Checkpoints Mar 2014

checkpoints 2010 March 2014

USAFA Alumni Magazine

The First Frontier Astronaut Kjell Lindgren ‘95 trains for NASA Expedition 44/45.

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FEATURES 16 The First Frontier Go inside NASA’s intensive astronaut training program with Dr. Kjell Lindgren ‘95 as he prepares to become the next member of the Long Blue Line to fly in space.

24 The Attack on Camp Bastion

On September 14, 2012, at around 10 p.m., 15 heavily armed insurgents penetrated the perimeter of Camp Bastion, a base in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Major Matthew Komatsu ‘99 recounts his experience on the frontline of the most publicized insurgent attack of the entire war in Afghanistan.

32 Four Years in the Kingdom On the Cover Astronaut Kjell Lindgren ‘95 trains at the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at the Sonny Carter Training Facility in Houston, Texas. Image by Cliff Patrick ‘95. Visit tacticalimage.com to view more of Patrick’s work.

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Former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Jim Smith ‘74, on life as a diplomat in the Kingdom.

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60 DEPARTMENTS Columns

The Endowment

Cadet Life

4 CEO Update 6 Chairman’s Journal 8 Superintendent 10 Staff Directory 12 Letters 14 News

38 Our Cadets, Your Impact 40 One Big Team 43 Giving by the Numbers

59 Cadet Photo Contest 86 2014 NCLS 88 Spanning Technology

Graduate Profile

Back of the Book

50 Serpentine History 56 Long Blue Ladle 60 Space: Intolerant 63 Falcon Fitness Fix 64 Close Encounters 70 Bringing the Universe

90 Gone But Not Forgotten 97 Class News 143 GX–Grad Exchange 144 Final Thought

Heritage

44 2013 Distinguished Graduates 72 60 Years of Blue 74 37th Squadron Smilers 80 Waldo

Checkpoints Online Bonus Content A Falcon Legacy Soars: Dana Pound ‘06 What the AOG Means to Me Long Blue Ladle: Off the Menu Worth 1000 Words Photo Galleries and More!

The Association 82 CASE Statement 84 Happenings

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columns

Your Opinions, My Observations

By WIlliam “T” Thompson ’73, AOG President and CEO

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ost of us are familiar with the old Morton Salt slogan, “when it rains, it pours,” which attempts to capture our feelings when everything seems to be going wrong. Some of our membership would argue that this is the current situation at USAFA. There certainly is no question that there are important “challenges” facing our Academy in today’s contemporary environment. It is also true that our new Superintendent, Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson ’81, has had to deal with a “full plate” in her relatively short tenure.

She arrived in August to assume command during the throws of sequestration. Not long afterwards, the government shutdown threw unnecessary difficulty into an already complex and complicated management assignment. Now for the icing on the cake, let’s throw in some “hot button” issues like the Honor Code and religion, and sexual orientation and staff appointments. Finally, for the cherry on top, let’s drop on the “Cadets as Confidential Informants” issue which broke in the local press, had national news coverage, and was being discussed at a meeting I attended

by Congressional members, the Air Force Chief of Staff and the new Secretary of the Air Force. “When it rains, it pours” would certainly seem to be applicable.

It’s no surprise that some in our graduate community have had strong opinions about some or all of these issues and have shared those opinions with the AF Chief of Staff and the Superintendent, but with the overwhelming majority of those opinions coming to the AOG. I believe feedback from our members is usually a good thing, and when expressed in a constructive and respectful manner is a positive occurrence for both the Academy and the Association. I should also say that the overwhelming majority of the emails, letters and calls expressing opinions on the above issues certainly fell into that preceding category.

There are however, some observations I would like to share which may come as a surprise to some in our membership.

My first observation is that it is not uncommon for some grads to suggest that they are speaking for a larger number of grads; their class, their decade or even the graduate community at large. In fact, our graduate

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opinions are varied, diverse and not often stereotypical. While we do all share the common experience of having attended this wonderful institution, the truth is that we are not a monolithic, homogeneous group.

My second observation is that some of our graduates have difficulty in keeping things in perspective.

