Checkpoints Mar 2008

After A 200-foot fall was not

enough to keep C2C Thomas Avolio from pursuing his

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LUI I IC I I lo march 2008

co umns LETTERS

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FROM THE BOARD ROOM

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LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

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led LUi teb 14 THE DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE AWARD

Retired Lt. Gen. Ervin Rokke, ’62, and

Gregg Popovich, ’70, are named two of the Academy’s best.

28 AFTER THE FALL

Cadet returns after near-fatal fall from peak.

32

AMERICAN GRAD-IATOR

’98 grad bombs competitors as “Stealth” in the new “American Gladiators.”

54

LONG WAIT FOR JUSTICE

Held responsible for airmen’s deaths for more than a

decade, general feels vindicated.

ON THE COVER

Cadet 2nd Class Thomas Avolio never return to the

gave up his quest to

Academy following a life-threatening 200-foot fall from Eagle Peak. Story on pg. 28. (Photo

by Ken Wright)

2

Association of Graduates

r

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY i\ V

3116 Academy Drive USAF Academy, CO 80840-4475

Customer Service: (719) 472-0300

DSN: 333-2067 Fax: (719) 333-4194

E-mail: aog@aogusafa.org

62

Web Site: www.usafa.org

EXECUTIVE OFFICE

off the shelf

President/CEO: Gary Howe, '69

COMMUNICATIONS Director of Communication & Senior Editor: Bob McAllister

18

NEWS OF NOTE

20

LONG-TIME CEO LEAVES AOG

22

GIVING BACK

24

NIMRODS IN VIETNAM

36

ONCE UPON A TIME

43

BOOK REVIEW

44

WALDO DUMBSQUAT

46

MAKING THE GRADE

48

CLASS GIFT HONORS ALL

52

LONG BLUE LINE

58

OLMSTED TRIP TO AFRICA

Editor & Photographer: Ken Wright Senior Designer: Sarah Wright

Class News Editor: Tom Kroboth

Advertising: Alex Chavarria & Kyle Davidson Web Site: Matt Kleve & Kyle Davidson BOARD OF DIRECTORS Jim Wheeler, '64, Board Chair Pat Rosenow, 76, Vice Chair

Bill Boisture, '67, Treasurer Michael Banks, '92, Secretary Kevin Carmichael, 77

Steve Dotson, '63 Steve Finch, '65

Mike Flynn, '95 Fred Gregory, '64 Allison Hickey, '80 John Stealey, 70

Terry Storm, '61 George Van Wagenen, '67

sports 62

RECRUITING IS KEY TO SUCCESS FOR AFA FOOTBALL

66

COMMITMENT FUELS AFA SWIMMERS

67

ACEE RECEIVES PAIR OF NATIONAL AWARDS

Checkpoints (ISSN 0274-7391) USPS 898-080 is published quarterly in March, June, September and December by the Association of Graduates, U.S. Air Force Academy (Phone: 719-472-0300, DSN: 333-

back of the book

2067. FAX: 719-333-4194, E-mail: editor@aogusafa. org.) A portion of your dues pays for your magazine

CHAPTER NEWS

subscription. Additional copies may be purchased for $2.50 each, plus $4.60 for shipping. Periodicals postage paid at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo., and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send

76

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

change ofaddress to Checkpoints Association of Graduates, Doolitde Hall, 3116 Academy Drive, USAF Academy,

80

CLASS NEWS

69

,

CO 80840-4475.

Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policy or attitude of the Association of Graduates, its officers or the editorial staff. The appearance of

advertisements in this publication does not constitute an

endorsement by the Association of Graduates of

the products or services advertised. Copyright, Association of Graduates of the U.S. Air Force Academy,

March 2008.

m

schools that offer doctoral degrees. What a shame. The peer group was, however, expanded to include schools that grant master’s degrees. The peer group was also expanded geographically to the national level. USAFA’s overall engineering program ranked 7th, behind both West Point and Annapolis. With the exception of aero/astro, the Academy was not ranked among the top five universities in any engineering program.

Exclusion from the peer group of schools offering doctoral degrees presumably pushes the overall national ranking of USAFA lower.

It is bit disappointing actually.

As General Regni points out, it is nice to be “singled out before a nationwide audience as ‘the best’,” but if the “best” is selected from the lesser lights, it tends to tarnish the meaning of “best.” I am not convinced that U.S. News & World Report rankings are all that valuable, but neither am I convinced that the Academy has a great deal to boast about in those rankings. to

No a cause for celebration

Twice this past fall I read reports published

from the Academy about high rankings for USAFA among the US News & World Report 2008 Americas Best Colleges figures. The most

appeared in General Regni’s “Letter from the Superintendent” published in the December issue of Checkpoints. I love good recent

news, but I am not convinced that those rank-

ings reflect much good news.

According to the quoted rankings USAFA is: #1 in the west among baccalaureate universities

and colleges; #7 in “engineering programs overall in the

nation;” #2 in astro and aeronautical engineering;

#7 in civil engineering, and #8 in electrical

Jonathan Davis

engineering; and

San Angelo, Texas

#1 for the “nation’s best undergraduate business

management programs.”

Corrections: FAC Memorial Dedication

To achieve its “best in the west” ranking,

On page 74 of the December 2007 issue, we

the Academy was compared to colleges and universities granting no higher than a baccalaureate degree. It was not compared with Stanford, Rice, Colorado School of Mines, or even Texas Tech. We are left to wonder how the Academy would have fared against the bigger schools. It ranked #1 among a field of competitors that included such “big” names as Master’s College & Seminary (#2), Oklahoma Baptist University (#3), and McMurry University (#12). I understand the Academy does not choose with whom it is ranked, but I find it hard to celebrate when the competition is fourth tier. The Academy competed in the Special Olympics and won. Big deal.

What about the engineering program rankings? The Academy was not compared

should have written that the FAC Memorial dedication will take place on Oct. 3.

Somaly Mam Foundation On page 30 of the December 2007 issue, an

Editor’s Note was only partially printed. It should have read: For more information on the Somaly Mam Foundation, please visit

www.somaly.org.

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Annual gifts to the Air Force Academy Fund at the Sabre Society level

provide support

to many character programs like Respect

& Responsibility. These programs promote

value-based leadership principles essential to

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leading in todays Air Force.

For more infornr

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the Sabre Socie;

>ntact Regina Clark at (719)

472-0300 or reg

:lark@aogusafa.org.

becoming a part of

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A View from Meeting:

the New Gal

By Allison A. Hickey, ’80

from the Renewed Energy, Clear Focus, Building Bridges.. .Pushing it UP!

Dear Members,

Integrity First... I am a new member of the AOG Board of Direc-

The AOG Board of Directors held its quarterly meeting at

paid that much attention

Doolittle Hall Feb. 6-9. It was a busy four days that included

tors, and, until I was asked to serve, I hadn’t

orientation for the new directors, committee meetings,

to “intricacies” of AOG events of the last few

briefing on the USAFA Endowment, a closed session with the superintendent, and a seven-hour board meeting on Saturday. The directors and staff addressed the total

so

spectrum of AOG business and positive steps were taken

I knew less than many of you

in many areas. The membership can be confident that the

which you and I know means I knew very little. I read my Checkpoints,

board and staff are serious about their responsibilities and

worked my class project, went to all the distinctive reunions and gave

working hard to assure that our AOG meets the expectations of our multiple constituencies.

happenings. However, Allison Hickey, '80, one of our newest

enough to be a Sabre Society member. I attended a few Air Force vs.

Navy games on the east coast. I knew some of the really good things about our Academy and mentored a few outstanding young men and women to attend. I watched a few challenges hit our Alma Mater and felt sad but equally encouraged that the overwhelming response was to

board members, attended her first meeting and wrote the fol-

tackle them head on with transparency to the world and determina-

lowing unsolicited account of the experience. I think you'll find

tion to make things right

years. I was more confused than enlightened by the “opposing” views and “power” struggles,

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really about and who was on which side for what reason. That meant

In the past, the custom has been for the board chair to use

this space to discuss current issues, AOG events and Academy

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Board Chair

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things better. I knew from sitting on the Air Staff in the Strategic Planning and Programming functions as well as the Corporate Process that the “Zoo” had real funding challenges—especially in infrastructure—a lot like our Air Force at large. I also knew that the cadets who attend the Air Force Academy today will have very different requirements in the Air Force of the future—far different than mine. I knew that the cadets who graced the “hallowed” grounds of the institution at the base of the Rockies were so much smarter, savvy and prepared than I, but that some also came with a different set of basic ground rules and expectations that brings new challenges different than ours.’

it exciting, informative and reassuring.

■.■/■//.'

I didn’t vote for either side. I didn’t even know what the debate was

I knew that there was a lot of confusion about what the AOG and

resources you send to the AOG are used to

the new Endowment group were doing because, like you, I received a

contribute in part to the cadet experience

few emails

in-processing to graduation and every significant developmental experience in between. You remember what it was like when you were a cadet, and a graduate provided you support. Pay itforward, airman.

—

some on one

side, some on the other. I knew because of

this split... and the confusion... and the angst... I almost said “no —

I don’t want to serve in the middle of this mess.” Then it hit me...

—

sponsor in whole or from candidate thru

Service before self. So for the last three weeks, I immersed myself

Someone did for you. These are our future Air Force warriors. Your

in the business of the AOG, the AOG Class Advisory Senate (CAS

AOG takes this role very seriously.

didn’t really know much about this very important and effective

A core purpose of the AOG

—

group), the fundraising efforts of over seven different foundations or groups—including the new USAFA Endowment (UE) effort, the needs of cadets and their leadership, the 2006 survey done in the graduate community, the significant AOG heritage efforts by different USAFA classes and facilitated by the AOG, the Blue Ribbon Commission Report led by Lt. Gen. Bradley Hosmer, ’59, the AOG and USAFA Strategic Plans, the endless financial reports... you get it... I

—

as

confirmed very recently by the

Class Advisory Senate report “Moving Forward” (posted on the AOG Web site)

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is and will continue to be fundraising for the ongoing

support of the cadets and USAFA. In fact, the AOG board announced this weekend its support to renew the AOG Development effort with the appointment of new Director Kevin Carmichael, ’77, who comes with an extensive non-profit and development background to be Chair of the reestablished AOG Development Committee.

didn’t know much, but now I know a little more.

The new development team is focused on finding new and

I know one thing for sure now that I have met so many of these

effective fundraising activities to insure all three AOG missions are

people at many different functions that everyone of these groups of graduates has as its number one objective to produce officers and graduates of character and leadership. I also know the past conflicts of some of these groups interfered with the ability to bring the most support and focus to this critically important objective. That’s why,

fulfilled. The UE will add richly to this requirement too, as have the

—

Falcon Foundation, Friends of the Library, the new Athletic Foundation and the Academy Research and Development Institute. The

AOG Board Development Team will work with each in the newly

created Joint Working Group. The AOG Giving Team led by Jeff

after this weekend, the AOG Board of Directors and staff decided

Mielke, ’80, gave us a positive report on some recent growing areas of

collectively to “push it up” and is moving forward to work with the

giving matching gifts and estate gifts. We do have some challenges due to recent market activity and the split off of the UE donors but are brainstorming new revenue opportunities in an effort led by the re-invigorated Strategic Planning Committee and its new Chair me.

UE to find ways to collaborate in their combined efforts to achieve the same aim. It

won’t be all “kumbya”

—

it never is when you put bright

people together with good, but different, thoughts on how to achieve this objective. You all remember how much gnashing of teeth it took to decide how to get through the leadership courses we use to do at the Academy. Lots of cooks in the kitchen, all with good intentions, means sometimes the stew is a little spicy. I have confidence we will get there.

The AOG and UE have agreed to a Joint Working Group to tee up some

of these issues and find collaborative ways ahead. In the mean-

time, if you are so inclined to give to the AOG resources

—

then do so

-

your

will be effectively used. I saw that in the financial reports

given to us this weekend. If you are inclined to give to the UE do that too they are focused on making a difference as well and using your resources efficiently too. The point is TO GIVE. Not enough -

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of us do, and every one of us got the same free “chance of a lifetime” education. Just give!

After my appointment to the AOG board, I heard so much con-

jecture about what the “new” AOG was doing. “It is only focused on

grads.. .it doesn’t care about the cadets... it needs to be more focused on the graduates... it’s trying to tell the USAFA leadership how to run the Academy... it isn’t telling the USAFA leadership enough about how to run the Academy.” Good grief my neck grew sore flipping —

back and forth trying to sort these positions out.

Here is what I know now. I know that your AOG is working very

hard (as it always has by the way), with half the staff it really requires, to fulfill its mission of

“Working in partnership with USAFA to produce and foster graduates (officers that are today’s cadets) with an enduring commitment to integrity, excellence and service to country. That’s the very first part of the AOG mission Support to the Cadets and OUR School USAFA. Yes, it’s right there in black and —

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white and in the color of money. There are over 40 Major Events

(see attached list) and many more requirements each year that the

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So if you have some great ideas —

—

send them to me via any means

e-mail, ZoomieNation, USAFA Incircle, phone mail or pigeon

—

on

second thought, hold the pigeons.

The second part of the AOG mission

Providing leadership, communication & support to all USAFA graduates and promoting camaraderie among them means something very important to all of us all USAFA graduates are our “wingmen for life.” I flat didn’t know all the things the AOG does for graduates. I thought all they really did was send me a Checkpoints book (which I really do read cover to cover a fact validated by the 2006 grad survey); a Graduate Register; the ability to find, fix or track my cadet ring if I lost it; and all my reunions (which get to be more fun as the years go by). What I didn’t know is that there are 45 other major programs (see attached list) of responsibility, from job fairs to business networks all the way to taking care of our graduate wingmen after their death. In fact, I didn’t even know that some of the “transition” programs I used during my recent post-graduate retirement job search were sponsored by the AOG. The AOG is the partner behind the scenes creating and providing tools like ZoomieNation, ISabre and SACC job fairs. Three grads helped me get my new post-retirement job after I contacted them via this and other AOG affinity groups like AcademyWomen, which sponsors a job fair every fall and receives resources from the AOG for support. They also supported the travel to this symposium for more than ten USAFA Women. Many others helped me get interviews for potential jobs but I had to ask. I’ve helped other graduates get their new jobs and understand their transitions. A wingman for life means FOR LIFE even life after the uniform!

Today’s cadets are tomorrow’s graduates.

We are taking care of them from “cradle to grave” figuratively and literally with an awful lot of help from the AOG through your donations.

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I learned first hand about the third part of the mission

willingness to admit that things had gotten “off track” but also their determination to renew the energy, clarify the focus, build bridges instead of barriers and PUSH IT UP significandy—hiring a new CEO, filling a few critical fulltime positions in the AOG, installing previously purchased software to create efficiencies in financial tracking and responsiveness in development and giving efforts, strengthening graduate programs, fulfilling giving promises to the cadets and USAFA leadership, renewing our strategic planning and performance measures and maintaining a rich heritage effort for generations of airmen to come. Most of all, I was impressed beyond measure with the AOG staff itself. I have seen more than my share of hard-working, dedicated men and women who deliver day after day often in the midst of turmoil and crisis but always with a dedication that is unmatched. Tell them thank you. That isn’t enough, but they are the kind of people

promoting USAFA heritage our common traditions & the accomplishments of our graduates as I stood at the base of the new stone bridge (built using class donations) outside the AOG building (a building owned by the AOG but used constantly for USAFA and graduate needs) the place where every new recruit now enters our unique and shared experience. I stood there and saw the marble stones with the names of distinguished graduates like General H. T. Johnson, ’59, who still takes care of airmen by running the Board of Directors at Falcons Landing a full spectrum retirement and medical facility that cares for our “senior” airman. This AOG heritage mission is essential to remember and instill a sense of camaraderie among our cadets and graduates it gives our community a unique and shared experience. This mission creates the Long Blue Line. This mission reminds us where we came from raises funds for and manages construction of heritage proj—

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who will think the world of the recognition.

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ects like the new Memorial

Pavilion, the War Memorial, the Mall of

So, if you are wondering “what the heck is happening out there at

Heroes, the Heritage Trail, the ATO Memorials from the Classes of 1959 and 1980. This mission tells our stories to generations who join

the AOG”, as I was at first, the new gal’s impression is that great things

the Long Blue Line. This mission sponsors the Jabara Award, Founders

energy, clear focus and bridge building. Let’s knock off the energy it

Day Celebrations and Outstanding Graduate Awards and maintains graduate records, pictures and oral histories. This is the kind of stuff

takes to pit groups of well-intentioned, hard-working people against

that makes you proud, makes you laugh and sometimes

forward

—

are

happening

—

and we need you to help us sustain the renewed

each other and use that energy instead to renew, rebuild and move

makes even

the toughest of you cry.

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there is plenty of room for us all to serve. After all, we all

share a unique and common experience with only 38,000 people

The AOG board I joined this weekend was not the one I was

in the entire world. We share our United States Air Force Academy

“warned” about before I went. Instead, it was a group of outstand-

experience that made us all officers and leaders of great character. This

ing graduates from all walks of life, tremendous skills and talents and many diverse opinions. I was impressed with their integrity and

world needs every graduate, officer and leader of great character we can

help foster and produce. S

Exciting trips in fall 2008 Available to AOG members, their families and friends &

Croatia & Venetian Treasures, Sept. 11-19 the Croatian Riviera is redolent of the

Sophisticated Opatija splendor of a bygone era and Lido di Jesolo, Italy, a beautiful resort on the blue Adriatic coastline, is a superb base from which to explore the culturally rich and scenic Veneto. (From *$1,299) on

#

&

FOR ADDITIONAL

&

INFORMATION

%

AND A COLOR

$

BROCHURE VISIT

www.usafa.org.

0

Click on “AOG Services” then “Travel Programs”

0 #

#

Spectacular Swiss Alps & Salzburg, Sept. 12-20

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&

From the medieval roofs of Salzburg to the soaring mountain

peaks of the Alps, Switzerland and Austria offer a kaleidoscope of inspiring delights to discover. (From *$1,349 per person)

# %

or contact

Wayne Taylor wayne.taylor@aogusafa.or ( 719) 472-0300

e

&

# %

%

&

&

Best of the Italian Riviera & Tuscany, Sept. 27

-

Oct. 5

&

*

#

Montecatini, ideally situated in the heart of Italy is surrounded by the exquisite beauty of the Tuscan landscape and the seaside resort

&

#

of San Remo basks in the wonderful climate of the sun-drenched Italian Riviera. (From *$1,299 per person)

%

^Prices are for the LAND PROGRAM ONLY and are per person, double occupancy (plus taxes).

Land program includes first-class hotel accommodations, daily breakfast, Go Next welcome gathering and much more!

next

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he Association of Graduates is seeking a President & Chief Executive Offic ’

Shaw, 67 recently resigned after many years of exemplary service. The Bo of Directors has appointed Gary Howe, ’69, as CEO to serve until a permanent ,

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CEO is selected.

The successful applicant/nominee must be a graduate-member of the AOG a must be a new

strong executive who will carry out the policy decisions of the board. The

CEO must be a decisive, insightful leader who can bring out the best in the sta

while enhancing the integral relationships necessary for the AOG to be successful in

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accomplishing its mission. ^

A detailed job description can be found at usafa.org by searching under

“Employment.” Salary is $150,000, depending on experience; relocation expenses and

performance-based bonuses apply. With the selection goal of July 2008, candidates

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should submit a cover letter and resume to The Association of Graduates, 3116

Academy Drive, USAFA, CO 80840-4475 no later than March 31. If the envelope does not indicate it an application for the CEO position, customer service will open it.

Documents may be e-mailed to ruth.reichert@aogusafa.org. Questions should be

I■

Letter from the Director of Academy Communications “What we got here... is failure to communicate!”

-Captain of Road Prison 36 in the 1967 movie, “Cool Hand Luke”

BY JOHNNY WHITAKER, 73

PHOTO BY KEN WRIGHT

ailure to communicate is not an option in our Air Force or at

F

the Air Force Academy. Hence, in September 2003, the Directorate of

Academy Communications was created. On the organizational wiring diagram, it’s listed as HQUSAFA/CM. At the time of CM s inception, the Academy was besieged by the media, Congress, inspectors general, special commissions and working groups, graduates, parents and the general public over allegations of mishandling numerous sexual assault cases. The national focus on USAFA was

relentless; the need for clear, concise and continuous

communication, paramount. The near-term demanded aggressive engagement in the close-in fight to take on various purveyors of misinformation whose efforts, intentional or not, were tarnishing the image of this great institution. Over the long haul was a recognized require-

ment for an

organization to get its arms around the myriad public communication and outreach agencies and efforts at USAFA—all good, but lacking synergy and synchronization toward a common institutional message and image.

Sometimes called the Directorate of Strategic Communications or just the Directorate of Communications, the agency is 107-professionals strong. It encompasses the Academy’s Office of Public Affairs (32 people), the USAF Academy Band (66), and the Development and Alumni Programs Office (9). These represent CM’s direct reports, but the organization also marches in lock step with communication offices belonging to other Academy mission elements and the AOG: Sports Communications in the Athletic Dept., the Marketing Office in Admissions, Cadet Wing Media on the Commandant’s staff, the

Superintendent’s Commander’s Action Group, and the Communica-

a

tions staff of our alumni association. This combined communication

2007) Public Affairs mission includes all audio-visual,

force is highly effective in telling the Academy and Air Force stories.

graphics and photo lab productions. Mostly a $1.6M contract operation, our M2 team’s products compete with the best in the industry.

The Communications Directorates sphere of influence is broad,

ranging from local issues in the greater Colorado Springs area to national and international audiences reached by the Academy Band and efforts of the Public Affairs, Sports Information and Admissions Marketing offices. A laundry list of CM’s responsibilities

Multi-media (M2) operations. The newest (as of July

Community Initiatives Team. The CIT works with local governments, civic agencies, realtors, school district officials and developers to try to head off encroachment,

m

is rather extensive:

environmental and noise issues as civilization builds right ■

Communication through the “universal language” of music.

up to USAFA’s borders.

The USAF Academy Band is one of only two premier bands in the Air Force (the other being The USAF Band in D.C.). As a

■

premier band, the bands geographic area of responsibility is the entire United States, as opposed to specific GARs traveled by the Air Forces 10 field bands. The band carries Academy and Air Force messages to venues not often visited by other blue-suiters, as well as to high-visibility events like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day and Tournament of Roses Parades. Elements of our band also deploy in support of the Global War on Terror.

Development and Alumni Relations. a Donor relations and gift processing —from individuals and organizations. The staff deals with everything from mi l li dollar donations to support “margin of excellence” cadet programs, to the Academy’s fleet of static display aircraft, to on-

our art

■

and museum collections and more.

Alumni relations and liaison, both individually and via the

AOG. Thousands of hours annually are spent on graduate

Public Affairs. The Academy’s PA office is one of the larg-

communications, programs, special events and issues. Class

er—and busier—in the USAF. Its mission encompasses the

reunion coordination, chapter dinners, tailgating at away

traditional functions of an Air Force public relations opera-

football games, and special awards and recognition events are

tion and then some. The active duty and Reserve members of

just a sampling of the efforts we work with the AOG.

■

the PA team also routinely deploy to GWOT locations for six

months to a year at a rime.

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Parents’ club liaison. There are 92 parents’ clubs

around the world and the staff maintains contact with Media Relations. The Academy’s official spokes-people

and support for each one. Programs and products in-

(“An Academy spokesman said today ...”). Arguably the

elude a monthly newsletter, Academy speakers for club

busiest news media relations operation in the entire USAF.

events, and

Community Relations on the local and national levels.

Responsible for taking the Academy show on the road with cadets, falcons, displays, performing groups and speakers. Also runs the Academy Visitor Center, the only

ents and those aired on the FamNet website.

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one

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Memorial Board meets quarterly to consider recom-

mendations to name buildings, streets, football stadiums,

and DoD-level civic leader tour

hangars and other Academy facilities in memory of some

groups to the Academy each year.

USAFA- or USAF-related person or group of notoriety.

Additionally, the board recommends to the Superintendent the propriety of accepting special memorials to be built on the campus (e.g., the Class of 1959’s General Harmon statue and plaza that will be built near the Cadet Chapel, or the Memorial Pavilion and Directory now open in the cemetery, among many other projects).

Visitor Center operations for the more than 420,000

visitors who pass through its doors annually. And, these are

Memorialization of Academy facilities. The Gifts and

of its kind in our Air Force. “ComRel” also hosts

numerous Air Force-

■

keeping up with issues from individual par-

just the ones the counter captures; we estimate 750K-

1M visitors total pass through our gates each year en

sporting events, appointee orientations, graduation and parents’ weekend activities, other special events and programs, or just to drive around the campus and base. Pending the raising of the DoD or national threat levels, the Academy is open to visitors daily; all that’s required to come on base is a valid driver’s license. route to

Legislative affairs. CM is the liaison with local, state and federal lawmakers and their staffs. We work closely with the Air Force Legislative Liaison Office in the Pentagon as they keep Congress in tune with what’s going on at USAFA (generally via

■

the House and Senate Armed Services Committees). However, ■

Internal Communications to keep Academy employees

(military, civil service and contractor), local retirees and family members up to speed on the goings-on of their Air Force Academy via the Academy Spirit the weekly ,

base newspaper, and our official website (www.usafa.

af.mil or www.usafa.edu).

the processing of Congressional inquiries falls to the USAFA

Inspector General, as it does to IGs across the Air Force.

■

Aerial events. The newest addition to the Directorate of

Academy Communication’s job jar. CM is now office of primary responsibility for all the flyovers for Academy events 11

and exercises like home football games, the Graduation Pa-

rade, Commandant’s Challenge and Recognition activities, noon meal formations, the annual Homecoming Memorial

Ceremony and other special programs. Our Aerial Events th Coordinator, assigned to the Academy’s 306 Flying Training Group but working for CM, runs the approval and execution traps with the FAA, HQUSAF and participating flying units.

Each of these responsibilities represents a form of communication to one or more of the audiences

inherendy important to the Air Force Academy specifically and the Air Force in general. That audience could be as small as a single graduate or parent who contacts us with a concern, complaint or idea; or as broad as the Great American Public when we deliver a message via the national media about the Academy and the great successes our cadets, staff and faculty are enjoying. Our communications efforts are tailored and targeted to reach the right audience with the right message, accurately and in a timely manner.

We might use an e-mail for that one-on-one contact, a Wings of Blue jump into a stadium packed with 80,000 screaming fans, or the “Supe” addressing a dinner gathering of grads or parents.

The job of boss of this mighty communications empire is generally extremely gratifying, but periodically frustrating and, sometimes, even disappointing.

Gratification comes from telling the Academy’s story, and all the good things that occur here every day. The achievements of the cadets, staff and faculty are impressive, and far outweigh the periodic “bad” things that happen here. Contrary to popular belief, the press doesn’t just cover the bad news. An unscientific review of last year’s news coverage of the Academy—we analyzed news releases, our responses to reporters’ inquiries and the resultant reporting in the media—76% of the news about USAFA was “good.” And, that doesn’t count the extremely positive responses we routinely get from an Academy Band show, a Cadet Chorale performance, F-15s and B-ls roaring across Falcon Stadium, or appearances by cadets, falcons or the Wings of Blue parachute team

—

all tools of the communications trade.

Frustration begets from having to turn down so many requests

for an Air Force Academy presence or performance due to budgetary and manpower limitations, or cadets’ schedules. Cadets are

truly our best spokes-people and we like to get them before the press and public as often as we can. However, finding that block of time in their full and hectic schedules is often a daunting task.

Disappointment, while infrequent, springs from the constant berating of the institution by individuals or groups who are either misinformed or uninformed about the Academy or some occurrence here as well as those few who just don’t get it. Many of these are Joe and Jane Taxpayer who fire for effect over a misperception of how we’re “misspending” their tax dollars. Others, however, are USAFA alumni who, for whatever reason, are bent on embarrassing their alma mater over some cause they deem noble or “wrong” they want to right. Still others refuse to accept that the Academy has changed since they were cadets—necessary change with solid rationale and support.

Our detractors often complain or criticize via the Internet and news media, and are generally armed with incomplete or inaccurate data. Many haven’t set foot on the Academy since their graduation, except maybe for a class reunion, and most don’t bother to contact anyone here for current information before firing their .

..

12

public shots. Would that they take the time to call or e-mail, they would usually learn that things are not as bad or broken as they think they are; or that the rumor, innuendo, allegation or anecdote to which they are reacting is wrong. Unfortunately, once their erroneous information makes it into the public domain, correcting the record is akin to pushing toothpaste back into the tube. Fortunately, those of this ilk are few.

This is not to say that the Academy is always right and not, occasionally, deserving of criticism. We periodically make a mistake or misstep, but, like most major organizations, continuously seek ways to improve. Our goal is to frankly admit when we’re wrong, and take action to fix the problem or process. We also don’t “spin” the explanation. We’ve found that the best spin we can put on any situation—es-

pecially a bad one—is the truth. And quickly! Then, move on.

The Directorate of Academy Communications is passionate about telling the story of this great and proud institution to local and global audiences. We encourage grads and Checkpoints readers to contact us with ideas and issues. We invite you to

join us on the

USAFA communications team as we spread the word (music and

pictures) about America’s Air Force Academy. S

Johnny Whitaker graduated in 1973 with a degree in Management.

He spent nearly 30 years on active duty, most of it in the Public Affairs career field at the base, major command and HQ USAF levels.

He holds a Master’s Degree in Communications from the University of Oklahoma. In addition to being a career Public Affairs officer, he was also a Support Group commander from Jul 95 Jan 97.

He retired in February 2003 as a colonel and became the Academy’s first Director of Communications in September 2003.

-

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graduates of the Academy, you hold integrity

the highest regard. Your official ring is created with that

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United States Air Force Academy.

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LIEUTENANT GENERAL ERVIN ROKKE, ’62 Lieutenant General Ervin Rokke has made an enormous

impact in both the fields of military intelligence and academics over the course of his career.

Upon graduation from the Air Force Academy, Rokke

completed a graduate degree in international relations from Harvard University, then went on to Air Force Intelligence training. The young officer served several intelligence assignments in Japan and Hawaii before being brought back to the

H

AWARD

Academy as an instructor for the department of political science.

Rokke’s career would seem to run in similar cycles, as his operational Air Force intelligence assignments would be

segmented with various Academic assignments at the Academy.

Rokke served in four different capacities for the Air Force Academy including assistant dean of faculty, head of the political science department and dean of faculty.

Fie is the first Academy graduate to have

been appointed a permanent professor and he served as the dean of faculty during the

Academy’s first major curriculum revision allowing cadets to complete more majors and courses of their choosing.

As an intelligence officer, Rokke’s career has been expansive. Early on, he was heavily involved in negotiations with NATO in promoting standardization of the organization’s military force structure, has served as the air attache to the United Kingdom,

the new ownership of the San Antonio

Gregg Popovich’s career is a true

Spurs brought Popovich back to Texas as the team’s general manager. Midway through the 1996-1997 season, Popo-

testament to

the determination, com-

petitive spirit, and drive to succeed instilled by the Air Force Academy and

vich fired head coach Bob Hill and ap-

Air Force Athletics.

pointed himself head coach, a position

Popovich was recruited to play basketball for the Academy, and started all four years. He explained that while basketball was definitely a benefit it wasn’t his reason for coming to the Academy.

“My family had no connection to the military, but I did well in high school and participated in a variety of activities, and heard about the Academy through my I realized what a counselor and applied

he has held since.

...

great educational opportunity it was and a beautiful place,” commented Popovich on his reasoning for coming to the Academy.

Upon graduation, he was part of the

director for operations for military sup-

rating from the Air Force. During his ten-

port during Operation Desert Storm and director of intelligence, U.S. European

ure

—

coach, a position he held for

three of them even after sepa-

under then Air Force head basketball

coach Hank Egan, he was also able to earn

Command. Rokke’s counsel and negotia-

a

tions have been integral in promoting

from the University of Denver.

U.S. initiatives and alliances in numerous

Popovich was given his first shot at being a head coach in 1979 when Division-

graduate degree in physical education

Upon retiring from the Air Force in

III school Pomona-Pitzer in Claremont,

1997, Rokke became the president of

Calif., selected him for the position. His

Moravian College and Theological Semi-

eight years as head coach there were highly

nary in Bethlehem, Penn., during which time enrollment substantially increased,

successful. He led the team to its first con-

average freshman SAT scores improved nearly 70 points and several new academic

berth in the NCAA Division III Tourna-

majors were introduced.

school’s academic community working

ference championship in 68 years and to a He also served as a member of the

ment.

as an

associate professor and chairing the

ferred the credit to the Academy for setting

college’s Student Life Committee.

As head coach at Pomona, Popovich

the foundation and to the tremendous

became close friends with then University

people he has worked with over the years.

of Kansas head coach Larry Brown. When Brown was named head coach of the San

has had over the course of his career has

Antonio Spurs in 1988, he brought on

been due to the principles of dedication,

Popovich as the lead assistant coach, a position he held until 1992 when Spurs

Academy. He admitted he has also

been blessed to have worked with so many

amazingly gifted and talented officers and enlisted airmen.

helping him achieve.

“I give the Academy a lot of credit for instilling certain qualities and beliefs

certainly learn to organize your time and your priorities Beyond that, being dedicated and having a work ethic where you work to be persistent in trying to achieve a goal and not faltering in that regard... And then the idea of teamwork, and understanding that you don’t

six years

at the

ing the 2007-2008 season), is the fastest coach in NBA history to reach 500 wins, holds the second best playoff career winning percentage and his 92 playoff wins is fifth most in NBA history, all of which are feats he credits his Academy experience for

Union. He got his first taste of coaching in

tional Security Agency including deputy

hard work and leadership learned while

of .676 with a record of 376-276 (enter-

tional skills. You know, as a cadet you

an assistant

Rokke stated so much of the success he

ship titles, has a career winning percentage

toured Eastern Europe and the Soviet

has held high-level positions with the Na-

led an amazingly successful career, he de-

has led the team to four NBA champion-

that still remain, first of all, organiza-

1973 when he returned to the Academy as

While it is clear the retired general has

As head coach of the Spurs, Popovich

U.S. Armed Forces Basketball team that

defense attache to the Soviet Union and

globally strategic locations.

16

COACH GREGG POPOVICH, 70

owner

Red McCombs fired the entire

coaching staff.

After a two-year period as an assistant coach with the Golden State Warriors,

...

do it on your own.”

The Academy and the Association of Graduates will honor these gentlemen

during the Founders Day dinner on April 4. .

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www.usafa.org Association of Graduates' UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY

Howe, '69, named AOG CEO The AOG Board of Directors announced the

appointment of Gary Howe, 69, as Chief Executive Officer to replace AOG President & CEO Jim Shaw, ’67, who submitted his resignation in August.

Gary will serve as CEO while the AOG CEO Search Committee conducts a comprehensive national search to identify the next

equal, if not exceed, the amount of flying during AFS. This program, unlike AFS, will utilize active duty instructor pilots assigned to the 306th FTG as well as attached pilots from the Dean of Faculty, Commandant of Cadets and the Athletic Department.

AOG CEO.

Freshmen honored byALO’s

The search is expected to be completed within the next few months.

Gary has worked at the AOG since 1997, serving as Vice President for Alumni Relations and Chief of Staff for the last few years.

By Butch Wehry, Academy Spirit Each year, Academy Admissions Liaison Officers honor a first-year student from each cadet group at their annual Liaison Officer Director Conference.

Powered flight returns to Academy airfield

“Since I960, the ALOs have annually recognized four cadets

By Maj. Jennifer Wrynn The T-41 will be the workhorse trainer for the new Powered

Flight Program that took off Jan. 8. The trainer provides a comprehensive introduction to hands-on aviation.

per-

formance throughout their fourth class year” said Col. Chevalier

Cleaves, the Academy’s Director of Admissions.

This year Cadets 3rd Class Austin McKinney, Brittany Morreale,

During the last six months, the Academy skies were noticeably quieter. It was a time of transition at the Academy airfield, which meant fewer single-engine airplanes above Colorado Springs and

Jonathan Tellefsen and Rachel Crawford were selected by the Com-

the out-lying areas.

academic performance, athletic training and extracurricular activities.

However, a robust new flying program is standing up, and once again the skies will be filled with cadets learning the foundations of flying.

The 306th Flying Training Group’s 557th Flying Training

mandant of Cadets as the outstanding fourth class men for the Class of 2010. The cadets are chosen for their outstanding military and

Cadet Brittany Morreale of Cadet Squadron 12 was named this

year’s “best of the best” and is the next addition to a 48-year tradition honoring outstanding freshmen.

Squadron transitioned from Academy Flight Screening to the new Powered Flight Program during the 2007 fall semester.

In AFS, 557th FTS military instructor pilots and Embry-Riddle contract civilian pilots flew an average of 60 sorties a day. They flight screened 90 percent of pilot-eligible cadets for flying aptitude before attending formal pilot training after commissioning.

In August, AFS was disbanded due to the standup of a similar Air Force program at the Pueblo airport where nearly 950 lieutenants from all Air Force commissioning sources were flight screened.

That left a void of no powered flight at the Academy for the first

year at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics international student paper competition in Reno, Nev., on Jan. 7.

time since the 1960’s.

the Air Force Academy’s Department of Aeronautics.

That changed in November when the Air Force Chief of Staff,

General T. Michael Mosley, and the Commander of Air Education and Training Command, General William Looney, reaffirmed the

continuing need for powered flight at the Academy.

Thus, the Powered Flight Program was created.

Grads dominate international aerospace competition

By John Van Winkle, USAFA PA Cadet researchers took international honors for the second straight

This year’s international AIAA competition featured the winners from the eight AIAA regions in the world. Competitors included

aeronautical engineering juggernauts MIT, Notre Dame, San Jose State and Australia’s Royal Melbourne Institute of

Technology, plus

Academy faculty and graduates presented or were co-authors on 19 different technical papers in the premier annual event of this

technical society.

“The Academy continues to develop a reputation for very high

It is a comprehensive introduction to hands-on aviation as well

capstone program to the current aviation and academic courses offered at the Academy. It allows cadets to put into practice what

as a

they learn in the classroom.

On Jan. 8, PFP flew the first ten cadets operating from the Academy airfield. Eventually, as many as 750 cadets a year will particiThis will pate in the program while flying nearly 120 sorties a

day.

18

who have excelled as fourth class cadets and sustained superior

quality, relevant technical papers, and competes on favorable terms with institutions with Masters’ and Doctoral programs,” said Dr. Tom McLaughlin, director of research for the Dept, of Aeronautics.

Seven of the presentations were made by lieutenants and cadets from the Academy classes of 2007 and 2008. While six of these were presented in regular technical sessions, the seventh was in the International Student Paper Competition, and was won by 2nd Lts. Margaret Frash and Brittany Oligney. Si

CHECKPOINTS, MARCH

2008

ere s no

ace

>Le Col ora d

Advertise in Checkpoints magazine rtisements in Checkpoints th© Associati an

Tony Marietta, ’70

audience of influenti

d

d

...

Since 1975, selling Colorado

homes, homesites, and recreational properties.

MARIETTA & COMPANY 6189 Lehman Drive, Suite 200

Colorado Springs, Colorado 80918 E-mail: usafa70@aol.com

719-592-9700

Independent Companies Working Together

Toll free: 1-800-571-1161

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The most meaningful friend

forged through sweat, tears and shared accomplishmen-

ATI ...

because your Academy friendships

are too

precious to lose.

Log on to www.usafa.org and click on the ZoomieNation banner to learn more

Longtime face o

of A

r

moves on to next

‘adventure’

BY ANN PATTON, ACADEMY SPIRIT

JIM SHAW ISN’T READY TO HANG UP HIS SPURS. THE PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES STEPPED DOWN FROM

HIS POST IN JANUARY AFTER 15 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE ORGANIZATION

BUT IS LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT LIES AHEAD.

“WE’LL BE LOOKING FOR AT LEAST ONE MORE ‘GREAT ADVENTURE,”’ HE SAID OF THE PATH IN FRONT OF HIM AND HIS WIFE, CINDY.

AFTER RETIRING FROM ACTIVE DUTY AND AS DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE

ACADEMY’S PLANS AND PROGRAMS IN

1992, MR. SHAW JOINED THE AOG STAFF. HIS FIRST ASSIGNMENT WAS AS VICE PRESIDENT FOR DEVELOPMENT. He recalled it was a time “when we were just learning

spell ‘fundraising.’”

Widening the AOG s horizon for funding, he feels, is one of his greatest accomplishments with the organization.

The AOG now supports the Superintendent’s Chair in Character and Leadership, the Director of the Center for Space and Defense Policy, as well as two scholarships for mid-career graduates.

In addition, the AOG has added job placement, travel packages, reunion support and a Web site, among other services, all comparable to other service academy and university alumni associations. to

“We grew an organization from adolescence to matu-

rity during some very tough times on the Academy,” he said. “The toughest challenge was to get people to

20

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Jim Shaw speaks to the incoming Class of 2008 and their families during in-processing at Doolittle Hall. (Photo by Ken Wright)

understand what was happening, what the AOG was

“I reminded them that many had already done this. I

doing and why.”

A 1967 Academy grad with a degree in engineering science, Shaw spent his 26 active duty years in operational, training and staff assignments, including tours of duty as a combat controller, rescue pilot, instructor, staff officer and aide de camp.

He also commanded the soaring and parachuting 94th Airmanship Training Squadron on the Academy. A master parachutist and certified air traffic controller, Shaw has more than 3,000 hours of flying time as a command pilot.

Besides a Bachelor of Science degree from the Academy, he holds a Master of Arts in government/ international rela-

wanted them to know that the leadership here is human

tions and a Master of Business Administration.

Academy graduates are much the same, yet different from previous generations.

“Grads of today are just as motivated as ever and have the same dreams and aspirations as all grads have had,” he said. “Newer grads enter into a very complicated world. I think they are prepared, focused and will make us all proud.”

When basic cadets in-processed at the AOG on their first day, Shaw has been there for them as well as for

and really cares about their sons and daughters,” he said. “I wanted them to know how valuable and life-

changing the experience would be.”

He reminisced about his own first day as a basic cadet.

“I was a bit shell shocked but was absolutely overwhelmed by the beauty of the Academy and its surroundings,” he said. “I still feel that way today.”

Shaw grew up in Delaware in a military family and was raised on “sports, airplanes and ‘Twelve O’ Clock High.”’

He and his wife have three daughters and are also proud grandparents of three girls.

He said the best part of his years at the AOG will

always be the people.

“I have met and worked with wonderful people, grads

and non-grads alike who really care about the Academy, its cadets, our graduates and this nation,” he said.

“We have been honored and blessed to be a part of this

school and its people for a significant part of our lives.

We wish everyone the very best and hope the AOG will

continue to move forward to do great things for the school,

cadets, grads, the Air Force and the nation.” WA

their parents who often find it hard to let go.

21

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Visit us at www.usafa.org to see what's new!

Association of Graduates UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY

About the AOG I

AOG Services

Home

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Gone But Not Forgotten

Online Store Contact Us Links

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ZOOMIENATION

The AOG launched a new Web site with added features and services, a

sleaker design and easier navigation.

Some of the added features are: ■

A new membership area and online directory with greater search

«

A new photo gallery where high quality images can be viewed and

■

A new online store

■

Easier event registration

■

Flash multimedia and streaming videos

■

ZoomieNation

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capabilities purchased

closed e-community for AOG members and USAFA grads for

social and professional networking, reconnecting and mentoring

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xcept for USAF Air Commando and Special Operations combatants who fought in the Vietnam War, and the A-

be derived from studying military history. Technology always changes

26 pilots and navigators who flew the incredible A-26A

over

Counter Invader in the “Secret War in Laos” in 1966-69,

time. In my judgment, the education I received at the Academy (in all

few Americans are familiar with the Nimrod story. I hope

of its many facets) formed my foundation as a career military officer.

you have had an opportunity to read classmate Col. (Ret.) Jimmie Butlers article titled “USAFA’s Forward Air Controller Heritage” in

the Checkpoints publication dated December 2007. In that article, Col.

Butler describes the key Forward Air Controller role that thousands of courageous Air Force pilots and navigators played 24/7 over the batdefields of Southeast Asia. I consider this article to be a natural follow-on

highest respect for FAC crews during combat operations, and routinely teamed up with FAC crews to locate and strike targets. Even today, we are proud of that common heritage, and we are truly humble about our “certain brotherhood” that served during the Vietnam War. As I write this article, I am mindful that I am addressing a tough audience. You might fairly ask, what relevance or significance does U. to Col. Butlers article. The A-26 Nimrods had the

24

of your foundation. There are important “lessons learned” that can time. Human character and courage remain almost constant over

The technical skills I learned in flight school enabled me to become a

highly effective crewmember. The need for clear and strong leadership, and the need for highly trained and courageous warriors, are military constants for all

generations.

I had the privilege of being an A-26 Nimrod, a member of the th 609 Air Commando Squadron (renamed the 609 th Special Opera-

tions Squadron in the summer of 1968). The A-26 Nimrods had

clear and strong leadership, and the crewmembers had all the train-

ing and courage you could ever hope for in a combat squadron.

The Nimrods had a real passion for flying. And they had one thing more—once they started flying combat missions out of Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand—their shared sole

S. Air Force FAC and strike aircraft operations in the Vietnam War

purpose was to help win the Vietnam War. I felt so strongly about the Nimrod story that I recently wrote a

have to do with the military operations and the education of U.S.

book about the experience. The name of the book is The Nimrods,

military professionals today? My short answer—and I’m certain Col. Butler would agree—a lot! For recent graduates or current cadets, the mili tary history you are exposed to at the Academy forms a key part

and you can check it out at books.google.com or amazon.com. I

CHECKPOINTS

wrote

The Nimrods because I didn’t want the Nimrod story to be

lost and forgotten. I wanted to pass the story on to my family, and MARCH 2008

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to the families of other Nimrod combat aviators. I also wanted

that designation is well deserved. The A-26 is reportedly the only U.S.

to make the

Air Force combat aircraft to have seen service in three wars: World War

chapter of the book that I can never do justice in attempting to describe the Nimrods. But here, in an abbreviated form, I will try.

II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The A-26s that were flown in combat out of Nakhon Phanom RTAFB in 1966-69 were the end of the line for this classic aircraft. Douglas Aircraft Company manufac-

The A-26 Nimrod crews operated out of Nakhon Phanom (NKP)

tured a total of2,446 A-26 aircraft during World War II. Commander

story available to Air Force historians and students, and hopefully, to the American public. I acknowledge in the first

RTAFB, Thailand, from 1966 to 1969. We were called the Nimrods

of the Army Air Forces, General H. H. (“Hap”) Arnold was a strong

because our call sign for radio communications was “Nimrod” and

A-26 advocate because he believed the improved performance of the

specified number (e.g., Nimrod 11 or Nimrod 24). According to Genesis in the Old Testament, “Nimrod” was “a mighty hunter before the Lord.” If you consult a dictionary, the term “Nimrods” means hunters. That is a perfect definition for the combat role we were assigned in the Vietnam War. We were hunters. Each A-26 crew

A-26 over its predecessor (the Douglas A-20) would enable the A-26

could act as its own FAC, or we could team up with other FACs (air

B-26 crews were credited with 55,000 combat sorties and the destruc-

ground) to locate and strike targets. We often teamed up with FAC aircraft with the call sign Nail (0-2s), Candlestick (C-123s) and Blind Bat or Lamplighter (C-130s). We were most effective when we

tion of hundreds of enemy vehicles, railway cars and locomotives.

a

or

teamed up with other FAC aircraft because if another FAC aircraft

could locate and mark the targets, we could focus our time and efforts on

taking out those targets. The Nimrods had the privilege of flying a

“classic” U.S. Air Force combat aircraft.

After experiencing wing failures pulling out of dive-bombing passes

early in the Vietnam War, the Air Force awarded a contract to On Mark Engineering Company of Van Nuys, Calif., to remanufacture 40 A-26 aircraft according to certain specifications. The wings were substantially rebuilt and strengthened by the installation of steel straps on

In the September 2007 issue of Air Force Magazine, the A-26 Invader is

replace obsolete A-20, B-25, and B-26 (Martin Marauder) medium bomber aircraft. The A-26s and their crews experienced their greatest test during World War II as the Ninth Air Force flew them into the intense flak environment of central Europe. During the Korean conflict, to

displayed as an Airpower Classic aircraft (see page 136). I believe

the tops and bottom of the spars. Each aircraft was fitted with two

Pratt & Whitney 2500 horsepower R-2800-52 water-injected engines

with fully reversible automatic feathering propellers. Eight new under-

CHECKPOINTS, MARCH 2008

25

wing pylons were added to carry various munitions and stores. Eight .50 caliber forward-firing machine guns were added to the aircraft nose section. The top and sides of each aircraft were painted in a dark green

jungle camouflage pattern, and the bottom of each aircraft was painted black. Without the crucial On Mark modifications, Nimrod crews could not have carried out the demanding dive-bombing missions over the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

The Nimrod mission in the Vietnam War primarily centered

attacking and destroying enemy truck convoys, troops and supplies as they left North Vietnam, traveled through Laos, and engaged in troop deployment and re-supply operations supporting North Vietnam Army and Viet Cong (Vietnamese communist) guerilla forces operating in Laos, Cambodia and South Vietnam. on

The Nimrod armed reconnaissance mission also included combat

close air support flight operations in support of U.S. Marines and U.S. Army combat units operating in South Vietnam, and in sup-

port of Royal Laotian and Hmong combat units opposing NVA and Pathet Lao (communist) forces in Laos.

Beginning in 1966, in an effort to avoid detection and U.S. air strikes, almost all North Vietnamese truck convoy activity occurred at night. Hence, the Nimrod A-26 combat crews operated almost exclusively at night. Due to the rugged terrain, frequent bad weather and heavy anti-aircraft defenses, the nighttime dive-bombing missions were extremely demanding. We routinely teamed up with U.S. forward air controller aircraft, and when possible, we loved to combine air strikes with B-57 (call sign Redbird and Yellowbird) strike aircraft.

However, on many nights, A-26 Nimrod and AT-28 Zorro aircraft operating out of NKP were the only attack aircraft working with LAC aircraft in Steel Tiger. A-26s were uniquely well suited to be effective in nighttime attacks on truck convoys and enemy troops because of heavy and diversified armament loads (eight wing stations, bomb bay, and eight .50 caliber machine guns in the nose section), and because

ample aircraft fuel reserves enabled A-26s to loiter in the target area five hours or more.

Steel Tiger was the primary area of operations for the Nimrods.

Steel Tiger was a military code name for a combat area compris-

ing much of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a vast network of roads and trails in eastern central Laos extending several hundred miles from North Vietnam north of the Demilitarized Zone south through Laos to South Vietnam and Cambodia. The Ho Chi Minh Trail

passed through terrain in Laos that was alternately limestone karst (jutting mountainous terrain), triple-canopy jungle, and grassland.

The North Vietnam name for the Trail was the Truong Son Strategic Supply Route (named after the long mountain chain that separates Vietnam from Laos). Until President Nixon acknowledged in 1970 that U.S. aircraft had been, for several years, engaged in flying interdiction missions along the Trail in Laos, the war in Laos was considered by both sides to be the “Secret War in Laos.”

the northeastern part of Barrel Roll. In Steel Tiger, we generally operated from the Mu Gia Pass on the North Vietnam and Laotian border,

south past the DMZ, and further south to Saravanne. We also flew combat missions into parts of North Vietnam and South Vietnam ad-

jacent to Steel Tiger and Barrel Roll.

Three superb A-26 leaders stand out in my memory from my combat tour in 1967-68. The first great leader was Lt. Colonel

Howard Larmer, our squadron commander in 1967. He was our

squadron commander when I reported for combat duty at NKP in November of 1967. His forte was that he was an outstanding A-26 combat pilot, and he was an outstanding teacher to newly assigned pilots and navigators. The second great leader was Lt. Colonel John Shippey, our squadron commander in 1968. His forte was that he was an outstanding A-26 pilot, a Korean War veteran, and a giant among combat leaders who inspired teamwork and who aggressively fought to win. The third great combat leader was Major Bobby J. Sears (“Pappy”), the incredible pilot and natural leader that I flew with during most of my combat missions in the Vietnam War. All of those great combat leaders are simply unforgettable. I describe Colonel Farmer, Colonel Shippey, and “Pappy” Sears in more detail in The Nimrods.

No doubt, there were many other outstanding leaders who flew and fought with the Nimrods before and after my tour. Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Jensen, the squadron commander immediately preceding Lt. Colonel Farmer, was killed-in-action on his next-to-last scheduled

combat mission over Northern Laos in the summer of 1967. Our

than 100 miles north just to reach the combat areas in Barrel

squadron commanders led by example: they took the same risks and flew the same demanding combat missions as the rest of the squadron.

Two other giant USAL combat leaders stand out in Vietnam War history. Colonel Heinie Aderholt (later Brig. Gen.), commander of the th 56 Air Commando Wing, provided the same level of inspirational leadership to the Air Commando (Special Operations) forces operating out of Nakhon Phanom RTALB that Colonel Robin Olds (later Brig.

Gen.) provided to the L-4C Phantom fighter pilots operating out of Ubon RTAFB, Thailand. Those unconventional, but incredibly effec-

Roll. Although we didn’t give it much thought while we were flying

five, combat leaders earned the respect and admiration of every mem-

missions, Hanoi was only about 100 miles east of Sam Neua located in

ber of their fighting organizations.

Barrel Roll was the other major area of operations for the Nimrods.

Barrel Roll covered a very large geographical area in northern Laos, ex-

tending from the Plain of Jars eastward to the North Vietnam border.

While we only had to fly 40 or 50 miles east of NKP and the Mekong River to reach the hot combat areas in Steel Tiger, we needed to fly more

The A-26 pilots and navigators who flew in the “Secret War” in Laos had guts. They flew high-risk nighttime dive-bombing missions in aircraft that had no radar, no sophisticated electronic equipment,

and no ejection seats. The A-26 pilots and navigators sat side-by-side in the cockpit, and the navigators also performed co-pilot duties.

