www.alamoaog.org, and several area

Masters of Ceremony, Greg Woodhead ’70 , and George Keys, ’7 0 , roo m m at es

at t he Academy at t he Founders Day C e le b ra t io n h e ld

earlier t his year by t he Air Force Academy Soc iet y of DC.

site www.azaog.com.

C H E C K P O I N T S

V

i

I

r

FA L L

2 0 0 4

10 5

Cha p t er Goa ls graduates attended the event. Many learned valuable interviewing and resume writing skills and gained numerous job leads.

G OA L S

I n t er act w i t h oth er ser v i ce

academy graduates

AFA Society of North Carolina - The summer was pretty quiet for the society.

But in the fall, thirteen society members got together with 16 Navy grads to watch the AFA-Navy football game.

Al amo Chapter - Around 30 gradu ates gathered at the house of Chapter President Brig. Gen. Dutch Remkes, ’77, to watch the AF-Navy game. We

cheered and hollered as best we could,

but couldn’t rally the Falcons towards a win and the CINC’s trophy! Then Nov. 20, the San Antonio Tri-Service Academy

the group hiked up to Inspiration Point, while others had a challenging round of golf. Afterwards, everybody met up for a barbecue and picnic by the pool. T he event was quite a success - with an in credible group and lots of good laughs.

In November, we met up with West Point alumni for the Air Force-Army game.

changes by the other academies to fi eld a great softball team at Bicentennial Park. On Sept. 4, we enjoyed our annual fall barbecue at Rick and Kathleen Grandj ean’s, ’69, home. In late September, chapter members participated in the 12th Annual Service Academy Golf Classic. On Nov. 20, our members played in the annual tri-service

North Texas Association - The chapter had a great second half of the year with four main events. On Aug. 14, we overcame

Northwest Florida Chapter - We met at our local sports bar to cheer on the Falcons against BYU - but came away disappointed.

m

The At lant a fait hf ul gat her wit h t he 'SWABS” for t he game.

G ol f T our nam en t t h at w as rai ned out i n

October took place. The event always serves as an excellent opportunity for USAFA graduates to socialize and mingle with graduates of Annapolis and West Point. A big thanks to Forrest James, ’88, for coordinating with the Navy and Army contacts to make this happen.

Atl anta Chapter - On Sept. 30, chap ter members gathered at Jock and Jill’s Sports Bar in Brookhaven to watch “T he Game” with the salty fellows of the Naval Academy alumni group. Bill M organ, ’65; Keith Willi ams, ’77; John Disosway, ’70; Rick Zurbrugg,

No rt h e rn Ca lif o r n ia

members kicking back at t he pool.

’6 5 ; an d ot h ers at t en d ed .

Badger Chapter (Wise.) - Thanks to everyone that came out and watched AF give Navy a good run for their money - we had about 15 attendees, but more impor tantly, we had a good time. Stayed tuned for

N o r t h Te x a s s o f t b a ll t e a m .

fut ure events.

Northern Californi a - In September we j oined Naval Academy alumni at various places around the Bay Area to watch the game. In October, chapter members had a great time at the annual Sports Picnic at the Moraga Country Club. Some of 10 6

C H E C K PO I N T S

Link t o Chapter Web sites at www.usa f a.org Southwest Ohio Chapter - The chapter continues to gather in the club for satellite

years running I think, the full fi eld of 100+ golfers had a great day and allowed us to make

remain faithful supporters.

Graduates. AOG Regional Development Director SerenaAernie came to Wright-Pat terson AFB to accept the check from AFMC Vice Commander, Lt. Gen. Dick Reynolds, ’72. Maj . Mark Williams, ’79, was again the moving force behind all the hard work required to pull this event together.

t elecast s of A F Falcons foot ball . O ur fans

G OA L 6

Give back to the community

Alamo Chapter - The fi rst ever Alamo A O G Yard Sale w as held at t he T im ber-

wood Park community garage sale on Nov. 6. The chapter will use the proceeds to fund a local candidate attending summer scien t ifi c sem i nar at U SA FA .

Badger Chapter (Wise.) - We are in the process of voting to support a char ity. Our fi rst pick isThe Fisher House, an organization that helps military members who are seriously injured and must receive extended medical care away from their families. Our goal is to collect airline miles from other people so that they can be combined and offered to family members wanting to visit their inj ured son/daughter. For more information, visit wvm .fi sherhouse.org.

G OA L ?

Support the needs and obj ectives of theAcademy

Badger Chapter (Wise.) - Thanks to everyone that came out to support

U SA FA m en ’s b ask et b al l at t h e t o u r n a m en t h er e i n M i l w au k ee N o v . 14 . I n

addition to supporting the team against Jacksonville State at the Bradley Center, we were able to have a brief meeting to discuss chapter business.

Heartland-LeMay Chapter (Neb.) - On Sept. 25, a small group of grads joined a larger AF crowd that cheered for the Falcon’s men’s soccer team when they played Creighton University at CU’s new soccer complex in downtown Omaha.

Southwest Ohio Chapter - The chapter held its 5th annual golf outing in August. Despite the predictablewinner, the same team three

a $1,000 contribution to the Association of

A f fi n i t Academy Women - Academy Women, are you looking for a mentor or would you like to be a mentor?Would you like to connect with other academy women in your area or would you like to ask an academy woman from the Navy, Marines, Army or Coast Guard a question?Well, the new organization. Academy Women can help. If you become a member at wvm .academywomen.org, you will be able

t o search the dat abase fi lled w ith m ore t han

400 other women service academy alumni and contact them with questions, advice or insight. Membership is free and the network is set up to allow members to seek out their ow n m ent ors, based on crit eria

they decide. The network is protected and a wonderful resource to bring the the grow ing group of women alumni together for personal and professional enrichment.

Space Group - The Space Group has been in continuing discussions with theAcademy and AOG leadership regarding space-related programs at the Academy. In July 2004, the superintendent hosted the fi rst Graduate Leadership Conference, to share on-going initiatives with the graduate community.

In that forum, the Space Group had the opportunity to discuss our perspectives and activities with the superintendent and

We also had comprehensive meetings with the faculty in September, which highlighted the many new and compre hensive space programs now underway, especially the Aim Higher program and the development of the Space Operations and Engineering Laboratory (more information is available at vm w.usafaspace.tripod.com).

There is renewed interest at the Academy in forming strong connections with external space organizations, such as the Space Group, the Space Foundation in Colorado Springs, and AF Space Command. More than ever, the Space Group has opportuni ties to support cadet and faculty activities.

We are especially interested in the initia tive to refocus Academy strategic studies programs toward space, and develop ment of a “space track.” In addition, the Falconsat and other space engineering and technology programs are maturing, and the Space Group continues to participate in design reviews and provide other advisory and support roles.

The mentor/advisor program we started several years ago offers an opportunity for cadets (and faculty) to contact our members to gain new perspectives on space-related jobs and careers. We are fi nding a growing need for these k i nds of ext ernal cont acts to

support cadet development and preparation for roles after graduation.

Finally, we are working with cadet orga nizations, such as the Space Club and the USAFA chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, to help meet their objectives to expose cadets to space developments. Graduates interested in participating in this broadly-focused Group

w i l l fi n d co n t act i n f o r m at i o n o n o u r W eb

site at wvm .usafa.org.

com m andant , and to learn m ore about thei r

planned space-related developments.

C H E C K PO I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

10 7

C a d e t R u n n i n g S u it s C a d e t is s u e it e m .

S - XXL (Sizes run large) Available t o members only.

Dark blue w it h ref lect ive st rips Ja c ket s

,$ 1 3 5 .0 0

P a n t s .. .

,.. $ 8 0 .0 0

Cre w Sw e a t s h irt s Crewneck sweatshirt . Feat ures “Air Force" applique wit h “Academy” embroidered beneat h.

Available in Blue or Gray. ,$ 4 0 .0 0

S -X L

S Ho o d e d Z ip Sw e at s Hooded sweatshirt wit h pockets. Full length zipper or wit hout zipper.

<

Feat ures “Air Force” applique wit h “Academy” embroidered b e n e a t h .

Available in Blue or Gray. ,$ 4 5 .0 0

S -X L

Ca d et Sw e at Su it s ^ T-S h i rt s & Sho rt s

Cadet issue items. Oversized t o accommodat e shrinkage. A v a i la b le to members only.

Tops (S-XXL) ....

,$ 4 5 .0 0

Pants (S-XXL) ..

T-Shirt (S-XXL) .

,$ 4 0 .0 0

Shorts (S-XXL)

,$ 1 5 .7 5

.$ 10 .5 0

Ja c k e t Dark Navy wit h new AOG logo on t he lef t . Cotton/ nylon (70/ 3 0 ) shell wit h polyest er/ poplin lining. St ain and water r e s is t a n t .

S -XX L

,$ 6 3 .7 5

Sh op o n l in e 2 4 h o u r s

a d ay a t w w w. u s a f a .o rg

>

S h i rt s Polo Shirts by Cutt er & Buck. 10 0% cotton wit h new AOG logo.

Available in dark navy and w hit e.

S -XX X L .

$ 3 9 .5 0

Denim Shirt s by Vant age. Long sleeve wit h new AOG logo.

S -XX X L

$ 4 0 .7 5

S Tie s 100% silk. Repeat ing silver-colored AFA/ AOG mot if under a stylized Prop & Wing. Two basic colors f rom which to choose. Red wit h gold, blue, and silver accent st ripes. Blue wit h gold, red and silver accent st ripes.

Regular lengt h ....

$ 2 8 .0 0

Ext ra long lengt h

$ 2 9 .0 0

1 Sa be r Official Unit ed St ates Air Force Academy Cadet Saber. * Available to Graduate members only. ,$ 1 9 2 .2 5

S a b e r w it h s c a b b a rd

L ic e n s e P ia t e Fra m e s Three styles f rom which t o choose.

FALCONS - White lettering on a blue background

m A tft w aw c E a c a d e m y

ALUMNI - White lett ering on a blue background PARENT - White lett ering on a blue background Ea c h f ra m e

$

6 .2 5

Any two f rames. . . $ 10 .50

P ia a u e s Marble plaque Et c hed f a lco n o n w h it e m a rb le . . $ 7 2 .7 5

Walnut plaque Laser engraved of t he cadet area. Can b e purchased wit h or wit hout a plate suit able for engraving.

1 5'

$ 1 14 .5 0 ik

r m

Prices, styles and colors aresubj ect to change.

Bo o k s a n d V id e o s

n

.$ 4 .2 5

Int o t he M out h of t he Cat * The story of Lance Sij an, ’ 6 5 The Isk ra Incident Autographed by Grad, aut hor Jimmie But ler, ’63 Red Light ning, Black Thunder Aut ographed by Grad, aut hor Jim m ie B ut le r, ’6 3 Separat ed by War Aut ographed by Grad, aut hor Ed Herlik, ’ 8 0 The Secret Life of Waldo F. Dumbsquat * Aut ographed by Grad aut hor Don Hall, ’76 ,

,$ 2 0 .7 5 .$ 2 3 .0 0

.$ 26 .00 .$ 10 .50 .$ 3 9 .5 0

Honor B ound

Ret urn Wit h Honor Document ary of t he experiences of P O W s i n V ie t n a m V id e o

,$ 1 9 .7 5

DV D

$ 2 5 .0 0

Spirit and Flight A photographic salute to t he USAF Academy. Over 150 $ 10 .0 0 color photographs. Sponsored by t he AOG. By Elizabet h G ill L u i Ex p ect Grea t Thi ngs Hist orical document ary of t he first 50 years of t he U.S. Air Force Academy. $ 14 .9 5

V id e o o r D V D

(* = Paperback)

Cla s s No t e b o o k s Two-tone gray suede cover, j unior legal size (6 ” x 9 ”), wit h class crest embossed on f ront and $ 12 .50 class color st ripe; inside not e pad and pen; available for t he following classes only. ’6 6

’9 1

’9 2

’9 4

’9 5

’9 7

’9 8

’9 9

’0 0

’0 1

’0 3

A O G A c c e s s o r ie s & Ot h e r it e m s D E CA L S

Class crests on a window decal (self-adhesive t o inside of glass) for all years t hrough ’03 . Specify class y e a r.

<

C la s s D e c a ls

,$ 1.25

AOG Membership Decal

,$

SQUADRON PINS Pins match patches current ly used by squadrons (Please specify squadron)

,$ 5 .0 0

1 .2 5 N O TE CA R D S

H ON OR M E DA L L I ON

A 2 1/ 2 ” diameter brass medallion wit h t he Honor Code on one side and Prop & Wings on t he o t h e r.

$ 1 2 .5 0

H o n o r M e d a l l io n B L AZ E R PA TC H ES

Pin-back patch embroidered wit h appropriate crest .

A O G B la z e r Pa t c h

,$ 1 9 .7 5

A FA B la z e r Pa t c h

,$ 1 9 .7 5

C la s s o f ’ 5 9 B la z e r P a t c h

,$ 1 9 .7 5

C la s s o f ’ 6 0 B la z e r P a t c h

,$ 19 .75

,$ 15 .75

Falcon Notecards. Set of 10 wit h envelopes ..

Phoenix Notecards. Set of 10 wit h envelopes

,$ 1 5 .7 5

JE W EL R Y

St erling Silver AOG Charm St erling Silver AOG Tie Tack Polaris Pin, white gold or yellow gold wit h diamond

,$ 2 5 .0 0 ,$ 2 5 .0 0 ,$ 7 1 .7 5

w it ho ut d ia m o nd ....$ 4 3 .7 5

$ 10 9 .2 5 Prop and Wings, 14 kt gold wit h diamond wit hout diamond ....$8 8 .50 H A TS

K E YC H A I N S

,$ 2 .25

Blue keychain wit h silver AOG crest M A G N E TS

4/ $ 1.00

AOG or USAFA. Blue, silver, gold or red

AFA hat w/ class year. Navy blue w/ embroidered AFA crest a n d class year. Please specify class year. ,$ 1 8 .7 5 Adj ust able leat her st rap for size, AOG hat . Navy blue wit h brown bill. ,$ 1 6 .7 5 Adj ust able st rap for fit

C l a s s C r e s t e d IVI e r c h a n d i s e T h e A O G h a s o b t a i n e d e x c e s s m e r c h a n d is e f r o m t h e V i s it o r s Cent er t hat remained f rom recent g raduat ing c la s s e s a n d r e u n io n s .

Items are in limited quant it ies, sizes and colors and availability varies f rom class to class and includes: sweatshirts, clipper j ackets, T-s h irt s , b ut t o ns , et c .

This merchandise is only available for t he following c la s s e s :

’6 9

74

’8 6

’8 7

’8 8

’8 9

’9 5

’9 6

’9 7

’9 8

’9 9

’0 0

’0 1

Part ial list ing of available class crest ed it ems can be found on AOG web page under “ merchandise/ special s a le it e m s . ” Yo u c a n also e-mail merc handise@aog-usafa.org or call (719) 4 7 2 -0 3 0 0 .

Prices, styles and colors aresubj ect to change.

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A sso c iat i o n o f G r a d u at e U N I T ED ST AT ES A I R FO RC E A C A D EM Y

The 37,000 graduates of the Long Blue Line proudly congratulate the U.S. Air Force Academy on 50 years of service and ex c e l len c e t o t h e n at io n .

/

A s s o c ia t io n o f G ra d u a t e s

,

O f C H A RA'

3116 Academy Drive

USA FA , C O 80840-4475

(719) 472-0300, www.usafa.org

On s al e n o w :

Expect Great Things: The first 50 years of the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Expect Great Things is a comprehensive 50-year history of the U.S. Air Force Academy. Beginning with a vision for a U.S. Air Force separate from the other military services, the inception of an Air Force Academy, and its founding at Lowry Air Force Base, this captivating documentary features the construction of the Academy in Colorado Springs, presidential visits, and t he development of the Academy’s impressive character development, academic, military training and athletic programs.

To reserve your copy of this anniversary-issue DVD or VMS, call the Association of Graduates at (719) 4 72 -0 30 0 .

Cost: $14.95 plus shipping and handling. Sponsored by the Association of Graduates and The Friends of t he A ir Fo rce

Academy Library.

a

n ee u p on a t i m e

•

•

•

Grads, rememberall thegreatstoriesyouandyourclassmatesshared with oneanother at your

last reunion?Well now is your chance to share some of the most important memories of your life with the 22,000 readers of Checkpoints magazine, which includes the entire Cadet Wing.

As the Academy and the Association of

FEE SHC^

A ( N SERMi

Graduates begin a four-year celebration of the institutions 50th anniversary, the staff of Checkpoints wants to publish some of your cadet experiences and stories of how your four years at the Academy affected your career and life.

Although we can’t guarantee every sub mission will be published, we hope that many of you will take time to share your fi rst-hand account of the Long Blue Line’s heritage and history. Please keep your story between 500- 2000 words. If you have photos to include with the story, please include them, too. Digital copies of photos

must be in “jpg” fi le format, at a resolution of no less than 300 dots per inch at a dimension of 5 x 7 inches. For more information or if you have any questions, please contact Ken Wright at (719) 472-0300 or ken.wright@usafa.af mil.

Please e-mail your story and photos to editor@usafa.org. If you choose to mail your story, please include a digital copy of your story and photos on a CD or fl oppy disk. Microsoft Word fi les are preferred for the text documents. The submission deadline for the spring 2004 issue of Checkpoints is March 31. The deadline for the summer edition is June 30.

C H E C K P O I N T S, FA L L 2 0 0 4

1 13

Don^t be the missing piece!

Update your biographical information & ►Receiveup-to-datei nf o r m at io n \

^

onyour reunionandAlumni Chapters

► Ensure you receive the latest

issue of Checkpoints magazine and Register of Graduates

I

Keep in touch with the current ev e n t s a n d a c t iv it i e s a t t h e A i r

Force Academy Keep in touch with your classmates

Update your bio today

by visiting the AOG Web site

www.usafa.org o r call

(719) 4 72-0300

Commemorat ive Pavers Forever preserve a moment in stone.

'M emormfizea foved one 1-ionor m acfim ement

In recognit ion of your $250 t ax-deduct ible gift t o t he Associat ion of Graduat es, a 4” x 6” granit e commemorat ive paver w ill be permanent ly placed near t he ent ranceway at D o o lit t le H all. Fo r mo r e info r mat io n, co nt act G r eg K n e d l e r at (7 19) 472-0300, gregor y,knedler@usafa.af.mil or visit t he A O G o nline at w w w.usafa.o r g.

hg a . fc j

^ Ascadetsand graduatesof theAcademy, you hold integrity in the highest regard. Your offi cial ring is created w i t h t h at sa m e

integrity by Jostens, your partner in expressing pride

in the United StatesAir ForceAcademy.

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anywhere in the country • School reports and

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jf . ‘ i

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C h e c k o u r w e b s it e o r c a l l u s f ir s t w w w .Sk o raT eam .co m

(800) 719-9909, (719) 488-8314

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ni J OB at Dy na s t y Mo r t g a g e USAF, Ret ^t ^lass of 1978 (7 19) 572-0456, (800) 239-4822

T hanks for

yo u r serv ice^ t

©GEICO ^

M IL IT A R Y

b ut no t fo rg o t t e n I van M unningh off, '67 Lt . G.C. Norwood wrote “Because I fl y I laugh m ore th an ot h er m en .”

Ivan’s lifelong goal was to fl y. And fl y he did. Eighteen of his tw enty yearsasan Air Forceoffi cer werespent in thewild blue yonder teachin g othersan appreciation for thelifethat h e so l ov ed . H e fl ew th e T-37, T-38, T-

41 and T-28, attaining the rating of

com m an d pilot an d th e rank of lieu tenant colonel before retiring in 1987.

He spent his retirement years de signing, building and fl ying model air planes, experimental home-builts, and giving first rides in the Young Eagles Program sponsored by the Ex perimental Aircraft Association. He continued demonstrating thethrill of fl ying to the next generation of pilots just ashe had done for so many years during hisAi r Eorce career.

ated in 1965. Lee worked hard and was appointed to t h e A i r Fo r ce Academy. This was his life-long dream. His summersw ere spent in flight training after his appointment.

When he received his pilot’s license, he often rented a planewhich heflew h o m e o n w eek en d s.

1 m m.

II

I have flown m any hours wi th him .

Lee w as a dedicated pilot . H e truly

loved to fly. He was one who had a natural feel for flying. It gave him joy.

I feel very honored that he shared his

j oy with m e.

During the Vietnam War, he flew transports. Soon after thewar he re signed fr om the Air Force and fl ew

com m ercial aircraf t. Durin g this tim e

he met Vivian. They had a wonder

ful loving m arriage. Lee w as a caring

father to his stepdaughter Tami, and a doting grandfather t o Sh e a and Tarayn .

Ivan washappiest when hewas fl y ing. And yes, he did “laugh more than other men.” He l ef t u s i n Ju n e 2004 and is now fl ying on a higher plane. (Mrs. Ivan Munninghoff)

Lee was a sentient being moving through his worldly r eal m . I w il l n ev er h av e an o t h er f r i en d su ch as h i m . H e w i l l n ev er be forgott en .

Norwood’s poem “Because I fl y” so that readersmay sh ar e N or w o o d ’s

Jay W. Van Pel t, 7 1

I van M unningh off

(Doug Mills, Lee’scousin and best friend)

[Editor’s note: M rs. M unninghoff requested th at w e publish Lt . G.C.

w ork.]

Becausel Qy

I laugh more than other men

Hook up An d see m ore th an they I k n o w h o w cl o u d s f eel

Wh at i t ’s lik e to h ave th e bl ue in m y lap To l o o k d o w n

On bir ds

To feel fr eedom isa thing called a stick Wh o b ut I

Can sli ce between God ’s billow legs

And feel them laugh and crash

Wi th His step s Who else has seen th e un clim bed p eaks?

Th e r ai n b o w ’s se c r e t ?

Th e real reason bir ds sin g?

Becausel fly I en vy n o m an on ear th .

(Lt . G.C. N orw ood)

Jay Van Pelt lived hislife simply and well (oh so very w ell). H is byline wasKISS... and accordingly, I will meet hisexpectationsw i t h t h i s sh o r t r em em b r an ce.

Jay passed away unexpectedly on March 1, 2004, while o n t em p o rary duty with theAir National Guard in Tampa, Fla., in the 54th year o f life.

He graduated from USAFA in 1971and went on to a distinguished aerospace and military career exemplified by his leadership an d camaraderie. He was serving in the position of Assistant f or Prop erty and Fiscal Af fairswithin the National Guard Bureau as the prin ciple advisor to the Chief, National Guard Bureau. H e ser v ed m o r e than 26 years in theAir Force and Air National Guard as an F -4 , RF 4C, and KC-135 pilot, and from 1996 to 1998 he was co m m an d er o f the 181st Fighter Wing (F-16), Indiana National Guard. In additi on .

Jay’s experience included 10 years in the aerospace in dust ry as an analyst , proj ect engineer and manager, primarily for th e Northrop and Rockwell corporationswhere he contributed to the F -20 , YR -23 and National Aerospace Plane programs. In 2001-2002 he com pleted a degree in science education and taught a semester of 8th grade sc i e n c e .

GeorgeLeeDaves, '69 Lee Daves was my fi rst cousin and became my best friend. W h e n wewere growing up, I only saw him during the summer m o n t h s w h e n he came home with his family on vacation. His father. C l i f f D av es,

w as a career Air Force m an and th e fam ily lived on n u m er o u s b ases.

I rem em ber that th ey w ere stationed in Japan durin g 19 6 2 . T h e s t o ries that Lee told m e w ere so exciting that I could n o t w a i t t o se e h i m again .

In alifetime, not many of usmeet a hero. I’m alucky one. The greatest hero of my lifewas my older brother. Growing up ahead o f m e, h e w as

F o r m o r e cu r r en t i n f o r m at i o n ab o u t

gr aduate deaths, please vi sit the AOG web site. www.usafa.org

Lee’s father retired and the family moved back to our h o m et ow n just before school started in 1963. Wewere classmates an d w e gradu-

1 17

that poster board, in-his-own-way, swashbuckling good guy that stood

am idst life’s pressures and current s an d turbulence... l ik e a Ro ck ...

which wasoneof hismany nicknames. It issmall wonder I fol low ed h i s flight path to the USAFA and so too became a fighter pil ot .

In all my more than 20 years of travel in theAir Force, people sought me out to let me know that they knew Jay... and the m e ssa g e w a s always the same: what a good, decent human being... someone that pulled out his six-shooter and shot straight, not harshly, but with a genuineness that said truth was important; some one that they were proud to know — that they felt privileged to call a friend.

Growing up, our family of fi ve broth er s an d o u r M o t h er an d Fat h er l iv ed a

CS-35. PJwould hoist you up to the door, hand you a beer, drop you back into the water, and proceed to drag you across Biscayn e Bay. When Phil wasn’t flying, he could be found on the golf c o u r se . H e was often asked to play with visiting VI Ps, including G e n e r a l “Chappie” Jam es. When asked what General Jam es sai d t o h i m w h en

hewasfi rst introduced, Phil responded with a grin, “Son it ’s your turn t o tee of f.” Classi c PJ.

Upon leaving the Air Force in 1979, Phil was employed i n sal es.

When work and travel required him to be away from his daught er Whitney, Phil resigned. One of PJ’s customerswasJacques C o u s t e a u and his ship. Calypso. Phil also sold a variety of air craft p art s an d became the key contact with aircraft makers around t h e w o r l d . H e attended air shows in Paris and Great Britain displaying his companies’ product s. Wanting t o settle WM

wondrous, fun-filled, exciting, raucous-at-times, and in so many ways

r

^

an i deal life. Jay w oul d w ant m e t o

acknowledge the integral role our par ents have always played in our lives

And wewill know that a great man oncelived... that a hero amongst us is gone. But his legacy of service to his country, h i s d ev o t i o n t o h i s family and friends, his love so great lives on... into an et ernity that gratefully awaits us too. A hero has landed safely o n h i s fi n al so r t i e.

(Car l Van Pel t, 7 5)

Phillip J. Ol son, '73 Phillip John Olson, aka “PJ” to his friends, passed aw ay on D ec. 16, 2003 aft er a valiant fi ght with cancer. Born and raised i n W i sco n si n , PJ played soft ball , golf , and att ended th e Ai r Force Academy Prep Sch ool . PJ w as a n atural leader w ho loved life an d valued his many friendships. During BCT — as a member of “Indian” Squadron — PJ and his roommate showed up for a shower formation wearing n o t h ing but ascots. The upperclassmen were impressed. Even t hou gh car ownership was discouraged, PJmanaged to maintain a vi ntage

Austin H ealy Sprite downtown and w oul dn’t hesitate t o l en d i t . W h en the Class of 1973 came of age, PJbought a Corvette an d spent m any hours tearing apart the carburetor or installing glass pipes in his d o r m r o om .

Aft er graduat ion, Phil m arried and w ent t o H om est ead APB to fly

the UH- I N. A typical sortie involved counting gators and patrolling the sundecks of Key Biscayne. Flying support for the U SA F W a t e r Su r vival School, PJwould oft en pick up pilots with his chopp er an d at tached sling. He added a new twist; especially for c l a ssm a t e s fr o m 1 18

sales per son n el in t act ics on h ow t o

Phil remarried in 1982 and gained a

new fam ily. Wh en one of his n ew chil d r en su f fer ed a h o r r en d o u s au t o acci

dent, PJ developed and patented a board game for hi m called “Funderball”. Not to long before he passed away, PJsang a song to me over

Jay Van Pel t

m ov e i n t o o u r h ear t s an d f o r ev er r eso n at e w i t h i n u s.

I pany in Chicago wherehetrained m ak e t h e sal e .

f

— Jay w oul d say th ey breathed l ife

int o us at the beginning and the guidance and support they’ve pro vided us since has never moved any farther away.

It’s also important for you to know that Jay’s greatest accom plish ment was his marriage and his family. Teresa, like Jay, has been an d is a Rock; they were cut from the same stone. If you kn ow the girls, Jermifer, Sarah, and Alison, you’ll seetoday. Jay shining through them.

And the best part of knowing them is to see the crystal presen ce in their character of who Jay was as a person. There is no greater tribut e to Jay an d no greater gif t for them than to kn ow th at Jay glowsthrough his girls’ golden character.As Heraclites said, “A person’s character is their destiny.”

The clarion of redemption could not sound clearer nor l o u d er t h an it does for our beloved Jay W. His presence is with u s n o w a n d w i l l

I down, hetook aposition with acom-

P h i l O l so n

the ph on e th at h e h ad w ritt en for a grandchild in w hich h e described the child w at ching the cart oon ch aract er “Sponge Bob.” I had n o idea w h at h e w as singing about . As Phil battled can

cer, hisdaughter Whitney conceived a child. Phil’s o n e w i sh w as t o see and hold his new grandchild — Colton Phillip Clark. C o l t o n ar r iv ed 22 days after his death.

Phil played competitive softball until he was 50 — as a l ef t-h an d ed pitcher. He developed a step-out delivery that baffl ed opposing bat ters. PJalso enjoyed karaoke after the games. In fact, PJ had planned

on singing at our 30-year reuni on until can cer robbed h i m o f h i s v o i ce.

PJwas remarkably upbeat while undergoing chemo and r a d i a t i o n .

He talked about how he was going to beat “it”. When our 30-year re union commenced, we all thought that PJwould be absent; how ever, when Phil wheeled in therewasn’t a dry eye in the place. Even th ough he was in constant pain, PJlaughed and joked with th at dry sense of humor that was typical PJ. From early on Phil loved Roy Rogers, and his RR memorabilia fi l l e d his home. At Phil’s request, the fi nal song played at h i s m em o r i al service w as: “Happy Trails t o You”.

PJ touched many souls. He especially touched those o f u s i n t h e Classof 1973, Cadet Squadron 35. Wewere truly blessed t o h av e call ed him friend. Happy trails to you — PJ! (SteveDretar, 7 3)

Ron al d M . Long, '79 Ron al d Long died on Jun e 2n d, 2004 aft er an accidental f a l l a t h i s hom e. H e w as 47 years old.

Aft er excelling in swimming, scouting, and academicsin high school, Ron entered theAir ForceAcademy in 1975. Despite the rigors of ca det life, Ron maintained a more relaxed approach and always made time for his hobbies and friends. Classmates cramming f o r ex am s an d training w ould alw ays be am azed how Ron m ade tim e f o r t h e

latest MASH episode or the next party. But despite his casual si de, Ron was extremely proud of his USAFA graduation; he c o n si d er ed i t

one of his greatest achievements and always wore his class ring.

After UPT at VanceAFB and a C-130 assignment at Little Rock AFB, Ron left active duty and return ed to his native Georgia. H e w o r k ed f or the city of Savannah and soon combined his love of fl ying with his municipal job by overseeing the city’s mosquito control program . He loved the low-level fl ying and the sense of “mission” i n h i s w o r k , an d

particularly enjoyed having his family over on Christmas Ev e; h e’d prepare and clean house daysin advance. Ron will alwaysb e r e m e m bered as a very generous person, one who would go out of his w ay to help friends and family.

Ron, our friend, you are missed. (From Ron's family, w i th '79 cl ass m ates Pete Bergam ini an d Gr eg Roun tr ee)

soon becam e an expert in th e fi eld of

aerial pest control. When he later went

K evi n M . Sh ea, '89

featured in several prominent Orlando

On Sept. 14 we lost a husband and father. We lost a so n an d b r o th er.

W e l o st a l ead er an d w ar r i o r. W e l o st o u r f ri en d . I w as deeply saddened

t o w o r k i n cen t r al Fl o r i d a, h i s w o r k w as n e w sp a p e r s .

/ / m

Ron h ad m any t alent s an d hobbies

outsideof fl ying. Heloved boatingand

*

sailing, and was an accomplished

known that year as a man of strength,

p windsurfer. He enjoyed movies and y reading, particularly Pat Conroy nov#

Jing.H ew asalsoanexcelentartist,and som e of us still have paint ings h e per Ron’s favorit e hobby w as ent ert ain

Ron Long

courage, conviction — with a spirit that could fi ght as easily as he could laugh

I .

els about the m ilitary and south ern liv-

so n a l i z e d f o r u s .

\

— laugh at the world, laugh with his friends, laugh at himself. Kevin Shea w as a m an am o n g m en .

The report says that Kevin was killed

ii

by indirect fi reasheserved near Camp

ing and throughout his life, Ron al

w ay s m ad e t i m e f o r f am i l y an d friends. During an im port ant C- 130 ORI preparation m i ssi o n t o F t .

Stew art , Ron t ook the opport unity t o vi sit fam ily an d t h r o w a n i m prom ptu party, invi t ing the ent ire squadron as w ell . W h e n h e a n d a dozen classm at es w ere prom ot ed t o capt ain at Littl e Ro ck , Ro n h elped organize t he legendary 1983 “ Pro Party ”. Never o n e t o d i s crim inat e, Ron gathered base-w ide supp ort for th is ev en t , w h i ch had over 500 at tendees and a m ile of p arked cars! Wh ile livi ng n ear the w at er in Georgia, Ron loved havi ng his co-w orkers, f r i en d s, an d fam ily over for cookouts, oyst er roast s, an d birt hday part ies. H e

F o r m er M ar i n e A O C D i es at 69 Co l . Jam es A . M cGin n U SM C (Ret ) , 69, fo rm er A i r Of fi ce C o m m a n d

ing at th e Air Force Academ y, died at his hom e in Norfolk , Va. on July 21, 2004 aft er a 16-m onth battl e wi th can cer.

Jim w as born to Art and Alice M cGinn of Rock Falls, l U. on M arch 25, 1935. Graduat in g from Sterling H igh Sch o o l in 1952 h e l ef t h o m e t o att en d th e

Naval Academy Prep School in Washing t on, D.C. H e received an appointm ent

in 1953 and graduated with the Class of

1957 as m em ber of Seventh Com pany.

W in ged in N ovem b er 1959, Jim re port ed toVM F-451, El Toro, Calif, w here

he and the squadron madehistory asthe 1st squadron to fl y their F8U j et s f rom El Toro to Atsugi , Japan . He tran sitioned to

helicopters in 1963 fl ying with VMO-1, N ew Riv er , N .C .

In 1965 he reported to the USAF Academy for a tour as a Squadron (Company) OfBcer Ji m M cGin n [Air Of fi cer Comm anding]. Retum ingto fl y ing in 1968 he served with HM L-267 before shipping o u t t o V i e t n a m f o r combat duty with HM L-367. He return ed to Los Angeles, C a l i f , f o r O SO duty and to earn his M aster of Education degree at Loyola University.

Flying again in 1974, he took command of HMA-169 at Cam p Pendleton, Calif. A second, deployed com mand of HM M -165 fol low ed

Id olie rom a te — so m e o nIh a d

to lear n in late Septem ber th at Kevi n Shea w as killed in Iraq. I lost my

Falluj ah . Th e fact is that Kevi n Sh ea w ould have gone anywhere at anytim e

to serve his country and lead young

i i

K e vi n Sh e a

Am eri can s. Kevi n’s un ique ability to lead at any tim e in any sit uat ion w as

something he was very proud of and

very good at . I t i s al so som et h i n g

A m er i c a n s n e e d t o b e t h a n k f u l f o r - K ev i n h a s l e f t t h e w o r l d a b e t t e r

place, an d m any sons an d daugh ters are still alive b e c a u se K e v i n w a s th ere fo r all o f th em .

Kevi n w as testam ent t o Vince Lom bardi ’s fam ous quote t h a t l e a d -

in 1975. After four years in Washington D.C. at HQMC an d A SN , Ji m

returned t o An napolis in 1980 as Senior M arine an d D i r ect o r o f En

glish and History. Follow-on tours included G-4 4th M AW , CO M W SG 17 a n d C h i ef o f St af f 1st M AW b ef o r e h i s 19 8 7 r et i r em en t f r o m CO M N AVA I RL AN T i n N o r f o lk , Va. Jim continued a civi lian career as a high school guidan ce co u n sel o r

for the N orfolk Public Sch ool system , retiring in 1997. H e w as p resi dent of th e local Kiw anis, M CAA D arden -Schilt Squadron an d t h e N asam ond-on-the-Bay Condom inium and an act ive m em ber o f t h e Talbot Park Baptist Church .

Personal aw ards include tw o Legi ons of M erit , Distinguished Flying Cr o ss, B r o n z e St ar w i t h co m b at “ V ”, M er i t o r i o u s Ser v i ce M e d a l a n d

Ai r M edal w ith 26 strike fl ight aw ards.

He is survived by his m other, Alice, of Rock Falls, 111.; h i s w i f e o f 16 years, theformer Jo Ann Peck, of Norfolk,Va.; hisbrothers M ike, BUI and Davi d; hi s chUdren M Uce, KeUy, M ary and Peggy, and th eir m o th er, t h e form er Susan Fay; and eight gran dchUdren. His fath er, A r t h u r , an d

youngest brother, Jerry, preceded him in death.

M em orial servi ces w ere conducted at Talbot Park Baptist C h u r c h i n N orf olk on July 24th . Internm ent with m Uitary honors w as at Arling t on N at ional Cem et ery on August 25th .

F o r m o r e c u r r en t i n f o r m at i o n ab o u t

graduate deaths, please visit the AOG web site. www.usafa.org 1 19

ers are made, they are not born. Not all things came easy to Kevin - 1 recall with fondness now a very late night 1spent tryi ng to get him ready for a calculus graded review during the spring o f t h at d o o l i e year. Kevin returned from Spring Football practice that evening in dire need of a nap to restore his energy. Kevin and I a r o s e a t 0 1 0 0 t o begin “cramming” him for the test at 0630 that morning. 1 w a s c o n fi dent he knew enough to passthe test when we both went b ack t o b ed at 0400 for a couple m ore wi nks. I didn’t th ink m uch o f t h e t est u n t i l

Kevin and I went to thetest score “posting area” in Fai r ch il d H all a f ew days later. Kevin couldn’t curb his enthusiasm when h e f o u n d o u t that he had scored ten pointshigher than 1on the 500-point test . But this simple tale exemplifi es the tenacity and will t o w i n t h at K ev i n Shea brought to everything in his life. He worked hard.A n d t h i s h ar d work and refusal to give in to anything made him an excepti onal

I wan T. Sp ol sky, VO Captain John Spolsky, Class of 2000, dedicated offi cer, proud Fal con football player, faithful friend and loyal son an d brother, died in an automobile accident on Sept. 5, 2004. He was 26.

Born Iwan Tymko Spolsky on Dec. 19, 1977, John excelled as a ch il d both in school and on the athletic fi eld. Ashe grew into a young m an , it quickly became apparent that great things were in st o r e f o r th e Detroit, Michigan native. He en tered theAir ForceAcademy in June o f 1996 an d est ab l i sh ed h i m sel f as a

disciplin ed cadet , devot ed student ,

and stellar football player.

Asan intercollegiatefootball player, John’s physical strength, work ethic,

l ead er .

When Kevin learned that his eyesight would not allow h i m t o b e a pilot, he immediately began thinking and making plans so t h at h e could be in a position of combat leadership.When graduation r o l l e d

an d l ov e f o r h i s t eam m at es d i st i n

guished him from his peers. From a

h i st o r i c car eer at C at h o l i c C en t r al

around in M ay of 1989, he w as com m issioned as a Second L i e u t e n a n t

High School in which John anchored

in the U.S. Marine Corps. As a Marine, he excelled in everything he attempted— in every position the Corps challenged him w i t h . K ev i n served in the fi rst GulfWar and held several positions a s a c o m m u n i

a state-championship football team an d ear n ed t h e t i d e o f A l l -Am er i can

cat i o n s an d r eco n n ai ssan ce o f fi cer . H e ear n ed h i s M ast er ’s Degree in

Electrical Engineering for the Naval Postgraduate School prior to teaching, coaching and mentoring the next generation o f l ead er s at the U.S. Naval Academy.The midshipmen thought so highly o f K evi n that they made him an honorary member of the class of 2003. Quit e an honor for anyone, especially a zoomie!

M any of th e U SAFA Class of 1989 w ill rem em ber Kevi n Sh ea as a

member of the Football Team, the Rugby Team, CS-08 as a doolie, and CS-29 as an upperclassmen. They will also remember h i m as a generous person who would be a welcome member of any t e a m —

b ecau se sel fi sh n ess w as n ow h er e n ear h i s h ear t . W h en K e v i n w a s

killed, the future was certainly bright — he had been se l e c t e d f o r squadron command, hewas to pin on Lieutenant Colonel o n O ct . 1; and it was his 38th Birthday.

Kevin was the recipient of several military decorations an d aw ards, including the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Se r v i c e C o m mendation Medal, Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal w i t h Gold Star, Joint Servi ce Achievem ent M edal , Liberation M ed al Ku

wait and the Expert Rifleman Badge. He held ajumpmaster rating as a M arin e parachutist an d w as qualifi ed as a com bat SC U B A d i v e r .

Kevi n is survived by his wife. Am i, an d their tw o children , B r e n n a and Michael, ofTemecula, Calif.; hisparents,William an d Eileen Shea,

John Sp olsky

wresder, to a college career that in volved two bowl appearances, a con ference championship, and three Commander-in-Chief Trophies -

Joh n kn ew h ow t o w in . As th e sm all est n ose t ackl e in Division 1 football ,

John’s accomplishments were nothing short of legendary. Through sheer determinadon, John found waysto dominategamesan d an ch o r theAF defense. Yet, most importantly, John was an exem plary team mate. Simply put, John was his brother’s keeper. He w ould go to th e end of the earth to help a teammate in need and carried t h at sam e selfl ess attitude into the operational Air Force.

Upon commissioning, John was handpicked by the Falcon co ach ing staf f to rem ain at USAFA to coach an d m entor fourth -class st u d en t athletes. He spent coundess hours serving both the academy an d th e Falcon Football program ashedrelessly devoted hisfi rst year of acdve-

duty service to recruiting student-athletes to join th e A i r Fo r ce.

Following hisyear of coaching, John was stationed at Gr an d F o r k s Air Force Base, N.D. where he served as operations o f fi c er an d an t i terrorism expert in the 319‘^ Security Forces Squadron. T h e l esso n s that John learned both on thefootb^ l fi eld and at the academy were the foundations for his success in the operational A i r Fo r ce. Jo h n ’s willingness to take on any task, hispassion for perfect r e su l t s a n d h i s com m itm ent to th ose both above and below him , set th e t o n e f o r h i s

of Washington D.C.; hisbrothersTom Shea of Germantown, M d ., an d Dan Shea of Seattle,Wash.; his grandmother, Ellen Dee of Bowie, M d.;

endre squadron. After just a few short monthsin Grand Fo r k s, h e w as

On Wednesday, Sept. 29, at noon, the Naval Academy c o n d u c t e d a memorial service for Kevin in the Naval Academy Chapel. A t t h a t service Kevin received his posthumous promotion to L i e u t e n a n t Colonel, the Bronze Star with Valor Medal and the Purple H e a r t .

On Thursday, Sept. 30th, the funeral was held at Arlington N a t i o n al Cemetery with Catholic Servi ces in the Fort Myer Memorial Chapel .

A trust fund has been established through the Navy F ed er al Cr ed i t Union for the family. Donations may be made to the K e v i n M . Sh e a

an essential m ilit ary base.

an d num erous aunts, uncles an d oth er relatives.

M em orial Fund via the NFCU at 4180 Avenida De La Plata, Oceanside, C al i f . 92 056 .

Kevin, asyou look down on uswith Semper Fi, weknow you will still be Checking Six for all of us—we loveyou and miss you — unt il th e day we hope to join you and see your Irish eyes smile on us again .

(M aj . M ark Swen tk ofsk e, ’89) 12 0

sent t o Qat ar w here he served over 10 m onth s in th e in itial st ages of

Operation Enduring Freedom guiding the set-up and protection o f

Upon his return from Qatar, John completed a rigorous A i r F o r c e screening course designed to carefully select only a h an d f ul o f sk i ll ed military professionalsto represent theAir Force at Army Ran ger School.

Af ter fi nishing in the top fi ve out of the more than 20 w h o st art ed, John earned a coveted spot at the challengingArmy Ranger School in Fort Benning, Ga. Af ter three months and despite an at t r i t i o n r at e o f 75 percent, John graduated from Army Ranger School. H e is th e only Air Force offi cer in the past 11years to graduate from the demanding program. Following a short period of leave with his fam ily in M ichi gan , John w as t o be st ation ed at Osan Ai r Base, Korea.

While John’s accom plishm ents w ere rem arkable, to those o f u s w h o

knew John it was what we came to expect from him. In r et r o sp ect , John’s most amazing quality was his complete modesty and hum ility

V .

despite his countless accomplishments. John greeted su ccess w i t h a smile and quickly passed the credit on to those who helped h im on

t h e r o ad t o su ccess.

