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September 2006

CO u m n s LET T ERS

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F RO M T H E B O A RD C H A IR

6

N EW S F RO M T H E A D

10

f e a t u re s

16

16 SO M ET H IN G B IG C O M IN G

The men didn’t know yet they’d be facing SAMs and MiGs Hanoi. All they knew was... o v e r

44 T O G ET H E R A G A IN

44

Flier who’d been missing since Vietnam buried next to love of his life 7 1

C L IM B IN G K IL IM A N J A RO

Grads take on Africa’s highest peak in memory of fallen co m r ad es 38 M ISS IO N O F H O P E

ALS has weakened ’69 grad’s muscles and sapped his energy, but he’s committed to helping his fellow veterans

O N TH E CO VER:

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2

USAFA Honor Guard carry the coffi n of Maj. BurkeMorgan, ’61, who was killed in action over Laos in 1967. Morgan was laid to rest besidehiswife, Mary, at theAcademy cemetery. (Photo by Ken Wright)

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A sso c iat io n o f G r ad uat e •9^

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U N I 1 1 1) S l A l l -S A I R l O RC i : A C;A 1) 1 M Y

3116 Academy Drive USAF Academy, CO 80840-4475

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(7 19) 4 72-0 300

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EX EC UT IV E O FFICE

o tt t h e s h e t 26

G RA D SW IM S E N G LIS H C H A N N EL

28

W A LD O

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BO O K REV IEW - M A V ERIC K S O F TH E SK Y

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LO N G B LU E LIN E

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O N C E U PO N A T IM E - " F IRST T W IN S A T U SA FA '

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IN T ERN A T IO N A L LA W ST U D E N T S S H IN E

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G RA D EA RN S B RO N Z E STA R

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N EW S O F N O T E

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LEA RN IN G S PA C E BY D O IN G S PA C E PA RT II

Pre sid e nt/ C EO : J a m e s A . Sh aw , ' 6 7 CO M M U N ICAT IO N S V ice Pre sid e nt : D ic k Rau sc h k o lb , ' 7 0 D irecto r of Co m m un icat io n/ Senio r Ed it o r: Bo b M cA llist e r

Editor/ Photography: Ken Wright Senior Designer: Sarah Wrig ht Class News & Obit uary Editor: Tom Krobot h Advert ising: Kyle Davidson Web Site: Matt Kleve & Kyle Davidson BO A RD O F D IRECT O RS

Edward E. Legasey, '67, Board Chair St e ve Finch , '6 5, V ice C hair

C harles P. G arc ia, '83, Tre asu re r

Marianne LaRivee, '80, Secretary James A. Shaw, '67, President/CEO Bill Bo ist ure J r., '6 7

Mike Christy, '63

Ed Eb e rhart , '68 Ed ie Ed m o nd so n, '9 2

s p o rt s 82

RET U RN T O D O M IN A N C E

84

LA C RO SSE G RA Y B IRD S

85

PO UN DS, '06, KEEPS O N W IN N ING

b ack o t t he b o o k

Mike Flynn, '95 Marty France, '81

Jack N . Kuce ra, ' 78

Gilbert D. Mook, '67 Jo h n T. M o o re , ' 78

Amber D. O'Grady, '96 Alan V. Rogers, '64

Pat Ro se no w, ' 76 D r. Le o n Sm it h-Harriso n , '75

Checkpoints (ISSN 0274-7.M)l ) USPS 898-080 is puhlishcd (luartcrly in March, June, Septemher aiui December by the As.sDciation of ( i raduates, U.S. Air Force Academy. (Phone: 7 19-472-0.300, D SN : 3,3 .3- 20 6 7 . FA X : 7 19 -3 3 3-4 194 . F.-ni ai l :

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C H A PT ER N EW S

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G O N E B UT N O T FO RG O T T E N

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C LA SS N EW S

editor(‘'’aogu.safa.org.) A portion of your due.s pays For your magazine subscription. Additional copies may be ptirchased For $2.50 each, plus (or $4.05 shipping. Perioilicals postage paid at the U.S. Air ForceAcailemy, CO and additional mailingoffices.

POST MAS FFK: SentI change rrf adriress to Check points, Ass e l a t i o n ( ( i raduates, Doolittle H all, .3 116 Academy Drive, USAF Academy, ( X) 80840-4475.

Opinionsexpressed in this magazinearetho.seof the authors. Fhc^ do not necessarily reflect theopinions, policy or attitude of the Association oF(iraduates, its officers or the editorial staff. T he appearance o f adverti.sements in this publication docs not constitute

an endorsement by theA.s,sociation oF( iraduates of theproductsor .servicesadvertised, (iopyright. Asso ciat io n ofX i rad uates o Fthe U .S. A ir Force Academy,

.September 2006.

u — 4 1 M

Kudos from the Supt.

I want to acknowledge the outstanding contributions of our A sso ciation of Graduates and thank the philanthropic donors for their gifts and offers of more than $6 million over the next 12 m o n t h s to the Academy and Academy programs.

TheAssociation of Graduatesprovidessuperb support to our cadets through the numerousprograms funded on behalf of theAcademy.

The positive impact is immeasurable and we are grateful.

John F. Regni, Class of 1973 L i eutenant General, USA F

Pa rent s t ha nk AOG

My wife and I just returned from dropping our daughter, Susan , off to begin BCT with the Class of 2010. You and your A O G colleagues did a fantastic job in facilitating a very smooth process and easing the anxiety of some pretty nervous kids (and parents).

Much of the art of leadership is expectations management. Yo u got it just right in explaining to the soon-to-be Doolies, an d t h ei r moms and dads, what to expect from BCT, the Academy an d in their future careers as public servants. And there w er e l o t s o f thoughtful touches—like ice-cold drinks while standing in long lines on a very hot day. From this fi rst-hand experience, I n ow have a much stronger appreciation for the quality of ser v i ce t h e AOG provides for the cadets, the Academy and the Air Fo r ce.

The info on the AOG Web site is also fi rst-rate—especially the daily BCT schedule. With it and some 44-year-old memories, I can imagine the tough love and attention my daughter is receiving every moment of the day!

Lou Finch, Class of 1966 The Web site created by the AOG is a wonderful tool—I’ve b een living the adventure with our daughter these last few w eek s. E ach night we have faithfully gone to the web site and to the pictures the Academy put together to hopefully catch a glimpse o f E r i k k a.

I

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AOG members have responsibilities

Confederate General Robert E. Lee said, “Duty then is t h e su b l i m est (sic) word in the English language. You should do your duty in all things. You can never do more. You should never w ish to do less.”

Each of uswas required to memorize thiswhen wewere B asic C ad ets.

Thiswas probably the second quote from our Contrailst h at w e w ere required to learn—right aft er the Honor Code. As Basic Cadets, members of U SA FA , and m em bers of the Ai r Force we were required to learn each and every one of our duties, responsibilities an d r ul es.

And wewere required to execute those duties and responsibilities w ith excellence and enthusiasm. Failure to learn and execute quickly would result in “special attention” from the upper classes. So our duty and responsibilitieswerevery quickly learned and executed.

I am reminded of the American Express commercial a few years ago. The tag line was “Membership has its privileges”. T he m ore important fact is that membership in any organization co m es w i t h its duties, responsibilities, and rules. When we join an y o rg a nization, we commit to those duties, responsibilities and rules, and, our integrity requires us to meet those commitments. W e should not join or remain a member of an organization if w e are unwilling to meet those commitments. Our sense of duty sh o u l d demand that we are committed and not just involved.

Our general duties to each organization to which we belong (including theAOG) are to be a team player, to be civ i l t o al l members, to work for the good of the organization, to defend the organization externally, to keep criticism positive and productive, to keep disagreements and dissention within the organization, and to take on additional duties and responsibility (including donating time and money) within the organization when the need ar i ses.

Weshould call upon every member of theAOG to remember w h at w e learned as Basic Cadets and to rem em ber our duties and respon sibilities to theAOG. Let’s all stop the lack of civility, the negative criticism and external airing of AOG issues. M\ of us n eed to w o rk constructively within the organization to make theA O G b et t er. Sw iss Philosopher Henri Frederic Amiel said, “Our duty is to be useful , not according to our desires but according to our powers.”

W e have been blessed .

Terry Drabant. Class of 1965

Perhaps we will have a chance to visit during Parents W eek en d .

KyleS. Johnson

4

Ho no r Co d e a nd Ho no r Oat h : S ho u ld w e have bot h?

In the wake of the 1983 cheating scandal Lt. Gen. Scott t o o k some drastic action which included suspending the Cadet H o n o r

C H E C K P O I N T S, SE P T E M B E R 2 0 0 6

L ET T E R S

Code, adding the Honor Oath, changing the administration o f the Code, and some other related changes. The Honor C ode and the Honor Oath are now usually displayed together in o u r v ar i o u s publications and web sites and, in my opinion, sometimes t h e

and live honorably, so help me God. ” This second sentence, when

Some of the changes such as the ones mentioned above troubling to me and, I believe, to other grads who are co n cer n ed about maintaining the Honor Code. There have certainly b een other similarly troubling times such as Brig. Gen. G am b l e’s blanket amnesty in 1994 for altered cadet ID cards and Brig. Gen. Weida’s setting aside honor violation fi ndings in 2004 regarding

to li ve honorably. ” Is theHonor Codea minimum standardf or membership i n th e Cadet Wing?Yes it is. A cadet must live by thecode, or potentially f orf eit hisiher statusasa cadet at theAir ForceAcademy. But, is it a low standard?No, and it never has been. It is tough and it isdemanding. I

dist inct ion betw een t hem is blurred .

a r e

the 2004 BehSci 110 course.

I believe that the “ bot tom line” of these act ions is t o w eak en the enforcement of the code. I believe that the H onor O at h h as

the effect of obfuscation and takes attention away from a proper enforcem ent of the H onor C ode. I think that the C haracter

Development programs tend to have a similar effect. To clarify my point: I believe that, if our leaders set the proper example and, if we enforce the H onor C ode, w e don’t need to teach C haracter D ev el

opment because we will have high standards of honor. Conversely,

if w e don’t enforce the H onor C ode, no am ount of “education” w i l l

result in the maintenance of such high standards of h o n o r.

Some have suggested that the reason we need the Honor O at h

is t hat the H onor C ode is a m i nim um st andard and t hat cad et s must actually live up to a higher standard; hence the H onor O at h ,

and the Character Development program. I would simply offer, i n response, that, if the Honor Code were, in fact, a low standard , it w o u l d n o t b e so h ard t o m ai n t ai n i t an d w e w o u l d n o t be having co n t i n u o u s d eb at es ab o u t h o w t o en f o r ce i t .

I n o u r h ear t s I t h i n k w e al l k n ow t h at t h e C ad et H o n o r C ode,

properly enforced, is a very high standard. To expect sen i o r offi cers at USAFA to set the proper example and to expect cadets at USAFA to live strictly by it for four years is the m o st n o b l e of goals. I don’t really believe that it is possible f o r so m eo n e t o strictly live up to the “letter” of the Code and somehow n o t l iv e up to the “spirit,” which is another argument that i s so m et i m es made for the addition of the Honor Oath. The displacing o f attention from enforcing the “letter” of the Code and t r an sf er ring that attention to something much more ambiguous l i k e t h e “spirit” of the Code is part of the obfuscation I referred t o ab ov e.

I would suggest that the maintenance of the Honor Code as i t was originally intended is where theAOG should put its emphasis.

Roy Miller, Class of 1967 D ear Roy,

Your letter, “H onor Code and H onor Oath: Should we ha ve both ?”

implies that the 1984 Cadet Wing, in trying to set and live to a higher

ethical standard than “ We will not lie, steal, cheat, n or t olera t e ... ” w as

wrong, or maybe misguided. It is not. Note:f or our A O C m em bers whograduated prior to 1984, the Wing voted to add a second l i n e t o f ollow and support the Code, not replace or obf uscate i t, that D ecem ber. Thesecond line reads: “Andf urthermore, I resolve to do my duty,

added to the Code, became the H onor Oath. The ent i re Wi ng takes this Oath, together, at the Fourth ClassAcceptance Parade

each August. Itsgoal was to remind cadets their f ocus i s n ot on

“how not vi olate the code; ” rather, i t is on ethical behavi or, “how

knowyou areworried about enf orcement. Roy, a third class cadet told

meduring an honor discussion: “The bottom line is not about enf orce ment, it isabout embracement—embracement of doing the right thing, and holding toyour values. ” I agree with him. You suggest thephrase “spirit of the code” ispart of some obf uscation; I say the Spirit of the Code—doing the right thing in all areas—is the moral compass weall ought to live by. My mother taught meHonor was more than not lying, stealing or ch ea t ing ... it also included respect f or others, being responsible, protection of the innocent, and civility. She was right.

For more thoughtson the Code, legal issues, and enf orcement. D r.

Fred Malmstrom, ’64, did a superbj ob in his three-part a r t i cle on t h e history of thehonor codepublished last year in Checkpoints.

Finally, do character development ef ortsat USAFA w ea k en t h e enf orcement of the Code?Of course not. They enhance i t. The A cade my’s ef orts continueasalways—toproduce lieutenants whopersonally afi rm apositi veset of moral and citizenship values. And, its ef orts are based on role-modeling great leaders—j ust asyou suggest. Benj a min Franklin said: “Only a virtuouspeople are capable of f reedom. ” I believe only virtuous leaders can def end, sustain and growf reedom and democracy. Thedevelopment of virtue, moral character and wisdom are the bedrock of educational ef orts at theAcademy. Those are the leadership traits our character development ef orts encourage.

ThomasJ. Berry Jr., Class of 1971 Editor s’ Note: ThomasBerry is the USAFA Deputy Director of the Center f or Character Development Special request for Capt . Derek Argel, ’01

My name is DebbieArgel Bastian. I am the proud mother of Capt.

Derek Argel who graduated from theAcademy on Memorial Day, 2001. On Memorial Day of 2005, Derek made the u l t i m at e sacrifi ce in Iraq. I am currently working on a book called. L etters f or Logan. This book is about Derek’s life at the Academy an d h i s struggles to get there. It is also about his life as a co m b at co n t r o l l er.

I have received many letters about Derek, but would appreci ate more from those that knew him at the Academy. These l et ters will be published in the book. They can be e-mailed t o m e at argeldebra@hotmail.com.

God bless you all for your service!

C H E C K P O I N T S, S E PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

DebbieArgel Bastian 5

PE R SPE C T I V E

AO G

f rom tHe

(B oard Cyhair

Fellow graduates and m em bers of t he AOG,

tors in the spring of 2007 is a key element of the t r an si t i o n an d much effort and care will be expended this year to en su r e t h at i t goes smoothly.

fi nal one before the elect ion of new di rect ors in accordance w i t h

• Select and recruit key executives. TheAOG currendy h as sear ch es for two key executives underway—a Chief Operating Offi cer and aVice President for Development. The COO position is new and refl ects the growth and mamration of the organization. Establishing the COO position as a senior executive focused sharply on the day-today operations and programs of theAOG will not only engender near term benefi ts for mem bers and the staf f, but w ill also help position the role of the CEO to be keenly focused on strategic issues an d ex t er n al audiences. Sharpening the defi nition of this role is key and will be even more important when the search for the next CEO is undertaken by the new board in conjunction with theJune 2008 contract expiration with Jim Shaw, ’67. TheVP of Development isa replacement f o r Sean Pieri who was recruited away by the College of William and Mary earlier thisyear. Filling this position is key to sustaining the campaign

Another busy summer at the Air Force Academy has come an d gone, and there is much good news to report to you. Yo u r b o ar d met in August to kick off the 2006-2007 board term, w hich is the the recently enacted bylaws and my fi nal as board chair. A t t h e meeting, we set fi ve goals for the year: • Continue to enhance alumni relations programs. The major emphasis begun this past year will continue and be amplifi ed with a focus on 3 major activities—understanding and responding t o the survey results, activating the Alumni Senate that you voted to create in the recent referendum, and implementing the n ex t r o u n d o f en h an cem en t s t o t h e A O G W eb si t e.

• Strengthen communications and heritage programs. Two key thrusts evident in the preliminary look at the survey r esu l t s ar e:

(1) the value that members ascribe to the “connectedness” t h at t h e

AOG affords members with each other and with the Academy; and (2) the importance of “heritage.” Each of these w i l l r eceiv e signifi cant attention this year. And we will re-double o u r ef f o r t s t o en h an ce al l f o r m s o f co m m u n i cat i o n .

• Implement the governance transition plan. This board h as a special responsibility to carry out the transition t o t h e B l u e Ribbon Committee recommended bylaws that our members approved by an overwhelming margin. The election of n ew d i rec6

m o m en t u m .

• Complete the public roll out of the Comprehensive F u n d r ai s ing Campaign. During the past three years, theAOG has raised nearly $30 million in the “quiet, or leadership” phase of the very fi rst major fundraising campaign to support theAir Force Academy.

The campaign seeks to raise $100 million in private monies to sup port the following key initiatives: Character Development, $40.5 million; Academics, $20 million; Athletics, $10 M illion; Fl eritage

C H EC K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B ER 20 0 6

PE R SPE C T I V E

$7.5 million; Unrestricted $22million. This year we w ill dedicate ahighly visibleproject—theMemorial Pavilion at theAcademy Cemetery—and we will take the campaign to the public phase.

able on the AOG Web site. The portrayal of that information was recently enhanced as a result of discussions with i n t er est ed members at the Graduate Leadership Conference in July an d I encourage you to familiarize yourself with it.

F i n a n c ia l R e s u lt s

Financial results for the fi scal year that ended on June 30, 2006 were outstanding. Preliminary (un-audited) results sh ow r ev en u es of $13.7 million and expenses of $7.1 million for a net change in assets (net income) of $6.6 million on an accrual b asi s. O n a

cash basis, revenues were $11.0 million, expenses were $6.4 m il

lion, and $4.6 million was added to reserves held to fund fut ure

Academy and AOG projects. The primary differences between

the accrual and cash resul ts are that t he accrual revenues i n cl u d e

multi-year pledges ($10.1M), whereas the cash results only count the cash actually received during the year ($8.4M); accr u al revenues include total investment income ($2.1M ), whereas

cash includes only that portion realized from dividends, int erest , and sales of securities ($1.0M); and accrual expenses i nclude an amount “written down” for uncollectible debt ($0.6M ), w h i ch

has no effect on cash. This write-down refl ects a tightening o f t h e rules we use to exclude overdue amounts on multi-year pledges.

Looking more closely at the cash results, investment i n co m e was 9 percent of revenues, contributions to the campaign made up the lion’s share at 77 percent, dues were 8 percent, an d r ev en u es from AOG services were 6 percent. We used these monies t o : support Academy programs (19 percent), conduct the fundraising campaign (17 percent), support member programs (14 percent), provide for AOG management (8 percent), purchase capital a s s e t s (1 percent), and invest reserves for future programs (42 percent).

Some key messages embedded in these results are: • The vast majority of AOG revenue (86 percent) comes from fundraising (77 percent) and the investment income of funds raised in prior years (9 percent).

Mem bership Survey

The AOG has just completed the fi rst comprehensive m em b er survey. I’d like to thank the 3,495 members who responded t o the survey (16 percent response rate) as well as the m an y m em bers who provided valuable input and review during the survey’s development. Some preliminary results were briefed at the August meeting, and we expect to receive the full report from t h e co n t r ac tor, CORONA Research of Denver, shortly.

The Alumni Relations Committee will now analyze the full report of survey results and will identify the top th ree t o fi ve or so primary, actionable themes. The committee will develop preliminary recommendations and present them at the next board meeting in October. The board will then discuss priorities an d an action plan. Subsequent to that meeting we plan to post the entire survey report on the AOG Web site.

Our action plan will not necessarily be limited to the primary themes—but we do want to focus on the most important i ssu es i n a timely manner. We believe this survey contains a w eal th of i nfor mation that can help to guide the association for years t o c o m e .

And it certainly forms an important baseline that can b e u sed t o gauge progress, improve communication and responsiveness, an d target areas of member interest.

A lu m n i S e n a t e

One of the less debated, but nonetheless very important, f ea tures of the recent bylaws changes was the creation o f a sen at e composed of class representatives. We envision that t h e sen at e

w ill serve t o f aci li t at e com m un icat ions betw een t he b o ar d an d

the members, since some members may hesitate to raise an i ssu e to board members who they do not know, but might be willing to contact a classmate. We also hope that the s e n a t e will become a ready source of talent for service on co m m i t t ees.

That could become very important as the board decreases i t s size under the new bylaws. Finally, we believe that ser v i ce o n t h e senate would be a great way to develop new board members.

The bylaws call for each class to identify a senator an d f o r t h e senate to meet at least annually. We anticipate that t h e sen at e w i l l want to maximize the use of the e-community to minimize t h e need for face-to-face meetings and travel. But that ch o i ce w i l l b e up to the senate. We are intentionally not specifying controlling procedures at this time because we want the senate t o ch ar t i t s own course insofar as possible.

We plan to start the process by contacting class scribes an d offi cers and asking them to identify their class senator. T h en there will be a communications push in ZoomiEnews. Depend ing on the class, picking a senator may involve an el ect i o n o r may simply be a matter of fi nding a volunteer—the Bylaws leave it up to each class. Fi opefully, the fi rst few sen at o r s w i l l be an enthusiastic group of “early adopters” who are co m f o r t m

• For every $1 spent on fundraising ($2.0M), over $5 w as r ai sed ($10.1M ).

• Investment yield on the total portfolio was 12.7 percent, well ahead of benchmarks. The value of the portfolio was $29.6M , up $6.4M (28 percent) over the prior year.

• Dues now constitute less than 10 percent (this year 8 per cent) of revenue, yet services to members consume 14 p er cen t of expenses—a good return on dues investment. Dues

r ev e n u e

includes both annual dues and the “an nual draw ” from t h e L i f e

Membership Fund and, as a result of success in fundraising, i t continues to decline as a percentage of revenue.

• The cash cost to operate the AOG ($0.9M) at 8 percent of revenue is quite reasonable.

• The fi nancial state of your AOG is very sound.

A more detailed discussion and display of fi nancial r esu l t s i s av ai l -

C H E C K P O I N T S , SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

o r e

7

PE R SPE C T I V E

able with establishing Senate procedures. The Classes of ’63 and ’78 have already selected their senators so we’re off t o a good start.

The board believes theAlumni Senate could become a g r eat

addition to the AOG. It has the potential to add a l ev el o f energy and member interest and involvement, particularly i n our younger classes. We will do everything we can to m ak e i t a success, but ultimately, it will succeed or fail based on t he initiative and interest shown by our members. I hope you will consider serving.

T h e 2 0 0 7 Ele c t i o n

Pursuant t o the Transit ion Plan , six di rectors w ill b e el ect ed t o t h e board in the next elect ion , w hich w ill be held next spring. Thirty-

one members submitted by August 1 the information required t o establish their candidacy. Twenty-four applied to be considered by the Nominating Committee, and seven submitted petitions taining the signatures of 25 members supporting their candidacy, which automatically places their names on the ballot if they meet the bylaws-specifi ed requirements of directors.

The Nominating Committee has the requirement under t h e new bylaws to produce two “products”: (1) a proposed sl at e o f nam es for the ballot that it w ill subm it t o the board for approval (the slate must include the petition candidates and m u st h av e a total of at least twice as many names as there are seats up for c o n

election, i.e. at least 12 in this election); and (2) an ident ifi cat ion

of those names that the Nominating Committee endorses for

election (the endorsement list must also contain at l east 12 n am es

this year). All 31 candidates are eligible for endorsement by the Nominating Committee.

T he Nominating Committee will follow a defi ned process to ensure consistency and transparency. All petition carr d i d at es have been invited to participate in the endorsement p r o c ess an d h ave been ask ed t o subm i t i n f orm at i on t h at w i l l m ak e

their packages the same as all other candidates to equal footing for all. The Nominating Committee will standard set of questions and conduct at least two i n t er v i ew s of all candidates who applied for consideration, as w el l as al l petition candidates who accept the invitation to participate.

Throughout this process, the Nominating Committee is seek ing to identify those candidates who best meet the n eed s o f t h e association as expressed in the board’s 2007 Election G u i d an ce to the committee, the “requirements of directors” as expressed in the Bylaws, as well as the specifi c talent and experience needs of the board in this specifi c election.

The goal is for the Nominating Committee to present t h ei r proposed slate and list of endorsements for discussion w i t h t h e full board at the next meeting in October. Fi owever, there is m uch work to be done for that goal to be achieved. The bylaws require that work be completed by November 30, which affords t i m e af ter the board meeting should that be necessary. Ballots w i l l b e fi n al ized in February 2007, sent out on or about March 1, 2007, and received back by April 30, 2007, to enable review of t h e resu l t s at the May 2007 quarterly board meeting. e n su r e

a n

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S u m m e r A c t iv it ie s

Summer was a busy time for cadets and the AOG. Many cadet s enhanced their Academy experience as direct result of A O G fund ing. The Academy’s Summer Research Program sent 179 cad et s t o locations worldwide to work in a variety of areas. C adets t raveled across the globe to do research and participate in cult ural im m er sion programs supported by the Olmsted Foundation and t h e AOG. Several articles in this issue show the positive impact your dollars are making for today’s cadets and the future leaders of our

A i r Fo r ce an d t h e n at i o n .

As the academic year begins, the Wing is back up to 4 0 squadrons for the fi rst time since 1999. This expansion from 36 squadrons was devised by the superintendent as a means t o c r e a t e additional leadership opportunities for upper class cadets to help carry out the objectives of the Offi cer Development System.

The AOG supported our new cadets by sending out an informative appointee CD, organizing the Bed and Breakfast program, and providing the location for initial in-process ing. Thus, the AOG attempted to serve as a valuable for new appointees and their parents, as well as the Academy.

We hope that such value-added services will help engender long-term affi nity for the Association. By all accounts, 2 0 10 did a solid j ob during a very demanding BGT Both offi cers and cadets rated their performance as exceptional . W e al so continued our Legacy Class heritage proj ect. The Class of 197 0 presented the Class of 2010 with Contrails at the Acceptance Day Parade on August 8. Gen. (Ret.) Greg “Speedy” M artin gave a very motivational speech.

The AOG hosted the third Graduate Leadership Conference in July. By all measures, this year’s GLC was a resounding Superintendent Lt. Gen. John Regni, ’73, and the senior Academy staff provided an update on the many changes he has imple r e s o u r c e

a

su c c ess .

m en t ed ov er t h e l ast si x m o n t h s. G r ad u at es seem ed t o view the

changes as positive and helping to swing the training pendulum back to center. General Regni thanked the AOG for its input and participation in vetting proposed changes, and his w o r d s r ei n f o r ce my belief that the AOG can have signifi cant infl uence by carefully working behind the scene. Today, Academy leadership r esp ect s the AOG as a responsible voice, providing constructive input and feedback from the graduate community. Good discussions al so took place during the town hall meeting between members an d t h e A O G B o ard an d st af f

AOG participation in the Board of Visitors governance p r o cess continues to be positive. At each BOV meeting, Jim Sh aw i s invited to brief AOG issues/concerns and seek BOV support f o r programs that support the AOG and the Academy. Gen. (Ret .)

Fl .T. Johnson, ’59, Charles Garcia, ’83, who is Vice C hair, and

Nancy Kudla, ’80, are members of the BOV, so the graduate munity is well represented on this important oversight co m m i t t ee that reports directly to the President Bush.

Work on the Memorial Pavilion is on schedule and, barring severe winter, dedication will be in the spring. Once again private funds raised by the AOG have made this important heritage proj ect a reality that will benefi t all graduates and their l ov ed o n es.

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

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We are in the process of upgrading our Web site. Web sites, by their very nature, are never perfect and should b e co n t i n u ously improving. We have received lots of suggestions o n h ow t o enhance our site and we are implementing many of them. W e ar e planning two beta tests before launching the new site around the end of the year.

By the time you read this, football season will have start ed . T he Falcons have a tough schedule and a relatively inexperienced t e a m , but here’s hoping they can bring back the Commander-in C hief ’s Trophy to its rightful home at USAFA. Our Vice Superintendent, Maj . Gen. Irv Halter, ’77, h as b een notifi ed of his reassignment as Commander of 19'*’ A i r Fo r ce at Randolph AFB, Texas. We thank him and his wifeJudy f o r t h ei r outstanding service to the Academy, and we wish them w el l i n their new assignment..

Finally, we note with sadness the passing of an Academy legend.

Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Robert F. McDermott, our fi rst permanent d ean .

“McD” was beloved by all and he will be missed but never forgot

Edward E. Legasey, '67, Board Chair

AO G Y O UR A S SO C IAT IO N B OA RD O F DIRECT O RS

ten . You can read m ore about h is life and cont ribut ions t o t h e

Academy on page 62.

St eve Finch, '65, Vice Chair Charles P. Garcia, '83, Treasurer

Marianne LaRivee, '80, Secretary

i James A. Shaw, '67, President/ CEO Bill Boist ure Jr., '67

Mike Christy, '63

Ed Eberhart , '68 Edie Edmondson, '92

Mike Flynn, '95 Marty France, '81

Jack N. Kucera, '78 Gilbert D. Mook, '67 John T. Moore, '78

Amber D. O'Grady, '96 Alan V. Rogers, '64 Pat Rosenow, '76 Dr. Leon Smit h-Harrison, '75

T hanks,

Ted Legasey, ’67

D o n ’t b e t h e b ro k e n lin k ..

If there’s one thing grads take away from their Academy experience it’s the peace of mind that they can rely on each other. Being reliable also means being knowledgeable about what’s happening at USA FA .

• Keep in touch w ith USA FA Classmates

• Stay up-to-date on chapter meetings and class r e u n io n s

• Maintain a connection w ith the rich Academy heritage • Learn how you can help shape the Academy’s f ut u re

Visit www.usafa.org to update your profile to receive t h e latest U SA FA new s , features , a n no unce m e nts a nd ev e nts .

rh e U S A FA

A

s I sit here in my offi ce (best view in America, by theway!) and contemplate the start of my third year as theAcademy’s Director of Athletics, I still consider myself the luckiest man in America—although our media certainly test me daily! As westart this upcoming competitive season. I’m as excited as I ’v e ev er b een ab o u t o u r ch an ces t o su c-

ceed in all of our sports. There isa spirit and energy that have been a litdesuppressed the last few years, but it’s defi nitely back. Speak ing of energy, I welcome anyone to come to football practice to see the 2006 Fighting Falcons—that’ll rechargeyour batteries.

Like my bosses, Lt. Gen. John Regni, ’73, and Maj. Gen. Irv Halter, ’77, like to say, “If you’re having a less than good day (there are no bad days at USAFA), get out of your chair and go spend some timewith the best future leaders in A m erica, our cadets.”

It’sprobably easier for me to fi nd them because I can see most of them ft om my offi ce—I can even see Fisher DeBerry throw hishat! Just kidding, because he saves that for the games. Speaking of Fisher, I’ve known 10

■

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D r . Ha ns J . M ueh, ’BB D ir e c t o r o f A t h let ic s

him for more than 25 years, and thisseason he has contagious energy just like his fi rst year here. It’s fi n to see this team come together, and I’d love to go over every position, but theAOG has only given me 1,500 w ords to w rite this, and I know I ’d

overlook someone. You’ll have to depend on the media guide, the media coverage and, mostly importantly, your own look at this exciting team. By the way, we still have tickets left for all games except Notre D am e, and even there, we have som e sin

gles scattered around the stadium. Speaking of N ot re D am e, w e have one of the best

home schedules we’ve ever had, with Navy, BYU , C SU , U tah , N otre D am e, and N ew

Mexico coming to Falcon Stadium—and wait ‘til you see Falcon Stadium.

C H E C K P 0 1N T S , S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 6

Thanks to great work by the 10'*’ Air Base Wing; our civil engineers; our contract ing offi cers; MikeWehrman, my stadium manager; and countless others on the Athletic Department staff , we have new Field Turf on the playing surface, a new beautiful stand-off perimeter with trees and gates, a new restroom facility (at the urging of my wife, who always complained about inadequate facilities for women), and just basically a new look that reminds me of its original beauty back in 1962 (I was here, so I do remember!). We arevery excited about the new playing surface. The players hit the fi eld for the fi rst time for a scrimmage on Aug. 19, and they are raving about it. For

PE R SPE C T I V E

those of you unfamiliar with this new type of playing surface, it’s simply the safest fi eld out there these days, a thin plastic sheet with grass-like plastic fi bers of vari able length laid over normal ground that held grass. Then it’s fi lled in with tons of crushed rubber that gets brushed into the fi bers and set tles to m ak e it even m ore of

a cushion. Fisher and I settled on a length of about 1.5 inches—that’s a compromise between the longer high school length and the shorter NFL length—still gives us good speed but more safety than the shorter NFL fi elds. You might ask what prompted us to pursue this new surface, and that’s an interesting story in itself I had just been in the chair as AD about a month in the fall of 2004 when my sta dium folks came to me to tell me we just had a major problem on the fi eld. It seems our aerating machine had a malfunction and sent the aerating tines down into the ground about 14 inches. Well, the sprin kler lines are at about 7 inches, so we j ust added a few more sprinkler holes—unfor tunately they were all underground. When

w e t urned t hem on , the fi eld elevated ,

and they knew we had a problem. When they came to me with this disaster, I saw it as an opportunity to turn it into a good thing, so I talked to Fisher and my staff and they agreed and ran with it and here we are today with one of the most beauti ful and safest fi elds in America—turning lem ons int o lem onade!

OK, I’m swinging wildly here, so let me back off and focus on an organized list of accomplishments as I see them. First, we have the greatest student-athletes in the NCAA—we are the role model for pure amateur sports in America. Second, we are moving forward in all of our sports to build for success and give our athletes the best opportunity to compete. Third, we are getting great support from USAFA agencies to maintain our facilities and build us new ones. Fourth, and perhaps the most exciting for the long haul, is the move to a new operating system for funding our 27 Division I NCAA sports, a 501(c)(3) Colorado non-profi t corpora tion. Fifth, but not least, we are making some strides in closing that infamous “terrazzo gap” between intercollegiate athletes

and non-intercollegiate athletes; some thing very important for all of us as we try to get the whole cadet wing to support our teams the way Army and Navy do.

Back to the fi rst one, here’s a list of

some of the great things our athletes have done recently: ■ # 1 in the nat ion for fem al e i ntercolle

giate athletic opportunities - Title IX ■ 3 A cadem ic A ll-A m ericans, 2 athletes on the ESPN A cadem ic A ll-D ist rict Team & 6 4 A cad em i c A l l - M W C sel ect i o n s

■ W om en’s Soccer had 11 of those selected!

■ 52 A FA st udent -at hletes earned M W C Sch o l ar -A t h l et e Fi o n o r s ■ 6 4 o f o u r at h l et es r eceiv ed A l l - C o n f er

ence selections and 22 participated in the NCAA Championships ■ A FA M en ’s B ask et b al l t eam m ad e i t t o t h e N C A A T o u r n am en t f o r t h e 2 n d

time in 3 years.

■ Captured their 4th consecutive NCAA scoring defense title ■ Nationally ranked 4th in 3-point percentage (40.4%) & 5th in fewest turnovers per game (10.8) ■ W o m en ’s B ask et b al l set a n ew sch o o l

record for most wins, since moving to D 1 (13 wins/4 conference wins)

■ Chad Fi ennings, ’88, Football - College Foot bal l Fi all of Fam e, 2006

■ Wayne Baughman - Fi ead Wrestling Coach, National Wrestling Fi all of Fame, Distinguished American, 2006 ■ 2Lt. Matt Karmondy, ’06, honored as t h e M o u n t ai n W est C o n f eren ce M al e St u d en t -A t h l et e o f t h e Year

-

i

s -

■ AFA FFockey 2Lt. BrooksTurnquist, ’06, earned the College Fl ockey Associa

Top t o bottom: 2 Lt .

Matt Karmondy, ’06,

t i o n St u d en t -A t h l et e o f t h e Year aw ar d

■ First ever Women’s Fencing All-Ameri can, C2C Eliza Enyart ■ 2L t . D ana Pounds, ’06, w on her second

N CAA Javelin T itle/N amed M idwest

2Lt . Dana Pounds, r

’06, 2Lt . Brooks Tumquist , ’06, C2C Eliza Enyart . (Phot os cour t esy of USAFA/ AH)

Region Female Field Event Athlete of

t h e Year / Fi n i sh ed 2 n d at U .S. T r ack /

Field Championships t> C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

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On the second bullet, we are starting

a new schedule in a new conference for

ice hockey this year, the Atlantic Hockey C onference. I t includes t en schools— A i r

Force, American International, Army, Bentley, Canisius, Connecticut, Holy Cross, Mercyhurst, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Sacred Heart. We’re ex ci t ed ab o u t t h i s m ov e t o t h e A H C

because we match up better with the

schools in the conference, bot h ath

letically and academically, and will play Army every year. Air Force Baseball has also recently been given a waiver by the Mountain West Conference to play up to 12 non-division I games instead of the four allow ed for schools in the M W C .

fi rst-class level .

That’s huge for our program because baseball always misses more class time than any other sport. There are only two Div I programs in Colorado, UNC and us, so we had to travel widely to get the number of non-conference games to stay competitive. If we add to that the military requirements in the spring semester and

Perhaps the most exciting new oppor tunity is the anticipated move for the Air Force Academy Athletic Association from a Non-Appropriated Fund Instrumental ity to a 501(c)(3) Colorado Non-Profi t Corporation. Basically, that will allow us to operate like Navy. I was humbled and

February) for baseball mandated by the NCAA , we were placed in a very tough position with respect to quality of the experience for our great ball players. This new scheduling opportunity will greatly help that situation.

On the third bullet, the athletic facility is aging. It is now almost 45 years old, having been completed in 1962, and was projected for a 40 to 50 years life span.

Well, we’re there. I’ve already shared a

recent memory. I took that opportunity to share with them some of the great things I’ve covered in this article, but I saved my pitch for the 501(c)(3) for last

the new later start time (M arch instead of

li t tle of the exci tem ent about the new look

in the stadium, but there are many other facility upgrades on the horizon. We have a six year plan to remodel and refurbish the center gym complex. We’ve already spent about $5M on keeping the pools alive over the past fi ve years. We have a plan to build a Cadet Athletic Facility west of the gymnasium essentially for the other 3,000 cadets at U SA FA . I t w ill include

weightlifting and aerobic fi tness equip ment, maybe a climbing wall, offi ces to allow the overcrowded center gym offi ces to expand, and maybe an upgrade for our outstanding Human Performance Labora tory. That’s another exciting development.

We have signed agreements with other 12

Air Force, Department of Defense, and universities to extrapolate our successes in athlete performance enhancements directly to the warfi ghter and allow our combatants, particularly the special ops folks, to have greater survivability in the combat environment. That’s just one of many great cutting-edge research oppor tunities in that laboratory. We have over a million square feet of indoor competition space, and that takes constant vigilance and maintenance to keep those facilities safe, functioning, and beautiful. Fortu nately, I have a great staff and great sup port from the Academy’s senior leadership and the 10'*’ ABW to keep us running at a

honored to be t he fi rst A thlet ic D i rec

team s, and w e should see som e of t hat

spirit this fall.

The bottom line is that the Academy has worked its way back from some tough issues over the past few years; has regained a lot of its credibility; and under the strong leadership of Generals Regni and H al ter, and the senior staff , w ill cont in ue

tor to address the Board of V isi tors in

and it couldn’t have been bet t er received

by a very supportive BOV. With General Regni’s strong support, we are closer and closer to taking our package to the Pentagon and Congress for coordina tion and approval. This is a step that will ensure the fi scal stability of the depart ment for the future. It will basically allow fund-raising in coordination and with the cooperation of the AOG, author ity to invest reserve funds, authority to fund capital projects via loans/lines of credit, ability to adopt a leaner business model, ability to market USAFA athletic merchandise off base, and simply greater fl exibility to operate while maintaining institutional oversight and control.

Finally, we are making great strides in narrowing the “terrazzo gap,” the age-old perception that our athletes are somehow getting special treatment because they are athletes. It’s a much different perception from a football player who has seven aca demic courses, all in the morning over two C H E C K PO I N T S. SE PT E M B E R

days, and basically no free time because he has to be at practice by 1330 every day to get ready to do battle. I continue to encourage all of our cadet-athletes to be as visible and active in their squadrons as they can be and to use their natural leader ship ability to lead by example. Most have taken that challenge and are well repre sented among the leadership positions in the wing. A recent stat makes me very proud—intercollegiate athletes represent about 22 percent of the Wing, but are only refl ected in 9 percent of the conduct and aptitude cases. I’d like that to be zero, but they’re working hard to set the right example. The Cadet Wing leadership has also taken on the challenge to get the wing more fi red up in support of all athletic

2 0 0 6

to build a strategic vision for USAFA that will sustain us into the next generation of future leaders. Just as an added note,

U SA FA w ill m iss G eneral H alt er— he has

been a great addition to the team and his legacy as the only (and best!) two-star Vice Superintendent in our history is intact. All of us in the Department of Athletics wish h i m co n t i n u ed su ccess.

After almost 30 years of association with this great institution, I am as excited as I have ever been about t he fu t ure for

USAFA and the future for this great Ath letic Department. I have the best staff any

A D could ask for, and I ’m st ill h um bled

by this opportunity to serve. We have a great plan and, by the way, I still have the best view in Am erica. B

Building Leaders

o f C haract e r fo r t he N at io n

The Campaign for the Future of the Air Force Academy

M emo r ial P av i l i o n U PD AT E

Construction on the Memorial Pavilion is making

signifi cant progress. Currently all thefootingsare in place. Coming soon, thelargestanding walls

and vertical walls will be poured with concrete, and utilities to both the pavilion and the directory will be connected. The software for the directory

isdeveloped by Long Island Technical and will

include video monitors that display an overhead grave locater, "'’Gone but not Forgotten n a r r a t i v e s

and photosof USAFA and West Point grads

buried in the cemetery. Distinguished Graduate articles, and background music.

The Memorial Pavilion will be a place to hold services in a dignifi ed and appropriate setting. It

will give families the ability to honor and mourn Back to Front ; AOG Director of Alumni Programs and Special Projects Wayne “ Bees” Kellenbence, 7 8, President and CEOJim Shaw, ’67, and USAFA Director of Mort uary Affairs Janet Edwards toss USAFA memorabilia int o t he f oundat ion of t he Memorial Pavilion. (Photo by Ken Wright)

their loved ones- graduates and servants to our nation—who dutifully served and, in some cases,

m ade the ul t im ate sacrifi ce.

Scheduled completion date is spring ’07.

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PE R SPE C T I V E

D u m m eLLJo a d e t

Wing Commander he command structureof theAcademy haschanged. Summer 2 0 0 6 w as t h e fi rst time that one cadet led theWing for all threesummer periods. It was also the fi rst time, since 2003, that the Cadet Wing was led by a female. As that wing commander, I am presenting to you my perspectiveof how the Cadet Wing is changing and what we have accomplished.

As the cadets of the Class of 2007 pinned on fi rstie shoulder boards, our initial excitement of fi nally being fi rst-class cadets was not surprising. But as cynicism is

the continuously creeping cockroach of the Cadet Wing, I assum ed that th is m ot iva t ion and enthusiasm w ould soon w ear off I t d id not . Instead, this energy infected

the Classes of 2008 and 2009, accelerating throughout the summer as proof that the Academy is changing, but we are not lowering the intensity—we are bringing it back.

I am not just referring to how our full-summer Basic Cadet Training Commander and his staff created the most professional and intense BCT environment since 2003,

but I’m telling you that the cadet mentality ischanging. N ot in al l cadets, but in

many. This metamorphosis refl ects a renewed passion to be honorable offi cer-candi

dateswho respect each other and who accept nothing less than top performance; not

to earn credit, but because they care about their people and their m ission .

I know of no other way to say it except that I am so proud of what the Cadet Wing accomplished this summer.

The strengths of the Cadet Wing can be seen in the accomplishments of the fi ve main operational groups. Operation Air Force successfully deployed over 950 cadets to operational Air Force fi elds and bases across the globe within the fi rst 48 hours of each summer period. Airmanship cadets doubled Instructor Pilot recruit m ent through the acrobatic-ride incentive program that they created for outstanding soar ing students. Also for the fi rst time in Academy history, these I Ps executed i ncent ive glider rides for over 1,300 basic cadets. In Global Engagement, the cadet leaders demonstrated selfl essnessas they kept morale and performance high during 0330 deployments to Jacks Valley and the impressive war-time simulation of Exercise Day. Despite their low visibility, the positive attitudes of Mission Support Group cadets enhanced their unique service to our summer mission.

Continuity between the different commanders and staffs of each period was excel lent. This is due largely to permanent party members’ decision to have a full-sum m er wing commander and two vice wing commanders, as well as the same group com mander and his two deputies for P' and 2"^ BCT. That decision brought a new effi ciency and effectiveness to cadet leadership.

In contrast, the problems that I and the other cadet com m anders did encoun ter were due mainly to alack of peer accountability and personal responsibility. But these situations did not involve the majority of cadets. Also, we can always improve the frequency and the manner in which we communicate with o n e an o t h er.

By C1C Jenna Maxfield

The most diffi cult challenge I see for the Cadet Wing is t o m aint ain the sum m er momentum of motivation, excellence, and human respect as the school year pro14

C H E C K P O I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

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gresses. Stimulation and enthusiasm remain high when

w e

a r e

immersed in a variety of summer programs, versus trying t o m ai n tain this drive for a full semester when the Dark Ages set in and

you have to fi ght the monotony of everyday Academy r o u t i n e. B u t I have learned that regardless of the type of mission you need to

accomplish, thesupport that you receive from others i s t h e m o st

crucial to your success as a commander.

My experience as a female Cadet Wing Commander is a t est i mony of how theAcademy ischanging. Initially, I feared that my classmates would not follow me, being that some of my favorites in life are Audrey Hepburn, elegant gowns. Steel Magnolias, an d anything pink. But though I felt self-consciousabout being a woman in command, as I learned from observing Brig. G en .

Susan Desjardins, ’80, and Col. Gail Colvin, ’80, you cannot let the fact that you are a woman interfere with your ability t o l ead .

The phenomenal example that they set as commanders gav e m e the confi dence that I needed to do my job effectively. F u r t h er more, the support that I received from all of my classmates an d permanent party exponentially increased my ability t o l ead .

When it was time for all of my group commanders (except BCT) and wing staff to switch to different programs af t er each period, my two vice wing commanders and I had only one day

to get our new leaderscaught up and on board with our goals for the next period. We accomplished thisswift transition and every

other mission we tackled because we trusted and respected each other as a team. I learned to accept the criticism and feedback of my wing staff as I valued and relied on their insight. My two vice

wing commanders, Cl Cs Ben Mundell and Steve Papp, always took care of me and challenged me to be a better commander.

For my group commanders, I made it my mission to beproactive

for them, to mentor them, and to protect them. But I also m ade better decisions because of what they taught me. And many of their command decisions made me look good.

I had the same positive experiencewith permanent party m em b er s.

The trust, respect, and resources they gave me enabled m e t o car ry out thewings mission. I am grateful for their wisdom and that they did not tell me what to do, but they let me make decisions.

I believe the Academy is now a more positive environment f o r men and women. The mutual human respect regardless of gender and other differences is growing. This atmosphere is fostering a cohesive and enth usiast ic t eam of cadet s that is focused an d d et er

mined to train and lead moreeffectively. H

Editor ’sNote: To read moreabout BCT, seepage58)

Lords win O’M alley Award

By Air Force Personnel Center William Lord, ’77, and his wife, Cynthia, M ajand. Gen. Mrs. Jerome F. O’Malley Award. The award recognizes the wing com-

are w in ners of the 2006 G en .

mander-and-spouse team whose contributions to the nation, t he A i r Force and t he surrounding community best exemplify the highest ideals and positive leadership of a military couple serving in a key Air Force position.

General Lord, who led the 81st Training Wing at Keesler AFB, Miss., from April 2004 to N ovember 2005, is now director, information, services and integration divi sion, war-fi ghting integration and chief information offi cer for the Secretary of the Ai r Force at the Pentagon.

“Cindy and I are thankful, humbled and excited,” General L ord com m ent ed . “ W e were surrounded by greatness—the leadership demonstrated by the O’Malley’s, the help from Air Education and Training Command and the team m em b er s at K eesl er .”

“Bill and I just did our best to make Keesler and the Biloxi area a better place to work and live,” Mrs. Lord said. “We were pleased to help, honored to be recognized and continue to follow the Gulf Coast’s recovery.” Keesler’s former commander was credited with leading the largest technical training overhaul in wing history.

He and M rs. Lord “displayed awe-inspiring teamwork and innovation that positively and dramatically impacted the wing and the local community,” according to the award announcement.

The Lords led the initial disaster response and rebuilding effort following Hurricane Katrina, in which Keesler sustained m ore than $900 million in damages. During the natural catastrophe Lord oversaw the safe evacuation of 10,000 personnel, shel tered 6 ,000 and airevacuated another 2,500 personnel- and that was only in within the fi rst three days. In the weeks and months that followed the general developed and oversaw operations that provided relief for t housands in t he K eesler/ Biloxi area.

The award will be presented later this year by Air ForceChief of Staff T Michael Moseley at thePentagon. H

C H E C K P O I N T S, SE P T E M B E R 2 0 0 6

15

The men didn’t know yet they’d be facing SAM; and MiGs over Hanoi. All they knew wa

S E P T E M B E R

1973

S O M E T H IN G B IG C O M IN G !

B-52 S in L IN EBA C K ER II

T H E M A S T E R ’S P A T C H Combat Missile Compet ition

O U R M A N IN M A N I L A Embassy Duty

T H E L O O K O F A N A IR M A N Why Have Grooming Stand ard s?

By P* Lt. Stephen O. Manning, III, yi//2M 4A/^Magazine

Something Big Coming B-52s in Linebacker II Thisarticlewaspassed to usby Michael B. Ryan, 70, who thought it would bea niceway of paying tributet o all thegradswhogavetheir all tofl y, f ight and win during theVietnam War. First published in September 19 73 i n AIRMAN Magazine, it isa classic taleof thegutsand glory of someof our country'sf inest warriors.

S

omething big was coming. Therehad been a stand-down from fl ying, but not from maintenance. It, if anything, had int ensifi ed .

It takes four hours or so just to load 108 bombs onto the D model, a few more seconds to chalk a message o n t h e n o se.

You can write small, if you want: the bomb will drop close enough for him to see it: “To Charley, with Love.

When the 52s fi rst got into this war, bomb-loading took longer.

Each bomb was hung individually. Now they use preloaded b o m b

racks, three of which fi t in the bomb bay. But they still hang the 24 bombs on the external wing racks—one at a time.

They don’t rush it. They don’t dawdle, but they don’t rush it . Even so, the blood’s pumping. The armorers know something big iscoming.

So do the knuckle-busters. Usually they went four to t h e w al l to t urn their BU Fs around in t he norm al six hou rs. B u t t h i s t i m e

there was no turn around. This time guys like Al C Randy D an iels, assistant crew chief, had a few more hours than u su al .

“Some guys call their planes ‘hog’,—you know, troublesome,

a

big bother. Not me,” Randy says. “Mine stays in theai r.

“You get to know your plane. For instance, I always k n ow o n e reservoir is going to be down two quarts and number six t i re w ill be a li t tle low.”

He writes about his plane in his letters to his wife.

Randy, and his buddies on the fl ight line, knew something big w as u p .

B RI EF

You don’t just walk out to a B-52, light the fi res, and go drop so m e b o m b s so m ew h er e.

The crews go to the briefi ng center three hours or m o re b ef o r e

tak e-off

“ ...Gentlemen, we are going to strike targets in the H an o i Haiphong area.. .Weather: .. .“it’s bad” .. .Enemy defenses: “tough.” Order of battle: “ ... max effort.”

The crews would hear the same words many times in the n e x t several days. Especially about the bad weather. But they would fi nd out that was a major factor in that big something t h at w as coming up. Senior offi cers would later admit that, considering the weather, there could hardly have been a worst time to fi ght an air war against North Vietnam. It was so bad that most tact ical aircraft couldn’t get in. They’ve got to have visual weather. T h ere w er e n o all-weather aircraft except the B-52, F-111 and the Navy A-6. .

.

.

The F-111 has a small bomb load and there are very few of

them. T he A-6s are even fewer. Still, the F- 111 and A-6 were used,

and were tremendously effective. But the tremendous weight of fi repower had to come from the B-52.

How did the crews in the briefi ng room that morning feel about this mrn of events?Well, the man who later summed up their feelings best was Lt. Gen. Gerald Johnson, commander of 8th A i r Fo rce.

“The crewswelcomed the opport unity to use the52 theway it was designed—asastrategic bomber, to beused against fi xed point targets.

“SAC had done a lot of work over here in support of ground forces, as sort of long range artillery and to some degree, in a fairly safe environment,” General Johnson said. “Then fi nally were called upon to go right into the teeth of the tiger and get the toughest targets in the toughest environment. Even so, t he fi rst few nights, the crews were standing in line hoping somebody would drop out so they could go.”

The chaplain offered the traditional prayer which ended t h e briefi ng. The men offered their silent prayers: ... 'F ord, guard and guidethemen whofl y ... ’’“Then, “bag” study. The “bag” contained

all the maps, charts, listsof call signs, radio frequencies, b ai l

out areas, aerial refueling procedures, bomb-run headings, ex i t routes. The planners and clerks have been busy, too, putting it all together. It’s got to be right. It’s got to be ready o n t i m e.

Then to the planes. It takes an hour or so to preflight.

At 045 I Z , 18 D ecember 1972, the fi rst B-52 rolled d ow n t h e

sway- backed runway at Andersen AFB, Guam.

Col. William Armstrong, 8th AF, Director of Operations sai d : “Yes- sir, they knew something was up. When we launched t h e fi rst strike, the runway was lined on both sides with blue t rucks and m en . You should’ve seen it .” “ L I N E B A C K E R I I ” w as o n .

O N T H E W AY

It would be a long fi ve or six hours of fl ying time to the target. There were more checklists to go through, guns to be test-fi red, radar and electronic systems to be checked. But this part of the fl ight isjust dull.

“Basically,” says Capt. Ken Sampson, ’64, a navigator, “ it’s hours of boredom interspersed with brief moments of sheer terror.”

It gave these men time to think. As Maj . John Mize, t h en a

captain, said, “It was my time to go. We had been briefed

o n

defenses, and knew it would be intense. Everyone experienced some fear, but none to the point of not going.” [>

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

17

■-I

This was Kinh No railroad yard, seven miles no rt h of Ha no i .

Next page: The runway was lined with men to salute those about to fly into harm’s way..

Everybody knew about SAMs. They’d been shooting down fi ghtersfor years. And a BUF is no fi ghter. It’sslow. Yo u d o n’t

horse it around the sky. As one pilot said, “It’s a M ack t r uck w i th four fl at tires to fl y.”

So the way you put bombs on target with a B-52 is to fl y straight and level for a specifi ed period of time. The enemy knows i t , and w aits.

It’s a long way from Guam to Vietnam and back. D models can ’t make it without aerial refueling. So the tankswere always there, fl ying patterns called “tracks.” They refueled the fi ghters, t o o .

AsColonel Armstrong noted, “wewerefl ying on targetsabo u t as f ar

north aswe could go. Coming in from the land side, we used up extra

fl ying time. Thisrequired usto pre- and post-strikeai r refu el . T h e

performanceof thecrewswasmagnifi cent. They met the challenge.”

Nobody took a chance. The refueling “track” wasshifted north ,

so the 52s w ould head tow ard an area w here al ternate b ases w er e

available. Just in case therewassome problem and somebody

couldn’t make the hookup, they could make it to an al t ernate rather than go into the water. It was, perhaps, an u n n ecessar y precaution since no BUF ever missed a hookup.

Aspreviously mentioned, the B-52 wasn’t the only airplanew i t h

a piece of the LINE BACKER II action. The F-11I s and the Navy A-6s got in close and destroyed some of the targets w hich w ere t oo sm all to hit w ith t he 52 .

Therewere fast-movers, too, who fl ew in tight on SAM su p

pression missions and MIGCAP as well as strike fl ights. Electronic counter-measures (ECM) aircraft: confused and jammed the enemy’s radar and SAM guidancesystems. Chaff-dispensing aircraft spread bits of foil to create false images on radar. In all, it w as a form idable air fl eet with sometimes as many as 400 aircraft over the target area.

About 80 miles from the target complexes, the electronic warfare offi cers (EWOs) would start hearing beepsand squeals in their earphones as the warning equipment told them t h e

18

approaching planes were being tracked by radar. This w as ab so l u t e

confi rmation that the enemy waswaiting, and it added t o t h e

tension, nervousness, or j ust plain fear. It subsides, how ever, as the

crew m em bers concen t rate on their d ut ies.

Capt. Michael L. Fi aynes, ’69, a copilot, said, “A cer t ai n

amount of fear isgood because it tempersyour judgment. But fear does not become an overriding factor.”

Maj . William F. Stocker, a pilot who later received the Silver Star, likened this fear to a football game. “There was a ki nd of nat ural fear, such asthe fear felt when walking on thefi eld prior to the opening kickoff. There stands your opponent and there you stand,

and at that tim e there has been no contact . W h en th e ball is kicked,

thefear—an internal fear—subsidesand theplayersbegin doing the jobs that they are trained to do. Our fi rst contact w as w hen w e saw thefi rst SAMs. Then, wehad to begin thinking about opening the bomb doorsand sighting in on thetarget, and the fear was gone.”

O H S H O O T ! SA M !

The North Vietnamese fi red more than 1,000 SAMsduring t h e

11-day campaign. They were fi red in salvos of two to four m is siles. TSgt. Peter Whalen, Mize’s gunner, said “At night they look like bright donuts.”

Al C Albert Moore, another gunner, thought the fl asheslook ed

like lightning behind the clouds when they fi red. “As they came

up they weresmall ballsof white light. When they’re close and look like doughnuts, you know they’re coming straight at you.”

Sergeant Whalen called out SAMs he sighted from his tail posi tion in the D model. The pilot and copilot called out the ones in

front. “Five on the left.” “Five on the right.”

According to Whalen, “When the SAMs came up through the clouds, you see a bright glow as its rocket fi re refl ect s on the cloud. The clouds magnifi ed the light and make t h e SA M look bigger than it really is. When the sky is clear, y o u can see

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

r li

the puff of smoke and initial fl ash when the SAM is l au n ch ed .

And you can follow the white and orange contrail of t h e r o ck et engine as it comes up.”

Capt. Terrence Gruters, ’73, Mize’s co-pilot, said, “ Yo u’d see t h e ‘glow-boom’ in one place, the ‘glow-boom’ some other place and they kept coming up fast like that. Therewere six sites in front of our aircraft , one directly beneath us and one on our left . I saw four or fi ve diff erent sites fi re out in the right front. They fi red simultaneously. As we entered the target area the SAM fi ring grew more i n t en se.”

Major Stocker said “The whole sky was lit up by the red glow of their engines.’

Another pilot reported SAM s all over the place, “front, left , right, ... and...” His voice trailed off .

“When the SAM explodes, it looks like the silver and gold sparkle of fi reworks except it doesn’t spread with the symmetry of fi reworks,” Whalen said. “The direction of the explosion i s disjointed or random.”

Colonel Armstrong said the shrapnel from SAMs was awfully hot. “It seems to have an ability to cut through steel so i t h ad t o have a real high velocity and heat. It was a little more powerful than standard shrapnel (from AAA).

“One thing we learned from all this is that the best d ef en se w h en weather permitted against a SAM site is to put an F-4 on top of him with a CBU (cluster bomb unit). That keeps his head d ow n . I f h e can’t raise his head up, he can’t shoot at you. The F - 4 s w o u l d co m e right in on the deck. Then those little bomblets would start going off around the enemy’s ears, and it kinda messed ‘em up.”

The MiGs were waiting, too.

They were just seconds away from their bomb release point.

Gunner Moore snapped last minute info to the EWO and pilot who made swift fi nal adjustments to the instrument panels. A yellow “Bomb Doors Open” light fl ashed in the darkened cockpit.

“1clamped down on the triggers with all the strength 1 co u l d muster,” said Moore, as though his own muscles could lend strength to his bullets. The tail of the B-52 shuddered as M o o r e s four 50 caliber machine guns fi red. A miss.

The crew knew it was all up to Moore now. Their concern had to be with precision bombing. Even a one second delay could throw the bombs off target. They left it to Moore.

His hands relaxed, then tightened again. His knuckles w h i t ened . T he t ail sh uddered .

Directly ahead of Moore’s aircraft, TSgt. Larry Chute, another gunner, watched an electronic display of the attack. H e saw t h ree

M iGs, and knew M oore would have to take the one that w as cl o s

ing fastest.

Gunner Moore’s hands relaxed, then tightened a third tim e. T hen the MiG’s radar image “ballooned in intensity then suddenly disap peared from my scope.” It had been about 1,200 yards aw ay.

C hute saw the h it .

“I went visual and saw the bandit on fi re and falling away. Sev eral pieces of the aircraft exploded and the fi reball disappeared in the undercast ,” C h ute said .

Moore: “It took me a few seconds to register what my eyes had seen. The MiG was gone. I’d done it and I couldn’t really believe it, I don’t know how long I fi red—it seemed like ages. I hung onto the triggers until the MiG blip disappeared from my r ad ar scr een but I only expended 800 rounds in three bursts.”

G unner A l bert M oore had dow ned a M iG . H e w as aw arded t h e

“ I G O T A M i G !”

Gunner Moore sat over 100 feet away from the nearest f el l ow

Si lv er St ar.

He’d been calling off SAM s. Now, minutes from the target, h e saw a more immediate danger. A blip on the screen—MiG! He saw the MiG 21 swing in behind and to the left of t h e

ST R A I G H T A N D L E V E L

crew m em ber. H e w as 18. I t w as C hrist m as Eve, 1972 .

b o m b er. “ M i G o n o u r t ai l !” h e b ar k ed t o t h e cr ew .

The radar-nav, far forward behind the cockpit, made a fi n al check on the position of B-52s around them as his radar’s a n t e n n a swung back and forth with a dull, even thump.

Moore: “The bogie started closing rapidly. He dropped t o a 6:30 clock position and stabilized for his fi ring run. I l o ck ed o n t o him with my radar.”

The support planes went in fi rst, followed by the heavies.

These were “compression” strikes. Instead of stringing t h e B U F s out over a long period of time, they all went over the target com plex more or less together.

“The longest time over target was 15 minutes,” said C olonel

Armstrong.

“There was a tactical reason for compression. The idea i s t h at the least amount of time you’re exposed, the better off you are.

Let’s say you’re going hunting. Now if all the dove that you see

C H E C K PO I N T S. SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

19

comeby at one time, you’re going to get a coupleof them . But if they come by one at a time, you’ve got more time to aim at them ,

and you’re going to be more effective.”

Minutes aft er Gunner Moore got the MiG, his BUF trembled and lightened as the bombs dropped away. The pilot corrected the trim .

“The last few minutes of the bomb run took ten years, a

c re w -

m em ber said .

Colonel Armstrong had more to say about the tactics and problems of compression. “We had sorties, launched from U-Tapao. T he tim e required to get to the target from U-T isan hour and a half W e also

had them launched out of Andersen, and the time to target is six or

seven hours. We had two unprecedented actions take place. First, wejoined up waves of bomberswith a timing sequence of pulling in behind each other with a short separation. When, aft er fl ying the equivalent of practically the entire length of the United States, you pull in behind the otherswithin a space of minutes, believe me, that was unprecedented. Second, we had a procedure, wherew e h ad t o run them through to get the exact separation, trying to get them over the target as quickly as possible. Later on, instead of bringing them all in from the land side, we started bringing them in f ro m t h e G ul f o f Tonkin area, too. In a B-52 you releaseyour bombs a long way from the target, whileyou maintain lateral, altitude and time separation from the other B-52s and the bombs they are dropping. R em em ber—^you’re doing all this at night, you’ve got about 100 B-52s, and you’ve got people shooting at you ... Fantastic.

“I’m sure it must have been something to see on the ground ... if you were standing far enough away from it, that i s.”

General Johnson emphasized that the crews used pinpoint t arget bombing. “Every airplane was using its own inherent synchronous bombing capability.” He also noted the shock effect o f t h e m ass application of airpower that the B-52 demonstrated. ‘It perhaps played a rather major role. It was something the people of H anoi had not experienced before. It’s one thing to feel a h al f- d o zen bombs detonating, quite another thing to have the total t o n n age from over 100 B-52s rain down in a time-span of only 15 m inutes.”

Despite high strategy and unit tactics, for many the run in got pretty personal.

Capt. CharlesA. Haigh lost number four engine as he approached his target. Abort?No way. He pressed on at a l ow er al t i tude, which meant he had less protection and support, an d su ccess fully dropped his bombs on target. He was awarded the Si lv er St ar.

Dropping your bombs didn’t mean it was over yet. You st i l l h ad to get out of there and back home.

Seconds after bomb release. SSgt. Samuel Turner heard squawk on the radio. A M IG neared a particular reference point.

“That’s us!” said the navigator. a

I t w as D ecem ber 18, 1972 and Turner and h is crew w ere i n t h e

fi r st w av e.

T urner described the act ion . “A few seconds later, h e ‘l o ck ed o n ’

to us, which meant he was in position to make a fi ring p ass.

“As the M iG closed in , I also ‘lock ed on’ him . H e cam e i n l o w i n

a rapid climb. While tracking the fi rst MiG, I picked up a second enemy aircraft at 8 o’clock at a range of about seven an d a h al f miles. He appeared stabilized—not attacking us, obviously al l ow ing the other fi ghter room to maneuver and complete h i s r u n fi r st .

“As the attacking MiG came into fi ring range, I fi red a b u r st .

20

There was a gigantic explosion to the rear of our aircraft. I l o o k ed out the window, but couldn’t see directly where the M i G w o u l d

have been. I looked back at my radar scope. Except for the one

aircraft out at 8 o’clock, there was nothing. And within about 15 seconds, even he broke away and we lost contact with h i m .

“As we left the threat area, my aircraft commander told the other aircraft , ‘I think we got one,’ and they knew what h e m ean t .”

SSgt. Samuel O. Turner was awarded the Silver Star.

B O M B S O N TA R G E T

Col. Fred V. Cherry, a former POW, said after his release, t h at when he and his fellow prisoners heard the bombs from t he B- 52s, “We said ‘we’re on our way home.’

John M ize said, “We knew from radar fi lm and other s o u r c e s

that our m issions w ere successful . W e k new w e w ere o v e r o u r

aiming point and that we didn’t have any stray bombs.”

Colonel Armstrong explained that “the two main areas looking at were Hanoi and Haiphong. We use the expression ‘target complex.’ The complex was Hanoi, but within the city there might be a railroad yard, north of the city there might be a steel mill, east maybe a communications site. Now if you were standing in the middle of the city you might look up an d see a mass of B-52s, but that didn’t mean they would all drop their bombs on one place. When we hit Hanoi, we went after t ar get s associated with war materials—military targets. Railroads, munications, supplies. If you destroy their capability to m ake w ar, there’s not much they can do except call you dirty n am es.”

U.S. aircraft dropped a total of 20,370 tons of bombs North Vietnam during the 11-day period, of which over 15,000 tons were dropped by B-52s. Ordnance used included t h e st an dard 750-pound and 500-pound bomb, as well as clustered b o m b lets and the laser- guided bombs used by the tactical ai r cr aft . w e

w e r e

c o m

o v e r

Adm. T homas H . M oorer, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, told the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense, that prior

to LINE BACKER II, the air campaign against North Vietnam “ ... . reduced the imports into the country from 160,000 t o n s t o 30,000 tons a m ont h . . . . Both in t he nort heast and n o r t h w est

most of the bridges were down and interdicted ...”

He further testifi ed that during LINE BACKER II, railroadrelated targets hit and destroyed included 383 rail cars, 14 st eam locomotives, 191 storage warehouse buildings, two railroad bridges, 29 vehicles, fi ve 5,000- gallon petroleum storage tanks and a large number of supplies.

In addition, of the nine major storage areas in the Hanoi-Haiphong complex, 25 major, 26 small and 29 other buildingsw er e h i t . A lso damaged or destroyed were 150 support buildings, 12 barges, eight

vehicles and two rail cars associated w ith the N orth Vietnamese port

and waterways system. Numerous dispersed 55- gallon f u el t an k s were destroyed. One recon photo showed 200 drums burning.

The North Vietnamese got tricky. One railroad yard h ad n ev er been hit because it w as also used for civilian t raffi c. At night the North Vietnamese would roll their military equipment i n t o t h i s yard, thinking it safe. It was for a while, until it got plastered.

There was some limited collateral damage to civilian ar eas. N o civilian areas were targeted. The few civilian areas accidentally damaged are all located very near legitimate military t ar get s.

C H EC K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

The ramp at Andersen AFB, Guam, was a busy place during the 11-day campaign.

TheAn Duong/Nghia Dung area isjust north of the Hanoi Thermal Power Plant. The Cuban Chancellery Compound is a few hundred yards east of the Hanoi Railroad Yard and Shops. T h e K am Thien area is directly southwest of the Hanoi Railroad Yar d . T h e B ac Mai Hospital is directly between the Bac Mai Airfi eld an d th e H an o i R ad i o C o m m u n i cat io n St at io n N o . 1 1. T h e H an o i T ex t il e Plan t is

directly south across the road from Hanoi Army Depot N o . 1.

Hanoi claimed approximately 1,300 casualtiesas a result o f t h e cam paign. That is less than one casualty per 15 tonsof bom bs and m ost emphatically points out the military nature of the targeting. Also it shows that the raidswere carried out with a high degree of accuracy.

W E N E V E R SAW I T

Som e aircraft w ere hit , and som e w ere lost . A total of 26 lost in fact .

Fift een B-52s, two F-11Is, three fi ghters, and six Navy planes.

The fi nal loss rate amounted to two percent of the B - 5 2 s involved. TheJoint Chiefs of Staff had predicted three p er cen t .

Over a thousand sorties were fl own, including 729 by B- 52s.

John Mize was on his fourth mission of this campaign. H i s ai r craft had been slightly damaged twice before. Once by SAM , once

by TVAA. It was December 27. 1972.

John Mize: “I had 15 SAM s airborne at me. I guess you co u l d call it some kind of success—I got away from 14 of t h em .”

About 10 seconds after bomb release, the 15th got him. I t h i t the left wing, between the inboard engine and the fuselage.

M ize: “ T here w as a t rem endous concussion . . . I t took o u t f o u r

engines and all the associated equipment. The whole l ef t si d e o f the airplane was dead for all practical purposes. One engine was

on fi re for the fi rst 5 or 10 m inutes. T hen it burned o u t .

Shrapnel hit Mize in the left thigh, the lower left leg and his left hand. Gunner Whalen, facing rearward, was hit in the right leg and thigh. The navigator said, “Something at my feet blew up.”

Fragments hit his legs.

Mize: “We started getting all kinds of indications the airplane was dying. Red warning lights started fl ashing on and we were falling.”

The bomber fell several thousand feet, until Mize got i t l eveled off. He called his men to check in, with injuries and aircraft damage.

They all did, and moved quickly to shut down the equipment th at had not been damaged—this prevented overloading of w hat electrical system was left undamaged and cut down the chance of fi re.

Copilot Gruters said, “We lost darn near everything o n t h e aircraft . We had no radar, no ECM , no computers. We h ad o n e alternator, one radio and the cockpit lights. No instruments except the altimeter and airspeed indicator.”

The navigator gave Mize a heading to leave the target With no equipment, he was estimating now, working straight time and distance from the last known position.

The damaged BUF had fallen out of formation. It no longer had the protection of the other aircraft in the cell. “ W e w er e pretty helpless,” Mize said. “It was not a question of making it hack to the base but one of how far we could get before w e h ad t o a r e a .

ab an d o n t h e ai r cr af t .”

Whalen spotted two more SAM s and called them out. No MiGs spotted the crippled B-52.

The fourth left wing engine was intermittent for a w h i l e.

Whalen called to the copilot each time the engine would fl am e an d G r u t er s w o u l d sh u t i t d ow n . W h en t h e fi re w en t out, they would start it up again. Then it too, quit.

Mize: “We just took it as it came and did what had t o b e d o n e at the moment. The book says it will fl y on four engines, an d i t d o es.

I’m not the fi rst man to fl y on four engines. I had never done any real needle, ball and airspeed fl ying or what is referred to as ‘fl ying by the seat of your pants,’ but the B-52 can be fl own that way.”

He did plenty of that kind of fl ying now “I did a series o f climbs and descents. It was the only thing to do I w o u l d descend to pick up airspeed and then climb ... I’d descend 1,500

feet and clim b 1.000. I did w hat had t o be done w it h w h at I h ad .”

‘We had help,” the navigator said. “One aircraft gave u s an i n i tial heading from our basic position to the nearest friendly terri tory and later a rescue ship picked us up near the b o r d er o f N o r t h

C H EC K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B ER 2 0 0 6

21

't '

M

Vietnam and Laos, gave us a heading and fl ew for about t w o m i l es j ust off our right wing tip, giving us a cross-check.”

Mize: “I knew we would make it—provided that wing didn’t

technical level on January 3 and on the substantive level on January 8.

These facts have to be analyzed by each person for him self . . .”

For an hour, the crew worked at fl ying that airplane, each m an

The mission was over. These men were tired. They would r e s t .

One day, then they’d fl y again.

A group of gunnerswere relaxing. They had a pet puppy. H is n am e was SAM . One said, “Wejust lie out in the sun and sh oo t t h e b reeze and argue and play cards or something like that: There is o n e o d d thing: Every timeyou hear an airplane take off, there isalwayssome body in the crowd that will turn around and watch it. Wejust hope they come back.”

A mechanic, on his day off, was sitting by an airplane w ith th ree engines gone. Somebody asked him why. “To keep guys from can nibalizing parts off it. When I get my engines back, my plane is going to be ready to go.”

Mize and his crew took up a collection and sent a case o f b eer to the rescue troops that pulled them out.

Gunner Moore said, ‘Back on the ground some colonel out to the aircraft and shook my hand. I don’t know w ho he w as, I was j ust glad to be back.”

Mize: “ 1 grew up around a SAC base. Since I was 14 or 15, I

com e off .”

doing his job and contributing whatever he could.

Mize: “We knew where we wanted to go—a place that would b e close to rescue helicopters. We headed for it.”

Gruters: “ W e w ere at 12,000. T he terrain w as 4 to 5 t h o u san d

feet with cliffs. We are supposed to bail out at approximately 10,000 feet. So by going another 30 miles we could have fl at t er r ai n an d gained another 4,000 feet and could go down to 8,000 feet and bail out. The navigator fl gured it out and put us right t h er e.”

Fifteen miles inside northern Thailand they began to b ai l o u t .

Whalen had always said he would never leave an aircraft that way.

Mize: “I called to each crew-member, giving him the o r d er t o bail out. When I called ‘gunner,’ Pete asked me if we really had to b ai l o u t . I t o l d h i m w e d i d .”

Whalen: “And then I got my shoe stuck in the seat. B u t I w en t .

I w en t .”

Mize: “The others ejected, except the navigator. The seat h e w as on was supposed to blow downwards. But it didn’t ... H e t o l d m e he was going out the hole where the radar-nav had ejected. A ft er h e left his seat , I w ouldn’t be able to com m unicate w ith him , so I told

him I’d give him three minutes to be sure he had time to escape. At the end, I called again, there was no response, so I ejected.”

They had all made it. Mize said, “They had helicopters and rescue birds on the scene as we were bailing out. They picked us all up within minutes aft er the last man had bailed out John

BA C K O N T H E G RO U N D

c a m

e

w atched B-29s, B-47s and w hen I saw t he B-52 , I said t hat is w h at

you are going to fl y, John Mize, one of these days!”

Out on the line, Randy Daniels was checking number si x t i r e.

It’ alwaysalittlelow ... 88

M ize w as aw arded the A i r Force C ross. H is fi ve crew - m em b er s

j o int s e r v ic e ac a d e m ie s Jo b s e le c t ro n ic a lly

were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. All six r eceiv ed t h e Purple Heart.

John Mize said, “ ... From my own personal viewpoint, t h er e

[ www,jsajex om

w as a seventh M an on board .”

D I D IT W O RK ?

Writing in Foreign Ajf airs magazine in 1946, Gen. Carl A. Spaatz discussed strategic bombir^ . He wrote that strategic bombing is the most powerful instrument of war thus far known b ecau se o f i t s effective application of three of the principles of w ar. Fi rst is t he principle of mass, because it can bring all its forces from widely dispersed points simultaneously to bear on single targets. Seco n d is the principle of objective because it can select those targets which are most vital to the enemy, and reach into the h ear t l an d of the enemy to destroy those targets. The third is the principle of economy of force because it can concentrate on a limited n u m b er of vital target complexes instead of having to disperse it s forces over numerous targets of secondary importance.