They seem to think that the difficulties we face today spell the end of the great Academy we all graduated from. In reality, the Academy has faced these sorts of challenges in every decade of our 60 year existence.

One need only go to Google to see that we have dealt with these types of issues from the 1960s with some of our early classes. As an aside, West Point and Annapolis have had their share of challenges as well.

To be clear, I am not making light of or condoning unacceptable behavior by anyone at our Academy.

Our standards are high and the American people expect that we will keep them that way and meet or exceed them. Yet, there is no doubt that the Air Force Academy has weathered our previous trials, and has continued to grow in standing and reputation. We will endure our present circumstance and meet future obstacles that arise, as well, because it is in our nature.

It is just who we are.

Finally, when the story breaks and the Academy is in the news in a less than flattering way, there are always those grads who, in addition to expressing their opinions, convey their intention to withdraw their support. To be fair, I guess on some level, this is human nature. Perhaps it is a way to express dissatisfaction and to take some tangible action. Yet, I’m always reminded of the words of a mentor in my early career, “It’s easy to standby someone when things are great but the mark of true character is to be there when times are tough.” I would submit that this same philosophy applies to our alma mater, as well.

In closing, I believe there is one thing, despite our varied opinions, that most of us will agree with: we were given a unique opportunity by the American people to attend the United States Air Force Academy and we want it to continue to be strong and grow in stature and prestige. Your Association of Graduates is working hard every day to fulfill that part of our mission. GO FALCONS!

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Chairman’s

Journal

By Brig. Gen. (ret.) Roger Carleton ’67

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n this issue I’ll cover five topics of interest to the graduate community: welcoming a new appointed AOG Board member, the approval of a new MOU between the AOG and the USAFA Endowment, the budgetary challenges facing USAFA, this year’s National Character and Leadership Symposium, and the recently disclosed OSI Confidential Informant (CI) program.

At our December meeting, the AOG Board of Directors approved Cathy (Colebrook) McClain, Class of 1982, to fill one of the two vacant appointed director positions. According to our ByLaws, the Board’s composition is 11 elected directors and up to four (4) appointed directors. After a very successful 25-year Air Force career where she retired as a Colonel, Cathy entered the aerospace industry where she accepted more responsibility and challenging assignments based on her demonstrated leadership skills. We welcome Cathy to the Board and look forward to her contributions.

In the December issue of Checkpoints, I alluded to the fact the AOG and the USAFA Endowment were very close to finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between our two organizations. As stated earlier, both the AOG and USAFA Endowment are independent 501(c)(3) organizations, each with a separate Board of Directors.

I am pleased to report that both Boards of Directors approved the new, four-year MOU in late December. Thus, the new MOU went into effect January 1, 2014 and runs through 31 December 2017. The graduate community owes a debt of gratitude to the individuals who negotiated this agreement. Paul Madera ’78, Dick Schlosberg ’65, Terry Drabant ’65 and General (Ret.) Steve Lorenz ’73 represented the USAFA Endowment. Representing the AOG were General (Ret.) Kevin Chilton ’76, Vic Andrews ’66, William “T” Thompson ’73 and Bob Munson ’73. These eight individuals worked through a range of issues to arrive at an MOU that will benefit both our respective organizations while greatly benefitting the Air Force Academy and graduate community.

In my opinion, this MOU is a vast improvement over the previous ones as it recognizes the synergies that can be realized through closer cooperation in both the “friendraising” and fundraising” arenas.

On January 24th, the AOG’s Rampart Chapter welcomed Academy Superintendent, Lieutenant General Michelle

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Johnson ’81, as its guest speaker. Her talk highlighted the many difficult decisions facing our Academy resulting from looming budget cuts. General Johnson and her key staff are focusing on what she has termed the “essence” of the Academy in prioritizing where to cut programs and, possibly, personnel. As she pointed out, the U.S. Air Force is looking at reducing its force structure by some 550 aircraft and associated logistics tail as well as personnel cuts approaching 25,000 airmen. With such massive cuts across the larger Air Force, it is appropriate that USAFA take a top-to-bottom look at those programs that do not meet the criteria she has outlined. As decisions are made, the Academy will communicate them to the Cadet Wing and graduate community. It is in difficult times like these that the Academy can use our financial support to continue those essential cadet programs that otherwise might be curtailed due to budget reductions. One great way to show your support is to contribute through the Endowment to the Air Force Academy Fund.