John is survived by his m oth er, Norita (Sorent ino) Sullivan ; st epfa

ther Tim, brother Charles, stepbrothers Timothy and D aniel , and stepsisters Elizabeth (Anthony) Lightle and Courtney Su l l iv an . O u r thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

John’s encouraging and powerful smile, his zeal for life, positive at

titude and com m itm ent to others will never be forgotten. Joh n w as a hero, a w arrior, a team m ate, and our broth er. John’s m em ory vvdll live on in the countless lives he touched al ong his w ay. M ay the Lord Bless our brother John an d call him hom e. H e will be m issed. (C.J. Z an o t ti , ’00, an d M ik e Belar do, ’00)

eight he decided hewanted to attend theAir ForceAcademy and be come an officer and a pilot. Hewas an Eagle Scout a n d v a l e d i c t o r i a n of hishigh school. He received appointmentstoWest Point, Annapo lis, and theAir ForceAcademy. He also received the c o v e t e d f u l l - r i d e

Boett cher scholarship to the Colorado

college of his choice. He fulfilled his ' ' dream by attending theAir ForceAcad emy, graduating in 2001. He spent his .m t i

I tiesof Sept. 11,2001. j

h is C- 17 qualification trainin g. From

A l t u s h e w en t t o Ch ar l est o n A FB in N o v em b er 2003 w h er e h e f l ew 34 so r t i es

P' Lt. Steven J. Hatton, a combat pilot of the437* AirliftWing, M* Air Squadron, drowned on June 22,2004 while on crew rest in Sigonella, Itd y. Lieutenant Hatton is survived by his parents, R o n a l d a n d B a r

O B I T U A RY P O L I CY EX P L A I N E D We have had a num ber of inquiries on our policy concerning o b i t u

aries for deceased graduates and cadets. Some graduatesh a v e n o t e d

that w hile w e have list ed a graduate’s death in the “A t P r e s s T i m e ” sect ion of “Gone But Not Forgotten ,” the graduate’s obituary never appeared in the m agazin e.

Our policy isto write to the next-of-kin a reasonable a m o u n t o f t i m e

(usually two weeks or so) after the death, and request f r o m t h a t i n d i

vidual (w ife, parent , et c.) an obituary wr itt en by a classm at e, friend or family member.We also ask for copies of obituaries w hich m ight have appeared in local new spapers. If w e do not have a current pho tograph, we ask the next-of-kin to lend one to us (the phot o is re turned w hen the m agazine is published).

If w e do not receive a response to our fi rst letter f r o m t h e n ex t - o f - k i n in a m onth , w e wr ite a follow -up lett er asking for th e obituary again an d inform ing the in divi dual that this wi ll be our last request for th e ar ticle. If w e do not receive a response to our second lett er, an obitu ary is not published.

Wh en the obituary or a death n otice are publi shed, w e give the

next-of-kin a one-year complimentary associate membership i n t h e

association beginning with the magazine in which the obituary or

death n otice appears. Wh en the on e-year m em bership expires, w e invite the next -of-kin to j oin as a regular associate m em b er i f sh e / h e d e si r e s .

Li fe m em b ersh ip du es are n ot t ran sf erabl e t o t h e graduat e’s spouse, unl ess the life m em bership w as j oint , in w hich c a s e i t d o e s t ransfer to the spouse. How ever, if the life m em ber has purchased th e “survivorship” option for their spouse, then their s p o u s e c a n e x ercise m em ber ben efi t s until their own death . If you w i sh t o a d d “survivorship” to your life m em bership, contact our m em bership de partm ent for det ails and prices.

F o r m o r e c u r r en t i n f o r m a t i o n ab o u t

graduate deaths, pl ease vi sit th e AOG w eb site. www.usafa.org

He attended undergraduate pilot

j training at Vance AFB, Okla., followed by three months at AltusAFB, Okla. for

Stev en J. H a t t on , '0 1

bara; tw o brothers, Christopher (Jean) an d Jef frey ; an d a sister,Wendy (Chris M ast); one nephew and tw o nieces.

Lieutenant Hatton, 25, grew up in Lakewood, Colo.And at th e age of

casual status at Of futt AFB, Neb. w here

^ hewasinvolved in the aftermath activi-

and logged 153 combat flying hours in

t h e C - 17 .

Ste v e H a t to n

“Lieutenan t Hatt on w as a fi ne offi cer,

an outstanding aviator and a phenom

enal person,” said Lt . Col . A. J. M cM illan, 14AS Com m ander. “ H e w a s a t op contributor to the M AS m ission an d a proven C- 17A c o m b a t vet eran in both Operation Iraqi and Operat ion Enduring F r e e d o m .

He w ill be sorely m issed.”

H is parents said even though h e w as th e youngest , his personality and character w ere an exam ple an d insp irat ion t o the entire family and to his m any, m any frien ds.

L i eu t en an t H at t o n ’s aw ar d s an d d ec o r at i o n s i n cl u d ed t h e A i r

M edal , an Ai r Force Com m endation M edal , Global War o n T e r r o r i sm M edal , Trainin g Ribbon , Lon gevity Ribb on , Out stan ding U n i t R i b bon w ith on e devi ce, an d th e N at ional D efense Service M ed al . (H i s fam ily) At press time we had learn ed of the deaths of the following gr adu at es: Mr. Bruce V Linscott , Class of 1964 who died on April 2 5 , 2000 of a h ear t at t ack in Fli n t , Tex as.

Mr. Raym ond P. Perkowski, Class of 1965, who di ed on Sept .

9, 2004 of l eu k em i a i n Carl sb ad , Cal i f .

M r. Grady A. Wright , Class of 1965, who died on Oct . 9, 2004 of a h ear t att ack i n Sacr am en t o , Cal i f .

Lt . Col . (Ret ) M ich ael W. Seib el , Cl ass of 1966, w h o d i e d o n

July 4, 2004 in an automobile accident .

M aj . (Ret) Edwi n L. Merideth, Jr., Class of 1968, who d i e d on Oct . 14, 2004 of a h ear t at t ack i n M il il an i , H aw ai i .

M r. John L. Miller, Class of 1974, who died on Sept . 2, 2003

of can cer i n Sacr am en t o , Cali f .

Mr. Steven R. Ritz, Class of 1974, who died on Sept . 20, 2004 in Fayetteville, N.Y. M aj . (Ret) Jack R. Kummerfeld, Class of 1975, who died o n Oct . 19, 2004 of can cer in Co coa, Fla.

Mr. Robert L. Guice, Class of 1978, who died on Sept. 3, 2004 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Capt . John J. Boria, Class of 1998, who died on Sept. 5 , 2 0 0 4 i n an ATV acci d en t i n D o h a, Qat ar.

1st Lt . Shaun P. Brown, Class of 2002, who died Aug. 2 3 ,

2004 in an au to m o b il e accid en t .

Our sincere condolences to the family and friends of t h e se graduat es.

12 1

best man wasmy son Scott (’99).Trix’sson Robb beautifully sang several songs.

Thehighlight of theweddingwasthe saber bearersconsisti ng of Brad Hosmer, Bob Jennings, Brock Strom, Larry Thomson, Jerry and Joan ’s son D an Gar ber (’92), and Trix’s and my adopted son, Corey Nelson (’01).

“Despite many practice sessions and diligent effort, tragedy was narrowly averted when LT managed to catch hissaber in thebride’s d r ess. I n a d d i ti o n t o

th e w ives of th e af orem en t ion ed classm at es, w e w er e al so h onored to h ave in att endan ce several oth er classm at es an d th eir w ives: Br ow n , Gall o, Gar b er, M ei er an d Welch . Repre

\

sentati vesof “Nulli Secundus” werePupich and Glaza. O t h er classes represented were Helen and Marc Sabin (’65),

D eb orah an d Ed die Wat er s (’85) an d Eth an Sab in (’04) . W e

were pleased to have the ATOs represented by Helen a n d

H er m an G Ust er . B r o ck an d C l ai r e h o st e d a d el i ci o u s d i n n er

27 Sabre Society

Do n o rs at their home the night before thewedding, an d our r ec ep ti on after theweddingwasheld at the Broadmoor. Everyone is invited to visit us to view the 500-t-wedding pictures, with food and strong drinks to be served during intermissions!”

M ik e B en d er w r o t e t o c h r o n i c l e h i s l at est i r o n m an adventure. He reports, “I’m probably not the fi rst or only ’59er to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, but Tm sure that I’m the oldest. Arohanui and I struggled to the top on July 24th. It was an experience of a lifetime!

“Our African adventure started as soon as we stepped off the plane. After about 24 hours riding airplanes, at 11p.m. wewere looking forward to being

w h i sk ed t o a t h r ee - o r f o u r - st ar h o t el f o r a h o t sh ow er an d a cold b eer. In st ead,

N EW S 94%

Pete Todd

^ M e n i ti e rs

12 50 Big Valley Drive Colorado Springs, CO 8 0 9 19-10 15 H: (719 ) 53 1-58 74 FAX: (719 ) 53 1-66 97 E-ma il: pet et odd@aol.com

THE event of the summer was thewedding of Max Miller an d I f ix Scott , th e second nuptials in our Class thisyear. (As always, please check out the Class website at http:/ /www.aog-usafa.org/ 1959/ for moredetailsand picturesthan arepermitted by Checkpoin ts’space constraints.) SinceWendy and I were flit ting about Eastern Europe at the time. Max was kind enough to provide the following self-report.

“Wewerehappy that so many of our friendswereableto attend theceremony at theJewish Cadet Chapel,with many of them parti cipating.Themost impor tant was Bob Browning sincehe conducted theservicein hisalwayscaring and outstanding manner.Thematron of honor wasTrix’sdaughter, Karena, and my

we drove for about an hour, fi rst on the main “Super Highway” across the northern part of Tanzania, completewith speed bumpsevery few miles.Then on a secondary road that passed several lodges that defi nitely didn’t look four stars, but wewould settlefor anything at this point. T h en w e t u rn ed o f f o n t h e roughest four-wheel-drive road I’ve ever been on, fully expecti ng this to be a 50-yard driveway to our hotel (one star?— anything at this point).

“After 20minuteswefi nallystopped—noli^ tsexcept some people stand ing around with kerosene lanterns. (Al-Qaida terrorist camp, anyone?).We then started a 3/ 8-milehike over avery rough trail in the dark, complete with stream crossing (Arohanui dunked a foot). Finally we f o u n d o u r sel v e s i n a little complex of primitivebungalows (no electricity) so m ew h er e i n t h e h ear t of Af rica, and a veritable mini Shangri-La. “Wewokeup the next morning to fi nd ourselvesin the middle of the Chagga tribe village where most of the Kilimanjaro porters and guides come from.

Turnsout wewere staying at the establishment of Simon Mtuy, recognized as the #1Tanzanian Kilimanjaro guide. (Simon recently ran , up and down, the 14,000 vert ical feet to th e sum m it in 11 h our s- it w oul d take us seven days!).

The stay at Simon’s was truly a highlight of our trip - we really got the true feeling of Africa. Everything that we ate or drank, including the coffee, was grown and prepared on the premises.

“The climb started at 5,000'. It took us 5 1/2 days to climb, traversing across the mountain, climbing and sometimes descending, gradually acclimatizing to the altitude, with fi ve campsites ranging from 10,000' to 15,800 at our high camp. On summit night, we got up at midnight for the fi n al cl i m b . T h i s fi n al 3500' issteep and much of it on loosevolcanic rock and sand. The effort isvery exhausting as the altitude really gets to you. It’s one step, breathe, one step, breathe, trying to suck in as many molecules of oxygen as possible, for about eight hours. Arohanui and I were happy to reach the cr at er r im at 19,0 12'.

There is still higher elevati on, but to get to 19,341 (highest elevati on in Africa)

w o u l d h av e t ak en u s an o th er h o u r an d w e w e r e sa t i sfi ed w i t h o u r ef fo r t .

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The bride an d groom flanked by the saber bearers.

12 2

t

M i k e an d A r o h an u i o n th e K i b o Cr a ter r i m .

“Thedescent wasa 11/2 day, 14,000' plungethat wastough on thekneesand toes, as they jammed into the front of the boots. I was reaUy sweating the de sc e n t a s f a r a s t h e k n e e s w er e c o n c er n e d . B u t w i t h the help of about $ 1000 worth of inj ecti ons of Sinvis and corti sone, and a daily dose of Vioxx, I had no problems.

“That’sthe long and short of our Af rican adventure. A r o h an u i h as m ad e m e promise that our next big adventurewill be to the B EA C H ! ”

Brian Parker sent thefollowingphoto taken at the an n u al r eu n i o n o f th e 13 t h Bomb Squadron Association. The 13th isthe oldest activeduty squadron in the AF, currendy flying B-1Bs at DyessAFB, Texas. Brian said, “When the picture was taken, I was still in a daze, having been greatly honored by this bunch of patriotswho have served in the 13th in WWII, Korea, th e Cold War,Vietn am an d now the GWOT (Global War On Terror) by being elected a s t h e Fi r st V i c e Pr esi dent. I am still on cloud 9. The gentleman standing n ex t t o m e i s C o l Si l a s Molyneaux, our fi rst history professor at Lowry, who se r v ed i n t h e 13 * B o m b Squadron 1948-1950.”

My intrepid east coast reporter. Bill Telford, related the latest shindig by the Virginia/North Carolina bunch, hosted by Wayne and Bonn ie Jef fer son at th eir actual home in Wintergreen,VA. Bill’s report : “It was a truly rousing weekend. Hank and Lynn Canterbur y fl ew in f rom Ph oen ix in th eir Bon anza; oth erw i se, it was all ‘Virginians,’ in cluding Jim and Molly Connally, Steve and Patty Hamer, Jimmie and Judy Jay, HT and Linda Johnson, Kozy and Bev Kozelka, Kent and Fredda M on t avon , Joeand Karen Morgan, Mikeand Mari an Reardon, and Fred and BrendaWynn.

“Festivities started on Thursday night, 16 Sep,with drinks and heavy snacks.

The next morning, all the macho men braved the elements (edges of Hurri cane Frances, tornado warnings and all) to play 13 holes of golf. The rain, thunder and lightning fi nally drove us off the course. M eanw h i le, th e ladies enjoyed an aft ern oon of shopping, dining and sightseeing. Much laughter and cam ar aderi e. All in al l , a w on d erf ul w eeken d . ”

Thought for the Quar ter: Second marri age: the tri umph of hope over expe

ri e n ce .

A.J. (Rosie) Cler, Jr. 95% 2 14 Poppy St .

M e m b e rs Golden, CO 8 04 0 1-5 54 4 H: (3 0 3 ) 23 8-4 973 e-Fax: (5 09 ) 4 63-470 0 E- m a i l : RCt h e ro s e @a o l .c o m

Class Web Sit e: www.usaf a.net/ 19 60

Dennis O’Keefe completed a 100-mile bike ri de in 7-1/ 2 h ou r s Ju n e 12* , 2004 out ofWenatchee,Washington.Wife, Sandy, reported, “ T h e ri d e in c l u d ed a 2,500-foot altitude gain, and a tough headwi nd for 30 miles! Dermis playsit down, saying ‘I’m too old, too fat, and too slow, and all the ladies passed me.’

We also celebrated our 40* anniversary in Honolulu, and have a year-old grandson and two more grandkids on the way.” (R: I i n cl u d ed D D K ’s ac c o m plishment because I had just read Tim e’s feature of August 30,2004: “How to Live to be 100— And Not Regret It;” It said that, in addition to consuming

massive amounts of broccoli and blueberries, long bike rides might cause you t o r each c en t en ar i an l ev el s. M eth i n k s D en n i s c o u l d be the last man standing at ou r 80* reun ion in 2040. H e’d b e 103 — b ; 4 / 4 / 37.)

Some Emerald Coast classmatesgathered recently— pictured are the nattily dressed Aaron Thrush, Pete King, Ken Alnwick, Bill Gill i s, an d A ce H olm an .

Ken hosted the gathering, which also included someAir Com m an do f ri en ds, at h i s Fl o ri d a c o n d o o n O k al o o sa I sl an d n ear F t . W al t o n Beach — shortly fol lowingthisparty the areawashit by four hurri canes! (Anytimetheseguys meet, check your Six for Tsunamis!)

Old Men Dressing Badly!

Back to TheBoysfrom Iowa, bottom of thefi fth... Ri ch ar d Gl en n H ea d at b at “Jock Schwank and I were attending Franklin High School in Cedar Rapids when we independently tried out for theAcademy. I had been working at the Cedar RapidsMunicipal Airport for two yearsand earned my pilot’slicense. I got paid $1an hour, but they upped it to $2 if I took my wagesin fl yinglessons,which w ere $8 an h our solo an d $ 10 w ith an in str u ctor. I soloed af ter my 17* birthday and had 200 hours. I also applied to Iowa State (to be an engineer), accompany ingthiswith an application to theNavy ROTCprogram (w hich I later w on). I m et Jock our senior year, asliisfather had moved thefamily to Cedar Rapidsto coach Coe College’s football team. Jock was ajock, and so was I, although stri ctly in a minor sport. I played football and basketball two years, b u t sw i t ch ed t o w r es tlingand lettered my senior year.Jock and I becamefri ends, and as theAcademy seemed more of a possibility, our families spent a lot of time together.

“Flying led me to theAcademy. Every birt hday since age four I had wished for an airplane ri de. My dad knew my hopes, so when I was 16heset meup with aWorldWar II pilot in hiscompany, and I had my fi rst pUot instruction. I got sick the fi rst fl ight, but that didn’t stop me, and I got four hours before my dad got me ajob and an instructor at Wathan Flying Service. I in t er v i ew ed w i t h Se n at o r Hickenlooper’s staffer and got sponsored for the USAFA tests.Arriving at the Academy,we met Gary Crew and his parents and became instant fi i ends. Gary w as f rom Waterloo, one of th e schools I had w restled against. Gary and I ended up in the same Squadron (6* ) under the watchful eye of an oth er Iow an , Pat Musmaker (’59). It was not until the end of theyear th at I r eal iz ed th at all o f u s Iowa boys had made it through Doolieyear - and all t h e ’5 9 er s f ro m I o w a h a d also stayed on. Later, I had the good fortune to room with Jerry Stack, and we were able to compare Iowa noteswhen hewas not playing t en n i s.

“What does coming from Iowa mean?I think it meant a very good public school education, well -grounded in math and science. Jock an d I h ad Ch em istry and Physics, plus four years of math and athletics.W e were middle class, with religious, civic, and work-hard, upward-mobile values. We took pride in learning that C o l . % I ^ Archie Higdon had been professor of Mechanics at IowaSta t e and had wri tten the text we used. Archie, upon meeting m y parents at graduation, refl ected warmly on what he c all e d t h e ‘c en t r al U S - C o n ti n en t al ’ val u es t h at w er e f o u n d i n I ow a .

19

After graduation I had a chance to spend timewith George Sabre Society D o n o rs Elsea aswe went through fi ghters.” (R: RG retired as Bri ga dier General in 1987, isVP of SRSTechnologies in Arlington, VA w h e r e h e h ea d s t h e fi r m ’s w o r k w i t h en v i r o n m e n t al engineering for Navy and MarineCorpsgunnery ranges, and will marry Carole H o o v er in Ju n e 200 5 .

Top of the sbcth...)

Another record number at theAFA-Navy Football Geime Foofaraw Sept 29Octr 1,2004: It started with the Kickoff Party at the Radisson Wednesday aft er noon, then Coach Fisher DeBerry’s talk about the game, followed by the evening’s banquet with Emcee Gordy Savage — Chaplain Waldrop (Tom Seebode’s son-in-law) gave the invocation, and Dave Sweigart closed by lead ing usin “God BlessAmeri ca.” On Thursday’sgame day, i t w as t o D o o li t t l e H all for an update on theWing by BGen Weida, Commandant of Cadet s, follow ed with a tour of the Heri tageTrail by itscreator, Ron Yates. Then, tailgating at the GlazaGate. But: Navy 24, AFA 21. No victory laps— Fiddl esti cIcs!“ Get Away”

w a s o v er b r eak f ast at t h e Ra d i sso n .

A l i ve a t a H u n d r e d an d F i v e ?

In att en dan ce: Ken Aln w i ck , An di & Car ole Bian cur , Tony & Carol Bilello, Steve Bishop, Howie & Judy Bronson, Jack & Elaine (Wells) Br u sh (w h o w ere marri ed October 15* in Colorado Springs), Rosie & Karen Cler , Bm ce Edw ar ds, Jerry & Dotty Farquhar , Bob & Lutzi Fischer , Gordy & Ann Flygare, George Fries,Walt Futch, Jim & Jenny Glaza & Linda Glaza, Bill Goodyear & daughter 12 3

Angelee, Denis & Liz Haney, Deke & Sally Johnson, Brian & Carol Kaley & Sue Woodward,Wayne& Barbara Kendall (celebratingthebirth of their first grand ch ild , Sean Al an , b or n 9 / 9 / 04 @ 8 lb s/ 9oz!), Ed & Suzan n e Leon ar d , M ike

McCall & Debbie Streiber, John & Deanne McCullough, Phil Meinhardt (you gotta see apicture of Phil’slatest femmefatale!), Bruce & Caryl Mosier & Tanya Omran & Cari McAnarney (Mosier’s daughter, pregnant with their first grand child), Jim & Bev O’Rourke, John & Barb Peebles, George & Diana Pupich with fr iends Mort & Nancy Upton, Gordy Savage, Dick 8; Sh ar on Sch ehr , Jock & HopeSchwank ,Tom & CaroleSeebode & Chaplain EdwardWaldrop & Eliza beth Waldrop with Taylor & Sarah Elizabeth Waldrop, Dick & Sally Sexton,Ted Stumm, Dave& Camille Sweigart, Dale & InaThompson, Paul & Kay Vallerie, Earl & Pat Van Inwegen, Jim Waddle, Ron 8eConnieYates, an d V i c Yo ak u m & Suzanne Forselius (for more photos, go to the ClassWebsite).

TheBoyz of ’60!

Friendly Fire. Bob Weinaug just retired fr om the SSA, and is moving fr om Fal ls Church, VA to Florida... Ken Al nwick is working on some interesting war-gaming projects, helping theAF Historical Society, and wrapping up his work on theJohn McLucas memoirs... Bill Taylor had his right hip replaced two years ago, a new left hip installed in April 2004 an d h i s fi r st d i sl o c at i o n i n June, and he’s still in physical therapy (e-mail: wtaylor@rand.org)... Bill Hales

an d h is n ew w i fe. Barb , m oved from Pit tsford , NY t o Gr eenvi ll e, SC in Ju n e, an d h ave n ow m oved int o th eir n ew h om e — cell : (864) 884-4968.. . M i n i Sk i X V w ill b e in SL C th e fi r st w eek o f M ar ch 2 00 5 . . . O u r 45“’ Reunion is 15- 19 June

2005 at the Radisson in Colorado Springs.

A special salute to General Ronald Wilburn Yates for being named the fi rst Distinguished Graduate of theAcademy from the Class of 1960. During his career, Ron led two major commands (AFSC and AFMC), was on flying status 35yearsand flew 5,000+ hours in over 50 different aircraft , played a major role in fi e development of most of thenewest aircraft and spacevehicles, serveson theAOG Board of Directors, and conceived the HeritageT r ai l — an e f fo r t t o enhance theAcademy environment. He is an independent co n su l t an t t o t h e aerospace industry.

Karen and I extend a warm Christmas greeting to all our fi i ends, except for th e t w o Yan k ee s’ f an s.

Final Roll Call. Bill I.eninger ’swife, Ellen, died Jun e 13, 2004 fr om a m assive

h ear t at t a ck .

I

in th e Palm Beach , FL, ar ea (u nl ess tw o m ore back-t o-b ack hu rrican es ar rive, in w h i ch case all b et s are of f ).

Ea r l N . “ N e ls o n ” O ’ Re a r

5 0 58 2 St onington Drive Granger, IN 4 6 530-8 24 3 H: (574 ) 273-2 597

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M e m b e rs

E-m a i l : EN Oa n d TJO@a m e r it e c h .n e t Cla ss W e b S it e : w w w .u s a f a l 9 6 1 .in f o

Thanksto Hanson Scott and Tom Eller for implementing our ClassCare sys tem. Flight Leadersarecontactingeach ’61graduate, wherepossible, to partici pate. Hopefully, thissystem will enable all of usto provide any needed support in timesof ahealth crisisor death.We encourageeach graduateto stay in touch with hisFlight Leader on a regular basiswith current c o n t act in f o rm ati o n an d t o keep him aware of the general trends in our lives. If you have any questions about it, please refer to our ClassWeb site or contact Scotty, Tom , or m e.

TheAcademy Memorial Board approved the reconstruction o f t h e C l a ss o f 1961Overlook and will pay for the work.We do not yet have a fi rm date.

H u r r i c an e Iv an c an cel ed o u r Cl ass m i n i - r eu n i o n o n t h e Red n eck Ri v i er a t h i s

year. Jimmy Poolesaid to think about thenext Redneck Reu n i o n i n 2007 . T h an k s to our Alabama contingent who put so much effort into planning this one.

Four San Antonio area ’61ersgathered at theRivercenter Marriott for acharity dinner on October 2"“. Mark and Ginger Anderson, Larry and Kathy Freeman, Richard and Carolyn Smith, and Jim and Sydney Wild participated in thefund raiser for alocal non-profi t that Mark presidesover. A good timewashad by all.

Doc and Marty Arnold have a signifi cant focus on Colorado Springswhere their daughter Elizabeth and her family live. Doc has been worWng as a trust offi cer in Wells Fargo PCSfor the past six years and plans to evaluatewhether he should try retirement within the next six months o r so . H e al so ser v es o n a couple of local community boards. Marty has retired fr om teaching and her 12 4

sewingbusinessbut isinvolved in serving several community groups. In Janu ary they went with fr iendsto Cairo and cruised up the Nile to be reminded just how young our country is. On the way home they took in some sights and “cool” weather in Italy. They still find a little sand in their shoes and hope to do some more traveling soon.

According to David Carlstrom , SusieWeeden said that Ron bought a new t r u ck w i th an au t o m at i c t r an sm i ssi o n t o f a c il i t at e controlsfor his good left leg.

H i s o l d t r u c k h a d a m an u al sh i f t an d c o u l d n ’t b e m o d i fi e d for single leg con trol. He also fi nished a project he started before his stroke, putting new siding on a rental property which was also his boyhood home.

Dick Coppock said that Larry Vacirca’s sister Terry Cooper and husband, Gary, visited them for a couple of days in September from AppleValley, GA. Terry had not been to theAcademy since graduation, when shewas 13. Larry even had a date lined up for her for the Graduation B aU! D i c k t o o k t h em o n an extended tour of theAcademy, which brought back lots o f m em o r i es f o r h er .

That eveningTrel and Dick, Nancy and Jim Wilhelm , and Terry and Gary shared dinner and samplings of Californ iawine they had brought. They had kept in touch with Larry’s mother and Terry since graduation and Larry’s subsequent passing. Terry and Gary cared for Mrs.Vacirca in their home and fi nally a care center in theyearsleading up to her passing a couple of years ago. It was ajoy seeing and talkingwith them again.

On May 3P‘, Randy and Jan Cubero, Mark Anderson, along w i t h G en e an d DoeStringer and four of their family members,went to theAOG building at the Academy aft er theIndividual AwardsGeremony at theField House. They hung a plaquein honor of Roger Stringer to commemoratetheArmy mule caper for the fi rst USAFA vs.West Point football game in the fall of 1959. On the plaque are a picture of Roger and a letter he wrote to his p ar en t s explaining that he might not be able to meet them in N ew York for thegameasoriginally intended. The reason w a s t h at I ^ theAcademy brasswastrying to determinethepunishment for Roger and fi ve other ’61erswho broke into theW est Po i n t stables and attempted to kidnap theArmy Mule two weeks 17 beforethe game. Roger indicated that they were able to drug the watch dogs, but they scattered to the four winds a f t e r Sabre Society Do n o r s entering the stable and encountering an Army military p o liceman with a .45-caliber pistol. If you go to our Gl a ss W eb site (Photos), you can see pictures that show the plaque w i t h t h e l e t t e r an d picture of Roger, thetranslation of theletter sinceRoger’s handwriting isa little difi Bcult to read, and thefamily and fi i endsgathered around thehangingplaque inside theAOG building. It was a very nostalgic moment for everyone there.

Bob Dean has been busy workingonhisbook, Connecting to Spirit:If YouBuild It They Will Come. It is a true story, scheduled for publication on October 20* .

B il l F o st er ’s D acr o n ao r t a an d h i s n ew ao r t i c v alv e are performing very well.

He ison a rigorous aerobic exercise regimen and is getting stronger every day.

Thanksfor all the GrayTag support!

Bill Griffi s was recently appointed to the position o f C h ai r m an w i t h i n T EC International . TEC is an international organization o f C EO s w h o c o m b i n e their knowledge and expertise to increase the performance— business, p r o fessional and personal — of member companies. Bill will co n ti n u e t o b e b ased Lou Hablas has been dealingwith the Department of t h e A i r F o r c e an d th e Department of VeteransAffairs on issues related to disability pay for about a year. If any ’61ershave a service-connected disability an d d o n o t k n ow ab o u t Concurrent Receipt or Combat Related Special Compensation, L o u w o u l d b e happy to fi ll you in either by e-mail or letter or telephone, whichever suitsyou.

Bob Heriza just entered the senior citizen population. He plans to end his job on December 3P‘, after 20 yearsworking with the developmentally dis abled. Bob begins receiving Social Security on December P‘ if there is any money left in thefund. He plansto continue helping t h e d i sab l ed b u t w i ll w o r k only when he wants, devoting the rest of his time to skiing, hunting mush rooms, writing, and exploring Oregon. Bob’s wife, Judy, will retire in April, and they will explore together.

Lowell Jones reports that 10 of 12 expected showed for another great gettogether in August. Attendingwere: Bill Foster, Steve H o, Low ell , John Koh ou t , Hector Negroni ,Terry Norris, Jim Rogers, Bill Sanzenhacher, Bi ll St ackh ou se, and Karl Whitaker. Jack McDonough had a legitimate ab sen c e w h en a w at er heater problem fl ooded hishouse. John Kohout and Bill San z e n h a c h er t o o k time after lunch to do more planning for their October pilot training class reunion in the D.C. area. Pete Lane and Jack Taylor also planned to be in D.C. for that.A great time had by all , as usual.

Jerry and Sue Lefton have trips planned to Myrtle Beach, H il ton H ead , an d Williamsburg. Af ter Christmas in Pinehurst, they are h e a d e d t o T u c so n f o r January, February, and part of March. Jerry will beworking at the par-3 ninthhole at the 2005 Men’s U.S. Open on Pinehurst #2 next Ju n e .

Jerry Mason hasjust completed threelife-changing actions: (1) retiring fr om his environmental company and selling it to his employees, (2) fleeing Michi gan winters for Tucson, and (3) reconnecting, through the magic of Google, with his childhood and USAFA sweetheart Jo, to begin a new life together.

(That whirring sound you hear is his head spinning.) T h e i r n ew a d d r ess i s

9001E Rainsage,Tucson 85747.

Lee and Joanie McCleskey said that the anticipation is buildi ng asthe end of January approaches. Then, Leewill retire from TexasA&M and join the ranks of thosewho have nothing to do — Ha! They are both really looking forward to this next phase of life.

Charlie and Lynda Neel had a great weekend in Colorado Springs, starting with an exciting AF/ Navy football game. Terry Storm sa i d t h a t h a l f t i m e i n cluded a tribute to Ben Martin. Jim and Nancy Wilhelm were great hosts as alwaysfor a tailgate party attended by Mark Anderson, Jim and Peggy Hinkle, Dean an d Jo Jon es, Worth an d Joan M cCue, Charlie an d Lynda Neel, Earl and Lillie Saunders (Earl cooked up hisworld famouschili for all),Terry and Carleen Storm , Jim Ulm , and Tom and Judy Wilson. Just wait until next year. Navy!

Friday night Tom and Susan Conley, Dick and Trel Coppock, an d To m a n d Anne Eller joined the aforementioned for dinner at a local restaurant. They stayed until closing after a wonderful evening of good food, wine, and great company. The Neels planned to join some other classmates for the trip to the AF/Army game on Nov 6‘^. All is well with Charlie and Lynda.

Charlie and Sarah Stebbins celebrated the 50* anniversary o f th ei r fi r st d at e on October P'l (They must be much older than the rest of u s.)

Byron Theurer said that thisquarter hasbeen more eventful than usual. Early in July hewaselected Chair of A e San LuisObispo Chapter of SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives,America’s counselors to sm all busin ess). In m idAugust the national SCORE office sponsored an orientation c o n f e r e n c e f o r new chapter chairs in Portland, ME. The New England co a st i s o n e o f t h e f ew partsof the country that hehad never seen, and hewaseager to go. SinceByron is reluctant to fly in somebody else’s airplane, he d r ov e . Pa t l a t e r fl ew t o C o lumbus, OH and met Byron for the trip back home through D enver, w h ere they visited with Pat’s family.

Roger and Mary SueWoodbury visited Nelson and Teri O’Rear for a few days in August. They had been visiting family west of Indiana and were on their way home. Roger confi rmed that Butch Harmon is still the same person that they knew more than 30 years ago. They recently saw and vi si t ed w i t h h i m t o c o n fi rm that. Roger, Mary Sue, and Nelson got to the golf course only once but enjoyed it. (Teri doesnot golf.) Everyonehad a great time catching up on what they and their families have done the last few decades.

GayleZompa reportsthat shewas disappointed that Iv an r u i n ed t h e Red n eck Riviera gathering, which she had planned to attend. She is still considering moving back to Colorado Springs.

Thanks to all who contributed for sharing a bit of your liveswith the rest of us. It helps us all keep in touch.

Jo h n W . "Ja c k ” Ja m b a

^

'

4 Judy Court

Satellite Beach, FL 32937

generator. I wasn’t too choosy about the generator or very knowledgeable. It had a one gallon gas tank. Had to fi ll it up every 1.3 hours. I couldn’t expose it to rain or any moisture. I put it on the screened porch o u t si d e o u r b e d r o o m .

It sounded like a NASCAR race outside my bedroom. I say my bedroom be cause Caroline gave up the ghost and sat in a big lounge ch ai r i n f r o n t o f t h e front door screen door.Therewas no air conditioning a t al l .

Some of thefood in the refngerator and freezer spoiled. M o st restaurantshad no power so wereclosed. Cooked somem eal s on my gas grill. I decided it was time to go on a diet.Actually, I didn’t decide anything.Therewas no choice.You c an ’t st u f f yourself on food that isn’t there. Now that’s a sure-fi re, g u ar

V

an t e ed d i et .

Then on Sep 24* weevacuated again becauseof Hurricane

Jean n e. But th is tim e w e w ent across th e river to M elb ourn e

12

Sabre Society Do n o rs

to stay with our older daughter. Electricity went off a s t h e hurricanepassed through our area Went homethat day.Wefound four shingles on the ground. Between both hurricanes, we lost three sm al l t r ee s an d ab o u t seven sectionsof fence.The electricity in Satellite B ea ch w as d o w n . I t t o o k f o u r days for us to get it back. I bought another generator. Runs longer and quieter.

The weather is great now. Roof shoul d be repaired soon. New fence will go up in mid-November. Lost two inches from my waist.

From Don Baucom; “I ended my AFcareer between 1987 and 1990, setting up thehistory program for Reagan’s Star Warsinitiative. Si x m o n t h s af ter r etir e ment, I came back to work for the SDI Organization a s i t s c iv i l i an h i st o r i an . I retired ft 'om that position in June of 2003 (now known a s th e M i ssil e D ef e n se Agency under Bush ID. Pegand I moved from Alexandriato El Prado in Sept 2003.

"Incidentally, we’ve had our experiencewith hurricanes t o o . O u r f u r n i t u r e was picked up for the move to New Mexico on 18 September.As they wereput ting our stuff on thevan,westarted feelingthewind an d r ai n o f h u r ri can e I sab el .

Welost power about 10that night and had to bail out oneof thesump pump wells a couple of ti mes. On the 19th of Sept we closed on our house in ati tlecompany that was dark— no power. Luckily, one of theworkers had power at home and was ableto run off the closing documents on her home c o m p u t e r.

LM e m b e rs i ^

m

^

H: (3 2 1) 7 77-5 5 20 0 : (3 2 1) 8 6 1-6 2 79 Cell: (3 2 1) 4 3 2-1370 E-Ma il: j wj a m ba@ao l.co m

Hi Redtags, Well it’spost-hurricanetimeherein Florida. Had to evacuate my housetwice; fi rst for Frances. Caroline and I were in LasVegas f o r a c o n f e r e n ce an d m i n i vacati on when we received word from my company to return and prepare for evacuation.We spent Caroline’s birthday securing the house and driving to Jacksonville to hunker down at our daughter’s house. She lost electricity on thethird day.Weheaded back homeon Labor Day.What a d r iv e! N o r est au r an t s open, no gas stati ons open, no electricity, no joy. It took seven hours to go less than 200 miles. I was talking to the billboards to amuse myself. Because of damageat Kennedy SpaceCenter facilities, I wasnot all o w ed t o r et u rn t o w o r k until the following Monday. Our electricity was out for four days. Bought a

Jim and Penny Mack

40th Reunion: Mary and Willy Holbrow enj oy a quiet m o m e n t .

“Wemoved into our new house on 28 Sept.We had been visitingTaos since I taught in theHistory Department at AFA duringtheSeventi es, and w e both fell in lovewith the place. Peg is an arti st (a painter), so she loves thelarge, vibrant art community here. I enjoy trout fi shing, hiking, reading, writing an occasional arti cleor book review, and chasing our grandchildren around (threegrandsons and two granddaughterswith a fourth grandson on theway). Our younger son, Rick, liveswith hiswife and two boys in the Springs—we see th em o f ten . O u r older son lives in Sterling,VA,just outsideWashington; hehasa little girl about o n e an d a h al f an d a so n w h o i s d u e at th e en d o f th i s month.And, of course,you know that Kathy, her husband, and their daughter and son live in Tampa.

“El Prado is a small community about two miles north o f Ta o s. It s m o st d i s tinguished citizen is Donald Rumsfeld who has a house t h a t t h e l o c al l ef t i e s love to picket when they have spare time on their hands. Ciao, D on .”

From John Flanagan: “Finishing up second year of teaching a t M a ss M ar i timeAcademy located on theCapeCod Canal. Great retirement job. Probably achieved a fi rst for aZoomie by being a staff member on the maiden voyage of theT.S. Enterprise, the Cadet training vessel.This m akes m e a ‘Plan k Ow n er ’, a naval honor bestowed only on thosewho are on the maiden voyage. Oh yes, the voyage was to the Caribbean in January and February. M ar ij o an d I w i ll once again be sponsoring the Sabre Society dinner in NYC prior to theArmy game.Would really like to see some Red Tags. “ Now a few wordsfrom Bob Hopkins: “On my last business trip, I was able to donate a picture in the name of the RTBs to the RAFC l u b i n L o n d o n . I ’m su r e RTBswould liketo seethe club -- steeped in traditi on with many original paint ings, prints, mementos, plus beautiful facilities. F o r t h o se w h o v i si t L o n d o n more than occasionally, you might want to join.

“The picture is by Robert Taylor - numbered color print o f B a t t l e o f B r i t ai n scramble of Spitfi resflown by U.S. pilotswith original EA S Pat ch em b ed d ed in matting. Signed by Eagle Squadron members at a reunion in the Eighties. Pi12 5

lots wereAmericans who j oined RAF in 1940-41prior t o U .S. i n v o l v e m en t .

Eagle Sq membersj oined theArmy Air Corps aft er Pearl H a r b o r . P i c t u r e i s hung in prominent place on fourth floor of club with brass plate-'Donated by the Class of 1962, United StatesAir ForceAcademy ’ “Any ex-USAF offi cer can join and it’sright in center of London at great room rates. Low annual dues and beautiful club, (http:/ /www.rafclub.org.uk/ ).

Websitehasinfo on joining.You can contact mefor sponsorship. Best Regards, Hoppy”

course this action plan presumes some planning will have to be in place by June. Plan B: put thefi rst homefootball weekend in O c t o b er o n o u r c al en d ar s and plan on being there. Given the increased flexibility in my life that is to be my plan!

V\ffi en 1got my copy theSummer 2004 Checkp oin ts1wasvery surprised and saddened to read of the passing of another of our classmates. B er t R ei n st ei n .

In checking the Guest Book on our ClassWeb Site 1found the following note from Lisa Bryant Adams, Bill Bryant’s daughter; “I just wanted to thank you for saying something about my Dad (Lt.Col.William F Bryant Jr, retired). H e h ad a wonderful career and 1couldn’t be more proud. He se r v e d h i s w h o l e l i f e dedicated to protectinghisfamily and his Country and hewill never be forgot ten. Hisuntimely death was so unexpected, especially since 1thought of him as invincible. Again thank you for remembering him on your site. God Bless... nooneyon@aol.com.’’

Spealdng of “do betters” theAOG seemsto be making progress on their vow to improve communicationswith the membership. I was happy to see plans for an improved AOGWeb Site aswell as a decision t o h av e b o ar d m em b er s attend meetings at AOG chapters thisyear. The board al so made a major step toward improving the election process for board members. Many of usthink anumber of our cl ass a mates are extremely well qualifi ed to serve as board m e m b er s. So m e h av e i n d i c at ed a d e si r e t o d o so an d w e sh o u l d encouragethem to submit their names, or aft er checkingw i th

Now some news fr om Randy Schamberger: “I’ve known 1h ad a h e ar t m u r mur ever since 1graduated fr om theAcademy in 1962, b u t it w as n ev er c o n si d ered signifi cant. 1retired in 1990 and then in 19931started having somephysi cal problems and doctors discovered calcifi cation of my aortic valve. 1was scheduled for valve replacement on 5 May with the standard full stern otomy (cut me open the full length of the stern um). Three days before, while 1was helping my neighbor install his new washer and dryer set (st ackab le) 1felt a ‘pop’ in my left biceps and my arm went numb. 1torethebicepstendon off the radi us. Instead of heart valve surgery, I underwent surgery to reattach the ten don on 12 May. 1researched valve replacement and found a minimally inva sive aortic valvereplacement (MIAVR) surgery with only a fi ve-inch incision at the top of the sternum. 1contacted the doctor and made arrangements. My surgery was ‘dark and early’ on the 8* of July.Well, the surgery went perfectly and then 1developed alow-gradefever.They had to h o l d m e an o t h er 2 4 h o u r s t o a ssu r e i t w o u l d n ’t r et u r n .

I

27 the potential candidate, go ahead and nominate them o u r selves. If you are interested in serving on the board, T o m Sabre Society Dono rs Fryer says a “package” needsto be prepared and submitted to the AOG. You may also be interested in serving on t h e Nominating Committee. To serve on theboard or to nominate a cl assm at e f o r the board, please visit theAOGwebsite (www.aog-usafa.org) f o r a d d i t i o n al information. Jim Diff endorfer put a littleblurb on t he Cl assWeb Site (see th e Guest Book), saying if you want more information you c a n c o n t a c t h i m a t jimdiff@foxintem et.com or at james.h.diffendorfer@boeing.com.

Tom Fryer wrote that aft er 21years in the USAF and 21years as a banker/ broker hewill retire from hisjob and he declared Friday, July 29,2005 will be his retirement date. Tom and Angie do not plan on moving. They moved to Manhattan, KSin 1981and it lookslike they may never l eav e .

If you remember we reported wedding bells for John Bellotte and Ingeborg (Susi) Molitoris. Well, thanks again to Dick Slowik , 1got a picture of the happy couple.

“Whilereplacing my aortic valve, the surgeon discovered th at 1h ad an an eu rysm on my ascending aorta, so heput a mesh clamp o n t h at at t h e sam e t i m e .

T h a t c o u l d h av e h a d a d i sa st r o u s e f e c t o n m e i f i t h a d n o t b e e n f o u n d an d

corrected. Lookingback now. I’m so thankf ul 1hurt my arm. If not, who knows what theconsequenceswould havebeen. 1would haveh ad a m echani cal valve, blood thinners for the rest of my life, face the chances o f b l o o d cl o t s a n d r e strictions to my active lifestyle. Now I have a bovine pericardial valve made fr om cow tissue and molded into a three-flap valve and chemically treated to prevent rejection.

“I’m now living the life of leisurewhile Lieu has to do my beck and call. Ha! Shegives me six weeks and that’sit. 1can’t lift anything heavier than 10 pounds for thr ee m onth s an d can’t drive eith er, im til th e incision is completely healed (about six weeks). I still don’t have complete range of motion in my arms and shouldersand it hurt sto cough, but I’m slowing gettinginto shape. 1walk about two miles aday now. Isn’t that amazing?Ten daysaft er surgery. How timeshave changed. Heart surgery used to mean three months fl at on your back and a restricted lifestyle for the rest of your life. My poor l eft ar m i s so sh r i v el ed . N o biceps and skin wrinkled like a 90-year-old man. Cheers. Stay healthy. Randy.”