LINE BACKER II came straight out of the text books. D id i t work?At a press conference on January 24, 1973, Dr. H enry A. Kissinger, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairswas asked if the heavy U.S. bombing of North Vietnam during t h e 18 to 29 December period was the key to achieving agreement w it h th e Communists. Hewould not speculate but said, “. . . I will say that there w as a deadlock w hich w as described in the m iddle o f D ecem b er

and therewas a rapid movement when negotiations resumed o n t h e 22

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C U E C K P O I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6 1

I

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IN T EGRIT Y Annual gifts to the Air Force Academy Fund at t he Sabre Society level provide support to many character programs like Respect & Responsibility. These programs promote

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For more informat ion on becoming a part of

the Sabre SociejyTontact Greg Knedler at

(719) 472-0300 o r g re g knedler@aogusafa.org Jfi .

One good can m ak e a d i fl feren ce Fat h er D a r i n

Co l ar usso , ’88: A HEAVENLY COURSE

Dar in Co l ar usso , '88, al ways dr eamed o f t he w il d bl ue y o n d e r .

Fr o m t he t ime I was a bo y, I al ways want ed t o f l y.

/ /

H E SA ID .

A ft er g raduat ing f ro m t he A ir Fo r c e A cademy, Co lar usso SPENT 12 YEARS AS A WEAPONS SYSTEM OFFICER ON FIGHTER J ET S A N D PIN N ED O N T H E RA N K O F M A J O R A LO N G T H E W A Y.

By W al l y Car ew , Col umbia M agazine

24

Handsome, smart, athletic and single,

attaining spiritual heights beyond his

h e h ad i t al l . H e dat ed , t ravel ed t o

w i l d est d r eam s.

exotic places, enjoyed his military career, and appeared to have the world at his fi ngertips. Yet, he gave it all up. On May 27, after six years of seminary forma tion, he became a priest at the age of 40,

Father Colarusso was ordained by Car dinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

He was never an altar boy. He never

C H EC K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

at t ended a C atholic school , and he said

Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley imposes hands on Fat her Darrin Co larusso . Fat her Co larusso

and four other priests were ordained May 27, 2006 at Boston’s Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

Photo by John Cooper, Columbia Magazine.

Our Lady’s apparitions. After watching a video about Fatima, everything changed f o r m e.”

in with her,” said Father Colarusso. “ I

would go in and out of her room, as kids do. There would be only a night-light on and she would be saying the rosary. I thought it was just something old Italian ladies did!”

During his time at the Air Force Acad emy and his years in the military. Father Colarusso met many people from different faith backgrounds. In discussions about religion, he was bothered by his lack of knowledge of his own faith.

While assigned to a remote post in Korea, he decided to study the Catholic faith during off-duty hours. In a small reli gious education room, he found a series of books and videos on M arian devot ion .

“I was completely blown away,” he recalled. “I didn’t know anything about

in Goldsboro, N .C. H e realizes that a

He began studying Catholic doctrine, with an emphasis on apologetics, and read as many conversion stories as he could find. He started saying the rosary and

personal call to holiness isthe foundation

when possible.

All along, he assumed that one day hewould marry. When thoughts about the priesthood fi rst entered his mind, he thought: “You have to be kidding me. Lord!”

He had much to ponder. Life was good, especially when he was stationed in places like Las Vegas. “It was a great place to fl y planes. Land stretched as far as you could Plus, we were close to popular tourist and resort areas where there was plenty to do when you were off duty.”

As he saw it, there were two major obstacles to his vocation: Was God asking him to live celibately and also resign his

union w ith G od .”

at t ended M ass and received C om m union

his parents were ordinary Catholics who attended Mass every Sunday and tried to live by the Commandments. However, the one spiritual seed that eventually fl owered in his life was the memory of his grandmother, Maria Colarusso, saying the rosary over and over again.

“After my grandfather died, we moved

Today, Father Colarusso isa member of

Msgr. Arthur R. Freeman Council 5487

se e .

A i r Fo r ce co m m issi o n ?

“I enjoyed dating,” he said. “Although I had always wanted to be married, with the Lord’s grace I felt I could work through and discern whether I was being called to celibacy. But resigning from the Air Force was an entirely different matter. I loved t h e A i r Fo r ce.”

Resolving both issues, for him, meant investigating all possibilities. He applied

to the Boston Archdiocese’s St. John Semi

nary, and was somewhat surprised when he was accepted. Then, before taking a leap of faith by entering the seminary, he

of his priestly ministry. “I am called to be an icon of Christ,” he said. “ W hat we all

need to realize is that genuine happiness and fulfi llment are only possible through Along his journey to priesthood. Father

C olarusso received m oral and fi nancial

support from the Knights of Columbus.

“The Knights, by how they live their lives, will always be great examples to me of all

t hat it m eans t o be a m asculi ne m an and a

holy man at the same time,” he said.

Father Colarusso is assigned to St.

Francis of A ssisi Parish in Brai nt ree, M ass.,

serving with the pastor. Father Kevin Sepe,

w ho is a m em ber of Vera C ruz C ouncil

129 in Randolph.

At Father Colarusso’s ordination, eight fellow Air Force offi cers, including class mates from the Air Force Academy, basked in the joy of the moment. When asked about Father Colarusso, one of the eight t old a local T V int erview er, “ T his w orld

needs more men like Darin Colarusso.” H Wally Carew is the author Men of Spirit, Men of Sports and A Farewell to Glory: The Riseand Fall of an Epic Football Rivalry Boston College vs. Holy Cross, both A m bassador Book s. H e w rit es f rom M ed ford , M ass.

had to confront fear, doubt and waves of

insecurity on the road the Lord would

show him .

“I had to try. I had to investigate if the call was real,” he explained.

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

25

Lt . Col. Tim Lawrence, ’88, nears t he shore of France’s

Cherbourg peninsula.

I

A CA D EM Y RO C KET SCI EN T I ST SET S ’ r

USAFA Public Afl Pairs W O R L D R E C O R D IN S^^C^ M M IN G By Photoscourtesy of Tim Lawrence

1 ni^ir ForceAcademy professor set aworld record in long-dis

tance swimming this summer.

® |Lt. Col. Tim Lawrence, ’88, of theAcademy’sDepartment of

Astrpnt^ticalEngineeringbecamethefi rstAmericanto sw im the miles from Britain’sJersey Island to France.

Colonel Lawrence became only the sixth person in the w o r l d to successfully complete this long-distance swim solo, h i s t i m e o f 8 hours, 21 minutes, 17 seconds set a world record, bettering the previous solo time by 5 minutes.

The colonel set off on an unfriendly July morning from L a

Coupe Point.

“ T he weather here can be so unstable,” said Colonel L aw It started out with hellacious conditions, with torrential

r e n c e .

rain and downpour.”

After about half a mile, thewind and tide aligned.

“T hen it was a dead calm sea,” said Lawrence. “All the longwater swims I’ve done have been in choppy waters, but t h e w i n d and tide were aligned until the last 3 miles. Then the t ide t urned and I had to fi ght my way in.”

Weather is only one of the challenges long-distance sw i m m ers face while making the trek from the British channel island t o Fran ce.

Swimmers cannot wear wetsuits, but water temperatures between 59 and 64.5 degrees Fahrenheit duringJuneand July.

T hus, a swimmer cannot switch to a backstroke to rest, as they must generate a continual amount of body heat. Hypothermia sets in when one’s body temperature drops from the n orm al 98.6 degrees to about 95 degrees.

by 75 peoplewith an American fl ag. Only then did he learn th at he w as the new w orld record holder. C olonel L aw rence’s r eco r d also beat the best relay team times. Only four teams, consisting of 6 people, each swimming one hour each, have completed t h e

Jersey Island-France swim via relay.

Thiswaslatest feat in Lawrence’slong-distance swimming

career, which includes completing two Ironman triathlons. L aw rence swam the English Channel in 1999. He became the fi r st American to swim the 41 nautical miles around Jersey Island in 2002, and was the fi rst American and second person ev er t o sw i m from the island of Vis to Split, Croatia, 37 nautical m i l es.

After thanking thosewho assisted him in Europe and i n h i s

training in Colorado, the colonel returned to the Academy w h er e his focus shifted from water to space, as he resumed h is d ut ies as director of the Space Systems Research Center.

“My goal now is to get FalconSAT-3 safely in space,” h e sai d .

FalconSAT -3 is a cadet -buil t sat ell i t e and one of tw o sp ace

programs Colonel Lawrence oversees at the Academy. T h e sat el lite contains fi ve scientifi c experiments and is scheduled for a November launch date. (See page 75 for more about the Fal co n SAT-3 program).

a re

After battling in the last few milesand setting foot o n t h e w est

ern shore of France’s Cherbourg peninsula, the colonel was greeted 26

(Editor’snote: On Sept. 6, 23 year-old IanJonesof England, beat Lt.

Col. Lawrence’s record. “I am happy f or Ian, it took hi m three ti mes toget the right conditionsf or hisswim and he had a great day and swam really well They learned a littlebit about my swim on setting

thebest course, but asI tell thecadets, ‘championsdon’t make excuses.

I am happy f or Ian and congratulated him. It does make me thi nk though that I need to do another swim ... ” said Lawrence.) ?S

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f

T he Secr et Lif e of

WaldoF. Duiribsquat

by Don Hall, 76

T in bo r ed !

15 said C / 4C W aldo F.

Dumbsquat emphatically.

H is room m ates, W arren

Heelsand Regs Buch, both nodded their heads in agreement.

The doolies, shining shoes and reading Contrails, sat at thei r

metal desks. It wasSaturday afternoon and nothing

w a s

going on.

“I really hate weekends with no football game. There’s

n o

chance to be at rest or get a free privilege!” lamented W ar r en .

“Well, it’s a byeweek for the team,” Regs informed h is f r ien d s.

“We need to think of something to do or I’ll go crazy,”

w hi ned W aldo.

“We already know you’re nuts, Waldo,” said Regs.

“How do you know that?”

“You’re a freshman at the Air Force Academy instead of

N o t r e D am e!”

Waldo chortled. “You’re getting funnier every article, Regs.” “ I kn ow w hat w e could do!” exclaim ed W arren . “ W hat ?” chorused the ot hers.

“We could dress out and practice for the Physical Fitness Test. You know, seven drop, seven hop, thirty, fi fty, t w o , and stop!” “ Pract ice for the PFT ? I ’d rather m ove t he F- 104 to t h e

parade fi eld.”

“We did that last month,” complained Waldo. “Let’sg o t o

Lawrence Paul and try not to burn down the pavilion!”

“How about marching to JacksValley or rearranging t h e

t r u n k r o o m ?”

“ W e could build a concret e canoe . . .”

“Maybe it’s time to buy cotton balls at the Cadet Store,

check for a care package in the mail room, and get a haircut

from the Cowboy.”

“A buffer rodeo, perhaps?”

“Grab some plywood and we’ll turn the shower into a swimming pool. After that we could streak Command Post.”

“We could go to the library and read our hometown newspapers.”

28

Before Waldo could comment on how pathetic these ideas sounded, the CQ burst through the dorm room door.

“What’s all this yakking in here?You smacks are drown ing out the Command Post announcements! If you three

have nothing to do, form a laundry detail and passo u t t h e dry cleaning. When you fi nish with that, buff the Squadron

Assembly Room fl oor. Now speed out!” “ Yes, sir!”

With a jingle of keys, the thirdclassman left to answer pay phone.

a

W aldo realized that boredom w as bet ter than w ork and

he immediately ducked into hiscloset. There he rearranged

the wooden hangers and uttered the magic phrase mark your underwear. Instantly, the doolie morphed into C o l o n el Waldo F Dumbsquat, a man who never had a bye week. H e

sprinted to catch up with the CQ, who was now performing

his confi nement inspection.

“Sir, can I help you?” asked the cadet.

Not use to sprinting, the offi cer paused to catch his b r eat h .

“Mister, put the freshmen at rest in the squadron area an d postpone all details,” ordered the colonel. “ Yes, si r!”

The offi cer ducked into a nearby latrine and deteriorated into the puny form of Waldo F Dumbsquat, doolie at r e s t .

Waldo double-timed back to his room, paused to catch h i s

breath, and gave hisclassmates thegood news. They d eci d ed to visit Greg and ‘Wags,’ two freshmen known for having

fun with mirror magic, in the far hallway. Regs, Warren, an d Waldo burst in on their buddies to fi nd them shining sh o es and studying knowledge.

Waldo sighed. B

C H E C K P O I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

Ai r For ce C h i ef of St aff ?

Anyone of themCa ll be an Air Force Chief of Staff. Thanks to graduates li k e yo u they have that chance.

Leave a Leg ac y, include the Association of Graduates in y OU r will or estate planning.

I Building Leaders M of Character for the Nation The Campaign for the Future of the Air Force Academy For more informat ion visit our Web site at www.usafa.org, click on “ Philant hropy” and t hen “Ways t o Give,” or c o nt a ct Jef f M ie lke , ’8 0 ,

at jeff .mielke@aogusafa.org or (719) 472-0300.

I

n thisday and agewhen theUnited Statesislosing,

at an unprecedented rate, many of our World War

II Veterans, we are losing a link to our past. Long time anchorman, Thomas Brokaw, called thisgroup

of patriots “The Greatest Generation.” Our United States

Air ForceAcademy grew out of the need for air superior ity from thisgeneration of Army Air Corpspersonnel.

As our graduating “fi rsties” fi nalize their last month a t

theAcademy, their eyesare focused on graduation day. T he pomp and circumstanceof military academy graduation evokeemotionsthat are unparalleled in collegegraduations

of today. Thisyear in thecrowd will bean especially proud

grandparent who will beamongst themany in attendance

Family Traditions Upon wat ching his son join THE Long Bl ue Line, a fat her REFLECT S O N T H E PRI D E O F BEI N G PA RT O F A L EGACY O F SERV ICE.

By D r. D ean W ittwer

for graduation. Hewill bewatchingthesonsand daughters and grandsonsand granddaughterswalk acrossthestage.

This proud grandparent, Darrell J. Skinner, will bew at ch

ing Cadet First ClassThomasDean Wittwer graduatef ro m thisAcademy. Mr. Skinner isnow 88 years-old and has history that linkshisgeneration to thegraduatesof thisyear. a

His history was with the United StatesAir Forces in W o r l d War II. Hewas selected by the classifi cation board for pilot training school on August 25, 1942. He received hiswings and offi cer rating at Williams Field, Chandler, Arizona i n

April of 1943 and went immediately on to MurocAir Field (now Edwards Air Force Base) to be checked out in a P- 3 8 ,

In July 1943, he was assigned to North Africa to start his tour of combat duty. He fl ew 50 combat missions

with the 97'*’ Fighter Squadron, 82"'*Fighter Group an d the 15'*’ Air Force in Africa, Sicily and Italy. He r ecei v ed

theDistinguished Flying Crossand theAir Medal along

with nine Oak Leaf Clusters. Captain Skinner returned to the United States asan instructor pilot concluding h i s military career teaching instructor pilots at the 4'*’ A i r ForceAerial Gunnery School at Daggart, Calif Four yearsago, “Captain Skinner” proudly watched his

grandson on the parade fi eld as a 4'*’ Class Cadet. H e

w

a s

observed discussing pilot experienceswith glider pilots

fromtheAir ForceAcademy that sameday. During this

graduation week, hewill be able to spend some timew i t h hisgrandson and proudly watch him receive hisdiploma and help in the commissioning ceremonies.

Today USAFA cadets use thewords Doolitde, Arnold, an d

Mitchell to describebuildingsat theacademy. Their training in Air Forcehistory helpsthem understand who thesepio neersof theAir Forcewere. To Mr. Skinner they were of generalsheserved under in WWII. Therich heritagean d tradition instilled in the“Long BlueLine” at USAFA l ies i n theaccomplishmentsof thepast and focuseson education o f n am

es

our cadets for the fi m re. C adet First C lass W ittwer an d h is

grandfather link thisAcademy from generation to generation and isnow much morethan just abloodline! B Top: Capt. Skinner in his P-38. Bott om: Proud grandfather with Cadet grandson.

T EM BER 2006

Superintendent’s Update to our Academy !

g on the past, improving USAFA on ali the Academy forward,,living in the

r e

I good going on

l e Pe rf e c t St o r m '

..and the Prep School class of

m d are not , c hang i ng

3ult. Religious respect, Charad e;^

D rd o ut

Gr aduat e Leader ship C o nf e r e n c e ore than 150 graduates representing the Classesof 19 59 t o 2 0 0 3

M attended thisyear’sGraduateLeadership Conferencein July.

The attendees were addressed by AOG and Academy senior leadership, including Superintendent Lt. Gen. John Regni, ’73, who spoke about his vision for the future.

TheAOG also hosted a town meeting and discussed upcoming plans for a class senate, an E-community and ways to better stay in touch with chapters, societies and affi nity groups. Graduates shared ideas, raised concerns and made recommendations for AOG operations.

Com m ent s f r om GLC at t endees :

“Myfi rst GLC; I ’ll defi nitely bebackf or thenext on e. Th e A O G

[like theAcademy] is doing a great j ob of attempting to keep struc turef ocus optimized. ”

“Excellent opportunities with senior leader discussion.

”

“Wow, I expected an inf ormativeand rejuvenating andgot a lot more. ” “Very good, very inf ormative, honor cadetswereimpressive.

”

“I havebeen very encouraged by what I havebeen told and what I haveseen. Keep working toward thegoal Senior leadership very approachableandf orthcoming. They havetheir act together. ”

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I N S U R A N C E • B A N K I N G • I N V E S T M E N T S • M EM B E R S ER V I C E S

B O O K

R EV I EW

^

THE FIRST DARING

These pilots frequently captured public attention and literally sacrifi ced their lives to develop the airplane into something with more practical economic value than serving asa mereprop for barnstorming spectacles. Moreover, fi scal pressuresof the post-war

■

1

PILOTS OF THE

drawdown convinced many former military pilotsand barnst orm

v

ers to seek a steady paycheck with the Postal Service despite the known dangers.

Aptly named the ‘Suicide Club,’ the fi rst cadre of airmail pilots engaged in one of the world’s most dangerous jobs—each had a one in four chance of a fat al accident i n the fi rst two years of employment. Between 1918 and 1921, an average of one fatality per month occurred while the airmail service remained exclusively

1

text shows how youthful enthusiasm combined with bureaucratic ambition to pursue a shared vision of aviation that outstripped contemporary technology. Before such motives came to the f ore front, however, wartime expediency motivated President W o o d -

U.S. AIR MAIL

1

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'i .l

,

l i V\ n.

under the U.S. Postal Department. Against such a backdrop, t h e

i \c

row Wilson to presstheArmy into founding airmail ser v i ce i n t h e

SKY«

U n ited Stat es.

Rosenberg and Macaulay explain how at its inception, ai r m ai l

service actually began under the Army Signal Corps at the height

BA RRY ROSENBERG

MACAULAYS

of America’s involvement in World War I. Flying the m ai l w as intended to serve as a graduate source of fl ight experience f o r young military pilotswhose contemporaries in Europe h ad b een suffering more fatalities by getting lost and crashing d ue t o f uel starvation than from battle damage. Thus, President W ilson d id

not see ai rm ail servi ce as a f rivol ous diversion of l im i t ed nat i on al

resources, but rather as a viable means to improve combat pilot survival rates. Before this concept could be proven, h ow ever, t h e Army relinquished program supervision after four months t o civilian government offi cials in August 1918.

Mavericks of the Sky :

Once free of the War Department, Postal Department

executives quickly cast aside standard military precautions against flying at night and in foul weather conditions t o reach their goal of eclipsing mail delivery by railroad. Without any

The First Daring Pilots of the U.S.

real understanding of aircraft or meteorology, these f ed er al

Air Mail. By Barry Rosenberg and

executives exerted unrelenting pressure on airmail pilots and ground crews. While keeping their appointed rounds, t h e fi rst airmail pilots flew without a parachute and hurled t h ei r underpowered, cloth-wing, open-cockpit Jenny and de H av i l -

Catherine Macaulay.

land biplanes into low ceilings, fi fty-mile-per-hour s t o r m s ,

Reviewed by Lt. Col. David M . Bachler, ’87 Assistant Professor, Department of History

active thunderclouds and fogbanks with little more t h an a pocket watch suspended from the dash for attitude reference

and a temperamental compass to guide them in zero-visibility

B

arry Rosenberg and Catherine Macaulay illuminate a long-forgotten cornerstone of aviation history in this detailed and entertaining volume. Their text recounts experiences of the pilots, fi eld supervisors, mechan ics and postal executives who formed the world’s fi rst regularly scheduled airmail delivery service (between 19 18

and 1921). To contemporary readers, something as mundane

a s

fl ying letters and cargo likely holds little interest, but in the early

twentieth century, airmail delivery wasanything but r o u t i n e.

32

conditions. To their credit, the pilots braved such o b st acl es and later achieved enough reliability to twice earn t h e C ol l i er Trophy after 1921. Such trials and achievements of the early

airmail pilots now get proper attention thanks to Rosenberg and Macaulay.

Although it ishis fi rst published book, Barry Rosenberg brings over twenty years of aviation industry and defense-related journal ism to this project and was recently on the short list of nom inees for the Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. He combined effortswith former journalist Catherine Macaulay to thoroughly

C H E C K P O I N T S, SE P T E M B E R 2 0 0 6

B O O K R EV I EW

sift Postal Service archives, private collectionsand interview s w it h descendantsof airmail pioneers. They tell avery human t ale and fully get into the mindsof several pilotsand key offi cials to

lf ight such asLowell Thomas’ book about thefi rst aerial circum navigation of theglobeby theDouglasFlyersin 1924. T h er e i s

theragged limitsof anascent technology to thebreakingpoint

also a minor hiccup when the text makesa tangential reference t o theWright Brothers and their interaction with theArmy (i.e., the book infersArmy cooperation with theWrights traced back t o

work also serves as a valuable benchmark for the risks taken by the

contract with the U.S. Army until after their spectacular European

s u c c e ss

understand their motivations for pushing themselves, others and

in pursuit of an elusive goal. Along with the human elem ent , this

Roosevelt administration a decade later when it suspended c iv i l i an

airmail contracts in 1934. More concerned with politics than pilot lives, FDR returned airmail responsibility to the Army Air Corps

1904 at Huffman Prairie, when they actually did not successfully

demonstrations in 1908). While such details are readily not iceable to history buffs and members of the Air Force community, they do not detract from the overall scholarship offered by Rosenberg

which, at that time, was technologically backward compared t o civilian carriersand desperately competing for federal funds.

and Macaulay. Bottom line: Mavericksof theSky isan entertaining

that it frequently indulgesebullient and effusive m e t a phorsthat can be somewhat distracting to the reader (e.g., “There wasonesubject ... that spun hissix-shooter;” “Riding coat tails like that could give a person a stratospheric nosebleed;” “ ... t r ees forced pilotsto depart like human cannonballs;” “(two pilots were fl ying on a return coursewith). . . nothing but a sun-drenched

development of our nation’s airpower.

At times, Rosenberg and Macaulay’s narrative is so close to t he

so u r c e s

read for those unfam iliar t o aviat ion as w ell as a valuable synthesis

of primary sources for those of uswho takegreat interest i n t h e

(New York: Morrow, 2006. Photographs. Notes. Index. Pp 341.

$25.95 ISBN : 0-06-052949-0)

laurel wreath crowning their glorious heads;” etc.) T his refl ects the style common to journalists and authorsin theearly years of

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33

The sky is j ust

also learned that oneof thethingsthat could giveher a “boost up’ t o theastronaut program wasbeing aserviceacademy graduate. A nd in a quitematter-of-fact way, shesaysshedecided “Okay, I’m going to go

t he beginning

I

f there is one thing you

could not call Susan

Grant’s life, it’d be placid.

Even at an early age, she challenged the norms and set lofi y goals.

A s a ch ild , t he C lass of ’82

grad had an artistic gift. She even had one of her drawings put on display in a New York museum when she was only three-years old. Her artistic future looked promising.

to a service academy,” refl ecting her fi rm belief she could “learn how to

do just about anything by reading about it in abook.”

Theproblemwasat thetimewhen shewasresearchingh er

options, theAir ForceAcademy still did not accept w om en . She had a back-up plan to attend a school with an Air Force R eserv e Offi cers’ Training Corps, but sheheld out hope theAcademy

would change itspolicies. A year later, it did just that . G rant applied, received her nomination and wasaccepted.

Grad’s imagination KYLE DAVIDSO N, A O G STA FF spans inter-galactic borders

Yet i t all w en t on hol d t he

m om en t sh e saw t h e t elev i

sion broadcast of the space shuttle Apollo lift-off That event would spark a curiosity into space and fl ying that has

st uck w it h her as she t ran

sitioned from artist, to A ir

Force offi cer, t o com m ercial

pilot, to best-selling author, to astronaut (eventually).

“Early on I said, ‘That’s

w hat I w an t to do.’ I t w as that

sense of wanting to go into space and be an adventurer, and fl ying was how I’d get there,” explained Grant. Little

did she know at the time, but

that same spirit would be the driving essence for what would eventually lead to an appoint m ent to the A ir Force A cad

emy in 1978.

“Typical -just like how I got published—I went and read everything I could on, you know, how am I going to m

(

become an astronaut?.. . I said,

you know, ‘I can read about this.

I can fi gure this out.’” Grant 34

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

While Grant attended the Air Force Academy her artistic nature took a hiatus so she could appease her interests i n t h e m o re technical aspects needed in order to reach her dream of fl ying and being an adventurer. She’ll be the fi rst to admit that she is just one of the lucky ones who was blessed in having her left-brain talking to her right-brain. She’s just as happy sticking her nose in a book learning about how to fi x something asshe isafter writing a chap ter for one of her ow n books, she said .

Grant fi nished her Academy degree and earned a pilot-training slot. During pilot-training, she did so well she received a FighterAttack-Reconnaissance Rating, yet because women were st i l l n o t allowed in combat, her fi rst Air Force assignment was as a fl ight instructor. Fl er next assignment would set in motion experiences that would shape the rest of her career.

A t M ather A i r Force Base i n Sacram ent o, C alif , G rant began fl ying T-43s. During an emergency procedures training c o u r se

t he A i r Force cont racted w ith U nit ed A i rlines t o host , one of the

instructors handed Grant an application, as he knew G r an t w as scheduled to get out of the Air Force later that year.

It’s not quite the path to space, but Grant said she loved to fl y, so it was only natural she’d end up fl ying commercial jets.

At fi rst it was amazing. After putting in her dues, she was fl ying all over the world, experiencing many different cultures, an d perhaps her favorite part, ethnic foods. But two kids and nearly 17 years later, the right-brain of Susan Grant could wait no longer. “ [Flying] is really not emotionally satisfying. You know, you do it and it pays the mortgage, but, um, the Air Force was just much more satisfying and the airlines wasn’t at all. So I think the writing came along at a good time,” Grant added. She admits, how ever, that she never thought that she would actually be a w r i t er.

“It was back in 1997, my kids were young babies and I h ad gone to the doctor’s offi ce to bring the children in f o r t h ei r ch eck ups, and I had my kids in a double stroller and I started chatting w i th a m om . . . she had her k ids in a double st roller . . . an d o n e

thing led to another and I found out she had written a b o o k . Sh e had actually completed a novel; she hadn’t tried to sell it yet, but that just fascinated me that she had actually written a n ov el .”

Grant said the thought of that was overwhelming, but l at er decided, “ I f she can w ri te a book , I can w rite a book .”

“I started hand writing some things; I started with and started threading together some scenes, and the st o r y g r ew in my head. And then one day I just sat down and started w r i t ing page one, chapter one. Then it was just within a short t im e, several months, I completed a, oh gosh, it was a monster. I t m u st have been like a six or seven-hundred page historical epic, and I just loved writing,”’ Grant recalled.

She admits her fi rst book wasvery rudimentary in that i t d i d n o t contain any of the real technical aspects of writing. But the discovery of how writing fi lled that creative void set the course fo r h er t o b r u sh up on her syntax, punctuation and all things English gram m ar.

Yet once she remembered how to write, she needed some guid so m

an ce o n w h at t o w r i t e.

e

sc e n e s

“ I at tended a w rit ers’ conference and found out that r o m a n c e

and science-fi ction elements were really hot at that time; they were really popular, so I thought ‘what if I write a story ab o u t a w o m an who is an F-18 pilot; she crashes during a storm, and she’s rescued

by a pirate ship, except it’s 1821, Grant said. The idea led to her

if rst sale. That book. Oncea Pirate, was published in February of 2000. The publishers liked it so much they bought Grant’s seco n d book before it w as even fi n ished .

Nearly seven years after her fi rst published book. G rant has written eight other books, with three more contracted for publish ing down the road. She calls her booksgenre-mutsbecause they

fi t in that little grey area between romance and science-fi ction .

And, while each of her books are a different adventure, they all have something in common ... the characters (not necessarily j ust the female characters) seem to reflect a lot of the same personality

traits she’s been attributed as having. One thing that is quite evi dent is that she draws on her own life experiences for every book, to include her Academy experience.

“I draw a lot on my Air Force experience, and the Academy experience ... Maybe I would draw on my experiences with [Sur vival Evasion Resistance Escape] if my characters have to survive, I would draw on that. In my fi rst “2176 (series)” book called The Legend of Banzai Maguire, they’re actually shot-down over N orth Korea, modern day, and have to evade some captors, and so, I drew big time on my SERE experience,” she explained.

But just as she infl uences the lives of her characters, h er ch ar ac ters are perhaps reciprocating.

“I would say, I have learned from my characters, as they grow.

I mean, the best books are the ones where the characters a r e

changed at the end, they’ve grown from their experiences—they don’t stay static. I’ve seen that some of my characters have to w ork out issues that maybe internally I wanted to work out, maybe not the exact issue but something similar,” Grant confessed.

One of those issues, perhaps, is that Grant has still n ev er b een t o space, yet a lot of her books include some form of alien contact, space and time travel, and of course, intergalactic/interspecies When asked if deep down shewanted to have these adventures herself, to include having her plane hijacked by aliens, she laughed and replied, “Maybe if they were as cute as the aliens in my books.”

Despite not yet getting to space. Grant hasn’t ruled it out of her future; even if shehas to fl y a United Airlines intergalactic cruiser to do it .

“I’ve still got a few good decades in me before I get t o o decrepit,” Grant joked. ro m

a n c e .

In the meantime, she continues to write. She also still fl i es i n t er

nationally for United, but she says that lends well for her writing.

Those eight days a month she fl ies gives her a chance t o t ak e h er laptop and write during layovers.

Grant admits she’s reached a really great point in l i f e. B o t h h er technical and artistic tendencies are being fulfi lled through fl ying and writing, respectively. In fact, those two loves will likely merge if the right idea strikes her, as she intends to eventually w r i t e a

story about theAir ForceAcademy. H

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

35

J

ohn D . Johnston has served A m erica w ell for m ore than four

decades, fi rst as a 20-year offi cer i n t he U .S. A ir Force, t hen as

a private citizen. N ow, with an

extremely generous bequest, Johnston will continue serving his country and theAir Force long after he is gone.

Johnston is leaving the United States Air ForceAcademy $2 million to establish an endow ed chai r in the fi eld of m at hem at ics.

John D . Johnston

F o r mer i n st r u c t o r REMEMBERS THE A c ADEMY W IT H A MAJOR BEQUEST Courtesy of The Stelter Company

“I taught math at theAcademy for fi ve years,” saysJohnston, who earned his BS and masters degrees in the subject from the University of Pittsburgh. “It was certainly a rich experience—one I’ve always cherished.”

Johnston was at the Academy early in hisAir Force career when he set up a cadet research program and established a math club, which eventually grew to 1,500 members. This occurred during the early years of the U.S. space program and, through his connections, Johnston had cadets doing research at NASA and meet ing the nation’s original astronauts.

“To be a part of all this was very excit ing,” Johnston says. “The leadership at the Academy was very fi ne and did an excel lent job training the cadets—a lot of good people have come from there.

“My 20 years in theAir Force allowed me to pursue a business career when I retired.”

Over the past 45 years, which covers the period during and aft er his distinguished military career, Johnston hasworked in the Department of Defense, at other govern ment agencies and in the private sector, in areas that include human and manpower resources, procurement and acquisition, cost benefi t analysis, and organizational and management policy assessment. Fie founded and sold two very successful companies; he is currently the president of a third. And this is just a sampling of his lengthy resume.

“The mentoring of the people I worked with during my Air Force career gave me the success I have today,” Johnston says. “I wanted to return the favor by establishing t h e ch ai r i n m at h em at i cs.

“I have a very high regard for theAcad

emy—it doesagreat job for the nation.” Bi

36

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

Tra d it io n

t ies us t oget her ...

D e d icat io n

set s us a p a rt .

T h is is a n h ist o r ic e ra f o r t h e U n it e d St at e s

Building Leaders

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

The Campaign for t he Fut ure of t he Air Force Academy

For more informat ion on becoming a part of t he Building Leaders of Character for the Nation campaign, contact Jennifer Bateman at (719)

472-0300 orjennifer.bateman@aogusafa.org.

Air Force Academy. USA FA has j ust begun celebrat ing its golden anniversary and your Associat ion of Graduat es is embarking on a ground breaking f und raising campaign. The campaign— Building Leaders of Character for the Nation—will t ake t he Academy t o new levels of excellence and give our cadets t he best experiences t o prepare t hem for leadership in an increasingly complex world.

■ ' V v - ';' '■

M i s si o n o ALS has weakened ’69 grad’s muscles and sapped his

energy, but he’s committed to helping his fellow veterans.

By Gl enn Smit h , The P ost and Co ur i er Ph ot os by W ade Spees, The P ost and Cour i er

38

etired Brig. Gen. Thomas Mikolajcik, ’69, winces slighdy as helping hands slowly lift his legs into t h e airplane’s cramped passenger compartment and slide his body into an open seat beside some hanging garment bags. Mikolajcik’s right hand slides from his lap and limply dangles at his side as his son, John, b u ck l es h i m i n an d m ak es su re h e i s secu r e.

Just a few years ago, Mikolajcik (pronounced Mick-o-LIE-chik) might well have been at the controls of the twin-engine B eech cr aft Baron. In a 27-year career with theAir Force, he logged m o re t h an 4,000 fl ight hours, visited at least 70 countries and o n ce fl ew a C - 14 1 transport plane into Moscow during the height of the C ol d W ar.

These days, Mikolajcik’s legs are too weak to climb i n t o a cockpit; his hands lack the power to grasp the controls. T h i s m an who once commanded servicemen on missions across the globe is losing control of his own body.

The 59-year-old Mount Pleasant resident has amyotrophic l at er al sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, named f o r t h e venerable New York Yankees slugger. The disease progressively k i l ls

C H EC K PO I N T S, SE PT EM B E R 2 0 0 6

Previous page: Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Mikolajcik, '69, of Mount Pleasant , S.C., arrives on Capitol Hill In Washington, D.C., May 1 to seek support for ALS research and draw attention to a higher incidence of the fatal disease among military veterans.

nerve cells, robbing its victims of muscle control until they become paralyzed and die, usually within two to fi ve years. T h er e i s n o cu re.

The general was diagnosed with ALS in 2003, and he k n ow s t h ere is l i t t l e ch an ce h e w i l l b eat t h e d isease. H i s fi ght is to improve the odds for future victims, a fi nal call to duty for a mission of hope.

“You can either accept the future or try to make things happen,” he says in the clipped cadence of his native New Eng land. “I try to make things happen.”

So on this bright, wind-blown afternoon, with his eldest daughter about to give birth to his seventh grandchild, Mikolajcik boards a plane for the nation’s capital in an effort t o co n v i n ce Congress and defense offi cials to devote more attention an d f u n d ing to battling this rare neurological disorder.

Studies have found that veterans are much more likely t o c o n t ract the disease t han those w ho have never served in the military.

No one is sure why.

The link emerged when veterans of the 1991 Persian G u l f W ar began reporting symptoms associated with ALS. Two studies determined Gulf War veterans had double the risk of getting the disease of other vets w ho didn’t serve there.

For Air Force veterans, the risk was even higher. Further research by Harvard University scientists revealed that m en serv ing in the military between 1910 and 1982 had a 60 p er cen t greater risk of ALS than non-veterans.

Researchers and military personnel have speculated ab o u t a number of possible causes, from stress and extreme physical exer tion to chemical agents, exposure to heavy metals such as lead ,

anthrax vaccinations or viral infections. Studies, how ever, h ave not determ i ned w hat is beh ind the li nk .

In 2002, the Department of VeteransAffairs acknowledged

a

connection between A L S and service in the G ulf W ar. Congress, in

turn, authorized disability benefi ts for veterans stricken with symp tom s of the disease. But A L S st ill carries a virt ual d eat h sen t en ce.

Mikolajcik knew none of this until he found himself battling ALS. He was not alone. When he fi rst visited Capitol H i l l t o speak about the disease in March, none of the legislators h e m et w i t h w er e aw ar e o f t h e l i n k .

T his form er com m ander of the C harlest on A i r Force Base h as

made it his mission to change that and make the disease a priority issue for the government to tackle.

“I told them that they are going to keep seeing me as long as I am able to go, and when I can’t speak anymore they w i l l h ear m e through a computer until they do something about this,” he says, shouting over the rumble of the Baron’s engines. “I’m not taking no for an answ er.

“The research is not going to help me most likely. But it is going to help out all of these other soldiers when they come b ack h o m e.”

N EV E R G IV E U P

His was a storied career that read like the plot of a Horatio Alger novel: A grandson of Polish immigrants proudly serves his family’s adopted country and rises to the rank of general. Along the way, he commanded a C-130 Wing at Rhein-Main Air Base, Germany, during Desert Shield-Desert Storm, ran all air operations during the Somalia humanitarian campaign, and served as Air Fo r ce director of transportation at the Pentagon.

The general, who retired from the Air Force in 1996, was diag nosed with ALS about 13 years after visiting the Persian G ulf w ar zone. He went for medical tests after experiencing w eak n ess i n h i s arms and noticing that he wasn’t hitting golf balls as far. H e never dream ed he h ad cont ract ed a fatal disease.

Nearly three yearslater, ALShas taken its toll. Mikolajcik’sthinning arms and hands are all but useless. He can no longer dress himself or use the bathroom without assistance. It’s a struggle for him to punch a few buttons on a cell phone or lift a forkful of food to his m outh. H e

can still stand and balance him self, but he needs a w alker or wheelchair

to travel any distance. He requires help to negotiate even a few stairs.

A home health aide visits Mikolajcik three days each w eek f o r a couple of hours, but most of his care falls to his family and a group of loyal neighbors, who have insisted that he accept their help. His two daughters, son and grandchildren live nearby.

His son, 26, has seen the general get frustrated with his plight, break down in tears and grow impatient with the people around him. But he has also seen his father show great courage, fi ghting to be a symbol of dignity and strength as his body rebels against him.

“He has always been such a powerful man, and it is tough to see him go through this,” John Mikolajcik said. “But he is dealing with what life has given him and he is making the best o f i t .”

The general’s voice remains surprisingly clear and strong, and so far, he has avoided the swallowing and breathing problems that plague ALS patients. His wife. Carmen, takes this as a sign he

w as chosen to becom e a voice for a disease t hat so often h as been

relegated to the shadows.

Mikolajcik’sachievements give him credibility, clout an d co n t act s at the highest levels of government. He intends to put those tools to use.

The general readily accepted when the Massachusetts-based ALSTherapy Development Foundation asked him to travel t o Washington in March for a whirlwind visit that packed eight meetings with congressmen and aides into a single day. A d r en al i n powered him through, but he needed three days to recover w h en h e returned home, his energy sapped from the long hours an d t r av el .

Still, Mikolajcik didn’t hesitatewhen asked to accompany founda tion offi cials for a four-day return trip in early May. The nonprofi t bio technology company wants $5 million in defense funds for fi veyears to test and develop ALStherapiesat its Cambridge laboratory. They seek support from congressional offi cialswho can make that happen.

Mikolajcik has also mined Pentagon contacts to arrange a m e e t ing with the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, the top man in charge of military health issues.

In the days before the trip, the general tries to slow dow n and conserve energy, but there are too many things needing h i s at t en tion. He confers with the governor’s offi ce on plans t o d ecl ar e May “ALSAwareness Month” in South Carolina. He meets w i t h offi cials planning the opening of a new ALS clinic in C harlest on ,

C H E C K P C3 I N T S , S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 6

39

Mikolajcik makes a stop in the Cannon House Office Building with representatives of the ALS Therapy Development Foundation, a nonprofit biotechnology group researching ALS.

the fi rst of its kind in the state. He promotes an upcoming walk to raise funds for the local ALS association chapter. H e at t en d s a check presentation from a fundraising drive held at a West Ashley car dealership. He undergoes physical therapy.

On the night before the plane ride, Mikolajcik fi nally eases u p , sending hiswife on without him to awedding for a family friend.

He spends the evening quietly resting with his daughter, Julia, who is due to give birth any day.

H e has com e to t reasure these stolen m om ents as the d i sease

m arches forw ard tow ard it s inev itable conclusion . I t h as m ad e h i m

more refl ective, softening the armor of this aging w ar r i o r.

As the plane bucks and shimmies through a patch of t u r b u l en ce over North Carolina, Mikolajcik’s eyes grow moist as he gives himself over to his memories: his sturdy grandmother shepherd ing the family’s Connecticut farm through the lean years of the Great Depression, his son drawing a smile from PopeJohn Paul II during a private audience in Rome, his wife scrubbing living quar ters for incoming airmen in Germany when maintenance w o r k er s weren’t available during the fi rst Gulf War. H e allow s h im self t hese m om ents, but he ref uses t o b eco m e

maudlin. There is too much work to be done. Always i n h i s m i n d

is the motto that hangs on a sign above his desk at hom e: “ N ever, never, never give up.”

‘ T H E F U T U R E SC A R E S M E ’

A waiter catches his foot on Mikolajcik’s wheelchair an d st u m b l es in the cream-colored dining room of the Melrose Hotel i n Washington’s Foggy Bottom district. The general seems o b l i v i o u s to the interruption, as he is to ornate wall sconces, t h e sm o o t h jazz playing over hidden speakers and the color-splashed paintings of fl oral gardens suspended from the ceiling in gilded f r am es.

Mikolajcik’s attention is focused on James Heywood, ch i ef executive offi cer of the ALSTherapy Development Foundation, 40

as he discusses strategy for a series of upcoming meetings w i t h congressional staffers. Their group, which also includes a lobby

ist and a foundat ion vol unteer, w on’t have m uch t im e t o m ak e i t s

case. They must be concise and convincing.

Heywood knows all too well what is on the line. His b r o t h er Stephen has been battling ALS since 1998 and now must wheelchair to get around, and communicating with the aid of a specialized computer. Heywood insists his lab is helping t o unlock u se

a

t he secrets of this term inal disease. But t hat doesn’t m ean i t w i l l b e

easy getting money to continue the work.

ALS is just one of a litany of debilitating diseases f o r w h i ch researchers are competing for attention and funding. A L S also affects a relatively small percentage of the nation’s population, with about 30,000 people battling the disease at any given time.

They will be pressing their case on a day when lawmakers distracted by nationwide rallies pushing for immigration r ef o r m .

Hundreds still mill about the Capitol protesting the genocide in a r e

D arf ur. A nd dem ands con ti nue t o m ount for bill ions o f d o l l ar s

to fund the ongoing war against terror, the rebuilding of Iraq and resurrect ion of t he G ul f C oast in the w ak e of H urricane K at r i n a.

Mikolajcik sees nothing to lose by asking for help. W h i l e t h e Pentagon has spent $10.5 million since 2003 on ALS resear ch programs, there still exists no single test for the disease, and the only ALS drug on the market prolongs life for just a few m ore m ont hs, on average. They will argue that the nation’s veterans d eserv e b et t er.

The National Registry of Veterans with ALS has enrolled ab o u t 1,500 veterans since it began in 2003. Of those, about 6 8 0 h av e died, according to project coordinator Barbara Norman.

“It’s like you said before,” lobbyist Jonathan Orloff tells the general. “It’s not enough to pay them to do a job and then forget them when they come home.”

The general swings his knees back and forth as he sits i n h is wheelchair and listens. Dressed in a crisp gray suit w i t h an A m er i -

C H E C K P O I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

can fl ag pin on thelapel, he isanxiousfor theday to begin. He knowsit takestimeto changepoliciesand minds, but h e d o esn’t

have that luxury. His clock is running faster than those around him .

As the group picksat the remnants of breakfast, Mikolajcik t el l s them about ayoung Air Force sergeant who was recently forced into an early retirement by ALS. The airman hasawife and four children to support.

“He had his whole life ahead of him,” the general says, shaking his head slowly. He wonders how many more soldiers w ill follow in his path with another Gulf War still under way. “ T he fut ure scares m e. T he n um bers scare m e.”

A C H AN C E E N C O U N T E R

Mikolajcik’s day becomes a blur of cab rides, security checkpoints, crowded elevators and closed-door meetings. Each appointment is in a different building on one side of the Capitol or the other.

Over and over, he recites a laundry list of statistics and presses his case for action. Over and over, he hears how money is tight.

He and his group take their victories where they can: a promise to speak with an infl uential committee, a pledge to look deeper i n t o t h e i ssu e.

Inside a marble corridor in the bustling Senate offi ce building, a man with an ID badge dangling from his slacks strides up with an outstretched hand and the general’s name rolling off his tongue.

Mikolajcik looks at him uncertainly, not placing the face.

“I used to work for you in Charleston,” the man explains.

Mikolajcik nods. “Nice to see you again. What are you doing these days?”

The man says he is a clerk for a Senate appropriations su b co m m it t ee that oversees vet erans afl Fairs issues. A sm ile spreads across Mikolajcik’s face. “You’re just the guy I want to talk to,” he says.

“You got fi ve minutes?”

John Mikolaj cik helps his fat her, Thomas, int o a Beec hc raf t Ba ro n at t he

Manassas, Va., airport

after spending a few days in Washington, D.C., w here t he ret ired A ir

Force brigadier general sought support from lawmakers and Pent agon of f icia ls f o r m o re

research int o a higher

incidence of ALS among milit ary vet erans.

Befo re the man can answer, the general launches into his pre

sentation. By the time they part ways, Mikolajcik has ext ract ed a promise from the staffer to visit theALSfoundation’sl ab t o see

fi rsthand the work being done to combat the disease. Mikolajcik indulges in a grin ashiswheelchair glidesalong the highly pol ished fl oor to his next stop.

Other members of the group yawn and down double-shots of espresso as the day wearson, but thegeneral seemsjuiced on adrenalin, always ready for the next battle.

“This is like a war ... where at times you get to witness great acts of valor,” Heywood says. “I have never heard him say ‘W ho do I blame for this?’ He says ‘I have to fi ght this. How can I do my part?’ To me, that is true leadership.”

A D U T Y T O H ELP

A warm breeze tickles the trees along the National M all as John Mikolajcik wheels his father to a stop and locks the chair’s brak es.

While his son wanders off to take some photographs, Mikolajcik relaxes, the late-afcernoon sun bathing his face in an amber glow.

He has just come from a meeting at the Pentagon where h e and Heywood made a presentation before Assistant Secretary of D efense for H ealt h A f fairs W ill iam W ink enw erder and v ar i o u s

military representatives. They had hoped for 30 minutes and received 45. No one promised funding, but the offi cials sh ow an interest in examining the issue further. It was a start.

Tomorrow, Mikolajcik will return to Charleston and rest . H e feels the trip has gonewell, an opinion shared by Heywood and his group.

If nothing else, they have planted a seed in the minds o f a f ew more people who may be in a position to help.

The general squints behind his sunglasses as his son w heels him down the lush green hill toward the Vietnam Veterans M em o r i al .

He wants his son to feel the wall’s power and comprehend t h e

sacrifi ce it represents. That, and offer a short prayer for one nam e

etched in the granite along line 31.

At the Air Force Academy, Mikolajcik had roomed with R o n al d

L. Bond, whose planewasshot down over Laos in September

1971. The general’s eyes still mist over when he talks of Bond’s younger sister, who was pierced to the core by her brother’s death .

“Say a prayer for him, son,” he whispers to John.

Sacrifi ce. Duty to country. Loyalty to one’s comrades: simple, straightforward ideals that guided Mikolajcik through nearly three decades in the military. They are hard to shake.

T he sun has faded and t he clouds have taken on a lavender h u e

as Mikolajcik sits at World War II Memorial a short t i m e l at er.

He stares long and hard at a fi eld of golden stars representing

the 400,000 A m ericans w ho died in the confl ict . Etch ed i n st o n e

beneath: “Here we mark the price of freedom.”

The air is fi lled with the sounds of shouting and laughter dozens of school children on fi eld trips dart about, chasing one another and mugging for cameras in front of fountains and spires.

Mikolajcik wonders what wars they will wage someday, w h at uniforms they will wear.

These are the thoughts to give him purpose, a reason to fi ght on.

“I have to fi ght now so that the soldiers who come after m e won’t have to face this disease,” he says. “When there is something you can do to make the world a better place and help som eone, I

A bou t A L S Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a pro gressive neurodegenerat ive disease t hat at t ac ks m o t o r ne u ro n c e lls in t h e b ra in

and spinal cord. As nerve cells atrophy and die, so do t he muscles t hat depend on t he messages t hey t ransmit . Pat ients slowly become paralyzed. Most people

survive two to five years following diag nosis, according to t he ALS Associat ion.

a s

Fo r mo re inf o rm at io n, co nt act t he

Sout h Carolina chapt er of t he A LS Asso ciat io n at RO . Box 280, Charlest o n, SC 29402 o r at (843) 971-0933, o r t o ll f ree at 8 6 6 -4 9 2 -4 8 2 1 .

think you have to try to do it.” H

A L S an d t h e m i l i t ■ ALS is t he only named disease under t he umbrella of w hat

earlier was called "Gulf War Syndrome."

■ A LS has d o ub le t he incid ence rat e f o r G ulf W ar I v e t e r a n s t h a n n o n -G u lf W a r v e t e ra n s.

■ Deployed Air Force personnel have highest risk at 2 .7 t imes higher.

■ A ll vet erans (W W II, Ko rea, Viet N am , et c.) are show n t o h av e

a 60 percent higher risk t han non-veterans.

■ Veterans develop ALS at younger ages t han t he general populat ion.

3EN . (RET.) T H O M AS M I KOLAJCI K, ’69 lo w ret u rn o n inv e st m e nt .

■ The VA started a registry of veterans with ALS in 20 0 3 . T h e voluntary sign up started with 1588 patients. In July 2 0 0 6 there were only 956 remaining.

■ Because of the documented relationship to military service, DOD and the VA need to step forward and aggressively f u n d re se a rc h .

Note: Where is DOD spending its research money? The t o p

projects of t he DO D Congressionally Direct ed Medical Re se a rc h (CDMR) are as follows wit h approximate '05 appropriat ions;

■ We can expect to see many more vet erans diagnosed w it h ALS t o include t hose serving in Iraq and Afghanistan o v e r t h e next 5 t o 10 years.

Breast Cancer $200m Prost at e Cancer $85m

■ It has been nearly 70 years since Lou Gehrig announced t h at even t hough he had ALS, he was t he luckiest man on t h e f a ce

O varian Cancer $4m

of the planet. Why haven't we found something to arrest o r

c u re A LS?

■ ALS is an orphan disease with only about 30,000 American patients—no known cause or cure with only one FDA approved

drug, Rilutek, that may slow the disease progression a f e w m o nt hs.

■ Drug companies won't invest much because of the potentially

N eurof ib ro mat osis $28m Trub ero us Sclerosis $4m

No study finding an increased incidence in military personnel for these diseases has been found thus far. Cert ainly, however, t he general populat ion numbers, and therefore those within the military subset, are quite substantial for the first two mentioned. N e u ro f ib ro matosis and Tuberous Sclerosis are genetic condit ions m o st o f te n diagnosed at birth or in childhood. Therefore, a military co rre lat io n is difficult. ALS is obviously a far stronger case, w it h st u d ies a n d numbers to support substantial DoD research funding.

■a*.. fVS!| 1 •* ■

f W. V

Photo court esy of Les Querry, '60

Once Vpon a ‘T'i me

t

•

0

Remember all the great stories your classmates shared wit h one anot her at your last reunion? Well now is your chance to share some of the most import ant memories of your life with the 25,000 readers of Checkpoints magazine, which includes a large part of t he Cadet Wing.

As the Academy and the Association of Graduates celebrate t h is in st it ut io n 's 50t h a n n i versary, the staff of Checkpoints wants to publish your cadet experiences and stories of how your four years at the Academy affected your career a n d lif e .

Although we can't guarantee every submission will be published, we hope many of you will take time to share your first-hand account of the Long Blue Line's heritage and history.

Please keep your story between 500- 2,000 words. If you have photos, please include them. Digital copies of photos must be in "jpg" file format , at a resolut ion of no less t han 300 dots per inch at 7 inches wide.

E-mail your story and photos to editor@aogusafa.org. If you choose to mail your st ory, please include a digital copy of your story on a CD or floppy disk. If you mail prints, we'll make sure you get them back in the condition they were s e n t .

■■ » »'

Toget her again aft er 40 years her who'd been missing since

V iet na m b u rie d next t o. lo ve o f h is lif e

Story by Tom Roeder, Th e G azet t e

A

funeral at theAir ForceAcademy on Sept. 7 could have been about w ar and heroism .

Theservicewasfor Maj. Burke H. Morgan, a 1961 graduatew h o h ad b een

missing in action for nearly 40 years after his plane w as shot dow n over L aos i n a secret chapter of the Vietnam War. He was a decorated hero, found only aft er decades of government searching.

An honor guard and a fl y-over by jets paid tribute to h is service.

But eulogists focused on the one thing that didn’t fade after the former Manitou Springs

r esi d en t d i ed .

Photos by Ken Wright

I

44

L ov e.

It’s something that lasted 55 years between Morgan and his w ife, Mary, who for decades held onto hope that he would be found alive. Many at the service said love continues on a higher plane.

Morgan’s casket was buried beside Mary’s at the Academy cemetery. It is proof, one of Mor gan’s classmates said, that the fl ower of young love can be nurtured for a lifetime and beyond.

“Lasting love is something to be treasured,” said retired Col. Bob Brickey, ’61, who joined scoresof membersof the classof 1961 in remembering the long-missing airman.

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

Morgan and Mary met at 15—apair of military bratsbrought

together at a base in Alaska by their fathers’ careers.

They were engaged at 16, but their parents urged them to delay a wedding so Morgan could pursuehisdream of attending a military academy.

A letter Morgan wrote to his father in 1956, read at the service, talksof how painful thewait was for him.

Morgan spent two yearsat TexasA&M University before en r o l l ing at the Air Force Academy.

His family and Mary’sfamily moved to Colorado Springsso t he couple could be together and the parentscould keep th em from doing something rash.

A yearbook description of Morgan callshim “amarried m an,” though heand Mary waited until graduation day to get h i t ch ed .

ev e n

Even an unthinkablewedding day mishap didn’t dissuade the two. t>

Left Top: Col. Steve Baker, ’81, presents an American f lag to Morgan’s sister, Lynne.

Lef t Inset : Cadet First Class Burke Morgan, ’6 1 .

Right Top & Bottom : Fam ily, f riends and classm ates c a m e t o t he Academy cemetery to pay respect to t he f allen warrior.

m

USAFA Honor Guard carry the coffin of Maj . Burke Morgan, ’61 , who was killed in act ion over Laos in 1967.

“Mary wrecked her soon-to-be husband s new Corvette the way to the ceremony at First Methodist Church in C olorado Springs,” her daughter, Danna Barnes of Seattle, said.

the missing fl ier seem larger than life.

disclosure about the crushed sportscar didn’t stop Morgan from

In her later years, Mary battled a liver disease brought on by a parasite she picked up in Central America. Doctors thought the

It wasn’t long before the two-seater Corvettegavew ay t o a station wagon for thegrowing Morgan family. First cam e D anna,

t ion t o battle the disease cam e from her desire to see Morgan again.

o n

But Mary walked the rest of theway to her wedding, and the

saying, “I do.”

then her brother Kyle.

“They adored Danna and Kyle,” Morgan’ssister Lynne Sch u st er

said . “ I m ean adored .”

Fighting in Vietnam pulled Morgan from histreasured h o m e life. The navigator quickly proved hisprowess in the air, earning a Distinguished Flying Cross in 1963.

Between war tours, Morgan wasa homebody, enjoying t h e

simple pleasures of cigars and football on television.

Dannasaid shewasangry when her father had to go away again.

“I threw a tantrum,” she said, remembering emotionsshe fel t at 4. “I yelled at him and cried. I told him hewould get hurt again

He said his mother often told heroic tales of his father, making

“ She idolized h im .”

diseasewould kill her quickly and weresurprised she held on .

In a letter to Brickey, Mary showed that some of the d et er m i n a

“I wanted to grow old and crotchety with Burke,” shew r o t e .

Danna said her mother changed when she learned last fal l th at Morgan’s remains were coming home.

“It was a sigh of relief and death to her,” Danna said.

She died in February.

TheRev. Bob Browning, a 1959 academy graduatewho spoke a t

Morgan’sfuneral, hasan ideawhat Mary found on theother side. “ ‘Welcome home.’ I think Burke said that to Mary.” S

and not com e hom e. I w ish I hadn’t said that .”

On Aug. 22, 1967, Morgan’splane, an A-26 Invader, was shot

down on amission to bomb and strafeconvoyson theH o C h i M i n h

trail in Laos. The family has been told he survived t h e crash though hisparachutedidn’t deploy, but hewasshot by enemy troops. ev e n

Thepilot, Maj. John C. Kerr, went down with the plane an d

remains missing.

Dannasaid thecrash devastated her mother, but Mary rebounded by going back to school and fi ghting along asasinglem other. She remarried, but thelovethat grabbed her asateenager didn’t fade.

Editorsnote: Fiveyearsago in thedaysimmediatelyf ollowing the

tragic events of 9/11 another f allen classmate returned home. Maj or Victor Apodaca,’61 remains were turned over to U S. authori ti es 3 4 yearsaft er hisF—4C Phantomj et went down in North Vi et n a m .

Victor wasburied at theAcademy cemetery on September 14, 2 001 during the4ff ^ reunion of hiscadet class. Thestory of Victor ’s return to hisalma mater hasbeen told to every classsince.

“She defi nitely held onto hope that he was still alive,” said Kyle Craig, Morgan’s son who was 18 months old when his fat her died .

46

C H E C K PO I N T S

SE PT E M B E R 20 0 6

r H E D IST IN G U ISH ED G K A D U AT E AW A R D D G

N o m i n a t io n I n st r u ct io n s

D G

T

i he Distinguished Graduate Award recognizes exceptional graduates who have set themselves apart by making extraordinarily significant contributions t o o u r n at i on an d / o r t h ei r co m m u n i t ies. I t i s a unique honor bestowed by the U.S. Air ForceAcademy and the AOG, recognizing graduates whose accomplishmentsareinspirational and elevatethereputation and thestanding of theU.S. Air ForceAcademy.

Distinguished graduatesshould provide an example to all graduates and cadets of the standards that wevalue and of the abilities that have made our country and society great. This is our opportunity to recognize gradu ates who can serve as an inspiration to future generations o f A m er i ca’s lead ers.

To nominate someonef or the2007

Distinguished GraduateAward:

Anyone may submit a three-page nomination

package. All packagesmust besubmitted by April 30, 2007. Page one should include:

— Professional accomplishments - Education history

Ti m el i n e

May 2006 - April 2007 Award is publicized and nominations are accepted. Nomination packages must be submit ted by April 30, 2007.

- Professional organizations - Professional career summary, include job titles and location - Honors, awards and public recognition

M ay - August 2007

- T hree additional references (include

recipient to AOG chairman of the board and U.S. Air ForceAcademy superintendent.

Recipient is notified and agrees to accept award at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

— Gommunity service

addresses and phone numbers) Pages two and three should include a strong written justification.

Send nomination packages to:

Selection committee reviews nomination packages.

September 2007

Select i on co m m i t t ee reco m m en d s aw ard

April 2008 Award presentation ceremony at U.S. Ai r Force Academy in conjunction with Founders Day.

A ssoci at io n o f G r ad u at es

3116 Academy Drive USAF Academy, GO 80840-4475

or e- m ail as a M S W o rd at t ach m en t t o

dick.rauschkolb@aogusafa.org

r

DG

For m ore inform ation, contact D ick Rauschkolb, ’70,

vice president for communications, at (719) 472-0300 or dick.rauschkolb@aogusafa.org.

Additional information may be found on the AOG Web site at www.usafa.org

I

It seems like every day somewhere in the world an Academy grad is recognized in t he news

for an outstanding achievement or for making our country better than it was just yesterday. Here are a few from the " Long Blue Line" who showed up on our radar screen this past quarter.

Ca ld e ro n , '8 4 , cha irs VCU

Joe Calderon, ’84, was elected in June as V ist erra C red it U nion’s new C hairm an of the Board . T he $430 m ill ion credi t

union is based in Moreno Valley, Calif.

Calderon will serve a 3-year term and has previously served on the board for a total of four years.

Yoder, ’82 , takes over Engineering M e c h a n ic s

Veteran B-I B bomber pilot Col. Thomas Yoder, ’82, recently took charge of Dean of the Faculty’s Engineering Mechanics Department at the Air Force Academy.

Yoder said the Academy’s engineering mechanics and mechanical engineering programs are the fi nest in the world.

“The faculty is handpicked and repre sents the best possible learning-focused educat ors and the fi nest i n their fi elds of

expertise,” said the colonel.

“The lab facilities are top notch giving the cadets every possible opportunity to excel in their challenges. Every one of our engineering majors is given a full year of design experience that takes them out of the classroom and allows them to apply

signment as U.S. European Command headquarters plans and policies director at Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany. (Courtesy Ai r Force Recruiting Service/PA)

2004 . I n her new rol e. G eneral V aut ri not

Ree d , ’7 0 , eyes Nove m be r e lect io n D emocrat Chuck Reed, ’70, received the

t us Rem k es, ’77, w ho headed A PRS since

is t he fi rst fem ale to lead A i r Force recrui t

ing in the service’s 52-year history.

In her fi rst address to the troops, the Recruiting Service members for provid ing a fi rst-class impression of the Air

nod from San Jose primary election voters recently to take on the city’s vice mayor in November’s general election. If elected, Reed would be mayor of the country’s 10th largest city.

t o ex cel l en ce.”

Co o pe r, ’8 7 , rece ives covet ed

new com m ander lauded all A i r Force

Force w it h an en th usiast ic “com m it m ent

“Everything I’ve seen in AFRS includes all of these qualities and more, and I promise to never change that,” she said.

General Vautrinot also briefl y addressed the challenges recruiting service, as well as all airmen, face as budgetary constraints and manning reductions continue.

As AFRS com mander, Vautrinot leads four

design efforts that compete with designs

groups and 28 squadronswith more than 3,270 active-duty and 305 civilian recruiters and support personnel, assigned to locations in the United States, England, Germany, Italy, Japan, Puerto Rico and Guam. The organization is charged with the develop ment, implementation and management of enlisted and offi cer recruiting programs.

Force customers.” (Gourtesy USAFA/PA)

promotion to major general and for reas

thei r ed ucat ion and sk ills to real-w orld

from other universit ies or serve real Ai r

48

Vaut rinot , '8 2, makes history Brig. Gen. Suzanne Vautrinot, ’82, recently took command of Air Force Recruiting Service from Brig. Gen. Rober-

G eneral Rem k es w as selected for

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

a w a rd

Lt. Gol. Stephen Gooper, ’87, has been awarded the 2006 Outstanding Acad emy Educator Award at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

Cooper was chosen from more than 450 instructors at the academy, from which 23 were nominated. The outstanding academy educator must exhibit academic

excellence, benefi cial classroom i nteract ion

and professional performance while receiv ing positive comments from both students and professors.

Cooper has taught in the computer sciences area for three years. He instructs basic introductory and information tech nology courses plus a class on unmanned aerospace vehicles where he trains acad-

emy studentsto create, fl y, destroy and communicate with unmanned planes.

(Courtesy TheDaily News)

Lindsey, ’82 , promoted by NASA Col. Steve Lindsey, ’82, has been pro

moted to Chief of the Astronaut O ffi ce not ed N A SA in a recent m em o. T he

promotion takes affect Oct.1.

Lindsey was selected by NASA in 1995 and becam e an ast ronaut in 1996. H e

served as pilot on STS-87 in 1997 and ST S-95 in 1998, and was the mission

com m ander on ST S- 104 in 200 1 and

STS-121 in July 2006.

Before heading into space with Discovery on STS-121, Lindsey offered some of his thoughts on his career path with NASA,

noting how “fortunate” hisriseup the

ranks w ith both the A i r Force and N A SA h as b een .

the Air Force Academy, which would basically allow you to do both. So, I

a m em ber of t h e Execu t ive C om m i t t ee

tesy Nasaspacefl ight.com)

Shupe previously held this position from 2003- 2005; he also serves locally

applied and was fortunate enough to get accepted,” he noted to NASA.gov. (Cour

representative body of all USO chapters throughout the United States.

Ko lbe , ’7 0 , re ce ives aw a rds

on the board of directors for the U SO of

ship for Excellence in Teaching. Kolbe also

Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey (Liberty USO) and related organizations.

Shupe is chair of Schnader Harrison

to receive the two awards, as well as the

Torts Practice Group and also chairs the Firm’s Aviation Group. A retired Air Force command pilot, Shupe served more than 23 years in the active and reserve

Dr. Phillip T. Kolbe, ’70, has been awarded the Morgan Keegan Professor

received the Distinguished Faculty Award from The University College at The Uni versity of Memphis.

Dr. Kolbe is the only U of M professor Distinguished Teaching Award twice.

He is also the fi rst recipient of the

Thomas W. Briggs Foundation for Excel

Shupe, 76 , chairs USO council At the USO World Leadership Confer

was in high school, about a place called

Shupe, ’76, was elected to serve both as

to fl y airplanes. I found out, when I

Segal & Lewis’s Product Liability/Mass

forces and has more than 4,400 hours of

fl ight timeon avariety of jet aircraft. 9

lence in Teaching Award and the Suzanne Downs Palmer Professorship in Teaching.

go to engineering school. And, I wanted

“I always wanted to be an engineer, to

and Chair of U SO A ffi liate Council , a

ence held in San A ntonio, Texas, D enny

Special Thanks O n behalf of the Association of Graduates staff, I w ould lik e t o t hank

Maj. Gen. Irv Halter, ’77, for his superb leadership and support during

his tenure here. Irv has done a magnifi cent job as vice superintendent. He came here under the most diffi cult circumstances and tackled the tough i ssu e s

with tremendousvigor and enthusiasm. Hiseffortsallowed both L t .

Gen. John Rosa and Lt. Gen. John Regni, ’73, to focus on strategic issues while he ran the day-to-day operations of the Academy.

On a personal note, I would like to thank Irv for histremendous sup

port for theAOG. He used every opportunity to thank the associat ion for itssupport of theAcademy and itscadets. He realized the importance of theAOG in building the future leadersof our Air Force an d n at i o n . W e wish Judy and him all the best asthey move on to Randolph A FB , T exas where he will be the Commander of 19'*’ Air Force.

Jim Shaw, ’67, President and CEO

Photo by Danny Meyer 49

Fir st Tw in s at A FA Dean & Wayne Jones, Class of 1961 V

I

1

BY DEA N JO N ES, '6 1I It all began in 1945, when my

id en t i

cal TWIN BROTHER, W aYNE, AND I TOOK OUR FIRST TRAIN RI D E A L L T H E W AY FRO M

NORTHERN KANSASTO VISIT OUR BROTHER, EuGENE, AT A r DMOREA i R Ba SE IN O kl ahoma. H e was a capt ain in t he A r my Air Cor p and a r a d i o i n st r u c t o r IN THE HUGE AND BEAUTIFUL BOEING B- 17 Fl YING FORTRESS. T aLK ABOUT FIRST

impr essions! As gung-ho eight -year ol ds, we wer e t ot al l y spel l bo u n d !

50

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

Previous page: Top: Graduation day, 1961.

Bottom: 10,000+ flying hours later, and still

going strong.

dorms) to compare notes on how things

weregoing. Big mistake!! First of all, doo liesdidn’t just wander off to another dorm.

But what’s worse, we would get chewed out for m istak es the other one had com m itted!

Sweep forward to 1955, and Wayneand

M ost of the AT O s and academ ic inst ructors had no idea there w ere tw o of us. T his con

at Washburn University, Topeka, Kan. We

tinued until probably our First Classyear, when Wayne was on 3rd Group Staff and I

I enrolled in A ir Force ROT C as freshm en

got ridesin theC-47 and T-29, learned to spit-shineshoes, and saw glimpsesof the

fumreAir Force at the research and develop

ment w ind tunnels at Tullahom a, Tenn. T he

next summer, through Eugene’sconnections, weworked at DouglasAircraft’s testing division in Santa Monica, Calif , doing test data reduction analysiswith huge Friden calculators. W e had no clue w hat calibrated

airspeed, sideslip, yaw, and angle of attack

were, but our boss. Art Richter, armed with

a master’s degree in aerodynamics from Cal Tech, patiently introduced us to the engi neering side of fl ying.

And then it happened! One fateful day in the fall of 1956, our ROT C class was visited

by Lt. JoeYeager, West Point grad and RB-47 pilot at ForbesAFB. He had been selected as an Air Training Offi cer at the fl edgling new Air ForceAcademy at Lowry AFB in Colorado and was recruiting new cadets. As all the early classes at USAFA will attest, it was not possible to say “NO” to Lt. Yeager (he taught the “Spirit of the Bayonet” course, and later wasbrought back as a charismatic motivational speaker at big football rallies).

Since our college fundswere rapidly deplet ing, and wewanted to go Air Force anyway, we decided to go aft er the limited USAFA appointment allocations for Kansas.

Luckily, we both landed appointments from Senator Frank Carlson, who, ironically, was the governor of Kansas when Wayne and I served as “pages” (i.e., errand boys) in the Kansas legislature as eighth graders (he also attended our graduation from USAFA).

So in the sum m er of 1957, aft er som e fun

press releases on “the fi rst twins to win AFA appointments,” we set out for Lowry.

On our fi rst day on the quadrangle, we were confronted by none other than Lt. JoeYeager, who immediately ripped into both of us for sloppy appearance, multiple cables on uniform , unshined shoes, etc.,

etc. Then, with a slight grin he said, “Good to see you here, Jones,” and walked off During doolie summer, Wayne and I tried to link up (we were in separate groups/

USto follow. T he fi rst three classes (’59,’60

and ’61) were small and tight-knit, expe rienced the ATO phenomenon, and had considerable college experience. They are

still probably the most cohesive classesin

the Long Blue Line. Our ’61 classmates have remained among our closest friends.

In an interesting example of mutual

wason Wing Staff, and thusmorevisible.

support, Wayneand I met our futurewives through each other. Asamember of our

During oneperiod, wedated identical

Jo McNeilly/Jones and her friend, who had dated Wayne, pulled up in Jo’s Nash Metro

Among our classmates, some could immediately tell us apart (mostly our squadron-mates), while otherswere never sure, especially if we weren’t together. tw ins from D enver. W e w ere never sure if

we were dating the same one, so we had to keep our stories straight. We never knew if they had the same problem. People certainly did the double-take (no pun intended) when we all walked down the

street. We both went to Ft. Benning for USAFA’s fi rst participation in U.S. Army ParachuteTraining in 1958. The grizzled old Army NCOs that trained us didn’t quite know how to handle these cocky young Air Force guys—they weren’t offi cers but they weren’t enlisted, either—and here were two of them that looked just alike!

Despite the “jump start” afforded by our previous background at Douglas, ROTC, and two years of college math and English, we remember the fi rst couple of years at USAFA as demanding and pressure-packed.

Like drinking out of a fi re hose! TheATOs probably had the most dramatic impact on our young military lives. They were spit-andpolish professionals, precise, cocky, loud and obnoxious, driven, tough, knowledgeable, and caring. It is amazing, in retrospect, how theAir Force got these talented pick-of-thelitter offi cers to put promising fl ying careers on hold while they volunteered to play nursemaid and “upper classmen” to us. The Air Force made up for it, though, taking many of them to general offi cer ranks.

Our Class of 1961 was the only class to have the “privilege” of being led at the senior cadet levels by the same class, “ 1959”, Pqj. years running. The ATOs had departed, and there wasn’t a senior class yet in 1958. Although there were some steep learning curves and a little over-zealousness on occasions, the Class of

1959 stepped up to the plate and set some good leadership standards for the rest of C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

class Dance Committee, I introduced Wayne to Mary Dills/Jones at a dance on our field

trip visit to Wright-Patterson APB, Ohio.

politan and started talking to “Wayne.” Seiz ing the initiative, as cadets have done since Day One, I got her phone number, and the rest is history. Those chance meetings and choices have transformed into 45 years of marriage and still going strong!

Looking back on our USAFA experi ences, we both conclude that it was the

crucible that truly molded and shaped our careers and the rest of our l ives. W e both

had full and satisfying careers, with lots of flying (over 5,000 hours each). Wayne was in photo-mapping, tactical airlift, and, after test pilot school, in the R& D world, including the C-17 forerunner prototype program and development of the global positioning satellite. I was mostly in the tactical world as a fi ghter pilot, ALO/FAC, and part of the initial Green Flag cadre.

The only time we were stationed close to each other w as in V iet nam , w here w e

saw each other occasionally while picking up combat hours. Distinguished Flying C rosses and A i r M edals in t he A C -47

Gunship and O-I E FAC airplanes.

We both agree while reminiscing about

our careers t hat w e of ten had t o reach back

into the USAFA experience to meet and overcome the many challenges we faced along the way. Some old concepts that worked so well at school, such as persever ance, keeping the end goals in sight, the real payoffs from teamwork, cooperate and graduate, and “yes sir, no sir, no excuse sir” kept getting reapplied over and over. We consider ourselves truly fortunate to have attended the Air Force Academy. From our time-tested perspective, it fulfi lled its mission in spades of preparing us for pro fessional military careers and combat. We

wear our ringswith great pride! H

51

▼

A

I

^ his is an historic era for the

United StatesAir ForceAcademy.

USAFA is celebrating its golden Anniversary and your Associa tion of Graduates has embarked on a ground breaking fund raising campaign. The Cam paign—Building Leaders of Character f or the Nation—^will take theAcademy to new levels of excellence and give our cadets the best experiences to prepare them for leadership in an increasingly complex world.

To be certain, the Air Force, the Depart ment of Defense, and Congresshavehistori cally demonstrated a strong commitment to the Air Force Academy. Their commitment continues, with federal funds being used to provide the core programs and the Acade my’s basic annual operations. However, the Academy is not an institution built on ade quacy. It has always strived for distinction.

TheAcademy and theAOG concluded that private funds could play a vital and expand ing role in achieving a new level of excel lence for our cadets and graduates.

In 2001, several thingshappened to position the AOG to embark on a major comprehen sive campaign. TheAOG Board of Directors, under the leadership of Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Marc Anderson, ’61, reviewed theAcademy’sstrate gic plan and concluded that the organization could accept the challenge of leading a major fundraising campaign to assist the Academy in achieving its mission and goals. TheAOG recognized that the alumni associations of

for support, which was frustrating and con

thecampaign could beapivotal event in Acad emy history. John liked the notion that a $1 million gift of “seed money” would yield much more down the road and eagerly donated the fi rst million dollar gift to the campaign.

The next step was to ask Washburn & McGoldrick to conduct a feasibility study to recommend a campaign goal, assess the case ^ for support, and test the response of inter- i viewees toward a key list of identifi ed needs « compiled by the AOG staff working with*

fusing for donors. We wanted one “ask,”

then w e w ould distribute donations to the

separate organizations. In sum. I’m con vinced the comprehensive campaign was the right decision at the right time, and the Academy will benefi t greatly for many years to come,” A nderson refl ected.

Concurrently, in Feb. 2001, the AOG

, Board retained the services of W ashburn &

I McGoldrick to provide an assessment of the

Academysenior leadership.Aspart of thefea-fr

I internal readiness of theAOG to conduct

an aggressive $100 million+ comprehensive campaign. This was the same consulting ii fi rm used by West Point to conduct their feasibility study. Washburn & McGoldrick

sibility study, Washburn & McGoldrick rep

resentatives conducted 54 interviews w ith 57 individuals: 54 m en and three w om en . T he

interviewees represented Academy classes from 1959-1996, with wide geographic dis tribution, and diff erent professionsand inter est levels. At the conclusion of the study, the fi rm recommended a target campaign goal of

I concluded theAOG and theAcademy had

I arrived at a strategic window of opportunity ■to put in placetheappropriateinfrastructure and embark on an eff ort to raise the levels of

privatephilanthropic investment.

During this time, John Martin, ’69, app roached the AOG and the Superintendent Lt. Gen. J.D. Dallager, ’69, to ask how he could help. Jim Shaw, ’67 President/CEO of

$ 100 m illion .