Indeed, this would be a great year to become a member of the Sabre Society.

Last month, USAFA hosted its annual National Character and Leadership Symposium (NCLS): “Character Overcoming Conflict: Individual Stories, Global Impact.” This symposium provides the opportunity for all Academy personnel, visiting university students and faculty, and community members to experience dynamic speakers and participate in group discussions to enhance their own understanding of the importance and challenges of sound moral character and leadership. Three classes—1973,1959, and 1974—along with the USAFA Endowment, Association of Graduates and other charitable organizations support this worthwhile symposium. A special thanks to the Class of 1973 as they are the Flagship Support Organization for NCLS. Well done!

Finally, the revelations last year regarding the OSI’s CI program at the Academy resulted in a deluge of graduate e-mails and letters to the AOG. Thoughts from concerned graduates covered the broadest range of opinions and have been discussed with the Superintendent. As the Academy continues with its top-to-bottom reviews addressing a wide range of issues, the AOG will continue to represent graduate community inputs to Academy leadership. GO FALCONS!

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From the Superintendent

By Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson ’81

Fellow graduates, It is truly great to find myself back “home” at our Air Force’s Academy! Since taking command in August 2013, I have had the opportunity to immerse myself in all that is wonderful about our alma mater. As you know, however, I’ve also had a crash course in some of the challenges of being a college president and commander of a complex organization in the public arena. It’s no secret that we’ve had more than our share of scrutiny and headlines. I want to address some of those matters for which we’ve come under pressure and share with you our intent to address these challenges. First, though, I want to assure you that overall we’re doing well; you should be proud of the cadets following in your footsteps.

Let me use the words of a recent visitor, who came to USAFA with his high-school son to compete in an athletic event. This father was so moved by his overall experience, he felt compelled to share it in a letter to our Commandant, Brig Gen Gregory Lengyel. Initially, he “expected a professional, but distant politeness; what [he] experienced was something quite different.” He went on to say “I wish I could give specifics, but it is elusive and I’m not able to find the right words. It was much more than each passing cadet making eye contact, with a smile and a nod … more than each door being held for us, by a cadet going out of their way to do so. It was more than acceptance, even friendliness. I was unprepared for your cadets to possess such a subtle balance of patience, efficiency, humility, and confidence that is lacking in society today. Your cadets leave me aware that there is a humanity in the Air Force that I had not anticipated.”

I hope that the words of this outsider warm your heart as they do mine. Believe me when I say that the caliber of cadets has not diminished. Our cadets, YOUR cadets, are truly exceptional; and I want everyone to know that here at the Air Force’s Academy, we are producing just what the Air Force needs—young men and women of character ready to lead.

Of course, a small percentage of our cadets don’t always live up to our values. Most of the time, the cadets involved in disciplinary issues are engaging in the activities that college-age students do—drinking and pushing their limits. My peers, the presidents of the local colleges and universities, are struggling with the same problems.

No matter how “normal” it is elsewhere, however, we

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simply cannot tolerate excesses here at the Air Force Academy. We strive to enforce discipline such that transgressors can learn from their mistakes and become successful contributors to the Air Force and our nation.

To continue to improve in our mission of producing officers of character, we are refocusing on a culture of commitment and climate of respect. Across the military, academic and athletic areas, we are emphasizing the cadet chain of command, stressing a better sense of duty and accountability, and focusing on the cadet squadron as the center of gravity for cadet day-to-day life.

We believe that a culture of commitment will result in improvements across all areas at USAFA. The natural question that follows is “commitment to what?” The answer comes in three parts: commitment to serving our nation, commitment to our Air Force and its Core Values, and commitment to this Academy and each other.