That’s it for now. Go Redtags!

Norman I. (Skip) Lee 6 3 1 1 9 E. Ca t Cla w La n e

M e m b e rs

Tu cs o n , AZ 8 5 7 3 9 -2 0 5 6

Thehappy couple!

Last month a few of our classmates, Jerry Westerbeck, Dick Guild, and Doug Hardgrave, attended a political rally in the Nation’s Capitol. Jerry sent along a few photostaken during the rally and one of the photographsjust begged to bepublished. With the rare exception, politics is one thing I really try to avoid in this column — doing so isa sureway to lose f ri endsand negatively influence people. By the timeyou see this, however, the election w ill b e over (or w ill it?) so I guess it is ok to pass it on.

Home: (5 20 ) 8 2 5-79 80 E-m a i l : 5 4 w rs @m s n .c o m o r

lindaa nds kip@ro bso nco m .net

Can you believe it’s been a year since we were all together at the 40“’ Re union? 1was reminded of the rapid passage of timewhen Bob Hayeswroteto announce the annual ’63 mini-reunion planned for Nov 13 * . T h e d at e i s u n usual but unavoidable because the Navy gamewas moved up to a Thursday night (TV). At the November gathering there will be the traditional tail gate prior to the game (San Diego State) thecup turning ceremony at theAOG aft er the game plus a catered meal with more visiting, etc. Obviously you won’t receive this information unti l aft er the event happensbut hopefully I will get a report on the doings and maybe a photograph or two.

There appears to be an obvious “do better” here for your scribe— to better anti cipate the annual mini-reunion like checking in w i t h t h e C o l o r a d o c o n tingent on their plans before sending in the Summer Checkp oints input. Of 12 6

b at ed

Poli ti cal ralli es ar ephysically taxing!

In July I got a note and photograph from Ken Broman. K e n r et i r e d i n m i d May from the construction business. His fi nal proj ect, t h e n ew U .S. C o u r t housein Seattle, will open thisfall. Based on what hehasbeen doing sinceMay there hasn’t been much time for grass to grow under h i s f ee t . T h e r et i r e m en t datewas set for theday before leaving for two weeks in C h i n a . H e th en r o d e h i s bicycle on the Grand Excursion trip from Rock Island, IL t o St . Paul , M N — a 400-mile ride along the Mississippi River. The end of the trip in St. Paul also happened to be Ken’s 63'^‘‘ birthday. If a 400-mile r i d e i n th e m i d -w est w a sn ’t enough, Ken then rode the STP (Seattleto Pordand) again. He sayshewore his USAFA jersey the fi rst day and part way through the ride a fellow biker came up along side and asked what year he graduated. According to Ken ; “Wh en I said 1963 he coul d not believe it . It w as John Gavin , an oth er Golden Boy who lives in Yakima and was doing the ride also. We rode along an d t al k ed o f t h e A c a d emy. Small world.” Ken seems to be really enjoying h im sel f b u t I ’m w o r n o u t hearing about all the activity. Ken sent along a picture b u t d u e t o A O G l i m i t a tionswe are restricted to three photos per issue so I ’ll sav e i t f o r t h e n ex t ti m e .

Yo u can r ea c h h i m at k ek fb r o m an @e art h l i n k .n et .

Ken is not the only actively-retired member of the class. John Nehri ng re port ed on the second annual McTasney-Nehring outdoor a d v en t u r e th at t o o k place in Colorado over the July 4th weekend. John and Jack backpacked 16 m i l es fr o m t h e tr ai l h ea d n o r th o f C r est ed B u t t e t o the trailhead south of Aspen.

John said that his and Jack’s 1991vintage vehicles, seen in the picture, boast a total of a half million miles. Aft er completing the trip, John said hislegsfelt like they had at least as much mileage on them as the two c a r s .

Old bodies, old cars— both still roiling al ong!

Special note: Art Kerr ’61sent me a short note about a scholarship that was

establi shed as a m em orial to our classm ate, Tom Fiedl er . T h e in f o r m ati o n w as

forwarded to Art by the fellow who organizes their E C - 12 1 C o n n i e r eu n i o n s and who also wrote a couple of books about that old operation. The scholar ship was established at Assumption High School of Davenport , I o w a i n 2 0 0 0 and is funded by Tom’s family. It awards a $500 scholarship each year to a st u d en t b ased o n fi n an ci al n ee d .

That’s it for this time. Please note the updated contact i n f o r m a t i o n — L i n d a and I are now happy residentsof Arizona— the Golf Cart i s o n o r d er ! Tak e car e.

Bo b Hovd e 2 0 6 W a lk e r Av e .

H u nt s v ille , A L 3 5 8 0 1

ing class officersfor the next fi veyears.Your new leaders are: Rod Well s, Presi dent: Jay Kelley,Vice-President:Wally Wolniewicz, Secretary/Treasurer; and Matt Feiertag, Historian (Lead). (Usto Schulz and Bill Dickey are also members of the Class History Committee.)

Wednesday - Garden of the Gods: One of the best kept s e % crets in Colorado Springs is the Garden of the Gods C l u b / a m e m Kissing Camels Golf Club. Luckily, Pete LoPresti is ber and arranged for us to play golfWednesday aft ernoon 47 and then have a great soiree at the club - on the ridgeline overlooking the Garden of the Gods.

Sabre Society Dono rs The golf game at Kissing Camels Golf Course was spec tacular and luckily therewasn’t a competition. I played th at round with Guy Dennis and Jim Flemming, and while we h ad a lot of f un , I fi gure the course beat all of us. (A1McArtor says it w as b ad tees th at did it .)

Thursday - Golf and Football : Golf the next day at theAcademy wasjust as challenging, but turned out better. It was a handicapped scramble golf game andVem Handel, Bill Skaer and I won second place.With Bill ’s350-yard drives, thejudicious use of Mulligans, and some magic computer algorithm ,wewere tough. (I was so shocked, I didn’t even notice who won fi rst.) Unfortunately, I do know who won the football game. The wrong team k i ck ed t h e fi n al se c onds’ fi eld goal.

I

Ver n H an d el an d B il l Sk a er o n th e Ei sen h o w er C o u r se. We didn’t al ways hi t thegreen af ter BUl ’s drive- but we were al ways shooting f o r i t .

Friday - Cadet Area: On Friday we went to Fairchild H al l (F- 1, t h e “ Blu e Bedroom,” is still there!) for a lively “discussion” with the Superintendent and the staf f. Their answerswere good (practice?), but only timewill teUif all of the changeswill do what they want. I think they may have fi gured out that someof their “changes” were just reactions to “do something” a n d w i l l h av e t o b e moderated eventually. Anyway, we were in F-1for quite a w h il e an d I d i d n ’t even fall asleep - which may be a fi rst for me. On theway back to the Chapel for the Memorial Service, we got to talking about airplanes- h o w u n u su d !

86%

M e m b e rs

(2 56 ) 53 2-39 23 W: (2 56 ) 9 2 2-370 5 Fax: (2 5 6 ) 89 5-9 2 2 2 b o b . h o v d e @e a rt h l i n k .n e t W : b h o v d e @c a m b e r.c o m

40th Reunion: If you weren’t there, it’s a shame, because this was a great reunion. Since the football game (Yuk!) was moved to Thursday, the schedule left plenty of time for visiting.With football, golf, receptions and dinners, we did a lot of mixing around.We even managed to do some class busin ess, elect-

Mar ty Bushnell and John Hoffman reminiscing about when they were to gether at Edwar ds flight testing E-15s and E-16s.

Bill Garrett, Cadet “Chris", Aurora and Sandy Hovde a t th e G ar d en o f th e Gods Cl ub - Thanks to Pete LoPresti for arranging theso i r ee.

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Friday Night Dinner/Dance:Yes.We did dance- even so m e f ast d an ces. T h e

DJhad^ of the“right” music.Everythingcametogether and wentvery smoothly, and I would beremissif I didn’t mention thepeoplew h o m ad e th e r eu n i o n su ch a success.Weowealot to thepeoplewho live in Colorado and areclose enough to be “volunteered” to assist. In particular,Wally Wolni ew i cz, as u su al , did an outstandingjob of organizing and distributing the r eu n i o n so u v en i r s. A l o t o f planningwent into making thereunion run so smoothly, an d a l o t o f w o rk w as done by thevolunteerseven while the rest of uswerehaving fun.

in Monument and isconsultingwith MITRE Corporation; Fred Gregory isbusy reorganizing NASA; Doug Catchings is a farmer with n in e ki ds; H ow ie Coh en

h as retired from U n it ed Ai rlin es an d lives in D enver ; Joh n D enk o i s th e h ead of New Mexico Public Safety; and last but not least, Bill an d Jean n e W i t tr ess

actually came to the reunion!

fe

.

Yours tr uly, wi th Jeanne and Bill Wi ttress. Every 40years is a bit long between

vi si ts.

Your Scribe, Gerry M echanbier, Bar bara Covais, Tony C o vai s an d E d Mechan bier at theEriday night dinner.

After dinner, Harry Pearce, viaa telephonehookup, really got theplacestirred up when hegot all six of the POWs in attendance out on the fl oor to a standing ovation. (Harry and Katherine had to turn around and go home at the last minute due to a medical problem.) Paul Kaminski then gave a talk that re minded us of how we got to wherewe arenow and how m u ch m o r e w e c an d o in th e f ut u r e.

Saturday Morning - Rally and Class Gift: On Saturday morning we had a “Red,Whiteand BlueRally.” LaDonna Gatlin, thebaby sist er o f th e G at li n Br o th ers, warmed us up with great commentary and wonderful (and patriotic) songs. Then the Class Gift Committee went to work wi th their concept for a “Named Gift” from the class to theAcademy. The Concept Paper that they presented says that working with theAcademy and theAOG, a concept has been developed that compliments the CoreValues (“Integrity First , Servi ce Before Self, Excellence in All We Do” — Slated to replace the “ Bring Me Men” slogan.). The project would have two parts: 1) Design an d est ab l i sh a “ M all o f Heroes” in thegrassy areaimmediately in fr ont of th e CoreValues statem ent (at the foot of the “Bring Me Men” ramp, directly in fr ont o f th e o l d d e n t al o f fi ce in H arm an H all). This is w here each n ew class enters theAcademy and where the Cadet Wing passes going to and coming fr om parades. It is a high activity area and right now isjust grass. (There used to be parking, but it’s gone now.)

In this grassy area, wewould place three statues of graduateswho represent the fi nest in courage, honor and character:Val Borque, ’59 (fi r st cadet an d fi r st grad KIA), Karl Richter, ’64 (F-105VN), and Lance Sijan, ’65 (M edal of H on or an d POW ). We w oul d add an addition al m arker or in clu de w i th Kar l ’s statu e,

appropriatewording regarding ’64’s initiative and a phrasewe believe cap tures our class: “ServeWith Courage and Honor.”

The second part of the project involves avideo that is already in work, titled “Wings of Honor.” That video will include one or more ’64 grads, along with other grads, and will reflect theAcademy’s role in developing leaders of char acter for the country.The committee proposes that a portion of our “gift” be applied to thisvideo and that thevideo beused to en su r e cad et s an d th o se w h o would become cadets understand the profession they seek t o em b r ac e fr o m the perspective of thosewho are graduates of theAcademy.

The concept and proposed class gift has a goal of $500,000 m i n i m u m o v er the next fi veyears, ending in 2009. Everyonewill r ec e iv e i n f o r m at i o n ab o u t the project by mail and then will be asked to consider pledging a contri bution that will allow the concept to become a reality.

Reunion Notes: AsI milled around (Thiswasdefi nitely a M ill Lef t w eek!) th e reunion, I caught a variety of news: Ted Salto is still at Liver m ore Lab s (af ter being in D.C. for a couple of years on a “broadening assignment” in policy); Roger Dunn iswith Hewlett Packard in Sacramento; Paul F r as er i s st il l a l aw yer in Mexico City; Dave O’Brien isstill Chief Scientist at the lab at Patri ck AFB, FL, and still loving it; Denny Madl has vowed to retire in two years; Fred Olmsted is in Memphiswith Fed Ex and has a law degree (Fredo a Lawyer?); A1Cochrane buys and sell wine in Boston (I buy and D R I N K w i n e i n H u n t s ville!); DJAlberts tends to speed in his red Miata, but he’s easy to follow back fr om theAcademy; John Wiles is “consulting” in D.C. (Wh at ever th at m ean s.

I thought I wanted to be a “consultant,” but I couldn’t ever fi gure out what they do!); and Jim Richmond is still flying for the FAA (and is probably the last classmate being paid by the govern ment for being a pilot).

M or e Not es: John H of bn an retired to Tu cson , but is working in fl ight safety (for Flight Safety?); Tom Webster, John’s neighbor in D u n can vil le, Texas, still lives there with hiswife, Susan; Marty Bushnell runs theAir Force ranges in Utah (as a contractor);Thad Wolfe is General Manager of the SAIC IT Security Division in the D.C. area (and Jill isbeingvery understanding!); Bill Sieg lives 12 8

Class History Project: At our reunions in 1999 and 2004, we appointed Matt Feiertag, Usto Schulz, and Bill Dickey to be members of a Class History com mittee, but we didn’t discuss the proper approach for thehistory project or its objectives. The committee will be asking a representative f r o m e a c h o f o u r cadet squadronsto help with thisphase of the project. They would appreciate your vi ews and comments and have provided the following explanation/ re qu est:

To obtain basic data and provide some flavor to it, we are considering start ing the project with a few compilations: 1. Detailed resumevdth a personal and professional history that would be available on a password-protected website and updated online periodically.

Wewill distribute a form that would be quite flexible and permit usto sort the d at a .

2. Personal autobiography written by each of us in h i s o w n w o r d s. C o n t en t and format would be determined by the individual , with some prompting for coverage of several subjects.

3. Biographical sketch written by a spouse, family m em ber, or f rien d . A few of us have discussed this and the response to this idea seemsvery positive— most thought it would be particularly interesting and i n f o r m at iv e .

With thisinformation the Class History Committee (and oth ers) coul d th en write a subsequent “history” that attempted to synchronize o u r ca r ee r s vd th our time and events in history.

Please send your ideas on the Class History Project via email to mhfeiertag @earthlink.net , uschulz@att .com, wpdickey@aol.com , a n d b o b .h o v d e @earthlink.net or by fax to Bill Dickey at 212.262.1088. If you would like to volunteer to be your squadron point of contact, please say so. Also, please update your email address and other information on th e A OG w eb sit e, wvw .usafa-aog.org.

Email: Denny Madl passed on some information on a Naval Academy visit he made- demonstrating, as he said, the “Jointness” that comeswith being long of thetooth. “Last Apri l 19th, I had an opportunity t o v i si t t h e N av al A c a d emy — their Class of ’64 sponsors a First Class Ethics Program and April 19th w as a din n er for th ose cl ass m em ber s w h o coul d atten d , some portion of the Brigade, and invited guests. I attended with Captain Tom Bar n ett (U SN , Re t ir ed , an d U SNA ’64) as h ost , an d Col on el Rob in Sell er s (U SA , Ret ir ed , an d U SM A, 1975) - b oth co-w orkers at th e In sti tu te for D efen se Analyses. Barn ett

probably owns a couple of blue bathrobes, but herefusest o c o m m en t o n t h at .

T h e co st o f th i s “fr ee” d i n n er t o Ro b i n an d m e w as listening to numerouspeople

connected to the Naval Academy, up to theAD and the Commandant, brag about their athletic prowess overall, and especially i n t h e in t er - ser v i c e a c ad emy competitions. (The only upside isthat Robin took m ore h eat th an I did .)

The Naval Academy seems convinced that the Commander in Chief ’s trophy now resides in its appropriate and permanent home. Hopefully, they are wrong. [Picture deleted - not enough room for this i ssu e. Besi des, af ter th e game, I don’t want to even SEE the trophy at Annapolis!]

"Incidentally, the ethics program that USNA ’64 sponsors st r u c k m e a s an excellent program in general, and a good way to keep the class of ’64 routinely connected to the current Midshipmen. Thelarge number of USNA graduates in the Baltimore-Washington-Annapolisarea facilitatesthat degree of engage ment. Denny” C o r r ec t i o n : I li st e d D i ck K r o b u sek u n d er th e t i tl e “Eagle Eyed Attorn ey” last column for having noticed that the printer put ’65’s c r e st o n o u r a r t i c l e . H e emailed “Thanksfor the promotion to attorn ey! I just w i sh t h at t h e F i rm w o u l d pay meat thoserates.Actually, I am aRegistered Patent Agent with theFirm and I have no intent to become an attorney although that is one of the paths that patent attorn eys sometimestake. This is about my fi fth c ar eer - so m e o f t h em didn’t last much beyond fi veyears. From thelooks of thingsaround here, I can

keep doing this until my arthritis freezes all of my fingers and my mind be comes totally clouded. Dick.”

Another Navy Picture I don’t have room for: Will McKeimey wrote, “A pic ture of my son Michael (Captain, USMC) in his Harrier i s e n cl o se d . H e i s d e ployed on the carrier ESSEX in the Nort hern Arabian Gulf. Karen, my trophy wife of 39 years, still works in OSD, ReserveAf fairs- si n ce 9 / 1 1 sh e h a s b e en exceptionally busy due to the numerous Reserve and Guard call -ups and is sues. I have eased off from the“wage slave” routine an d n ow co n su l t f o r N o r t el Networks and a small fuel cell company.Will.”

Again, I 'm sorry to have missed those of you who couldn’t m ak e i t t o t h e reunion. There was a lot of discussion about having so m e i n f o r m al r eu n i o n s at variousplaces on a more frequent basis.We’Uhave t o w o r k o n t h a t . M e an while, if you’ve already received more information on t h e C l ass G i f t o r o n t h e History Project - as Gen Russ used to say, “Don’t kick t h e c an d ow n t h e st r eet !

G et o n w i th i t !”

Rick Zurbrugg

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2 9 2 9 Ga v i n Pla c e D u lut h , GA 3 0 0 9 6 E- m a i l : e z u r b @b e l ls o u t h .n e t

Hey ’65!

Reunion time: the big Four-Oh! Thanks to Jim Spittler for hisheads-up on this; “In logging on to the classwebsite for the fi rst time, usafal 965.org... our 40th is scheduled for 2-5 Nov2005with the headquarters h o t el t h e A n tl er s Hil ton (the old Antlerswith our Cadet Club)... supposed t o b e r e n o v a t e d f o r the second time this fall. Weekend of theArmy game an d C o r o n a C o n f er en ce .

USAEA doesn’t confi rm thefootball schedule as early as w e’d like, but thi s is th e best guess. Hope our game isn’t moved to Thursday: b u t w e w i l l w o r k ar o u n d it. Has it been four years since our last reunion? Please spread the word.”

ThanksJim, and I don’t know if there is anyonewho has done as much asyou

seven-plusyears to deal with; if it can be dealt with. I was gready disturbed by

w h at I w h at c all t h e ‘st at e o f t h e H o n o r C o d e’. I d o n ’t t h i n k t h e c a d et s ar e c o m mitted to the Honor Code— both in thevaluesit representsan d i n t h e ad m i n istration and enforcement of it by cadets which is cr i t i c al i f i t i s t o w o r k . T h i s wasvery disturbing and though it seemed that theleadership an d st af f u n d er

stood that therewas aproblem they seemed far from having comeup with any sort of solution. It isa hard problem but onethat must besolved if theAcademy is to remain viable as an institution... impressed with the Supt. Gen. Rosa; he seemed committed to dealing with the institutional nature of the problems and did not approach it as a problem that could be fixed easily or in a short time. That is an important first step in moving forward.” T h a n k s W ar r en f o r your take on these chal lenges.

Bart Holaday: “ ... SteveAmdor has some great pictures of th e old Jocks th at he could get to you. Howard Burkart could also giveyou a good summary for a tributeto Dick Czam ota that hewas able to organize.Also you may know this already, but we have finally gotten approval to have t h e t h e a t e r i n t h e n ew A th leti c H all of Excellen ce n am ed for Joe O’Gor m an ... my daughter Brett married awonderful young man named Martin Curry in Chicago in Septem ber. I wiUget you a picture before long.” Thanks Bart and congratulations.

Bob Panke: “OK... here’s somethin’! I just ran the Chicago Marathon at age 61and qualifi ed for the Boston Marathon in April. I met up with my 14-yearold daughter, Beth, at mile 20 and she ran the remaining 6 .2 m i l e s w i th m e t o the fi nish line. Here’s a photo of the “ 1OK Queen and Big Daddy”. She is ready to go and I am obviously feeling the effects of the last 20 miles!” Pank, you are my hero! Way to go!

h av e d o n e f o r o u r cl ass w i t h t h ese r eu n i o n s. Yo u ar e t h e m an .

St ev e Fi n ch : “ . . .h o rr en d o u s n ew s ab o u t o u r sch o o l about two yearsago;began

to call theAOGto fi nd out what wasreally happening... wasreferred to newspa per articles, and then theAOG put an index to relevant n e w s paper articleson their web page. I continued to presst h e A O G to try and fi nd the‘real ’ story. TheAOG had no better h an d l e on thehappeningsthan did theSupt and Comm Shop. M u ch to my surpriseand joy, acoupleof later gradsstarted an o n l i n e web page, USAEATODAY, at the end of Feb.There are ab o u t 32 1,000 gradson that sitenow, and it isoffering a unique insight into morerecent grad life. Dueto theparticipation it i s a m u ch Sabre Society D o n o rs morelively discussion. Dueto willingnessof recent lady grads to open themselvesto discussion, I haveamuch better u n d er standing of their perspective.They, too, have a dif ferent perspective on us ‘old dogs’ than when they fi rst started. For example, one grad said she now under standsthethought process of gradswho believe, for chivalrouspurposes, that w o m en sh o u l d n o t b e o n t h e f ro n t li n e o f co m b at i s not directed to her person ally. Shebelievesthat if sheneeded help, thesesamegradswould beout thefront door to help her, a fellow grad, before she fi nished stating her need— the type of camaraderiewhich I wish for all us grads. “ My purpose isto solicit your thoughtsabout a pitch i n t h e c l a ss n ew s ab o u t usingtheUSAFAToday site. I missed Kenny McAlear’sreply toWarren Langley’s actions relative to thewar in IRAQ. That is exactly the type of subject that gets a lot of play on USAFA Today. Both Ken and Warren are personal friends, and I would like to participate in, if even only by listening, a dialogue on the two viewpoints. God knows, we need rational dialogue in t h i s u n c er t ai n t i m e f o r our country.As an elected offi cial, former mayor and running again, I get really frustrated with those who will not dialogue on the proper way we need to go - they just pull thepin and tfirow grenades.Which injuresboth partieswithout any exchange of ideas,viewpoints, or thelike.” ThanksSteve for your thought ful comments and good luck in the election.

B il l Ro b er t s : Fo r t h o se t h at h av en ’t v i si t ed t h e cl ass website in a while, give it alook at TheUSAFA Classof 1965 <usafa1965.org>website. Fo r th o se th at h av e already seen it and used the Forum (Bulletin Board) there. I’m sorry this is a “mass mailing”.Another interesting place if you want to keep up with gradu ates and the Academy is the USAFA Today Graduat e Forum http;/ / www.usafatoday.com/ discussion/ index.php.

Thanks Bill for your (I am sure) hard work on the classw eb si t e as w eb m ast er .

Warren Langley; “.. .Bart (Holaday), Flash Wiley, and I an d sev er al o t h er ’65 er s were at theAcademy for the Conference held by theAOG in late July looking at where theAcademy is and where they want to go in t h e a f t e r m a t h o f t h e turmoil of the last couple of years... well covered in the last Checkpoin ts and in thevarious emailsfrom theAOG but I thought I would giveyou my personal impression... impressed and a bit surprised about how co n st m c t i v e th e r eac tion and the positive steps taken to deal with the gender and sexual assault issues. They characterized it as a deep-seated cultural problem that will take

if

Panke and Beth do Chicago!

SteveAmdon “ ...picturesfrom our OleJocks reunion hosted by John Conley at his ‘cabin’ on the Eagle River in Colorado. Gail O’Gor m an , Tim an d Jan e Murphy, Bart and Lynn Holaday,Wendell and Irene Harkleroad, H ow ar d an d Pat Burkar t, John and Randy Conley and Steve emd DonnaA m d o r a t t en d e d .

Larry Tollstam washavinga cancerouskidney removed in Michigan and could not attend. The operation went well and he is recuperating at home. The pic turewas taken at the halfway house on the Breckenridge Ski Slope.” Thanks Steve and it’s great to see the long term camaraderie of the Olejocks.

Old Jocks do EagleRi ver!

John Swan:” ...I am leaner and lighter because I am no longer carting around my prostate. Like so many others of our vintage, I h a d i t t ak en o u t f o r c an c er .

All post op tests indicate cancer was aUremoved: I feel so fortunate. I got in credible support from classmates. I retired July 1, fi ve weeks after the surgery.

Retirement is good. Taking 1st year Spanish at local JC, volunteering some, and enjoying north coast San Diego County life. Haveextra boogieboardsand fi ns; thebeach isjust four milesaway. Got Tom Gussel an d B o b L am b er t o u t in thewaves a few years ago, but no takers since.Will w ork on John Sell er s on hi s next businesstrip to San Diego. Classmates, comeseeus and let ustakeyou the beach.” ThanksJohn and continue to make a great recovery— do y o u w o rr y ab o u t M r . G r eat W h i t e?

12 9

Mike Krause; “It’sbeen aboring fall without icehockey, even if theWashing ton Caps have not been winners over the past few years... I d o h av e a n A FA hockey T-shi rt even though theseshi rtswerenot availablet o u s b ack i n th e 60 ’s.

Greetings, Joe Koenig: “.. .wasn’t in shape for thewhole marathon but I par ticipated in the Istanbul Marathon’sfun run. It is only about 10 kilometersbut you get to run acrossthe “fi rst ” bridge. It letsyou r u n i n t e r co n t i n en t al - - A si a to Eu rop e.

Thanfo to all you faithful fellowsfor your response to my pleasfor classnews and seeyou in Nov 2005 for thebig Four-Oh. Bewell, do good work, and keep in touch. As the Roc would say, “Cheers!" Rick Rya n De nny 163 5 Mary Todd Lane

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a s fB B e r s

O’ Fa llo n , IL 6 2 2 6 9

H: (6 18 ) 6 24-4 25 5 W: (3 14 ) 2 3 2-5117 E-ma il: rya nd en@aol.co m

Greetings Redtags! Well, the “Bring me men” sign has been gone for some time now. I guess it was an inevitableloss— likemy hair, eyesight, etc. How ever, theAcademy has selected a great replacement; Integri ty First. Ser vice B ef o r e Self . Ex c el l en ce in A il We D o . T h ese w o r d s st ar t ed out astheAcademy’s CoreValues and then, on Gen Ron Fogleman’swatch, b e cam e t h e A i r Fo r c e’s CoreValues. Even though these values hadn’t been articulated yet when we wererunni ng up and down that Ramp, they reflect what wewerebeingtaught and what we believed. (And they are a lot better than “Bring me Persons”.)

If you’vebeen keeping up with USAFA news, or read th e l a st i ssu e o f Ch eck poin ts (on page66) you know that Han Mueh waspromoted to Brigadier Gen eral, retired asVice Dean of Faculty, and selected as t h e n ew A t h l et i c D ir ec t o r pretty much all at thesametime. Hewasthelast member o f o u r cl ass w h o w as still on active duty. As you can see in the picture below, a rowdy group of Redtagshelped Hans celebrate hispromotion and retirement.

of thetime peri od when abunch of uswere at UCLA in 1966-67, getting a quick master’sdegree i n Business. In the nine monthswew ere th ere, about 10 of th e gang got married. So, everywedding(everymonth),wasattended by the same group of Redtags. Wejust traded places between the groom, best man, and membersof the “Saber Arch” — the Rent-a-Redtag of Southern C ali f o r n i a . B u t I digress... back to the Riley wedding: Bill ’s son will be moving to Colorado Springs to practice intern al medicine at Penrose Main H o s pital, and hisbride, Jennifer, who has her master’s degree in nursing, wiUbe teaching nursing at Pikes Peak Community College. I’m not sure how Kenny took this picture, si n c e h e is in it; but, asyou can see, the group of Redtags m a d e a r e a sonable attempt to look civil.

34 While in Salt Lake City, Kenny spent theweekend with Tip and Kim Galen Tip just retired from United Airlines (it ’s th at Sabre Society Do n o rs ’60 s thing) and is now looking for a third career fr o m w h i ch to retire. Hugh and Sandra Gomm el flew in for a day of fl y fi shing that same weekend. Hugh is still flying the panel for Northwest Air lines, mainly to Amsterdam or Honolulu. He’s having t o o m u ch f u n t o r et i r e anyti me soon.

Afew moreretirementsto talk about —ChuckKennedy retired from Northrop Grumman after 18 years on the B-2 program. His e-mail said that they have moved to Ft Walton Beach and “life is good.” (That was in August, about two w ee k s b ef o r e t h e fi r st o f t h r e e h u r r i c a n e s h i t t h e area— Chuck, are you still having fun?) Mike Blair has also retired after 15years in the Engineering De partment for the city of AnchorageAK. Some bald eagles did a fly-by through the Northern Lights, while a herd of moose and caribou passed in review.

Now Mike can spend full time at his Settlement House o u t i n t h e w o o d s. To m Brandon has also just retired from United Airlines and just returned from a th ree-w eek vacati on to Al aska. Wh i le still in Colorado, Tom got to present the award for the Outstanding Cadet in Parachuting. This award is sponsored by the Class of ’66 in memory of Pete Johnston. There’s a little bit of history to remember our long red line.

i i

Cadet WiUiam Wisehar t accep ts the Outstanding Cadet in Parachuting award

f r o m Tom B r an d o n .

Classmatesattemp t to defrock therecently promoted B G H an s M u eh . F r o m

left are Ray Milberg, Larry Bagley, Eric Lindberg, Joh n Eal , Tom L ei b, Ber n i e Am el s (on h i s f eet f or on ce), D ex ter H n at, BG H an s M ueh , Wayne Skora, Jeff

Egge, Tom Gunther, PeteMorrelli, and Rick Parsons. Not shown isphotogra pher extraordinaire, Kenny Boone.

In addition to takingthisgreat shot, Kenny Boonehasbeen wanderingaround the country, snapping photos of Redtagswherever he fi nds them. Kenny is working for Northrop Grumman, helping them test and fi eld aTraining Infor mation Management System for AETCpilot training. Hisboss is D r (a PbD — not a real doctor) Bill Riley, the program manager for this project. Bill ’s son.

Dr (a real doctor) Shawn Riley, wasgetting married inSalt L^ eCityandsome of the same rowdy Redtags showed up to help them celebrate. I t r em i n d s m e

Wayne Skora and some of the ’66ersin Colorado want to know who might be interested in goingon acruisenext year to celebrateour 39* anniversary. If there is enough interest, Wayne will try to get it organized. Sen d h i m an e - m ai l at wskora@juno.com and givehim your thoughtsonwhat month,how longacruise, and preferred destination (asif it madea differencefor thiskind of trip).Wayne thinks that thiscruisewould bea good warm up for o u r 4 0* Reu n i o n in 20 06 .

I’ve still got a few great pictures from Kenny Boone’s adven tures, w h i ch I ’U get into the next article or two; but let ’s hear some news from the rest of you guys. Have a great Christmas, and until next time... Happy Landings!

La rry Wilso n 1 3 1 0 0 Pin e h u rst Ave . N E

m e m b e rs

Albuque rque, NM 8 711 1 H: (50 5 ) 29 1-8 9 4 9 E- m a i l ; Lw i ls n 6 2 8 @a o l .c o m

The Riley wedding. From lef t are Larry Bagley, Wayne Skora, Bill Riley (fa ther of thegroom), Jennifer Ril ey, Dr Shawn Riley, Ross Gubser, Kenny Boone,

an d Tom G un th er .

13 0

Hola amigos! As I compose this, it is autumn in New M exi co, an d th e h ot ai r is flowing, fi guratively and literally: in addition to the political bombast, the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta launched several hundred hot air balloons again thisyear. They (the balloons, that is) are spectacular. Some of you may have seen the news reports where one of them - Smokey the Bear — managed to wrap itself around a several- hundred- foot radio tower w h i ch st an d s n e ar t h e launch fi eld (?), resulting in the 70-i- year-old pilot and two young boys climb ing out of the balloon’sbasket, then descending ladder i n si d e t h e r ad i o t ow er .

Quite an adventure for all, captured on many amateur an d n ew s c am er a s. A power company repairman partially ascended the tower and assisted theboys down and a hero wasborn. No injuries. Except for Smokey, who wasbeyond resc u e .

Enough of that. You may recall that last quarter I had aletter from Ken Spro ul, doing medical mission work in Africa. Here is an update f rom Ken , w h ose

adventure took a turn: “ .. .The past two-three months have been extremely diffi cult for me, but He is with me and has given me all the strength I have needed everyday. I just returned fr om a ‘vacation’ i n A d d i s A b a b a a n d A r b a Mincb. Unfortunately, I became very ill about two weeks ago. All of this has culminated in some changes in plans... but Christ is i n c o n t r o l . 1 d o n ’t h av e t o worry about anything; I just sit back and let Him take o v e r ! ...I took a four-day trip to Arba Mincb, Ethiopia to ‘get away’ and see some other parts of Ethiopia. It is in a beautiful area of southern Ethiopia and is located on two large lakes. I toured a national park and saw what few indig enous animals that remain here— zebra, dik-diks, hartebeest, gazelle, and b ab o o n s. W e al so w e n t o u t o n o n e o f t h e l ak es a n d saw hippos, hundreds of birds, and many, many crocodile. Needless to say, I took many photos.

“I also spent several weeks in AddisAbaba, the capital city of Ethiopia. 1did m o r e R& R t h e r e a s w el l a s so m e v o l u n t e er w o r k i n a mission run by Mother Theresa’s order of sisters— Missionaries of Charity. It i s a h o m e f o r th e ‘d esti tute and dying’ of Addis. The sisters also have a home f o r ch i l d r en w i t h A I D S. I wasagain struck by a poem I had mentioned before:What can I do? I am only one person! But... I am one person and I can help one or more other people.

And if 1can help, I should help!

“And now some changes in my life are going to take place. My age, some of my previous health problems and my current health problems have ‘ganged up’ on me. Whilein Arba Minch, a city full of mosquitos, I co n t act ed a b ad case of malaria and/ or relapsing fever. I don’t think I h av e ev e r b ee n so i l l b e f o r e.

The bottom line is that 1am returning to the U.S. a couple of months sooner than I had planned. As soon as travel plans can be m ade, I will be returning to Indiana. I look forward to seeing m y children, my grandson Brodee, my mother and all my ch u r ch I 1 fr iendsvery soon. What happens then is all in His h an d s.”

Ken - we are glad you are back on home turf, and we t r u s t you are doing well - Welcome home!

24 The CS-12 crew had a reunion that was slightly diff erent fr om the USAFA football weekend genre: they went to Sco t Sabre Society Do no rs land. And had a great adventure. Here is a report of t h e i r activities, fr om Susan (d/w Ed) Cunningham : “Tranquil 1 2 celebrated a mini-reunion with a “Taste of the Highlands” tour acrossbonny Scotland. AsJim Bannwart said, any trip can include the usual tourist high lights; it was the extrasthat madethismemorable. T h o se ex t r as in cl u d ed M ik e and Susan Leonard visiting a statue of Robert Burns carved by Mike’s great grandfather; dinner and whisky toastinguntil theweeh o u r s at Cu ll o d en H o u se

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w i th th e RAF Ki nl oss’ St ation Com m an der, st aff an d w ives; an d a t our of Ft .

George followed by a reception with the Royal Irish F u si l i er s B a t t al i o n C o m mander and staff .Another unexpected bonuswaswhen one of Rich Hughes’ clients— awhisky conglomerate CEO— had Oban Distillery properly intro d u c e u s t o Sc o t l a n d ’s “ w a t e r o f l i f e ”.

“We became quite profi cient at being piped into dinner, giving toasts, and keeping up with Ed [Cunningham ] ashe sped along thewinding, fast, scenic sin^ e-track roadsacrossScotland. Wevisited many pubs, picnicked besides a bonny loch and skeet-shooted in the Highlands. The guys golfed; thewives craft-shopped. We honored ancestors, celebrated birthdays; t o a st e d c o al i tion partners, and rejoiced in the impending fi rst-time grandparenthood of Rich and Georgeann Hughes and Ron and DianaMarquette. Weshared laughs,

question on everyone’smi nd was...'what isJim going t o d o t o f o r an en co r e o n Maryarm’s next birthday?”’

This has been a tough year in Florida, where some of our group live, who have been aff ected by the summer’shurricanes. Among t h e m ar e A b n er an d Pattie Haynes, in Destin. An abbreviated note fr om Pa t t i e : “ . . .A b n e r h a d t o evacuatewith the doggies. Hewent to Georgia.We sustained only minor dam age. Our neighborswere not so lucky. Lost roof. We are on high ground even tho we’rejust 11/2 blocks fr om beach. Dunes now are gone. Very little beach left. Just cliff . Stairs gone. Abner has been so busy in neighborhood helping neighbors and getting our yard cleared. I was gone for 11days. So glad to be home and still have a home. Wasn’t expecting to. Feel really blessed.”

Some of you eagle eyed folks might have spotted a few o f o u r n u m b er in t h e crowd of the USAFA- Navy game: Jack and Molly Fry; Dale, Paul and Beverly Schlichter, Ralph and Tommi Femri te; Tom and Beth Griesser and Gary and Susan Fedel. Guys, you should have cheered just a bit l o u d e r .

A sign of our PC times: “Bring me men” was replaced on the ramp wall with “Integrity First. Service Before Self. Excellence in A l l W e D o .” O h w ell .

By the time this is printed and published we will have elect ed , or re-elected , a Pr e si d en t . G o d b l ess t h e U n i t ed St a t es o f A m e r i c a .

Take care- Vaya con Dios!

T i m Da v id s o n

9712 Hidde n Va lley Road Vienna, VA 22 18 1-6 0 94 (703 ) 2 55-5313 Fax: (70 3 ) 2 5 5-5377

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M e m ti e r s

E- m a i l : t i m d @e ro ls .c o m

COL-OH -RAD O H ERE I COM E, RIGH T BACK WH ERE I STARTED FROM . .

. (sung to a familiar refr ain that normally features one of our West Coast states).

HELLO’68! Your Scribeisona“Roc^ Mountainhigh” w i th tw o, f un -fi ll ed

visits to the “Purple Mountains Majesty” state during the past three months and plansto return again in November for Ed Eberhart’s r et i r e m en t a s C o m m an d er o f N o r t h e r n C o m m an d an d N O RA D .

LEGACY CLASSDEPT: My fi rst foray to Colorado in 2004 w as m ade, osten si bly, to attend theAcceptance Parade for the Class o f 2 0 0 8 . Si n c e o u r c l a ss w i l l havematriculated 40yearsearlier than theClassof 2008,weweredesignated as 2008’s“Legacy Class.” As such, their class’ copies of Contrailswerepurchased through our class’ Gif t Fund. Asyou will remember fr om our four-year, USAFA adventure, thisfact-packed, knowledgebook includesan ample supply of your favorite quotes, songs, cheers, aircraf t descriptions, et c . T h e d i f er en ce ab o u t thi s editi on , how ever, is th at it con tain s a sub stan ti al am o u n t o f i n f o r m at i o n about our class in th e fr ont section . (Scri be note: TheAOG haskindly provided

a copy of the same Contrails presented to the Class of 2008 to all of us Legacy ’68ers. If you have not received your copy, please con tact th e AOG.)

old m em ories, an d m ade n ew on es.

“Wewere nicely cared for at thehistory-laden Culloden Houseand thedeeply relaxingTaychreggan, part of the Romantic Placeshotel group owned by ’67ers Cunningham (both Ed and Tom), Marquette, and other cl a ssm at es. L a st b u t not least, we celebrated a milestone birthday of Maryann B an n w a r t o n o u r fi nal night of the trip — complete wi th haggis, piper, Jacobite ghost, and a sumptuous birthday cake baked for her by CuUoden’s pastry chef. With all of us decked out in full formal Scottish regalia (see photo) the one remaining A

i

.

f

Men in Skir ts: Tf an quil 12 at Culloden House. From lef t areMikeand Christy Leonard; Jim an d Maryann Bannwar t; Ed and Susan Cunningham; Ri ch an d Georgeann Hughes an d Ron and Diana Marquette.

Pepper-Steak by Chef Staley in the ‘‘cabin".

Well, now you’veheard the offi cial purpose of my visit, but in reality, I elected to treat myself to a little R&Ron the fr ont-end of my trip, courtesy of Steve and Connie Stal ey and Carl and Debbie Janssen. After fi nishing h i s c l a sse s a t Colorado Tech for theweek, Steve picked me up fr om the Denver airport on Friday, Aug 6* . We then drove to the cabin he designed (th e casu al ob server would probably call it avery largehouse) near Fairplay, CO at about th e 10,000foot level on theway to the Breckinridge Ski Resort. As theyounger members of our families might opine, “It was totally, AWESOME!” Following a great pepper-steak dinner on Friday night and some perfunctory hiking on Satur day that left me huffi ng and puffi ng for some of that 10,000-foot 0 2, St eve grabbed a fly fi shing rod fr om hisgarage and wewent down to a private stream that is sequestered for use by a group of local landowners. St ev e t o l d m e h e was going to give me a demo on the rod and said he would try his luck at catching a trout. It was quite a demo! He cast his l i n e a b o u t si x t i m es n e ar a b en d i n th e st r e am an d h a d a t r o u t o n h i s h o o k i n ab o u t three minutes. Very impressive! After reeling the speckled beauty in, be r el ea sed i t b a ck t o M o th er 13 1

Nature. From there, we went to Fairplay “Beach.” (Maude, it really looked like a largepond with a stream fl owing into and out of it , but in Colorado, af ter more than five years of drought, I guess the term “beach” is appropriate.)

Following a walking tour of the “beach” and a driving tou r of th e t own , w e headed to C-Springsto spend thenight in Steve’s and C o n n i e’s r est o r e d V i ct o rian home, originally buUt in the 1880s. Steve and I played backgammon and then got awork out on hisTiger Woodsvideo golf game i n h i s h o m e en t er t ai n ment center. On Sunday, wewent to Manitou Springs t o h av e a w h o l eso m e breakfast. Peoplethere, still wear “Hippy” clothesand let their hair hang down to the fl oor. Non-residents are readily identifiable and appear as though they’ve been imported into the town fr om thefuture. O n e o f th e n am es o f t h e shops that really caught my eye is “Filthy Wilma’s” w h i ch w a s est ab l i sh ed i n the 1800s and is still in operation today.

if ghter that had Dick Ewers and Bill Brockett, our NASA test-pilot classmates, at the controls. Immediately aft er fl ying over the reviewing stand, they lit the afterburners, the craft roared, and they went straight up toward the sun for about 10,000 feet beforeleveling off and heading back t o t h eir h o m e st a t i o n at EdwardsAFB in California. Dick and Bill, we know you were showing off , but you didn’t break any windows and it was awe-inspiringjust the same. Thanks for a great performance! (Scribe note: We had Air Force photographerswho took some shots of our group in the reviewing stands. I w^ trytoget acopyof one of those group photosfr om theAOG for the next column and giveyou the list of classmates attending the function.)

ReeseAFB Pil ot Training Class 70-01holds 35-year reunion at AFAcademy

an d N o r th er n C o m m an d .

Carl Janssen, shown here as his al ter-ego, “GuacamoleM an , " h osts cl ass mates and guests beforelegacy parade.

Af ter breakfast and awalk/ drive around Manitou Springs, w e w en t b a ck t o Chez Staley and I packed my duds in preparation for my visit with Carl and DebbieJanssen in Monument. Carl’s and Debbie’s spacious ab o d e ov er l o o k s a lakethat isfr equented by ducks, heron, fi sh, foxes, an d an o cc asi o n al b o b c at or mountainlion.Althou^ retired,Carl teachessomeManagement classesat theAir ForceAcademy— gratis! In addition to hisclasses, h e isan activesupporter of theAcademy’sWomen’sSoccer Team .

On Monday morn ing, we did somehousehold chores and I helped Carl and Debbie get ready for the party they w e r e hosting that night for about 40 classmates and guests w h o were coming to town to participate in the Legacy Class P a 32 rade on Tuesday. Just before the guests arrived, wew er e si t Sabre Society ting on the front porch and a large red fox approached. I t Dono rs seemsthat Debbie,who had been accustomed to havingdogs aspetsaUof her life, hasbeen “dog-less” since they m ov ed t o Colorado fi veyearsago. Consequently, Debbie had been feedingthelocal fox and hewas quite used to walking up to seewhether t h i s n ew - f o u n d “ Sai n t o f Monument” had left any sustenancefor the earth’s creatures that day. Follow ing thefox-sighting experience, the classmates arrived. Our gangwastreated to a feast of shrimp cocktail, salad, lasagna, bread, w in e, b eer, sof t dr in ks, an d a ’68-emblemmed sheet cake. As a personal observer, I noted that avery good, and appetite-satiating, timewas had by all.