Historians acknowledge that the Ho Chi Minh Trail was the North Vietnamese lifeline that enabled up to a million NVA troops, and their

pilot. Jack and I flew many memorable missions together. Maj. Gen. (USAFR-Ret) William Cohen, USMA ’39, was an A-26 navigator/co-pilot. Col. Allen Learmonth, USMA ’47, vice commander of the 56 th Air Commando Wing, was an A-26 pilot. Lt. Col. Atlee E llis, USNA, our operations officer during my tour, was an A-26 pilot. To the extent I have been able to discover pertinent information, I believe the following Air Force Academy graduates also flew with the A-26

weapons and war supplies, to reach combat areas in South Vietnam, and that the outcome of the war depended in the infiltration of North

Nimrods: Roscoe R. Roberts, ’59; Patrick J. Smith, ’60; Robert C.

Vietnamese troops, weapons, and supplies through Laos into South

(a survivor of an A-26 that exploded in the air and crashed just east of NKP on Feb. 22,1967); Burke H. Morgan, ’61 (KLA in Laos, Aug. 22, 1967); Ferde P Arbeit, ’67; Arthur R. Fisher, ’67; John R. Terry, ’67;

Vietnam. Beginning in 1966, almost all of the North Vietnamese sup-

ply truck convoy activity on the trail shifted from daylight operations to night operations in an effort to hide from U.S. air strikes. Thereafter, U.S. nighttime strike aircraft, such as A-26, AT-28, B-57 and AC130 gunships, became the mainstay of U.S. attack aircraft capability on the Trail at night. The A-26 Nimrod crews arrived on the scene in SEA at exacdy the same time that the North Vietnamese mili tary emphasis shifted to nighttime re-supply truck convoy operations down the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

The A-26 Nimrod pilots and navigators returned to the fight

Davis, ’60 (KLA in Laos, March 23, 1969); James L. McCleskey, ’61

and Michael King, ’68. On one important point, I have no doubt that all Vietnam War veterans, including military academy graduates, agree that we are truly saddened by the combat deaths of all American warriors who lost their lives in combat in the Vietnam War. In my opinion, the “lessons learned” from the Vietnam War are more

of a political and foreign affairs nature than a military

nature. As a

freedom-loving nation, we cannot permit another

Vietnam to occur with respect to the War on Terror. The stakes

night-after-night in an all-out effort to destroy the NVA supply trucks bound for South Vietnam and Cambodia, and to provide close air support for friendly ground troops. They faced very for-

be patient; (3) Americans need to support our military forces; (4)

midable AAA defenses, and on many occasions lost aircraft and

Americans need to support President George Bush and successors;

The A-26 Nimrods were awarded two Presidential Unit

The Nimrods Col. (Ret.) Jimmie Butler, an accomplished author

(5) the American media needs to support our national interest; (6) American politicians need to support our national interest; (7) America must renew efforts for international support; and (8)

and military historian, stated that: “The Nimrods were the best

America and the West must defeat radical terrorists and control

truck killers in South East Asia until the AC-130s became fully

Weapons of Mass Destruction (especially nuclear weapons). When the president and Congress commit U.S. military forces to war, we look to the president to approve a military strategy designed to win the war, and we look to members of Congress to support, not undermine, U.S. military warriors who are engaged in combat. HI

crews.

Citations during the 1966-69 time period. In his book review of ,

operational in the late 1960s.” That’s a real compliment coming from a fellow combat veteran who flew 240 FAC missions in O-ls

and 0-2s, mostly over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Laos.

In my memory, many military academy graduates were members of

are too are

high. From a “big picture” perspective, the lessons learned

clear: (1) Americans need to be united; (2) Americans need to

the A-26 Nimrods. My ’63 classmate, Michael J. C. (“Mick”) Roth, a

Cadet Wing commander, was an A-26 pilot. Mick and I flew several

unforgettable missions together. One of my cadet squadron commanders during my fourth-class year, Jack Bright, ’61, was an A-26

Editor's Note: The author can be reached at grahamfivega@aol.com.

Q

O

27

Cadet returns after near-fatal fall During a grueling recovery, Avolio had one goal: get back to the academy ir Force Academy cadet

Thomas Avolio accepts his

notoriety.

“I don’t want to be

identified as the guy who fell down Eagle Peak,” he

said. “But I know it will be that way.”

Avolio, who fell 200 feet a hike in April, 2006, returned to classes this week.

After a quick noontime speech in the chow hall

packed

with about 4,000 peers, the thin 22-year-old

Washington state native shared a private table with academy brass and the three cadets who helped save him.

His rescue from a ledge near the top of the 9,368foot mountain on academy grounds involved multiple agencies and took more than five hours.

Avolio wasn’t expected to survive. He had a traumatic brain injury, broken wrist, dislocated ankle, optic nerve damage, cuts, punctures and bruises.

“He was comatose. He was black and blue and purple from head-to-toe,” academy Superintendent Lt. Gen.

BY ANDREA BROWN, THE GAZETTE

PHOTOS BY KEN WRIGHT

28

CHECKPOINTS,

MARCH 2008

2008

29

John F. Regni recalled of his first hospital visit.

“His dad pulled me aside and said, ‘General, Tom is going to make it, despite what these doctors are

saying. He has the guts and the will.”’

It was a grueling 21 months of pain, feeding tubes, respirators, bedpans, slurred speech, double vision and memory problems. His initial request for readmission to the academy last summer was denied.

So, he tried again, finally getting approval from the secretary of the Air Force to return this semester.

Avolio is a junior in Cadet Squadron 21—the

Blackjacks. He will graduate in 2009, a year behind the class with which he entered. He said he wants a career in intelligence.

“I’m looking forward to getting back in the groove and hanging out with the guys,” he said.

“I’m done with climbing.”

Eagle Peak stands in the background of his everyday life, framing his dorm and classrooms.

“I don’t feel any different about it,” he said. “I

don’t remember the accident.”

It began as a Saturday hike with two friends.

He said he blames himself for losing his footing

after taking a dangerous rocky path, which was a

bad call on his part.

Three cadets hiking near where he landed

helped stabilize him until help arrived. A ground rescue wasn’t possible because of the terrain, so he was lifted out by a Wyoming Army National Guard helicopter and taken to Penrose Hospital.

He was in a coma for 3U weeks.

He couldn’t talk or walk, but he had a goal: get

back to the academy.

“I woke up from my coma and asked what I

needed to do,” he said. “Each morning when I woke up I could lay around and watch TV and

potato chips—or actually do something to make myself better.” eat

Avolio, whose boyhood ambition was to attend the academy, chose to push himself. He got a personal trainer. He went to a Veterans Affairs clinic in

California that specializes in treating traumatic brain After a grueling 21-month recovery following a fall from

Eagle Peak, the Academy's academic challenges are a breath of fresh air for C2C Thomas Avolio.

injury. He completed 18 of 21 semester hours from the 2006 spring semester that was cut short by the fall, then attended the University of Washington.

There was one thing he let go. “It was kind of nice to grow my hair,” he said.

For their work in Avolio’s rescue, a Flight for

Life “Colorado’s Wings of Honor Award” was

given to cadets Brett McAuliff, David Blessinger and Joseph Spitz; Air Force Fire Department High Angle Rescue Team; El Paso County Search and Rescue; Wyoming National Guard Air Support Unit; and American Medical Response. IS CHECKPOINTS, MARCH 2008

EXPLORE THE WORLD Village Life along the Waterways of Holland and Belgium April 11-19, 2008 Nine days cruising along the storied waterways of the Low Countries aboard the state-of-the-art, five star M.V. Heidelberg. Explore historic villages and towns during the height of Holland's brilliant tulip season and discover the magnificent architectural and artistic legacy of Belgium's medieval merchant towns and the Dutch Golden Age. Amsterdam, Delft, Middelburg and Bruges, and much more, with a special in depth visit to the Keukenhof Gardens in full springtime glory. 9 days /from $2295 plus air.

Alumni Campus Abroad

Ukraine and Romania

2008

Steeped in tradition but driven by a modern spirit, the Ukraine is rapidly forging a new identity in today's Europe. Enjoy the M.S. Dnieper Princess as you cruise from Kiev to Bucharest.

See all this historic country has to offer-from Kiev with its Caves Monastery; enjoy a Cossack Horse Show in Zaporizhia,

discover Crimea and its seaside villages and Yalta, site of the

Conference. 14 days/ from $1795 plus air.

Alumni Campus Abroad

~

Dublin

August 11—19, 2008 Stay in a real Irish Castle located just ten minutes from the center of Dublin. Visit Trinity College; embark on a train journey to Belfast, Northern Ireland, and see all the beauty and history of the Emerald Isle. Enjoy a pint in the Gravity bar at the Guinness Store

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More information about thesO-tuxurious travel destinations is available online at \§fww,usafaLorg. Click on "AOG

Services," then "Travel Programs'

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ARMY*NAVY*AIR FORCE-COAST GUARD‘MERCHANT MARINE •ROW MILITARY COLLEGE OF CANADA*

American “Grad”-iator ’97 grad bombs competitors as “Stealth” in the new American Gladiator

Story by Kyle Davidson

early as the ancient Greek games, athletes have been equated to warriors. Perhaps it is because of the physical nature of both endeavors, or perhaps it is because competition—the desire to win, and for glory—is a natural synonym for the warrior spirit.

When the ancient Romans instituted the gladiator games, they often chose former soldiers, or slaves captured from military conquests, to compete to the death.

On a slightly less morbid scale, the same could be said for NBC’s modern-day “American Gladiaven as

E

tors.” Producers for the resurrected ’90s television show have chosen a former Air Force maintenance

officer and ’97 grad to be one of 12 gladiators going up against regular contestants in a battle of

wills, wits and might. And while the 5-foot, 2-inch; 123-pound Tanji Johnson ranks as the smallest gladiator, her quickness and ability to strike competitors

off-guard make up for the

lack of size and earned her the stage name “Stealth.”

“These are contact sport-type events where you’re going up against contenders you don’t know, you’ve never competed against them, and then on top of all that, it’s on

national TV. Somebody is going to get spanked, and you never want it to be you,” iterated Johnson, in regard to the pressure of being a gladiator.

After an 11-year hiatus, NBC decided to give the show a second chance

following favorable ratings of the old “American Gladiators” programs run on

ESPN Classic.

Johnson, who was a fan of the original show, explained that she was serving as a personal trainer in Seattle and had no intensions of trying out when a

friend, who is the personal trainer for the red team on the show “Biggest Loser,” called and encouraged her to audition.

Her friend said the producers were looking for a certain type

of character, and knowing Johnson’s background, thought she would be perfect. The former Honor Guard member

added that the tryouts were difficult, but her type “A”

personality, military background and association with the International Federation of Body Building as a professional competitor impressed the producers.

“I didn’t really know what to expect because I’ve never really auditioned for something

32

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before, but it was exciting because I knew what the potential of this show was, and I could see myself serving in the role and what it could grow to be,” she recalled.

The first-season gladiator was first introduced to the professional realm of fitness in 1998 when she was a second lieuten-

serving as a coach for the Academy cheerleading squad.

A former cheerleading aerobics instructor of Johnson’s when she was a cheerleader was competing in a local body building ant

show and asked the newly-graduated second lieutenant if she

would like to go watch. From then on, Johnson knew she would be passionate about fitness, and began training and

competing herself.

“I was really just looking for an avenue that was competitive for me to just continue to advance my physical fitness because, you and I

as

know, when women graduate from college and

school there are not a lot of competitive sports out there that we

partake in,” she explained, adding the new sport required her to change the paradigm of her thinking.

“As a fitness competitor, one of the things that excited me was, in the beginning I said, you know, ‘I don’t know if I’ll be any good because I didn’t really take gymnastics, I can’t do flips, I can’t do hand-stands,’ and things like that. And then as the years went by I changed that can’t attitude to a can

can-do attitude and a will-do attitude, and I have these great testimonies in my fitness career about not only the physical

abilities that I’ve been able to acquire, but also just the trans-

formation of my body.”

Upon separating from the Air Force, Johnson stayed in Seat-

An officer and a warrior. (USAF photo)

tie and began working as a personal trainer when she wasn’t

competing. She has become so well known in the industry as a competitor, and now as a judge, of body building that she even has her own Seattle area-based competition the Tanji Johnson Fitness Figure Classic. Now she admits she is preparing for what she sees as a possible shift in her career. Johnson is altering her entire training program to help her become a

entertainment industry.

better gladiator.

the foundation of who I am, and I owe that to the Air Force

—

As Johnson explained training for professional competitions

and for “American Gladiators” is

completely different. She

added the training reminded her of basic cadet training in that it was highly physical, highly demanding and mentally challeng-

ing. She also gives the Academy credit for so much of the success she has today.

“One of the biggest things I took from the Air Force Academy and my experiences there

was

time management. You

know, I’d talk to my peers who were going to regular schools and they were taking 12, 14, maybe 16 credit hours and I thought, oh my gosh! Are you serious? I’m taking like 24, and top of that I get up at six in the morning, we march before breakfast, we go to class like eight hours a day and then we go on

play our respective sports, and then we come back and we do military drills, then we eat again and then we’re up studying for four hours,”’ she recalled.

She looks back at the Academy as a time for perhaps her

greatest overall body and spirit.

building, including character, academics,

“For me, it’s just a big part of my foundation to the success

that I now have as an individual, in the fitness industry, in the

Academy

...

Everybody always comments back to

and my parents,” she said. H

g|ps|§

Double your gift for free-make the match!

The Association of Graduates Matching Gift Program Did you know you might be able to double or triple

your gift for FREE? Thousands of companies match their employees’ charitable contributions^/orfree. Matching gifts play a key role in cadet helping your Association of Graduates fund

and heritage programs at the Academy, and every dollar truly affects the

graduate,

day-to-day lives of more than 4,000 cadets.

Please ask if your employer has a matching gift program today!

Forever preserve a moment in stone

In

recognition of your $250 tax-deductible gift to the Association of Graduates, a 4” x 6” granite commemorative paver will be permanently placed near the entrance way at Doolittle Hall. For more information, contact The Office of Annual Giving at (719) 472-0300, or visit the AOG online at www.usafa.org. ;

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Woke Up Welcome to

Post-Cadet Stress Disorder Having dreams you are a cadet again?

You are not alone.

Screaming

By Frederick V. Malmstrom, '64 Illustration by Sarah Wright ave a

you ever dreampt (i.e. dreamed) you were

cadet again? Sigmund Freud was reputed to

have said our dreams are a desire to fulfill our

wishes. If that’s the case, then 40,000 USAFA

graduates have an odd way of expressing their repressed fantasies.

THAT NONPROBLEM OF DERANGED VETERANS

The popular press nowadays makes headlines out of a bonafide

psychiatric disorder politely called PTSD, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. We used to call it Combat Fatigue or Shell Shock. In a big leap of faith, the fourth estate loves playing up the thesis that our country is, therefore, heavily populated with secretly deranged veterans who constantly live and relive their most traumatizing combat experiences. Dunno about that, because even though I’ve dodged my share of missiles and bullets over North Viet-Nam, in my dreams I’ve never re-experienced those particular entertaining events. Rather, I keep coming back to a regular, goofy dream where I’ve returned to USAFA as a cadet. Now that’s real shell shock.

WANNA BE A CAREER CADET? Was Truscott’s (1976) sobering account not sobering

enough? For an unforgettable read, do take in suspense writer David Ely’s (1966) award-winning short story “The Academy.” As for those of you who resist the written word, “The Academy” was also presented as a half-hour TV episode on Rod Serling’s October 6, 1971 Night Gallevy. Serling presents a truly eerie premise where cadets check into a military academy but never check out. In my experience, Ely’s script trumps anything ever written by Stephen King.

I’ll be pitchkettled (look that up, too) if I can account for the origins of these dreams. The 1945 U.S. Public Law 255 extended the entering age to USMA up to 24 for returning veterans. After WWII, there were many former commissioned officers (one as high as the rank of major) who entered both West Point and Annapolis, most of them graduating in the Class of’49 (Puckett, 2006). Both the USAFA Class of’59 and ’64 matriculated prior second lieutenants commissioned

through aviation cadets. However, I doubt if any of these men secretly aspired to career cadet status. Then, again, maybe Salvador Dali actually did own a melted watch.

Some USAFA graduates (especially those from the hard sci-

ences) tell me they never dream about the Alcoa Palace. Their

DO YOU FIND YOURSELF IN THESE DREAMS?

typical non-recollection is, “I have repressed my dreams of USAFA.” I don’t know where they dragged out that Freudian vocabulary, but if they have truly repressed those dreams-well-we all know what that means. Yet, a significant minority of USAFA graduates freely confess they have recurring dreams of returning to USAFA as either a cadet or some hybrid thereof.

And what do we deranged veterans dream about? To bowdlerize (look it up) the record, I have, alas,-found nothing whatever in service academy dream content of a risque nature. Au contraire, here is a sobering quote from notable novelist Lucian Truscott IV,

From anonymous contributors I’ve collected and transcribed below

1

USMA ’69, who made this confession:

“I have this recurring dream, sometimes it’s a nightmare, in

which I’m back at West Point, still a cadet.

...

Events swirl in a

high speed merry-go-round of anxiety, a spinning place gone out of control A thousand demands are made. Nothing can get ...

done on time. If I shine my shoes and clean the room and make sure

there name tags on all my T-shirts and don’t study, I’ll flunk

the fluids test tomorrow; but if I study and kiss-off all the other

stuff, I’ll get written up and lose weekend privileges. Every decision is a dead-end street. Nothing goes right. The whole world is

Post Finance, and they’ve lost my records.”

selection of their dreams. Please note these are actual verbatim and

unexpurgated accounts from actual USAFA graduates. I mean... how could I confabulate (again, look that one up) confabulations like these? Unlike Lucian Truscott’s all-too-humorless nightmares, these dreams begin to top anything in previously published spoof cadet diaries, like Grady’s (1943) classic The Collected Work of Ducrot Pepys or its worthy descendent, Don Hall’s (2004) hilarious journal More Secret Life ofWaldo F. Dumbsquat. Here we go: Dream #1. Frequendy. It’s mostly sports, football especially: It’s somehow I’m involved in a combination of different sporting events.

I played a variety of varsity sports, both in

high school and at the Academy. I find myself down on the field, perhaps wearing a lacrosse outfit while playing soccer. Anyhow, the intramural field is filled with generic players, commandants, AOCs, and a few guys from my high school. I may tackle a general or two, but that doesn’t bother me.

Otherwise, I have dreams of pigging out at the Mitchell Hall buffet with buddies. I always held the opinion that Mitchell Hall food was great, and it’s buttressed by my other opinion, “Free is good.”

Dream #2. 1-2 times per year. Here I am as a doolie again. I’ve

forgotten to wear my shirt. It’s embarrassing to me. I have my arms folded in front of me (I hate that dream), but also nobody

1 Freud never quite caught onto the mathematical

of proving a negative hypothesis.

a

impossibility

seems to notice or even care. one

[Oscar Wilde said,

“ .

.

.

there is only

thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that

CHECKPOINTS, MARCH

2008

37

the 2 nd floor of Fairchild Flail, just before class begins. Naturally,

my weakest subject, some course I didn’t know I was even signed up for. It’s time stress. I know I’m a cadet back at USAFA, but I’m

I can’t find my classroom. I know I’m going to be crucified for

also trying to get back to Kentucky to support my wife and kids.

is not being talked about.”] Then, I will always find myself on

missing a formation. That’s odd, because I’ve been through mortar attacks in Iraq-which I never dream about—but missing class gives me a sense of pure panic. Keeping track of the time is difficult because PE classes always begin half way through the normal class periods, so it’s always confusing. Because of that recurring dream, to this day I always keep three alarm clocks set around my house.

Dream #3. Once a month. I’m always at the “old” Academy in its present Colorado Springs location. The Lowry AFB campus doesn’t fit into this at all. But Sijan Hall doesn’t exist either, and there are, alas, no women here. I’m a cadet again at my present age [68!], but all my fellow cadets are an assemblage of young men.

I’m in a state of confusion (is there any other?); I can’t find my

squadron. Karl Kitt (our wrestling coach) appears in this dream a lot. To make things worse, it all seems so logical, my not leaving, and my constantly returning to USAFA. Perhaps it’s because I can clearly see my cadet ID card expiration date reads INDEFINITE. Dream #4. Frequently. My hair is cut short, and it’s always the same dream. I’m running across the Terrazzo [Is that thing still under repair?] with my “smack pack,” a kind of book duffle bag. That was before we doolies were allowed to carry backpacks. [Note: You shoulda tried it in the days of double-timing with an armload of loose books and no way to anchor that slippery slide rule.] It’s the day of my first class. I’m

...

I’m horrified my instructors will stand us up just

like the upperclass summer cadre. It’s horrible-I don’t feel safe. My emotions are always as vivid as if I’m living through the real thing.

Dream #5. About once a year. I’ve been previously commissioned,

but I wind up back here at some indefinite rank, perhaps as a cadet

Dream #10. Occasionally. I’m at 2 weeks prior to graduation.

I have a required English 4XX exam which I screwed up. I’m not

prepared, and it’s, naturally, my weakest subject.

Dream #11. Maybe every two years. I’m lost in the academic building, looking for my classroom. I’m on the wrong floor. Sigh.

Dream #12. About every three or four months. It’s always pretty vivid. I’m signed up for classes which I never knew I had ever been signed up for. We’re changing dorm rooms, and no one is here. My roomie has moved. I look in every door. I go into one dorm room, and I step into the Chapel Hills shopping mall. Sure, I’m a captain, but I’m due to redo not four but now five years of my previous Academy experiences. My nagging question is: do I nd graduate as a 2 lieutenant or a captain?

Dream #13. Every six weeks. OK, it’s unshakable, but I’ve gotten used to it. I’ve been out in the Air Force for many years. I imagine myself as having been decorated with combat-earned fruit salad extending down to my knees. For some reason, I return to the Academy as a 47 year-old cadet for the purposes of a real graduation, all so I can finally retire. Does my war record impress those 19 year-old upperclassmen? Don’t be silly. And so I’m still as usual chugging breathless around the Terrazzo, squaring corners and all. Then with only two weeks to go, I come up short, having to take a final exam in something like super-advanced differential equations, a course I didn’t know I’d ever signed up for. Ahhh... but the most satisfying conclusion to this dream is, upon my pending real graduation, I’m going to get my picture in The Air Force Times as the oldest graduate—not as the oldest living graduate, mind you, but as the oldest Zoomie ever to graduate.

again. Panicked, I jump out of bed and then I’m wandering Fairchild Hall—it’s either the 4 th or 5 th floor, and I’m in my flight suit, trying to find my first period class on the first day of academics. I know it’s not engineering, but it is always one of my weaker subjects. I have no idea

whether these thirteen dreams are either the seed corn for a doctoral

what my schedule is, so I’m poking my head into every classroom

dissertation or another Twilight Zone series, but I trust there’s a pony

asking, but all I get is blank stares and funny looks from the occupants. There is a sunny side to this, because I know I’ve been through the program before, and I’m telling myself, “I’m going to do great on 4 th class knowledge—and this time I’ll have an answer.”

(or a mare) in here somewhere. Dream interpretation may be as chal-

SO WHAT’S THE LESSON?

Perhaps you picture yourself here. I can only dream. I can’t say

lenging as finding meaning in Danielle Steel novel. Even so, I’ll bet you a week’s free lodging at Pueblo State Hospital an interpretation would have cost Herr Doktor Freud a blinding headache. Bi

Dream #6. About 2-3 times per year. This time I get to repeat my entire Academy education. It’s my first day of class as a fourthclass-

again. It’s the Fall schedule, and I walk into the room at the wrong place. My schedule is wrong. The hallway is empty—I have no idea where I’m supposed to be, but I do know they (an indefinite they) will kill me. I’m in a state of meltdown. I give praises when I wake up.

Dream #7. I have had many versions of it. It is close to graduation and I am trying to get to the Rugby Pitch only to find the match already started or I am not on the team. I always awake upset wondering why I ever quit the team. I know I didn’t ever do man,

SELECTED REFERENCES

that because it was too good a deal).

Ely, David (June, 1963). “The Aacademy.” Playboy.

Reprinted in Foley, Martha & David Burnett (eds.) (1966).

The Best American Short Stories. New York: HoughtonMifflin.

Grady, Ronan C. (1943) The collected works ofDucrot Pepys. Newburgh, NY: Moore Publishing Company, Inc. Hall, Don (2004). More secret life ofWaldo F. Dumbsquat.

Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.

Puckett, Ralph (2006). USMA graduate, Class of 1949.

...

Dream #8. About once a month. I’m back in jump training.

They push me out of the aircraft door, but they’ve handed me nothing but a sleeve board—no parachute. I guess I’m expected to surf my way to the ground.

Dream #9. Every two months or so. I’m prepping for graduation and leaving. I have yet to take a final exam, and it’s always in 38

Personal communication.

Truscott, Lucian K. IV. (December 3, 1976). “West Point careers:

Mine.” Available online from “APF Newsletters of

Lucian K. Truscott IV.”

About the author. During his waking hours, Fred is a clinical

psychologist. He can be reached atfred. malmsrom @usafa. edu.

DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE

NOMINATION CRITERIA CHANGED FOR DISTINGUISHED GRADUATE AWARD The Distinguished Graduate Award Committee wants

honor bestowed by the U.S. Air Force Academy and

to enrich the

its Association of Graduates, recognizing gradu-

pool of potential candidates for this important award. The committee has approved the establishment of a “Pre-Nomination Recommendation” which allows people to send the AOG a name and a one

paragraph justification. The AOG staff would then do internet research to gather preliminary information on the nominee. The DGA Committee would determine if

ates whose

accomplishments are inspirational and elevate the reputation and the standing of the U.S. Air Force Academy. Distinguished Graduates should provide an example to all graduates and cadets of the standards that we value and of the abilities that have made our country and society great.

the person merited additional consideration and would contact the nominator for assistance in a more

putting together

detailed package.

The Distinguished Graduate Award recognizes ex-

ceptional graduates who have set themselves apart by making extraordinarily significant contributions to our nation and/or their communities. It is a unique

While the selection criteria for this award are extreme-

ly demanding and the competition is keen, we need the assistance of every graduate to identify deserving candidates for evaluation. Non-graduates are also encouraged to submit nominations. This is our

opportunity to recX

x

ognize our own while identifying those who can serve as an inspiration to future generations of Americas leaders.

TIMELINE

May 2007 June 2008 Award is publicized and nominations are accepted.

Award presentation ceremony at U.S. Air

Pre-nominations must be submitted by April 1, 2008

Academy in conjunction with Founders E

JUNE

SEND PRE-NOMINATION INFOR

-

-

AUGUST 2008

Selection committee reviews nomination packages

J

APRIL 2009 '

•

.

Association of Graduates

3116 Academy Drive SEPTEMBER 2008

USAF Academy CO 80840-4475

Selection committee recommends award recipient to

or

e-mail sarv.howe@aosusafa.ore.

AOG chairman of the board and U.S. Air Force Academy superintendent. Recipient is notified and agrees to

For more information, contact Ga

accept award at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

(719) 472-0300, or gary.howe@ao the AOG Web site at www.usafa.o

level aonations sue

not

fully funded by

gram that has bene

reading about the | you to all of our loy to the mission of th

ibutions. Tha and commitr

Cadets thrive as Big Brother, Big Sister hosts

By Ann Patton, Academy Spirit Photo illustration by Ken Wright /

t was the best

I

tailgate party ever, said Cadet 4th Class

Katie Schuler.

it was proposed.

More than 30 cadets from Cadet Squadron 6 welcomed

“I enjoyed the preparation for the event,” Cadet Brooks said.

nine proteges from the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program for

“Knowing that we would be serving our squadron and our special guests made it that much better to plan.”

All the cadets had their favorite part of the evening.

“It was a great way to get pumped before a football game and work with community service simultaneously,” said Cadet Schuler.

“The most fun for me was watching the pick-up football game that the cadets and kids played next to our tailgate party,” said

evening of tailgating and football for the Air Force/University of Nevada Las Vegas game Oct. 6 at Falcon Stadium.

“Bull Six is proud of our squadron events, and the opportunity to share that with the BB/BS was one we could not pass up,” said an

Cadet 1st Class Maria Brooks.

Sharyn Thomas, program specialist with Big Brothers/Big Sisters, said the program is very appreciative of what the cadets accomplished.

“They did so much work to make the kids feel welcome,” she said.

Before the game, cadets played catch football and Frisbee tag with the “litdes,” and everyone pitched in to cook on the grill.

They watched the cheerleading and dance teams perform and shared photo spotlights with “The Bird.”

The BB/BSs got a closer than bird’s eye view as cadets marched on to

Cadets in Squadron 6 were enthusiastic about the undertaking once

the field, and each time the Falcons scored on the field, the

“litdes” did push-ups in the stands.

Cadet 4th Class Eric Hunt.

Like all cadets, Cadet Schuler has precious little spare time but she

happy to share it.

“It’s inspiring to see little kids having fun and looking up to you.”

For Cadet Hunt, the whole evening was special.

“It was neat to be looked up to and appreciated a little bit,” he said. “The kids enjoyed the fly-over most but I think they enjoyed the cheerleaders and getting pictures taken with The Bird.”

He added, “I don’t know whose smile was bigger, mine or theirs.”

Cadet Squadron 6 has collectively donated more than 209

was

M^kP an I V I Cl IvC Cl I I hours of community service so far this semester.

Lt. Col. Freddie Rodriguez, Academy assistant professor of

mathematics, also joined the tailgating and game festivities.

He mentored two boys over a period of five years, and now is on the

program’s board of directors. He knows what a powerful impact BB/ BS can have on youngsters and what an honor it is to mentor a child.

“The friendship between a ‘big’ and a ‘little’ is priceless,” he

said. “The kids do better in school and are less likely to wind up in trouble. They get to experience fun outings on a regular basis,

and their outlook on life becomes more positive.”

CHECKPOINTS, MARCH

2008

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Ralph Puckett’s Words for Warriors REVIEWED BY FREDERICK V. MALMSTROM, ’64

L

et me admit

up front that I’ve known

Colonel Ralph Puckett (USMA ’49) for almost 50 years. In 1958 as an

Army captain, he was assistant commandant at the USMA Preparatory School, and I was an E-2 airman. In those days, we Air Force enlisted cadet candidates “borrowed” the prep schools from the Army and the Navy.

For now it’s enough to tell you that I’ve never

forgotten Ralph Puckett. Here is why: Words for Warriors is a delight to anyone interested in why we professionals do what we

do. One reviewer called Puckett’s book

Army collapsed? What made the difference was that Puckett had only months before taken 74 ordinary good volunteer soldiers, and he trained them into a loyal, hardened fighting Ranger unit. He got to know each of his men personally. He researched their

strengths and weakness, and most importantly, he surrounded himself by talent. The heroism and the effectiveness of the 8 th Rangers is

all the more impressive, because Puckett

had never been shot at before. Instinct of

leadership? I don’t think so.

Here’s the lesson from Words for Warriors.

“inspirational reading for future generals,”

Puckett knew from the beginning that it

but it is not. This is not the sort of book

is the duty of every officer to be with his

which paints dry generalities for ROTC

men at

and ACSC students, nor is it an autobiog-

anything he wouldn’t do himself. Above all, an officer’s first responsibility is to his

all times, never requiring of them

raphy. Rather, it is a well-edited narrative of Ralph Puckett’s real-life encounters with the military and political world. It places

soldiers, and he must surround himself with

the reader into the You-Are-There. This is

have seen that rule violated by officers whose

Agincourt to Apaches to Afghanistan. (Puck-

hands-on stuff.

first responsibility was to the protecting of

ett is well-versed on the Near

Let’s get right to the action. On Novem-

talent. I can’t tell you how many times I

East.)

their own careers. To wit, the sad, sad case of

What also separates Words for Warriors

ber 25, 1950, the Chinese Army had just

the recent prisoner humiliation and torture

from the uselessly vague SOS-type reading

entered the Korean War. First Lieutenant

scenes at th

the Iraqi Abu Ghraib prison was

Ralph Puckett was there commanding the 8 Army Ranger Company, a unit composed of only 47 U.S. soldiers and nine South Korean KATUSA nationals. During the evening of Nov. 25 and early morning of Nov. 26, Puckett’s Rangers fought off five head-on assaults of over 500 Chinese in hand-to-

one was ever

hand bayonet fighting and bugle led-charges

material is that it is well-researched and foot-

not, in the words of

politicians, the isolated act “of a few bad apples.” To the contrary, of duty. Communications were bungled

Cheney. He offers chapters which look realistically at the past and equally as well guarded to the future of the U.S. military

and misinterpreted. Nothing was planned.

and our country.

Amateurs were left to run the show, and no

Today, Ralph Puckett still serves as an active advisor and lecturer to the military, academia, and industry. During his time in uniform, Ralph Puckett was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, three Legions of Merit, two Bronze Stars, one

it was a clear case of officers’ abandonment

really in charge.

For instance, during the months that pris-

which continued throughout the night.

oner

abuse went unchecked, not one officer

Chinese army losses were appalling. When,

ever

made a no-notice midnight inspection

owing only to lack of artillery support, the th Company was overrun by 6 assault, Puckett himself was severely wounded. Against his protests he was finally dragged to safety by his NCOs. By the next morning, only 26 Rangers were left standing. For their actions, his two NCOs were awarded the Silver Star,

noted, for Puckett can cite Chaucer as well

of the prison. This scandal would never have

as

happened if the superior officers had followed Puckett’s examples.

Wordsfor Warriors is a collection of 85 short thought-pieces, anecdotes, humor,

Service Cross in Vietnam? To find out more

and combat narratives. It is well-edited into

about that one, read the book.

Commendation Medal, ten Air Medals, and five Purple Hearts. Oh

—

and did I men-

tion he was awarded a second Distinguished

SI

and Lieutenant Puckett himself was awarded

sections, but any one chapter can be read as a stand-alone piece, and each story has its own

the Distinguished Service Cross.

lesson. And I’m forever grateful that Puckett

Puckett, Ralph (2007). Words for Warriors: A professional soldiers notebook. Tucson, AZ:

has included an index, so anyone can do a

Wheatmark Press. ISBN: 978-1-58736-805-

quick research on topics of anywhere from

9. 412 pages. $28.95.

What happened that the 8 th Ranger Company held on while the rest of the U.S. 8

th

8

43

The Secret Life of

/aldof. PufT)bSQU3t

by Don Hall, ’76

H

'0^%

lampposts on the terrazzo strained to ; 8®®*® push rays of light into the dark, swirling snow storm. Cadets 9 if trudged through the drifts forming on the marble strips, as the Cadet Wing filed slowly out of Mitchell Hall. The low grumble of the snow plows in the area seemed to scrape away at the morale of freshmen and upperclassmen alike. The return to USAFA after the Christmas break always took its toll on the human spirit.

Unknown to the Cadet Wing, three ninja-like figures used the cover of darkness to break into Harmon Hall.

Using highly sophisticated equipment to defeat the administration building’s security, the covert team entered stealthily and rode the elevator to the Superintendent’s office.

Executing a well-rehearsed plan, two shadowy men took up sentry positions, while the third produced a portable step ladder from his ninja-like bag. Climbing the steps brought the thief faceto-face with the Sup’s overhead locker. With a gloved hand, he slowly turned the combination dial. He smiled as the last tumbler fell into place. A ninja-like hand reached inside, and »

the safe gave up its secret.

C/4C Waldo E Dumbsquat stomped into the dorm room. He

brushed the white flakes from his pointed parka.

“My dandruff is getting worse,” complained Waldo as he hung up the coat in his closet. “That watch cap really dries out my scalp!”

“Wait until you see how your shoes have been wiped out,” chortled his friend, Warren Heels.

Waldo leaned against the laundry bin and pulled off his low quarter shoes. Carefully peeling the rubber over-shoe away, he groaned as he saw that many hours of spit shine labor had been indeed rubbed away.

“Now I’ve got two pairs of parade shoes,” Waldo

groused. “It’ll take days to get this pair back into inspection shape. Looks like I’ll have to use a Hershey Bar again ...”

The other member of the three man room, Regs Buch, looked up from his efforts to make an AMI bed. “Just don’t use the almond bar again,” he advised.

“That did turn out badly last time,” mused Waldo.

44

“I hate the Dark Ages,” blurted out Warren as he

arranged

underwear and rolled socks in a dress drawer.

“Yeah, the Dark Ages go on forever,” lamented Waldo.

“Well, actually the Dark Ages end at Spring Break, so techni-

cally they don’t go on forever,” Regs corrected.

His friends looked at him blankly.

“I hate the Dark Ages,” said Warren.

“Yeah, they go on forever,” echoed Waldo.

“And the writer’s strike only makes things worse,” added Warren, who had no television privileges anyway.

“We need something exciting to happen around here,” Waldo decided out loud.

Right on cue, Regs pointed at the night outside their window.

“Look, it stopped snowing.”

The doolies peered out the dorm window. Not only did the absence of snow capture their attention, but so did the sea of

flashing red lights in the Harmon parking lot.

“Something big is going on over there!” exclaimed Warren.

Waldo, senses tingling, hurried from the room without explanation. He skillfully avoided a disgruntled CQ by ducking into the latrine. Once hidden from view, the puny freshman uttered the

magic words “subprime mortgage rate.” Like an adjustable rate, the doolie instantly ballooned into the huge figure of Colonel Waldo F. Dumbsquat, a man who always rented. With confident strides,

the officer made his way to the Sup’s office. Armed

security forces

roamed the area, stopping only to salute the colonel as he

passed.

Pushing past grim-faced technicians fingerprinting the furniture, Colonel Dumbsquat found the Superintendent standing dejectedly behind his desk. The general looked up as the field grade officer entered the room.

“Thank goodness you’re here, Dumbsquat. Someone has stolen it!

Only professionals could have pulled this off—this was no spirit stunt!”

“What was stolen, sir?” asked the colonel.

“Good grief, man! They’ve taken a national treasure. The Academy has lost the Big Picture. .and you’re the only one who can get it back!” .

(To be continued ...) M

Air Force Chief of Staff?

Any one of them CdVI DG an Air Force Chief of Staff. Thanks to graduates

like you they have that chance.

Leave a Legacy, include the Association of Graduates in your will or estate planning,

Association of Graduates UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY

For more information visit our Web site at www.usafa.org, click on or contact Jeff Mielke,

r

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“Giving” and then “Planned Giving,”

’80, CSPG, atjeff.mielke@aogusafa.org or (719) 472-0300.

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overall GPA rose from 2.61 to 2.75.

The number of freshmen with an average less than 2.0

General Born said the faculty is “encouraged with the feed•

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finding it to be a positive experience.

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She also pointed out the cadet leaders are placing an increased

nphasis on the sanctity of academic study time.

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study into potential causes for changes in academic performanc The fall data will serve as one more data point in that stud

Dept, of Astronautics celebrates 50th anniversary

T

he Department of Astronautics at the United States Air Force Academy will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its establishment on March 7, 2008. Formed by order of Brig.

Gen. Robert McDermott, Dean of Faculty of the Air Force Academy in March, 1958,

the USAFA Astro Department was the world’s first undergraduate academic depart-

specifically devoted to astronautics instruction. His order also established a year-long core course taken by all cadets, and ultimately led to the first accredited undergraduate degree in asment

tronautical engineering offered in the United States.

Since 1958, hundreds of cadets have earned degrees in astronautical engineering, engineer-

SttMm

ing science, space operations, and systems engineering through the Astro Department and been

.

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commissioned as second lieutenants in the United States Air Force and the air forces of several allied nations. Moreover, every graduate of USAFA has completed at least one course in intro-

ductory astronautics. Astro majors have gone on to become astronauts, general officers, corporate

CEOs, and senior government executives. Hundreds of officers, non-commissioned officers

and civilians have also served in the Astro Department as faculty and staff, responsible for the

instruction, research, and administration of many USAFA space-related programs.

On March 7, the Department of Astronautics will host facility and classroom tours as well as discussions of past and current activities. The day will culminate in a gala affair at Doolittle Hall with

reception, dinner, and presentations. All current and former Astro, Space Ops, Engineering Science (Astro Track) and Systems Engineering (Space Track) majors are invited to attend, as are all current and former Astronautics Department faculty. For more information, call 719-333-4110.

Academy Grads Jr

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Power Of Knowledge A message from the 88 alumni participants of Darrel Slack '85

Trish Heller '87

Diane Julias '80 Scott Hines '92

Ryan Sharkey '98 Anonymous '00

Anonymous '03 John Prentice '82 Anonymous '99

Kathi Durst '81

Laurel Scherer '93

Aaron Freed '93

David Peters '88

Anonymous '02 Vo Cheng '93

Blue Alliance including:

Mike Solorio '86

Jeff Breininger '85

Greg Mooneyham '87

Ross Ridder '88

Jeffrey L. Allen '87

Cholene Espinoza '87

Anonymous '97

Jeanne Muetzel '81

Bill Musick '76

Kevin Wells '95

Anonymous '93

Will Sosa '01

Terrence Tullia '79

Anonymous '96

Anonymous '87 Sharon Boyd '80

Anonymous '99 Dana Teagarden '92 Anonymous '87

Anonymous '90

Eric Woodson '87

Jim Kinzer '80

Ben Muetsel '80

Jeff Matchan '86 Doug Sparks '82 Anonymous '01

Willie Benitez '79

Tara Sweeney '95

Steve Waye '85

Anonymous '88 Regina Brown '85 Terry Vendlinski '79

Anonymous '00s Cynthia M. Mack '82

Lisa Giddings '91

Anonymous '92

Joe Belano '92

Karen Blackford '80

Bill Middleswart '99

Dennis Maust '79

Sara Wilson '90

Mark Lankford '96

Kathleen Robbins '68

Kevin Keene '96

Anonymous '89

Tim Gaither '85

Greg Probst '89 Anonymous '81

Reichen A. Lehmkuhl '96

Annie Eissler '90

Paul Sanders '98

Beth Schissel '89

Karl Alvarez '84

Anonymous '87

Troy Carlyle '84

Anton Novak '93

Ray Janssen '88

Anonymous '80 David Knight '85 Megan Kuzmich '97

Blue Alliance is a support and education network promoting dignity and

Visit Blue Alliance on the web at

Mark D. Holmes '75

Thomas A. Brumlik '72 Paul "Rick" Mazurowski '73

respect for LGBT alumni of the US Air Force Academy.

WWW.blUe-alliailCe.org.

—- —

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Class of 1981 Memorial Pavilion Roll Call Record Locator Room I his Memorial Pavilion was made possible

through the

generosity of more than 11,000 graduates, friends and

CLASS GIFT

parents. The Pavilion honors all Academy graduates for their unwavering service to the United States of America.

HONORS ALL GRADS

The Record Locator Room is made possible

through

the generosity of the Class of 1981.

BY AL BURRELL, AOG

T

he Class of’81 s commitment to “Service before self and

vides guests specific information about each of our honored dead.

excellence in all we do” is aptly illustrated by an impres-

Those interred may be located by class year, last name, or cadet

sive Record Locator Room recently gifted to the USAFA

squadron. Information presented includes a cadet photograph, class year and a biographical tribute; complimented by a respectful rendition of “Taps.” Information concerning deceased graduates

Cemetery and to each graduate. The newly built and computerized Locator Room was funded by the class as part of their th 25 Reunion campaign and is similar to that at Arlington National Cemetery. It allows visitors to quickly locate loved ones interred within our hallowed ground.

Class Giving Chair Rich Trentman explained that his class elected to fund this need to honor “those brothers and sisters who rest here.”

The Directory Building in which the room is located is near

cemetery’s west entrance. Its architectural design ensures that each marble facing, a terrazzo terrace and all metal framing closely match those found in the Cadet Area. Because all original Academy structures were built on a north-south or east-west footprint, the building is constructed on a true north-south

heading. Ample

glass and natural lighting provide visitors a panoramic view of the entire cemetery as they begin their visit.

The Locator Room houses a touch screen information center

which offers an array of valuable information. The system lists USAFA graduates honored on the War Memorial. It exact location of

specifies the

every grave and details the most convenient route to that location. A selection titled “Gone But Not Forgotten” pro

48

not interred at USAFA is also

available, as are many other features

that benefit visitors to the cemetery.

The project, led by Trentman and Charles Phillips, was an

important part of $4.7 million of cemetery improvements known as the Memorial Pavilion. The complex has already earned a top Air Force design award and is collectively funded by the Classes of ’66, ’81, ’83, ’84 and other graduates and friends of the Academy.

Services are no longer exposed to Colorado’s unpredictable weather. Graduates and others have contributed to these improvements to honor all Academy graduates for their unwavering service to the United States of America.

8

The USAFA Cemetery is a private cemetery available to cadets,

graduates and spouses, former senior USAFA officials and Air Force military personnel assigned to the USAF Academy or to tenant units at the Academy at the time oftheir deaths, and select others. Grave sites and columbaria are available at no cost. Further information may be obtained by contacting the USAFA Mortuary Affairs Office at (719) 333-3323/2389.

C H E C K P OIN T S, M A R C H 2 0 C

Colorado Springs home information School reports and neighborhood information

$1,000 rebate program Relocation information for anywhere in the country Check out our website or cell us first www.skorateam.com (800) 719 9900, (719) 488-8314

For your fiancial needs

...

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( 719) 5724)456, (800) 239-4822 info@dynastyhome/oan. com

Northwestern Preparatory School Located in Southern California +

Post High School Service Academy Preparation Exclusively

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Appointments to the U.S. Air Force Academy and other Service Academies have been received by over 90 percent of our students.

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SAT/ACT Enhancement

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“Northwestern Prep provided me with an academic foundation that raised my SAT scores by 200 points, as well as an ability to

focus on the essential preparation to succeed at the Academy.

As a result of the self-confidence I gained there, I became Outstanding Student in CST, Outstanding 2nd Class Cadet in 3rd Group, Team Captain of Women’s Fencing, and Outstanding Squadron Commander of the #1 ranked squadron of the wing! ”

2002 USAFA Graduate

Suzanne Durbeck, Executive Director 1-800-367-8839 / www.northwesternprep.com / E-mail:

prepnwp@aol.com

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midst the frosty temperatures and icy roads

A

of Colorado Springs, Col. Chevalier (Chevy)

Cleaves, ’85, Director of Admissions at the

Academy, kicked off the annual Liaison Officer Directors Conference. Every year, the Director of

process,” said USAFA Admissions Liaison Division Chief Lt. Col. Steve Orie. “Also, with the continual constraints on our man-days and resources, it is refreshing to know we have senior level support.”

The initial group of ALOs, known as “Operational Spokesman,” were

Admissions hosts a five-day conference for the leaders of the Admis-

alumni.” Organized in 1957, this elite group later received recognition

sions Liaison Officer Program. Colonel Cleaves and his staff run

as

the ALO Program, consisting of reservists, guardsmen, active duty

cadet registrar established a new staff agency called the Candidates

members, retirees, and civilians who recruit, mentor and evaluate

Advisory Service to train and organize these volunteers into a compe-

for USAFA and the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps to

tent and effective

meet the Air Force officer accession needs with the

best-qualified

and most highly motivated students available.

the Air Force Liaison Officer Program. By July 1958, the Academy

group of admissions counselors. In 1971, the ALO program was extended to overseas areas in Europe, and by 1972 it

essential to help the ALO program maintain current focus on USAFA

quickly spread as far as the Panama Canal Zone, Puerto Rico and the Far East. Once women were appointed to the service academies in 1976, female ALOs quickly became part the program. ALOs fiinc-

and AFROTC. The purpose of the annual conference is to gather all

tioned as recruiters, counselors, advisers and mentors.

In todays dynamic, ever-changing recruiting environment it is

LODs for meetings with senior USAFA staff, AFROTC leadership,

Admissions Divisions/Branches and other key elements of USAFA teams who

provide direct knowledge and insight on topics of interest, current policies and procedures, and any issues they need to know about when recruiting for both programs. It is also an opportunity to reacquaint themselves with their colleagues and have “a meeting of the minds,” sharing ideas and information to improve the worldwide ALO mission. The conference culminates in the awards banquet, where national award winners, lifetime award winners and Fourth Class cadet award winners are honored.

50

made up of Air Force Reserve officers recruited to “foster

Because AFROTC detachments were not manned to cover much more

territory than the immediate vicinity of their campuses, it was

quickly recognized that AFROTC required outside assistance when their program changed from mandatory to voluntary in the late 1960 s. Therefore, in 1969, the Air Force Reserve Personnel Center was

approached with the idea of creating an Admissions Liaison Offi-

cer

force for AFROTC.

In July 1980, the Academy and AFROTC ALO programs proposed

merger. In the end, what was once a small group of Air Force reservists, recruited to “foster alumni,” and known as the Academy Liaison a

“It is motivating to hear from senior leaders at USAFA that they

Officer corps, is today the Admissions Liaison Officer, a combined

recognize the essential role the liaison officers play in the admissions

effort of highly qualified individuals that share a goal, vision and pas-

sion for assisting the admissions process to recruit qualified candidates

Management Group, the Association of Graduates and Falcon Foun-

for both the Academy and AFROTC.

dation, and several more offices within the Directorate ofAdmissions.

The USAFA Admissions office currendy has 1,625 ALOs spread across

five regions with 67 geographic areas around the world. ALOs

travel from as far as Europe, the Pacific Rim and Puerto Rico; Lt. Col.

The culmination of the conference was the National Awards

Banquet, which was held at the USAFA Falcon Club. The

who attended the “New” LOD School. The Admissions Advisory

banquet allowed all LODs to gather one last time and honor annual award winners. The guest speaker, Air Force Space Command Vice Commander Maj. Gen. Thomas Deppe, and Colonel Cleaves presented the annual awards.

The first group recognized was the Outstanding Fourth Class Year Award winners. This award is sponsored by the ALOs and honors the outstanding top four fourth-class cadets from the Class of 2010 based on academic and personal achievement. Each AOC from the 40 cadet squadrons can nominate a fourth-class cadet for this honor. Each of the four cadet group commanders and the training group commander

Panel, a team of experienced officers, runs the school and provides

review the nominations and recommend their best to the Comman-

with the basic knowledge and training they need to be

dant of Cadets, who selects the winners and names one of the cadets

Bill O’Brien traveled from Dubai to attend this year’s conference.

These dedicated ALOs work closely with high school counselors and conduct individual mentoring and interviews for prospective candidates. They also work with local AFROTC detachments, and Congressional staffers, plus educators who work in local schools. The Liaison Officer Directors are responsible for all recruiting efforts in their areas and all administrative duties; some leading over 50 ALOs. The first day of the conference was exclusively for new LODs,

new LODs

successful leaders in their areas.

The conference went into full swing the next morning. Colonel Cleaves opened the proceedings and then introduced Superintendent Lt. Gen. John Regni, ’73. General Regni discussed his vision for USAFA in the next few years, including the importance

of diversity, leadership, strategic languages, and USAFA space programs. He also gave his perspective on many of the challenges ALO’s face. Gen Regni said he recognizes the increasingly difficult

as

“Best of the Best.” This year’s winners were: Cadet Rachel Crawford

from 1

nd

st

Group, Cadet Austin McKinney from 2 Group, Cadet Britrd th tany Morreale from 3 Group, and Cadet Jonathan Tellefsen from 4 Group. The “Best of the Best” winner was Cadet Brittany Morreale.

The next awards presented were the Tallman Awards. The Tallman Fund was established in 1992 to provide funding for recognition of service by Admissions Liaison Officers, both active and retired. The fund is named in honor of retired Lt. Gen. Kenneth L. Tallman, who

environment the ALOs are working under with virtually no man-

served as the Academy’s eighth superintendent from 1977-1981. The

days available and the increased mission requirements associated with the Diversity Action Plan. Following the general’s speech, LODs heard from Dean of Faculty Brig. Gen. Dana Born, ’83, who explained the changing focus on the depth of the curriculum, to include narrowing the “Terrazzo Gap” and enriching the first year academic experience at the Academy.

Then, Commandant Brig. Gen. Susan Desjardins, ’80, spoke to the LODs and stressed the importance of vision and mission being one and the same. She impressed on them the need to educate, train, focus, assess and make continual improvements to the mission and goals for each cadet. Finally, Director ofAthletics Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Hans Mueh, ’66, got the crowd going with his exuberant passion for what the Air Force Academy has to offer the intercollegiate cadets and praised the Air Force’s ranking as being #1 in the nation for Title IX intercollegiate

Tallman Award pin recognizes ALOs for each 10 years of service and an

ALO can receive a different level award as they progress through 20,

30, and even 40 years of ALO duty. This year saw over 25 professionals receiving this award.

The last awards of the night were the National Awards. Each year, the Admissions Directorate selects the outstanding performers of the nation in each of the following categories; LOD,

Deputy LOD, Primary Duty ALO, Additional Duty ALO, Retired or Civilian ALO, Diversity Affairs Coordinator, and

Outstanding Lifetime Service Awards for those who served with distinction for more than 30 years as ALOs. The Outstanding LOD of the Nation is Lt. Col. Mike Germain, who leads the team in Minnesota and North Dakota. The Outstand-

Wing Commander Cadet 1 Class Jonathan Reynolds, and then spent time with a panel of cadets representing each of the four classes, getting

ing DLOD of the Nation was Maj. Leo Cunningham from New York.

The Outstanding Primary Duty ALO of the Nation was Maj. Stewart Anderson from Tennessee. The Outstanding Additional Duty ALO of the Nation was Lt. Col. Annette Gillespie from Montana. The Outstanding Retired ALO of the Nation was Lt. Col. (Ret.) John Foreman from Pennsylvania. The Outstanding Diversity Affairs Coordinator of the Nation was Lt. Col. Alfredo Sandoval from California. Finally, the Outstanding Lifetime Service Awards for 30+ years of ALO service went to Lt. Col. (Ret.) Stephen Cannon from South Carolina, Col. (Ret.) Joseph Cordina from Texas, Col. (Ret.) John Diller from Michigan, and Col. (Ret.) Carol Holland from Wyoming.

Col. Cleaves closed the evening and the conference with congratulations for all the award winners and heartfelt thanks to the

direct insight on cadet life at USAFA.

attendees and the Admissions staff who made the conference such

sports for women.