In coordination with the Academy, the AOG staff compiled a “wish list” of funding requests. The departments and programs in theacademic, military, and athletic arenasprotheAssociation of Graduates suggest^i that ^ ^ vided ideas for thevisionary thingsthey would

our sister service academ ies. W est Point and

Annapolis, had undertaken their own com prehensive campaignswith great success. The leadership of the AOG engaged in extensive conversations with its counterparts to under stand the opportunities and challenges inher ent in undertaking such a commitment.

“The decision to embark on a comprehen sive campaign was driven by what the board saw as important Academy needs that could only be met by private funding”, said Ander

■*7 -v

son. “ Plus, we saw the success that W est Point

and Annapolis had experienced in their cam paigns. We wanted our Academy and our cadets to experience a new level of excellence and the comprehensive campaign was the

veh icle t o d o t h at .”

But asall leadersknow, plan execution oft en requires the support of many organizations.

“We wanted to consolidate Academy pri vate fundraising under one umbrella. In the past, fi ve separate organizations were asking 52

!>1

N'

* St .

,

\

do w ith unlimited fo nds. A t the conclusion

of the exercise, theAcademy returned with an overall handing request list of more than $600 million in projects. Knowing that Washburn & McGoldrick had recommended a working goal of $100 million, the AOG staff coordi nated with then-Superintendent Lt. Gen.John

Dallager, ’69, to understand hisprioritiesand

pare the wish list of fi anding requests to $100 million. The selected campaign prioritieswere also shaped by the feasibility study interviews.

AOG leaders knew they needed to select campaign priorities which represented the mission elements and purposes of the Acad emy which appealed to potential donors.

Working together, the Academy and AOG staf s adopted campaign priorities that they thought would be important now, as well as 25 years down the road. Dick Rauschkolb, ’70, Vice President, Communications with the assistance of Sean Pieri, then V ice Presi

dent, Development wrote the campaign case statement and titled it Building Leaders of Characterf or theNation. Bob McAllister, Ken Wright, and Sarah Wright from the commu nications staff

took the w ritten w ords and

made them come to life through their excep tional photographsand graphic design.

O ver the course of the Buildi nv Leaders of

to ensure that our graduates are intellectually

prepared to lead our Air Forceand nation; $10 m illion fo r athletic endeavors, w hich are crit i

cal to preparing our cadets fo r military service; $7.5 million fo r heritage projects, to tell the story of theLong BlueLine; and $22.5 million fo r undesignated priorities which allow the superintendent to take advantage of opportu nities and technologies as they emerge.

In 2002, externally-focused development staff members were hired and began visiting with graduates, parents, corporations, founda tions, and friends of the Academy to discuss the campaign. On July 1, 2003, theAOG offi cially launched the Building Leadersof Charac ter f or theNation Campaign. To date, we have raised nearly $30 million toward our total goal from over 12,000 donors. This is a ringing endorsement of the path and opportunity the AOG has seized to position the Academy and itsgraduatesfor anew level of excellencein this century. John Martin, ’69, Harry Pearce, ’65, Dick Schlosberg, ’65, Ted Legasey, ’67, and Jack Kucera, ’78, havemadeseven fi guredona tions to the campaign. Harry Pearce, Dick Schlosberg and Jack Kucera are the campaign co -ch ai rs.

i si

The Building Leaders of Character f or the

N ation Campaim is am bitious and im portant .

? I" ' . >

I

■ - M A N’S F LI G HT -■TH RO UGH LIFE IS SUSTAI N ED BY TH E t mPOW ER O F' H IS

Building Leader s of Char act er for t he Nat ion

The Campaign for t he Fut ure of t he Air Force Academy

By Jennifer Bat eman X

-

r- ^

Phot o by Ken W r ight

AOGhelps y CJ^f A

By Capt. Shawn D. McKelvy, Assistant Professor, Department of Law

I S s n in e

at annual international law competitions L is past academic year, with a generous gift from the Association of Graduates, the Academy was able to send six cadets to distant lands to compete in two dif ferent international law competitions. In March 2006, then-C adets First C lass T aren C lem ent and Robi n

Herndon and then-Cadet Second Class April McDonald r ep re sented the Academy at the 14'*’ Annual Jean-Pictet I n t er n at i o n al Humanitarian Law Competition in Vranjaka Banja, Serbia-Montenegro. In April 2006, then-Cadet First Class Adam Sw ift , and then-Cadets Second ClassJose Garcia-Reyes and Jordan W i l h el m participated in the 5'*' Annual Law of Armed Confl ict Competi tion for Military Academies hosted by the International I n st i t u t e of Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy.

To help prepare for the two competitions, all six cadets h ad already taken Law 361, the Law of Armed Confl ict course taught during the fall. Then in the spring, Maj . Jason Wrachford, Capt.

Shawn McKelvy and Professor Chad Austin, all from the D epart

m ent of L aw, creat ed a custom th ree-credit-hour A dvanced L O A C St u d i es co u r se.

The Pictet Competition’s namesake, Jean Pictet, was a Sw i ss lawyer who took charge after World War II in the preparatory work leading to the adoption of the four 1949 Geneva C o n ventions for the protection of victims of war. The competition includes students from universities of law and political science, who aim at improving their knowledge of international h u m an i tarian law through role playing and simulations. All t eam s h ad to apply for selection, and USAFA was the only undergraduate school accepted to compete at the competition. The r em ai n ing teams were from graduate and law schools throughout t h e world. The application process required our cadets to specifl cally address the following four 1200-1500 word essay questions: 1) I s I nternational H umanitari an Law sexist?; 2) Are non-st ate

actors who violate IHL nonetheless protected by it?; 3) H ow di d you come to know about the Jean-Pictet Competition?; and 4) How was your team formed and why did you decide t o participate?With over 45 teams applying and only 32 selected , it was certainly a great honor for USAFA and our three cadets.

Accompanied by Prof Austin, the cadets’ fi rst introduction to Serbia-Montenegro came when they were bussed from t h e Belgrade airport to Vranjaka Banja, the site of the competition.

As the bus traveled the countryside, the cadets were ab l e t o see fi rsthand the devast at ion and dest ruct ion of the K osovo C onfl ict

54

as they passed ruins of buildings destroyed 10 years ago, and many had still not been rebuilt. This backdrop served as a st ar k reminder of the importance of the rule of international h u m an i tarian law that the cadets were about to apply in the competition.

During the fi ve-day competition, a distinguished jury o f t h e co m petition evaluates teams’ theoretical knowledge and practical under standing of IHL. The competition simulations are founded fi ctitious, but real istic scenario of armed confl ict . During the compe tition, the group dynamics alternate: meetings between thejury and one team, thejury and several teams, between two teams, etc. Making the competition even more interesting is that both the participants and thejury have constandy changing roles. For example, the par ticipants might play the role of International Committee of the Red Cross delegates in the morning and then that of combatants i n t h e aft ernoon—requiring the participants to consider the si t u at i o n f r o m a variety of perspectives. The simulationsor “tests,” as they are called at the competition, are based on a scenario that develops throughout the week. Twice each day, studentswere assigned a role to play for their upcoming test. One role might be armed forces representatives o f o n e of thewarring countries or delegates from the International C o m m i t o n

a

tee of the Red C ross who w ere to m eet w ith a rebel leader to discuss

the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Throughout the week, cadets wrestled with complex politi cal and legal problems such as: whether an armed confl ict international or internal, the use of chemical weapons, t h e st at u s w

a s

of det ainees, how t o ensure hum an it arian aid reached t h o se

trapped in war zones, drafting U.N . Security Council r eso l u tions in a model Security Council setting and Prisoner o f W ar

t reat m ent issues. O ne notable t est w as w hen our cadets, acting as

International Committee of the Red Cross delegates, were literally whisked away to a hotel room where one of the j ury m em b er s w as acting as a Prisoner of War. The cadets had fi fteen minutes to try and learn all they could about the prisoner while at the sam e t im e meeting the emotional needs of someone who appeared t o h av e been mistreated while in captivity!

Jurors remarked this year that they were quite impressed w i t h our cadets’ leadership skills and problem solving abilities an d co m mented that this year’s USAFA team was one of the most impres sive they had seen since USAFA started competing six y ear s ag o .

In refl ecting on the competition. Cadet Clement remarked, “ T h e Jean-Pictet Competition was an extremely valuable experience d u e t o thevariety of challenges, cultural exposure, and the unique perspective

C H EC K PO I N T S, SE PT EM B E R 2 0 0 6

given to cadetsfo r their futurecareersasmilitary offi cers. T he w eek of competition provided an excellent opportunity fo r cadetst o m e e t n o t

only other students in the fi eld of international law, b u t al so t o m eet very knowledgeable professors from other universities. The competi tion also gave us a chance to see how diffi cult it is t o co m m u n i cat e with a person who does not speak the same language as w e do, for example, and how to get around that barrier.”

The benefi t of participation in the competition also left a strong impression on Cadet Herndon. “TheJean-Pictet Competition was a very cross-cultural experience,” said Herndon. “Thirty-two teams were present, and 29 different countries were represented.

This allows cadets to gain new experiences and learn h ow t o i n t er act with people from different cultures—a very important sk i l l for future military offi cers. These experiences give cadets a bet ter understanding of international events and crises, as w el l as t h e impact of these events on members of other countries.”

Unlike the Pictet Competition where USAFA is the only military academy represented, the San Remo LOAC Competition is comprised entirely of cadets from various military acad em i es around the world. This year, 75 cadets, representing six co n t i nents, 15 countries, and 22 military academies participated i n t h e LOAC Competition.

On April 2, the USAFA contingent, accompanied by their coach and Offi cer-in-Charge, Capt. McKelvy, landed in N ice, France, and were driven along the Mediterranean coastline past the principality of Monaco and into San Remo, Italy. The Competition started the following day with the cadets listening to presentations by various IHL experts.

Starting on the morning of the second day, the cadets began an intense three-day Combined Joint Operations Center ex er ci se during which the cadets were placed into 28 new multi-national

Above: Capt. Shawn McKelvy, C2Cs Jose Garcia-Reyes a nd Jo rd a n W i lhel m a nd C I C A d a m Sw if t . B elow : C2 C W i lhe lm a nd he r

teammates work together in one of the JOCs.

team s. T he cadets w ork ed w it h t heir new t eam m ates in co m p e

tition with all others, including cadets from their ow n ser v i ce academy. The USAFA cadets were teamed up with students from Finland (Cadet Swift), Russia and France (Cadet Garcia-Reyes),

and Israel and Russia (Cadet W ilhelm). “Sometimes it w as d i f

if cult getting past the language barrier, but once we broke through that, it wasn’t really like an American, Israeli and R u ssi an .” sai d Cadet Wilhelm. “It was just like any other team.”

The new teams competed in 11 different sessions that i n v o lv ed a pre-combat scenario, targeting cells, combat operations narios, and a post-confl ict legal scenario. The sessions i n v o lv ed issues such as the legal basis for going to war, military necessity, proportionality, treatment of detainees and civilians, an d PO W sc e

classifi cat ion , and included scenarios f rom a com bination of air,

ground, space, and naval perspectives.

Our cadets also learned a great deal about the nations r ep r e sented by the other cadet teams. “Getting to work with t e a m s from around the world gave me a better global perspective, n o t only on the different issues facing other countries, b u t al so o n how their specifi c confl icts have shaped their interpretations o f t h e law of war,” said Cadet Garcia-Reyes.

Throughout theweek, the participants mingled at varioussch ed ul ed events in order to maximize theopportunity to interact w it h an d lear n more from the representativesof other nations. On the eveningswhen no events were scheduled, the cadets w ere allowed to organize their

ow n act iv i t i es. T h e U SA FA cad ets m ad e t h e m ost o f t h ei r time by experiencing the Italian culture and by socializing with new people at each event and making the effo rt to learn more about their cul m res.

“The chance to speak to each other as equals in a peaceful si t u a tion about many hot topic issues around the world was incredibly interesting,” said Cadet Swift . “I can’t imagine this being able to take place anywhere besides the San Remo Competition. Not only were we exposed to an extremely diverse international military envi ronment, we were given the chance to change stereotypes ab o u t t h e United States through our active participation in the competition as well as our social interaction outside of the Competition.” [>

C H E C K P O I N T S , SE P T E M B E R 2 0 0 6

55

On the last day of the competition, the awards were announced .

The most prestigious award for the entire competition w en t t o t h e “ Best M ixed T eam” of C adet W ilhelm of U SA FA and cadets f r o m

the Israeli Tactical Command College and the Russian Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School, respectively. Cadets Sw ift and Garcia-Reyes also performed exceptionally well and admirably represented USAFA to the world community. Many foreign t e a m members and leaders, judges, and Joint Operations Center leaders had excellent comments to say about the superior performance of all of our U SA FA cadets.

I w ould be rem iss not t o m ent ion the crit ical role t h at t w o o f

our faculty members played in these competitions. In recogni tion of his expertise, for the past two years. Professor A u st i n h as been selected as one of six individuals from throughout t h e w o r l d to serve as a tutor during the Pictet Competition. A s a t utor, he works with four teams before, during and after the competition by facilitating communication amongst the team members, help ing to develop members in the area of individual advocacy ski lls, and provides overall mentorship throughout the competition.

His assistance culminates in a detailed written report provided to

No m inat io n Proced ures The AOG is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of not more than eleven elected d irect ors and up t o four appointed d irect ors.

Elect ions are cond ucted a nd a ppoint ments

each t eam m em ber w ith const ruct ive feedback . I n addit ion , M aj .

made in odd-num bered years . Approximately

the San Rem o scenarios and t he co-direct or of t he ent ire competi tion. H e also served as one of the four JO C leaders during the

half of t he elected and appointed posit ions

Wrachford was selected by the IIH L to serve as the co-author of

week of competition. At the conclusion of the San Remo C o m petition, the leaders of the IIHL praised Maj . Wrachford f o r h i s tireless efforts, hailing this year’s event as the b est t o d at e.

Our USAFA cadets returned home from both competitions with a greater appreciation of the nations and issues they could likely encounter throughout their military careers, an d sen t the other competitors home with a better understanding o f t h e United States, and great respect for the United StatesA i r Fo r ce and the Academy. Col. Paul Pirog, Professor and Head, D epart ment of Law, sums it up well stating, “International competi tions expose our cadets to something we could never duplicate in a classroom setting ... real-life interaction with m em b er s o f the international community.” On behalf of all participants an d the Department of Law, thank you Association of Graduates f o r

providingour cadetstheseinvaluableexperiences. S

a re open at each elect ion cycle. Any AOG

member willing to fulfill t he requirements of directors may submit a nominat ion package.

T h e re a re t w o n o m in a t io n t ra c k s . W it h t h e

support of five members, a candidate may be considered by t he Nominat ing Committee for placement on t he ballot . By petit ion of 25 me m bers, a ca nd idate m ay be placed on t he ba llot w it hout review by t he Nom inat ing Com m ittee . Co m plete nom inat ion informa t io n ca n b e f o u n d o n t h e AOG W e b S it e at

www.usafa.org. Nominat ions for t he 2007 e le ct io n s a re n ow c lo s e d . No m in a t io ns f o r

t he 2 0 0 9 elect ions w ill be accept ed in 2 0 0 8 .

56

C H E C K PO I N T S, SEPT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

Some t hink annual giving

is n o t r o c k e t scie n ce . . .

M

0/.

I

... but at t he A ir Force A cademy it is!

Basic Cadet Tr aining

An opport unit y t o Lead ByC1CBrittanyOligney

The gener al per cept ion of Basic Cadet Tr aining is of infallible upper classmen using t heir unquest ioned power t o f r ust r at e, physically t r ain and ver bally abuse basic cadet s. However , alt hough physical t r aining, ment al st r ess and ver bal cor r ect ions ar e t ools used dur ing BCT, every moment of int er act ion bet ween cadr e and basic cadet s is or ient ed t o accomplish t he Unit ed St at es Air For ce Academy mission: Inspireand develop outstanding young men and women to becomeAir Force ofi cers with knowledge, character, a nd

discipline; motivated to lead theworld’sgreatest air and spacef orce in service to the nation.

As stated above, the goal of the United States Air F o r c e Academy is to develop offi cers with qualities necessary to effectively lead, and Basic Cadet Training focuses development toward that goal for all cadets and basic o n

cadet s i nvolved .

Basic cadets take their fi rst step in becoming offi cers by preparing to be cadets. In every area- physical, m ental , emotional, character, honor- they are taken to the very b asi c

level and a sol id foundat ion is form ed . T h is foundation w i l l

be built upon during their four years at the Academy. I f n o t built well, the principles learned as a cadet will h av e n o b asi s an d w i l l b e i n ef f ect i v e.

Physical training takes the form of morning PT, exercise challenges led by cadre and the assault and obstacle in JacksValley.

Mental training is conducted through memorizing required knowledge, through learning discipline in r o o m , uniform and drill standards and through the Leadership Reaction Courses. Skills are also taught in the Operation Warrior, CATM and Self-Aid Buddy Care courses. c o u r se s

58

Emotional training is performed through the high inten sity and constant stress placed on the basic cadets as w el l as t he C onfi dence C ourse.

Character and honor training is a continual process the basics learn daily that their every decision and r eact i o n to situations they are placed in will determine their f u t u r e.

Formally, this occurs in classroom setting honor lessons b u t informally, it is reinforced by all cadre and permanent p ar t y in day-to-day situations.

Cadre learn to lead basic cadets and their peers. The emphasis during BCT is on leadership at the fl ight l ev el .

The end goal was made clear to squadron commanders w h o passed it on their squadrons with their own intent. T h e fl ight cadre then took the goal and planned the best w ay t o accomplish it, taking full responsibility for their d eci si o n s and their unit’s performance.

Cl C Brandon T. Dues, Cadet Group Commander for BCT, commented on his experience as a BCT commander: “BCT is the most important and cherished program USAFA has to offer. Graduates and cadets alike always

C H E C K P O I N T S. SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

a s

M

m

Tb n i?i^i

iM

bj

fi l i l i l l i l

b

this BCT to be the best BCT in USAFA history and to lead it was humbling, challenging, and the most rewarding ex p e rience of my life. Not only was the intent to train and inst ill a solid foundat ion i n the class of 20 10, but to have t h e

classes of 2007 and 2008 gain valuable leadership experience shaping the future upperclassmen and offi cers after t h em .

After months of preparation, we actually developed B C T as a cadet-run program with cadets making decisions and cuting them effectively. Although we met resistance, B C T 2006 paved the way for cadets to effectively take charge o f the AFCW. Instead of executing plans, we as cadets creat ed them. We demanded perfection from cadre to be tough b u t professional, and from basics to develop rock-like discipline, unwavering devotion to the United States, and to remind them of what we still fi ght for today; freedom. We planned to give the Class of 2010 something they will never forget and a BCT that will live on through the ages at USAFA. W e as cadre delivered our part, and now it is up to the class of 2010 and whether they can live up to great expectations.”

As one of the Deputy Group Commanders for BCT, CI C Brittany A. Oligney talks about her leadership experience: “This summer, working with BCT, I learned that leadership is not just creating a plan and enforcing it. It is developing a vision and then going to peers and superiors for inputs an d mentoring. It is learning when to bend and adjust and w h en to stand fi rm on something you believe to be an absolute.

Then it is preparing and planning so that the execution i s effective without frustrating those working with and f o r you. Finally it is bringing those working with and under you on board. Discipline will work to enforce rules, but i n o r d er to lead, those below you need to have the same end goal in ex e

Opposite page, Left : An upperclassman inst ructs a basic o n t h e a rt of crawling through muck. Opposite page, Right : Cadre give Basics their first words of wisdom during the bus ride to t he terrazzo. Top Left & Right : Marching, marching and more marching m a r k e d T ' B CT (Photos by Ken Wright)

remember BCT with memories fi lled with struggle, dif fi culty, and hopefully perseverance. For the class of 20 10, this was the fi rst opportunity to test their full potential an d to determine whether they could overcome more hard ship ever before. I believe that is why cadets return as cad r e and why America’s fi nest continue to take the fi rst st ep o n the bus at D ool it t le H all- w e understand and em brace t h e

trials and hardships of BCT because it is the core f o u n d a

t ion that form ed us as cadets and fut ure offi cers. Everyone

wants to leave a legacy and mold better individuals t o l ead our Academy. That is what drives us—whether our actions will impact an individual enough to spark a change f o r the better. The most rewarding things in life are the things that look like they can’t be done and that is why I l ov e t h e program. BCT is designed to push an individual to his/her limits in hopes of one day becoming the fi nest and sharpest USAFA has to offer—the tip of the spear. The end never seems to be close enough, and in the pivotal moment w h en we think we cannot a step further, we succeed. We wanted

m ind so t hat t heir focus, eff orts and decisions are b ased o n

the same principles, driving the program to the same goal without you having to baby-sit or mandate every detail.”

Cl C Nathaniel L. Smith, the second deputy group commander for BCT, reflects on his BCT experience: “ I n

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

59

Top: A room inspect ion nets a few constructive cti ticisiiis {Photos by Ken Wright)

my opinion, BCT is the most valuable program we have here at the Academy. Obviously, there is a mission crit ical element in regards to training the basic cadets on how to be an outstanding member in the profession of armed services, but even more important, are the leadership opportunities an d experienceswe provide to junior and senior cadetsw h o r u n BCT. For most cadets, BCT is the fi rst time they have b een asked to “step up to the plate” and be intimately involved and responsible for the training, care, and personal development of a futureAir Force leader. The intensity level that w e d em an d from our cadre isvery high. They must be tough, professional, physically fi t, mentally sharp, and determined to produce th e fi nest product, by giving the cadet wing capable and co m p et en t freshmen. Most importandy, they have to recognize the bigger picture of what they are involved in. Basic Cadet Training is t h e fi rst step in the process of shaping the future leaderso f t h e A i r Force and it is a sobering responsibility to be given t h e au t h o r ity and charge of laying that fi rst stone in a solid f o u n d at io n of leadership. Every military member has notable memories of basic training, and it isoften those fi rst experiences th at set th e tone for their entire military experience. As upper leadership, wewanted our cadre to understand that, and to recognize th at they were being entrusted with the lives of very impressionable young people. It is these opportunities that provide t h e cad r e with lessons and experiences critical in developing t h ei r ow n leadership, and exponentially raises the bar toward producing leadersof character and integrity at theAir ForceAcademy. I love BCT, and we made it our personal goal to have t h e b est run one yet as long aswewere at the helm; not for personal satisfaction or praise, but because BCT is truly an opportunity 60

to make a genuine difference in the lives of young people, and that is not something to be taken for granted.”

Overall, BCT was a step in the right direction along t h e path to making cadet programs cadet-led. In years past, cadet cadre were responsible for enforcing the policies and rules set down by permanent party. This year, per manent party and MTIs took the role of mentors instead of policy-makers. This allowed the cadets to learn t o l ead and to make decisions, enabling them to develop leader ship skills and creating a sense of ownership for their u n i t that inspired an increase in job knowledge, character an d discipline in order to run their program more eff ectively.

The Classes of ’07 and ’08 as a whole really stepped up and took a personal interest in making BCT a great program and doing their best to train the class of 2010 well; t h e results showed. This process started with one positive change to the structure of BCT leadership when the posi tions of P' and 2"^* BCT commanders were replaced with one overall commander and two deputy commanders for the whole summer. Cl Cs Dues, Oligney, and Smith were selected out of a pool of their peers to run BCT in early January of 2006 and began the planning and execution process right alongside their permanent party mentors.

This provided a much higher level of continuity between P' and 2"‘^BCT and paved the way for a more unifi ed

vision of leadership for the cadre. B

C H E C K P O I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

TEGRIJ f

‘ .«f «c

As cadetsand graduatesof theAcademy, you hold integrity in thehighest regard. Your offi cial ring iscreated w i t h t h at sa m e

integrity by Jostens, your partner in expressing pride

in the United States Air Force Academy.

io s ten s

TM

R IG A D IEK G EN ER A L O B ERJ E M C D E

T h e f o l l o w in g is a E U L O G Y G IV E N AT T H E M E M O R I A L SE RV I C E F O R

Br ig. Gen . (Ret .)

Robert F. M cD er mot t , T H E F I R ST PE R M A N E N T

DEAN OF THE U NITED St at es A i r F o r c e

BY HENRY CISNEROS, CHAIRMAN, CITYVIEW

U

A rchbishopGomez,FatherMurphy,andcelebrant / % priests, Mamie, Patty, Robert, David, Betsy, Mark,

/

■^

ZmA and thisgroup of beautiful grandchildren and great % grandchildren. McD’ssistersClaire, Marguerite, and Ruth, Mamie’s family and friendsof Gen eral M cD erm ott one and all .

I am humbled to be asked by Mamie and General McDermott’s family to pay tributeto thelifeof agreat man. It is of course impos sible in a short span of time to recount even General M cD er m o t t ’s

major accomplishmentsand thechronology of hisachievementsi s well known to all of us. I believethen that theway I can begin to do justiceto thisextraordinary man in our timetogether today is

to shine light on the core values of General McDermott’s life, those

62

values defi ned by his origins, his education, his character, an d h i s ambitions for our country. ’With your permission. I’d like to refer to two texts to anchor those values in historical and spiritual contexts. The fi rst is from one of our nation’s founding fathers, John Adamsof General McDermott’s n at ive Massachusetts, and is an expression of our American secular faith. John Adamswrote: “I must study politicsand war that my sons may have liberty to smdy mathematicsand philosophy. My sonsought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, commerce, and agriculture,

in order to givetheir children aright to study painting, poetry, music,

and architecm re.”

This isa powerful statement of our conviction that it is the duty of a generation to build a better life for thegenerations that follow. From

C H E C K P O I N T S , SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

theweaponsof war to thesciencesof sustenanceand building to the artsand humanities and quality of life.

ImagineGeneral McDermott at war in aP-38 over the

b each es o f

Normandy on D-Day, so that hissons could make their co n t r ib u t io n s

as a doctor, a lawyer, and a pilot in peacetime and so that hisdaughters could help raise grandchildren and great grandchildren to m ak e their own contributionsto America’s quality of life.

Thesecond text is from St. Paul’sletter to the Philippians, h is instruction on the things to seek in life in order to earn God’speace.

St. Paul wrote: “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, w hatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever isjust, whatever ispure, whatever islovely, whatever iskind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there isanything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things. Practicewhat you have learned and received and heard and seen and model your way of living on it, and the God of peacewill bewith you.”

St. Paul’sadmonitions resonate because they are about trying to do what we know to be good and, as General McDermott did, coming to know God’speace. I refer to these texts from American history and from the sacred Bible because they establish the nobility and eternal worth of thevalueswhich guided General McDermott’slife. LikeJohn Adams, General McDermott was fi rst and foremost a patriot. H is lov e for our country manifested itself early in life in hisdecision to accept an appointment to the United StatesMilitary Academy at W est Po i n t .

After graduation hewent to war and fl ew 61 P-38 missions i n t h e European theatre. Hewas a young offi cer on General E isen h ow er ’s staff who was offered career enhancing opportunities b u t ch ose t o remain in line responsibilities.

Over the course of theyears his military service earned h i m t h e designation as theyoungest general off icer on active duty in the nation’s armed forces. For his service to our country h e receiv ed th e Bronze Star, the Air M edal with fi ve Oak Leaf Clusters, the European Theater of Operations Ribbon, the Distinguished Service M edal , and the Legion of Merit. Hisexperience in military service, in the United States Ai r Force, defi ned General M cDermott fo r l i fe: a m an

of military bearing, of straight-forward leadership, of belief in merit, determined to develop younger talent.

General McDermott’s conception of patriotism extended beyond hisyearsof military service to building the nation in a time of peace.

To that task. General McDermott brought the second o f t h e at t r ib u t es I want to identify: a keen intelligence matched to extraordinary vision, a laser-focus on how to m ak e the fu ture better. H is academic perfor m ance at W est Point and at the H arvard Business School m ar k ed h i m

as a special intellect. Theyears that he taught economics at W est Po i n t coincided with hisauthorship of a path breaking book o n i n su ran ce.

Hisbest instincts about developing the futurewere in evidence during hisyearsat theAir ForceAcademy, where hewas named th e fi rst permanent professor in 1957 and Dean of Faculty in 19 59 .

It was at theAir ForceAcademy that he advanced his id eas ab o u t developing the “whole person” in military leaders. He produced a cur riculum, which, though it generated argumentsat the tim e, resulted in a comprehensive enrichment of military education. So o n th e o t h er military academies modifi ed their own curricula to m at ch t h e A i r ForceAcademy’s.

That same special intelligence, the ability to think into the fu ture, m anifested itself w hen General M cD erm ott cam e to San A n t o n io . I t

C H E C K PO I N T S,

showed at USAA, in hisactions to develop UTSAsCollege of Engi

neering, and in hiswork to createtheTexasResearch Park : all of these thework of a person who saw solutions that would shape t h e fu t u re

and then com m itted to action. O nce he set his course of action, a third

trait took over: hiscapacity to work hard in the quest fo r excel len ce.

Hisstandardswere high.

His tenure at USAA was marked by innovation and excellence. H e and hisband of brotherscreated policies to increase productivity and still giveemployeesmoretimewith their families. He created matching tuition programs so that employees could develop their professional skills. He enhanced the quality of services to USAA m em b ers. H e expanded USAAs membership by 400% on hiswatch and expanded assetsowned and managed from $270 million to $30 billion. U SA A was defi ned as one of the best companies in which to w o rk i n t h e United States. He built the largest building under one roof west of the Pentagon and expanded to multiple sites across the nation. A ll of this driven by a never ending quest for improvement, a readiness t o q u es tion the status quo.

His quest for excellencewas evident in every other co m m i t m en t .

For example, the decision to bring Gregg Popovich, ’70, to the Spurs was rooted in his faith that Gregg’sAir ForceAcademy training had prepared a man of character and leadership. He understood the kind of leader that Coach Pop would be. The result: the Spurschampionship runs of recent years, the team of David Robinson and T im D uncan, characterized by excellence at the top rung of athletic competition, yet respected for adhering to standards of character and decency. t> Brig. Gen. Robert McDermott was the first permanent d ea n of t he A i r Force Academy. (U.S. Air Force Photo)

Heshared thequest for excellence—thehunger for learning—^with

his family, and took great pride in the achievementsof each of his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. His instinct to keep working was evident to thevery end. About a month ago, he asked to visit theToyota plant. Toyota executives and supplier execu ti ves arranged a golf cart tour of theToyota facilities for him . It is of course clear that Toyota could not have occurred without thew ork of the Economic Development Foundation which General McDermott created. He took rightful pride in seeing theToyota plant, and as one would expect was full of ideasabout how to build on Toyota to take San A ntonio to the next level.

General McDermott was one of the finest examples of a lead er w e could ever hope to see. We followed becausewe knew hewas right.

As in the text from St. Paul, mighty forces are unleashed w hen a person focuses on what is right, what isjust, what is noble, what is worthy. General McDermott s ideas about leadership were formed in a time of great leaders. He lived through the depression an d W o r ld War II observing theleadership of President Roosevelt an d W in st o n C hurchill . H e knew and w orked w ith General Eisenhow er an d G en

eral Marshall. He absorbed greatnessand became one of the best of what Tom Brokaw came to call “the greatest generation.”

His leadership towered and other senior leaderswere ready to follow. Imagine a man who came to San Antonio in the era of the major figures with which our city and state has been blessed: H B Zachry, Walter McAllister, Henry Gonzalez, Buckner Fanning, Marshall Steves, Cliff Morton, John Connally, Archbishop Flores, Lila Cockrell, Charles Cheever, Rabbi Jacobson, Red M cC om bs,

Ann Richards, Ross Perot, Dolph Briscoe, George Bush, B i l l G reehey, Lowry Mays, Tom Frost. They all respected General M cD er mott and supported his ambitions for the city.

Given his demonstrated military leadership, one of t h e l esser known attributes of General McDermott’s person was his n uanced understanding of the working people of our city’s poor neigh borhoods. Perhaps it stemmed from his growing up in working class Irish Boston or perhaps from his strong Catholic fai th . H e lived by his Golden Rule “To treat everyone with dignity an d respect and allow everyone the opportunity to achieve his or her potential.” On his watch as Chairman of the Greater San A n t o n i o C ham ber of C om m erce he saw that San A nt onio w ould never

raise its incomes, never fully open up the doors of opportunity, without a completely different approach to developing itsjobs and economy. He created the Economic Development Foundation, which has ushered in a historic era of economic progress for San

A nt onio. H e did it because he saw it had to be done. N o o n e el se

had perceived the problem in quite that way. He was visionary an d h e w as ef f ect iv e.

But what many San Antonians do not know is that even af t er t h e Economic Development Foundati on began to attraa industries, the fault lines in the city’ssocial and political make-up sharpened. Com munities Organized for Public Serviceswas a strong voice for the poor at the margins of economic opportunity. And it was soo n clear t h at people in the other San Antonio neighborhoodswere angrier than anyone in power imagined. The Economic Development Foundation, working alone, struggling against the people it was set up to help, was not going to be able to produce enough jobs, enough progress, to head off the anger within the community.

64

Listening, hearing, learning, understanding, General M cD er m o t t created United San Antonio. Itspurposewasto bringwhat he defi ned

as the three sectorsof San Antonio together: the business community, the civic leadership and the governmental structures. H e understood

that it had to bemulti-ethnic and inclusive. Hebrought D r. Jose San Martin, Lou Nell Sutton, and Raul Jimenez to join Mayor C o ck rell

and othersto makeUnited San Antonio work. That patient w o rk

introduced the principle of inclusive leadership which has character ized the public culture of San Antonio since then and has diff erenti ated us from other cities.

I personally watched as he devoted three hours every Thursday morning for several years to the social and people problems, the educational and human challenges of San Antonio. It w as obvious to me then that hiswas a mind that could encompass m o r e t h an the lessons of his previous experiences. He was open t o t h e n ew challenges of modem American diversity, to people with diff erent life stories, with completely diff erent educational experiences. H e patiently absorbed it all and it deepened his understanding. T h e truth is that because he lived his Golden Rule, he was the only one with the credibility to bring us all together.

General McDermott’slove of humanity made him a fun p erso n , a happy man, a generousspirit, a personally engaging m a n , a w a r m fr iend and a father fi gure to many. He had a twinkle in hiseye, the handsomevisage, the silver hair, thewitty greeti ng, the hearty laugh, ajoke on the ti p of his tongue. He shared 47 years of that joy, raising children with Alice. They wereyears of laughs, mutual support, and music. In hisAir ForceAcademy days it was not unusual for the digni fi ed general to come home aft er a formal event, pick up his trombone, and play to a fr iend’spiano accompaniment as the children and A lice danced thejitterbug barefoot in the family living And over the last fi ft een yearshewas blessed with the love and sup port of sweet, dignifi ed, Mamie and her children. She brought happi ness, support, and her gentle smile to chase away the inevitable pains of McD’sadvancing years. He loved his family. He loved life.

General McDermott’slegacy will live on in many ways. T here are elementary schools named aft er him and a building at t h e U T H eal t h Science Center. There is the McDermott Freeway that passes by U SAA . T here are the academ ic chai rs at the Ai r Force Academy and West Point and his name on the library at theAir ForceAcademy. His name ispermanendy engraved in theTexas Business Hall of Fam e.

These are powerful reminders of his many contributions.

But I believe hisgreatest contributionsare much more alive. They live in the lives of the thousands of leadershe developed at t h e A i r ForceAcademy. They live in the lives of the tens of t h o usan d s o f USAA employeeswho learned excellence and service and ethics in business. They live in the lives of millionsof San A n t o n i an s w h o ov er thegenerationswill be touched by the enhanced opportuniti es their children and grandchildren vzill enjoy.

When we apply John Adam’sidea to the sacrifi ces of the great est generati on for the present generati ons, let us rem em b er G en eral McDermott. When we hear St. Paul’s admonition to praisew h at is noble and true and right and gracious and just, let u s rem em b er G en eral McDermott. When we think of a good hearted man w ho m ade us better people, let us remember General McDermott. When w e t h i n k of the best our country has to off er, let us remember G en er al R o b er t ro o m

Francis M cDermott. S

.

ear n s —

-

—

B r o n ze b t ar C o mbat C amer aman su r v iv es BLAST , AIDS WOUNDED AND FIGHTS O FF EN EM Y

I Lt. Kelly McGann, ’03, while!

(U.S. Air Force photo)

By Senior Airman Alice Moore 4 3 7 AW Public Af f airs

his summer an Academy graduate assigned to the 1st C om bat

; Camera Squadron received the BronzeStar for meritoriousser v i ce

in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

1st Lt. Kelly McGann, ’03, received the medal fr om Maj. Gen. James Hawkins, 18th Air Force commander at Charleston A FB, S.C .

“The members of combat camera go in harm’s way very oft en ,” General Hawkins said. “We as a nation appreciate what you do every day.”

From Nov. 25, 2005 to May 15, the 25-year-old Air ForceA cad

Lieutenant McGann then secured his video camera equipment

an d docum ented t he aerial m edical evacuat ion that w as in prog ress, the recovery of the damaged patrol vehicle and the rem ainder

of the patrol mission.

“I think it takesa strong individual to fi ll a role as a co m b at cam era man and maybe someonewith a ‘few screwsloose’ to keep a camera rolling when the shooting starts. Regardless, I am thankful I had the oppormnity to lead this team for awhile,” Lieutenant M cGan n said.

According to hiscitation, he didn’t seek medical aid and clear

emy graduateserved astheOffi cer-in-Chargeof theJoint Combat

ance for himself until he was able to return to his patrol base.

point for Army, Navy, Marineand Air Forcecombat cameraimagery.

cont ribut ions to the G lobal W ar on Terrorism . “ W e’re th ank f ul that L ieut enant M cG an n ret urned hom e alive and well. I’m very proud of you and what you do,” G eneral

Camera Imagery Management Team. The team served as a co ll ect io n Lieutenant McGann was on a patrol to perform search and

clearance procedures near Mumandyia, Iraq April 13. W h i l e o n patrol, the team stopped to investigate a possible am b u sh si t e.

As the patrol moved toward the location on foot, an improvised

explosive device detonated and engulfed the lead vehicle. L i eu t en

ant McGann and others were thrown to the ground.

“I don’t think any amount of training can completely p r ep ar e you for the experience of being engaged by the enemy,” L i eu t en ant M cG ann said .

Although shaken, the lieutenant ran back to the burning

vehicle, which had been hurled into a ravine.

“I don’t recall thinking so much as reacting, and looking back , I am very grateful to the Ai r Force for providing me the training prior to deployment. Combat camera does an excellent job train ing its personnel prior to deployment,” Lieutenant M cG ann said .

Lieutenant McGann and others went to the submerged v eh i cl e and extracted the injured driver and gunner, and rendered ai d until the arrival of the unit medic. He then proceeded to provide security when he observed movement in a heavily vegetated fi el d w here he encountered a local nat ional w hose m ovem ents i n d i

cated hostile intent. He engaged and directed other so l d i er s t o

engage the threat with weapons fi re. Aft erwards, he l ed cl ear an ce procedures to sweep the adjacent area and fi elds.

Senior leadership at Charleston AFB praised the Lieutenant f o r h i s

H aw k i ns sai d .

“I am very proud of Lieutenant McCann’s efforts in Iraq result

ing in the award of the Bronze Star Medal,” said Lt. C ol . C ath

erine Walter, 1 CTCS commander. “He epitomized our core val ue of ‘service before self ’ His actions are representative of the ef fort s of all members of the 1st Combat Camera Squadron fi ghting t h e War on Terror. I’m equally proud of all members of the squadron.

W e w ill cont i nue to t rai n our m em bers to have i nit iat ive, agg r es siveness and be bold in documenting our great soldiers, sailors,

airmen and marines protecting America 24/7.”

L ieutenant M cG ann said the aw ard of the Bronze Star is an h o n o r.

“In a lot of ways this is really humbling because I w alk around

my squadron and know that there are many who go unrecognized for t heir sacrifi ces and act ions under fi re,” he said . U n l i k e t h e

Army infantry and Marine units, our folks usually go o u t i n o n eor two-man teams every time they encounter l EDs, sniper fi re, suicide bombers or any other characteristics of war. They essen tially have to come to terms with it on their own.”

The Bronze Star is the fourth highest award for bravery, h er o ism or meritorious achievement or service, not involving aerial flight in connection with operations against an opposing armed force. S

C H EC K PO I N T S. SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

65

Engineering ranks among nation’s best Several U.S. Air ForceAcademy undergraduate engineering programs rank among the top in the nation, according to the U.S. News & World Report’si\ merica’s Best Colleges 2007 rankings.

The rankingsare separated by which universitiesoffer graduate education programs, and thosewhich haveonly undergraduate programs, such as the Air Force Academy.

Overall, theAcademy’sundergraduate engineering programs

a r e

tied with Pennsylvania’s Bucknell University for the #7 program in the nation this year.

Among the other undergraduate engineering specialties which were evaluated, the Academy ranked #7 in Electrical Engineering and #2 in the Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering category.

“Professionally speaking, I have no doubt our programs and our people have excelled over the past year,” said Dean of Faculty Brig.

Gen. Dana Born, ’83. “We have lengthened our stride to becom e more learning focused and many of our personnel, faculty an d cadets, have been nationally recognized for their performance an d contributions in their fi elds of study.”

“Research funding, which is another external validation of our capabilities, continues to expand as our cadet-centered r esear ch solves real world problems,” added the general.

The U.S. News& World Report rankingsare aweighted co m b i

nation of factors. These start with peer assessment by university

deansand senior faculty being the most heavily-weighted fact or

(25 percent), and continue through faculty resources (20 percent), graduation and retention rates (20 percent), student selectivity (15 percent), fi nancial resources (10 percent), alumni giving rate (5 percent) and graduation rate performance (5 percent).

This formula has ranked the Academy’s aeronautical an d astronautical engineering programs as #2 in the nation ev er y y ear since 2001, behind only Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

(Courtesy of USAFA/PA)

14-year-olcl becomes Academy’s newest "cadet for a day” Cadets welcomed 14-year-old Philip Ord as their newest C adet for a Day participant recently. Ord lives in Denver an d h as b een diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy.

Via the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Air Force Academy’s Cadet for a Day program, Ord donned a fl ight suit and fl ight cap to participate in a host of cadet activities.

66

These included a mission briefi ng and fl ight with the 557th Flying Training Squadron, avisit to theparachute training facili

ties of the 98th Flying Training Squadron and lunch w i t h cad et s.

After lunch, Philip tried his hand in the Air Battle Laboratory’s

fl ight simulators, then toured the biology department and C adet

Chapel, before resting and participating in a Fdalo co m p u t er gaming tournament with his sponsor squadron that evening, Cadet Squadron 18.

The Cadet for a Day program started in 2000. Through t h e

Make-A-Wish Foundation and cadet monetary donations, t h e program provides young people facing severe physical challenges the opportunity to experience life as a cadet.

For m ore inform at ion about the M ak e-A -W ish Foundat ion

please call (303) 750-9474 or visit wtvw.wishcolorado.org. (Cour tesy of USAFA/ PA)

Boyd receives national defense honor posthumously

Offi cials at the United StatesAir Force Academy presented t h e

2004 Thomas D. White National DefenseAward posthumously to Col. John R. Boyd during an awardsceremony on Aug. 16 .

Accepting the award on behalf of Col. Boyd were his ch ildren , John and Mary Ellen Boyd.

A legendary fi ghter pilot. Col. Boyd was known as “FortySecond Boyd” because of his offer to pay $20 to any o p p o n en t w h o could evade him for m ore than 40 seconds in air-to-air m aneuvers; none ever did .

In 1962, after receiving a B.S. in Industrial Engineering f r o m GeorgiaTech University, he moved to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., as an engineer where he developed his concept of EnergyManeuverability. In 1965, he was awarded the Air Force Systems C om m and Scient ifi c A chievem ent Aw ard for w ork on E-M . Boyd transformed the way military aircraft, in particular t he F- 15 and F-16, deemed by many to be the most successful fi ghter ai r cr af t ever built, were designed through application of his i n n ov at i v e E-M theory.

Following an often turbulent military career, Boyd ser v ed as an unpaid Pentagon consultant where he worked on a n ew an d radical theory of confl ict that, at the time, was mostly ignored but now is acclaimed as the most infl uential thinking about co n fl i ct since Sun-Tzu. His “OODA Loop” theory described the p r o cess by which an individual or organization reacts to an ev en t . I n a briefi ng entitled “Patterns of Confl ict,” delivered over the years

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

to hundreds of military and civilian offi cials, he brok e deci

sion-making into a continuousfour-step cycle—observe, orient , decide, act—and demonstrated how the successful commander

winsby “getting inside the loop” to disrupt and ultimately p ar a lyzehisopponent. The OODA Loop is now used in business and industry asa standard description of decision-making cycles.

Established March 1, 1962, by the Academy, theThomas D .

White Award is presented annually to a U.S. citizen w ho has con

7.V. ^ nini and Company Wemanageover $600 millionf or investors nationwide, with a reputation built on

13 yearsof client-oriented service.

tributed signifi cantly to the national defense of the U nit ed St ates.

Per son al i zed

June 30, 1961, after 41 years of distinguished military serv i ce.

He was the Air Force Chief of Staff during the formative y ear s of the Academy, including its establishment at its present site, and during its development as a national institution. D u e t o an administrative delay, the 2004 award was presented at th is t im e.

(Courtesy of USAFA/PA)

Investment M anagement

T he aw ard is nam ed in honor of G eneral W h ite, w ho ret ired

Thornhill, ’80, becomes first female AFIT commandant The Air Force Institute of Technology gained the fi rst f em al e commandant in its 87-year history recently when Brig. G en . Paula Thornhill, ’80, succeeded Brig. Gen. Mark Matthews, ’77 .

Thornhill’s previous assignment was in the Pentagon as t h e Defense Department’s principal director of Near Eastern an d Sout h A sian af fairs.

Matthews has been selected for promotion to major general

and reassignment as director of plans and programsfor the A i r

Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. (Cour tesy Wright-Patterson/PA)

President appoints 2006-2007 Class of White House Fellows

TheWhite House today announced the appointment of 14 o u t st an d ing individuals from across the country to serve as W h i t e H o u se Fellows. Included on the list is Maj. Mark DuBois Smith, ’92.

DuBois Smith is an F-16 pilot who most recently represented t h e Air Force as an exchange scholar at the Naval War College i n N ew port, R.L Prior to this assignment. Smith fl ew the #2 jet as the Left Wingman in the diamond formation for theThunderbirds.

A top-gun fi ghter pilot with 2,200 hours, he authored t h e W est

www.j vbruni.com/usaf a O u r t eam i n cl u d es . . .

JeromeV. Bruni, Portfolio Manager ► C l ass of 197 0

► USAFA economics faculty 1979 - 84 John R. Brock, Vice President ► C l ass of 197 1

► USAFA economics faculty 1977 - 93 Sarah F. Roach , V ice President

MaryEllen Telck, Director of Client Services

I

*5,

ern A i r D efense Sect or Plan for H om eland D efense and t h e A i r

Force Combat Pilot Chemical Survivability Guide. His F - 16 t o u r s include Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Korea.

Academy stands up new cadet squadrons

TheAi r Force Academy activated four new cadet squadrons t h i s su m

m

e r .

Cadet Squadrons 37 through 40 were originally activated i n 1969 after Congress set the authorized cadet wing strength a t 4,417 cadets. They were deactivated in 1999 to better m an age a reduced authorization of 4,000 cadets, set by Congress i n 19 9 5 .

The four squadrons were also formally recognized during t h e Acceptance Parade in August.

Superintendent Lt. Gen. John Regni, ’73, requested t h e act iv a tion of cadet squadrons 37-40 after his initial assessment o f t h e Academy in April 2006. The change established smaller squad rons, approximately 110 cadets each, and affords the cad et s m o r e

leadership opportunities. S

M l

Please see o u r w eb si te fo r cu r ren t cl ien t d ist ri b u t io n .

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BY M AT T K L EVE, A O G STA F F P H O T O B Y K EN W R I G H T

;;t ’s somet hing that a gr aduat e w i' r ec ogn i ze any w h er e .

It doesn’t matter which crest is on the side, seeing som eone w i t h an A cad emy class ring creates unspoken communication of shared experiences.

It’s a symbol signifying a common bond between graduates. T h e ban d of precious metal is as valuable to the wearer as it is a treasured part of the Long Blue Line.

Chuck Jones graduated from the Academy in 1974 as an Astronautical Engi neering major. In 1982 he was one of 14 Air Force offi cers w ho w ere selected to enter NASA’s astronaut group. Jones was scheduled to fl y as a Department of Defense Payload Specialist on STS-71B December 1986, the fl ight after the Challenger disaster. Because of the tragedy, all shuttles were grounded.

His mission was cancelled completely.

Jones left the space service in 1987 and later retired from the A i r Force as a colonel, never getting to fl y in space.

Out of the Air Force, he worked as a computer programmer i n M as sachusetts. On a fall morning in 2001, he boarded a fl ight from Boston to Los Angeles. American Airlines Flight 11 was the fi rst plane hijacked on the morning of September 11, 2001, and later struck the W o r l d T r ad e C en t er North Tower, killing all 92 people who were on board.

That day his 1974 Academy class ring had been left at h o m e.

In 2001 a crew of astronauts began their training for STS-114, a space mis sion scheduled for launch in early 2003. Col. Eileen C o l l i n s w as sl at ed t o b e the shut tle com m ander. C ollins w as an A i r Force offi cer, b u t n o t an A cad emy graduate. She has been a friend to the Academy; from 1986 t o 1989

she served the Academy as an assistant professor of m at h em at i cs an d a T - 4 1 instructor pilot. When Collins heard the story, she immediately agreed to fl y Chuck’s ring into space on an upcoming mission.

On February 1, 2003, it appeared fate had a tragically different plan. Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas upon reentry, killing all aboard. The ring was to be fl own on the fl ight immediately after Columbia. All planned space fl ightswere again on hold, this time for almost two and a half years.

July 26, 2005 represented a return to fl ight for NASA, an d a d r eam fulfi lled for Chuck Jones. The Discovery mission lasted 13 days, 21 hours, and 32 minutes. Collins was able to bring his ring on the fl ight. For that very special part of Chuck Jones, it meant fl ying in space for the very fi rst time, and achieving the dream that never came to be during his time on Earth. B

C H E C K P O I N T S, SE P T E M B E R 2 0 0 6

69

9 / 11

Rem e m b er e c

Charles E. Jones, 7 4

Five years after the September 11'*’ attacks

on A m erica, w e’d l ike to

honor the seven Academy graduates who have been

killed in the W ar on Terror, as w ell as t h e t h o usan d s

more in harm’s way who currently serve our country i n an d o u t of u n i f o r m .

i

Leroy W. Homer Jr., ’87

Derek M. Argel, ’01

■

*

■

h

Steven Plumhoff , ’92

70

Jeremy J. Fresques, ’01

G r a d s a n d f r ie n d s t a k e o n A f r ic a ’s The group’s strength, mood, and cohesiveness had been impressive to say the least, but I knew it was going to be put to the test on our six hour ascent from our 15,000 feet high camp to M t.

Kilimanjaro’s summit, Uhuru Peak, at

highest peak in memory of fallen c om r ades OF Basic C ad et T r ain in g l ead er sh ip l abs an d t eam c h al l en g es

E]

I

[E'JI mind just ast hesun wascut t ing t hrough t hev e i l o f d a r k n e s s ID Tl

NG AWAY T H E N UM BIN G BIT E OF SIN GLE DIGIT WI N D- CH ILL. F OR T H E

LAST FIVE DAYS, OUR TEAM OF EIGHT ACTIVE DUTY A l R F ORCE O F F I C E R S A N D TWO CIVI LIAN FAM ILY M EM BERS HAD ASCEN DED T H ROUGH RAIN FOREST , M O O R LA N D , A N D A L PI N E D ESERT W I T H O U T SK I PPI N G A BEAT .

19,339 feet . T his w as t he fi rst t i m e I had

undert ak en such an i nvolved eff ort w it h a

loosely complied group, some of whom I had never met. I hoped that our common bond as A i r Force offi cers, as w ell as a few

of us being Air Force Academy graduates, would make the team building process go smoothly. It couldn’t have worked better!

G r a d ’s V is io n f r o m t h e 1 m m

'

The USAF 7 Summit s Challenge

BY CA PT. RO B M A RSH A L L , ’0 1

It wasJune 2001 at Everest Base Camp, staring up at Mt. Everest’s icefall, that the seed for a military climb was formed.

Standing there during my 60 days of post-USAFA leave, I had the strongest, and strangest, feeling I’d be back, but for something bigger than a personal con quest. Three and a half years later, as the result of several coinciding events, that seed sprouted and resulted in the USAF 7 Summits Challenge, an ambitious goal to fl y the Air Force fl ag from the highest peak on each continent.

At that time, I was frustrated with the

numerous negative media reports on the Air Force and Academy, as well as a gen eral lack of positive press for the Armed Forces. That negativity always seemed to overshadow all the positive things we do, in and out of our jobs, so I tried to fi gure a way to not only highlight the amazing people of the Air Force, but to form a challenge all Ai rmen could rally behind and support.

As if by plan, around this time, I Lt. Mark Uberuaga, of the 21st Special Operations Squadron, banged on my door looking for a place to live in the U.K. It only took an hour or two before we came up with the idea to join forces and reach the 7 Summits with the Air Force fl ag.

Mark, who had been a professional moun taineering guide on M t. Rainier and M t. McKinley during his ROTC years, had the experience and contacts to make such a lofty goal reality. Shortly after our plan was formed, we were rocked by the losses of Captains Derek Argel, ’01, and Jeremy Fresques, ’01, as well as nine airmen aboard our adj oining squadron’s M C-130E Talon II . It was a tragic spring for Air Force Special Operations Com mand, the A ir Force, and their friends

an d f am i l i es.

T h e l o sses o f o u r co m r ad es i n ar m s

solidifi ed our goal to raise morale and highlight the amazing people that wear the Air Force uniform, so we packed our bags and took on Europe’s highest peak in memory of their service and dedication.

Lef t :

Mission accomplished! Grads and friends at op Mt . Kilimanj aro. (Court esy phot o) 72

T he climb of Russia’s 18,500 foot M t.

Elbrus was a grand success and we were proud to fl y the Air Force fl ag not only for each airmen that was serving the nation around the w orld , but for those w hose

souls soared among the peaks aft er they m ade the ult i m ate sacrifi ce.

The success of this fi rst climb generated a lot of press, both local and internation ally, proving to us that the challenge could grow to be the force multiplying, motivat ing entity we dreamed it would be. Due to operational deployments, we had to cancel our plans for a winter ’05 trip, but that just led to an even stronger desire to climb in the summer of ’06. Mt. Kilimanjaro of T anzania seem ed t o be t he best choice for o u r seco n d cl i m b .

I had summited it in July of 2004 and knew we could take a large group to the top, even with little mountaineering experience. Several months and dozens of e-mails later, we had a group of 10 folks signed up for the climb. It was a great mix of eight Air Force offi cers ranging from pilots to a public affairs specialist to a physiologist to an ROTC instruc tor; an example of the variety of skills we were hoping to highlight! Joining us were USAFA grads Capt. Ryan Wilson, ’98, and Capt. Heather Healy, ’99. There were several other grads planning on going, but deployments and job require ments kept them from traveling with us.

(Next time guys!)

The groundwork for the trip was laid, but the only piece I didn’t have nailed down was the dynamics of the team.

There were people fl ying from all over, som e of w hom I had never m et . T he

That leaves us at a major crossroads in the “Challenge’s” future. The founda tion for upcoming climbs has been laid through our proven abilities, the help and support of airmen volunteers around the world, and loads of positive media cover age. We’re now working on establishing a formal relationship with the Air Force, whether it is sports, recruiting, public af fairs, or any other applicable arm of the service. The biggest challenge comes from longer trip durations, due to the remote locations of future climbs, which

will require travel time unobtainable

v ia norm al leave. O nce t hose details are

worked out, we hope each of you will see a picture of the Ai r Force fl ag atop whatever continent you’re working or living on!

It’s very exciting to be involved with this ambitious project and we would most certainly like to have more grads with mountaineering experience join us, from any decade! The Academy has always been in an excellent position to inspire young m oun taineers due t o i ts rock and m oun

tain climbing clubs, proximity to dozens of 14,000 foot peaks, and focus on physi cal fi tness and risk management.

I’ll never forget standing atop Mt. Massive as a 4-Degree during a climb with the Explorer Club. Surrounded by an upbeat group of upperclassmen, I got the fi rst taste of the crisp, dark blue skies and unimpeded view found only at the summit of tall peaks. The lessons I learned from those upper-class cadets focused on team work, determination, fi tness, respon sibility, and a respect for the environment.

It’s not surprising those principles are still at t he core of each clim b, or m ission . I ’ve

thought of confl icts or incompatible personalities didn’t last long, as I felt our

com m on bond as A i r Force offi cers w oul d

been on since.

Please visi t www .usaf7sum m i ts.com f or m ore inform at ion on the U SA F 7

ensure a professional and amiable group.

I was pleasantly surprised when we fi rst

Summits Challenge. We hope to climb Argentina’s Mt. Aconcagua this coming

Ki limanjaro and instantly the team bond formed. For the next 10 days we went from a group of individuals to a well oiled team that might be mistaken for a large family. Once again, the vision of the 7 Summits Challenge was confi rmed as the camaraderie, professionalism, and deter

highest peak in South America. ^

m et in a sm al l tow n at t he base of M t .

m i nat ion of our t eam resul ted in th e A i r

Force and American fl ags fl ying at 19,300

feet on the “ Roof of A f rica.”

C H FX . K P O I N T S, SE P T E M B E R 2 0 0 6

w int er. A t alm ost 23,000 feet , i t ’s t he

D r eam s A b ou n d

Frank Amsler, ’86, never did get to fl y fi ghters, but his career has been anything but static

By Ken Wright, AOG

Frank Amsler Splan waslikethat of most Air Force

Academy cadets during the 1980s—graduate, become a fi ghter pilot, go off and defend America from the Russians. O n M ay 28, 1986, the newly-commissioned lieutenant pretty much assum ed he w ould be a career A i r Force offi cer, but w hen he n ow l o o k s

back, not much went as planned.

Amsler’s fi rst step towards exiting the Air Force happened w hile he was still at undergraduate pilot training. Too proud t o ad m i t he had a head cold, he fl ew anyway and paid a hefty price. During his next fl ight he sustained damage to his Eustachian t ube, w hich blocked his left ear from clearing. Antibiotics and surgery failed to clear the blockage.

Grounded for 24 months, he planned to return to fl yi ng s t a t u s in mid-1990 to fi nish T-38 training. In the meantime, h e t o o k an assignment with theAir Force’sAeronautical Systems D iv isi o n w h ere heworked as an engineer for crew station layouts in the next genera tion of aircraft . Oddly enough, it was the reading h ab i ts o f h is n ew boss that played a pivotal role in the young lieutenant’s f u t u re.

“I usually beat him into work and would read hisWall St reet Journal, and then neatly fold it and put it back on his desk, con fessed Amsler. “I started becoming interested in the m ovem ent of the stock and bond m arkets. A t the tim e, w e w ere in a recession an d t h e

marketswere doing pretty poorly, and I just didn’t understand why anyonewould invest in a money-losing asset.

Time on the ground did nothing to dull Amsler’s desire to fl y, fi ght and win. “I spoke with my commander about getting b ack into the cockpit before the air war started in Kuwait. He pointed out that I was probably not going to be operational for that fi ght because I still had to fi nish T-38s, get through fi ghter l ead - i n school, get to my Replacement Training Unit, and then get t o a unit that was deploying,” recalled Amsler.

All those steps were contingent on being able to keep h i s “Lighter/Attack/Reconnaissance” qualifi cation when h e w o u l d return to pilot training. But before he could blink, the fi rst G ul f War was over and the Air Force was offering a Reduction i n Fo r ces package. It was time to make diffi cult decisions.

Amlser looked around and saw many friends retuning h o m e with combat medals; leaving him to look a little bare w h en h e would eventually go before the Major promotion board. D i f fi cu l t o r n o t , he decided it was his best move to get out.

Knowing his fl ying experience and Masters in International A f fai rs would not be enough for success in the demanding world of fi nance, he decided to attend the University of Texas to earn a M ast er s i n fi nance. With words of wisdom from his sisters, Mary Ellen and A nn, who held Masters’ in business and counseling, respectively, A m sler decided to aim his goals toward private banking advisory ser v i ce.

As his new career was taxiing for take-off, his Academy experi ences of learning to persevere in the toughest of times truly began to pay dividends.

Salomon Brothers quickly realized thevalue the new graduate could bring to their company and hired him as an associate i n i t s

high-net-worth client division. At thetime, Amsler and his wife,

Paula, had been married for about four years and had just welcomed their newborn son, Danny, into theworld.

Salomon decided to move their promising new associate f r o m Austin, Texas, to New York City for about six months, b u t so o n the company moved the family again to Dallas for two m ont hs.

Remarkably, the company then closed the department w orldw ide; everyone was fi red.

Buckling down, theyoung husband and father began a n ew search for a position in the same fi eld. Soon Lehman Brothers ask ed h i m t o move from Dallas to Houston to become their vice president in i t s newly-formed high-net-worth division; the couple leapt into action, packing their bags and heading to Houston.

Shockingly, the new VP could hardly organize his desk before Lehman Brothers announced it was closing its Houston offi ce. H e had been there for only eight days. In less than ten m o n t h s t h e family had lived in Austin, New York, Dallas and Houston, b u t they were not deterred.

“I had played games of frustration like this before; t he sol u tion was usually to not give up and eventually things w o r k o u t .

Merrill Lynch offered me a position to build my business inside of its fi rm, and I decided to tak e it , Amsler recalled. “Eleven years later it has proven to be a great move. I feel like t h i s i s w h er e I w as meant to be. Ultimately, I ended up where I belong.”

“A great move” is the least one can say about Amsler’s t e n u r e with Merrill Lynch. In 2005 Worth magazine placed him o n t h ei r list of “Top 100 Wealth Advisors.”

“Wework with 37 wealthy familieswho have approximately $2 billion on account w ith us,” said A m sler. “ I f the client h as co n cer n s

about your integrity, you will never get the account. A s w e ad v ise o u r clients on the account , w e have to m ak e sure that each i n v est m en t is

a good fi t from both a risk and return perspective. O u r b u si n ess is an extremely profi table operation, but we cannot compromise th e cl ien t s’ interests of maximizing their dollarswith our fi rm’s ow n interest of increasing revenue. There is no doubt that integrity is the single most important component of my current position.”

Amsler feels hisAcademy experiences serve him everyday. “I try not to be a “ring knocker,” he said, “but I still wear my ring daily. It is not so much for other people to see, but to remind myself where I came from. Aft er grinding through my undergrad in el ect r i cal engineering, I found my Masters in fi nance to be pretty easy!”

Despite the accolades during the past decade, Amsler h as co m e to val ue h is m aterial achi evem en ts less and val ue his relationships I suppose I am in the middle of a successful career in pri vate banking which has led to some things like the Worth Maga zine recognition,” said Amsler, “but when I think about my life I picture myself being accountable to God aft er my last day and I suspect that I am not going to linger too long on my car eer an d al l of the things that I have done. I suspect I will spend m o r e t i m e o n the people I have been with and how I developed and ser v ed t h e m

o r e ,

relationshipsthat makeup my life.” H

C H E C K P O I N T S , SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

73

re e r r r r r

Ce r t e f

a ce e r

n

e n t e i

“ SA CC is t he Service Academy Career Conference—a career fair hosted three times annually and exclusive to alumni o f the five service academies. SACC is designed to match our alumni with employers interested in hiring service academy alumni. Current SACC venues are Washington D.C., San Diego, CA and San Ant onio, TX.

T

I A lum ni

Search for Jobs JSAJE (Joint Service Academy Jobs Electronically) is an exclusive job Web site designed for service academy alumni. JSAJE allows you to browse through job listings and contact employers. JSAJE also contains a resume repository for

those graduates who are in an active transition mode and a job retriever for t hose who prefer to remain in a passive mode,

fc . Employer Post Jobs JSAJE is also an exclusive job Web site designed for companies in corporate America to advert ise t heir c a r e e r opport unit ies direct ly to service academy alumni. In addit ion to t he job post ing funct ion, companies may also purchase access to a repository of resumes of t hose graduates w h o a re in a n act iv e t ra nsit io n m o d e . iSA BRD is t he online Service Academy Business Resource Directory and is a great t ool to network wit h ot her ac ad emy alumni. Wit h over 32,500 act ive profiles of service academy alumni from USA FA, USCGA, USMA, USMMA, and USNA, it is an excellent resource for advert ising, career networking, and building business connect ions w it h f e llo w alumni. iSA BRD can be searched by name, academy, graduat ion year, city, st ate, zip code, count ry, company name, business type and keyword.

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iSABRD is the one-stop directory for Service Academy grads looking to fi nd professional careers with grad-friend

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Look for people you can count on! Make iSABRD your fi rst choice if highly qualifi ed professional fellow ServiceAcademy grads are what you seek ...

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Visit the career center at www,usafa.org, and cl ick o n “ C areer C en t er.”

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Th e Fa lc o n La u n c h IV ro c k et lif t s of f f ro m Sa n N ic o la s Island, Calif . (Photos courtesy of USAFA Ast ronaut ics)

L e a r n in g S p a c e b y D o in g S p a c e FalconLAUNCH IV Launch & Recovery Partnofii Col. M art y Fr ance, '8 1 and Lt . Col. Ralph Sandf ry

TheA cadem y’sS paceS ystem sR esearch C ent er init iated the FalconLA U N C H

sounding rocket program in Academic Year 2002-03. This two-semester capstone design course in the Astro Department provides a realistic design experience fo r senior cadets majoring in Astronautical Engineering, Systems Engineering and Systems Engineering Management. The program fo cuses on “learning space by doing space.” Each year, cadets apply systems engineering processes to design, build, test, and fl y a solid-propellant sounding rocket. The goals fo r the program are to provide a “hands-on” educational experience fo r cadets, while applying a high level of practical engi neering to solve real-world problems.

Currently, the program emphasizes devel oping a basic capability to fl y small Air

Force and DoD scientifi c and engineer ing payloads on a yearly basis. Technical goals are to design a reproducible system capable of fl ying a 5 lb. payload to over 330,000 ft (100 km)—suborbital fl ights to the edge of space.

of character who understand space.

association with the Air Force develop mental engineering community. Technical mentorship and fi nancial support are pro vided by the Air Force Research Laborato ry’s Propulsion Directorate as well as the

Carson, Colo., the 90 lb. rocket was

FalconLA U N C H benefi ts from a close

A i r Force O ffi ce of Scient ifi c Research . A i r

Force Academy cadets are given unique opportunities to conduct research and work directly with Air Force and industry engineers. This close teamwork helps the Academy and the Department of Astro nautics achieve its ultimate goal of pro ducing the fi nest future Air Force leaders C H E C K P O I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

I n A cadem ic Year 2002-03 , the fi rst

team comprised of 14 cadets devel oped FalconLAUNCH I—a fully cadet designed, built, and tested single-stage, solid-propellant sounding rocket.

Launched on the Army range at Fort aerodynamically stabilized and reached an al t it ude of 30,000 ft . O n descent ,

an airbag-actuated parachute deployed at 2,000 ft . and the rock et w as success

fully recovered. This fi rst subsonic rocket proved the technical feasibility of the pro gram and paved the way for future classes to build a more powerful rocket design.

I n 2003-2004 , t he 18-cadet team

designed FalconLAUNCH II. This new design incorporated many new features necessary for attaining the program’s 75

ultimate altitude and payload goals, including a graphite composite case to reduce structural weight, a silica-phe nolic nozzle l iner, new avion ics hard

ware and software, and a new recovery system. The team static fi red the rocket motor in April 2004 and fl ight tested a supersonic, reduced-performance version at Ft. Carson’s Pinon Canyon Maneuver Area Range in southern Colorado. The static fi ring was suc cessful except for a nozzle failure attributed to manufacturing problems which were subsequently resolved. The fl ight test achieved supersonic fl ight, but soon after achieving Mach 1, at approximately 17,000 ft., the rocket experienced a problem and ultimately tumbled. Almost all technical goals were achieved, but the fl ight dynamics anomaly created new opportunities for the next class.

In the program’s third year, Falcon-

LA .U N C H I I I focused the 2 1-cadet

team on analysis of the previous year’s anomalous fl ight. Their goal was to redesign and successfully fl y super sonically at the Pinon Canyon Range.

The cadet-led research and analysis uncovered two contributing factors to the fl ight stability problem. First, they discovered uneven erosion of the silica-phenolic nozzle liner at the nozzle throat, leading to slight thrust mis alignment. Cadets used sophisticated 6-degree-of-freedom fl ight simula tion software developed by the Sandia National Laboratory to show that even small thrust misalignment could signif icantly destabilize the rocket in fl ight.

This problem was ultimately solved with a new, more robust, carbon-phe nolic nozzle material. Through several tests, this new material proved much more capable of withstanding the high temperatures and has proven very suc cessful during all subsequent static and fl ight tests.

Next, they discovered the likely onset of fi n-fl ut ter as the rock et becam e

supersonic. With the help of engineers at the A i r Force Research L aborat o

ries Propulsion Directorate, cadets researched and applied methods to predict fi n fl utter and design fi ns much

Top; Then-Cl C Grant Philipson (lef t ), Lt . Col. Ralph Sandf ry (right ), and SrA Dust in Herold (background) posit ion t he FalconLAUNCH IV rocket on t h e l a u n c h r a i l . T h e c a d e t t e a m lat er raises t he rocket to it s 80 degree launch elevat ion w it h t he launcher’s hydraulic a c t u a t o r.

Bottom : Then-Cl Cs Jam es “Trip” Johnson and Rebecca Unruh prepare to t rack t he rocket and receive telem et ry f rom Ground St at ion No. 1 .

m ore resistant to the effect . T he result 76

C H E C K P O I N T S, S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 6

A new real-time video camera payload was developed and integrated to transmit video from the rocket to a separate ground station. The cadet-designed composite motor case was built by ATK Corporation

of Brigham City, Utah, while the rocket

motor was cast and cured by Vulcan Sys t em s of Penrose, C olo.

The fully-loaded solid propellant rocket

wascapable of much greater range than

was available in Colorado, so the launch

was planned for the Navy’s Point Mugu Missile Range near San Nicholas Island, Calif Computer simulations of the fl ight

predicted a range of over 25 miles and a

max altitude of 134,000 ft . Cadets began

test planning with the USNavy’s range personnel many monthsbefore the opera tion. The cadet operations team worked

diligently to obtain approval of all their procedures, planned frequencies, and test plans using the same processesasother DoD test programs. The rangesafety approval required detailed modeling and simulation of the rocket aerodynamic

properties and fl ight dynamics to predict the fl ight hazard pattern.

All the planning turned to action as

the team deployed to San Nicholas Island on April 3, 2006 for system checkouts, dress rehearsals, and launch of Falcon-

The FalconLA UNCH IV rocket ready f or launch wit h t he operat ions team .

Left-to-right: Lt. Col. Ralph Sandfry, then-Cl Cs Ross Co n ra d , Ja m es Steel, Cynt hia Nogueras, and Grant Philipson

ing design was static fi red in January 2005 and produced over 3,000 lbs. of th rust . A

the design goalshigher and faster than

April 2005 on the Pinon Canyon Range.

FalconLAUNCH III successfully fl ew to over 18,000 ft. and achieved the program’s fi rst stable supersonic fl ight—over Mach 1.4. Only 30 percent of the rocket’s propellant capability was used to ensure

tem in an attempt to improve performance and add new capabilities. The propulsion team developed and tested a new sym metric propellant grain design. They static fi red the motor on February 14 at Jacks Valley on the Air Force Academy and

f ull-size rock et w as built and launched in

the fl ight would remain within the range’s

boundaries. The system transmitted posi tion, velocity, and combustion chamber pressure data via the on-board telemetry and global positioning satellite systems

to cadet ground stations. With almost all

technical goals achieved, the program was ready to take the next step and attempt a full-power supersonic fl ight.

FalconLA U N C H I V built on t he suc

cess of the previous three years and pushed

ever. The 17-cadet team addressed design

challenges to almost every major subsys

produced over 4,000 lbs. of thrust. Cadet designed and built structures included the aluminum and carbon-phenolic nozzle, composite nosecone, and carbon compos it e fi ns. T he avionics sect ion contai ned

a telemetry system which recorded and

transm it ted on-board accelerations, m otor

chamber pressure, position, and veloc

L A U N C H IV. A ft er som e w et w eather

and range issues, the team received the green light to proceed with the count

down on Thursday afternoon, April 6.

Cadets expertly integrated their rocket on the launch rail, assembling the motor, fi ns, avionics, payload and nosecone together to make the complete FalconLAUNCH

IV system. In addition to conducting all launch processing, the cadet team ran the checklists for ground station functional and com m unicat ion check outs. C adets

were also fully integrated into the Navy test control network. They fi lled key roles

in the operations network as they coordi

nated all com m unicat ions f rom t he launch

pad, ground stations, and blockhouse to

the test control center at Pt. Mugu Naval Air Station. After several range clearance delays, the FalconLAUNCH IV Test Director, Cl C Cynthia Nogueras, pushed t he launch but ton at 1640 PST and

ity via the on-board accelerometers and

launched t he rock et .

designed to receive and store the data.

quickly accelerated to supersonic speeds.

GPS. Two redundant ground stations were

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

The rocket lifted off smoothly and

77

but just aft er 3 seconds into the boost phase an apparent structural failure in the forw ard sect ion caused the rock et

to deviate from its course and quickly

t um ble. M uch of the rock et w as recovered

including the motor case, one attached

fi n , nozzle, and the avionics sect ion . T he

nosecone, payload section, and other three fi ns were not recovered. The ground sta tions received data indicating the rocket reached an altitude of approximately 3,500 feet and experienced maximum accelerations of nearly 31 g’s! This data matches well with simulations which pre dicted a speed of over Mach 2 (over 2000 ft/sec) at the time of the anomaly.

In spite of this setback, the cadets quickly organized a thorough accident investiga tion. Aft er several weeks of data reduction,

analysis, and testing of various failure modes they reported their fi nal results and recom mendations. On the last day of classes, the team presented their fi ndings to a group of

external reviewers including Mr. Gary E. Payton (7 1), Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force for Space Programs. Other review ers included representatives from Air Force Research Labs, ATK, Vulcan Systems, and faculty from the Department of Astronau tics. The cadets ultimately traced the failure back to bending failure of fasteners in the avionics/payload bulkhead. Their initial design underestimated the aerodynamic

bending loadscaused by small anglesof

attack as the rocket accelerated through the lower atmosphere. Finally, the team made recommendations for future analysis and design changes to address the structural issue. T he C lass of 2007 Astronaut ical

Engineering cadetswill continue the tradi tion with FalconLAUNCH—they have already begun efforts to redesign the rocket and attempt another launch in the Spring of 2007.

Fal conLA U N C H IV m et al l its educa

Cadets learned tremendous lessons in sys tems engineering, program management,

modeling & simulation, manufacturing,

test, launch operations, and will undoubt edly learn even more from the anomaly investigation. Perhaps more important, t hese fut ure leaders learned m uch m ore

about development of complex systems than any textbook could possibly com municate. Although disappointed, the cadets will likely benefi t more from this experience than if the rocket fl ew precisely as predicted. As seen recently in industry, the initial development of a new rocket is fi lled with uncertainty and problems are common—this is not a simple or easy task. But the lessons of this program—the technical rigor, discipline, professionalism, and attention to detail—have an irreplace

able impact on these future offi cersas they begin their Air Force careers. Si

tional goalsand almost all technical goals.

Mayo Health System and Northfi eld Hospital:

r,

Teaming Up to Provide Outstanding Community-Centered C a r e * Practi ce progressi ve, patient-centered medici ne i n a com mu n i t y cont ex t

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w'cf u i nto ro ed K in c .”

C fi' is Glim i r. M. f ).

(USAFA hk i i icfi i W nee w r Heal t h M tsrf jcu J C ft fl i c

Fc^ additioni l infumu tioiir contact; Greig Glover, M,D, (5071744.3245 gb verg^ nort hfi eldbn»»pita],org www,noit hfi eidhcispitaKorg www.maynheah hsTstem.nrg f it

78

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

Mayo Health System Fam Uy H eaM M edi c al C li n i c

I J

Inspired by six squadronmates whogavetheir livesi n the defenseof their country, Todd Ernst, '93, wrotethisode to the warrior spirit. ‘7 believeit isalsoa tributeto all who have gonebeforeus," said Ernst. Wecould not agreemore.

I

^ he“warrior” not onlydefi nesaset of beliefsbut alosob t aia n ed o r fram ew ork of deliberate act ions. I t ’s not a stat us

a title worn, but an ethic lived.

The warrior accepts sacrifi ce so others don’t have t o . H e

fi ghtsfor ideals, but also for the peoplewho treasure t h o se

ideals. Often his sacrifi ces are for those he will never k now and som et im es

for those he does not like. The warrior does not distinguish on behal f of which citizens for whom he will fi ght. And while the w ar r i o r i s so m et i m es misunderstood or even hated by the public he serves, he st ill serves.