H

COLORADO TRIP #2 DEPT: I was back in Colorado, again, from 29 Sept-3 Oct for my 35-Year Pilot Training Reunion for the Class o f 7 0 - 0 1 f r o m Re e se AFB. USAIA classmates, spouses, and guestsjoiningm e f o r t h e ev en t in cl u d ed : Marty and Claudia Cole; Bob and Mercy Daley:Tom and Gem m a Dr eier ; D an a Drenkowski ; Bill Drennan; Tony and Janet Eden; Jand Lynn Perron; Bill and Nancy Gauntt; Clark and Maria Gerhardt; Dan and Wendy H i t es; Ch arlie an d Nancy Holland; Bob, Marty, and Sarah Lutter; Gary McDonald; Brian O’H ar a; Geo Rob er t s; Gen e an d Jan Rose; Bill an d D on n a Sasz; Joh n an d Ch ar lott e

Sullivan : and Rhip and Betsy Worrell . Events included the AF-Navy game,

vi sit s to North ern Com m an d an d U SAFA, a din n er, an d a banquet. The photo

wastaken at thebanquet,whereCharlieHolland, served asour keynotespeaker.

PASSING OF CLASSMATE: I just received word from Jim Thomas of Larry Meredith’s unexpected death during abrief stay in thehospital near his home in Hawaii. Our sincere condolences and earnest thoughts and prayers go to Larry’s wife, Pat, and their family during this diff i cult period.

THAT’S A WRAP: With my son Scott in Iraq and my son-in-law F r e d Cunningham (’94) in Qatar, I am ever mindful of the m en an d w o m en w h o ar e serving our country in harms way. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. Mind the fl ak; keep ’em fl ying, and keep those car ds, lett er s, e-m ail s, and photos coming in. Ciao for now. Tim

j/j' Lindsey Parris 7 '

6 16 King’s Cloist er Circle Alexa nd ria, VA 2 2 3 0 2 Home: (703 ) 83 6-3 6 04

69%

E- m a i l : \VIDEfi l '

10 2 17 7.10 3 3 @compuserve.com

Greetings all, hopefully basking still in the afterglow of another superlative reunion. Thanksto the always-attentive ministrationsof theAOG’s Lani Wmg an d to Glenn Schl abs an d hi sw ondr ous crew of volu nteers (Tom Baumgardner, Gerry Boesche,SteveEdelman, Ron Hindmarsh,Ron Lisowski,Gary H ow e, Scott Matheson, Randy Percy, Berr Reiter, and Art Schwall), t h e r est o f u s w ere ab l e t o relax, party,renew fi i endships,takeaquiet moment to h o n o r t h e 5 1 o f o u r b r o t h ers

w h o h ave m oved on to th eir et ern d r ew ar d s, an d , for on e great even in g, t o

General Ed Eberhar t welcoming the Class of 2008 in to the Cadet Wing.

(Photo by Blair Stewart.)

On Tuesday (Aug 10th), Carl, Debbie, and I got aUgussied up and went to the Ai r ForceAcademy parade ground where the entering Cl ass o f 2 0 08 m ar ch ed in after havingjust completed Basic Traini ng. Ed Eberhart did a masterful job in delivering awarm and welcomingacceptance speech to theincoming class.

Af ter Ed’s remarks, nine of us were selected to give inscribed copies of Con trailsto theninemost outstanding cadetswho had just completed BasicTrain ing. Another highlight of the picture-perfect day was a fl y-by of a NASA F-18 13 2

dance like the wind. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, al l .

A quick recap for those who weren’t able to attend. Breaking through to attend a Class reunion for the fi rst timewere, among o t h ers, Mell Stober, Ralph Paglia, MikeWetterer, Karl B r u c e , Dick Pavel, Jeff Grime, andJim Kula. They came at thel ast 4 I 1 minute. Rusty Spradling signing up the day before festivi ties commenced and Jeff Snyder breaking out of the Colo rado back-country in time to attend the opening evening’s 57 activities (with Nino Bal dacci in tow, I might add). N o r was distance an object: Bob Bell cameto us fr om Belgium, Sabre Society Do n o rs and Tom Fleming from the other direction, Hawaii. Chip Ambrose rodehis BMW road bike aUtheway fr om Alexan dria,VA — and back. The weather was mostly good, perhaps highlighted by a perfect Colorado fall day for a spectacular outing among the fi ery aspen at Farish (doubt today’s cadets appreciate it aswe did; recall how you savored the fi rst food you had all summer that was not preceded by questioning and

shouting;threepiecesof fried chicken, an appleand a candy bar never tasted

so mouth-watering).

Out on the fields of friendly strife, many of the Class’ terrific golfers plied their trade in lessthan perfect weather: Mike Goode, Jef f Grim e, John Buckn er , Ron Marcotte, MikeBeezley,Tom Keck, Ron Marcotte, and Skip Daley, among others, toted their clubs and demonstrated dexterity in using them. Buddy Herrington, Ron Hindmarsh and Charlie Baldwin led the Classin the alwaysmoving Memorial Ceremony, the roll call of deceased classmates now taking more time, and becoming even more poignant with thewords of Katy (Ray) Kile’s poem, “Absent, Sir”, echoing throughout the chapel.

Although John and JaneDallager wereunableto attend thegala dinner dueto a family illness, the Classjoined in feting them for their extraordinary grace under extraordinary pressure; and Terry and Diane Schwalier w ere w i th u s th i s time aswell, and we took full advantage of the long-overdue opportunity to offer well-deserved acknowledgement to them for standing so t al l w h e n t h e goingbecame so tough. All of you, even thosenot present that night, may have sensed, if not heard, thewarm, extended applauseto th ese t w o o f o u r b r o th er s.

Therewasadequate ti me at this reunion to cobble together get-togethers of squadron mates, athleti cteammates, and other like-minded groups. Shown in the photo are revelers fr om 2P‘ Squadron (plustwo welcome ’69 interlop ers),ra yingonSaturdayaft ern oonbeforetheSaturdayevening rejoin (more pix in the next Checkpoin ts).

2P' and friendsgo retro: SteveKirby, Rich Wade, John Buckner, Skip Daley, Tom Pillari, Craig Up ton, Bog Toth, Glenn Kane, Malcolm Ward, Gerry Boesche,

an d Jack D avi s.

Herearethe greytagsfrom Seagram’sSeven, taking a b reat h er fr o m th e d an ce

f lo o r.

that for years.” " Great to see the people that were an d ar e th e b e st f ri en d s I ’v e ever had.” “Best reunion ever for me.” “Hard to imagine a more special group of people.” “Time only seems to strengthen our bonds.” You get the drift . But onJy a stage-setter for the next one! So, plan nowon attending then, and help make our 40th the biggest in USAFA’shistory.

You should know the Class still has several serving in uniform: Wally Moorhead, John Hopper , and Charlie Baldwi n on active duty, and Bugs Forsythe, Rich Spooner, Roger Lempke and Craig Collins i n t h e A R C . D ar r el Whitcomb, in muft i, is flying missions out of Balad, Iraq, a city he says is like Vegas, but with no vegetation. ’69 still operating in harm’sway, in theyear 2004, through these gentlemen.

O t h er s al so c o n t i n u e sec o n d a n d ev en t h i r d c ar ee r s in public service. Clay Bail ey runs Kentucky’sTransportation Cabinet, wit h a budget in excess of $1 b ill i on . CJ Wax con t in u es alm ost as if i n u n if or m , working to effect major effi cienciesand vastly enhanced servicein the multi-servicemilitary exchanges thorough consolidation. And any number of the Classcontinueto work tough defense issues at avariety of levels. Even a partial listing is staggering, and in cludes great talents like John Banbury, Bob Bell , Mike Bigler , Bill Dalecky, George DePhiUipi, Steve Edelman,Tom Fleming, Jeff Grim e, Tom H ak em an , Eoot Ingersoll ,Tom Keck, Bill MaGill , Ron Marcotte, Ken M edl in , Erank M oor e, Tim Mueller, Jack Overstreet , Tip Osterthaler, Jim Pet ek , Jef f Posn er , D on Rakestraw, SteveSturm, Ron Sullivan,Bob Sutter, RandyWalti , CharlieWein ar t, Jim Williams, and Stan Rosen. And that isjust thetip of the iceberg. The Class is far fr om fi n i sh ed , th en . Prom th e fi n est an d safest of new technologies and systems, to improved quality of life for the brave m e n an d w o m e n w h o ser v e in uniform, to action at the very tip of the sword, t h e C l a ss c o n t i n u es t o c o n tribute importantly to national defense, Down in Houston,Tom Solomon and Bob TVoy are collaborating t o r ev i t al ize that city’s network of military academy graduates. (John Banbury,VP of fleet and airline support for Boeing’s commercial business, an d Ri ch Belden , as recounted here last issue, run a similar group, for our A OG, out in Seattle.)

Also in Houston, Ralph Freeman revisited hislate ’60s roots, taking in a revival of “FIAIR” (who were those guyswho slipped it onto the PA system during the lunch meal formation way back when?), and running into fellow pilgrim Bob Gemignani in attendance. Bob is Founder and President of VSI, Inc. Tim Mason continues to brew and cook up a storm in Glenwood Springs, CO. Put hisGlenwood Canyon Brew Pub (on 7* Street) on the list during your next skiingvacati on that takesyou out near theWest Range. When not oversee ing his culinary operations, Tim is still logging some impressive mileage on foot — h ow does 7:15 m il es at 6,000 feet soun d?

Big non-USAFA sports news asof thiswriting involves th e Red Sox, an d w ho among you who loves baseball cannot enjoy this? If t h e A r i z o n a D i a m o n d backs, whose principal owner is ’69’s own Mike Chipman , can’t repeat as baseball ’s champs, then why not the nine from Beantown?

In th e m ean tim e. Go Fal con s. M ore n ext tim e. Ch eers to you and yours for a marvelous holiday season. Lindsey D ic k Ra u s c h k o l b

13 0 Luxury La ne Colorado Springs, CO 8 0 9 2 1 H: (719 ) 4 8 1-3 23 9 W: (719 ) 472-0 30 0/ DSN: 3 3 3-20 6 7

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E- m a i l : D ic k .Ra u s c h k o l b @u s a f a .a f .m i l

Gerry “Dirt " Brown, Scott Sonnenberg, Roger Har tman, JD Br um m i t, Bri an Nelson, Rusty Spradling, Gobi Desser t, Steve Edelman, Ralph Paglia, John Warner, Gery Scbwar tzel, Jim Kula, and Glenn Schlahs at thegal a.

Each night, the late rejoinslingered on and on,with few wanti ngto leave, the catching-up only seemingly just begun. The only mild b l em i sh o n a n o t h er wise perfect weekend was the lossto Navy, but the game exemplifi ed thevery best of high-level sports encased in an interservice rivalry.

As thenoteyou have received already explains, we al so h el d a Cl ass b u sin ess meetingto review briefly some of the Classprojectsundertaken in thepast fi ve years; to discuss the Class’ 35* Reunion gift of Contrails t o t h e C l a ss o f 2 0 0 9 (thanksto Terry Brady, Chris Paulson, Berr Reiter, and David Wagner for their great work on this); and most import antly to discusswhat we hopewill prove to be a sizable and notable Class gift , somethingworthy o f o u r Cl a ss Se fi th at helps USAFA conti nue to develop national leaders of great character, to high light our 40* reunion — long the Class’ target for a substanti al gift to our alma mater. David Wagner and I outlined a processby which we hopeto determine the monetary size, type, and timing of this gift . An a c c o u n t w i l l h av e b e e n established by the timeyou read this should you wish to “gift ” donations ear marked for that purpose duringthis (’04) tax year.

Most suggested thiswas the fi nest reunion yet: “ .. .haven’t yukked it up like

Yikes! Falcon football was a disaster thisyear — at least we beat Army.What a disappointi ng season. The lossto Navy seemed to h av e t ak en t h e w i n d o u t o f our sails.Wehavebeen starting afreshman at quarterback— Shaun Carn ey. He is going to be good, but starting a doolie at QB givesy o u an idea of wherethe program is.We are also starti ng a few fr esh men at other positions. Hopefully, the future will be bright.

4 I 1 Let’s hope the basketball team can duplicate its success o f last year and gain another trip to theNCAAs.Webeat O l e M i ss and almost beat Marquettein thefi nalsof a tourn ament. L a s t 66 year was awesome and wehave three startersreturning plus Sa bre Soc i ety some sophomoreswho saw signifi cant playing time.

Do n o rs Rich and Nanci Downing hosted a bunch of Seventy men and their significant others at their home aft er the N ew Mexico game. The Downings deserve a gold medal for putting on a great spread. I am sure I wil l leave someone out — but here goes on a list of attend ees: Larry and Charlotte Tieman , Tony and Val Marietta, Tooey and Carol Emery, Mark and Kristi Ewig, Brian and Olinda Spitzer, C o o k a n d C h r i s Villareal , Carl and Barbara Bang, Larry and Marlene Bu sh , Ru ss an d Su san Carparelli , CJBohn , Roger and Sharon Hill , Bill and Pam Kirkman, Gerry and Ann Shaw, Larry and JoanneVaughn , Steve and Kathy Sharkey, and Shawn and Jes Raintree. Great eats and adult beverageswere enjoyed by all!

At the games, theusual gang of idiotsmeet at halfti me t o d i scu ss th e Eal c o n s’ gridiron fortunes and solve the war in Iraq. Roger H iU, D av e Gaw , Cook ViUareal, Bob McKinney, and Mick Davey are usually found there. Speaking of Mick Davey, he sent me the picture below which is a r eal cl a ssi c f r o m t h e ’7 0

S ' hi

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archives. Seems C/3C Critt Hughes and some other classmates w h o w e r e “whacked” persuaded Geoff Kammerer to dress up as an orphan for Opera tion Easter. Geoff participated in the Easter egg hunt and managed to gather enough candy to feed his squadron for aweek!

UStogether. Speedy Martin offi ciated at the ceremonies. O th er cl assm at es i n attendance included Skip Bennett , Gary Baxter, Ed Cole, Carroll Huneycutt , Tim Kinnan , Dave Love, George Rayl, Randy Royce and Wild BUI Stealey.The boysvoted to “restore” Tom’s name to what we all know h i m as — D o c W ask ow .

k!

Class of 1970Men Support Operation Easter in Unique Way. This past summer theAOG hosted a Graduate Leadership C o n f er en c e f o r grads around the country. It was an opportunity to get theword out to gradu ates on the many changes here at USAFA. The Supt spent o v er six h o u r s an swering questions. Seventy was represented by BJBjorklund, Ed Col e, M ark Ewig, Roger Hill, Dave Gaw, John Jernigan, Mike Kelley, M ike Tor r ean o , our class president, Mike Upson, and your scribe. This is going to be an annual conference, let me know if you would liketo attend next year — probably the Thursday and Friday before the last weekend in July.

I see fi 'om somenewsclipsthat '70 men are doingweU. Northrop Grumman recently selected Craig Johnson as vice president of its newly-formed Network-Centric Systemsdepartment. DaveMacGhee ison thenominating com m i tt ee f o r t h e A O G B o ar d . Saw D av e an d K at h l een at the SDSU game— Dave is working for Netj et in Ohio. George Sparks is the n ew C E O a t t h e D e n v e r Museum of Nature and Science. I am sure some of my famous chemistry ex periments from Doolie year won’t be on display — but perhapsTim Kiiman and Cliff King can provide the recipe for the wine they made in the dorm.

Speaking of Tim, here is a nice picture of Tim and Ed C o l e at T i m ’s r et i r e m en t c er em o n y.

’70 San dbaggerspay tribute to Doc Waskow ’s stell ar A i r F o r c e car e er . Fr o m left areSkip Bennett, Ed Cole, DaveLove, Sp eedy Mar tin, Doc, Wil d Bill Stealey, Gary Baxter, Tim Kinnan, and Randy Royce.

Chuck Weir strongly recommendswe all start swimming f o r ex er c i se . H e swimsdaily at theASU pool and said theworkoutsreally invigoratehim. Chuck isa proud brother ashisbrother Pete becamea district judge here in Colorado.

Dan McFadden checked in — I suspect he is in mourning not only over his sorry golf game but also over the election results. Terry and Sharon Dessert moved to Yahala, EL.They sold their other home on the eve of one of the major

h u rrican es th at h it n ear th em . If it h ad b een m e, I wouldhavepurchased^ e

house only to see it get washed away into the ocean. Marilyn and I had a great dinner with A1and Judy Simoncic and BJand Kathy Bjorklimd t h i s su m m er .

Saw Scott an d Joan ie Bar k er at th e BYU deb acl e.

Golf has a habit of drawing ’70 men together. This p ast sum m er I saw Bri an Prendergast, Greg Gilles, and Jerry McKee at theEisenhower co u r se . I al so h a d a chance to play with Rich Mandas and Rick Lesch. It was a good match — I believe Mr. Lesch had to reach for a few sheckles to pay the medalist — yours truly.Wild Bill Stealey says he has a 5 or 6 handicap index — must be playing putt-putt golf. On a sad note, Jim Lipp, long time assistant pro at Eisenhower and a close friend of mine passed away in late October. Jim was John Lipp’s

b roth er an d I saw Joh n at th e f un eral . H e n ow h as hi s o w n b u si n e ss i n Sa c r a

mento. Dave Sterling’s son Douglas recently got married. I t i s o b v i o u s f r o m this picture that the Sterling men married up considerably.

E d C ol e on b eh alf of th e Cl ass of ' 70 sal u tes Tim an d Su e K ir m an f o r th et o v er

34years of service.

Just saw Phil Meilinger giving a presentation here at D o o l i t t l e H al l — h ad t o beon Airpower — Phil’s passion. Loren Ai nsworth and his n ew w ife, Lin da, stopped by for a visit. Loren is in Texarkana, TX. H e i s r et i r ed - r et i r e d b u t ex pects to take over command of thelocal Civil Air Patrol squadron. Mike and M elissa H ub er h ad a n ice visit fr om Jim an d An drea H i n d e r h o f e r i n Sw i t z er

land. Jim’s an MD-11 pilot for FEDEX and living in Memphis. Saw John DeFilippo at in-processing for the Classof 2008. John is president of a parents club in Texas. John’s son is a sen ior. M ike Lam ber t c o n t act ed m e an d i s i n t er

ested in starting an AOG chapter in theHouston area.Talked to GreggPopovich on the eve of theNBA season. The Spurswill defi nitely be strong contendersto nail down Popo’sthird world championship. Popo’sBB teammate, Mike Kelley, was in town after the GLC and played some golf — the c o u r se r e c o r d i s st i l l safe. Mikejust moved to D.C. Tom Waskow’s retirement saw several Seventy men gather in N o r th C ar o li n a for the festivities— fr ee golf, fr ee drinks, and fr ee food have away of bonding

Vi si t t h e ATE IVAOG Web Sit e - M er ch an d i se,

Gone But Not Forgotten and More! www.usafa.org

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In the back row from lef t are Dana Sterling, brideNi cky, an d Douglas Ster ling. Dave and Donna are seated.

On the inj ury front, Gary Dahlen took a tumble and really banged up his elbow and ankle. Gino Quist dropped a motorcycle on his leg and got a nice compound fr acture. Nancy said Gino refused to go to the hospital for a few daysand almost lost theleg. Nobody ever accused our class of being too smart .

A special thanks to 1ay Barry for helping to cut through t h e A i r F o r c e b u r e au cracy and help out one of our recent graduateswho had a medical problem.

Hey gang— did you noticewearethe#1classfor Sabre Society membership!

That isthegood news— the bad news iswe used to have o v er 7 0 m em b er s. So if you aren’t a member, please consider j oining. It’s a great way to support the Academy and the cadets.

As we get older, the bondswe share as classmates become m o r e a n d m o r e special. Please start planning to attend our Reunion in 2 0 0 5 . I t w il l b e b et w een 15 Sept and 15 Oct depending on the football schedule.

The Rauschkolbs recently moved; our new contact information i s i n t h e header at the beginning of this column. Marilyn and I wish aUof you a great Holiday Season and a healthy New Year!

Pa u l D . K n ot t 5 5 6 5 La nt a n a D riv e

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Colorado Springs, CO 8 0 9 2 0 H: (719 ) 570-9 16 2 W: (719 ) 594-0 100 E-ma il: pknott @acninc.net

Before anything else, I would like to wish you all the happiest of whatever holidaysyou will be celebrating before, during, or aft er you read this column.

With the lag between writing, submitting and publishing, we oft en forget that my sitting and writing in 80-degree late summer and your reading in early winter can bevery different experiences.

Harry and Cindy Davis, Roland and ChristineVanDenBerg, an d C ass Casa d a and Sandy Davishad the misfortuneof watchingAir Forceplay Cal on thefirst game of the season. This was my fi rst experience being i n v i t e d t o t h e B l u e a n d Si l v e r l ev e l o f F al c o n St a d i u m . A si d e

rf om the fi nal score, it wasa very pleasant experience. H arry and Cindy’s son Kevin (’01) was up fr om Oklahoma City f o r thegame.

Hal Sauer was nice enough to send a short note: “I enjoy 27 reading every issueto seewhat our classmatesare up to, and Sa b re So c ic F I have been negligent about keeping in touch.

Do n o rs “I live in Nashville, TN, and there are quite a few grads living in the area but only one other fr om the class o f ’7 1 th at I know of - MikeWhitmore, who livesin nearby Franklin.W e f o r m ed an A O C chapter for gradswho live in middleTennessee in the sum m er of ’03, an d w e are off and running.We have a golf outing with the l o c al W e st Po i n t a n d A n napolis grads annually in August, and in April we had our fi rst Founders Day banquet in honor of the 50th anniversary.We also have a picnic for the new appointeeseach June before they head for Beast at U SA FA .

“I work several seasonal jobs -- manage a tax offi ce for H an d R Block , sub stitute teach (kindergarten through high school geometry), poll offi cial for

starswhUe I burned out at 0-6. It was a great dinner-visit, exchange of gift s (of course) and a commitment to visit each other again. I think it’smy turn . So one or two years fr om now, Trudi will make the Pacifi c swing through Hong Kong, Bangkok,Yokohama, and Korea. Great guy.”

Andrea and I attended our niece’swedding in Minnesota duringthe summer, and on theway back through my home town, I tried to call Lynn Willadsen.To my surprise, I found out that Willy ishere in Colorado, w i th a Pu eb l o r eal est at e fi r m . Pa t i s st i l l i n t h e H e ar t l a n d u n t i l t h e i r h o u se c l o se s.

Lightning struck twice for me, asAndrea and I attended the Navy game as guests of our bosses. Aswe headed for our seats, we h ad a ch an c e t o se e Ri c k Barton and Bill Richardson for a second or two. During h al f ti m e I ch at t ed f o r a couple of minuteswith Hal Sauer, Bob Fretz, and D ave Frostm an , w ho w ere sitting with their graduation AOC, Col (Ret) Bob Hohlstein. T h er e w i ll b e b et ter descriptions of Coach Ben Martin elsewhere, but the honors paid to an Annapolisgrad who became the “Father of Air Force F o o t b al l ” co u l d n o t h av e been more appropriate at this gam e.

Here isa photo fr om Hank Laughlin and this explanation: "On the day of the F-105 fly-by I wasCCQ for the20th Squadron. I was disappointed becauseI was stuck insideduringthemeal formation and would missthefly-by. But, I thought that I might beable to get a picture of them asthey f lew ov er t h e ar ea . T h e 20 t h ’s CCQ room wason theNorth sideofVandenberg Hall’sSo u th sid e o n th e 5th fl o o r close to Arn old Hall, so I had agood view to the North. The F-105swere moving fast, but I got the last onejust before he disappeared. T h e n I h e a r d t h e so n i c boom! Right aft er that Security Flight came on thePA asking theCCQsto check their areasfor damage and report back.When I stepped out into the hallway, it was so full of dust that I couldn’t seedown itslength. Our squadron waslucky,we only had onebroken window and I moved the upper classman’s stereo equip ment away fr om the broken window and the light rain that was coming in. It wasn’t until later that I saw thetrueextent of thedamage and realized how lucky the 20th was. [My picture] is a 35 mm color print with a good sense of the rain st orm in th e area, but th e F- 105 is blur rr red for som e reason. I wonder why? a.

’

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th e local Election Com m ission , an d h ave several stu dents I t u t o r. N ev e r t i e d

the knot, but my sis and mom live here. Nashville is a super place to live. “ Curtis Kekoa also sent a note and a photo: “What is t h e l i k e l i h o o d o f t h r e e classmates, qualifi ed on the same aircraft , fr om the same airline, flying to gether (from Honolulu to SF)? It is not very likely but it happened to Honi Garvin, Sam Wilson and I on July 23,2004. “ I supposeyou could say that Sam isgiving us an informal evaluation, espe cially with respect to ground operations— beach locations, su rf m e a su r e ment, proceduresat Duke’srestaurant/club in Waikiki, etc. Sam and Honi spent much time reminiscing about their good times on 3rd Lt. at Tuy Hoa,Viemam, including flying combat missions (tossing grenades out cockpit windows) with sponsors beforeAF bigwigs found out and stopped i t . I w a s 3 r d L t . a t Utapao and flew with YoungTiger over the DMZ. “ Considering our chance meeting may not occur again before retir em en t , i t w as f o r u s m em o r ab l e.”

m m m m rn i BOOM !

One last note: if you need a last-minute idea for Christmas, Jim an d Jean n e Nance are i n busi ness w r it ing songs for Nashvil le. C h e c k o u t www.diggindogrecords.com. He sculpts, he writes lyrics, he flys for North west — I am jealous! GBA Bo b Be ll 1 3 Pa c if ic Av e .

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“I thought that you werehying th eplan e thisleg!"

While Honi flies, hisbride, Patti, hasbeen busy, too. She recently won Quaker O a t m e al ’s “ Se ar c h f o r t h e U l t i m a t e O ak m eal C o o k i e” contest. According to the newspaper article, not only is she an accomplished cook, she designed a database which catalogs over 1.200 recipies. If she d e c i d e s t o b ar b ec u e w i t h avocados, her computer can teUher which of her recipe b o o k s h a s i d e a s.

Andy Ceroni also passed along a quick note: “I had dinner last night with Lt General Myong Lip Kim, Superintendent of the ROK Air ForceAcademy: his Exec; a ROK AF Exchange Professor to USAFA, and a ROK A FA C a d et o n ex changeto USAFA. “ Lt Gen Kim an d I m et w h en h e an d I w ere dow n at ACSC, M axw ell AFB, I a

major and he a Lt Col. We and our families and kids became good fr iends. We sw o r e a b l o o d o at h th at i f w e ev er f o u n d o u r selv e s w i th in 1,000 m il es of each oth er, w e h ad t o vi sit . I ’ve vi sit ed Gen Kim at Osan , an d h e ’s v i si t e d m e h e r e sev er al t i m es. H e’s v i si t ed m e o n f ar m o r e o c c a si o n s b e ca u se h e r o se t o t h r ee

Season’s Greetings, ‘72, herewe go again. It’sthat time again for putting into words whatever comes “across the wire” for your perusal . T h a n k s t o e a ch contributor - it isyou who make this newsletter possible!

Jim (Sheri) Woessner reports he attended the retirement dinner for MGEN Paul (Dorothy) Nielsen on June 25* a t A I ^ Wright-Patterson. Paul completed a 32-year career, an d l eav es a s c o m m an d e r o f t h e A i r Eo r c e Re sear c h L a b . O th e r

m

’72ersin attendancewereLGEN Bill (Marilyn) Looney, c o m 18 manding theAeronautical Systems Center, and fellow 3 8 * squadron mate Mike (Joyce) Romito fr om California where Sabre Society D o n o rs he works at theAerospace Division of Parker-Hannifi n, a hydraulic fi ttings and hose manufacturer. An amazingthing Jim noticed was how the place was crawling with other Academy grads in leadership positions.

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From lef t areJim Woessner, Paul Nielsen, Col. Spraggins, (fath er -in -l aw of Paul), Bill Looney, and MikeRomi to.

One of several wasGEN Greg Martin, ’70, thehead of M at er i el C o m m an d . I n fact, Paul was turning over his own command to BGEN Perry Lamy, ’75, and joins a government software institutewith Cam egie-Mellon in Pittsburgh. Jim lives in Dayton, OH working in a family businesswhich sells cutting tools and supplies to manufacturing concerns.

Paul (Paula) Bobrowski sends an update on what he has been up to for the past 14 years. Asfaculty member and administrator at th e W h i t m an Sc h o o l o f Management at Syracuse University, he spent thepast threeyears asAssociate Dean for MBA and MSPrograms. Paul recendy took on a new position, making a major move to become Dean of the College of Business at Auburn University.

Paul ’swife served on the faculty of SUNY-Oswego as professor of marketing and chair of themanagement and marketingdepartment th er e. T h i s m o v e t o liv e in the South after so longin the land of theYankeescomesat somewhat of aprice asthey leavebehind afavorite grandson and family in New York, w hil e an oth er grandson residesin Oregon, asdo two other daughters. Th eir son . Class of 2000USMA, is a Captain in theU.S.Army currently serving in Afghanistan.

Marty Jayne report shisparticipation in the fi rst armual Graduate Leadership Conference at USAFA. He ran into BCT roommate George (Mary) Pollard, a regular at USAFA events. Marty currently servesasAssistant Professor of Justice Systemsat Truman State University. He sent along a summary alongwith per son al ob servat ion s w h ich a 1,200 w ord lim it ati on on this column precludes including here, but Marty would behappy to provide m o r e d et ail ed an sw er s t o any classmatewith questions at mjayne@tmman.edu.

Several maj or briefi ngs covered topics that have come to the fore recently.

Included among them, the Offi cer Development System which provides the fr amework for military training, focusing on leadership t o o l s u sed i n t h e r est o f the USAF, which provide afour-classasopposed to a fourth-classsystem. Also, USAFA has decided to use theAF disciplinary system (LOCs, reprimands,Tfr ticle 15, etc) in stead of th e old tou rs an d dem erits.

Varsity athleticsunderwent acomprehensivereview by graduateretireesMike Ryan, ’65 and Randy Jayne, ’66, Marty’s brother, whose fi nal analysiswas that the program is still on track, although there is the perennial perception of ath letes getting preferential treatment, found to be prevalent a t m o st sch o o l s. A l ready approved was a recommendation that theAthletic D ir ect o r ser v e u n d er the Superintendent rather than the Commandant.

Sexual assault as the catalyst for new leadership was th e f o cu s o f m u c h c o n ference attention, with reporting criteria, confi dential and/ or mandatory or somewherein between, aswell as a need to help victimsleading the discussion i n t h i s ar ea .

Thebiggest reaction from attendees stemmed from talk o n t h e H o n o r C o d e .

Although the Code has not been and will not be tampered with, general sup port and the degree of cadet acceptance have changed over the years. Even though that was evident to faculty serving during the ’80s, it was apparendy news to many grads in attendance.

Ted Thompson sendshisfi rst update, onceagain back in theUSAE serving as a LTC (and allegedly the lowest ranking ’72er on active duty) in the Retired Aviator Recall Program (RARP). Sincehe gaveup hiscareer in 1990 so hisfamily wouldn’t have to move, it seems they could now give him up so he could enjoy his mid-life crisis. Thushehasbeen traveling around the Pacifi c searching out the ever elusive hidden treasures of paradise. Ted’sjob on 13* AF staff lets him wear a flight suit and get flight pay with no need to compete for advancement.

He’s also a new grandpa, welcoming Maddox Theodore th an k s t o h i s o l d est daughter,Ashley (25). Youngest daughter,Whitney (23), worksfor a Congress man and is in charge of hisintern program. Wife, Nancy, is in Texasworking on her PHD while Ted lives in Guam working at Andersen A F B . So m ew h a t d e pressingbut a most important factor isthat Ted’sgolf handicap isstuck at seven — he only gets to play three or four times aweek. On a positive note, he signs off his e-mail to go plan another trip to Thailand with this quip, “ThethingsI do for my country...”

John Cignatta’s wife, Marie, writes that in a recent move, Checkpoin tswas lost. Once shefound it, and servingastheconsummate“perfect m ate,” M ar ie 13 6

stepped in to reconnect John with everyone else. Now call ed D r. Joh n V Cignatta, he has completed his PHD in Environmental Engineering fr om Kennedy Western University with a dissertation on environmental-in d u c ed c o r r o si o n t o t h e c an n o n s an d o t h er ar t i f a ct s at F t . Zachary Taylor in Key West, FL whereheconducted eight yearsof research to completehisdegree. Happy to have that work out of theway, John is on to other things likewriting a book about the same subj ect aswell asnumerous papers.

Datanet Engineering, John’s own company, is now offi cially in its 20* year.

Son Andrew isa project manager with the company. Mariew o rk s f o r D at an et asthe offi cemanager andAPmanager. Oldest daughter,Alicia, istheMentoring Coordinator for the Brain Injury Association of Maryland. Youngest daugh ter, Liz, attends the University of Maryland at Baltimore County fi nishing course work for a degree in Social Work.

John keeps busy giving expert testimony on different types of failures such as fuel tank leaks, lead poisoning cases, and pipe or bridge failures. He also teaches courses on corrosion such as onehe recently taught in Termessee for the Steel Tank Institute of Michigan.

The Cignattashavefi nally settled down to lifein a n ew m odul ar h om e, built in the Granite area of Baltimore County, wherethey are able to enjoy themany facets of country living that 3.55 acres can provide.

I received a single change-of-address notice from MGEN Pet e (D i an e) Sutton, who recently moved fr om BollingAFB, D.C. to new duty at Ankara, Turkey. Last at the Pentagon asAF/DPL Director, Learning an d Fo r c e D ev el opment, his new role is that of Chief, Offi ce of Defense Cooperation, Turkey, under USEUCOM. Son Trevor just graduated fr om USNA Cl ass o f 2 0 04 an d i s a Marine2Lt undergoing training in Quantico,VA. Daughter Kirsten is ajun ior at Wheaton College, IL. Until next issue I wish all the best to you and yours f o r 2 0 0 5 . E RA .

Bo b M u ns o n

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1 9 2 4 5 L in co ln G re e n La n e M o n u m e nt , CO 8 0 1 3 2

(719 ) 4 8 7-14 6 4 rm unso n@ade lph ia .net AFT ER TW O I SSU ES, N O COM PLAI N T S: .. .Coul d b e th e er r on eou s e -

mail address provided in the last two issues.

SQUADRON NOTES: Dave Lesser provided most of the details o n h i s C S01mates. He and Rosemary practice Ob/ Gyn in Ogden, U T, w h ere th e w el come mat is always out for ski bums needing a place to stay. Dave Schenk is still in San Antonio practicing pulmonary medicine; while Kirby Knox has branched out fr om radiology to a holistic practice that includes acupunc ture. Frank Shagets (Facial Plastic Surgery) wrote fr om Joplin, MO, that he’s 2/3 through with getting his sons through SMU. Wife, Sana, keepsfi t by run ning daily and riding her horses. Bart Noble is an audiologist in Austin, TX, an d so n M a r k f o l l o w s d a d ’s t r a d i t i o n a s a c a d et i n F u n O n e . B i l l a n d L i n d a

Cisco livein a geodesic dome in Battle Creek, MI,wherehe is an occupational therapist and on faculty at GrandValley StateUniversity: hepromisesto attend t h e 3 5* r eu n i o n .

John Eisenhart is a United captain in LasVegaswhileVan ce Watt (Gail) fli es for Northwest from AppleValley, MN. Son Jason is a Boeing engineer and daughter Kelsey isPre-Med. Bill Cohn isretiring fr om D el t a to protect hisretirement fr om Chapter 11death, though h e may be ableto fly af ter retirement for pay. Warren and Peggy Smith, trying to improve the airlines’ bd ance sheet in May, flew to son Trevor’s graduation, then to daughter Tiff any’s wedding, then to an Afri can missionstri p. Dick Fickesw o rk s at Pet erson AFB as a contractor for H Q SPACECOM / D irec

26

torate of Requirementsfor theSpaceBased Infr ared System. Sabre Society Do n o rs Devin Stil son is a criminal prosecutor in Connecticut an d looking forward to retirement “in what seems like a h u n dred years fr om now.” Roger and Jean Youel travel in t h e So u t h w e st w h en they’re not engaged with theater and chorale activities in Albuquerque.

Northrop Grumman is a maj or employer in Melbourne, FL whereJerry Wel come works on Joint STARS; he should have 20 yearswith them by the next r eu n i o n . B i l l M i l l er c el eb r a t e d h i s 2 "'* A F r e t i r e m en t in Feb after being re called for 9-11, “Pretty strange to be an active duty LTC 30 years after gradu ation and never be passed over for COL.” CS-33 rep Gary and Judith Blokland are in Kennesaw, GA; Gary retired fr om the Coast Guard and now flies for Delta. Bill Cunningham w r o t e f r o m Chippewa Falls, WI , that he is taking computer classes and learning that “School is much more fun when one can pick the courses.” K en t B u c h an an lives north of Chicago and works for Motorola asVP f o r G l o b al e - B u si n ess.

Hearty congratulations go to Steve Sheldon (Tisha) who wasjust promoted t o t h e Sen i o r Ex ec u t i v e Ser v i ce in t h e N SA . Ri ck W al l a c e w r it es t h at h e’s b een

in D.C. for 18 years and is head of knowledge management consulting for SAIC and does a lot of Pentagon support. He saw DJM ei st er , h ead facil iti es guy for Apple Computer out of Cupertino, CA, who was putting up a store at

l yson’sCorners. Al and Karen Rotach arein D.C.wherehe provides commer cial law advice to the Department of Justice while K ar en w o r k s i n t h e Pen t a

gon. Randy Putz sent apoignant notefr om San Antonio: “ W e’v e h ad a r o ll er coasteryear. Last August mywife,Nancy,wasdiagnosedw i t h a sar c o m a — sh e

endured with incredible grace but went to bewith the Lord in April. In May, our oldest son wascommissioned an ensign fr om Annapolis an d w a s o n e o f 23 sel ect ed f o r SEA L S.”

wasjust as surpri sed aswewere and “ registered a formal complaint with the FBI Internet fr aud department, [hut hasn’t] heard a peep fr om them yet.”

COMBAT UPDATE: Sgt Rowe Stayton hastransferred to another company “hit hard last week... Charlie Company hasgiven out 48 Purple Hearts— there a r e 9 6 so l d i e r s i n t h e u n i t .”

STORM STORI ES: Tom Saunders reported fr om USSOCOM in Tampa that their house suf fered minor damage; HQword wasthat 40 % o f H u r l b u r t ’s b u i l d ings and 15-20% of base housingwas damaged. Mark Ballard r et u rn e d fr o m a tri p to Ari zona to fi nd his home had survived but attested to the damage in Fort Walton Beach. Ken andVicky Stanley, in Gulf Breeze, f el t b l e ssed “ as t h e storm surge line stopped only about 200 feet short of our house (w e ar e about 1/ 3 miles inland). I had purchased flood insurance af ter Fr an ces, b u t w as about aweek shy of the30-day waitingperi od for it t o b e eff ec ti v e .” T h e N av arr e homes of brothers-in-law Wayne Maricle (Barb) and Mike Koser (Marilyn) experi enced Ivan’s 130 mph northeast eyewall;Wayne’shousewas the only one on their street not to have flood/hurri canewater damage... h i s A i r F o r c e en gineeri ng intuition drove him to build four feet higher than his neighbors.

S?

Colonel Ran dy and Jeremy (USAFA ’07) Putz wi th new Ensign Luke Putz

(USNA ’04) .

Don Ramm runsMentor BusinessSolutionsin San Diego, fl i es T -34 s in CAV U weather, assistswife,Tracy,with CAVUpearls.com, and keepsgood tabson his CS-19 bubbas. Smoke Clark isdefi nitely multi-tasking after retiringfr om Delta: assistant manager for theWorld Basketball Association Lightnings, account manager for iNVISION Golf Group, m ns (with Patty) e-businessJuice Plu s-i-, and has asmall apparel embroidering/printing business. Chri s Black , N ew n an GA, also a Delta retiree, is fi guring out what to do next. Dennis Maple (“if I’d known the airline businesswas this tough I might have stayed farming”) of Phoenix and Ron Johnson of Tucson fly for Southw est. Ji m M a t e o s se n t an inspirational note: he’s qualifi ed in the 757/ 767, is proud that wife, Natalie, wasprofi led in their Dallasnewspaper for unusual successat leading girl scouts to achieve their Gold Award proj ect, and also proud o f t h e a c a d em i c an d ex tracurri cular achievementsof daughtersJaclyn and Teresa. John Kuconi s cal ls MIT’s Lincoln Lab hisoff icewhereheworkson inserting technology into Army programs; wife, Chong Sun, fi nished a rough course of breast cancer therapy in May (prognosisisgood) and both look forward to their daughter’s commis sioning out of ROTC this summer.

Sam andVeronica Gri er arecelebrating31; he’sthemissiledefenseexperimen tation lead for w ork w ith NATO at the Joi nt Nati on al Integration Center in Colo rado Springs. Bush Hanson remainsactiveastheNorth CarolinaStateAFA presi dent . .. when he’s not teaching sims at Shaw AFB; wife, Nancy, teaches at the gradeschool she onceattended. Leo /^ uinaldo worksfor th e state out of D avis, CA and iseagerly awaitinggrandchild #4: agirl. Chuck Mi tchell lives in Yorktow n , VA,worksfor ZEITech and developed soft warethat predicted w h ere Scu d s w o u l d bebeforethe Iraqisdeployed them. Dr. Daveand Karen Brow n are em pty nest ing in Colorado Spri ngswhere Dave is practicing “minimally i n v asi v e G I su r gery”. John Rogacki is now Director of the University o f F l o r i d a’s G r ad u a t e Engineering and Research Center near Ft Walton Beach. Chaplain Tom Blase sent a nice note from Maxwell AFB where he is responsible for training new chaplains (can I suggest an acronym: “BCT- Basic Chaplain Training”?); heand wife hosted daughter Eva and family as Ivan refugeesfr o m Pen saco l a .

CRI M ESTOPPERS: Paul Schm i dt , U SAFA ’72, contacted us about an item up for sale on EBay: The Outstanding Cadet in Civil Engineeri ngA w ar d f o r 19 73 .

It was advertised as “bought at aMidwest garagesale.” Therecipient,AJBri ding,

WayneMaricleand MikeKoser, the chainsaw twins, clear I van ’s d eb r i s. M i k e and Marilyn returned to find beach erosion right up t o th ei r d eck .

Jerry Welcome’sfamily endured four named storms; after F r an ce s. Jean n e added “ more damage to the house but I plan on cashing in with USAA.” Skip Sanders reported his house in Panama City, already getting a new roof and room s, had done w ell . A torn ado h ad com e w ith in a block, though, and wasted the neighborhood. George and Dianna Rampulla, j ust o u t si d e o f P a n a m a City in Lynn Haven, likewise avoided major damage. John Regni reported that he never had a hurricane in his four years at Keesler, bu t as soon as h e moved to Maxwell the base got hit. Mike Grif fi th, news correspondent for the Bay Beacon, evacuated his family from Niceville to Birmingham. Birming ham is the home of Brandon, daughter Kelly’s boyfr iend, who seized the op portunity and proposed to Kelly. Jim Western flew 33 h o u r s b a ck fr o m an A si a trip as Ivan was threatening; no personal loss but eight workers in his Port Charlotte plant lost homes. Dr Tim Cooper’s Orlando practice ended up treating more than 50 patients in the hyperbari c chamber f o r c ar b o n m o n o x idepoisoning; seemsmost ran gasolinegeneratorsin their garages. Al Kinback (Juno Beach-evacuated to London), John Rosser (Key Biscayne) and Skip Vogler (Gainesville) suffered no losses. ^ Jo e B re zo v ic

•'

53% 12 0 9 Bayou Oa ks Drive M e m b e rs Friendswood, TX 7 7 54 6 H: (28 1) 4 8 2-68 60 0 ; (2 8 1) 24 4 -8 3 2 5/ Fax; (28 1) 24 4-8 9 0 9 E-ma il: j brezovic@ho ust o n.rr.com j ose ph.b rezov ic l @j sc .nasa .gov

Hello Classmates! You may be looking for the comments o n t h e 3 0 t h Re

un ion . Well , w h en th is w as due t o th e p ress, th e Reu n ion i s/ w as a f ew w eek s

off . What I plan to do is put the review on thewebpage th a t D i n o Sc h w e i t z er keeps updated. So look there by mid-December. There most likely will be some pictures that have to be developed and perhaps some pics to be sent to me by emai l. Our lives continue and we’d like to keep c o n t a ct w i t h ea ch o t h er.