After these eye-opening sessions with the senior leadership, the LODs went to lunch with the Cadet Wing in Mitchell Hall. This was

great kick-off to an afternoon spent talking about cadets issues. Many of the LODs got to sit with cadets at tables on the main floor, while a

others ate lunch on the staff tower.

The afternoon started with a panel of Air Officers Commanding and Academy Military Trainers, who lead the cadets in each of the

cadet squadrons. These individuals are perhaps the most influential in the day-to-day life of USAFA cadets. LODs also heard from Cadet st

Throughout the rest of the conference, LODs received briefings from the Director ofAthletic Recruiting, the Deputy Director of

an awesome success,

fm.

Operations for AFROTC, the Department of Defense Medical Evaluation Review Board, the Academy Preparatory School, the Reserve 51

veterans, government, and business and eco-

studies as a Rhodes Scholar before earning

nomic development,” said Walter Thomp-

her pilot wings in 1984. “My first reaction

son, who nominated Tornow to the Kiwanis

was

Tornow served for 29 years in the U.S.

‘why me.’ Then I thought about it, and the title of this show is pride, passion and power, and those are intangibles that are important to us every day.”

Air Force before moving to Newnan, Ga.,

General Johnson has quite a list of

Club and Newnan-Coweta Chamber of

Commerce, which co-sponsor the event.

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in 1994.

accomplishments. She was the Academy’s

“Two years later, he undertook the

Tornow, '84, named Citizen of the Year

Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Robin G. Tornow was recently recognized as the 2008 NewnanCoweta Citizen of the Year. The general also recently retired as director of the University of West Georgias Newnan Center.

“This is truly an honor. Truly an honor,” Tornow told a gathering at the Coweta

the only female inaugural member of the

academy’s Athletic Hall of Fame for her talents on the basketball court.

“There are some real continuing themes that go into team sports,” she said. “It comes

down to the fire inside. Talent

stint in Vietnam supporting the 101st

alone doesn’t do it. It’s the teamwork. The

Airborne and 5th Special Forces Group.

fire in the belly. The desire to win, and the

“Of the millions who serve in the military, only a few reach the rank of general,” Thompson said.

Tornow put in more than 4,000 flying

intensity and perseverance. Those qualities are universal. The Air Force is a giant team. That’s what it is all about.”

After graduating from the Academy,

County Fairgrounds Thursday night.

He said it’s amazing to see that the

hours and earned eight medals. His last

General Johnson went on to become one

Air Force assignment was as administrative

of only 61 female officers to attain rank

former winners of the annual honor are

head of the Air Force ROTC. (Courtesy,

of general officer in the Air Force. She’s

still so actively involved in the community.

The Times-Herald)

served in various assignments in air mobil-

“They didn’t let it go to their heads,” said Tornow. “They continued to serve the community.”

He said that’s exactly what he intends

Brig. Gen. Michelle D. Johnson was featured during a Jan. 19 episode of CBS Sports Spec-

nel. She is a command pilot with more

to do.

tacular titled Pride, Passion and Power.

lifter, T-4l Mescalero, KC-10 Extender, C-17 Globemaster III, C-5 Galaxy and

“This award means so much,” he said,

“because it comes from the community ...

It’s a wonderful honor

...

Thank you

much, from the bottom of my heart. I

ity, airlift and tanker flying operations and training, academic instruction and person-

Johnson, who is the deputy director of the Joint Staff’s War on Terrorism, Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate at the Pentagon,

than 3,600 flying hours in the C-141 Star-

KC-135 Stratotanker. (Courtesy, AFPN)

earned the honor due to her accomplish-

Dues, ’07, named Cadet of the Year

outstanding basketball player and cadet at the Air Force Academy and her subsequent success as an Air Force officer.

“Fortunately, friends of mine broke it

Air Force officials honored 2nd Lt. Bran-

to me that I’d been considered for this

most

Coweta and been a leader in education,

national feature,” said the 1981 Academy

commissioning program.

religion, community affairs, nonprofits,

graduate who also completed graduate

so

look forward to continuing to serve you.”

Service is what Tornow’s life has been

about, according to those who made the nomination.

“For 13 years, Rob Tornow has served

52

rebuilding of the Newnan campus of what is now the University of West Georgia,” said Thompson.

Tornow graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1964, and “unselfishly served our country for 29 years,” including a

first female cadet wing commander and is

ments as an

H E C K P OIN T S, M A R C H

2008

don T. Dues as the 2007 Cadet of the Year in a ceremony Jan. 3 at the Pentagon. The

Cadet of the Year Award recognizes the

outstanding cadet in an Air Force

Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force

for a $12.5 million facility that will serve to meet the

academic and athletic needs of

the 16 intercollegiate sports at Utah State.

He crafted a unique business

partnership for medical health coverage that improved the overall coverage of USU student-

athletes and reduced medical costs. In

addition, he negotiated a lucrative new

marketing agreement for Aggie Athletics with Learfield Sports Properties.

“Florida State University is one of the

finest college athletics programs in the

May 2007, the 23-year-old was one of 20 people nationwide accepted into the

ics director is a great compliment, and I

Pardee RAND Graduate School in Santa

was

Monica, Calif., where he is currently

nation. To be asked to serve as its athlet-

thrilled to accept. I proudly served

my country for many years with honor, commitment and pride. And I now look

pursuing a doctorate in policy analysis. He also was accepted into Harvard University’s School of Government. Upon completion of his PhD, Lieutenant Dues

Florida State University with the same

Gen. Duncan McNabb, ’74, presented

will attend Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot

the award to Dues, the seventh airman to

honor, commitment and pride.”

Training at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. (Courtesy, AFPN)

receive the award since its inception.

“Lieutenant Dues excelled in academics,

forward to bringing my skills as an athletics director to this university and

serving

Prior to his stint at Utah State, Spetman

spent eight successful years (1996-2003) as Director of Athletics at the United

athletics and military performance while at

Spetman, ’76, named FSU

the academy, and was ranked number one of

States Air Force Academy in Colorado

Athletics Director

991 cadets in his class for m ili tary perfor-

Florida State University President, Dr. T.K.

mance,” said General McNabb. “Winning than 4,600 cadets in the Reserve Officer

Wetherell, recently introduced Randy Spetman, ‘76, as the university’s new director of athletics, ending a national search that

Springs, Co. During his tenure, he administered the school’s 27-sport intercollegiate program as well as the physical educa-

Training Corps and Air Force Academy.”

began in December. Spetman, a former

this award makes him number one of more

The Cadet of the Year award was estab-

lished in 2000 by the private British Air

Squadron organization in tribute to the U.S. military’s support of the United Kingdom. The recipients’ names are engraved on the Millennium Sword of Friendship which is kept on permanent display in the Pentagon. It serves as a symbol of the enduring British-American friendship.

Winston S. Churchill, the grandson of

Air Force colonel, takes over at FSU after

serving as Athletics Director at Utah State since July 2004 and at the United States Air Force Academy from 1996-2003.

“Randy Spetman has a strong record of leadership with honesty and integrity.

His experience and organizational and

tion and intramural programs. Under his

command, athletics teams at the Academy

enjoyed unmatched success as the football team participated in four bowl games, while the men’s basketball team advanced to its first-ever NCAA Tournament.

Born and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa,

Spetman graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1976. He earned three letters as a

defensive end for the Falcons and was

management skills set him apart as one of the best athletics directors in the country,”

captain as a senior. He also won a pair of heavyweight Wing Open Boxing

Wetherell said. “We’re very pleased that he

Championships.

Spetman’s 28 and one-half year military

a team

former British Prime Minister Sir Winston

is joining the Florida State Family.”

Churchill, presented Lieutenant Dues

Spetman was lauded over his tenure at Utah State for the success of the Aggies’

variety of positions. A command pilot

athletic programs both on the field or court

award to his leadership at the academy

with more than 3,000 hours of flight time,

and in the classroom. Utah State joined the

and the teamwork of his fellow cadets.

Spetman’s range of positions took him

Western Athletic Conference in 2005 and

from assistant football coach at his alma

“It’s all about teamwork and investing

Utah State claimed four conference cham-

in those around you,” he said. “If everyone

around you is successful, you’ll be successful.

pionships in its first two years. Even more impressive is the fact that USU’s student-

The academy was an awesome opportunity

pilot, and from the Chief of Bomber Planning in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm to serving as

athletes lead the WAC with a 78 percent

Chief, Command and Control Division,

to learn that. It was more than a leader-

graduation rate and have maintained over a 3.0 cumulative grade point average.

Under Spetman’s leadership, Utah State moved forward with several facility projects, including profile improvements

Operations Directorate of the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany.

Spetman was unanimously selected from a large field of candidates that was narrowed to four formal applicants that went through the on-campus interview process. (Courtesy FSU Athletics) '%

with the Sword of Friendship.

Lieutenant Dues attributes winning the

ship opportunity; it was an opportunity to develop as a person. It takes relendess dedication to excellence. If you’re not continually improving and working hard, you can’t demand that of anyone under you.”

After graduating from the academy in

to the football stadium.

He also spear-

headed fundraising and building efforts

career

took him around the world in a

mater to a

53

II 1

:

I

.

WAIT Held responsible for airmens deaths for more than a

decade, general feels vindicated

erry Schwalier has lived in the shadow of

be reinstated, and found that he should

Khobar Towers for more than 11 years.

have been promoted to the rank of

The Jut e 25, 1996, terrorist bomb-

ing in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 airmen under Schwalier’s command remains a

defining moment in his life and career.

“It’s deeply embedded in my mind,” Schwalier said from his home in Knox-

ville, Tenn. “Every moment, every second is very, very clear.” now the retired

Perhaps fighter pilot finally put those memories to rest.

can

The Air Force Board for the Correction

of Military Records ended a

long-running dispute Dec. 20 by deciding that holding Schwalier responsible for the bombing by effectively stripping him of his second star back then amounted to an

injustice.

The board ordered that his second star

54

by erik holmes, air force times

major

general effective Jan. 1, 1997.

After years of maintaining he had done all he could reasonably have been expected to do to protect his airmen—a conclusion shared by three of the four government investigations into the

name or

his second star. The issue was the

standard to which commanders ought to be held, and the precedent set

by making

him the scapegoat for the attack.

“When the government tells a commander to take troops into harm’s way, there’s a risk that precious lives are

going

to be

attack—Schwalier said he feels that jus-

lost,” Schwalier said. “To me the standard [should be] how can the com-

tice has finally been done.

mander be reasonably expected to

“Yeah, sure, I feel vindicated,” he said.

“I would have preferred to have this all

take place while I was still wearing Air Force blue, but it didn’t. Based on where

we’re at... I do feel vindicated. I feel

relieved. There’s as much vindication as I think there can be at this time.” quest for redemption was about more than his good H

with the information he has at hand.”

The board agreed.

In a Nov. 19 memo obtained

by Air Force Times, the board wrote: “He implemented all identified force protection steps that he could, took steps to resource those that required resourcing and acted

But Schwalier insists that his

/"l

r

perform

have the remaining addressed.”

...

to

Left: Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Terryl J. Schwalier, 74. (USAF Photo)

Previous page: Nineteen airmen died and hundreds were injured in the terrorist attack at KhobarTowers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on June 25,1996. The front of

Bldg. 131 was blown off when a fuel

truck parked nearby was detonated by terrorists. (U.S. Navy Photo)

'THIS STINKS'

terrorism. Schwalier said he felt the time

Records,” he said. “This is abuse of

No one could have predicted this result

right to take another look at commanders’ culpability in terrorist attacks.

In April 2003, he petitioned the corrections board, arguing that Cohen had violated promotion procedures by removing him from the promotion list, and that holding him accountable was unjust.

authority.

back in July 2005, when Schwalier ran into attorney Michael Rose at a conference at

the Air Force Academy. The men

had both graduated from the academy in

1969, and they knew each other through the lacrosse team.

Schwalier had recently received what he

was

The board found in August 2004 that

thought was a final rejection from the board

“an administrative error was made” and

in his request to have his promotion to major

Schwalier had, in fact, been promoted to

general reinstated. He was disappointed and thought that was the end of it.

Rose said that as Schwalier explained the

major general on Jan. 1, 1997, even though he never pinned on the rank. Joe Lineberger,

strange twists and turns of his quest for vindication, he knew something wasn’t right.

Agency, approved the decision on October 2004, acting on the authority of then-Air Force Secretary James Roche.

“I just knew that this stinks,” he said.

Three months before the Khobar Towers

bombing, Schwalier had already been nominated by President Clinton and confirmed by the Senate to receive his second star.

director of the Air Force Review Boards

...

It’s not fair to the entire

United States military to have civilian

political lawyers interfering in a process that’s been clearly set up by Congress to give relief to people in the military.”

Rose submitted Schwalier’s second

application for correction of his records Sept. 24, arguing that civilian lawyers have no authority to overrule the Air Force board, and again making the case that holding Schwalier responsible for the attacks was an injustice.

The board, in its Nov. 19 memo leading to the official Dec.

20 decision, did not

decide on the issue of Defense Depart-

Lineberger reversed his own decision. He

authority, but ruled in Schwalier’s favor based on the claim that holding him responsible was an injustice.

wrote that his action was based on civilian

“To me,” Schwalier said, “the decision

But more than 10 months later,

ment

Defense Department lawyers’ advice that

now

the board’s decision was outside its author-

manders [who] are sent into harm’s way that

the bombing, in which a sewage truck

ity and that the Defense Department had

their performance will be measured against

packed with explosives blew up near the dor-

the final say.

a

Four investigations were conducted after

mitory, which housed around 100 airmen.

Three of the investigations exonerated Schwalier, according to the boards Nov. 19 report, but the first one made public said the general was at least partially to blame.

In response to that report, then-Defense

Secretary William Cohen removed Schwalier’s name from the list for promotion to major general.

Many in the Air Force thought Schwalier

unfairly made the scapegoat. In fact, then-Chief of Staff Gen. Ronald Fogleman resigned in protest over Cohens decision. But Schwalier’s career was effectively over, and he retired from the Air Force on Sept. 1, 1997.

The landscape changed after the Sept.

11 attacks, when most Americans began

was

to

grasp the extent of the threat of Islamic

kind of sends the message to com-

firm but a fair standard, and that their Air

Force leadership will uphold that process.”

'ABUSE OF AUTHORITY'

Schwalier stands to receive a substantial

As Schwalier recounted his tale to Rose

amount of back pay,

during that chance meeting at the acad-

retirement date was retroactively changed

emy, Rose was dumbfounded. “I didn’t

from Sept. 1, 1997, to Feb. 1, 2000. He

know exactly why this was illegal,” he said,

said he does not yet know how much he

“but I was immediately confident it was.”

will receive, but it is safe to say it will be

Rose offered to look into the case and

represent Schwalier free.

During the next two years, he spent

hundreds of hours in his Summerville,

S.C., law office researching the relevant

regulations, statutes and case law. He came to a startling conclusion.

“This was the first time in history a Defense Department lawyer had ever interfered with a decision of the Air Force Board for the Correction of Military

in part, because his

six figures.

Schwalier said he is trying to process his emotions now that his story has such an

unexpectedly happy ending.

“At this point, it’s still a little overwhelming,” Schwalier said.

“Over such a long time you spend so much time thinking about that tragedy and what we felt was unfair and unjust, and now we’re just looking forward to seeing what’s next.” S 55

Remember all the

great stories your classmates shared with one reunion? Well now is another at your last your chance to share some of the your life with the most 25,000 readers of important memories of of the Cadet Checkpoints magazine, which includes a Wing. large part As the

Academy and the Association of

Graduates celebrate this versary, the staff of institution's 50th anniCheckpoints wants to publish your cadet how your four years at the Academy affected your career andexperiences and stories of life.

Although we can't guarantee

take time to share

every submission will be

your first-hand account of

we published, hope many of you will the Long Blue Line's heritage and history.

Please keep your story between 500-2,000 words. If you have them. Digital

than 300 dots

copies of photos must be in per inch at 7 inches

E-mail your

story and photos to please include a digital of

make sure

copy

wide.

photos, please include

"jpg" file format, at a

resolution of no less

If you choose editor@aogusafa.org. to mail your your

you get them back in

story on a CD or

the condition

floppy disk. If you mail

they were sent.

story,

prints, we'll

Service Academy

^UN r

What is SACC?

The SACC is the Service Academy Career Conference supported by the Associations of Graduates from the U.S. Air Force

Academy and the U.S. Military Academy, and Alumni Associations from 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 thousands of alumni. Go to www.sacc-jobfair.com for a list of companies attending, the complete schedule and the online registration form.

Where will the SACC be held?

The next SACC will be held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street NW,

Washington, D.C. Call (202) 234-0700 for

reservations and ask for the SACC rate.

SACC Schedule of Events

Thursday, May 8 Interview Prep Seminar

6:30 p.m.

8:15 p.m.

Friday, May 9 Registration

8:45 a.m.

All day

SACC

9:30 a.m.

12:30 p.m

Lunch

12:30 p.m.

2:00 p.m.

SACC

2:00 p.m.

6:00 p.m.

Saturday, May 10 Interviews only if directly scheduled between company recruiters and candidates; Companies will contact you directly regarding any on-site interviews during the SACC. Registration The SACC Candidate registration fee is $35. To register, submit a one-page resume (for recruiter's book) and

pay online at

www.sacc-jobfair.com. This limited resume is designed to give the recruiters an indication of your capabilities. It is NOT the resume you should bring to hand out to the recruiters at the conference. Registration deadline for inclusion in the recruiter's book is April 18, 2007.

Next Scheduled SACC

Seattle, Wash., August 21-22, 2008 For more information, contact Wayne Taylor at (719) 472-0300 or go online at

www.sacc-jobfair.com.

Trip funded by Olmsted Foundation provides unique experiences for cadets Story and photos by Col. Martin France, ’81

WHILE MOST CADETS WERE

ENJOYING THE BREAK BETWEEN FALL AND SPRING

SEMESTERS AT HOME WITH FAMILY, AN ADVENTUROUS SET OF FOUR CADETS AND ONE FACULTY MEMBER TRAVELED TO AFRICA FOR A

GLOBAL CULTURAL

IMMERSION TRIP THROUGH THE ACADEMY’S INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS OFFICE. CADETS 1 st CLASS CORY PILINKO AND NICOLE GRAZIANO AND MARIE MCLENDON AND DANY GATSINZI

C3CS

JOINED COLONEL MARTY FRANCE,

’81, HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ASTRONAUTICS, ON A TWO-WEEK TOUR OF RWANDA, UGANDA, AND ETHIOPIA FUNDED BY THE OLMSTED FOUNDATION AND THE ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES.

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Previous page: Female Gorilla, Volcanoes Nat’l Park, Rwanda

HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. Following that, they traveled

Above: CICs Cory Pilinko and Nicole Graziano with elementary school kids in

Kigali, Rwanda.

Cadet Gatsinzi, USAFA’s first international cadet from Rwanda was

instrumental in planning the trip and serving as expert guide

during the first phase of the trip. Born and raised in Uganda, Dany’s family returned to Rwanda from Kampala following the Genocide of 1994. After two year’s at Rwanda’s National University, he was chosen to attend USAFA and will return in 2010 to serve

in the Rwanda Defense Forces.

The group arrived in Kigali on Dec. 21 after staying

overnight

in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and

began their visit with a tour of the National Genocide Memorial. The next day, they toured the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology and the Lycee de Kigali, Dany’s former high school. They also visited a primary school in Kigali headed by Dany’s sister, Mary, and her husband. On the evening of Dec. 22, they were the invited guests to the US Embassy holiday party hosted by the Deputy Chief of Mission, Ms. Cheryl Sim. In the following days, while traveling into the Rwandan countryside, the group happened upon and witnessed a “reburial” of genocide victims whose mass grave was recently discovered, attended a local soccer game between Ugandan and Rwandan junior teams, visited the National Police Academy, and went as far west as Lake Kivu and the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On Christmas Eve, Ms. Sim hosted a coffee for the group where

they were able to discuss cooperative efforts between the US and Rwanda governments on military training, malaria eradication, and HE

to RDF

headquarters where they met General James Kabarebe, Chief

of Staff of the RDF and continued their discussions of the Rwandan

military, its status and responsibilities in East Africa. In the evening, they enjoyed dinner with Cadet Gatsinzi’s family.

On Christmas Day, they departed for Volcanoes National Park in the northwest of Rwanda for hiking and a visit to the wild mountain gorilla areas made famous by Dian Fossey’s research.

Guides led them through the think jungle to a rendezvous with “The Sabyinyo Group” of gorillas whose leader, named Guhonda, is the largest gorilla in the park at 220 kilograms! The group was amazed at these calm, gentle apes who didn’t seem bothered by the strictly controlled human visitors each gorilla group may be visited by only one group of no more than eight human tourist per day for one hour. The hour passed quickly as they watched the gorillas wrestle, eat, and groom.

From Rwanda, they flew to Kampala, Uganda and then a six-hour drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park for two days of safari. While in the park, they tracked Chimpanzees in Kyambura Gorge, cruised the Kazinga Channel between Lakes Edward and George, and went on three “drives” through the park to observe wildlife at dusk and dawn. The thousand square kilometer park is Uganda’s biggest and includes elephants, buffalo, kob, waterbucks, bush bucks, wart hogs, lions, hyenas, hippos, crocodiles, and numerous species of monkeys and birds.

They returned to Kampala for a city tour and spent their last full day in Uganda white-water rafting on the Nile River, below its source (Lake Victoria). Their guide, Tutu, was a former Olym—

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Top Row, L-R: 2nd Lt. Sean France, ’06, C1C Cory Pilinko, Col. Charles Karamba, Col. Michael Nkurunziza. Front Row: C1C Nicole Graziano, C3C Marie McLendon, The Rwanda Defense Forces Chief of General Staff, General James Kabarebe, Col. Marty France and C3C Dany Gatsinzi.

pic kayaker for Uganda and he enthusiastically trained the team to survive four sets of Class 5 rapids over the 35 kilometer trip, which included two capsizing! The cadets put their survival swimming lessons to work, too, and all made it back from the Nile with only a few bruises and many great memories. That evening,

they enjoyed New Year’s Eve and a two-hour fireworks display in downtown Kampala, before leaving for Ethiopia the next day.

Ethiopia offered tours of the Addis Ababa University, the ethnological museum, and national museum that included specimen displays of many archaeological finds, including the three million year old “Lucy” skeleton. The cadets and colonel then traveled to the U.S. Embassy where they were hosted for a luncheon by the Honorable Donald Yamamoto, U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia, and the full Defense Attache’s staff.

Their final two days in Africa began with a tour of another

national park that offered wild ostriches, gazelles, and more

hogs, as well as visits with rural farmers and their families. They also toured several Ethiopian Orthodox churches, including the Holy Trinity Church in Addis Ababa that houses the tomb of the last emperor or Ethiopia, Haile Selassie.

They visited “The Mercato,” Africa’s largest open-air market, bought souvenirs, and had a final sampling of Ethiopian cuisine at the wart

Fasika National Restaurant.

The group returned directly to Colorado on Jan. 5,

having

all agreed it was the trip of a life-time. Cadet Gatsinzi saw and

experienced new thrills, too, like seeing his first lion in the wild in Uganda!

Experiencing Africa, meeting people in three countries in a variety of settings, and discussing the issues affecting the region, the United States, and future cooperation with some of the area’s key players was amazingly rewarding, and certainly a tremendous complement to USAFA education and training. SI

AOG offers e-mail forwarding With e-mail forwarding, your address can stay

(<msafa-grads.com no matter what e-mail provider you us&. Messages that are sent to the @usafa-grads.com

ad Ass are directed to your normal e-mail inbox,

bp^rvice provided to graduates only) Visit the AOG Web

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SACC is the Service Academy Career Conference—a career fair hosted four times annually and exclusive to alumni of 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., Seattle, Wash., San Antonio, TX and Savannah, Ga.

Alumni 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 those who prefer to remain in a passive mode.

Employer Post Jobs JSAJE is also an exclusive job Web site designed for companies in corporate America to advertise their career

opportunities directly to service academy alumni. In addition to the job posting function, companies may also purchase access to a repository of resumes of those graduates who are in an active transition mode. iSABRD is the online Service Academy Business Resource Directory and is a great tool to network with other academy alumni. With over 34,750 active profiles of service academy alumni from USAFA, USCGA, USMA, USMMA, and USNA, it is an excellent resource for advertising, career networking, and building business connections with fellow

alumni. iSABRD can be searched by name, academy, graduation year, city, state, zip code, country, company name,

business type and keyword.

Need a Job? iSABRD is the one-stop directory for Service

Academy grads looking to find professional careers with grad-friendly companies ...

Have a Job to be done?

Look for people you can count on! Make iSABRD your first choice if highly qualified

professional fellow Service Academy grads are what you seek...

areer center at

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to success for Air Force football

program

Calhoun begins building from the ground up By Jake Schaller, The Gazette F THE AIR FORCE FOOTBALL PROGRAM WAS A HOUSE, THEN THE 2007 SEASON

I

WOULD AMOUNT TO A PAINT JOB, NEW CURTAINS AND LANDSCAPING.

FIRST-YEAR COACH TROY CALHOUN MADE THE HOUSE LOOK MUCH MORE

ATTRACTIVE BY TWEAKING THE FALCONS’ PLAYBOOK, ALTERING THEIR APPROACH TO CONDITIONING AND RE-ARRANGING SOME PLAYERS HE INHERITED TO

OUT NINE WINS AND A BOWL BERTH.

62

o n n

SQUEEZE

But the framework of a college football program—the

Last year’s recruiting class was cobbled together hastily after

beams and struts that hold it together—is recruiting.

Calhoun was hired. So the high school class of 2008 will be

And in the years before Calhoun took over at the academy, that framework had begun to rot.

the first true recruiting class for Calhoun and his staff. And

Calhoun has called it “the key class” in rebuilding Air Force

“This was probably the No. 1 project that I thought we had to completely revamp,” Calhoun said of recruiting. “We

just made wholesale changes in the way we were going to approach recruiting.”

Calhoun realized how much recruiting had slipped in recent years when he looked at a list of the academy’s top

football.

Preliminary results come Wednesday. Most major college programs will announce lists of high school players signed to letters-of-intent.

Army, Navy and Air Force recruits don’t sign binding letters of intent. Air Force doesn’t release the names of its

prospects from three years ago.

Early in 2005, Air Force brought 55 high school seniors to

recruits until they arrive on campus in the summer due to the

appointment process.

the academy for official visits prior to National Signing Day,

But many Air Force recruits will sign nonbinding certifi-

which is Wednesday this year. Just five of those 55 are in the

Wednesday in ceremonies at high schools across the nation, and others already have given verbal commitments.

Recruiting analysts are impressed.

“They have done a terrific job of revamping their efforts,” said Jeremy Crabtree, the national recruiting editor at Rivals, com, a Web site that analyzes and ranks recruiting classes.

program today. And only three were in Air Force’s two-deep chart during the 2007 season.

“That’s where it just hit me,” Calhoun said. “These are official visits. These are your best kids.

...

We’ve got guys on

(the list) that are student managers.”

The result is a dearth of top talent in the current junior

cates

Crabtree said before Calhoun took over, the Falcons’

and sophomore classes, next season’s juniors and seniors.

recruiting classes included “guys that we honestly never had

Calhoun has noted multiple times that many freshmen will

heard of before.”

play significant roles during the next two years. After that, he hopes, no more than one or two freshmen will play signifi-

No more.

cant roles each season.

“We’re going to become a more talented football team,” he said.

Crabtree mentioned two players who are rated as three-star

(out of five) players by Rivals.com who have committed to Air Force—defensive tackle Kebin IJmodu (6-foot-2, 244 pounds) and offensive linemen A.J. Wallerstein (6-4, 274).

Head Football Coach Troy Calhoun and Athletic Director Hans Mueh. (Photo by Joel Strayer)

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Quarterback Sean Carney gains yardage against Navy. (Photo by Ken Wright)

Umodu chose Air Force over several other Division I schools, Crabtree said. And ESPN.com,

using data

provided by Scouts Inc., ranks Wallerstein as the No. 22 guard in the country.

“So definitely there is a step up in the caliber of kid they’ve recruited the last couple years,” Crabtree said.

dramatically in the offseason. And the staff’s efforts have been noticed.

“At the Nike training camps, every single time, Air Force people were there,” Crabtree said. “You couldn’t say that about too many staffs nationwide.”

Other changes Calhoun made include

evaluating

and contacting players earlier in their careers. Air MAKING IT A PRIORITY

Force now starts a letter-writing

Recruiting has figured prominently in many of

in the spring of their junior years.

Calhoun’s decisions at Air Force.

The recruiting ability was a key factor in Calhoun’s choices for assistant coaches. Nine of his 13 assistants are academy graduates, which he said

campaign to recruits

helps

them significantly in recruiting.

Calhoun also changed the logic behind where his assistants recruit, placing a greater

where the academy traditionally has had success and

putting assistants in charge of areas with which they have some sort of tie.

Players and their families “believe me and trust me, because I did it,” said cornerbacks coach Charlton

Warren, a graduate.

Warren also serves as the Falcons’

recruiting coordinator, a title Calhoun created so recruiting efforts would be better organized and one assistant would be

the point man for NCAA regulations.

Calhoun also has emphasized the need to devote

significant time to recruiting year-round, stressing relationships and better evaluation.

According to Blane Morgan, Air Force’s cooffensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, one of the reasons Calhoun simplified practices and offensive and defensive schemes was to

give assistants more time to recruit during the grind of the season.

“Now I’m recruiting where I grew up,”

emphasis on that, which is time consuming,” Morgan said. “That’s something that’s certainly been an emphasis—giving us time to evaluate and make contacts and call coaches.”

Morgan estimated he spent five to 10 hours on recruiting per week during the season. That increases

Morgan

said of the Dallas/Fort Worth area. “A lot of

guys are recruiting the area where they’re from. You automati-

cally have an in, especially in a place like Texas, where it’s a good of boy network.”

During official visit weekends, Calhoun requires coaches to return from the road so they can be on campus with recruits. He’s sought the help of coaches’ wives for official visit weekends. While recruits are

hanging out with players at night, coaches and their wives accompany the families of recruits to dinner.

“You get (the wives) involved with the parent and

the parent knows, ‘You know what, I would like for my son to be around this place,”’ Calhoun said. “And I think it helps break down some of the

perceptions

about the academy.”

“Evaluation is extremely important, and he’s put an

emphasis on areas

Calhoun also has had help this year from Tim Fyda, a

1979 graduate of the academy and former football

player, who volunteered to fly Calhoun to recruiting visits on his Learjet. It allowed Calhoun to make more

visits and travel more efficiently.

Using Fyda’s plane also saved some money. Air Force’s football program spent approximately

$250,000 of its $3.6 million total operating budget on off-

As with discussing the war, Warren said coaches need to be

campus recruiting and on-campus visits last year. Calhoun said he expected to spend about the same amount on recruit-

“up front and honest” about the off-field demands—from rigorous academics to strict rules to uniforms to basic training.

“Because the thing is this—if you don’t be honest with a kid totally, they will not stay here,” Warren said. “They’ll get

ing this year.

WHAT ABOUT THE WAR?

off that bus and say, What in the world have I walked into?”’

The war in Iraq is a common subject when visiting recruits’ homes.

RESULTS

“Especially Mom,” Warren said. “Mom’s like, ‘Is he going

On Wednesday, recruiting services will rank schools’ 2008 classes.

to have to

go to war?”’

The answer must be honest, Warren said.

“You can’t say, ‘No, you’re not going to war,”’ Warren said.

“Because you very well may.

Depending on what you’re doing in the Air Force, if you’re flying an airplane, and there’s some bad things going on, then you may have to fly an airplane and drop some bad things on bad guys.” ...

However, Warren adds his story—nine years in the Air Force and he hasn’t had to do anything like that.

“They’re probably never going to ask me, ‘Hey Capt.

Warren, go man a rifle and go to Iraq,”’ he said.

Even during peace time, however, service academies must clear unique hurdles because of demands placed on students.

But the true value of the classes won’t be known until two or

three years from now.

Calhoun is anxious to see a list of the players he’s

brought on official visits this year in the fall of 2010. He wants to see a lot more than five still

in the program.

“We’re going to bat at a much higher average,” he said.

“We’ve just got to get where 2 Vz years from now, I want this

number in the 20s.”

If they can get there, the Falcons’ house will be a lot more

stable,

cm

This article was first published by The Gazette on Teb 5.

Commitment fuels Air

Ire* Stine ranked among

Force swimmers

nation s elite gymnasts

By Kalani Takase, The Advertiser

By Air Force Print News

B

ryan Avery and Kai Yamashiro aren’t your typical Air Force Academy cadets.

While the pair are preparing for a future in

the skies, a lot of their time in Colorado Springs is

spent in the water.

Both are members of the Air Force men’s swimming

T

he Air Force men’s gymnastics team is ranked among the national leaders on the still rings, according to the latest rankings. Senior Greg

Stine is ranked fourth in the NCAA with a still rings average score of 15.025, while the Falcons average a team score of 56.700, which is ranked 10th in the nation.

In addition, the Falcons are ranked 12th on the

and diving team.

Avery, a 2005 graduate of Mililani (Hawaii) High School, competes in the freestyle and butterfly events.

floor exercise with a team average of 55.962, while

Yamashiro, a 2005 graduate of‘Iolani from Kane’ohe,

of 84.500 and junior Jacob Schonig is ranked 20th on

swims the backstroke and individual medley.

the still rings (14.587).

Stine is ranked 13 th in the all-around with an average

For programs within the USA Gymnastics Division

Falcons’ head coach Rob Clayton is high on both

(schools with few or no scholarships), the Academy is first

swimmers.

a

“Bryan is our top swimmer,” he said. “He can swim

on

the rings and second on the floor. Stine is ranked first

number of events very, very well and we count on

on

the still rings and all-around, while ranking second on

him in each of our relays.”

the parallel bars (14.237) and fourth on the floor exercise

Avery, who earned first team All-Mountain West Conference honors in the 200-yard freestyle, 200-yard butterfly and as a member of the 800-yard freestyle

(14.175) and vault (15.087).

Six other Falcons are ranked in the USAG top-10.

Schonig is fourth in the still rings, while classmate

relay team, should compete for a league championship, says Clayton.

“As Bryan matured, he has developed a tremendous amount of speed,” Clayton said. “He has grown

Josiah Loeser’s average of 13.862 is sixth. Freshman

into one of the top middle distance swimmers in the

Aaron Zaiser is ranked ninth on the floor exercise

Mountain West.”

(13.937), while sophomore Brennan Wolford is also ranked ninth in the all-around (76.700). KS

Yamashiro, who was a member of back-to-back state championships at ‘Iolani, owns the seventh-best time in school history in the 200-yard backstroke and

the eighth-fasted time in the 100-yard backstroke.

“Kai brings a high level of commitment to personal

and team success,” Clayton said. “He is continually

Dan Klimkowski is ranked sixth in the all-around

with an average of 80.512, while senior Brian Boardman is

Peter French wins bronze

By USAFA Athletics

working to develop into a better swimmer.”

encer, Peter French

Like all cadets, Avery and Yamashiro must serve at least

eight years—five under active duty and the remainder as inactive reserve—in the Air Force upon graduation.

seventh on the vault (14.962). Freshman

recently traveled to Basel,

Switzerland, to compete in the 2008 Junior World Cup. French, a sophomore from Austin, Texas,

placed third in men’s individual epee to earn a bronze

“Either a young man is interested or not inter-

medal. In the first round, French defeated his opponents

ested,” Clayton said. “We’re the premier university

from Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Poland and

in the world to prepare men to be pilots. We have

France, 5-0. In the bout against France’s Alexandre

unique opportunities if you’re interested and things

Blaszyck, ranked No. 1 in the world and the 2007 World champion, French recorded a 5-3 victory.

that no one else can offer, but not everyone is ready for the high demands.”

In direct eliminations, French finished 4-1.

The Air Force Academy was founded in 1954 and

French fenced Matthew Trager from Italy, the No.

is one of five military service academies in the nation.

2-ranked fencer in the world, winning the bout,

With an enrollment of 4,000, the Air Force Academy

15-12. The Academy fencer’s only loss in direct

is still among the most selective schools in the nation.

eliminations was against Italy’s Luca Ferraris, who

In addition to a fitness test and physical exam, incom-

is ranked third in the world.

ing cadets must secure a nomination, usually by a member of Congress.

French is not new to international competitions. Prior to

attending the Academy, he traveled to Tauberbischof-

The Falcons finished 13-3 last season, third in the

sheim, Germany, for the 2006 Junior Men’s Epee World

MWC, matching the most wins under Clayton since

Cup, where he finished 15th. He also finished in ninth-

2005 (13-7).

H

place in Bratislava, Slovakia, in 2007. H

ACEE RECEIVES PAIR OF NATIONAL AWARDS Lacrosse Coach Honored

by USILA, IMLCA

By Air Force Athletics

A

ir Force lacrosse coach Fred Acee, now in

his 11th season at the helm of the pro-

gram, was recently honored with a pair of national awards. Acee was named this year’s

recipient of the Frenchy Julien Service Award from the USILA (United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association), while earning the Creators

Award from the IMLCA (Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Coaches Association).

The Frenchy Julien Service Award is presented in honor of the USILA’s former Chief

Referee, Joseph R. “Frenchy” Julien for out-

standing and continuous service to the sport.

Meanwhile, the Creators Award, sponsored by Nike, is bestowed periodically to an IMLCA member for achievements in the core areas of

advocacy, leadership, education, honor, spirit and service to the game of lacrosse.

Acee has served the game of lacrosse for more

than four decades. Prior to arriving at the Academy, Acee spent 30 years as the coach at SUNY-

Farmingdale, where he created a national lacrosse powerhouse, capturing National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) championships in 1977, 1981 and 1987. In his three decades at the helm, the Rams advanced to the NJCAA Final Four an amazing 25 times. His overall record of

312-119-1 (.723 winning percentage) at Farm-

ingdale is testament to his coaching skills.

Over the years, Acee has received numerous

honors. He was inducted into the Long Island

Metropolitan Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1994, Coach Acee was the defensive coach for the world champion United States lacrosse team,

assisting then-Johns Hopkins head coach, Tony Seaman. Most recently, Acee was chosen as a 2005 inductee into the Junior College Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Acee also served on the executive board for the 1998 USA World Team and is one

of the founders of the Intercollegiate Men’s

Lacrosse Coaches Association.

A'A

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MARCH 20

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For more information,

check out the new MBA Planner at

www.mba.com/ The skills you developed have proven to be strong assets in

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Strengthening them with an MBA degree, makes you competitive and attractive in

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www.usam.org down and join us!

Parking is on the grass

by the tent. Sign in at the tent and look for the USAFA AOG volunteer list. RSVP to:

encouraged to attend. If you are interested in attending and finding out about local chapter events, please contact Tom Solo-

Kay Grosinske, ’82, kay.grosinske@brooks.

mon, ’69, at tom@tomsolomon.com.

af.mil, http://alamoaog.org/habitat.htm or call 946-6500.

Los Angeles Chapter The LA Chapter is looking for volunteers

Arizona Chapter

to take

Carol and Doug Pelton,’ 74, have invited

If you live in the LA area and want to

th

charge of some chapter activities.

chapter to their 4 annual pig roast on Saturday, May 3, at 6:00 p.m. The Peltons’

get involved, check out our Web site at www.lausafaaog.com and contact one of

address is 3754 East Nance Circle, Mesa,

the Board members: Joe Facenda, ’75,

AZ 85215, (602) 361-6063; e-mail

Will Cosby, ’75, Inga Lisa Coupe, ’91,

dougpelton@cox.net. RSVP directly to

Roger Smith, ’62, John Cole, ’93, Nate Vosters, ’02 and Jason Spindler, ’04.

our

Doug, and let him know what side dish you will bring. An “Evite” invitation will also be sent out to

you if you are on our contact list.

New York Metropolitan Area

We had a good turnout last year but hope to

Chapter

have even more graduates this year.

The NYAOG (New York Metropolitan Area

Chapter) Web site is up and running at www.

Outlook AFA Society of North Carolina We meet, informally, on the third

Wednesday of each month at Players Retreat, 105 Oberlin Road in Raleigh. No RSVP is required.

Greater Cincinnati Chapter

nyaog.com. Visit the Web site for all of the

The chapter president in Cincinnati is

latest information on chapter events includ-

looking for creative ways to get the chap-

ing the 2008 West Point tailgate party, the Inter-Academy Golf Tournament this summer in Connecticut, chapter meetings, and all kinds of local social and sporting events.

Become a member today of the fastest growing chapter for just $20 annually by visiting

ter kick-started

again. If anyone in the Cincinnati area wants to help out on this effort, please contact the AOG so we can put you in touch with him directly.

Heartland-Lemay Chapter At its annual meeting and election in November, Tad Draper, ’68, was re-elected President

Alamo Chapter

by contacting NYAOG President Leo Cunningham, ’89, at efl 1 l@comcast.net for

for 2008-2009 and Francis Doiron, ’91, was

more

Join us on Saturday, March 15, for a Habitat

elected Treasurer and also continues to serve

for Humanity House Build. If you have

NYAOG chapter is looking for golfers of all

as

Secretary. Dave Webster, ’80, continues

abilities to participate in the Inter-Academy

volunteered, there’s nothing to it.

Anyone can help, including spouses, friends, children (over age 16). Plan to arrive about 7:30 a.m. Wear appropriate clothing (no open toe shoes), hat, (shorts are okay). Habinever

provides safety equipment (gloves, eye protection, helmet) and tools. Water, food and snacks are provided. The location is off Highway 410 on the South side. From highway 422, turn West on Aragon and then go west on Algo Dulce. We will clean up about 3 pm and be done by 3:30. It can get hot working outside, and sometimes it rains, but there is always something to be done. There are only 14 workdays. Professionals pour the foundation and do the electrical and plumbtat

as Vice

President. The chapter is proceeding

our

membership page on www.nyaog.com or

information. Golfers pay attention! The

Golf Tournament this summer in Easton,

with a program to recognize an area high

Conn. Please visit www.nyaog.com for more

school junior with a “Leader of Character”

information as it becomes available.

award. Papillion-LaVista High School has

accepted the chapters invitation to be the

Northern California Chapter

first school to participate in the program that

The Northern California AOG will be par-

seeks to raise awareness about USAFA in the in the spring. The chapter s monthly lunch

ticipating in a bike ride on Saturday, April 26, 2008 through Napa Valley in honor of the veterans returning from Iraq and Af-

in February is planned to be at the home of

ghanistan. It will be fun for all levels since

Drew Miller, ’80. During lunch Drew is

planning to provide chapter members with

you can sign up for the 50-, 25-, or 15-mile ride. At the end, there will be a wine tasting,

his impressions from a recent trip to the

food, live music and an auction. This ride is

Middle East. We hope to report more on this

sponsored by the Rotary Ride for Veterans and the Wine Valley Cycle for Sight. To sign up, visit the Web site: www.cycle4sight. com or www.rotaryride4vets.com. Please contact Susan at oisusan@yahoo.com to let her know if you will be participating and she

student body. The award will be presented

in the next issue.

ing. Volunteers, under the supervision of a professional foreman, do all the rest. There

The chapter continues to meet monthly

is a great sense of accomplishment, and

at the Marriott Westchase

you can learn some new skills, so come on

Briar Park, in Houston. Area

Houston Chapter

Hotel, at 2900

graduates are

CHECKPOINTS, MARC1H

2 008

will send you details for meeting up. Also

69

contact Susan if

you are not a member of the

Forest Court, Plano, 7 p.m., on April 19.

Cost just $25 per person, or $40 per couple.

Orange County Chapter The Chapter is currently planning a Founders Day event at the Newport Beach Radisson Hotel in Newport Beach on Saturday,

North Texas Association

This promises to be a fun event, so be sure

March 29. As details are finalized, informa-

Try something new for Founders Day! This

to make

tion will be e-mailed out to graduates in

years celebration will be held at the home

your plans to attend! Check out the chapter Web site www.ntaafag.org for RSVP

of Beverly and Kirk Bell, ’76, 6609 Shoal

and other details.

keep a sharp eye on your e-mail inbox for announcements and registration details.

Christmas early this year on Mount Ta-

Afghanistan, leadership, financial wellness, and more. AcademyWomen also publishes a quarterly newsletter called Focus, which features inspiring stories, insights for personal and professional development, as well as

Northern California AOG and would like to

Dress is casual with a theme to be decided.

be included in updates.

Food and drink will be catered by Blue Mesa.

malpais. This annual December celebration was at the Mountain Home Inn on

December 1st with hiking, cocktails, and a

gourmet meal. Thank you to Susan and Ed Cunningham, ’67, for coordinating!

Southern California. If you are interested,

information on new initiatives. Check the Web site, www.academywomen.org for more

information and sign up as a member to receive details on upcoming events.

Silver Falcons

AcademyWomen AcademyWomen will be launching a West Coast Spring Summit at the New Mexico Military Institute in April. There will be workshops on personal and professional development as well as speakers and panel discussions on the topics of serving in Iraq and

Happy New Year to everybody. As you read in the last column, the 50 th Anniversary of the ALO Program reunion was a great event.

Our numbers were up in attendance. As soon as

the 2008 USAFA football schedule is

released, possible 2008 reunion dates will be sent out for comment and

requests for what folks would like to do during the reunion.

One of the events will be election of a Presi-

dent and Vice President since Kirk Browns

four term is up in the fall. Kirk has indicated he plans to run for another four year term. If

Interact with other service academy

anybody is interested in either of these two positions, please notify Kirk as soon as you can.

Only news submitted from the held was

graduates.

from Kirk. He states that he was selected as

Arizona Chapter

the Pikes Peak Combined Federal Campaign

Our thanks to Jamie and Bill Gregory,

Region Military Civilian of the year for 2007

’79, for hosting the New Years Eve AFA

for the second consecutive year in a row.

Football party to watch the Cal-USAFA

He once again will compete for national

Goal 5

bowl game. We had a good turnout. It was

Arizona Chapter watches the Falcons in the Armed

honors. If you have time, please make sure

great way to end the year with our AFA alumni and family! Thanks to everyone that

Forces Bowl.

you visit our Web site at www.usafaclasses.

a

org/SilverFalcons to catch up on the latest

made this a fun and memorable event.

goings on with the group. Any comments on

how to make this website better to suit

New York Metropolitan Area

the members should be sent to Kirk at

Chapter

ltckirkbrown@juno.com. That is it for this time. Send in your happenings so everybody

Golfers pay attention! The NYAOG chapter is looking for golfers of all abilities to par-

can

ticipate in the Inter-Academy Golf Tourna-

a

share what is going on in your life. Have

great Air Force Day.

ment this summer in Easton, CT. Please visit

www.nyoag.com for more information.

70

Northern California Chapter

Northern California Chapter members at the

The Northern California AOG celebrated

Mountain Home Inn.

IV i

Space Group The AOG Space Group continues to support space-related activities at the Academy.

USAFA’s Eisenhower Center for Space and

Defense studies coordinated with the Space Group in building the

agenda for its planned February 2008 Forum on “Space Challenges Facing the New American Administration of2009.” In addition to helping structure the agenda, several members of the Space Group will attend the Forum, including Col. Marty France, ’81, Lawrence Cooper, ’86, and Stan Rosen, ’69. This Forum, like prior meetings run by the Eisenhower Center, not only provides an important venue for assessment of important space-related issues, but also serves to expose USAFA cadets and faculty to cutting-edge space topics and considerations. The Space Group plans to continue supporting the Eisenhower Center and to strengthen our relationship with this important national organization.

The Group also plans to support the upcoming 50th anniversary of the USAFA Department of Astronautics on March 7.

This department was the world’s first undergraduate academic

department specifically devoted to astronautics instruction, and has produced many officers who made significant contributions to the nation’s security and prosperity by application of space technologies. Among others, Space Group members Robert Giffen, ’65, and Roger Neeland, ’64, will be participating in the anniversary activities. We are expanding our use of ZoomieNation as a communication forum for the Space Group. Anyone interested in learning more about our activities should check that site or our Web site usafaspace.tripod.com.

Nomination Procedures The A0G is governed by a Board of Directors consisting of not more than eleven elected directors and up to four

appointed directors. Elections are conducted and appointments made in odd-numbered years. Approximate-

ly half of the elected and appointed positions are open at each election cycle. Any AOG member willing to fulfill the requirements of directors may submit a nomination package. There are two nomination tracks. With the support of five members, a candidate may be considered by the Nominating Committee for placement on the ballot.

By petition of 25 members, a candidate may be placed on the ballot without review

tee.

by the Nominating Commit-

Complete nomination information can be found on

the AOG Web Site at www.usafa.org. Nominations for the

2009 elections will be accepted in 2008.

Visit us at www.usafa.org to see what's new!

Association of Graduates UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY

About the AOG

AOG Services

Heritage Projects

Giving

Calendar/Events

Class Reunions

fe 11

For Parents

Home

ZoomieNation New and Media

Gone But Not Forgotten Online Store Contact Us

Links WMmmmm

The AOG launched a new Web site with added features and services, a

sleaker design and easier navigation.

Some of the added features are: ■

A new membership area and online directory with greater search capabilities

■

A new photo gallery where high quality images can be viewed and

■

A new online store

■

Easier event registration

■

Flash multimedia and streaming videos

■

ZoomieNation

-

a

purchased

closed e-community for AOG members and USAFA grads for

social and professional networking,

reconnecting and mentoring

Log In/Out

Thunder & Bu in Old Colorado

Happy Hour Daily 4-7 p.m 10% off with valid military I

2415 West Colorado Avenue, Colorado

Springs, Colorado 80904 719.447.9888

www.thunderandbuttons.com

dbMiiMimiiiimmmiiimiiiiiMiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiimiiiiiiiiiiiiimimmiiimiimiMiMiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiimiiiimiimiiiimmiiiiiimmiiiimiim^

I

Update your AOG Profile online

j

int service academies

jobs electronically m

iz{> www.usafa.org <J=i I I

teatp*

*

First time visitors must contact the AOG to register on

j

the site.

|

j «=>Membership to the AOG is not required.

j

I

*=>AII updates to the AOG data are self reporting

|

I

^To set privacy options for the Register of Graduates

j

|

click “Update the privacy of your Register of

I I

Graduates” entry and “privacy release restrictions” at

! j

the top of the profile page.

j

j |

I j

OTo set privacy options for the Web site click the boxes next to each data element on the Profile Page.

^For questions contact John Rice at

john.rice@aogusafa.org or call 719-472-0300

m

i j

j I

aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirf

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) 11. M

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If you have not registered in JSAJE, please register and create a username and password. If you have registered to JSAJE, please log in to the program by using the username and password you created. Once you have logged into the JSAJE program you may browse through job listings and contact employers.

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Floyd R. Hester, ’59 on Dec. 2, 2007. Floyd Hester passed away peacefully Robert Floyd Ind. His parents were in 1936 Indianapolis, on 22, June was born

of Indianapolis. He was the also Bremer Hester, Dennis and Jeanette three brothyoungest of six children, in Hawaii, ers and two sisters: Philip

Marion in Indiana, Howard in Michigan, Lucille in Florida, and Fred in Ohio.

He is survived by his wife, Carol, 48 wonderful years; his four

married in children: Russell in California, Ron in Arizona, Melanie and Becky Colorado; Clarice Hester, and

motorbikes for fun; helping driving snowmobiles and

sons and their friends. a Scout Master for his and being projects, and generous father and husHe was an honest, thoughtful, loving We will never forget his to be the best for his family. wanted and band, Hester and Family) love and devotion to his family. (Carol

Jerry T. Walton, ’65 his was preceded in death by of ’65, Class Jerry Thomas Walton, Eason Walton, both of and Walton Mary Loniel Thomas

parents

Raleigh, N. C..

2007 in his Jerry passed away Nov. 28, N. sleep at his home in Albuquerque, Brian M. He was 66. Jerry leaves a son, Walton of San Jose, Calif., and a daugh-

granddaughter,

Ron’s daughter.

in He graduated from high school Air Indiana in 1954 and entered the Force Academy in 1955. He graduated on June 3, 1959 the

from

and

as well as a sonter, Terri Wal ton Sholar, in-law, Wallis Sholar; and a grandson,

Academy

Owen Sholar, all of Monrovia, Calif.

C. and graduJerry grew up in Cary, N. ated from Cary High School in 1959, and where he was an all-star athlete third in his class. After

married Carol on June 4, 1959 at

the Superintendent's residence

at the

Academy.

Following the wedding and reception, 1959 Corvette to his first assignment he drove with Carol in the new after to begin pilot training. Shortly at Moore AFB, Mission, Texas, Floyd Hester

Webb AFB in Big Spring, Texas was a pilot instructor at he pilot training He also attended the Air Force Space in the 3560th Pilot Training Wing. he was a pilot for an honorable discharge After receiving Program.

Braniff Airways and Federal Express. and hiking in the Colothe camping remembers fishing, His family the entering vacations; for family rado mountains; flying “stand-by” the small farm in Durango, Colo.; Corvette in auto shows; helping with

graduated an airman, spending two years as Force Academy, Jerry arrived at the Air

where he was on both the Commandant’s and Dean’s lists. He graduated in 1965 with a Bachelor of Science

Jerry Walton

degree, having majored

from 1958 to 1960.

Kaiman of Omaha, Neb., Rabbi The son of the late William and Esther in Omaha.

Kaiman was born March 30,1933 Omaha Central High School in as class valedictorian of

Graduating

ordained ReAir in Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S.

36 years (1958-1994) 1951, Rabbi Kaiman spent

form Rabbi, serving in positions

as an

Israel, Larchmont, N.Y. Calif. (Union of American Hebrew Los Angeles, (Larchmont Temple), Kol Ami and Chicago and Skokie, Ill. (Congregation

Force Academy), Philadelphia, Pa. (Keneseth

Congregations),

and Temple Judea Mizpah). of 1955), the University of Cin(Class Yale He attended University and Hebrew Union Colof Nebraska-Omaha, cinnati, the University of Arts in of 1958), receiving a Bachelor Class Ohio lege (Cincinnati, and Hebrew Letters, all Education and a Master’s of Arts in Education of He was a distinguished member with summa cum laude honors. former U.S. a former classmate of Phi Beta Kappa Society in 1955 and Bush, Sr. at Yale University.