The warrior does not settle for victory when he’s seeking War doesnot distinguish thewarrior. Heisnot defi ned by one singularly spectacular event, but acontinuousstring of equally important smaller ones. su c c e ss .

T he w arrior understands the servant’s heart and acts upon it.

The warrior stands out amongst his peers, but he does not stand alone.

Thewarrior has nothing to prove. He fi ndsassurance fi rst f rom w i thin

not solely through the affi rmation of those around him . H e does not need a reason to be humble. While the warrior is fully confi dent, he exh ibit s

prideonly towards the accomplishments of others.

The warrior is a patriot, not just patriotic.

The warrior values mission accomplishment over personal ad v an cem en t .

He does not seek recognition, and defi nitely won’t expect it. The war rior does not selectively pursue those tasks which provide him the greatest tangible reward. Thesuccessof awarrior isn’t measured by the number of plaqueson awall. Neither rank, nor medalsdefi ne the warrior—although they may sometimes identify him. A warrior’s reward is when the public he

protects takesfor granted that which he fi ghtsto p r eserv e.

T he w arrior is able t o lead even w hen he follow s.

T he w arrior is hum an . H e is not chiseled from stone. H i s fl esh can scar his emotions can bruise, his confi dence and self-esteem can w ane. T he

warrior gets scared, he feels anger and discontent. H e m ak es m i st ak es. H e likes to have fun and sometimes his family has to come fi r st . T h e w ar r i o r won’t alwayswin, but he’ll never lose. TheWarrior may be discouraged with a task but is never dissuaded from it . T he w arrior has personal wants, but they are subordinate to those of all others. A warrior is not wholly selfl ess, but he’s never self-centered. The warrior gets tired, but his eagerness remains.

The warrior does not seek self-sacrifi ce, but he willingly accepts it. He fi nds

strength from within, but even morestrength through the efforts of others.

Warriors never die. Memories fade, but their spirit endures—perpetu ated through the impact of their actionson those that follow. No single person will purposely infl uence thelivesof nearly so many as the rippling

W ar r i o r

BY T O D D ERN ST, ’93

eff ects of the life of a w arrior.

Inspired by aTrueWarrior H

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE P T E M B E R 2 0 0 6

79

^

Ser vice Academy^<->

C a r eer C o n eer en c e

N ovember 9-10, 2006 San Antonio, TX W h a t is SA C C ?

The SACC is the Service Academy Career Conference supported by t he Associat ions of Graduates from the U.S. Air Force Academy and the U.S. Milit ary Academy, and Alumni Associations from the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Previous conferences have been attended by hundreds of companies and t h o u sa n d s o f a lu m n i.

Reg ist rat ion Fee

The SA CC Cand id at e

W here w ill t he SA CC b e he ld ?

regist rat ion fee is $35 ($40

The next SACC will be held at the Hyatt Regency on the Riverwalk, 123 Losoya Street, Sa

at the door) and may be

n

Ant onio, TX 78205. You may obt ain a room for t he SACC rate, if available. Call (210) 2221234 fo r reservat io ns and ask f o r t he SA CC rat e. T here are many ot her hotels available in t he

paid by check or credit card.

Please m ail t he at t ached

area or stay with classmates or family.

regist rat ion wit h form of payment and one copy of your resume. Resumes must be one page/ one

SA C C Sc h e d u l e o f Ev e n t s

Thursday, November 9 Int erview Prep Seminar .... 6:30 pm Friday, November 10 Breakfast (provided) Regist rat ion

.. 8 :30 a m

9 :30 a m

,. 9 :00 a m

SA C C

,..9 :0 0 a m

Lunch (provided)

12:15 pm 1:30 pm

4:00 pm 12:15 pm 1:30 pm 4:30 pm

SA C C

sided and on plain copy

8:30 pm

paper. Please do not fax your resume. Regist rat ion d ead line is O ct o b er 20.

N e x t Sc h e d u l e d SA C C

Washington DC, May 10-11, 2007

Sat urday, November 11

For more informat ion, contact Wayne Taylor at (719) 472-0300 or

Interviews only if directly scheduled between company recruit ers and cand id at es; Companies will contact you directly regarding any on-site interviews during t he SACC.

D SN 333-4 5 13 .

SA CC Candidat e Reg ist rat ion Form (San A nt onio, TX, 2 00 6) NAME (for name tag, no ranks):

U SA FA C LA SS:

A D D RESS:

PHO N E (Ho m e):

(W o rk):,

Will you attend the free Interview Prep Seminar?

Ple ase in c lu d e :

□ RegistrationForm

.(E-mail):.

□ Yes

□ Fee $35

n

No

□ Resume(1page/1sided)

M ail t o :

SA C C

247 King George St .

Annapolis, MD 21402-5068

yy iMr .,a r —

SE R V I C E WT .

:

..

r

la ■■■

Annual gifts to t he Air Force Academy Fund at t he Sabre Society level provide support to programs and cadet clubs t hat promote

civic responsibility and leadership development like the Falcon Club.

.

This cadet club works closely in t he local community wit h Big Brot hers/ i

Big Sisters of America.

For more information on becoming a part of the Sabre Society contact Greg Knedler at (719) 472-0300 or greg.kneciler@aogusafa.org.

Coach Fisher DeBerry and players are determined to g et back to their winning ways By USAFA Athletics

A

s Fisher DeBerry entershis 23rd season as head coach at Air Force, hisenthusiasm and excitement for collegefootball and his beloved Falconsare strong as ever. The coach is as excited about thisseason as any he’scoached.

“We need to get the train back on the track,” DeBerry said. “I think we’revery close. Wewere close to turning things around last year coming off a losing season and I think wehave some fi neyoung playersand can be avery competitive t eam .”

Air Force is coming off back-to-back losing seasons for thefi rst timesince 1980-81. After fi nishing 5-6 in 2004, the Falcons slipped to 4-7 last year. Four of the team’s seven losseswere by a combined 10 points, including three-point losses to each service academy.

“Fm excited to get going. Wehad agood spring and like any other program, we moved some guys around and I think w e have them in the right spots,” DeBerry commented. “We think the changeswe’ve madewill get our best players on the fi eld and add depth to some positions. Wejust need to see how they develop as the season moves along.”

The most notable change is moving junior Jim Ollis back to quarterback from halfback. Ollis was moved to halfback and kickoff return specialist last season. He’s back at quarterback where he will battle for the backup job with sophomores Shea Smith and Tommy Daniels.

“We’ve moved Ollis back to the quarterback position and he will give us depth there. We’re excited about some young players we have at quarterback and it will be a real battle for the backup spot,” DeBerry said.

Junior starter Shaun Carney returns to lead the offense. The two-year starter is already one of the top quarterbacks t o w ear t h e blueand silver. He’sset theschool record for completion percentage each year, hitting 64.2 percent last year while throwing for 1,393 yardsand seven touchdowns. Carney posted a 149.40 passing effi ciency rating to rank second in the conference. He improved hisrushing numberslast year aswell, leading the team with 710 yards and scoring 11 touchdowns. He also averaged 4.2 yards per carry and 64.5 yards per game.

One of 33 quarterbacks on the Davey O’Brien Award list this year and last, Carney is on pace to rewrite the Academy record books. Hes hit 186 of 297 passes for 2,708 yards in his career and has 18 TD passes. He became the 33rd Falcon to rush for 1,000 career yards and enters the year ranked 27th with 1,306 yards with 17 career rushing TDs. “We’re fortunate to have our starting quarterback back this year,” DeBerry said. “We need Shaun to take an even stronger role in our running game this year and to think of himself as a strong runner. He’s shown he has the ability to do t hat .” w

82

C H E C K ? 0 1N T S , S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 6

a s a

Previous page: Junior fuilback Ryan Williams runs for the goal line against Tennessee. The Faicons battied the Vois to t he end i n a 31-30 loss. (Photo by John VanWinkle)

ation. Brown and Kirkwood ended their careers in style last

year. Both entered theyear with little on their resumes i n

terms of catches or yards, but combined for an option record of 79 catches for 1,429 yards and nine touchdowns.

Brown had 49 catches for 874 yards and fi veT Ds while K i r k wood had 30 catches for 555 yards and four touchdowns. e r a

The rest of the Falcons’ running game is in good shape.

Senior Jacobe Kendrick returns to lead an experienced

fullback position. Kendrick fi nished second on the t eam i n rushing with 532 yardson 116 carries. He also scored six

touchdowns and averaged 4.6 yards per carry.

“If Jacobe can stay healthy for an entireyear, he could prove to be one of the best we’ve had here at the fullback position,” DeBerry stated. “We’ve got some other fi ne playersat that posi tion aswell and I feel really good about the fullbacks.”

Junior Ryan Williamsreturnsaswell and will challengef o r thestarting position. Williamsrushed for 290 yardsand three

touchdownslast year. He averaged 4.0 yards per carry a y ear ago and was never stopped for a loss. GharlesWells and Scott Peeples will give the position plenty of depth .

The halfback position remrnseveryone from last year. Sen io r Justin Handley and junior Ghad Hall lead the group. Handley rushed for 165 yardsand scored two touchdownslast year. Hall fi nished third on the team in rushing last year with 344 yards on 66 carries. He also enters thisyear as the team’s top returning receiver with 16 catchesfor 139 yards. Hall notched a career-best 107 yards rushing last year to become the fi rst Air Force halfback with a 100-yard rushing game since 2003.

Junior Chad Smith also returns after rushing for 190 yards and aTD last year. He also had eight catches for 89 yards and another score. Junior Kip McCarthy returns, along w i t h Todd N ewell, who missed the entire 2005 season with a k n ee

injury. Senior Beau Suder, who moved to halfback during

spring drills, will also provide depth and may start.

The guys paving the way up front return plenty of experi ence from a year ago. Gone from last year’s offensive l i n e are senior center Jon Wilson and tackle Ross Weaver. T h e two ranked as some of the best the Academy has had at t h ei r

respective positions, but the unit returnssenior tackle R o b er t

Kraay, along with senior guardsTyler Dohallow and C u r t i s Grantham. In addition, junior tackle Ryan Zeman and sen i o r center Stuart Perlow appear ready to be full-time starters.

Junior Caleb Morris returns thisseason after missing th e en t i re 2005 campaign due to injury. A part-time starter as a freshm an, a healthy Morrisadds depth along with senior Thomas Crump.

“I think we have a chance to be competitive with our offensive line,” the coach said. “We have a good nucleus returning and the addition of Caleb Morris and some o f t h e young guyswelooked at in thespring give usa solid group.”

The tight end and wide receiver positions cause a litde for the coach. Junior Chris Evans remrnsafter starting fi ve games due to injurieslast year. He didn’t record any catches, b u t is a solid blocker who isexpected to lead a group of young players.

Junior Travis Dekker returnsthisyear aft er missing al l o f last season due to injury. Heshowed promise as a freshman w h ile seeing limited varsity action.

Senior Victor Thompson and junior Mark Root return t o bolster the wide receiver position. They have huge sh o es t o fi ll, asJason Brown and Greg Kirkwood were lost to graduc o n c er n

“We’vegot someconcernsbased on theexperiencereturning a t widereceiver and tight end,” DeBerry said. “Wehavesome good young playersat thesepositionsand it’stheir timeto step up.”

The defensive side of the ball has returning players a t nearly every position. The defensive linewill be led by senior Gilberto Perez, who was on his way to all-conference h o n o r s before a knee injury on the second series against BYU caused him to miss the remainder of the season. Despite missing

nearly three games, Perez led the Falconswith 9.5 t ackl es for loss for 29 yards. He also had 33 total tackles.

Junior defensive tackle Grant Thomas, along with junior

Josh Clayton and senior Kevin Quinn make up the rest of the starting unit, asthe Falconswill play primarily a four-m an front again in 2005. Thomasand Clayton saw signifi cant action as backups a year ago.

“Our front line is solid,” DeBerry said. “I think Gilberto Perez is one of the top defensive linemen in our conference and he’ll be one of our leaders.”

The linebacker corps will be led by junior Drew Fowler, who fi nished second on the team in tackles last year w ith 77.

Hehad 25 solo stopsand 5.5 tacklesfor lossin hisfi rst year as a starter. Senior Joey Keller is slated as the other start er af ter

being a backup last year. Heshowed fl asheslast year, fi nish ing theseason with 22 tackles. Senior Jared Baxley and junior

Austin Randle will be key backups and add depth to the posi tion. Both saw signifi cant action as key backups last y ear.

The secondary will be led by junior safety Bobby Giannini and senior cornerback Chris Sutton. Both are expected t o b e among the best in the conference in their respective positions.

Giannini led the Falcons in tackles last year with 92, incl ud ing 49 unassisted. He also had a team-best three interceptions while earning honorable mention all-conference honors.

Sutton had 47 tackles last year and posted a team-best nine pass breakups. He added two interceptions and w i l l

once again be the team’s lockdown corner. A talented athlete,

Sutton was fourth in the conference in punt returns last year with a 9.4 per-return average.

The other cornerback position will be held down by juniors Nathan Smith, Carson Bird and Garrett Rybak. All three signifi cant action last year and will battle to start th is seaso n . saw

SophomoreTrey Eaton will backup Giannini whileseveral

younger playerswill vie for additional backup positions.

The Falcon position is the biggest concern for DeBerry, as John Taibi and Denny Poland were lost to graduation. Taibi fi n ish ed third on the team in total tackles in 2005 w ith 75 w hile Poland w as fourth w ith 64. Poland also added 7.5 tackles for loss. Junior

Julian Madrid, senior Adam Zlanotti and sophomore Hunter Altman are the favorites for the most playing time. M adrid is the top returning tackier among the group with 27, while Z an o t t i

had 10. Altman wasajunior varsity player last year. t>

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

83

“Madrid showed usthat heisan aggressiveplayer at theend of last season and Zanotti hasalot of experience

on special teams,” the coach said. “The problem these

guyshad last year isthat wewereso strongwith Poland and Taibi therewasn’t a lot of opportunities for others.”

No areawill havemorenew facesthan thekicking game. SophomoreRyan Harrison will batdewith junior

Zach Sasser for theplace kicking duties. Nobody in t h e group as attempted a fi eld goal in a game, but all t h ree saw duty as the kickoff specialist last year.

Harrison will also compete for the punting duties with senior Christopher Carp, who started several games last year. Carp punted nine times for a 35.1 average after missing the fi rst part of the season w i t h an abdom inal st rain .

A FA A l u m n i L acr o sse

Graybirds

yy

By Mike “Jake” Jakobi, ’81

19 9 7

“We need to fi nesome consistency in our kicking game,” the coach said. “Harrison has a big leg and Carp hasshown the ability to be a consistent punter.”

T he Falcons were an uncharacteristic 2-3 at home last

year, which was another major concern for DeBerry.

Getting the train back on track includes improving t he Falcons’ hom e record .

“ W e w ant to re-establ ish our dom inance at hom e

and play in front of a packed house every game,” he said. “Falcon Stadium wasonce one of the toughest

places to play and we want to get that back. If we can do that and be a more aggressive team away from home we can get Falcon football back to where it normally is and that’s in contention for the conference

title and a bowl game every year.” Si

full length, odd vs. even classyears, lacrossegamew i t h

varsity Falcons intermingled. All arewelcome to witness the carnage of thisevent under the lightsat 6 p.m. o n

O ct . 6 in the lacrosse stadium . Cat Stevens w ill coach th e Evens, while Fred A cee w ill coach t he O dds!

w as a h all m ark in A i r Force

Lacrosse history with the hiring of the fi rst civilian

head coach , M r . Fred A cee. Fred cam e t o t he Fal

cons with a long history of coaching achievement, to include coaching the USA team. Coach Acee’s philosophy is simple: “If you want to be the best, you have to play the best teams.”

Lacrosse alumni were charged up to hear of Coach Acee’s arrival. In the fall of 1997, alumni gathered our old playing fi elds for a full fi eld scrimmage with t h e o n

cadets. T he cadets w ere so m ot ivated to have al um ni

playing among them, an ongoing Alumni Lacrosse Organization was formed. Many alumni play post col legiate club lacrosse well into their late 50’s. We decided to form an Air Force alumni team to play in the annual Vail Shootout, held in Vail, Colo, each year. TheAir Force Graybirds were born and fi rst took the fi eld i n 1998. Our fi rst year of competition in the over age 4 0 “Super Masters” Division saw the Graybirds beat the Navy “Old Goats” in double overtime and go on to win the division championship.

A viable and strong alumni lacrosse organization

was born. M ason Goodhand, ’78, and M itch Brown,

’78, were elected president and vice president respec tively. MikeJakobi, ’81, was elected alumni secretary.

Charles A . “ Cat” Stevens, ’74, former Falcon head

coach, was elected head coach of the Graybirds. A

charit able donat ion fund for alum ni to cont ribut e to the lacrosse team w as established via t he A O G ’s C harit able T rust .

In addition to the annual “four day Graybirdsseason”

in Vail, weestablished an annual “lacrossehomecoming”

Our annual homecoming ismeant for alumni to act as modelsof achievement and insight to thevarsity Falcons

of w hat lies in store for them in their A ir Force and/ or

civilian careersafter graduation. After each homecom ing game, all grads tell of their careersand their c u r r e n t lives. While the cadetshave enjoyed the locker room “ w ar stories” about getting a “good hit” on gradssuch as Brig.

Gen. Ed Mcllhenney, ’74, in the homecoming game, the awe and respect is also apparent in their facesw h en they listen to Vietnam era gradssuch as former goalie B ill Markha, ’68, tell their stories of fl ying endless combat missions in the F-4. The Falcon roster grew quiet as M ason Goodhand, ’78, outlined the need for A i r Force

leaders to “face the current challengeswe must answer with decisive action in the ongoing War on Terror.”

The cadetswere humble, yet determined, in their agreement with Mason’sposition. Mason went on to say, “Your handling those challengeseffectively begins here, every timeyou take the fi eld to practice, or don thejersey to represent Air Force in the game NativeAmericans

played to train their Bravesfor War, and called ‘Baggat-

away the “Litde Brother of War”!

Vail 2006 saw the Graybirds take the fi eld for the eighth year in a row, boasting the likes of Russ Murray, ’67, thevery fi rst Air Force Lacrosse team captain. R u ss has never missed a year with the Graybirds in Vail.

Returning again in ’06 was Harry Calcutt, ’72, a “wall of famer” whose photo lives on in theAi r Force Lacrosse locker room. Past Wall of Famers to play in Vail have included M ike M cDonald, ’78, a three-time First Team

All-American and ranked third on theall timegoals

scored list. Chet Nowak, ’81, ranked fi ft h on the all t i m e

goals scored list has played. Kenny Wessels, ’87, theA l l -

C H E C K P O I N T S , SE P T E M B E R 2 0 0 6

Fro nt row, L t o R: Terry Brady, ’69, Tom Richardson, ’74, MikeJakobi, ’81, Jeff Cole, (honorary alumni), Larry Diamond, (Honorary alumni), Jon Brenneman, (honorary alumni), George Degnon, ’88, Floyd Dunstan, ’87, Jon Pope, (honorary alumni), Jim Vitelli, ’73.

Ba c k row, L t o R: Jim Livingston, ’72, Mike Blouin, ’87, Dan Connelly, ’73, Rich Pettit , ’74, Brig. Gen. Ed Mclihenney, ’74, Larry Davis, ’81, Matt Kinnan, (honorary alumni), Russ Murray, ’67, Harry Calcutt, ’72, Gary Kito, ’72, Mason Goodhand, ’78, Brian McIntosh, ’83, Kenny Wessels, ’87, Charles “ Cat ” St evens, ’74 .

Time Saves Leader in Air Force history, has manned the nets for Air Force since ’04. Other new arrivals include George Degnon, ’88, and Floyd Dunstan, ’87, Air National Guard F-16 pilots and veterans of combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Jim Tilley, ’86, a Southwest Airline and ANG A-10 pilot arrived f o r h is fi rst year with the Graybirds in ’06.

TheVail Lacrosse tournament is the largest lacrosse t o u r n a ment in the country. TheTournament includesyouth an d ad u lt team s in both w omen’s and men’s divisions. M en’s and w o m en’s

Elite division(s) include the country’s premier lacrosse players from NCAA competition. One step up from the Elite’sar e m en’s Masters Division, ages 33-39. The Super Masters division is men , age40 and over. The Grand Masters is men ages 55 or o ld er.

Many Veteran Graybirdsalso play in that division.

Each year the Graybirds observe a moment of silence an d raise a toast to those alumni who gave their lives i n t h e l i n e of duty and otherwise. Those grads include Bartel Jackson, ’80, Danny Sullivan, ’82, Kip Peterson, ’71, and also t h e most recent Falcon to pass as a cadet during summer t r ai n ing, Pace Weber.

The Graybirdswent 1-3 in the 2006 tournament. It was decided the ongoing tradition in Vail should begin for grads of all ages. MikeJakobi, ’81, takes the lead in establishing th e A i r Fo rce

W arbirds for 2007 in the Vail Elite and M asters divisions. T h e

Warbirdswill provide a stepping stone to future Graybird t e a m s as alumni graduate from the Elite’s to the Masters and fi nally to the Super Masters division in Vail. The Master’s and Super Master’sdivisions play at the end of June. The Elite division plays from July 1-4. Current NCAA Falconsare eligible to play in the Vail Elite division. T his article is to reach out to U SA FA L acrosse

alumni who haveyet to join our ranks. Please contact M i k e Jakobi, ’81, at the following e-mail: MJakobi@cinci.rr.com. Join theAFA Alumni Lacrosse Organization and come play in V ai l !

We may be old, but we can still run! Many of us have w h i t e hair and gray beards, but we are still the Graybirds i n V ai l .

We remain proud to wear Air Force on the lacrosse fi elds! W e w ould lik e t o inv ite all al um ni and cadets to w it ness t h e ’0 6

Alumni Lacrosse game this fall on Oct. 6. We would furt her

l ik e to invite all to com e to Vail t o cheer for t he W ar b i r d s an d

theGraybirdsin 2007! H

Pounds named Mountain Region Female Field Event Athlete of t he Year By usafa Athletics

2

L t . D ana Pounds, ’06, has been named the Female Field Ev en t A t h l et e o f t h e Y ear

for the M ountain Region, by the U.S. T rack and Field and Cross Country Coaches

A sso c i at i o n .

T he UST FCCCA awarded six winners (men’s and women’s coach, men’s and women’s track ath lete, men’s and women’s fi eld athlete) from each of the nine regional districts. These 18 coaches and

2 Lt . Dana Pounds, '06: W i nne r of t he 2 0 0 5

and 2006 NCAA javelin championship.

36 athletes were nominated by Division I coaches, who al so v o t ed o n t h e w i n n er s.

Recording javelin-throw distances of over 170-feet at every meet this season, Pounds has contin ued to rewrite history. Most recently. Pounds set a new NCAA Midwest Regional record throw of 186’ 10” to win her second straight regional title. Prior to the regional meet, she blasted the Acad emy, Mountain West Conference and MWC Championship-meet records w ith a t oss of 195’8” , winning her third straight conference title.

T he throw, which was the best throw in the N CAA for the season, matched the best collegiate throw ever by an vAmerican and is the second-best toss by anyone in the country this year. In addi tion, she became the fi rst three-time javelin champion in the history of the Drake Relays, tossing the second-best mark ever at Drake (178’10”)- a throw j ust shy of her own record.

Pounds won her second NCAA championship this year.

m m Sh ar r at t n am ed Fal co n s’

Head Wrestling C o ach

By USAFA Athletics

F

orm er n at i onal t eam m em ber and t h ree-t i m e A ll -A m eri can

Joel Sharratt has been named

the new head wrestling coach at the Air Force Academy. Sharratt replaces Wayne Baughman, who retired after 27 years at the helm of the Falcons’ wrestling program.

“Air Forcehas a great program, a great staff and I’m loo k ing forward to the chance to get it going,” said Sharratt. “My goals for theAir Forcewresding program are for every at h l et e t o graduate and be commissioned as an off icer, for our w resd ers t o be leaders in the Cadet Wing, and for each individual t o reach h is full potential on the mat. This team has a good nucleus t o m o v e forward, such as the Lord brothers (seniors Bridger and Zach), who have a great work ethic, and athletic kidssuch as sen i o r ChrisNissen. I look forward to helping them improve.”

“Following Baughman, who is a legend, is a great opportu nity for me,” said Sharratt. “I’m fi red up about the opportunity to work for the direct chain of command. Hopefully, I w i l l be able to continue to get our alumni involved and ev er y o n e moving in one common direction—and that’s forward.”

Sharratt comes to theAcademy aft er spending the last six seasons as the head assistant wrestling coach at the U nited States Naval Academy. Thispast season, Sharratt helped lead t h e Midshipmen to a 13-2 dual record, its best win total si n ce t h e 1990-91 season, while also sending fi vewrestlers to th e N C A A Championships. Sharratt was also a tenured assistant professor at the Naval Academy, teaching physical education courses i n wresding, martial arts, judo and hand-to-hand combat, w h i le al so serving as the faculty chair of the USNA combative A 1995 graduate of the University of Iowa, Sharratt three-timeAll-American, a two-year team captain and a fouryear letter-winner for the Hawkeyes, training under t h e t u t e lage of legendary coach Dan Gable. During his college c a r e e r , Sharratt competed for the NCAA title in three-straight s e a s o n s , winning the individual crown in 1994 and was a member o f NCAA National Championship teams in 1993 and 1995.

Following his college career, Sharratt was a two-time c o u r se s .

w as a

m em ber of the U .S. N at ional Team , and has also coach ed

multiple national team members, including world team members and national champions.

Prior to his stint at Navy, Sharratt served as a graduate assistant at the University of Minnesota, where he ear n ed h i s masters degree in sports administration in 2000. While t here, Sharratt also served as the Developmental Freestyle C o ach f o r t he state of M innesota. Sharrat t also w orked as an assi st an t

coach at Lehigh from 1996-98 after serving as a graduate assistant at his alma mater during the 1995-96 season.

86

“Were tremendously excited about welcoming Joel Sharratt, hiswife, Jamie, and their two litde girls to theAir ForceAcademy athletic department family,” said deputy director of athletics Col. Billy Walker, ’83. “Joel rose to the top as our choice in an extremely competitive pool of candidates. He comesw i t h t r em en dous credentials not only as a competitor, but as an assist an t coach in four of the most successful programsin the co u n t r y.

Joel bringsa level of enthusiasm, excitement and intensity t o o u r program that will translate perfectly into our wrestling roo m . W e anticipateAir Forcewrestling to bevery competitive nationally under Joel’s leadership.”

“Coach Baughman will be missed aft er 27 years at the h el m of our program,” continued Walker. “I can say personally, as Fv e known him since I began wresding for him as an 18-year-old, that there has been no better role m odel and m entor for our

cadets. Coach Baughman leavesan impressive legacy indeed.” 9

K o r t e ear n s A l l -A m er i ca st at u s i n t h e d i scu s

By USAFA Athletics

s

en ior O l iv i a K ort e clai m ed t he fi rst A l l -A m er ica h on or of h er career , as A i r Force concl uded

a successful day of competition at the NCAA T rack and Field Champion ships in Sacramento, Calif., on June 9. The Seneca, Kan., native picked up a seventh-place fi nish in the discus th row beh i n d a d i st ance of 17 T 5” .

Despite fouling her fi rst attempt, Korte rebounded w i t h

a t oss of 162’6” . Aft er another foul , she count ed a t o ss o f

159’6,” but steadily improved her standings with her fi n al two throws. Korte threw a 168’4,” before earning the decid ing throw of 17T5”—a throw that was just one inch shy o f the sixth-place spot.

This is the fi rst All-America accolade for the junior, w h o holds theAcademy record in the discus (175’5”), as w el l as t h e indoor weight throw and outdoor shot put. Korte, a t w o - t i m e winner of the track and fi eld program’s Outstanding Competi tor award, wasjust shy of her season-best mark of 17 1’ 10” , w h i ch sh e set at t h e St an f o r d I n v i t at i o n al ear l i er this spring.

She became just the second female NCAA All-American for the track and fi eld program since the Academy moved t o Division I—joining 2Lt. Dana Pounds, ’06, who picked u p her second national title in the javelin the same day.

K o r t e’s A l l-A m er i can d ist i n ct i o n is t h e fi rst i n t h e discus for the

Falconssince Mary Manning fi nished fourth in the 1984 N C A A Division II national championships. They are the only t w o d iscu s All-Americans in Academy history (male or female).

Pounds and Korte teamed up for 12 points in the team st an d

ings, which wasfi ft h following thefi veevents. 9

C H E C K P O I N T S, J U N E 2 0 0 6

GR A D U A T E S C A D ET S A C A D E M Y S T A F F FA M I L Y M E M B E R S B UR T Su ba ru o f Den ver tea m s

w i t h t h e A OG f o r s up er d ea l o n Su b a r u l i n e - up o f v eh i cl es Burt Subaru of Englewood, Colo., prov ides a significant discount t o USAFA graduat es, cadet s, facult y, st aff a n d t heir fam ilies : vehicle cost plus applicable t ax only.

No dealer or handling fees are assessed . Buyers also are eligible for any applicable dealer cash, rebat es, special financing offers, et c., t hat are available a t t h e t im e of purchase . Burt Subaru w ill donat e $ 150 t o t he Air Force Academy Fund for each vehicle purchased t hrough t his program .

For more informat ion, please cont act Mike Crow ley, Burt Subaru sales and leasing represent at ive, at (800) 587-4 156 or Terry Neff at (800) 535-2878 .

Terry Nef , BURT Subaru Sales (right), presentsthefi rst donation to theAir ForceAcademy Fundf rom BURT Subarus GraduatePurchaseProgram toJim Shaw, ’67, Association of GraduatesPresident and GEO.

Exc it i ng t ri ps i n 2007 f ro m De nve r presentedbytheAssociat ion of Grad uat es (Other departure cities are available)

Seeyourself in the Prado taking in one masterpiece aft er another, or sipping sangria on cafe-lined promenade along the beaches of the Costa del Sol. Explore a Moorish palace that seems out of the pagesof a storybook with pink s t o n e courtyards, fountains and patios. How exciting to be i n a land of wild beauty, steeped in romance, mysterious, and rich in history. ($2,299 per person)

aln April 20-29

■ ’

M/ i

Walk along the Great Wall of China. Cruise the fabled Yangtze River through breathtaking gorges, past waterfalls and deep canyons. You are in a land rich with its history, bursting with its future. To be there is to live in a c o n s t a n t state of fascination. ($3,299 per person)

China and Yangtze River Cruise June 7-19

P RI CE S I N CL U D E A I RFA R E !

I N C L U D E D FE AT U R E S

Round-trip air transportation First-class or superior fi r st - cl ass h o t el s

Transfers between airports and hotels, and more

Available t o members, t heir f a m i l ies a n d f r ie n d s F o r a d d i t i o n a l In f o r m a t i o n a n d a c o lo r b ro c h u re c o n t a c t r

I

iA

IV

.*4

Ro m e a n d Flor e nc e M a r c h 15 -2 3

Imagineyourself on the PonteVecchio Bridge at sunset, or walking the Boboli Gardens, filling your soul with t h e : smell of jasmine. Experience the Colosseum side by si d e with theghostsof gladiators or in a cafe toasting t h e en d o f the day with a rich ruby red wine. Add to that theT u scan countryside, vineyards marching up undulating hills t o medieval villages. ($1,899 per person)

G a

^

next

8000 West 78'’’ Street, Suite 345

M inneapolis, MN 55439-2538 (952) 9 18-8950 or

ToU Fr ee 1-800-842 -9023 w w w . G o N ex t .co m

Lookf or these September 2007 trips inf uture issues of Checkpoints — Northern I taly & French Alps and Germany & Czech Rep ublic

Link t o Chap t er Web sit es at ww w.us a f a .org to a busy fall ... we are coordinating a bus for the SDSU football game on Oct. 21, with the OC Chapter as well as making our ser vices available to help AOG with the tailgate setup; a trip to the Miramar Air Show also in October, and the annual Holiday dinner the

by Barry Lakinsmlth, ’83, a graduate and NASA engineer. Coming up in the fall, we will all be gathering to support the women’s

weekend aft er N ew Years. Inform ation on the

w ill also have the annual C hristm as dinner

football game and other events can be found on our Web site at www.lausafaaog.com. For those of you in the LA area who want to join the chapter, visit our Web site or contact Joe Facenda, ’75, at joe@facenda.us.

on Mount Tamalpais. Please contact Susan Feland, ’93, at oisusan@yahoo.com if you are interested in planning an NCAOG event.

New York Chapt e r

i

Ou t lo o k A rizo na Chapt er

The Arizona Chapter is planning its inaugu ral Halloween party this year. Ron and Barb Marusiak, ’71, came up with this idea and will host the party. Thisshould be a memora ble event. In Feb., the 2007 Super Bowl party will be hosted by Jack and Polly Ann Swonson, ’62. The party will begin an hour before kickoff to enjoy all the pre-game allowing for plenty of time for pre-game eating and drink ing rituals. A fl yer and map will be sent out.

Los Angeles Chapter In only its 2nd year, the LosAngeles Ghapter isgaining momenmm. At the end of July, the chapter hosted a dorm dinner for the airmen from Los Angeles AFB. Michael Fitzgerald, ’68, coordinated the event w ith about 15 other

grads donating funds and food. Thanks to Will (Cos) Cosby, ’75, and hiswife Cynthia for hosting a fabulous barbeque on Aug. 12.

Every decadewas represented by the dozen or so grads that showed up. For any of you who hit town on the 1st Thursday of the month, we have a standing reservation for Grad Happy Hour at Underground Pub and Grill (1332 Hermosa Ave., Hermosa Beach (310)

318-3818) compliments of our very senior Chapter Treasurer, Roger Smith, ’62, and if you mention this chapter update the first drink is on him. We are also looking forward 88

TheNYAOG isfully reloaded and recharged!

Membership has been rapidly ascending as graduates in the NY metropolitan area have taken notice of the new developmentswithin the chapter (i.e. enhanced communication, a new Web site, and lots of socializing and net working events). This autumn’s anticipated events begin with the resumption of Service Academy Networking Night at the Soldier’s, Sailor’s, M ar ine’s and Ai rm en’s Club in M an

soccer team, the men’s basketball team, and

the men’s water polo team for their competi tions around the Bay Area. In December, we

Nort hwest Florida Chapt er Brig. Gen. Joe Lanni, ’80, is the new deputy for the Air Armament Center, Eglin AFB. In addition, Maj. Gen. Don Wurster, ’73, is the Vice Commander of the AF Special Opera t io n s C o m m an d at H u rl b u r t Field an d w as a

speaker at the Florida State AFA Convention on special operations. He is also scheduled at the ND A Air Armament Symposium on O ct . 3-4, 2006 in Ft . W alton Beach. For the

chapter asawhole, reenergized local graduates areprepared for thefootball season. A number of folks traveled to K noxville for the A ir Force

hattan on the third Wednesday of every month. A “Beat Navy” party in Manhat tan is currently in the works for Oct. 7. The biannual tailgate party and football game at

season opener. For the rest of the fall, mem bers are planning to meet at Angler’s, a local sports bar, to cheer on the team.

au t u m n . V isit th e W eb sit e at w w w .u saf a-

TheSteering Committeewantsto inviteinter ested grads to join us in planning our upcom ing activities, and to bring fresh ideas to help build graduate participation. The committee typically meets on the first Tuesday of each

W est Point on N ov. 3 is the m ain event this

classes.org/newyork for further details. Lotsof partying, networking opportunities, and mili tary camaraderie await grads landing in NY. Contact Leo Cimningham, ’89, for further info at llcunningham@suscom.net.

No r t h Te x a s A ss o c iat io n

Start planning now for the Fall BBQ Nov 11. The time should be 2 p.m. at the home of Kirk and Beverly Bell, ’76, located o n

at 6609 Shoal Forest C t , in Plano, T X .

That’s the day Air Force plays Notre Dame.

RSVP to Kirk at cptkirkb@comcast.net, or cal l 2 14-676-8729.

No rt h e r n Ca l if o r n ia

In July, 25 graduates took a special tour of NASA AMES and got an insider’s look of the NFAC (the large wind tunnel). Vertical M otion Simulator (VM S), the AT C tower

simulator (Future Flight Central), and Rotorcraft Flight Research (Hangar N248 hold ing the helicopters). The visit was arranged C H E C K P O I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

Ora ng e Co unt y Cha pt e r

month at Scott Jackson’s, ’77, law off ices

in Irvine at 6 p.m. (directi ons can be found on the chapter Web site: www.ocUSAFA org). Since the date of our meetings some timeschanges, please call Pam Walters, Scott’s executive assistant , at 949-851-7428 or e-m ail

her at: pwalters@JDPlaw.com, and ask her to notify you of upcoming committee meetings.

B ecau se t h e cu r ren t co m m i t t ee m em b ers ar e

experiencing increased work and family com mitments, wecould usesome additional help.

We’re planning the following events for the remainder of the year: Wine Tasting Dinner (Date TBD); USAFA vs San Diego State Football (Oct. 21); Holiday Dinner (Nov./ Dec). If you have ideas for other activities, please contact any committee member, or better yet, offer to be the organizer.

1. Celebrate Academy heritage 2. Keep abreast of Air Force and USAFA t opics

3. Keep the local community abreast of USAFA topics 4. Provide graduates networking opport unit ies

5.

Int eract w it h ot her service

academy graduates 6. Give back to the community 7. Support the needs and objectives of the Academy

(1) Moral rules are overriding; (2) They have “universalizability” (similar cases are treated similarly); (3) They are non-egoistic (involve human welfare); (4) They are prescriptive; (5) They involve autonomy (i.e., capacity for an informed, un-coerced decision); (6) And they arejustifi ed by good reasons (i.e., why istruthtelling better than lying).

Then, we had a lively discussion on a few ethical dilemma examples that were faced by graduates, their decisions and consequences

tion came together to honor the appointees

the lesson with a call for usas graduates to get more involved and to lead by example with integrity whether in the private or public sec torsand to run for public offi ce to makea dif ference in business and government.

Go a l s

to the C lass of 20 10 at the 18th A nnual A cad-

emy Night Dinner at Woodland Golf Club in Newton, M A. Jim Shaw, ’67, AOG Presi

dent, was the guest speaker and briefed the gathered audience on upcoming changes and issues at the Academy. For questions regard ing future NEAOG activities, please contact the Chapter Vice President of Operations, Capt. w m Riordan, ’99, at 781-377-2772 or w illiam .riordan@hanscom .a£m il .

of those choices. Professor W akin concluded

T his w as A FA SW s fi nal event of the ’05-

A rizo na Cha pt e r

Ed and Terry Reisdorf, ’63, graciously invited m em bers of A rizona A O G dow n to their 5-

CelebrateAcademy Heritage

Star resort in Cabo on June 1-4. Ed and Terry provided the roomsand golf at no cost for the entireArizona Chapter. Everyone had a relax ing and enjoyable time. In July, Bob Mazet, ’63, earned many thanks for hosting the annual July 4 festivities. The fi reworks from his back porches overlooking the Valley were spectacular! Thanks to everyone that made

t o M s. C am ero n M cA l l ist er. C am ero n is t h e

T he 2006 Tri-Service G olf Tournam ent w as

daughter Branford MacAllister, ’75.

a huge success. Thirty-one participants com peted in this year’s event at TheTribute Golf Club in The Colony. Air Force took the title again with a stellar performance. The team of

8 . Assist liaison of ficers and

recruit qualified candidates 9 . Assist parents clubs/ cadets

’06 year and it was a wonderful opportunity for Metro DC area graduates to renew ties with a legendary teacher, exemplar, and pas sionate supporter of the Air Force Academy

Interact with other service academy graduates

si n ce 19 59 .

G OA L l

Nort hwest Florida Chapt er Chapter President, Bob Blake, ’59, proudly presented a Graduate Dependent Scholarship

t h is a fu n an d m em o rab le ev en t .

N o rt h Tex a s A s s o c ia t io n

Go a l 2

Keep abreast of Air Force and USAFA

top ics AFA Society of DC On June 28, the Air Force Academy Soci ety of Washington (www.afasw.org) and approximately 80 of its members were honored by Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Mai Wakin’s presence. Professor Wakin had graciously accepted our offer to share his thoughts about the state of ethics in government and business and of w hat w e could do as indi

viduals and collectively as graduates to effect change. Our audience had representation from ’59 through ’99 and Professor Wakin’s time-honored approach of teaching by lec ture transported us back to days reminiscent of being in Fairchild Hall’s hallowed class rooms as students searching for knowledge.

He touched on recent examples of situ ational ethics and our society’s tendency to accept ethical relativism to determine what constitutes acceptable behavior. Professor Wakin also helped guide the audience to u n d erstan d six ch aract er ist ics o f m o r al r ul es:

D ave St onehouse, ’73 , Cass Casada, ’7 1,

Dave Brigman, ’71, and Andy Brigman fi red a -14, 58 for the win. Army claimed second place and Navy was third in the team compe tition. T he t hree other A ir Force team s also

fai red very well on the challenging Tribute G olf C ourse w ith Pet e M or rell i , ’66 , Ri ck

Cree, ’66, Jerry Ahman, ’63, and Harry Keylor Eng, ’80, (’05-‘06 AFA Society President) pres ents Brig. Gen. Wakin a gift to commemorate his visit.

New Eng la nd Cha pt er

On Apr. 20-21, the New England AOG united to raise funds for the Jim Bowman

Endowment for Leadership and Athletics and

hear about upcoming Academy changes and

issues.TheNEAOG Annual Golf Outingwas held on Apr. 20, at Shaker Hills Golf Club in

I

j

te d

H arvard, M A . T he event raised $5,000 w hich

w as d o n at ed t o t h e B ow m an E n d ow m en t .

On Apr. 21, members of the NEAOG and t h e E ast er n M assach u set t s Paren t s A sso cia

C H E C K PO I N T S, SE PT E M B E R

2 0 0 6

Winning team of Dave Stonehouse, '73, Cass Casada, '71, Dave Brigman, '71, and Andy Brigman a t 2 0 0 6 Tri- Se rv i c e Go if .

89

Chapter Goals cont inued Icke, ’66, shooting 65; Gary Sheets, ’60, Flip Keck, ’69, Dave Knight, ’86, and Kirk

North Texas AFA Parents Club, past USAFA graduates, and the USAF ALOs. It was a unique opportunity for the appointees and their family members to meet each other, and

Bell , ’76, with a 66, and D avid M ann, ’68,

Steve McPhail, ’68, Gary Hall, ’68, and Lance Ammon, ’70, coming in at 69. All participants enjoyed a beautiful day of golf

m ak e a f r ien d o r tw o .

Piedmont Chapt er The Chapter hosted its 4th Annual Cadet Appointee Luncheon on June 21 at Carmel Country Club in Charlotte, N.C. The lun cheon provided the cadet appointees with an opportunity to meet their fumre classmates and graduates. Participants included eleven cadet appointees from North and South Carolina, nine graduates, and several of our chaptersspecial friends.

Tri p Ashe, ’86, President, and Drew Riolo,

and cam araderie. Be sure not to m iss the next

golf event this fall at Trophy Club. The Ser vice Academy Golf Classic will be a full field thisyear, so be sure to get your spot early!

Ora ng e Count y Cha pt e r

We had some great events during the last year, including our traditional and ever popular wine tasting dinners and the New port Beach Holiday Boat Parade and dinner from the deck of the Bahia C orinthian Yacht

Club. Our thanks to M ichael M ercier, ’86,

’72 , V ice President , w ould like to thank the

following people for attending and sponsor ing a cadet: Deanna Smith, ’89; Steve Hoagland, ’70, Larry Gast, ’85; Steve Wacker, ’84, Jim Thomasson, ’60, Quincy Collins (Training Offi cer for the Classes of ' 59, ' 60,

and Ken Wentzel, ’64, for again organizing these events. It was an enjoyable evening as the food and wineweregreat and thecamara derie even better.

Go a l s

and ' 61).

Assist liaison ofi cers and recruit quali fi ed candidates.

We also thank the following people, who were unable to attend, but readily sponsored a cadet: Roger Zoeller, ’63; Carol Honeycutt,

No rt h Tex a s A s s o c iat io n

’70, Bob Stewart, ’85, Kevin Barnes, ’94.

T he N orth and N ortheast Texas A dm issions

We further thank the following special guests and supporters of our luncheon: 2Lt.

L iaiso n O fi cers an d th e N o r th T ex as A ssocia

tion of A r Force Academy Graduates hosted a picnic for the appointees for the Class of 2010 & 2009 for Prep School at the annual

M at th ew Tuck er, ’06; Lt . C ol. Laura K inard

(Liaison Offi cer Director, South Carolina);

Lt. Col. Gary Puckett (North CarolinaAcad emy Liaison Offi cer); Lt. Col. Marion “Pete”

“Summer Sendoff ” at JRB Ft Worth on June

24. The picnic included the family members of the appointees, representatives from the

Barnes (North Carolina Liaison Offi cer Direc tor, Area 331).

During the luncheon, each graduate recounted their funniest memory from the Academy. Afterwards, the cadet appointees

Left: H. Ownby, '69, bri efs new appoin-

tions. T he current situation in the M iddle

East accounted for a number of interesting observationsand questions. Weare pleased to report that several of the new cadets recently contacted usand expressed their appreciation for the Piedmont Chapters efforts.

A f fi n i ty Gr o up s Ac ademyWo m e n

Registration for the AcademyWomen Sym posium is now available at www.academywomen.org. AcademyWomen will celebrate 30 yearsof the integration of women into the Academies by hosting the 3rd Annual Acad emyWomen Symposium at the Womens Memorial in Arlington, Va. from Oct. 20- 22.

All grads, staff, faculty, affi liates, and cadetsare invited to attend. An early discount of $50 is applied if thegeneral registration iscompleted

by Oct. 6. Recent graduates from the Class of 2006 have a registration chscount, and cadets will only pay $30. As part of this symposium and in com m em oration of the 30th anniver

sary of women at theacademies, weencourage all graduates to participate in the written and oral history collection project. With the sup port of Women in Military Service of Amer ica, wewill be collecting letters home, poems, written accounts, and stories of personal experiences. The theme of the symposium is “Leading on all Fronts” and events include panels featuring Brig. Gen. Janet Theri anos, ’80, and Brig. Gen. AUison Hickey, ’80, two

Piedmont Chapter members, liaison officers, and appointees building the bonds of fri endship.

tees. Below: Buddy Lott, 7 6, and Dale Williams, 7 3 ,

enjoy the Summer Sendof f picnic.

90

had an opportunity to ask thegraduatesques

C

w as the Liaison C oordinator in western M is

ers that the A ir Force needs. M oreover, our

Force, Kristin Goodwin, ’93, the fi rst female

souri and Eastern Kansas (Fi e was appointed

pilot who sustained enemy fi rebeforelanding

Jean always spend Thanksgiving in Colo rado Springs and plan to again this year. Fl is schedule has prevented him from attending

tional women from all the service academ ies,

They presendy operate theJohn Riffl eAngus

continuing relationship with the USAFA Space Working Group provides the gradu ate community an excellent opportunity to gain insight into space-related activities at the Academy. Now led by Major Troy Carlson, the SWG coordinates and prototypes many evolving space-related activities before they areinstitutionalized into USAFA departments and agencies.

of the fi rst female graduate generals in theAir

B-2 pilot, Capt. Kim Campbell, ’97, an A-10

by Maj. Gen. James Briggs). Fi e and hiswife

safely aft er her mission, Kristin Uchimura, ’93, a grad who led troops in Iraq, as well as several other well accomplished and inspira

the businessworld, and government. We look forward to seeing you at this commemorative celeb rat io n !

the Silver Ealcons Convention in recent years.

Far m s i n M isso u r i .

Fl ollis and Kathy Fl atfi eld of Colorado Springs, will travel to northern Italy in Sep tember to attend several musical performances and tour the area. Kathy has been a piano instructor in her home for several years.

From these recent contacts, it is clear that

verW ood H otel and C onvention Center at

and M arathon . H e donated a total of 20

toll free (866) 602-8120 ($69 per night).

volunteer hours during the two days. His next planned assault of Pikes Peak will be

the Space Group will continue to haveoppormnitiesto support many USAFA spaceactivi ties. For example, strengthening the Cadet Space Club is a recognized priority. The Club continues to grow, and the rocketry pro gramswe have supported provide an excellent opportunity for cadets to get hands-on expe rience with space-related technology. So does the FalconSAT program, which we will con tinue to assist as appropriate. Led by theAstro Department under Col. Marty France, ’81, this program offers cadets the opportunity to design, build, test, and operate space systems.

The Space Group has been following the development of the Space Operations Educa

tw o Pik e Peak A scents and tw o Pikes Peak

ruary of this year. Set up as a command and

S i lv e r Fa lc o n s

Planning continues for the. Silver Falcon C onvention on O ct . 4—8. Bob Canfi eld w on’t

be able to make the convention, but is plan ning on attending in 2007. There have been

two additions. Chuck Foster and Bill Shields.

There are nine Silver Falcons who are plan ning to attend theconvention. If you areplan ning on attending, please e-mail Kirk Brown at ltckirkbrown@juno.com. Room reserva tions must be made ASAP by calling the SilBill Shields of Red O ak , Iow a, has com

pleted his 43rd year of participation in the ALO program. He regretfully informed the Silver Falcons of the passing of Paul Hillman in Essex on Aug. 8. Paul will be interred in Arlington National Cemetery on Oct. 3. He was preceded in death by his wife Rosalee.

Paul was one of the original members of the Silver Fal co n s.

Bob and Betty Peary of Denver will visit Art and Gerry Ragen in Carmel, Calif , in September. As a captain in 1955, Art was assigned to the Admissions Directorate at the new USAFA at Lowry Field, Colo. The director was Col. Jim Hunter, who gave Art the unique VVir Force job of modeling the cadet uniforms for Cecil B. D eM ille of the

movie industry. Aft er leaving his assignment at the Academy, Art became the director of public aff airs at the Pentagon, Peterson 7\EB, and back at the Academy. He contacted the Silver Falcons over a year ago to notify us of the death of C ol . H unter. Art was a friend of

Friends of the Silver Falcons in C olorado

Springs, retired Col. Jim Dunn and his wife Marilyn, went on a group tour of northern Italy last spring. Jim was previously the Chief of Staff at theAcademy.

After running the 50th Annual Pikes Peak Marathon last year, Kirk Brown decided to take it easy thisyear and volunteered to be a race offi cial for both the Pikes Peak A scent

the 20 10 m arathon . H e has done a total of M ar at h o n s.

Our By-Laws, approved at the 2005 Silver

Falcons C onvention, state that the Silver

Falcons Affi nity Group will have a president and vice president. So far, the vice president position remains unfi lled. If anyone wishes to run for this offi ce, please contact FGrk know before Oct. 4, so an election or appointment can be m ade at the convention.

Presendy there are quite a few out-dated

e-m ail addresses on the roster. A rem inder to

everyonethat if you moveand/or changeyour e-mail address, pleaselet Kirk so the member ship records can be updated. We encourage everyone to stay in touch by sending your updated information to Kirk Brown, Silver Falcons Affi nity Group President, at Itckirkbrown@juno.com; 2539 Craycroft Dr., Colo rado Springs, CO 80920-1423. Or contact Ruth W hitaker at 5422 Fiesta Lane, C olorado

General Jimmy Doolitde and other notables, and was oft en in the public limelight during

Springs, CO 80918-1914, Phone (719) 598-

John Riffl e, another original ALO, sent in some interesting news. In addition to his

Space Group As in past years, the leadership of the Space Group took the opportunity to meet with USAFA leadership during the annual Gradu ate Leadership Conference. From that visit, it was clear that USAFA is well positioned to produce the kind of air and space lead-

2983. Go A ir Force!

h is car eer.

ALO career, he has been voted to the board of directors of the M issouri State Fair Founda

tion, inducted in theMissouri AngusBreeders Futurity Hall of Fame, and appointed to the

M i sso u r i I^an d R eclam at io n C o m m issio n . H e

C H E C K P O I N T S, SE PT E M B E R 2 0 0 6

tion Lab (SOEL), which had its IOC in Feb

control center in Fairchild Fl ail , the SO EL

allows cadets to use scripted activities to learn variousspacesystem operationsroles. In addi tion, theAi m Ff igher program gives cadets an oppormnity to interact with spaceactivities in the Colorado Springs area, where a number of graduates have been helping. Space Group membersarealso working to fi nd waysto give cadets real hands-on experience in satellite operationsat other operational sites.

Grads have also been involved w ith the

Space Pro mixers, held in Arnold Fl ail, to answer questions about the 13S career fi eld.

These mixers have proven to be a great way to stimulate a positive mind-set about USAE sp ace careers.

The Space Group is coordinating joint meetings with local AOG chapters, to review space-related USAFA activities. Please contact us if youd like to arrange such an event.

As always, our activities are documented on our Web site usafaspace.tripod.com, where you can also fi nd information about joining our Group to support space-related activities at theAcademy.

91

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e m b ro id e re d b e n e at h

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used patches (Please specify squadron). ,$5.00

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93

:&

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t o get away?

The Falcon Travel Program planned for 2006 offers , exciting opportunities for graduates and AOG mem-

1 ^ berstotravel theworldwiththeirspouse,family, c la s s -

V^mates and friends inthe company of other Air Force and service academy graduates. m

Fall 2006 vacation packages include; An Irish Classic - Ireland: Sept . 30 - Oct . 8 The French Riviera and Provence: Sep. 16 - 24 The Passage of Lewis and Clark: Oct . 21 - 29 Other 2007 vacation packages include; Rome and Florence - Italy: March 15 - 23, 2007 Lovely Spain: April 20 - 29, 2007 China & Yangt ze River Cruise: June 7 - 19, 2007

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. ■;

»• 1

(M m .

Jen y L M ason, *60 Lt. Col. (Ret) Jerry Mason passed on to be with his Lord on July 14,

2006 at his home in the Sudden Valley area of Bellingham , W a s h , w i t h

family members by his side. Jerry had been diagnosed w i t h A LS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), and, along with his family, had been Jerry was born on July 6, 1937 in Redlands, Calif. Jerry was the son of a career Ar my Air Force pilot so he consequently attended many different sc h o o l s while growing up. He graduated from Wiesbaden American High

School, Germ any in 1955 and rem ained in close contact wi th many of his high school classmates throughout his life. Upon graduating from the Academy and not wanting to waste time, he married his life-long sweetheart , Bobbi, on graduation day.

Jerry was a pilot’s pilot. Much of his 28 years in t h e A i r F o r c e w a s i n

operat ional flying positions, m any in t h e St an d Ev al fu n ct i on , w i t h o n e t o u r

wi th the 89“’ Ai rlift Wing (SAM ) out of Andrews AFB, Md. During the Vietnam confl ict , he received the Distinguished

Flying Cross and numerousother med

al s an d r i b b o n s. A t t h e co n cl u si o n o f

his Ai r Force career, he was actively re cruited by Am erican Ai rlines where he flew for another 10 years. Jerry accu m ul at ed over 20,000 hour s of flyi ng time his during two flying careers, and was very proud of that fact.

Jerry spent many years teaching the Bible to people from 10- and 11-year old boys on through adults. His spiri tual life was very im portant to him and

b u T n o t f o ro o t t e n 1965 with Bachelor of Science degrees in both Aeronautical Engineer

ing and Business, Stephen was sent to Lubbock, Texas for pilot train ing at ReeseAFB. It was here that he met Lynda on a blind date. They

were married six months later. While in Lubbock Stephen and Lynda h ad tw o ch i l d r en , El en a an d Rob er t .

Stephen served in Vietnam where he flew OV-l Os conducting C l o se Air Support for Vietnamese allied forces. Subsequently St ephen joined the Strategic Air Command asa B-52 pilot out o f B a r k sd a l e A F B in Shreveport, La. Later he served in North Dakota a t a m i ssi l e b a se before being a visiting lecturer at Harvard University. He completed the later years of his military service in the Pentagon w h e r e h e se r v e d as an Assistant to the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense f o r C 4 L He and Lynda welcomed their third child, Michael, in 1983. Stephen

relished M ichael’s infancy wi th great joy since he h a d b e e n so o f t e n off serving our country during his other children’s first years. Dur ing a decorated m il it ary career Stephen also m anaged to earn a Master of Sci ence degree from Purdue University in 1966, a M aster of Business Admin istration degree from the University of North Dak ota in 1980 and completed t h e co u r sew o r k f o r a D oct o r at e i n Eco

nom ics from Am erican University.

Af t er r et i r i ng f r om act ive duty i n 1987 Stephen worked for a few years at a consulting fi rm in Nort hern Vir

ginia. It was after this that the fi rst signs foreshadowing his failing health appeared. Stephen spent a year and a half in and out of W^ ter Reed Medi

Jerry Mason h e ch er i sh ed t h at t i m e w i t h t h e Lo r d .

He was a Deacon in the Baptist Church for m any years a n d r a i se d h i s f ou r ch i l d r en t o l ov e t h e L o r d . H e w as a m em b er o f t h e N o r t h l a k e

Comm unity Church in Bellingham .

Jerry was very fortunate in that his four children, Kitty, Jerry Jr. (Jay), Stephen, and Kim and their families all live in the Bellingham area

wi thin at the most , 10 miles of each other. This was a comforting factor for Jerry since his family and 10 grandchildren could drop by on a daily basis.

cal Cen t er af t er an ab d o m i n al an eu

rysm burst. He was found to have

Eh l er s- D a n l o s, a c o n n ect i v e t i ssu e Steph en Lawr en ce disorder that often proved fatal in vi ctim s hal f his age. Stephen fought

through four critical surgeries and regained his health f o r a n o t h e r dozen years.

Desiring more timewith his family Stephen took his o w n a d v i c e a n d

Though Jerry is gone from us, many of his traits will c o n t i n u e t o b e

found som et hing he loved doing and ar ranged to get paid for it .

tinue to grow in the minds of those who knew him, because o f h i s honesty, intellect, guidance and his purposeful life. He will certainly be missed by those with whom he came in contact. (Bobbi M a so n a n d

Lubbock , Texas. He was considered by m any of his clients t o b e a

wi th us, especial ly his sense of hum or. Many of his j okes and humor ous actions will live on for generations to com e. His st a t u r e w i l l c o n

Ch uck D i ver, ’60)

Steph en H , Lawr en ce, *65 Lt . Col. (Ret) Stephen H. Lawr ence, born Oct. 26, 1941, passed away on Feb . 15, 2006 i n H ou st o n , Tex as. H e w as 64 y ear s old. Stephen is

survived by his loving wife of 39 years, Lynda Arlene Si m s L aw r en ce,

Combining a desire to help other families and a love of eco n o m i cs, Stephen became a personal investment advisor for Smith Bar ney in trusted part of their family and Stephen received great sa t i sf a c t i o n

in helping others to provide for their fam ilies. He a l so se r v e d a s V i c e Pr esi d en t o f t h e L u b b o ck K i w an i s Cl u b an d w as a m em b er o f t h e

Am erican Legion.

Stephen was constant in his support and admiration of his fam ily.

His love for his wife was bigger than life and only i n c r e a se d w i t h t i m e .

He exulted in the accomplishments of his children and w a s a b e d r o c k of support not only to his family but to his friends as well . Stephen was

of Lubbock, Texas; daughter Elena Lyn n Lawrence of D en v er, Co l o .; son Rober t St eph en Law ren ce, dau gh t er-i n -l aw Kel l ey V a n c e Lawrence, and grandson Stephen Alexander Lawrence of Raleigh, N.C.; son Michael Graham Lawrence of Houston, Texas; a n d b r o t h e r

unflinching in pursuit of what he considered right a n d t r u e a n d i n spired all those who knew him to live lives fi lled w i t h v a l u e a n d m e a n ing. His legacy is a life of self-sacrifi cial love as a caring and fai thful

Texas. Aft er graduating from the United Stat es Ai r Force Academy in

Willi am D. “ Bill” Ray passed away peacefully on May 20, 2006. Bi l l was born in Portland, Ore. May 9, 1944 to Dr. an d Mrs. Ral ph M . Ray. His childhood home w as full of life. Throughout his c h i l d h o o d a n d teen years. Bill was active in sports, fi shing, hunting, snow skiing, water

Fr ed Law r en ce an d si st er -i n -l aw N el l i e Law r en ce o f Al ex an d r i a, Va. Stephen was born to F. C. “Bob” and Violet Lawrence i n H o u st o n ,

For m or e cu r r en t in f or m ati on ab ou t

graduate deaths, please visit the AOG web site. www.usafa.or g

husband, father, brother, and fr iend. (Rober t Lawrence, Stephen ’s son)

Willi am D. Ray, *67

skiing, and working on cars. He fi xed up a “beater” c ar w h e n h e w a s 16, which began a passion for mechanics in cars and airplanes which followed him throughout his life.

95

In 1963, Bill entered the Air Force Academy, and graduated i n 19 6 7 .

Followi ng graduation, he m arr ied Christine D. Lindeke.

I n 1968 Bi l l w en t t o V i et n am w h er e h e f l ew F-4s an d e a r n e d t h e D i s

tinguished Flying Cross. Following his t our s there. B i l l a n d C h r i s m oved to Germ any where Bill flew m issions over East Germany. Liv ing in Europe afforded Bill the opportunity to indulge a life-long pas sion: racing Formula Fords.

In November 1970 Bill and Chris’ daughter Kimberly C h r i st i n e w a s born. Son David Bruce was born in August, 1973. Soon af t er. Bil l w as

assigned to a refueling squadron at Beale AFB, Calif. W h e n n o t w o r k ing he was either playing wi th his kids or tinkering with his ’59 MGA. The fam ily rem ained at Beale until Bill’s r et i r em en t f r om t h e Ai r Fo r ce i n Jan u ar y, 1979.

Followi ng retirem ent. Bill and fam i l y m oved t o Bou l der, Col o. Bi l l

w or k ed f o r h i s f at h er -i n -l aw as vi ce-

Cancer seemingly behind him, Bill enjoyed 2004. His j ob required him to drive his turbo Buick all over the country. H i s k i d s r e c e i v e d postcards from many of his destinations. His travels gave him the opportunity to learn a great deal about his beloved country. He had

an encyclopedic knowledge of U.S. and World history, a n d l o v e d a heated political debate. In 2004, Bill also enjoyed a long fly-fi shing trip in Montana and bagged an elk in the Flattop Mountains o f C o l o rado. We were all terribly disappointed when we lear ned i n 2 0 0 5 t h a t

h i s c an c er h a d r et u r n ed .

Following Bill ’s diagnosis in October, 2005, Bill moved i n t o h i s si st e r ’s

home in Portland to live out the remainder of his days c l o se t o h i s

children, sister, and brother. He also had cousins, nieces and neph ews with him in his fi nal days. He never m issed a chance to tell ever y

person dear to him that he loved them and was proud o f t h e m .

We lost our dad May 20,2006. Bill is survived by a very proud fam ily, including daughter Kimberly Ray of Beaverton, Ore.; son David Ray

of Portland; sister Thelma Ray Rueppell of Portland; a n d b r o t h e r Ralph Ray ofWilsonville, Ore. Hisfriendsand family wi ll miss his puns,

president of Bolind, Inc. When not working. Bill enj oyed flyi ng and tow ing gliders, and bird hunting with his beloved Labrador, Dandy. He was a m em ber of t he Soar i ng Soci ety of Boulder and t he Experi m ent al Ai r

his passion for cars, planes and politics, and his l o v e o f l i f e .

On a beautiful May 26 morning, family and friends of Bill gathered at theAir ForceAcademy for a glowing tribute to a good, humble m an .

As the honor guard departed the cemetery, a lone glider flew silently

Valley Rotary.

In 1989, the family moved into their Bill Ray self-designed dream home in an air park. Bill began building a plane from the ground up. Af ter leaving

St even M at t h ew H am ad t r an si t i on ed f r om t h i s l i f e t o his heavenly hom e on Jan. 1, 2006 in Salem , Va. Bor n in Frankf urt , Germ any on Nov. 20, 1952 he spent m ost of his childhood in Green B an k , W.V.

overhead, seemingly in honor of him. (Kimberly Ray)

Steven M . H am ad, '76

cr aft A sso ci at i on , as w ell as Bo u l d er

Bolind, Bill owned and operated a small airplane manufacturing c o m

pany, Accipiter Aviation. He really enjoyed this new l i n e o f w o r k . H e

r em ai n ed a m em b er o f t h e A FA A sso ci at i o n of Gr ad u at es a n d w a s

faithful about attending his meetings of Academy grads i n D e n v e r .

In 2003, the Ray fam ily was devastated to learn both B i l l a n d C h r i s had cancer. Bill lost his beloved wi fe and best friend, Chr is, to pancre atic cancer Nov. 1, 2003. By the end of 2003, Bill had fought back his

c o l o n c a n c er .

where he enjoyed growing up on his parents’ farm.

Steve was a 1976 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and spent 12 years in the active duty Air Force as an F-16 fi ghter pilot. In August of 1987 he transferred and continued flying the F-16 i n t h e M o n t a n a

Ai r N ation al Gu ard .

Heretired from theactive-dutyAir Forceasamajor in 1995. His passion for flying led him to become a pilot, flying domestically i n t h e 7 2 7 an d

internationally in the DC-10 for Northwest Airlinesw h e r e h e w o r k ed fr o m 19 8 9 t o 19 9 8 .

Retired Brig. Gen. Rober t F. McDerm ott , Dean from 1956-68, d i es at 8 6 Ai r Force Academy legend Retired Brig. Gen. Robert F. M cD er m o t t , United States Ai r Force Academy Perm anent Dean of the Faculty from 1956-68, died Aug. 28, 2006 in San Antonio. He was also an honorary

erations ribbon wi th six battle stars, as well as the Distinguished Ser vice Medal, the Legion of Merit , an d C o m m en d a ti o n M ed al t h a t h e r e

m e m b e r o f t h e A O G si n c e 19 9 2 .

c e i v ed f o r h i s m e r i t o r i o u s st a f f

General M cDermott suffered a stroke August 17. He was 8 6 .

The namesake of the Academy’s McDermott Library, he began his military career as a combat pilot , operations off i cer and professional educator in the European theater duringWorld War 11. He was appointed the Air Force Academy’s fi rst permanent Dean of the Faculty in 1956 by President Dwi ght D. Eisenhower - a post he held for the f irst 10 gradu ating classes of the Academy. For his innovations at the Academy, many of which were adopted by i ts sister service academ ies, h e h a s b e e n called the “father of modern m ilitary education.”

Am ong General McDermott’s ground-breaking ideas was t h e “ w h o l e

N a t i o n a l B u si n ess H al l o f Fa m e .

as physical and academic qualifi cations as selection criteria for po

l ead er s, a sect i o n o f I n t er st at e 10 i s n am ed fo r h i m , as w el l as a l o cal el

w ork.

A ft er

s u r a n c e a n d d i v e r si f i e d f i n a n c i a l

ser v i ces com p any, f or 25 year s.

Si n ce h i s r et i r em en t i n 1993 h e h as

been appoint ed chairm an em eri t us by USAA and sel ect ed t o t h e One of San Antonio’s premier civi c

tential students. He also designed a curriculum enrichment p r o g r a m

em entary school. He al so served as pr esi den t of t h e San An t on i o

to help each cadet advance in their fi elds of aptitudes a n d i n t e r e st s .

His efforts led to the accreditation of theAcademy b e f o r e i t s f i r st c l a ss

Gen er al M cD er m ot t ’s d ecor at io n s i n cl u d e t h e Br o n ze St ar, t h e A i r

Medal with fi ve oak leaf clusters, and the European Theater of Op 96

Gen er al

chairm an and CEO of USAA, an in

man” concept (known today as the “whole person” concept) i n t r o duced in 1956, which factors moral and leadership attributes a s w e l l

graduated in 1959, the establishment of an ast ronautical r e s e a r c h laboratory, and program s for exceptional cadets to c o n t i n u e w i t h graduate-level education .

r et i r e m e n t ,

M c D e r m o t t w e n t o n t o se r v e a s

Brig. Gen. M cDerm ott

Ch am b er of Com m er ce, an d as d i s-

tinguished executive i n residence at San Antonio’s University of the Incarnate Word.

At press time, memorial service arrangements have not yet been made. Condolences can be sent to Mrs. Robert McDermott, University

of theIncarnateWord,4301Broadway, CPO352; San An t on io ,TX , 78209.

St ev e l i ved l i f e t o t h e f u ll est an d w as n am ed t h e “ b een t h e r e - d o n e

that” guy by his daughters who were always amazed by h i s l i st o f a c

disco.Aft er graduation Mike became a T-37 Instructor P il o t a n d l a t e r fl ew F-16s at Hahn Air Base, Germ any where he was awarded t h e Ai r F o r c e

Co m m en d at i on M ed al . H e r eceiv ed h i s

com pli shments.

Steve is survived by his wife of 29 years, Rhonda Wenger H am ed ;

m aster’s degree from Golden Gate Uni versity.

M i ke l at er becam e a Capt ai n w it h

and three daughters, Alicia and Matti Hamed of Roanoke, Va.; an d

Zizi Hamed of New Orleans, La. He is al so survived by his father, Julian Ham ed, and mother, Jane Ham ed of Green Bank, W.V.; a n d h i s t w o brothers, David Hamed of Dearborn,

Am er ican Ai rlin es. H e w as a w orld tr aveler, avi d b ass fi sh er m an an d m em b er of t h e

M i ch ., an d Jo e H am ed an d si st er -i n -

Coppell Bass Club. Above all, Mike was a

M ar ch w r o t e an ar t i cl e en t i t l ed “ Re

his fam ily.

He is survived by his wife of 18 years.

Dr. Chan t al Spu r don ; dau ght er Madeleine and son Travis of Irving; par ents, Thomas and Carol Parker of Ozark, Al a.; br ot h er Al an an d h i s w i f e. Dr. M arylyn n Park er, and t heir ch il dr en

loving husband and father dedicated to

law Karen Hamed of Christiansburg, Va. (Excerp ted from a newspaper obi tu ary.)

St ev en’s daugh t er Zizi Ham ed i n leasing Someone You Love.”

“ On e of th e ir on i es of li fe i s th e ov er

whelming grief felt when you are forced to release someone you love. On the one hand, your heart aches from the loss. On the other hand, you real ize that the depth of your grief stems from the very blessing of having had that person in your life. “ My father passed aw ay on Jan. 1, S t ev e H am a d 2006 after a long fight with a dementia that stole him from us long before his passing. I struggled for eight years as I watched my father slowly wither away. During those years I grieved for every aspect of him that was lost along the way, whether it was his ability to talk, to dance, to walk, or even to laugh. I experi enced moments of such overwhelming sadness that it h u r t t o b r eat h , and many times I struggled wi th my faith.

“A s D ad ’s t i m e o n t h i s Ear t h n ear ed t h e en d , I d eci d ed t h a t I h a d t o m ak e sen se of t h e l o ss I f el t . I w an t ed t o k n ow h ow the loving God that

I grew up hearing about in Sunday school could make m e su f f e r su c h pain. Through my search, I realized a very simple truth. T h e r e a s o n I felt such grief was because I loved Dad so much, a n d I m i ss e d t h e

love he had shown we while he was still able. Beyond t h at , I k n ew t h at such love could only be of divine origin. Of course, t h i s r e a l i z a t i o n d i d not end my sorrow, but I could not help but to rejoice in the blessing

of having had my father in my life. Furthermore, I k n ew t h a t w h i l e h i s physical body had died, his presence would continue to touch my heart , because death has no dom inion over love.”

M i ch aei T. Par k er, '81 Michael Thom as “ M ike” Parker, 46, CS-36, Class of 1981, passed

away June 8,2006, after a courageous battle with cancer. C o n d o l e n c e s may be sent to his family in care of his wife. Dr. Ch an t al (Par k er ) Spurdon, 7618 Sweetgum Drive, Irving, Texas, 75063-3460.

M i k e w as b o r n Ju n e 2 1, 1959 , i n Ozar k , Al a. H e w as a m e m b e r o f F i r st

United M et hodi st Church and an honor graduat e of Carroll High School in Ozark, Al a. Mike served as the student body president and was awarded the Departm ent of the Ar my Superior Cadet A w a r d a l l three years he was enrolled in the JR ROTC progr am . His senior year, h e ser v ed as Bat t al i on Co m m an d er .

While a member of the JR ROTC rifl e team , he competed in regional and national high-power rifl e matches attaining the award of expert marksm an. He received his private pilot license at age 16. He was also an Eagle Scout .

While at USAFA, Mike was on the Commandant’s List every s e m e s t e r

Zachary,William, and Mary Elizabeth of

M i k e P a r k er

D o t h an , Al a.; m o t h er -i n -l aw , Gen ev i ev e

Spurdon of Irving; sister-in-law Pamela Spurdon and her children, Ariane and Isabelle, of Paris, Fr an ce. (L t.

Col. (Ret) Ri char d D. Cosgr ove, Class of 1981, CS-36)

Kr i stin M . (B ozar th) B ur son , '00 Capt. (Med Ret) Kristin M. (Bozarth) Burson answered h e r Sav i o r ’s call on May 12th, 2006 after two enduring years battling c e r v i c a l c a n cer. Although Kristin’s life was tragically cut short, her sphere of infl u

ence will thrive for generations to come. At the time of her passing, Kristin resided in Kansas Cit y, Mo. with her husband, 2 '"* L t . Se a n P. Bu r son o f Sav an n ah , Ga...

Kristin was serving as a Com muni

cat i o n s Off i cer at K i r t l an d A FB , N .M . w h en sh e m et t h e l o v e o f h er l i f e,

Sean Bu r son , as t hey bot h vol un t eer ed on t h e base ch apel p r ai se t eam . Inst ant ly, the two were con nected by their unending passion to ser v e Jesu s Ch r i st an d t h ei r d esi r e t o

lead o th er s t o H im .

I n August 2004, Krist in w as diag

n o sed w i t h cer v i cal can cer an d w as

m edically retired from the Air Force in May 2005. Kristin and Sean were m arried on July 16th, 2005 in Savan n ah , Ga. Af t er t h ei r u n i on t h ey moved to Kansas City, Mo. where Sean began classes at Midwestern Baptist K r i sti n (B ozar th ) B ur son Theological Seminary (serving in the A i r For ce Reser v es) an d K r i st i n w o r k ed t ow ar d s h er m aster’s degree in

counseling between her frequent trips to the hospital f o r c h e m o

therapy treatm ent and m ultiple surgeries.

Kr istin enj oyed her childhood years growing up in Tennessee a n d Ar izona and set her sights on graduating from the Air Force Academy with dreams of following in her father’s footsteps t o b e c o m e a su c c e ss ful career officer. During her senior year of high school, you could fi nd

Kristin running around town in her combat boots preparing f o r B a si c Cadet Training. Kristin entered the Academy with her c l a ss m a t e s i n 1996. Throughout her years at USAFA, Kristin become i n v o l v e d w i t h

rugby. Officers of Christian Fellowship, and the Cadet P r a i se T e a m

and was Squadron Commander. He was also the DJ at the A r n o l d H al l

where she was able to showcase her beautiful singing voice for the glory

For m or e cu r r en t in f or m at i on ab ou t

self covered with sweat and camoufl age pai nt evading during Combat

graduate deaths, please visit the AOG web site. www.usafa.org.

of God. During her second summer at the Academy, Kristin f o u n d h e r

Survival Training (CST). CST was extra challenging f o r K r i st i n a s sh e severely sprained her ankle, yet managed to successfully complete the training early and acquire one of the coveted helicopter r i d e s b a c k t o 97

USAFA. Nine year s later, one of her evasion part ners r e c a l l s h o w am az e d he was at her strength and determ ination and that she n e v e r o n c e complained even though her ankle was signifi cantly i n f l a m e d .

Af ter spending her fi rst assignment in the Ai r Force at Langley AFB, Va. Kr i st i n m ov ed t o K i r t l an d AFB , N .M . w h er e h er l i f e would change forever. Kristin faced the best times of her life falling i n l o v e w i t h t h e m an of her dreams and planning their long life together. Throughout her life Kristin embraced each day and every endeavor as though she knew the phenomenal influence she would leave behind. K r i s t i n h a d the uncanny ability to bring j oy to others through her lovely nature and ki nd spirit . Kristin will forever be remembered for her grateful heart and thankful attit ude despite the intense pain and suffering she endured. She never out spokenly questioned her fat e; r at h er , hum bly accepted her circumstances and used her pristine a b i l i t i e s to encourage and uplift family and friends. Kristin portrayed an im peccable faith in Jesus Christ and the utter assurance t h a t h e r l i f e was meant to positively reach others who needed to fi nd st rength and happi ness.

Kristin is survived by her husband, Sean Burson; her fat h er. Co l .