Oh , an oth er sou rce is Ch ri stm as car d n ew slett ers.

What I have fr om the summer follows! Wayne sent an email: Here’s a photo of (left to ri ght)Wayne Higgins and Randy Nierstheimer, fo r m er r o o m m at es in Seagram’s Seven, on a recent DeltaAir Linestraining flight. Randy was receivV i si t t h e N E W A O G W eb Si t e

Tom and Betty Sp orte with their 8+ children; star ting with thegroom clock wise: An drew, Kelly, Ar ika, Ashl ey, Jessica, Danielle, Timothy, Daniel, Derek, Stephen, Louise, an d William.

M erchandise, Gone But Not Forgotten and M ore! www.usafa.org 13 7

ing First Offi cer orientation training on theBoeing 737-800. Wayneisa Captain and Line Check Airman on the 737-800 and Randy was gett ing required oper ating experiencewhen changing airplanesfr om theMD-90 t o t h e B 73 7 -80 0 as First Offi cer. “We’ll likely be fl ying more regular line trips together sincewe’re both based in Salt LakeCity.” So classmates, check out thecockpit on your way into theplane at SLC!

clear that it’s gett ing later than even I thought! And so asyou read this (in late December?) I will be putting away the blue suit (eff ective d a t e o f t r a n sf e r t o Retired Reserve 31Dec) and compiling a list of volunteersto “pick up thepen”.

(Send mean e-mail or give me a call indicatingyour short / long-term interest.

Jim Carlson and I wiUsomehow pick a “winner” in time t o w r i t e n ex t c o l u m n

- d u e O /A l l Jan .)

MOVINGOFF THETRIVIAL The clearly most important newsI haveto pass along isthat our classmate and my dear fr iend Jon Tl ir n er i s battling cancer. Jon got the shocking diagnosis in early Sep tember, had surgery in mid September to removea golf-ball4 I ^ size tum or fr om h is br ain , an d start ed ch em o / r adiation

therapy in October. He’sbeen...well he’sbeen exactly th e k in d

of man I’m honored tosay 1knew hewasfr om thebeginning o f th i s o r d eal - a m an o f fai t h an d ch ar act er. A t m e hero. Hope

each and every ’75er will send alongyour best and will pray for Jon, Diane, the kids, and medical team caring for h i m .

18 Sabre Society Do n o rs

GOOD N EW S (OT H ER T H A N BEI N G D ON E W I T H

HACKETT). Happy coincidence had me on USAFRduty a couple of months ago at same time Maj Gen (s) Perry Lamy was at Kirtland A F B t o m ak e an a d dress. I crashed the reception and had great time chattingwith Perry about his new job as Commander of AFRL. As the photo shows, our class is creating a cen ter of m ass i n Air Force scien ce; Col M ike H eil (Director of the Propulsion D irect or at e), Col (LfSAFR) M ik e M cCl en don (M ob ilizat ion A ssi st a n t t o t h e

Tom and Rebecca Henri cks sent in an update.After fl vemovessince retiring, they’reback in Texasnear DFW Bell Helicopter paysTom to recom m end V-22, H-1s, UAVsand other Bell vehicles to the DOD. Lucky guy; his offi ce overlooks thefl ight li ne at Alliance airport. During one of hi s vi sits to D C., h e visited w ith a few other classmates in for a meeting: Don McMonagle, Ron Sega, Steve Gress, and Rick Cleveland. So we know they’re still a r o u n d !!!

Another classmate fl ying around isJim Maples. He’d r a t h er n o t b e i n L o u i siana again in the summer putt ing roofs on, fi though it was his mom’s place.

Then hewent “to Tennessee to bewith my youngest son an d fi x his car ; th en I spent the rest of the timefi xing my girl friend’shouse and trying to take care of my own problems.” He closed his note saying that it w as a r el i ef t o b e b ac k at work. As for working to fi x up places... Denny and Pam Lyonsjust moved to Tampa. They experienced HurricanesCharley, Frances, Iv an , and (yesterday) Jeanne! Four in fi ve weekends— but they — ar e fi n e. Al so in Flori da is M ich ael J M alizola w h o is in Palm Harbor, and he sends his regards because he’ll miss o u t o n t h i s r eu n i o n .

Rel at ed t o t h i s Fl o r i d a n ew s co m es a n o t e fr o m t h e H aw ai

ian con t act , St eve Lenzi . St eve w orks as a con t r act or a t

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Hickam for ITT Industries- SystemsDivision (Fountain Val Sabre Society Do n o rs ley Blvd). Hewritesthat they are in the process of gathering resumes— hoping to capitalize on the company’s experi ence running the Pacific Missile Test Range at Barking San d s, Kau ai , Vandenberg, and Patrick, to pick up work on the Navy U n d er se a W ar f ar e C en t er A U T EC co n t r ac t d o w n i n Fl o r i d a an d t h e B ah am a s. A l m o st all o f t h e c o n

tract jobs are in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Yes, two hurr ican es in four w eeks, I know!) If anyone is qualifi ed and interested In high-tech Range/Test & Eval Systems Management, please let Steveknow.

Another condolence is from Art Ratkewi cz, retiring f r o m h i s A F R e se r v e duty in Colorado Springs. He and Barb are celebrating their 30th anniversary with family on the east coast at that time. Charlie Bryant is still with Northrop Grumman in COS, too, and but plansto be at thereunion. CraigAnderson and Rite are un able to com e in fr om Fairfax,VA , but do send their regards and weUwishes. Rick and Ellen Rosser send in their regardsfr om Washington State.

JJand Cynthia Romano plan to come— JJis bringing their son Joey, 15, t o seetheAcademy ashewantsto fl y (got two soaringl esso n s t ow ar d s h i s l ic en se already) F-22 Raptors and he added “I promised to buy h i m a C o r v e t t e h i s fourth year (grossbribery also works).” That wrapsit up for thisedition. Thank you all for your notes and calls! Perhapsyou’ll drop m e a l i n e t o sh ar e w i th o u r classmates as... (may) you live long and prosper.

Jef f Ha c k e t t

Commander, AFRL), Maj Gen (s) Perry Lamy (Commander, AFRL), an d Col Sam Ryals (Deputy Director, Sensors Directorate).

4 1%

Heil, McClendon, Lamy, and Ryals Happened to catch an ardcle in Phoenix paper last month heralding the fact that Dave Haugen received a Superior Airmanship Award fr o m A i r L in e Pil o t s Association. About ayear ago, Dave and his fi rst offi cer successfully diverted t h e i r Ph o en i x- t o - D .C . Vkm e r i ca W e st A 3 19 i n t o St L o u i s following an engine malfunction / smoke in the cockpit incident.Well done!

More good news on the continuing recovery John Sims ismaking (following UH-60 crash in Iraq). John was featured in a segment of PBSNewshour high lighting his longjourney back fr om brain damage suff ered in the mishap. For a transcript of the interview see: http:/ /www.pbs.org/newshour/ b b / h eal t h / jan-june04/ sims_ex.html. Another hero in our midst!

USAFA GRADUATE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE. Someday I’ll fi gure out how one scores an invite to something like the USAFA Graduate Leadership Conference- for the time being we’ll livevicariously through following pho tos sent in by Jim Carlson (the man is everywhere!)

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RETIREMENT and RETIREMENT. While there’s certainly news of greater

i n t er est t o f o ll o w I w an t t o l ead o f w i t h n ew s o f my impending (voluntary but

much needed) retirement fr om the USAFR, and moreimportantly my (volun tary but very much needed) retirement fr om dutiesasC l ass Scr i b e . I n th e case of fi e former I’ll bejust short of 30 years and as regards the later,just short of 20 years. Both have been intenseand enjoyablelaborso f l o v e . N ei th er w as an easy decision to move on fr om ... but after prayerful c o n si d e r a t i o n i t seem ed 13 8

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Rod H en n ek , M ik e M at t e, Ri ch Ch an i ck , Scott H en t e, an d Jim Car l son

He sent mea note sayinghe can’t stop theflashbacks of “ 12 O’c lock High” since

h is n om t o com m an d th e 8* . Saw Jack Cat t on h ere i n D o o l i t t l e H al l a f ew

Raybure, MitcheU, Hente, Chanick, Carlson, Heimek, Meyerrose, (generic

cadet fal con er an d fal con ), an d M att e

FEELI N G M ORE SECU RE AB OU T T H E H OM ELAN D . Bill (Eb ol a) Lyerly continuesto move up within thoseWashington DC circles- in September he was promoted to Career Senior Executive/ Scientifi c Profession al (ST ) w h ich is ordy fi tting for someonewho is the “Director,WMD Operations & Incident Management, and Science Advisor to the Under Secretary f o r Sc i e n c e a n d Technology Department of Homeland Security”. While that is certainly im pressive, you may want to consider Bill ’s self-confessed “curse”! Bill recendy realized that every USAF base that he ever had a set o f T D Y o r PC S o r d e r s i n h an d for (even if h e n ever w en t there) - IS N OW CLOSED . Tm thinking I won’t be nominating Bill for any jobs at Orbital Sciences!

More moving up - MG Joe Stein is now at SHAPE HQ in Mons, Belgium I’d have more examples of classmates-who-done-good to pass along if I hadn’t loaned my recent copy of Air Forcemagazine to a ’76 grad (OK so write me up for questionablejudgment!) which had the “Senior Air Force Leadership” list ing / pictures. If you didn’t see it and want to feel good/ old go to the local library and check it out.

ODDS& ENDS. Saw a note fr om John Noetzel announcing h i s r et i r e m en t .

Pete Hennessey isworking for Battelle in Columbus, OH . Joe Facen da is or ganizing an AOG Chapt er in t he Sout hern Cal i forni a a r e a (joe.facenda@metamor.com, O: 714-593-8220, M : 714-31-5577). T h i r t i et h reunion plans are in full swing- start planning NOW! MAKEA GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION. Send anything and everything n e w s worthy (including pictures) to me right now - I’ll send i t o f f t o t h e n ew Scr i b e and giving him the chance to be more of an editor and l e ss o f a c r eat e - so m e thing-fr om-nothing author on his fi rst time out.

Wasmany hair follicles and awholebunch of great storiesago when I signed on to this gig- hard to imagine we’ve come this far. Hope I’ll continue to get som e e-m ails, calls, Ch ristm as car ds, an d real -live v i si t s an d ev e n i f I d o n ’t I ’ll

look forward to opening up to the Class Column in Checkp oin ts t o fi n d o u t something I didn’t already know! As they say in the B u d w ei ser co m m er c i al s I love you man! And for the very last time (and forever), go hug the onesyou love- it’s later than you think! jp Dan Beatty '

Fell ow 76’ers, 'U ” ... .” S’

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12 19 6 St anley Ca nyon Road Colorado Springs, CO 8 0 9 2 1 H: (719 ) 4 8 8-19 6 2 E-Ma il: w hrlybrd 76 @ao l.com Da n.Beatt y@usaf a .af .m il htt p:/ / www.AFAcade my.co m/ 76 ’F ”. .. .” A ’

M e m b e rs

.A a a i i r r r r r F O R C E !!! F I G H T ..F I G H T . ..

FIGHT !!!As I w rite thi s, footbal l is in th e ai r, an d the team ishaving itschallenges

thisyear. But quarterback is doing quite nicely for a doolie. As you may tell fr om theheader, my plansto take signifi cant time off after my USAF retirement went by thewayside. Had not plarmed to fi nd something t o occupy m y ti m e until after the 1 of theyear, but when this opportunity at theAOG came along, I just could not let it go by. So af ter 28 years I am back on USAFA, working in a great location, with superb folks, supporting this dynamic institution of ours.

Whadda country!

Some sad news this time. Gary Montgomery’s 21-year-old son Troy passed away Sep 8* . Pleasekeep Gary and hisfamily in your thoughts and prayers. Jeff Larsen was kind enough to pass this info to me.

Our classhasretired itslast active-duty Lt Colsand now wejust have our bird Cols and generals still drawing full paychecks. Is t h at a n i n d i c a t i o n o f o u r chronological challenges? Speaking of generals, Kevin “ C h i l i ” C h i l t o n h a s b een n o m i n at ed f o r h i s 3 * st ar an d co m m an d o f 8 * A i r Force. Way to go Chili!

weeksago. Jack isstill in D.C.on thejoint staff. Mick Erdle ch eck ed i n b ac k i n early August. He’s president of a local company here in C-Springs. Doug Kupersmith hollered fr om back east. Didn’t give a long updatebut appearshe is a contractor near D.C. Joe Shfr ey is a contractor at ACC and appears to be doingwell. Joe Marcliino is now Director of theAir F o r c e Per so n n el C o u n c il .

Joe was in town early Sept but our schedules didn’t allow a link-up, although we did have a decent telecon to catch up a bit.

Kim Weber tells me it’s strange to come back to USAFA o n c e in a w l i i l e an d that he can’t imagineworking here. Says all’s well in Gilroy and the 21, 19, and 3-year-old kids keep him and Laurie sig nifi cantly challenged. Brian Meehan rang in fr om Connecti cut. He is flying 777s for Continental out of Newark an d al so working as MAto USAFE/DO. Heand Ali havedaughter Kerry in Seattle as an architect, son Evan in last year of college, and 27 twins Megan and Erin as high school seniors. Said he s a w Mike Gould in Aug at 3^'* Rob “Press” Pressinger tells m e h e Sabre Society Do n o rs is now 139 at USPACOM, doing 10 for Pacifi c warfi ghters.

Bobby ‘Raging Cajun’ Deblanc pings me occasionally fr o m Scott. He’sacontractor forAMCup there. Saysheand Jackiearenot happy about the NHL lockout. If it’s not resolved by end of football season Bob, and you get bored,just let 1ackiebody check you a few times. Ed Gallagher hailed mefr om Prague, Czech Republic wherehe istheDefense and Air attache. Sent aphoto of himself, Julie, and Mr Loy Dickenson of Denver at a m e m o r i al n e ar M r Dickenson’sB-17 crash siteduringWWll . Mr Dickenson wasthenavigator, sur vi ved the shoot down, and spent time as a POW. In 1989, af ter t h e ‘w al l ’ c am e dovm, Mr Dickenson linked up with the farmer who helped him beforecapture an d h as h o st ed sev er al U .S. an d C zec h v i si t s si n c e then, to include hosting the farmer’sgranddaughter asan exchangestudent. Thanksfor that bit of history Edl

m

Mr. Loy Dickenson, WWII B-17navigator, wi th Ed and Julie Gall agher at B17crash monument in Czech Rep ublic.

Jim Crowewasback at USAFA in July. He married Joan 32yearsafter meeting her in Dayton and 29 years after taking her to our ring dance. He and Joan now reside in Dayton. I tried to link up with them and Pete Mapes (he’s at WrightPatterson) in early Sept when I was back in Dayton for my 35* high school reunion. (Yesit took someof uslonger than othersto get intoUSAFA!) but again our schedules conflicted. Jim wants to know if anyone k n o w s w h e r e A l Dickenson or Tim Simm s are these days. Jim also cc’d Jim Marg at Little Rock an d Pet e D am al l o n h i s e - m ail t r affi c t o m e . B il l C l i f fo r d co n t ac t ed m e . H e i s

still an MD in Kansas and asked me to remind y’aUabout the Sabre Society. He has enjoyed it, and I know it’s a great way to keep a b r ea st o f U SA FA ev e n t s. I f anyone wants more information, call me or go to the A O G w e b si t e vw w.usafa.org. Thanks Bill!

Dave Dingley had his retirement ceremony 01Oct at Patrick AFB. Says he and Virginia plan to stay in the coast area. Stan Correia t ell s m e all i s w ell in h i s Mississippi Gulf household and that they dodged threeh u r r i c an e b u l let s w i t h minimal damage. Heis still flying 767sfor UPSon th e So u th A m er i c an r o u t es.

Daughter Patience fi nished AF Basic 17 Sep and is now a Cardio-Pulmonary Lab t ech . Son Jon ath an fi n ish ed Basic 0 1 Oct an d w i ll b e c o m e a cr ew c h i ef .

Congrats to both of them Stan! Stan hears fr om Calvin Allen (Capt for Delta) and Willie Palms (Capt for FEDEX in Memphis) fr equently. Joe W^ socki got promoted to aVP slot in Scitor here in the Springs and will support AFSPC, N ORT H COM , an d U SSTRATCOM .

Mike Eyolfson is in private practice in Sacramento wherewife, Judy, is an OR nurse. Mike ran into Carl Whatley and wife Ute in Cimmarron, NM wherethey had just fi nished a 70-mile backpack trip. Carl is a Delta pilot. Mike and son werejust about to start a similar trip and Carl told h im th e trail food w as fast , neat average... Dan ‘Bookem’ Jordan is working toward ex a m s i n M o d e r n European History at U of Cincinnati and Rita is doing well as Department Head for Management. Wade ‘McBob’ McRoberts pinged m e t o r em i n d f o lk s 13 9

to vote for thebird, so y’all go to wwvvr.capitalonebowl.com an d v o t e! C h ar l i e Morgan phoned in to check some info and left me a nicev o i ce m ai l . T h an k s C h ar l i e .

I saw Bob Mansfi eld recently at a PCSlunch for oneof hisformer troopsand he has developed his retirement look, including beard, quite nicely. And fi nally, Mike Cunningham honored me by writing to the scribe for only the second time in 28+years. And what news he sent! His fi r st ch il d , Al exan der, was bom in the past few months. I would hazard a guess Mike that you now hold theClassof 7 6 record foryoungest kiddo! MikeisaAssistant USAttorn ey in Maryland. Also says he regularly is in contact with Terry Petrie who is in Denver as a Dept of Justice attorney.

StiUthinking toward our 30* reunion in just two years. Send meyour ideas of what you would like to see/ do/ etc and we’ll get the planning ball rolling.

And if you’d like to be on the committee, let me know.

As always, if you are headed to the Springs, let me or any of the other locals know and we’ll see if we can’t join up for a few storiesand updates. Keep flying your flags and let our deployed troops know you have them in your thoughts and prayers. The Spirit of ’76 is STILL alive and well! Until next time.... Beatty

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West ern Springs, IL 6 0 55 8 Voice: (3 12 ) 8 4 9-8 150 Fax: (3 12 ) 8 4 9-8 151

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M e n ii e r s

E- M a i l :

D a v e Gr af to n ’s R e ti r em en t — A n o th er o n e b i tes th e d u s t .

j m ichels@mcguirewoods.co m

Hope this fi nds everybody recovered from their summer t r av el s / t r av ai l s.

My clan was scattered a lot over thelast several months, b u t w e all c am e b ack together for a trip to Ireland in August and the start of another school year. I also attended the Graduate Leadership Conference at theZoo, which proved to beworthwhile, frustrating and exhilarating, all at t h e sam e t i m e .

Now my family is back and deep in the throes of College H un t 2005, an d if I have any hair or money left at the end of it. I’ll be surprised.

FI RST CONTACT: Through t he marvelous forum board t hat i s www.usafatoday.com, I made contact with several folks. T h e d iscu ssion ar ea of th e sit e, w h ich is r estr ict ed t o Academy grads, has agreat classdiscussion pagethat I encourage all o f you to log onto. One who did was Mike Cox (Paula), w h o has not graced my pagesfor many years. Mike and Paulal iv e in Albuquerque and spent the spring and summer touring 18 Alaskavia Banff and theAlcan Highway (As Mikesays, “ I h av e the t-shirt to prove it.”). Mike and Paula bummed around Sabre Society Do n o rs Alaska over thesummer visitingfriendsin Fairbanksand Big Lake, then returned to New Mexico where Mike is looking for a position asa computer programmer. Mikesaw Jay and Patsy Joiner when they camethrough on their way to winter in San Diego. I’ll probably be think ingwistfully of Southern California, earthquakes and all, in another couple of months. Thanks for the update, Mike, and don’t be a stran ger.

Addi ngto my “seldom heard fr om” takefor the quarter, D enni s Kliza (Jan ice) is now teaching chemistry and coachingfootball, wrestling an d l acr o sse at t h e Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. Kliz reports that he is still spending his summers in Texas (Kliz was an ALO working with John Vi sser [An n ] in Dall as before deciding he liked four seasons) but is now fi rmly e n sc o n c e d i n t h e Northeast and living only an hour away fr om West Point. If the mule disap pears again, I suspect the search will start in the Hotchkiss chemistry lab.

OLD BOYNETWORK: Joe Ferrara (Molly) dropped me a line t o c o m m i s erate about college searching. All of their Idds are o u t o f th e h o u se n o w an d Joe and Molly spent at least part of the summer taking i n h i st o r i c al si t e s i n Philadelphia,V^ eyForgeandafewother places. Their oldest daughter just fi nished at Washington & Lee, their second is at VMI (AFROTC, n o less) an d their third is at Old Dominion. Nothing like everybody stayin g in state. Joe is working for SCITOR, traveling to Nellis several times a year, and enj oying corporateget-togethersin placeslike Puerto Rico. Joe n otes th at Tim M al on e (Lee) isdoing the colonel thing asDeputy Director of C4ISRIntegration at the puzzle palace (it should be the “puzzled palace” these days), Ken Page (Joni) isworkingwith Joe at SCITORin the comm world and Ray Johns (Diana) has pirmed on his second star at the Pentagon in XP Thanksfor the heads up, Joe. JoJin Mol (Debbie) checked out of activeduty aft er 27years on 1Jun e04. Great symmetry, John — I guessI’d liketo know ifyou tossed your hat, too. John spent sixyearsat USAFE, thefi rst three on theDO staff an d th e l ast t h r ee at t h e W ar r i o r Preparation Genter (atrainingfacility for battle staf fs). Congratulations on the retirement and 27yearsof service,John. Deb teachesGerman at Ramstein High School and John, noting that, “There is no way on this earth I could pull her fr om there,” bowed to theinevitableand got himself certifi ed as a teacher. John isteaching 8* gradescience at thelocal American m i d d l e sch o o l . So t h e b at tl e staf f work had carryover value, aft er all. Eor now, th e t w o o f th em r em ai n o n an extended European vacation. Another congratulations for th at . John hasn’t bumped into too many people at Ramstein, but did seeRoy “Mac” Sikes come through as a contractor analyzing and documenting Gulf War I I l esso n s f o r

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USAFE. By the timeyou read this, John and Deb will be hitting the Christmas marketsin Central Europe. Thanksfor the note.

VI SUAL AI DS: Mac McReynolds (Dottie) gave me a quick update on Dave Grafton’s (Karen) retirement. The ceremony was held at Bolling on 30 June 2004 and featured several important speakers. But most importantly, Mac sent pictures, one of which is shown here.

Erom left are Brigadier General Steve Tanning (Eleanor), w h o w o r k s at D e fenseInformation SystemsAgency of Combat Support; M ac, w ho is a con trac

t or at Join t Eor ces Com m an d in N orfolk ; AJ Gib son (M edin a), w h o w o r k s a t DOE in the Crisis Management /WM D Division (this seems r edu n dan t ,

wouldn’t theWMD Division alwaysbecrisismanagement?As Mac notes, ifyou see AJ on television, somebody is not having a good day); and Dave. On a closing note, Mac and Dottie’s daughter is headed to m ed i c al sc h o o l at Pen n State in Hershey, PA. Mac is not doing theworried parent thing because Ster ling Johnson (Bird), who lives at Harrisburg, will handle oversight responsi bilitieswhile she’shitting the books. Congratulations D ave, an d th an k s M ac, f o r al l t h e n ew s.

I received a veritable photo album of Bill Brandt ’s (Susan) change of com mand near Kirkuk. Bill’s the CC of an AEF as part of h i s Re se r v e t o u r f r o m h i s FedEx Airbusj ob. One photo will have to suffi ce:

Aj ob well done!

Bill is the one on the far right sporting the new brass. Congratulations and

th an ks. Bill , fr om al l of u s.

FLASHBACK: Just to show you that I haven’t gotten completely stodgy in my old age, I wheedled Lynn Scott (Cynthia) into coming to Chicago for a House of Blues concert by no less than George Clinton and P ar l i a m e n t Eu n k a d el i c .

You may remember the infamous concert our senior year w h en Pa r l i am en t landed the mother ship on the floor of the fi eld house f o r sev e r al h o u r s o f organized chaos. The House of Blues show was no less chaotic, although I missed thewhitejumpsuits and the spaceship.

The show start ed well past my normal bed time. Aft er four hours of having our hearing assaulted and watching a crowd that was far too young to appre ciatethiskind of music, Lynn and I staggered back homecommenting that we wereboth happy that wedidn’t try to do this, namely, go out to dinner, then stay up until 2:30 in the morning attending a concert on aWednesday, and then try to go to work the next day. I’ll let you know how this al l w o r k s o u t w h en I recover, som e tim e in 2005.

That’s it fr om That Toddlin’ Town. Check out the grad forum and drop me a line at the Class of 1977 site. Be seeing you.

Bo b Kay 4 0 4 1 1 Te s o ro La n e

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Palmdale, CA 9 3 5 5 1 Home:(6 6 1) 2 74-2 20 1 Work: (66 1) 8 24-64 2 6 Ema il: Ro bert .kay@baesyst e ms .com

Asif that wasn’t enough, George also sent thisgreat sh o t o f h i m an d th e u su al list of suspectswhen they went through the 2004 Senior Leadership Orienta tion Course at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington DC an d t h e A i r li e C en t er in Warrenton,VA back in July. The picture was taken on the steps of the Airlie House. From left are: Hawk Carlisle (Deputy Director for Legislative Liasion), Ji m Ru b eor , D on Al st on , Joe Reh ei ser , Pun ch M oul t on , George (as a mem ber of th e AF Seni or Executive Service), an d Joe M u dd . Thanks George for the info... I owe you one! Guess lunch is my treat when we finally meet up.

Greetings 78ers...

It iswith great sadnessthat I offer my condolencesan d th at o f o u r cl ass t o B o b Guice’sfamily. Bob passed in September in the Springs. I haven’t heard exactly what happen but our thoughts and prayers are definitely w i t h h i s si st er K ar en and their family. They have asked for any donationsto be sent in Bob’smemory t o th e C iv i t an I n t ern ati o n al Resear ch PO B ox 130 744 FellowsProgram Birming h am A L 3 52 13 -0744 .

Also, arequest wassent on behalf of AceRawlinsconcerning DebbieRosepink and her kidsa couple of months ago. Ace has created several excellent ways of contributing to Debbie and thekids, one even tax deductible. I t r i ed t o c o n t a ct most of the classvia e-mail but am sure I missed people. If you were not con tacted and would be interested in helping out, please sh o o t m e an e - m ai l .

Theheadliner thisquarter (gutsy assumption on my part !) was Steve Goldfein becoming CINCNellisAFB (boggles my mind just thinking ab ou t th at) an d commander of theAir Warfare Center. Goldy received t h e c o m m an d f ro m t h e COMACC, General Hornburg, on 4 Oct and sent this great picture of the cer emony. Even went to work that day... sure can understand that —just a few things to catch up on. Congrats Goldy... what an accomplishment.

-V*

Al so got a great note from a fellow Third LT refugee (at lovely Mountain HomeAFB), Mark Rodriguez. Mark is a Colonel in the R e se r v e s a n d c o m mander of the932d Maintenance Group at Scott AFB doing m ai n t en an c e o n DV airplanes. They are about to receive the C-9Cs out o f th e 8 9* at A n d r ew s aswell as three to six new 737-700s directly off the Boeing assembly line. The wing changed its charter fr om aeromedical missions to DV support (every thing up to but not includingWhite House missions). Talk about high threat!

Mark and hisbride, Jill, are the proud parentsof two bundlesof energy, tlireeyear-old Caleb and Jameswho is one. Everyoneprobably gets to pack up and move to Hill before the end of the year but he’s not sure at this point. Great hearing fr om you Mark... hope the move goeswell.

Ju st saw M att “ Cu r se” LaCou r se dow n th e h all h er e at Tyndall AFB where I ’m currently TDY (in the corporateworld they call it “on travel” ... still away from home). Curse has been flying the E-9 (AF DeHaviland D ash 8) for Lockheed Martin for the better part of a year. He retired a few years ago and did contractor work at Eglin AFB until this flyingjob opened up. Every time I seehim he has a huge smile on hisf ac e . . . a most happy camper. Interestingly enough, the squadron h e fl ies ou t of is th e on e h e com m an ded (82"‘*A er ial Tar get s

Ed Rice has also been selected to pick up 13* Air Force a t A n d er so n A F B i n Guam . Saw a story (best I can do as a retired type— good info is tough to get) that Anderson is building up again and am sure Ed will be right in the middle of that. Haven’t seen Ed sincehewasthewing commander at Ellsworth afew years back... way to go Ed! George Ka’iliwai dropped me a superb e-mail and gets t h e “ H e r o o f th e A r t i c l e” aw a r d . H e w a s sel e ct e d a s t h e Tech n i c al D i r e ct o r for the AF Flight Test Center at Edwards aft er his last active-duty stint as th e Test Pil o t Sch o o l C o m mandant. Wekeep trying to get together for lunch but havebeen highly unsuc cessful so far. Anyway, he sent a great picture of Doug and Kathleen Benjamin as Doug was inducted as an “Eagle” at the Flight Test H i st o r i c al Fo u n d a t i o n Gathering of Eagles 2004 in Lancaster CA. The theme w a s “ O u t o f t h e B l a ck ...

Into the Blue.” Dougwas the second of only three pilots to fly the Boeing Bird of Prey. He flew 21of 38 flights to include envelope expansion, mission utility and tactical applications... quite the flying achievement. Fur th er, from w h at I’m told, to be inducted asan Eagle in the test pilot community is a ft ugehonor.

Yet another exceptional ’78 achievement.

Squadron) prior to retirement and hopes to get back in t h e mighty Rhino (QF-4) one of these days.

20 Got aniceresponseon Ron fr om Dick Newton. Hepinned his star on a few monthsback and is slugging it out in th e J3 Sabre Society Do no rs sweat shop on theJoint Staff. Sayshemost likely w ill b e st u ck in the Beltway for at least another year. Also heard fr o m Ro n Magnuswho still residesin Denver. He is currendy the managing director for FMl Consulting (hemaintainsthat leading consultantsislikeherding cats) and asbeen doingafull load of traveling asof late. Went to China on business, spent threeweeks in Europefor his and Sharon’s25* anniversary an d th en w at ch ed her and kidsgo toAWcafor two weekson a missionstrip. As if that isn’t enough, Ron was recently nominated and selected as aWharton Fellow. The group meetsa few times ayear in diS'erent parts of theworld to look inside large mul tinational organizations and study/give feedback to thehosts on strategy, etc.

Over half arefr om overseason any given event (hethinksthey cap thisat around 40). This past year they me in Los Angeles, Wash DC, Milan, Singapore and Beijing. I would sure like to have Ron’s fr equent flyer m i l es . . . w o u l d d o w o n dersfor my anemic Delta account. Thanksfor the great n ew s Ro n !

Speaking of Warton (what a segue), Kip recently tied th e n ot w i th Julia in St Louis. Congrats! He isfinishing up hisAF lifeworking for Goldy (kinda... Kip sayshe’spretty far down the food chain) at theAir W ar f ar e C en t er d et ac h m en t at Ft Leavenworth. He’s looking at doing the airline thing (hopefully) aft er he hangs it up next year.

Well guys, this concludes another banner quarter of info fr om y aU. I’m run ning out of spacewith all the great pix (what a problem to have) so probably need to sign off . I suredo appreciateyou keepingin touch.. .great to seeso many of our class doing well. It is truly an honor to be associated with thisgroup of great Americans. Hopethe blessings continue to abound for aUof you. ’78 / S G REAT !

V i si t t h e N E W A O G W eb Si t e

Merchan dise, Gone But Not For gotten an d M o r e!

wwu^.usafa.org Doug and Kathleen Benjamin 14 1

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Bud Vazq uez 2 5 Hayden Lane Bedford, MA 0 173 0 Bvazq uez79 @ao l.com

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Hello, Niners! As I was gathering info for this update, i t st m ck m e t h a t t h e tone of our classnewshas changed quite abit over the ensuing 25years. Once we spoke of fast cars, fast living, and fast ... well, you get thepicture. Nowadays it just seemslikewearetalking moreabout who madegeneral, retirement, and how our kids are doing, and even whose kids have made it through USAFA! There’s awar dragging on overseas... Long hair is starting to come BACK in! I could actually take a pill and grow some... if I wanted... 1 As akid I hardly knew about ol’ USAFA, and I wasamazed that kidswould say that “I havewanted to go to USAFA since I was three.” Well , n ow I h ave on e of those kids- a not-so-littleguy whojust turn ed 14, and who sayshewantsto go to thezoo. So, in order to prepare him for the hike to Jack’sVaUey,we go hiking in New Hampshire’sWhiteMountains. He and I conquered on e this sum m er, as pictured below.

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left hook!). Kurt’swife, Katie, is an ’81grad, his son Erik graduated in 2003 (in T-37s at Columbus), and his daughter Megan in 2004! Spectacular achieve mentsfor any family, anywhere- old papaisjustifiably proud! Ku r t n ow ow n s a small food processing plant in Michigan (I think), c al l e d T o d o r o f f F o o d s Incorporated... Top secret information says they market fr eeze -d r i ed M i t ch ’s mountain...Anyhow, Kurt got a report into Johnny D that just missed the dead line thispast summer...

Bill Murphy sent mea note telling mehe is movingfr o m A F / X OX t o th e N RO this summer. He’s soundingwell and happy to remain i n t h e D .C . ar ea . Sc o t t Grunwal d (Debbie) is the Deputy Director at SAF/AQI, and pondering what movesto make next - make a move, settle the family in and pack it in, go be a movie star, or what? I get to speak to Scott, a spiritual rock and example for me, on asemi-regular basis- although he accusesme of pestering him - can you imagine!!?Matt Dunbar isorganizing al acr o sse I 1 mini-reunion of sortsfor the25* - in hopesof rekindling s o m e of the past glories- hopefully no tom achilles, or worse inju ries! Ken Mattem (Pam) is a top-flight lawyer for a c o m p an y not far from here, and lives in the posh resort of Duxbury 7 pronounced “Deluxe-bury” by the hoi poloi.

Speaking of kids— Karl Reichl has done his part - he a n d Sabre Society Do n o rs wife Nancy have 11- that’sright - 10 plusone! Karl isworking for a company called ManTech here at Hanscom where h e supports the Global Air Traffi c Management Program O fi c e a s th e h e a d l e a d support contractor - sounds expensive, I mean impressive, d o e sn ’t i t ?

Many thanks to Guy Wills, who in his role at USAFA has kept many of us updated on issues important to grads. Colonel Chris King (Caroline) retired thispast summer, and moved on toTuscon, whereheworksfor Raytheon. Like Chris, Colonel Randy Gricius (Vicki) retired this past summer as well, only “the tall one” retired out of Space Command. Methinks h e r em ai n ed i n th e C Springs area. Additionally, I got word through Brian Koechel that Peter “Trey” Baum recently flew a Delta trip to Paris with Kenny Goodwin . They’re both right seaters on the 777.

Last but certainly not least. Brother Bill Gregory sent a nice note and photo fr om Gilbert AZ. Bill asked “ I wondered how many of us are still driving our c ad et c ar ” ? H er e’s “ B o r n eo ” B il l w i t h at l e ast t w o of hishonies- the orginal ’78 25* anniversary edition and a slightly newer 50* anniversary ed i t i o n ! A ll t h r ee are looking great!

I

Bud Vazquez and Son Daniel on M t Mousilauke.

My small business continues to keep me off the streets i n t h e ar e a a r o u n d Hanscom AFB, and Molly and I haveour handsblessedly f ul l w i t h t h e a ct iv i t i es of Dan (14), Marley (12), andAJ (9).

I passed this on by e-mail this past February, but for thosewho might have missed the 0-7 list — apologies in advance if I leave so m e o n e o f f : C R D av i s (Susan), Frank Gorenc (Sharon), Don Lustig (Rhonda), N eil M cCaslan d (Su san ) , Steve Schm i dt (Sar ah ), an d Robin Ran d (Kim ) all appear to be the same guys I think they are. Please correct the record if you are better informed— or have a better memory — than 1. CONGRATSto all — proud of ya!

Whilemy contactson activeduty arelimited, now that I am a sm al l b u sin ess man, one guy who I stayed in touch with isTom Teiegler. Here’s a great picture form his retirement in September at Langley.

TheTeiegler Family Retirement From left areTom’s son Todd, who played the National A n t h em o n t h e t r u m pet; Gan, hisfaithful wifeof 22 years; son C3CAndrew,who passed theflag after the fi ag-folding ceremony, and son Scott who helped keep the event festive.

Tom tellsmethat he sponsored a Firstiefor Summer Research and that despite “the Big R” is applying for LO duty - anything to keep wearing the uniform...

Tom has run across the paths of Dave Ortiz on base an d Fran k Gor en c, w h o seemsto be having fun as 1FW/ CC. Tom also reportsthat Steve Lepper is sta tioned in Hawaii, and Steve’s daughter graduated fr om USAFA this past sum m er. Congrat s!

Another guy who has strong family ties to U SAFA Isold Kur t Todor off . (I w i ll always remember Kurt asmy PEboxing partner - a leftiewith a “sneaky quick” 14 2

Bill isstill heading up the Human Space activities at Honeywell. Like a good classmate, hepassed on that Bill Doylejust retired as an 0-6 out of SpaceCom mand and is now workingfor General Dynamics in C-Springs. Brig Gen (s) CR Davishasfi nished up his“Wing King” stint at EdwardsAFB, an d has becom e the Deputy PEO for theJSF in D.C. If I remember correctly, that means in two years or so, our classm ate w ill rotate i nto th e lead for JSF- the future of fi ghtersfor the next 35-50 years! Also, Col Mark “Pescado” Fish also recendy fi nished up at Edwards, ashead of Safety, and now headsup the ROTC Detachment at LoyolaMarymount University back in hishometown of Manhattan Beach , CA - sw eet!

Lasti y, hatsoff to Trash (who is on deck asscribe- m at er i al d u e in D ec em b er ish), Johnny D and Brian K for the great work they do as class scribes. Hope you all had a great re-union and an outstanding holiday season . God Bl ess, Godspeed, and Go Falcons!

Don Mye rs M e pi b e r s 4 0 1 Chambray Hill Peacht ree City, GA 3 0 26 9-4 247 (770 ) 63 1-14 2 9 E-ma il: DMye rs8 0 @hot ma il.co m Class Home Page: htt p:/ / usaf a8 0 .t ripod .com

I was there. . . where were you? Yep, I sojourned to the Zoo for the Navy game. Thought I’d see more of you, but did have a great-but-shor t v i si t w i t h Janet (Jim) Therianos. She and I happened to be at theAOG building at the same time. (Our AOG is world class, top-to-bottom.) I grabbed some stats fr om Jan et an d th en asked w h at sh e’d like t o sh ar e. First, a little background: She’s the fi rst active-duty female academy grad to b e sel e ct e d f o r 0 - 7 — t h e grunt fr om ’81at Hudson High you may have read about w a s fr o ck e d . C u r -

rently, Janet’s the Senior Military Assistant to the SECAF. Been there going on three years and was told, “You leave when I leave.” If I’ve got my notes right, she started in KC- 135sat Fairchild, wasa Sqdn CC in th em at M cCon n ell , fl ew KC- 1Os at Barksdal e, M arch , an d th en Travi s — an d bagged some C-5 time whilethere as Ops Group Cdr. Of course, therewere the staff jobs and schools along theway. What’s interesting is she even found t i m e t o marry and convert a Marine Harrier pilot to the AFRESa s well. Janet said she’s excited about where the AF is going, especially theassimilation of technology and seeing h o w t h e young folks coming up the ranks are putting it all together.

She’s particularly proud of how theAF is playing such a m a 14 jor part of thejoint team with the other services. Certainly “Big Picture” stuff.

Sabre Society Do n o rs Whilein theAOG lobby, our chat wasoverheard by an o l d er couple that asked if we loiew Susan Helm s. They are Su san ’s parents and were at theAcademy for her father’s pilot squadron reunion. The latest on Susan: SpaceWingVice Commander at Patrick an d h er o n -b ase h o u se waswhacked by Hurricane Jeanne and condemned by CE. Sh e h a d t o m o v e a couple of doors down, but I’m sure she made a party out of it. Her parents were pretty excited as later in the month Susan was t o b e i n d u ct e d i n t o t h e Astronaut Hall of Fame in Alamogordo. By the way, despite t h e score, th e football game was exciting and well-played.

Blue is Blue? To keep the theme going, I have an update from Alvi n (+3) Sears, our Navy blue classmate. He had a tough year, relocating to San Diego with Intel to stabilize family matters— he lost his m oth er, sister, an d fath er within the span of about ayear, “but remaining Sears clan (three sons and my daughter) are holding up OK. I’m also a Navy Reserve 0-6 (I left active duty Navy in ’93) now commanding a unit which supports the Naval Air Systems Command out of Patuxent River Maryland— doing bigtime commuting once a month. Our unit (somewhat unique as a Reserve Systems Com m an d Uni t) isproviding maintenance support to Naval Air Mediterranean Repair Activity, [including] remote maintenance support in theater (Iraq/ Bahrain). Tv e h ad a trip out to Bahrain this Jan ’04 setting things up with the gaining command (active) CO. As you know, the Reserves have evolved in importance and scope fr om our days asyoung JOs on active duty. Just wanted to say I’m super proud of my guys. My thoughts and prayersarewith my command h er o es as w i th all o f o u r a c t iv e / Reser v e h e r o es i n th eat er .”

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SmaUWorld. I was on a trip and pulled into the Coca Cola corporate ramp.

O n e D a n B r u n sk o l e m e t u s. I a sk e d i f h e k n ew a St ev e Brunskole. They are

broth ers (D an’s ’83). I foun d out th at Steve’s last assignment was Indian Springs/

Nellis for three years, working on the UAVs. He retired i n ’0 4 an d h a d o n e o f those tough transitions— moving into a contractor position o n t h e U AV s at th e same place. Steve and Marta have two boys, Brian (7) an d Ch ad (4).

Shorts: Sue Desjardins has moved fr om Scott to take thewing at Charleston.

Margie (Clark) (BJ+l )Varuska has moved to CapeCanaveral. Paul (Ricki Sm ith) Selva isnow the Director of Operationsand Logisticsat U ST RA N SC O M . Fr o m Larry Depatis: “Been keeping sort of busy. Mosdy tryingto keep my [rear ] o u t of Korea. After I got back fr om a deployment in Dec they gave John Rudolph (my boss) aheads-up they were sending me for my last year in service. Lead ership tried to cancel but couldn’t, so I put in for a deferment. They turned it down twice. My only option wasto retire. We are also looking to moving back to Illinois, so I’m scrambling for j obs.” And from Peggy (Dennis) (Bob) Car nahan: “Just got my retiree newsletter from Whiteman. I t i n c l u d e d an invitation to the annual RetireeAppreciation Day, signed by theWing CC, CD Miller. Unfortunately, the RetireeAppreciation Day is the same day as a big cat tle sal e in Ib er ia M O, so I don’t th in k w e’ll at ten d . G u e ss I ’l l m i ss t h e fr e e

blood pressure screening and a tour of the BX. ” Flash: 25* reunion will beArmyWeekend, 3 to 6 November! G o t o t h e cl ass Web Site for updates. Until next time, my fr iends. D o n R ic h Tre n t m a n 1 1 1 0 2 As b e e St .

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Hello 81! /fr iother Fall bas come and gone. The Falcons had a learn ing sea son and showed tremendous promise for the future. At e a ch h o m e f o o t b all game, I was thinking of how close our 25* reunion is approaching. I’m cer tainly not wishing my (our) lives away, but I do look forward to the very brief timewherewe can all get together and try to cram yearsof experiences, memo ries, and fr iendshipsinto a moment much too short. I also found myself look ing at the cadet section by my seats and wonderingwhere theyearswent. I can clearly picture us sitting there for the game. Back to reality!

From our still-proudly-serving classmates: The guy with the greatest name, Ryan Orian, is theViceWing Commander of the 144* Fighter Wing in Fresno, CA Ryan attended 0-6 charm school in Washington, DCw i th Louis Durkac. Louisisat Langley AFB,VA. Marty France h as

m oved b ack to b eautif ul Colorado (I ’m b iased . ... w ork w i t h

me) to Peterson AFB. He also represented our class a t t h e Academy’s fi rst Graduate Leadership Conference in July. Jay San t ee is al so b ack at Pet e af ter a t o u r as t h e O G C o m m an d er

atVandenbergAFB. Jay’s daughter Rachel started at Cal Poly 7 this Fall. Jay saysthey took a different approach an d m o v e d Sabre Society Do n o rs away fr om their child.... I’m still tryingto get Springs/Peterson classmates together with limited success. Lauri Cross i s a t NORTHCOM at Peterson and emailed me while on a trip n o r t h o f t h e b o r d er

Al vin Sears remembering hisZoo-blueroots.