President

George

about

For more current information AOG web site. the visit deaths, please

graduate

www.usafa.org

in English

237 combat missions over North and Foreign Affairs. Jerry flew and earned numerous Vietnam. He achieved the rank of Captain

dies Jewish Chaplain, first Academy Rabbi Arnold G. Kaiman, of the Air Force Rabbi Arnold G. Kaiman, the first Jewish Chaplain Mich, of lung comDec. 31, 2007 in West Bloomfield, died Academy, over his congregation at the Academy presiding served He plications.

with the 4-H

in Michigan

from the Hebrew Union from an Honorary Doctor of Divinity and Ohio College, Cincinnati, He also received the Angel Award the University of London, England.

WBBNRadio Program “Ask the Rabbi” at Best The Rabbi received a Doctor of Divinity

in 1983 for the

Religious

a talk-show host for WLS-TV’s syndicated, AM, Chicago, Ill. and was and Kings” from 1984 to 1990.

“Cabbages religious program of the Interfaith Council for the Rabbi Kaiman was a senior member from the direction of Mayor Richard J. Daley under of Chicago City for both the Chicago 1973 to 1994 and served as volunteer chaplain Prison System from 1973 to 1994.

Illinois the and Police Department for Congresswoman Cardiss He was the original campaign manager of Black Caucus in the U.S. House the of leader former Collins (Ill.), survived by his sister Myrna Rosenberg Representatives. The Rabbi is Lee Kaiman of Irvine, Calif.; and of Grand Island, Neb.; son Joshua services Kaiman of New York, N.Y. Funeral

daughter Kimberly Rachel

Israel Synagogue, Omaha, Neb. inM Daley on the Rabbi’s passing A statement by Mayor Richard and civic leader a distinguished religious lost has eluded “Chicago Kaiman. Through his long life G. Arnold Rabbi of with the passing and religious programs on affairs of host a public as a clergyman, Rabbi Kaiman left a husband and father, as and television radio and of the His dedicated service as a member a lasting mark on our city. and his many years as a volunteer chaplain Chicago Interfaith Council and the Illinois Department for both the Chicago Police Department to the sense of charity and dedication his Corrections exemplify of and prayers are with his family.” (Information Our thoughts community.

Kaiman and Larry Ratner.)

were on Jan. 4 at Beth

provided by Kimberly

awards, including the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Bronze Star for Valor.

After he retired from the Air Force in 1971, Jerry lived in Van Nuys,

Calif., where he was a private investigator for many years. He moved to Leadville, Colo., where, among other pursuits, he worked as a claims

processor for the VA. More recently Jerry moved to Albuquerque, N. M. His funeral was

held Dec. 3, 2007 at the Santa Fe National Cemetery, where he is buried. Air Force Academy classmates Leon Rausch and Robert

McCollough joined friends and family members to pay their respects.

(Terri Walton, Jerry’s daughter)

Stanley N. Clarke, ’72 Stanley N. Clarke, 57, passed away at his home unexpectedly on Nov. 29, 2007. He is survived by his wife, Carol; three sons, Matthew and Brian of Walla Walla, and Mark of Berrien Springs, Mich.; his niece (who he and his wife raised following the death of her parents) Kate and her husband, Eric Grieve, of Gig Harbor, Wash.; his mother, Mary Morrissey of Walla Walla; his father, Russell Clarke of Ukiah, Calif.; two sisters and their husbands, Judy and John Lanzit of Ukiah, Calif, and Janine and Mike Gallagher ofYountsville, Calif.;

In 2004, Stan and Carol moved from Grandview to Waitsburg.

He loved working in his yard, participating in Fantasy Baseball and

playing sports with his sons and the children of the community. Neighbors comment on how they truly will miss Stan’s Grateful Dead music blaring from his CD player while he was outdoors. He volunteered as a coach for various sports. He was known by students and athletes as “Stan the Man’’. He was a fan of the San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners and knew just about everything about baseball there is to

know. He was a Sunday School teacher both at the Grandview United Methodist Church and the First Christian Church of Waitsburg. He

enjoyed being a camp counselor at Lazy F Christian Retreat Center near Ellensburg and most recently at Wyldlife Camp in Oregon. He was a mentor for several young people and the host father to five exchange students. (Carol Clarke, Stan’s wife)

Blalce A. Lawrence, ’82 Blake Alan Lawrence M.D. Traditional Hopi Name: Su’himu (Handsome Kachina) 4/22/1960

Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. He left in the same manner in which he lived, with strength, dignity, and a sense of humor. He was surrounded by his mothers, father, sister, brothers, nieces and nephews. Su’himu was

returned to the womb of our earth mother in a traditional Hopi burial at

and his partner, David DeVargas of

the family’s village of Moenkopi in Ari-

Wilton Manor, Fla.

Sept. 7th. His spirit began his journey for the next world on Sunday Sept. 9th. We believe his path to the spirit world was lined by the many prayers he received during his illness, and his journey was swift and unimpeded.

Su’himu is survived by his three children: daughter Serene Lawrence of St. zona on

A memorial service was held on Sat.,

Dec. 15 at the Waitsburg High School

gym. Pastor Michael Ferrians of the First Christian Church of Waitsburg

officiated. Following a chocolate chip cookie (Stan’s favorite) reception at the high school, the celebration con-

tinued at the Center for Enology and Viticulture on the Walla Walla Community College Campus following

Paul, Minn., and sons Eddie and West Lawrence of Seattle, Wash.

the service.

Stan was born in 1950 in Ukiah, Calif. He graduated from Ukiah

emy. He served as a weapons control officer at Fort Yukon, Alaska and Birkenfeld Army Installation in Germany and was honorably discharged in 1976.

Upon leaving active duty, Stan went to the University of California, Davis, where he earned a second Bachelor of Science degree in Plant Science. He married Carol Ann Champion, whom he had met while in Germany, at Davis in September, 1978.

In the summer of 1979, he and Carol moved to Grandview, Wash,

where he was the Grower Relations Manager for Chateau Ste. Michelle

Winery. In 1982, he joined a partnership of grape growers and became the first winemaker and general manager for Quail Run Winery (later renamed Covey Run). During his time at Covey Run, Stan began writing a column “From Berry to Bottle’’ for the Yakima Herald. In 1987 he served as president of the Washington Wine Institute. A few years later, he became the first winemaker and general manager for Hyatt Vineyards of Zillah.

Upon earning a master’s degree in teaching from Washington State University, Stan began an eight-year career as a 6th grade teacher at Grandview Middle School. Then, in 2002, he became instructor and later Assistant Director of the enology/viticulture program for the Center for Enology and Viticulture on the Walla Walla Community

College campus. He held this position until his death. He also served as a judge for various wine competitions and as a consultant for several wineries throughout the state.

9/6/2007

Known by his English name, Blake Alan Lawrence left this world on

his brother-in-law Steve Champion,

High School in 1968. He was a 1972 graduate of the Air Force Acad-

-

Blake Lawrence

Blake graduated from the Air Force

Academy in 1982 and served our country as an AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) Senior Weapons Director and as an Advertising and Promotions Branch Chief, attaining the rank of Captain, until 1993. He went on to pursue his Medical Degree, graduating from the University of Washington Medical School in 1999. Blake was dedicated to serving his Native American community and completed his training through the Montana Family Practice Residency program in 2002 while serving the community in Glasgow, Montana. Su’himu returned to his home state of Arizona and served the Native American people on the Hopi, Navajo, Colorado River and ITualapai reservations. An accomplished athlete, musician and physician to name a few, Blake remained true to the Hopi tradition, and remained humble throughout.

The family wishes to thank all concerned friends who have respected this time as we took care of our beloved son and brother according to his wishes. A special “Askwali” to the many relatives and friends who came to help in our time of need. Words cannot express our gratitude.

(Lynnae Lawrence, M.D., Blake’s sister)

Wallace J. Cassady, ’87 Wallace James Cassady passed suddenly on Jan. 2, 2008 at Akron General Hospital in Ohio. Wally was al987 graduate of the Air Force

Academy. After more than a year of flight training in Enid, Okla. an eye condition, previously undiagnosed, left Wally unable to complete 77

his pilot training. This condition, however, did nothing to dampen his life-long love of aeronautics. After his honorable discharge from the Air Force, Wally continued his studies of physics and computer science at Wake Forest University and the University of North Caro-

lina at Greensboro. Again pursuing his dream of working in the field of aero-

nautics, he worked for McDonnell

Plumley was a member of the Class of 1985, Monson High School in Massachusetts and graduated with honors from the Class of 1989, CS-27. After graduation he completed UHT at Ft. Rucker, Ala. and was then assigned to Vandenberg AFB flying UH-1 Hueys in Det 8, 37th Air Rescue Squadron supporting launch missions and conducting Search and Rescue. Ray was always proudest of his profession when it resulted in a “save.” But while

Douglas (Boeing) and MITRE in the St.

Ray loved to fly he felt he could log

Louis area, and ultimately for Lockheed

more

Martin in Akron, Ohio where he worked

personal connection with people if he pursued his childhood dream to

in Simulation, Training, and Support,

job he loved.

Wally’s love of aeronautics was superseded only by his love for his family and his Christian faith. Immediately after being discharged, Wally worked with the clown ministry at Calvary Baptist a

be a doctor. So he then attended

Georgetown Medical School in Washington, D.C., graduating in 1997. Dr. Plumley served at Andrews AFB, Md., Langley AFB, Va., and Spangdahlem AB, Germany, from which he deployed for six months in 2003 to A1

Church in Winston-Salem, N.C. and

actively participated in church in St Louis. He is survived by his mother, Marjorie Cassady, his sister Mrs. Greta

Udeid AB, Qatar to establish a tent

hospital in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was most recently sta-

C. (Phil) Jones, a niece Jordan Jones,

nephew Luke Jones, an aunt Gloria Dempsey, all of Winston-Salem; and another aunt, Walla Dempsey, of Gaithersburg, Md. Wally graduated with honors from Williamson High School in

tioned at Andrews AFB as the teach-

a

Williamson, W.V. where he was active in various clubs and football. He was a

big fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Their Super Bowl win a couple was

thrilling for him almost as much as Air Force going to

years ago bowl games. He also loved old movies, especially those directed by Alfred Hitchcock and those starring Cary Grant. Since his Academy

days, Wally developed a love for ballroom dancing. He constantly participated in dancing events in several cities, recently in New Jersey and Georgia.

Unfortunately, Wally’s life had not been always been very tranquil.

He became a diabetic after a very serious bout of pancreatitis which

kept him hospitalized for 15 or 16 days. His pancreatitis developed when a gall stone became embedded in his pancreatic duct. After gall bladder surgery, he had two other hospitalizations only to discover that his pancreas had been permanently altered. Refusing to be negative and relying on his undying faith, Wally was still determined to move forward.

Even though Wally had been enrolled in classes at Wake Forest, he

decided to take computer science classes in Greensboro where he interviewed for a position with McDonnell Douglas in St. Louis. Dur-

ing his time in St. Louis he had two eye surgeries because of diabetes.

Still, Wally never accepted defeat. Shortly after his last surgery, he

“saves” and foster a stronger

Ray Plumley

ing Family Physician. His career awards and decorations include:

Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters (OLC), Air Force

Commendation Medal, AF Outstanding Unit Award with Valor Device and two OLCs, National Defense Service Medal with one OLC,

GWOT Expeditionary Medal and Service medals, and 52nd Group

Physician of the Year, 2003.

Ray lived his life passionately and thrillingly, often on the very edge. Rock climbing, motorcycle riding, boating and car racing were just a few of his many and varied exploits. Ray was a tremendously gifted soccer player for his Monson High School team and was recruited to play for the Air Force Academy, among other notable schools. His soccer career cut short by leg injury, Ray endured significant medical recovery during his first two cadet years. Always an anxious competitor, he continued his athletic endeavors by joining the AFA Men’s Volleyball Club Team, a sport he continued to pursue on active duty. Ray was an avid sports enthusiast, a diehard Red Sox fan and a close follower of AFA Football and Basketball. Due to Ray’s adventurous spirit, he and two classmates embarked on a memorable bicycle tour of Europe on graduation leave, covering over 1400

miles through eight countries in 30 days. That same spirit, combined with his servant’s heart, carried over in recent years as Ray and Deborah served together on two medical missions in the Do-

minican Republic. They also loved to experience the outdoors as a

accepted a position with Lockheed in Akron. His Christmas visit with this family in North Carolina was extremely pleasant and happy, but shortly after he returned to Akron on Saturday, Dec. 29, he became

family, taking numerous camping trips to enjoy rainbows, sunsets, sunrises and snow. Above all, Ray’s love of family and friends around

very ill. On Jan. 1, he drove himself to the emergency room and was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and an infection of unknown

He will be deeply missed by his wife, Deborah, and twin daughters

origin. He passed away the next morning. (His mother, Marjorie, his sister, friends and family.)

Ray L. Plumley, ’89 Lieutenant Colonel Ray L. Plumley, M.D. passed away unexpectedly

Sunday Dec. 16th. Dr. Plumley was a dedicated physician in the family practice field and a career serviceman. He shared his life with his soul mate and devoted wife, Deborah K. Plumley and together they were raising, with joy, two beautiful daughters, Samantha Faye and Rachel Lawren. Ray’s life was based on the Biblical principle, “Love one another as I have loved you.”

He was a skilled, compassionate and spiritual doctor. His bond with his patients was one of mutual adoration. Born Nov. 8, 1966, Dr.

the world was without end.

Rachel and Samantha. He was the beloved son of Shirley Plumley-

Candage and the late Lawrence O. Plumley who predeceased him in 1994. He leaves numerous family members and friends around the world whom he loved and they him.

Ray’s Memorial service on Dec. 20 was attended by a baby he delivered two weeks earlier, one of his latest “saves.”

(Chris Athearn, ‘89)

on

78

For more current information about

graduate deaths, please visit the AOG web site. www.usafa.org.

Paul M. Comeau, *90 Paul Comeau was born in Portland, Ore. on Sept. 4, 1967 to Marice and Billie Comeau.

He passed away on Nov. 12, 2007. His older

sister, Jacqueline, was thrilled to have a little brother. He attended Ridgewood Elementary, Cedar Hills Jr. High and graduated from Jesuit High School in Portland, Ore. in 1986. While in high school, Paul com-

peted in gymnastics and made many lifetime friendships.

His drive and energy led him to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs

where he also continued to compete in

gymnastics. He graduated in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. In 1992 Paul married Melissa Denning in Austin, Texas and their family grew with daughter Genevieve and son Michael.

They were stationed in many cities including Tucson, Ariz.; Washington D.C. and Ramstein, Germany. Between tours in Europe and several third-world countries, Paul earned his MBA degree.

Paul Comeau He was a highly-valued officer and analyst to the military and many high-ranking officials.

Paul’s skills and energy were great. Though he organized complicated military missions, he also enjoyed art, carving tiki statues, singing, and planning grand parties for friends and coworkers.

In 1999 Paul was stationed in Tampa, Fla. During this time he was

challenged with Lyme’s Disease, the break-up of his marriage and many other changes in his life. He enjoyed the sun in Florida, time with his children and discovering new adventures. We will all miss Paul, his laughter and zest for life. He was a light to many and will be deeply missed by friends and family. (Maurice Comeau, Paul’s father) At press time we had learned of the deaths of the following

graduates: Col. (Ret) Hoyt L. Prindle, Class of 1960, who died on July 28, 2007 of cancer in Tallahassee, Fla. Lt. Col. (Ret) Francis K. Smith, Class of 1962, who died on Feb. 4, 2008 of complications from leukemia in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Mr. Troy N. Tomlin, Class of 1962, who died on Jan. 3, 2008 in San Jose, Calif.

Mr. James R. Cowder, Class of 1963, who died on Jan. 29,2008 of lung cancer in Arlington, Texas.

Mr. James A. Manuel, Class of 1963, who died on Aug 2, 2005.

Dr. William L. Pigg, Class of 1968, who died on Dec. 16,2007 in Albuquerque, N.M. Dr. Paul M. Benson, Class of 1986, who died on Jan. 29,2008 in an accident in South Paris, Maine.

Capt. Carrie G. (Loudermilk) Pedersen, Class of 1996, who died on Jan. 6, 2008 in an automobile accident in Arkansas.

Our sincere condolences to the family and friends of these

graduates.

Auto Accident Claims Cadet Third Class Over Christmas Break LINDSAY MICHAELA BROWN

Youth Leadership Assembly, and recipient of the J. Kyle Braid Youth

Cadet Third Class, CS-05Wolfpack

Leadership Award. She was also a Lifeguard & Swim Instructor with the Brevard County Parks and Recreation Department. She was a Debutante in 2006 with the Central Brevard Debutante Society.

Her dream to attend USAFA began in the 7 th grade & in spite of a few setbacks, she achieved the dream. She learned of her Appointment while on her recruiting trip. She called home, ecstatic, she said “God has brought me here for a reason; this is where I am supposed to be.”

Lindsay loved USAFA and was the first to volunteer to recruit for the Academy. She hosted several swim prospects and participated in Grassroots during both Spring Break of her Doolie year and Thanksgiving break her third class year. Two days prior to her death she spent the entire day, in uniform, at her old High School speaking to classes about life after High School and the opportunities available. She gave

“When you put your pants on, put your smile on and everyone will

have a great day!”

Lindsay M. Brown, 2007 This was the motto Lindsay created and lived by; she loved life and ~

lived it to the fullest.

In her cell phone it had been abbreviated to “Pants on, Smile on”.

Always with a positive attitude and a smile on her face, which caused numerous problems in BCT, Lindsay could lift the spirits of those around her with just a few words.

Lindsay was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee July 15, 1988, 5 ¥2 weeks early. This was to be the indicator of her future behavior; the number one

rule was “don’t be late”. Lindsay

began “club swimming” in elementary school and continued on with the sport

through High School where she lettered all four years, was Captain two years, and made the State Competition three out of four years, going to the finals once.

She was a member of the USAFA

Women’s Swim Team.

up summer leave to take an extra Academic class. An account of her Doolie year was recently published in The Power of Influence!, which is a booklet of character essays published by the Vector! Program,

through the Center for Character Development at USAFA. In Lindsay’s 19 ¥2 years she touched more lives and spread more joy than most people who live a much longer life.

She had a very strong faith in our Lord. We know she is among the

Angels now but she will be sorely missed here on Earth. (Her parents)

The granddaughter of a retired Army Air

Corp/US Air Force fighter pilot, she was thrilled when she received her Appointment to USAFA.. .so was her grandfather, Maj. (retired) Reps D. Jones. She is also survived by her parents, Ross & Terri Brown, her sister, Kristen Brown-21, brother, Philip Brown-28 & four nieces; grandmother Gayle Brown; aunts, Jennifer Haeberlin, Kitty Hart, Shannon DePew, and uncle, Samuel Brown.

In High School, Lindsay was in the National Honor Society, Presi-

dent of Mu Alpha theta...Math Honor Society, a two time delegate to the Congres...State French Competition,

a

delegate to the Rotary

Former Assistant Basketball Coach,

“Hal” Walter, dies in Colorado Springs Harold John “Hal" Walter left this earth to join his Lord and Savior

Jesus Christ on Feb. 2, 2008 in Memorial Hospital after a short illness, surrounded by family, friends and clergy.

Hal was born of Harold

Henry and Barbara (Zechmeister) Walter in Garfield, New Jersey on Nov. 18, 1928. A scholar and athlete, he attended Springfield College, MA on a basketball scholarship.

(Continued on last page.)

79

Bob and Gloria Oaks: “We are back in Germany for our ninth holiday season. It felt like we had returned home when we moved to Frankfurt in August to serve in the Area Presidency of the Central Area for our Church.

Europe We work with missionaries from the northern tip of Norway down to Cyprus.

We also cover the Middle East, with a total of 37 countries in our area. This spring we traveled to Italy, Spain, the Canary Islands, the Congo and Ghana on Church assignments and, since moving to Germany, we have been to Iceland,

Denmark, Poland, Greece, Cyprus, Switzerland and Hungary, in addition to many parts of Germany. It keeps us busy, but it is exciting to travel around and visit with the missionaries and members of the Church.”

Wayne and Karen Pittman: “We returned to England to spend a week at Fairford visiting friends. It was just like coming home after all these years. We took a side trip on the way home and spent a week in Malta. We’ve always wanted to see it and we were not disappointed. At home, we continue as volunteers at the Air Force Museum and

working with the B-52 Association.”

Jim and Carol West: “Carol enjoys serving on the Dolores (CO) Library

Board and volunteers there also. We both continue to sing in the Mancos Valley Chorus and find joy in presenting several Christmas concerts. Last September, we had a delightful trip to the English Lake District and highlands of Scotland. We discovered a blend of natural beauty, history and culture. At the request of our grandchildren, we looked for the Loch Ness Monster, but settled for a glimpse of the Loch. We hiked the moors and valleys and ate some delicious meals, like fresh mussels in Glasgow. We even tried Haggis.

There were castles galore, Hadrian’s Wall, St. Andrew’s Golf Course from the 1500s and elegant Edinburgh. We’d love to go back!”

The Todd Travels have been somewhat curtailed due to Wendy’s struggles with a third round of breast cancer. However, we did manage to spend two delightful weeks in Hawai'i over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays and the highlight of that trip was an invitation from our Class’s iconic hero, B/Gen Ben Cassiday, for us to join him for lunch at his Outrigger Canoe Club on Waikiki.

131

jilBOBBl 1111111

^ 86 %^ Pete Todd

.

Members

,

1250 Big Valley Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80919-1015 H: (719) 531-5874

E-mail: petetodd@comcast.net

The flow of Christmas cards with their snippets of classmate news has saved all of you from the dreaded Cute-Sayings-Of-My-Grandchildren column. Following are a few highlights of more-or-less recent comings and goings of assorted

’59ers in their own words, lightly edited for spelling errors and eggnog-induced incoherence.

John and Barbara Davey: “Barb, son John and I flew to Tokyo to visit daughter Kath (who will complete her tour in Japan as an internal medicine doctor and will return to the States Sabre Society this summer). We saw the sights and then all flew to Shanghai Donors for a wonderful 11-day tour of China, including four days on the Yangtze River. It was an unforgettable experience. You owe it to yourself to put the Far East on your itinerary."

Jack and Shirley Hundemer: “We departed Cincinnati with the first snow flurries in late November, van loaded and a trailer in tow with the newest toy—1500 cc’s of Honda Goldwing. My skydive plan for my 73rd birthday did not mate-

rialize, so I bought the cycle. We took trips to Pigeon Forge, VA, Hawaii Kona Coast (live lava) and Grand Cayman (15 dives with the stingrays). We are now

settled into our ‘Winter Haven’ for the season. Other highlight of 2007 were

attending my 55th high school reunion and becoming a Great Grandpa!”

Leigh and Cealie Hunt: “Florida travels seem to have dominated the first half of the year, so in mid-July we set forth on a 12-day tour/cruise to Alaska accompanied by a gang of family and local friends. We started with a 5-day train/bus tour from Anchorage through Denali Park to Fairbanks, followed by 7 days aboard ship from Seward to Vancouver. The old folks wore out the younger generation with almost non-stop tours, including airplane flights, river rafting, ATVand dogsled rides, canoes, salmon fishing, etc., etc. Really a wonderful trip that we recommend to all who haven’t gone yet.”

80

‘Bent-Wing Ben’ and guests.

He was as gracious, inspirational and generous with his time as always. It was one story after another about “the early days,” both his and the Academy’s.

(How many of us knew that he was raised on Oahu, surfed on Waikiki and is living in the house he grew up in?) He shared fascinating vignettes about the cadet selection process (including some memorable letters of “recommendation” written on behalf of applicants), the meetings to hammer out the

curriculum, the Honor Code, the uniform and endless other details of what became the US Air Force Academy. He assured me that he had documented most of his recollections in oral histories with the Academy historian, but there was no substitute for hearing these stories “live and in color” from the man, himself. It was a riveting couple of hours and we felt privileged to spend time with this leader who, at 85, is still the template of what an Air Force officer should be.

I hate to close on a somber note, but President-for-Life Joe DeSantis’ holiday ordeal with the Nosebleed from Hell was very nearly an object lesson for all of

mortality. The reality is that, when Charlie Zaleski attains the biblical “three score and ten” this summer, ALL the living members of the Class of 1959 will be in the eighth decade of their lives! Despite our robust, youthful, looks and we are in a demeanor, studly good high-risk demographic in which life and health are more fragile. This reality caused us to agree at our last reunion that we need a mechanism to identify and elect classmates who can step us on our own

into Class officer positions in case the incumbent is unable to serve, whether due to death,

disability, or “I’ve enjoyed about as much of this as I can stand.”

We developed and the Class approved such a mechanism (remember?) and we have an ad hoc committee (Larry Fortner, Ed Montgomery and Bill Telford) to oversee the process. In the weeks ahead, we need to actively begin the “candidate search.” We’H recirculate the agreed document (e-mail or snail mail, as necessary) and ask you to consider volunteering, either as an active candidate or as a backup. Although far less serious than the problems with Social Security and Medicare, our situation shares the same liability: the longer

we wait to fix

it, the harder and more painful it will be.

Thought for the Quarter: “Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”

Anonymous.

by a couple. He looked strangely familiar. After some quick interrogation, I found it was John Goodley (’ 61 ) and his wife, Casey!”

AJ. (Rosie) Cler, Jr.

5423 Myrtle Wood

Sarasota, FL 34235-4624 Phone: (941) 371-4843 E-mail: RCtherose@aol.com

Class Web Site: www.usafa.net/1960

“Rosie, put out a NOTAM warning everyone that an old pilot is back in the skies! I finally got my FAA Medical reinstated in September 2007, and I am back in the cockpit of a Cessna Citation Excel,’’ writes Jim Thomasson. “It took almost seventeen months after I had a stent implanted in my left anterior de-

scending coronary artery (LAD) to get the FAA in Oklahoma City to approve everything. I had to undergo an echo stress test,

Howie Whitfield and wife, Linda, assembled their family at the beautiful

Ruby Beach on the Pacific shore of the Olympic National Park in Washington State. Howie’s description of those in the photo: “On the left, that’s our sonin-law Dean Nicosia, next to his wife/our daughter Dawn, with their daughter Sarah (13); our son-in-law Eric Frey next to his wife/our daughter Lynn, with their daughter Erin (14); my wife, Linda; Eric and Lynn’s oldest daughter Lauren (15); and that’s me on the far right with hat.”

a nuclear stress test and second cardiac catheterization.

After all those tests and a multitude of letters, we finally got a First Class Medical. It’s great to be back flying—this Citation Excel is a great airplane to fly. I hope to keep flying for two or three more

years.”

“After my Houston checkup for prostate cancer, I flew to

Washington, DC, to see my son Greg for three days,” writes

Sabre Society Donors

Phil Meinhardt. “A1 Johnson, Greg and I had lunch and Greg

took this picture (R: See Web Column for photo. Background-Greg is a Special

Agent, GS-14 with Homeland Security’s Policy Division in D.C., and essentially keeps an Assistant Director informed-she’s Julie Myers, niece of the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff). It was a fun lunch.

“When Greg and I were in Santiago, Chile in June and July of 2002, we had a private”guide and car. On the last day, Greg coerced our guide into taking us

by El Presidente de Chile Augusto Pinochet’s house. We were dressed in black, stopped and got out of the car and took pictures of Pinochet’s compound. Greg had dutifully checked in with his counterparts at the Embassy and got some feedback later. Seems Pinochet wanted to know who we were; his guys didn’t know, so they called the CIA. The CIA didn’t know, and Pinochet got paranoid; he thought the CIA was abandoning him. The next morning, two men, also dressed in black, showed up at the Intercontinental Hotel demanding to know who we were. Three days later Pinochet resigned his lifetime appointment to the Chilean Senate. On the other hand, it may have been a coincidence.

“A1 had a great story about Charlie Wilson (book, movie: ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’). Don’t want to blow your cover, Al; you’ll have to tell Rosie! Greg and I had both just read the book, ‘Charlie Wilson’s War,’ so we found Al’s story very interesting. Charlie was an unabashed womanizer and boozer, and it’s a fascinating book from a historical ‘Big Picture’ of the Afghanistan War period and real workings of the CIA and Congress. The rich socialite, Joanne Herring from Houston (played by Julia Roberts) is still ‘on stage.’ Later, I heard a NPR session where they interviewed the author of the book and Charlie Wilson.”

This note from Tony Burshnick regarding Chris Warack’s widow: “Pat moved to Virginia several years ago to live with son Christopher (Jr.) and his family.” Pat has spinal stenosis and had surgery in June ’07, and she writes that “I am doing very well, just tired and sore, but can get back to any activity that I want, like walking, swimming, etc. Tony and I can compare notes about whose back hurts the most!” Chris built her a nice apartment upstairs in his beautiful home. (Chris, recently promoted to full colonel, has a great job in the AF space and intelligence program, and had a promotion party at his home). Tony said that “Karen and I and the Burkes enjoyed a wonderful evening with Pat and the boys. The younger son, Mark, is a LC stationed at Langley. Pat’s address: 911 Falls Bridge Lane, Great Falls, VA 22066, e-mail: patwarack@cox.net.”

Driving from Colorado Springs to Fort Worth for the Cal-USAFA Armed Forces Bowl December 31st were Jim and Jenny Glaza, John and Deanne McCullough, Tom and Jan Kroboth. There was a Pre-Game Tailgate, PostGame Tailgate and then a New Year’s Day Bash at Denny and Liz Haney’s house.

Also attending the game were George and Diana Pupich, Andi and Carole Biancur, Dale and Ina Thompson, Deke Johnson, Randy and Jan Cubero (’61), Bob and Jan Brickey (‘61), Dave and Phyllis Phillips (’59), Ed and Lucia Montgomery (’59), Max and Trix Miller (’59) plus son Scott and wife, and Eddie and Sharon Rosane (’59). “Liz Haney did yeoman’s work on all the chow-it was outstanding-and, everyone stayed up ’til one minute past midnight (what stamina!),” wrote Jim Glaza. “We all felt the team played well except for the monster defensive pass giveaways (shades of yesteryear!), but were doomed when Shaun Carney went down with a torn MCL and ACL and meniscus, that’s everything in the knee, which is a very ugly injury.” Cal won 42-36.

Gary Karshnick said that “My wife, Diane, and I just returned from a 3week cruise-tour in Asia, visiting China, Japan, Taiwan, Okinawa, Viet Nam, Singapore and Thailand. One morning at breakfast on the ship, we were joined

Visit the AOG Web Site.

Merchandise, Gone But Not Forgotten and more!

www.usafa.org

Friendly Fire. The sprightly and rapid-talking George Fries had his (right) hip replaced Nov 8th (’07) at Portsmouth Naval Hospital by some Navy Lieutenant Commander, and was so excited about his progress he telephoned two days before Christmas: “My last marathon was Hawaii in 1993, and I’ll run the Boston Marathon this 2008!” (In a later e-mail, George said “no” to Boston).. .Les Hobgood, who devotes an inordinate amount of time to matters of merely minor pith, one day posed this question to himself: “Self, how many Corvettes could we get on an aircraft carrier?” Joining 30 other Corvettes from San Antonio to support the Corpus Christi Corvette Club, they all went charging up the ramp to the USS Lexington and finished with 304 Corvettes on the Lex’s flight deck: “Focus on Vettes and Jets on the Lex”...Eve and Frank Mayberry travelled a little this last year (what’s new?), and in ’07 it was to Australia in

February, July to Steamboat Springs, CO, September to Portugal and Spain, November to Italy and then, at Savona, boarding the Costa Fortuna cruise liner for their tripping back to Ft. Lauderdale (w/ stops in Tenerife, St. Maarten, Guadaloupe, Dominican Republic and Nassau-photo below: Eve and Frank at Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy).

“Our Colorado contingent gathered 8 December 2007 at the Waddle’s community club house,” wrote Andi Biancur. “Once again, Carole Biancur and Jeanette Glaza performed miracles by creating a very festive atmosphere. We were fortunate to have 12 classmates and their ‘significant others’ attend, along with three couples from the Class of ’59. The great food and ample bar finally gave way to an entertaining session of‘Combat White Elephant,’ making for an overall successful preview to the holidays. We were fortunate to have RG Head and Carol Hoover join us, as they were in town for another occasion. Those attending: Duck & Mary Waddle, John & Deanne McCullough, Barb & Wayne Kendall, Fran & Bill Hodson, Ron & Connie Yates, Jim & Jeanette Glaza, Andi & Carole Biancur, George & Diana Pupich, Jim & Judy Bujalski, Fred Porter, Steve Bishop & Kathy Toucher (Norm Haller’s sister-in-law), while present from the Class of 1959 to provide adult leadership were Brock & Claire Strom, Ed & Lucia Montgomery and Max & Trix Miller.”

81

(Extended column and additional photos at www.usafa.net/1960, click “Checkpoints,” then “March 2008.”)

Final Roll Call. Hoyt Leroy Prindle, Jr., died of cancer at his home in Tallahassee, FL on July 28,2007.

Earl N. “Nelson” O’Rear

87 %

50582 Stonington Drive

Members

Granger, IN 46530-8243 H: (574) 273-2597 E-mail: enoandtjo@gmail.com Class Web Site: www.usafal961.org

way. Bill Stackhouse related that they were then buying new furniture for the mansion in progress, so it should be ready for a party in a couple more years.

Lowell suggested offering at the Redneck Reunion that the DC guys organize a mini-reunion in the DC area one of these coming years. They discussed some options, and knowing that nothing is cheap in the area, several volunteered to look into some possible places to hold it. They haven’t formed a committee yet, but the entire DC luncheon group will be asked to help if they do come up with a workable plan.

Things in Baker City are going well, according to Bob Heriza. A procedure done in September has really changed his life. It was a fundoplication, done orthoscopically. The doctor thought Bob’s hiatal hernia had been with him since he had been eating Turns and throwing up all around the T-37 during preflight. Any Graytags who have a hiatal can email Bob, and he will fill them in on the relatively simple procedure. Skiing is great there with lots of snow and no lift lines. He says to come on out West, skiers.

Larry Karnowski’s list of Good News/Bad News continues to be entertaining. Bottom line is that he has stayed busy, including participating in some Squatty Body events following his Polish Pond Pork Festival.

Bob Kellock and Samantha revisited their new nest in Patagonia, AZ, over the holidays. They added furniture, spruced up the grounds, winterized the utilities, counted the javelina herd that went by (about 25, all ages), and enjoyed a great New Year’s Eve party at the local hotel. For a number of reasons, the Boeing traces may stay connected until the spring of 2009. Even that may change, depending on how much they enjoy the planned frequent visits to their nest.

Pete Lane relates that on Jan 20, 2008, Christ the Servant Lutheran Church

in Denton celebrated the 20th anniversary of its pastor-Peggy Ogden-Howe,

the wife of Henry Howe. Peggy is a highly respected clergyman-woman and is

Please note my new e-mail address above.

Our Class of 1961 Hotel Project Team is still in discussions with the

Superintendent.

Jack Bright took a short trip in early December to Eagle, Idaho, to visit with an old

friend, and then took a short diversion to Las Vegas to visit his son and his family. Jack’s five-year-old grandson is presently fascinated with airplanes, so Jack took him out to Nellis AFB to see the Thunderbirds display but arrived a

couple of minutes after they closed. So they went over where they had numerous old fighters mounted on display, and he was thrilled.

Jack thinks he may have to schedule a trip back

there in November and take him to see the Aviation Nation air show.

C.G. and Janell Carson are still enjoying life on their Iowa farm. They now have 12 Percheron horses, with the birth of the most recent causing them to miss the 50th anniversary celebration of our class swearing in last summer. Although farm life keeps them busy, they did get away to visit and vacation a few times with family this past year.

Don and Peg Danborn are doing well in Arvada. Following a high school reunion in Illinois, they visited the O’Rears in October. They all took a guided tour of Notre Dame’s campus. It is amazing what universities can build when they have a $6-billion dollar endowment. It was great seeing each other again.

Don and Peg enjoyed a family home Christmas, with all of their children and

grandchildren.

Tom Eller first started teaching at the Academy in January 1969—39 years

ago, as the first USAFA graduate in the Astro-Computer Science Department.

He last taught in that department in December 1981,26 years ago. This spring, due to a professor shortage, Tom is teaching Physics 110 at the Academy. This

physics—kinematics and dynamics—has not changed much since Isaac Newton, except for how it is taught. It should be a fun semester. At the end of January, Tom was General Chair of a Space Flight Mechanics Conference in Galveston.

Similarly, Earl Saunders was also recalled to fill a one semester position teaching Geospatial Sciences. Earl said that he doesn’t think that he is the oldest instructor on the faculty, but he’s in the top five.

Dean and Jo, and Wayne and Mary Jones enjoyed a couple of fun outings together in the fall. In November, they met in Las Vegas for the USAF’s 60th Anniversary celebration at Nellis AFB. This keeps alive their string of having made all the decadal anniversaries there. As usual, the flying and static displays were world-class, including a spectacular airshow by the new F-22 Raptor.

Their stay at Loew’s Lake Las Vegas made the visit all the more enjoyable.

In December, they met in Acapulco for some beach and golf exercises, along with special arm lift workouts involving large margarita glasses. They all came home quite fit—not really. Wayne and Mary’s Christmas season was made very special with the marriage of their daughter, Julene, on 29 December. The wedding was held at an historic rancho site in the Santa Paula Valley, followed by the reception in Ventura, CA, where they will live. Many family members came from all over the West, and a good time was had by all!

Nine stalwarts attended the 28 November 2007 luncheon at Legal Sea Foods in Tysons II in northern Virginia: Bill Foster, Lowell Jones, John Kohout, Hector Negroni, Tom Pattie, Jim Rogers, Bill Sanzenbacher, Bill Stackhouse, and Twy Williams. Twy filled them in on his sailboat trip with his brother to Maine and back, including a couple pictures of them and some family along the 82

doing a great service with her flock.

Phil and Nancy Lane had a great time visiting with Bob and Jan Brickey and Pete and Patty Lane in Denton the evening before the Falcons took on California in the bowl game. They enjoyed watching a game that Bob transferred from a film he salvaged from being thrown away and then burned to a CD of Air Force beating Utah in 1958. Bob, the chief chef of the evening, treated them to a great meal, with ample help and hospitality from Patty, Jan, and Pete. Phil grabbed a book that Pete co-edited, Warriors and Scholars, which was pubfished a couple of years ago. It includes a number of papers about wars from WWII to terrorism, which Phil is finding to be very interesting.

Meanwhile in Tucson, Jerry and Jo Mason hosted a party to celebrate the Air Force win over California in the Armed Forces Bowl. (It wasn’t their fault that the party went better than the game.) Attending were Jim and Nancy Wilhelm, Jerry and Jo Mason, Marilyn and PB O’Connor, and newlyweds Dave and Kathy (Mize) Beck. The Masons remind all that their guest house is always open for

traveling Graytags.

Hector and Joan Negroni celebrated the arrival of their fifth grandchild, a

girl born 11 October 2007. This January Joan organized a 70th birthday party for Hector. More than 100 family, friends and classmates were invited. A good time was had by all, and Hector reminded everyone that “how long you five has nothing to do with how long you are going to be dead.”

Bill and Rhoda Stackhouse are in their new house and enjoyed having their daughters and their families there for Christmas. Bill sent a picture, and it is quite nice. Although he is still putting on the finishing touches, which he may be doing for a while, Rhoda says that he did a fantastic job. They said their doors are open for guests. It sounds as if Bill won’t be spending all his time around their house since he said that he will now be pursuing Moby Striper (starting right out their back door).

Terry Storm is up to his eyeballs in issues, many contentious, having been appointed to the AOG Board of Directors to replace a member who resigned.

He welcomes any input from our class, as does Charlie Neel, our class senator.

Charlie wifi serve longer, and Dick Fairlamb wifi begin earlier to span the time between now and after our 50th Reunion in 2011 (since Terry can’t do both).

Terry went to the bowl game in Ft. Worth and saw Bob and Jan Brickey, Randy and Jan Cubero, Dick Fairlamb, and Pete Lane. He knows others also attended.

Chicken Teriyaki (aka Byron Theurer), the world’s oldest living kamikaze

pilot, reports that he is regularly conducting air superiority sweeps over Jean, Nevada, just 30 miles down 1-15 from Sodom in the Sand. His selected air supremacy vehicle is a club-owned Schweitzer 1-26D “Geezer Pleaser” clear air mass interceptor, rumored to be capable of Mach 0.15 in a vertical dive (once).

Teriyaki, known by many of his classmates as the troll who fives under the bridge, is also directing an acquisition effort to buy an evolutionary improvement to the 1-26D (tentatively identified as the as the 1-26E “Super Pleaser”) and operate it under the watchful gaze of the Las Vegas Valley Sailplane Association.

Charlie and Gina Thomas spent the eight days before Christmas moving their

daughter Elizabeth and family. Elizabeth and her husband are both teachers and were busy teaching during the move. Charlie and Gina put their Air Force experience of 17 moves to good use. Also, their 22-month-old grandson had his fifth (and hopefully, last) surgery on December 15th. He is doing great, with no tubes or bags attached.

All is well in frigid Minnesota. Tom Wilson said it’s a winter-wonderland

clear, cold, and beautiful. They can enjoy it since they will be spending March in Florida. In fact, their three children, one spouse, and 10 grandchildren will hopefully be together with them over Easter, so life is good. Judy and Tom also are excited that their grandson, Mick Powell, was nominated and received an appointment to USAFA, Class of 2012. Y’all can imagine their pride now:

closing keynote speaker, Rob (Waldo) Waldman, also known as The Wingman, from the Class of '90. The second one was Dan Phillips, Director of Safety, at Eglin AFB, class of 78. See accompanying picture as we display our class rings. our

in Mick. This should also serve as a warning to the Colorado Springs residents

that they will be seeing more of Judy and Tom over the next few years. Mick may take a one-year deferment though, to study in Germany or Austria before going to the Academy, pending acceptance into the Foreign Exchange Program. Three generations of the Wilson family USAFA graduates. Is the Air Force ready?

Thanks to all who shared with the rest of us. Those of you have not shared in a while might start thinking about our next call for inputs, probably in March or April. We would like to hear from you.

John W. “Jack” Jamba 4 Judy Court

Satellite Beach, FL 32937 H: (321) 777-5520 0: (321) 861-6279

Cell: (321) 432-1370 E-Mail: jwjamba@aol.com

Hi Redtags,

Just got my 45th Reunion DVD from Randy and haven’t finished going through it. We have company so need more time to review. I am still thinking fondly about the 45th Reunion. I ordered another set of coasters from the committee.

I still have room for another picture, so I’ll show Mike and Kay Butchko.

They had a great time there. Mike is now in Las Vegas as the COO of National Security Technologies. The security is so tight at his new work site that he hasn’t located his office and has not been briefed on his job yet. Just Kidding. They are looking forward to a great time there. But they also want to move back to Austin.

They are so colorful.

I have an email I got from Jack Swonson before the reunion

that I’ll share with you.

“Polly Ann and I just returned from a trip to the northwest (Seattle, Whistler, Victoria BC) and took the ferry to Bainbridge Island to have lunch with Butch and Debbie Viccellio. Great fun! What a fantastic mansion they have created on a spectacular lot, 200 feet above the water with the back of the house

facing directly across to Seattle. The design is a three-story French chateau, immaculately accurate in every detail (e.g., all the windows and frames were made in France). Debbie prepared an exquisite lunch, and we enjoyed hearing about their recent travels to Africa.

Whistler was beautiful and enjoyable; we played golf and took the zip-line adventure. Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island is even more spectacular than when we first saw it 21 years ago. We’ll spend most of August in Japan and China, which will get us out of the Arizona heat. See you at the 45th. Jack” It was great to see Jack and Polly Ann as well as Butch and Debbie at the 45th.

I mentioned the new craze sweeping cruise ships, elder-care hostels and

Redtag Reunions. It’s called spoon-sniffing. And here is a picture of our beloved, moon-lighting CNN military analyst, Don Shepperd, enjoying the relaxing feelings accompanying this new pastime.

I got together with Colin Richardson just last week and gave him a reunion

coin since he couldn’t make the reunion. I wangled a drink out of him for it. I

showed him my reunion pictures and he had a hard time recognizing some classmates whom he hadn’t seen in 45 years. However, some were recognizable.

But he enjoyed hearing about the Reunion and sends his regards to all.

This past June, I was in charge of a conference for 600 people at a resort in Orlando. It was part of my responsibility as the Chair of the Regional Board of Directors in the Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association. As luck would have it, two other grads were at the conference. One of them was

Visit the AOG Web Site.

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www.usafa.org

And now a plug for the new AOG. The AOG By-Laws, adopted in 2006, established a Class Advisory Senate. The AOG Board, at its May 2007 meeting, approved the operating procedures for the Senate. The Senate is now up and running with 31 classes represented. There are major issues facing the new Board this year. Among these are the foundation, restructuring of the AOG, revision of the By-Laws, the honor code, and results of last year’s member survey. At the 45th Reunion, the class heard a briefing by Jim Shaw, the outgoing AOG Chairman and by the Superintendent, Gen Regni.

Rip Blaisdell is our senator. lie has been answering many questions on the Redtag Net and asking for input from us so that he might represent us accurately at the AOG Senate. His emails have been very insightful and informative. He can be reached at tharipper@msn.com. And you can tune into the email traffic on the Redtag net at RTBGeneral@redtags.org. Let’s give him our active support.

Now words about the passing of Troy Tomlin. Bob Lightsey wrote: “It is with a great deal of sadness that I tell you that I received a call recently from Lanny Lancaster, who informed me that Troy Tomlin had passed away last week. I don’t have any details to speak of. Lanny said the funeral was to be held in Texas, where Troy will be buried.” Then Ed Martinelli sent an obituary that he got through Google. “Troy Ned Tomlin, 69, of San Jose, CA, passed away Thursday January 3,2008 in Mountain View, CA. He was born on July 10,1938 in Texas to Cecil William and Viola Violet (Vinson) Tomlin. He graduated from Pilot Point High School in 1956 and attended Texas A&M from 1956 to 1958.

He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1962. Mr. Tomlin was preceded in death by his wife, JoAnne Tomlin. He is survived by daughter, Theresa Tomlin of Palo Alto, CA; sons, Bruce Wilson and wife, Jennie of San Francisco, CA and Edward Chittenden of Danville, CA. Our condolences go out to Troy’s family and friends. After the news of his death appeared in the Redtag Net, someone sent the email he sent out about 10+ years ago that compared our cadet lives as Doolies to a civilian college counterpart. Troy asked how many civilian college students get to do what we did. He had never been in an airplane before he got to the Academy. I quote from his email: “Within 10 months I had logged at least 7,500 miles in the air; sung in the National Cathedral in Washington DC, with the Prostestant Choir; carefully patted an atomic bomb on its smooth flank; crawled up inside an Atlas rocket; sat in on a SAC briefing with guys who would be flying at least to the Fail Safe Line, and ready to fly through it, later that day; flown at Mach 2.04 over George AFB in an F-104 Starfighter with the Fuel Low light flashing frantically ever since we arrived at the 40,000 ft level about 10 seconds after lifting off; and intercepted and, electronically at least, “splashed" a B-29 off the Golden Gate Bridge in a F-102 Delta Dagger out of Hamilton AFB. ..Typical college freshman stuff. Could have 83

probably done all that if I’d gone to the North Texas Baptist Bible College...” I think Troy’s words will be a reminder of the times in which we became men.

That’s it for now. Keep the postcards and letters coming. Go Redtags!

Norman I. (Skip) Lee

63119 E. Cat Claw Lane

Tucson, AZ 85739-2058 Home: (520) 825-7980

Cell: (520) 241-3498 E-mail: 54wrs@msn.com

We have just learned from the AOG of the death of our classmate James R.

Cowder who passed away January 29, 2008. A memorial service was held Feb

2nd, at the First Christian Church, 910 S Collins St, Arlington, TX. Condolences maybe sent to his family in care of his wife, Mary: Mrs. Mary Munday Cowder, 348 Mesquite Hill Dr.,

high as 50%. Worse, these errors are repeated on plaques placed in the squadrons. I personally checked out 15th CS and found 5 mistakes.

Denny can be reached at denny63@sbcglobal.net or 719-687-7229 and Bob at bcahayes@comcast.net or 719-481-9693.

Among the good articles in the December 2007 Checkpoints—two of which were written by classmates Steve Dotson and Jimmie Butler—is a story of the dedication of an F-4 Phantom static display at Arnold Air Force Base on Nov. 27th. The dedication was to Col. Larry Golberg and Maj. Pat Wynne (’63). Doug Hardgrave tells me that Pat moved into his crew slot in the back seat with Larry less than a week before they were shot down. Doug had PCS’d to Bentwaters.

Doug was flying with Larry when they shot down a Mig-17 on30 April, 1966. Phil Maywald also attended the ceremony along with 100 to 200 others including a member of the US Congress, state legislature delegates and Pat’s brother Mike Wynne the Secretary of the Air Force. The attached photo shows, from left, Phil, Doug, Pat’s widow Nancy, Mike Wynne and Mike’s wife Barbara. are as

Arlington TX 76002-4478.

Often I use information gleaned from the Class Web Site, especially the Guest Log, which has experienced a shortage of postings recentiy. About the shortage; our web master Gil Merkle says the Guest Log experienced a lot of ‘Rogue’ writers (not classmates) posting a lot of trash onto the page and some even tried to hijack the page; so, I’ve put a password onto the posting form. Classmates probably know the password. The username is ‘Nino’ (note capital N) and the password is the last name of a cadet who was not easily found; yet seemed to be everywhere (password also starts with a capital letter). If someone does not know the password, contact

merkleg@texas.net and I’ll send it.

Last Fall Ralph Bacue sent a photograph with the following story: ‘‘The attached picture records some news that we are proud about—it shows our son, Lt Patrick Bacue, just after I administered the ‘Oath’, with Virginia and me. I used one of my 2/Lt bars in the ‘pinning’—one of those that I had polished a lot so it almost appears a 1 /Lt bar. I’m saving the other one for Stephanie, who as you know is USAFA ’09. Patrick is also a new Civil Engineer with first assignment to FE Warren AFB, Wyoming, and reporting end of February. In the interim, he is employed by an engineering firm in Columbia, SC.” me at

F-4 Dedication at Arnold AFB As an interesting aside: Doug Hardgrave’s birthday is this coming March

15th and he will be 70 years old. He doesn’t look too bad for an old guy. Happy

Birthday Doug! I wonder how many of you have crossed that fine already.

Maybe you could let us in on how you dealt with the required distribution of your IRA. Did you receive the e-mail from Bill Flynn announcing the TV show “Comanche Moon,” Larry McMurtry’s prequel to Lonesome Dove? The show aired on CBS in mid-January. Bill played the part of an English butler. I hope that many of you caught the show and enjoyed it as much as we did. Bill’s costume caused a few ladies to remark favorably about his legs or gams as they

put it. I asked Bill about that and he seemed to really appreciate the attention.

If you didn’t see the series keep and eye out for it during reruns later this year.

Ralph Wetterhahn suggested watching a NOVA presentation on PBS in mid to late December entitled “Missing in MiG Alley”, a fascinating subject. Unfortunately I missed the show on TV but was able to look it up on the internet and watched all six segments on my computer—about 45 minutes total. The discussion on the design strengths and weaknesses of the MiG-15 and the F-86 The Bacues: Virginia, Patrick and Ralph Another set of proud ‘grandparents’ this time are Butch and Carolee Verdier.

Butch announced “Their grandson, Benjamin Lee Brown, received word today that he has been appointed to the United States Air Force Academy, class of 2012. He will enter on June 26th, 2008, exactly 49 years to the day after ‘grandpa’ entered and 22 years after his father, Mike Brown, graduated.... To say that we are excited is a great understatement!”

Reunion: Since the FAC Reunion will be held at the same time in Colorado Springs as our 45th Class Reunion and many of us were FACs, the FAC Memorial Dedication Ceremony will be included in our reunion schedule as an “optional” event. Jimmie Butler is heading up the FAC Memorial and wrote that in conjunction with recent guidelines for retirees and veterans, we’re asking those in attendance at the Dedication Ceremony to wear ribbons or miniature medals. Since slow FACs (O-ls, 0-2s, and OV-lOs) earned two Medals of Honor (posthumously), nearly 30 Air Force Crosses, many Silver Stars, hundreds of Distinguished Flying Crosses, and thousands of Air Medals, Jimmie is telling the USFA Cadets that that morning they probably will see more Silver Stars, DFCs, Air Medals, etc., than they will see in the rest of their military careers. So this is a heads-up invitation for those who will be gathering for the class reunion this October. More info will be coming out with the regular reunion mailings. You can also follow the 2008 FAC Reunion progress at: http: / /

www.facassoc.org/ColoradoSprings.htm.

The Class web site and the AOG web site are ways to keep up with the planning status for our 45th reunion. By now you should have received in your local mailbox a missive from the 45th Reunion Planning Committee—it is due out in February and I am writing in January. If you didn’t receive the mailing please notify either Bob Hayes or Denny King. Denny has been working with classmates who are acting as cadet squadron reps to update the AOG’s data base. It turns out there are some serious errors in the data base including cadet

squadron identification at graduation. Surprisingly, errors in some squadrons 84

enlightening and worth the watch. Ralph has several on-screen parts in the show. You can see the video at the NOVA website: NOVA | in MiG Alley |

was very

PBS. Just double click or use cntrl-click to get to the page.

That’s it for this time. Once again you have done a swell job of providing me with inputs. We are getting very excited about October and really look forward to seeing all of you once again.

Bob Hovde

206 Walker Ave.

77 % Members

Huntsville, AL 35801

(256) 532-3923 bob@hovde.us

(Editor’s note: The Class of1964 Mall of Heroes dedication will be on May 27.

Please look for the schedule on the AOG Website.)

Football Road Trip Gary and Judy Ryser and Lois and Doug Jenkins traveled by Honda Pilot from Colorado Springs to Fort Worth for the Armed Forces Bowl 12/31/07. [No pictures of them flying, but some great football weekend pics one of which is below.] Doug reports that they “attended the Mexican Buffet in downtown Fort Worth the night before the game and saw classmates Jim Hermanson and Jimmy Heisz and their wives, among others. It was packed, -

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Visit the AOG Web Site.