(Ret ) St ev e Bozar t h ,’74 , an d h i s w i fe, Gr et ch en , of Sco t t sd al e, A r iz .;

her mother, Christine Robertson, and her husband, Gary, o f N a sh

vi l l e, Ten n .; h er si st er s L i nz ee Bozar t h an d Br ean n e Bozar t h ; an d h er

st ep br ot h er s Br i an H at h aw ay, M ar k H at h aw ay, an d Ni chol as Robertson (Submi tted by her fri end, Cap t S. Erin Elar ton,’00.)

At press time we had lear ned of the deaths of the fol lowing graduates:

M r . K en n eth C. H ar, Cl ass o f 1963, w h o d i ed on Ju n e

18, 2006 in an automobile accident near Hillsborough,

N .C .

Mr. Joseph W. Peddrick, Class of 1967, who died on Ju n e

24, 2006 of can cer i n Bu f f al o Gr ov e, 111.

Lt . Col . (Ret ) Ru ssel l C. W al k er, Cl ass of 1968, w h o d i e d

on July 9, 2006 in Beavercreek, Ohio.

Lt. Col. (Ret) Christopher N. M ilodragovich, Class o f 1976 who died on June 25, 2006 of cancer in Great Falls,

M ont.

M r . M i ch ael B . N ev i n , Cl ass o f 1978, w h o d i ed on Ju n e

4, 2006 in Silver Spring, Md. Lt. Col. (Ret) Jam es R. Howard, Class of 1984, who d i e d on July 25, 2006 in Hampton, Va. Maj . Christopher A. Blackwell, Class of 1989, who died on May 22, 2006 at Hurburt , Fla. Maj . Todd M . Valentine, Class of 1991, who died on July

2 , 2006 of col o n can cer i n Cib ol o , Tex as

Our sincere condolences to the family and friends of these graduates.

Mortuary Af fairs Provides List

of Academy Cemetery Eligibles

Subparagraphs 1.1. through 1.12., HQ UNITED STATES A I R F O R C E ACADEMY INSTRUCTION 34-242, 8 MARCH 2006, Services, U S I N G THE USAF ACADEMY CEM ETERY — list those people eligible; h o w ever, certain general conditions apply. First , all author ized m ilitary personnel m ust have discharges under honorable conditions (t h i s al so applies to graduates). Second, Academy authorities w i l l n o t n o r m ally approve request s to inter individuals not aut horized b e l o w .

However, the 10th Ai r Base Wing Commander, (10 ABW/CC) c a n d i s approve a request for an exception, but only the Superintendent c a n approve such an exception.

1.1. USAF Academy cadets.

98

1.2. Ai r Force military personnel assigned to the USAF Academy or to tenant units at the Academy at the time of their d e a t h s . T h i s d o e s not include non-Academy personnel who are assigned o n P e r m a n e n t Change of Station (PCS) orders to the Academy Patient Squadron Section of the USAF Academy Hospital.

1.3. USAF Academy graduates. NOTE: Only the Super intendent m ay disapprove a request to inter a USAFA graduate in the Academy cem et er y.

1.4. Al l active duty and retired USAF generals and lieutenant gener

al s.

1.5. For m er Super int endent s, Vi ce Super int endent s, C o m m a n dants of Cadets, Deans of the Faculty, Direct ors of Staff (for m erly Chiefs of Staff ), appointed Directors of Admissions, D i r e c t o r s o f A t h

letics, Permanent Professors, Sequential Tour Faculty Of fi cer s (f o r

m erly Continuous Tour Staff Offi cers), Tenured Faculty Of fi cer s, Pr e paratory School Comm anders, Ai r BaseWing Com m anders, a n d A c a d emy Com m and Chief Master Sergeants.

1.6. Original cadre Ai r Force personnel assigned to t h e U SA F A c a d emy between 11 July 1955 and 10 September 1957.

1.7. USAF cross-com m issioned offi cer graduates of West P o i n t o r Annapolis who have retired with at least 20 years of u n i f o r m e d se r v ice.

1.8. Ai r Force Academy Board of Visitors members with prior distin guished military service.

1.9. All Medal of Honor recipients regardless of branch o f se r v i c e .

1.10. All Ai r Force Cross recipients.

1.11. Form er CM Sgt s perfor ming as Cadet Wing Sergeant Maj ors who held the position during 1972- 1996.

1.12. Eligible relatives of a service-connected sponsor listed in par a graphs 1.2. through 1.11. who are int erred or eligible t o b e i n t e r r e d i n

the Academy cemetery. The Academy cemetery inters eligible r e l a

tives who die before their service-connected sponsor only if the spon sor signs an agreement saying he or she wants to be i n t e r r e d i n t h e Academy cemetery. These eligible relatives are as follows: 1. 12 . 1. A w i f e o r h u sb a n d .

1. 12 .2 . A r e m a r r i e d w i d o w o r w i d o w e r .

1.12.3. Dependent unmarried children under the age o f 2 3 .

1.12.4. A dependent unm ar ried adult, defi ned as one w h o m a t t h e time of death was over 21 years of age, incapable of self-support due to physical or mental condition, and who meets any of the followi ng co n d i t i o n s:

1. 12 .4 . 1 . R e c e i v e d m o r e t h a n o n e - h a l f o f h i s o r h e r support from the service-connected parent .

1.12.4.2. If the service-connected parent is deceased a n d i n t e r r e d in the Academy cemetery, was receiving more than one-half o f h i s o r her support from the wi dow or wi dower of the deceased s e r v i c e - c o n nect ed parent .

1.12.4.3. Was receiving such support from som e other s o u r c e b e cause of the prior death or inability of the parent or parents to provi de such support .

(Anyone wishing f ur th er inform ati on or clar ificati on sh o u l d w r i t e t h e USAE Academy M or tuary Aff ai rs Office at 10 SVS/ SVMM, 9023Academy Dri ve, USAE Academy CO 80840, or call DSN 333-3323/2389 o r c o m

m er ci al ( 719) 333 -3323/ 2389, or em ai l : Jan et.Ed w ar d s @usaf a.af m i l)

Cl ass o f 196 1 Gr ad u at e’s Rem ai n s

Repatriated from Laos A funeral service for Maj . Burke H. Morgan , CS- 13, Class o f 196 1, whose repatriated rem ains were interred in the Ai r F o r c e A c a d emy Cem etery, were held on Sept . 7, 2006. The rem ains of h i s w i f e, Mary S. Morgan, were also interred. Maj or M orgem was a navigator on an A-26A I nvader when his plane went down in Laos Aug. 22, 1967. H e w as d ecl ar ed K IA o n Ju n e 4 , 197 1

light of the tri p wasthat we managed a rendezvousw i th Joe an d Jo DeSan tis latein Juiy.Wewere spending the last week of our holiday in London and they were passing through on their way to join a cruise.We did some of the usu^ touristy things (rode the London Eye, saw The Lion King, etc.) and joined mutual English friends for a splendid dinner on our last night in the city.

a H O B a

B B B a B

B B B B B B H B

N E W S Pet e Todd

85%

s " M e m b e rZd

12 50 Big Valley Drive Colorado Springs, CO 8 0 9 19-10 15 H: (719 ) 5 3 1-58 74 FAX: (719 ) 53 1-6 697 E-ma il: pet et odd@adelphia .net

It fi nally happened!Wendy and I returned fro m a six-week tri p toTurkey and England with a few days to spare before the Checkpoints co l u m n w a s d u e . I waded feveri shly through the 10 cubic feet of accumulated m ail an d t h e 7 72 e mails and experi enced the nightmare that every Scri be dreads: not a single pieceof correspondencefrom which to harvest scrapso f Cl ass n ew s! T h an k s t o a d ea d l i n e ex t en si o n f r o m t h e ed i t o r an d a

quick responseto my breathlessplea from someof my m o r e faithful correspondents, I wasspared thevaporsand youwere spared a detailed account of my summer travels.

Not that the trip waswithout interest .Wewere fascinated by the antiquities we encountered in Turkey (Bodrum , Ephesus, the electri c power gri d, etc.) and weenjoyed l o t s o f su n an d b e a ch t i m e w i t h c l o se G e r m an f ri e n d s an d o u r s o n

.yWWi 26 Sa bre Soc iet y Dono rs

Joe,who isstationed at In^irlik.Turkey isstill struggling eco nomically and has not yet sorted out aworkable relationship w i t h G r eec e an d Cyprus. Nevertheless, it remains theonly country in th e M u sli m w o r l d r u l ed by democratic principlesand institutionsinstead of kings, emirs, mullahsand mosques.Thelegacy of a charismatic and often ruthlesspost-WWI reformer, Mustapha Kemal Ataturk,l Urkey iswidely sneered at and marginalized by the rest of Islam precisely becauseof its modernity (emancipation of w om en , re ligioustolerance, democratic values), but onecan fi n d f ar w o r se m o d el s fo r a secular stateto replacethecurrent crop of Muslim theocracies.Another highV i si t t h e A O G W eb Si t e.

Merchan di se, Gone But Not Forgotten an d More! vvww.usafa.org

TheViewfrom theLondon Eye. Whil ewe were exploring Turkey, Max Mill er organized t h e t h i r d a n n u al Class of 1959 welcome to the incoming Class at the Chall enge Bridge. His report on the event: “The Classof ’59 was invited by theAOG to provide m o t i v a t i o n a l t al k s an d a challenge to the incoming cadetsof the Class of 20 10 (h ar d t o b eli eve th at date) as they proceeded from in-processing at Doolitde H al l o v e r t h e C h al lenge Bridge to the buses taking them to their new l i f e . W h i l e w e h av e d o n e thisfor thepast two years, theopportunity isnow a tradition for aslong as any of us remains ambulatory. The command section, including Major Generd Halter,theVice Superintendent,and Bri gadier General Desjardins, theCom mandant of Cadets, reviewed a dry run of in-processing the day before, and I gavethem a sample of our presentations. “ Brock Strom, Bob Browning, Ed Montgomery, Don Brooks and I gavethe bri efi ngs. Each of ushad hisown personalization of the presentation, but the predominant themewasto challenge each new cadet to d o h i s o r h er b est t o liveup to theachievements of thepri or graduates. Ref er en ce w as m ad e t o t h e replica of the Class Memorial Wall near the Bridge showing thenamesof the 167 graduateswho have been killed in combat , starting, of cour se, w i th Val Bour que.

“Bob mentioned that 51yearsago wewent through thesame“training” they

w ould receive, an d also th at he h ad been an Air Force Chaplain. As they were

departing, one of the new cadets said to Bob, ‘Chaplain, pray for us!’ “ Don said he found it rewarding to see their eager f a c e s a n d se n se t h e i r apprehension asthey heard their last fri endly words. Hisimpression was the Ai r Force will remain in good hands for a few more year s. He questioned whether wewere ever that young.

“Thebri efi ng doesremain with at least someof thec ad ets . A t t h e F o u n d er s Day banquet,which honored HT Johnson thisyear,I saw a foreign cadet fi nm Jamaica,who had in 2004 read the challenge on the Bri dge in perfect ‘King’s English’ for her group. Sheexclaimed,‘You arethegraduatewho led usacross the bri dge.’

“The Class of ’59 gift is a worthy addition to our Academy.”

As it turned out, my plaintive plea for news actually elicited some meaty responses. Tom Stack enumerated some fam ily highlights. ” 1. I n M ay w e marri ed Mari a off in Richmond— theyoungest of our eight kids.All coUegeand bri defund-related expenses are now offi cially terminated an d w e a r e looki ng forward to spending our money (what little w e h av e l eft ) on ou r selv es.

“2. Right now we’re sort of sheltering through the m i d st o f t h e so u th -G eo r gia summer.Mostly staying indoors except for early morning golf and early morning swimming.We’re al so pretty heavily involved, through church ac tivities, with care for homeless people— of which there ar e a f ai r n u m b e r in Savannah where,just likeSanta Monica, theyear-round m oder ate (or at least non-freezing) temperaturesseem to attract a largen u m b er .

“3.We’re looking forward to two new grjmdchildren in Sept and Oct for a new total of 17. (Nothing compared to your total , but a sizeab l e n u m b er , n oneth eless.)

“4. Tm still running my little consulting business, running up and down I-

9 5 t o v i si t v ari o u s sm al l b u sin ess d ef en se co n t r ac t o r s and help them as best I

can. I’m looking forward to fi nishing this off and will some day. But there’s a

l o t o f w o r k f o r sm al l b u sin esses t h at d o c o m m u n i c a t i o n s and securi ty-related

work, especially in the af termath of 9/ 11and with t h e i n -cou n t r y secu ri ty needsattending theIraq entanglement.

“5. Finally, come October, Karen and I are making a trip to San Antonio for a rendezvous wi th B-66 brethren — my favorite airplane o f al l — an d o n e w h i c h I w i sh ed h ad h a d a r eal m i ssi o n f o r t h e U SA F so I co u l d f eel i t w as m o r e

than the best flying club I’ve ever been in.”

Jim Reed made a suggestion on content that I think has great merit. He 99

pointed out that most of usprobably know very little about what’shappened in thelast few years (or since retirement) for many ’5 9 er s o u t si d e o u r im m ed i ate geographical or contact circles. He suggested profi ling o n e o r t w o c l a ss mateseach quarter,devotingafew paragraphsto thebig pictureof what they’ve been doing, either for thelast few years, or since r etir em en t (an d , r etir em en t fi -om w hat?) .These sh or t bios,w hich aren’t deadlin e sensitive,alongwith other Classnews (Army game plans. Class 50th anniversary gif t, etc.) could make a very readable column and begood background for moreinteresting conver sations at the 50th reunion - not to mention reducing the angst level of your Scribe. The downside?It requires you to sit down and actually write three paragraphs about yourself. I’d appreciateyour feedback o n t h i s i d ea .

Thought for the Quar ter:As I lay in my bed looking up at thestars,I couldn’t help wondering what had happened to my roof.

A.J. (Rosie) Cler, Jr. 9 1 8 0 Co o rs B lvd . NW # 1 0 0 3

M e m b e rs

Albuquerque, NM 8 712 0-3 1 14 Phone: (50 5 ) 8 97-4 4 20 E- m a i l : RCt h e r o s e @a o l .c o m

Class Web Sit e: www.usafa.net/ 19 6 0

Remember Then ? ItwasJuly S, 1956 B.B. (BeforeBeatles)—that w as 50 year s ago, our fi rst day at Lowry 11.

DC-60 commemorated that “Hard Day’s Night” with lunch an d so m e in d i vidual recollections of our fi rst day.The night before. Bob Odenweller vividly recallsmeeting Kim Novak at the Brown Palace Hotel — she agreed to a date, but it had to be on July 9"', the day we reported to Lowry! Mmmm. Tony

Biancur “CageThose Eyeballs.’’ Andi turned to ‘Jamaica Joe’ Biehle an d ask ed : “ Wh at does th at m ean ?” Within secon ds,An di h ad t wo L i eu t en an t s i n h i s f a c e

making surehe knew. Dick Schelir was prepared with spit-shined shoes. An ATO ragged him about hisshoeshinewithout looking d o w n . W h en D i c k ask ed for clarifi cation,theATO looked down, said nothing,turned and walked away.

Ah, that yesteryear — 50 years ago.Wewere still using Brylcreem or Butch Wax; these days it’s more likely to be Lipitor and Saw Palmetto.That fi rst day wasmosdy ablur,but those 1,421daysthereaft er proceeded

at thespeedof theslowest-movingRacier.

r I “In June, the Northern Shenandoah Chapter of theAFA presented Norm Haller an award asoutstanding member,” wr ites Bob Badger . “Norm and I live near Front Royal ,V A where Randolph-Macon Academy is located and Norm 17 teaches. R-MA has an AFJROTC program, and this year ’s graduating classhas two cadets appointed to USAFA’s C l a ss Sabre Society Dono rs of 2010. R-MA may be turned into a USAFA Prep School.”

When the Marines sought “A Few Good Men,” they had Howard McLean Whitfi eld in mhi d. Howie, soft -spoken, tough-minded and battle-hardenedViemam Marinepilot,hasbeen ExecutiveD i r ect o r o f th e N av al Helicopter Association since 2004 and told me“Thisyear’s NHA Symposium was24-27April at the Hyatt in Jacksonville, FL with 600+ attendees, keynote addressby ADM John Nathman and banquet addressby AD M W il l i am Fal l o n .

Symposium issuesincluded missions that Navy helicoptersare flying in Iraq, the rotary wing squadrons’ expansion in the Navy and pr otecti on of car r ier s f r o m su b m ar i n es an d su r f a c e t l i r ea t s.” H o w i e w a s i n charge.

I

1

Burshnick rememberedLt.DossSmith m^ nghimdrophissu itcase, an d it

took three triesbeforehe fi gured out what D-R-O-P meant; Elsea and Queny also remembered the suitcase-dropping routine. Lt. Smith also madeTony put hisAirman’scap in hispocket and tur n themilitary b uckle out . A1John son wasstanding next to Lt. Hecker, thinking hewasanot her cadet. A1had previ ous military training, so hewhispered to Hecker: “Do what I do and you’ll be

OK.” (Al re^ yenjoyedtherestoftheday.) KenAlnwickwasa sk ed t h e n am e

of hisroommateand couldn’t remember; so,at theevening f o n n a t i o n h e h a d to get in front of the flight to meet his roommate, Gary Crew. Wewere told to bring black shoes for the swearing-in ceremony. GJC Fries did, but they had tassels on them — someATO quickly ripped them off. Ralph L al i m e r ec al l ed that while in the processing line, Neal Reavely was told to go to the second f l o o r o f t h e b ar r ac k s. H e t o o k o f f an d c l i m b ed th e fi re escape. TheATOswere so surprised they let him go in thefi re escape door!

is .-

'i

F r o m th e H al l s o f M o n t ez um a — “ On e Go o d M an !

Bill Goodyear and DenisWalsh flew in DL’s home-built RV 6A t o a SA C R e union in Tucson May 26-27, which included tours of D av i s - M o n t h a n ’s “Boneyard,” Aerospace Maintenanceand Regeneration C e n t er a n d Pim a A i r and SpaceMuseum (for pictures,key classwebsite’s“Shared Messages”); they flew Denver-Tucson with a stop at ABQ’s Double EagleAi r p or t for f uel an d a N ew M ex i c an l u n c h o n K a r en a n d m e .

In the back row are Tom Burke, Les Querry, George Fries, Jerry dela Cr uz, Ralph Lalime,JoeHiggins, Ri char d Head, Norm Hall er, B il l H o d so n an d B o b Badger. Front Row: Bob Fischer, Ken Alnwick, Bill Carnegie, M ik e (A) Cl ar k e, A1Johnson and Tony Burshnick.

The Colorado Group gathered at Champs Restaurant on Friday, July 7*'’.

WayneKendall recallsthat hewas never sworn-in—Wayne passed ou t in th e barber chair and spent therest of theday in thedispensary. O n e AT O t o l d A n d i

Marlon Brando’s “ Wild One(s) " had nothing on J.T. Sm i t h a n d f r i en d Fr e d Barney,who roared through 1-40 going west on their Su z u k i V -St r o m m o t o r cyclesin June,and Karen and I lunched with them in ABQ’s Old Tow n .JT w as on hisway to observeafi i end’smotorcycle-skillscourseat Willow SpringsRaceway near EdwardsAFB, then SLC for the motorcycle races at Miller MotorSports Park, back to southern California for his 50th high-school r eu n ion , t h en Clarksville,TN via fellow cyclist Gordy Flygare’s hom e in N or m an , OK. Tot al “wind-in-your-face” milesfor JT’s roundtrip fr om Clarksville,TN w ere 7,700.

In Junewe met Gordon and Ann Flygareat Santa Fe’sLa FondawhileGordy wasvisiting his sister Helen who lives in SF (Helen u sed t o d a t e D av e B u m s during our cadet years). I introduced Gordy to $500 New M exican h ats, w hi ch he bought for his roleas Docent at OKC’s National Cowboy and Western Heri tageMuseum ; Sept 22-24, Gordy cameback on hisBMW-R1150RT cycleto mb shoulder-patcheswith other old guysin the Sandia ClassicVintage Motorcycle Raceswhilestayingwith us.And theSweigarts of MarbleFalls,TX visited ABQ in September (R: Busy little cockpit here at I-40/I-25)!

“Now worked at Rapistan 42 years, and still enjoy going t o t h e o f fi c e — su r

vived an oth er RI F, so I ’ll w ork ’til I ’m 7 1. Ju st back fr om tw o w eeks in Flor ida,”

says Gary Van Singel of Grand Rapids, ML “Marilyn has survived well thepain in her handsand feet (Marilyn’stumor in 1964 destroyed her pituitary gland), sheespecially enjoysour grandchildren, and 1’m riding my Goldwing motor cycle to work again.”

“Hom ed Lizard Conservation Society held their fi rst-ever Au st in Ar tf est ,” wr ites Jean Waldbridge, Jim Q ark’swife. “Jim entered his Horned Frog foot stool, and we met morepeoplewho raise fimdsfor thepreservation of a dying br eed of lizar d , th e h or n ed toad . Jim t ook fi r st !”

In th e fr on t r ow ar e D i ck Sex ton , D en i s Wal sh , Ron Yates, Fr ed Por ter an d

Wayne Kendall. Middle Row: Jim Glaza, George Pupich, An di Bi an cur, Jim

Waddle,Jock Schwank andBruceMosier.BackRow:DickSchehr,TonyBilell o,

P e t e R o e an d D a v e R ee d .

10 0

Jim Thomasson: “StiUin the cockpit as Director of Op er at i on s/ Pil ot of an FAR 135 company called Charter Flight, Inc. in Charlotte, NC flying Citations along theeast coast. It’s not a B747, but I still get a thrill being in the cockpit.”

(R: I quickly dispatched our copy boy for a “stop-the-press-momen t ” w h en Jim later sent the following: “Had treadmill today and flunked it. Experienced discomfort in my chest, and grounded myself — doc placed a stent in my left coronary artery — had 99% blockage; lucky I didn’t have a hear t att ack!” )

As of July 3 P‘, Paul Hinton was again unemployed, having retired for the second time— this time from Boeing.

Dean and JoJones,Wayneand Mary Jones, Charlieand LyndaNed , and Charlie and GinaThomas shared a Balti c cruisefrom July 4"' through the 16"', startingin Rotterdam,and endingin Copenhagen. SL Petersburg (theHermitage, Peterhof, and Catherine’sPalace) highlighted themany tours,panoramic views,palaces, and museums. Cruising past thousandsof islandsoutsideSt o c k h o lm w as an other.Gail Zorapa,who they did not know wasaboard until they gathered in the Crow’snest onemorning among thefjords,surprised them.They shared many hugsand storiesasthey caught up. Gail issettled in Galveston and visits family often. They also met a woman from San Angelo who knowsJudge Phil Lane.

CharlieThomasgaveher abusinesscard with all their namesto givehim. They enjoyed too much food, a fair shareof wine and champagne, an d d i n n er a t t h e ’61table. Thegreat memories areenti cing them to do it again.

Sandy and Lowell Jones are fi nally reorganized after their three-month trip

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t o C al i f o r n i a an d b ack . O th er th an t h r ee f l a t t i r es o n t h e t r ai l er an d t h eir r et u r n

Captain Jim Friendly Fire.Mr.Answer Guy asked: “Who isour only classmate to fly com pleteViemam toursin theFl OO,F4,and F105?” Answer:Jim An derson . . . Ch ar lie T-iggett has the iti nerary of our bivouac outside Lowry i n 19 5 6 — see i t o n t h e classwebsite... Frank Mayberry providesone reason for not flying Space-A: Whileparked at TravisAFB travelingto Aussie-Land,abullet hit Frank’scar (try hilling theUSof A or USAA for that item)... Ted Stumm ,over Spring Break from Chair/Politi cal ScienceDepartment at U-North Floridavisited LesHobgpod in San An toni o an d Willi e Nelson in Luckenb ach ,TX. .. Recom m en ded Reading: “TheView Fw m theCenter of theUniverse”by Joel Primackand NancyAbrams...

Jim Glazaflew to Kodiak Island thelast week of July asguest of John McCuIlou^ (TGWFP—“ The Great White Fisher Person”) at John’sfi shing lodge up where theGrizzliesroam ... TheGraduateLeadership Conferencew as h el d at U SA FA July 23-25; Classof ’60 wasrepresented by Yates, Dale’n lompson,^^ IIl wegen, Biancur, Lalime, Hobgood,Walsh, Seebode and Luck.

Sur f ’s up/Mini -Reunion around theAFA-Navy gameOctober 7 "' i s G O ! F u n starts 6 October, so e-mail 2biancurs@adelphia.net f o r r eser v ati o n s.

Final Roll Call Jerry LeeMason died July 14,2006 from A L S. Ser vi c es w er e

heldat MolesFuneri HomeinBellingham,WA;attendingw er e Bill Zer sen , Jim O’Rour k e, D en n is O’l fe efe,Vic Yoak um , Nels Delisan t i a n d C h u ck D i v er .

Ea r l N . “ N e ls o n ” O ’ Re a r

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5 0 5 8 2 St oningt on Drive

Granger, IN46530-8243

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M e m b e rs Zd

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E-m a i l : EN Oa n d TJO@a m e r it e c h .n e t

Class Web Sit e: www .usafa l 9 6 1.org T h e 4 5 “’ C l a ss R eu n i o n B o o k C o m m i t t ee sai d t h a t 12 5 cl a ssm a t es m a d e i n

putsfor our book. Thanks to Bob Brickey,BriceJones, and Hector Negro ni for producing thishard-bound, full color book with a special f o l d -o u t o f o u r 19 5 7 class photo.

Randy Cubero wants theclassto send him pictures,hard prints or,preferably digital, of any of our 40 fallen classmates. Hewill then publish them on our class gallery websitein thefallen classmate’sindividual photo album. Send thedigital picturesto hishomee-mail rcubero@adelphia.net or printsto hisaddress: 7163 Wintery Loop, Colorado Springs, CO 80919. I t is absol utely essen ti al t o al so annotateacaption andsummary of what th epicture(s) is/ar eall about! ^ an Ay’s goal isto havea seriesof pictureswith capti onsan d su m m ar i es o n each o f o u r fallen classmatesbeforeour 50“’Academy reunion.Yo u can v i si t th e cl ass o f 19 6 1 picturegallery websiteat http://afalumni.giph.com and register individually.

Pat Buckley isstill helpingAlbania modernizeits traffi c management inf ra structure. The last week of July,Marilyn and Pat toured n o r t h er n A l b an i a in a Land Rover, mostly mountain drivi ng on rocky tracks, about half requiring low rangetransmission gears. They averaged eight milesper hour thefi rst day.

They saw gorgeousmountainsand lakes, and enjoyed good people, food,wine, emd weather. Pat’s answer on when they areleaving i s “ W h e n w e d ec i d e t o d o something else.”

DeeCairnswill teach onemoreyear.Doug thinksshereally meansit thistime.

They areplanning accordingly. Doug isworking, too,on developing a network of local organizati ons—VOAD,Volunteer Organizati onsA cti v e in D i sast er — o n coordinated eff orts respondingto thenext hurricane,or whatever. Doug enjoys the great peoplein the community on thisworthy cause, and tli ejob hasbeen structured around hisdesirefor frequent travel. Other decisions for th e com in g year areto visit son Rob and family in Italy and to get two new kneesin January.

HiskneereplacementsarepossiblebecausehisPoolean d Westbrook suppor t team will takecareof him,asthey havefor thelast 18years. Jim and Patty Houri n and Dougand Deewent on aweek-long“fly-about” theSo u th east in Jim ’s Cessn a 310 in June, stopping at Pigeon Forge, Pinehurst with Jerry and SueLefton,and Fredericksburg,Alexandri a, andWilliamsburg,Virginia.

After thereunion, Lily and DaveCarlstro m will proceed t o C al i f o r r u a t o v i si t their son and two grandsons. On October 14“’and 15“’, they plan to attend the opening of the new Air Force memorial in Washington.

to Washington, DC, for a couple of weeksfor their granddaughter’sbrain sur gery (she is enduring chemo treatments now), the trip w a s great! Now they are preparing for another trip: fi vew eek s t o Colorado and back. Thosein the DC area had a pre-reunion ’6 l er luncheon on August 9“’ in DC. Bob Kellock is still expanding his life with Samantha.

They’re running sai lboat races in Marina del Rey for t h e i r 13 yacht club, and for other clubswhen invited. Bob’s usuaUy thePrincipal RaceOfBcer,and she’stheoffi cial scorer. They’re Sabre Society Do n o rs also cruising on his (and hispartner’s) Island Packet 26 M k II , mostly to Catalina Island’s Two Harbors at the Isthmus.

They’ve been to Catal ina once, to Long Beach once, a n d h a d t w o m o r e t o Catalina scheduled in August and September. They may also go to Two Har bors’ Buccaneer Dayson another club member’sCatalina 38 in early October.

When this was wr itten, Jerry Mason’s number one son a n d h i s w i f e w er e leaving for a two-week trip,which wouldn’t beworth menti orti ng except that Jo and Jerry will be babysitting their four girls (ages 4- 13). Gir l s ar e an al ien speciesfor them (they each had three sons), so they thought it should be inter esting; however,Jerry wasconfi dent they would survive. Dam age assessm ent

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w i ll foll ow n ext qu ar t er.

Hector Negroni required fi veyearsto completehislatest book, the321-page “ Historia deYauco” (History ofYauco), about his home t o w n i n P u e r t o Ri co .

Yauco ispublishing and presenting thebook in this September. Juan Poncede Leon initially colonized Yauco in 1508, so that town has a lot of history.

Mike and Ginny Ravdins took a 12-day August cruise to Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, and Finland. Since relocati ng to Georgia they spend a lot of timewith thesix grandchildren (ages2-16) and their kids, providing Mikeand Ginny lots of exercise. They are enjoying their new home and meeting new friends. Mike plays in a tennis league, much like“Ford’s Colony,” where they formerly lived in William sburg.

Earl Saunders administered the oath of offi ce to his grandson, Matthew Karmondy (06) on the eve of graduation. Matt’s father,Tom Kar mondy (72), and mother, Cathryn Saunders Karmondy, pinned on the gold lieutenant’s bars at the occasion. They took a picture under the B - 5 2 D i am o n d L il f o r th e sw ear in g in .

By thetimethisisprinted. Bob and Pat Smith will h av e r et u r n ed f ro m a r i v er cruise between Budapest and Nuremberg. Bob saw lots of Europe while at M cGuir e, bu t Pat is a West Coaster an d w as unf am ili ar . They also just learned of the expected arrivalsof grandchildren #13 (Jan 07) and 14 (Apr 07).Therest are spread between Maryland, California, and Washi ngton. G o o d r e aso n s f o r m o r e tr av el .

Ch ar l ie St ebb in s con t i n u es to or der t h e U n iver sity of Charleston faculty around, and Sarah keepsthe homefi resburning. Their annual 10 daysin July with kidsand grandkids in Williamsburg and Nags Head was, as always, great fun! They were thrilled to be a part of Jim Wilhelm ’sand Larry Kam ovwsld’sbig trip. They also talked Nancy Wilhelm into flying to Ch ar l est on (WV ) f or a coupleof daysbefore sheheaded to Pinehurst, and they had a great visit with her. Shewasthereto help greet thebikersat theend of thefi rst leg of their trip.

They provided baths, food, and lodging... and maybe a couple of drinks...and sent them on their way the next morning. It was a great t i m e !

On August 6“', thePuget Sound ’fi lersenjoyed awonderful af ter n o o n a t Ge n e Hopp’shouseto view...gasp...theNavy’sBlueAngels,flyingas part of theannual Seattle SeaFair/hydroplane races on LakeWaslti ngton. T h e en t ir e ’6 1 c o n ti n gent was present , including wives, Pat Cochrane, Betsy Kbmam itsky, Linda I hylor ,Holly Kerr and Annette Langille-Hopp. Dick McMonigal was unaccom-

JOI N TH E SABRE SOCI ET Y!

Y O U R M O N EY H EL PS FU N D C AD ET W I N G P RO GRA M S T H A T

WOULD OTHERWI SE GO UNFUNDED.

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panied. Geneliveson thewestern slopeof thehillso f B el l ev u e an d h as a w o n d er fu l vi ew o f M er cer I sl an d / Sea t d e t o th e w est . I t would be a great locati on for an observati on post,however a lousy positi on without air superiority.

Nancy and Jim Wilhelm still live in Colorado Springs (7048 Bell Circle) per manently, and winter in Arizona (8701SKolb Rd,# 18-222,Tu cson ,AZ 85706) for fi ve months. Larry Kam owski and Jim decided they w er en ’t o v e r t h e h i Jl yet , and it was time for “The Last Great Geezer Ride” on their motorcycles.

They decided to try something different this time— sponge o ff cl a ssm a t e s!

They left for Charleston,WV the day af ter Jim’s arrival at Larry’s Ohio home.

Fir st victim s w ere Sar ah an d Char li e St ebbins (see above). Next w as Pin ehur st,

NC,whereNancy preceded them by plane. They invaded th e L eft o n s’ b ea u t i f ul home,whereJerry and Suegraciously hosted them. Followingagreat vi sit,they

descen ded on Casw ell Beach , NC, an d th e O’Conn or ’s beach h ou se, w i th th e

Sponger group then numbering fi ve, asJerry droveSueand Nancy ther e. T h e O’Connors,John and SheilaMay, Jimmy and Susan Poole an d PB’s sister, also a SheUa, awaited them. What a great party! Larry and Jim camped in the Great Smoky Mountainsand visited Jim’sdaughter and her family at Fort Knox, KY, whileeveryone elseheaded home. They thank all who hosted them, and give noti ceto all classmates: thegeezer spongersmay visit you in thenear future.

Twy Willi ams, with a friend for about two-thirds of the 13-day trip, sailed down theshoreof thenorthern neck, up the Rappaharmock an d Co r r o t o m an Rivers, over to the eastern shore among a number of creeks. Nancy met Twy near good restaurants at quiet anchorages for overnights. They also enjoyed a 10-day trip to Nancy’ssister’scabin on beautif ul Green Lak e n ear Ell sw or th , Mai ne. Later, Nancy taught Bible School music whileTwy caught up with homechores. They edso enjoyed a reunion of theWilliamscl an at t h e M il l H o l e near Lexington,VA followed by a vi sit from Twy’s golfi ng b r ot h er Joh n an d wife,Toni. They are looking for some cooler weather to enjoy more sailing.

Health is under control and life is good.

Tom and Judy Wilson spent four dayswith their children and grandchildren at awater park/lodge in central Wisconsin. It’s fun each year! The Minnesota NGhas started a first for returning combat veterans— a program designed to aid in the reintegrati on of war veterans into their civilian community and ad justment to life after combat. The MNNG returns3,000 membersfr om Iraq and Afghanistan next March, and theGuard istryingto preparefor it. Anyone in terested in m ore inf orm ati on can con tact Tom , an d hewill answer questi ons as best he can. It’s a wonderful program.

Thanksto all who contributed. It’s alwaysgood to hear what everyone else isdoing. Weall truly appreciatethe efforts of our r eu n i o n co m m i t t ee t o m ak e this a memorable reunion. Thanks, again. More on the r e u n i o n i n t h e n ex t Ch eckpoin ts. , \ \t Tn c ■

Jo h n W . "Ja c k ” Ja m b a

M e m b e rs 4 Judy Court Sat ellite Beach, FL 3 29 3 7 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@aol.com

Hi Redtags!

It’sthat timeagain.Our world-classlaunch team got the SpaceShuttleoff the ground again and we are back in business. Caroline and I teamed up with daughter Kathy and son-in-law,DaveFroiseth,LT COL,U SAF (Ret) for a seven day Alaskan Cruise.We flew into Seattle and met up w i t h B o b Sca u z il l o w h o proceeded to takeuson awhirlwind tour of thecity.W e v i si t ed t h e U PS W at er fall Park on the site of their original business location. A sk B o b o r m e a b o u t UPS’ original line of business.Won’t tell you in the c o l u m n . W e saw t h e o l d underground downtown that has been parti ally restored with chic shops.Took

apictureof theoriginal Starbucks coffeehouse, still in businessand doingwell in the tourist trade. We stopped at the Klondike Gold R u sh M u seu m w h er e I took the accompanying pictureof Bob Of coursewecouldn’t bein Seattlewithout going to P ik e’s Fi sh M ar k et . T h en we had dirmer and caught up on each other’s doings. Bob updated me on his lifefor thepast few years.“ I am now semi -retired and aTour Manager/Direc tor for avariety of companies. Last year I did three 16-day Nati onal ParksTours (Yellowstone, Grand Tetons,Ar ches, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Lake Powell , Bryce Canyon and Zion). I al so did two 14-day C o l u m b i a an d Sn a k e River Cruiseswith a Lewis and Clark theme. Thisyear so f ar I h av e d o n e a 14 day Nati onal Parkstour which included all of theaboveplus Badl an ds, M t . Ru shm ore, Custer M em ori al , an d M esa Verde.

I just fi nished a 4 day Train trip to San Francisco an d C r u i se toVancouver, B.C. aboard Princess. Looking forward t o t h e summer and fall .” So asyou can see. Bob has been getting lotsof walking. He almost woreme out until I put a l eash o n him .

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The next day we boarded the cruise ship and headed f o r Sabre Society Do n o rs open waters. Af ter clearing out of theInside Passagew e h i t somerough water,causingCarolineto skip dinner and Kathy later on to wind up in Sick Bay.All waswell later the next day and welanded at Jun eau . Took th e tr am to M t H ar r is an d saw a w on der f ul vista. On our way to Skagway,a passenger becameseriously ill and caused theship to divert to Sitka to drop him off for better treatment. That delay caused u s t o ar r i v e sev e r al hourslate at Skagway, resulting in the canceUation of many land excursions.

We th en h eaded ou t to th e H u bb ar d Glaci er, a b eau tif ul sight . It was about a m il e w i d e a t t h e l o c a ti o n w h er e i t en t er ed th e sea . Itsheight was about 300 feet and occasionally we could see the face calving (falling) into the sea. The cap tain said that wegot theclosest distanceto theglacier that theship had doneso far this season.Wewere about a mile and a half away. From therewe pressed on to Ketchikan, staying in the Inside Passage and avoiding the rougher seas.

Ketchikan looked more likewhat I wasexpectingAlaska t o l o o k l i k e . A l l t h r ee land stopshad plenty of thesameshopsfor touriststo visit. The scenery along the way was spectacular.Therewere hundreds of mountains an d d o z e n s o f glaciers to gawk at.We saw onewhale’stail break t h e w a t e r ’s su r f a c e ab o u t a mile away, a couple of mountain sheep, some bald eagles, so m e se al s o r se a lions, not surewhich, no bears, lots of seaplanes. (Many towns and citi es in Alaska have no highway access.) Plan to do it again so m et i m e.

Got an email and picturefr om Bob Connolly, to wit, “ Pa t an d I w er e in t o w n for our son Mike’s graduation fr om NWC. Our son is U SA FA c l a ss o f ’8 5 . W e were quite proud of his graduating as a Disti nguished G r a d u a t e . A t t a ch ed i s photo of Roy Staf ford and me in hisoffi ce at the Nati onal War College. Roy is currently the Dean. M though hewoul d like to retire, t h e C o m m a n d an t r e gardshi m as a nati onal asset too valuable to let go. "m

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Roy Stafford and Bob Connolly at NWC. Got thisnext item fr om John Flanagan who sent it on theRedtagneL “Redtags, first of aU, thanksfor all thesupportivephonecalls, car ds, an d n otes. An d vi sit fr om Bill Haugen and hiswife. Contrary to Shep’s speculati on, D r s d i d fi n d a heart, managed to open it up, and install a new aortic valve. Randy’s call was parti cularly appreciated ‘been there, donethat.’ H o w ev er h e h ad six m o n th s t o deliberate choice between arti fi cial valve or porcine ti ssu e. M ean w hil e, w if e vra sflyingfro m Pariswheresheworksasintemati onai attorney.From my phone call sheaskswhat all thebackground noisewas. I replied, ‘Just nurseslaughing.’

‘Whereareyou?’‘Falmouth Hospital.’ Shewason next plan e.You recall w e w ere married at 30th reunion in Cadet Chapel aft er memorial ser v i ce .

“By Thursday aft ernoon Drs. announced you are ‘# 1for surgery tomorrow morning.’Only timeI remember being#l for anythingwastakeoff fr o m Pl eik u in a Bird Dog at height of thunderstorm and airport w a s ‘c l o se d .’ T o o k o f f anyway. Just hoped surgery would go as well. Resident surgeon asked what styleheart valve I wanted. Drugsnow making me fuzzy. Dr. said artifi cial goes ‘cUck-click’,you have to take medicati on forever, but lifetime guarantee (can 10 2

you imagine sitting with your wife, some comely damsel walksby and heart increases to cli ck-cUck-cIi c]^ . Inquired about porcineopdon. Said silent, 15year warrant y (quick math 66+15=81yearsold). OK give me the pig. Prob lems: I find garbagedumpsvery attracti ve, I range through theforest looking for truf fl es (previously golf balls), and enjoy rolling in themud. Drs. think they can alter my behavior pattern.

“Got even with John Kelly (USAFA ’65) who provided info to Jerry Smith for original posting of my emergency. Recall hewastrying to use up my Country Club minimum while I was in the hospital aswell as rejoicing that pig valve made me more Irish. He mademistakeof inviting Marij o an d m e t o d i n n er a t hisclub with him and Sally on a Friday night. (My fi rst night out sincesurgery.)

I entered crowded bar,with the Kelly’sin attendance,dragging my IV polewith mewith soluti on bag and tubing attached thereto. Kelly ask ed m e if I ’d car e f o r a drink.Turned IVpole around, pointed to empty bag,an d a sk ed b ar t en d er t o “Fill it up.” I had affi xed a rather prominent Gordon’s Gin label to thebag.The entire bar cracked up. Flanagan 1, Kelly, zero. It was a great time. Jerry and Freddie were scheduled to join us, but terrorist crisis canceled their flight

person. The cup ceremony starts about 45 minutes to an hour aft er thegame and then we have dinner. If you have any quesdons or w an t t o l e t B o b k n o w you areplanning on being therepleasegivehim a call 1-7 19 -48 1-9 6 9 3 o r sen d him an e-mail at bcahayes@adelphia.net. Seeyou there!

f r o m D all a s.

“That’s it for now.You’re a great bunch of guys (with equally great wives) and unfortunately it takes a crisisto appreciate the depth of friendsJup, support, and camaraderie. Thanks to you all, I have now gained that appreciation.

Please takenote of thepleasan t weather for the2002Navy Gam e.

DaveHol t, Kathrynand SteveMetder April 2006.

Last April, I had a great dinner at the Metti ers’ home w i t h D av e H o l t a n d Kathryn and Steve Mettler. See photo.Well, that’s it for now. Keep the letters and emailscoming. Go Redtags!

Norma n I. (Skip) Lee 6 3 1 1 9 E. Ca t Cla w La n e Tu cs o n , AZ 8 5 7 3 9 -2 0 5 8

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Home: (520 ) 8 2 5-798 0 Cell: (5 20 ) 241-3 4 9 8 E-m a i l: 5 4 w rs @m s n .c o m

TheAOG recently learned of the death of our classmateK e rm et h C H ar . K en passed away on 18 June near Hillsborough NC as the r esu l t o f a n a u t o m o b i l e a c c i d en t . A m e m o r i al se r v i c e w a s h el d o n 2 2 Ju n e a t t h e G r o v e P a r k . B u r i al

will be at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. Condolences may be sent to Ken’s family in care of his daughter SandraWh eel is: 18 15 Sh aw Rd , D u r h am N C 2 7 7 0 4 .

TheNavy gamekickoff ison Oct 7"' at noon! Bob Hayes r e m i n d s u s t h a t th e mini -reunion acti viti eswill begin threehoursbefore, roughly 9:00AM with a bring-your-own-dish poti uck/tailgate in thefar northwest stadium parking lot —theclassflagwill beflying. Aft er thegamewe’ll all go to theAOGbuilding for the cup-turning ceremony for recently deceased classm ates (Bill Ball is honchoing) and then a southwest/Texasstylecatered barbequedinner. We’ll need areasonableheadcount for theaft er-gameacti viti esto pay for thecaterer an d reim bur se th e AOG for u se of th e facili ti es; it should cost about $14-15 per JO I N T H E SA B RE SO C I ET Y! Y O U R M O N EY H ELP S FU N D

CAD ET W I N G PRO GRA M S T H AT W O U L D OT H ERW I SE G O U N F U N D ED .

CA L L T H E A O G F O R I N F O .

At th e 40'*’ reun i on Jim D iff en dor fer (D if f) sai d w e should look at opti onsfor thefi nal dispositi on of theClassCups. BUI Ball has enlisted Jim Gaston, Gordy Bre dvik, and Bob Hayes to form a“cups” team to look at thisissue. Their initi ^ report follows. Please provideyour thought/ideas so w e c an ar r i v e a t a su i t ab l e so l u ti o n . “ . . . Sev er al o f u s w e r e a sk ed t o l o o k into the ultim ate disposi ti on of our Class Cups, currently on display in the o f fi ce o f th e A O G P r esi d en t Every year at theAFA-Army/Navy homefootball gamew e h av e a m i n i r eu n i o n .

We tur n cups for thosewho have depar ted the preceding year. Then, at our fi ve-year reunionscupsareagain turn ed for thosew h o h av e d i ed sin c e o u r l ast fi ve-year reunion and all those previously turned are honored once again.

Thequesti on of what to do with our cupsaft er thelast of usdepart is our mis sion. Wewant your help. Diff sent usinputs/suggesti onson the subject hehas received over theyears. Weplan to use those,and any suggesti onsyou send us, to form alist of opti onsto present at the2(X)8 reunion. A s w e proceed wewill send interim reportsvia email. We may ask for more thoughts/inputs; and, we may ask you to vote t o help us pair down the list of options for fi nal presentati on.

Please contact us at: Bob bcahayes@adelphia.net, Gordy b redvik _ ran ch @m sn .com , Jim w or don e@w or d 1in c.com ,

and Bill baUjw@msn.com. Welook forward to hearing f ro m

you .”

In mid-July Gordy Bre dvik’se-mail to thoseof uswho h av e at one time or another expressed an interest in joining h i m

29 Sab re Soc iet y Do n o rs

an d St ev e D o t so n o n t h eir an n u al h i k e f r o m Par i sh M em o r i al to theAcademy via Deadman’s Gulch said this year’s hike was planned for July 23"*. Other commitmentskept mefrom parti cipati ng but I did touch basewith Gordy on how thehiketurned out. Hiswife, Dian, and Stevejoined him for thefi ve-andhalf-hour journey. The total time included a one hour stop for refreshments (wine and cheese) at the overlook above theAcademy. The hike brings back memories of our DooUesummer and isnot aUthat rigorous— mostly aU d o w n hiU. It is already on my schedule for next year. If interested contact Gordy.

Hereisa summary ofTom Fryer’sreport on theUSAFA Graduate Leadership Conference (GLC) at the end of July. Other fellow ’63 grads attending were Charlie Bush, Drue DeBerry, Steve Dotson ,Tim Gallagher , an d M i c k R o t h .

Tom hereby apologizes if he missed a name. The conference in cl u d ed ev e n t s

at t h e A cadem y over th r ee d ays su ch as an A OG w el com e r ecept i on , t our s, discu ssion s w i th Seni or Leader s on U SAFA i ssu es, a Q & A panel with Cadets,

and a recepti on hosted by the Superintendent and hiswi fe. The highl ight for Tom was thefi nal morning at Jacl« Valley and lunch w i t h t h e B asi cs. H e r el at es sitting next to a 290-lb prep school grad who hopes t o b e a l i n e m a n f o r t h e Falcons—hehadlost 10poundsso far! Thefi nal aft ern oon w as an A O G A l u m n i Relations meeting and Open Forum. Although a number o f t h e G r a d s ar e invited to the GLC by theAOG through their Classleadership, an in v i t a ti o n i s not necessary if you wish to attend — theAOG opens the Conference to any i n t er e st ed G r a d aft er t h e in v i t ee s h av e m a d e t h e i r RSVP. Thisyear therewere 15 0 at t en d ees fo r 2 0 0 av a Uab l e sl o t s.

GaryWest entered thefollowing comment in theClassWeb PageGuest Book: “Dear Classmates, our classmateand my long-timefriend,Jim Olsson , h as evi dently “REVOLTED” against high oil pricesand decided to ride hisbicycle (the kind you actually haveto pedal) fr om —believeit or not — LosAngelesto Bos ton. Heisnow in western Kansasand “getting stronger”! Considering heisour age, 1would haveto say that hiseffort would certainly qualify as“ILL-TIMED”, 10 3

but again it isJim as I well know him at hisbest.Let’s cheer him on !!“ GO JIM GO!” Thefoliowing photograph was lift ed from Jim’sinput to theWeb PageStories.

Bob Hovde

2 0 6 W a l k e r Av e .

H u nt s v ille , A L 3 5 8 0 1

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Fred and Barbara’sAnnual ’64 Practice Reunion: Another year haspassed and wehavepicturesfrom Fred and Barbara Gre gory’s annual get-together in Annapolis. It seemsto methat Fred ishaving theseevery six monthsnow. Time seemsto be decreasing on an inverse Fibonacci scale. [Look THAT one up in your Funk & Wagnalis!] * ■* « ! I l i

Olsson an d Ik e (in Ab il en e, KS)

In thelast issueof Checkpoin ts I mentioned that Lloyd Kelley wasplanning

t o ret i r e at t h e en d of Ju n e. Well t h at el icit ed an e - m a i l w i t h t h e f o r m a l a n

nouncement of Lloyd’s retirement and a photograph. Lloyd was a Federal Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in St. Louis and retired af t e r m o r e t h a n 2 0 years of service. Aft er leaving USAFA, Lloyd received his BSDegree from St. Louis University and his JD Degree from Southern Methodist University’s Sc h o o l o f L aw . I n a d d i t i o n t o h i s r o li a s Fed er al A d m i n i st r a t i v e Law Judge he had over 13 years in corporate and private law practice.

TheJudgeat work!

Library Recommendati on: Bob Mazet sent an e-mail alerti ng so m e o f u s t o a new book written by Colonel Phil “Hands” Handley — Nickel o n th e Gr ass.

Ron Fogleman’s description of the book on its back cover is enough for me.

For those of you who served in the 22'“' Tactical Fighter Squadron at Bitburg you might fi nd the book a necessary part of your library. Fo r t h e r e st o f u s i t looks to bea great read. (e.g.:on June2, 1972, flying an F -4 E Ph an t o m 11a t o v er 1.2 Mach, Phil Handley shot down a MiG-19with 20mm can n o n fi r e. I t w as t h e second victory for an F-4with internal cannon; theonly MiG-19 shot down by cannon fireduring thecourseof theVietnam War,and believed to bethehigh est speed gun kiil in the history of aerial combat).

Fr ed ’s A n n u al P r a c ti ce R e u n i o n : I n th e b a c k r o w ar e Rod Wells, Ed Har vey, Bob Hal ey and l eft Levy. Middle Row: Fred Gregory, Dewey Barich, Ron

Gr owden , B ob Levin s, B ob Cl ar k an d Paul Bel m on t. Fr on t Row: } oh n Wil es,

GeorgeAnderson, Ron Hall oranand and Will McKenny.

TheAgingAviatorsAssociation: Terry Isaacson reported on thisyear’sAAA activities. (Yes,Fred,Terry actuaily sent in thereport - and pictures! Sorr y l can’t use them ail here. For once, EVERYONE sent in pictures.) Anyway,Terry said hewaswriting on behalf of tli e USAFA Classof 1964AgingAviatorsAsso ciati on, agroup of classmatesthat hasbeen getting together for mini-reunions sin ce our 20th class r eun i on . H e said, “ I w as tasked to send photosand a sum mary of our gathering in April, and here it isalmost t w o m o n t h s l a t er an d I ’m just getting to it. That tellsmeonething- it’stimeto retire and get on with iife!”

TheAgingAviatorsAssociati on consistsof Jim Ingram, Darryl Bloodworth, Fred Olmsted,Allan McArtor,Max James and Terry Isaacson. They werejoined in LasVegasby Mitch Cobeaga,whose spirits arehigh and whosegolf game is still better than most even aft er aOtheseyears.

Terry conti nues,“Aft er two days at Max’s palatial n ew h om e in Sedon a,Ar i zona,weboarded oneof Max’scorporatejetsfor aflight to LasVegas. Of course wehad agreat timein Sedona and LasVegas- golf (even though it wascoid and rainy in Arizona in Apri l !), dinners, shows, dancing, drinking and teliing sto ries for the umpteenth time. But the highlight of the r eu n i o n o c c u r r e d a t a private dinner at the Sterling Club in LasVegas. Max a sk e d e a ch o n e o f u s t o shareour most memorable experienceas an Air Forceav i a t o r . So m e o f t h o se stories I ’d never heard, or if 1had, they had slipped from my memory. They served to reinforcewhat theAcademy is all about, to remember that young m en , an d n ow w om en , ar e tr ain ed to do dif ti cui t an d dangerous thingsin the service to their country. That through our training and experiences in theAft Force,we contributed, however minutely, to the freedoms m any Am er ican s takefor granted today. Weweremindful that that many of our classmatesgave th e ul ti m ate sacrifi ce, an d w e ar e the for tun at e on es for having known them.

“Every time theAgingAviators meet for a mini-reunion, our respect for one another increasesand thebondsthat bringustogether get stronger. At theend

T h a t ’s i t f o r t h i s t i m e . P l e a se n o t e t h e a l t e r n a t e e - m a i l a d d r e ss h a s b ee n

dropped from the Contact Information. Hope to see as many of you as pos sible in October for the mini-reunion and Navy game. U n til A en , t ak e car e.

V i si t t h e A O G W eb Si t e.

M er chandi se, Gone But Not Forgotten an d m ore! www.usafa.01^

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“Forget theAging Aviators. The view (Mary, Bar bara, Bar bar a, Gr ace, Lin da and Nancy) is m uch better in thispicturein Sedona.”

ofthefl nal eveningwe’retogether,wherever that may be,wecircle and quietly singthechorusof theAir Forcesong,“Here’satoast t o t h e h o st o f th o se w h o l ov e thevastnessof thesky.. .’’andweagreeon onething- we’vegot agreat class,great classmates, and we look forward to seeing everyonea t o u r 4 5 t h r eu n i o n !”

It really happened: Denny Mon^ omery wrote, “Just got my copy of Check

pointsand immediately readyour classcolumn,asusual. Your n ote th at , ‘If

thereareno pictures,it didn’t really happen.’ deservesan iir un edi ate response.

Seephoto - it happened!”

w

Rick Zurbrugg

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2 9 2 9 Ga v in Pla c e

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Dulut h, GA 3 00 9 6 (770 ) 476-4 4 37

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H ey “ 65!

Harv Shelton:“Millieand I just retired for thesecond timeand hopefully we’ll do it right thistime. Af ter 30 yearsof active duty I went into teachingAir Force Junior ROTCin central Florida. I had intended to do t h a t u n t il 1w as a t l east 6 5 .

I discovered during thelast school year that it wasgetting awfully hard to keep up with theresponsibilitiesof being ateacher,mentor,and sometimesgrandfa-

therto 150teenagers. Furthermore,Iwasn’thappywith what t h e N o C h i l d L ef t

Behind Act was doing to public education. I decided to quit while I was still ahead. Millie and 1wanted to leave the congestion of central Florida and get back home to Arkansaswhereweboth still have family. W e arebuilding a new homeon a nicelittlelake in Hot Springs

Village. I will beabletostep out our back door and in to m y

boat any time I want to go fi shing, and when I want to play

golf,r ilhaveeightorninecoursestochoosefi nm. Our c h o i ce Barry andLindaBarnesin h-ont of their homein Florida. Happy Bir thday, Barry. It’s Finally real .

Graduate Tf iadership Conference: Paul Belmont reported o n t h e ’6 4 a t t en dan ce at th e GLC at U SAFA in Jun e. As sh ow n in th e attached photo,our Class waswell represented at theevent,which ishosted by theAOG. Attending most of the conference, but not available for the photo op were DJAlberts, Rod

Well s, an d Jim Wb eeler .

From left are Matt Feier tag, WUl Honea, Roger Neeland, Br uce Sm i th , Jack Cole, Wally WoIniewicz, Pat McAdoo, and Paul Belmont.

Paul reports, “Theconferencewas a great opportunity to get updated on the many (many,many) changesat USAFA. Lt Gen Rigne, ’73,presented theresults of hiscomprehensiveassessment of theAcademy program and thechangeshe hasinstituted sincehisarrival last fall. Speaking only for myself, I wasmightily impressed with where the USAFA program is and where it is headed - very positive changes in the right direction. My impression was reinforced by the several opportunitieswe had to interact directly and candidly with Cadets of theupper tJiree classes. They all appeared to bevery actively engaged in putting the multipleissues of the recent past be hind them and doing their part to move theAcademy f o r ward. I got a ‘good feeling’ for the condition of the H o n o r Code and Honor System, but I do feel there is more t o b e done in thisfundamental area of Cadet life. I am impressed 41 with the signifi cant contributions that our Association o f Sa bre Soc iet y Graduates is making to enrich the Cadet experience, e sp e Do n o rs cially in the most vital area of le adership and Character D e velopment. Thevisit to the Basicsat Jack’sValley w as par ticu larly inspirational . The kids are getting a lot of very practical training along with a great dose of discipline. We had lunch with th e Basi cs - at w h i ch , on hearing a summary of my career leading to my retirement at 23 yearsof service in 1986, onebasic politely pointed out that I had retired theyear beforehewas bom . Sharp kids, and we can bejustifi ably proud of th em an d t h e in st i t u t i o n .

I encourage othersto participate in next year’s GLC. “Onapersonal note,on October 11will retireIr omTASC (a Northr op Grum m an company), 20 years to the day I joined the company. Wewill be staying in the Northern Virginiaareafor several moreyears- Peggy w an t s t o co n ti n u e w i t h th e job shelovesfor another two years. In mid-October we are fi nally going to be comecertifi ed grandparentswhen our daughter Lesley presentsuswith agrand daughter (in theDallasarea). Exciting times.”

Only threemoreGregory partiesuntil thenext Reunion. Let’sall surprisethem nextyear bybeingin theD.C.areain June! (“Hon,dow e h av e so m e ex t r a st eak s?” )

11

of retirement locationsdoesn’t put usvery closeto o u r s o n s and their families, but they are moving so much that w e couldn’t keep up with them anyway. At least wenow h av e t h e

freedom togo seethemwhen wewant instead of when m y

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25 Sabre Society Do nors

school schedulepermitted. And, I haveagreat placet o t each my grandchildren how to fi sh. Hot SpringsVillage isn’t on theway to many

places,but it iscloseto 1-30between LitdeRock an d Tex ar k an a. T h e w el c o m e

mat isout at theShelton houseto any ’65erswho arewillingto makeashort side trip astheypassthrough theNatural State.” ThanksHarv. Great to hear fi n myou — teaching grandshow to fi sh; what could bebetter?

Jack Nhii phy: Mid-Atlantic Reunion,24June2006.Doug andWendy Wd dner, with an assist fi -om Jack Mui phy and JerryMfi lkowski, hosted aparty at theend of Juneto celebrate the45* anniversary of the day wetransitioned from high school seniors (the top of the food chain) to USAFA b asic cadet s (w h ich , w e remembered being told,wasthelowest form of life). Theparty had a Mexican themewith acatered fajitadinner accompanied by margaritas,beer,an d w in e.

Storiesweretold, some of them possibly true, of our fi rst day in uniform and themany kindnessesshown by theupperclassmen who helped us setde in.

The best part of the evening, as at any reunion, was seeing classmates again and enjoyi ng thefriendshipsthat wereforged many yearsago. Unfortunately, thereareno picturesto accompany thisreport becauseeveryonewashaving such agreat timethat nobody remembered to takepictures. That’snot a prob lem, however,becausewe all looked just aswe did 45 years ago. In addition to Doug and Wendy Weidner, Jack and Terry Murphy, and Jerry and Sue Wllkowski, those attending the party included Ray and D iann e Bevi vin o , A1 and Donna Grieshaber, Bob and Ellen Haf fa, Harry Harrison, D an H olovi ak ,

Jim and Karol Kaltenbach, Mikeand BarbaraKrause, L i o n e l a n d C ar o l e

Luxich ,MikeThomas, Jim Phillips,Nancy Scaiboro ug^ ,Scotty and Jo Schaf fer,

Kathy Siner, Charlieand PamVick, Ed and DianeWebber,Pa u l an d C o r i n n e

Wilke, and BruceWitty and Deidre Samson. The party organizersworked hard to locate and invite all classmates livi ng within a f ew h o u r s ’ d r i v e o f Northern Virginia. They relied on the AOG data base for email and postal addressesand supplemented that with local knowledge. Asa result, they lo cated a few w i dow s of deceased classm ates an d invi ted t h em t o o . T h e b o t t o m

line isthat if you want to stay in touch with classmatesan d r eceiv e in f o r m at i o n on futureevents,you’vegot to be sure theAOG hascu r r en t co n t act in f o r m a tion (especially an email address).

Jim Spittler: [spittler@highlandcommercial .com ] “ Dear Eamily and Eriends: I wanted to share an incredible experiencewith you. On April 29* I wasdiagnosedwith prostatecancer.On June22"'' I had my prostate removed robotical ly. Less than t wo weeks later I am back at w or k , can cer fr ee an d nearly full speed... I feel compelled to share my experiencewith you. You all either have, will or know people who have or will be diagnosed with this disease. I think my experiencecould behelpful ... pleaseget your PSA checked regularly. I am 12 dayspost surgery and I feel great. I thought that putting this experience in writing might be of use to some of you, or some of your friends or family.When I found out in lateApril that I had prostatecancer it was at fi rst a l i t t l e h ar d t o b el i ev e b ec a u se 1 f e l t fi n e .

“When I found out the fi rst thing that dawned on me isthat I know nothing about thisdisease or what the prostatedoes. Then i t i s t i m e f o r i n f o r m at i o n al overload trying to learn as much asyou can about the d i se a se an d w h a t t h e options are. You quickly lear n about Gleason scores and what they mean.

Minewas a Gleason 6 (3-i-3) and my stagewasT1c. Co m b in ed th ese ar e i n d i ca tive of an early stage cancer that has typically not spread fi -om the prostate.

That obviously allowsfor many optionsin termsof th erapies. I w as not a great candidate for brachy seed therapy because my prostate was enlarged and w ou ld h ave t o h ave b een sh ru n k b efor e seeds coul d h av e been implanted.

T h e side ef fect s of t h e h or m on al tr eat m en t to sh r in k th e p r ost at e w er e n ot 10 5

acceptable. External Beam Radiation has improved greatly an d can b e m u ch moretargeted, but with any Radiati on treatment thereisapparently scar ti ssue which makessubsequent surgery much morediffi cult if th er e i s a r ecu r r en ce.

I decided that removal was my choice (put it in a j ar) a n d t h e n i t b e c a m e a functi on of which surgery to pick.

“After a review of thevarious surgeries, the recovery t i m es a n d t h e v ar i o u s results in termsof continence, impotenceand other potenti al issues, I decided that the DaVinci Robotic Prostatectomy was theway I wanted to go. Then it became a function of deciding where to do it. I researched the procedure: who wasdoing alot of them and wherethey weredoing t h em . T h er e w as a D r .

Mani Menon at theVatti kuti Urological Insti mte (VUI) at the Henry Ford Hos pital in Detroit who stood out in the research I did... a closefr iend suggested that I talk to hisbrother who had the surgery 18 months ago at Vattikuti . His commentscoupled with additi onal research and theresponse I got to my on lineInquiry toVattikuti convinced methat I should go there. Thebiggest factor in my decision wasexperience... a surgeon who has done more than anyone in theworld (1,300-1,400)... Because of thepotenti al for a lot of not-so-pleasant long-term sideeffects (incontinence, impotencean d in ex tr em e c ases o t h ers) I choseto get every advantage I could. It didn’t h u r t t h a t Va t t i k u ti h a s t w o DaVinci robots, which answers thequesti on about what happensif you have

a m ech an i cal f ai l u r e . . .

“I would not presumethat vdi at I did isright for everyone, but if someoneis surgery averse and that isa reason that they would not consider surgery,or if they havemadethedecision that surgery istheright decision, I am evangelical about how good this experiencewasfor me. Feel free to quote m e as you see fi t and give people my e-mail address if they want m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n . I f i t i s availableI don’t know why,other than cost,anyonewould haveanythingother than a roboti c prostatectomy fr om a competent surgeon...

“I was taking a physical with my new doc and had an elevated PSA. He sug gested avisit to my urologist who thought a4.4 wasnot parti cularly high given a somewhat enlarged prostate, and the “former gold st a n d a r d ” r e c t al exam didn’t indicate a problem. He sti ll thought that t o b e saf e w e sh o u l d d o biopsies, a most unpleasant experience. Of eight samples two in the right center werepositi vefor cancer.The surgeon... actually suggested that I con sider watchM waiti ng, which is not typical of a surgeon. I declined, wanting to ‘put it in a jar ’. I had no presenting symptoms,was/am in good shape be cause I work out and spin three timesa week.

“It wasweird going in for surgery when I felt so good. I was fairly regular with my PSA checksbut probably wasn’t asdiligent as 1should havebeen. I strongly suggest diligence. I am now working on my continence and potency and am confi dent that with thenervesparingthissurgery providesthat I will soon have that back. I maynot haveemphasizedthat enou^ inmy narrati ve... I think if we can put a face to things it helps us deal with our mortal ity and fragility.

Other than my broken neck in pilot training I have not had any significant medical problems, so thiswasobvi ously a big surprise t o m e . L i k e m o st o f u s I thought I wasbullet proof. Not so...

“All indications are that I am cancer fr ee and require n o f u r t h er t r e a t m en t other than ongoing PSA tests. Cancer isobviously a scary diagnosis. A lot goes through your mind when you get the diagnosis. The learning curve is very steep. I was fortunate to have had great input fr om several people, some of whom I had never met ... I would liketo ‘pay it forward’ and eun very willing to talk to otherswho haverecently been diagnosed and would likeinput. If they feel radical prostatectomy isan opti on they want to consider I would behappy t o t al k t o t h e m a b o u t t h e r o b o t i c v e r si o n t h er eo f . I d o n ’t k n o w m u ch a b o u t

‘open prostatectomy or laproscopic prostatectomy, other t h a n t h ei r r esu l t s aren’t stati sti cally asgood. Let me know if I can help.”

Jim, thank you so much for sharing thiswith us.You h av e sh o w n u s afi h o w to accessthehealth caresystem effecti vely and, of course, all of uswill get this diseaseif welivelong enough. PSA and digital exam are required formati ons.

Be w ell , do good w or k an d k eep i n t ou ch . A s t h e ROC would say, “Cheers.”

Rya n De nny 163 5 Mary Todd Lane O ’ Fa llo n , IL 6 2 2 6 9

beenworkingfor theStateDepartment almost sincegraduati on, and has spent

most of the last 40 years outside the USin various ex o ti c l o ca ti o n s. P a u l o fi cially reti red a few years ago but has continued to work for the State Depart ment as a contractor. Heis still spending fi ve or six monthsa year outside the US. His current assignment is in Columbia, which might keep him fr om at tendi ng the reunion. If so, hesendshisregardsto you all. If hecan makeit,he should have some good stories to tell.

Speaking of good storiesto tell, Ray Milbetg spent a few weeks in May on an archaeological dig in the Biblical city of Bethsaida. Fo r t h o se w h o c a n ’t r e member placeswithout an ONC map, Bethsaida ison the n o rt h en d o f t h e Sea of Gal il ee, w h er e th e Jor dan River f low s in t o t he sea. T h a t ’s ab ou t 20 m i l es fr om Leb an on , i n th e sh ad ow of t h e Gol an Heights. So,what theheck was Ray doing here?Well, Ray w as recently ordained asadeacon in theRoman Catholic Chur ch ,

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I

and has developed a keen interest in all things Biblical especially Biblicd archaeology. Thisyear’sChristmaspresent 38 fr om hiswife. Candy,was a two-week archaeologicffi dig in northern Israel. (My wifehastried thingslikethat on m e, but Sabre Society Donors I wouldn’t bite.) Ray says that the area they were digging in was populated asfar back as 1000 BC, and they found parts of a wd l that dated back to King David’s time. Although he managed to leave before the major hostiliti es broke out, Ray waswithin ea r sh o t o f a H e sb o l ah rocket/Israeli arti llery exchange. He also had to explain to a few young col lege-ageAmericansin hisgroup why picking up live m o r t ar r o u n d s f o r so u v e nirswas not going to be a long-term bobby.

—

m: , .

DA NGER M INES !

M :

Ray MUberg next to amineGeld in Nor thern Israel, hoping heis on theright

si d e o f th e f en c e.

Thosecrazy Seagram Seven boysfr om 7* Squadron keep having regular getto-getherswhere they play golf, tell stories, dri nk a lot, and eat huge meals— it’s like they never graduated! Randy Jayne sent me a bunch of picturesof the group on a golf course, partying in a hotel, eating i ce cr eam , ou tside a r est au rant, etc. He forgot (or I forgot to ask) to tell mewhere they were or who they were. I ’m guessing that it was somewhere near Oklahoma, because Larry Lundholm set it all up, and belivesin Stillwater, OK. As for trying to put names with the faces in the picture below, I can probably do four out of eight — I ’m just not surewhich four. If youweren’t in ?'*' Squadro n and you can namethem all,you’re going to do really well at our Reunion. I’m counti ng on nametags with largeprint!

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Greeti ngsRedtags! Just afew short notes, acoupleof pictures, t h en t i m e f o r a nap. Our 40’’’ Reunion isonly a few weeksaway so if you haven’t signed up yet for all theacti viti es, it’sti me to get on line and do it! When you get on theAOG website, you’ll seethat the Class of 1966 hasjoined the ageof computers and has its own website! There are even pictures fr om theWashi ngton DC 100'*’ Night reunion. Take a look at aogusafa.org. Don’t forget to dig up all of you old picturesand send them to (in a digital format) to Keimy Boone,Tony Barnard, or Bill Riley. They needed them by 15 Sep,but they’reprobably still in need of a few good ones.

Paul Bradley gaveme a call theother day. He doesthisabout every 10 years, just to let usknow that be is passing through the USan d i s st il l al i v e . P a u l h as 10 6

A group of 7'’ Squadron par ty-goers, ah er another wil d night on the town.

Well, it’sti me for that nap; and I’verun out of input. So, I’ll betaking pictures and taking notes during the Reuruon. Until then... Happy Landings!

Cl ass of 19 66 4 0 th R eun i on 8 - 12 N o v em b er U SA FA v s . N o tr e D am e

La rry Wilso n

1 3 10 0 Pin e h u rst Ave . N E

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Albuq uerque, NM 8 71 11 H: (50 5) 29 1-89 4 9

rant (familystyieserving:shadesofMitch’s!)in Littleton,CO,on May6th.. .Al and

BunkyLundb^ wereonaMediterraneancruisesowereunabletojoin us.”

Chuck, I’m surethat theLundbergswerethinking of you and theCS-17 gang

th e en tir e tim e th er e w ere on th eir cr ui se.

Sad news: JoePeddi ick, CS-05, Classof 1967, died on 24 Jun e 2006 in Buf fal o Grove, IL as the result of cancer.At the time of thiswriting, funeral arrange

E- m a i l : Lw i ls n 6 2 8 @a o l .c o m

m en t s h ad n ot been m ade. H i s w i fe, N icki e, lives i n B u f fal o G r o v e .

This is a bit embarrassing: 1recendy came across a n o t e se n t t o m e sev er al

monthspast fromTomandKarenAdmits. So- someofthisinfo may bedated,

Rain,rain,goaway... aft er many many monthswithout precipitation, in this year’s“monsoon season” New Mexico hasbeen dumped on. That isgood, as it hasgreatly diminished thenumber and direthreat of fi res. What islessgood

but 1wanted to get it in:Tom retired fr om SAIC at the end of 2005. He spends much time now doing homechores. And - having honed h i s sk il l s w i th h o m e stuf f- hevolimteerswith Habitat for Hum anity. They tr aveled a bit , to M aui ,

control systems (which areperfectly adequatein thenormal years of much lessprecipitation),wreakinghavocwith thosewho happened to build or buy in or near arroyosand flood plains, and sometimesmaking thenational news.

Enough of that.

From PeteSarda:"... I had thepleasureof watchingour second child graduate in theClassof 2006. Matt isnow on hisway to Germany w i t h classmatesto seetheWorldCup soccer matchesin Nuremburg; vdien hereturnshewill beoff toVandenbergAFB for h i s fi r st

stateside travel in 2005. Again — my apologies,Tom, for the delay in getting

is th e fact th at th e r ai n s h ave been som et im es tor r en ti al , overwhelming flood

assignment with theSpaceCommand. At theswearingin cer emony thenight beforegraduating,thefamiliesandf ri en d s o f

theseniorsin Cadet Squadron 19 gathered in lectureh al l D 2 in Fairchild. There, our daughter Meredith, a third year resi

dent in pediatricsat theAir Forcehospital atWilfordHall ,swore her broth er in as a new lieutenan t That w as quite a t h r il l . A ft er his m other an d I attached th e new shoulder boar ds to h i s m ess

28 Sabre Society Dono rs

dress,I heard a distinctivebut gravelly voiceutter:“way to go Pete”. It was Cash Ja.Qzr7ak, whosedaughter wassworn in and graduated in th e Cl ass o f 2 006 . Cash will return again in threeyearswhen hisson graduatesin t h e Cl ass o f 2 00 9 . O u r youngest child,Ryan,isajunior at Western CarolinaUniversity in North Caro linaand will accordingly seeto it that I continuethepracticeof law for at least as long ashiseducational pursuitslast...”

Italy,Austria,Germany,Toronto andAruba; plusan A l a sk an c r u i se an d so m e t h i s i n f o o u t so l a t e .

As 1writethis- the Seagram’s Seven crew issomewhere in Sco d an d — so m e trip report to follow, 1trust .

There is in Albuquerque a monthly informal breakfast gathering of old grads,and occasionally afew not-so-ld ones. Why thegathering is informal rather than being an “offi cial” AOG local acti vity 1don’t know. 1guess that is

aseparateissue. Anyway- in Julyl (fi nally) madeit b a ck t o a t t en d o n e o f t h e gatheringsand sat next to aguy who looked abit familiar.I t t u r n e d o u t t o b e Denny Mansell - who I am certain I ’vehad no contact with since graduati on and probably even beyond that. Hehasbeen in Albuquerquesin c e 19 7 8 af ter beingassigned hereearly on. Denny isthepresident of Agile Optics (for

merly Intellite) in Albuquerque, emd the company was one of the top optics and photonics fi rms in New Mexico, based on revenue growth over the past

four years. Commentsfrom thenewsreleaseabout theaw a r d i t se l f : “ T h i s type of growt h demonstrates the real business acumen, a vibrant optics/

photonicsmarket and astrong Optics/Photonicscluster.” N ex t t i m e I se e

him I must inquirewhat photonics is/ are. An interesting vignette: Denny shared that he had stepped out to powder his nose at t h e b u si n e ss aw a r d s ceremony. At precisely themoment when theawardwaspresented - hewas indisposed. So hiswife actually received it.

Aswesat andchattedandcau^ t upabit,werecalledthat our primary cadet association wasthrough theWater Sid Club in 1965. Yes, th ere w as such an am -

mal:gocheck outyour 1965Po/arfsyearbookfor proof. O u r c o ll ecti v e r eco ll ec

tion isthat he and I and Gary Holmen, SpikeBliss and Ric Wiezenegger were involved; probably others too. Wevividly recall weekend sl al om tr ai n in g at Monument Lake- "wherethewater wasincredibly cold an d t h e l ak e so sm all t h at we could set up only a few slalom gates, then - becauseo f t h e l ak e’s siz e — h a d to turn or run aground. I recall getting sunburned— charred actually — one weekend of skiing, and I also recall a tour nament at Sl o an ’s L ak e i n D en v er . I don’t remember resultsexcept that theweather was lousy and my own perfor mancewasundistinguished. Gary,Spike,Ric,others- pleasechimein with your recollecti onsof thishigh- powered and world- class competi tive activity .

It seem s har d to believe th at our 40"’ reunion is com in g next year- but it is. /fr id the plaimersarehard at it,headed up by Paul Henry. I ’m su r e m o r e in f o w i l l b e

comingout from Paul and hiscrew of merry men. For det ail s, Pau l ’s offi ce phoneis(719)721-0943;homeis(719)481-2443;andem ail is Pau H en l @ao Lco m Roger Hill hasaclaim tofame,and aclassissue,for consideration as part of

PeteSar da, bran d- new 0 2 Matt, and daughter 0 -3 Meredith.

Well done, Pete and Cash — great newsof the another generation of USAFA graduates.