Testing... testing. “Broadway” Joe Lanni writes: “I really enjoy every issue reading about the travails and joys of our classmates through the years. I’m currently the commander of the 412th Wing at Edwards, having taken over in May. My previousjob wastheF/A-22 Combined Test ForceC C al so at Ed w ar d s... yes they made me fl y thejet... which is absolutely awesome and doing well in both developmentd and operational testing. Having a fi ne time in the high desert aswe at Edwards get to see theAF of the future every day. I work pretty regularly with several of our classmates. Col Bill “Coutter” Court s recently took over the 53rd WG at Eglin and we collaborate on lots of issues. Also “Fuzzy” Zeller isoneof thestalwart engineersfor the F/A-22 program and Steve Rainey isa civilian pilot at Edwardsperforming IPdutiesand providing test support as an F-16 driver. Good to have their fr iendly faces and t al e n t h e re .”

From Coffeeland. Marge (Glazier) (Jay+2) Schell moved to Bogota last year.

“I started working in the [U.S. Embassy] mailroom in September and for some reason I can’t bring myself to write a letter! Go fi gure. Computer jobsin the embassy arevery few and requireyou bebilingual. So for now I get to band out hugs and kissesfr om home in the form of letters and packages. I also use it as an opportunity to give most people I meet a card with th e tim es, address an d a map of the church. During the fall thereweretwo hand grenades tossed into a nightclub that many Americans fr equent. There is a c ar d i n al r u l e h er e th a t everyone is supposed to follow: Be consistently inconsistent. A n d o n c e a month or so we do hear a gunshot aswell. But we also are driven everywhere i n ar m o r ed v eh i cl es an d t h e d r i v e r i s in c o n st an t co n t act with dispatch if there isany kind of unrest in the city.” And I complain about cutting the grass. Along with inviting all theAF folks in Bogota to their homefor thebig holidays. Marge also has found time to do/teach some ext ensive quilting.

t o O t t aw a . I ’v e h a d a m u c h e a si e r t i m e w i t h t h e H a n sc o m A F B c r o w d . L a st

column, I talked about getting together with thefriendly B o st o n cr o w d an d w e again got together for a nice dinner. Ken Hasegawa, John Casser in o , Jan ice (Guimoe) Hughes, Shirley (Hilsgen) Loclde, Bill Nelson,Yvonn e Schilz , Bruce Johnson, their spouses, and I all had a relaxing evening catching up. The oc casion wasa going away dinner for Yvonne beforesheheaded to the Pentagon.

Janice has since emailed that she and Don are moving west, possibly some where in Colorado. It is a small world. I was getting a san d w i c h a t H an sc o m and saw Steve Muhs therewith his wife. Steve inprocessed w i t h M ik e C o x .

Randy Worrall , our most kind classVR is still working through all the labor issuesat Delta. He dropped his daughter at Butler University. Randy is already pinging mewith reunion ideas/ suggestions. Please send Randy or myself any ideas or suggestionsfor our 2006 Reunion. Nancy Brunkow sent mea very odd email. She thought she saw me on TV doingjury duty. I a ssu r e d h e r i t w a sn ’t me. I can’t help it if my ‘Alfred E Neuman’ face appears everywhere. Mark Rolling dropped hisdaughter, Katie, off at USAFA thisSummer to join the Class of 2008. (See photo at top of next page.)

Mark’ssecond daughter, Carol, attended USAFAsSummer seminar and hopes to follow in her sister’sfootsteps. Mark assured me t h at h e t o l d t h em i t w o u l d n ’t be the easy path to take, but I know that he is very proud. (Talk about some college cost cutting... I ’m still “infl uencing/ hinting” about USAFA with my so n s . . .)

I stumbled into Dan Bell at theCal-AF game. Dan was in tovm to seethegame and, oh, to see his son at USAFA. Dan looked great an d w e sh ar ed n o t es a b o u t Detroit sportsteams. Mike Schilz dropped mean email an d sai d h e w as th in k ing about me as hewatched a boxing match recently on TV In our younger days, I had a big party to watch a pay-per-view MikeTyson-Michael Sphinx fi ght and it only lasted 93 seconds. Mikeis startingschool to be an A320 Captain 14 3

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Clearf ield , UT 84 0 15-19 19 DSN: 58 6-3 3 52 (work) rat t ij m@m inds pring.com htt p:/ / usaf a8 2 .org

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GreetingsRedtags!

Finally! Thebulk of ’82 Colonels-select arepinned on! I N ov an d l D ec w er e memorabledaysfor about 53 or so of usaswepinned o n 0 -6 . Seem s lik e i t w asn ’t really all that long ago when a Cadet-colonel was god-like. M an h ow ti m e f li es . . .

Ellen and I are fi nally settled in our new (rental) h om e in U tah , th ank s to th e impendingvisit by farruly and friendsin town for thepin-on ceremony. Thank God for that! Left to normal events,we’d haveprobably just left it all packed and

Katie Rolling in Jack ’s Valley. w i t h N o r t h w est an d sai d To m an d C h r i sti n e Sh i r cl i f f recently had a baby boy.

Kelvin Manning emailed me from Hurricane-battered Florida. Fortunately, hishomecamethrough OK with only minor damages, but h e d i d t ear h i s A c h i l les tendon playing basketball. He’s now back to work w i t h N A SA aft e r a b r i ef break. We’re getting older! John Reinheimer is busy as an IT manager with Mattel and made Lt Col in the Reserves serving as an A d m i ssi o n s L i ai so n O f fi cer. John is also the Secretary for a new AOG chapter in L.A. and hardening hisbody with two and three-mile ocean swims... watch o u t f o r sh ar k s!. D ar r en McKnight started a new job asVP for Technology for t h e Resear c h an d I n t ell i gence Group at SAI C. Darren took the family to Colorado t h i s su m m er an d sh ow ed th em Boul der, Pi kes Peak an d U SAFA .

' ft / SM M f Yfl OR TRIpn

TheMcKnightson thePeak.

Darren keeps in touch with Eric Garvin and Marv Fisher. He also staysclose

wi t h Jack Ber k ebil e. D ar r en an d Jack w en t t o th e n ew Sm i t h so n i an A i r a n d

SpaceMuseum together thisyear. I had lunch with Tom M al o o f b efo r e th e A F Navy game... ugh, I really wanted AF to win that one. Tom’skeeping busy with his law practice and flying for Delta. I see Tom at Boy Scout functions and cam p ou ts, t oo.

In an unprecedented update, I received an actual old-school, typed letter from Don Ford! Unbelievable! Don flew EC-130s for sixyears aft e r U PT o n acti ve duty with Lionel Trujillo and Drees Griffi n an d t h en fl ew 73 7 s w i t h U S Airways for 16 years. Post 9-11economic pressures on the airline industry forced Don to adjust and go to Southwest Airlines. Don pointed out that he is extremely thankM for the support hereceived in theinterview/ hiring process from many of our classmates. Robb Topp helped with the interview process; Bill Kasswas Southwest’s hiring manager; and Scott Retry, Mark Leyba, and John Mahoney pitched in to help. Way to go ’81! Robb Topp retired in 2001, fli es for Southw est , an d lives in Phoeni x. D on said Robb hastwo in college and golfsalot. Bill Kass lives in Scm Antonio, works in D allas, an d flies ou t of Bal timore. .. (I guess I can’t complain about my 16-mile dr ive...) Bill h as tw i n nine-year-old daughters and Don sayshe’s a regional “poo-bah” for AFA Liai son Offi cers. John Mahoney lives near Providence and has three boys and a one-year-old daughter. John and Don are flying together while Don goes through hisiniti al opsexperiencecheckout. Asfor D on , he lives i n Westmin ster, MD with hiswife, Jolene, and daughter Michelle. Don keeps in touch with his old roommate Ken Keslar who’s presently fl ying KC-1Os a t M cG u i r e A F B , N J and lookingforward to retiring in a coupleyears. K en an d D o n n a K esl ar h av e one son that has graduated from college and two others in college. A special thank you to Don for taking the time to write a letter.

Again, I thank you all for the emails, letter, and pictures. I do intend to fi nd someti meto start loading aUthepicturesI’vereceived thepast coupleyearson our website. I thoroughly enjoy serving asyour scribe an d w i l l c o n ti n u e t o d o so... hey, it’s not like I’m fi ghting off dozens of volunteers. I wish all of you a Happy Holidays and I hopeyou get some ti me off to relax with your farnilies.

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li v ed o u t o f su i t c ases an d a f ew b o x es u n t i l th e m ov er s ar r iv ed f o r t h e n ex t PC S. Speaking of ceremonies, I had the privilege of attending Sh ar o n D u n b a r ’s change-of-command ceremony here at HiUAFB in September w h en sh e t o o k

the reigns of the 75* Air BaseWing. I don’t know which w a s better— seeing Sharon takeon therole of wing commander or watching Doug (the spouse) get escorted into the c e r emony by a nice looking femaleCGO. We’re all waitingt o s e e how Reserve F-16 pilot Doug doesashonorary Chairman o f the Offi cer Spouses’ Club. (No, they don’t call it t h e O W C an ym ore!)

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I’m enjoyingmy new job runningthesimulator sustainment Sabre Society D o n o rs business,but we’rein themidst of areorganizati on o f A ir Fo r ce Materiel Command into Squadrons, Groups, andWings. A s with any change, this has caused some upheaval and uncertainty which our folks areworking through. For those of you outside the command, this reorg may help you fi gure out thearcanestmctureof theacquisiti on world. For those of you in acquisiti on, thiswill help confuseyou more. For those of you on the outsidelooking in,just smile. This isonechangeyou don’t haveto go through!

I r an i n t o Fr ed d i e Per al t a o u t h er e at H il l . H e’s an AF civilian working in theA10 offi ce out here, and seems to be enjoying himself. I got a coin order (yes, they’re still available!) from Dan Harrier a few months ago. Dan was putti ng together stuff for a shadow box for his retirement, ef fect ive 1 Jan 2005. A n d speakingof retirements, my Doolieroomieand stop-out ’83 grad Karl Kuschner retired back in July. Hewasat LangleyworkingF/A-22 b ed d ow n i ssu es. I ’m n o t surewhat he’sdoingin retirement, but quitesometimeago hementi oned work ing in a PhD. Kusch alwayswas one of those“ 100-lb brain” guys, so I wouldn’t be surprised to be calling him “Doc” in just a short l i t t l e w h il e .

Another one of us to join the reti red ranks isAlan G o ar d . A l an m o v e d fr o m Ottawa to northern Virginia, where he’s a “beltway bandit” working for an un specifi ed Joint Staff project offi ce. Jud Knaplund dropped anoteto let meknow that Steve Morin is a project engineer with Flight S^ etyIntern ational (aflight simulator company) near Tulsa, and is (at least peripherally) involved in Join t Strike Fighter work. He’s also a part-ti me Guard maintenance Squadron/ CC with an F-16unit there. Heleft acti veduty in ’92, but continued fl yingpart-time F-15 alert with the guard until about the mid-‘90s, w h en h e m ov ed t o U il sa f o r his current job. Steve is married and hasthree teenage girls (God blesshi m!).

And last but not least, I heard from Tom Taylor, who i s t h e c o u n sel t o t h e Director’sStaf f of theU.SAttorney’sOffi cein Washington D C . To m sen t a sh o r t e-mail to order some coins, but didn’t give me much d et ai l o n w h a t h i s w o r k i n v o lv e s.

And really, that’s about it this time — it was a slow quarter for news. The summer PCSrush is over, and folks must be quietly buckling down to work.

So, let’s get those pens and keyboards fi red up and don’t forget to add you faithful class scribe to your Christmas card list! Be saf e, Ratm an .

Raymond J. Blust 7 Highland Park Wheeling, VW 2 6 00 3-5472 H: (30 4 ) 24 2-718 2 Cell: (3 04 ) 28 1-16 2 1

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E-m a i l : RJ M A B L US T@c o m c a s t .c o m

Well, it’sbeen over ayear since our reunion and yes, I f o u n d t h e “ l o st ” r o ll o f if lm . That’s the good news; thebad news is there aren’t any pics of Stu in them, with or without a beer. Sorry Sty! As usual, Stu writes t h e b e st ar t i cl e s o f al l o f us and I really dread following him. But you say, “Ray,you normally don’t write thewinter arti cle.” Correctomundo McFly! I havebeen desperately searching for an active-duty classmate assigned to theAcademy to carry the torch. So here’smy patheti c cry for help from one of you all at theAcademy. Please don’t make me ask Brig Gen Dana Bom to assign it to someone. Ju st volun t eer an d everyone will be happy.

Dave “Treat me” Ruffi ey has graciously said hewoul d co n t i n u e t o w r i t e t h e article if needed; thanks Dave, I may need you next year. Dave has been our eyes and ears at the zoo for the past fe w years.

Back to Dana, congratul ati ons'. To put it in West Virginia lingo, you done did good! We’re all very proud of you Dana.

This is agreat lead-in to my next point of businessbefore I get into classmate info. Asyou know. I’ve been an ALO here inWestVirginia since'92. Oneof my additi onal duti esis our state’s Supply Offi cer, so needlessto say I’ve got a closet fun of brochures, envelopes, etc. 1just received our latest brochure promot ing women graduates cffi led “Women at theAir ForceAcademy.’’ Of course when I first got it 1was psyched; 1wanted to see D an a, f ron t an d cen t er. Bit Nooooo! No Dana. However, on the back cover they listed four distinguished femalegraduates from variousclasses. None of our cl assm at es w er e i n cl u d ed but onewas listed who obviously wanted to be in our class. Congresswomen H eat h er W il so n i s li st ed as fr o m th e “ C l ass o f 19 83 ’’ an d t h e fi r st f em al e v et er an to serve in Congress. Oops, Roger N. Anderson if fuming. H e w a n t s a l l t h e

brochures redone or else! Oh well, it seemed funny to me. I guessyou had to be there. If anyone would like a copy, please e-mail m e .

Time out for some old reunion pics. The fi rst one is f o r St u si n c e h e w h i n e d about every photo of him wasonewith abeer in hish an d . Pi ct u r ed ar e m e w i th A1Galley and Jeff Fiebig. Note the beers in hands! Also picture over Jeff ’sleft shoulder is starship mate Dave Wright , who has a beer in his hand; you just can ’t see i t .

The Ray and W^ n “Bott ” Waldron family hangin ’out at th e r e u n i o n . happy working for AA because at TWA hewasthe only ’83 grad there and there wereonly two other gradsworkingfor the company. When you get to the Flight Academy, look Paul up. He’s currently the B-737 Ground School Supervisor.

Paul wrotethat he had the opportunity to play golf w i t h B o b “ M ar ac o M o l e” Brown at the annual 9/ 11flight Crew Memorial Golf To u r n a m e n t a n d f u n d raiser in North Texas. Bob wasthe tournament organizer and chairman. They won fi rst in their “Don’t have a handicap” flight. With Bob running the show, Paul said of course therewere plenty of Krispy Kreme doughnuts in the morn ing and Texas Bar-B-Que in the afternoon. Please contact Bob or Paul if you’d like to play next year.

Paul spokewith Joe “Cool” Banna who is a JAG at Fairchild AFB in Spokane, W A . H e t o l d Pa u l t o t el l m e h e ’s a l i v e a n d w el l a n d i s ev e n considering theAOG lifetime membership. Guilt and sh am e work every time. Joe says he is grateful he doesn’t h av e t o defend the “idiots” fr om Abu Gharib prison. Not really w h at

h e becam e a JAG for.

From lef t are Ray, A1and Jeff sol ving th e airline w o e s .

A1made a surprisevisit to the reunion and showed up with the clothes on his back and no room. Hewas going through training on a n ew ai r cr af t a t D el t a w h en th e sim b r o k e. Sin ce h e h ad th e r est o f th e w eek en d off,why not fly to COS and kill a couple brain cells. M lives in GA, dah! Jef f lives in M on um ent next to Fisher Deberry in what I would call his“Gaptain” house. Jef f fli es for United an d heand Ellen, ’84,work in theReservesat theAcademy. Jeff hosted our Saturday night galafor Starship smacks and anyone elsewho w an t ed t o at t en d .

Back to another golf story fr om Paul. A couple of years a go 11 he ended up paired with the head basketbffi l coach a t N e braska, Barry Collier. Now think about that last name. H e i s Sabre Society Do n o rs none other than Courtney Collier ’s brother. Court, a s m e n ti oned in the last Checkp oin ts, is flying F- 16s at H o m e st ea d ARB with the Makosand isa 767 FO with AA If you run in to him , ask him about ticketsto the Big 12 tourney in Dallas.

Paul said I need to menti on a mutual, non-grad friend. Anyonethat has ever met this guy never forgets him - Mike “Sully” Sullivan. H e i s a d i e - h a r d N e braska fan. Paul flew RC-135s with Sully at Offr itt in the ’80swhile Sully and I were classmates in UPT Class 84-06 “Hot Sticks”. Sully, you owe Paul dinner.

Finally, Paul said to make sure an d mention Hal “Spring” So m m er an d To m “Duda” Duda. They both told Paul they havebeen avoidinggettingtheir names

ti l Checkpoints. H^ isreti redandheandhiswife,Susan , live in Sun Prairie,W I.

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Ron and Tonia Graves and family enj oy thepre-game tailgate.

Next on deck is the Ron Graves family. Ron and I went t o t h e P- sc h o o l t o gether and flew at Laughlin and Bergstrom together. He met his lovely wife, Ton i a, at Au st in w h ere sh e w as n ew s an ch or for on e of the major networks.

Ro n f li es fo r U n i t ed an d l iv es so u t h o f D en v er in Par k er . It was great seeing you guys, and hope to see you in four more.

Julieand I had the pleasureof rooming next to Ray andVt^mn (Botts)Waldron and their three chUdren. They dared take their kids to the reunion. I suppose their kids aretoo young to believethat mom and dad were actually young and somewhat wild at one time. W^mn was stati oned at Offutt as a Program M an ager and Branch Chief at USSTRATCOM. I also lost the p ap er I w as u sin g t o scribble notes on everyone so I’m down to my memory and the Register.

Time for the letter bag. I was down in Dallas for my nine-month flogging when I ran into Paul “ PTL” Amen. Both of uswerehanging o u t at t h e St ar b u ck s kiosk as though it was the CQ desk. Ho place to go; just hangin’ out. Without asking, Paul sent me a two-pager on classmates, so heregoes. Paul is currently aC-130nav in theMissouri ANGat St.Joseph, MO. He started workingfor TWA b ack i n 199 4 a s an M D -8 0 / D C -9 G r o u n d Sch o o l I n st m ct o r and then Manager of Navigati on at TWA beforewe (AA) bought/acquired t h em . Pau l seem s t o b e

Tom is a pilot for Delta and lives with hiswife, Julie (I love th at n am e), in th e pilot ghetto of Peach Tree City, GA where you can ride your golf carts to just about anywhere. Soundslike Utopia! Well, that’s it for the Paul Amen mailbag.

Paul, you save me. Thanks for the update.

Ron and li ttleRon Gaul ton and Mark Holland enj oy a too-early reunion break

f as t .

Now back to the photos. I caught Ron Gaulton (with ch il d) an d M ar k H ol land at breakfast Sunday morning. Obviously, Mark wassti ll asleep or hewishes hewas. Ron isan ADOat Davis-Monthan wherehe’sflyingtheA-10. M ar k fli es for Delta and lives in Georgia.

Our last photo is of another old preppie fr iend, Dave and Janice Geuting. I caught them in their pre-game regalia on Saturday morning. N o t t o o su r e where they’re stationed. If you read this Dave, e-mail me and give me some d et ai l s.

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cl assm at e th at h ack ed m e o f f. H e’s n ow r et ir ed an d h e st il l l o o k s li k e h e’s 22 . H e’s

astay-at-homeDad for now. JeffFollansbeecouldn’t behappier. He’sretired and now workingfor Lockheed in Denver. Hecan’t get over being at the ofBcejust 40 hours a week. Brenda might want him to get a sidejob n o w t h at h e’s h o m e so much. Eric Rappold isa newlywed to thebeautif ul Anna. They had a stunning wedding in Croatia. He fl ies for Delta and hastoned down the running. Now, instead of the Ultra-marathons, he only does a few marathons ayear. That in cludesNew York. Ken Gurley and the Gurley girlslook aw eso m e. H e al so r et ir ed and found work for hishugebrain with Lockheed in O rl an d o .

Ed and ReneeIngham knocked on my door at avery inoppor tune time. She isby far thefinest-looking Nuclear Ch em i st I have ever laid eyes on. She gave Ed a choice on where t o l i v e when heretired—with her in thehouseshepicked out o r w i t h out her. He’sawiseman and they now livein up-stateN ew Yo rk .

6 “Coach Jeff Hayeswill make a fi ne head football coach t o the lucky school that reelshim in. He’sbeen in COSso long, Sabre Society Do n o rs he doesn’t remember how to move and yet he still tal ks as i f he never left Columbia, Texas. Jimmy Mackie also has o v e r

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Dave and Janice Geuting ar eready for theHomecoming g am e.

Well, that about doesit fr om my end. AsI mentioned at thebeginning, I need a new Fall scribe fr om theAcademy. If you’d be interested, please call or email me. It’s really not that diffi cult and only takes a few hours once ayear. I know someonewill step forward; it’sjust theway our cl a ss i s. Pl ea se c ak e car e and fl y safe. Hope to see everyone again in just four short years. If you’re ever in Wheeling,West “By God” Virginia, passing through on 1-70, please give us a call aswehaveplenty of room and some great Argentinewine. If you have any info, please send it my way.

M i k e Je n s e n 1 2 0 3 5 M ila m Ro a d

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Colorado Springs, CO 8 0 9 08 (80 0 ) GO-AFA-GO E-ma il: m lc hae lj e nse n@re max.net htt p:/ / www.usaf a8 4 .com

3,000 A - 10 h our s in th eW hit em an , M O Gu ard . H e h as h ad a f ew t o u r s i n t o t h e

giant kitty-litter box protecting our fr eedom. Gary Seif ried madehisway to the reunion. His daughter Abbey and my daughter Tatum attend t h e sam e sc h o o l and are best fr iends. So you’d think he’d invite his daughter’s best fr iend and their family out on his boat wouldn’t you? Steve Smolen brought his whole family with him fr om the East Coast. Hefl ies for American an d h a s a n ew si d e businessof designing additionsto houses. Not abad gig.Ted Sundquist limped hisway down fr om his GM position with the Denver Broncos. Helooked good even on crutches. Hewas using the‘old football injury’ line all w eek en d ! M i ke Kirby made a short visit, but had to leave to get back t o F l o r i d a b e f o r e t h e hurricane. Does that make sense to anyone? Steve Naf tsgar so m eh o w m an aged to Uk his sweet wife into a move to Chicago. She now has to put up vri th him sitting in his Lazy Boy cheering endlessly for th e Cu b s, Bear s an d Bull s.

Thank goodness, he does have to fl y for Southwest every o n ce i n a w h i l e . ’’ As always Tom, thanks for the good words. The second picture is of the aforementioned Tommy Wilson with Carlos Bernal.

Website: By theti meyou read thisi should haveactivatedwww.usafa84.c o m , which should have some great info, merchandise, and ways of keeping in touch. If it is not up, you can get on me to make it happen!

Reu n i o n : I t h as b een al m o st tw o m o n th s sin ce th e r eu n i o n an d I d o n ’t k n ow

if I have fully digested all of the memories and good ti m es. (I kn ow I h aven’t digested all of thefood!) What a great ti me! Thankst o al l w h o t o o k t h e t i m e t o come out for the reunion. I hope you had as much fun as I di d , an d w e can m ak e i t an ev en b et t er t u rn o u t f o r t h e 2 5 th . O n e o f the great pleasuresfor me was the number of people who participated in our reunion; i t se em e d l i k e anyonewho had an affiliati on with uswanted to come, an d w e w er e t h er e f o r them. I was also amazed at the great lengthspeople c am e fr o m . I k n o w i t w il l cometo me, but wehad peoplein fr om Japan and Europe, an d t h at sh o w s t h e effort many put in to being there. Therewas a decent amount of photos sent back, but I hope those that have not sent something in will consider sending me somefor thewebsite. The fi rst photo wassent by Beth (H enk en er) Au stin , Kara (Hayes) McElligott, Carol (Ward) Cameron, and Chr istin a (Van ce) H aUi .

They were all at Williams together for pilot training.

20 years after D&B: Craig Larson sent me some great m em o r i e s o f h i s t i m e with the D&B — can it really be 20 years already? Memories o f D & B h av e t o include all theclosefriendships, thelong practi ces, and the many trips— often on mind-numbing C- 130s or fr eezing C-14I s. Many timeswith good friends, Tom Erchinger, Gary Gfeller and Rory Maynard.

Some trips that stood out in his mind: “Every season began with a trip to Farish Retreat for a gmeling rehearsal schedule, not t o m en ti o n th e in ev i t ab l e extracurricular acti viti es. It was always fun to see the doolies try to play while markingtime. Wasthat achallengefor us asfr eshmen too?The tripsthat jump out were all the away games, especially our fr eshman year. Most of the games that year are best left forgotten, but we did manage to tie Illinois when they were ranked. All that traveling took a toll on our grades, but they were well worth the price.

“Let’s begin in paradise. We performed during two games at the University of Hawaii, and on one of those tripswe returned the U.S. fl ag that fl ew over Hickam AFB on December 7, 1941— exactly 40yearsbefore. Jim Naborssang t h e n ati o n al an t h em an d in v i t ed u s t o a sh ow at h i s cl u b o n W ai k i ki . W e v i si t ed

Tommy’sTake: The following comes from Tom Wilson. D o n ’t k n ow w h at I would do with out hishelp and fi i endship! “Thefi rst people that I saw werethe Bauknights. Mark looked like he graduated last year which really hacked me

off. He’stheReserveSquadronCommander of tireC-17i n C h ar l est o n . L esli e

also looks great and stUl has the same sarcastic wit. She’s fl ying for Fed EX. “I spent sometimewith Monica and Tim Smith. They both fl y for United out ofWashington DC. Tim also has some 4,000 hours in theA-10 fl yi ng for the B al t i m o r e G u ar d . M o n i ca st i ll h a s h er b l o n d m o m en t s. Sh e in t r o d u ced m e t o

her sister six different times. It was an exhausting experience trying to have a conversation wi th Chris Erickson. ‘ETC Intensity’ did not disappoint. I now believe that heisa ‘victi m of the system.’ If wehad the current training system in 1980, Chriswould be downright mellow. His beautiful vd fe, Suzie, is al so brilliant. She left the conversation in its early stages. St ev e C l i at t i s an o t h er 14 6

West Point twice— which was an interesting experience for many of us, espe cial ly as doolies. Therewere also two trips to the Naval Academy for football games, which involved visiti ng the Pentagon to march through the halls and perform in the courtyard. I seem to recall we visited theWhite House during one of those trips too. We played in the Superdome i n N ew O r l e an s w h en w e playedTulane. Af ter theUniversity ofWashington game (‘60 pointsin oneplay — go, go, go!’), some of us got a tour of the guided missile cruiser USSGridley — which just happensto be the boat Senator John Kerry served on early in his

Navy career. We^ sowent toTokyofor theMirageBowl an d f o u n d o u r selv es t r e at ed l ik e r o c k st ar s.

“ One of the best football gameswas at BYU when the F al c o n s d r o v e o v er 9 0 yardswith less than a minute left to upset them. And of course beating Notre Damewas great, but it was especially sweet at Notre D am e . I d o n ’t t h i n k I ’m

alone in claiming some credit for D&B as the 12th man during those away games. We oft en took on thewhole stadium. There’s nothing like playing the Budweiser song at BYU to quiet the crowd.

“Besidesperforming for the Falcons’ football games, we also performed for v ar i o u s N FL h alf -t i m e sh ow s. W e w en t t o D en v er o n sev er al occasionsto play— and root for whomever they were playing. We did a show at T h r e e - Ri v er s St a dium in Pittsburgh for theVikings-Steelersfootball game, and then flew cross country (celebratingNew Yearsin afew timezonesflyingon theC-141) to march in theRoseBowl Parade. We also played for a Cowboys-Redskinsfootball game in Irvine, TX— oneof thebig rivalriesin pro football. Meetingthecheerleaders was an added bonus. Of course there was Craig Larson, Rudy Tessnow, and Brian Stilson trying to get into the Dallas Cowboys Ch eer l ea d er s’ l o ck er r o o m .

“There were also numerous trips not involving a football game. The most memorablewasmarching in President Ronald Reagan’s Inaugural Parade. We waited forever in the freezing cold, and unfortunately so d i d al l t h e h o r se s ahead of us so staying in straight lineswas diff i cult to say the least. Marching in a pair of Mardi Gras parades was very interesting. I ’m n o t su r e t h e b e a d s were appropriate in uniform. We did a grueling parade in El Paso an d an o t h er at CorpusChristi. Thereweremusic festivals or competitionsin Pennsylvania and theTampa Bay area. T^ d you can’t forget the annual trips to Aspen to perform in their parade and then ski the next day.

“Performing as oft en aswe did, it got to where we could practically do the show on autopilot. A key exception was the competition with Navy (and the Coast Guard was there too). Everything had to be perfect, so theweeks prior werespent with Sgt Stewart screaming at usover hismegaphone— even more

Tune to theweb page— 1am putting the pressure on myself to get it done...

Keep in touch. Jens

•

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Qu int el Willia ms 6 4 1 0 K a t h e r in e A n n La n e

Springf ield , VA 2 2 150 E-m a i l: USA FA 1 9 8 5 @a o l .c o m

t h an u su al .

Thephotosarefrom our performance as Firsties. It was a quite a relief to win on their home turf. Our last chance to perform with t h e D & B w as t h e G r a d u at i o n Par ad e .”

The third picture is of theWilly Gang. It includes Duff McElligott, Jeff Huf f, Garrett Thompson, Mike Stroud, Christina (Vance) Halli, Kara (H ayes) McEUigott, Eric Rappold, and Beth (Henkener) Austin.

Happy Holidays!

I fi nely foundmy senior year yearbook. NowI can really help Ray Harri s verify classmate identitiesand dish out the passcode i n f o r m at i o n f o r o u r c l a ss website: http:/ /www.softwrsolutions.com / usafa85. When Kelley Kiernan recently requested the passcode, she said that she had been furloughed from American Airlines. Additionally, Kelley said Lisa Martignetti , Jesse Hayes and she all work at Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. Kelley said Lisa is in the Flight Simulation Directorate, and she and Jesse are Senior Safety Engineers for the Space Shuttle Flight Operations Group.

Since the last Checkpoints, I saw Doug McCarty, Tim Gooley, Danny Topp and Don Edsall at theJoint National Integration Center o n Sch ri ev er A F B d u r ing my Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center training in September. I also saw J.P. Scott and Doug Burns at HeadquartersAir Force Space Command at Peterson AFB while 1was visiting there.

LeeCur tis sent an e-mail and said he recently moved to Ti nker AFB, w here he isnow the 552 MXG Deputy Commander. Lee said, liketheformer license plate sai d , “ Okl ah om a is OK!” Lee also said th at h e th in ks O k l a

The last three pictures are of Juan and Nena Am aral fr om Ch in o, CA , LTC Bob an d Valerie Carriedo (he teaches Latin Am erican St u d i es at U SA FA an d w il l

havehisPh D by year’s end), and Marv Jones, Myron Freeman andVic Haynes.

homaisdefi nitely amuch better placethan somepeoplem ak e it out to be. Lee said hisfamily loves being there so cl o se t o a major city with all the amenities. Hisassignment at B eal e h ad been wonderful; almost better than being a squadron c o m mander. Lee had been the 9AMXSI CC, which gave him t h e chance to servewith many of our Class of ’85ers! It w a s k i n d of amazing that so many of us had clustered into the U - 2 / DCGSmission area. There were SEVEN of us all serving i n various capacities at the same time: four U-2 pilots, o n e M i s

i'

I

1

4 Sabre Society Don ors

sion Plar mer (NAV ), on e Intel of fi cer, an d on e air craft m ai n t en an c e o f i c er. L ee

said they gathered for a photo in lateJuly 04 next to the base U-2 static display aircraft , but given the busy nature of the U-2 mission, two of the pilotswere flyingand unavailable (Pete Lewisand Ed McGovern). Thepeoplein the photo are, from left : Stephen “Scott ” Johnson-Mission Planner, Troy Devine-U-2 pilot,YuLin (GREENE) Bingle-Intel Offi cer and 548IG/CC, Ro b er t “ L ee” Cu r ti s Aircraft Maintenance Offi cer, and Mike Masucci -U-2 pilot. We had to do the picture on short notice as the group was soon going their separateways. Troy Devine is now retired and a full-fledged military spouse st a t i o n e d w i t h h e r husband. Chuck Curmingham , and family at Osan AB, Korea, w h er e h e i s t h e

From lef t are Stephen “Scott "Johnson, Troy Devine, YuUn (Greene) Single,

Rober t “Lee ” Cur ti s, an d M ik e M asucci .

14 7

5 RS/ CC. She had an extra year on the rest of us with her year at the Prep School. The U -2 community and theAF will miss her energy and vi sion as an aviation pioneer. Lee said he’sreally looking forward to seeing this all in print and he can hardly wait to see us at our 20-year Reunion next year!

Susan “Sue” (Bessellieu) Flemming checked-in via e-mail. Su e w an t ed t o get some info on our class reunion from theweb site. I told her how to get the passcode for our web site, but I also did a “ spot c h e c k ” a n d saw t h at t h e r e wasn’t any information on the reunion — yet. I ’ll fi nd out what the planning committee isup to and pass alongwhat I can in thenext Checkpoin ts. In addi tion, Suewanted me to passalong a “hello” from her to “Jackie C. (Charsagua), Joyce W. (Washingt on), Lynn S. (Steer), and Debbie H . (H ar r i s) .” I t h i nk they’ll get the message! Anyway, Sue said she separated fi -o m t h e A i r Fo r c e in 1998 and completed NurseAnesthetist School in 2000-2002. Sh e al so sai d sh e got married in 2000 and currently lives in South Carolina, w h er e sh e i s c o n templatingwhether or not to pursue a PhD program. Sue said she’ll probably en t er th e Reser v es o n c e t h e r ecr u i t er l o c at es a C RN A unit for her. Sue passed along some scoop on a few other classmates too. Sue said she usually hears fi rom Wanda (Wright) Kem ,who livesin Arizona, around C h r i st m a s t i m e . Su e said she also keeps up with Susan Bier ’86 and Colleen C o l l i n s ’8 4 / ’8 5 . Su e mentioned that she has a sister, Maj Yvonne Bessellieu, who is currently sta ti on ed at th e Air Force Person n el Cen ter in San An t on io, TX working assign mentsfor the Space career fi eld and keeping alook o u t f o r Su e’s o l d cl assm at es and friends. Suesaid shebelievesA1Dorsey and Danielle (Hatchett) Hargrove and Pete Hargrove are all in Texas. Thelast that sheh eard, Phi lecia H ar r is an d Monica Eady had settled in California.

Scott Remington sent a few electronswith some news on himself... happy n ew s. Scott sai d h e m arried th e form er M ar tin a H orn (resigned fi rom the Class of ’87) three days after graduation, and beforethe honeym oon was over, they were expecting thefi rst of their eventual three sons. They named him Marcus after our classmate, and my CS-13 roommate2 deg and fi rstieyear, Marcus F. Cooper , III (more on him later). Scott proudly reports t h a t M ar cu s i s n ow a m e m b e r o f t h e C l a ss o f 2 0 0 8 a n d i s al so a m e m b e r o f C S- 13 ! Sc o t t sa i d h i s

second son, Michael (almost 17), hashis sights set on the Marine Corps, and hisyoungest son,William , 16, isintent on being in theAcademy’sClassof 2011.

L A N D IN G A

Sm o o t h Ret ir em en t

G LEN N U LLM A N N

Kevin and Wendy (Link) Routhier sent an electronic b i r t h an n o u n c em en t for Daniel FryeRouthier who wasbom on 19August 2004 at 12:31PM. Congrats Kevin and Wendy!

Go Fal con s! Qu in tel

Ga ry Burg

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H HC 1 B D E USA F-A LO Un it 1 5 5 9 6 A PO A P 9 6 2 2 4 -5 5 9 6

Ema il:Ga ryL.Bu rg@korea .a rnny.m il

Sc o t t an d M ar tin a c am e o u t t o U SA FA fo r Par en t ’s W eek en d thi s fall , w hich w as

their fi rst time back since graduation. Scott said they absolutely loved every minute of it and included a picture to share vwth you.

Greetingsall fr om theLand of theMorningSun. Yes, I’m on my second remote tour to thewonderful Republic of Korea. This time I’m actually fi lling a com mand slot and overseea42-man Detachment at Camp Casey, So u th K o r ea . T h e funny (or probably not so furmy) thing isthat by thetimeyou read thisI will be on a 120-day TDY to Iraq. As some of you may know, theArmy’s 2"“^Infantry Division, 2'"^Brigade deployed to Iraq in the process of relocating back to the United States. Since the unit I’m assigned to supports th at uni t , w e h ave our support element in Iraq too. UnliketheArmy’s 12-month deployment,wehave broken it up into three 120-daydeploymentssoI guessI should behappy. December through April should be thebest ti m e o f theyear to bethereif thereisabest ti me. Hopefully I ’ll w i tn ess Iraq’s fi rst fr ee election in many, many years. As expected, I didn’t get many updatesfor thisissuebecauseor my m ov e an d l o ss o f co m m u n i c ati o n s b u t h er e i s w h at I h av e .

The fi rst and major contributor to this column was M ik e Panaresi. Hopefully you’Uenjoy his sense of humor; I su r e did. Mikewrote, “Welost you therefor awhile! Gladtohear all

11 3

Sabre Society Do n o rs

i s w el l in th e h ea d w at er s o f W al -M ar t .W e l ef t Ed d i e’s A i r Pat ch in Jun e (I w as th e OSS/ CC th ere) an d tr aveled of f to D .C . t o at t en d I C A F. W hol e

From left areMar tina, Marcus and Scott Remington.

Scott said hewas medically prohibited fr om any flight d u t i es an d l ef t ac ti v e duty in 1991. Unwilling to cut all AF ties, Scott went straight into the Reserves asa SPoffi cer and heiscurrently theIMA to the Director of AFOSI Region 2 OLA (CEN TAF) at Sh aw AFB, SC. Scott said as a civili an , he spent 10 years as a South Carolina StateTrooper and in 2001he became a metro police offi cer with the City of Charleston, SC, taking ayear off for OEF duty.

Scott said Marcus F. Cooper left AD and was flying w i t h U n i t e d u n t i l 9 / 1 1.

Marcus then took an extended military leave of absence fr o m t h e ai r l i n e an d return ed toAD in which hejust completed atour in K o r ea . M ar cu s t h en PC Sed to Moody AFB, GA thissummer where he became a fi ghter l ead -i n in str u c t o r.

Marcusand hiswife, Rhonda, areblessed with two absolutely beautiful daugh ters, the oldest of which is now a fr eshman at Liberty University in Virginia.

Doreen Sabina sent an updateon Glenn Ullmann who recently w r o t e a b o o k ti tled: Landing a Smooth Reti rement. I ’m including a picture of Glenn who is in thebook cover with aT-38. Please support Glenn by checking out hisbook!

V i si t t h e N E W A O G W eb Si t e

www.usafa.org Update your biographical information now.

14 8

I was at KEDW I got one of those echoing midnight phone callsinviti ng me to another party in thesandbox, and I spent just under t h r ee m o n t h s at th e CA O C under theguidance of theoneand only PMason Carpenter (you might remem ber hisnamefr om our daysat the‘HeaA ).Wespent most of thesummer burning up use-or-lose leavewith the grandparentsto be...Yep!After years of painstak ing negoti ati ons, the administrati on fi nally got a procreati on bill through the housewaysand meanscommittee.With no threat of veto fr om th e President , it sailed thru thesenateand wassigned by thePresident in February,with an effec ti ve dateof 15 Nov.Thebill’ssponsorshavenot been ableto agreeon anamefor the bill, but hope to resolve the conflict without resorting to fi libuster on the house floor.Therewasa disagreement among the bill sponsors over a contr o versial provision that required thebill to remain “gender neutral” until it went into effect, however lobbyistsfor thefi rst lady succeeded i n t h ei r ef fo r t s an d a compromisewasreached. Details of the compromisehaven ot b een released , however it hasbeen report ed that all parti esare sati sfi ed.

Theadministrati on displayed it’scommitment to theb i ll t h i s w eek en d w h en they signed asupplemental spendingbill that would providetheneeded equip ment to safely prosecute the development and transportati on of the asyet to be named product of the original legislati on. Report edly opponents of thebill were overheard claiming that they voted for the bill before fr iey voted against it, but now they support it. In any case, the administration se c u r e d sev er al piecesof equipment on a no-bid contract fr om alocal supplier with no known ties to any PAC. Further controversy erupted when it was reported that fi nal assembly of the equipment would not be awarded to local con tr act or s, an d opponents claimed the administrati on was outsourcing thejob to a company with close ti es to an ‘un-named, high-rankingparty o f fi c i al .’ So u r c es cl o se t o

thePresident have reported that contrary to the image hisopponents portray, the President is ‘quite handy with tools’ and isactually completing the eff orts on hisoff time. The administration released photographso f t h e Pr esi d en t su r rounded by bitsof wood and alargebagof fastenersin hopesthephotoswould convin ce undecided voters th at th e rum ors are i ndeed f d se. T h e W h i t e H o u se

Press Secretary mentioned yesterday that the proj ect was nearing comple tion, and guestswill soon bewelcome to view the nursery o n t h e Pr esi d e n t ’s personal website due to be completed in a coupleweeks.

Theadministration isnow shori ngup support for futuresupplemental spend ing bills and increasing pressure on the congress to include provisions in the out yearsproposalsthat would guarantee funds supporting theproduct of the legislation well into 2020. In a bold move, the president signed a contract that would keep him in off ice through the ’08 campaign season, at w h i ch t i m e h e vowsto take any decision to remain in the party to a h o u se v o t e .

Other than that, nothingnew around here!Areyou out there single ship, or is thewhole clan enjoying fun in thesun?We’reliving on Bolling until ICAF isout, then we’ll sort out if wewill stay on the basefor a D .C . t o u r o r v en t u r e o u t o f th e beltway.Wewon’t get an assignment until Feb-ish, so for now we’rejust counting daysuntil Jr’s arrival. Great to hear from you, and keep in touch! Grease” My next updatewasfr om my ‘‘mister dependable” EdYong. Ed hasanewjob these daysworkingback with theAir Force. Ed useto work for Gateway Com puters but now works as a contractor with MTC at STRATCOM (Of futt AFB).

Ed actually lives in LaVista, NE. I think I ’ve told you before but just incase I didn’t , Ed is ou r Web m ast er for th e Class of ’86 w eb sit e. Pl ea se v i si t t h e si t e :

http:/ /vw w.aog-usafa.org/Class_Sites/ 1986/ usafa86001.htm and give any feedback you have to Ed on thingsyou would like to see. This is a great place to place updatesyou would like to have others in our cl ass see . E d t o l d m e h e workswith a Class of ’87 grad LtCol McDonnell . I’m sureworkingwith him as a contractor is slightly diff erent then as a fellow o f i c er .

Eri c “Judge” Beene (Col Select - High speed kind of dude) sent aquick update from PSAB that I’ll summarize, “Presently at Boston University on a one-year fellowship studying Russian Securi ty — No follow on, but having a blast with son Patri ck— heisdoingwell and hisnewborn Michael - wife, Laura, ismaking house at Hanscom AFB while Eri c commutes dai ly to Fenway Pa r k t o c at ch class/ballgame. Big reunion here. Judge had lunch with l y Alexander . He’s an AC- 130/SpeciaI OpsLNO at theCAOC. Col.Jim “Dude” B r ow n e i s th e 3 79 EO G / CCout here.Theeagleslookpretty good onhisshoulders.I ’v e seen Set h B eau b i en around Camp Andy, but not surewhat he’sdoing. I’m sur e th ere are others, but I haven’t seen them workingthe night shift , sts.”

Schueler JamesTJr Maj 14AS/ADO former 32 Roadrunner cl assm at e w ri t es: “ I ’v e b een o n th e r o ad m o st o f t h e l ast m o n th an d a half — I’m in the desert ri ght now at A1Udeid— I’vebeen at Charleston fl ying C-17s sinceJanuary,ADOing for Steve Groenheim — who would have ever guessed. Lots o f T D Y b u t o t h er than a 45-day deployment to Rhein-Main back in March and Apri l it is usually for only about two weeks at a time and the fl ying is good. Lots of fl ights into Iraq and Afghanistan and right now I ’m set up to head h o m e f r o m h e r e i n a couple of daysvia Diego Garcia, Australia, Pago Pago, an d H aw ai i . N o t a b ad deal if it goes as scheduled.”