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but the party was well organized and the food good and plentiful. The tailgate the next morning was great, the flyover superb and we enjoyed the game despite the score and the injury to our quarterback.”

Gary and Judy Ryser and Lois and Doug Jenkins preparing for the Armed Forces Bowl.

More on the F-100

Jim Carson (’66) wrote, “I noticed the F-100 photo and related text in the June Checkpoints. I can confirm the lore that the F-100 was -

supposed to be the aircraft that first broke the sound barrier in level flight. I cannot confirm that it is true, however. A fact that you may not know is that after the aircraft was destroyed, the ejection seat from the aircraft showed up in the 16th Squadron TV room were it remained for some time. I do not recall which of my squadron mates rescued the seat or what eventually became of it.”

Back to Hanoi From the wintery wilds of Ohio-land, Ed MM Mechenbier, obviously having too much time on his hands while the golf courses are covered with snow, wrote the following Sabre Society Donors travelog: “The recent Checkpoints included an article about a trip back to Vietnam this Spring. Jerri and I had that opportunity last September when we spent one week in Hanoi and another in Saigon.

We traveled with some Vietnamese friends who split residences here in Ohio and Saigon, so were able to travel in both cities with extended family members. It was truly a ‘behind the scenes’ trip in Hanoi since we were with the current Minister of Culture (Yes, a good Communist) and a former Ambassador for South Viet to Malaysia and Singapore. Quite oddly, these two fellows are brothers! Their mother was a Member of the Central Committee until her death in March 2007. How they ended up North and South is a bar story, too long for this epistle.

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Someone changed the decorations in Ed’s old room.

didn’t get out much the first time.’ It’s a vibrant place now to be sure with over

$10B of US investment in the country last year. I don’t know how soon I’m

ready for another trip, but I can surely attest to it being a very interesting and colorful place to visit.

Relocations

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From Usto Schulz: “Classmates, friends, and interested

(or maybe not) parties, the Schulz family is in the process of relocating from sunny (but costly) California to breezy and lofty (affordable too) Colorado.

Bernadette is there now; I will follow when house packed and sold later. We will be in the Springs, east of town.” [Ed Note: Probably by the time you read this.]

Guess Who’s Going to Bagdad! Ray Greene, stalwart lawyer that he is, has joined the cast of the “oldest warriors in history” reality play. He reports that he [has been] deployed to Iraq. “That’s right, Iraq! As General MacArthur said ‘one last gift to an old soldier.’

Ray continued, “I am leaving on Sunday, Novr 18th for Norfolk, VA, for out processing. On the 25th of November we will be taking a greyhound bus to Fort Jackson for a three-week training course. Training at Fort Jackson is NIACT (Navy Individual Augmentee Combat Training) consisting of PT, marching, weapons qualification with the M-16 and P-9; convoy defense and houseclearing. (I’ve been practicing with a broom, simulating an M-l rifle, trying to remember how to march). On the 19th of December we are flying to Kuwait for in-country processing and then on to Camp Victory, Baghdad, where I will be a member of the Rule of Law Task Force. Not quite as heroic as “I am here, send me” Karl Richter, but something, at least.”

Now, if they’d just let some old guys fly the new airplanes...

The Tiger 10 Christmas Newsletter is full of the expected “grandkids, travel and golf stories," but the most amazing thing is that it’s still being published through all of these years. Great Job! On the other hand, the stories of knee and hip replacements, surgeries and other medical procedures remind me that time is moving on. Take care out there, people Remember when they made you go to the doctor once a year even though you didn’t have anything wrong? Think about it.

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Rick Zurbrugg

76% Members

2929 Gavin Place

Duluth, GA 30096 Ed and Jerri at the Hanoi Hilton Main Entrance.

We did all the mandatory treks around Hanoi, ferreting out various former

prison sites including the Hanoi Hilton the Hoa Lo prison to the locals. I’ve attached the obligatory picture of Jerri and me in front of the main entrance, but the real story is in the second picture. The Hoa Lo complex is now about 1/3 the size of what we knew with the back 2/3 now the site of a 25-story office complex called The Hanoi Towers. After touring the front section, which is now a museum with limited content relative to the ‘American experience,’ we literally walked around the corner to the new office complex, which has several shops and stores in the ground floor. As we were tracing the outline of the new property against the historical handout from the museum, we realized one of the shops occupied a space which in 1967 was one of my ‘homes.’ The appropriateness of the new occupant could not be more perfect since my semi-retirement. I now start most days on the golf course and the picture, no fooling, is actually that of

(770) 476-4437 E-mail: ezurb@bellsouth.net

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a Zone Golf store on the very same

spot.

We saw a lot in two weeks and eventually decided to enter the booming real estate market in the Saigon area. Yes, it is Ho Chi Minh City now, but our com-

munist hosts told us it will probably be officially renamed Saigon since that’s the name the rest of the world...including capitalist investors...use routinely.

Several people asked if Hanoi had changed much since my earlier stay from 1967 to 1973. The only response I could make was, ‘I really don’t know since I

Please take a moment to remember our classmate, Jerry Walton who transitioned to eternity on November 28,2008.

Reuel Y. Rolston: “I proudly promote two of our classmates as Distinguished Graduates. Bob Wilburn will soon be dedicating a new Visitors Center in Gettysburg. Bob is President of the private nonprofit foundation working in partnership with the National Park Service to “enhance preservation and understanding of the heritage and lasting significance of Gettysburg.” Bob led a similar effort in Williamsburg. Please visit and contribute to support Bob’s outstanding achievements. Rick Hanushek has earned the Fordham Prize for distinguished Scholarship. Rick has addressed the myth that smaller class size and throwing money at education produces results. His books include Improving Americas Schools, Making Schools Work, and The Economics of Schooling and School Quality. Our class includes a Medal of Honor Winner and also some incredible talents who maybe should be honored with plaques that acknowledge our pride in their contributions.” Reuel, you are absolutely right, Bob and Rick have made great contributions to America. So many of our classmates have done well and have achieved exceptional things. We should all be proud to once have been in the company of these fine, disciplined men.

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Warren Langley: “...We traveled to Virginia Beach in October to a reunion of

my 19th Squadron classmates from the Air Force Academy. It was interesting to see that we are both the same and very different since we met in June of 1961....

I continued to do a few “business” things...I joined the Board of Advisors of ConnectMeAnyWhere, a London start up in the internet and telephony business and also joined the Board of Sun Trading, a Chicago electronic trading firm.

It has been interesting to rejoin the trading world after viewing it only from afar as it has changed dramatically over the past few years. I enjoyed working with Ben Cohen and Duane Peterson at Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities....

A unique benefit of the BLSP work was spending a morning with Ben at Google where he made a presentation to a group of employees and then he and I got to present the Priorities Agenda to Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Google was as fun a place as is reported in the press.” Thanks Warren.

Barry Blackman: “I see Bill Powers periodically and we talk fairly often, depending on the time of year. I see Bob Giffin at Clune arena occasionally and Errol Reiner during football season (does it sound like our social life is built around AFA sports?). We have a number of ’65ers in the area, but for whatever reason we never have gotten together on any kind of regular basis. I keep trying to cut back on my client load and my goal for this tax season is to be finished by April 15th so we can play the rest of the year. We did manage a trip to Antarctica last Feb. We took a National Geographic-partnered tour with Linblad. A 300’ boat, about 110 passengers and a dozen naturalists, three with PhDs. We’re really not into the cruise thing (nothing wrong with it, just not our thing) and that was the first we ever went on. It was fantastic. A little pricey for my Scroogey personality but worth every penny. And we didn’t run into anything! It did take a while to get the smell of penguin crap out of our clothes.” Barry also sent along this valuable piece of knowledge that is something we should all know: RECOGNIZING A STROKE: Remember the “3” steps, STR. Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Now doctors say a bystander * can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions: S Ask the individual * to SMILE. T Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (coher* ently) (i.e. It is sunny out today). R Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS. If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call 999/911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. New Sign of a Stroke-Stick out Your Tongue: another ‘sign’ of a stroke is this: Ask the person to ‘stick’ out his tongue..

If the tongue is ‘crooked’, if it goes to one side or the other, that is also an indication of a stroke. Early recognition and treatment of an evolving stroke can certainly prevent permanent brain injury. Thanks Barry.

Well, if you missed the Armed Forces Bowl in Ft Worth on New Years Eve, then you missed a good time in spite of the final score. The zoomies, who looked well coached, came out hot and smoked ‘em the first half, but in the second half, the big and talented Bears, who had been ranked as high as #2 in the nation earlier in the season, were just too good. Size and speed not withstanding, the AF bench was in the shade during the second half and the temperature dropped about thirty degrees during the second and third quarters. What a turnout though—more than ten thousand tickets sold! If you haven’t seen an Air Force football game with the Wings of Blue parachuting into the stadium, and the falcon demonstration, and the roaring flyby through the eyes of your awestruck grandchildren, you must do this, my brother, before you die.

Bill and Rick do the Blues Brothers NY Eve Dallas 2007.

After the game, with the help of my old roomie, Bill Cole we checked into the Cooper Guest Lodge at the famed Cooper Aerobics Center and Bill and Judy and Jo and I rang in the New Year in Dallas in style with dinner and dance.

The next day we had a “recovery workout” at the Cooper where Bill has been a member for many years. You may not recall, but Bill was once captain of the gymnastics team. Gentlemen, I offer this testimony: on New Year’s Day 2008,1 witnessed a 66-year-old classmate perform 12 full pull-ups from a dead hang. There is no question that he could have done more, but he had just done a dozen dips. Flabbergasted is the only way to describe watching this miracle of dedication to fitness. All one can say is: No Excuse, Sir! We had a Rose Bowl party later that afternoon with Bill’s son, Chris (a recent Baylor grad and a man with bright prospects) and his fiancee. The next morning, Bill took us flying in the Cessna over Lake Texoma. Thank you, Bill and Judy for the very best of times.

TheZ’s fly with Bill Cole Jan 2,2008.

There you have it. Would love to hear about your travels, studies, passions, good works, lives and see your pictures. Believe it or not, there are those who care about you. Be well, do good work, and keep in touch! Cheers, Rick

Ryan Denny 1635 Mary Todd Lane

79 % Members

O’Fallon, IL 62269 H: (618) 624-4255 W: (314) 232-5117 E-mail: ryanden@aol.com

Somebody’s happy grandkids at the big game.

Had a great chat with Gerry Hodgson at the motel breakfast room before the game. Gerry and his lovely lady had driven over from Arkansas where he lives the good life on a substantial piece of property. Saw another guy, tall and skinny, struggling through the crowd with a ’65 jacket on. He told me his name, but I promptly forgot it. Being in that Sea of Blue really can get your passions up.

JOIN THE SABRE SOCIETY! YOUR MONEY HELPS FUND CADET WING PROGRAMS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE GO UNFUNDED CALL THE AOG FOR INFO.

86

NgMSpr>

Greetings, Redtags! I hope it’s sunny and warm where ever you are because it’s really the dregs of the Dark Ages here in St Louis—cold, gray, and windy.

When people complain about the cold here I tell them, “It may be 10 degrees, but it’s a dry cold, so it only feels like minus 10!”

I ran into Jim Murphy at the gym the other day. I know it’s hard to believe— Jim exercising. Jim is about to retire from his second career at ARINC and is planning on moving to Colorado. We were talking about the AOG and some of the turmoil that the organization has been going through for the last year or two. There seems to be a lot of well-intentioned people who have very different ideas about what the AOG should be and do. To try to increase representation from us ordinary folks, the Association has formed a group of “advisors” with a representative from each class. Jim has volunteered to represent our class for the last several months, but he would like to get some other “volunteers” for the position and have a class election. If he hasn’t already sent you all an e-mail about this, he will shortly. If you’re interested, please let him know.

Rick Strong writes that he is still working for General Dynamics at the Joint Warfighting Center in Suffolk, VA and will probably keep working until he’s 66 (a familiar refrain). Rick says that Vic Andrews and Mike Heenan put out the call for a ’66 /Go Big Three gathering right after we heard that USAFA was going to be playing University of California at the Armed Forces Bowl on 31 Dec

2007. Vic and Sue Andrews, Mike and Char Heenan, Bill and Suzanne

Berry, Rick and Joan Strong, Marty and Gloria Daack, Tom and Gail Brandon, George Finan and A1 McClure answered the call and watched a great football

let’s call it the “Annual Dark Ages of Class News Input,” when there is a dearth of message traffic to the Trusty Scribe (mois...). I do have some items, of course.

But for the most part my computer and mailbox have been largely undisturbed of late. 0 well. What follows is a compilation of what I have First of all Stump Sowada wrote to correct an error in the ’67 Class News in the 12/2007 Checkpoints. In my article, I misidentified Doug Ferguson’s cadet

game. After

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great New Years Eve dinner, the motley group joined for pictures in a park in down town Ft Worth where Bill Berry was able to get pictures that make them all look pretty good. Rick says that the reason they all looked so good is that it was chilly, and we all know that cold and alcohol are both great preservatives. a

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squadron. In fact, it was Doug’s CS-16 classmates who were joined by his sister Sue and her husband Dick for their memorial at the USAFA Cemetery. Stump further clarified that “... on 12/30/69 then lLt Douglas David Ferguson, ’67, CS-16, was shot down over Laos, was declared MIA, and ultimately KIA on 05/03/76. His remains have never been found. May he rest in peace. God bless him, his family, all of his classmates, and the USA.” Well said, Stump. And my sincere apologies for my squadron identification error to you and to all of CS-16, and to Doug’s family.

The biggest news item in the months since our reunion continues to be the AOG Board of Directors and the direction of the AOG. Jim Shaw, President and CEO of the AOG since 1999, has departed the organization. His valedictory note (in the Dec 2007 Checkpoints) is an impressive summary of good work and organizational progress. Now Jim is gone, and the AOG has a temporary CEO in place that will carry on while the search for permanent CEO replacement goes on. The issue discussed at our reunion the USAFA Foundation, separate from the AOG and AOG fundraising efforts remains unresolved. Bart Holaday, '65, has volunteered his services, reputation, and considerable talent to run the new USAFA Foundation. He has been in contact with -

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Rick Strong, Marty Daack, Mike Heenan, Vic Andrews, Bill Berry, and Tom Brandon still looking good after a football game and dinner on a cold New Years Eve in Ft Worth.

John Fal has also joined the ranks of the retired-retired but has managed to stay busier than when he was working. In addition to tutoring math at the Prep School, John is also the treasurer of the USAFA basketball team’s booster club, the Friends of Air Force Basketball. His only complaint is that it’s not fair that retired people don’t get off on all those federal holidays. John recently walked his daughter, Julie, down the isle for her wedding, wearing his Mess Dress. It still fit, and John looked pretty good in it! My youngest son is getting married in June, and my wife thinks I should also wear my Mess Dress. I might be able to do it, if I can find a chain long enough (and strong enough) to hold the front together.

Mike Gaffney and family (about ten of them) all took off for a recent trip around Ireland. Mike says that he followed some wise advice and tried to tour one old church, one old castle, and three old pubs every day. He says that the Jameson distillery and the Guinness brewery were “extra credit”.

Jim Wheeler, the Chairman of the Board of the AOG, about

coordinating the efforts of the groups. To the best of my knowledge, there is communication, but to date no resolution. On other issues I will not attempt to condense or translate all that appears to have been going on with the AOG, the Board, the USAFA staff, groups of interested graduates etc. Suffice it to say that there is a wealth of talent involved in the current -

situation. George Van Wagenen and Bill Boisture

’67 representatives on the AOG Board are direct sources of information “straight from the AOG horse’s mouth.” Additionally, Colorado Springs- area classmates including but likely not limited to Bob Muldrow, Gary Scheimer, Roger Carleton and Frank Chuba have been attempting to get a better handle on the range of AOG and Board issues, including plans to hire a permanent CEO; and to bring their talents, experience and expertise to bear. Lastly, Jack Fry, our ’67 rep on the Class Advisory Senate, and the others of the Senate have been actively involved -

our

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in attempting to identify, clarify and resolve the

range of issues. Both Bob and Jack put out periodic emails which provide “straight talk” updates, and the official communications of the AOG are available on the USAFA website. Bob’s updates previously included mostly sports-related stuff; they now also contain AOG-related updates. I expect that both of them are amendable to expanding their email address lists, if anyone else wishes to regularly get updates. Also, I strongly encourage each of you to communicate with George, Bill and/ or Jack, or all three, as our official class reps, in addition to Colorado Springs area ’67 residents such as those listed above, in order to keep up on progress.

To change the topic a bit over the Holidays I received a phone call from Les Jensen, my friend and former roommate from CS06. What a day brightener that was. I imagine that such a call would have the same effect on others as Les’s call did on me. So I’d suggest that each of you/ each of us, occasionally pick up the phone and contact one of our old friends and colleagues. Email is great, of courses but that voice on the phone is really a cut above.

And another seasonal tidbit: some of you avid skiers may be aware that Taos Ski Valley has been one of the few remaining holdout ski areas in the U.S. that does not allow snowboarding. That comes to a halt in late March, when Taos will open its slopes for boards as well as skis, forever more. It seems that the Taos owners and managers are simply recognizing the business expedient of allowing the full range of downhill enthusiasts on their slopes. The passing of an era. And now an entire new group of crazies can fall and slide and bounce all the way down Al’s Run as I once did on an AFA spring ski trip many years ago... Ric Heiser do you recall that trip?

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Mike and Kathy Gaffney in Ireland.

Ron Davis has also retired-retired and has moved from the cold climate of

Northern Virginia down to Merritt Island, Florida. Ron had been working for Booze Allen for several years and filled his free time by serving as a docent (intelligent tour guide) at the Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. Now that he is living in Florida, Ron can always run over to the Space Museum at Cape Canaveral when he feels a need to share his encyclopedic knowledge of military history with some tourists.

Well, folks, that’s all the news that we could dig up in the last couple of months.

For those of you who are staying inside this winter, crank up that computer and send me an e-mail or a picture so I don’t have to make up stories about you!

Until next time.. ..Happy Landings!

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Larry Wilson 13100 Pinehurst Ave. NE

Albuquerque, NM 87111 H: (505) 291-8949 E-mail: Lwilsn628@aol.com

Greetings, one and all. Do you recall back in our Cadet days when the time between the Holidays and Spring Break was referred to as “the dark ages” because in addition to the short days, winter etc there was the long haul between long weekends, holidays etc. Well there seems to be an equivalent:

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Terry Kelly at the game, momentarily distractedfrom cheering the Falcons on to glorious victory.

87

As I write this

the New Mexico state legislature is in session. Now that the governor is no longer running for President, he is re- applying himself to the significant New Mexico state- level issue of health care. No question that there is a need. The identified problems and solutions and opinions are pretty much all over the board somewhat like our AOG issues... I look forward to some fix that is equitable and cost effective and truly addresses the health care needs of the American population. I don’t hear as much about that these days in the current national political debates. As the primaries are decided and the subsequent wrangling begins no doubt health care will move again more to the top of the pile of issues. Heaven help us all. Meanwhile to all of us and our family members and those we care about eat wisely, exercise regularly, and get your recommended health screenings. Those simple actions would lop off a large chunk of avoidable health care costs, for individuals and for the nation.

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John Longenecker catching a breather in Herat, Afghanistan.

Active Duty in 2002 to serve as our first Air Attache to Afghanistan, John served with distinction, returned to the US, and was recalled in 2007 to serve in Af-

ghanistan for a second tour. John, your classmates thank you for your continued service on the frontlines. Our prayers go with you for your safe return.

NEWS FROM HITHER AND YON: Bob Mirabello checked in to say since

retiring from DIA he has been the program manager for the Intelligence Community Officer Course. His duties include leading a small team in delivering a two-week, professional development program for selected Intelligence Community GS-14s and 15s working for the

Jimpy Neyman, back at USAFA after many years, happy at being back with old friends. At least I think that is the reason for his SEG. As you may have surmised

that’s about all that I have on the tip of my (figurative) pen for this quarter. Except that I still have beaucoup pictures from the reunion that deserve to be seen. Here are a few of those, to brighten your days:

Lest we forget- The Wall

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Office of the Director for National Intelligence. The course consists of an intensive, integrated curriculum of discussions, case studies, guest speakers, panels, local area field trips, and short group exercises, all designed to develop a more “joint” perspective and to help prepare his students for more senior responsibilities. It is clear to me that Bob does not understand Sabre Soc the meaning of the word “retirement!”

Bob Pavelko told me of a 16th Squadron practice reunion hosted by Steve and Henrietta Polk at their estate in San Antonio, Texas last November. He noted that a few greenbacks exchanged hands following some “uncompetitive” golfing events, but they were all able to remain financially solvent despite their aforementioned gambling endeavors. Bob opined that the practice reunion went smoothly, but a second may be required to insure a successful 40th reunion at USAFA in the fall. »

8

memorial to those who have fallen in combat!

With that adios my friends. I hope you are all off to a great start of this Leap Year, election year etc. Fire me a note, pictures etc or you will again be stuck with my ramblings.

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Tim Davidson 9712 Hidden Valley Road

Vienna, VA 22181-6094

(703) 255-5313 Fax: (703) 255-5377 E-mail: timd@erols.com

HELLO ’68! Dateline: July 1964. Place: United States Air Force Academy.

Event The loudspeakers on the terrazzo begin to blare the Four Preps’ hit tune “I was a big man yesterday, but boy you ought to see me now.” The newly

formed Class of 1968 marches into Mitchell Hall for a “relaxing” meal (while the Class of 1965 instills officer and gentleman-like table manners and conducts trivia contests) and the rest, as they say, is history. To relive those thrilling days of yesteryear and to add to tail-tale embellishments that only come with age (and a touch of senility), join us for our 40th Reunion from 1-4 October at the Embassy Suites. To receive the latest information, please check the Class Website atwww.usafa68.org. ’68 GRAD ON SECOND AFGHAN TOUR: In the midst of political tit for tat in the US Presidential debates, it is often difficult to comprehend what the candidates are vowing to resolve and the plans they have at-the-ready for saving the republic. For classmate John Longenecker, however, the need for national and international security is not some rhetorical campaign abstraction. After originally retiring from the Air Force in 1998 and being recalled to 88

16th Squadron Practice Reunion. The couples from left are Benny and Jeanne Veteto, Bob and Jane Pavelko, Steve and Henrietta Polk, Bill and Geri Bowman, and John and Charlotte Sullivan.

Bob Pauli wrote that Sue and he are doing well and he is still slogging it out

Systems Engineer at Northrop Grumman TASC in Chantilly, Virginia. One son, Billy, is a lLt in Communications at AIA in San Antonio and his youngest son, Aaron, is a 2Lt maintenance officer at Kirtland. His oldest son, Sgt Rob Pauli, is an Army intelligence analyst currently stationed at Camp Victory in Iraq. So far, the most dangerous thing to happen to Rob occurred when he rounded a corner and nearly knocked over General Petraeus. He’s now known as General Petraeus’ personal IED. Bob’s daughter Robin and her husband, Major Ara Maranian, left Wilford Hall and the Air Force during the summer of 2007 and his son-in-law joined a cardiology clinic in Manassas, Virginia. They have two children Elizabeth (3) and Peter (1), so Bob gets to be a real Grandpa now along with receiving free heart evaluations. He said he is looking forward to seeing everyone at the ’68 reunion.

One of my 7th Squadron roommates, Jim Parker, dropped a few lines to as a

The Parkers ofWaunakee, WI. From

USAF, Janice, Jen, and Jim.

left are Anne-now Capt.AnneRidlon,

provide an update on his life as a retired FBI “Drugbuster.” He said his oldest daughter, Anne, is now a USAF captain assigned to the AWACs program as an Air Battle Management Officer stationed at Kadena AB, Okinawa. Her husband is a ’98 USAFA grad, an F-15 pilot, currently stationed in Korea. They are both due to rotate in June ’08 and are hoping that the AF sees fit to station them together.

Wife, Janice; youngest daughter, Jen; and Jim ventured to Okinawa to visit Anne in April 2007 and had a great time touring some of the WWII battle sites and taking in some of the local culture. The trip home included a few days in Tokyo. Jen lives in Los Angeles and works for the RAND Corporation. She has applied for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and hopes to move

to a law enforcement career in the near future.

Janice still works as a nurse at the University of Wisconsin

Hospital in the

Oncology, Hematology, and Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. She still loves her work and will probably stay there for a few more years. Jim has tried to get her to cross train into geriatric care, so she can look after him, but, while he can’t remember her exact words, he remembers the phrase “and the horse you rode in on” was part of her reply.

Since leaving the FBI, Jim claims to be reasonably healthy and keeps moderately busy with hunting, fishing, riding his Harley, and watching the world go by. He said he never could understand why so many people retire from the military or FBI, only to immediately go back to a full time job. But according to Jim, he has never had the 70-inch plasma view of the “big picture." Best wishes on enjoying your own version of the big picture, Jim! of former 7th Speaking Squadron compatriots, I had a nice Christmas card

Major General Terry Schwalier. Life is good. of course, for standing so very tall when the going became so very rough; Chuck for his in Weir, ’70, expertise the BCMR process and helping Terry build a solid foundation from which to launch an initial campaign to redress the injustice of 1997; and, our own Mike Rose, whose altruism,

ness, dogged determination, and were the

professionalism, tireless-

unwavering support of Terry and his cause

collective mojo that made it all come to pass. Most of us have remarked or reflected on what the word “classmate” means in this day and age of studied hyperbole and embroidered Whatever it means to

superlatives.

you of personification the “classmate” concept than what Mike Rose did in this situation. He walked the walk, that’s for sure. Esse non videri—in spades! Class props to Mike, who may never again have to pay for a drink in any ’69ers presence, and heartfelt and long overdue congratulations to Terry and Diane.

I was fortunate enough to share a pitcher of brew with Terry right after the good news became public, and it was perhaps my most satisfying tankard since 1969. Here’s a pix of (previous page) our newest major general giving the entire class an enthusiastic “Thumbs Up!”

personally, I can think of no better demonstration or

and note from Mike Navarro, who checked in to

say that he got married in 2007 to and that he has been thoroughly August Debby enjoying his retirement from United Airlines. Mike said he will be in the cold weather of Min-

trading

nesota for the much warmer climes of Fort

Myers, Florida next June. classmate, Dr. on Larry Pigg, passed away December 16, 2007 at University Hospital, As I was completing this winter column I learned that our

Albuquerque, New Mexico. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family

and friends.

THAT’S A WRAP: Please clear you calendars at the beginning of October so can you join us for our 40th reunion. Make your reservations, today! Mind the flak; keep ‘em flying, and keep those cards, letters, e-mails, and photos coming in to Pat Russell and me. Please go to the class website to see photos included in this column in color and in full size. Ciao for now. Tim

fa wWkSZM

m§

in?

Mike Goode and Scott Bench: Birdie

Lindsey Parris 616 King’s Cloister Circle Alexandria, VA 22302 Home: (703) 836-3604

Now, in the department of past pictures overdue are Mike Goode and Scott Bench, just like you remember them, during the 2007 Qualifiers for the Senior PGA Open. Though neither

E-mail: 102177.1033@compuserve. com

The lead story this issue is the easiest and most gratifying to write of any since graduation. As many of you have learned Schwalier is a

Major General (!)

already, Terry

—

now

as he should have been a decade

ago.

All of you know the story of Khobar Towers, and most of us feel that Terry should have been awarded a medal for limit-

events of that fateful

you drive down spin down the former Second Street, renamed Lockhart Street, in honor of Captain George “Barry” Lockhart, who graduated in pilot training class 71-02. This was especially poignant for Skip, since he and Barry switch-hit as best man at each others’ weddings. Barry, also from Alexandria, has his name enshrined on a memorial dedicated to a community center in the Del Ray section of Alexandria, a ceremony you may recall written up in Checkpoints at the time.

Skip, meanwhile, continues his work with Congress and is helping organize the inter-service academies golf tournament, which has relocated from Texas to Northern Virginia.

The Armed Forces Bowl game attracted a critical mass of ’69ers (that reUPT memory lane at Columbus, be sure to

completely for the

day. It goes without saying that this is not just a victory for Terry, but a victory on many different

levels that will into the foreseeable future affect the AF, DoD, and the country in this class of cases involving uniformed officers and duty.

Many merit thanks and kudos for it all: and

persevering through

qualified, they both came close. Scott is moving (or has moved) to Austin, Texas, after his Fed Ex days, and Mike is still cruising with Netjets and helping some 69ers land flying jobs there. Terry Brady and both Flip Keck, Coloradans, are both now Netjetting, and Flip’s new home with the blue-ribbon view of Pike’s Peak and the Academy will have lit its bar lamp by the time you read this.

Skip Daly, a fellow Alexandrian, sent along a great article on Columbus AFB’s 60/65 Heritage Celebration, during which three streets on-base were renamed to honor deceased airmen considered POW/MIA. Next time

ing US losses to the extent experienced during that terrible episode rather than penalized by red-lining his name off the two-star list. Wrong finally righted, justice done, and

this exemplary ’69 leader exonerated

party, anyone?

Terry

Diane,

89

Seventy had a great turnout at the Armed Forces Bowl where the Falcons played a gallant game but couldn’t hold onto a 21 point lead. Speed kills and Cal had lots of speed. Our great QB, Sean Carney, went down in the third quarter and his injury had a probably big effect on the game’s outcome. Kudos to all of you who purchased tickets to the game for cadets and service men and women to use. The grad community really pulled together and purchased 12,000 tickets for the game. Those types of sale numbers will help us get selected for bowl games in the future if we are on the bubble.

Among the known attendees were: BJ Bjorkland, Tommy and Cookie Thompson, Gary Covington, Tim and Sue Kinnan, Tom and Sheila Waskow, Wild Bill Stealey, Denny and Lee Anne Thrasher, Terry and Sharon Dessert, and Ed and Linda Cole. It seems that a few classmates had a meeting at a local pub and engaged in a little driving competition while enjoying some adult beverages.

Bob Kirkpatrick, Gary Lindner, John Buckner, Greg KronbergFlip Keck, and Craig Upton Yea, Silver! Yea, Blue!

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quires two, doesn’t it?) to Dallas-Fort Worth, including John Buckner, Craig Collins, Brad DeAustin, Bob Gemignani, Flip Keck, Bob Kirkpatrick, Greg Kronberg, Gary Lindner, H. Ownby, Bill Savage, Art Schwall, and Craig Upton, among probable others. H. offered up his considerable organizing skills, and attracted a throng of 700, according to some accounts. During the partying, despite the final outcome of the game, Greg, who helps lobby for medical

issues, took the following shot of some of the usual suspects.

Gene Justin writes from SoCal that his ICBM Project may be coming to a close, and he could be heading into academia full-time. Claremont Graduate

University recently named Gene as one of its “outstanding” recent PhD graduates. He and Lancine took a X-country trip last year that seemed to touch every

cool site in every state.

John Warner and his cello are much in demand at the Massachusetts seashore.

Seems churches, cities, and the famous Salem Philharmonic have all his

participation. Our own version ofYo Yo Ma.

sought

For those who haven’t read it, check the Air &

Space Power Journal, Winter 2007, for John Hopper’s comments on “The Hypenated Airman.” As a tickler, his closing sentence should give you all the motivation you need to seek out the article and John’s thoughtful message: “Multicultural tribalism and Marxist

philosophy as a foundation for our complex social environment was just too

much for this old Airman to handle.”

Tom and Anne Allen and Jean and I joined Tom and Karen

Fleming for din-

recently in Crystal City. Tom F is back from the sandbox, where he was putting his considerable energies and talents to work on the IED problem a tour of duty funded by Tom A, who continues his leadership role at IDA (Institute for Defense Analyses). Tom and Karen have recently relocated from Hawaii to Fort Collins, where the Buckners are closeby neighbors. John, Flip Keck, Jim Downey and others out there are trying to convert Tom F. into a bicycling ner

enthusiast. We shall see.

And finally, please know that our “last man standing” on active duty, Major General Charlie Baldwin, AF Chief of Chaplains, will be stepping down in a ceremony on 29 May 08. Time and place: 1330 hours at the Air Force Memorial. Attendance open to as many as can get there. A perfect way to jump-start your Memorial Day weekend, honoring Charlie in specific, and symbolically honoring all our Classmates who shared that summer of 1965 and subsequendy served the nation over the last four decades, and now, in capacities too numer-

Seventy men keep little kids from playing games for hours! Back-to Front—Ed Cole, Tim Kinnan, Wild Bill Stealey, and Tom Waskow.

Kudos to Wild Bill Stealey for being appointed to the AOG Board of Directors.

As a former member of the Board, an eight-year participant in all Board meetings, and the target for many on the current Board when I was Vice President of Communications, Wild Bill’s addition is a welcome breath of fresh air to a Board that lacks the experience to take your AOG to the next level. I realize most of you don’t wake up in the morning wondering what the AOG is doing, but I would encourage all of you to get more involved in the issues facing the AOG. As a result of the last election, a separate AOG Foundation has been formed composed of major donors who want to support the Academy and the cadets. The result of the last election has resulted in an almost $1M shortfall in projected revenue and as a result many important programs have been cut and morale on the staff is low. Take a look at www.usafa.org every once in awhile, signup for ZoomieNation on that web site, join the Seventy Group on ZoomieNation, and take advantage of the AOG’s new universal e-mail system.

We are at an age where we should all be involved with events at our alma mater and the role of the graduate community. Mark Ewig is our class senator. Please share your thoughts with him or me.

ous to name.

That’s it for space this time. Much more to pass along from Christmas missives, and update on Class Reunion Gift. Please pardon, if you will allow me to borrow from Monsieur Barry Bonds, any “inartfulness” you find herein.

Until next time. Hand Salute, all. Lindsey Dick Rauschkolb

130 Luxury Lane

^67 %! .Members j

Colorado Springs, CO 80921 H: (719) 761-5764

Cell: (719) 310-6928

Email: AOG70@comcast.net

Greetings classmates! The Dark Ages are alive and well here at USAFA. This is the worst winter that I can remember. Haven’t been able to hit the links since

Thanksgiving. We get one storm after another, snow never has a chance to melt, and the winds are strong enough to blow you to Kansas. Very depressing— cabin fever has taken on an all new meaning—maybe I should have been a skier. Well at least I don’t have to form up and march to breakfast in this lousy weather. I wonder if anyone really enjoyed second semester Doolie year? That had to be the low point of my cadet experience.

90

Pop teaches John Verardo and John’s son the finer points of holding on the pick and roll.

On 6 February a bunch of classmates went to see Gregg Popovich’s Spurs

play the Wizards in Washington DC. At press time (30 Jan), those planning to attend were: Yogi Royce, Wild Wood Woodhead, George Keys, and Dave Sterling. John Verardo said he saw Pop when the Spurs were in Los Angeles and sent in this picture to prove it.

Just a reminder, Gregg’s dinner honoring him as one of the Academy’s Distinguished Graduates will be on 4 April. Let’s have a great turnout to honor one of our own who has been selected for the Academy’s highest honor. Gregg may not be able to attend due to the basketball schedule, but he is making a video and we should all be there to show our support. Get details off the AOG web site listed above.

Here a few updates from Christmas cards. Rex and Lynn Levoy are still in North Carolina. Rex said he is now limiting his aerobic exercise to an elliptical trainer and chasing Lynn around the house. Poor Lynn—did anyone know Rex as being famous for doing aerobic exercises? Rex is less than two years from retirement so tune up your golf games as I am sure he will do some traveling

seeking out some pigeons to win money off of. Fran and Kathy Buchan are in Birmingham. We hope to see them on a visit as one of their daughters is teaching in Denver. Dusty Swanson is retired from FEDEX and using his handyman skills to do all those projects Rose Ann has been building up over the years. Can you believe Terry and Sharon Dessert live on Wildwood Drive?! Our own Wildwood insists the street is named after him for his memorable skits as a Falcon cheerleader. Pat and Carol Collins continued to do a lot of traveling around the country and even made a trip to Europe with Bob and Kathy Baskett. Carol suffered a serious knee injury on the links looking for one of Pat’s many wayward shots in the woods. Dan and Shosh Murphy are enjoying beautiful Evergreen, CO. Mick Davey is driving Jan crazy now that he is retired. Never fear though, she is volunteering Mick for lots of charity work—at all hours. Marilyn has hooked on that idea but she wants me start bringing in an income so she filled out a job application for me and I will be starting at McDonalds on 1 Feb. Mike and Melissa Huber continue to spoil their granddaughters. Tommy Thompson had a special experience which he said was the highlight of his career. Before retiring from FEDEX, he had the opportunity to fly with his son Ty who recently joined the FEDEX team. Tommy is already starting to work on his golf game for the 2010 Reunion Golf Tournament. Bill and Donna Porter are enjoying the Springs as it is close to their grandchildren in Denver. Jack Mueller continues to hold down the IT job at the AOG and is doing fantastic work. Rick and Carol Humke are planning another cruise. Larry and Marleen Bush and Steve and Kathy Sharkey are regulars at USAFA basketball games.

Speedy and Wendy Martin are now wintering in Arlington, VA. They kept their home in Woodland Park for the summer, but given the Colorado winter and Greg’s many travels to Washington it made good sense for them to make the move. John Russ and daughter took in the Notre Dame game—unfortunately John’s daughter had an ND cap on—aargghhh. Chuck and Barb Weir continue to enjoy Scottsdale and side trips to San Antonio and San Diego. Chatted with Joe Burke a few weeks ago. Joe is a class act and is doing great work with Diane at Keuka College in upstate New York where he is president. Mick Davey sent me a nice article about Joe that highlights all the good things he is doing.!

Came across this picture recently.

Paul D. Knott

5565 Lantana Drive

^

52%1

Colorado Springs, CO 80920 H: (719) 570-9162 W: (719) 594-0100

E-mail: pknott@acninc.net

The Dark Ages are upon Colorado Springs once more, as is evidenced by my e-mail and regular mail boxes. If it weren’t for bills and offers to increase my “vigor”, I might not get any mail at all! The basketball and hockey teams are young and improving (read “inconsistent”), so who knows what they will have done by the time you read these words?

Thanks to Chip Reny and Harry Davis for their Christmas letters. Harry had a health scare last year, but is doing well.

He and Cindy are joining the ranks of grandparents. Chip and June have the third generation thing well in hand.

John and Bernadette Stubblefield stopped by in mid-November to meet our Delaney (USAFA Class of “29”). Unfortunately, with family and friends, they didn’t get to share all that much news.

They were on their way to the airport to pick up one of the cadets that they’re sponsored through the years.

It occurred to me recently that we’re getting to be “elder statesmen” Some of us are actually older than the Air Force!

Forty years before we entered the Academy, Lindbergh hadn’t crossed the Atlantic yet! A little over nine years before June of 1967, the F-4 Phantom that many of us knew and loved had its first flight. The frightening thing is it is possible that in forty years, our grandchildren may still be flying B-52s and C- 130s!

One more item in this extremely short column; I found out today that it possible to join the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association without being someone who actually flew north of that storied part of North Vietnam. Check it out on-line. Also, the fiftieth anniversary of the Phantom’s first flight is being commemorated by a new Phantom patch, suitable for framing or slapping on helmet bags, goat skins, or trusses.

A fair warning; I have photos of my grand daughter and me, and I’m not afraid to use them! So write already!

Bob Bell

13 Pacific Ave.

55 % Members

Sinking Spring, PA 19608 (610) 678-3182/Fax: 678-4513 E-mail: rabell767@aol.com

Greetings once again class. Let’s get started with a story from “Rak” Rakitis who took his long awaited trip to China in October. This episode took place during his cruise down the Yangtze to Shanghai. He’s sitting on the observation deck of a small motor ferry, the M/V Victoria Prince, cruising the Baling River and surveying the Lesser Gorges just north of the Yangtze River. That day he was wearing one of his recently purchased Air Force Academy sport shirts (re: recent ’72 Class Reunion). Anyway, several people from his tour group keep coming up to him and asking, “Did you meet the Air Force guy?” and “Hey, there’s another Academy grad looking for you," or “I think there’s some pilot looking for you.” Naturally, his thought was they all had one too many Bloody Mary’s at the morning brunch, because These guys are looking younger everyday! From left are Steve Maclsaac, Roger Riggs, and Larry Bush.

Got a nice note from Jack Norman. For those of you who are able to continue

flying after hitting 60 due to recent legislation, you should send a note of thanks to Jack as he spent about six months in DC lobbying for the legislation and, as a result, succeeded in getting it passed. Jack and George Rayl are both flying B-777s for Continental. Apologies to John Lipp—his girlfriend’s name who passed away was Janet—not Susan as I wrote. Many of us came to know Janet at our Reunion—a wonderful person.

As I have mentioned here before, Joe Kupko is our last classmate on active

duty. He recently deployed to Afghanistan and before he left we discussed something special he could do over there. We agreed taking a flag and flying it in Afghanistan would be a neat gesture. Joe did that and we are presently looking into getting it put in the ’70 bar at Doolittle Hall. Thanks Joe—all your classmates salute your service in Afghanistan and doing this for the class.

In closing, please keep Steve Feaster’s family in your thoughts and prayers.

Steve recently passed away due to cancer.

Here is to spring arriving early and all you golfers enjoying a good year on the links!

he knows he did.

Sabre Socie Donors Then, out of nowhere, appears a somewhat mature gentleman asking, “Did you go to the Air Force Academy?” He introduces himself. It was Chuck Liggett from the Class of 1960. Needless to say, they were both somewhat amazed. Here they were, two zoomies, literally in the middle of China, swapping Academy stories. Rak also met Chuck’s lovely wife, Kathy, who showed great forbearance as they sat at the bar later telling lies and “talking with their hands.” The truly astounding fact was how many times their paths had crossed, and experiences and bases they shared. Talk about a small world.

On the final night aboard, there was a farewell dinner. Chuck and Rak had their picture taken with the Captain, and he looked at them in a somewhat peculiar manner. They were both wearing the exact same thing, blue sports coat, gray trousers, shirt with button-down collars (sound familiar). They were even wearing the same blue ties with Chinese dragons on them. Guess old training dies hard. It wasn’t hard for the Captain to figure out they went to the same school.

There’s an epilogue to this story. While returning to the States, Rak was wearing the same Academy shirt. He was standing in the rear galley of a 747, in the middle of the night, somewhere over the middle of the Pacific Ocean. A young man asks if he went to school there and he answered in the affirmative. The 91

young fellow mentions that he had just graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy at King’s Point, NY. At this point Rak is dumbfounded when he discovers that this young

mariner, returning from his first maritime cruise, was a classmate of his (Rak’s) son’s, both ’07 grads of King’s Point. And this world gets smaller by the day. Thanks to Rak for letting us hear of his world travels!

Bill Haan wrote shordy after we were told of the untimely loss of our dear classmate, Stan Clarke, soon after we had been together at the reunion in October. Deeply saddened by this, Bill related that he had the opportunity to spend some time with Stan and his wife, Carol, during the reunion weekend.

Stan’s memorial service was held in Waitsburg, WA on Dec 15 where nearly a thousand people paid their respects, joining together as the Washington State wine community socialized and remembered their friend Stan.

Dan Lohmeyer sent a letter of support to embattled classmate Tom Fiscus recently to offer his view of the situation in which Tom has been involved for some time and which many of us may not have a very clear understanding.

Although it was sent as a personal message to a fellow classmate, Dan did inelude your scribe as a recipient to the e-mail, possibly as a way to put out the word that ’72 sticks together regardless of any negative that may be encircling any one of us. Hopefully this is always true. I include my best wishes to you Tom, in the hopes that the issues get resolved to the benefit of the truth and

759th Military Police Battalion at Fort Carson. The 759th had been responsible for protecting all of our in-country transport and for training the Iraqi national police, and had begun returning home the night before, after spending 15 months in Iraq. They had been in their 11th month when the policy changed,

extending their tour. They were very deserving and very appreciative of the gifts. It was an honor for us to be able to present the gift, and all who attended the reunion had a part in it. Thanks to all.

Our new Class Advisor, Senator Doug “Mush” Brower sent out his second

update on the most recent CAS meeting he attended via teleconference, reporting it was definitely an interesting experience. He has collected a list of over 400 of our e-mails to which he sends these updates, so if you are not among those on the list, and are still interested in receiving the updates that Doug provides, then we need to get your e-mail updated on his list. Send to me if you want it forwarded to Mush and it will be done.

That about wraps it up for this news column, guys. Thank you for all your support and information. As always that is what we need to be able to put this out to you!

Joe Kahoe

your good name.

Harvey LeCato forwarded some photos from the reunion of which I will be able to use only one in this column. As usual, there are limits to the length and

4140 Saddle Rock Road

number of photos for each column that I am allowed to include here, but rest assured that we can put unlimited numbers of these items on the AOG Class of ’72 website. Tom Maddock already set up our site, and Mike Verzola uploaded many of his photos from the reunion for your viewing pleasure. Hopefully more will follow as you all endeavor to unload your digital cameras eventually.

joekahoe@gmail.com http://73.texascomputerhelp.com

Colorado Springs, CO 80918 Cell: (719) 210-5568

Class of ’73, thank you for your great inputs for this Spring edition. Please start sending me info now for the Summer edition. Also, if I failed to inelude anything you have sent in the past, please send again to jkahoe@khoefederal.com or joekahoe@gmail.com. Go to our website at http://73.texascomputerhelp.com for expanded information. Respectfully, Joe Kahoe, CS-07.

Mike Arnett and Pris moved to Cape Canaveral for four years. Mike does Business Development/Marketing for L3Com. They have three daughters—all grown and married; two in Colorado, one in Iowa. Mike reports the Niners have found a long-lost non-grad Niner, Jim Shumate, who left the Academy at the end of our third class year with diabetes. He moved back to Utah, where he became a lawyer and eventually a District Judge in St. George, Utah in 1991. His 15 minutes of fame occurred last November, when he sentenced polygamous sect leader Warren Jeffs to two consecutive terms of five-to-life. Jim and wife, Cheri, have

From left are Sharon VanBastelaar, Ann Stover, Bill Colwell, John Greenlaw

and Ginny Colwell.

(more on website) Steve and Kim Dalrymple’s daughter, Diana, Class of 2008, commands 2nd

We had an update from Sandy Lewis on a spin-off directly resulting from our reunion. As you may have

three sons, the oldest of which is a ’97 grad and now a major, flying EC-130s.

known, the Marriott Hotel provided the Class

of ’72 with complimentary rooms based on the number of “room nights” the class booked for the reunion. One free overnight stay was given to Bill Looney in appreciation for his speaking at the Friday night dinner. He returned it to Harvey Lecato in hopes someone else could better use it. A drawing was held to determine which committee members would receive the remaining free overnight stays. Those whose names were drawn unanimously agreed that it would be better to provide the free rooms to servicemen returning from Iraq.

With that background, on behalf of the Class of ’72, on 14 December Doug and Cheryl Brower, my wife Bobbie, and I presented the six free nights at the Marriott (and some cookies and fudge thanks to Cheryl and to Terry Schiessler) to the

SQ (Deuce), which Steve commanded in 1973

Proud parents! Steve and Kim represented our class at the 2008 National Character and Leadership Symposium (NCLS) held at AFA 21-23 Feb 2008. Steve and Kim live in 0 Fallon, IL and Steve is a Senior Associate for Booz Allen (Dalrymple_Steve@bah.com).

-

Steve, Kim, and C1C Diana Dalrymple John Foreman (jtf@sei.cmu.edu) was selected as the national retired Air Liaison Officer (ALO) of the year for 2007. Congrats!! John is the Chief Engineer, AF Programs for Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

His son, Scott, Class of 2000, deployed to Iraq on Dec 22 for a year as a contract-

ing officer.

Doug Brower, Command SergeantMajorJohn Coleman, and Sandy Lewis in front of the 759th History Room.

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Michael Hay, Horny 18, and April have been married 32 years, have three sons. Steven (30) enlisted, became a “Nuke” on the USS Carl Vincent, and was quickly sent to RPI (#2 @ Prep School) for a double major in Comp Sci and EE. He was ‘in’ but chose not to go to Canoe U. Mike swore him in as an Ensign a month before he married in South Carolina, where he was born while I flew 141s (CHS). Mikie (18) is a senior and will be entering the U.C. system and

wants to be a veterinarian. Mark (16) is a freshman at MVHS and while high

in Pennsylvania. We couldn’t be happier with our two new additions!”

functioning autistic, has an encyclopedic mind, but inherited Dad’s study habits.

Mike may retire from NWA in the Fall after flying the 727, 757 and 747. April entered the realty biz (www.socdreamhomes.com) about three years ago, working hard from the O.C. house and is doing well, becoming a partner is three years. Mike Hay reports that Bob Schineller and wife, Jan, are ready to leave American Airlines for a motor home life after leaving Carol Stream, west of ORD. Jan still works part time as a dental hygienist, is active in her church, but is looking forward to spending more time with Bob. Jocelyn is working in Colorado and Chris is in L.A. Mike also tells us that Eric Vogel is getting remar-

(bill.stanton@si-intl.com)

ried soon and works at Southwest with Horny Dennis (Goose) Geesaman and Kirk (Link) Lilly. ‘Link’ is a check airman and Goose’s Roost B & B keeps Kathy

humming.

From Bob Munson: This year’s NCLS took place Thurs-Sat, 21-23 Feb; the

theme was “Impassioned Citizenship: Can One Make a Difference?” (Story in next

Checkpoints.)

Bruce Bennett (brucebennettll@hotmail.com) is still at DIA but is being

“promoted” to Deputy Director for Operations of the Joint Military Intelligence Training Center (JMITC), where they have assumed responsibility for all civilian intelligence analysts at the COCOMs. They have doubled their “resident” student population and are charged with providing the same training as they do with National Capital Region analysts. They are heavily engaged with the Brits, Aussies, and Canadians in May where we will be sharing and developing some common curriculum.” Bruce Bennett also reports, “I am still doing volunteer work as an Angel Flight pilot. I have flown several missions moving patients around the East Coast using my “antique” 1962 Cessna 182. This has been a rewarding experience. One of my latest missions was to fly a 60+-yearold cancer patient from Norfolk, VA to Baltimore, MD. He had never flown before. I gave him a detailed briefing, showed him the airplane, and let him fly.

He did great and really enjoyed the trip despite some bad weather! We also use the plane to travel back and forth to Norfolk, VA to visit our three grandchildren.

Their dad, a Navy LT, just returned from Iraq and was awarded the Bronze Star for his efforts in countering IEDs. We took two of the grandkids with us on a long flight to Fort Worth and St. Louis this summer to visit their great grandwas an It but the are seasoned Cessna travelers adventure, parents. quite girls and did great.”

Stuart Stanton’s wedding: from left are Stuart, Donna, BJ, and Spencer Stanton.

Joe and Debbie Kahoe’s son-in-law (Kevin Carrigan) returned on Dec 29th from eight months on the ground in Iraq as an Air Liaison Officer with the 3rd ID, where he earned a Bronze Star. On the same day, our son (Jeremy Kahoe, Class of 2003), deployed to Qatar in his C-17 from Charleston.

Mitch Mitchell and John Garrard at a mini-reunion CS-31 Grim Reapers.

Joe Brezovic

1209 Bayou Oaks Drive

Friendswood, TX 77546 H: (281) 482-6860

0: (281) 244-8325/Fax: (281) 244-8020 E-mail:

jbrezovic@comcast.net joseph.brezovic-l@nasa.gov From Dennis Rensel, picture of our classmates at recent Scitor Holiday

Party at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC. From left are Sam and Joan Torrey, George and Jacquie Tota, Dennis and Kimberly Rensel, John and Joanne Pretz, and Paul and Jane Freund.

Monnie Gore lost his very beautiful and lovely wife, Jennifer, on Nov 15th, after a long and courageous battle with ovarian cancer for almost five years.

(Monnie, our deepest sympathies and our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.) Monnie has been the Deputy County Administrator for El Paso County, CO since Jan 2007.

Charles D. Stewart, CS 28, just opened another orthodontic practice in Weatherford, Texas on Santa Fe Drive. His middle son is getting married in April. His daughter got married last September, and oldest son’s wife is expecting in June which will be their first Grandchild.

John Wigington attended the October retirement ceremony for Lt Col Kim Nelson, the wife of our classmate, Sherm Nelson. John reports that the Nelsons live in Tullahoma TN, where Kim was assigned to Arnold Engineering and Development Center and Sherm commutes to work daily to Huntsville AL. BJ Stanton’s family grew by two in 2007. “Our older son, Spencer (Purdue 2000), and his wife, Kylah, blessed us with our first grandchild, Connor, in July. Then in December, our younger son, Stuart (USAFA2001), married Kristen

Hello classmates! Seems to me that 2007 was a TDY week. Lots crammed in, some fun, ate out once or twice, and where did the time go? The largest group gathering news this quarter from Dom Paparella. He writes that several ’74 alum retirees from 30th Sq made it out to Chicago for his retirement from the Navy on 30 August 07. The reunion was as they say “short but very sweet” with in alphabetical order, Col Kevin Burns (’75 from 30th), LtCol Greg Findlay (honorary 30th), CAPT Dave Freeth, USPHS, Lt Col Mike Fueyo, and Lt Col Mike and Kim Sebring all enjoying the visit. Also on board was an old ADCOM pal of Dorn’s from Buckley, Col Jose Lopez. Dave went to Public Health as a Nurse Practitioner after his AF time, and Dom to the Navy Medical Corps after his. Dom is continuing is non-retirement as an orthopedic surgery consultant and associate Chief of Surgery at the local VA and opened his private office in January 2008 for the rest of the week’s work schedule! [So, I ask, where is retirement:?]

JOIN THE SABRE SOCIETY! YOUR MONEY HELPS FUND

CADET WING PROGRAMS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE GO UNFUNDED CALL THE AOG FOR INFO. Dom Retires with a few from CS-30.

93

Dorn’s Guest of Honor was Dr. Sam Fraerman, orthopedic surgeon, one of Dom’s mentors who is a WWII Veteran of the battles of North Africa, Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, Monte Casino and Naples.