We want cadets to understand they are entering the profession of arms. They should appreciate that the existence of the Air Force Academy rests firmly upon the notion of service—service to a country in a profession which one day may cost blood and treasure. Second, the commitment each cadet makes to the Constitution is their commitment to the Air Force. Our core values are the guiding principles that bind Airmen together; and to us, they are absolutely non-negotiable. And finally, cadets have a commitment to the Academy and to their peers.

The order above is important. Getting this hierarchy out of order can create ethical dilemmas. Toleration of any infraction, from choosing to skip breakfast to violating the honor code to criminal activity, often finds its genesis in a misprioritization of where commitment should lie. We have seen pockets of sub-cultures among the cadets where misplaced loyalty causes them to put their friends above the rules, the honor code, and our core values. A culture of commitment makes the choice a clear one.

The Cadet Wing is moving positively towards a stronger culture of commitment. We have been pushing more responsibility and authority to cadet leadership and will continue to do so. We are holding them accountable for their actions and decisions; and their response has been uplifting.

One of the areas of increased responsibility and accountability that we are testing this semester, and likely of interest to you all, is the cadet pass policy. By placing greater emphasis on a four class system, versus a fourth class system, we are treating the cadets like adults and soon-tobe lieutenants. There is no longer a pass “package,” tailored to each class. Instead, cadets are eligible to sign out anytime their sign out logs are open (which is itself controlled by the cadet chain of command). Firsties must be present for all required duties; two and three-degree cadets can sign out on weekends and during the week between their last military duty and the evening study period; four degrees can sign out any time on the weekends.

We believe changes in this one area will emphasize cadet ownership and accountability. This approach stresses both personal and supervisory responsibilities and allows for greater flexibility in choosing developmental activities. It better aligns the Academy experience with accepted practices in the Air Force. Will the cadets (figuratively) scrape their knees? Absolutely! But we believe it is better to have them do so here, before they enter their first duty assignment, where the stakes for our graduates and our Air Force are much higher.

A strong and shared culture of commitment and climate of respect will be increasingly important as the Air Force’s Academy takes its share of the budget cuts the entire Department of Defense is undergoing. We will use these constrained

budgets to refine our operations, honoring the vision established sixty years ago, while preparing for our future missions.

We will become leaner and more streamlined; but we will not lose who we are in the process. While some individual programs will be modified, or even eliminated, the essence of the Academy will remain.

We remain committed to developing character and leadership. Our focus on the Air Force mission in air, space and cyberspace is undiminished. The immersion experience still encapsulates the Air Force ethos and provides unrivaled exposure to Air Force professional culture. Competition across the many facets of cadet life will remain essential, balanced with a strong core curriculum where the liberal arts find harmony with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The contributions to the Air Force that only we can provide will not be diminished.

When I took command last summer, the Chief of Staff, General Mark Welsh ’76, charged me to lead, inspire, and care for the cadets. He made clear that our mission at the Air Force Academy is to prepare our cadets to enter the world’s greatest Air Force and to lead. I take that responsibility incredibly seriously and am prepared for the challenges that lie ahead. I appreciate the fantastic support from the graduate community and look forward to continuing our dialogue as we produce leaders of character for the Air Force and our nation.

graduate profile

ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY

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Staff Directory 3116 Academy Drive, USAF Academy, CO 80840-4475, (719) 472-0300 THE ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES To email a staff member, use the first and last name. Example: Gary Howe | gary.howe@aogusafa.org AOG Executive Office President & CEO William “T” Thompson ’73, ext. 101 (t.thompson@aogusafa.org) Executive Vice President Gary Howe ’69, ext. 107 Sr. VP for Business Operations Marty Marcolongo ’88, ext. 146 Sr. VP for Finance & Chief Financial Officer Alton Parrish, ext. 123 Executive Assistant Hadassa Muñoz, ext. 106 Finance Accountant Joyce Love, ext. 110 Senior Accounting Clerk Janice Baca, ext. 111 Sr. Data Integrity Specialist Kim Wilson, ext. 127 Sr. Data Integrity Specialist John Rice, ext. 132 Data Integrity Specialist Murlea Vance, ext. 130 Communications Sr. VP for Communications Bob McAllister, ext. 142 Senior Editor David Bergeman, ext. 143 Senior Designer Sarah Larrabee, ext. 144 Editor/Photographer Lewis Carlyle, ext. 140 Class News & Obituary Editor Tom Kroboth, ext. 133 Director of Web Communications Troy Surratt, ext. 125 Systems Administrator Jason Finkle, ext. 124 Programmer/Systems Analyst Gayatri Parepalli, ext. 118 Lead Programmer/Web Developer Toby Lortz, ext. 141 Director of Information Systems Jack Mueller ’70, ext. 122 Business Operations Director of Business Operations Beth Wade, ext. 134 National Marketing Coordinator Adam Porter, ext. 157 Local Marketing Coordinator David Allen, ext. 150