Well , th at ’s all I h ave. Bob Colell a (Robert .Colell a@barksdal e.af .ni il ) w ill b e

wri tingthenext TWO columns so pleasesend your updatesto him. Talk to you aft er I return from Iraq. Gary

m

Sha ron (Hullinger) Gilett i 5 0 0 Lunalilo Home Road, I D Honolulu, HI 9 6 8 2 5 Phone and Fax: (8 0 8 ) 3 94-6 3 97 E-ma il: s ha rongilet t i@ao l.com

<s

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(Nine Sabre Society M ember s)

M a r k Pe t e rs

I P a t t h e Te st P il o t Sc h o o l a t Ed w ar d s A F B . I w a s h i r ed at D el t a o n D ec e m b er

4, 1997. D evon an d I ar e stil l m arr ied an d h ad a son , Al exan der, in Novem b er

’96. We also have a daughter, Bridgette, who was born i n M ar c h ’0 1. W e n ow

live in th e sm al l tow n of H uron , Oh io , w hich is about halfway between Cleve

land and Toledo. I am currently fl ying the MD-88 for D el t a an d I am b ased o u t o f C i n c i n n at i .

Troy Asher : I was up in Boise in 1997 coming up on o u r U PT c o m m i t m en t deadline. I had my ATP, applications, requirements, and a sponsor at United and wasready to jump ship. All I waswaitingfor wasthetest pilot school board to come out. On that day, I had a scheduled appointment over at MPFto either (1) sign my DOSpaperwork or (2) sign the bonus. Well, here I am with a contract out to 20 y e ar s...

4 I ^ who’d of thunk it?T-38 FAIPat Willieuntil 1993,B-l sat Dyess, Gran d Forks, Ell sw orth an d M oun tain H om e un til 1998, th en

TPSfor ayear and threeyearsin bomber test squadron fl ying s B-2s (!) and B- I s. I didn’t see the meri t of doingA C SC b o t h in residence, and by correspondence. Unfortunately, although Sabre Society Do n o rs a schools candidate and highly ranked on base, the b o ar d didn’t see the merit in sending me to school in residence i f I hadn’t done it fi rst by correspondence. So, I spent a t i m e b a c k o n st aff at o v er a t T P S a s a n i n st r u c t o r a n d t h e n a s l u ck w o u l d h av e it, the bomb squadron desperately needed an Ops Offi cer due to unforeseen personnel changes, so I got the caU. Not so bitter about theACSC thing now. Frozen in this spot for a couple years and then I’m not sure. Right now, if I f ar e w ell o n t h e b o ar d t h i s summer. I’ll be coastingto ‘graduation,’ hoping to keep fl ying for 20years. Mel and I have been marri ed for 8-1/2years and have a two-year-old, Lauren, and a littlewhite Maltese rat dog.

Karen Blouin (Goon an ): M i ke an d I h ave thr ee kids, Kyle 12, Scott 9 and Katie 3. Mike isfl ying for United and we have survived so far and should be okay as long asUnited makesit. We’vebeen in Wheaton for almost seven yearsnow. It’s a great place to raisekids. Theweather isbad, but you can’t beat being close to family.

Morgan Rukes: First assignment was MacDill. Got out an d m o v ed t o D al las.

Lived in Barcelona for ayear while lUeane worked hard. Living on the beach.

Selling real estate.

St eve Kan e: Colum bu s FAI R C- 130s to Al aska, st ation ed at Edw ar ds, fl ew for

(Edi tor ’s note: Sharon did not have enough information f o r a c o l u m n th i s issue. Please email her your news and photos so she will have enough to wri te about in th e next issue. Her deadline will be in early Jan uar y.)

2 4 3 7 B e d f o rd Ci rc le

(additional duty); 01- ?C-141Pilot, McGuireAFB NJ, 305AMW Safety Off i cer.

Kri sAlden : U PT at Van ce (89- 14);90-93 C- 130 toYokota;91 Saved by the grace of God; 93-96 C-130 to Little Rock; 94 Baptized as a Bom Again Christian;Au gust 3, 1996 Married to LauraAllyson William s; 96-99T-34 t o Pen sacola NA S; July 3, 1998 John William Alden born; 99-02 C-130 to Lit tle Rock; M ar ch 3 1, 2000 Anna Katheri neAlden bom ; May 29,2002 Seth Kristopher Ald en bom ; Dec 02-?Air Staff , Pentagon Dec 02. The most significant thing that has hap pened to me in the 15 years since graduation was being r e c o n c i l e d t o G o d through Jesus Christ. My relationship with Christ has changed me from the inside out. Back in the spri ng of ’01, God showed mejust how sinful my heart was and revealed to me through His Holy Spirit and through HisWord that without faith in Chri st, I had no hope. God truly doeswork in mysteri ousways.

I had the opportunity to be in a Bible study with Calvin andLourdesSpei^ t while I was in Japan. My wife and three children have ri chly blessed my life.

It certainly isn’t easy though. This assignment has been the toughest so far.

Allyson is home schooling, (yes, not only am I a wacko r adical Ch ri sti an , w e arewacko radical Chri stian home schoolers!) I am hopeful t h at w e w il l r et u rn to the fl ying world within a couple of years.

Mark Winschel: I wasa FAIP at ColumbusAFB fr om Sep ’89 toAug ’93. 1then w en t t o O f f u t t A F B a s a T -3 8 A C E I P w h er e I r an ac r o ss Andi bri efl y. That lasted until the unit closed in December ’95. My last Air Force assignment was aT-38

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Bedford, TX 760 2 1-18 23 (8 17 ) 937-969 6 E-ma il: pylt @comcast .net

In keepingwith the fi rst in, fi rst out philosophy, I ’U r est ar t w i t h K r i s A l d e n ’s (CS-29) materi al. His Panther Presshsts nearly everyone’shistory since gradu ati on ; it ’s in for m at ive so h ere ar e m ore, wi th m ore to come. As always, note that may be a bit dated since it wasfi rst published i n Su m m er o f ’0 3 .

Patrick Sylvia: 88-89 UPT, Laughlin AFBTX; 89-95 C-141Pil ot , Travi s AFB CA; 95-98TG-7 Instructor Pilot, USAF Academy CO; 98-01TALO (Th eater Air lift Liaison Offi cer), Ft Riley KS,ALO (Admissions D ai son Offi cer) for U SAFA

United until furloughed, currently fl ying C- 130Jfor the RI ANG. Still single, staying busy with work/ fl ying.

Steve Dershem: USMC NFO training at NASPensacola, EA-6B at Whidbey Island, got out in ’94, moved back to Pennsylvania, working for Corning, two grown step-children.

Brian Bell : Grad school at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, UPT, F- 16sto Misawa,Japan, then off to Fairbanks,Alaska. Got out , lived an d w orked in Boston, MA, now back home to the Minneapolis area.

I received a short story titled “88 KNOTS” fr om Frank Sc h m u c k an d sin c e i t also had a cool picture I couldn’t help but publish it. “During each takeoff it is procedure for the nonfl ying pilot to call out an airspeed during the roll as a crosscheck for the pilot fl ying. This istypically accomplished at 80 knotsbut, if missed the nonfl ying pilot callsthe airspeed on the gaugewhen realized. On o n e su ch t ak eo f I h ear d th e F ir st O fi c er c al l o u t ‘88 knots.’ I glanced over only to see our fellow classmate,Todd Tofaute, smiling fr o m ear t o ear . I sm i l ed al so aswe realized that two ’88 classmateswere fl ying together at Southwest Air lines. Thishappened more than ayear ago and since t h at t i m e To d d h as b ee n busy serving our country overseasin Operation Enduring F r eed o m . To d d w as activated from February, 2003, until October, 2003, a s a St an / Ev al O fi c er an d Assistant Flight Commander mtheC-141Starlift er out of M arch AFB, CA. While h e w as activat ed , Tod d fl ew over 40 m ission s (m ore th an 300 h ou rs) in direct

support of Operation Enduri ngIraqi Freedom. Hewasdeployed to Mildenhall Royal Air Base England (those of us from Norton, McGuire, M cCh ord, Travi s, 14 9

of our newest AOG Life Members, Alex Gonzalez. Gonzo i s st a t i o n ed i n Sa n Javier, Spain as an exchange instructor pilot with the Spanish Air Force. He has been traveling and flying through much of southern Spain and the Mediterra nean, and expects to be there through July 2006.

Pete Smith joined in, adding hewent off to U nited Airlinesto get the family started, which now includes wife, Terri; Erika (6), D ean o (5), Col e (3), an d Marley (duein December). He got bored and went back i n t o t h e Reser v es as an Academy Liaison Off icer for Northern California. Itching to fly, he lucked out with a spot back home in the 93'^'' Fighter Squadron o u t o f Homestead, FL. As a bonus, he’sflyingwith hisbrother D av e,

’92. They areboth flyingforJetBlueon theside(call forbuddy

Questi on: If you look in to the cockpit and seeth eseguys, doyou turn around an d take thenext flight, or takeyour chances? or Charleston, know this mission all too well). Todd primarily flew injured personnel from Kuwait to Ramstein AB in Germany and Rota NASin Spain.

Today,Todd isback at Southwest Airlinesflying and co n t i n u es t o ser v e an ad ditional Air Force Reserve duty as an Academy Liaison O fi cer . H e i s m ar r i ed to Lynn and they have two children: Jessie (7) and Gab riell e (4). Tod d can be reached at: 2219 South SailorsWay, Gilbert , AZ 85296, (4 8 0 ) 5 5 8 - 5 3 7 1 o r a t t ofaut e@cox.n et . Oth er ’88er s at Sou thw est , som e of w h o m I h av e h a d t h e distinct pleasure of flying with, are Cammy Butterfield, Paul Ch ast ain , D an Dennis, Jon Hobbs, Jim Hynes, Cindy Kimball, SteveM all , Bob Pr edell a, Chris Qu i r oz , Ji m Rob er t s, Joh n Sch aef f er , Ji m To m al l o , Seb Tr o st , Pet er

Uchmanowicz, and GeorgeVillal obos.”

That’s a lot of ’88 over at SWA. Theway things are going at AMRthese days, I might be trying to join them . . . .

As always, thanksto aUwho wrote. Unbelievably, for th e fi r st ti m e in , w ell , ever, I actually have a surplus of material to publish. Th erefore, n o n eed t o send melots of stuff for awhile, with one exception: I ’d l ov e th o se C h r i st m a s letters, especially if you’ve never written your trusty (crusty?) scribe.

f

Pa u l W . T ib b et s ,

IV

H e m b e rs

8 5 4 W e s t o v e r Ro a d W h it e m a n A FB , M O 6 5 3 0 5

Home: (6 60 ) 5 63-3 0 9 5 E-mail: p2 a2 @cha rt er.net

Greetings classmates. It iswith great sadness I bringyou the newsof a fallen comrade. OnTuesday, 14 Sept, we lost one of our own w h en Lt Col (sel) Kevin Shea waskilled dueto enemy action in A1Anbar Province, Iraq. Hewaswork ing asa communications information systems offi cer with Regimental Com bat Team 1, P' Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton, CA. Kevin is survived by hiswife. Ami, daughter Brenna (10), and son Michael (7). Many of you knew Kevin at theAcademy, and someof you had the pleasure of workingwith him in theyears since. Kevin was a great friend, a wonderful husband, and an outstanding offi cer. Kevin died doing what he loved - serving his country. Although his family and f r i e n d s w i l l m i ss h i m terribly, Kevin is with the Lord now watching over al l o f u s. A t r u st f u n d h a s

passes!). Lastly, TJHogan responded to Gonzo’s e-mail say ing he left Army ISSthis summer for Ramstein where h e i s working USAFE/ DOTW. TJ landed a flying staff j ob there, which allowed him to requalify in theA-10. He and L in d a ar e 5 doing great! Thanks for the update guys!

Sabre Society Do no rs From across the state I received a notefrom Mark Czelusta, who isassigned to theLfSTRANSCOM J3 staff at Scott A F B w i th his wife, Susan, and daughter. Mark is the Chief of the Contingency Plans Branch, where he has been a part of planning and helping ex e c u t e o n e o f history ’slargest military rotations. Hesaysworking at U ST RA N SC O M h as b een one incredible experience, and he has a new appreciation f o r t h e aw e so m e logistical strength of our country. Prior to thisassignment and Army ISS, Mark was thewing weapons officer at Yokota, graduating from weapons school in 1999. Mark’s recent contacts includeJohn and Megan (Colw ell ) Bir d (Kaden a AB),Ty Thomas (McChord AFB), Mike Homitschek and Tony Pollizzi (M cGuire AFB),Shaun Perkowski (WVANG), Mike Taylor (GA ANG), Joh n Cl ar k an d Doug Kennedy (HQ AM C), and Pete Stem s (Pentagon). Thanks for writing!

That’s it for this quarter! Happy holidays and best wishes to you and your f am il i es. Tak e c a r e a n d G o d b l e ss.

Ja m e s S a n c h e z

<1

I '

8301 Emerald Circle

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North Richland Hills, TX 76180 H: (817) 881-6357

Web: WWW.USAFAT0 DAY.COM/ 19 9 0 E-Ma il: ed it o r@usaf at oday.co m

Greg “Pook” Newman : I ’ve been in Albuquerque, NM (Kirtland AFB) for 1 1/2 years now. I’m stuck in my staff job working asa Mishap Investigator at the HQ AF Safety Center. If anyone’s ever in Albuquerque, look me up.

Dan Whisenant : I separated from theAir Force in LosAngeles in September of 2002. 1currently have a real estate development company which acquires and demos old beach cottages, buildsnew houses, and t h en l ea ses t h em o u t .

I have two daughters, one 12 and one 9.

Lefty Summ erlin : I’m not in Uzbekistan any longer. N ow i n K u w ai t u n t i l 1 August. Herewith John HaUand Frank Coprivnicar. Luckywe’renot i n B al ad with the other guys. We do fly into there every now a n d t h e n .

Car l Br enn er : Ton i (D eson i a ’89), Ju st in , Gideon an d I live on Bolling AFB. We are expectingbaby #3 at the end of September. Recently deployed to Qatar whereI worked within acouplehundred feet of LeeArmstrong,^ stal Murphy, and probably some more ’90 folks. Expect to return to USAFA to teach again sometime in the next couple of years.

b een est ab l i sh ed w h er e d o n at i o n s c an b e m ad e f o r h i s ch i ld r en : T h e K ev i n M .

Shea Memorial Fund, Navy Federal Credit Union, 4180 Aven ida D e La Plata, Ocean side, CA 92056.

In honor of Kevin’s service, a granite Commemorative Paver will be placed alongside those of our 12 fallen classmates at the Pegasus Plaza in front of Doolittle Hall. Additionally,Ami has asked for all w h o k n ew K ev i n t o w r i t e a letter to their children letting them know what type of fath er, h u sb an d an d M ar i n e h e w a s. Sh e w el c o m es c o n d o l en c e c a r d s a s w el l . L et t e r s a n d c a r d s

may be sent to her home address: 31865ViaTafalla,Temecula, CA 9 2 9 52 .

While sharing thelosswith other classmates, I received an update from one

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Gonzo takes a "face shot " flying the CASA C-101Avioj et in Sp ain .

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Paul Sherman, Aidan, Drake Daggett Otto (Danny) Habedank : Holly and I fi nally had a kid, Stefan D an iel , b om in Febmaryat L^ dstuhl hospital. Hewassixweeksearlyso they had to call in the chief specialist. Doctor Dan Dim berger, to save hislife. Tharik Godfor Mighty ’90. I’m off now toACSC to get reblued.

Maj or Jay Lowell :You should be sure to put out apiece o n W es H al l m a n — hewasjust selected asaWhite House FeUow. I ran intoWesat the Pentagon last week — hewill begin work in the Department of Agriculture n ex t w eek .

Mark Brown: I’m working at theAir Force Doctrine Center at M axwel l, see ing lots of ’90 folks showing up for school.

DaveBam a:Wemoved from Hawaii to Germany last month an d I ’m n ow th e Ops offi cer for the 435 LRSat Ramstein. My commander i s L t C o l Ri ch M o o n (’87) and the rest of the offi cers are captains and li eu t en an t s. D o n n a an d o u r three sons are all doing fine, making friends and getting ready for school to st ar t i n t w o w e ek s,

li saMay.1am in Baltimorenow...just started as“Dr.LisaMay,” Director of Emer

gencyPreparednessandResponsefi artheMaiyiandDepartmentofHealthan d M en t al

Hygiene...too funny! I am still in theUSAFRat thePentagon (OSD) also.

Lance McDoweR; Mary Beth and I live in Peyton, CO and I am i n t h e C o l o rado Air National Guard (Peterson AFB), been here 3 1/2 years and loving it.

We have four boys: Joshua (11), Jacob (10), Benjamin (8) an d Seth (2) .

Armed Services

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- VeteransAffairs Awards Dinner

John Bem hart and family few months ago and havejust started a PhD in Rotor-Stator I n t er a ct i o n vi s- a vis aeroacoustics at University of Manchester, UK, so if any '90 guy is in UK, please let me know so 1can see a few of the old classmates.

Kevin Roots: I ’vejoined Lockheed Martin’sWashington Operations as Di rector, Network Centric Capabilities.There are a lot of grads and great jobsfor grads at LM. Dave Brien: I’m sti ll at Langley, working in theAFC2ISRC en t er . I ’m th e C h i ef of Requirements for the E-1OA— theAF’s next Cruise M i ssil e D ef en se an d C 2 ai r c r aft .

Joe Pendon:Wejust had our second child, Samuel David Pen don , b orn on July 5,2004. The whole family is doing well. I’m one o f th e st af f a t t h e W i l f o r d

Haill Emergency Department. That meansif you get shot o r st a b b ed o n t h e sou th side of San An toni o, I ’ll kn ow ab ou t it , too!

N a ti o n al A sso ci a ti on f o r th e A d van cem en t o f C o l o r ed People (NAACP) Roy W i lk i n s R en o w n Ser vi ce A w ar d w i n n er K i m Sc o t t.

Steve Jam es: I ’ve PCS’d t o Kun san AB, ROK as th e 8th Aircraft Mx Squadron

Co m m an d er .

W es H al l m a n : T h i s i s t h e fi r st t i m e I ’v e sen t i n an update, but here it goes. We just had the SAASSClassXIII graduati on on 25 June d o vm h er e at M ax w ell . O u r

book-a-day club included six of us from Mighty Ninety. Herewas the assign ment drop: Scott DeThomas: AF Quadrennial Defense Review, Chief o f D o ct r i n e a n d Strategy.

Bill Eldridge: Shaw AFB, 9th AF, Chief of Guidance, Apportionment, and Targeti ng (GAT).

Dan Yenchesky:A Mighty ’90 coup hastaken place in t h e W i sc o n sin A i r N a it onal Guard. The 128th Air RefuelingWing proudly boaststhat 10% of itspilots are ’90 Grads: Matt Watson, Gary Stefanich, Dan Yenchesky, M att Bu tler , Jon Urbanek, and Shannon (Gregory ) Yenchesky (Flight Safety Sim IP).

Brian Hastings:We are here at the fi ve-sided wind tunnel. I graduated this Junefr om WHINSEC at Ft. Benning and worked a BNRto theAir Staf f to get out of my SOUTHCOM assignment to the Guatemalan MILGROUR My boys are si x an d four, an d b etw een Sean , Jak e an d Eil een , I h av e n o f re e t i m e .

Dave King: Tm working on Air Staff as an F/A-22 acti on offi cer, an d I ’m star t

ing to run into ’90 grads everywhere. In my 3-letter alone, Dave Colley, Carl Schafer, and JJJackson have been given positi ons of responsibility. Dave and Carl are working as a branch chief and F-15 action offi cer respectively. JJis working air-to-air missile programs.

W es H al l m a n : W h i t e H o u se FeUow .

Kevin Kennedy:AF/XP, Chief of Strike Issues.

Tom McCarthy:AF/XOXS, Chief of Strategic Initiative B r an c h .

Mark Weatherington: Joint Staff —J7, Operati onal War Pl an n er .

Susan (Temme)Yialamas: I had another baby girl on April 21st. Her name is Georgia Nicole. My other daughter, Sophia Anne, is almost three years old now. I am still working full-time as the Facilities Manager at Akrion, Inc. in

Ca rs o n Ta v e n n e r PS C 7 8 , Bo x 7 3 2 8 A PO A P 9 6 3 2 6 -0 0 7 3

DSN: (3 15 ) 2 2 5-4 3 4 0 E- m a i l : t a v e n n e r@h o t m a i l .c o m

All ent ow n , PA .

Charles T. Mcintyre: I have relinquished my instructor duties (hopefully temporarily) to take on the exec job for the 10ABW at t h e Z o o aft e r I r et u rn ed fr om my deployment to the SandBox. As if thisweren’t enough, my wife and I just had our fi fti i child, a girl, Sophia Elizabeth, a f ew m o n t h s ago who joins Cameron (11), Hannah (8), Maddie (5), an d Gu s (2). I w i ll b e h ere in Colorado at least un til thi s sum m er,

HI

and possibly longer. Thereareapassel of ushere: AOCs— Dave Murphy, DaveMorrissey,AlixWengert, Jeff Compton, Joe Richardson; Prep School — Dave Jones, and probably a X few more that I can’t remember right now. DFers — Helen Meisenhelder,Tim Landvoight, Ken Kemper, and probably Sabre Soc iety Do n o rs some others that I am forgetting also. I also know th at M ar c Ratlimann isworking a full-time Reserves gig at Peterson.

John Ulm : I’m still in San Antonio working for SBC and loving it. Just living the dream ... a wife, a daughter, a son, a dog and a mortgage. Joel Daly cam e d o w n f o r t h e F i n al Fo u r ... t h e r e w a s m u c h f u n a n d m u ch debauchery. Troy Molendyke came through town this summer with his family. They were on their way to Tinker AFB.Tony Terreri is also in tovm ... he is in Radiology Resi dency.

JoeTerry Emily and I would like to announcethebirth of our daughter,Anna Elizabeth, on September 22nd. I am enjoying my acti vated Reserve st atu s (go ing on two years) flyingC-17sat Charleston AFB, SC. Paul Szostak: Just back from the Olmsted program and the family is adjust ing to thefast paceof lifewith meworking at the Pentagon. I seelotsof ’90 grads like Kevi n Kennedy, Scott DeThomas, and Brian Hastings, among others.

Photo 3: John Bernhart and family.

Rizwan Ri az: I completed my master’s in Computational Fluid Dynamics a

Sorry for theextremely curtailed version thisissue; for thosefew of you who’ve sent me news. I’ll get you next time. I’m sorry. I’vejust not taken the timeto get a more edited column together. But we couldn’t lose the opportunity to tell you about all the’91erswho were selected two years b el ow t h e zo n e t o L t C o l !

There are 32 in all :William Anderson,Tony Bauemfeind, Paul Baum an , Steve Bleymaier, Julie (Diedrich) Boit , Kurt Buller,Angie Cadw ell , Mark Ciero, Jim Clavenna, Chris Craige, Tom Daack, K e n D’Alfonso, Jim Dutton, Ken Ekm an, Kurt Gaudette, Kyle Gresham , Curt Hafer , Stacey Hawkins, Chris Hill, James Hodges, Matt Isler, Christopher Mann , Corey Martin, C h ase McCown, Brian Newberry , Erik Rundquist, Scott Scheppers, 4 Jim Sears, Tracy Szczepaniak , Troy Thomas, Jean (Fulmer) Sabre Society Voigt and Paul Walski. Whew, that’sAWESOME! Many, m an y D o n o rs congratulationsto all!

I’ve heard from Bill Peris in the desert , working the C A O C ; he isdoing okay, especially considering they’ve got the nicest living conditi ons around. Also, Tom Anderson walked up to me in the Hickam BX to say hello (I was on base for a conference; apologies to my classmates w h o m I d i d n o t contact in advance) - he’d just arrived PCSa few days earlier, an d is n ow w ith t h e A O C t h er e .

Angie Cadwell and I (she is now the 62"“^Comm Squadron C o m m an d er at McChordAFB, by the way!) have just talked on the phone, a n d w e t h i n k i t ’s time to encourage you all once again to head out to the website, check your data, check up on friends, and email your friendsworking at USAFA to pick up the ball with coordinati ng a 15-year reunion for the class! With September 1Ts impact on our nevertheless incredibly-fun-and-awesome reun ion , th ere w ere 15 1

far too many Bold Golderswho didn’t get to come. We sh o u l d n o t w ai t i n th e meanti mefor the20* to evenmally roll around! But if wearegoingto h av e a 15 yr, then theplanningwith theAOGhasto start in thefall of 2005. By thetimeyou read th is colum n , th at tim e w ill be a h an df ul of m onth s away. Please, for those of you AOCs, professors (and coaches?) over there, talk about this amongst yourselves: we’ll need your support. And you have mine, o f c o u r se .

Friends always, Tav. Ja m e s S . M e ht a 8 5 0 9 Cu st e r Co u rt

,h

the Navy upon graduation. I’ve had a few updates about him over theyears.

Kathy wrote mefrom Floridawhere shewastrying to d i v er t h er at t en t i o n f ro m the third hurricanein a row. Trevor and Kathy havetwo litti e girlsand included aphoto of their second daughter’sbaptism. In fine Navy tradition, Piper Kelsie was baptized in the ship’s bell aboard the JFK. She also updated me on John Doolit tl e w h o cross-com m ission ed w ith Trevor. Joh n b ec am e a SEA L an d i s

currendy in Monterey (probably at NPS). Recendy, hecompleted a swim across the English Channel! John and hiswife, Kade, have two litde boys.

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Las Vegas, NV 89 117 (70 2 ) 6 5 2-3 43 3 DSN: 6 8 2-34 3 3 Ja mes .me ht a@ogn.af .m il o r j a mes me ht a@ea rt hlink.net

Season’sGreetings! It isa litti e odd to writethat as i t i s st il l ov er 8 0° h ere in t h e Nevada desert; but, by the timeyou read this it will definitely be the holiday season an d . I ’m su r e, m u ch cold er. A b it of a m ixed bag this quarter, some l et t er s an d so m e v i si t s. M i ch ell e an d I ar e sett l ed in at NellisAFB and are getting to know the LasVegas area well. We have had many family a n d f r i en d s v i si t already and welcome any of you who cometo town. I’m sure some of you will be here for Red Flag or other TDYs. VegasVisits. MikeandAngela Rokaw werein LasVegasin August and wewere able to meet them for dinner. Angela’s parents are l o c al r e si d en t s o f LV an d i t was time for a short visit. Little Sophia got a little t i m e w i t h her grandparents while Mike,Angela, Michelle and I h a d a “grown ups” dinner. Mike said it was the fi rst time in a long while they had been out without the baby. We look forward to seeing them frequendy as they comewest to visit.

Three plus three equals six. Nate “A-12” AUerheiligen e 5 mailed me to announce the arrival of triplets bringing h i s and Susan’stotal to six! On 10 May 04, Sarah Beth, Rach el A n n Sati re Societ y

i i

a n d I sab el M ar i e al l ar r i v e d a t P o r t sm o u t h N av al M e d i c a l

Do n o rs

Center asthe newest sistersfor Ashley,Jamesand M a rc. N at e assured methat sixisthelimit. (I guesshewanted to catch up with Paul Pidgeon who had his sixth last year.) Nateiscurrendy working in theJoint Deployment Process Owner offi ce at USJFCOM wi th a bunch of Army and Navy guys. He sayswecan blamehim for JOPES— remember that 4* block ofACSC.. .h m m m .

He provided some info on other 92’ers: “James Dittus an d h i s w i fe, Ch rist a, had their second boy, third child, a couple weeks ago [Jul - Aug]. Kendra Mathews is now in Korea after a year at Naval War College. Last report, Mike O’Connor was in Belgium with NATO with hiswife, Margerie. Roman Isajiw is n ow a Reservist w i th th e M cGuire KC- l Os. Jef f Cu oio i s a f ul l -ti m e Reser vi st

who hasbeen working out of Balti morethissummer. H e i s h ead ed t o A C SC f o r hisyear of rebluing and extensivetriathlon workouts. Brian Keller just moved to McGuire this year, and Lee Smith is now working at Scott AFB. Jim an d DeannaGallagher havenow moved to Scott , tooand now havetwo boys (Kevin and JamesC) and just added Katherine Beverly thisyear. Soundsto methat ’92 isworking hard on increasing our class roster!” Thanks for the input — but I wonder how you had time to write while taking care o f six l i t d e o n es . . .

Trevor, Kathy and Pip er Kelsie. ("Kelsie” means "victorious ship.”)

Flashback to Northwestern Prep School. Every oncein a w h il e I am am az ed at how fast time flies. I got an e-mail from Brandon Loken recendy. Brandon and I were at Northwestern Prep School together back in 1987. That’s 16 years ago! Of course therewere ahandful of otherswho went o n t o U SA FA as m em bers of 1992... might beti mefor a Northwestern reurti on. Brandon isliving in York, PA and flying for SWA. Heleft hisT-37 Reserve u n i t at C o l u m b u s A F B i n Febm ary and is now an ALO for the state of Pennsylvania. H e h as t h r ee k i d s: Tyler (5), Amber (4) and Brittany (2) and is enjoying l i f e .

In AF New s. Car son Taverm er (’91 Class Scribe) sent m e an ar ti cl e an n o u n c

ing that MajsSteven M. Beasley and James D. Dryjansky ar e t w o o f t h e U SA F ’s nomineesfor theDoD’sExecuti veLeadership Development Program and wUl compete at the Defense Department’sselecti on board in May. Theprogram is a management and leadership program designed to give an ex t en siv e “ h an d s on” exposureto the roles and missionsof the defense department. Congratu lations on your signifi cant achievement.

E-mail bag. Rob Atkins is on the move again. This time h e an d Jen n ar e taking the family (Peyton, Evan and Loren) and heading to Niagara Falls, NY where Rob has taken an Assistant Program Manager position at A M PA C -I SP (American Pacifi c In-Space Propulsion). It is his dream job as he will be able to useboth hisAero and Finance degrees. They arelooking forward to getti ng settled in Buffalo, NY and hoping thiswill be their l a st m o v e f o r a w h i l e .

N icole (Foster ) Gr eenw ood sent m e an an n oun cem en t for th e ar r i v al o f h er

second baby. Griffi n Nicole arrived on 27Jun 04. As Nate said at thebeginning of my column, 1992 is doing its part to fi ll out the cl a ss r o st er .

Viva LasVegas. Nellis is quite a big base and every o n c e i n a w h il e I r u n i n t o another familiar face. I have noted about eight other ’9 2 er s h er e w i t h m e an d I ’m sure I’m forgetti ng some and haven’t even met othersh er e. D o n G r ov e i s a helicopter detachment commander; Shannon Mikus; Chris Elam ; Scotty Kniep; Kevin Cullen; MikeBruzzini . A few weeks ago, I waswaiting to brief the 57* Ops Group commander and in walked Michael Bob Starr w h o w a s t r av eling with 9* AF/ CC (I think). It’s always a pleasant surprise to seeyou all out i n t h e r eal A i r F o r c e .

Finally, Michelle and I just returned from visiting D o n an d K at h l een U n w i n who are living in St. Louis. Litde Maren was born in M ar ch an d w e a t t en d e d her baptism where I was honored to be to her Godfather. Don is flying for FedEx and the reserves at Scott AFB. They are all doing great and we had a wonderful time together.

I have once again run out of space and will sign off. Tru e Blu e 92. Jam es.

M ic h a e l D . S u n d s t e d m

The Allerheiligens: Nate, Susan, Ashley, James, Marc, Sar ah , Rach el an d

I sa b el

O l d Ta r an t u l a ! Ro b To b l er sen t m e a n o t e t h at D av e K u m a sh i r o v i si t ed h i m

at Altus. Daveleft ushereat Nellisin July and headed out toACSCvisitingwith many fr iends and relati ves along theway. Rob and Leisa h ad th eir th ird chil d, Ainsley Mae, on Aug 9. Rob said it’stheir last... b u t h e st il l n eed s t h r ee m o r e t o catch up with Nate! They have been at Altus for over two years and will be leaving next summer. No word where that will beyet.

Navy offi cer checks in! Kathy Rush sent me a note (boy, good thing for me some of you got married, or else I ’d never hear about you) that Trevor is the Command JudgeAdvocate aboard theUSSJFK on a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf You might remember that Trevor cross-commissioned i n t o 15 2

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A warm and hearty hello from Alexandria,VA;well, sin ce I ’m at w ork,An dr ew s AFB, MD. I hope this letter brings cheer to all of you - especially during this Holiday season. I fi nally made it through initi al trainingh er e i n t h e 9 9* A S an d am a proud, qualifi ed member of the C-20B force flying a s m u ch as th e sch ed ulepermits. I am alsoAssistant Flight Commander to a fellow classm ate, Chr is Thompson. What are the odds...

Looks like we lost a tough one to Navy, which takes u s o u t o f t h e c ov e t e d trophy for the 2°'*straight year! With fi ve games (to thispoint) left we are only

3-3. 1hope by the time you are reading this that we w o u l d h av e h a d a b o w l i n v i t at i o n . O n t o t h e n ew s . . .

First to check in is Hank Buck and family. Hank, Natalie an d t h r ee a r r i v e d safe and sound at Yongsan. Hank isworking on thejoint st aff f o r c o m m u n i c a tions. They are exploring Seoul as much as possible!

In th e l a st ar t i cl e I m en t i o n ed sev er al cl assm at es w h o are ar ou n d th e 89 AW,

but I failed to mention asignifi cant member of the P'Airlift Squadron. Julianne (Stull) Emmolo is current and qualifi ed in the C-32 (a.k.a. Boeing 757) and to date h as flow n on e Ai r Force 2 m ission . H er h u sb an d , Tom , is a fell ow C-20B

pilot in the 99ASwith me.

Andrew Ti-avnicek updatesusfr om Dover, DE (Tell Col Pray that I said hello!).

H e r an in t o M o Bar r et t an d Jeff M cM il l en w h il e T DY t o San A n t o n i o .

The Rodriguez family: Bryon, Jennifer, son Jacob, and daugh ter Olivia.

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‘

■

Andy and Jeff about to take a ri de.

Both areworking in the Reserves at Kelly AFB. Mo is in th eTALCE an d Jeff is flying C-5s with Jo Sucich (Sidebar - Jo, Kristin and family are doing well congrats to Joe as hejust started working with Jet Blu e Ai rlin es).

Andy and Moprior to depar ting for M ustang Beach, I X It wasgreat to hear fr om Landry Carr! He is afi rst-time c al l er an d l et u s k n o w that heleft active duty in 2001. He fl ew as a C-130 navigator for thePuerto Rico National Guard (PRANG). Hewas also theWing Plans o f fi c er u n t i l h e d ec i d e d he wanted a change! Landry now works in the U.S. State « ,, Department and will be domiciled at theAmerican Embassy in A e Dominican Republic. He will still be able to fl y with

thePRANG! Conp-atulationsLandry!

Brendan Harris decided to check in and after a long-

aw ai t ed ab sen c e / si len c e. O u r il l u st r i o u s V al ed i ct o r i an st a t e s

4 that life in Weapons School is still a challenge - m o r e s t u dents, more academics, and moremissionsconstantly keep Sabre Society Do n o rs him on thego. Becky, Michael and Elise aredoingwell. Becky and Brendan are attempting to keep their children “bliss fully ignorant of the big city around A em.” Say hello to Greg Maddux for me!

A hearty thank you goes out to Jeff Kubik who once again hosted the D.C. areaversion of the “Beat Navy - Sink the Squids” cheer. He will update us on the goings on in the next update.

Bryon Rodriguez says“heUo” (in Checkpoin ts] for the fi rst time. He recently PCSed fr om Langley to Little Rock along with some other ’93ers. Jason Su tt on and hiswifewent to IDE at Wright Patterson. The Sutton’s helped gave Bryon and family a place to reside during the birth of their secon d ch il d (Olivi a) while their house was undergoing construction.

Bryon’s neighbor, Paul I Luj illo, is also at “the Rock” fl ying C- 130s as an in structor. Bryon works as the 314 LRSOperati ons Offi cer so he enjoysworking V i si t t h e N E W A O G W eb Si t e

Merchandise, Gone But Not Forgotten an d M o r e!

wvyAV.usafa.org

in aUfacetsof the base aswell as leading 530+ sharp troops. Best wishesBryon Steven Patrick Henry Prank (Steve, a.k.a. Phurt er) checks in fr om Eglin AFB and isdoing hisbest at avoiding Hurricane Ivan, and any other Tropical Storm, Depression that happensto wander hisway. When not boarding up windows on his house, Frank fi nds time for theAF as a test pilot for F-15C and Es. He really likes the associated paperwork involved. He an d w i fe, Ram an i , ar e ex pecting a child in January! Congrats on the good news!

Larry Trittschuh is out of theAF now and works as a c ivi l i a n i n t h e A F M C Transformation offi ce. Larry and Christy havetwo wonderful chi ldren ,Al li son and Alex. All are doing well in Ohio.

Brian “Rug” Bum s is doing his best to spread good will winning hearts and minds in numerous ai rshows as our elite pilot of the T h u n d er b i r d s! N o t t o o much sake Rug! Larry warns us of Brian’s attempt to sw o o n al l o f o u r k i d s t o joining theAF. At last word, Larry’s son is now wearing a Blue Flight Suit and vows to bejust like Maj Rug! Keep up the great work B r i a n ! L o o k f o r w ar d t o running into you some time.

Dave and Jenn Leazer are doing fi ne at LukeAFB. They have three boys (9, 4 and 2). He is an ADO in the Ducks squadron right now and is in charge of zeroing out the annual fl ying hour program. He did it with success thisyear!

He had the opportunity to teach air-to-air academics prior to that. You could be in Top Gun! Kevin Kosefeski is currendy on rotation in the desert doing hisbest to grow a “Thomas Magnum PI.-type” mustache. He is apparendy having time off to enjoy thehugepool and work-out faciliti esin the desert on his vacati on ; er, uh , I mean deployment. Kelly and the rest of the Kosefeski clan are doing well on the homefr ont! We look forward to seeing the Kosefeski ’s before the holidays!

Lori, Collin, and I wish you the Happiest of Holidays and avery special New Year! Look usup if you arein theD.C.area! Cheers- mds.

C.C. M . M a s o t t i CM R 4 8 0 Bo x 1 1 6 8 A PO A E 0 9 1 2 8 -1 1 6 8

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(Four Sabre Society Members)

(Edi tor ’snote: C. C. was qui te busy with her duties during theperiod and di d not have the opportuni ty to submi t a column for thisi ssu e. Pl ease sen d h er al l your up dates for th enext magazine.) ^ R. Travis Koch

1072 Napa Way

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Happy Holidays, ’95. Greetings from hurricane-laden F l o r i d a . B e si d e s al l the evacuati onswehad last fall, thingshere are good. By the timeyou read this, the election will be over, and my wife and I will have had our fi rst kid. Pretty cool stuff . We don’t know what we are having yet so we’ll let you know in the next issue. More on the baby brigade later. Other goings on in Flor ida, Paul Spaven isat WSEP at Tyndall AFB and isa part of thefi r st “ W i ll i am TeU” ex er c i se in a number of years. DaveO’Malley hasstarted the F/ A-22 classwith a couple of other Gold-taggers, Jeremy Durtschi (who just had h is secon d ch ild) an d Paul Moga (who is engaged and piarming on getting married n ext Fall). Good luck guys, in all your endeavors.

There’s Something in theWater : Babies are everywhere. B r i an an d Si e r r a 15 3

Schafer gave birth to their son Ewen on the 30* of O c t o b er . To m an d C a r r i e Walker, who now live in Medford, OR, gave their son M itch ell a n ew b roth er, Andrew. Mike and Laurel Pugh had a son, Romer, near m i d -O ct o b er . I ’m su r e there are more... just let me know and send some pics.

Melissa S. Cunningha m 2 2 0 B o w e n s M il l D r iv e

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(478 ) 975-9707/ DSN:4 68-4 6 20 E-ma il: f mcunningha m@ao l.com or me lissa .cun ningha m@ro bins .af .m il

Happy Holidays Bricks! I can’t believe how fast thisyear hasflown by. If you are likeme,you are probably stiUfi nishing up Christmas shopping and mail ing out cards. I’m alwaysjust behind the power curve, so I ’m hustling to get this column to print!

Last March, theAL Internshosted aJoint Spring BaU. Gen Pete Pace, th eVice Chairman of the JCS, was their guest of honor and speaker f o r t h e ev en t .

B r i an an d E w en Sch af er !

TOY Sightings: I’ve gotten around to afew spotsover thelast couplemonths

a n d h a v e r u n i n t o a t o n o f o u r cl a ssm a t e s. I w a s i n A l a sk a a n d saw B r i a n

Bal dwin, Andrea (Rolfe) Misener, and Dave Nykos. They are up there flying with some guyswho are tough as bricks: Mike McDermott , John Sapp, and Kevi n Si lk n i t t er (’96) . Jef f M oh r (’98) an d Ter ran ce Kiethley (’00) are keep ing the whole crew in line. I also ran into Kit Kieling a t a b a r i n d o w n t o w n Anchorage. Hewas up there for his brother’swedding a n d i s n o w a d o c t o r i n the Air Lorce. I had a beer with Tom Stephens (’93) w h o w a s ch ow i n ’ d o w n pizza at the Moose’sTooth. T.S. isproud to be in the Reserves now up in the last frontier. I bumped into another lacrosse player, Chris MacCauley (’98) at the Nellis gym. Chris, tell your sisters we all say “hi ”. Scott Campbell , Rex Ayers, and John Rhone are all stationed at Nellis. Joh n is m ar ried an d has tw o kids. John and I wereTDY up in Norfolk,VA wherewe ran across Chris “Latty” Jones. Patty has a 15-month-old, is married, and isflying P- 18swith the Navy.

He has not landed on a boat yet but for some unknown reason, he’s trying to get the chance to do it.

Now for the John Hamby section of the update. Bone is euphoric with the World Champion Boston Red Sox winning theWorld Series. Heisworkingwith Rocky Thurston in D.C. and happy thereis Baseball in the nation’scapital again.

He is campaigning to be not only the commissioner of both our Pantasy Lootball and Baseball leagues, but also to bethe godfather of my kid. You might not know but he is a big fan of the Big Man. Random Updates: I got a note from Ed Hopkins after m y last update. Check out hiswebsite at www.maxambit.com.

Ed waslooking for a $20 bet payoff that hewon fr om Ri c ar d o “Superfreak” James. Ed isin a pseudo-retirement state right now and is living in Tucson,AZ. He says if anyone is in t ow n , givehim a call and he’ll buy lunch or dinner... that isif he gets 3 his cash from “Superfreak”. I got to play some X-Box w i t h Sabre Society Do n o rs Benji Glazer (By theway. Halo 2 should be out by thetimeyou are reading this) in Houston. He had just gotten back f r o m Boston wherehe got engaged. Tom Murphy and I picked u p a few forties and rode around in the back of my truck while my wife drove us around. Pretty good times on the Redneck Riviera. Murph is deployed to Panama City where he isreporting the stams of Operation NobleEa^ e,which m ean s h e roUs int o w ork arou nd 1000, tak es a tw o h our lun ch , an d m ak es it to the golf course by 2:30. War is hell . Jake Maloy just m oved t o D all as, TX an d

took atrip to Southeast Asia deliveringthree suitcaseso f th e Go o d B o o k t o th o se that can’t get it. Cool stuff.

W h er e’s W al d o : N o l u ck o n l a st i ssu es’ cl a ssm at e h u n t . H er e ar e so m e f o l k s

fr om “FOU RTH GAROU U U P” th at have vani sh ed: Travi s Wil ds, Fuad Velasco , Gil Sanders, Johrmy Harrison,A1Barker,Tommy Gillen, M att Wadd , an d Jason

Wroblewski . Let me know if you’ve heard from these folks and what they are doing.

Reunion Update: Update your data as soon as you can at www.usafa.org to ensureyou get the latest on the reunion next fall. It should be a good time.

There is not a date set yet but you can plan on it being the fi rst home game after ParentsWeekend. As for the planning, John “You can cal l m e Joh n ” Tinsley is currently in charge of the reunion. He is looking for folks to help out . He’ll be PCSing soon so you can reach him at meatf l 6@hotmail .c o m .

Check Six. Jenna (Barasch) Masiello is probably going to help out with our class website. I ’ll let you know the address when I get it . I talked to Dan Bunts (’94) about his reunion this past month and he said it was a great time.

Bunts, by tbe way, is moving to Denver, and is going to spend time flying with the Denver ANG and teaching at theAthletic Depart ment b ack at U SA EA .

Anyway, he’ll be around to buy some beers next fall. Drop me a line when you can. Till then.