The next picture was taken in Delhi, India where Wayne Higgins met Bobby Russell while on a layover. Wayne flies as a B-747 Freighter Captain for Singapore Airlines Cargo. Basil Rathbun and Mark Halsor (also early retired Delta 74 grads) are there as well. Bobby is Assistant Chief Pilot for Spicejet (an Indian low cost passenger airline) and spends the majority of his time in Delhi.

“Our second careers have taken us to some places we never imagined. If you’re ever in Singapore look us up. We’ll be glad to give you the nickel tour.’’

time for renovating kitchens. They did that, too. One son resigned active duty AF to be unpaid 2Lt in AF Reserves at Westminster Theological Seminary, and

they are happy and support him. Another son, Jon, graduated from USAFA, and requested to be a Special Tactics Officer. He surrendered his pilot career to go thru the extremely rigorous evals at Hurlburt Field.. .and passed them all! As for the grandchildren, one line is that although Jim and Helen do not usually go to zoos, a new dimension is added when visiting with the grandchildren.

Jim and Helen’s Family

Wayne, local, and Bobby in Delhi.

Classmate Lt.Gen. Norman R. Seip is the 12th Air Force Commander. He

recently was at Cannon AFB, NM, where he participated in transferring the 27th FW (inactivated) to become the 27th Special Operations Wing. Also still an active duty classmate for our country is Howie Chandler. On Nov. 30, Gen. Paul Hester relinquished command of Pacific Air Forces to Gen. Howie Chandler.

It was a great year for pictures and cards from y’all. As you can see, we have

pictures n some notes to look at in the next few issues, since we are constrained to three per issue. Thank you, everyone, for sharing your lives with us; permitting us to rejoice with you in the highs and give support in the sad parts...helping each of us remember that we are not alone, nor forgotten!! May you live long and prosper.

All I have on General Chandler at this time is that he has served in a number of operations, staff, and command positions, most recently as USAF’s deputy chief of staff for operations, plans, and requirements. Howie has flown F-15 and F-16 aircraft.

Joe and Jo Kelly wrote that the mid-2007 started their retirement years! Joe finished off 33+ years as the Joint Staff Surgeon. He has recovered from his heart attack and was able to go thru seven realtors in five states for their new home. So, now you can find them in Bethesda, if Joe is not working with a group planning the future of military medicine. Joe and Jo family are well on the way of growing with one couple applying for PhD programs (Tim&Kate)

while raising a year old. Their daughter is working with troubled teen girls in

another state as the house teacher.

JJ and Cynthia Romano are suffering through the empty nest syndrome, with many of the dinner conversations centered on what is Joey doing now! The home is still in San Antonio while JJ TDYs thought the Midwest between San Antonio, Omaha, and Shreveport. He is doing this for SAIC to better their support for the DoD. JJ still flies gliders and tries to keep their son’s PW5 in good condition. Cynthia runs the house and acts as the contractor for home upgrades! The kitchen is now complete.

Dale and Ginny Burchby had to evacuate their L..A. home during the October fires, but were blessed with no damage. Fires were a few miles away! They, too, have an empty house syndrome to contend with. Dale is still with Northrup Grumman striving to build and win proposals. Sailing on San Diego Bay is the outlet for stress and strengthening family ties. Dale is on the lookout for crew members, so give a call. One of their daughters has appeared in HBO’s Entourage, and even in a Ritz cracker commercial with George Hamilton. Their other daughter and son have traveled throughout the south Pacific and Japan, but on distinctly different plans, but both back in college (Amherst and New York University).

John and Cheryl Ephland stay active with the youth in Belton, MO. John still works at the airport and directs the high school youth group. He and Cheryl enjoyed a trip to Denver with their 27 AWANA youngsters were they earned 2nd place in the nation in the AWANA games, after taking 1st place in the Bible Quiz & AWANA games in the regionals. Their own two youngsters are still in the neighborhood so the parenting is still experienced at close range.

The greatest travelers that I have record of here is the Bowman’s. Rich and Peggy have Ohio as their state of residence; however, their letters closely resemble a round-the-world story covered by CNN. There is Hawaii at the lava pits. There is golfing in the famous St Andrew’s in Scotland (10 days). Kansas City. South Carolina for the Retired Military Golf Tournament. Nebraska.

Colorado Springs. Lake Huron. Plymouth. And that is just this year. On happier note, Rich is still cancer free as of the Dec 07 checkup.

Jim and Helen Shamess are first-time writers! They have 33 years of stories to tell and only a smidgen was painted on three single-line, 10 point, 3/4 inch margin pages! Of course it was to their family as part of their Christmas letter!

It was fun to listen in on stuff from their heroics to grandchildren. Must be a 94

Paul Kent

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Issaquah, WA 98027-9717 Mobile: (425) 785-3586 E-mail: zooscribe@mac.com

Happy 2008 A good number Best-Alivers convened at Bill Murray’s Texas BBQ in prepa-

ration for USAFA’s first Bowl appearance since 2002, the Armed Forces Bowl

against Cal on New Years Eve. As you can see from the photo, most of our stalwart football team fan classmates were all wearing their brand-spanking-new blue AFA football jerseys with the big “75" emblazoned on the front and back, along with our class emblem on the front, manufactured by Ben Bosma’s firm, and facilitated by Mark Volcheff. The scribe purchased two and gave one to Mrs. Scribe as an anniversary gift to celebrate their marriage 19 years earlier to the day. Confused, Mrs. Scribe thought “75” was for the 75th floor of the tallest building in Seattle, where the reception was held. Of course, this is the same Mrs. Scribe that asked, two months after Mr. Scribe

promoted to Major (in the USAFR, as she didn’t know him in the actives), “What did you say you are An Admiral?” Anyway, our Falcons did well but couldn’t survive a rally by Cal after a three-TD lead. California was ranked No.

was

In front from left are Don Byers, JeffHackett, Bill Murray, Rich Chanick,

Terry Young, Larry Fariss, and Jon Noetzel. Back: Mike McClendon, Jim Carlson, and Rick Townsend. Not Pictured: Randy Caraway, Jack Huffman, and Billy Stephan.

2 in the nation in October before losing six of seven games. Others at the game in-

memories from those times worthwhile in building a class legacy, as well as fun

elude Buck Rogers and Jeff Chappell. Dave Commons, Dale Meyerrose, and Kent Traylor participated in the Athletic Fundraiser the night before the game.

The Ring. You may recall, as our Fall 2007 Checkpoints deadline loomed, a USAFA 1975 Class Ring was up for auction on eBay. We didn’t know who the ring belonged to at the time, and the seller was less than forthcoming with information. After the purchase, we discovered the inscription has two lines in cursive. First Line: Ed Kasl; Second Line: Omnia VincitAmor (Love Conquers All). Ed knew his ring was lost, and suspected it was his, but the seller would not acknowledge the request for information. We may or may not find out more about this later. Anyway, a little Class Ring Heritage review is in order: “With financial support from the Class of 1968, the AOG has established a class ring display on the second floor of Doolittle Hall. This display is designed to include one ring (actually worn by a graduate) from each class. The AOG maintains a display of class rings and is working to acquire additional class rings to create a heritage ingot containing one of each class ring, a portion of which will be included with each new class’s ring. After the AOG has collected two rings from each class (one for the display and one for the ingot), Jostens will melt one ring from each class into a single ingot. A piece of this heritage ingot will be added to the production of all future Academy rings. From then on, all rings will include a piece of every Academy class.” For those wondering, the Class of 1975 has one ring on display, donated by JT Wolter. It has a red stone and a cross.

Inner inscription reads “JT Wolter Dirty Thirty”. Did you know?: The standard for Air Force Academy rings is White Gold. Yellow Gold is not authorized. The Ring mystery and purchase created some dialogue among us. Mark Holmes: I too, lost my class ring, a 14 Kt white gold with a blue glass stone. I was at a party at a house in C-Springs, took a bath, left it in the soap dish and when I went back later after the party was over it was gone. I was just sick. My folks were kind enough to replace it years later with a stainless ring as a replacement. Johnny Sims: That makes me grateful I recovered mine from Iraq... and much more grateful that the class was thinking of replacing it for me for the 30th Reunion!

And lastly, there were offers from Rudy Roth and Bob Miglin to investigate creating a database of all our rings. Great Idea! David Beck closes: started me thinking about where I want my ring to go after death (which I hope is not in the near future). I’m not sure what I’ll decide, but this might make an interesting question to poll our classmates.

Classmates Paul Lotakis is the new Great Pacific Northwest POC replacing Mark Fry who moved to England. Mike McClendon has been reassigned to Langley AFB, VA. Stan Gorenc landed at Tucson and is working for Raytheon.

BG Duane Jones has left Ramstein AB, Germany for the Pentagon. From Chuck Willis: BTW Just have to brag. My son Michael, Class of ’98, was just promoted to Major, effective yesterday! He has also has two Bronze Stars from his previous assignment. Mark Volcheff has joined Mark Beesley as a member of the Durango Group. Mike and Jan Goyden became grandparents in January 2007 and their son Chris was married in July. Tom and Debbie Peterson’s son Chad was ordained into the Lutheran Church followed by other son Jess’s marriage a few weeks later.

for me (and others) to vicariously live/share your experiences. I will continue to exhort you to keep sending such electronic memorabilia to me and to Bill Estelle, our class archivist pre-graduation. Post-Graduation Stories. But we also had careers and lives beyond the zoo. And that’s where this next request comes in. Our class archivist, post-graduation, is Bruce Mitchell. He and I have talked

about ways to gather the highlights of our classmates’ lives after the zoo. I want to lend my efforts as your class president to this endeavor, and to ask each of you to think about some of the great memories and experiences you’ve had since 4 June 1975. There are potentially over 700 stories out there but we’d be -

very pleased to get half that! Let’s start small, and begin with select topics. For instance, how about stories you may have about times you’ve crossed paths

with other classmates.

Non-Grads. An anonymous letter to Jim Carlson from a non-grad: When did you start including those who did not graduate in your reunions? Is it not a little awkward? How do those who graduated feel about it? And Jim C answers: Non-grads have always attended reunions, historically in small numbers. And not just our class. I’ve made an effort to find as many non-grads to join us in all our class activities. Our last reunion broke Academy records for non-grad attendees (over two dozen). The reactions have been very positive. We try to

designate one night at all reunions as “Doolie Squadron” night so that there’s an anchor group for everybody.

1971-1975. From Bruno Bethaud: We were five exchange cadets that senior year: Stphane Abrial is one of our 5-star Generals. He is actually Chief of the French Air Force. Bruno Dauchet has been a Pilot for Air France for the past 15 years. Marc Bonnet is working for NMJ Services. Dominique Jamaux is

working in Thales Airborne Systems. Bruno Bethaud, me, working in SAGEM Defense & Security. Stan Schoener: Although I did not want or enjoy the ‘Senior Year Shuffle’, I am finding out there is a nice advantage to it any news going -

around, I get to hear from two sources, Paul Lotakis (CS-35) and Jim Carlson (CS-33). Thanks guys! As time is passing by, I really regret not making it to our 30th. I’m anxious for our 35th reunion to get here (and splitting time between my twofavorite squadrons!). From Bill Rohde: Really great “listening” to all the stories and trying to visualize who’s “talking”.. .Problem is, I see 20-year- old faces, knowing we probably don’t quite look the same.

.

Julius, circa early 1975!

Blast from the past, courtesy of Julius (Chappie) Hargrove: The Story of the

The Tom Peterson Family: son Chad, Emily, wife Debbie, Pete, Nita, and

“Big Bad Brother” national advertisement. Short (publishable) Version: “I was the usual suspect to take a photo, had nothing better to do, the project turned out to be a national minority recruiting campaign done by some fancy New Yawk ad agency, and little Tommy Cunningham made the scene come alive. I was not punished for missing class that day!” From the scribe: Want the longer (entertaining) version? Of course you do. Go to zoomienation shortly after this printed Checkpoints arrives. The scribe will post a greatly expanded update electronically. I’ll also post some extra photos, in color, including the full “Big Bad Brother” ad. Enjoy!

son Jess.

Dan Beatty

The Year 2007 in Review, by Jim Carlson: We’ve had a pretty good year as a

class. We didn’t lose anyone. We have the largest presence in ZoomieNation (336). We continue to wow the folks at the zoo who notice these things, (from Don Rightmyer ’73: How in the world have you guys managed to get so many classmates online and in this group?) Our hard-working Class Webmaster, Marty Stytz, created a class website without parallel and raised the bar for the other classes. We continue to produce the next generation of Academy graduates, and more children of notable achievements in life who make us proud to be their parents. Marty intends to put together a “Google Earth” application that will give you the opportunity to virtually “fly” over a map of the US to locate other classmates. Pre-Graduation Stories. As you know, I’ve been collecting stories, reminiscences, photos, and other trivia from you from our days as cadets at the zoo. And you’ve responded with great alacrity, making the collection of

12196 Stanley Canyon Road Colorado Springs, CO 80921

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Dan.Beatty@usafa.af.mil http://www.AFAcademy.com/76 Fellow ’76ers, I hope you all had a superb holiday and that 2008 has started well for all of

you. The Cadet Wing is in the “Dark Ages’ that we all remember oh so well. But, according to our cadet sponsorees, they know spring break will come at some point. Sounds as if they are hopeful!

95

Moving up/moving on. Willie Shelton pinned on his 3rd star with Kevin Chilton officiating. Congrats Willie! Dave Clary from Vice/CC ACC to Director, Air Component Coordination Element, Multi-National Force-Iraq. Dave says he’ll be moving in early Feb. Stay safe Dave! Roy Worden will replace Dave as Vice/CC, ACC. Congrats classmates!

General Class Stuff: As I mentioned in last article, Jack Catton retired. Joe Wysocki sent this photo showing the ’76er’s attending:

Randy Schavrien, son Scott, and Randy’s dad, MSgt USAP (ret). and invitation for y’all to come visit when you can. Pete Mapes hollered from Maryland and says he and Nona are doing well. Sent me a link to an interesting site on DoD rotary wing mishaps. Thanks Pete. Bob Mansfield wrote to tell me he didn’t have an input this time. He is still here in C-Springs working as a defense contractor. In a subsequent note he tells me “only one more semester until” he gets a big pay raise when he finishes paying for daughter’s college. Also said he got a visit from Scott McComb last fall. Harrison Freer tells me it was

In the top row from left are Terry New, Larry New, Dave

Berg, Terry Wil-

Hams, Tom Bowie, Bob Hinger, Denny Rea, Mike Worden, and Bob Grosvenor.

Bottom:JoeWysocki, PeteKluck, WadeMcRoberts, Jack Catton, Jimmy Carter, Bill Rogge, Joe Shirey, and Mike Byron at Jack Catton’s retirement.

Wade McRoberts helped with the names in the photo. Thanks McBob!

Turnipseed

sent several combined

Gary

pages in several emails. Space won’t allow me to put it all in here, but the high points are he’s living near my home stomping grounds of Dayton, OH, flying for United, wife, Cathy, works at Wright-Pat and has a co-worker who went to school with our classmate Jim Reames, Gary was able to take his Dad to the Armed Forces Bowl and enroute ended up jumpseating on an American flight flown

by Mike McGinnis with A1 Granger riding in the cabin; family had a great year with trip to Dutch West Indies, moving daughter Angela to Dallas, canoeing on St Joseph river, attending Airshow of Milleniium in Columbus. Thanks for all the input Gary! Bob Oleksy also sent a couple of notes. He and Nancy are here in C-Springs; he’s been working for Boeing for 12 years on the National Missile Defense program, son Ryan is a Marine and has seen “his time in far away places”, daughter Tiffany lives in Idaho, Bob and Nancy have two grandkids w/another on the way. He sent a great photo of him, Nancy and grandkids.

-

quite gratifying to see Chili officiate at Willie’s promo. Says he

and Steve Heinz were a “small but loud audience when Chili recognized ’76 as the best USAFA class ever.” Harrison works for a small company in DC. Joe Evans says his son (USAFA ’06) finished primary at Vance and is now at Ft Rucker learning real aviation in helicopters. Smart kid you have there Joe! He also says oldest daughter Laura has made him and Anita

grandparents for the first time. Laura and Mario (USAFA ’97) are at Oxford for Mario to get PhD courtesy of USAF. Finally, Kurt Klingenberger sent a small novel. He is a security and

defense consultant in DC area and does a lot of work for Brad Moffett. Karen is finishing a tour as had of Bolling Flight Surgeon shop and son Justin is a high school frosh. Kurt also tells me in Feb 2007 he was here for a meeting at NORTHCOM and had a heart attack. He got great support from Bill Brundage, Jeff Larsen, and Brad Moffett, both here and in DC area, during the ensuing days it took to surgically clear the arterial blockage. To quote Kurt “I am not sure how to end this story other than to think back to the summer of 1972 when we heard over and over again: “Take care of your classmate!” I can tell you that some 35 years later, three guys Bill, Jeff, and Brad (and their great wives) were still taking care of this classmate at a pretty tough time. Thanks again to you all. Spirit of’76.” What a great testimonial! Thanks Kurt!

A quick personal note Martha and I will become grandparents for the first time in June. Daughter Melissa (ROTC ’03) and hubby Rob (USAFA ’04), both -

-

-

-

active duty USAF, are in England now, so a trip to

England is most likely on my

docket this summer.

Well classmates, again time to stick a fork in it. Send me your notes, inputs, address updates, suggestion, junk mail, etc and I will do my best to keep all of you in the loop. As always, if you are headed to the Springs, let me and the other locals know. Keep flying your flags and let our deployed troops know you have them in your thoughts and prayers.

The Spirit of 76 is STILL alive and well! Until next time....Beatty.

John J “Lou” Michels, Jr.

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Bob, Nancy and grandkids on way to “Pumpkin Patch”.

Jeff and Cyndy Larsen spent some time in Omaha with Kevin and Cathy Chilton while attending son’s swim meet. Jeff says Chili carries 8 stars quite and Paula also visited Jim Chili’s while in Omaha to see comfortably.

Hogue first grandson Lucas. It’s beginning to sound like Chili and Cathy are getting a lot of ’76er visits. Denny Damiens wrote from the DC area.

Says daughter Danielle graduates from Virgina Tech this spring. She was there the

during

shootings last year but is doing well and is has been accepted to Univ of Maryland for a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. Denny and Nancy are still fostering abused and homeless bull terriers and have six in the house at the moment.

Randy Schavrien sent a photo of three generations taken at son Scott’s graduation from OTS. Scott is now at Columbus for UPT. Congrats to the family Randy and good luck to Scott! Ben Thomson sent me an announcement of grand daughter Cadence Mae Carlson’s arrival on 15 Jan. Ben says he and Norma have done their first, but not last TIM (tiny infant monitoring) session. Congrats Ben. Doug Fry sent a nice note about their new house in south central Colorado at the base of Silver Mountain and extends 96

I hope this finds everyone staying warm out there.

Yesterday I thought I was

back in Colorado the temperature fell 50 degrees in less than 12 hours as a snow/cold front moved through the area.

Unfortunately, the only mountains and valleys around here are formed by the skyscrapers. Any-

way, I hope everybody’s holidays went well.

The Less-Than-Over-stuffed Mailbag: I suspect

everyone

just plain tuckered out from the reunion festivities, which is why my Christmas mail was pretty light. Unless you want me to start making things up again (and doctoring photographs now that I know how to use Photoshop), start writing, soon. You have been warned. was

John Mol (Debbie) had a Christmas reunion with Rick Newton (Cathy) in Germany. John and Deb teach in the DODDS there, and Rick, who works for AF Special Ops at Hurlburt, was visiting Ramstein to set up an exercise at USAFE. John notes that they did not spend any time talking shop, “because I can still barely spell USAFE,” but they did discuss places to settle down. Rick and Cathy are

apparently headed to North

Carolina, while John and Deb are looking for a small town in Colorado not infected by the strip-mall Borg. Good luck with that. Playing off one of my notes from my previous column, John got some curriculum help for his 8th grade science course from amateur astronomer Greg Bradburn (Teri). The Zoomie Network comes through again. Just to remind you all of Christmas, here are John and Rick in Germany:

CS-25 Fireside Chat. The front row: Ken Knapp, Mario Garza (Janice), and Dave Zelenok. Back row: GeojfWhisler, Randy Burks (Karen), Mark Sasscer (Marian) and Rob Gaston (Barbara).

I must say, based on the other photos that Ken

European Christmas Vacation John and Rick.

-

Mike Oelrich (Gail) sent me a short note (a first, at least for me as the scribe) detailing his reunion positives and set-backs. On the positive side, Mike re-

ported a thoroughly enjoyable experience meeting up with Wally Zane (Renee), Don Dobias (Hope) and Bruce Johnson (Carla), all from Thirsty 1st. I rememher Mike as being particularly tactful, which he bears out with his comment, “It’s amazing that four guys as sad looking as we are ended up with such lovely

wives.” Nice touch, Mike. He then goes on to note that three hours after he and Gail drove away from home in Helena, Montana, on the way to the reunion, Gail realized she’d left her luggage with her party dress in it back at the ranch.

Rather than add another six hours to the trip, they pressed on, but as Gail was driving by Loveland, she made a quick exit as they passed an outlet mall. “An hour later and several hundred dollars poorer,” they had their dinner clothes, according to Mike. This is what happens when you let them drive, Mike.

Mouse Neumeister (Lorrie) provided me with an update on his life since he retired as the scribe a while back. Notwithstanding the fact that I promoted Mouse to Brigadier General in the fall of 2002, (well, at least my intentions were good) Mouse retired as a Colonel after 30-plus years, on 1 July 2007. His official ceremony occurred a couple of months earlier at the National Security his final None other than our classmate, Ray Johns Space Office, assignment. no, make that Lieutenant General Johns (Diana) presided and Mouse even

-

-

provided a picture:

provided, that this group had a really good time at the reunion. More to follow, but I’m glad there was a doctor in attendance. Thanks for the shots, Knapper, hope to see you the next time I’m in Albuquerque.

Freeze Out: That’s it from Arctic Central. Hope everybody is staying warm and is sitting near a keyboard. That’s a hint to send me some information. Be seeing you.

Bob Kay

40411 Tesoro Lane

^ 42

%!

.Members j

Palmdale, CA 93551

Home:(661) 274-2201 Work: (661) 824-6426 Email: Robert.kay@baesystems.com

Greetings ’78ers...

Am on the road yet again trying to get this turned in before the deadline. Not as

much info as in the past quarters but enough to make it interesting—I hope!

First off, ran out of room last article so couldn’t run this very cool pic of two squids. The young one is my Plebe son Philip standing with fellow Bulldawger Mad Al Myers. They were able to link up last fall during a Navy game at Canoe U. Mad Al is a two star navy admiral and works as director of the Air Warfare Division of the Navy staff. Prior to that, he was the commander of Carrier Task Force 8 on the east coast. Al was also the only USAFA grad to command an aircraft carrier back in 2001 (USS Kitty Hawk) and did a stint as the Senior Mil Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy. Not bad for a Zoomie! I truly appreciated Al taking time out to meet with my son during the game. Hopefully they’ll be able to link up again.

Ray, Helen (Mouse’s mother), Lorrie, and Col. Mouse, Ret. Mouse reports

great time at the reunion with the Mungus of 31st CS. He’s now working with DHS directing the investment management and acquisia

tions for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. There’s a politically incorrect joke in there somewhere that I will steer away from now.

Mouse, and

Congrats,

don’t lose track of me or I’ll promote you again.

More Scribe Shortcomings. I missed a lot by not being at the reunion, but I

apology to John Christ (Louise), Ron Ladnier (Pam), Scoop Branham (Diane), Mark Meakins (Gail), Bob Vendley (Nancy) and a bunch of others for not making it to the rejoin planned for the Bee during the festivities. If, in fact, such a rejoin took place, my apologies (and where are the pictures?). If not, shame on you guys for guilt tripping me. Ron and Pam, who are just down the road from Chicago at Scott, are supposed to be up here sometime soon. I’d wait until the wind chill gets above -15 degrees, if I were you guys.

Ken Knapp who graciously invited me to swing by when I was in Albuquerque last year, fired me a quick message with some photos of the gang from CS25. The group gathered at Dave Zelenok’s (Kathleen) house in the Springs owe an

Mad Al and Philip Also heard from Sig Nelson (American Airlines) who participated in a civic tour of Edwards air patch right up the road. (as Unfortunately, I was

traveling

usual) so we weren’t able to connect but he said it was an excellent tour. Sig enclosed some pictures of classmates in the airline biz that he has run into.

Visit the AOG Web Site.

,

-

Dave works for Merrick

-

and the result was this shot:

Merchandise, Gone But Not Forgotten and More!

www.usafa.org 97

Pictured is (yet another) Bulldawger Lyman Lee who is a captain for United.

Lyman is on the left and Sig is on the right.

Lyman and Sig Next is Terry Kelley who is a captain for Delta although I’m not sure where he flies out of. Great work Sig.. .thanks!

an effort to

join us this May for the event; as yet, no specific date has been es-

tablished. In the past, Jon Box (Jon.Box.ctr@

pentagon.af.mil) and Mike Roller have been the point of contact for this (rollsroller@hotmail.com) outing, usually held in northern Virginia (DC area). There has even been talk about just a USAFA in the fall. outing Stay tuned for more later.

I just returned to the left seat after a four-year hiatus as first officer. While on training the MD-80, 1 met Mike Fountain and Jim Reagan. Mike is flying as captain on the MD-80 in LaGuardia, NYC and Jim is based in Chicago. All of us fly for American Airlines.

For the trek to Annappolis for the Navy game, I was joined by Brian Hampl (with wife, Becky, and son, Zach), Keith Abbott (with new bride, Sue, and her son, whose name I forgot) and Ed Zanowics (his wife, Terry, had a previous commitment). Brian lives in Vermont and works for the local school system as a financial manager. Keith works for HP and lives in Monument, CO. Ed lives in Maryland and flies as captain for Southwest out of Baltimore. I saw no other ’79ers in the crowd. If I missed you, I am truly sorry. Hope to see you all at the Army game next fall. I know the boys from Atlanta will be there!

Tidbits: From Judy Wills, Guy’s wife: “This year finds Guy working full time at RBCS as the one and only elementary school computer teacher. Classes range from kindergarten through sixth grade. An added job challenge is the loss of a computer lab, and gain of a rolling cart equipped with 25 APPLE laptops. Yup, you guessed it; he gets to push this monstrosity from classroom to classroom.

Guy says YOU have not lived until you’ve heard 22 1st graders screaming “MR. WILLS, My lap top doesn’t work!!” Guy’s other unofficial job is Boy Scouts: going camping and merit badge counselor. This summer will see the male Wills going to two different BSA camps AND a seven-day ocean adventure of fishing, sailing, and camping called Sea Base, in Key West, FL. Judy is also gainfully at in employed RBCS Therapy Services From Tom Fernandez: Three US Army officers in Baghdad, all assigned to the Iraq Assistance Group, all USAFA grads... Butch Diotte (’88), Tom Fernandez (79), and Dave Abramowitz (’82) Blue to Green -

baby!

Terry and Sig In other news, Dick Newton

pinned on his third star and is in charge of all AF manpower and personnel matters. The guy he replaced got his fourth star and now commands USAFE so who knows? Bill Chambers pinned on his second star and is still the SECAF Director of Communications. Saw him quoted extensively the other day in a article about the AF Chief calling together all the AF squadron commanders for a conference. Hawk Carlisle also pinned on his second star as AF Director of Legislative Liaison and finally, Glenn Spears also put on his third star and is Deputy Commander of Southern Command in Miami.

Kind of an interesting side note, if you look at the Senior Leadership page on the AF

web site, three guys on it are from our class (Dick, Bill and Hawk). Think that might be another record.

Well gents, about all I have this quarter so this will be a non-typical short installment. Please keep sending stuff in as you have in the past.. .if not, there’s no what I telling might do if I get desperate enough. Have a great Winter.

78 is Great!

This from Jim Runk: I just started my fifth year as a GS-13 (YA-02 in NSPS).

I’m still the chief of C-5 Aircrew Ops & Training at AMC (A3TA). Ran into Erv Lessel at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference (I/ITSEC) in Orlando last week. He’s slaving away as the AETC A5/8.

My wife, Kathy, the perpetual student, moved to Albuquerque to enter a veterinary technician program. She’ll be there for 18 months. Daughter Michelle is in Japan working for the Toyama city government. Hope all is well with you and yours. Cheers.

And that’s all folks. Remember the golf tournament and the Army game.

Hope to see you then. Don’t forget, the 30th is just around the corner. Start making plans. Send updates to JR at Fine!

jrdallasfl6@yahoo.com. Mighty

Mike “Trash” Ashley 17 Bridle Court

4r

Don Myers

Members

Charles Town, WV 25414

Peachtree City, GA 30269-4247

(304) 728-4888

E-mail: DMyers80@hotmail.com

Class Home Page:

Greetings from Wild and Wonderful West Virginia. I hope the new year is treating all well. We had a mix-up of emails and this was a short-notice suspense to get this article out. So please accept my apologies for the brevity of our class news. I will send other info to JR Dallas, who has the next article. I would like to send my welcome to our new class scribe, John Pardo. John has taken Brian Koechel’s place on the scribe Thanks

Hero amongst us. Steve Saleck

reports that Allene (Dowden) is doing “wonderfully” after donating one of her kidneys (that’s right!) to Steve’s youngest

sister. This came about after the

young gal’s only functioning kidney failing. A true gift of life. sp Where’s the Twelfth Man! Mike was at the last Opatowsky USAFA football game: “Kirk Yost traveled out from his postretirement gig in Washington DC for the MITRE (analyst to visit D corporation) Big and me for the Armed Forces Freedom Bowl. We had a good time catching up and witnessing the ball game. We really enjoyed the low-altitude fly-by given ire Society by a B-l and two F-22s one nearly attached to each wing Donors The attached are of Kirk and tip. photos myself...Kirk is to the right (the taller, better looking dude). The family picture, also taken at the stadium, is my brood and clan... daughter Hannah 15); son Mitchell r

Sabre

Society Tournament. This event was started by the Middies and Grunts Donors a few years back, they eventually included us. Our participation in this event has grown, year by year. Last year we had our best attendance, outnumbering the Middies for the first time. It’s a great one-day event; we all thoroughly enjoyed teaming up for a round of golf. I hope more of you will make 98

http://usafa80.tripod.com

ZN=ZoomieNation. usafa.org

was

merry-go-round.

together

Members

(770) 631-1429

79trash@gmail.com

Brian for all the work you’ve done and all the info you passed along to all of us to disseminate.

Last May a group of us got for the annual 79 Golf

46 %

401 Chambray Hill

-

(age

(age

11) and wife of nearly 20 years (Jane). I continue teaching future radiologists the ropes at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas...they have come to

titions. David and Sarah are ranked in the top 10 in the world. June is still involved with triathlons with her daughter at Texas A&M. She and Bob also met-up with the AF Cycling Team for the annual RAGBRAI (race across Iowa).

The family continues to be involved with both leadership and participation in AWANA at their church and highly recommend attendance at a

expect that all my lectures will have filler slides composed of aerospace current events and historical events.... wouldn’t

you know?!” Among other things, Mike’s a docent for the Frontiers of Flight aviation museum at Love Field.

Newsboys

concert: “They are so uplifting and

entertaining!”

The Dave (Cindy+many) Prahst family is growing again. They will be gaining a son-in-law, Chris. He must be a Georgia boy, as he made his way from there to New York to ask permission from the father (that’d be Pastor Dave, who actually holds the title of Reverend) for Emily’s hand. So, what I gleaned is: They have daughter and son (going to ExxonMobil) finishing colleges in Georgia and another applying to schools as he works part-time at a custom meat-cutting shop. Cindy closes: “I’ve stayed busy with church and keeping things going at home. It’s been fun helping a son think through job offers, a daughter plan a wedding, and a son decide where to go away to college. It’s kind of emotionally exhausting, though, too, with five others around who need my time, attention, and help with schoolwork! Still, I wouldn’t trade this life for anything!”

MO’s brood!

Gen’s Corner: BG Janet Anthea Therianos, Special Assistant to the Assistant Vice Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Pentagon, to Director, Intel-

ligence, Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, IL. BG John Posner from Deputy Director of Operations, Nat’l Military Command Center, Pentagon, to Director of Air Force Smart Ops 21, Pentagon.

Ricki (Smith) and Paul Selva continue to exhaust me, just from reading about their activities! I found out where Ricki gets her desire to build: Her father, who

passed away this year, built the family house with his own hands. “I like to think that my work with Habitat for Humanity these last five years reinforced our special bond. We loved to talk about everything from traveling in Asia to the proper consistency for mortar.” And about Paul: “He and his team help set the course for the Air Force for the next 15 years or so. He is also involved in leading the effort to prepare for the next Quadrennial Defense Review, a comprehensive review of the Defense Department’s mission, conducted every four years. If that isn’t enough, he leads the Air Force’s process improvement effort. Like every

other commuter in DC, he leaves home at about 5 a.m. and returns at around 7 p.m.” Still related to this, the AF Assoc, notes, “Officials at the 45th Space Wing at Patrick AFB were to meet with the Air Force’s smart operations boss, Maj. Gen. Paul Selva, to discuss the wing’s reorganization efforts toward down the

paring approval process for Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Florida Today reports that Brig. Gen. Susan Helms, 45th SW commander, believes the wing may be able to reduce that process to one year, making the Cape more competitive.”

S’more: The AOG Board of Directors announced the appointment of Allison (Hilsman) Hickey to the Board. Congrats! current three-year commercial launch

Pastor Prahst’s crew.

“Your Gift Fund Team is now actively working with the AOG and USAFA’s

leadership to install two memorials. As you know from these updates, ’59 memorialized their Air Training Officers in Doolittle Hall (the AOG building next to the O’ Club) and at Arnies. We’ll do the same for our ATOs essentially with about $25,000. Stay tuned for unveiling details and check the class group on Zoomie

As you know, I have a space limit here. Find out who else I heard from at the ZN web site

With Texas.’ I always liked that saying. Now I must add, ‘Don’t Mess with the Lindner Kids.’ David, Sarah, Hannah, and even Mom are now black belts in Taekwondo. I love doing things with my kids, but this is really pushing it.”

They’ve traveled mostly in Texas (“but, man, this is a BIG state”) for compe

-

Rich Trentman

11102 Asbee St.

Falcon, CO 80831-8170 Home: (719) 494-8438 Work: (719) 234-0754 E-mail: trentman@usafa81.com Class Website: www.usafa81.com

themselves in the area.

June (Bob) (VanHorn) Lindner, from Cibolo, TX, recounts, ‘“Don’t Mess

as well as

any just-after-the-deadline stuff. Finally, if you’d be interested in performing as Guest Scribe (several classes share this fun), then don’t ever hesitate. It might bring a fresh circle of classmates to the printed a fresh the news coming. God bless, Don. page; certainly, perspective. Keep

shifting gears with the Navigators ministry at that location. He’s now part of their challenging International Student Ministries, where a major emphasis of his work is with foreign university students, as well as with those from other countries finding

skills on the cows and dabbling in genetic engineering and embryo transfers.

Peggy is a captain on the Citation Encore for Netjets. She deferred her recall to American Airlines this summer. She fills her free time with volunteer work for several organizations, teaching a distance-learning masters class for Air University, chasing after critters, and taking care of Bob.”

https://zoomienation.usafa.org.

On our much larger ethics work, we’re actively engaged with the AOG to endow the Professional Ethics in Education Representative program. We’re funding PEER work piecemeal for now as grads work through the larger governance and fundraising issues in our association. Finally, Doc Warr, Nancy (Mariano) Kudla and Tony Wolusky have reluctantly left the team to take care of life’s demands.

Don Myers and Bob Cooper have stepped up to join this work so far. There’s still room for a couple more classmates in this final stretch, so please contact me if you can help: Herlik@aol.com [Ed Herlik].”

Tom (Ann) Williams still makes his home in Auburn and is

Peggy (Bob) (Dennis) Carnahan sent a colorful missive from their farm/ ranch, complete with tales of ice storms, feeding a rejected calf, family outings, etc. “In [Bob’s] ‘spare’ time, he’s sharpening his artificial insemination

Nation for more information:

The football Falcons had a tremendous year

finishing 9-4, undefeated at

home, and lost a heartbreaker in Ft Worth! I flew down to cheer for our team and the crowd was heavily AF. It was awesome to see such a large AF fan turnout. Heck, we’re almost through with basketball by the time you’re reading this article. It has been

growing year for the young basketball Falcons with flashes of greatness mixed with periods of frustration.

They are improving! Hockey won a big one over DU this season, but lost their key player to injury against CC the next night.

This quarter, I’m featuring the Rebels of CS-11.1 desperately tried to get inputs from “my” squadron-mates with limited success. Scott Land, the “Colorado Springs Air Academy High kid” is in Omaha after retiring out of STRATCOM. Scott’s son Josh is a senior in HS and looking into colleges. He wants to direct films, so we’ll keep a

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99

eye out for him in the future. Scott’s daughter Laura is at Iowa Western studying nursing. Scott said he and Tanya plan to eventually return to their 131 acres in Missouri. Alex Baggett and his wife, Sonia, have lived in the Philippines for the past three years. Alex is still flying as a A300/310 Captain for FedEx. He and Sonia have seen and done about all there is to do in the south Pacific region to include touring the Great Wall, Shanghai, Bangkok, Hong Kong and they are touring Vietnam and Cambodia this Spring. Alex and Sonia are in an

Brazil as I write this article. Sonia is Brazilian, so Alex has picked up Portuguese as you may already know if you saw him at our 25th. Alex had some other, slightly sarcastic remarks (I know you’re shocked) to pass to specific Rebeleveners, but I am exercising my editorial rights to hold them back. Alex and Sonia are still deciding where to settle when they move back to the states.

Alex did say that fellow Rebelevener, Jeff Braley, also flies for FedEx.

Jerry Green sent me a nice email and picture. Jerry and Becky are doing well in Phoenix, AZ. Their oldest son, Jeremy, is 23, married, and works in Flagstaff while their other son, Nathan, is a sophomore at Southwestern College studying music. Jerry flies for Southwestern airlines. Tony Lorusso is in his eighth year of working for the state of Minnesota as Director of the Minnesota Trade Office. Tony supports the Governor and recently completed a round the world trip with Governor Pawlenty. Tony begrudgingly continues to endure the bonechilling Minnesota Winters. Hey Tony, what about Global warming? From Europe, I received an update from Greg Tovrea. Greg works as a contract F-16 flight simulator instructor at Spangdahlem AB, Germany while his wife, Jennifer, travels across Northern Europe for Hallmark International. Their daughter Alexa is in third grade and busy with Girl Scouts, dance, and cheerleading.

I also received a note from Dave Huff. Dave and Paulette are close to being empty nesters. Their oldest son, Joshua, is a sophomore at Oklahoma University and preparing to attend his junior year at a university in China to sharpen his Chinese language skills. Their youngest son, Matthew, is a senior in HS and plans to attend University of North Texas in the Fall.

Finally, the Trentman family had a great Christmas with my two oldest sons, Patrick and Sean, earning their Eagle Scout ranks together. They are 366 days apart in age and have always done everything together. I know, a shameless, personal plug, but, hey, it is one of the perks of being the scribe! I’m working

Program Manager at a small software development firm, go to all AF sporting events, and I’m heavily involved in scouting. I did leave a message with Maryon Baumgartner (Whitener) twice, but didn’t get to talk with Maryon. I’ll follow up! 7 out of 25 (counting me) from CS-11 responded...hmmm, my squadron needs a “togetherness” pill. as a

Rich and Debbie Trentman with Patrick, Brian, and Sean

munity theater and the San Antonio Theater Coalition. I see the usual suspects at AF basketball games Frank Cheeseman, Marty France, Steve Hirst, and -

Tim Harris. Steve and Susan Hirst sit courtside at the games a few rows below me and very close to Marty. Speaking of my friend, Marty, I’m going to a Super Bowl party at his house. I’ll see my friend Lauri Cross there, too, I’m sure.

Bryan Funke wrote that John Eunice received the prestigious Newman Award

from the Society of Military Engineers. Congrats, John! I emailed John Marlin at Exxonmobil to see how life is in the high profit oil industry. I teased John about limo drives to work and catered lunches, but John did not bat an eye in saying he much preferred the helicopter service to get back and forth from work. John’s been very busy stuffing cash back into the company cabinets. He hasn’t lost his sense of humor! Kurt Neubauer is the 11th Wing Commander at Bolling AFB and said he has done more ceremonies and protocol in the last eighteen months than his previous 24 years. Kurt and Sandy are doing well.

Steve Thalmann is finishing his first return to active duty tour at L.A. AFB this Summer and then heads to AFRL Mesa, AZ site for what could be his last assignment. Steve promised me an L.A.-area ’81 picture soon.

Senate news: Your Senate has drafted a letter to the AOG Board with our recommendation to continue support of the AOG’s vision, mission, and core purpose in its’ by-laws of support to the Academy, Heritage, and membership. We also recommended selection of a strong AOG CEO as soon as possible to layout a plan and lead the AOG staff to meet these challenges, strengthen ties with -

USAFA, and support the Board’s direction. Any interest? The Senate has chosen to be proactive in drafting this letter versus waiting for direction from the Board.

You guys are the best! Thanks for all the kind emails over the Holidays. This

has been an easy job for the past six years. Also, our class project, the locator building, at the cemetery was a huge success. Read the article in this magazine.

Thanks for your generosity throughout our 25th Reunion capital campaign.

My 25th article in the books. ’81!

Jim Ratti

2860 Arbor Pointe Drive

46% Members

Middletown, OH 45042

(937) 760-2333 rattijm@mindspring.com http://usafa82.org

Becky and Jerry Green and family Greetings Redtags!

Christmas and the “holidaze” are behind us, and here in Ohio we look forward to the lengthening of days and the coming spring. It hasn’t really been a bad winter, but I still prefer the warmer weather!

Class news has been a little slow lately, so this column may be a bit on the short side. But here goes! Mike Sinisi is as busy as ever keeping up his mailing list and organizing gatherings for the folks in and around D.C. He held another small get-together in January. If you’d like to be added to his mailing list, send him a note at Mike_Sinisi@sra.com. Note the underscore between his first and last name.

Earlier Mike had publicized an offer by Chris Haave to host private tours of the West Wing of the White House. Several classmates have taken Chris up on the offer, including Mike himself. Here’s a picture of Chris (on the left) and Mike in the White House press room.

Dave and Paulette Huff and family

General Class News: I received a Christmas card from Dan Meisner in Florida.

Dan, I love the kindness and will never complain, but how about a sentence or two on what’s happening! Linda McCullers sent me Christmas wishes in an email and is keeping very busy as membership chairperson for a small com100

Visit the AOG Web Site.

Merchandise, Gone But Not Forgotten and More!

www.usafa.org

ingissues that face our AOG. So as issues come up, I’ll send out e-mails to those I have valid addresses for asking for your input. I’ll also post them on the class website. I’ll give a short synopsis of the issue and what I need from you, and generally include an attachment or two for review and comment. If you feel strongly enough about the topic, I’d welcome hearing from you. If there’s something you’d like to bring up on your own, call or e-mail any time.

Frankly I’m concerned about the state of disarray that the Association is currentiy in, and good leadership and vision on the part of the CEO, Board President, and Board of Directors will be critical to restoring the health, credibility and influence of the organization. But even good leaders need advice and input, and the Senate can certainly help with that. Thanks in advance for assisting me in that endeavor.

That’s all for this time. Until next quarter, be safe. Ratman

“Budding White House Correspondents” Mike said the tour was exceptional, and that he really enjoyed seeing such familiar icons as the rose garden and the oval office. But given his background as a comm guy, Mike said the gear in the press room was especially interesting.

I gleaned a few tidbits from various e-mails over the past several months. A1 Lowry and Jim Smith are both working at the Air War College at Maxwell. No word on their specific duties. Bob Otto took over as the commander of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale in January. Before assuming command, Bob was the (deep breath...) Deputy Director for Intelligence, Air, Space, and Information Operations for Flying Training at Air Education and Training Command Headquarters, Randolph AFB. Bryan Branby is still living out in western Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh. Up until about two years ago hed been flying for US Airways but is now a full-time Air Reserve Technician (ART) in Pittsburgh. Mike Roberts has taken command of the 178th Fighter Wing (Air National Guard) nearby here in Springfield OH. Mike had been previously been an advisor to the wing, but stepped up to the commander’s billet in January. is also here in for Booz Allen Hamilton.

He has Bryan Daly Dayton, working one daughter in college, another in high school, and a son in first grade. His wife, Susan, sings with a semi-pro musical group here, and both are active in their church’s choir. Finally, Mike Maher wrote from San Antonio where he’s an instructor for Flight Safety International. He retired from Randolph in March

Ray Blust 7 Highland Park Wheeling, WV 26003 (304) 242-7182 rjmablust@comcast.net

In keeping with a new tradition that Stu started and Wade picked up on, we

need to find a few lost souls. These are the truly lost ones who the AOG have no

addresses for at all. Lost are: Dave Buckenmyer, Sally Cirafici, William Couture, Doug Huntley, Greg McCullough, Craig

Propst, Chris Skinner, Luis Vaca-Pardo, and Roger Witt. I’d also like to piggy-back on our lost souls with our upcoming reunion. Our current committee members are Doug High-

Chairman, Sue Ross-Hotel, Carol Jones-Merchandise, A1 Arata and Steve Wichmann round out the committee. In

advance I’d like thank them for coming forward and offering to help-just a little arm twisting was involved. Our Dean,

Dana Bom will still have veto power over all decisions since

she is our ranking officer at the Academy. Now since the all-before-mentioned information had to do with our reunion it doesn’t count against our 1200words.

of2005 and teaches in the Cessna Citation XL/XLS simulator. His wife, Irene, is a guidance counselor at MacArthur High School in San Antonio.

Chip Dorman sent a note and this picture from the Liaison Officer Directors’ Conference in C-Springs. He met up with Sandy (Maloney) Keeter, and they had a good time catching up and learning about all the latest goings on at the

Academy.

Ken Frazier and Ron Gaulton

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Southwest Pilots.

Lots of great stuff and way too many photos to put in but we will continue to

insert the maximum number allowed by law-3. Got a great photo from Ron

'

Chip and Sandy at the LO Directors Conference.

That’s about all I have in the way of news this quarter, but I wanted to add a plug for something of long-term significance. As many ofyou are already aware, our Association of Graduates has gone through a prolonged period of turbulence and discord. Within the last fewyears we’ve seen a well-meaning but bloody and divisive campaign to change the bylaws and overall governance structure of the association. Originally based on substantive issues, many of the disagreements became personal and resulted in the formation of some separate private organizations and foundations. We’ve recently witnessed the election of anewPresident of the AOG Board of Directors, the resignation of our long-serving CEO, and the resignation of several key and dedicated AOG board members. Right now the board is actively recruiting a new CEO, and selection of the right person is critical to the ongoing success of the organization.

As the board is regrouping under fresh leadership and bylaws, they’ve formed a new advisory body, the Class Senate. The senate is comprised of one representative from each class, and its purpose is to advise the board and act as spokesmen for their respective classes. As class scribe, I was asked several months ago by the founders ofthe Class Senate to be the senator for our class.

I’m certainly happy to act in that capacity, but I need to hear from you regard-

Gaulton and Ken Frazier who got to fly a three-day trip together. They fly for Southwest, Ken since ’92 afterflyingF-16sandRonsince’05afterretiringwith 22 years flying the A-10. Mike Bartley wrote from Nellis where he is the 99th Wing/CC with Ken Keskel watching Mike’s back as his Vice Wing/ CC. Mike and wife, Robin, have two boys, 12 and 7, while Ken and Debi have two girls in college. Mike points out that both he and Ken graduated from CS-15 together and after 23 years are back together again running one of our AF’s largest and busiest installations. John(’84) and Gayle (Johnson) Denny write from Cincy where John is flying 767s for Airborne while Gayle just got her Master’s and teaches math part-time. Wes and Grace are in high school. Gayle please bring John to the reunion; he can be our waiter for the weekend!

Reunion chairman Doug and Kim High are hanging out in the Springs where Doug retired and simply put on civilian clothes one day to do the same job he did as an 0-5. Doug is working for AF TENCAP as a Project Manager and engineer. Make sure you’ve had a couple of beers at the reunion before Doug starts to explain what some of his projects are. They have two beautiful girls; Hillary is 16 and Anna is 9 and both enjoy fencing and music. Thanks again Doug! Pete and Gerry McCaffrey write from Las Vegas where they just celebrated their 20th anniversary, saw their oldest son Michael graduate HS and Basic Training. Congrats guys; see ya at the reunion. Of course one of my letters would not be complete if I failed to mention Jon and Brenda Duresky. Got Jon’s one-page Christmas letter in the smallest font possible, I think he got tired of me bustin’ his chops about the two-page letters. Jon, I’ll letyou tell the good news in your article No, Brenda’s not pregnant!! Wayne Schatz wrote with an update on some ’83 Brig Gen selectees and the Little Rock happenings. From -

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the AF’s Senior Leader Orientation Course are the selectees from our class.

They enjoyed 10 days of golf and a short course on how to harass Sq/ CCs. Pictured area Kim and Wayne Schatz, Brian Bishop, Gary and Tanya Harencak and Lisa and Norm Brozenick.

didn’t write anything, I just want to give him crap for not updating his addresses as he used our old address from 2000. No excuses smack and please don’t blame it on Ralinda. You owe me a brewsky at the reunion. I did have three other photos but am word and photo limited. Does anyone out there still have their cadet car besides me? My '83 Camaro gets me to the airport with only

227,000 miles. My mechanic won’t pass it anymore because the frame is rusted and the muffler is missing! I tried to whine about this being West Virginia and all but he wouldn’t budge. We (American Airlines) have four flights a day from the U.S. to Buenos Aires Argentina, two from Miami and one each from DFW and NY. On this particular day the Class of ’83 was represented on each one of the flights. I flew the NewYork flight while George Cespedes and Rodney Spahn flew the two Miami flights and Dave Yelken flew in from DFW. We took a great

photo but I had a few more that had been waiting longer. Hopefully Jon can get it in the next one. Well that about does it for now. Jon Duresky will be scribing the next article due to the AOG by April/May. Please send him info at dureskyjb@aol.com. Remember you can always send the info to any of us and we will forward it on. Also, please go to www.usafa.org to get the latest reunion info. Hope to see you all there. Fly safe!!

Mike Jensen

12035 Milam Road

General Selectees

Members.

Colorado Springs, CO 80908

Kim andWayne are at Little Rock where he commands the 314th AirliftWing.

Brian and wife Linda are at the Pentagon as the #2 in SAF/LL; that’s the second in command guys! Brian came from the Wing/CC job at Kunsan. Gary and

(800) G0-AFA-G0 michaeljensen@remax.net www.usafa84.com

currently at Langley where he is on the ACC Staff, they did their

Tonya Wing/CC tour at Dyess in the Bomb Wing and are heading to the wing at Whiteman. Norm and Lisa just left the 1st Special Ops. Wing at Hurlbert and are now at the Pentagon where he is #2 at HAF/A9, AF Studies and Analysis, Assessments, and Lessons Learned. Congrats guys, yuns make us proud. Wayne are

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also wrote about some other mates around the system. Bill Changose lives in Little Rock and works for Alltel now as the Vice President Bill, I believe you’ll owe a lot of people beers for dropped calls. Steve Wallender is in Dallas flying for a major airline; he retired a fewyears ago. Tim “Bounce” Strawther and -

Kevin Kriner are both at HQ AETC working as division Chiefs in A3. Kevin was

recently deployed to Baghdad where he was the Group / CC of the US side of the IntemationalAirport. Bounce was recently TDY to Kirkutwhere he was the CC of the USAF-Iraq training group. Bounce, I got your photo from the AOG but had three already; will send it off to Jon for the next article-sorry! Mark PohlmeieristheCEforAETC. Scott Goodwin was commanding the 374th Airlift Wing out of Yokota, Japan and is at the Air Expeditionary Center at McGuire. Ricard Smith retired a fewyears ago and is an instructor in the C130J schoolhouse at the “Rock”. Thanks for the info Wayne; see yall at the 25 th.

Dave and Tina Wright write from San Antonio where Dave flies for Southwest while Tina continues to shuttle their youngest, Caroline, whose in the 7th

grade. Courtney, their oldest, is a freshman at the University of North Texas.

Mike and Edith “Pad” Padilla write from Tennessee where Pad is 727 Captain with Fed Ex. So, if one of your Christmas packages didn’t make it in time blame it on Pad, he owes you a beer at the reunion. Their oldest son, Mikey, is starting flying lessons while Anthony is enjoying scouts and the second grade. Leslee (Forsberg) and Chris (’82) Washer write fromWhitefish, MT. They were well into the ski season when she wrote. Their doors are always open to visitors who want to enjoy the fly fishin’ or skiing call ahead though. Young Jacob is a HS sophomore while Becca is a sophomore at Montana State. See at the reunion. Like Gayle, please bring Chris, he can help John as a waiter!!!

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Thanks to those ofyou who updated your emails on our website. When you have time (yeah, right) sign up on www.zoomienation.com; it is FREE and open to all grads. Also our website will have a longer article with more info.

UPDATES: DougRomigis still at the same address in Bishop, GA With Delta Air Lines (working his tail off as are many of our \VKI TOf. pilots). Married to Jeanine, all three kids in college this year.

Brent “Mongo” Johnson is still active dutyAF and in Alaska after three years with Alaskan Command Expects to be there -

PliC ENC

until June 2009. He is married to the “state champion quilter”, Tami, now for 191/2 years. They have three children, Chaz, Sabre Society Kjersten, and Camden. Pretty good family from a guy named Donors “Mongo”! Dan“K10”Krzeczowskiis hanging out in Atlanta area and flying as MD-11 Captain for FDX out of MEM. Nick Psaltakis retired from USAF on 1 Sep 07. He and his family left Aviano in late Jun 07 and now miss bella Italia. They especially miss the incredible food and wine. Now working for ManTech Corporation in the Washington DC area.