Alumni Affairs Vice President for Alumni Affairs Corrie Grubbs, ext. 105 Director of Constituent Relations Megan Mulligan, ext. 108 Membership Services Specialist Don McCarthy, ext. 139 Graduate Support Specialist Beth Szucs ’97, ext. 115 Alumni Affairs Event Coordinator Michele Bergeman, ext. 136 Alumni Affairs Event Coordinator Sara Dozier, ext. 138 Parent and Alumni Program Manager Stella Grayson ’99, ext. 121 Doolittle Hall Events/Special Functions Director of Event Planning Ashlee Peterson, ext. 147 Special Functions Coordinator Jean Bickford, ext. 148 Customer Service and Facility Management Customer Service Supervisor Michele Cowan, ext. 151 Customer Service Representative Brandi Lortz, ext. 154 Merchandising Lead Jan Howard, ext. 153 Merchandising Representative DeDe Green, ext. 152 Facilities Superintendent Kenny D’Amico, ext. 155

The Association of Graduates Board of Directors Kevin Chilton ’76 Board Chair Roger Carleton ’67 Drew Miller ’80 Vice Chair Vic Andrews ’66 Kathy McClain ’82 Secretary Bebe O’Neil ’83 Steve Beasley ’93 Treasurer Jack Fry ’67 Kathleen Rock ’98 Mike Torreano ’70 Mark Rosenow ’03 Bob Munson ’73 CAS President Richard Sexton ’60 Bruce Wright ’73 Larry Fariss ’75

The USAFA Endowment To email a staff member, use the first and last name. Example: Troy Danno | troy.danno@usafaendowment.org President & CEO Gen. (Ret.) Stephen R. Lorenz ’73 (steve.lorenz@usafaendowment.org) Vice President, Development Jennifer Bateman, ext. 202 Executive Assistant Ruth Reichert ext. 206 Chief Financial Officer Dennis Scruggs, ext. 203 Associate Vice President for Development Greg Knedler, ext. 224 Director of Annual Giving open position Associate VP of Leadership Giving Jimmy Martello ’00, 719.229.4202

Director, Gift Planning Dale Zschoche, 719.238.7510 Major Gift Officer Troy Danno ‘12, 304.579.7999 Major Gift Officer Obura Tongoi ‘11, 719.375.9082 Class Giving Officer Razelle Doherty, ext. 222 Annual Giving Officer Amanda Brown, ext. 223 Manager of Donor Relations Gina Simler, ext. 200 Director of Development Communications open position Staff Accountant Dustin Marple, ext. 204

Volume 42, number 4 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: 333-2067. FAX: 719333-4194, E-mail: editor@aogusafa.org.) A portion of your dues pays for your magazine 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 change of address to Checkpoints, Association of Graduates, Doolittle Hall, 3116 Academy Drive, USAF Academy, CO 80840-4475. The Editorial Board serves the Checkpoints mission by providing a top quality magazine to the Air Force Academy’s broader community. Together, the editor, VP of Communications, Executive VP and the AOG CEO collaborate to ensure that all articles meet the standards of excellence readers have come to expect of Checkpoints. The AOG reserves the right to publish or omit submissions at its discretion. Opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions, policy or attitude of the AOG, its officers or the editorial staff. The appearance of advertisements in this publication does not constitute an endorsement by the AOG of the products or services advertised. Copyright, Association of Graduates of the U.S. Air Force Academy, March, 2014.