Keep the faith, T. Koch.

15 4

An dreM cMillian, Ryan Link, Jeff Goggin, Ann Igl, StephanieFox, Chad igl, Gen Pace, Andi Vinyard, Mark Robinson, Clay Freeman an d M a t t B r o o k s.

Whi lemost of the ’96 Intern sarefi nishing up their second year,Andi \ Tnyard hightailed it out of D.C. and packed up for Mt. Home A FB, I D . Sh e i s n ow working in theAEF Batdelab, but still manages to fi nd tim e t o h ik e, bik e, ex plorethewest and takeathree-week European vacation. Whiletouringthrough Italy with Charles Podolak ’95, heproposed and Andi accepted. They are now fi nalizingplansfor a small wedding in Febmary and abig bash sometime next summer. Congrats Chuck and Andi!

PK, Shack, and Lindsey in D.C. More news in the engagement department! PK Carlton and Lindsey were engaged on July 24. PKsurprised Lindsey by travelingtoWashington DC (w here Lindsey works on Capitol Hill). Hetook her out to dinner and then proposed to Lindsey at her favorite memorial — the FDR memorial. They planned a wedding in Lindsey’shometown of Montpelier,VT on 2 7 N ov. A f ter t h eir w ed ding, Lindsey will escape D.C. and move down to Shaw AFB t o j oin PK. I ran into Vince and Julie Zaleski at a local pub where on e of t h e JSTARS squadron bandswasplaying. Theband had T-shirts saying “We’re not JSTARS were Rock Stars” and they were actually really good. We caught up with each oth er in betw een set s. Vin ce an d Julie w ere m arr ied at theAcademy April 25, 1998. Since then, they have enj oyed some very memorable trips to Israel, Turkey, and Greecesupportingchurch missions. Vincest ar t ed o u t at M t H o m e flying KC- 135sfor just shy of ayear beforegetting reassigned to E-8s at Warner Robins. Shortly af ter their moveto Robins, their fi rst chil d, Brenn an , w as b om and in 2003 Jarod came along. So now they have their h a n d s f u l l w i t h t w o toddlers. Fred and I enjoyed their company on an “ever so rare” evening away from the kiddos. Vince is now packing up for Offut AFB, N E w h ere h e’ll b e flying the RC-135s.

I had an opportunity to attend ’94’s reunion with my husband and it really was a ball. Start collectingyour picturesnow that you want to submit for class slide show — sure it sounds early, but our reunion will be here before you know it. While at USAEA, I ran into Amber O’Grady (Mason) and Katy Taylor (Ekman). Amber separated from active duty, but still participates in the Re-

accident in Bosnia, Stacy suffered some hearing losswhich disqualifi ed her from competing for theAF space program. She separated f r o m t h e A F a n d began pursuing her PhD in physics at UCLA tmd working as a Raytheon con tractor. While in the PhD program , shemet an astronaut that also had hearing loss and was still accepted by NASA. So, Stacy took the NASA physical and passed with fl ying colors. We’ll keep our fi ngers crossed for Stacy during the rest of her NASA application process.

That ’s all for now! Best wishesin 2005! Please keep me on your Christmas card lists— I can always use the news and the pics. Take car e, M el

1

M e lv i n E. M a xw e ll , J r.

PSC 2 , Box 75 18 Work DSN:(3 14 ) 4 8 0-56 28 W : m e lv i n . nna x w e l l@ra m s t e i n .a f .m i l

H: mel_ maxwell97 @hot ma il.com

Vin ce an d Juli e Zal eski

serve program . She is more than busy keeping up with littl e M art in , Lauren , and now they have a third on theway. Katy is still fl ying F- 15Es and manages to make a hobby out of running marathons. During the reunion, we took my sister Amy ’05 out to the Golden Bee to enjoy some yards and bumped into Shawn Anger. He was on hislast F-16 cross-country f rom Luk e AFB. H e,M icki and their daughter will be moving soon toTyndall to be apart of theF-22 cadre.

It was awesome to catch up with a few ’96ers and enjoy atrip out to C-Springs.

Thr ee w eeks later, I attended an other reunion w ith my father back at theAcad emy. During theweekend,wehad someincredibletourst o Sch r eiv er A F B an d CheyenneMt, but my surprisecameon our tour of theAcademy. Weget off the bus to m eet our escort of fi cer, an d w h o coul d it be, but Dwayne Creamer. He is back at theAcademy teachinghistory andjust in timefo r sk i seaso n . Sh ea B r an n an wasalso in theSpringsworkingon amedical intern ship and stayingwith Dwayne.

They recently had visit fi :om another. Reaper, Piotr B l az eu sz o n an o ffi ci al st at e visit. Also teaching at theAcademy are Brian Tyler an d D an M ar i n e . B o t h ar e working in thepoli sci department. I had a chance to visit with Dan during the game while he was babysitting his beautiful baby girl. Later that day, he and somegradsat thereunion beat abunch of cadetsin amgby match, then headed off to O’Malley’sto celebrate. Some things never change.

Well, I must say, I can alwayscount on Blair Kaiser to keep meposted on many of you guys. Af ter another trip to the sandbox, hewill begin Boeing 737 training in Seattle for his next job wi th the 89* Airlift Wing at A n d r ew s A F B . B u t ev en more exciting is that Blair is fi nally going to tie the knot next April in what he promiseswill be a ’96 reunion on Bourbon St in New O r l ean s. C an ’t w ai t f o r th e in vite — h in t , h in t .

H ere’s th e n ew s f rom Blai r : Jef f Scl i m i d t w as m ar ri ed to Michelle and they

now have two girls. Jeff is PCSing from Little Rock t o b e c o m e t h e Lf .S. ex change pilot with theAustralian C-130s in Richmond RAF outside of Sydney this fall. Brent Himes is an exchange C-130 pilot with t h e D u t ch A F so u t h o f Amsterdam and Mark Degeronimo also showed up there to fly KC-1Os on ex change. More news on folks in the Mighty Here community: B r ad D o w n s i s flying MC- 130s at Hurlburt. Joe Capasso is at Little Ro ck ’s FTTJ. Jason Terry isa C-130Weaponsschool grad and ev al u ator nav at Little Rock. Chris Sim s isan AC-130 gunship I P at H u r l b u r t FT U . A r ch er “ M a c ” Ya t es i s m ar r i e d t o Ro b i n an d

Me t

A PO A E 0 9 0 1 2

Hey all! Hope all iswell. I must admit I’ve fallen into a slight depression over the Falcon football team and their trouble pulling out victories this year. A coupleweeks ago when I went TDY back to the states, immediately upon ac tivating my stateside cell phone number, I received a m e s sagefrom ChrisKay who wasat theAcademy tailgateprior to theAF-BYU game. On the message Chris sounded ex cited but when I fi nally talked with him after the loss, h e wasin amore somber mood. Chrisand hisfamily recently relocated t o FEWarren AFB, WY w h ere Chr i s is b ack in t h e

i i

N o n e Ye t

Contractingworld after a stint in AF ROTC in Georgia. H e’s enjoying beingback in theWest again and has season t i ck Sabre Society Do n o rs ets to Air Force games and is looking forward to the u p comi ngAir Force basketball season. Theweather in Wyo minghasbeen ashock though— Chrishad to bundleup histwo kidsto go trick or treating in the snow.

Chrispassed on some news about a few classmates. Christina Misegadis is the executive offi cer for the 90th Mission Support Group Commander at FE Warren. He says it’s pretty cool to go in to meet your commander only to see a classmate in the front offi ce. According to Chris, Christina is doingwell and is looking forward to her pending nuptials with Ryan Cam pbell who is in charge of flight safety there at the wing. Apparently, Julio Negron is trying for the Air Force deployment championship for the last tw o year s. H e w as r e cently deployed again, this time a six-month stint to Iraq working contracting with theArmy. Apparently, Julio spent some time at Abu Gharib prison af ter all the infamous events which took place out there.

Shira Worley (Ravi tz) dropped me a line. Shira married Jay Worley (’96) back in 2000 and today is a cM ian and stay-at-home mom. Jay is currently stationed at Ellsworth fl ying the B-1. Jay and Shira have a little girl, Miriam Eleanor, who was born on 11April 2004.

li-

isflyingMC- 130sout of Mildenhall with ReggieMinton. Ch r i s Mitchell and Chris Dougherty are both flying C- 130s o u t o f 1 “no hope” Pope. Josh Nielson isat Little Rock. Kurt K r em ser and Amy Petrina ’98 are engaged and fl ying C-130s at Sabre Society Do n o rs Ramstein. John Coyle flies MC-130s at Kirtland FTU. H e and hiswife. Charity, have their fi rst child on the way. Ellis Gam er is also an IP at Kirtland and a recent newlywed. Ken Gjone ’95 (who used to co-own the magic bus and even lived on it for a w hil e) is a C- 130J IP at

L i t t l e Ro c k .

P au l D z u b n ar i s a C F O o f a r e st a u r a n t ch a i n c al l e d T h e G r e en M i l l i n t h e M i nn aso t a -W i sco n so n ar ea . H e an d h i s w i fe li v e in St Paul, M N an d are blessed with one son. Jack. Pat Ryan also separated from theA F an d l i v e s i n t h e TWi n

Cities area along with Steve Gorowski ’95 and Jake MaUoy ’95. Parks Hughes isa CCT offi cer at Hurlburt wherehehelped stand up theSOFWeaponsSchool.

Frank Howard is cross-training from hisjob as aWeapons Sc h o o l I n t el o f fi c er at Tyndall to be an Air Battle Manager at Tinker. Dale Ri ed el h as fi n i sh ed L aw school in Ohio and will PCSto BollingAFB. He is married t o Jen Kom ack er who is fi nishing up veterinary school. Dave Ciesielski and hiswife, Stacy, are stationed at the Pentagon where he manages manpower i ssu e s. C h r i s CuUenbine also isstationed at the Pentagon. Brett O’Halloran separated from theAF and now worksasa government contractor at Wright-Pat. H e i s m arr i ed to Kristen and they have a daughter. Brett still has t i e s t o t h e A F as a w eek en d warrior. Tom Livingston isan ROTCinstmetor at Clemson University. Dan St. Clair isfl ying U-2s at BealeAFB. Brian Grasky is an F - 16 I P at L u k e .

Finally, I got an e-mail from Stacy Georgilas. She co n t i n u es t o l e ad an ex ci t ing life and chase af ter her dream of going to space. She still ridesher Harley Sportster but has also acquired a Kawaski 200 KDX dirtbike. A f t er a v eh i cl e

Shira, Jay, and Miriam Worley, Mother 's Day 2004.

Shira passed on some other news: “Also stationed with u s i n So u t h D ak o t a are Sloan HoUis with hislovely wife.Amber, and their two adorable girlsGrace and Emma; Brian Witkowsky and his lovely wife,Angela, a s w el l a s t h e i r t w o girlsAlina and Ava; Jason Frazee and hislovely wife,Am an da. Jason Yeat ts an d C h r i s W a ch t e r w er e h er e as w ell b u t h av e b o t h m ov ed to Dyess recently. Jason is married to the lovely Michelle and they have an adorable little boy named Austin. Actually theguyshaven’t been around all that much dueto the deploy ment schedule; the B-1sseem to be busy thesedaysand Jay just left for histhird deploym ent in two years. The boys are back in the island paradise of Diego Garcia where they were the beginning of thisyear and end of last. The year before they were slumming in thetents in Oman so at least their surrouncUngs have improved.” Although you might not have heard t o o m u c h n ew s ab o u t them, Shira wanted to make sure everyone knew the B-1guys are out there working their butts off so give them some love!

15 5

One day whilehaving a beer in downtovm Kaiserslautern , I r an i n t o so m e C 130 drivers fr om here at Ramstein. We got to talking and they passed on that StephanieJardinewasindeed hereat Ramstein. Unfortunately I won’t get much of an opportunity to hang out with Steph as she will so o n b e h ea d e d b ac k t o L i t tl e Ro ck t o “ t each A m er i c a’s f u t u r e o f t act i cal air li f t at t h e C - 130 sch o o l h o u se.”

Steph did pass on some news about a couple other ’97ers: Jen (Br an n an ) an d John Caplinger are due to enter theworld of parenthood shortly. No word on whether thebaby will be aboy or a girl quiteyet. Steph also passed on that Julie (Thode) and Brian Mulloy are doingwell at PopeAFB. Julie is still fl yingA-1Os and Brian is working with the Army and will be going back to Iraq over the holiday season. I’Ube going to Iraq myself in January— let the good timesroll!

Alri^ t everyone,that’stheupdateforthisquarter. Ifyou get a chance,please drop me a line. I know the rest of the classwould love to hear what you’re up

ship lined up here and plan to revel in this great island, keep busy learning physical therapy so that when we get back to the states I can get my doctorate, and continue teaching English to the locals. I love sailing in the E. China Sea on my weekends and I have really gotten into cycling.

Lastly, I got an e-mail fr om Brandon Johnson’swife, Carrie: We are delighted to announcethebirth of our daughter,Audrey Lauren. Audreywasbom at 10:48 p.m. on Sept. 28,2004at RAE Lakenheath Hospital in Lakenheath, England. ”

t o . U n t i l n ex t t i m e . . . M el

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K a r i n M c W h o rt e r 9 8 1 1 E. Cis c o Co u rt

Tucson, AZ 8 5748 (5 20 ) 88 5-8 697 k ie i n m c w h o rt e r@e a rt h i i n k . n e t

Well, after last month’s deluge of information, I don’t have much to report this edition. Things are still goingwell in Arizona. W e w en t b a ck t o t h e A c a d emy in October and it wasvery weird to see cadetsw i t h “ 0 8 ” o n t h ei r sl eev e s — hard to believe it hasbeen that long. I haven’t run into too many grads, but I did have lunch with Sheri Thornburg (Webb) and Becky Muggli . Sheri is separating fr om theAE in December and isn’t surewhat shewill be doing on the outside. Her husband, Jason, isa helicopter pilot on base. Becky hasbeen fl yingtheA-10 but isleaving soon to be an instructor at ENJJPT. Brian Weilan d also got an assignment and is headed back to Korea.

Chuck Rohrig sent me an e-mail with the following information: “ I ’m d e ployed right now to the Green Zone in Baghdad with C o m b at C am er a . Si n c e we’ve been here we’ve covered a lot of high profi le events, including the handover of sovereignty (nearly all thevideo broadcast o n the newswasprovided by my team), thecourt appearanceo f

Bran don an d CarrieJohnson wi th their new daughter, Audrey.

Well, that’sit for thistime. I hopeto havemore in form ation n ext tim e. In fact , if you are planning to send Christmas cards,just add m e t o t h e l i st an d t h en I

w il l h av e m o r e in f o rm at i o n th an I c o u l d ev er u se f o r t h e ar t i cl e! U n ti l n ex t ti m e — K ar i n

0^

w m

Saddamand 11other hi^ -valuedetainees(our photos

w ere

on the front page of more than 250 newspapers around t h e world and our video/ audio footageisbeing used by thepros ecution), Jordaniansleading female Iraqi soldiers through U m i e Ye t basic training, and numerousattacks. We’reherefor an o t h er month and arejust now fi nishing aConvoy Operationsv i d eo Sabre Society Do n o rs to be used in the states to give those in training a r e al i st i c b een perspectiveofwhat to expect in theater. We’vedefi nitely busy, which is good because it makes the deploym ent go by faster. Since I’ve been here I ran into Coby Leslie and Mandy Scott who areboth workingin the Presidential Palace. Mandy isworking in the Offi ce of Security Transition and Coby was working with helicopter ops planning. One last thing, they play u l t i m a t e f r i sb e e o u t h e r e i n t h e G r een Z o n e ! I n o t h er news, Dan Polsgrove return ed to theAcademy this summer to teach physics.

I also heard from Seth Reagan : “I completed my time a s a n AW A GS E l e c tronic Combat Offi cer and separated fr om theAir Eorce. I’m currently serving as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in El Salvador. It’s a d i f fe r e n t w o r l d d o w n here, but I’m still in the business of promoting U.S. interests and ‘making the world a better place.’ I ’m enjoying it.”

Jason Foster sent aquick updatethat he and hisfamily areleavingMountain Home and heading to Boulder, Co for a three-year assignment at C U . So u n d s rough...

Susie Rourke checked in via e-mail as well: “I ’m currently i n A ESO C a s a maintenance offi cer and have traveled a lot throughout t h e P ac i fi c w i t h t h e unit. It’s been an awesome ride. But, the big news for me is that I just got engaged to Jeff Smith (not agrad). I’m separating in April and will stay with Jeff (F-15 pilot) in Okinawa until summer 2006. 1have a physical therapy intem ”

Susi e Rourk e an d h er fi an ce, Jason .

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James W. Busch

4 0 50A Cam bridge Loop Hill AFB, UT 84 0 5 6 (80 1) 776-3 58 6

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b u s c h 9 9 @e a rt h l i n k .n e t o r Ja m e s .b u s c h @h i l l .a f . m i l

Friends- a big thanks to Chrissy “Duke” Deibel for fi lling in for me on this issue. I ’ll get all the pictures and news that you’ve sent me in on the next goar oun d . -Jam es

Eric and Heidi (TViggs) Bucheit are getting ready to m ov e fr o m C al i f o r n i a t o Charleston, SC to fl y C-17s (Heidi hasher training fi rst). Laura (Har ding) and Kevin Janasiewicz just had a baby boy named Brandon an d L a u r a i s o u t o f t h e AF. Dana (Moss) Backland (j ust married!) is out of theAF and doing back ground investigationsas an independent contractor. Angela (Arredondo) Smith isout of theAF and attendinglaw sc h o o l at the University of Houston. She acquired an awesome midtown apartment and loves being a civilian! She is a n x iously awaiti ngthePCSof husband,Jason Smith, to Laughli n AFB for his instructor pilot slot. Mary Stewart is a t T r av i s 2 AFB working in hospital administration. Heather Healy i s stati oned at Mildenhall AB. Sheistraveling theworld having Sabre Society Do n o rs a super exciting life. Jen (Dolan) Hillberg wrote that l a st sen t en c e! Sh e is st ati o n ed at C o l u m b u s A F B w h er e sh e PC Sed

af ter marrying Chad Hillberg. Chad is now at LukeAFB training in the F-16 and they are awaiti ng assignment. Jen holdsthe “send mewhere I want to go or else I ’ll get out ” card.

Daniel McBroom isfl ying C-21sat Wright-Patterson, and getti ng his MBA at the sametime fr om Notre Dame. Jason “Dog” Davis is planni ng on deploying again in January with theA-1Os at Pope, and has a new baby girl, Brooke, in addition to three-year-old Blaire. Mike Stolley and w i fe Rach el (Sm i th ) ’00 just bought a house inVegaswhere Mikewill befl ying t h e Pr ed at o r an d Rac h el will be working in the Nellis hospital. Mike Boomsma is still fl ying F-15s at Kadena, and he and wife, Elana, are expecting their fi rst child. They will be fi nding out their new assignment back in the states s o o n .

Harmony (Andrews) Myers separated fr om theAir Force and is devoting herseif to being a stay-at-home mom to her two kids. She’ll be living in Menlo Par k, CA w h ile h er h u sb an d Jason w orks at St an ford University, Karina (Emhof) Beard separated fr om theAir Force and isworking on her MBA. She’sgoing to live in Yuma,AZ where her husband, Ben , a M ar in e Corp s captain, is stati oned, fi ch Giglio started law school at Penn State. Hisw ife, Liz (A dam s), is still at TravisAFB working in contracting. She is fi nished up her MBA and should separate in the spring.

Scot t an d Sh aw n a (War t n er ) Bow sh ot w ill w elcom e th eir fi rst baby soon.

It’s aboy. Scott will be PGSingto theAir ForceAcademy next year to work in the

soari ng and flight training programs. Shavm a is still awaiting her assignment so crossyour fi ngers.

Cody Rasmussen is teaching at theAcademy. Hiswife, Katie (Quigley), got out theAF and is looking for ajob in Colorado Springs.

That’sall from my connections...I (Chri ssy Deibel) will be going to the desert this winter for my AEF rotation flying theViper with t h e 3 4 F S “ Ru d e Ram s” along with TJKreutzer, Jason Ohrenberger, Andy Stockman ’00, A1Low e ’00, and about fi ve other “old” Academy grads. Jeremy Lukowski will be PCSing to Kunsan with a follow on to Eielson as ajump ALO. Ja s o n “JW " S im m o n s

6 1%

PSC 2 , Box 7077 >!

A PO A E 0 9 0 1 2

Ema il: Sim mo ns@Flot Pop.co m

D PRQ XIM UM miu LFM um"!

Ja s o n .S i m m o n s @Ra m s t e i n .a f . m i l

Classm ates,

On 05 Sep 04,welost aterrifi c classmate, fri end, and brother-at-arms. Capt.

Iwan T. “John” Spolsky died asthe result of an auto accident in Superior Town ship, Michigan while home on leave. The funeral service w a s h el d o n Sat u r day, Sept. 11, at l OOOin Redford, Ml and John wasburied at theHoly Sepulchre Catholic cemetery in Southfi eld, MI. He recently had graduated from U.S. Army Ranger School. I found this picture of him and thought it would be a great way to remember him ... carrying someone else. His memory will live

Congrats to Erin and Cory on th eir baby girl.

Robert Brooks isat Cannon AFB, NM enjoying theweather. Hiswife, Jenny, and he were married back in February. Rob iswith the 524 FSand said hejust got back from Safety School in Albuquerque where he w as i n t h e sam e c l a ss with Derek Rheinsmith, and Lonzo Wallace, among some other year grads.

o n . H er e’s a t o ast . . .

-ill ! li

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fi H l ■ ./

Then I Lt Spolsky with theSWth Security ForcesSquadron, Gran d ForksAFB, transports a wounded squad member as opposi tion forcesl a un ch an a t ta ck o n hisp osi ti on during an At Force Pre-Ranger Course training ex er ci se. H e w a s al waysgoing above and beyond. (Photo byAl CDeCook) Adam Rogge recendy returned home from Camp Victory in Baghdad, Iraq.

He thought it was a litde crazy working for theArmy, but the experience was worth it. Although he can now interpret the many uses of th e w ord h u ah , h e saysthat he refuses to allow it to enter hisvocabulary.A d am is currently enj oying his last couple of months at WrightPatterson AFB with hislovely wife, Lauren, and they areplan ningto PCSto the 728th Air Control Squadron at Eglin A F B in January. Casey Tinanow is doingwell in her fi rst year o f r esi dency in OB/GYN down in San Antonio,TXat Lackland A F B .

N o me Y e t Shebought a house, got her fi ance (Sean) to movedovm fr o m Michigan with her, and isbusy catching babies, missing si s Sabre Society Do n o rs ter Tracy, and eating someexcellent Mexican food. A ft er th r ee yearsat AltusAFB, OK, Lamont Morrow isPCSing to An kara, Turkey and will be assigned to the 39ABW, Det 1as t h e C h i ef o f C o m m u n i c a tions and Computers. Carolyn Walkotte fi nally left Colorado Springs aft er eight yearsin the state. Shehas PCSed to the Pentagon and spendsmost of her time in other parts of the country in support of her engineering j ob and is racking up a nice bit of fr equent flyer miles as a r esu l t .

Erin (Nagel) Cook and husband, Cory, are settled at Ch arl est on AFB, SC. She’s teaching ROTC and he’s flying C-17s, but more importantly, Erin just delivered their fi rst child, Cassie Layne, on May 30th. Here is a great shot of

Robert andJenny Brooks weddingparty (classmatespictured in th e b a ck r o w areJeff Beckh am, Brian Bragg, and Dave Wi tt).

Cheech Velazquez got two weeks notice thispast summer to deploy to Ali A1 Sal em AB, Kuw ait as th e Van ce AFB PERSCO Team ’s Chi ef. He replaced the pre vious team chief who wasmedically disqualifi ed at t h e l ast m i n u t e an d l eft f o r Kuw ait as h is w ife, Tam sen , en tered h er th ird tr im ester of pregnancy. Luckily, Cheech arranged for an early releasefrom his deployment an d m a d e i t b ack 10 daysbefore thebirth of their son Caden NikolausVelazquez on 2 1Aug 04.

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t h em b o th .

V i si t t h e N E W A O G W eb Si t e

www.usafa.org Send the AOG your new address now.

Congrats to them on the baby boy.

Kirk Olson got engaged on 29 Sep 04 to Courtney Ofner (ROTC). Both ar e at Wright-Pat; he is an AFIT student set to graduate in M a r 0 5 a n d sh e i s a LT working at the Air Force Research Lab. The wedding w i l l b e i n C o l o r a d o Springson 13Aug05. David Witt is still at DyessAFB, TX, and preparing for another deployment: he’s commonly the Drop Zone Offi cer.

It’s been a busy last few months for me, and I had a great summer and fall in Europe; the festivals in Germany are great. I already st ar t ed th e sk i sea so n o n 03 Oct 04 with a tri p to Solden,Austri a. It lookslike Kevin Kuciapinski and his wife, Mykhael, are taking me up on the offer for my open fr ont door policy for grads, so it will be great to see them in over Christmas. Sounds like a good excuse to see more of Europe. I hope everyone has safe and happy holidays.

Get back to mewith your updates! Thanks, Jason 15 7

Fait h Dunn (Hit chcock)

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2 0 3 S e a t o n Ci rc le

Montgomery, AL 3 6 1 16 Fa it h.Dunn@gunt e r.af .m il

Hi there from Baghdad ’01ersl That’s right; I am writing this quarter’s update from sunny Baghdad. I am actually deployed to theIntern ational Zone (morecommonly call ed th e G r een Zone) for theAF’s long 120-day AEF rotation. I am working in the Offi ce of Reconstm ction and am a Program Manager for one of the rebuilding projects for the country. It is interesting and I have met a lot of great people over here.

I should make it home for Christmas- keeping our fi ngers crossed. Mike is back home in Montgomery, fi nishing u p more classes toward hisMBA and applying for an instmctor job at ol’ USAFA for our next assignment.

I’ll try to do my best with updates, but it hasbeen tough to get theword out so please send more updates to my G u n t er N o n e Ye t

married last November to a girl named Julie - classmates i n at t en d an ce v\^er e Brandon Tellez, Mark Nyberg,Jim Mikes, Bobby Schmitt , an d Jam es M cQu een .

Josh Slade recently moved to Scott AFB and wrote to tell m e h e an d h is w ife, Jamie, are expecting their first baby in January- congratulations! Also in baby news, Angie Fedden and her husband, Tom, had their fi rst baby Rosalie Bee Rush on 26 July. LeNetta (Banks) Gabriel and Paul Gabriel (’00) also just wel comed their fi rst child, Isaiah James Gabriel on July 14, 2004. H er an d Paul ar e doing well and are stationed at Langley, she is the C h i e f o f Rel o c a t i o n s a n d Employment in the MPF and he’s a Flight/ CC in the Comm Sq.

a cc o u n t f o r t h e n ex t ar t i cl e !

Sab re Soc ieft iI received updates from lots of classmates that are ei t h e r Do n o rs deployed to the AOR or flying in and out of the AOR so I ’l l cover thosefi rst: KyleneGroveisamaintenancesupervisor a t A1Udeid and hasrun into lots of Academy gradsand sh o u l d r et u rn t o L it t le Ro ck sometimein October. Angela Ochoawrotefi -om Elmendorf. Rau l O ch o a i s ov er herefor OEF and will be coming home in Oct but they’ll both beheading back for morein January. Other ’0l ersin their squadron areJPKilker, Doug McHam, and Lori Cronin. Mike Pasquino isdeployed to Frankfurt, Germany planning for C-17 opsfor OEF/ OIF - we tried to catch each other o n o n e o f h i s r u n s o u t here, but unfortunately missed each other. Joe Monaco isalso flying C-17 mis si o n s f o r O I F / O EF b u t i s st i l l b ac k at C h ar l est o n w ith h is n ew fi an cee, M ar cie

Miller. ThetwoareplanninganApril weddi ng. TammieLeBlanc has deployed to Iraq for eight monthsto augment Army convoy operations. Sheleft Eglin in August for theCombat Convoy Courseat Lackland and arrived herein Septem ber. She’ll be theVice Convoy Commander/Executive Off icer duringher tour here and she plans on returninghome in March 05.

Angie Fedden wi th daugh ter Rosalie.

Lastly, Bart Rohinson wrote to ask if I would put thew o r d o u t f o r a m a ss ’0 1 Captain Promotion Party in LasVegas over Memorial Day weekend 2005. If you ar e i nt erest ed pl ease sen d hi m an e-m ai l for i nf o a t B ar t .Ro b i n so n @l i t t l er o ck .af .m il .

That’s all for this update. To all those deployed or deploying in the futurestay safe and keep meupdated! Faith Tony Carso n 3 4 5 2 E. Kiehl Ave., Apt . 5 2 10 Sherwood, AR 712 10 t o nyc0 2 @ya hoo.com

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Cla s s W e b s it e :

www .usaf a0 2 .org

(No Sabre Society Members Yet) Class of 2002,

JoeM onaco with fianceeMarcieaf ter heprop osed over Ch ar l es t o n .

Stacy Boggswrotefr om Spangdahlem that shewill fi nd o u t in O ct ob er w h eth er she was selected for the Medical Service Corps. If so, she’ll be moving to Sheppard in January for tech school - let usknow Stacy. She also updated me on other folks that have just joined her at Spangdahlem including Mike Cumherworth, Tom McCaleh, Bryan Jandorf, Joey Gaona, Cheryl Johnston, Jerry Ferdinand, and Tom Kanewski . Aubrie Rooney just m ov e d t o E i el so n .

She isworking as a program manager for the353'“^Combat Training Squadron and isin charge of the programsthat maintain aU“range” asset s u sed f o r t rai n ing during CopeThimder, thebig PACAF exercisethat goes on every year. Her and Dustin Ireland fi nally got stationed together and are planning their wed ding for sometime soon - send picturesyou two! Jenn Glomh just PCSed to Tinker and got engaged to Bert Giovanetti ,who isfi nishing hismaster’sdegree at AFIT. AmandaJones-Greco isstill out at Tyndall asa fl ightline maintenance offi cer for F-15Cs and has been busy dodging all the hurricanes lately. She recently got engaged to Capt Paul Moga (’95) who will be transferring from flying F- 15Cs over to the F/A-22 in October.

Jeff and Erica (Hamblin) Rivers are stationed together in M ount ain H om e, ID aft er almost three years apart - she’s aWSO for F- 15Es and he’s flying F15Cs. Melanie (Bates) Presuto is getting ready for a b i r d exh i b i t i o n i n K o r e a .

She’sgoingto both Osan and Kunsan to shoot birds, stuff them, and bringthem back to the Smithsonian for identifi cation and trending d at a aft er b i r d st r ik es.

She’s hoping to catch up with Meg Poyant before she PCSes to Italy. Cory Barack vyaote fr om PopeAFB. Heworking as an AirborneWeather guy doing weather for theArmy Airborne units at Ft. Bragg. He’s been jumping at Bragg and is looking forward to going downrangewith theArmy guys. He also got 15 8

I have received a couple of updates from members of th e class. Bren t Fel dt , who was recently accepted to medical school as USUHS, sent an update from Hill AFB in Utah. He and Maggie (Breun) Feldt moved t o Beth esda, M D at th e end of July where Maggiewill beworking at Fort Meade in t h e N SA w h i l e B r en t goes to school. Troy McLaughlin and wife, Erin, welcomed a new baby girl, Madelyn Grace, into their family on New Year’sEve 2003. Troy is doing Intel at Hill. Jesse McLaughlin and his wife, Catie (Fahrner) McLaughlin also wel comed a baby girl. Tori Ellen, into their family on February 11th. Not pictured but also at Hill: CarrieWellm an isworking in the general’s offi ce doing public affairs and l y Selfridge is a cop who wil l soon be r ot ati n g t o I raq.

Brandy Ransom was accepted to medical school at Eastern Virginia. Luke Sauter and hiswife, Jenny, (Vettese) Sauter welcomed a baby girl, Melanie, in February. They are moving to Kirtland from Boston where Luke fi nished up hismaster’s at MIT and Jennywasworking at Hanscom. Barry Murphy (2001) and Cortney (Johnson) Murphy recently PCSed to Shaw where Barry is flying F-16s and Cortney isworking in theACOMS. Bri an Sti les an d h is w ife, Sh erri , and ChrisBartley and hiswife, Rebekah, recently moved to Sheppard for pilot training from Houston where Brian and Chris fi nished t h e i r m a st er ’s at Ri ce University.

Congratulationsto everyoneon their accomplishmentsto date. Keep up the great work! Anthony Carson, Class Scribe Richa rd Giles Whit ing, Jr. 4 5 Raymond St .

Engaged: Justin Sime (T-6 MoodyAFB, GA) to hislong-timegirlf ri end Chelsey.

Married: Mark Fischer (C-21Wright Pat erson AFB, OH) m a r r i e d t o a long-time friend this fall and successfully concluded his 2% club quest .

Congrats.

Married: Rick Jamie and his long-time girlfri end Amelia; congratsbro. (see photo).

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A l lst o n , M A 0 2 1 3 4

USAFABo ng@hot ma il.co m

Class,

There’s a lot of basic information on assignments so I apologize for the for mat but this seems to be the best way to do it. Additionally, if there are any mistakes in this information I apologize.

l A U GH LI N AFB, TX: N ate Jackson : KC- 135 Cran d Forks, N D ; Jef f Gil m ore:

C-21Scott, IF; John Holland: C-21Ramstein AB, Germany; Ju st i n Ri est er : C 21Ramstein AB, Germany; AJ Lewton: C-21Ramstein AB, Germany; Jamie l l im er: C21YokotaAB, Japan; Matt Sartori : C-130 DyessAFB,TX;John Dar k : C- 17 M cCh ord AFB, WA ; Jef f Led eb or e: C- 17 Ch arl est on AFB, SC; D aw n

Hilderbrand: KC- 135 Mildenhal RAF, England; John Mallory: C-5 Dover AFB, DE; Alex Wolfard: F-16; Sarah

H ar d in : F- 16;A dam Cil aerr a: F- 15C; Law r en ce D iet r i ch :

If

COLU M BU S AFB, M S:. N ick Lof th ou se: F- 15C; Jason Roth : F- 15C; Ch r i s Gr u en er : F- 16; Pet e Cosset t e: F- 16;

N o n e Ye t

F-15C; Greg Mansfi eld: B-52;JC Gorman: T-6 FAJP Moody AFB, GA; Dan Stoker: T-38 FAIP Laughlin AFB,TX; and Ryan RUey: F-16.

Sabre Society

James Rodgers: F-15E;Adam Chitwood: T-6 FAIP to Moody AFB, GA; Kris Roeberg: B-52; Josh Boudreaux: T-37; D en n i s Zabka: B-52; Mark Spencer: F-15C; Justin Sime: T-6 FAI P Moody AFB, GA; Do n o rs

Dale Wilds: T-38 FAI P Colum busAFB, M S; Rob Gear har t : A - 10;Sh aun Cheem a: F-16;Tim Dowling: F-15C; Patri ck Williams: F-15C; D ave Welt : F- 16; An drew Wood : A - 10; Bret Elli s: C-2 1An drew s AFB, M D ; M ark Fischer: C-21Wright-

Patterson AFB, OH; Chris Munger : C-21YokotaAB, Japan; Shaun McCurdy: KC-135, MacDill AFB, FL;Andy Allen: C-17 Charleston A F B , SC ; D an M u n so n : KC-135 RobinsAFB, GA;Andrew Wells: C-130 DyessAFB, T X ; Ja so n H u n t er ; KC- 10 Travi s AFB, CA ; an d M ik e H ar dw i ck : C- 130.

VANCEAFB,OK: Sylvian Mansfield: T-1FAIP;Jarrett Biggers: A-l OSheppard

AFB, TX; Zach Coun t s: F- 16; an d D an D ar n ell : F- 16.

Engagements and Marri ages: Engaged: Marta Nyberg (T-1Columbus) and Nick Loft house (F- 15C).

Engaged: Nathaniel Jackson (KC-135 Grand Forks, ND) t o an old f rien d , Kelly.

Engaged: Pete Cossette (F-16) to Sarah Halberg (nursing sch ool).

Marri ed: NateJackson and Tom Murphy drovefrom Laughlin to Tampa Bay, FL to be in Jeff Gilmore’swedding. He married the girl he started dating fi rstie year. Jeff will be going on to fl y C-2Ts at Scott A F B , I L .

Married: Mike Hardwick (C-130 Ramstein AB, Germany) m ar ri ed an o t h er Herk driver from his class at theAcademy Chapel on 9 October. I was actually able to shake handswith this great guy about an hour before thewedding.

Married: Dan Stokker (T-38 Laughlin AFB, TX) fi nally “ en d e d ” h i s o n an d off relationship with his ri ng dance date by making it permanent.

V i si t t h e iVW

A O G W eb Si t e

Merchandise, Gone But Not Forgotten an d M o r e !

www.usafa.org Send us your new address now.

Get a friend to j oin the AOG.

Finally, I know that there are afew of our classmatesserving in Iraq ri ght now.

I would like to conclude this article by fi lling you i n o n o n e o f o u r b r o t h e r s serving on thefi -ont lines. Michael Donaldson began h i s sev en -m o n th t o u r in the Sunni Tri angle early September. He is serving as a platoon commander in the USMC. On 9/ 11of thisyear his Humveewashit by an improvised explosive devi ce, b ut th ank s to the n ew arm or, all sur vived . Befo re going to Iraq Michael represented USAFA well by graduating a DG fr om The M ar i n e B a si c Sc h o o l .

Heselected infantry and volunteered for aCamp Pendleton u n i t t h at w as sch ed uled to deploy. I encourage all of you who were his fr iends and squad-mates to w ri te. H is address is: 2n d Lt . D on al dson , M . J., 2/ 5 F Co Section , U l C 40360, FPO A P 9 64 2 6 -0 3 6 0 .

If you know of any of our classmatesserving in Iraq please passthisinforma ti on along to me. Ian Hamlyn will be featured in the next article. Thank you.

Breezy Hedd inge r Home: (3 2 5 ) 473-50 07 Cell: (719 ) 2 13-3 2 0 5 w indys ho rt @ao l.co m

.,* 1 % i Se ii i b ers

The Rickenbacker Classhas fi nally been separated, but our spiri t — and our bond together — is still unbroken. One thing we all have i n c o m m o n i s t h at we’re all braving uncharted territory as brand new butter barslearning how to apply our four years of knowledge and experience to our offi cer profession.

TheAF also sends all new 2LTs, regardless of commission ing source, to a six-week Air & Space Basic Course i n A l a b am a f o r a r efr esh e r in d o c t r i n e an d b asi c A F i n st r u ct i o n —

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plus, it’sameet-and-greet for new 2LTsthat may not yet have a network of peers. Congratulationsto those of usw h o h av e just passed ASBC! N o n e Ye t Apart fr om these commonalities, USAFA’s most recent grads are dispersed acrossthecountry. Most arecurrently i n Sabre Society Do n o rs job-specifi c training courses. Others, like the hundreds o f pilots-to-he, are doing odd j obs for their host bases u n t i l their training dates arri ve (sometimeswhile earning Pri v at e Pil o t s L i cen se s in the meantime).These “odd jobs” can range fr om coffee commando to paper pusher, fr om Physical Training Leader to valued member of an AEF deploying o v er sea s f o r six m o n t h s!

Over thesummer monthsmany of usgot marri ed, saw theworld, spent some quality time catchi ng up with old fri endsand also caught up on a little sleep we missed over the past four years an d we fi nally experienced w h a t l i f e w as l i k e living on our own. I would like to congratulate all of our classmateswho got marri ed or who are now engaged. You and your wife/ husban d h av e st ar t ed a wonderful journey.

If you have any stori esyou would liketo pass on to the class please email me on theglobal or at my AOL email account. The council iscurrently working on creating a forum website where we can post stories o f o u r a d v en t u r e s. T h e website should be up by time the next issue of Checkp oin ts is sent to your m ai l b o x . I w i l l b e su r e t o i n c l u d e t h e w eb a d d r e ss i n t h e n ex t i ssu e .

No matter how we’re involved, at theend of the day w e c an each r et u rn t o o u r homes (not “dorms,” not “sign in/out logs,”YAY) with the comfort of knowing that weARE making a contribution to national security, making our country READ Y FOR WA R — an d acr oss th e m il es, w e stil l d o it all together. Breezy Heddinger (formally Long): AOL email account: windyshort@AOL.com .

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M EM B ERS HI P M E M B E R SH I P I N T H E A SSO C I A T I O N O F G R A D UA T E S

allows the AOG to provide valuable support to graduate p r o g r am s, enrich the cadet experience and promote the heritage an d t r ad i t i o n o f the Long Blue Line.

Providing leadership and service to the Academy graduate community is an important part of the AOG’s mission. Examples o f cu rren t

programs, services and membership benefi ts include: 4" Checkpoints magazine 4^ Register of Graduates 4" www.usafa.org 4 " Cl ass reun i ons

4" Nationwide graduate chapters 4" Civilian employment programs

4 " W ar m em ori al m ai nt en an ce

■4 Historical record keeping 4“ Merchandise, including cadet-issue clothing 4 * Cadet sabre rental and purchase 4" Scholarships for dependents 4 * Ei senhow er Gol f Cour se reservat i ons T H E C A D E T E X P E R I E N C E W O U L D N O T B E T H E SA M E

without theAssociation of Graduates. Support from graduates, cadets,

parents of cadetsand friendsof theAcademy hasenabled t h e A O G t o fund more than $6 million to various cadet programs, act ivi t i es an d

cl u b s su ch as:

4^ More than 30 cadet clubs and organizations 4* Internships at NASA, Congress, NATO and the State Department

4^ Cadet internati onal cultural immersion experiences

4^ Cadet national collegiate competitions 4* Cadet summer research and travel programs T h e A sso ci at i o n o f G r ad u at es ; US

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^^ 3116 Academy Drive Academy, CQ 80840-4475

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FOR MORE INFORMATION or to purchase an AOG membership, please call theAssociation of Graduates at (719) 472-0300 o r v i si t u s online at www.usafa.org.

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% my husband DeVry was

being deployed to t he M id d le East , w e c o uld n 't

help but think about the uncertainty of the fut ure.

That 's w hy my husband got in touch w ith Angela, our First Command agent .

It w as co mfort ing t o have

someone you trust tell you it was going to be O K . A nd t hanks t o her, a n d o u r F ir s t C o m m a n d

Fina n c ia l P la n , w e w e re

p rep ared k now ing t hat w e had

d o ne w hat w e

need ed t o d o . Thanks ,

First Command! 99

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Disc o ver w ha t w e ca n d o for y o u.

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Fi r s t C o m m a n d

F IN A N C IA L P L A N N I N G ’^

Since 1958. Serving Those Who Serve.

N i c o l e A n d er s o n c o n s i d e r s th e fin a n c ial

plan and p ersonal service she received from agent Angela Graham - West to be a great comfort while her husband is deployed overseas. For more information go to www.FirstCommand.com This t est im o nial w as mad e vo lu nt arily

and without payment of any kind .

It may not be representative of t he experience of other clients and is no guarantee of future performance or success. A financial plan, by itself , c annot

Vis i t u s a t F i r s t C o m m a n d .c o m

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a ll re t ire m e n t

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other financial goals will be met .

U N I T E D S T A T E S • G E R M A N Y • EN G L A N D • I TA LY • G U A M • N ET H ER L A N D S • S PA I N • J A PA N • B E L G I U M © 2 0 0 4 F irs t C o m m a n d F in a nc ia l S e rv ic o s , Inc a n a ft ilia t e of First Oommand Financial Planning , Inc

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Nancy Rusinak

Brother, R. Bert hiaume, USAFA '73

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Over 35 highly-trained, professional agents to serve y o u .

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Since 1988. Locally-ow ned and operat ed.

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Relocation Package. Call 800.481.3485 Rusinak Real Estate has helped 10OO's of Academy grads - all classes, all ranks, act ive duty and ret ired - at a level of service and expertise few others can give. In business since 1988, our future depends on you hav ing a great experience w it h your real estat e t ransact ion. Count on us. Call Rusinak Relocation Depart ment.

TWO LOCATIONS: 7150 N. Academy Blvd ■Colo. Spgs, CO 80920 (Near USAFA Sout h Gat e) 481 Highway 105, Suite 200 ■Monument, CO 80132 (Near USAFA Nort h Gate)

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Phone 719.590.6130 ■E-Mail: relocat ion@lrusinak.com ■W eb Sit e: vvvvw .r usinak .c om

V is it t h e n e w A O G W e b s it e !

T he A sso ciat io n of G rad uat es has lau nc he d a new

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usafa.org. The new sit e offers readers enhanced funct ionality and navigation. Graduates and AOG members should register t he first t ime t hey visit t he site by clicking on " First Time User."

www.usafa.org