Chris Cordes is at Tinker as the commander ofthe 552 Ops Grp (AWACS). He expects to PCS this coming summer, hopefully with wife, Sharlene, who is in the Army and stationed in Virginia. JonWikstrom finally checked in feeling guilty that he has a son at AFA now and thought it prudent. Sean Pavlich is Wylie’s (Jon’s son) official sponsor. Kyle Gardner met and married Irma Rosales from Phoenix. First son Nicolas (Nic) born in Dec 2002. Second son Sebastian (Seby) bom in June 2005. In the Reserves with the 26th Space Aggressor Squadron at Schriever AFB. Also an Airbus Captain with United based in LAX. Bob “the Here Driver” Chapman is still flying 737s at UAL and is the Vice-Wing CC at the 302nd at Peterson AFB. Made 0-6 in 8-07.

Walt Lauderdale became a Catholic Permanent Deacon in the Diocese of Los Angeles on June 16th, 2007. He retired from the USAF on July 20th 2007, after 23 years. Working for the USAF as a GS15 with the Atlas V rocket program.

Married to Sue for 161 12 years, their four kids are Steven-13, Patrick-11, Tori8, and Brendon -7. Walt was ordained a Roman Catholic deacon in June, 2007.

Ken Rozelsky thought for once in say 24 years that he would send an update.

HOORAY! Heck, he even included a picture from last spring when he and his

wife, Anna, were in Hawaii.

Darrell Wilson hangs up his spurs.

Our third and final photo comes from a couple of fellow Preppies. Darrell and Rebecca Wilson final hung up the AF Blues for the civilian world. Sandy

Hockaday officiated the ceremony before heading off to a rough assignment in Rome, Italy. Pictured are the Hockadays, daughter Carolyn, Sandy and Mary; and the Wilsons, sons Isaac and Logan, Darrell, Rebecca and daughter Meredith.

It took Darrell 27 years to get back to Texas only to be heading to California to run a friend’s janitorial company. Darrell does have the operational experience ofthree years of buffing floors. Congrats Darrell, Coach Ewig is proud of ya!

Got a great card/photo from Robert and Ralinda (’82) Gregor. He really 102

They had dinner with Col Mike Duvall his wife Lori Jo, Col Chris Bowman, and his wife Ann (Foley) Bowman. Both Mike and Chris are at PACOM. Mike is the J-7 and Chris is the Commander's Legislative Liaison. Ken works Foreign Military sales, helping other countries buy U S aircraft and weapons. Since Ken will probably not write again for another 24 years, he is letting us know this other info: Carl Farquhar is teaching at ICAft loving life and coaching the ICAF softball team. Jeff Connors is the Chief of Staff Chair at National War College. Merrick Krause retired and is working for Homeland Security. Chris Ross retired and is working in the Pentagon as a civil servant. Mike Torino retired and is working for SCITOR supporting Air Staff. Tarek Abboushi, Col, is working as the program manager on the V-22 at Pax River. Joe Arata, Group commander running a SPO at Wright Patterson. Sam Cox, running the USAF General's assignments office.

Ed Knouse, runs the security cooperation office in UAE. Thanks Ken! Mike Bums continues to fly767 Int for AA out of Dallas, TX. His wife, Debbie, is managing a health care plan for a retirement community. Their daughter Lauren is a freshman at U ofTexas studying engineering and son Drewis sophomore in high school a 6' 4" pitcher.

Arnie Bunch is currently the 412th TW/ CC at Edwards AFB, CA. He just received word that he will be going to Eglin AFB, FL to be the Center Vice-Cornmander. He and wife, Caroline, are currently geographically separated to get their youngest (Louis) graduated from high school in '09. Louis, Arnie III and she are in Tennessee near family (both sides). Arnie III is a sophomore at University of Tennessee. The attached picture is from Christmas. From left: Arnie, ,

Arnie III, Louis, and Caroline.

HanscomAFB roommates. David Gough and he went to a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field this past fall and got a chance to hang out. Warren is currently a Market

Manager for Sam's Club & has just moved to Virginia. Dave is doing great in Chicago on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Frank

“Q.” Williams 13209 Topsfield Court

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Members

Herndon, VA 20171

(703)657-3227 USAFA1985@aol.com

Hi everybody! Help me congratulate our newest 0-6 colonel, Craig Hall.

Craig sent a message with a couple of pictures, but due to space limitations I can only include one picture. The picture is from Craig’s promotion ceremony 29 Mar 07 at Maxwell AFB. BGen Jack Egginton, Craig’s Wing/CC from two previous assignments and his wife, Dianne, are pinning on his eagles.

Daryl “SKY” Smith recently took a new job at the College of Mount St. J oseph in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is directing a Master's Program in Leadership. He and his wife live in northern Kentucky, near the Cincinnati Airport, so you pilots call him when you have a layover in Cincinnati. His number is in the phone book!

Don't call his cell phone, because he doesn't own one! While jogging near his home, he ran into Jeff Finch So they jogged back to Daryl's house and had dinner on the back deck. Daryl was also in California on a consulting trip and .

had dinnerwith Juan Amaral his wife, Nena, and one ofhis two sons. Juanlives in Chino and is a computer consultant to the space guys in LA. Bruce and Christine Lennard checking in: Bruce retired in '03 as a JAG lieutenant colonel. He continues as an Assistant District Attorney in Albany County, New York. Christine is a New York Air National Guard JAG lieutenant colonel, have four kids and two dogs on 51 12 acres in rural Upstate New York.

Ken Thalmann retired and is now teaching JROTC at a high school in Albuquerque NM and loving it!

Scott Welker should have been promoted by now. (And I should have made the nine-hour drive to Holloman)... congrats!

Bill “Ike” Eichenberger is still working for Accenture (think Tiger Woods) with 175K people in 50 different countries, in our National Security Services shop. Living in West Chicago on the weekends, and flying to D.C. every week to work ing facilities with no windows and lots of cold air.

Chris "C-DIN" DiNenna is nearing the end ofhis two-year accompanied joint tour to sunny, Seoul, Republic of Korea. He, Kelley, Devon (age three by the time this article actually publishes) will be moving this summer to Hurlburt Field. They are very excited about being reunited with good friends as well as their household goods! He will be taking command of the 505th Training Group.

The Group is responsible for training all AF Airmen that man Air Operations Centers around the globe vital for providing coordinated air power. He ran into Steve Hoogasian during a TDY to the Pentagon. Steve and his family are doing very well there and basically expect to remain in the DC area for the next two years or so with the AF Reserve.

It is always nice to hear from “Moses” Malone and his wife, Roz; they are still Roz’s hometown of San Antonio. Moses is a traditional reservist working as a liaison officer to US Army North. He pinned on 06 back in 2004 when he was the Deputy Ops Group in the 433rd AW at Kelly. He is also still with American Airlines on the S-80 based in St Louis. They have been married nowfor 201/2 years. Their two daughters: Lauren, 19, a soph at Central Iowa Univ.; Morgan, 14, a high school freshman. They also have a dog.

Warren Clark sent in a photo of a "reunion" of two '84 Grads and former -

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From left are BGen JackEgginton, Craig and Dianne Hall.

Craig is still on active duty and will continue at HQ AFMC/A4 at Wright-Pat for a few more months. In early summer 2008, Craig and Dianne will PCS back to Tyndall AFB, FL (where he originally met and subsequently married Dianne about three years ago). Craig will take command of the 325 Maintenance Group at Tyndall. Craig said he has been blessed to achieve every career long goal when he got promoted to O6 last year and now he’s happy to be getting a group.

Craig passed along some scoop on other ’85 grads he' s come across. Craig said Neal McElhannon retired from Wright Pat last summer. Craig also said he’d seen Kenny Weldon over the years. Craig said he and Kenny got selected for promoSabre Society Donors tion to 0-6 thesame year buthecan'trememberwhere Kenny is now. Craig said he knows that Kenny is still very happily married to Carrie with beautiful twins and they are enjoying life. Craig said Joe V (Veneziano) went to AWC with him last year and Joe is also at Wright-Pat. Joe should be taking command of a group at WP soon. Craig said while he was at Maxwell last year, he ran into Mark Altobelli in the gym. Craig said Mark has been a pinned on Colonel for several years now and was on his way to take command of the Ops Group at Misawa AB. Scott Henderson sent an e-mail with a picture from Cape Canaveral where he said the class of ’85 has a large presence. The photo was taken in front ofthe nation’s largest rocket booster, the (Boeing) Delta IV Heavy Lift booster that flew the last Defense Support Program missile warning (satellite) to its 23,000mile orbit in Nov ’07. Pictured from left are Sarah (Sallee) Henderson, Col Scott Henderson, Col Dave “DT” Thompson, and Col Steve Butler. Steve Butler is the vice commander of the 45th Space Wing, DT Thompson is the Opera103

tions Group Commander, and Scott Henderson is the Launch

Group Commander. Sarah is working in the Aerospace industry but gets to the Cape quite often. Since this picture was taken, DT Thompson took command of awing for the National Reconnaissance Office. The consensus—living in Florida and rockets is good work if you can get it! launching

Udeid Biggest Loser contest.

Myseven-year-oldsonSam, (AStick!) weighs 44 lbs. So Gary may not be smarter than a 5th but he shed a 1 st

grader, just grader.

Congrats Gary! And best of luck keeping that weight off.

Fred Gaudlip wrote to announce his promotion to Colonel on 30 Nov 06 and then on the same day, his retirement-with just enough time in between cer-

emonies to go to MPF and get Colonel stickers for his cars. I think he used the same cake, though that is just a rumor. Fred is hanging up the blue suit and is done hazing space controllers; he is off to haze the folks at the deli counter at the Peterson

Commisary (thin, I said slice it thin!). No word on retirement plans other than to become a mountain man once the kids go to college.

I got a photo and a letter from Steve Sutherland.

Steve, Heidi, Brian and Gretchen live in Black Forest, CO and have the most

s Sabre Society Donors

beautiful stretch of land with a gorgeous house and even a

bam see photo. Steve has reaped the benefits of clean living as evidenced by all his blessings. Steve was recently to full Colonel in the Colorado Air -

promoted

From left are Sarah (Sallee) Henderson, Col Scott Henderson, ColDave "DT”

Thompson, and Col Steve Butler.

Jackie Charsagua and I corresponded as well. Jackie retired from active duty in 2006 and chose not to go after a job working for the federal government, which would have been an easy transition into a well-paying job for her. In-

National Guard in Dec 07 and Dave Swanson flew in for the ceremony. Steve had General Beilis pin him on, which was a deja vu moment from 28 May 86 when he did the same when Steve was sworn in as a 2nd Lt. Steve and family participated in a cattle drive this past summer and I am certain that it was a big step up from time we spent in Jack’s Valley- in the photo are, from left, Gretchen, Heidi, Steve, and Brian (horse and dog are not props he has to feed them -

Congrats Steve, well done.

apparently

too!)

stead, Jackie said she followed her heart to serve God and help the lost. Jackie

became Director ofthe Global Walk Foundation (nonprofit), founded by Danny Garcia. This was the beginning of a voyage which took Jackie and Jackie Jr. from New Orleans, Embassy Row in DC, to NewYork City, the United Nations, and Virginia Tech. These walks were spiritual and emotional prep for travel to Africa, where they visited the countries of South Africa, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Sudan. I couldn’t get Jackie’s favorite picture from Africa to cooperate. So I’m one that I could manage where Jackie is with a Sudanese including boy from the Dinka Tribe on 21 Sep 07.

Horse is out, door is already closed!

Summer (Scott) Bartczak wrote to fill us in on her

recently retirement and finishing her tour teaching at AFIT. I believe that is Dr. Bartczak as she was known in the teachers lounge. Her kids are doing great and are happy to be closer to Summer’s family as she has moved back to the street where she grew up. (See, I could never do that-those people remember me.)

So there are parents, aunts, uncles and cousins galore. That is likely a shock to her three kids who had spent a standard AF brat existence moving every two I but I think too am years, looking forward to that “transition.”

Summer’s kids are doing great by all accounts as they adjust to their new life and by and large, we will hear how she is running for mayor.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a letter from Dennis and Bridget (Burton) Malfer. They too sent a photo. Malf finished up command of the 21st Fighter Squadron in Sept and became a deputy OG at Luke and took Bridget on a welldeserved second honeymoon (likely actually the first) to Hawaii to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. Malf pinned on Colonel in December and they are waiting for word of assignment as we go to press. Bridget was working as a crisis counselor (that was a paid position separate from being a squadron commander’s wife, which I think was about the same thing). move back to Arkansas after

A Sudanese boy ofDinka tribe and Jackie

Charsagua.

There are many more neat pictures of Jackie in action, as well as many pictures without her, on the Global Walk web site. Check it out at http:// www.globalwalk.cc. After spending the last year on the road, as of January 2008 Jackie has settled down and accepted a position with the Kepler Company where she will support DISA. Kevin Wallace and I sent messages back and forth on ZoomieNation. Kevin works for The Boeing Company in the simulator business near WA.

Seattle,

I saw George

Weathersby when he came back from overseas. But George has since gone to Algiers, Algeria for five months.

That’s all for now. Keep those cards and letters.. .and e-mails.. .coming.

Best regards, Q.

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Bob Colella Home: (703) 455-3176

Members

Work: (703) 692-3521

Rkascolella@cox.net

Robert.colella@js.pentagon.mil Classmates: So my son says to me: Hey Dad, What’s brown and sticky?

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! “A Stick! Get it, a stick is brown and The article ”

gets better from here, I promise:

STICK-y.

First up, in his speedo, unless the AOG censors it from

being printed because with an announcement on his victory as the Burg “Biggest Loser” in A1 Udeid. Turns out that Gary “shed” 44 pounds in the A1

is so over the top is Gary

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TheMalfers

I heard from the Faulises

Joe and Angie are living in Peachtree City Ga, which means one of them is flying for Delta that would be Joe, and Angie, newly retired, is taking, as I perfected in July 82 on the O-Course, a blow.

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Update from the front—this one just under the wire for my deadline: Merrill “Jazz" Armstrong sends the following and a photo: I 've been deployed out here in Iraq since Jul 07 in the Coalition AF Transition Team (CAFTT) as the

370th Air Expeditionary Advisory Group (AEAG) Deputy Commander. I initiallywent to Kirkuk AB (in Northern Iraq) to set up the Iraqi AF Flight training School (UPT) that opened its doors in Oct 07. The US Advisory Sq (870thAEAS) is commanded by Lt Col John Cairney (’90) a fellow red tag... apleasantsurprise. The CAFTT A5 Plans team setting up the OPORD was led by our classmate Lt Col Kim "Felix" Hawthorne (’86) and that was awesome. Felix deployed out last Jan as the Deputy Director of the IqAF Training School that oversaw all Basic, Technical and Officer Training for the IqAF to include their AFA. He finished up his tour as the first commander of the 370th Expeditionary Training Squadron (ETS) all based atTaji AB just north of Baghdad. I attached a picture of Felix, John and meat Kirkuk.

issues and the inputs the Class Senate is making to the new AOG board. If you have opinions or are interested in getting caught up on AOG activities, let me know and I will update you separately. A quick update on some significant sport-

ing news, our Hockey team upset the number 4th rated team in country, University of Denver, and broke into the Top 20 for the first time since I have been alive.

So congratulations to the Hockey team for that outstanding accomplishment. Football season ended with a strong showing against California in the Armed Forces Bowl and the hasketball team, much to my chagrin seems to be regressing. We have lost our Princeton coaches and it appears as though our new coaches are comfortable getting away from the offensive system that brought us so much success in the past five years.

Nowfor class updates and photos.

Paul Wade sent in this reunion phomembers of the Dirty Dozen who attended the reunion. Standing from left areMike

Toliver (added to the photo with some very rudimentary photo editing!), Kevin Mueller, Paul Wade, Jon Wisham, John Willcockson, Jim Gray, Mark Arriola, Pete Hart, and Jeff Weathers. (Also added to the photo): kneeling are Glenn Strebe and Scott Hatfield. We failed to track down Lee Heironimus, the only other Dozen alumni in attendance.

Kim Hawthorne, John Cairner (’90) and Merrill at Kirkuk-how come only Kim gets a gun? “

I ran into several other folks deployed in the AOR from ’86. On the plane ride

over I met up with Dave

"Harry" Maharrey serving a six-month tour at Ali Base

as the

top CE dude. In the" Green Zone" at CAFTT HQ was Dr. (Col) Gordon "Feelya" Peters, MD (’85) who was the CAFTT SG (just redeployed (Dirka, Dirka) and Lt Col Greg "Z" Zehner (’88) who was the former Kirkuk Sr Advisor before John took over and activated the 870th and has also since redeployed back to the Pentagon. All three of us are former Falcon Football Managers now

working time outs in the war zone.

Pat was at Ali Base as an EASOG CC and Bill is the CENTAF Fwd A3 Director.

Both looked well and doing great things for the war effort.

“My wife, Jackie, and kids, Greg (16) and Rebekah (10) are doing great in D.C. We live on Bolling AFB and love the area (close to family and many friends). I will get a chance to go home for a two-week break to be with my family. When I return in April I'll only have three months left before I redeploy to, hopefully,

assignment. Jazz!”

As we went to press I received the following sad news. Dr. Paul Benson, CS 1 6,

husband of Kathleen Schaeflern (’86) died 29 Jan 2008. Paul and Kate were married in 1988. Paul served in Operation Desert Storm as a B-52 Electronic Warfare Officer before leaving active duty to attend medical school and entering family practice. Paul and Katy settled in Auburn, Maine. Paul leaves behind his wife Kate and their two sons, Colin Patrick and Liam Michael. Condolences maybe sent to his family in care ofhis wife Kathleen (Kate): 65 Vista Drive Auburn ME 04210-4569.

That’s about all for now if you actually read this far shoot me an email at rkascolella@cox.net and let me know if I am just talking to myself or if I have an audience and consider sending in an update to help out a classmate or I’m going to get Sam to do it and it will be brown and sticky... and join the AOG! Just a short three years until our 25th reunion!

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Ezra Vance

7320 Brixham Circle Castle Rock, CO 80108

are the

updates from the 14 out of 19 Tarantulas (who graduated with us) who came to the reunion: Craig Barton Captain for UPS, living in CA. Dan Birrenkott Still in at the Pentagon. Chuck Espinoza Published author, flying for United, consultant for several companies, embedded reporter, etc. Dan Hawkins Flying A- 10s in Germany. Phil Luts Flying for United out of So. Cal. Mark Lyons Flying for United out of Denver. Jim MacFarlane Stationed here (I think Homeland Security at Pete?). Tim Matson Lives in Colorado Springs, flies for Frontier. Nicole (Berry) Miller Flying for UPS out of Oregon. Chris Simpson Contractor at Hanscom. Joe Speckhart Not sure what he's doing. Patti Michalcik Stuart lives in Colorado Springs, working at New England Financial. Tom Tran- Stationed at Davis Monthan w/AC130s? Steve Willis lives in Colorado Springs, contractor at Schriever. Also in attendance was Guy Hocker who is a contractor in Ohio (I believe) and I also heard on the phone from Tim Mukoda who is back in the AF, and living in Maryland. He and his wife and two boys will be moving to Pete this Spring.

Thank you, Eric Woodson for sending in this comprehensive update on the -

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“I also ran into Col Pat Malachowski and Col Bill Thomas here in Baghdad.

a D.C.

Patti Michalick Stuart sent this brief update for a Tarantula update. “Here

Members

Home: (303) 6885431 Work: (303) 304-1287

ezravance@hotmail.com

Wings From Heaven, This edition will contain the leftover inputs from the reunion. I am hoping to hear from more of you in the next couple of months sol will have input for

next issue of Checkpoints. Also note that my email has changed. It is now

ezravance@hotmail.com. Lots going on in the AOG, the Board of Directors for the AOG and specifically as it pertains to fundraising and the AOG providing financial support to USAFA. In the next issue, I will try to summarize the

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CS-27 Thunderbirds. “For those of you that missed the reunion, I think it’s safe to say everyone had a GREAT time. It was fun to catch up with old friends, learn

what everyone has been up to the last 20 years and relive our four years at USAFA. We had 12 of24 (50%) T-birds attend, a very respectable showing considering around 400 of about 1000 ’87ers made it to the reunion.” John Anderson’s wife, Nicole, is pregnant and decided not to travel to the reunion.

John is stationed in Cologne with UPS. Bob Cavello is an associate athletic director in Manhattan, KS. Jeff Crow retired after 20 flying KC- 135s and E-3s.

I still live in Norman OK and commute to NYC at least until my kids are done with High School. I've been married 17 years and have two daughters and a son who are all in HS here in Norman. Now flying B-757s for EOS since June.

Sue Kessler is still on active duty where she is currently the chiefofthe regional affairs division at the AF Special Ops School. Henry Polczer wrote and had this to say: I’m still in the AD AF and after coming off of a Sq. CC tour in Curacao, NA. He is now a student at Industrial College of the Armed Forces, the joint sister school or NWC here at NDU/Ft McNair. Scott Savoie is still on AD, stationed in Greenville, SC as a commander for DCMA. He oversees Lockheed Martin as they fix planes. Vince Dingle just retired andlives near Atlanta, GA. Dave Ehrhard is still on AD.Dave is moving to the UK to realize a family dream to live overseas. Cindy (Staples) Hart is aT.A. for Spanish at Immanuel Christian School and the JV Soccer Coach. Ken Slater is still flying the C-5 with the reserves. Pat Vetter is currently a student in Air War College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama and graduates in May of’08. No telling where his next assignment will be. Brian Christensen is a Catholic Priest in South Dakota. Steve Dufaud and family have made a home in Colorado Springs where Steve runs the family business selling auto batteries. Alex Gilbert was able to get an early out and attend Harvard Business School (say it with me.. .HaaaaVAD) from ’92-94.

Alex and his wife, Katie, now live in D.C. where he deals in commercial real estate. Tony Houston lives in Baltimore and retired after 20 yrs AD. Pat Reyes is an FBI Special Agent in NYC taking down bad guys. Sean Sullivan has spent 105

most of his career flying C-17s and is currently in a SPO at

Wright-Pat in Dayton, OH. Joe Zahn recently finished AirWar College, pinned in Colonel and is currently the Chief of the Commanders Action Group for the newAMC Commander. And finally Eric Woodson posted his own update. Eric served six years at EglinAFB in NW Florida in the acquisition world. Got out in’93 and did the MBA route at Duke, where I also learned and played rugby (note that’s rugby, not lacrosse!). Worked for American Airlines in a number of marketing roles for almost eight years.

Post9/ll,gotlaidoffandworkedforanon-profit for about a year before taking a permanent position with Allegiant Air as Director of Sales and Marketing here in Vegas. Left this ob several weeks j ago to enj oy a sabbatical while I figure out next steps.

around, so I thought I'd send a fewphotos [most of which I’ve had to cut for space reasons]. The first if at a luncheon—I seem to do a LOT of these in my new job, including dinners, farewell celebrations, change of commands, promotions, retirements and events with many local government representatives and

city leadership.

The next photo is a first of its kind test of a Mutual Airlift Support Agreement (MASA) between Korea and USTRANSCOM (Transportation Command). The test brought a 747-400 to Altus AFB to deliver about 90 Fort Sill Army personnel to March AFB and then on to Korea for a month-long exercise. As you can see, the Koreans really know how to do air travel right! The test was an unqualified and it was great success, seeing a pristine aircraft like the 747 on our ramp.

From left are Alex Gilbert, Steve Dufaud, Scott Savoie, EricWoodson, Sean

Sullivan, Cindy (Staples) Hart, PatVetter, Scott Stark, Dave Erhard, and FatherBrian Christensen.

Joe at “work” (he's the guy in the middle).

Sue McWhirter Myhre sent this picture in from the reunion.

Members of Wolfpack, CS-05 from left are Don Shaffer, Susan McWhirter Myhre, Lee Bishop, Chuck Thibault, Darin Kato, and GregMooneyham.

Looking forward to hearing form more of you in the coming months. May God Bless you and keep you safe.

Mark Peters

2437 Bedford Circle

“My squadron also runs a drop zone where C-17 crews train to drop heavy loads out the back of the aircraft, using parachutes to safely land the cargo on the ground. It is fantastic to see what happens out there—I've also flown low level ingress routes to the DZ, dropped the pallets, and even sat on the open door/ floor with feet as we flew at about 150 knots and 300 cargo my dangling feet over the ground. Pretty cool!

“It hardly seems possible that so few months have passed since my change of command. In the first five months we' ve completed missions with the Army and their new High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), participated in a 56ship, nation-wide Mobility Force Exercise (MAFEX), changed 20% of the people in the squadron, completed the Korean MASA, conducted 30 emergency runway and taxiway repairs, and met with countless Senators, Congressmen, and their aides trying to secure $9M for a new Radar Approach Control (RAPCON) facility and digital replacements of our ancient 1960’s era equipment.

We also completed a month-long wing exercise (nine major mini exercises strung together, a first for this wing), and we've sent out the largest deployment contingent to support OIF and OEF (Iraq and Afghanistan) in the history of Altus AFB. This leaves us at dangerously low manning levels to keep our primary mission going: training the next generation of mobility warriors. Finally, there is all the administrative stuff that goes with a squadron of 177 personnel, both good and bad. I hope you have a better idea what I've been up to and what keeps me working and out of trouble! Joe can be reached atAMCpilot@aol.com ”

Bedford, TX 76021-1823 (817) 937-9696

,

or

(210) 378-9228 and (580) 649-1255 (work cell).

I also received a short email from Dave Gaines.

pylt@yahoo.com

“Justreadyour Checkpoints seeingyou at the USNA-USAFA game. I’m still teaching in USNA’s computer science department and living in Ulmstead (Go Ducks!), and will likely retire this summer.”

Dave can be reached via: LtCol Dave Gaines, USAF, PhD, Computer Science Department, 572M Holloway Road, Stop 9F, USNA, Annapolis, MD 21402; 410-293-6838; orgaines@usna.edu.

Also, Buster Stamper is looking for folks to assist with our 20-year reunion; you need not be local! Since many hands makefor easy work, please contact article and remembered I hadn't touched base with you since

Hello ’88!

Short and sweet this time as deadlines loom. We’ll begin with a well-aged email from Joe Tegtmeyer who is the OSS CC at Altus, OK. While addressed to civilian friends and family, with just a few minor modifications it’ll do quite well for your scribe. “Some ofyou wonder justwhat is itthat me

keeps

running

him via: George.Stamper@usafa.af.mil or DSN 333-9315 (719-333-9315) as

possible.

Lasfly, the AOG has established a Class Advisory Senate that is now up and running and providing input to the AOG Board of Directors. Our representative, Keith McKeon (KeithMcKeon@comcast.net), needs your thoughts and opinions on current issues facing the Academy and the AOG; right now they are preparing recommendations on the issue of an AOG Foundation, AOG restructuring, revision ofAOG By-Laws, the honor code, and the results of the soon as

member survey. Write your scribe!

JOIN THE SABRE SOCIETY! YOUR MONEY HELPS FUND CADET WING PROGRAMS THAT

WOULD OTHERWISE GO UNFUNDED. Joe Tegtmeyer spreading the AFmessage.

106

CALL THE AOG FOR INFO.

Paul W. Tibbets,

AMC Test and Evaluation she worked on the acquisition of the new tanker for

IV

PSC 80, Box 76 APO AE, 09702

43 % Members

Home: 011-32-2-251-2772

the Air Force. And, she finished AWC by correspondence!

Christy’s daughters are keeping busy and husband, Gary, is plugging away towards active duty retirement working in the tanker execution branch at TACC. Emily (9) is in 3rd grade and has found her sport soccer which she is playing year round now. She was one of the leads in her school play, continues with Brownies and is taking hip hop dance lessons once a week. Haley (6) is in kindergarten and also enjoys soccer. Additionally, she loves to swim and dance and is taking gymnastics once a week. Thanks Christy!

From CS-39 Tony Pollizzi says hello from California where he is still leading the Air Force oversight of the Civil Air Patrol in the Pacific Region. He, wife, Raquel, and sons Dominic and Nicholas took a trip to Hawaii via space-available travel fromTravis AFB! They split their time betweenVolcanoes National Park on the big island of Hawaii and the Hale Koa military resort on Waikiki. The highlight for Tony was snorkeling alongside a giant sea turtle. Dominic learned how to snorkel, Raquel enjoyed the beach and Nicolas will always remember the hula dancing. Back at home, Dominic is in 1st grade and enjoys soccer, Tball, basketball and cub scouts. Nicholas is ready for preschool! ThxTony.

Also from my old squadron of CS-39, Doug “Mugsy” Malone is doing well and preparing to retire this summer! He, wife, Jacqui, and sons Tom and Will are enjoying Spangdahlem AB and just returned from a ski vacation in Garmisch.

Mugsy says we have an ’89 reunion of sorts going right here. Dave Doe is working finance at Ramstein AB; T.J. “Raptor” Hogan and Linda are enjoying Spangdahlem where Raptor just led the 81st on a deployment to Afghanistan; Doug “Stoli” Nikolai is the exec to the wing CC, and he and Katie are doing well; and Mike “Donut” Hohls and Renee just left his A-10 sim contractor job here to return home to Los Angeles so he could get back in the cockpit flying for United. Good to hear from you Mugsy!

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E-mail:

p2a2@skynet.be Class web site: http://www. usafaclasses.org/1989/

Greetings classmates. It is with great sadness I bring you the news of a fallen comrade. On Sunday, 16 Dec 07, we lost one of our own when Lt Col (Dr.) Ray Plumley died unexpectedly. He was assigned to Andrews AFB as the teaching Family Physician. Ray is survived by his wife, Deborah, and twin daughters Rachel and Samantha. ManyofyouknewRayattheAcademy, andsomeofyou had the pleasure of working with him in the years since. Ray was a great friend, a wonderful husband, and an outstanding so/. officer. Although his family and friends will miss him terribly, Ray is with the Lord now watching over all of us. In honor of Ray’s service, a granite Commemorative Paver will be placed 'pKCH nS those Plaza of our 13 fallen classmates at the alongside Pegasus in front of Doolittle Hall. For more information on Ray’s life Sabre Society please see the Gone But Not Forgotten section in this issue.

Donors A good friend of Ray’s, Chris Athearn, will be happy to correspond with anyone who knew Ray and would like to be kept informed on the family’s progress. Chris’ e-mail is athearnc@comcast.net.

Additionally, a trust fund has been established where donations can be made for Ray’s family. Contributions should be made out to The Ray Plumley Family Fund and sent to: Monson Savings Bank, 132 Main Street, Monson, MAO1057.

Ray loved life, had a real hunger for knowledge and most of all loved being with his family. He will be dearly missed by all his family and friends.

As we mentioned last issue, we continue forward with the fundraising for our 20 th reunion class gift proj ect. And many of you have already been very generous! Calling began in full force back in November and to date we have nearly reached the halfwaypoint of our $150,000 goal with pledges of an impressive $74,962. On behalf of all the class officers we deeply appreciate all those who have made the decision to support and pledge gifts, showing in a small way what a class can do for the USAFA that did so much for us. As you know we are planning to recognize Lt Col Kevin Shea (USMC), who was killed in Iraq and our only classmate to die in combat, with a memorial on our Heritage Trail plot. The family extends its heartfelt thank you to all the class on what we are doing to recognize Kevin. The plan is for Kevin's wife and two children, parents, two younger brothers, uncle and all their families and many friends to join our class at the unveiling of the memorial during the reunion. Kevin will be the first to be honored on the Heritage Trail our special place for the Class of 1989. If you haven’t pledged yet, please consider doing so. Money will also go towards pavp®

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ers for all our fallen classmates and several cadet

programs. More information can be found at our class web site listed at the beginning ofthis article, or you can contact our class gift POC, Maj Alex “Gonzo” Gonzalez-Rojas at gonzo5 insp@hotmail.com. We look forward to a great reunion!

Doug and Jacquijust outside ofBastogne visiting the sites oftheWWII Battle ofthe Bulge.

Our last letter is from Lee White, who lives and works in Norcross, GA as a Product Development Engineer for Silgan Plastics. He is still in the AF Re-

working as an Imagery Intelligence Officer for the National GeospatialIntelligence Agency based in Washington, D.C. And the best news.. .Lee is engaged! He met Tatiana while traveling in Colombia and will be getting married in Georgia in June. Congrats Lee and thanks for the update! serves

Kevin Shea in basic training.

Our first letter comes from Scott Pillsbury, who is currently working in his

family printing business after taking the early out in 1992 from his last assignment in finance at Bergstrom AFB. He says he considers himself very blessed

with good health, a good career, two great kids and a wonderful girlfriend. You can catch up more with Scott through his online Christmas card at http: / /

www.scottpillsbury.com/ChristmasCard2007/.

Next, Christy Kayser-Cook wrote from Illinois to say they are still there! With over four years just over the border from my old home in the Show-Me state, Christy, Gary, Emily and Haley are loving their time in the mid west and hope to stay two more years. Christy just started a new position as Chief of the Air Refueling Operations Division in the Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott AFB. She handles all TACC assigned air refuelings worldwide to include Homeland Defense and fighter coronet missions. Before leaving her previous position in

Lee and Tatiana in Bogota.

That’s a wrap for this quarter. On a side note, we are trying to expand our class web site, so please send some photos and short comments onyour activities to our web master, Scott Shinberg, atscott.shinberg@gmail.com. We will

post these on the Class History section. Best wishes to you and your families.

Take care and God bless.

107

*

’09. I'm looking forward to that. I'mjustfinishingupthreeyearsasanAerial Port squadron commander down at Charleston AFB SC (38 APS). Igotmarried

James Sanchez

just over a year ago to Michelle (2nd time around for each of us). We work together as well in our own business consulting practice.

Bryan Viet (12/26/07): I am stationed up here in Oklahoma City at Will Rogers World Airport where I am flying Challenger 601 and 604s with HQ AFFSA and

8301 Emerald Circle North Richland Hills, TX 76180

Cell: (817) 881-6357 Web: WWW.USAFA90.COM

the FAA.

alohatiger@gmail.com Ted Wilson (10/20/07): Before I left Stuttgart (HQ USEUCOM) to deploy here (MNF-IC2, Camp Slayer, Baghdad, Iraq) I spoke w/Jeff Addison about

getting together all the ’90 cats for a photo op to send to you. Ran into Martin Rothrock in Kuwait (he is an SF commander there) while I waited on lift here.

Before deploying I competed in the World Time Trial Championships in St. Johann in Tirol, Austria.

Sam "Meat" Skaggs (11/6/07): Ilostmywifeof 15 l/2years, Darlene, to cancer this past May. MysonFuke (14) and I decided to bail on Germany, as I had little to no support net there. We sought and received a humanitarian reassignment to Tittle Rock AFB, AR. We have been here for about two months, and I am going through re-qual in the C- 130E. I am assigned to the 62 AS, and will be "flying the line" until (if/when) something "better" comes along. We'll see. Win-win situation, either way, really. Many thanks to those whose prayers and thoughts were with us during Dar' s illness. God Bless.

Doug Thompson (11/7/07): We added our FIFTH daughter in May of2006. Brianna Lee (we call her Brilee). Yes, I live in a house full of women!! Hotel Estrogen. Daughters are now 16,15, twins that will be 12 in Feb and a 16 month old! We just moved back to Atlanta late this summer after a two-year remote hiatus. I'm still with Cisco as a Systems Engineer, but now in charge of the Customer Briefing Center in the Atlanta office.

Paul Pepe (11/7/07): I PCSed to Pope in April and its great to be actively flying again. We are working on the Active-Associate standup as a part of BRAC and we are excited to have our AFRC brethen here with new C-130H2s.

George Halley (12/30/07): Last January I tooka job at Sanborn Mapping in Colorado Springs. We are the largest aerial mapping company in the US, with products like the 3D buildings and much of the photography in Google Earth.

Kevin Yandura (1/12/08): My wife, Christine, and our three kids are living in Grand Forks, ND. I ‘m an Ops O in the 906ARS, at least until I head to the desert (CAOC) for a 120d this summer.

TammiSchandlerMoes (1/9/07): I was remarried29 Oct 05 to ’88 Grad, John Moes (Lt Col in Security Forces). We' re expecting our first child in about nine days (forreal, 19 Jan 08 due date. Upon completion ofmy eight weeks maternity leave, I'll return to work for the Deputy Assistant Secretary ofthe Air Force, Force Management Integration in the Pentagon- ever near 5E818, please look me up

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I'll be here until summer of '09!

Gary Foster (1 /10/07): Colleen, Cailin, Ashlyn and I are finishing out our tour at the US Embassy in Warsaw, Poland. I helped Poland receive and integrate 48 new F- 16s and soon to be five C- 130s into their Air Force.

TimMacGreggor (1/10/08): I've been blessed with the great privilege oftak-

ing command of the 2nd Air Refueling Squadron, flying KC- 10s at McGuire AFB, NJ. This is my second tour at McGuire, where my wife, Lee, is a stay-athome mom who home schools our four kids, ages 5 through 10.

I'm also

here with Tom "Criminal" Crimmins.

Ben Davis (11/13/07): Just finished squadron commands at Aviano and RAF Lakenheath. We're settled here in the DC area where I'm working as the fighter maintenance guy on the Air Staff. Michelle just started hair school in Rosslyn and our girls (15,13,10) are busy with the typical gymnastics, band, ballet, etc.

Classmates Eric Faison and Mark Weber are also in my office in the Pentagon taking care of airlift/tanker maintenance. Ray James is also doing aircraft maintenance work on the Air Staff. Steve KiserisworkinginJCS/J2. Ialsoran into Marion Dallison (with married name) who is working Security Forces issues in the building. Attached is a photo of a Mighty Ninety contingent at the most triumphant Notre Dame excursion.

Tim MacGreggor and family.

Paul Barney (1/11/08): I'm coming back to CONUS to do a couple of years at Whiteman (SF). Currently exec-ing for the EUCOM J-5,1 had to farewell Keith Watts a year early from Ramstein he's in a great IN command tour back -

at Langley.

John Mateer (1 /17/08): I'm assigned to the 48th Munitions Squadron, RAF Lakenheath and was the squadron commander before doing a CoC and launching over to here.

Paul Szostak: Got to USAFA's Airfield this past spring, now the Chief of Safety there. Fun stuff, finally got to jump out of an airplane and get my wings. Lots of’90 grads here, like Randy Reddell (98FTS/CC), Alex Cos (98FTS/DO), Ed Lombard (557 FTS/DO), Jeff Bowling just showed up as well..also been in touch with Matt Leonard, flying with the Reserves in NorCal and UPS out of SoCal. Waldo Waldman staying busy on the speaking circuit. Bump into others all the time...

Carson Tavenner From left are Eric Wohlrab, James Jinnette, Ben Davis, Mike (notAF), Cris

6828 Raccoon Court

Marchiori, Mike Thirtle, Bill Gideon, and PatRhatigan (’91). Eric is a tanker SQ/CC at McConnell. James is a F-15ESQ/CC at Seymour. Cris is doing govt,

Waldorf, MD 20603

security work in DC. Mike is a professor and research analyst for RAND near Chicago. Bill is a flight test SQ/CC. AdamMortensen (11/13/07): IamaLegislativeAffairsOfficeratMDA.Family is doing well, I now have 5 kids. Sabrina manages to keep them all fed and clothed and manages our new home out in Bristow. We love the area but I personally dislike the 1 hour and 45 min commute each way. The 66 is a hateful freeway!

Jon Cooper: I just finished up a six-week FAA Certification Course at the National Test Pilot School in Mojave, CA. I attended with Mel Burdick (’83) and enjoyed the instruction of Steve Cherry (’69) and STS-Commander Rick Searfoss (’78). My condolences to the Jedi Knights, Cool Campus Rads, family and friends of Paul Comeau.

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ScotHamilton(11/22/07): FmafewshortweeksfromPCSingtoWichitaKS. I'll be the Government Flight Rep. at the Beechcraft plant doing acceptance

flights ontheT-6.

John Tree (12/14/07): I just found out this week that I was selected for promotion to 0-6 in the USAF Reserves, and that I'll be going to the Army War

College in residence this next Aug ’08 for that school year that graduates in June 108

r ,

R

1

42% bi

,

(202) 231-2484 DSN: (312) 428-2484 Home: (301) 374-2752 tavenner@hotmail.com

Bold Gold, I have a special request to honor, right up front. You will remember our dear brother Greg Cindrich, lost off the east coast ofAfrica in 1997.

Can you believe it’s been more than 10 years ago? At the time, Greg left behind his wife, Monica, and son Chris then too young to have known his father. Chris is now 13 years old, 5 foot 10, a champion tennis player with a size 12 shoe, and just as smart as his dad (well, Chris, two out of three ain’t bad just kidding). Chris is also curious to know more about his father, as any of us would if we were in his shoes. He has Greg’s graduation sabre hanging in his room near a graduation picture. Can you imagine it! Wouldn’t it be wonderful for Christopher to connect with his father's past? Monica, Greg’s wife, wrote “I think we all hunger to belong, to make sense of unfair, unexplainable acci-

-

”

dents in life. That is so true; identity is everything. Therefore, please, if you knew Greg (sadly, I did not myself), help keep Greg alive for Christopher by writing to him (cmikcin@aol.com) and sharing memories and information about that part of Greg’s life which he cherished his friends and years at USAFA. If you do write, only tell Chris the best parts, okay?

Having written this, I now wonder if other children of our “gone but not forgotten’’ also might benefit from much the same offering. I don’t have email addresses, but if anyone knows the family and can find out if children would like to learn more via email, then I will be more than happy to oblige!

On the happy side of Memory Lane, here’s a bit of fun I wanted to share with you all. While having lunch with Steph (Konieczny) Brinley at one ofthe Pentagon lunches (ongoing, by the way) she mentioned having recently taken a photo with cheerleading friends Lourdes (Fallace) Duvall, and Leslie Beavers. It was the occasion of Steph’s husband’s retirement, so that’s why he’s in the picture (the one theytookwith “just girls” didn’t turn out so well). It’sgreat to see friends able to reassemble for happy times.

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Altogether, now, repeat after me: You should attend USAFA! We thought it was great! It was better than CATS! Chris (Harvey) Bell attended a USAFA Admissions Liaison Officers conferUSAFA, and ran into

guess? several classmates! Pictured from left are Kurt Schuster covers Michigan, Chris liaises with kids from southern California, Dave Deames works South Carolina, Brian Doyle is a North Carolina man, andBeth (Dunn) Kwasny tells those Dallas/Ft. Worth kids how ence at

-

can you

-

great USAFA is. C’mon Beth, remember the Honor Code! Chris added a re-

cruitingplug asking us to join their forces. “We need ALOs in all our areas to help encourage new students to apply to USAFA—you can do this as an additional duty from AD or the Reserves, you can help in a civilian capacity, or can do this as a full time reservist” Chris also added humorously that on account of their house acquiring a Wii for Christmas, they’ve decided in their house that all arguments will be resolved by Wii boxing! I thought that was funny.

I just searched through my Hotmail and work accounts to see who else may have mailed me, but I don’t have any more that I can see (other than the Pen-

tagon lunch responses), so if I overlooked you

please accept my humble apologies. While I’m thinking about it we’re getting close to the planning timeframe for our 20th reunion. I’ll increase the frequency ofthose comments from here on out, I suppose. Finally, I would like to ask one of you to volunteer to write the column that will be due to the AOG in July. Who could do that for me? I would appreciate the help in that season this year, thanks. I’m expecting work here in the China shop to be just a tad more busy than the normally frenetic pace, just before the Olympics.

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SeniorYear! Steph, Lourdes, and Leslie after cheering on the Falcons at our last football game in Falcon Stadium, 1990!

James S. Mehta

3802 Elbert Ave.

Alexandria, VA 22305 (703) 697-4511; DSN: 227-4511

42% i Members

james.mehta@ogn.af.mil jamesmehta@pentagon.af.mil jamesmehta@earthlink.net

Seniors’Year! Leslie, Steph, the happy retiree, and Lourdes gather once again to celebrate life and career accomplishments.

Max (Torrens) DeSpain in Kabul right now, back in late April and off to USAFA

by early June. She’s looking forward to academic life again! I’m sure the cadets will attempt to ply from her the stories from the front” when they are able.

Mark Livelsberger is also off on deployment at the AUAB and got to chat with Andreas Weseman, who is reportedly doing well on his one-year remote out “

there. I am sure there are many more ’91 ers out there, but have not heard back on any other news.

Bill Casebeer is now working at SHAPE. He writes, “we are all doing well.

Our four kids (Jonah, Mara, Linnae and Mason) are all bilingual in French as a result of going to the local Belgian schools and are growing like weeds too.

Adrianne is doing great, enjoying Europe and learning French also. My work here at NATO is rewarding. I'm the chief of Eurasia Analysis for SACEUR Gen Craddock's US national intellgence cell ("US Survey"). I'm enjoying learning about NATO and stretching myself in terms of expertise. Other grads I've heard from recently are Troy Thomas [happily married to Paula, with one child now] who is a squadron commander for a SIGINT unit out near NSA) and Michael Thompson (who is a lawyer in the DC area). Bartz Sykes is an F-16 DO at Spandhahlem, though he may be coming our way soon. My time at the Naval Postgraduate School (where I saw Kurt Gaudette often [Tavnote: Kurt is now working Intelligence Force Development in the Pentagon] was fantastic, but we've had a year and a half now here at NATO Military HQ south of Brussels, and that has been wonderful as well. I've been doing my best to stay publishing in the academic world, though being back in an operational unit has taken its toll there; I have a few book chapters out this month, all on Amazon. Thanks, Bill! I hope we can manage a trip to Europe, and crash your pad. ”

Welcome again to your class news 1992 ! I continue to run into so many friends and acquaintances here in DC and especially at the Pentagon. It is nice to be in a meeting and see a familiar face who can help get things done. In a way it's no different than doolie year cooperate and graduate, or in this case, cooperate and make your boss happy. Anyway, here it is, the beginning of another year, a few more gray hairs and, hopefully, a little wiser. I know there were a lot of promotions this past quarter. Dave Lindsay and I actually had a combined promotion ceremony since we are both in SAF/IG. Lt Gen Sams, The IG, officiated and we both had our families there. I'm sure it has been done before, but it was still a bit unique to do two at once. Congratulations to all! ’92 in command! Last issue I forgot to announce that Jim Meger had taken command of the 1st OSS at Langley at the end of November.

He and his wife, Kari, left DC and moved a few hours south to Langley. I'm sure the OSS job is just a short stop before taking command of a flying squadron. If you are at Langley, make sure you stop by and see Jim. Jeff and Alisha Stamp sent me an update to their wonderful and full year. The two big events of the year were the birth of their third child, Julia Elizabeth, who arrived on the 16th of August and their PCS back to Colorado where Jeff will be a Zoomie instructor again. Jeff and Alisha also have two boys, Caleb and Nathan, who are already very protective of their little sister. After getting settled in in Colorado, the Stamps enjoyed a visit from Jim and Michelle Tanis.

Never too late to celebrate a victory. Layne Kasper sent me an e-mail about the trip he and several classmates made to South Bend, Indiana to see the Falcons steamroll the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. It's a cool story, so I'll let Layne tell it: "Bill and Sandy Lewis, parents of our fallen classmate, Gregg" Butch" Lewis, hosted several ofButch's CS-26 buddies and other classmates and their families for the weekend. Bill Lewis is an assistant coach at ND, and he and Sandy provided a great tour of the campus, inside the locker room, and even -

109

gave everyone a chance to roam the field after the game. Sandy then fed us all in her home that evening. Thanks, Sandy and Bill! We all enjoyed spending time with you, and it was great to share memories of our' gone but not forgotten' friend." “’92ers that made the trip included Troy Simon, Mike Honma, Jeff Hassannia, Daron Stewart and Scott Gaab. It was great to see everyone and catch up, and it was even more special to share it with our families and see all our kids

playing

together."

Chris Meyle, Mike Lingor, TonyValerio, Todd McDowell, Dave Kincaid, Deron Hurst, and Donna Boyce (Ward).

Kasper, Honma, Hassanniaand Simon families with Sandy Lewis at Notre

Dame.

Speaking of Donna (Ward) Boyce, I had the opportunity to go to her promotion ceremony at the Pentagon Conference Center in December. The ceremony wasofficiatedbya2-starandherhusband, Don, did the honors of pinning on her rank. She had some close friends and family, to include her parents, attend the ceremony. Chris Meyle was the other familiar face I recognized. Of course, after everyone was done singing Donna's praises (and the AF song) and she had her time in the limelight, we enjoyed some refreshments and cake.

Last but not least. My final input was from Nicole (Foster) Greenwood who faithfully includes me on her Christmas card list every year. Nicole, being the former PA Officer, publishes a very creative and professional looking family

newsletter.

Funny, there wasn't much about Nicole in the letter; it was all about her husband Jeff who is now an AOC for CS-35 and her son, Garrett, and daughter, Griffin.

Well, that completes another episode of "What's ’92 now?" If are

TheyarelivinginC-SpringsenjoyingtheColoradooutdoors. doing

you

inclined, please write and tell me whatyou are doing these days. So drop me a note and I'll info pass your along. God bless, James. so

Michael D. Sundsted

1805 Macadams Place

87 %

Members

Alexandria, VA 22308 (703) 768-5664/Cell:(240) 338-9839 E-mail:

Bravecwboy@cox.net Class Website: www.highflight.com

Daron, Layne, and Troy on the field savoring the victory.

Faces in the Pentagon. Remember I mentioned running into familiar faces in the hallways? Well here's a few. In December, I was trying to find my way back to my office after finding my way to the photography office in the basement ofthe Pentagon. As I rounded a corner, I ran into Dave McAuley in a suit.

It had been over 10 years since I saw Dave last. We were stationed at Edwards for our first assignments Dave in Intel, me in OSI. Then we both together PCSed to DC (around ’96) and Dave left active duty a fewyears later. Dave has beenwith DIA ever since and is now the Executive Assistant for the Office of the Director.

We stopped to talk in the stairwell as Deputy as our sched-

long

busy

ules would allow and then left promising that we would get together for lunch sometime soon. I don't want to get any details wrong, so I'll wait until we have that lunch before I try to give you more background on Dave and his family.

Just last week I was making my way back to my office and passed another familiar face Kimberly (McQuarrie) Tebrugge. Kimberly is a Reservist who works at the Directorate of Communication when she can make it to DC. She lives in Washington state and runs her own strategic communication consultbusiness.

So she to ing actually gets do the same thing for the AF that she does in "reallife." She stopped by my office later that day and we had a few minutes to talk. Kimberly has two daughters and enjoys her consulting practice and getting to work a lot of Reserve days most of them at McChord. She said she always reads the column, but has never written.. .maybe my encouragement (begging) will push her to write!

DC lunch bunch! Once again, Elaine (Riley) Sersun planned the regular ’92 DC lunch. Unfortunately the day before, a meeting popped up which prevented me from going. The lunch was in Rosslyn and there was a small turnout. I commissioned Elaine to talk to everyone and send me any news. She did agreatjob: Some notables are: Donna (Ward) Boyce had a litde boy named Liambom3Nov07. This is baby #1 for Donna and her husband. DeronHurst just was assigned to the Pentagon in SAF/FMC. Mike Lingor has been here for some time, but this was his first luncheon. He'sinAF/RE. Dave Kincaid is over in SAF/LL on the H ill Todd McDowell joined us for the first time and is still in -

-

“

.

theJAGCorp.”

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Welcome to 2008 and a great spring in the National Capital Region! Things are here in Alexandria.

I’ve been humming along flying a bunch, but have also had lots of time to enj oy the family. Lori is doing very well and Collin continues to keep us busy—swimming, piano, basketball and Cub Scouts! My schedule to like it was at the zoo! I hope you are doing

great as well! On to the news...

I NEED SOME HELP FROM YOU! First, I want to thank

Rob Dam for being our first representative from the Class of 1993 on the AOG Senate and faithfully serving our class as well as the AOG. Rob will be PCSing soon and our class needs someone who can keep us all apprised of the AOG/Academy related issues. Please email myself (Michael.Sundsted

@andrews.af.mil; bravecwboy@cox. net), or our class President, Wispy Speros, (Bill.Speros@friedfrank.com) and let us know if you are interested. It would benefit our class greatly if some who is living in, or will soon be living in the Colorado Springs, CO area to volunteer. I NEED EVERY-

ONE FROM OUR CLASS TO EMAIL ME A RESPONSE TO THIS

ARTICLE SO THAT WE CAN ESTABLISH A WORKING 1993 CONTACT LISTING. EVEN

IF

YOUTHINKI MIGHT HAVEYOUR EMAIL ADDRESS, PLEASE RE-EMAIL ME— many thanks in advance! Also, if you have a contact list from your squadron or many classmates please forward that as well. Now, on to the updates...

I had the opportunity to travel to the Middle East recently where I ran into a classmate of ours. I landed at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, taxied into parking and saw Matt Yocum there to greet the party! We didn’t get a chance to talk at that time, but it was neat to watch one of our classmates at work

making good things happen. Lateronin the visitwe were able to catch up. Heandhis wife are still amazingly busy and they are a little over halfway through their tour as Assistant Air Attache.

Ifyou want to visityou better make it quick so you have an excellent tour guide! Matt’s comic career has taken off. He informed me that he had been invited to a national

convention of comic writer’s and publishers keynote speaker and guest! We had a picture taken of the two of us, but I have yet to get it from the person who took it—as soon as I can get I it will post it!

I received a nice litde call from Pat Yanke just after the holidays. Pat and I go backbefore the Academy where we were Marion Military Institute classmates. as the

He and his family are doing fantastic down in Raleigh, NC. Pat is a financial

cause of inconsiderate rebels who don't think about

planner following in the footsteps of his father. He is doing really well!

Libby (Stark) and Ty Chamberlain are doing well. Libby gave us a great update for Christmas. They are nearing the end oftheir time in the DC area. Ty has been doing awesome things for the Air Force and was recently selected to become the Chief of Flight Safety down at Barksdale AFB, LA. He’ll be back in the B-52 instead of the Brown 52- inch by 42-inch desk that he’s been flying.

Libby (who has the more important job) of being a full-time mom still finds time to do her Reserve activities! They both also have time to entertain our classmates at a recent wine tasting that I unfortunately missed due to my flying schedule! You guys are so busy! Thanks for the great update!