Chuck Denham sent a noteregarding a mini- reunion of the 17th Squadron gradsliving in the Loveland - Colorado Springsarea, occasioned by Dan and Aime Roper ’svisiting fr om Florida, held “ ... at theW h i t e Fe n c e Far m r est a u -

the reunion activity . First,theclaim: “ ...on May 18,2006, 12yearsafter enroll ing, I graduated fr om GeorgeMason University with a Doctor of Arts degree in history education... thismay bethelast attempt by a m em b e r o f 19 6 7 t o c o m plete a trip back to school on the way to starting a n ew c ar ee r . . . ” And the issue: “ .. .it seemsthat our thoughts (of our classgift should) reflect a strong consensus, not just theresults of avotetaken during a classmeeting at the reunion. That consensuswill be necessary to rai se t h e f u n d s n ee d e d t o create an appropriate and lasting tribute to our fallen cl a ssm a t es a n d t o t h e over all contributi on our class. There ar e m an y option s to consider, an d I think

the discussions, if not already on-going, should be star ting now.” Food for thought, for us aU. I am at my quarterly word limit — God blessthetroops! Go d b l ess t h e U n i t ed Statesof Am erica! Adios, my friends!

T i m D a v id s o n

9712 Hidden Va lley Road Vienna, VA 2 2 18 1-6 0 94 (70 3 ) 25 5-5313 Fax: (70 3 ) 2 5 5-5 377

69%

M e m b e rs Zd

E- m a i l : t i m d @e r o ls .c o m

CS-17gathering in May: In th efront row from left ar eJon an d N or etta M ill er and Diana and Skip Pumfrey. Middl eRow: ConnieBoose, Eil een M cCul loch, Paul aAr noId, Carolyn Denham, and Marlene Edgerly. Back R o w : D an an d AnneRoper, SteveMcCulloch,John Boose, Hank Am oId, Ch u ck D en h am an d Wal t Edgerly

HELLO ’68! The Summer of ’06’s searing heat is taking its toll on personal timespent in thegreat outdoors. It’s so hot that I have resorted to giving dona tions to thelocal high school dance team to wash my car rather than doing it myself. In addition tolosingthis“beloved” washingand waxing experience, I am obliged towatch lovely,young,athleticladiesbring the luster back to the family van. Such are the sacrifi ceswe late-stage, middle-agers are forced to make dur ing thislong, hot summer. Isthis a great country or what?!

10 7

BU I L D I N G CH U RCH ES I N A SI A D EPT : Geoff an d D i an e Go r su ch a r e i n

their second year of ministry with theNavigatorsbased out of Singapore. Geoff writes: “Leadership development! That’s the greatest need of the emerging

church in Asia. After decadesof repression and persecution, m e n a r e n o w

eagerly exploring new possibilitiesthrough our conferences. And, that iswhy wecame!” In addition to a request for prayersfor hisministry,Geoff exclaimed that Dianeand hearenow grandparents. Hisdaughter Nicole gave birth to Connor Patrick Gillin in Colorado Springs on Father’s Day. Congrats, Geoff and Dianeon thebirth of your grandson and our prayersarewith you for the work you aredoing in Asia. If you would liketo contact Geoff , hi s addr ess is as follows: 27HumeAvenue01-06,Singapore598731. Hise-mail a d d r ess i s G eo f

@lifecoach.organd hiswebsiteis: www.lifecoach.org.

An Evening At Ed’s Place. Emm left kneeling areDana D r enk owski , Er an ci s Al lhoff, Charlie Cooli dge, Chuck Holm es and Boh Pauli. Standing: A1 Dunk erley, StevePolk, Tom McDaniel, Bill Drennan, Bob Durham, A1Dyer, Dick Ruffi ng, DennisMcLaui, Ed Eberhar t, CharlieSeifert, D ave Pr evost, Ken Stewar t an d Joh n Gon da.

EAST COA ST REU N I ON D EPT : On Ju n e 3'^*' w e h el d ou r a n n u a l ’6 8 E a st

Coast reunion at Ed and Karen Eberhart’sspacioushomein Arlington,VA The eveningentailed aroundup of theusual local suspectsan d so m e o u t -o f -t ow n er s fr om Williamsburg,VA (Tom and Lindy McDaniel) and San An toni o,TX (Steve Polk). Ed and Karen ensured therewere amplesuppliesof good food, snacks, and beveragesand therest of ustook careof providing the“catching-up” con versationsthat could beheard resounding fr om upstairs, dow n stair s, an d ou t on the decks. It was an outstanding evening for all w h o a t t en d ed an d w e sin cerely appreciated theEberhart’ssignature hospitality.

‘‘JockoHaydenPuneral.”PmmIefttorightandbottom totop areJackHannig

Denny Chrismer, Bill Ecker t, Craig Baer, Ed Eberhar t, GeneRose, Gary Vasek, Doug Batchelor, VinceRusinak, DaveAlIen, Garry Dudl ey, Bob Sall ee, Bobby Bean blossom, Bill Bowman, Neal Starkey, Don Caughlin, Tony M ar sh all , Ed Leon ar d, Tim D avidson, Steve M cPh ail an d Tom O ’Beim e. N o t P i c t u r ed : Car l

“Soudiwest Exodus.” Pmm leRareAnson Walker (SteveMcPhail ’sgrandson)

,

Steve M cPh ai l, Bill Col e ’65, D aveM an n (r etir ed in April), Charlie Brown ’71, John Ereeman (retired July 28), and Tim Ayres (retired i n ’05).

SOUTHWEST RETIREMENT DEPT; The photo was taken during St ev e McPhaQ’sSouthwest retirement party on 6/6/6 theday beforehis60th Birthday and foliowinghisfi nal flight aft er a 38-year flying c ar eer. B esi d es t h o se n o t ed in theexodusabove. Bob Daley retired early and theMrosla b r o th er s l eft in 2 0 0 5 .

Even though theage60 mandatory pilot retirement rulewill beput out to pasture sometimein 2006, it will beenacted toolatetoaff ect many of o u r cl assm at es. T h e impact at Southwest includes departureof MikeHembi oug^ last May,Marty Cole in August, MikeLangley in September, and WayneR o w el l i n N o v em b er .

Steve is in the process of selling his house in Dallas an d w i l l join hiswife,Judi, in Colorado Springswhereshei s th e D ir ec tor of Development at the Fountain Valley Prep School. H e

believestheywill bethereuntil shetiresof it and^ entheywill

be off toVermont where they are having a house renovated.

Best w ishes for a sm ooth tr an siti on to r etir ed life, St ev e.

OV E RD U E C O RR E C 'n O N T O R E C O R D S D E PT : W e a r e

indebted to Bob Ross for challenging the omission of d e ceased classmates Buzz Sawyer and Steve Roseman from

t h e A i r Fo r ce in 19 8 8 in t h e r an k o f li eu t e n an t c o l o n el . At th e tim e of hi s death ,

hewas employed by BAE Systemsin Dayton, OH. Pleasekeep Russ’ family and Iri endsin your thoughts and prayers.

H

30 Sabre Society Do n o rs

U SA FA s W ar M em o r i al . In h i s let t er t o th e A sso ci ati o n o f Gr ad u ates. Bob cited rationaleto justify theaddition of b o t h cl assm at es’ n am es t o t h e

Memorial. In response to Bob’s inquiry,AOG Board Member Gil M ook (’67) wrote:“Thanksfor your letter concerning Stephen Rosem an an d W all ace B l ain e Sawyer. I haveasked that their War Memori^ statusbeincluded in theagenda for our next (AOG Board) meeting that will be held on 11 Augu st . Th e docu mentation on Buzz’scircumstanceisclear and my sensei s t h a t t h e co m m i t t ee will approvethis. In thecaseof Stephen Roseman it i s l ess cl ear b ec au se h e w as not operating on a combat mission at the time of his d ea t h . W e h a d si m i l ar cases where graduateswere killed while in the Philippine Islands, but they w er e n o t o n a co m b a t m i ssi o n an d w er e en r o u t e t o t h e theater of operations.

I will contact you as soon aswe have arrived at a d e t er m i n a t i o n o n th ese t w o cases.” Thanks for your diligence. Bob. 10 8

Janssen and Steve Staley. ’68 GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: On 12May acrew of ’68ersfr o m a r o u n d thecountry came to theUSAFA Protestant Chapel and Cemetery to bid a fi nal farewell to Jocko Hayden. Carl Janssen did a fantastic job coordinating eff orts wi th Jocko’s family, theAcademy, and all of those w h o a t t en d ed t h e ev e n t s.

Following theft meral,thefamily and friendsgathered at th e U SA FA G o lf C l u b house to reminisce and teUtheir favorite stories about Jocko. It was a fi tting tr ibu te to a dear classm ate w i th on e h um or ou s an ecdote after another being told by tli osewbo knew and loved him. Instead of dwelling o n t h e l o ss w e f el t through Jocko’s death,we celebrated his life.

On July 9"’ our class lost another of its members as Ru ss W al k er d i e d a t h i s home in Beavercreek, OH. Russ is survived by hiswife, Gail ; children Kayle, Brent, and Craig; and granddaughtersKaidyn and Madison. Ru ss r et ir ed fr o m

Russ Walk er wi th wife, Gail, an d Mik eLang at our 35‘^R e u n i o n . ’TH/VT’SAWRAP: Stay tuned for the “art of turning 6 0 ” i n t h e n ex t co l u m n featuring Garry and Tina Dudley’s 120"' birthday party, Neal Starkey’s Colo rado gathering, and your Scribe’s“cruisin’ at 60.” Mind the flak; keep ‘em fl y ing, and keep those cards, letters, e-mails, and photos coming in. Ciao for n ow . Tim

V i si t t h e A O G W eb Si t e .

Merchandise, Gone But Not Forgotten and More! www.usafa.org

Lindsey Parris

616 King’s Cloister Circle

Alexa ndria , VA 2 2 3 0 2 Home: (70 3 ) 8 3 6-3 60 4

r 65^

^ ember^

E- m a i l :

10 2 177.10 3 3 @com puserve.com

Greetings, all. ’06 seemsto havebeen thesummer of thespoke. ’69ershiked theroadsin great numbers,together and solo. Surviving (or triumphingover) thegranddaddy annual rideacrossIowa (RAGBRAI) wereseven more-or-lessorganized under

thegood hand of Jimmy Cummings. Suff eringlast minutecan cell at ion s, th e group covered Iowa’sterrain in 75-mile-a-day chunks,over six days. Joining JimmywereKit Busching,ChipAmbrose,LarryAlexander,John Bu ckn er ,an d second-timersTerry Brady (with Karen,sons,andbrother-in-law) and Denny Ryll (who rodewith aMarineteam, too, and took someIdaho training rides with SteveMiby). If you arelookingfor your hot stoveleaguepicks now that

in Florida swore Jeff off thisyear, but Julie remained en th u siast ic, an d , w ell , we all know how that evolves. Thegreat duller of pain, time,worked its magic,

and off they areagain,thistimeon individual bikesr a th er t h an i n t an d em .

Caught upwith Kirk Stewart for acoupleof popsduringo n e o f h i s b u si n ess

tripstoDCfromhishomein Longmont,CO. Heisthrottlingb a c k a b i t o n

consultingduti esandtakingtimeto enjoy Colorado’sbounty,and hisoff time findshim, amongother places, fly fishing. On thesi de, h e h as b ecom e t h e Class’sonly authentic “baggerman,” and playsthepipesf o r t h e N o r t h e r n Colorado Fife and Drum Corps. He and Mary,alongwith Val an d L u A n n Sc o t (fr om Dallas), spent sometimewith Stan and Becky Mars at their place along the Hood Canal near Seattle,WA. Kirk also met up with fel low ’69er s Gar y

Howe,Chuck Early,ChrisHope and Bob Rue at what appearst o b e an A O G functi on... picture to follow next time.

LanceArmstrong isoff thecycling scene, then Denny should be on your short list, asheamazed all with hisability to accelerateaway fr om everyone (and that

meanseveryone)—even goinguphill. Thisgroup of cyclingam b a ssad o r s r e portsencounterswith anumber of other grads,many ridingfor theUSAFteam,

but nonematchingour contingent in ageor experience. M assive consum pti on of pieandbeer wasinadequatetooff set net weight losses. I Wo key observati ons fr om theriders: l .For thoseofyou who believelowaisflat, think again. Oneof

theseven suggested hehadn’t been so “beat” sinced o o l i e su m m er af te r o n e day’sespeciallygruelingup-and-down.2.All reportsof thelegendary hospital

ityprev^entinthesmall townsofAmerica’sheart landareconfirmed,in spades, and with great grati tude. Good time, good karma.

On the Hood Canal : Kirk, Stan, and Val Before the Casting.

Out in Oakland,Tom Oliver continues to off er his icing and compression technology/product.GameReady,toall athletesand non-athletes,young and old. OwningtheGameReady arenearly 550 pro athletes, over 100 profes sional athletic teams (including the famed New Zealand All -Blacks ruggers), about 200 universiti es, and 75 high schools. Hiscompany recently part nered with theCollegiate Sports Medicine Foundati on Program to help raisefurther awarenessof thebenefi tsof icing and compression to promotequick healing and eff ective rehab in scholastic programsat all levelsand in physical therapy cl i n i c s.

’70gradTommyThompsonwroteof several ’69er sightings. Bill Savage (like Tommy) fliesfor FedEx and followed Bob Jones’slead—decidingto keep flyingasan engineer on theDC-10. Brother Savagelives in Euless, TX an d hi s younger daughter,blessedwith theathlete’sgenes,h a s b e

Team RAGBRAI - ’69 (less Denny): Before theFun Began. I o w a A i n ’t Fl a t —

B l a t.

Off on other ridesover thesummer,and not missinga b eat t o th e RA G B RA I er s

wasthedynamicduoof Rick Olafr on andJim “By Golly” Downey,who rodethe BicycleTour of Coloradofrom25June- 1July. Theduo covered470 m i l es o f Rocky Mountain up-and-dovm,theessenceof which iscaptured in theattached photo,thesubjectsin foregroundandbackgroundofwhich register instant rec ogniti on (unlessyou remember Jim asathinclad rather than biker-guy). Two

weeks later,Jim also bagged Colorado’s famous“Triple ByPass” ride (said to be the coldest in years, with fewer than half of those registered showing up), and later Ole smoked theone-day,204-mile Seattle-to-Porti and r i d e .

come a champion diver,one step below the Olympic/AAU 1 I 1 competi tors. CS-03’sownVic Marti n also fliesfor FedEx, in wakeof his retirement, and isnow an MD-11captain living m in Anchoragewherehealso runsabed and brealff ast,w h i ch w i th he enjoyswhen he is not hunti ng or sailing! Sticking 44 theThird Squadron theme,Sam Haverswassighted by D av e Sabre Society Astle sipping a cool one in a Sao Paulo bistro. Sam, w h o Dono rs flies for American Airlines, will be hanging ‘em up l a t e r i n theyear.

Tom McGrain ,who flies for Northwest , spotted fellow N W A e r s Ri c K a t n i k

I

(andJohnYoung) in Tokyo recently. Iti crecently checked o u t o n t h e A -3 3 0 as

a copilot . John is fl ying the DC-10 and plans to retire this December. Totally unrelated, I lear ned that Bi c liveshere in Northern Virgini awhen I noted the last name of the PhD who works asthe City of Alexandria’sw a t e r an d co n se r vati on specialist,ClaudiaHamblin-Katnik,and inquired casually if a “Dana” Kamik were somewhere in her family tree. Small world.

Ray and Katy Kile,still in Colorado,arelookingforward to celebrating Ray’s 60'" (asweall are),with no thoughtsof retiringfully yet but hopingfor moretime

for hisprimary hobbies,includingshootingin Internati onal D ef e n siv e P i st o l

Associati on (IDPA) competi ti ons.Youmay run into their daughter,who hasjust been promoted to NurseManager at Denver’sVA Hospital. Ray notesthat Mike Fre eman retired fi x)m NASAlast year,and remainsfor thetimebeing in Florida whUe heand Helen fi gure out where and when to retirn i t o C o l o r ad o .

Check out Jane’sDefence UfeeAJyfor August 03,2006,for several quotesfro m Darrel Whitcomb regarding the futiu eof joint forcer ecover y. Because w e ar e

facing the day when dedicated CSARsquadronsmay bea n u n a f f o r d a b l e luxury,theCSAR-Xmay bethelast in thelineof rescue-dedicated air plat

forms. I argpr helicopters, those that transport large num ber s of tr oop s, m ay also be required to have capabUities in the personnel recovery missions.

1am flat out of spacethistime,for wordsand pictures— someo f w h i c h ar en ’t even in my possession yet. But, please know that our last standing three-star —thegoodWally Moorhead, retired in thecompany of his mates last July,

m

an ot h er st or ied car eer an d n at ion al asset , w ith out w h i c h t h e A F w i l l b e l ess

Ol e an d Jim On Br eak .

Meanwhile, as I pen this, Jeff and Julie Stephenson are embarking on their annual “Stephensonsin Pain” ridein behalf of MS. Last year’sswelteringtemps

rich, and an event worthy of a longer account and accompanyingvisual proof.

That, alongwith theairlinepilot retirementsof Gerry Boe^ eandCraigUpton, attended by Glenn Rane,Flip Keck,Brad DeAustin,and Roy Coppinger,among others,will headline the next edition of this quart erly v i si t .

10 9

I

In closing, pleaseknow that those in the audiencefor the graduation of the Qassof 2006enjoyed apoignant moment. Both SteveKdchnan andTerry Brady werethere, and noted thepoliteapplauseaccorded all theguestson therisersas they were introduced. However,with the introduction of John Dallager , the Supewhen theClassof ’06entered USAFA,theapplauseerupted in apowerful, enduringcheer of approval led by thegraduatingclass. Stevesaysthe newlym in ted lieutenant hecom m issioned off ered that the‘06 had andhasnothingbut admirati on and respect for JD,both for hisleadership and for histhoroughgo ingprofessionalism at adiffi cult time. Nosurpriseto any of us, but alwaysgood to know! Salutes to you again, JD, and to each and every one of you.

Until December, Godspeed. Lindsey D ic k Ra u s c h k o l b

13 0 Luxury Lane Colorado Springs, CO 8 0 9 2 1 H: (719 ) 761-5764 W: (719 ) 472-0 30 0/ DSN: 3 3 3-20 6 7

66%

M e m b e rs

E-mail:Dick.Rauschkolb@aogusafa.org Regrettably, I just learned at presstime that our classmate Gerry Lands was

killed in an aircraft accident. Our deepest sympathiesgo ou t t o Car ol an d

Gerry’sfamily.

TheClassof 1970 can takegreat pridein arecent event at theAcademy.Several classmatestook part in theceremonial presentati on of Cont aiisto our legacy class- 2010—at theAcceptanceDay Paradeon 8August.Speedy Martin gavea great talk to theClassof 2010, onethat highlighted theaccomplishmentsof our classand challenged thenewfourth classmen to liveup to thelegacy of theLong

Blu e Lin e in a t im e of w ar.Th er e sh ou ld be an ar t icle e l sew h e r e i n t h i s i ssu e about theceremony.Many thanksto classmatesthat atten ded : Jack M u ell er, Carroll Huneycutt,Mike'Ibrreano,Tooey Emery,DaveGaw ,Cook Adllai eal ,Jim

Biechwald, Larry Vau^

,Mikel yons, Rick Bereft ,Dan Hancock,Gerry Shaw, Keith Bennett,Roger Hill,VicBradford,Gary Hnley,and Speedy Martin.

Keynotespeaker AngusMacDonald enj oying thefruitsof hi s l abor in Kon a,

Hawaii wi th Eric Zurbr ugg, ’65.

I’ve got a picture of me speaking at the local Elks Lodge but will save it for a snowy day. Jack Norman stopped by for a short visit . It was good to catch up on old tim es. He said Jay Barry reti red as the number two ranking offi cer in the Reserves. Congratulations on a superb career Jay!We are all proud of your many accomplishments for theAir Force and the nati on. Mega-kudos to Chris for putting up with the long hours and time away fr om home.

Phil Meilinger hasalso hungit up.Heleft Northrop G r u m m an an d B ar b ar a

and hearemovingto Chicagowhereheplansto continuewritingabout Airpower.

TooeyEmeryretiredfor about amonth—just longenoughto takesomecooking classesin Italy and get on Carole’s nerves. He is now working for BoozeAllen

Hamilton with GregGilles.I’veseen Gregat thegolf co u r se o n sev er al o c casi o n s thissummer; he isobviously tuning up for thenext Reu n i o n To u r n am en t ! B o b

Welbaum hastransiti oned fr om thepublishingbusinessto being a high school social studiesteacher.Heislookingforward toworkingwith young people— hopingit will makehim feel younger.Areyou kiddingB o b ?! H u r r i c an es in th e Flor ida Panh an dl e h ave dr iven H ow i e Robson to m ove to Orting,WA.

Chip I ferrill sent a niceemail aft er returningfr om theWorld Cup in Germany.

Seemshewas remembering In-Processing Day,27 June 1966, at cam p U SAFA. Hesaid BruceMcRae,Tom Reel and hewerethelast guys to sign in that day.

Seems they even had to ride a fr eight train down fr om Denver with only one p assenger car. If th e con du ctor kn ow s w h at w e kn ow now about you guys, he would have insisted that you ridewith thecattle.That’swhere they put Chuck Weir and meon thetrain trip back fr om Chicagoaft er the Navy game.Wehad consumed afew too many adult beveragesat Your FatheEsMustacheand s o m e body said thecar smelled likea brewery. Off wewent to avoid snoopingAOCs. Also got nice notes fr om Tim IQnnan and some otherscommenting on the 40-year anniversary of our arrival at USAFA. Talk about a life-changing expe

rience! Kudosto Daveand DonnaSterlingwho madeac o n t r i b u t i o n t o N a

Oker O’Connor’sson,Brian of 2010,received arousing“ G o B r i an !” a s h i s

squadron passed in review.Most of usalso went over to CS-03 aft er the parade

towitnesshim gettinghisshoulder boards.Weprobably o v e r w h e l m ed t h e upperclassmen and caused Brian to get some unneeded “ a t t en ti o n ” . B u t w e told th e fi r sti es Br i an h ad a lot of “ D ads” th at w oul d be looking out for him.

Thereisan author amongus!That’sright.Chuck Gray w i t h t h e a b l e a ssi s

tanceof hischarmingwife, Pam, has authored and illustrated a great book— TheDaVino Code*.Thebook isLeonarto DaVino’smasterpiececapturing the mystery of true origin of wine through the ages. Leonarto (Ch u ck ) said h e began his study with a bottle of Thunderbird behind h i s high school gym. I am sure it wasrefi ned with some Ripple during his USAFA days. Ken Greene said he improved h i s pal ate in the back woods of Colorado. If you would l i k e a copy, let meknow and I will forward requests to Chuck. I t ’s a great book — lots of laughs!

Henry Mitchell hosted a great party at hisbeautif ul h o m e 61 herein the Springs. Several classmates and spousesw er e i n Sabre Society Donors attendance: Dana and LindaArbaugh in from Cal ifornia, Chris and Mary Dunbar ,Jack and MargieMueller,Curt an d CaroleEmery,and Tony andVal Mari etta. Great Party M i t ch ! D an a sai d Ch u ck Reed won theprimary to beSan Jose’snext mayor and latest reports have him with a sizeable double digit lead over his rival. G o C h u ck !

I put out a query to a bunch of Classmates about whether or not they re

membered marchingtoJacksValley asDoolies.TheAcademyw an t ed t o k n o w which wasthefi rst classtomarch out totheValley. Not surpri singly, only one classmate. Bill Oldenburg, could confirm that wedid in d eed m ar ch o u t . C o n

clusion —CRSisaliveand well amongmost of us! Speakingo f t h a t d r ea d ed

disease, I wrote down John Pomeroy’s and Roy Kessel ’s n am e on a p iece of paper, but I can’t remember what they did. Maybethey w o n t h e N o b el Pea c e prize. Sorry guys! Seemsour own AngusMacDonald wasthekeynotespeaker at the invitation-only IC economi c summit conference in Kon a, H aw aii in June. Eri c Zurbrugg , ’65, a retired Atlanta physician an d fell ow cl ass scri be, attended the conference and provided the next picture.

1 10

ti onal Public Radio and got thefollowingstatement on theair on 3June: “Today's programming ismadepossiblein par t by David and Donna Sterling, in recog

nition of the USAt ForceAcademy’sClassof l 970, celebrating36 y ear s sin ce diet graduation."HOOAH!

I saw several classmatesat thisyear’sGraduateLeadership C o n f e r en c e i n July.Wally Ftey,BJBjori dund, RexJones, and Chip F r an c k w er e th er e . T h i s w as

probably the best gatheringyet. Most of the attendeesw er e pleased w i th th e changestheSupt ismaking and wereimpressed with theClassof 2010’sspirit and effort.Wally’sstarti ng a chapter in Reno,so if you live in that area givehim

ashout or drop mealineand I will seehegetsit.

GeorgeKeysisnow agrandfather to abeautiful grand daughter. He also at tended hisyoungest son’scommissioningceremony intotheArmy. Hewill be

in the Corpsof Engineersand eventually stati oned at Fort Carson. Hopeweget to seeyou moreGeorge! MikePOn^ hre ysaidFran ’Rjwnsend w as m i si d en t ifi ed

on theVietnam Wall.Wearetakingstepstorectifyt h a t .

WildWoodWoodhead headed up hisannual Habitat for Hum anity group f rom

theAir ForceAcademy Society ofWashington DC.Randy and Roberta Royce,

DaveSterling, and Doug Carlson and son participated. Good on you folks!

Rick Humkeinvited metoparti cipatein acommissioningceremony for his future son-in-law who isheading off to medical school. It w as a gr eat exp er i ence and I know Rick and Carol were very proud. Rick ev e n f i t i n t o h i s A F uniform — most impressive!

Speedy Martin ison thespeaker’scircuit.Hegavea great speech at the Hon or Squadron Banquet duringgraduation week. It wasgood to seeWendy and Speedy — they had just moved back into their remodeled digs in Woodl and Park. There was only one problem — no hot water! Bill l Or k m an su r v i v e d a scary crash on his mountain bikewhile riding down a Black Trail . I say “sur vived” becausehe had some pretty serious injuries. B i l l i s a cti v e in h i s ch u r ch mentoring young people.

Played in a golf tournament with MikeTbri eano. I didn’t have my “A” game andwedidn’t placedespiteMikeplayinggreat!GaryDahlen helped Fran Goelz track down our prep school classmate, Rick Glanz, who l i v es i n St e am b o a t .

Gary continuesto lead thecharge to raisemoney for our classgift .Remember, we are trying to raise $1M — so “reach a little deeper in thewell boys!”

I helped John Disosway get in touchwith theSupt whow as a D ooli e in John ’s squadron when John wasaJirstie.John sent him anoteand signed it, “I never

met a Form 101couldn’t beat!’’There is a man with con fiden ce— w e sh oul d haveall been solucky!LarryCarr,Tony DeSanti sandspouseswent on a fi shing trip toAlaska.Larry indicatedTony wasa“bear magnet”! Larry said more to f oll ow .

I recentlyreceivedarequest fi x)mSherryDurdin (sherrydurdin@hotm ail. com ) regardingour classmateWayneHagan.Sherry isgood fr i en d s w i t h D o n H i ck s whoflewwithWayneandwashisgoodMend.Donistryingto track down Wayne’s widow, Brenda L. Bradford, of Phoenix or one of Wayne’s chil dr en ,Wayn e or Shannon. Don wantsto talk to them about what agreat guyWaynewas—asw e

all know.If you haveany information,contact Sherry o r m e .

Wouldliketoagain thank Daveand Jan Gawfor presentingthepictureof Joe York many of ussigned at theReunion toJoanneYork.Joe w as a class act an d my golfi ngbuddy with Fran Buchan andTim Sharkey at N av Sc h o o l . H ar d t o believe two of them are no longer with us.

gether intotheuncertain future.Hey,I only saw Charlieand Candace Sylling

for about 10 minutes recently, and their daughter’swedding isn’t till later this

year,soif I try topad thiscolumn becauseI haven’t heard fr om anybody,what can I say?

For thoseof youwhodidn’t get totheSpringsin October,r est assu r ed t h a t t h e

st o r i es w il l b e h er e n ex t t i m e .

Bo b Be ll 1 3 Pa c if ic Av e .

5 1%

M e m be rs

Sinking Spring, PA 19608 (610) 678-3182/ Fax: 678-4513 E-m a i l : ra b e l l 7 6 7 @a o l .c o m

Where doesthetime go? Here it is the Fall edition of your Checkpointscol-

umn already andwehaveinformation fr om four of you to pass on to the rest Thankyou to all who havenow and/or ever put in “fodder” f o r o u r u se h e r e .

It really ISall that wehaveto go on for your readingpleasure!

Brian Rinn (Barbara) took the responsibility for sending in a photo of the

four old guysattendingtherecent LanceP.Sijan Chapter,A i r Fo r ce A sso ci at i o n 2006SpaceWarfareSymposium in Keystone,CO. From l eft ar e L t G e n M ik e

Hamel (Linda),Commander,Spaceand Missile SystemsCenter;Maj Gen (Ret)

Felix Dupre (Lin), Camber Corporation, Col(Ret) Brian Bii m , Colo r ad o SpringsChamber of Commerceand Sijan Chapter President, an d Br ig Gen (Ret) Mike Drennan (Roberta) Aerospace Corporation.

Dave and Jan Gaw rem ember Joe York wi th Joanne York.

I will closewith my annual football prediction. Could be a long year men.

Tennessee and Notre Dame are on the schedule plusTCU, BY U an d U t ah ar e goingtobetough.Weplay 11straight weekswhich istough on theboys. Sean

Carney isagreat QB—hopewecan fi ndsomeonehecan t h r ow t o !W e ar e so li d

at fullback, but our halfbacks are small and need to pick up a step if we are

goingto maketheoption work. Fisher wantsto avoid t u r n o v er s an d i n cr ea se takeaways.Wewereminusseven in thosecategorieslast year. Falconslost four gamesby atotal of 10points.Thekickinggamehurt u s in th o se l o sse s — an d thisyear’sprojected starter hasbeen suspended.Them o t t o f o r t h e d ef e n se i s

“simple and solid”. But unlesswe get a pass rush we could be in lots of high scoring contests. I predict 7-5 would be overly optimistic, 6 - 6 w i t h v i c t o r i e s over Ar my and Navy woul d be more closer to reality. If you are in town 30 September for theNew Mexicogame,plan on attendinga post game ’70 party at Rich and Nanci Downing’s beautift il home. Contact me for details. If you liveout west, all gamesexcept Tennesseewill betelevised on CSTV,the MT N or Versus (formerly OLN) networks. For the rest of the country, they are talking about fr eevideo streaming for aUgameson the athletic department’swebsite.

ARRI BA FAL CON ES — BRI N G H OM E TH E CI C T ROPHY! Pa u l D . K n o t t 5 5 6 5 La nt a n a D riv e

Colorado Springs, CO 8 0 9 20 H: (719 ) 570-9 16 2 W: (719 ) 59 4-0 10 0 E-ma il: pknot t @acninc.net

54%

M e m b e rs Zd

FrankMoigianhasnominatedoneof our own,HarryDavis,

items. Tom retiredfi nm DeltaAir Lineswith alast fl ight back in D ec em b er 2 00 5 .

All along hehasbeen selling residential real estatein Dall eis, w hi ch is w h ere h e grew up. Henow devotesall hisenergiesto asalescareer specializing in the foreclosed propertiesof banks, reporting that there are some good dealsout therefor thosewho look. Tom isnow homeevery night,so if any classmates are in Dallas, be sure to givehim a call as StitesBar and Grill is alwaysopen.

Maj Gen PeteSutton (Diane) as oneof thedwindling n u m b er o f ’72 er s l eft o n activeduty,has had a fairly busy recent few monthsin h i s c u r r en t an d fi n al a s signment astheChief,Offi ceof DefenseCooperation (USEuropean Command) servingin Ankara,Turkey. Past weekshaveincludedwork related to bringing evacu ees out of Leban on as a resul t of th e “ Isr aeli -Leban on -Palest i n i an ” cr i si s.

About 1,800peoplewererouted into Incirlik Air Base. T h e f u tu r e l o o k s l i k e i t w i l l bebusy aswhatever peacekeepingforceisdeveloped endsup in southern Leba

non.^ thoughPetereportsnot beingexactlyinthecen t er o f th e a ct i o n o n th a t issue,quitepossiblyTurkeymay endup contributingforcesin that peacekeep

Due to the long lead time for the column, thebig newsw i l l h av e b e e n R e union, but since it hasn’t happened yet , who knowsw h a t wonderful, interesting and scandalousthingswill haveb ee n on everybody’sminds? for one of thevacant positions on theAOG Board of D i r ec

TomSti tES(Kathy) saidhethought itwastimetoe-maathelatest goings-on in

hi s life sin ce recen t colum n s w ere a bit sh or t of oth er classmate’snewsworthy

ing eff ort.

Back in lateJuly,Petewaspaid avisit by General Bill “Tunes” Looney and his wife, Marilyn, as part of an offi cial multi-nation trip in hi s capacity as com mander of Ai r Education and Training Command (AETC) with stops fi rst in

Germany andPoland,followedby thelastlegof theMp through t h e U K . D i an e

/i

tor s. I ’m n ot su r e w h eth er t h is is on e of t h e elect ed o r a p

30 pointed positionsbut I am surethat Harrywill do atop-notch job in protecting the interests of the graduate community.

Sabre Society Do n o rs Normally,by thistimeof thesummer,thelocal AOGchap ter hashad their annual picnic and classmateshave sh ar ed experiences. However, scheduling challengeshave kept pushing the get-to-

Cl ass of 19 71 3 5 th R eun i on 4 - 8 O c t o b er

USAFA vs.Navy 111

and Pete hosted them during their visit in Ankara, w h e r e T u n e s v i si t e d t h e

commander of theTurkish Air Force. Theguysmadetheo fi c i al v i si t t o t h e

Tl u-kish Air Force’sAir Training Command aswell as the pilot training opera tion in Izmir as thewivesplus other membersof the Looney party visited key sites in Istanbul. AsTunes told Pete, there aren’t m an y ti m es l ef t w h er e tw o Classof ’72 activeduty offi cersfi nd themselvesin someoffi cial dutiestogether.

Petealso remindsusthat Lt Gen MikeDutm (Pam) recently r et i r ed a s P r esi dent of theNational DefenseUniversity.

On thepersonal front,Peteand Dianearejustly proud o f t h e i r so n Tr ev o r and daughter Kirsten, both of whom arecurrently pretty busy themselves.

Trevor graduated from our sister academy at Annapolisi n 2004, becoming a Marine. Heisdeep into Naval Pilot Tr ai n ing at NAS Kingville where he’s flying the T-45 Goshawk.

Kirsten graduated fromWheaton College,IL in May and i s

currendy workingfull-timein a congressional politi cal c a m paign for Republican candidatePeter Roskam,who istrying tofi ll theseat vacatedbylong-timeCongressman HenryHyde who is retiring after this term.

Bob Waller (Susan ) sen ds n ew s f rom U SAFA w h ere he still

I

enjoying the thick air) and John Cotton down from Denver. O n t h e s t a i r s

aboveJohn,clockwise,areJoeKahoe,TomMaybeny,DennisHaiig^,Al M aurer , and Bill Gillin . To John’s left , closest to furthest, ar e U SA FA P u b l i c A f fai r s cz a r

Johnny Whitaker (who snagged thisphoto), lawyer/aviator Joh n St ef oni k ,

high school educator John Mann,Warren Smith,and this free-loading scribe.

Apologiesfor not printing the photo with thewives; unfortunately printing it herewould not haveshown thefacesrecognizably... and, ir ankly, thewives’ youthful looksmadeuslook bad. Asit wasI had thisphoto stretched vertically t o m ak e u s l o o k t h i n n er.

1

14 18

Sabre Society Donors

teachesEconomics (could never get enough of it, appar ently...) in his17* year there,thought not consecutively but spread over three tours. First time through Bob was an active-duty faculty member during the 1979- 1990 tim ef ram e, an d n ow he has served sin ce 1998 as a civ i li a n A sso c i at e

Professor of Econ. He says thecadetsaregreat, nice to h ave in th e classr oom , and still so very polite. As a place to liveand raise a family, C-Springshas really grown tremendously, but still thewonderful world we al l r em e m b er . Su sa n and Bob havethreegrown children,with Elizabeth beingthefi rst to marry and soon to present thefi rst grandchild, Brent to bemarried thisyear, and Anna a sophomore at Regis in Denver.

On amorepersonal notefor Bob, hereportssomething probably unique for USAFA and certainly for himself in that heJust completed a four-year forma tion program through the Catholic Dioceseof Colorado Springs. This culmi nated in hisbeing ordained a Permanent Deacon in theCatholic Church,likely oneofvery few Academy graduatesto ever do so. Heisassigned to theCatholic Cadet Chapel at USAFA workingwith thecadetsin thechapel program,which heseesasquitean honor tobeinvolved in. Besidesthenormal services, he w ill also assist the chapel clergy by helping with cadet retreats and with marriage prep, aswell as presiding at weddings, funerals and baptisms at the Chapel when needed. The attached photo is of Bob and Susan with the local Bishop Sheridan at Bob’sMay 27"' Ordination.

John Regni and classmateson thesideof thehistori c Carl ton House... aper quisite to thej ob of Superi ntendent.

SQUADRON NOTES:Timeto rectify agrievousoversight: in the last eight ClassNewscolumnsI’venot mentioned anyonefrom DoubleD eu ce C S-2 2 .

My bad;they areworth publicizing. Quitea few of them ar e i n C o l o r a d o . B o t h

John McDevitt andRandy Kalkman work for Northrop Grumman in CSprings.

John isin chargeof businessdevelopment for theIntelligenceGr ou p in th e Western Region; now that their three children are out of t h e h ou se (tw o grandkids,so far) Trish let him buy a Honda S2000. Randy isdeputy for Mission SystemssupportingNORAD/NORTHCOM; DebraAnn and heh av e a so n st ar t ing collegeand an older daughter who spent six monthsin Iraq as a contractor.

Dr ‘Big O’ Mitchell continues rebuilding bodieswith Front Range Orthope

dics. Daveand JulieHannon returned to Colorado Springsi n 19 8 1 w i t h T I .

They haveason and twodaughtersin collegeand Davenow worksfor Synthes, which manufacturesmedical devices. Rich Eilersjust l eft “ an o fi ce w i t h w i n dows for a cubicle and higher pay” as executive architect for I BM Fed er al ;

w if e. Su e, com m u tes f rom Bur ke VA to For t Belvoir to t ea ch

elementary school. Joel Allen isnow consultingin t el ec o m and travelingaroundtheworld;at homehe’stryingto get hi s

II

golf gam e back; with their two kids grown, wife, Kathleen, works as a clinical RN. “Steamer” Boji e issenior FTProgr am Manager for the city of Sacramento, CA and Laura is f u l l

rr ?

tim e m om for th r ee chil dr en stiU at h om e. Gen e Cuom o l eft

thePentagon and DIAin 1997and now issenior systemse n

If f

r

I

I

25 Sabre Society

Donors gineer with McClendon Corporation in support of National GeoSpatial-IntelligenceAgency; he’sgot two grandchildren and with wife, Kenna (also a RN), has two pre-teensstill growing at home. No longer Hying the KC-10, MikeLaney commutesfr om New Jersey to Memphis

/

to fly Fedex and fi shesand huntswhen able. Paul Manley r e t i r e d f r o m t h e

Pentagon as an 0 -6 and, after handing off his Flexlite INC business, joined Boeing’s Missile Defense Systems divi sion working international b u si n e ss development in theDCarea. Paul andJanet havethreegrown daughters, one married and another almost, and one son attendingJamesM a d i so n w h o i s o n thewrestling team . Pat Stanberry gave me details on Wayne Stanberry who

Also still at theAcademy,Mark Mayer (Linda) isanother ci v i l i an w h o t ea ch es Physics. They seeeach other in the hallsand in thejogging changing room in Fairchild Hall, and Mark still plays a lot of lunchtime soccer. The “old guys”

do,however,misshavingoneof their own,DaveWagie (Su e) a s t h e D ea n . . .

travelsfr om theDayton areaasSafety andRisk Manager for Gr if fi n In du str ies;

she’shanging in thereassenior auditor for theDefense Contract Audit Agency.

Aft er 13 years. Bob Neal sold his travel business and is selling residential real estatein theSeattlearea; hehas threegrown sonsand fi vegrandchildren, and

Well folks, that about does it for this time. Hopeyou are enjoying life, ready for the Holidays and looking forward to the SS'" Reunion in ’0 7 .

Bo b M u ns o n 1 9 2 4 5 Lin c o ln G re e n La n e

^ 46%^ M e m b e rs

Monument , CO 8 0 13 2 (719 ) 4 8 7-14 6 4 rm u nso n@ade lphia .net INT ROD U CT I ON : Col or ado r esiden ts h ave a lot for w hich to be th an k fu l ,

still oneoccasionally getsa real good deal. So it was on a perfect Juneday that John and Debby R^ ;ni opened up theCarlton Houseto h i s ’73 cl assm at es an d spousesfor lunch. Thephoto showsthoseof ushappy to enjoy their hospit^ ity. ToJohn Regni’sright,closest tofurthest,are: Judge Kirk Sam elson, DaleBirch, Ron Scott, BJStanton, Clay Stewar t (descended fr om Leadvill e, 1 12

Dr. Greg Chapman (radioi ogist), Stal ker Reed (Del ta Ai r l i n es), D r. M ar k

Coffman (ophthalmologist), BUI Patterson (USAirways),Joe Kah oe (def en se

con tr actor), an d Al N ack e (D el taAir lin es) .

isrumored to bedatingaregistered nurse. Tony Strawa is an atmospheric scienti st with NASA near their San Jose home;Yvonneis a nur se in volved w i th cardiac research at Stanford and they haveadaughter just out of UCSCand two sons at home. Tom Lam ed commutes to Newark to fly Continental f ro m h i s Lyman MEidyll heshareswith Sandywhoworksfor theU of New England.

GENERALOFFICERNEWS: Thisislatebut congratulati onsgo to Jim Soligan

on pinningon histJiird star; he’ll stay in Norfolk a s D C S f o r T r an sf o r m a t i o n with responsibility to theSupremeAllied Commander T r a n sf o r m a t i o n f o r modernizingNATOand makingit relevant to thecurrent w o r l d o r d e r. D o e s John Barry relish challenges? Hejust took over asAu r or a (CO) Su peri n t en

dent of Public Schools: “ I start led] my new job with 33,000 kidson j ul 17“’— wish me luck.” Howard “Mitch” Mitchell has left Colorado Springs for Booz Allen in their Northern Virgirua offi ces.

ODDS& SODS: Father Michael Hub sends newsfrom South C ar o l i n a t h at “I am still a small family-sizeparish priest in arural community,doing my best to ser ve th e real Com m ander -in -Chi ef.” H e sent a pictur e of M ar in e 2Lt Ryan

Hub in Ramadi Iraq surrounded by adoring kids.

CLASSLEADERSHIP NEWS: The Class of ’73 isgaining a lead er sh ip r epu tati on within theAssociateof Graduates. AOGpresident Jim Shaw told u s th at hewants to use our model for donating, executing and then tracking the im

pact of our classgift,thelargest to date.

andin abandcaUed CoyoteCrossing (noCDsyet).Teach skiingwith theAdap tiveSki Program,folkswith disabiliti es(been skiingwith ablind lady for thepast 5-6years).That isuntil last Oct when I brokemy ankle roller skating (getting ready for ski season)!So,it wasagoodthingNew M exico didn ’t h ave th at m uch snow thisseason,sinceI was in awheelchair and on crutches for m ost of th e ski s e a s o n . ’74 sighting:Tony Said he’sseen S teveWeissin hisbuilding.

Welcom e new w r iter Ch uck Latham ! Ch uck w r ites th at h e r et i r ed i n 19 9 7 .

Last assignment at PopeAFB,NC(C-130). I grew up in a sm al l t o w n i n N o r t h Carolina,had agreat AFcareer around theworld and b a ck to North Carolina to retire. HisAF wife, Mary, is a l so r e ti red. They live on a 30-acre horse far m in Moore County

I

which is equidistance between Pinehurst (golf) and F t Bragg/Pope (BX, hospital). Wife and daughter are into

Pi

golfi ngbenefi ts. Hehashad pleasingsuccessasast u d en t o f

Sabre Society

horses,and heisinto golf. Hehasapart timejob at Pin eh u r st Resort Golf (host of the ’99 and ’05 USOpen) where h e h a s the stock market and invites anyone elsewho wants t o e x

13 Do n o r s

changeideasto email him. On amedical note:“Went t o a dermatologist for thefi rst ti meever last fall. Did three littlebiopsiesand dis

covered melanoma on the side of my face. Had surgery. So far so good. Doc said I enjoyed theNorth Carolinabeachesalittletoo much as a teenager and

now I’m paying for it. Recommend everyonevisit a dermatologist f o r a

checkup.”

For AF news: “This isJim Blackman checking in. 1thought I would relay the in volvem ent of a few of our classm ates in th e fi n al flight of thevaunted C-141 Starlift er. The old ’ 141was last operated by my Reserve un it , th e 445th Air lif t

WingatWright-Pat. Thewingiscommanded by BrigGe n B r u ce D a v i s ’74 an d I am the445th Operati onsGroup commander.Well,all good thingsmust end an d th elast Starlif ter w as flow n to reside at the Nati on al M u seu m o f t h e U n i t ed StatesAir Forceon May 6th. I’ve attached a photo of Bru ce w elcom in g m e at

the Museum. I was honored to command that last flight. A l so o n t h e fi n al crew was another classmate, and my fellow CS-28 vet, Gen D un can M cNahb ’74, commander ofAMC. It wasa great weekend of fun an d r em em b r an ce an d

wewerehappy to represent all of our classmateswho fl ew t h e St ar l i f ter .”

Repsto theGraduateLeadership Conferencefrom left ar e Tom Bl ase, Ron

Scott, John Kuconis, Jim Call ar d, Bill Harris, Randy Putz, SteveDahlrymple, Bob Munson, John Muse, Br uce Meyer, and Ri ch Com er. (N o t sh own : Rowe Stay ton .)

GRADUATE LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE: ’73 had the largest class repre sentation at the two-day Graduate Leadership Conference in February (see

photo). Gettingvolunteerstoattend thistwo-day meeti ngw i t h U SA FA serti o r

staff and AOGoffi cerswasnot a problem; we had classmatesfr o m a cr o ss th e USApay travel expensesout of pocket tobringtheir opinionsand recommen dati ons to the meetings. Therewas ample two-way commurti cati on, b o t h i n formal sessionsand one-on-oneconversati ons. Impression: b o t h U SA FA an d theAOG have been through concurrent rough periods; b o t h n o w a r e o n a track to becomestronger insti tuti ons.

Cl ASSGIFT: DuringtheGLCtheAOGstaff arranged aseparatemeetingwith ’73 repsand Center for Character Development (CCD) st aff t o r ev i ew h o w o u r

Jim Blackman and BruceDavis on th elast C-141Bight.

classgift hasbeen executed and how our monieswill co n t i n u e t o b e u se d f o r an d L e a d e r

futuresymposia. Even though thetwo-day National Character ship Symposium (NCLS) hasimproved with our classgift, they have been

unable to use all of the off ered money dueto constraints in what they pay for

speakersand how many attendeesUSAFA can handle. The’73 r ep s recom

mended that their Class: consider convertingunused f un ds to an endow m ent,

providetheCCDwith speaker recommendati onsand recruit o n si t e a cti v e ’73

support for the2007 NCLS. At our prodding theAOG agreed to provi de more det ail on fi n an ces as w ell as to sen d ou t in divi du al n o t e s t o m em b e r s o f t h e

classreport ing on their gift .

Jo e B r e z o v ic

12 0 9 Bayou Oa ks Drive Friendswood , TX 7 7 54 6 H: (28 1) 4 8 2-6 8 60

r^ ember^ 49^

0: (281) 244-8325/ Fax: (281) 244-8020

E-ma il: j brezov ic@ho ust o n.rr.co m Jose ph.brezovic-l @nasa .gov

Hello Classmates! Another round of summer monthsgone too quickly for

you?Doesit bringtomind agolf game!You can relateto th e w ater holes, san d traps,rough,andwoodsfor thechaUengingdays,anda ni ce dr ives an d puttin g

around to put the ball in the cup — noticeable success! A f ew st o r i es b el o w .

First email came in fr om Tony Bi ozena,Albuquerque. Tony isworki ng for Northrop Grumman at the Distributed Mission Operati onsCen ter, (D M OC),

tyingin F-15,AWACS,JSTARS,RJsimstotheC2world.Thesear e th e folk s,Tony

wrote, that pulled me out of the cockpit back in ’85. Happily, Cheryl and Tony celebrated 30yearsover ayear ago. “I am sti ll playingbanjo and guitar at church

Jim an d Duncan McNabbpausing.

11Romano sent a note of record wondering if it should go into the Giunness World Book of Records as owning a sailplane for the sh o r t e st t i m e ev e r . “ I bought aCaproni A21classicglider andoneitsmaiden flight wehad mechani cal failure and theglider was totaled. Thankf ully for memy glider part ner was flyingit per our test plan and only spent oneweek in the hospital , lucky to be alive. We are now throttling back and own a Grob 103 t w o -sea t er f o r o u r b u si nesswhile Joey and I own a PW5 for our pleasure.” Joey ishis son who spent a few weeksof summer trairti ng at USAFA... soon to apply to be a cadet.

From further west isa Rick Piling short bio. Heisstill in Hawaii, goingthrough

“thetypical airlinethings...bankruptcy,movingback an d for th betw een seats, havingpensions,etcdisappear...ahh theglamour of an airline pilot life. Ac1 13

tually, I did it becauseI thought it would betheperfect retirement job, min work/max pay. That part didn’t work out,but hey... I have a bunch of good mai-tai recipes.” Rick started on an MPA degreeto w o r k a s a v o l u n t e e r i n

of spendingtheday with him. I’veattached apictureof two real old guyswho still look ready to play.

shuf fi eboard.

civics... aft er thisgig doesn’t pay anymore. Deb isdoing somevolunteer work with themihtary spouseson the island. She also hasa fairly successf ul hobby

with photos/cards/etcof theisland flowers/animals/landscapes. I t h a s b een good for both of ustoget out,takepicsand enjoy th e islan d. Th eir son is a CFI at JohnWayneAirport in Southern California. Heisgrindingout thehours,but still not sureof what hewantstodo. “I envy him,at his age I wasin Altus, with thenext fewyearsdecided for me. If anybody hasajob for a bright CFI, CFII,

MEI, let me know. Life is short, aswe know, so there is no reason to try to get it right on the fi rst tr y, but to fi nisb the eff ort well.” Their daughter isworking

at Starbucks. “Generally,I haveno complaints...doesn’t m e a n I d o n ’t c o m -

plain, I just try every day to stay positive.”

Short Notes: DaveDaley isstill active on theeast coast. Hissignature block reads (in part): Head, Security Review Branch; Chief of Naval Operations. I just loveit when Air Forcetraininggoescrossservices! Recendy hehad been

workingon aNavy espionagetestimony.

Al so f rom th e east is a n ote f rom D ave Gal vin out of Pittsburgh, PA. Dave is r etir ed f rom Am erican Air lin es an d th e AF an d f rom m y n otes is in th e Civil Air Patrol on theway to Captain in Communications and A er osp ace Educati on .

Here is a pic of him.

Iron Men (only slightly r usting) Fariss an d Willis.

FromWayn Nelson:Jim Marshall and I had theopportunity t o p r esen t an AOGscholarship toTomFilm’sson Brian.Wedidthepresentation at Randolph

AFB. Brian will attend Trinity University here in San Antonio. My son Alan also attended. Hewill be going to Texas State this fall.

Dave Gal vin from Pittsburgh, PA

Thewhereaboutsof Don McMonagleissolved. Don isout of Palm City, FL

and now in Tuscon,AZ whereheworkswith Raytheon Missile Systems— still in Aerospace. They still havetwo cli ildren at home. A n o t h er sh o r t n o t e: A n t o nio Fterraro, Ret Colonel,wrote an update. Tony is the Senior Aerospace Sci ence Instructor {JROTC) in a high school in San Jose, CA. Tony is fi nishing his second year and likesit alot! Herecommendsit to t h o se w h o st il l w i sh t o ser ve somewhereaft er you’reretired! If you need info,giveTony a ring.

TWo storiesand picsfor next issue. Don’t let that stop you ! Let u s kn ow about how you aredoing! Pleasekeep in touch with ali of us! May you livelong and

p r o sp er .

Pa u l K e n t 1 8 1 6 6 S .E. 4 1 st Pla ce

Issaquah, WA 9 8 0 27-9717 Mobile: (4 2 5 ) 78 5-3 58 6

^ 44 %^ UMembe^

E- m a i l : z o o s c r i b e @m a c .c o m

It’s sum m er in th e Pacifi c Nor thwest as I w r ite th i s. Actually,I am not writing

athing. I’m assemblingemail messagesand attachedphotosfr om classmates

who have taken the eff ort to help thescribewith thiscolumn of updates. The scribe gready appreciates it, as hecan then spend his spare time hitting litde whiteballsacrossterra fi rma and beingpulled on water skisby an underpow er ed r un about . When the scr ibe reflects on h ow dilfl cult i t m u st h av e b een in t h e

olden daysfor our scribesemeritus,beistruly relieved. El ec t r o n i c co m m u n i

cation has madewriting this column a pleasure. And my fellow classmates’ eff ortsmakeit even easier.Want to seesomepicst h a t d i d n ’t m ak e i t t o c h eck points?Go to:http://web.mac.com/pablokent/iWeb/USAFAl 975Checkpoints.

Thesitemay betemporary. I’mworkingon amorepermanent so l u t i o n .

Classmates. From BUI Murray: I wason businesswith Lockh eed M ar ti n (F-

22) in Adantaand hooked up with Daveand SaUyYoung. They’re doinggreat (He’sa777Captain flyingoverseasfor Delta) andlookedgreat also.From Wayne

lAfi Uis: Larry (AKA Frankie) “ Iron Man” Fariss is at it again (a cross-country bicycleride). Hehad arest day in Salt LakeCity in Juneand I had the pleasure 1 14

Wayne Nelson,Jim Marshall, Brian and Tom Finn

From StevePowers:TeledyneBrown EngineeringChief Scientist Dr. Roy Ricewasrecendy selected by theMilitaryOperationsResearch Society (MORS) to receiveitshighest recognition,theVanceR.Warmer M em o r i al Aw ar d . H u m b l e Roy adds: Here’s an old dude in the El Auditorium at USAFA putting about 1,000 people to sleep. If we can bottle my speech, w e c o u l d al l r e t i r e o n t h e money we’d make putting sleeping pills out of business. I h av e an a u d i o r e

cording of my acceptancespeech... but all thesnoring d r o w n s m e o u t ... a

good thing.

From Bendey Rayburn: “I need to thank you for your overwhelming gener osity and kindnessto Debbi and me aswepursueour calling to run for the U.S. H ouse seat in th e S"*D istr ict in Color ado.You h ave been wonderful with your support, both fi nancially and with your time, talents and prayers for our ef

forts.” For more, go to www.RayburnForCongress.org, F r o m D e a n C o x :

DuaneJones is headed to Ramstein; Andy Dichter will be retiring.

From Jim Carlson:Your classmatesin greater metropolitan Wasli ington DC

celebrated our 31yearssince4Jun 1975at Annapolis, M D o n 4 Ju n 2 0 0 6 . O u r classoutingwashosted courtesy of DuaneLodiigeandBili l yerly.Our fi nehosts

made their personal watercraft available to classmates f o r cruisesup and down theriver,extrabeer runs, and f o r w a t er skiing. It was afi neday to appreciateour common b o n d an d

thegift of friendship weextend to oneanother. Startinga t

1400, it waswell past 2100 before thelast of our cl a ssm a t es if nally departed the fi x. Therewere about two-dozen o f u s

gathered for thecrab feast and river motoring. Many,m an y thanks to Duane and Bill for their generosity, patience, an d good natures. To thosewho could not possibly makei t d u e t o

vast geographic distances, timing, and exigencies—y o u m i ssed w hat I consider th e best -ever class f un ction w e’v e h ad

19 Sabre Society Do no rs

outsideour formal reunions! This, in spiteof thef act th a t w e h a d t o v i ew M ar k Beesley without hisshirt on (thank heavensheleft hisBrazilian thong at home).

From CharlieWintermeyer ,who isaStateDepartment Representative, Qalat , PRT: “ I departed Morocco last June and arrived in Afghanistan last July. The new PRT team herehow islargely USAF,which is nice, and we areconsidering formingtheQalat,AfghanistanAOGChapter.2003USAFAgrad 1Lt JoeMyhra, our chief engineer,and I took a two-day trip to southeast Zabul Provin ce (talk

about themiddleof nowhere— onetown had a camel parked i n t h e m i d d l e o f the main road, and, in another town, a donkey was tied up to an old Russian APCthat was in dust up to its axles!).”

at H an scom AFB, M A (an d ar m ed w ith a faded Dec 1976 obit clipping fr om one of the Boston newspapers, fr om when I wasstationed at Pease AFB, NH , b ack

in the latter 1970s— and, by chance, happened to see t h e o b i t o f o n e o f o u r classmates), I visited the Boston area cemetery and plot of our fi rst deceased classmate graduate, Larry Ridge, who was fr om the greater B o st o n ar e a an d di ed on 10 D ec 1976 in an au to acciden t n ear M esa, A Z . W h en 1 c o n t a ct ed h i s

family (who still lived in the area), they were absolutely tickled that a person un k now n to th em (but a fellow U SAFA 7 5er) took th e tim e t o v i si t t h eir so n an d

brother. That certainly made my day.

Da n Beatt y ■ 12 19 6 St anley Ca nyon Road Colorado Springs, CO 8 0 9 2 1 H: (719 ) 48 8-19 6 2 E-Ma il; w h rlybrd 76 @ao l.com Da n.Beatt y@usaf a .af .m il htt p:/ / www.AFAcademy.co m/ 76

-M m the USAFA Cemetery Memorial Pavilion Dedication and Groundbreaking.

Oth er ’75er s w i t h m e w er e Leon Sm i th -H ar r ison , D an Chapman , and Jon Uim er’swidow Diane. (We are) working out a futureguidefor our classmates when they visit the cemetery. (See Ed Sienkiewicz’s email at the end.) Larry Bryant thoughtfully put together thelist of classmates and their plotsfor usto usein navigating through the sections of thecemetery. I al so r ecei v ed in v al u able assistan ce fr om Scott H ente an d Bruce M it chell to secure my lodging and making my visit as smooth ascan be (asalwayswhen you haveclassmateslike these). The day was picture perfect. Theweather was fantastic, the sky was deep blue with a few white clouds, and the grounds w e r e v er d a n t a n d i m -

ma^ ate. Itwashardtofeel toosomber onsuchadayan d su ch an ev en t I t w as

a day when I,morethan ever,wanted to fly— my spirit at least took flight.Click on: http://home.comcast.net/ ~jimcarlson75/wsb/index.html . Leo n , D an ,

an d I vi sited each of our cl assm at es (m e for th e fi r st tim e ever ) an d sai d h ell o to the 16-h1guysfr om ’75 resting there.Amongusthr ee, w e w ere able to verbal ize a conn ection w ith each of our fallen , an d t o r elate a fond memory or story

aswestood before their graves. In oneof the photos, you wil l seethe shadows we cast over one classmate’smemorial plaque.These o f co u r se c an n o t c o m pare to the long unforgettable shadows of comradeship and friendship they each h ave cast ov er ou r ow n l ives. Bill Lin n i s al so m em ori al ized th er e, bu t

there’sno gravesite (he’sthe 17th deceased classmate).

Erom JoeBryant Beforetheball gameat the reunion,wemet at thecemetery and shared memories around the grave of Ray Johnson. Rod Kallman (Ray’s roommate) suggested this. It wasa good timeof remembrance of Ray and to spend timetogether,too. I learned onevery important thing at the reunion: it wasjust good to beback therewith everyone again. Some of us in our squad

ron^ dn’t necessarilyspendthat muchtimewitheacho t h er b ack t h en — seem s

wehad our littlegroups— or maybewedidn’t even likeevery oneof our class mates in the squadron very much for some reason. But for m e, af ter all th ose years,any disagreementsor whatever hadjust evaporated. It wasjust good to bethereand to remember theexperiencethat wehad “back in theday.” I think maybe being at the cemetery that Saturday morning to h o n o r a f al l e n c l a ss matesort of solidifi ed all that in my mind. Maybetheother squadronsalready do something likewedid— I don’t know. But, I think it would beavery worth whilepart of every reunion for individual squadronsto gather informally and do that at some point during the weekend as a way of honoring those GBNF, and also to maybe solidify the bond with those present. I real ly enjoyed the memorial ceremony at thechapel, and meeting in small squadr on groups at thecemetery would in no way replace that, but for m e th o se f ew m i n u t es th er e on Saturday morning were one of thehighlights of thew eek en d .

Fr om Ed Si en k i ew i cz : Ju st aft er ou r 30t h b ack l ast Sept, I stopped by the USAFA Cemetery (I had virtually never been there before) and^ er visiting classmateJohn Steward’splot,visited each of our deceased classm ates (plots) who are buried there. I felt good after doing this “ lab or of love” . Per h aps w e could build a listing of ’75erswho are buried there (including plot address).

Further,working with theAOG, etc.,work to get built a m a st e r l i st o f al l d e ceased ’75ers and where they are buried across the country (and across the globe). Then the ’75er gatekeeper(s) of this listing could periodically keep it updated, as our ’75er Gone But Not Forgotten list continues t o gr ow (v ery slowly,hopefully). Mayyearsago (back in thelate 1980s),when i was st at i o n ed

Y O U R M O N E Y H EL P S F U N D CAD ET W I N G PRO G RA M S T H AT W O U L D OT H ERW I SE GO U N F U N D ED .

CA L L T H E A O G F O R I N F O .

M e m b e rs

Fell ow 7 6er s,

Charli e Wintermeyer an d2003 Grad JoeMyhra.

D edi cat ion of th e U SAFA M em orial Pavili on . From Jim Carl son : I a t t e n d ed

JOI N TH E SABRE SOCI ET Y!

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The class of 2010 has completed BCT and the new academic year will have started by thetimeyou get tliis. Asweapproach our 3 0 *'’ r eu n i o n t h i n k b ack t o how we felt aswe started our next phase of our long blue journey, capture those thoughts and come to C-Springs in Nov to share t h e m .

One sad note. Lt Col (Ret) Christopher N Milodr agovich, CS-28, passed away on 25 June2006 in Great Fall s MT after a long b at d e w i th c a n c er . P l ea se keep Barbara and family in your thoughtsand prayerscl a ssm a t es.

Our biggest news item is the 30***Reunion 8-12 November 2 0 0 6 . D a n

Jordan and his committee are working hard to make this a great event. For more information go to http:/ /www.usafa.org and link t o o u r c l a ss w e b page. Mark your calendars, make your reservations, o r der your class merchandise. DO IT NOW SMACKS! BEAT N O T R E D A M E!

Classmates moving/moving up: BG Sel Byron Hepburn to Command Surgeon, HQAMCScott AFB, IL Denny Shi q)e

m

el ec t ed t o ser v e b o t h as a m em b er o f th e Ex ec u ti v e C o m m i t

25 tee and Chair of USO AffiliateCouncil, a representativebody of all USO chaptersthroughout the United States. Congrats Sabre Society Do n o rs to Byron and Denny!

General Class Stuf f: Not as much input this time, most likely dueto my location and not being able to ping as many folks due to a few morerestrictionson my internet access. I am still havingfun in Afghanistan as I write this. Thejob is still challenging and dynamic, t h e en v i r o n m en t in t er esting,and thehazard level di fferent than home.AsI remind my folks daily,we ain’t in Kansas anymore. I spend most of my time at my Kab ul site,w i th vi sits to my Kandahar site.

Heard fr om JoeShii ey. He and Johanna linked with Wes a n d L iz St o w e rs f o r dinner whiletraveling thru Knoxville. Joe saysWes isdoing well with hisbusi ness, has a leadership stylethat would makeour classproud, hasjust checked out in a Cessna Citation his company recently purchased, co-ow n s a T-6, an d is hoping to partner with some folks to soon obtain a P - 5 1 .

Joe and Johanna Shirey wi th IPes and Liz Stowers. ]oewastravelingfr om hisdaughterswedding. Saysat thewedding hevisited

w i th M ik e an d M au reen Scot t , an d Rob an d Bet h Par k er . M i k e an d Ro b b o t h

fly for Southwest Airlines and are doing great.

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M ik e F r i c an o r et i r ed an d i s a b r an d n ew c ivi l se r v an t in he samejob he had on active duty. Steve Stout reports he and Beth were there with daughter Stephanieand spent two weekswith Mikeand Debby sightseeing an d relaxin g in Hawaii. Stevesaysheand family areenjoying retirement in M acon , GA an d that Stephanie got a Presidential Scholarshi p to GATech.

GregBoomgaard hailed mewith somepicsof BemieGoldbach. B em i e n o w

lives in Ireland and his daughter graduated from Arizona o r C al i f o r n i a l a st m o n th .

1 15

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4107 Harvey

WesternSprings, IL60558

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M e m b e rs

Voice: (3 12 ) 8 4 9-8 15 0 Fax: (3 12 ) 8 4 9-8 151 E- M a i l :

j m ic he ls@mcguirewoocls .co m

Berni e Goldbach and daughter.

Hal Getzelman went to USAFA in June for daughter Ellen’s, Cl ass of 2006, 30CSq, graduation. Congrats to her Getz! Getz sent an awesome photo of himself and Ellen on Eagle Peak. Methinks thehikeup there may have been a bit more of a challengethan 30 years ago. Thanks Getz!

Just returned fr om tli eAOG’s GraduateLeadership Conferencea t t h e A c a d emy the last part of July. Tliis forum for up to 200 grads provides an opportu nity to tallcto the Superintendent, the Comm and the rest of th e staf f, an d w i th cadetsabout theAcademy and variousAcademy programs. It’salso an oppor tunity to renew acquaintances and malce some new onesa cr o ss t h e cl a sses. I don’t know how much longer theAOG isgoing to continue to offer thisoppor tunity,but I encourage anyonewho has the timeto take advantage of the pro gram. You won’t spend two more energizing and enlightening days.

SPEAK IN G OF WH I CH : Ou r ow n I r v H al t er (Ju di th ) is n ow the very model of a modern Major General as theVice-Supe,and madeacoupleof great points during theGLC. It’sclear fr om listening to General Regni that having Irv there to help with of theday-to-day crisesinvolved in running a major college makes a big dif ference in the Superintendent’s ability to take a longer view about the

Academy. For thoseofyou whosaw how badly theAcademy h as b een t r ea t ed over the last few years, I can tell you the trend is defi nitely up.

Hal Getzelman and daughter Ellen on Eagle Peak.

Boom, Bem ie, Getz, and I are all Dirty 30 alumns so was especially good to hear fr om/about them. Bob Bush dropped mea lineto sayhis^ ght plansfr om ORD to DEL takeshim right over Afghanistan, it seemsstrange to besitting at 35,000feet wonderingwbat’sfor breakfast while“my mates” arefi ghtingdown below, and that he’ll start dropping care packages. Thanks Bob, but if y all will just keep flyi ng theflag and letting all our young military troopsknow we Al l , support them, I and the rest of my contract folks herewill be happy campers.

Gary Mon^ omery ran into Jef f Larsen and fam ily, including 2006 grad son Peter, in M aui . Jef f al so sen t a n ot e on th e sam e vi sit . Thanksguys.

Bruce Deane retired 23 Jun,will be staying in the D C ar e a t o w o r k Te st an d

Paul Pirog (Mary ), who heads up the Law Department and hosted your humble scribe as an instructor last semester,sent me this photo fr om in-pro cessing the Class of 2010. Alongwith Paul and Irv ar e Jim Gl ass (Su san ), n ow

oneof theChaplainsat theAcademy, and John Buckley (M eli n d a). Th i s i s

part, but by no means all of the ’77 contingent at t h e Z o o .

ONWATCH: Catching up on old news, I promised a pictureo f Ch u ck C u r r an fr om Balad, Iraq, where hewasworking for Northrop. Herewe go:

Evaluation resour ce issues in Air Force Test an d Eval uation (A F / T E ) as a sen i o r

test and evaluation analyst/contractor for SAIC. Good l u c k B r u ce !

Again time to sti ck a fork in it. In caseyou haven’t heard Squadrons37-40 are n o w b ac k !

REUNION, REUNION, REUNION— sign up now classmates! I plan to be thereand if I can get my groady body therefr om Afghanistan,you can get there fr om wherever you are. Let’s set a record for attendance.

Afi nal note... if you haven’t updated your info in theAOGdatabase,pleasego to ww w.usafa.org and do so. You don’t need to be an AOG member to update your bio info. It will belp to have current info when w e star t p assi ng r euni on info in thenext few months. As always, if you areheaded to the Springs, let the other locals know. Keep fl ying your fl ags and let our deployed troops know you havethem in your thoughts and prayers. TheSpirit o f 76 i s ST I L L d iv e an d

w el l ! U n t i l n ex t t i m e

Seeyou in C-Springs in November! Beatty

Cl ass of 19 76 3 0 th R eun i on 8 - 12 N o v em b er

U SA FA vs. N o tr e D am e

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Ch u ck an d Cl au d i a ar e n ow h eaded t o Par k er, CO so t h o se of you in the Springsmay get a chanceto see them at somefootball games. Welcome home.

Chuck. From another remote com er of theworld. Maxwell , St ev e Sch w^ b e sent methisgathering of heavy lif ters.

From the campaign trail, I can report that Jay Fawcett (Su san ) w i l l b e th e Democrati c nominee against someother guy for theCongressional seat o u t o f Colorado Springs. Go, Jay, go! On the other side of the ai sl e,Ver n Rob in son (Helene) is m nning for Congress as a Republican from c en t r al N o r t h C a r o lina. Vern’s day job is teaching business at Winton-Salem St a t e o n T o b a c c o Road. I ’ve given Jay’s website,Vern’s is http:/ /vernonrobinson.c o m . G o o d luck to both you guys this fall .

Dan Dunn , apparently as a result of glowing reports, h a s m o v e d f r o m h i s contractor job to managing computer security for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Get it?—glowing/ NRC?— never mind. In addition t o th e c r ew in thenext photo, MikeStanley reports that Darryl Jones (Myoushi) iscruising

the halls of AirWar College as the Mobilization Augmentee t o t h e C o m m an dant there. JeffRemington (Michelle) is now a two-star select and on hisway to Hickham in the command shop there. A natural follow-on, Jef f w as m an agingAsia on theJoint Staff.

a

7 7 a t M ax w eR t h e CV a t A C SC an d t h e o c c a si o n w a s t h e v i si t o f Ro n La dn i er (Pam ) fr om h is

Pentagon slot.

Left to right we have Steve (Ingrid),who is at AirWar College, Steve Carey (Charlotte), now in charge of CADRE, General Ladnier, Jerry Hust (Sharon), also at AWC, Mike Stanley (SOEChair at AWC), and Jim. Now w e can r ecog nize all these people next year at the reunion.

On a more sobering note, please keep Greg Manglicmot (Diane) in your thoughts. Greg has been medically retired from Delta a s a r e su l t o f c an c e r .

H e an d D i an e ar e i n Pl an o n ow . M ar k Cast el an i (Su san ) , who is rapidly becoming a regular correspondent, fi red off another message about hiscon tacts cruising the skieswith United. He ran into Jim Dugan (Kesi); Jim is an Airbus 320 Captain. Mark bumps into Jim Antisdel (Sharon) o n A n t i ’s r u n s up and down theWest Coast for AlaskaAirlines. Mark a l so sees Rich Sowers on his travels through Reno, NV where Rich pushes metal for FedEx. Those of you watching t h e last shuttle launch caught Tom Jones (Liz) on Fox through out the mission; 1continue to marvel at Tom’s ability t o clearly explain concepts without simplifying them to t h e 13 point of pabulum.

Mike Billings (Sandy) wrote me for the second time i n 2 9 Sa bre Soc iet y Do n o rs years. MikeistheWish Coordinator for Make-A-Wish i n th e northwest U.S. He and Sandy live in Spokane. Hewrote t o advisemeof an event almost asuniqueashiscorrespondence- Pet e M ar ti n ez m ar r i ed Su san C r eel in Fo r t W o r t h t h i s su m m er . 1 a m reasonably certain this is one of the longer waits between marriage and graduation, b u t P e t e h a s alwaysbeen a cautiouskind of guy. Congratulationst o b o t h Pet e an d Su san .

Mike notes that Terry Fenn essey (Tina) also attended, and then, actually becoming chatty,Mike relatesthat hebumped into BruceBillig (Carol) at the Seattle airport where Mike and Sandy were dropping their daughter off for a tour in Spain. Bruce is a Southwest Captain - he, Carol and their girls are living down near Houston. Thanks Mike. Milt John son (Jacki e) has gone back into federal service, moving from Schriever to Peterson and working for Space Command.

Got a nice note from Rick Newton (Kathy) who works f o r SA I C d o w n a t Special Ops U at Hurlburt. Rick’s become something of the Special Opera tions guru, teaching at Leavenworth, Newport, Norfolk, and deploying op erational units. Because he’spassionate about hiswork, he also getsto teach at theNATO operation at Oberammergau.There’sajokein t h e r e so m ew h er e .

T h eir o l d est i s a Fir st L i eu t en an t w i t h th e 10 P ' an d son # 2 just graduated fr om theZoo. Rick reports that Steve Miller (Teresa) has now picked up his second star and isthe Commandant at AirWar College. Stu Williams (Juli) ispusliing metal for Southwest; they are living in Henderson, N V . W e s W e so l o sk i (Connie) is survivi ng Delta’s issues and flying for t h e m o u t o f A t l a n t a . Pe t e Mohylsky (Denise) has left Northwest and isnow working f o r SA I C w i t h Ri c k at SOU. While at USAFA for graduation, Rick saw that Jay Faw cet t i s getti n g plenty of ink in hiscongressional campaign. Rick notes t h a t “ h e m u st b e t h e only one eloquent enough to quote.” Based on what I’ve been reading, that’s probably true.

Walt Hem (Janet) fi red offamessage. I think it’sbeen 20yearssinceWalt and I last corresponded. Hegot married just shortly beforePetedid and isliving in Shreveport . Walt and hiswife m n a lawn and pool business th er e. G iv e n th e amount of rain and thehumidity in that part of the country, I expect there’sa hugedemand for lawnmowersand Walt confirmsthat they arefr equently the #1dealer in thecountry. Thisisalittledifi erent lineofwork forWalt. I imagined hewould get back into media asan editor or news director following his stint aseditor of the Ta/on at theZoo. Thanksfor the updateWal t ,an d best of l u ck i n L o u i si an a .

O F F W A T C H ; T h a t ’s i t f r o m t h e l a n d o f d o c t o r e d h o t dogs and deep-dish pizza. Hope this finds everybody’s summer coming to a c a l m c o n c l u si o n .

Root for the Falcons, they’ll need it. Be seeing you.

Bob Kay

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4 0 4 1 1 Te s o ro La n e Pa lm d a le , CA 9 3 5 5 1

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Jim Moscl^ at (Jill) pulled the group together at a local watering hole. Jim’s

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Home:(6 6 1) 274-2 20 1 Work: (6 6 1) 8 24 -64 2 6 Ema il: Ro be rt .kay@baesyst e ms .co m

Greetings 7 8ers...

As isthecase many times, 1regret that 1must open thisup with two sad events to report. The first isthefuneral for Ron Rosepink was conducted on July 28* at theAcademy Cemetery thusclosing thevery dif fi cult two-year chapter since Ron fi rst was missing. Thanksagain for all you who gave Deb and the kidsyour support and prayers.

Also, MikeNevin passed unexpectedly on June 4* and h i s m em o r i a l ser v i c e was held the following Monday (12* ) at the Cadet Catholic Chapel. Our prayersgo out to Gayle and the family during thisvery tr agic ti m e.

1 r ecei v ed an e -m ai l fr o m B r e n t B ri st o w w h o fi n i sh ed up histour in Bogota, Columbia and is now safe and sound back in Anchorage. He and Anita truly enjoyed their time in the area (Anita is fr om there) and did some sight-seeing in Chileand Argentinabeforegetting back in the States. Hegot Jiisrecurrency back in the B-747 for Northwest and was back flying tripsfairly quickly after return ing home. Hesent somegreat picturesduring t h e t im e h e w as t h er e b u t th e b est o n e w as t h i s o n e o f h i m an d A n i t a in fr o n t of the USEmbassy in Bogota.

Thanks again for your service Brent aswell as keeping in touch duringyour trip... welcome home!

.

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Vf i ’Y

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B r en t a n d A n i t a F el l o w N W A er Pa u l M o r ell w r o t e fr o m t h e M a ssa c h u set t s so u t h sh o r e t o w n

of Hingham. He sent this great fam ily picture of Tahni and the kids as they c el eb r a t ed th e ir l at est ar r i v al o f M a t t h ew . Pau l w as thinking that hewould get t h e “ o l d e st d a d ” aw ar d f o r ’7 8 b u t I h a d t o b r e ak t h e news to him that he just missed it (morelater) but that it wasagreat achievement anyway,especially for usgrandpas! He planson bringing Matthew to the 30th in a coupleof years (!) to compare notes. Paul is doing well and in good health but is technically “medically retired” awaiting the approval of the FAA to get back to work flying.

He’s not complaining too much and is thoroughly enjoying being home full timewith hisyoung family aft er decadesof livingout of a suitcaseflying for the Air Force and Northwest. He asked to pass on histhanks for thethoughts and prayershe’sreceived fro m theclassand to pleaselook him up (he’sin thephone book) if anyone is in the Boston area. Great looking fam ily Paul (who does probably get the “ I don’t look 50 like the rest of you guys award”)... thanks again for the note.

’The Morell Family Concerning the real “youngest dad” award, that one apparently (haven’t heard anything from you guys refuting this) goes to Ned Friedman ... sorry Paul! As I mentioned a coupleof articles ago, Brent an d N ed h av e b een w o r k 1 17

ing asAdmission Liaison Offi cersfor many yearstogether. Ned livesin Oregon and isacaptain for FedEx. Anyway,Brent said that Ned and Jackiewere expect/ng their fi rst so its looking like Ned cops the “oldest dad” award. Congrats Ned... I swear I don’t know how you guys do it at our a g e .

Thoseof you who know Mike“Smacko” McMillie know that M ik e n ev e r h as and never will do anything second rate. Even though 1am getting way too senile, I clearly remember a check ridewetook at Torrejon 2 4 yearsago when Mikedid theworld’sgreatest threat b r i ef . H e brought out actual scale modelsof ground threats (ZSU-234sfor instance) and visually linked them to theonefoot square floor tiles. Hispoint wasthat heshowed theevaluatorsw h a t t h e th r ea t w o u l d l o o k l i k e “ X ” am o u n t o f f eet o r m i l es aw ay .

Needless to say he got an “ Exceptionally Qualified” o n t h e ride. With similar gusto he organized an outing in D C co m

memoratingthe28th Anniversary of our graduation. TWenty

sixguysfromtheBeltwaygather^ at alocal Irishr e s t a u r a n t

13 Sabre Society Donors

(near the Pentagon) on 31May. Twenty fi ve guys stuck ar o u n d f o r t h e in cr ed iblepicturebelow. Smacko isstill working asa computer resourcesguy for the Studiesand Analysis group at theAir staf f and is an 0 - 6 i n th e G u ar d . H e sai d that everyone truly had a great time with “lots of old and new stories being swapped.. .and a great chance to Network some.”

B r ia n K o e c h e l

1 16 2 5 Boom Point er Way Gold River, CA 9 5 6 70 bkoec he l@s bcglo ba l.net (9 16 ) 63 5-3794

M e m b e rs

H i fr o m Sacr am en t o . T h an k s t o al l o f t h o se w h o w r o t e and helped mewith this sununary. Truly,it ismuch easier to writewith input. T h i s w i l l b e t h e fi r st t i m e wheremeetingtliewordcount limitwasachallengeduetoall thegreat inpuL T h e info I couldn’t get in,I forwarded to BudVazquez for th e next issue. So,if f m i ssed you,pleaseaccept my apologiesand wewill catch up on thenext go-round. Aft er almost 10yearsof contributing asyour Summer ClassScr ibe, it ’s ti m e for m e to pass thebaton. So,we are looking for avolunteer. If any of you are interested, pleasedrop mealineor fi reoff an email to our ClassPr ez,M ik e\ ^ H oom isson .

Mike’semail is: mvanhoom@attglobal.net . Now,on to theupdates!

Dan Baumgartner retired in 2003 and took ajob in OSD astheSenior Analyst for Personnel Recovery Policy in the Defense POW/Missing Per so n n el O f fi c e .

Heand Emily got married last October aft er meetingin 2 00 3 v i a th e M at ch .co m thing (it doeswork) and is currently living in FredericksburgVA. Bubba says that periodically hewill get-together with others of the24 crowd but any ’79er in the area iswelcome to crash the party. They usually do the lunch thing in Crystal City. If you want to play, drop Bubba a line at daniel.baumgartner @osd.mil and he’ll set up another get-together of somesort. I have to give the redneck a lot of credit for this writing; not only did he give me updates on others, hewrote it up aswell ... an easy cut and pastej ob !

Bubbapassed on thefollowing: “Brig Gen Don Lustig wrotehehasjust moved fr o m th e V i ce C o m m an d er o f t h e Tan k er A i r li ft Co n t r o l Cen ter (18th AF, Scott

From leftar eKrisinger Chris ColAMC/ASOL-Pentagon; Greenwood, Ch ar l es (WBB); McMillie, Mi chael G CI VAF/A9C; Troy William L CI V AF/A 9FC; DevereauxRichardBrigGen SAF/IAR;McVinney Paul CI VAF/A9LC;HoUerbach Lynn CoIAF/XOXJ; Hoizgang Peter Lt Col AF/XORM; Lengyel D a vi d C o l A F / A5XC-GS;Hermandorfer, Wayne (LockheedMar tin);Schuenemeyer Kenneth Ctr SAF/AQLL; Bendorf, Craig Col SAF/AQIZ; Puff enharger, Joh n, CTR, OSD POLI CY; Qui n n , M i ch ael J. (H ewl et t -Pack ar d); Fr asz Russell CTR AF/ X OX; Spear s Glenn Maj Gen AF/AI P; Knott, Steven D., CTR, OSD PA & E; M on ti eth,

Meth Col, SAF/A3SS;Lisi Stephen Ctr SAF/XCIES;Dalbey, SteveCr VOSD/PoIicy; Tr uj ill o, Al ex Col IDS; Hickey, Rober t (Booz-All en H am i l ton ); Br own , M ar k (SRS); Blisk Dave (Legacy Advisors); and Gazo, An thony ( W B B ) .

Guyswho couldn’t make it but livein thearea are: KeyeSabol Brig Gen A1M; Taco Gilbert Brig Gen A8X; Roger BurgMaj Gen AF/A3S; Lar r y Kr au ser AF CI V and working for NORTHCOM in the NCR; Jeff Brake (ANTEON); a n d M i k e Fennessy (WBB). He’sworking on yet another gig in the September/October timefr ame so if anyone isin theWashington DC area and would like to get on thelist, they should email him at Michael.McMillie@pentagon.af.m il . T h an k s Smacko... you still do amazing stuff my friend!

Last week I wasdoing the Starbucks thing in oneof t h e t e r m i n al s i n A t l an t a returning fro m a trip. /\s I got my coffee I noti ced aguy who waswearing an ‘AF Academy Dad” shirt and casually asked him what classh i s k i d w as in . H e m en ti o n ed t h e cl ass o f 2 00 7 an d as I l o o k ed at h im i t h i t methat I wastalkingto Doug Baabeiig... talk about achancemeeting! Wehad about 15 m i n u t es t o ch at b efo r e I had to get on my fl ight... certainly not enough timeto catch up aft er acoupleof decadesplus. Doug recently put on hissecond star an d sh ow ed up as the ACC DO (not XP as I reported in the last arti cle) aft er being CENTCOM deputy DO and spending ayear in thesand box. Hementi oned that ’78 isjust about taking over th e A CC st aff w i th h im as t h e D O an d St eve “ Go ld i e” Goldfein recently named astheVice Commander. Hepro mised to givemoreinfo f o r f u t u r e ar ti c l es.

Finally, speaking of senility, I oweDon Blackwelder an apology for an e-mail hesent me in October of last year that I forgot about (good help is alwayshard to fi n d). At th at tim e h e w as the 12'*’AF DO an d U SSOUT HAFA3/A5, st ati o n ed at Davis-Monthan AFB,AZ. Son Jacob graduated with th e Cl ass of 2005, h ad fi n i sh e d I FT a t t h e Z o o an d st a r t e d U P T i n Feb a t Va n c e AFB. Ch r ist ie, th eir

oldest, graduated from the University of Rhode Island i n 2 0 0 2 a n d l i v e s i n Connecticut. Their youngest, Katrina, was a freshmen (now a sophomore probably) at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaf f. H e a n d B r e n d a a r e enjoying the empty nest and looking forward to reti rement in just a coupleof years. Thanks Don and again my apologies for not posti ng th i s e ar l i er .

Well guys,onceagain I am in theenviablepositi on of havingrun out of space.

It isfaithft ilness such asthisthat keep thesearti clesinter estin g despite th e jour nalisti cally challenged scribe. My sincere thanks to you all for taking the time to write and provide such great pictures. May everyone have a great fall sea so n . ’78 i s G R EAT !

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AFB) to be the new AMC/IG. Don isgoing to deploy to A 1E u d ei d a t t h e en d o f August for 4-5 months as the Director of Mobility Forces i n C E N T C O M .

Rh o n d a an d t h ei r son s {Joh n 17 an d M i ch ael 15) ar e doing great . George Pasterak is the CEO of his own consulting company dealingwith system and software architecture. He’sbeen single for about fi vey ear s and isenjoying travel toVegas, San Diego,Miami,and to any beach he can fi nd. Rocky Ellison (Jackie) is still living in Krum, TX and isfl yingpart timefor American Airlinesan d i s sti ll working on hisMastersof Biblical Studies. Rocky i s al so theAssistant Chaplain at the Denton County Prison. T h eft 7 daughter Katie is getting married next May though Rocky relayed heis not offi ciating; hejust wantsto be f a th er o f t h e Sabre Society Do n o rs bride. Rocky and Jackiealso madethetrip to Fredericksburg where he did offi ciate for Bubba and Emily’swedding c e r emony last October. George Pasterak and Mark Locher al so a t t en d ed . M ar k Locher retired in 2000 and hasbeen working as a support co n t r ac t o r in O SD .

They have two kids— Kati ewas successfully launched thisyear, and David is halfWay through college. Mark and Peggy aredeveloping a“gentleman’sfarm” at their homein theVirginia Piedmont. Col Tommy Green (Ann ett e) is th e Aft Attacheto Singapore and hasbeen in positi on sinceMay 2004. Tommy plans to retire in the summ er of 2007 and has lofty plans t o b e a b e a c h b u m so m e where. Col Gary Finchum isalso stati oned in Singapore. Their oldest daugh ter Alyssa is going attend Mary Washington this fal l. Good thi ng Bubba got married; else none of our “little girls” would’ve been sa f e !

Omar Pearson isan Assistant USAttorney and isworkingou t of Jackson , M S. He and Wanda are doing quitewell. Omar hasn’t changed a b i t an d w e ar e al l waiti ng for his first move into politi cs. It wouldn’t surprise us too much if he becomestheGovernor of Mississippi oneday. Ken Barte r r et i r ed l ast su m m er aft er 26 years. Ken is now a double-dipping government civili an , an d is cur rently working technology transiti on in theAir Force Research Lab at WrightPatt erson AFB, OH . Kar l I te ichl h as been w i th M an Tech C2 Systemsfor seven years and is a Program Manager for one of their contracts a t H a n sc o m A F B , MA. You can fi nd Karl on the USAF global access list a s k a r l .r e i c h l @ hanscom.af.mil . They stay very busy havi ng produced 12 ki ds, th e l at est a sweet 1-1/2 year old. Go Karl — our vote for most prolifi c’79er! M i k e M c Eh vee has moved to Germany ashiswife,Tina, got an excellent government job over there. They recently adopted a Russian baby boy and arehaving a ball as new parents. Mike isthedevoted house-fr au whileTinabringshomethebacon — pictureMikein furry slippers, apink robe, carrying a diaper bag, and changing poopy diapers— what a life! Teri Goodwin relayed she a n d K e n w e r e st i l l living in Fort Worth while Kenny fliesfor Delta to pay for all his fi shing para phernalia. Kenny is quite an accomplished freshwater fisherman looking forward to hosting the“Bassmasters” on TV. Just how many fi shing luresdoes one fi sherman need to own? Rhetorical question, so no need to reply! And fi nally,JJJackson is still in London working with the British Ministry of De fence on behalf of SAF/IA, to encourage internati onal ar m am en t s coop er a tion efforts with the USAF. JJhas dropped his papers t o r et i r e f r o m t h e A i r Forcenext summer.Hiswife, LaMonte,isan independent in t er cu l t u r al t r ai n er for businessexecuti ves. JJand LaMontealso have a great house (with a guest

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r oom , hin t h in t ) less th an 30 m in u tes n or thw est of t h e c en t er o f L o n d o n . L if e

isvery good.” Thanks Bubba and perhapsyou’d like t o sc r i b e?

I received a great and uplifting email fr om DennisHilley. Dennis is doing quitewell all thingsconsidered. He took the time to pass on the following: “I got married on the 6th of July to Lt Col ChrisWasdin (U SAFA ’89) at th e Fi r st Baptist Church here in Alexandria. 1am still in DC as the Deputy Director of SpaceProgramsin OSD,whileChrisisin Tampa asabudget offi cer in SOCOM. Webought ahousein Tampajust down thestreet fr om Doug and Gloria Robb.

My health is good. 1still look like the Pillsbury Doughboy from the drugs— and the cancer did not go into remission, but I am in what my oncologist calls a steady disease state. Somehow this49-year-old body isholding itsown! So despitethefiveroundsof high-dosechemo and two stem-cell transplants 1am still verdcal!” Dennis,I concur with Pat Davis,you ar e t h e b r av est m an I k n ow .

Keep hanging in there.

Terry Vendlinski just completed hisfi rst IronMan Triathlon (2.4 m il e sw im ,

John Dallas bought lunch for Gary Curry over in the sandbox. Here’s a pic ture of Bill Rew and Gary together.

112 mi l e bike ri de, an d 26.2 m il e ru n) in 14 hour s an d 32 m i n u tes. Qui te im

pressiveif ask me. From Scotty Reynolds camethe following: “ I r et i r ed fr o m theAir ForceReserveon June 1st aft er two yearsof commuting to thePentagon fr om St. Louis. 1never knew 1would have so many fr eeweekendsto enjoy my family. My wife, Lt. Col. Debbie Reynolds,just completed her 25th year in the

Ai r For ce (17 in th e AN G). ”

Jim Bennett dropped me the following note: “Shirley and 1just celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary on June9th. I am still working for PVSChemi cals (19yearsnow) in Norton, OH. I also just started working asan ALO for our classmate, Paul Schubert. I fi nished my term as a local sch o o l b o ar d m em b er at the end of 2005 and 1am enjoying the extra time an d f r ee d o m f r o m l o c a l politi cs. Our son Adam (25) isstill in Japan (Osaka) teaching English for Nova Group of Japan. Daughter Jennifer (22) is four classes from fi nishing her bachelor’sdegree at Eastern Michigan University. Daughter Pam ( 17) i s en t er ingher senior year in HSand plansto study nursing in coilege. Sheisquitethe jock and will beon thebasketball and track teamsthisyear and was fi eld events MVP for the track team last year. Our youngest, Olivi a (10), is doing well in sch o o l an d i s a cti v e i n d a n ce an d so cc er .’’ T h a n k s Bon go.

Denny Hugo wrotethat Reed Shotanus and Brian English fly for Southwest Reed isCapt and Brian aFO. Jim Jiminez hasbeen bouncing aro u n d t h e M i d d l e

Bill Rew and Gary Curry To m Fo e r t sc h fl i es f o r D e l t a an d t ak e s c r ed i t f o r a l l th ei r w o e s o f l a t e . H e’s a

junior MD-88 Capt based in Cincinnati . Despitehis sour atti tu de, JoAn n h as remained by sidefor over 23 yearsnow. Son Matthew (22) just graduated fro m Purdue University. Tom had the emoti onal experienceof swearing him in as the Air Force’s newest “Butter Bar ”. Ali is a j unior pre-med student at UNC Chapel Hill, whileAmy (11) and Luke (9) areyour standard i ssu e al l -A m er i ca n elementary school students. Tom caught up with Tim Fyda (still leading the very successful Fyda Freighti iner Company of Ohio) a n d Va n c e Sk a r st ea d t who is a History Prof on the Hill , and Jim Shumate an d M ar k C er i se w h o a r e Defense Contractors in the Springs.

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E a st f o r aw h i l e a s a n “ ec o n o m i c a d v i so r ” w i t h t h e St a t e D ep ar tm en t . Lan ce

Beam Captains at Southwest. PJMiller is a very successfully landscape con tractor in Scottsdale. Hedesigned and did thelandscaping for peoplelike Phil Mickelson, Brandi, thesinger, etc... BGen Burt Field isloving fi feas thefi rst F22Wing/CC at I^angley.

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Proud Dad Tom, new2LTMatth ew an d th eFoer tch Family.

A v o i c e w e h av en ’t h ear d fr o m i n a w h i l e ca m e fr o m Sal C o l l u i a . Sal r et i r ed

The Hugo Family Buddy Vazquez had an eerieSERE experiencelately. Hewent to Maj Gen Rob

Ch edi ster ’s reti r em en t in Dec 05. At th e di nn er, w h ere th e d eco r w a s al l h u n t

ing gear and camo, he looks up and Bud Day sits down w i t h h i m . I t w a s t o o good of a photo op!

fr om the20FW at Shaw AFB, SC in 2000 aft er being the opsoffi cer in the 77FS an d com m an der of t h e 20OSS. H e fl ew f or D el t a Ai r l i n es, right seat of the Boeing 767 in Atlanta fr om 2000-2003 and iscurrently on a personal leave of absenceunti l 2007. Until 2007 comesaro und (and presuming D el t a i sn ’t b an k rupt) he’s teaching in the F-16 Mission Training Center a t Sh aw .

On a last note and our General update, Frank Gorenc is back in D C; Rob i n Rand replaced him in thedesert. Greg Brundidgemoved down to Langley and Andy Busch pinned on fi rst star and is at Warner Robbins. Buddy’s up next .

Send him your stuf f at bud.vazquez@us.ibm.com.

Do n Mye rs 47% M e m b e rs 4 0 1 Cha mbray Hill Zd Peacht ree City, GA 3 0 2 6 9-4 247 (770 ) 63 1-14 29 E-ma il: DMye rs8 0 @hot ma il.com Class Home Page: htt p:/ / usaf a8 0 .t ripod .com

TheseBudsarefor you!

I’m takiiig time away fr om Kathy to get thisout to you,just before I leave on a 10-day trip. Either you’re very important (true). I’ve procrastinated (still true) — or 1wai ted because 1was hoping to get a little m o r e i n f o b e f o r e t h i s went to print (also true). My trips are generally only a week, but I’m trying to compress my schedule so my bride and 1can recreate o u r fi r st d a t e l a t er t h i s month: We’reclimbing LongsPeak,near Estes Park,o n e o f t h e 54 “ Fo u r t een er s” (at least 14,000 feet high) in Colorado. It wasn’t necessary previously, but this timewe’ve allowed a couple of days to recuperate.

Here’swhat thisquarter brings our way....

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Big moves: Dan Adams writes, “Ell en and 1PCSed from M i n ot AFB (9 1st SpaceWg Commander) to Peterson AFB where I’m theAF Space Com m an d Deputy Director of Ai r, Space and Info Ops. While we m i ss t h e w o n d e r f u l peoplewe had come to know and love at Minot, Colo Springs has plenty to offer... especially theweather. There are a lot more C l a ss o f ’8 0 f o l k s ar o u n d here,too. I’m having agreat timeworkingwith Don Neal, who’sfilling in asthe AF Space Command top cop for Pete Micale (deployed to Kuw ai t). I ’ve al so run into Brig Gen Susan Helms (45th SW/CC) and Brig Gens Kmar tKres^ and GrapesGraper (both at USNORTHCOM). I also visited with John War d,w h o’s n ow a con tr actor w i th Booz,Al l en , H am il t on . Needl ess to say, life is good!”

Jerry (Wendy) Corbett made a geographical and cultural m ove, fr om At lanta to Idaho. “Sandpoint is a neat little town in the pan handleof Idaho, about half way between Couer D’Alene a n d Can ad a. I t i s n est l ed o n t h e n o r th sh o r e o f L ak e Pen d O’reille, a big glacial lake (I think). Anyway, we never would h a v e

h ear d of it i f D ave an d M ar l a [Jon es] h ad n’t i nv it ed u s o u t

here for a vacation in Marla’sfamily’s cabin on the l ak e . W e fell in lovewith thearea 14 yearsago or so, and only thehand o f G o d c o u l d h av e w o r k ed t h i s a l l o u t f o r u s t o c o m e h e r e a t

I >♦4 15 Sabre Society

Dono rs this point in our lives. I am now a [Delta] commuter t o Sal t Lake City. So far, it hasn’t been so bad. I am not su r e w h a t t h e winter be like, but I am optimistic about commuting f o r t h e n ex t 1 1 t o 16 years. Please extend an invitation to aUour classmatesto drop in for a hospi tality check (preferably not ‘no notice’).” And fr om a Delta blurb, I read Jerry captained a planethat had to makean emergency divert in t o A m ar i l l o . Sin ce

thefolksonthegroundweren’t preparedtohan^ ean ai r cr af t of th i s size, h e

spearheaded the organizing of all the necessary segments in o r d er t o c ar e f o r the folks and the plane. He even managed to personally take charge of three unaccompanied minors— fr om getting them some chow to boarding them on another flight.

Viaoffi cial sources:And I thought therewassomemossgrowing on theSelva stones at Scott AFB: Maj Gen (select) Paul (Ricki Smi th) J. Selva , D i r ect or, Operations,TCJ3, United StatesTransportati on Command, Scott AFB, I F, to Director,Air Force Strategic Planning, Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategic Plans and Programs,HeadquartersUSAF,Pentagon,Washington,DC. BrigGen Paula G.Thornhill fr om Principal Director,Special Plans—Near East er n an d So u t h Asian Affairs, Offi ceof theDeputy Undersecretary o f D ef en se f o r N ear Ea st er n and South Asian Aff airs,Pentagon,Washington, DC,to Com m an dan t ,Air Force Institute of Technology, Ai r Education and Training Command, WrightPattersonAFB,OH. Brig Gen (select) Philip M.Ruhlman ,Deputy Director,Air ForceStudiesand Analyses,Assessmentsand LessonsLearned, Headquarters USAF, Pentagon,Washington, DC, to Chief of Staff ,Join t War far e Cen tr e, Su premeAllied Command for Transformation, Stavanger,Nor w ay.

I know therearelotsof you on themoveand doing interesting things,just not as publicized. But inquiring minds still want to know (seriously).

Still soaring. Although he used email to reach us, r a t h e r t h a n h i s F ed Ex company discount, themoti vati on for Reb (Mary Aime) Byrne came after he flew with a Coastie I knew fr om years ago. “ ...so l guess that’s a hint I should write! I ’m still living in the Memphis area. Since I saw you last (20-year re union), I got married to a wonderful lady, Mary Anne, who is originally fr om central Mississippi. So I think we’Ubein thisarea f o r th e f o r esee ab l e f u t u r e. W e bought a house in Horn Lake, MSwhich isjust 20 minutesfr om the Memphis airport I checked out last October in theleft seat o f t h e 7 2 7 . I f w e h av e an o th er vacancy bid likethey keep thinking,there’sa chance I could hold avery junior widebody Captain slot. As it is. I ’m going to take a sp ot i n t r ai n i n g as a 727 Captain. So far (knock on wood) we’ve dodged the problemsof the industry.

My boys are grovHng up. Actually, they are bigger than I a m ! M a t t i s 18 a n d graduating thisyear. It appears he’ll be going to Michigan State on a full aca demic scholarship (yeah Dad’s fi nancial status!). He’ll b e v al ed i ct o r i an o f h i s c l ass an d i s a l o t sm ar t er t h en I ev er w as. Pa t i s 16 and ismy rock musician. His passion isguitars and alternati ve/metal rock. My passion these daysisflying gliders. I got back into it about seven yearsago. I now own a racing glider and havebeen racing for thelast four years. Last year I actually washired to fly with theUSAFA Soaring team,sinceit wastheir fi rst year back into flyingcrosscoun try and they had very littlein houseexperience. I’m hopingto repeat that again thisyear but I’m not sure they have the budget for i t .”

Eiqploration,challenges & changed. SueSlavec couldn’t m ak e t h e r ecen t ’8 0 ’s l ad/esBreakfast Rendezvousin COS. “I’m deep intoAustraliaright now. Spent the day snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef... wow, it was like being in a Na ti onal Geographic show with all the fi sh, colors, coral, snakes... amazing! I’ll spend a couple moreweekshere and then on to New Zealand. I’ll get back to

I remember fr om Mitch’s. Not sure if this is a step f o r w ar d o r b a ck — an d B o b didn’t look very comfortable in the coilar simiiar t o o u r P ar a d e D r e ss!

Drop me a quick linewhen you can. dm Ric h Tre nt m a n 1 1 1 0 2 As b e e St .

Fa lc o n , CO 8 0 8 3 1 -8 1 7 0

Home: (719 ) 4 9 4-8 4 38 Work: (719 ) 234 -07 54 E-m a i l: t re n t m a n @u s a f a 8 1 .c o m Cla s s W e b s it e : w w w .u s a f a 8 1 .c o m

H el l o 8 1! O u r 2 5 '*' R eu n i o n i s i n w eek s! I t i s u n b el i ev ab l e to think a quarter century has passed sincewe started our AFcareers. I n 198 1, st am ps w er e 15 cents; the UShostages in Iran were released; the fi rst space shuttle launch;

Pacm an m ani a kicked off ; MT V w en t on th e air ; cadets still m ar ched tour s, an d

the fi rst DeLorean rolled off the assembly line. Also, in our senior year in the Fall of 1980,webeat Navy! I hopeyou all thorougJily enjoy our tim e together.

On to classnews: SteveGotch astutely noted in anewspaper ar ti cl e t h at CA PT Judith (Lake) Keene, exchange Coast GuardAcademy cadet with o u r U SA FA cl ass in th e Fal l o f l 9 79 i s n o w t h e Co m m a n d an t o f C a d et s at USCG. Congrats, Judith! Gary Dobbins emailed me out of the blue to giveme an update. Gary took command of the 312"' Ai rlift Squadron (TravisAFB). Gar y com m u t es fr om Dallasand when not commanding the312“’, fliesf o r U n i t ed as a n A ir b u s 320 Captain. When Gary isnet working,he’sbuzzing ar o u n d t h e sk i es o f N o r th Texas in hisplane. Gary saysDaleAndrews hasmoved up to be Deputy Group Commander of the 349“’ Operati ons Group at Travis/VFB. Dale is serving in Kosovo now. Tom Arko is the 19 AF/DO at Randolph AFB following his ti me as the47 FTW/CV.Tom passed that KellyUmmons reti red in Jun e as th e Gu ar d advisor to AETC. Denny Yamrose recently retired, too, af ter serving his fi nal assignment as the Reserve Advi sor to AETC. Lenny Patrick recently left Randolph AFB asAETC’s CE chief to move to Scott AFB at H Q AM C. Ber n i e Schwartz left his 19AFADOjob to bethe Deputy OGf o r t h e 3 0 6 FT G a t U SA FA and head up the new Introducti on to Flight School at Pueblo. TJHasty isthe Deputy JA at HQ AETC and doing well. Thanksfor the great update,Tom! Ken Smith sent a photo of him self and his son Grant at Grant’s USNA gradu ati on thisJune. Ken is theyoung looking guy on the l ef t i n b l u e . G r an t st ar t s Navy pilot training this November.

K en Sm i th an d so n Gr an t a t U SN A Gr a d u a ti o n 2 0 0 6 .

Terry Szanto left Langley AFB in July for even moreh o t a n d h u m i d R o b i n s AFB GA. Terry is working on the classwedding vows r e a f fi r m a t i o n an d t h e Memorial ceremony for our reunion. Ryan Orian lson a 120-d ay tou r in Af ghanistan asthe455AEW/CV. I think Ryan ishaving flashbackst o o u r Rec o n d o daysat USAFA Ryan talked with Rick Marti n there as Deputy D I RM OBFOR.

t h e St at es in t h e su m m er.”

T h er e w as a n i c e ar ti cl e fr o m t h e D al l as ar ea ab o u t Mary (Hugh es) (Gary ’79)

Eri ces’ son Jamesgoing to USMA “ For as long ashecan rem em ber, Er kes w as dead-set on attending theAir ForceAcademy. ‘They bought me a littleplasti c saber w h en I w as j ust a littl e ki d,’ h e said .” (No pressure there, right?!) Af ter a few flyinglessons,Jamesdecided hedidn’t havetheflyingbugand choseUSMA, where his unclewent. Hewants to be a general.

Oh, I saw aphoto of Bob AUardice in a prototypeunifonn , the “Billy Mitchell heritagecoat.” Although blue, it lookspretty closeto thegarb in the glasscase 12 0

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Ryan Orian in Afghanistan.

I had thehonor of “sashing”Tom Maloof s son Michael at his Boy Scout OA Brotherhood ceremony. Michael looksjust likeTom! Silvi (Kiisk) Steigerwald emailed to say that she and Bob would be at the Reunion and the great news that they had dropped off "their son Robert to j oin the Long Blue Line. She askedmeabout o^ er ’81erswithsons/daughtersat USAFA. Being your loyal scribe, 1passon the following factlets: 28 Grads/Cadets t h a t are sons/daughters of ’81ers. Of the 28,21are cadetst h er e now w ith seven in 20 10, four in 2009, thr ee in 2008, an d sev en in 2 0 0 7 . W ow !

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I had a nice lunch with ChrisCampbell and gave him o u r Class flag to carry whilejumping at the Navy-AF game d u r 14 ing our reunion. Thanks, Chris! Speakingof lunches, I r o u Sabre Society tinely pingclassmatesto meet for lunch hereand catch u p o n Do n o rs old times. RussDefiisco has could not make my last t w o in vites. 1warned him not to slip to the Marty France l ev e l o f cancellati on/excusology and he assured me hewouldn’t. Russ is busy work ing with his BASH program work with the Guard and airports. R ex I Qz i ah i s back at USAFA in the Physicsdepartment. JakeJakobi is still plugging along with lacrossegamesand wasout in Vail thisyear. Comeon,Jake,you’regetting too old! Janice (Gunnoe) Hughes is in Calcutta with h er h u sb an d , D on , an d promises to send an update of their efforts and adventures t h e r e . W e h a d a mini-’81get together at Lauri Cro ss’sweddingat USAFAin Jun e. M ar ty Fran ce, Jay Santee, Mike Kadlubowski , myself and of course, L a u r i . . . w e a l l h a d a blast. The recepti on was in the Blue and Silver Room a t th e F al co n St a d i u m pressbox.

made him a natural as the general manager of an ethanol plant for Broin & Associatesin Mirmesota. In that capacity Davegot t o sh ak e h an d s w i th P r esi dent Bush as GW armounced hisenergy plan,something D av e sai d w a s “ a r eal honor”. Dave and hiswife Daphne have two children - Michael, a junior at CalTech, and Bentley, a senior in high school.

Stu Rogerse-mailed a quick notefrom Wright-Pat to updateuson hiswhere abouts. He’sbeen back theresince2004working in th e Air Force Resear ch Lab, alongwith wife, Rosanna, and daughtersAlex and Franchesca.

Jim “Elwood” Pillar just achieved what’sgetting to be avery common occur rencefor membersof our class- retirement! He hung up the uniform in midJimewith the help of a lot of good friendsand acquaintances. M a t t a n d P a u l a (Doremus) Eri chsen among them. Matt sent a picture of Elwood wearing a great “USAF Retired” cowboy hat and a tee-shirt with “RETIRED” in lettersbig enough to be read across a footbal l stadium . Looked pretty darned good!

Unfortunately theresoluti on wasn’t high enough for publicati on here,so you’ll just haveto useyour imaginati on and razz Elwood anyway next ti m e you see him . Elwood was stati oned at Langley where hewas on t h e ACCstaf f alongwith Matt and Rick Burgess. Matt, Paula an d their six (!) children moved to Langley about ayear ago. M att -M M : had previously been the509“' Bomb WingViceCommander at Wh iteman AFB. Elwood and his family (Mar y and four k ids) ar e n ow settl ed in San An toni o.

7 Daryl and Martha (Stevenson) Jones are now back in t h e states. They had been in Japan up unti l thispast summer an d Sabre Society Do n o rs are now living in Yorktown,VA where Bones is the pastor a t Crossroads Community Church. 1also got a quick e-mail update from Kate Smith who is an Assistant General Counsel worki ng for Verizon in Phoenix. And, Sandy (Maloney) Keeter sent a note passing along a li nk to avery nice arti clefrom the Sacramento Bee highlighting our very own Sue Grant who is a very popular romance novelist. Sue, a 7 4 7 fi r st o f fi c e r f o r United, hasbecome quitewell known in the romance genre and has a very classy website full of info on what she’sbeen up to.C h eck i t o u t at w w w .su san gran t .com .

Jay, Mike, Lauri, Scott ’80, Marty, Rich I t i s w i t h t h e h ea v i e st o f h ea r t s t h a t w e t h i n k o f o u r c l a ssm a t e M i k e P ar k er

(CS-36),who passed away June8“’ after battling cancer. Pleasekeep Mike and hiswife, Chantal, in your thoughts and prayers.

AsI said in thebeginning of the arti cle, our reunion isupon us and I know it will be a blast. Keep checking wwww.usafa.org and under Re u n i o n s (o u r class) thereisalink with who isattending. GiveRandy Wor rall , ClassVP, a w ell deserved pat on theback for all hiswork on thisreunion a n d fo r o u r cl ass w h en you see him in October.The next articlewill be loaded w i t h r e u n i o n st o r i es and pictures. Send me any picturesyou have following t h e r e u n i o n . A s al ways, I appreciate all your kind words and inputs. Most importantly. Go AF,

1got a note from David and Julia (Schef felin) Graves exp r essin g app r ecia it on to theAOGfor a dependent scholarship which theA sso c i ati o n aw ar d ed t o their son Matthew. He’ll be attending the University of Maryland this fall and planson studying physics. Thescholarship was presented at a meeting of the Air ForceAcademy Society ofWashington, DC, and the ev e n t f ea t u r e d B G en (Ret) Mai Wakin as the speaker,making the evening even morespecial. Julia is working as aprogram manager for theDepartment of theTreasury,procuring largecomputer systems. David is still flying for American A i r li n e s an d i s al so the sole pastor at a small Methodist church on a part-time b a si s.

And that’s it for updates I’ve received thistime around. On a personal note, my news is that I’ll soon bejoining the reti red ranks too! My offi cial datewill be 1July 2007, but I’ll probably shoot for a ceremony sometime in mid-April thanks to accumulated leaveetc. Don’t know yet exactly what my next job will be, so Ellen and 1are keeping our options open. We very much enjoyed the time we spent in and around the Dayton, OH area, so that’s top on our list geographically. I’ll keep you posted!

Andyoudo^ esamefor me- keepthecardsande-mailsflowing! Be safe, R a tm an .

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GreetingsRedtags!

Not awholebig pUeof newsthis quarter,but some signifi cant entriesnone theless. So, herewe go!

D av e Ea si er se n t an e - m ai l f r o m r u r al M i n n e so t a an d his new job at Broin and Associates, oneof thelargest ethanol companies in A m er i ca . D av e i s d o ing hisdarnedest to help make surewe’re not dependent on foreign (or ashe says, “terrorist”) oil. Davefi nished up hisacti ve duty tour with an assignment to theManagement Department at USAFA and left thereto do water chemistry w ork in Nebr ask a. Th at got him in volved in th e corn -based eth anol bu sin ess,

and his USAF leadership experiencecoupled with a USAFA chemistry degree

Before I get started. I’d like to raise a toast to one of my all -time favorite fl ag offi cers: the late,great General Ken Tallman. Not to dis any of the other supts, but hewas thebest, man. Legendary.

But thenew supt seemspretty cool, too. Did everyonecheck out hisplansfor theZoo in thelast Checkpoin ts?Looks like he’sleading th e ef fort to br in g back the things that actuaUy foster camaraderie and make theAcademy a memo rable experience: Recogniti on, Swearing In, SERE. Not t h e Bring Me Men ramp, though - not yet , anyway.Which r e minds me: we did a “ Re-Name the Bring Me Men Ramp” contest in The Dodo,back in the day.As I recall , my favorite alternatewas the somewhat sirti ster “BringThem To M e.”

Speaking of stuff like SERE, though, I truly believe ev e r y 13 cadet - past,present and future- should suff er at least as m u ch aswedid.Likegreat art,thebest USAFA stories stem f ro m o u r Sabre Society Donors collecti vesuff ering,f rom coughing up mud in Jack’sValley to marching tours to eati ng rabbits’ eyeballs during Survival.

Actually, I thought about serving rabbit eyes,just for ol d ti m e’s sak e, w h en Chuck Jones and hisfamily (Beth and thekids- I^ uren an d D ustin ) cam e over for dinner a few monthsback, but my butcher didn’t com e th r ough .We h ad a great time anyway, though. Chuck’s fl ying around the Pac i fi c w i t h U n i t ed an d 12 1

even bumped into Grant Lane and Silk Washington on a recent flight to Kona.

Chuck also attended Erroll Lewis’ promotion to 0 -5 (remarkable, actually, when you consider Erroll and I got booted out of theAir Force the same day, fr om the sameorganization).

Mark Abbott wrote to say he couldn’t find the article on my house in the M ar c h ed i t i o n o f B e t t er H o m es an d Gar d en s. T h at ’s b eca u se they postponed it. I have no ideawhen it will show up, if ever. But af ter that grueling three-day photo shoot and cauliflower ear fr om ail thephonecallswith thewriter,I hope they run it one of these months.

Mr.Abbott really gets around and alwaysgot some Bohican n ew s t o r el a t e .

H e sees fell ow Pacif i c Nort hw est er n er l oh n Fan del at ALO meetings and re ports that John, a corporate real estate lawyer in some big Seattle law firm, took hisfamily on a groovy three-month sabbadcal to Italy last summer.

Mark was also at Rich Arnold’s retirement ceremony at NellisAFB in April where Rich wrapped up hisAFcareer as Squadron Comm ander o f t h e 5 0 7 '*’ Combat Trai ning Squadron.Also attending the ceremony w ere Ron Gr aves, Pete McCaf fr ey, Scott Walker and Tom Webster. Scott’s currently at theAF

I saw both CoUn MolEEat and Danny \ \^Iliamson on my annual pilgrim ageto Park City.Mof ’sbeen helping thelocalsblazenew m o u n t ai n b ik e t r ai i s o n t h e summits near The Canyons ski area and, sure enough, h e l e d m e d o vm t h e eponymous“Colin’sTrail ” - averti cal plungethrough somestunning scenery t h a t ’li b e ev e n b e t t e r o n ce t h e r o c k s a n d r o o t s ar e w o r n d o w n . B a t t e r e d an d

bruised (in my case, anyway), we limped over to Danny’s h o u se f o r so m e general anesthesia

D octr i n e Cen t er at M axw ell A FB, AL . Tom an d Pete ar e b o t h a t N e l l i s. Ri c h

plansto stay in Vegaswherehe’sa defense contractor,workingwith AVTECH Research Corporati on.

Colin Moff at, Danny Williamson and Stu contemplate the tr ue meaning of tequil a.

While I was in Utah, Colin hooked me up with a buddy pass and we decided t o r e t u r n t o So u t h A m e r i c a - t h e sc e n e o f o u r i n f a m o u s exploits of the mid eighties. I didn’t make it on Mof ’soverbooked airplane for the flight dovm to Santi ago (let’sjust say my routewasabit morecircuitous and involved a flight to BuenosAireswith abunch of good old boy pheasant hun ter s), bu t Colin w as first offi cer on the flight back to Atlanta a week or so later.And the pilot was none other than legendary F-15 instructor “Mac” Macready, a co o l B r i t w h o knew my old USAFA roommate Rob Huguley, aswell as C h r i s H a er t er an d a b u n c h o f o t h er B o h i c a n s.

PeteMcCaff rey, Scott Walker, Ri ch an dAudr ey Arnold, M ar k A b b o t t an d Tom Webster at Rich’sRetirement Ceremony.

Seemslikeeverybody’sretir ing these days.Theever-amazing, uber-sm ar t , uber-athleti c Dave Sd ueck’s ceremony wasespeciaily w ell - at t en d ed : Ri c ar d Smith,MikeVaughn , Denny Moore, DaveUzzell , and even o l d U SA FA r o o m mate Eric Huppert showed up. Dave traded hisrole as t h e o f fi ci al A i r F o r c e poster boy for a job in Cedar Rapids, lA which Dave’sw i f e c al l s “ a w o n d er f u l place to raise kids.” Hey, didn’t you see “Children of the Corn,” Corry?Just kidding. I grew up in corn country. It’s cool.Anyway, i t so u n d s l i k e D av e an d Corry’s kids reaiiy are doing great . Katie’s running cross country and golfs, while Eric playsevery positi on on thefootball fi eld except “fatty lineman”- an apparent jab at Dave.

Okay- it looks ti kethebatteries in my Bluetooth keyboard are about to give out, so I ’ll wrap it up. Remember to send classmate updates, digital photos, andpiratedcopiesof the/ LoveLucy USAFAvisit episodetoyour faithful Bohi can Checkpo/nfswriters. Becausewithout you, they just make stuff up and risk getti ng husted for honor. m

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Had a great j ob getting some email updates in. Thanks! C a r o l A t k i n s o n (M nkebnan, CS02) reti red last year is currently a post-doctoral r ese ar c h f el l o w at t h e C en t er f o r I n t er n a ti o n al St u d i e s a t t h e University of Southern Cali forniain very sunny LosAngeles. Sheisalso teaching o n e co u r se f o r t h e Sc h o o l of I ntern ati on al Relati on s (al so at U SC). She r eceived her PhD in politi cal sci ence (internati onal relati ons) fr om DukeUniversity i n 2 0 0 3 .

Aft er this, sheplanson looking for apositi on in th e San Fr an r I I cisco Bay area.Ted Mclntirewrote in with his fi rst-ever u p d at e — b et t er l at e th an n ev er ! W h il e in th e A i r Fo r ce h e w o r k ed

Football (or is that foosball ?) legends Dave and EricSchreck.

Jon Duresky gave us the long overdue update on Ed Fisher i n h i s l at e st ar ti cle, but wait - there’s more. Ed goeson to say that aft er 22 years in theAF, he foxmd himself in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at the Offi ce of Defense Coopera ti on. Realizingthestrategic importanceof theMalaysian dialect he’d picked up watching local TV, he retired as an 0 -5, gathered up h is w i fe,Tuk , son Der ek (15), and step-daughter Anna (10) and landed a teachingj ob at th e Naval Post graduate School in Monterey.

Ed says his best bud Andy Byers converted to Hoosierism and is living in Valparaiso,IN - flying for United out of Chicago.Andy and Pam havetwo kids: Michael (14) and Steven (11). Ed also reportsthat Andy Kohlan isnow a kept man, spendinghisretirement in enviableleisurewhilehiswife, Donna,brings homethebacon.Aft er flying RC-135s in Omaha for most of hisAF days,Andy decided to stay in Nebraska, one of thosestateswherebeing a bousehusband isapparently aviable option.

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in acquisitions most of the time, and also was into i n t er n a tional sales and Pol-Mil . His last job was working c o u n t e r 9 narcoti csand counter terrorism as Operati onsoffi cer f o r th e USMilitary Group in Bogota, Colombia. Heretired as a M aj or Sabre Society Do n o rs with 20 years and one day. He is now living down there. H e has start ed hisown internet business (http://www.mailorder husbands.net) and taught English to Spanish-speaking sw i m su i t m o d el s. T h e activities are educational and enjoyablebut not profi table... Right now he is getting ready to return to serious9-5work in themilitary-industrial complex, preferably in an international envi ronment, to pay for the university educa ti o n o f h i s ch i l d r en .

Jim Hai tle is assigned to USAFE at Ramstein Air Base, i n c i v i l ser v i c e w i t h MikeBrennan and Jerry Cummin still acti veat thisti m e . H e i n f o r m ed u s t h a t Charles Guti errez j ust retired at Luke/ Phoenix flying F16s and Gary Middlebrooks is still with the South Dakota guard flying F 1 6 s .

JoeLeavengood isin Baghdad through October on acti ve duty to work with theRegimeCrimesLiaison’sOfBce. Hebouncesback an d f o r th b et w ee n B IA P and the Embassy to help the Iraqisrun a court and jailhouse to prosecute the Baathist Regimebad guys. WhenheisstatesideheisaReservist JAGw ith the 1st FW at Langley and is oft en on duty at Bolling as well. He is al so a third year student at theLutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg,PA and will spend the next year asintern pastor for two churches in York , PA I saw Ed Lorenzini and hiswife, Elizabeth, at in processing thisyear. Their son (Anthony) isa4-degreethisyear and isin 11th squadron. Hisfather (Dino)

is a ’62 USAFA grad and hewas also there aswell to send Anthony off to basic thissummer.They wUl be out for parentsweekend and will stay with his old room matefr om 31st squadron, Robert Car riedo, and hi s w i fe,Val ar ie. Bob is ahistory professor at theAcademy. Ed retired last year and wasworking in DC as a defense contractor in the Missile DefenseAgency.

Tim Shi elds “unbelievably” (his words) got selected for major last time around as a Cat E Reservist (Orange County, CAAdmissions Liai son Offi cer ) and pins-on 1Oct - He may the last 0-4 picked for our class! He is looking for help with ACSC! Theboysfr om SoCal aregoing strongand Tim reportshesees Joey Calderon (Riverside Liaison Offi cer Director),Vinn i e M or r er o (San D i ego Liaison Offi cer Director), and Rick Gordon (former LosAngeles Liaison Offi cer Director) every now and again asthey all fly th e 74 7 -4 0 0 o u t o f LA X f o r UAL Jimmy Mackay wrotein to tell usofwhat hedid o n h i s su m m er v a ca t i o n .

He hasbeen in Afghanistan (in ’02) and then to Iraq (in ’03).

This time it took about 48 hours to get there. They got about zero sleep in route.When they made it to Bagram , they fi nally got t o h i t th e r a ck f o r so m e well -needed snooze time. The guys they replaced did a great job taking care of them and they were able to get caught up on sleep and the flying pretty quickly. He reports that the flying and livi ng conditions a r e w a y , w a y , w a y better. Good food and an air-conditioned plywood hooch t o li v e i n . T h o se ar e called B-huts and are a heck of a place to crash. They sai d t h a t al l an d a l l i t ’s pretty good here.Terry F6ehan isdown in Kirtland A L B an d h as t ak en ov er a s thenew Nuclear WeaponsCenter commander.Robert (k een hasjust reported i n a s t h e n ew co m m an d er o f all A i r L o r ce Re se ar ch L a b s here. They do am az ing things in space and directed energy. So the classh a s K i r Uan d co v er e d .

Quint e l Willia ms 8 98 0 Peabody Court Colorado Springs, CO 8 0 9 20 (719 ) 28 2-4 33 3

Since the last Checkpoints, I was elected President o f t h e A i r F o r c e C a d et Offi cer Mentor Action Program (AFCOMAP) - Pikes Peak Chapter here at Peterson AFB, CO. If you are not familiar with AFCOMAP, ch e c k o u t t h e N a donal AFCOMAP web site at http:/ /www.afcomapnational.org/ i n d ex .h t m l .

In JuneI took my family on a long-plarmed vacation for a few daysto theWalt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL. We all had a blast.We even got to have dinner with someof the Disney charactersat theCrystal Pl a c e Rest au r an t . I ’ll share a picture of us (Quintel, Renee, Kristen (5) an d M ar cu s (2)) w i th W inn ie the Pooh and my wife’s nephew l yvone. My mother-in-law,both of my brothers-in-law,my sister-in-law and her husband,my wife’snephewwerei l there.

We all had a great timetogether.

In l uly I saw Dan Hrovat at HeadquartersAir Force Space Command (HQ AFSPC) Peterson AFB, CO. Dan said I could pass along that he’s still working as a defensecontractor supporting the HQAFSPC Space Pr o f essi o n al O fi c e.

It’s hard to believe, but by the time you will be reading t h i s ar t i cl e a w h o l e year will have passed by since our 20*'’ Reunion. I still have a couple of good picturesto show. JoeVeneziano, hiswife,Karen, and t h eir k i d s d i d n ’t m i n d m e taking their picture during the Friday luncheon at o u r 2 0 "’ Re u n i o n . I t l o o k s like a fun timewas had by al l! If you look closely you can see Irv Higa in the background getting ready for a picture with Joe and m e af t e r t h i s o n e w a s taken.. .maybe I can show it next time.

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Charles Edward “Ched” Jones, Jr. sent me a couple of e - m ai l s si n c e t h e l a st Checkpoin ts. Ched let meknow that he has retired and gotten ajob working for the DefenseThreat Reduction Agency (DTRA) at Fort B e l v o i r i n A l ex an dria,VA. Ched will get to use his astronautical engineering degree and space experience to oversee USsatellite launches in foreign co u n t r i es i n o r d e r t o ensurecompaniescomply with nonproliferation laws on foreign technology t r an sf er s. C h ed ’s k i d s w er e st il l in sc h o o l an d M ar sh a wasworking, so he had to go it alone for a while until school is out for the summer. Congratulations on your retirement and best wishes for continued success a t D T RA C h ed !

Jackie Charsagua sent me an invi tation to her retirement ceremony at the National Reconnaissance Offi ce (NRO) Headquarters in Chantilly,VA. I’m sorry that I couldn’t make it. I se n t a car d .

Jackie didn’t say whether or not shewould continuet o su p port the NRO as a government civilian or contractor. C o n gratulationson your retirement and best wishesfor co n t in ued successyour next endeavor Jackie!

6 Keith Lambert sent mean invitation to hischange-of-command ceremony. I’m sorry that I couldn’t make it . I s e n t a Sabre Society Donors card. Congratulations on completingyour command tour Keith! Keith’s messagefollows... ’’Held my change o f co m mand on Friday 14 July aft er two yearsas Commander,9* Special OpsSquad ron. It wasafast two yearswith continuousdeploymentstoOIF. Next stop for mewill beDavis-Monthan AFB,AZ to be the Deputy Group C C o f 5 6 3 "*Rescu e Group. Will be geographically separated fr om family f o r ab o u t 10 m o n t h s so our daughter can fi nish senior year of high school and get headed off to col lege. Not much else happening otherwise, except waiting with anticipation f o r t h e C o l s b o ar d r e su l t s... G o o d l u c k t o al l t h e “ o n -t i m e” ’8 5 er s!”

Fr om l ef t ar e Qui n tel Wil ii am s, Wi n n i e th e Pooh , M ar cus (2), Ty von e

(Nephew), Kristen (5) and Renee at Wal t Disney World.

Fr om l ef t ar e Joe an d Kar en Ven ezi an o wi th th ei r ki ds a t o u r 2 0 " ’ R e u n i o n

L un ch eo n .

Linally,MikeChallman and hiskidsdidn’t mind strikingaposefor meduring the Lriday luncheon at our 20th Reunion. Don’t they look great!

C U later .. ..Quin t el

Ga ry Burg 3 5 1 1 Hollyberry Circle Anchorage, AK 9 9 50 7 lce9 2 FS@ya hoo.co m

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Greetings fr om the land of the Midnight Sun — at least w h a t w as t r u e w h en I waswriting thisarticle. If all goeswell, thisedition of Checkpointswill hit the street just beforeour classreunion. I’m very anxiously looking forward to our 20-year reunion and if it ishalf as good as our 10-year reun i on , it w ill be a blast We aredefi nitely steppingup our accommodationsfro m th e Court Yar d (l oca tion of our 10-year reunion) totheWyndham. Ifyouarestayingat theWyndham, makesureyou sign-up for your Wyndham ByRequest card. T h e w eb si t e t o d o that ishttps:/ /www.wyndham.com/wbr/signin.wnt?event=protected . T h a t way you will get a few extra benefi tswhen you check in t o you r r oom . On ce you get your card number, make sureyou call the hotel o r 1 -8 0 0 n u m b er an d updateyour reservation with that information. Hopefully t h i s r eu n i o n w e don’t get snowed out of our golf tournament.

I know this summer was a big transition for many of o u r cl assm a t es. W e h i t the20-year point where many of us made the transition into military retire ment and pressed on to the civilian sector. I know sev e r a l w h o m a d e t h a t transition and instead of listing thosenames I thought I would just congratu12 3

late everyone who “did their twenty” and wish them t h e b est o f l u c k i n t h e civilian or retirement sector. If all goes as planned on my side, I’ll bejoining you in two years.

I just read thesummer issueof CheckpointsandseeBoh (my scribetag-team partner) did a great job covering theevents and also identifying our lost gradu ates. I know thelist hasgotten considerably shorter b u t t h er e ar e st i l l a f ew o u t therewho remain un-located. According to the 17Jul list, t h e r e a r e st il l 3 1 o f our classmates that the AOG doesn’t have any Information on. That’s only about 3% so not too bad but I’m thinking someonewho reads Checkpoints actually hasthecurrent informadon on those classmates. If everyonewould go to http://www.usafa.org/pages/reunions/ 1986/lostcIassmates.ht m an d see if you know anyone that would help a lot. If you do, please let the AOG k n o w w h a t t h e i r c u r r e n t i n f o r m a t i o n i s an d t h e n c o n t a c t those people and bring them back into the fold.

Hey Cactus,just becauseyou listed all thenamesof o u r l o st cl a ssm at es d o n ’t think you get credit for having the most nameslisted in o n e art i cl e. Sin ce B o b wdUbethe onewriting theWinter Checkpointsart i cle- theoneright aft er our reunion - pleaseemail him your inputs. Hisemail is r k a sco l ell a @co t .n et . Yo u can send him any photosyou captured too. I ’m sure t h e r e w i l l b e a f ew t h a t meet the“must see” category aft er our reunion.

Bob and I wereemailingeach other about thisart iclean d I h av e t o sh ar e w i t h you something hewrote to me, “Do you think I sit here sift ing through a huge mailbag pulling out only thesweetest of treatsto sharewith our reading audi ence? Or do you suppose, that much likeyou, I am scraping t h e b o t t o m o f th e barrel every six months - theonly good newsbeing t h a t w e havedif ferent barrelsto scrape?” Boy hehit that oneright on the nail. Without your, our classmate’s, acdve support an d inputs, there is nothing to read every three months. If you run into a classmateor havesomething in your lifethat you think your fellow classmateswould enjoy reading, PLEASE em ai l u s so w e can i n c l u d e i t in th e n ex i i ssu e o f Checkpoints.

I wish I had the problem like Bob mentioned of pulling o u t Sabre Society Dono rs only a brief summary of emaUs dueto thefact that th er e ar e too many. It hashappen afew timesbut moreoft en th an not , I’m scraping for inputs. If you haven’t fi gured it out yet.Bob ison theWinter and Summer rotation and I’m on the Spring and Eall rotation. Inputs are usually due about a month aft er the previous Checkpointshits t h e st r eet . O n e b i t o f good news, we are no longer the lowest percentage of A O G m e m b e r s o f A L L the graduating classes. The Class of ’84 picked up that honor - way to go!

Hopefully with the increase of AOG membership due to our upcoming re

Wow,I don’t know how 1managed but it lookslike I’vejust about reached my limit for thisarticleaft er all. Hopeyou all had a gr eat sum m er an d w e r un in to each other at the20-year reunion. If you can’t makeit,drop usalineletting Bob or I know what you’re up to. Like I mentioned,with t h e i n c r e a sed A O G m e m bership for the 20-year reunion, more peoplewill get to hear fr om you than ever before. And for all thosew4io liketo keep in contact with your classmates, why not treat yourself to a lifetime membership to theAOG. If you look at the numbers, someof thehighest classpercentagesof membersar e t h o se c l a sses over 35yearssincegraduati on. So you can pay them now or you can pay them later; bottom lineisthat beingpart of thelongbluelineissomethingyou should be proud of and support ing theAOG is oneway to show t h a t .

’ ^ '

I

Sha ron (Hullinger) St e hlik

500 Lunalilo Home Road, I I J Ho n o lu l u , H I 9 6 8 2 5

M e m b e rs 'I d

Phone and Fax: (8 08 ) 54 2-8 8 1 1 nuloha na@gma ll.co m or Sha ro n.st e h lik@pa co m .m ll

Al oha classmates! Hopeyou are all doing well. Time certainly is fl ying. We are amazingly only ayear fr om our 20-Year Reuruon and asdif fi cult as it may beto comprehend, but we also have classmateswhose children are entering theUSAFAclassof 2010! I know for surethat Kurt Spranger,Jr.w as sel ec t ed . I f thereareany othersout there,pleaselet usknow and send pictures! I’m expect ing one of Kurt with hisshaved head!

Assomeof usareaging at light-speed, othersseem t o h av e fo u n d th e f o u n t ain of youth. Lt Col Ken Sei sun just completed theLake Placid Ir onm an (enr ou te to PCSnonetheless) with a strong fi nish: swim 2.4 m i in 1:17:18; bik e 112 m i in 6:13:12;ran 26.3milesin 4:01:23;total mcludingtransiti ons: 1 1:4 5 :5 6 . H e fi n ished 105 out of 378 in hisagegroup.What an accomplishment f o r K en ! H er e h e i s w i t h h i s w i fe Su z an n e . H e st i l l l o o k s fr esh !

u n i o n w e’ll b o l t o u t o f t h e b o t t o m 10 % t o o .

On theclassmatenewssideof thehouse, I did recenti y talk to Jay Hiimelhangh.

1ay retired thispast May aft er his20 years and isnow enjoying retirement. Jay spent the summer in Hawaii with his son Gavi n enjoying h i s f r ee t i m e . O b v i ously life is treating him right as he hasn’t even put out any resumes for his follow-on career and isenjoying lifewith hissignifi cant other - Barb. Thispast April, I schooled Jay on thefi ner aspectsof golf taking2 of 3 matchesweplayed during my visit to Norfolk,VA. By theway Jay, thanks f o r t h e fr ee l u n c h es an d d r i n k s! T h e o t h er cl as sm at e I ’v e h ear d fr o m i s M ik e P an ai i sL Gr ease i s o v er in

Deutschl and working in EUCOM these dayswith lovely w if e, Reba, an d son Michael. Obviously li fe is treadng him well ashewill be pinning on 0 -6 this winter. Hemendoned hewasgoing to try to makeit to thereunion; surehope w e se e h i m t h er e .

Bob did manageto get some email traf fi c flowing and received repliesfr om theFed Ex mafi a. LookslikeJoe\ ^ sta and Brent Freri chs just joined the family

w h i ch i n c l u d e s t h e li k es o f Pa t r i c k D iM en t o an d C h r i s Z am i k . I ’m su r e t h er e a r e a l o t m o r e b u t I d o n ’t h av e t h e c o n n e c t i o n s t o know who they all are. I

wouldn’t besurprised if thereisa Fed Ex jet parked out on theramp at CSprings during our reunion. It looks like both Kevin Brooks a n d C h r i s H i as o n a r e working at theJohnson Space Center these daysand Eli za b et h A l m ei d a i s n o longer a lost classmateas she islocated somewherein the Pacifi c region at the 96367 zip code (couldn’t find the actual base from that zip). Don Kudym dropped a lineto Bob to let him know hehashisroom booked at theVV^ dham and to be looking for him in the Swedish massage parlor. D er ek H u n t m an aged to turn full circle in 20 years and is back in the Springs area working at Sch r i ev er A FB . T h e l a st em ai l t h a t m a d e t h e d ea d l i n e c am e fr o m Rex Gib so n .

Hewr ote “A quick update fr om the Gibson famiiy -- Mary Jo, Josefa, Jack and Graceand I arestilJhaving agreat timein Melbourne, EL I j ust retir ed fr om th e Air Force in June and I’m now working for a major pharmaceutical co m p an y.

Wewerevery happy to stay on the SpaceCoast — I’ll takemy chanceswith the hurricanes. My oldest daughter,Josefa, start s at UCF i n O r l an d o t h i s f all an d Jack and Gracearein high school and middle school,respectively. I’m looking f o r w ar d t o th e r eu n i o n t h i s f al l !

Cl ass of 198 6 2 0 th R eun i on

27 Sep t - 1 Oct

U SA FA v s. N e w M ex i c o

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K en an d Su z a n n e Ser s i m

Tracy Meck wrotein fr om Afghanistan. Shesays,“I am in Afghanistan for the second time. Thisround I am commanding a Provincial Rec o n st r u c ti o n Team (PRT) in Gardez. The unit is made of AF and Ar my, to includeActive Duty, Reserveand Nati onal Guard. We are responsible for helping develop thepro vincial and district governments, assist with development of thesecurity forces and assist with reconstructi on and development. Wearealwaysout and about interacting with the local people. There are a lot of great things being done over herethat you never see in thenews. I am attaching a pictureof myself and my First Sergeant, SECMichael Spellman, during a quality c o n t r o l assessm en t at an orphanagewe funded.” Here she iswith her First Ser gean t :

SteveMiller wrote from the sandbox aswell. “1just wanted to send you a

pictureof four ’87gradscurrently servingon “TheR o ck ” a t A l i A l Sal e m A i r

Base in Kuwait . In the picture are (left to right) Lt Col St eve M ill er , Col C.K .

Hyde,Lt Col Bill Ward,and Lt Col Dan Hancock. Col C.K. Hyde is currently

ished up an SDEFellowship,but wasTDYtoAWC. Heisnow working in SAP/ LLP at the Pentagon.”

if nishingup hisone-year tour astheViceWingCommander o f t h e 3 8 6 t h A i r ExpeditionaryWingand ison hisway tothePentagon JC S/ J4. 1am sure he is ready to have some qual ity time with h i s

family. Lt Col Dan Hancock assumed Commandof the386th ExpeditionaryOperational Support Squadron in July 0 6 an d isjust startinghisone-year command tour. Dan said th at h e doesn’t know where he is going after this tour is up b u t h e

bragsthat hecan still fly with C- 17sthat passthrough o u r

b ase. Lt Col Bill War d i s h er e on a n or m d AEF r ot at i on a s

r

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9 Sab re Soc iet y

Do n o rs Commander of the737th ExpeditionaryAirlif t Squadron an d he is also the Conunander of the 37"' Airlift Squadron b a c k h om e at Ram st ei n AB. I am al so on an AEF r ot ati on h ere and serving as the Commander of the43'^" Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron and back home I am Director of Operationsfor the755"' Operational Support Squadron at Davi s-Month an AFB. We w oul d have h ad fi ve ’87 Grads in thispicture but Lt Col Dave Goul d just returned to Pope AFB where he is t h e 4 3 "^" O SS C o m mander. There arefour flyingsquadronshereand all four squadronsarecom manded by Academy grads. Thefourth commander (not pictured) is Lt Col Bill “Huge” Summ ers (Class of ’89).

JoeTtegtmeyer stopped by for ashort visit thissummer. H e w a s en r o u t e t o

San Antonio for asquadron commander course, and effectivein early Septem ber he’ll be at Altus as the Operations Support Group c o m m an d er w h er e h e hopes to keep flying the KC-135, at least part time. M or e on th at , an d var iou s oth er ’88er s h e’s m et in hi s tr avels n ext tim e.

Writeyour scribe!

f

Pa u l W . T ib b e t s ,

IV

8 5 4 W e s t o v e r Ro a d

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Whit eman AFB, MO 6 5 3 0 5 Home: (6 60 ) 5 63-3 0 9 5 E-ma il: p2 a2 @chart er.net

Nick Volpe stopped by my cube to say hi . He’s out hereworking at J6 for his Reserveduty. It wasgreat catching up. He and hisw i f e an d tw o so n s ar e st il l i n Colorado and he’sworking for HP. I’m not surehow much timehewasactually spendingworking because1seemed to alwayssee him at thegym, going to the gym, or coming from thegym . Just kidding!

Anyway,thisinput isshort but it doeshavesome nicepicmres! Onelast note, I have a request if anyone is interested in sharing t h e sc r i b e d u t i es o r ev e n taking them on for me I’d be grateful . I’vebeen doing thus for l O-i-great years, but as my family and responsibilities grow, I fi nd it more diffi cult to get my inputs in to theeditor in atimely fashion (not that I wasever good at it in thefi rst place—sorry Mr.Kroboth). I’m sureI’ll get an email from Bob Colella saying how weak I am, blah, blah , blah, and yes, I do feel guilty, but I ’d love to let someoneelseinfuse abit of new energy into our updates. If you’reinterested, please email me. Thanksand aloha nui loa!

M a r k Pe t e rs 2 4 3 7 Be d f o rd Ci rc le

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M e m be rs

Bedford , TX 76 0 2 1-18 2 3 (8 17) 9 37-9 69 6 pylt @ya hoo .co m

Greetin gs 88!

Alas, my In-Box was almost empty this time around, b u t I w a s sav e d ft -o m

having to hasslemy friendstoo much by Emily Buckman w h o e m a i l e d a

fact-fi lled missive. “This is Emily (Whittaker) Buckman checking in. My husband (Dave Buckman, ’86) and I just arrived in DC after graduating from Air War College in M ay.

Weareboth stationed at the Pentagon— I’m in A4Rand h e’s in SAF/AQX. However, I’m headed to Baghdad on 7August for a 365-day TDY. I ’ll be working under MNF-I on Task 11 Force 134 doing Logistics for Detainee Ops. It’s a joint job, but spelled “AR M Y”...it’sgoing to be fascinating and busy! Sa b re Soc iet y Do n o rs I ’ve attached a copy of our ’88er classmates from Air W a r College: they include Pat “ Patches” Chri stopherson w h o is headed to Hill AFB to be the Fighter Ops Grp CC, C r i st i n a “ M o n a ” (Romagosa) Stone who isheaded to Offutt to be a Deputy OpsGrp CC,Mike “ Sk eeter ” Rothst ein w h o h as on e m or e sem est er t o fi n i sh up AWC and then he’ll head to an Ops Grp most likely, and Mike Fleck who actually just fi n-

Greetingsclassmates. It iswith great sadness I bringyou thenewsof a fallen comrade. On Monday, 22 May, we lost one of our own when Maj Chris Black well died unexpectedly. Hewas assigned to the705"’ Training Squadron at Hurlburt Field, FL Chrisissurvived by hiswife,Ter r i, an d son Cart er. M an y of you knew Chrisat theAcademy and someof you had the pleasure of work ingwith him in theyearssince. Chriswas agreat f riend , a w onderf ul h usban d , and an outstanding offi cer. Although hisfamily and f r i e n d s w i l l m i ss h i m t er

ribly, Chrisiswith theLord now watchingover all of us. In honor of C h r i s’ service, a graniteCommemorative Paver will beplaced alongsidethoseof our 13 fallen classmates at the Pegasus Plaza in fr ont o f D o o l i t t l e H al l .

A tr u st f un d h as b een est abl ish ed w h er e d on ation s can b e m a d e f o r C h r i s’ son Cart er. Terr i h as asked for all w h o kn ew Chr is t o w r i t e a l et t e r t o t h e ir so n

letting them know what type of father, husband and o f fi c e r h e w a s. Sh e w el com es con dolen ce car ds as w ell . Letter s, car ds, an d d o n a

tionsfor Carter’strust fund may besent to her homead d r ess: 4615 East Highline Place, Denver, CO 80222. You may al so w r i t e Ter r i a t t b u ck m a st @a o l .co m .

A litde background on Chris: af ter graduating UPT Chris went to fly the F-111at RAF Upper Heyford, England. F o l

lowingasuccessful initial assignment,hewasassigned t o

Sheppard AFB,TX asaT-38 instructor pilot at the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training program. Chris was routinely a s

11 2 Sabre Society Do n o rs

signed to teach below-average students and excelled a t shepherdingthem through theprogram. From there,Chriswent on to fl y the

F-15 Eagle at Mountain HomeAFB, ID, overseeing his unit’s deployment to Operation SOUTHERN WATCH. Chris left the AF in 1999 to fly for United Air li n es. It w as th er e h e m et h is w i fe, Ter r i , i n th e spring of 2001. They were mar ried the same year and blessed with the birth of t h e i r so n C a r t e r i n t h e spring of 2002.

After theevents of September 11 2001, Chrisfelt thec all t o ser v e h i s n a ti o n in a more active role and returned to active duty in July of 2002. He was as signed to United StatesCentral Air Forces (USCENTAI^ at Sh aw AFB,SC,w her e he played an instrumental part in planning and executing Operating IRAQI FREEDOM. Hewent on to a remote assignment with 7'" A i r Fo r ce a t O san A i r Base, Korea, where he quickly became the “go-to” member of th e st r ategy team, participating in and upgradingexercises ULCHI FO C U S L EN S an d F OA L EAGLE. Following Korea, Chriswas assigned to the 705"’ Training Squadron, making an immediate impact in leading the squadron training team in devel oping BLUE FLAG 06.

From Chris’ memorial serviceat Calvary Lutheran Church in Ri chl an d H ill s, TX: “Hewas a member of Calvary Lutheran Church sinceb ir th an d a d ev o u t Christian and Bible scholar. He spent much time (especially during the Ko rean tour) studying the Bible and numerousother religiousb o o k s. H e l o v ed flying the F-15, snowboarding and skiing. Chris loved lif e, h ad a r eal h un ger for knowledge and most of all loved being with his family. He will be dearly 12 5

missed by all his family and fr iends. Hislove, compassion and wit will always betreasured in our hearts. Wetakecomfort in knowingthat heisat peacewith t h e L o r d .”

I n oth er n ew s, w e r eceiv ed a v ol u n t eer t o r u n ou r cl ass w e b si t e - Sc o t t

Shinberg! Look for moreinfo soon at http://www.usafa.org,an d t h en sel ect ClassWeb Pages.

Oneof our own, Richard Lewis, received special recognition recently as President and CEO of RTL Networks, a minority-owned f i r m f o cu sed o n i n formation technology infr astructure sales and services. In April of 2006 the PikesPeak DoD Military InstallationsSmall BusinessSpecialistspresented RTL Networks, Inc. with theprestigious DoD/PikesPeak Region 2006 Sm all Busi ness Contractor of theYear Award. The awards ceremony wasconducted by theColorado SpringsChamber of Commerce, aimed at profiling and high

lightingsuccessful businessesin theregion. On receivingth e aw ar d . Ri ch

commented that it wasan honor to berecognized andthat h e w o u l d c o n t i n u e to “keep hiscustomersfirst!” In May,hiscompany was again honored, this time as a fi nalist in the Denver Metropolitan Chamber o f C o m m er c e 2 0 0 6 Emerging Businessof theYear competition and Semi-Finalist in t h e Er n st an d Young 2006 Entrepreneur of theYear Award. These honorsw e r e b e st o w ed

basedon thefi nancial performanceandstabilityof RTL Netw orks, In c., as w ell asthequality of itswork and leadership. CongratsRi ch !

shirt and red tiein thestraight and level photoaswell . The Citation Mustang ison track to becertifi ed includingsingle-pilot operations by the end of the

year. For the last two weeks. I ’ve literally had the company jet, credi t cards, and theentireUnited Statesat my disposal. Lifeisgood.

Dan “Bat” Manuel: I’m now back in lovely Knob Noster, M O a s t h e D O o f t h e B-2Test and Evaluation Squadron.

Dave K ng: I recently moved fr om D.C. toWPAFB where I t o o k o v er th e A C 130Aeronautical SystemsSquadron. Therearea lot less ’90 grads around Ohio

than D.C.,but I’m enjoyingtheslower paceof life.

Paul Pepe: I am currendy workingin theHQAMC/A3 Staff a t Sc o t t A F B as o n e

of threeCommand C-130evaluator pilots. I hopetoget an assignment s o o n and get back to some more active flying. I am also t h e A M C

POCfor theAirlift /Tanker Association (A/TA) thisyear. I hope

to see som e of our folk s fr om ’90 at th e conven ti on thisyear.

I am about 30minutesfr om downtown St. Louissoif y o u ar e goingtobein town dropmealineat paul_pepe@yahoo.com.

Javier Dducca: Greetingsfr om MantaAir Base,Ecuador an d the478th Expeditionary OperationsSquadron.Asof 22Aug 06

I will be the new squadron commander supporting the

'

^

Im

1 Sabre Society

Dono rs counterdrugoperationsin Ecuador.Wesupport aircraft fr o m the USAF, USMC, Navy, Coast Guard and U. S. Customs.The baseislocated on thecoast,west of thecapital of Quito. It isa one-year remote.

Jay Updegr af f : I have started working as an Act ion O f f i c e r i n t h e USNORTHCOM J35 (FutureOperationsDivision). Keepingbusy working

UAV CONOPS for n atur al di saster an d hom elan d defen se i ssu es. O f co u r se w e

lovebeing in theSprings. Bought ahouseon CheyenneM o u n t a i n an d c an

Colorado Springs Chamber of CommercepresentsRich L e w i s an d R TL N e t works, Inc. with theDoD/PikesPeak Region 2006Small B u sin ess Co n tr act o r of th e Ye ar A w ar d .

That’s awrap for this quarter. Let me hear fr om you! Best wishesto you and your families. Take care and God bless.

Ja m e s S a n c h e z 8 3 0 1 Em e ra ld Ci rc le

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M e m b e rs

Nort h Richland Hills, TX 76 18 0 Cell: (8 17 ) 8 8 1-6 3 57 We b: www.USAFAt oday.com/ w iki j a mes.sa nchez@usaf a9 0 .co m

Bryan Veit :Andrea fl ferry) and I aremoving to Oklahoma City thissummer

w h er e I w ill be th e Ch ief Pil ot for C-2 1s at AFFSA an d t ea c h a t t h e A d v an c ed In stn un ent Sch ool (AI S) on th e side. We h ave been m ar r ied now for 15 years

oversee Ft. Car son from the hot tub! Al so bought season t i ck e t s t o se e t h e Falconswin back theCICTrophy thisyear! Am sponsoringsome 4-degrees and preppies thisyear, and it j ust struck me that our BCT was 20 years ago!

Showed them our BCT yearbook and they wanted to know why we had no color photos! “Back when I was a cadet we didn’t have color photography...”

Becky ishaving fun reminiscing about our timeherewhen weweredating, and my son Daniel starts4th gradeand my daughter Catherinestartskindergarten on Monday. That’s about all I’vegot fro m theSprings. Give me a call if anyone needs a place to stay. We’vegot plenty of space, and AF does play NotreDame at hometJiisyear! Anyonecan fe el fr eeto crash my tailgate!

LarsLunsford:My wife.Heather,daughter Annika (4years), and I areliving in Spain near San Javier. Em back in theUSAFAD (since2003) an d aft er a sh o r t tour in Enid fl yingTWeets, I’m fl ying the CASA 101at the Spanish AFA. Just got here in July and will be here for 2-3 years.

Tun ShatM I’m currently servingasassistant air att achein th e D efen se A t ach d Offi ce, USEmbassy Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Mat Roush: Flying C-5s at Stewart AB, New York with B i l l D u sk a s an d t h e NewYorkANG. I ran intoDarrin Jamesin ManasAB,Kyrgyzstan. HeistheWing Safety Offi cer in Dover spendingafew monthsin theAOR. Melissa (Standley)

will be looking forward to his return. I also recently sa w P a t M c N ei l l s i n

Ramstein. HeisdoingaUSAFEjob and enjoyingit. Trent A^ Hulsen was al so in Ramstein working the stagefor theMississippi ANG C-17 mission. It’sgood to meback on the road again.

Brian “Trash” Hastings: Just got picked up for a no-notice assignment to Osan as the 51 FW Chief of Safety. Looki ng forward t o a r e m o t e o v e r s e a s assignment with the family. I have a third son now since my deployment to Iraq, Luke Patrick. I am currendy at requal at DMAFB w h er e F o o t M il l e n i s t h e DO of the 357 FS, al though I am in the358 FS. I love to see all the ’90 grads in leadership positions. I hopeto be in Korea by theend of September...we’ll see.

By theway, I am writing this from Garth I terlizzi’s h o m e i n P h o en i x .

and have two children, Andrew (9) and Kristen (7). I w i l l b e st a t i o n e d w i t h fell ow ’90 grad Tom Conklin.

Lou DeFelice: Still here in northern suburb of Chicago (Winnetka) with my wif e, Laura, and five ki ddos from two (oops) t o 13. My com pany CredentialSmart isdoing well ; our system wasused to help register and cre dential healthcare providers for the hurricanes last summer and we having been getting severd state and federal contracts since that time. I saw my old

Ca rs o n Ta v e n n e r 6 8 2 8 Ra c c o o n Co u rt W a ld o rf , M D 2 0 6 0 3

(2 0 2 ) 23 1-248 4 DSN: (3 12 ) 4 28-24 8 4 Home: (3 0 1) 374-2752

CS- 13 r oom m at e W iz (D an Wh i sen an t ) in L.A . w h en 1w as o u t t h e r e f o r a

tradeshow in May. Heis doingwell and has a gorgeousplace overlooking the ocean and a “friend” that is, of course, way over his head (somebody has to

keep hum humble). I alsotalkedwith SteveBrandt (although I m i ssed h i m i n

Colorado by a day as heisPCSing to Edwards). He made LTCOL and isleaving theAcademy and heading out to EdwardsAFB to be the O P S o f fi c er f o r t h e flight test unit (I think) for a few monthswhilewaiting to seewhat squadron.