Hank Buck checked in just after the holidays. He is currently doing a deployment at Camp Al Sayliyah, Qatar. He says that the dining and gym facilities

before attempting failed attacks on central African capitals... -) Let’s start with a much overdue photo from my fellow “Freak” (CS-23), Patty

my other commitments

Rodriguez-Rey’s (A-l staff, Pentagon) August wedding to Mike (Cooper, USNA, ’95). I wasn’t able to attend the ceremony, but heard from Deb Lovette (also A1 staff, Pentagon) that she was a gorgeous bride—looks like Deb was right on in her assessment! Best wishes to Patty and Mike!

there are first class. Haircuts are $3.80, and many other services are free— perks of being deployed! He literally lives in a metal boxwithin a warehouse— you can even stick a magnet to the ceiling. He definitely misses his family, but enjoys the challenges ofwork and the joint environment. Please keep his fam-

ily in your thoughts and prayers!

Another DC classmate checks in, this time from the civilian side! Adam Olshefsky is out of the AF and working for a small software development company in Old Town Alexandria called Cobalt! It’s such a small world to have so many grads in the area—we could hold a mini-reunion. Thanks for the update Adam—and yes, we need to get a beer!

Speaking ofthe reunion—yes, it’s only five years away and I plan to start the planning in 2010 with the AOG rolling in a year prior. If you are interested in helping me plan in any facet please let me know. I will be calling on the Mighty Rice family again to work some magic, but I want to also ask if anyone would like to volunteer. We will be working with the Academy a lot for the 20 th Anniversary.

The Class of1993was present at the USAFA/Cal Armed Forces Bowl in Dallas!

Graham Allen checks in from the great performance by the AFA football team.

I thought for a little bit we were going to beat Cal, but they were bigger and stronger—it doesn’t help when your quarterback goes down! Graham and his wife, Kim, and three children (Megan, Grayson, and Conner) all enjoyed the game! Graham is a Product Manager for a telecommunications company in Dallas. They met up with Dave and Jamee Graff and their four children (Ellie, Ryan, Marc and Addie). The Graff’s are stationed at Eglin AFB, FL where Dave is flying the F- 15C. He is also currently the 58th FS Director of Operations!

Both families stated that their was a sea ofblue in the stands at the Cotton Bowl!

Great support for the FALCONS!

Patty and Mike Next up, a quick update from Chris Giorgiani (JCB, Savannah, GA), who was recently transferred back to the States after a three-year stint in the UK. His work travels brought him through Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, but he and his bride Juli took advantage of being in Europe to make personal trips to France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Ireland and Belgium (that even makes ME jealous!). Chris and Juli sent a picture the took with their daughters Chloe (10), Sophie (8) and Maya (4) while visiting Olympia in Greece. They also send invites to classmates traveling through beautiful Savannah...

TheGiorgianis Since Chris and Juli recently left the UK, let’s focus there for a minute. As I’ve written before, fellow swimmer and friend Sarah (Kerwin) Strachan is just outside of London getting her PhD for the Academy (and will hopefully come to Paris soon for research!). She, her husband, Neil, and their adorable son James

The Allens and Graffs at the Armed Forces Bowl.

Over the holidays, I had the opportunity to spend an evening with the Sucich

family! We had some great Tex/Mex and also enjoyed chatting up the politics.

Jo is now an instructor in the C-5 Flight School at Lackland and of course loves his job at JetBlue!

Thanks again for all the great updates! Remember, ifyou are interested in the two-year AOG Senate slot, please let Wispy or I know and also PLEASE SEND MEYOUR1993 CONTACT LISTS AND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESSES SO I CAN

(almost three now! Wow! Iwasathis baby shower and saw him soon after he was bom!) welcomed Miss Abigail Georgina into their family as an early Christmas present on 19 Dec. According to Sarah, baby Abbie hasn’t quite gotten the hang of the “sleep long periods during the night” concept, but my goodness, is she gorgeous! Sarah didn’thave any pictures of her with Abbie (Sarah isaMUCH better photographer than Neil, so I usually just get shots of the kids and occasionally him with the kids!), but shared one ofher and James not too long before Abbie was born. They’re loving being in England and so close to Neil’s family.

CREATE A MASTER LISTING OF ALL OF OUR EMAILS—THE LISTING WILL NOT BE DISSEMINATED FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN OFFICIAL AOG BUSINESS! Enjoy the spring and see you in the summer! Mike C.C. M. Masotti

PSC 116, Box 215 APO AE 09777

77 % Members

W: +33-1-43-12-26-69 or

202-536-2780, 1 (for English) X2669 Cell: +33-6-25-74-69-13

cc.masotti@yahoo.com

Greetings from the City of Lights, fellow Red Tags!!

Sorry for missing last column, but I basically had no inputs and work was too busy to make stuff up... In fact, this one will be short not so much because of lack of inputs (though I can ALWAYS hear from you more, hint-hint!), but be

Sarah and James

111

Fellow friends of mine and Sarah’s are the amazing Healy girls. I mentioned before that Susan (Feland, ’93) had been here in September, but Kelly (Wallace) is always great about keeping in touch as well, though being a squadron commander’s wife (herhusband, Drew,isaC-5Sq/CCatTravis) and full-time mom to baby Julia (now a little more than ayear old—another one whom I saw just after birth!) keeps her pretty busy too. To top it off, they just found out their house is being sold, so they have to move this month! Susan and John have two girls (Alexandra and Anna), so it was up to Tracy (Lorenz, ’96) to bring the first boy into the JLealy fold in two generations... She and her husband welcomed baby Noah in August. All three of the Healy girls live near each other in Northern California, so they get to see each other often and love that.

Paul and Ginny Wagner sent a great Christmas update from DC, where he works for CSC and Ginny for KPMG. Though their adorable boxers Baxter and

Brinkley keep them busy, they still find time to stay very involved in the Child Rescue Center (CSC), including Ginnys trip to Sierra Leone this past summer for Vacation Bible School and her ESL classes that she teaches at their church.

They also took a little time for themselves this past year, spendingThanksgiving in Alabama with Paul’s family and Christmas in Costa Rica.

I’ve also been in touch recently with Ernesto “E” Hernandez, who is stationed at the State Department but recently deployed to Iraq. He’s pretty amused with the whole Army way of life, their view ofwhat passes as “acceptable” in terms of living/working quarters, and third-nation construction skills, but I think he’s enjoying being “back in the fight”....

On this side of the pond, I was recently able to see Jack Aalborg (NPS, Monterrey), who’s working on his Master’s degree in the Air Force’s new version of the Foreign Area Officer program. He happens to be friends with a colleague and good friend of mine here, so a bunch of us got to hang out over New Year’s. We got to catch up and talked about my former roommate and his former CS-34 squadron mate, Kathy (Cleveland) Leisman (whose husband Gregg was MY squad mate!)... Kathy should have welcomed a baby girl to the world about the same time Abbie Strachan (Sarah’s daughter) was born, but I haven’t received a birth announcement yet. As far as Jack goes, if all goes well, and considering he’s fluent in French and not bad in a few other languages, he may get to replace a colleague of mine here and become the other assistant Air Attache here in Paris. Best of luck, Jack!! AndKat—send pics!!

Finally, since I was speaking of Paris, things here are good, but EXTREMELY busy. In addition to the diplomatic side of the job (hosting and attending receptions and functions, which is fun, but more tiring than it sounds), work at the office is QUITE demanding (I was there until 2300 last night and could have easily done the same today if I hadn’t had to come home and meet contractors for some flooding and hot water heater problems at the apartment!) and I feel a bit like I’m running a hotel here. I was “invaded” by a group of friends (well, two friends and a bunch of people I’d never met) over Christmas (we spent Christmas Eve at Disneyland Paris!) and have now racked up more than 22 different overnight guests (some repeats) in the some four months I’ve been in the apartment—and that doesn’t count parties and receptions and such either!

But I love it and you’re more than welcome to come visit if your travels allow and dates aren’t already booked! And, as far as working long hours goes, it’s still Paris so, despite walking out super late last night, I got to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle (it does so for 10 minutes every hour on the hour), which kind ofmade it all okay! So, no complaints from my end...

I hope you’re all doing well and that 2008 is a year of many blessings and happiness for you and yours. Take care and God Bless! C.C. R. Travis Koch

5304 Sports Club Lane

Suffolk, VA 23435 Home: (757) 686-2607 Cell: (850) 499-8242

sweet!

On the civilian side of things Stacy Wharton is living in Denver and was just

hired by AirTran after gigs in the C-17 and the USAFA glider program. Owen and Christina Shipler are living in Greensville, SC and just welcomed their

first, Hudson, on New Year’s Eve. (Anyone else want to put money on Hudson

Shipler taking the 2030 Masters?) After separating from the AF Doug and Terri Bartels just moved to Charlotte where Doug is an investment banker with Edgeview Partners. Doug completed the MBA program at Duke last Decernher and has huge cavs from jumping around with the Cameron Crazies. Just joking. Murali Krishnan completed the MIT MBA program and is a consultant with Bain & Co. in Boston. Scott and Susie Carrell live in California with their two kids while Scott teaches Economics (or maybe it’s Home Economics?) at

UC Davis.

I can’t mention one Carrell and not the other without receiving angry mail

from Keokuk. Rich (Bourbon Dick) Carrell and his wife, Carmen, have two boys, Scotty and Sammy and are at Hurlburt along with Raquel (Early) Weselelewski and John Nemecek. Rich is off to Leavenworth for ACSC in June where he’ll be joined by Scott Campbell from Nellis. Other ’95 Hurlburt folks

heading to school this summer include Jay Pelka (JAWS); George Hock (ACSC) and Keith Crawford (ACSC). Hurlburt alum Mike Jackson is currently enrolled in JAWS.

Currently at ACSC is Ryan Sparkman. Prior to Maxwell AFB Sparky and his wife, Eudora, enjoyed three different gigs in Japan. Steve Klingman is also at ACSC. Also at Maxwell in Sweet Home Alabama is Joe Friday with his wife, Jennifer, and daughter, Avery. Joe is a plant manager for a private bottling company, the C-130H (AFRC) MXSqComandis enrolled in the ACSC Master’s program. He is wash AND dry! Somewhere, somehow he finds time to do a little fishing on the gulf. BAB! From AFIT: Dave Norton checked in to say he’s enjoying the easier pace of the AFIT program after an assignment in the A8P shop at the Pentagon. Dave O’Malley and Frank Cosnowski are also currently at AFIT. Random updates: Jason (Hollywood) and Jen Smith welcomed Sophie Marie to this world in January. They live in Ft Worth where Smitty is still flying Vipers. Alex Cotto just finished a year at IAAFA in San Antonio and expects to deploy from El Salvador to Iraq in 2008. Ten cuidado, mi amigo! Jim Rowley is working a NATO staff gig at Stavanger in Norway. He spends most ofthe time trying to convince our allies that Jerome Lane was the greatest college basketball player ever and explaining to them the difference between growing up in Nassau county versus Suffolk county. Wedding bells will be ringing on Memorial Day for Steve Sanders. Carlos Dellepiane is married, has a litde girl and is racking up the hours in the Peruvian Air Force.

Finally, I’d like to offer our condolences to the Class of ’96 on the loss of Carrie Loudermilk Pederson. Carrie and her three-year-old son were killed in a car accident near Memphis in December. Please keep Jim Pederson, their daughter, Ashley, and all ’96 in your thoughts and prayers.

Melissa S.

richard.koch@langley.af.mil traviskoch@yahoo.com

Cunningham

15660 Candle Creek Drive

1

Members

Monument, CO 80132

Aloha, '95!

This is Buck (Christopher Buckley) checking in from Hickam AFB and givingTrav a well-deserved break from Checkpoints duty. Allis wellhere atHQ PACAF and Melissa and I are really digging Hawaii. We’ve visited four of the eight major islands and hope to cross a few more off the list this year. Not a bad gig, to say the least. Also doing time in the Aloha State are Halsey Burks who is the 13 AF Commander’s aide; Dave Lyle who works in the IG office; Dane “Joust” Crawford who works in the 613 AOC and Mike Waite and Walt Hattimer also work at 13 AF. Halsey, his wife, Susan and son Ethan will be moving on to Ft Leavenworth this summer for Army ACSC as will Dave. Joust is also leaving this summer for the USMC SAW Mike arrived last summer fromACSC ,

with his wife, Jennifer, and their daughter Clare.

There was a lot of excitement around here this past fall as the UH Warriors went 12-0 but who cares? How about those Air Force Falcons! If Carney had not gotten hurt, we go on to win and end the year 10-3 At least that’s what Joel .

112

Stephens thinks. While I watched the game with some local grads at 0-dark30 out here, Joel took a break from flying the C- 130J at Little Rock to see the game in person. He says that a big contingent of grads rented out Billy Bob’s in Ft. Worth the night before the game and raised the roof. Our own Travis Koch was at the game as was Benji Glazer who’s working as a consultant in Houston.

JE (Stix) Evenson was also at the game with his oldest daughter, Emma. JE and Angie are the proud parents of four (Emma, Samuel, Jack and Harry) and JE is lovin’ life as a T-38 IP at Sheppard. Another guy livin’ the dream is Matt (Tooma) Liljenstolpe. Matt got to Randolph last February with his wife, Susanna, and their three kids, Luke, Max and Mya, just in time to see the Spurs win the NBA championship. Now he’s working a sweet gig at HQ AETC while still flying the T-38 as an IFF IP This summer he moves on to AFIT at Wright-Pat. As for Max, my godchild, still referring to me as his “fairy godfather”, not so

(719) 487-3071/DSN: 333-0472 Melissa.cunningham@usafa.af.mil or melcunningham@msn.com It is with a heavy heart that I begin this article. We lost our classmate, Carrie

Pederson, and her son Lucas in a tragic automobile accident on 6 January. Jim and their daughter, Ashley, survived the accident with injuries and they are continuing to recover.

Carrie and Lucas’ funeral was held in the Academy Chapel on 16 Jan on a cold and

wintery day. It was encouraging to see the outpouring of support from family, former basketball teammates, members from CS 33 and CS 27, and prep school classmates. Even months later it is still hard to believe. Carrie was a beautiful person inside and out. She was an incredible mother, wife and friend. She always had an encouraging word, a listening ear, and an open heart to those in need. Please continue to keep Jim and Ashley in your thoughts and prayers as they travel

the Little Rock school house and is off to the AMC intern program this summer.

Niko Lewis (Bronson) is enjoying time with her baby girl. She and her husband are still living in the Springs. Dan Begin continues to fly C-130 with a guard unit and is also flying for Delta Airlines.

Carrie and Lucas Pederson

their difficult road ahead. A website has been set up to capture stories and

pictures of Carrie and Lucas for the family. Please visit the website and share your memories: http://textperception.com/pedersen/ In addition, Jim’s squadron has set up a family support fund. If you would like to make a donation, please send your gifts to: Pedersen Support Fund, c/o MSgt Michael Lindstrom, 463rd OSS, 314 CMSgt Williams Drive, Little Rock AFB, AR 72099.

OurAF Georgetown Legislative Fellows: From left are Morris Fontenot, Ryan

Suttlemyre, Pat Obruba, JeffAlexander, Matt Guenther, DanGillen, Keith Derbenwickand Thad Woods.

Several of our classmates are currently in the Air Force Georgetown Legislative Fellows program. This program provides insight into the legislative process through a fellowship between the AF, Georgetown, and Capitol Hill.

It is an 18-month IDE program which incorporates academic classes with a year long fellowship in the office of a member of Congress. Apparently the number of beers consumed per capita on Capitol Hill shot up as soon as this gang arrived.

Matt Guenther is working in Sen. Graham’s office. He wraps up the tour in August and has a feeling he’ll be staying in DC for next couple of years. Ryan

Suttlemyre is working for Sen John Thune (R-SD). He and his wife, Jan, have a beautiful 5-month old daughter named Lily. Dan Gillen is working for Con-

’96ers band together to remember Carrie.

Melissa Bryant (Wainwright) flew in from England with little Nieve in tow.

She and Bob will be headed back to the States this summer to get the family settled in Kansas before Army Command and Staff College begins. Maria Holbrook (Villapando) is living in Springfield, VA. She is working at the Navy Annex in acquisitions and is keeping up with the busy schedules of three boys.

Colleen (Lehne) and Danta Johnson still live in Redondo Beach, CA. They are excited to be adding a little girl to their family later this year. Eve Douglas is working at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Space Commercialization. She focuses on Space Policy, mainly concerning Commercial Remote Sensing issues the unclassified satellite imagery companiesyou see on Google Earth, the news, etc. She has been at NOAA for about a year and half and has really enjoyed it. Her best gig though is coming this spring. She recently found out that she will have an opportunity to fulfill her Reserve duties as an Air Attache in Paris.

Barbara Rankin (Brennen) and her husband, Todd, drove down from Frisco.

They are both out ofthe Air Force and are real estate agents in Summit County.

Tia Henderson (McDonald) came from Kirtland AFB to support Jim. She just found out that she’s expecting kid #2. Yumi LaFortune (Ramirez) came from San Antonio. She is out of the AF nowbut stays plenty busy with her two boys.

Ann Marie O’Malley (Halterman) helped organize support for donations for the family. She is still running a very successful IT business while Dave finishes up his degree at AFIT. They should be finding out about their next assignment soon. Carrie Wood (Barker) is currently working in medical equipment sales.

She was already in the area so she drove to Tennessee to support the Pederson family while Ashley was in the hospital. Then she drove back across the country to Colorado for Carrie’s memorial. Tony Principi flew in from San Diego.

He continues to oversee construction projects in the San Diego area. He and Valerie just found out that they would be having another daughter in Feb. He told me that it proves God has a sense of humor by blessing him with two girls.

Chad and Ann Igl (McGhee) and their daughter Clarissa came to show their support. Chad is the Deputy Chief, Space Defense Branch in AFSPC/A3 and Arm is the Chief, Military Personnel Programs (promotions) inAFSPC/Al. Chad is headed to the LL Fellows program this summer and Ann hopes to hear soon about an accompanying assignment to the DC area.

Julian Stephens is working in FM at Schriver AFB. He has three beautiful children, two girls and a boy. Mark Lankford flew in from Ohio. He decided to get out of the AF and go with his entrepreneurial spirit. It is great that he trusted his instincts. He is about to open his second Direct Buy franchise. So if you need any furniture, give him a shout. Adrienne Williams (Fleming) is at -

gressman Silvestre Reyes (Dem. El, Paso TX, Dist. 16), the Chairmen of the House Intelligence Committee & member of the HASC. Keith Derbenwick wentto Sen Daniel Akaka (D-HI)’s office.

JeffAlexander is also in the LL program. Since graduation, he has had some interesting assignments. He finished ENJPPT and flew F-15Es. His first assignment was to Lakenheath where had an opportunity to participate in Allied Force, Deliberate Forge and Southern Watch. He met Soil while in England and they were married 2002. Their next assignment was to Seymour. Somehow during that 2Yz years they managed to knock out master’s degrees before moving to Ridgecrest, CA where Jeff joined the Navy’s Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron as an exchange officer. In Sep 05 their daughter Madeleine was born and 20 months later, in May 07 their son Christian was born. Jeffis headed to Congressman John Spratt’s (D-SC) office.

Morris “Moose” Fontenot is also in the LL program. He and Kara (Parks) left the Academy headed to Laughlin AFB. Kara was a services officer and Moose completed UPT. There next assignment was to Mt Home. Moose flew F- 15Cs and had two opportunities to head to OSW and one to ONW. While at Mt Home, Kara separated from the AF to stay home with their two children, Natalie (now 8) and Nicole (now 7). In between changing diapers she completed her Master’s degree in Humanities. Next the family moved to Eglin AFB. Moose went off to OIF and Kara completed her second masters in English-Literature and taught entry level English at a nearby college. The following assignment was to Elmendorf. Kara continued to teach and was selected to be a Key Speaker at a Literature conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. Moose went through F-15C Weapons school and continued to fly in PACAF. Nowthe family is enjoying DC. Kara continues to teach English at the University of Maryland and is also a PhD student at UM in English-Lit. Moose is currently working in Representative NeilAbercrombie's Office. CM Abercrombie is the House Armed Services Air-Land Subcommittee Chairman. Moose manages all Army, Air Force, Veterans, Foreign Affairs, and Human Rights legislative

portfolios.

Pat Obruba is also doing well. He met his wife, Emmy, when they were

stationed at Kunsan AB, ROK in 2002. They were married in 2004 and welcorned their first child in May 07. Alexander is all set up for the USAFA Class of ’29. Emmy separated from the AF as they PCSed from Langley over the summer to have more quality time with Alexander. Pat will be working in Congressman Ciro Rodriguez’s (TX-23) office for the nextyear.

I just hit my word limit! Please keep the e-mails and pics coming!

Take care, Mel

Visit the AOG Web Site

Merchandise, Gone But Not Forgotten and More!

www.usafa.org 113

.

Melvin E. Maxwell, Jr.

72 % Members

756 Granite Drive

Ofallon, IL 62269 mel_maxwell97@hotmail.com mel.maxwell@ustranscom.mil

Hey all, “Quiet hours” are in effect in terms of news for the Class of 97. My lone update rolls in from Matt Berg who got out this past summer and is a Recruitment Manager for a hospital group in Shreveport, LA. Matt is also going to Nursing school to do pediatric and emergency medicine.

He is also a self admitted adrenaline junkie and is working on his EMT license to drive ambulances on the weekends in the local area.

The soon to be Mrs. (Louella) and I ventured down to Ft. Worth to cheer on the Falcons against Cal in the Armed Forces bowl. Speaking of cheer, we bumped into Beth Szucs (Hous-

ton) and family (Joe ’96, Grace, and Ella) in our hotel prior to the game. We mentioned that Amanda Zumbrunnen

(Jennings) would be flying from Israel to visit us in St Louis in April and Beth was adamant that she would be coming out to see Amanda as well.

We didn’t mention that the visit was for our wedding, so we’ll just plan that Beth will be attending.

While we are talking about former Air Force Academy cheerleaders, we broke the news last update that Tanji Johnson was trying out to be a Gladiator on the newest revival of American Gladiators TV show on NBC. Not days after I received Checkpoints did the first previews for the show come out and low and behold, look who made it. Congratulations go out to Tanji, aka Stealth. Tanji gave up a couple points in Powerball on that first episode but she took a Contender out of the competition with a huge tackle so she did us proud.

The McWhorter family at the "Great Santa Race” last December. these I would never remember to send info in. That being said, it would really be great to hear from more of you. If you always read this and think “Wow, it’s been 10 years and I’ve never written Karin, I should really send something in....” Stop reading this and send me an e-mail! All joking and guilt trip aside, this is our reunion year so I have a higher word limit for the articles—just nothing to write about ?

With regard to our reunion, the date has not been set. Typically the 10 and 20 year reunions are the first home game after Parent’s weekend. But, the football schedule hasn’t been set so we don’t have a date. I will be sure to keep you updated as much as possible. You can also go to ttRE .S'o the AOG website (www.usafa.org) and click on the “reunions” link at the top ofthe page for the most current infermation. Right now I am listed as the POC. Ifyou would like PRC to help, especially if you are in the Colorado Springs area, dm please let me know. There are already things we need to get done and it would be great to have more people involved.

Satire Societ; N

c

F.

One thingyou can do now is send me photos. I still have our

Donors

ring dance video and I thought it would be fun to play that during the dinner, but I would also like to make a new video ofthe last 10 years.

Photos ofweddings, babies, football games, deployments, any other large gathering of grads would be great.

Now, on to the updates: Jannell MacAulay (Ziccarelli) sent a short note in November. Sheand Chris are stationed together at Travis AFB. She is flying KC1 Os and Chris is the Maintenance Operations Officer for the KC-10 Maintenance Squadron. Their daughter Alexandra Rose was bom last Easter Sunday and they are enjoying their newest addition as well as living in Northern California.

Tanji Johnson, aka Stealth That all I’ve got for this go round. Sorry, this was such a short update. Help a brother out and let me know how you’re doing out there. Until next time.. .Mel.

Karin McWhorter

8243 Oasis Bloom St. North Las Vegas, NV 89085

(702) 476-4304 mcwhorters@hotmail.com

Chris, Jannel and Alexandra MacAulay Hi Everyone, I hope you all had a great holiday season. We loved being back in the states

and close to family and friends. This is the first year that “Santa” meant any-

thing in my family and we had a blast with it. The combination of kids and Christmas is really magical. A couple weeks before Christmas, Andrew (’96), Collin (age 3), Anna (age 1), and I ran the Las Vegas “Great Santa Run (5K) ”, We had a lot offun with the other 7,000 Santa runners, and Las Vegas even held the world records for number of Santa’s in one place for a few days. We love living in Vegas although I am still looking for a CONUS PA job in the Reserves. I am still assigned to Hickam and that is a tough commute. I am also in the hiring process to teach online courses for the University of Phoenix.

I didn’t get very many updates this time and I can’t be too upset because I never even managed to get Christmas cards out! I am sure that if I wasn’t writing 114

Damian Schlussel also sent a note in November. He and his wife, Megan,

returned from living the life in Europe in June and they are now in New Mexico where he is the Squadron Commander for the 27th Special Operations Security Forces Squadron. Damian just finished attending the FBI National Academy as part of the 23 1 st session. He wrote that Tom Kootsikas got engaged to a fellow pilot in his squadron and then they were quickly off deployed again.

He also heard from Gloria and Kirby Ensser and they are on their way to Nellis where Kirby is the #3 Thunderbird. Angel Santiago is still in the Netherlands

exchange pilot.

Lastly, I got a note from Craig Fitzpatrick in early January. He is moving back from Norfolk to DC. He is working the acquisition of his little start-up by Lockheed, and he is going to go help them launch a company called Savi Performance Logistics in Alexandria. Should be a fun couple of years! as an

He also had the following updates to share. Chris Harlow just passed the DC

bar and is practicing in downtown DC. He lives on Capitol Hill with Dave Lewis, who is still flying UH-Is. The two of them, Regen Wilson, and Craig went to AF-Navy game and then went and “tore up” Annapolis. They ran into Mike Connors, who is teaching high school in the DC area. Regen is still active in the acting community in DC, and got out of the AF last summer. He now works at Booz Allen Hamilton in Marketing/PR. Shawn Kelly transferred his C-5 commitment via Palace Chase and is now in Denver flying for Frontier

Airlines. James Blanchard is back at the zoo teaching Management. Heandhis wife, Sylvia, just moved to Castle Rock. Our Estonian exchange friend, Jaak Therien, has just been appointed the Estonian Air Force's liaison officer to NATO and will be at the NATO office in Norfolk until July, at which time he will head back to Europe. Craig also ran into Joe Adamski in Austin a couple months ago. He is finishing his MBA at Emory in Atlanta.

Personally, I ran into “Jeff” Jeffress, who is an aggressor here, and Steve Behmer and his wife, Nicole, added a baby boy to their family in December.

Matthew Steven was bom December 13th and joins sisters Natalie (age 5) and

flight asT-6 instructors in the 41st FTS, and Alister Dopp is also teaching students in SUPT phase II in the 37th FTS. Rob is a Flight Commander flyingT38's in the 50th FTS, and he and Matt Harting traded flights in their respective aircraft in December. Additionally, Rob writes that he ran into a couple of2000 grads attending SOS class 08B on a waiver back in January. Jim Marion was there as well as Patrick Doyle.

Dr. Patrick Parsons is at Spangdablem AB, fighting and winning the war against plaque and gum disease and saving lives one tooth at a time. He's been staying busy treating a lot of deployers and has enj oyed some skiing in the Austrian and Swiss Alps on the weekends. Eric Bixby got married this summer and has offidally PCSed to Barksdale versus his previous very long TDYs from Dallas.

Again, please get in touch with me; your class wants to hear what’s going on same

with you. Thanks, Jason.

Faith Dunn

(Flitchcock)

6423 NW 94th Court

Anna (age 3).

67 % Members

Johnson, IA 50131

I guess that is it for this month. Please call or write with any information,

faithd03@hotmail.com

questions, etc. I can’t wait to see everyone this fall!

James W. Busch 1697A Borneo St.

Hi there 'Olers,

Clovis, NM 88101

Haven’t heard from too many people this time around -1 am hoping it is just because the article was due right after Christmas and people were busy with family and the holidays. Please send me your updates and pictures for the next article! kjoaRE Vy

(505) 693-2266 DSN: 681-6521

Buschfl6@yahoo.com james.busch@cannon.af.mil

(Three Sabre Society Donors) (Editor’s note: We did not receive an inputfrom Jamesfor this issue. Please send him your information and photographsfor the next issue.)

Jason “JW” Simmons

^ ,

3524 Lakeside Drive

64%^

Members,

Shreveport, LA 71119 jason.simmons@us.af.mil simmons@USAFA2000.com

Randy Carlson just finished a two -year tour teaching in the physics department at USAFA. He is now getting his PhD in astronomy at New Mexico State University sponsored by the 'PkciffA Air Force. He recently was able to visit his old roommate James Topping in San Diego. James is still in the Marine Corps 5 flying the F-18 at Miramar NAS. He recently returned from a Sabre Society Donors deployment and is getting married this fall.

Aaron Brown e-mailed from ShawAFB where he is flying F-16s in the 77th Fighter Squadron along with Eric Music and Scott Fann. All three are married with two kids each! Eric just arrived from Hill and Scott came from Mountain Home about a year ago. Other ’01 ers currently flying the F-16 at Shaw are Brian Healy and Brian Hoose. J eff Strange is at Shaw as well on an ALO tour. Aaron is getting ready to PCS in April to Osan. He’s looking forward to catching up with Kevin Crofton once he gets there.

Hello everyone, it was pretty sparse this time. Please send me updates!

All is well for me and I’m looking forward to having lots of family and friends in town the weekend of 26 April for my wedding. Kris Hardy separated from Active Duty in September, and has moved to Columbus, OH. He has since been very busy starting three new businesses:

liveSCUBA.com, a social network for SCUBA divers; Submerged Solutions, submergedsolutions.com, an IT consulting firm as well as SuperDuct, an air duct cleaning

% company. I heard from Kevin Kuciapinski; he was recently in Colorado for a conference and had some time built in for Sabre Society Donors lots of fun back around some of our old stomping grounds.

Jen (Shelby) Miller and husband Ty, ’99, have given their son Tristan, a baby-sister named Alexa, and are enjoying life running San Diego Harley-Davidson.

Eric Music, Scott Fann and Aaron Brown catching up at ShawAFB.

Audra Lyons sent me an update. She and Frank Lyons moved to San Antonio in Jun 07. He's at Kelly USA working in the Test Squadron and she’s at Randolph working in AFPC. They have been to several weddings in just the last six months.

Paul Graham, Antonio Pargas, Jimmy Mikes and Tommy Gonzalez all got married recently. She’s also heard that Matt Mountcastle recently PCSed to

Germany.

Jen and her children.

Will Hartman seems to have a permanent email address in the desert as he

keeps getting tours that direction. Rob Brooks writes that all is well in Columbus, MS. Apparently Columbus has become a repository for former Two Granders graduating from CS-30. Matt Harting and Rob Thweatt are in the

’01 ers at Antonio Pargas’wedding.

115

Jeremy McDaniel separated from the AF in August 07 and is now a 7th Grade History Teacher in his hometown of Leesburg, FL. He recently got engaged to a girl named Jessika and they are planning a June 28 th wedding send pictures Jeremy!

Mike and I are doing great. We are settling into our house and jobs in Iowa.

The weather is cold here and snowing a good bit and we love it. Grant is getting so big and keeps us very busy running around everywhere. He turns one in February and we can’t believe it. Here is a picture of the three of us the night before Grant’s first Christmas. We had a great Christmas and were able to spend -

it with both sides of our family.

who is also a Reservist. She also happens to work for Randy Sharpe who is married to Sarah (Stauffer) Sharpe. Carries says they are all doing well and

enjoying Ohio.

Also, some other good news to report, I got engaged to my one-year studmuffin boyfriend, Dave Kauvar, over this holiday season. Dave is a George Washington graduate (1998) and a USUHS MD graduate (2002). He is a chief resident in general surgery stationed at Brooke Army Medical Center. Yes, he is Army Strong! We got engaged in Central Park, NYC after a wonderful carriage ride. We have planned our wedding for June of this year. We are really excited and can’t wait to spend the rest of our lives together.

All my best

Faith, Grant and Mike Dunn at home on Christmas Eve.

-

Amy.

We hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday season and wish you a

wonderful 2008! Remember to keep in touch and send updates and pictures!

Susan L.

Doyle

PSC 103, Box 2341

APO AE, 09603

Amy Schultz 806 Magnolia Bend

01139 349 896 0521

.Members i ill '•

x

susan_doyle@ksg05.harvard.edu susan_doyle@post.harvard.edu

.

'

/.

as

•

’

San Antonio, TX 78251

215-280-1760

aschultzdmd@gmail.com Class Website: www.usafa02.org

Greetings! I hope 2008 has started offwell for all and you haven’t broken all of your resolutions yet! Lucky for me, I didn’t make any!

Erin (Harms) Matray sends greetings from Alaska. She got married this past 23 June 2007to Blake Matray in Fairbanks, AK. Blake is aKC-135 pilot with the Alaska National Guard.

Erin separated from the AF at the beginning of August 2007.

They will continue to call Alaska home for a few more years.

Blake is a dog musher, so they share their home with about 30 Siberian Huskies, a Chocolate Lab, a Shetland Sheepdog and a Cattle Dog/ Setter mix. As you can imagine, there is rarely a dull moment at their house. Hereis a photo after their wedding and the ring bearer, Kona, their Labrador.

Felice Anno Nuovo from Italy! This quarter’s updates take us into a NewYear

and the continuation of the Class of2003’s adventures. Bongers are spread across the world and making a difference.

Dave Thompson is a maintenance officer at Whiteman. On June 10,2006, he

married then lLt Julianne Rose (Leavy). Dave leads the Fabrication flight,

home of the Low Observables team that “makes the big black jet stealthy.”

Julianne and Dave had their first boy, Simon Antonio Thompson, onNovemher 16,2007. In the summer of2008, Dave will deploy to UAE.

Dave, Julianne, and Simon Thompson In December, Greg Maly PSCed to Patrick AF Base where he continues work as an Intel officer.

Carrie Wellman sends a hello and wonderful Valentine wishes to all. She is

currently living in Ohio and is a Reservist at STRATCOM and a civil servant at Wright-PattersonAFB. She leftactive dutybackin June of2005. Before returning to a military profile, she worked as a writer for a production company in Denver and as a barista at a local coffee shop in her hometown in Ohio. She is hoping to stay in Dayton to complete graduate school. Carrie also notes that since she has been a Reservist, she has been running into classmates left and right, but when she was in, she never saw anyone. (I am sure this is a feeling shared by many!) Carrie is working for Terry Hunt now, a classmate of ours 116

John Harris flies F- 16s at Kunsan and re-

turned from a deployment to Balad in the summer of2007.

Dusty Fahie finished C-17 school in December and is offidally a C-17 Pilot. He reports to Dover in Jan 2008 to start his career in the 3rd AS. Jason Cromar graduated from the Uniformed Services University medical school in May 2007. He and his wife, Keelin, are stationed at Lackland AFB in San Antonio where Jason is doing his internship. Kim Broughton is also doing her residency there.

Matt and Beth Bumiston are atVandenberg and love Santa Maria. Matt works with United Launch Alliance on new GPS satellites and a few classified NRO satellites that will launch throughout the spring and summer.

Matt Wieringa flies KC- 10s out of Travis and deployed over Thanksgiving. .

Jason Furcron flies C- 130s out of Dyess, and is also deployed. The Mo Fighters

(CS-04!) are expected back in January.. .just in time for the baptism of Marieka

EliseWieringa.

Mike and Chelsea Strasser are still at Lakenheath and had a relaxing Christmas break in Paris with their newborn son Liam. Fellow F- 1 5 pilot, Dave Van Ypern (aka Notch) is also a new Dad!! Congratulations!

Adam Ciarella and Pat Williams are transitioning to the F-22 in Alaska.

They flew F-15Cs with the 19th at Elmendorf and were selected for the conversion course to join the new F-22 squadrons.

Brig Gen Jim Hogue visited AJ and Michelle (Hogue) Henley, and his first grandson, Lucas Mark Henley, in Omaha Nebraska.

A special thank you to Mark Hickie for

submitting updates for the CS-24 Phantoms: Mike Opresko is the proud parent of a new baby, Nic Graves fin-

ished CRO school and is at DM, and Jon King still flies C- 17s at McChord.

Mohammed A1 Alawi is flying in Oman and enjoying life with his wife, Dalai, and their 19-month-old daughter Shamma. Thomas Bellairs works acquisitions at L.A. AFB on the next generation of GPS and is his master’s at pursuing USC. David Bennett is at Aviano, did the Paris air show, and has traveled Europe extensively. Laurel Chiaramonte (Huber) is at Nellis on the med/surg ward. Her daughter ArianaLyn was born onNovember21st. The whole family heads to Kadena in February. Ricardo Cornejo is an Aircraft Commander with 1000 hours in the C-17. He’s Airdrop Qualified and in the Special Ops Low Level Squadron at Charleston. Stephen Edstrom graduated med school in and started May residency in Family Medicine/ Flight Medicine. After his threeyear residency, he will complete the aerospace primer course and go straight to work as a flight doc. Kevin Haines is in Tokyo until December 2008, and flies the C- 12J after the retirement of the C-21 Learjet from the PACAF fleet. Elia Hickie (Burrill) started 2007 learning C-17 operations atAltus, OK before movingto South Carolina in February to join the 16thAS. She deployed to A1 Udeid for four months and then finally took her honeymoon with Mark a cruise to the Caribbean! Mark Hickie finished up initial F-16 training at Luke AFB in May and began flying at Shaw in Sumter, SC with the 79th Fighter squadron in October. John Lancaster is in Forces at Fort Special training Bragg, NC, will finish in August and then take over an A-Team in Fort Campbell, KY. Eric Lederer proposed to his girlfriend Megs before he deployed to Iraq. In August, Nick Wzientek and Jeff finished the Leadville 100 trail race in Colorado for the second straight year. Andrew Nowicki lives in the DC area and left Deloitte Consulting to pursue an opportunity within the DoD. Ian Ostermiller is still at McChord and ran Ops Air Force for the Ops Group there. A trip back to CSprings to him to the Ritz, Jack Quinn's, and Garden of the Gods. He is applying for FLEP to be a JAG officer. Michelle Ruehl is in Abilene flying the “dangerous and sexy Hercules.” She will perform in Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde in the spring.

Brian Smolensky is a full-time actor in LA, despite the writer’s strike. He wrote, and in starred his first feature film The Gadarene Swine directed, produced, and earned a spot on Prison Break. Tyler Tracy deployed for four months to fly C- 130s in February. In December, he accepted an AFSOC predator assignment to New Mexico. Holly Van Liere left Tinker for Korea and traveled to JeJu Island, the DMZ, Tokyo, Beijing, and Thailand. Derrick White works in the IZ in Baghdad with KBR as a Sr. Subcontracts Administrator. His wife, Adonis, and kids (Wisdom, 4 and Elijah, 1) are doing well in Hampton, VA. Finally, Rob Whiteside and Pat Kennedy are at Aviano flying the F- 16 and send a "BONG!!!!" shout out...

Thanks again to everyone who provided inputs for this quarter’s update.

Please contact me at any time, and I’ll include your submissions.

Keep in touch and take care. Susan.

-

From left the players are Grandpa Hogue (76) and Luke ’28(?), Kevin

Hogue,

Michelle (Hogue) Henley (’04), AJ Henley (’03), Paula Hogue and Cathy and Kevin Chilton (’76.)

After finishing economic development work in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, Giles Whiting is back in Iraq leading his McKinsey team in optimizing the country’s economic and business development. Giles is happy to be back and thrilled with the impact the team has made.

-

Breezy (Long) Heddinger Cell: (719) 213-3205 Dyess AFB,TX

Giles on far right with the rest ofhis team.

Chris and Heidi Schlagheck welcomed baby Austin into the world on June 14,2007. He is a miracle baby, proving all of the doctors wrong and surviving two open heart surgeries and a craniotomy within his first six months oflife.

Chris and Heidi are finishing their tour in Florida and plan to PCS in late spring/

early summer.

71 %

Members

windy04@gimail.af.mil

Happy Spring, Class of ’04. Before we jump into the news, I’d like to remind everyone about our individual profiles on the AOG website. Ifyou want your info to be correct and public/hidden to your specifications, update your info in the graduate directory and/or member directory online. Besides simply helpingyou stay in touch, this info affects the annually printed Register ofGraduates. Okay, enough administrivia.

First, we mistakenly omitted one of our photos from the last issue—sorry, Katie and Luke! Please see the attached wedding photo and congratulate the

Goossens!

Chris, Heidi and Austin Schlagheck. The picture was taken a week before Austin’s second heart surgery and his sixmonth birthday.

Heidi, a Class of2003 senator writes: “As the 2003 representative to the AOG Class Advisory Senate, it is important for me to represent your opinions to the

Senate. The Senate meets quarterly while also conducting business between each meeting. In order to obtain feedback from the class, I will share the initiatives that we are working on, ask for

any feedback from the class, and then share them with the Senate. Ifyou are interested in being on my class email list to receive Senate updates/business info, please email me at

hschlagh@gmail.

”

com.

Second, Class Vice President Jeff Gould ran into several classmates during his recently-completed, second trip to the Desert, and he has been kind enough

to share a few details about our

deployed Ready for Warriors: Matt Finch: flying C-21 s out of Scott AFB getting married in June (more to

follow). Brian Ashburn: flyingJSTARS (E-8) out of Robbins AFB; also, Brian married Meghan (civilian), whom he met while at UPT, in July 07 in Dallas, TX.

Aylett Hughes: C-130s Dyess AFB. Dave Hoffecker:C- 130s DyessAFB. Matt Boyd: C-130s Little Rock (currently flying missions out of Balad AB). Brad Temple: KC- 135s still living it up at RAF Mildenhall.

Third, Neil Wahlgren is happy to report that he is currently flying C- 130s around Asia out ofYokota AB, Japan. Also, he is no longer flying solo in his personal life—Neil and his lovely wife, Jodi, will celebrate their one-year anniversary in 2008.

Last, but certainly not least, we have a number ofclassmates who have submitted to another calling: the medical field.

Chris Pitotti, currently representing the determination of’04 grads in emergency medicine at UVA School of Medicine, has provided the following list of other classmates who, like Chris, are finally seeing their hard work pay off. The military residency match results came out for those ‘04 grads in med school—below are some of the results (they'll finally be promoted out of 2Lt status). We may have missed a couple in this list, and sorry in advance for any oversight—please just send me your news when you have a chance.

Ben Allis: general surgery at Davis Grant. Chris Mahoney: general surgery at Wright Patterson AFB, OH. Pat Short: pediatrics at Naval Medical Center

about to run her first 5K so things are going great. Dominique Boivin wrote all the way from Balad, Iraq. Currently she is working in the Mayor’s Cell as the OIC in charge of the Army Education Center. She laughs at advising troops on

how “college” life is, remembering we didn’t go to a college, we went to an institution. We love your sense of humor Dom! Dominique extended her

deployment since she is enjoying being overseas. She has found time to compete in a body-building competition and needless to say from the picture, she must have done awesome.

Portsmouth.

Those rejoining the AF in San Antonio: TomBeachkofsky: transitional year; Art Clarkson: pathology; Thomas Percival: general surgery; Chris Pitotti: emergency medicine; Joe Rohrer: otolaryngology; Jeremy Simmons: general surgery.

Pursuing medical school after USAFA is no small feat—congrats to each of you, and best of luck on the next step in your particular field.

Well, that’s all for now. Please continue to send updates. I’ll be deployed through this spring, so I may not be conveniently reachable through the global—the gimail address will be better. Stay safe, and for those still in the USAF, let the countdown to Captain begin...

Paula

Delapasse 103 Raymond Circle

72 % llfl fi m ii® f s

Warner Robins, GA 31088

(225) 603-4450 paulamaffey@juno.com Paula.Delapasse@robins.af.mil

\

Happy 2008! I hope you are doing well and enjoying your year so far.

We have a lot of class updates to share this time, it was great to have so many replies from different classmates. Keep them coming! First off Ryan Reed is flying C- 130s after graduating from the Naval Air Training Command’s program at NAS Corpus Christi, TX. He received his wings in December 2006 as a Distinguished Graduate ofthe pilot qualification program.

He also received the Daedalian Orville Wright Achievement

Award which recognizes the outstanding graduates of the UPT schools ofthe USAF AETC, the Naval Air Training Com-

mand, and the outstanding graduates of the Army Aviation School. Congratulations Ryan, that’s awesome! Good luck getting settled in at

Dominique Boivin as a contestant in a recent body-building competition.

All I can say is that our female Big-Bad-Basic can beat up your Big-Bad-Basic any day! Cindy Dawson wrote from McConnell AFB, KS where she was recently stationed flying the KC-135. After finishing up training at Altus AFB she was

preparing to head to Milidenhall but then, after shipping all her stuff overseas, the AF decided she would better serve at McConnell! After getting over the ini tial headache, it all worked out for the better because she was stationed there with John Finke. John and Cindy got engaged this past Christmas and plan to get married at the Cadet Chapel this summer! Rachael (McIntosh) Taylor has one

“deployment” to the Port Mortuary in Dover, Delaware before she separates from the AF under the Force-Shaping program. She is working in Services as the mortuary officer at McChord AFB and this is one of the many interesting aspects of her job. She and husband Nick Taylor ’04 look forward to being in control oftheir own future and plan on moving from Tacoma once she gets out!

Erin Richardson wrote from the 40thAirlift Squadron in Abilene, TX where she is flying the C-130. She is excited to not be living out of a suitcase anymore and to be finally settled down in one location though pending deployments are always looming! She wrote, “I just got back from an iron swap (bring a good plane, take a bad plane), on the way stopping in Canada, England, Germany, Turkey, Greece, and Qatar. It was awesome andwegotto see so much. C-130 tactical airlift is awesome! We do some really crazy things. Nextweekl'mheaded to Yuma, AZ to be a test pilot for the newest airdrop system JPADS (Joint Precision Airdrop System) It's pretty much attaching rocket thrusters and a GPS to a cargo load which steers it to the drop zone.

Priscilla Giddings wrote from Arizona where she is at Davis-Monthan with more

-

”

your first assignment!

A new www.usafa.org ♦Updated News Stories ♦Photo Galleries ♦New Online Store ♦

Electronic Register of Graduates (Membersow

stay connected

Ryan Reed receives his Distinguished Graduate Award from Captain David Maynard', USN, Commordore ofTrainingAir Wing Four (left) and Commander Charles Cassidy, Commander Training Squadron 31 (right). Submitted by Col Samuel M. Reed, Jr., USAF (Ret.) Next all the 2005 Track and Field grads had a little email reunion to catch up on how everyone has been

doing. Since graduation, Lacy Dewall finished up Intel school at Goodfellow AFB and is now down in Panama City working at Tyndall AFB. She started out as the Intelligence Operations Chief supporting the F-22 squadron there and is now working in Training and Stan/Eval which she absolutely loves. Lacy bought a house in Florida, has a new puppy, and is 118

the A-10 training. She has her first flight in the Warthog Feb 2nd but says with a smile she can’t wait until she gets to fire the GUN! Good luck Priscilla, we know you will do great out there! Makisi Haleck sent me an email from Sheppard AFB where he is working as an exec for the OSS Squadron Commander until he PGSes to Dyess to train on the B- IB. After he finishes follow-

training at Dyess he hopes to go to Ellsworth AFB, SD. I also got a short message from Caleb Pelger. He is currently flying the B-52 at Barksdale AFB with not much else going on. He said he loves the weather, people, and food in Shreveport, LA- enjoy Mardi Gras Caleb! Jami (Hodge) Fernandez, who spent 10 months in an internship at Travis AFB after graduation, is finally at Hill AFB in Utah. She said it could not be a better place as she and husband, John Fernandez ’03, have gone camping and hiking in so many beautiful National and State parks. They love waking up to a beautiful view of the mountains outside their bedroom window and even went cross-country skiing for a New Years celebration. She enjoys her challengingjob as a Group Practice Manager in the 75th Medical Group where she is part of the Medical Services Corps.

Another wedding was celebrated last year at the Cadet Chapel between Jacob Fukaand Jennifer Neville ’06. The celebration was August 11th with the reception at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort. A good time was had by all; they had to kick them out at the end of the night! Jake and Jen are planning a Mediterranean honeymoon once they are stationed together. on

Jenny Coker On December 22nd Hudson Graham and Chelsea Coccimiglio were en-

gaged at sunrise in Phoenix, Arizona. The wedding will be May 31 st.

Hudson and Chelsea

Jake and Jen after their wedding last summer.

Saber bearers at the wedding were John Fernandez '03, Dominic Calderon '05, Chris Gausepohl ’05, Aaron Duff ’05, Joe Samek ’06, and Oscar Mayhew '06. Jami (Hodge) Fernandez was a bridesmaid. Jacob is currently flying the UH-1N "Huey" at Andrews AFB, MD and absolutely loves his job. Jake and Jen have gotten word that they will be stationed together in August of this year once she assumes her new assignment as an engineer in the 29th Intelligence

At sunrise in a different part ofthe world... Lindsey Bergeron is still deployed

in Qatar (until August) and this was a picture of Baghdad the first morning she was over at

Camp Victory.

Squadron at Ft George Meade, MD. They said, “We are so excited about living together and can’t wait to experience the blessings of a ‘real’ marriage.”

I also got another email from Iraq. M. Lynn Gouthro, who cross-commissioned into the Army after graduation, just got back from her first deployment that had her 15 months in Baghdad. She is working as aTUAVplatoon leader and is also about to be the XO of the 504th Military Intelligence Company out of Germany where she is stationed. She said she is gearing up for another deployment so we wish you the best ofluck out there Lynn, be careful and keep in touch!

Thanks to everyone for the updates! Keep your spirits up and take care! Paula Felisa

(Hervey) Dyrud 20 Myrtle Ave. Cambridge, MA 02138 (719) 352-5991 Felisa.dyrud@gmail.com

73% Members

Baghdad at sunrise.

1 st Lt Ryan Baker, USA, reports that over the Christmas break he went to

What’s up class of2006?

Hope this finds you well. Here are a few classmate updates to start out the year... be sure to send me yours!

Wi ll iam MacVittie sent in some news from Vance APB...

Jake Ashmore got F- 15Es and is going to North Carolina while Dave Gertiser and Ellie Supper both got F- 16s to Luke AFB. Toni Horrell and Cody Brown will both be flying the C-17 out ofMcCord AFB and Caleb Pickard was selected to fly the U-28A out of Hurlburt Field. Jared Hieb will also be flying i the C-17 out of Dover, DE and is currently training at Altus Sabre Society AFB. James Rorick will be flying the KC-135 out of Grand

Jeremy Hefner’s wedding at the Academy Chapel. Afterwards he, along with JD Hertzel, Joshua Stinson, Mike Bien, Dave Foland, Brian Jones, and other friends went into the mountains for a few days to celebrate NewYears in Breck.

It was a great time with our special guest ‘Chelsea.’ Ryan will be leaving in March on a 15-month deployment to Afghanistan with the lOlstAirborne.

Casey Bayne 7363 River Pointe Drive, Apt

77% Members

14North Little Rock, AR 72113

(719) 930-5066 checkpoints@caseybayne.com

Donors

Forks AFB. Rob Campbell proposed to Jenny Coker at 800 AGL in a Cessna. Jenny is currently in T-1 s at Columbus AFB and Rob is at Vance AFB in T-6s. “Marry Me?” was spelled out below them on the ground, but we thought Jenny was by far the better shot.

(No Sabre Society Donors Yet) (Editor’s Note: We did not receive an input from Caseyfor this issue. Please send him your information and photographs for the next issue.)

119

(Gone But Not Forgotten: Hal Walter

included the Chamber of Commerce, Executive Club, Winter Night

Continued from page 79.)

Club, World Affairs Council, Military Officers Association, and the AFA Blue and Silver and Quarterback Clubs. He was a founding member of

Upon graduation, he became an Air Force Officer at OCS, serving his country in assignments at Bolling in Washington, D.C., where he was an Air

Force elite volleyball, basketball and racquetball player

and OSI investigator, and Rhein Main in Germany; Bien Hoa and Tan Son Nhut in Vietnam; and Lowry in Denver as a Morale, Welfare and Recreation Officer.

His true calling was as an assistant and freshman basketball coach and physical education instructor at the US Air Force Academy, where

he was honored to recruit, instruct, men-

Friends of Air Force Basketball.

Hal is survived by his loving wife of 24 years, Christel; sons Mark Walter,

wife LuDel, granddaughter Erika of Colorado Springs; Scott Walter, wife

Janine, grandson Cody of Franktown; and Mark Hartmann, granddaughters Allie and Stella and grandson Philipp of Denver; daughter Susie Jacobs, husband Kevin, and granddaughters Sophie and Hannah of Broomfield; cousin Peggy Frederickson of New Jersey and numerous

friends and golfing, fishing and traveling buddies.

tor and help develop the nation’s future

Air Force leaders. Greg Popovich, now the

A new www.usafa.org

coach and general manager of the world

champion San Antonio Spurs, has called him “coach” ever since. AFA Head Coach

♦Updated News Stories

Bob Spear was Hal’s mentor and partner;

♦Photo Galleries

Dean Smith was his compatriot.

♦New Online Store

During

his AFA years, Hal obtained his Masters and Doctorate degrees in physical edu-

♦Electronic Register of Graduates Members om y)

cation from Indiana

University and helped Dr. Richard Cooper construct the

stay connected

Air Force aerobics program. Hal retired as a lieutenant colonel from ADC at Ent AFB

where he was a leader in the Inspector Hal Walter

General’s office.

In entering the real estate industry, Hal

also was the director of the National College of Business in Colorado

Springs and Pueblo. A managing broker of Century 21, his lasting impact on real estate was as a principal instructor at Jones Real Estate College, where he trained thousands of agents, including many of today’s leading realtors. Hal was the President of the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors in 1991 and their Realtor of the Year in 1993. The

Colorado Association of Realtors bestowed him with its highest honor as state-wide Realtor of the Year in 2001.

His community involvement

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