Heisgetting for a command. Steveand Lisaalso havefi v e k i d s... h e n ev er co u l d stand mebeating him at anything.

Eric Dalton: I’vejust moved to A eWest African nation o f M ali t o ser v e as t h e DefenseAtt achefor two years. I’m accompanied by my wife, Kelly,and daugh tersAshley and Morgan,ages 13and 10,respectively. If anyonein ’90 ispassing through the Sahara Desert, let meknow. Maybewecan hook up in Timbuktu (yes, it’s a real place)!

Jon Cooper: I’m flying theCitation Mustang N51OKSon thecover of theSep tember issue of FLVI NG magazine (my second cover since theApril 2004 is sue). I’m also fl ying for the belly-up photo in thear t i cl e. T h a t ’s m e i n t h e w h i t e 12 6

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t a v e n n e r @h o t m a i l .c o m

Fr ien ds,

Sadly, I must once again open with the news of losing an oth er cl assm at e; Todd W entine struggled against colon cancer for 18 m on ths,but it took hi s lif e on 2 July. Todd had already pinned on LtCol, an obvious r e f l e c t i o n o f h i s excellent professionalism and dedication to service. But perhapsthegreatest reflection of hisheritagemi xed with thetragedy of hisuntimely departure, are hisninepreciouschildren. Hiswi fe, Cindy,wantsus to know,“several people havewritt en lett ers to Todd recendy expressing their feelingsabout him ,shar ing memoriesof him , and telling of how he has touched their lives. I thought that would be a great thing to keep for the kidsto read when they get older so they can better understand the kind of man Todd was. I would appreciate it if any of you who knew Todd well would do the same. Feel f r e e t o se n d i t v i a email and I will print it up and include it with the others. If you would like to mail it, our address is 173 Brush Trail Lane, Cibolo,T X 7 8 10 8 . O u r c h i l d r e n have long livesto livewithout their father and I would liketo keep hismemory

asaliveaspossiblefor them throughout their adult lives.” I hope all of you who

read this and knew Todd enough to write, will do so. Cindy d so spoke of her deep appreciation for all theprayers“that each of you havegiven for our fam ilythislastyear. I havefelt such strength fr om thoseprayers.” They held aparty aweek beforeTodd passed, and “many people...cameby to seeTodd and say goodbye. Therewereeven afew whoflew in and drovegreat distancesjust for the event. Todd was able to stay awake and remain lucid for thewhole night and he really had a great time.” Cindy also spoke of being surprised by a visit fr om General Bill Looney,AETC Commander,on the day before that party. He awarded Todd with a Meritorious Service Medal and promoted h i m t o L i eu tenant Colonel. It meant a lot to Todd to be recognized f o r t h e h ar d w o r k an d dedi cati on w i th w h ich h e h as ser ved our coun tr y.

And how fi tting aswell that Todd’spin-on might help usrefl ect on thejoyous newsthat so many classmatesreceived (just weekslater) w i th t h e r el ea se o f t h e board results. Congratulationsto the new LtCol selectees! It w as n ot an easy board to get through, indeed. May theaccomplishment n o w serveas a motivator to greater service and deeper co n v i ct i o n f o r t h e b en efi t o f t h e n a t i o n th at w e al l l o v e t o ser v e ! I w o u l d

have printed all the neunes of our classmateswho were s e lected, but I had neither thetimenor t hespacewith w h i ch t o accomplish thetask (I wasin themidst of PCSwhen t h e n ew s 3 came, as I’m suremany of were, aswell.) Thisevent h as b ee n an exciting one to anticipate, and I’m sure that whether we Sabre Society Do no rs are still active, serving in the Reserves, or fully co n v er t ed t o civil i an li fe, th at w e can look w i th adm i r ati on t o the place whereso many of usnow reside- theconfi rmation of a life-long career oppor tunity to shape, to lead, and ulti mately to determine the future of air & space forces. Wow! Classof 1991selectees...Congratulati ons!

Finally, allow me to giveyou (belated) news of our 15-year reunion plans.

TrueBlue aft er “stop out.” Stevegraduated fr om CS-39 with us. Like everyone else, Steve hasbeen “meaning to write for a long time...” Glad you fi nally did, Steve. Steve is currendy in his 2"‘' year at Michigan State, pursuing a PhD in

Management on an AFIT Faculty scholarship. When hefi n

ishes, hewill join thefaculty and teach at AFIT at Wright-Pat.

Previously heflew theB-I Bat Ellsworth, SD and Mountain Home, ID. He had aT-37 IP job at Sheppard AFB, and l i k ed it so much he went to teach Navy guys in theT-34 at Wh itin g Field, near Pensacola. Aft er 13 yearsof flying, he appli ed for this PhD and somehow got it. Along the way, he married a n ur se fr om Can ada, an d now has four kids. Steve seem s v er y

content emd summed it up thisway,“I’m a really lucky g u y , and thereisno doubt theAir Forcehasbeen very good t o m e .

.sWKKs,^ ^

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3 Sabre Society Do no rs

Teachingand mentoringhasalwaysbeen rewardingfor m e . . . ” so h e d ec i d ed

to follow that plan. Thanks, Steve,it’salwaysgood t o h ear fr o m so m eo n e w h o h a s n o t b een i n t h e c o l u m n b ef o r e .

Alwaysa good timefor awedding. Donna (Ward) Boyce s e n t m e a n o t e

announcingthat shegot married on 18 Mar 06 at BollingA F B t o D o n i n a Cel t i c stylewedding. Take a look at the obligatory picture of the saber arch and you should recognize a few familiar faces— Mark Mount and Elizabeth (Kurey) Casstevens. As Donna said, don’t worry about their r an k s as 2"'*Lt s, M ar k an d Elizabeth are both going through theAF pre-med program wherethey had to become Ltsagain.

Also, given the“wide scope” of thesethreebig itemsf or t h e col u m n , I am

choosing to forgo including individual updatenews- t h er e w as n o t m u ch t h i s time - but I will incorporate it all in the next edition. Thank you for your understanding on this.

First, by the time this is printed, you will need to go to the class website

(www.us^ a91.com)tofi ndoutwhat hastranspiredsinceI w r o t e t h i s co l u m n .

Clearly,therewas no reunion planned and accomplished during thesummer, though wehad posted an online survey last spring with many summer dates listed. Many responded, not in thenumbers I wasexpecting (less th an 10% of the class) but enough to continue the motivati on and justifi cati on to pursue the idea. The result of the survey revealed that we should plan on having a wintertimereunion in Colorado Springs,with aspecial skiingemphasison the acti vity planning. I’m suggesting starting 18 January in COS,then st ayin g to gether in Breckenridge for the weekend. That would b e t h e w e e k e n d a ft e r MLK weekend; wedo not want to do thisMLK weekend, f o r r easo n s sim i l a r t o what I’m about to explain.

I wish I’d had a better memory before making that online survey! Though most peoplevoted to hold it in COSon Labor Day weekend (an d t h er efor e I started ‘jumping’ on that beforeI PCSed); well it turnsout Labor Day weekend i s Par en t s W eek en d at t h e z o o !

“Duh!” Like, I should have thought of that.

No oneelsementi oned it either though,so I don’t feel quiteso stupid. So,aswe all know,COSisa terribleplaceto fi nd hotel spacethat weekend. Aaargh. This iswhy you then heard nothing fr om meon thewebsitethrough thesummer.

But with so many confi rming (since we had different l o c a t i o n s t o ch o o se from) that COS- regardless of our ‘visitor’ status at USAFA - is the place we want to hold this, we must hear the majority and plan t o a t l ea st st ar t o u r 15 year there. So, therewill need to be a committee formed w h i c h can t ak e t h i s thing fr om my handsand get to work Now that I’m established at a n ew o f fi c e and new home. I’m available. Check out my new contact d a t a ab ov e. I n ci d en tally, if we cannot fi nd at least a dozen folks to dedi cate th eir tim e to thi s, th en the reunion will have to go to the “good ideas that never were” pile. Let’s not let that happen! I don’t think it will haveto bethat way,though. So go check the website and seewhat’sup, okay?Volunteer!

Departure, promotion, and reunion. Well , I think those are enough emoti oni burdensfor onecolumn,don’t youagree?Seeyou next time,fr iends, and stay in touch! I missyou all terribly. Tav y

Ja m e s S . M e ht a 8 5 0 9 Cu st e r Co u rt

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(Meetingsonce again oldfi i ends! It’samazing to think wegraduated over 14 yearsago. Where doesthe time go?! I hope this column fi ndsyou all well and doing great things in theworld. As always, drop me a n o t e a n d l et m e k n o w what’s going on in your neck of thewoods. Well , off w e g o . . .

Once ’92, Always ’92! I got an e-mail from Steve Harmon who j oined the

Donna and Don Boyce. Saber bearers Mark Moun t, Elizabeth (Kur ey) Casstevens, Scott Voth, Melin da Bj erstedt (classmates in themed program), and Shar on Presley and Scott Frisi us (USAFA ’94).

Another of our classmates,David McAuley ,also attended Dorma’swedding.

Dave isworking asa DoD civilian at DIA nowadays. D o n n a h ea d ed t o t h e A i r Staf f in August. Congratulati onsto you and Don!

Another frequent caller. LayneI^ per wrotetoannouncet h e b i r t h o f h i s

son, Logan Edward. According to Layne, “He’s a big ol’ boy, and I’m looking forward to watching a lot of Air Force football with him this Fall!” Layne, his wife,Jessica, and their daughter London celebrated Logan’sbapti sm thissum mer. Laynelives in Aledo,TX wherehe’stheManaging Part ner of a merger and acquisiti on fi rm,Kasper & Associates, in Fort Worth.

Layne, Jessica, Logan, and London A proposal for 1992. Edie (Pittard) Edmondson wrote f r o m U SA FA w h er e she just moved to be the Commandant’s Executive Offi cer. Sh e h a s b e en a t USAFA for two years and saysthere are tonsof ’92 gradsat theZoo. Her apolo gies if she leaves anyone out. As I always say (and write in thecolumn), if you are left out of an update, that isthe perf ect time t o w r i t e a n d l et m e k n o w !

Here’s her update: “We have Jay Tewksbury, Leslie (Ehrman) Babich,Tony Schenk , Ron Stenger , Laura Stenger , Scott Kniep and h i s w i fe’An d r a (Van Poppel, ’93), Mike Rickard, Pete Ohotnicky, Eric Ujfalusy, M ar k M at ti col a,

JasonArmagost,Larry Card,Matt Ciccarello,ChristinaQ au sni tzer , an d Jen

Block.” Now for the proposal. Edie must have some time on h er h an d s, b e cause shedreamt up thefollowing idea for our 20th r eu n i o n : “ I n st ea d o f h av 12 7

ing our reunion during football season, how ‘bout wehaveit graduation week for theClassof 2012?Hear meout. Theday beforegraduadon every year,the Thunderbirdshaveapracti cesession with theCommandant o f C ad ets t o w o r k on timing. They haveup to eight passesto get it right. H o w ‘b o u t w e w o r k i t so weareformed up for oneof thosepasses? Instead of theCommandant saying ‘Classof 2012,you aredismissed,’ he/she can say ‘Classof 1992,you can retire!’

I’vethought about all thesamethingsyou arethinking... it’sgrad week,hotels will beanightmare, don’t want to takeaway from thegraduating class, etc.

Even if we all agree it’swhat we want to do there’s no guarantee of approval.

Right now l ’d just liketo seeif it’sworth pursuing. I’vespoken with theAOGand they vegiven mesomeguidanceon how to proceed for approval. 1figureyour approval should befi rst. If you think thisidea isworth pursuing or not, please email me at ededmondsn@aol.com. My informal polling o f cl a ssm a t es h er e hasbeen positive. If it’ssomethingwe’d like to do,we need to start working it soon to pull it off. I look forward to hearing from y ou .”

So pleasee-mail Ediewith your thoughts—both for and again st th e idea. It’s

our r eu ni on ; w e sh oui d d o w h at w e w an t .

Local Nellisnews update. BerleEngel arrived here at Nellis recently to take over as squadron commander of the99* Security Support Squadron. I see him regularly at wingstand up and on Wednesdayswhen theSecurity Forcessquad ron commanders and I have lunch. I also saw that Jeremy Sloanewaspicked up one year below thezone. Jeremy is theThunderbirds#7 and the Ops Of fi cer. He’salwayspretty busy sol don’t seehim much. I know hewill PCSat th e end of thisyear tom^ eway for someoneelse. I think two years with the Thunderbirds is enough with all the travel.

I hrantularo oinmate. Just daysbeforemy deadline,Don an d K a th l een I h i w in

berlain (hey Libby),JoMcFall, Kieran Denehan (you da m an ), Evan Dert i en ,

DaveGraf f,Tim Kirk, DaveMott,John Lussier, Leonard Kbsin^ ,LancePilch,

Ri ck Rosal es, O.J. San ch ez, an d Ron St euw e. I am su r e t h e r e a r e m o r e so

pleasesomeone send me the offi cial list!

Pat Hopper updatesusfrom Memphis, TN. Pat and hiswife,Angie, and two children, Sara Kate and Lauren, have lived there since 2 0 0 1. P a t w o r k s f o r FedEx as a Corporate Sourcing Manager. He was able to bump into Brian Murphy,BrianAllen,ShamusPri ndiville,AndyJohns,GeorgeJoyce,Tony Cate s, an d Sh an e B o n h am .

Larry I Httschuh has switched gearsfrom being a GSsomething or other to workingwith General ElectricAviati on. Hewill work as an TTProject Manager.

He and Christy are living in Dayton, but working near Ci n ci n n at i , OH -

congrats!!

Anthony Marti nez writes from Afghanistan where he is fi ghting thewar on

terror fi rst hand. Anthony normaily worksat BollingA FB in D C, b u t fi n d s

himseif (at least in July 06) as the US Liaison Offi cer t o N A T O I n t e r n a t i o n al Security Assistance Force. Here is a great shot of Anthony keeping his eye on an A n t o n o v A N -2 2 5 .

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happily announced thearriv^ of their second child, Jam es D on al d U nw i n ,

bom 4Aug 06. Now Maren will have someoneto play with. Congratulati ons; I can’t wait to visit them. Speaking of another former CS-22 Tar an tul a, D ave Kumashiro .. .Dave also was selected for promoti on oneyear below the zone.

I also saw that Jeremy and Dave both were selected a s sch o o l c an d i d a t e s. I know therewere many more of you promoted early.. .let’shear from you.

Savingthebest fbr last Well,at least in my mind. Michellean d I w er e b l essed on 16 Jun 06 w i t h th e ar r ival of Sar ah Joan n e M eh ta. Michelle and I adopted Sarah when shewaseight daysold and havebeen enjoyingevery minutesince.

As everyone told us— our lives are changed for ever, an d f o r th e b est .

Jam es, M ich ell e an d Sar ah

kj ,

Michael D. Sundsted

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A le xa n d r ia , VA 2 2 3 0 8

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E-ma il: Bravecw boy@cox.net Class Websit e: www .highf light .com

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1805 Macadams Place

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(703) 768-5664/ Cell: (571) 218-0586

Hello from AndrewsAFB! Actually l am ontheroad again,but in Texas. I hope your summer has been good to you and your families. Lori , Coll in an d I b ad theblessing of spending nine days in Pari s and London f o r o u r v er si o n o f Eu ropean Vacation. Bastille Day at the Eifel Tower is something to see! Oh, the boat has been good asweli - enjoyingtbePotomac. Thefall bri ngsyet another four-degreeclassinto themix and morefootball Falcon style.. .mayb ethisyear

w e c an m ak e a r u n l ik e w h en w e w e r e t h er e . O n t o t h e n e w s . . .

Great news from the promotion department! Our class h a d i t s fi r st b o ar d (two below tbezone) to Lt Col and wehad somegreat r esu l t s! I t h i n k I c o u n t ed over 20 people f ro m our class w ho w ere selected - our budding general’sif you will. Those that I could remember are Steve Beasley, Br ian Wolf or d , D ave Roszman ,Troy Dunn , Andra (Von Poppel) Kniep,Alex Grynckewich,Amy McCain,AlexMezynski,Larry Spinetta, Shawn Camero n,John Price,l y Cham12 8

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An thony Mar tinez in Afghanistan eyeing “TVHill .

GeneDeHerrera checked in quickly to say hello and t h a t h e i s al i v e an d w ell at Buckley in Denver, CO. SteveHorton, our resident Thunderbird, is still racing t h e sk i es o f ai r sh o w s around theworld. Steve and Heather arestill enjoying LasVegas. H eath er is a real estateagent whileSteve isfl yingwith theTBirds. He’sproud of hisson Matt who just finished 7* in a freestyle state swim meet.

PeteWilkie wasa finalist for the OpsOf fi cer Positi on w i th t h e T h u n d er b i r d s - he isout of HoUoman flying F-117s. l y and Libhy (Stark) Ch a m b er l ai n w er e at SAASSand also havearecent additi on to their family,Tyler.

Dan Overland is out of theAF and lives near Duluth, M N .

Todd Ern st is at Beale flying the U-2. Todd is married w i t h two chOdren. Phil I Vicker is theAOC for CS-39. Yes, they are bringing theother four squadronshack for a total of 40. Wow,

That’sit for this time. Hopeto hear from you all soon. Unti l next time,keep up the awesome reputation of 1992. True Blue,James.

yj g

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w e h av e co m e f u l l c i r c l e! W h a t ’s ev e n w o r se i s th a t P h i l n o w

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isresponsiblefor 100 cadets. Whew... I can’t wait t o h ear t h e 3 stories. Steve made sure his6-ship found the academy f o r Sabre Society Don ors graduati on, and wasableto grab apictureof bimself an d Ph i l a littlelater in the day.

Laurel Scherer updatesusfrom Asheville, NC. Laurel h as b een o u t o f t h e A F for about four years. Shehas her own acti on adventurephotography business.

Scott Frisius has moved fr om theChief of Plansposition at M cG u i r e A F B an d isnow workingas a HQAMC Liaison to FAA Flight Standards. W h at a l ead in . . ..

Larry Spinetta writesfrom SAASSwith some feliow ’93ers. l y Chamberlain, Br ook s M cFar l an d , Sb aw n Cam er on , an d Ch u ck Wall ace were all present making our classproud playing golf and going to the beach . .. ah em , I m ean studying and preparing for the futureAF! Larry is going back to fl y F-15s at Langley. He and hiswife, Nancy, areproud to armounceth e bir th of th eir son , LarsPeter. Brooksisgoingto beaMaintenanceSquadron Co m m an d er . Cb u c k and Shawn aregoing to work PACAF strategy. SteveBeasley just fi ni shed being an exec at thePentagon and isat ACSC. RussTeehan isalso goingtoACSCsoon.

John Lussier got picked up for theJoint Advanced Warfi ghting Sc h o o l a t N o r folk. Thanks for thegreat update!

Stephen Mcllnay updates usfrom Iraq. He consistently t r a c k s al l o f t h e in coming and outgoing assets in Iraq - quite a deployed st af f j ob . H e w as al so ab l e t o m eet t h e Pr esi d en t o f t h e U n i t ed St a t es w h en hedropped into Baghdad.

Hehasalso opened up an offi cial Iri sh Pub in Little Rock,AR. Thanksfor doing great things!

While in San Antonio, I was able to catch up with Jo Sud ch and fam ily. He,

Kri stin,Dylan,Matt and Eri n areall doingfantasti c. Jo ismoving up thesenior ity chain at Jet Blueand still enjoyinghisti mewith themighty C-5 at Lackland Field. Thanksfor the superb steak dinner!

Hopeeveryonein 1993continuesthegreat success! If you haven’t updated us in awhile,pleasedoso.Your classmateswould loveto read about all you have done! My regards- Mike!

C.C. M . M a s ot 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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Greetings, ’94! My sincereapologiesfor missingthel ast col u m n ; it w as a rough ti mefor meand 1just wasn’t ableto get it f i n i sh ed — t h an k s f o r u n d er standing. And, hey, the good news isthat we now have a really full column!

Aquick notebefore1get started,however... I’m duet o P C S

in November; I’m not surewhereyet,but likely back t o D C — at least for th e shor t ter m . Wh atever th e case. I ’ll update my contact info as soon as possible,but it’sprobably b est t o u se my hotmail e-mail after 1Nov.

If 1do end up in DC, I’ll reconnect with former colleague

JoeKunkel (XO for Lt Gen HowieChandler, ’74). Though h e staysbusy balancingademandingwork schedulewith qual

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’94grads in AFI TIDE. Nick wasfortunate to have time off between hisdeparturef rom H Q U SAFE and cruised back to theStateson theQueen Mary 11—6V2daysat sea, abalcony r o o m formal dinners at night... I know l ’m jealous! Beforestarting school,Nick also madeatri p toArkansasto attend arenewal of vowsceremony for Jason and Shannon Fallis (C-130 IP and Nav, respecti vely)— the t w o h a d m ar ri ed in Ja maica in July ’05 and werecelebratingagain in thepresenceof fr iendsand fam ily. Now,if only tlieAir Forcewill let them livetogether! The full story of their whirlwind romance is at www.fallisfam ily.org. After a m a t h an d sc i e n c e r e fr esher course,Nick dived ri ght into school; he’ssmdying SystemsEngineering, focusingon C41SR. Healso runsinto DaveParker (recent grad of AFlT’s PhD program—EE),whoisworkingat theResearch Lab at Wri ght-Pat.

ityfamily time(heandJenny havefour kids—now 10,8,6an d 6); it soun ds lik e he’senjoyinglife. Hekeepsin touch with Jeff Spinnanger, n o w a G S- 14 w o r k inggovernment Intel projects,who recently returned from a stint in Iraq; he and hiswife are enjoying their new baby. Also in DC is John Gif ft (Lobbyist, Rockwell-CoJlins), who has been organizing monthly ’94 H ap py H ou r get togethersthere in the area.

Alsoworldngon hisPhD isMichael Brothers (CU, Boulder);h e an d hi s w i fe,

Photographer RebaSonkisscapturesashot of RebeccaM ed en wal d t, Jeff

Clark, Brian Lewis, John Giff t, and Bob Goodwin during Happy Hour at Sine

I r i sh P u b .

I wasTDY to DCjust aft er one of their recent gatherings and got a report and

picturefr om Bri an Lewis (MPF/CC,Pentagon). In additi on to Bri an an d John ,

four others made that event, including Bob Goodwin (Dep Asst SecAF, Force

Management Integration); RebaSonUss (Aircrew Management,Ai r St af f );

RebeccaMedenwaldt (separating fr om theAF and heading t o M el b o u r n e , F L ); and Jeff Clark (in town for his two-week IMA stint). O t h e r a r e a f o l k s w h o couldn’t make it wereAnthony Sansano and SteveZubowicz,w h o c o u l d n ’t pull away fr om their XOjobson theA1staff;GregMca eary (C- 130s, Maryland ANG, Baltimore); and Mark Sands (Science/Tech Analyst,Join t Staf f J2). M ar k staysin touch with Ken Made (Comm,Liaison to theRAF), JoeGordon (Eglin AFB, married with one daughter), and Alex Keechle (DallasTX, m ar r ied , n o longer active duty).

In addition to reporti ng on the evening, Bri an Lewisgave some other great

Cindi,wereblessed with twin boysthissummer—and two-year-old Hannah is thril led to be a big sister! When he fi nishes his degree program, Michael will return to USAFA to run the Hum an Performance Lab for th e Ath l eti c Dep ar t ment.When hegetsthere,he’slikelytorun intoseveral grads,including Fred and Melissa (Davidson, ’96) Cunningham ,who areexcited to beback in theSprings.

Melissa isteaching Management,while Fred isbusy as an AOC, w i th th e h onor standingup hisoldsquadron (CS-37),which isbeingbrought back to theCadet Wingaft er beingstooddown in ’99with squadrons38-40. Hespent thesummer

leadingtheClassof ZOl OthroughBCT! (Arewereally gettingth at old?)

Another input camefrom Ethan andAllison Stanton (Lockheed M ar t in ), who wererecently transferred from Northern Virginia t o t h e T w i n C i t i e s.

They’reenjoyingtheshorter commute,aswell asther ec en t a d d i t i o n o f t h e ir third child,babyTroy. However,they did spend alot of ti mewith Brett Selling

and hisfamily beforethe move. Ethan and Brett are Pittsburgh boysfr om way back and wereableto attend apre-season Steelers-Redskinsgame, awelcome warm-up to their eventual Super Bowl Championship. If you’rewondering, it’s no coin cidence th at Eth an ’s thir d son shar es a nam e w ith a fam ous Steeler .. .

Kelly (Healy)Wallacecan alwaysbecounted on for classm ate n ew s, but I ’d lik e to shar e som e new s about h er for on ce! H er h u sban d . D rew, w as recen tly

selected for promotion to Lt Col and they are busy planning for the October

caught upwith Patri ce(Maneely) and Bri an Siravo (both co n tr act o r s — h e f o r

birth oftheir fi rst child! Kelly wasabletoattendAdelleBelisle’srecent wedding to MarkVogel. Hereisagreat photo of thecouple.

Other gradsat theweddingwereJenn (Russ) Morrison (sh e an d Bri an ar e expecti ngbaby #4),Susan (Healy) Feland (’93) andAdell e’s broth er Jeff (’00).

Kelly also reported that Andy Ouimet islovinghisnew job in Chicago, while

a photo, including himself,JoeNance, Mark O’ Reilly,M i t c h K a t o si c , M a t t

isasurgery resident. Deb (Hoium)li ndstrom and her husban d ar e m ovi ng to Dayton soon aswell;though she’sbeen teaching.Deb plansto take sometime

to all of you for your selection and best of luck with sch o o l !

In additi on to updates.I’m fortunateto spend timew i t h cl assm a t es o n o c ca sion as well. Just days before she PCSed to MacDill t o r e t u r n t o b a se - l ev e l Logisti cs,Tam(Vo)^ ott andI hikedaroundtheBodensee—thehuge lake

updates. Thoughhestaysbusymanaging417Senior Ratersout of th e Pentagon

MPF, he and his wife are enjoyi ng their two sons and their place down in Woodbridge— and even have space for U SAFA visitors! Brian had recently DFAS,shefor Air Force Research Lab—AFRL) and Jen (Allen ) (k esham (AFRL) at aport,cheeseandchocolateevent theSiravoshosted. Healso keepsin touch with Jon Moore (E-3s, Tinker — but PCSing to Geilinkirchen) a n d M a r k O’Reilly (MX—just left Langley for IDE at AFIT).

Speakingof IDEat AFIT,Nick Kozri rasgot thisyear’s’94 studentstogether for Villella, Mar cel Benoit , Bill Dobbs, Ian Phillips, James Bierjda, Britt Hurst , and Jason Wollai d. Also there,but unableto makethepictureareMikeKardoes, Jeff Knisinski,AlexV\^ e,Ted Gatlin,MarkBlommeand Bill Heuck. Congrats

hiswife, Parker, isbusy finishing her PhD; Marshall Anderson is getting mar ri ed soon; and Stu and Dei Eberhardt are expecting another baby — a boy — in Oct ob er. Sh e al so h ad a ch an ce t o see D r. Sar ah (O’Daniel ) Fort una and Jerry (’95) and their threekidsin Dayton; Sarah isstill an AF doctor and Jerry

offaft er themovetospendmoretimewith their dau^ ter C l ai r e .

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Fletch, Teresa an d their girls.

Matt Baade has moved back east toAtlanta, GA whereheisworkingwith his

brothersand supportingagreat charity, theCoalition t o Sal u t e A m e r i c a ’s

Mr. and Mrs.VogeL bordered by Austria,Germany and Switzerland. She’ssettling in and enjoying her job and Florida,but shejust learned she’ll bedeploying to Afghanistan in November! BeforeTam “abandoned” me,wediscovered that her fellow Loggie, Chris (Priest) Krag was here at Stuttgart for her OFF deploym ent (from Ramstein!). Chrisand her husband,Tom,areenjoyingGermany so much that they’reworking afollow-on assignment hereto theE U C O M st af f af ter h er t o u r at USAFE. SinceTom isbusy oneweekend a month with a Master’sprogram at

Mannheim, Chrisand I havetraveled to Belgium, Luxembourg, Fr an ce an d acro ssGermany forVolksmarches,shopping,sightseeingan d Ger m an -A m er i -

can Club events. I ’ll sur e m i ss h er w hen sh e return s to Ramstein in September!

Heroes. Thisorganization issupporting thecausefor t h e A m er i c an m en an d women who have been injured in thewar on terror. Check o u t t h e i r w eb si t e at http:/ /www.saluteheroes.org/ to learn more about the program and to see where you can help. To lear n more about Baader’s company, check out http://designsbythree.com/ . John Nemecek isrollingto Turkey for a year

remotebut should beback and forth abit to DC. Hopefully D i a n d th e k i d s should seedad plenty. Tom Murphy iscurrently takinga four-month trip to Qatar. No,it isnot avacation. He’sdoingtheJ.O.B.but unlike Neme, Murph

will not be able to visit any of his kids while he is deployed. Mike Black is

finishing languageschool and attach^ training in Alexandria. H e a n d h i s family will beon theway to Bangkok,Thailand. Don’t forget,“Hdngndm yii u th ti n m ?"

That’smy newsfor now. I hopeyou’reall having asafe and enj oyable fall .

Tak e car e an d God Bless! C.C.

R. Tra v is K o c h 4 5 De llw o o d Av e .

Dayton, OH 4 54 19-3 10 5 H: (937) 6 4 8-25 54 Cell: (8 50 ) 4 9 9-8 24 2

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MeaCulpa: Athousand pardons...well maybejust 95. Got caught in a PCS and fi nishing last magazine’s article was, well, let’s j ust say a high but

unachievable goal . Hopeft iUy it will be the last one missed. Really, the worst part about it is there aretonsof pics from a bunch of great folks and our great fi i endsat theAOGwill only allow ustoprint threeof them. Please keep ’em coming.I’ll get them all in eventually (Thismeansyou Clyde and Benji). Re gardless,if you’reinterested in beingon alist of substitutescribes,pleaselet m e know,and I ’ll call you. Don’t worry that your friendswill stop talking to you; it’s not a big deal .

Hi in the middle and ro und on both ends: Well,we are o u t o f F l o r i d a an d i n Dayton,OH. Thereareplentyofgradsloomingaro undAFIT. MikePhillips and Paul Spaven are cruising the halls. Matt Afi Uella (’94) is brown-nosing all the

teachers,standard.The“Bad-assBlackbirds” arerepresentin’

TheMik e Black Family: Mikaela, Mar tin, Mik e, Michell e, an d M a d el i n e .

Other folks, likeBenji Glazer havemoved intomarriage. Benji and Claudia werewed duringawonderfully uniqueceremony just o u t si d e o f B o st o n . I t

with thelikesof J.D.Holt (’93). Outsideof theAF,w e al so m et

was a fantastic event and I’ll put a picture in next issue. Congrats to you two.

ation. Heand Jessica have two boys (4 and 2) and are doing great. I also ran into the“taquito”. Brett Sd iumer's (’97) Utde brother,Ross (’00) isaresident MD in Dayton. By the way, Adam Ressler ,if you arereading this,call me.

with thebirth of their third child, Molly Elizabeth. Molly was bom last Eeb and while her sister Megan is thrilled, her brother Matthew is not jive with the whole girlsoutnumbering theguysdeal. Matthew,tm st me,someday,you will

Jason and Kristen Cockrum moved intoparenthood. OliviaG r a c e w a s b o m in SanAntonio last January. Great lookinggal. We’Uget afamilypic i n so o n .

up with MikeBettencourt and hisfamily.Mike’sbeen o u t o f theAFfor anumber of yearsbut herein Dayton sincegr adu

MovingOmYes,summer meansmovingfor alot of folks.

John and SusieDecker areon their way back toOmahath i s

Bryan an d Er in Gr een h ave m oved fr om th e m an -to-m an d ef en se t o t h e z o n e

3 Sabre Society Do n o rs

b e fi n e w i t h i t .

from Rich andTeresaFletcher whojust moved down to M ax w ell A F B . F l et c h hasbeenkeepingtheC-17fleet flyingtotheAORastheAcft Mx OpsO.at Charles

CS-07:1know many of you think that CSstands for Cadet Squadr on bu t N O WAY, IT’SCOOL SEAGRAMS, BABY! Beforewe get into the u p date, I w an t t o plug eDoDo. You can fi nd it at http://www.edodo.org/. Why do I mention it here? Becauseof Mark“Wombat” Piper’scontribution over the years. Any way,there issome pretty funny stuff at the site. B r i an Sc h af er st i l l t h i n k s h e i s

agood ole“KTP” cheer (By theway,there’saguy herea t /\ F I T w i t h a l i c e n se

other perennial doormat season,just likethe Cubs. Tim Thurston just moved

summer. They’ll be living somewhere in the middle of America. I got a note

ton AFB. He’sgoing to rally all thosegold taggersat Maxwell for a photo op and plate that reads“JHI J93”. How fantastic isthat?). Anyway,here’sagreat shot of Fletch’sfamily: V i si t t h e A O G W eb Si t e

Merchandise, Gone But Not Forgotten and More! www.usafa.org

afantasy football gum and hasresurrected the“FartingH eUo -z er o s” f o r an

fromYokotaAB, in Tokyo to Monterey, CA for Naval Po st G r a d Sc h o o l . T i m

completed hisfi rst marathon in May on theGreat Wall of China. Only 31folks fi nished the race. This thing looked ten kinds of ridiculous. Good on ya. He and Hurley had their fi rst son. Cole, last December. T i m w a s st a t i o n ed w i t h NateI hrt, a great American. Nate is on his second r o t a t i o n t o t h e d ese r t sin c e

hehasbeen at Yokota. Say “hi” to Murph for us. Paul M o r t o n i s an E R d o c a t theUSAEAhospital and JoeMorgan ison hi sway to Maxwell for a year. Brian and StephanieCoyne (’96) just had ababy boy,James. Congrats. FinaUy, Jef f

Pulley (’96) might bethefuriniest fellow I Imow. Check out hisyearbook photo f r o m ’9 5 .

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Cole, Hurley, an d Tim at The Great Wall of China.

Now for theJohn Hamby secti on of theupdate. Boneh asn ’t cu t h i s h ai r in si x months, hasgrown a full beard, and when hewearsan open collared shirt, he rem i nds him sel f of Jim m i e Fall on an d Ju stin Ti m berl ak e during the “Talkin’ it up.. .on the Barry Gib Talk Show!” bit from Saturday Night Live. Bone was goingto run theAF Marathon with Ken Butler and me, b u t h e d eci d ed t o w at ch aRed Soxgameinstead. 1should visit with him faceto facethisTurkey Day and will get you caught up on all the,“Talk about freeeedom!”

Volunteers Needed: TheAOG is looking to put together a cl a ss se n a t e f o r each class. If you want to be a member, get in touch w i th m e or Jon “ You can call meJon”Tinsley. We need to have onenominated by 1Nov ’06. Also,if you would liketo writethisupdate,pleasedrop me a note. 1d o n ’t k n ow i f I ’ll h an d it off for good or haveafew “guest” writersfro m timeto time. Either way,forget all that stuff 1wroteabout your fr iendsnot talkingtoyou if you wri tethisthing...1 was kidding. Till then. Keep the Faith,T. Koch.

Melissa S. Cunningha m

15668 Candle Creek Drive

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Monument , CO 8 0 13 2 (719 ) 4 8 7-3071/ DSN: 3 33-4 4 0 5 Me lissa .cunningha m@usaf a .af .m il or melcu nningha m@msn.co m

I also heard from Nicole Mal achowski (EUingwood) and Tad Cl ar k (# 8) who areliving the dream as membersof theThunderbirds. Nicoleisblazing theway asthefirst femalepilot (#3 Right Wing) andTad isthe advancepilot and narrator for the performances. They are on the road six days a week but the opportunity to sharetheAF story and represent the 53 0 K m en an d w o m en o f theAir Force isworth every minute. Nicole said the experiencehasbeen both incredibleand humbling at thesametime asthey haveh a d t h e ch an c e t o m eet so many motivated youngAmericans and veterans. Unfortunately,w i t h t h e tough schedule neith er Nicole nor Tad will be able t o m ak e th e r eu ni on , b u t they wanted to pass al ong to all of you that she and Tad have avenged our graduation fl y-by. They wereon-target and on-timefor thegraduati on of 2006.

It made them feel proud (and old) to fl y over the USAFA graduation 10 years af ter our commissioning. Thank you for representing u s w e ll !

1received an e-mail from DaveF.nglin (English) with updates on some our classmates that separated from theAir Force and are living in the DC area.

Roddy Tbnuns and Aaron Rhodes areworking computer security for theVet eransAdministration. They are both living in DC. Scott M o o r e i s a so f tw ar e developer. He and hiswife, Karen, and newborn son Ethan are living in Falls Church. EveDoug^ workson spacecommercializati on at theDepartment of Com m er ce an d is al so a U SAFA li ai son of fi cer in t h e Re ser v e s. Fa t i m a M il l ar

(Baysac)worksfor afederal agency that managesMedicare. Sh e an d h er h u s

band,Gene,live in Baltimore, MD. DaveEnglin wasel ect ed l a st N ov e m b er t o theVirgina House of Delegates. He lives in Alexandria with hiswife, Shayna, an d so n C al eb .

I can hardly believeit but our reunion isupon us—lessthan two weeks away!

1can’t believethelast l Oyearshavefl own by so fast. Hopefully many of youwill be able t o m ak e it ou t , b ecau se I ’m sur e w e’ll h ave a w o n d e r f u l t i m e .

Wisconsin Cheeseheads descend on Las Vegas— Matt and M aur een , John

Or ch ar d an d Al ex, an d Joh n Sap p .

96Exchange Offi cersin f ron t of theSydney OperaH o u s e .

With all of thereunion planning.I’vebeen ableto catch up wdth Todd Cook.

Heand hisfamily are stationed in AustraliawhereTodd isan exchangeoffi cer in Melbourne. Asan aircraf t maintenanceinspector,h e t r av el s w i th t h e RA AF to check out all the^ enciesthat maintain Australian military aircraft and parts.

Sonny Bartlett is stationed in Perth on the west coast o f A u st r al i a . H e i s an instructor pilot fl yingthePC-9,which istheAustralian introductory pilot train ing platform. Jeff ^Schmidt is stationed in Sydney. He is a C- 130H pilot fl ying in an operati onal unit. Only onemoreyear left on th e A u st r al i an v a c ati o n an d t h en i t ’s b a c k t o t h e U S.

Cl ass of 199 6 10 th R eun i on

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U SA FA v s. N e w M ex i c o

Matt Guenther,John Orchard and John Sapp and their fam ili es m et up in Las Vegas. John Orchard is aWeapon School F-15E instructor an d John n y Sap p is fi mshing his tour as aWSF-15C instructor. He now on hisway to Oti sARB to be in thefull-timeguard. Matt isfi nishing up hisAidede Camp stint and then is on hisway to DC to work in AF Legislative Liaison.

Hall Sebren iswrapping up a tour at Hill in the Logisti cs Career Broadening program. He recently took a trip through PACAF and r an in t o A n d r ew (’9 6 ) & Karen (’97) McWhorter in Osan. In Kadena, he was Nic O em e n t z w h o w a s working as the CMS/DO. Hall, hiswife, Megan, Caroline (6) an d Al exan der (4) will be staying at Hill for at least another year as H al l m o v e s o v er t o t h e 3 8 8 * Fighter Wing to betheAMXS/DO. He said that Andy Loving waspicked up for the Logisti cs Career Broadening program in Aug 05 and i s n o w at H il l A F B as w ell . D ax Cor n eli us i s al so at H ill as th e Vip er West D e m o P il o t .

DaveIrvin is currently at AFIT working on a PhD in Astro Eng. He’spast the halfway point with exams and classwork behind him. Now heisbusy writing the research prospectus. 1had enough trouble handling t h e co r e A st r o cl a ss here and can’t imagine the effort involved in pursuing a D o c t o r a t e i n A st r o .

Goodonya! MikeArtelli isalsoat AFITand\^ 1graduatew i t h D av e . E d d i e

13 1

Meidunas and John Buf Bngton areayear ahead and should graduatej ust be f o r e o u r r eu n i o n .

I got another interesting notefr om Karen and Josh McQui e. Last year I gave you an update on Josh’s company WidowPCwhich is a privately held com pany which focuses on the growing niche of computer gaming enthusiasts.

With themotto “Cutting EdgeGamingComputers—Fanatical Customer Sup port” they are giving thebigger computer companiesa run for their money. In

ow n b u sin ess t h at Sar ah r u n s o n t h e si d e : W il d B l u e Yonder Ballooni ng LLC. They’ve promised me and my folks a ride if they ever m ak e i t t o t h e I n t e r n a

tional B^ oonFestival inAlbuquerqueandI’mgonnah o l d ’em t o i t ! Ph i l an d

JoJm flew Ph il ’s h ot air b all oon , n am ed Air For ce Won in a tight fi ve-ship for

mation performing“aerial featsof wonder and amazement” t o k i ck o lf th e H i l l AFB bi-annual air show thispast summer. Here’s a photo fr o m t h e l a u n c h .

a r ecent ar ticle in th e Au stin Am eri can Statesm an , Jo sh w as

quoted several times regarding Dell ’s acquisition of Alienware (Dell’s effort to break into the computer gaming market). Josh sent Michael Dell afr i endly email short ly af ter thedeal wasmade“Congratson theacquisition. I’m goin g to bite your legs off.” Dell ’s reply was“Game on.” Needless t o say, the past several months have exciting for the M cC l u r e family astheir company continuesto flourish.

Oth er n ew s: Chr i s Joh an n ssen h as en ter ed a Cath oli c Fr i

2 Sabre Society Do n o r s

ary in NYC and is on hisway to becoming a Catholic p ri est .

Gery Berger and his clan (three kiddos) are living in M ad ison ,WI w h er e h e worksin brand management for Kraft foods. Ollieand Casey (Cornish) Eri kson are at Columbuswhere Ollieis a Fit CC. Casey isout but keepsvery busy with th eir tw o chi ldr en . D an ta an d Coll een (Leh ne) Joh nson are proud parentsof Timothy Lamar JoJui son. Hewasborn on Apr 2P‘. Congrats! Tom and Jenny (Spindle) Caballero areoff to Milwaukee,Wl whereTom hasjust been hired by G en er al El ec t r i c .

1am excited to see all of you at thereunion! Pleaset ak e t im e t o ch eck o u t t h e AOG reunion website to keep up with theevents. Also ch ec k o u t t h e G o n e b u t Not Forgotten section to help theAOGfi nd some of o u r cl assm a t es w h o h av e dropped offthe map in thelast l Oyears.

Thank you for all the e-mails, photos and updates! God Bl ess, M el

Melvin E. Maxwell, Jr. 4 5 9 N . M c Ne il St .

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Memphis, TN 3 8 1 12 H: me i_ maxwe ii9 7@hot ma ii.com

Hey all.

Greetingsfr om Memphis,Tennessee—homeof Elvisand Ju st in T im b er l ak e (whoa...did I just say that?). I’vebeen running around transitioning to semi civilian lifefor my year with FedEx. Devin Bloss and hisfi nanceLiz areactually putting me up while I fi nd a place to live. So get this.. .as I’m starting my year with FedEx, Devi n has decided to leavethe company and do a tour of duty in Afghanistan as acontracting specialist for Halliburt on. Funny how thingswork out. Let’sget going on the news.

Back in July,Tim Welter passed on agoodbit of news about a b u n ch o f c l a ss mates. I’ll let him tell you the news. “I just saw Tom Flowersand Jay H u t z el l within a span of a couple of minutes. Tom isflying C -4 0 s f o r the same squadron that my wife, Kim, is assigned to a t AndrewsAFB, the I stAS. Jay isalso atAndrewsbut assigned to the 99th AS, flying Gulfstreams. Hewason theway o u t t o his G-5 checkridewhen I ran into hi m - hewashopeful b u t theweather was questionable. I saw apictureof Samantha 1 (Glinski) Weeks on theAF homepagewith a bunch of o t h er lady fi ghter pilots so I e-mailed her and apparently sh e i s Sabre Society Do no rs leavingAlaskaand theF-15 soon to gobeaThunderbird pilot at Nellis! DJBlakemore is headed out to your neck o f t h e woodssoon. Hewasjust fi nishing C-40 training in Seattlewhen I spokewith him a couple of weeks ago and should beat Ramstein sometime in August to fi n d a new h om e. M ik e Par k s an d hi sw i fe, Alli e, ar e still rotting away in Hawaii having thetime of their life. Mikeisdoing somekind of stan-eval training gur u deal, givingASEVs all over the Pacifi c but sti ll getsto fly theG-5 on occasion— staf f j oh while still flying!

“Asfor thiskid,I am flyingwith the 709th AS,a C-5 Reser ve squ adr on at D over sincebeing released fr om acti veduty last Sept 15th. Hivein Washington DCon theHUl and work as a military legislati ve assistanceto Rep. SteveBuyer fr om Indiana. I cover defense,veteran, internati onal relati ons, an d t r a d e i ssu es f o r him. Congressman Buyer istheChairman of theHouseVA Co m m i t t ee a n d th e Co -ch ai r of t h e N at i on al Gu ar d an d Reser ve Cau cu s in addition to being a ReserveArmy 0 -6 JAG - needlessto say that heisa great advocatefor themili tary and our veterans and it hasbeen quite an educati onal exper i en ce so far.”

Phil and JTprepar e to launch!

Bryan Stone dropped me a line from Davis Monthan, AZ w i t h so m e n ew s fro m theA-10world. Bryan and hiswife,Christy,and th eir tw o kids Jack (Brian’s clone) and Taylor (mommy’s clone) are making a move. Br y an , A ar on Lin d er m an , an d Ab el Ram os ar e all h eaded t o Wh i t em an to fly A-1Os in the Reserves. Kevin Feimo wi ll be the assignment guru for A - 10 / F - 1 17 d r i v er s.

Neal Kistler just fi nished the FTU IP upgrade. Bryan got picked up by South west and should start therein September.

Bryan “Stoner ”Stone,Ross“Toonces’’Iacomini,Abel “Vir^ "Ram os,andAar o n “Lin dy” Linderman af ter Abel ’sfini -fUght at DM. Tracy (Waller) Hassewrote in with an update. Her husband, Ron , w as se lected to go to school for threeyears, and given the ch oice of sch ools, decided to go to Tracy’shomeof Baton Rouge, LA Ron starts at LSU in lateAugust and Tracy wUl be teaching high school English at Hosanna Christian Academy.

Tracy isprobably kneedeep in classesand lesson plansbut she’shappy to have threeyears of quality family ti mewhUe Ron is still in the Navy.

Wendy (Palatinus) Devenish wins the pri ze for the best story this update.

Here she is in her own words: “Wendy writing straight out of theplacewhere it aUbegan! I’m hereat USAFAin the94th,thesoaringsquadron,and I’m happy to report how great Colorado Springs is onceyou are n o t a c a d et . I ’v e b e en having a blast for thelast two years flying gliders and molding cadetsinto of-

H er e’s som e n ew s fr om Ph il Dor sch . Ph il , H all Sebren (’96), an d Joh n Tran

are fi nishing up wi th the Logistics Career Broadening p r ogr am at H ill A FB. Hall is moving over to the 388th AMXSasthe388th MOO and JT isheading to YokotaAB,Japan to betheMOO there. Pliil ’sstaying at HUl another year doing some exec time.When Phil isn’t working, he and hisw i fe, Sar ah , ar e h ot ai r baUoon enthusiasts. They’ve donea bunch of ralliesand festi vals, actually got fi rst place in a big fest in Panguitch, Utah with 35 baUoons, and plan to go to rallies in Leon and Mexico City, Mexico this fall . They actually started their 13 2

Wendy and Kei th wi th Mrs. and Gen Hosm er.

fl eer s I ’d w an t t o ser v e w i t h . T h i s w ee k en d 1w a s i n Albuquerquewith some of

our cadet crosscountry glider IPs, and who showed up at the airfi eld but Gen Hosmer and hiswife! TTi ey had read about the trainingin their local neighbor h o o d n ew sl et t er an d cam e t o c h ec k i t o u t . O u r cl a ssm a t e Keith Henderlong c o n vi n c e d M r s. H o sm e r t o m ak e so m e o f h e r f a m o u s “ M r s Hosmer’sApple Cake” (I sure remember yelling that in the hallways; how about you?). Keith and I both haveabout ayear left here in theSprings,so we’ll belooking forward to seeing everyone next fall for our 10-year reunion!”

Thanks to everyonewho wrote in with news. Everybody else.. .drop me a linewhen you get a chance. Until next time.. .Mel K a r i n M c W h o rt e r PS C 3 , Bo x 3 7 7 A PO A P 9 6 2 6 6 -0 0 0 4

year and they are waiting to hear on the next round of assignments. He is hoping to pick up a SFcommand somewherein the states. They should know offi cially sometime in December but they are hoping we will get a hint well beforethen. Aft er goingback to thestates, Damien has been accepted to attend the FBI National Academy (through the mili tary) and will be going the last quarter of 2007.

That’sit for this update. Please send me some morein f o t o w o r k w i t h f o r t h e n ex t ar ti c l e . K ar i n

Ja m e s W . B u s c h 1 6 9 7 A Bo rn e o St .

Clo v is , N M

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From CONUS: (3 0 3 ) 8 47-4 118

Busc hf l 6 @ya hoo.co m j a mes .busc h@ca n no n .af .m il

Fro m K o re a : 0 5 0 5 -1 2 2 -7 2 8 8 m c w h o rt e r @i- m n e t .c o m

(One Sabr e Society Donor )

K a r i n . m c w h o rt e r@o s a n .a f .m i l

HeUo Again and Happy Fall!

By the time this is printed the Major’sboard for our remaining active duty foil s will have met and I would guessthat 98% aregoingto get somegreat news in afew months. Isit just meor doesit seem weird that theclassof 2010 just got their shoulder boards and our M ends are all going to be majors?!

Thisisgoing tobeavery short updatebecause I haven’t r ec eiv ed a w h o l e l o t in the last couplemonths. I leave thisweek for the st a t es an d hopefully I will see some people while I am home on l e av e and at my husband’s 10-year reunion. But, I would sfl ll L OV E to hear from you.

My family just hit our one-year mark in Korea and I’m t o l d it is all downhill from here. In the last couple months I h av e 1 run into a few gradshere: Trena Savageau (Emerson) is fly ing F- 16shereand her husband, Ryan Savageau, isfl ying F- Sabre Society Do n o rs 16sdown at Kunsan. They areboth doing one-year remotes and aren’t surewherethey will head next. A bigexercisek i ck ed off here last week and I Imow if I stayed here I would see morepeople, but so far I havejust run into a few. John Borowski is here f r o m M cG u i r e w h e r e h e just PCSed with hiswife and two kids. Sitting at thet ab l e w i t h h i m w a s a c l ass mate that wished to remai n anonymous and swore he would se n d m e an e mail wi th lots of info on other grads. However, as of press time I have not received that e-mail so I will just have to mention th at Joe Wen ck us w as al so here at Osan for the same exercise. Hejust PCSed to Tr av i s w i t h h i s w i f e an d two-year-old. Sorry, Joe! But, for the record, I can be bought.

Now for the few updates I do have: MikeWillis wrote th at h e an d h is w i fe, Yulia, are PCSing to Hawaii. He had been workingwith theArmy on his pre viousassignment and spent 670 daysout of thepast four yearsdeployed with them. Now he is looking forward to some quality time o n th e b e ac h w i t h t h e family! Hewill be working at Joint Intelligence Center, P a c i fi c C o m m a n d (JICPAC), Pearl Harbor. He is also enrolled in University o f H a w a i i ’s M BA

Class, I’vesetded in at Carmon AFB. Pleaseupdateyour addressbooks and send mesome newson what’sgoing on with you all. I’m TDY to SOSright now so I should have somegood storiesto tell by thenext i ssu e . U n t il th en ... Jam es.

Ja s o n “ JW ” S im m o n s

PSC 2 , Box 7077

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Classm ates,

I hopeyour summ er wasterrific. I ran into Josh Miller at the tech expo we had at Ramstein in July. Josh isliving near Atlanta,GA and isworking for Telos as theAF Account Executive, managing their AF accounts. We hung out to gether at a social that he and Telossponsored at the O’Club bar,so it was great to exchange stories and to hear hisaft er-AF success story. Shortly aft er that I went out to Maxwell AFB to fi nally check off the SOSb l o c k a n d l e a r n a l i t d e from that. Being therewaslikebeing at a mini -reunion si n c e t h er e w er e o v er 8 0 cl assm a t es t h er e. I ask ed th e SO S/ C C t o h av e al l t h e 2 0 00 U SA FA G r ad m eet aft er a flick op and wetook a group picture. Of course, a b u n ch o f t h em w e r e

picki ng on me a little (all in good fun), but those same guys came up after asking for a copy of thepicture- jokers! Anyway, I’veposted a copy of it on the class w ebsite, U SAFA2000.com .

p r o g r am .

Lastly I heard from Damian Schlussel who got married August 10“’. Good M end Angel Santiago couldn’t make thewedding sinceheis upgrading with theDutch AF,but heand hisnew wifearedoingwell. Hereturned from a really short deployment with theDutch AF toAfghanistan and isset to go back again aft er heupgrades.Tom Kbotsikas and Jay Meier wereboth in thewedding...Tom doing Saber detail and Jay washisbest man (He met Megan at Jay’sweddi ng).

Jay fl ew in from Korea for thewedding and will PCSt o K i rt l an d th i s f al l w h er e he and Amy (’00) will fi nally haveanother assignment together. Tom isswing ing in from McGuirefor it with hisgirlM end. Healso ran into Jen Phelps in the HQ USAFE/A7 building and on the“ Freedom Run”....she is stiUdoingwell in the CEworld. Damien and Megan should be in Germany f o r ab o u t an o t h er

C l a ssm a t e m em b er s o f SO S C l as s 0 6 F

There areway too many folksin thepictureto name, b u t k n ow t h at w e all d i d w el l an d ev e n h a d C h r i s L eh t o a s o u r SO S C l a ss V P. Okay, I was told I shoul d list some of the fellas that I hung out wi th a little. Tiffany Fisher (she’s at Spangdahlem, Germany), Paul Schwennesen,Tony Marshall ,An dr ea H all , Sarah (Courtney) Santoro, Dan Santoro (both areC-130 dr iver s), Scott Fore man (he and I were flight mates), Dan Scherdt , Mark MinWeisendonk (busted for mooningduring flick ops),M i k e Cornelius, Greg Bailey, Jen fft evino) Bailey (she’s ou t , b ut joined Greg),Tom Bowman , Joy Param , Matt Kucia, Steve Cruz,Adam Schimdt ... I was right thefi rst time, too m any to n am e.

Paul ’s room was near mine,so he added the following: h e

and Sarah (M cGuane) Schw enn esen are at H anscom , expect

s

N o n e Ye t

Sabre Society

Do n o rs ing their fi rst baby and getting ready to jump theA i r F o r ce ship. Paul is angling to become a Combat Rescue Offi cer with the306* Rescue Squadron in Tucson,AZ. Paul and Sarah areplanning to

t a k e a f o u r - m o n t h h i a t u s o n a 3 7 - f o o t C a t al i n a i n t h e C ar i b b ea n b e f o r e em

Dami en and his wife, Megan’s, engagement pictur e.

barking on their next career in theState Department.

Our USAFA Commandant is now theAir University Commandant. L t G en Stephen R. Lorenz, sent me an email informing me of an a c h i ev e d d r e a m .

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Kr istin (Bozar t) Bur son’s h usban d, n ow 2Lt Sean Bur nson , completed his and

Kristin’sdream of him becoming an Air ForceChaplain o n 3 0 Ju n e 20 06 . K r i st i n tragically passed away on 12 May af ter battling cancer,but they felt as if shewas watchingover theday. Sean talked to Ft Gen Lorenz an d t o l d h i m t h a t K r i st en ’s memory and her desire for him to complete school and become a Chaplain waswhat kept him going. Thispicturewas taken right af ter th e Co m m i ssi o n ed OfBcer TrainingSchool graduation with Kristin’smom,Chr istin e sister Breann , and step-dad Gary.

is now at Kunsan and says that, ShayneSullivan, ]ohn H al e, Kevi n Pet er son , Jimmy Cooke and him arehaving agood timeas Instructor Pilots and A1Lowe, Eddie Francis and Andy Martin are Flight leads; they’re all fl ying F-16sin the 80* Fighter Squadron “Juvats” thereat Kunsan. Kristopher Malloy has fi nally fi nished hisyear torn ' in Baghdad. He’ll hegoing hack to PopeAFB for a couple of months, and is moving to the Langley area af terward.

Roh Brooks had hisfini -fl ight in the F-16 (at least for now) at the end of July and left Cannon exactly threeyearsand two daysIr om the day hearrived. He and hisfamily are now setded in at Randolph whileRoh goesthroughT-38 PIT (although they did manage to pack two adults, a 15-month-old, an d a 4 5 1b boxer in ahotel room for aweek whilethey waited for their apartment). From there, it’s off to the land of heat,humidity, and sw e et t e a w h en R o b st a r t s h i s new job as a UPT instructor at Columbus in December.

D r ea m A c h i ev ed

I hopeSean as ableto touch theheartsand mindsof everyonetheway Kristin w as able to tou ch u s all . Best w i shes, Sean , Bozar t family, and Burson family and a special thanksto Gen Lorenz for sharing thisstory with meso I could pass it on to you. I had a chance to chat with G-Lo at the O ’C l u b a n d w e sh a r e d m em o r i es o f o u r t i m e s a t U SA FA . H e h o l d s u s al l i n highest regards since we were “hisclass.” I’ll admit hisbriefi ngwasthe most inspirational one during SOS (not blowing smoke here).

Moving along... in new family news, Justin Mackey married long-timegirlM end Sara Radich, on May 21,2005 at the Academy Chapel. They’ve bought a house dovm by Eglin where Justin is fl ying MC- 130s and for now the only children they have are two dogs. Bobby Erhaz and his w i f e, Sh ar on , w el comed their new baby boy, Blane Fitzgerald Erhaz,into th e w or ld back in Jun e and I hear they are doing very well.

Sam Deaton met up with Todd KbeJiler, Matt Manning, and Tom DeAngelis back in May for a weekend in Rome. Todd separated last year and is heading off to grad school in Minnesota in thefall, and Matt isfl yingC- 130sat Dyessand both came over to Europe for a couple weeks. Tom came d o w n f r o m A v i an o (b u t h as sin ce PCSed to Ft . M eade) an d Sam m ade th e trip fr om his home in Spain. Thanks to Matt and Todd beinghaggard and hippifi ed aft er a f ew w eek s on the rails, the four enjoyed a much more tranquil few days together than thoseof previousreunions. At theend of May Sam began a 10-day road trip all around central and southern Spain with JulieWeiss. Jul ie an d Sam h ave r e mained great ‘fi i ends-without benefi ts’ for years, but only during thistrip did Sam discover Julie’s extraordinarily invaluablewingman sk i l l s. H e’d l i k e t o giveher thecredit for kicking off thingswith alovely SwissMissback in Malaga Finally, Sam reports catching up with C-5ers Matt Husemann an d Kevi n Jus tice wliile on a space-A layover at Dover in July.

Rob Brooks an d family af ter last Righ t at Cann on AFB. Well, that’s it for now. As I said in my last email , our list has gotten too large and I get over a hundred rejected mailsnow when I send out the request, so I’m startingfrom scratch on my email list. So if I haven’t heard fr om you in a couple months, please send me an update to ensure you’re on t h e l i st st i l l . I t ’s n o t posted on the website for privacy reasons and to prevent spamming. Best

w i shes. Jason

Fait h Dunn (Hit chcock) 1 7 5 5 1 N ut w o o d D r ive

66%

M e m b e rs

Ca rs o n , CA 9 0 74 6 Fa it h d 0 3 @h o t m a i l .c o m

Hey ’Ol ers, Sorry it hasbeen so longsinceI havesubmitted an update- I separated, moved and changed e-mail addresses all at the same time and people had trouble reconnectingwith me. I havegotten in touch with several grads and here are someupdates: Lotsofweddingsand babies! Aaron Banlcswroteto tell m e th at M i k e M r M i Han got married back in April in Columbus, MS. ’01ersin a t t en d a n c e w er e L en et t a Banks, Jarvis Groff , Billy Wil son , Chris Jessup, Damion Holtzclaw , Byron Nicholson , Lisa (Case) Nicholson, Steph Boff , Christine Lov e, an d Car a

Jul ie and Sam at buIIRght in Cordoba.

Sam , Tom , M at t an d Todd at Tr evi Fo un tai n , Rom e.

I’vealso had been goingback and forth on email with Brooke (Efi Oan d ) Rill os as Team Air For ce (Brooke, M atth ew Rill os, an d M atth ew Zitzlsperger) made their way to the fi nal episode of Treasure Hunters. They hopefully got a hold of themoney they won duringwon legthat earned them a small chest of gold.

Bro okeisexpecting as I stated last time, so she’sex c i t ed ab o u t t h at . I k e B ar re t t got in touch with me; heand hi sfamily fi nally departed t h e D C a r ea aft er h i s 3 1/ 2 year stin t on Air St af f. Ik e is en r ou te to an oth er fr ee ed u ca t i o n o n th e A i r

Force— at UNLV of all places! His7 l /2and 5 1/2 year old girlsare doingwell, even though they are giving him no sympathy after blowing o u t h i s k n ee a t SOS,but he’srecovering and excited to go off for another degree. Frank Felton 13 4

McMillan-Murray Wedding: '01ers from l ef t in the back r o w ar e L en e t t a Banks, Jar vis Croff, Billy Wil son, ChrisJessup, Dam ion Hol tzclaw, an d Byron

Ni ch olson . Fr on t r ow:Aar on Banks, Erika (Shann on) Ban ks, M i ch ael M cM illan , Cara McBrayer, Christina Love, Stephanie Bof f, an d Li sa (Case) N i ch ol son .

McBrayer . Cory Bar ack is still at Ft . Bragg asWeather O fi c e r f o r t h e 8 2 n d Airhom e Division, but will be PCSing in September to Ft . Car son , CO to lead the Special OperationsWeather Team supporting 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) out there. He’sliving theArmy-lifedoing lotsof fi eld training,para chutejumps, and the like. He and hiswife ar e expecting t h ei r fi r st c h i l d o n Christmas Eve this year. Cory went out to the Springs for Bobby Schmi tt ’s wedding. Also in attendance were Brandon Tellez, l im Mikes, Barry Rudd, Mikeand Lucy Ueda,and Tom O’Hara, foeMonaco isstill st at i o n ed at C h ar l es ton flying C-17swith StevelAfi ck,Brad Rueter,Brent Hooper and Barry Weaver and he also welcomed histhird child, Maggie, on 6-6-06! Will Phillips and his wife just welcomed their fi rst baby, a daughter, on 1Aug. Angie Fedden fi n ished AFIT and PCSed Ir om Wright-Pat to Peterson earlier thisyear. She and her husband areexpecting baby #2 in September!

Probably like a lot of you, Mike is also considering separating under the new Force ShapingVSP program . With a baby on theway,w e w o u l d l ov e t o set tl e down closer to family- it isatough decision and 1will keep you posted on where wehead next. Life surehasbeen interesting for usthepast year!

Please keep the updates and picturescoming- with usjust past the fi ve and divemark and these new ForceShaping off ersit isgoing to betough to keep up with everyone, so don’t hesitate to drop just a one-liner t o l et m e k n o w w h er e you’re at or write meabook on everyoneyou know!

Thanks and keep praying for our classmates over in harm’sway. Faith Amy Schult z 8 0 6 Magnolia Bend San Ant onio, TX 78 2 5 1

I n o th er n ew s: C h r i s Ge i sel ’s b e en st a t i o n ed a t R o m e R e se ar ch Si t e i n N ew

York for threeyearsbut hejust fi nished a 6 */2-month deployment to Iraq in March and is heading to Wright Patterson AFB, OH for A F I T . To m M cC al eb PCSed from Spangdahlem to Eglin where heworkswith A F O T E C a n d h a s been flying alot testing thesmall diameter bomb. B r i an M il ls i s st at i o n ed b a ck at the Academy with his wife, Katie (Vreuls), and he an d Lu k e Teel (w h o i s fl ying F- 15Es at Seymour lohnson) got to visit Tom during a quick beach vaca tion from SOS. Lisa\ fi celanded in Baghdad in July to start asix-month deploy ment workingwith theArmy to train Iraqi policeand got to catch up with Kristi (Delcour ) Contardo who’s fi nishing up her tour there a n d sh o u l d b e h o m e soon. Stacy Boggs separ ated from theAF in May and i s b a c k h o m e i n Tex a s working for a military recruiting/transitioning fi n n. M al co l m R o b e r t s sen t a quick note; he’sstationed at Kadena unti l Aug07 and hasbeen deployed for the past fi ve monthswith one more to go. Heather Hout wrote Ir om her deploy m en t t o I n cir l i k . Sh e w as ab o u t o n e m o n t h in t o h er f o u r - m o n t h er an d i s h av

ing a good timewith fellow ’01ers Lauren (Wagner) Palagi,Pete Giossenbach, and Bryan Granger . Lisa Jorgensen had just fi nished her deploym ent and headed homefor her Aug2P‘wedding. Lisa send pictures! Aubrie (Rooney) Ireland isseparating in Dec 06 to pursuebecoming a Physician Assistant. She and Dustin arealso dueto PCSfrom Eielson soon; heading t o D av i s-M o n t h an .

Mike and I have been very busy since the New Year. We at t en d ed Jason Feur ing’swedding in Phoenix in Feb 06 - there were sev er al ’0 1 er s i n a t t en danceincluding Best Man Jeff Feui ing, JesseGoolsby an d hi s w i fe, Sar ah , Jor dan Collins; Givey Kochanowski and hiswife, Chelsie, Bren t Bak , Ji m Schi ess andhisfi anceeMichelle,Tony Mari^ )am,ReneRamirez,an d A d r i an Go n z al es.

Speaking of Jim Schiess, we also went to his wedding in Alaska in May 06 many of thesame ’01erswere there aswell as Jason So m er s an d El li o t N elsen .

Both weddingswerebeautiful and theWolf pack made sure to have a quality ti mefrom swimming in their skivviesto dancing on tablesand the mystery of who threw the chair in the lake- they both were good timeshad by all.

In between all that, I separated from theAEin March 0 6 a n d w e P C Sed t o L A APB in April. 1was soon hired by Raytheon and am working as a Program M an ager for an Air Force/Homeland Security program. I am learningalot about my job and how thecorporateworld doesthings! Mikeand 1al so foun d out in Jun e that wewill havealittleDunn running around soon - weareexpecting our fi rst child in Feb 07. We arevery excited and so far my pregnancy hasbeen perfect.

M e m b e rs

2 1 5 -2 8 0 -1 7 6 0

asc hult zd md @gma il.com Class Websit e: www .usaf a0 2 .org

Hello Everyone, Suzy LEDYARD (soon to be Suzy NIELSON) and 1(Dr.Amy SCH U LTZ) h ave not forgotten about USAFA. Yes, that is right, Suzy isgetting married. She and Josh met while fl ying C- 130s in Japem. They are looking to get out and fl y for the Guard or the Reserves. I, well, where do I begin, l am a two-year brai n cancer survivor and will be graduating from dental school at University of Pennsylvania. 1will be coming back in as a Captain and offi cially stating my career as a resident specializing in periodonti cs at Lackland AFB, TX. If you need implants.. .call meup.

Suzy Ledyard and Amy Schultz Wewould like to have an unoffi cial fi ve-year reunion in LasVegas, NV. It is going to be f rom May 31st to June 3"'' 2007. Suzy and I are going to stay at the Hamingo! Wewould loveeveryoneto makeit out for t h i s li t t l e r eu n i o n . T h o se stati oned at Nellis have no excuse. So, Thursday night w e aregoing to meet up at Caramel in the Bellagio at 9 p.m. Fri day night wewill see everyone at the Circle Bar in th e H ar d Rock at 9 p.m. Finally, Saturday night we will meet u p a t HAPS; no just kidding,wewill seeyou at CoyoteUgly i n N ew

11

Yor k , New Yor k .

N o n e Ye t

Hope to seeyou all there.All my best. Questi ons? C all m e at 215-280-1760 or email me: aschultzdmd@gmail.com Sabre Society Do nors BTW.. .looks like Suzy and 1will be taking over the b l u r b updates. So please send me the good news on what is hap pening in your lives. Please send me emailsto the a b o v e ad d r ess an d w r i t e i n the subject line something related to USAFA Checkpoints,e t c .

Thank you and hope to hear from ya’ll soon!

t

it

Ke nyat t a Ruf f in 176 0 B Normandy Loop

Clo v is , N M 8 8 1 0 1

Thefolks at theFeuring Wedding from lef t ar e Gi vey Koch an owski , Jor dan Collins, Jesse Gooishy, Bren t Bak, MikeDunn, Jim Schiess, Tony Mariapain, Jef f Feuring, and ReneRam irez.

V i si t t h e A O G W eb Si t e

M erchandi se, Gone But Not Foi^ otten an d M ore!

Update your addr ess. www.usafa.org

69® /o

M e m b e rs

7 1 9 -2 1 3 -3 3 9 5

a im h ighknow him@net sca pe.net Bonger s,

First of all, thank you Mark Esguerra and Nikki (Hamilton-Brown) F o s t e r who provided me most of the info for this update. Second, for everyonewho isseparating, and will be separating, please remember to stay in touch... and if you or anyone elsewants to get more involved in class/AOG/Academy ac ti viti es, pleaselet meknow becausetherearea lot of opportuniti es coming up.

13 5

Finally,Nick Garasimowicz will bemarrying hisfiancee Laura thisSeptem ber in Denver. After the wedding he and his wife wi ll be heading to Travis where hewill fly KC- 10s.

Hope all iswell for everyone. Best of Luck!

Jo h n Ta m a s it is 1 2 4 Ha lid o n D r iv e

M e m b e rs

W a r n e r Ro b in s , GA 3 1 0 8 8

(6 10 ) 8 5 0-33 5 2 Jo hn.Ta mas it is@ogn.af .m il To m b o 0 1 2 @h o t m a i l .c o m

From lef t areNateRogers, Jill Rogers, Brian Welde, Jessica Regni, Jessica King, SteveRogers,Abby Rogers,Jacob Lindai nen, and Tess L a b o w i t ch . R o b an d N i k k i ar e i n th e m i d d l e.

Nikki recently got married to Robert Foster (OTSguy) at Fort Myer in Arling ton,VA and just returned f rom A1Dhaf ra,AB on her fi rst deployment. They are stati oned at McGuireAFB, both flying the KC-10. Several gradswerein atten dance at their wedding (see picture): Rob Beckenbauer f l i e s K C - 13 5 s (McConneUAFB) and Kay lQiapp isacomm offl cer (Ramstein AB). Kar i Jam es and Ryan Fleming (2001) got married in May 2006 at the USAFA chapel. Kari is a C-17 pilot at Charleston AFB. Jessica Regni is also a t C h ar l e st o n A F B . Te ss Labowitch is at Laughlin AFB as a T-38 FAI R Jake l i ndam en i s a W SO a t

No doubt therearethosewho have fi naf/j dinishing up pUot training, ending monthsof tests, lectures, and practi cal examsor getting into theswing of UCIs, op plans, or therefi rst tasteof offi cership. Othershavealready deployed, such as Darren Smith,former four-timeWing Open and Nati onal Champion hoxer who is currently in Balad, Iraq.

Thisupdate, however,bringssomevery unique news on two very diff erent f ro n t s:

Our fi rst story of heroism comes from Kirtland AFB where our very own Classof 2005 graduateClayton Bailey was awarded theA i r Fo r ce A ch i ev em en t medal . The photo is at the presentati on ceremony for Clayton. Congrats!

L ak en h eat h A B an d B r i an W d d e i s an A B M at T i n k er A F B .

Mark Esguerraisalso an Air WeaponsOff icer on theAWACSa t T i n k er A F B . H e deployed to Israel back in May for ajoint exerciseand had agreat timeworking with USAFEVipers,ANG Eagles, and the Israelis. Jon Guerrero and Ryland Tecson areboth currently deployed toA1Udeid,AB.Jon Diaz wasdeployed to AfghanistanandJonO’R^ isfi nishingupEagletrainingat Tyndall and will be PCSing to Mt. Home thisfall . Kurt Gerlach is in law sch o o l i n W i sc o n si n .

Lastly, did you seethat the F-35 will becalled the“Lighting 11”, honoring the P-38sthat Maj.Bong flew duringWorldWar II? I guessi t ’s cl ear t o t h e en ti r e A F that 2003 leads theway. Blue skies and r Utalk to you next time.

Je f f Go u ld

TDY t o Alt us, current ly homeless (2 10 ) 38 3-3 23 8 Jeff ry.go uld@la ughlin.af .m il email t hrough Oct obe r

, M e m be rs i 0/

^

Over two yearshave passed since we depart ed theZoo to begin our lives as AF offi cers. In thosetwo yearswehavepinned on a n ew r an k , seen th e w orld, trained in our career fi eldsand gained experiencest h a t w i l l continueto shapeour livesand careers. Currently o u r c l a ss president. Breezy (Long) Heddinger is in Iraq supporting thewar, asmany of our classmateshave done.

Somewordsfr om thehomefr ont. Jay Fullmer married h i s loving fi ancee Brianne in July. They will be heading t o N o n e Ye t McChord AFB where hewill be flying C- 17s. JamesSalazar and his lovely wife, Rachael, will be having their fi r st ch i l d Sabre Society Do n o rs due thi s Decem ber in Ch arleston , SC w h ere he w ill be flying C-17s. Hewill bejoined by Alex Lammi where he wUl al so be flying the C-17.

Sean Lev and Jeff Gould will beheading off to Grand Forksto fly the KC-135, while Brad Temple and Jeremiah Ti-awick will be off to Mildenhall , England for theKC-135. Two more of our classmateswill beflying t h e K C - 13 5 . B o em Par k will be going to Kadena AB and Ben Davidson will be going to sunny

■ ii

F l o r i d a t o M a cD il l A F B .

Matt Boyd and hiswi fe, Carrie,will behaving their fi r st ch i l d th i s D ecem b er while heis stati oned at Little Rock AFB, flying C- 130s. M aur i ce Fr uen d , D an Walton, Laura Frank , and Dana Parker will be heading to PopeAFB to fly C13 0 s .

V i si t t h e A O G W eb Si t e

www.usafa.org Send the AOG your new addr ess now.

13 6

O u r sec o n d t al e o f su cc e ss i n v o l v e s M ax R eel e a n d h i s Cinderella story of poker magic. Max won a highly-acclaimed poker event i n P en sa c o l a a m o n t h ago and was, in turn,invited to parti cipate in the 2 0 0 6 W o r l d Seriesof Poker No Limit Texas Hold ’Em Championship h el d at the Rio in LasVegasbeginning on July 28'*’. Now,f o r t h o se ti I I who enter thesetypesof tourn aments (thebuy-in feew as li st ed at $ 10,000 but Max got a free ride thanks to his victory i n Pensacola), what awaits them amounts to your local c a r d N o n e Ye t gameon crack. Thousandsof fi -enzied fanswait hourst o s e e t o u r n a their favorite players and the over 2,000 parti cipant Sabre Society Do no rs ment is divided up into hundreds of tables. Poker legends handleinterviewsfor ESPN with graceand stylewhileo t h er s are sent homewithin a few hourswondering “what if ”. But none of that ap peared to matter or phase Max. After the fi rst weekend of competiti on. Max found himself in 6'*’ place out of over 2,000 competitors and staring down legends of poker lore all vying for the $12 million p r ize.

Aft er somerough patches and somegutsy plays. Max fi nished all by himself in 59"' place with the princely sum of $123,699 as his reward. Congrats Max....you’ve done us proud!

For thosewith even better stories, updates, marriages, or other good news; send them my way at TomboO12@hotmail.com. Hope all is well and good

•f

luck ! John Tam asiti s

Felisa (Hervey) Dyrud 1 3 2 Ba n k s St .

^ 73® /^

M e m be rs

Cambridge, MA 0 2 13 8 (719 )35 2-59 9 1 Fe lisa .dyrud@g ma il.co m

(No Sabr e Society Donor s Yet ) (Edi tor ’snote: Feli sa (Her vey) Dyr ud hasagreed to b e th e Cl ass o f 2 0 0 6 Cl a ss Scribefor now. Unfor tunately, wedi dnotmakecontact witb ber in tim e f o r h er to havean inp ut for thi smagazine. Pleaselet her know what you ar e doing so that she will have agood ar ticlefor thenex t m agazine.)

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