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state of mind Feedback, insight and fun from Falcon Nation.

A Vignette in Courage I found the “Hooks” Jones Story (“A Vignette in Black and Blue” told by Flash Wiley ‘65, December 2013) fascinating to read, and I applaud Flash for telling the important story of moving toward equal (racial) treatment back when it was more challenging than it (usually) is today. My great respect goes also to Col. Jones for his decision to make the courageous move of driving the five black cadets back to the Ft. Benning dance during their Z.I. Field Trip, 1962, effectively integrating the dance and making sure that the cadets were welcomed at it. Bold moves can help inspire attitude change. A decade later, the DoD-mandated race relations program also helped inspire attitude and behavior change by addressing issues of prejudice and discrimination. I felt it a privilege to serve in that program.

John “JC” Miller, Class of 1969 Change to Cadet Honor Oath Saddens Your December 2014 article “Final Clause in the Cadet Honor Oath Made Optional” left me saddened. This final clause is not about the free practice and exercise of individual religious preference, but is about our institution recognizing, honoring, and obeying God. Our Founding Fathers understood this. And so did the Greatest Generation in WWII and the Vietnam combat veterans. Why don’t we today? Indeed, our Honor Code, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S.

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Constitution and our laws are based on morals as outlined in the Ten Commandments.

The Superintendent said, “The Honor Code and Honor Oath reinforce this fundamental value.” She is correct. But this was not enough for many cadets in Physics 411 in 1984 (perhaps Dr. Mueh could report on that event to the AOG). Loyalty to a code is rarely enough when the chips are really down and temptation is strong.

Only faith in and reverence for God can fill the bill. Perhaps this is what the Honor Committee had in mind when the final clause was developed. I hope so.

Henry Jordan, Class of 1967 Amnesty and the Honor Code For those of us who attended USAFA in the “old days,” perhaps it is time we looked ourselves in the mirror and asked a few questions. Was the Honor Code

TweetBack “Glad to be on Twitter, and looking forward to hearing from you!” @USAFA_Supt, Air Force Academy Superintendent, Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson ’81 sends out her first tweet ever on Feb. 7. Follow her to get updates on all things Air Force Academy.

Quarterly Query

Should the Air Force Office of Special Investigations be allowed to use cadets as confidential informants at the Academy?

Yes 13% No 87% 738 votes

perfect in those days? We all want to give a resounding yes, of course.

Was it, however, administered perfectly? I would strongly argue it was not. For instance, were any cadets given amnesty in those years (say, 1955-1975)?

Yes. Was it justified? Perhaps. Who made the decision: the superintendent? The commandant? The cadet honor board?

The answer is—to our detriment—all of the above. The criteria for amnesty varied depending on who was superintendent or commandant at the time. If a cadet honor board granted amnesty (or denied it), that criteria also varied.

After all, members of the cadet honor committee changed over time, as did the members of a particular honor board.

Some background. In the mid-1980s West Point was having honor code difficulties of its own. Not only had there been many honor code violations, but also grants of amnesty to a selected few— usually on the part of the superintendent.

An entourage of USAFA AOCs, as it happened, was there visiting at the time.

One of them was a classmate of mine. He told the West Point superintendent point blank that if amnesty were to be granted, it must be done so consistently, criteria must be set, and adhered to consistently.

Previous discussion in Checkpoints on the part of my fellow graduates has asserted the Honor Code ought to be administered free of bureaucratic meddling. I submit it ought to be administered consistently, not to mention fairly.

This means rules in place are essential— not the variations because of changing commandants, superintendents, and honor boards. This is not bureaucratic meddling. This is consistency. This is fairness. This is excellence. This is the essence of the United States Air Force Academy.

Harold W. Murphree, Class of 1974

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Learn how to check in with Checkpoints at usafa.org/checkpoints/interact.

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Check In with Checkpoints A Willie Gray ’62 (left) and Boyd Lease ’73 pose with the September 2013, Checkpoints outside the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. The grads and their spouses were in the midst of a Mediterranean cruise.

B Ken Greene ’70 in front of the refuge on Mt. Toubkal, a four-hour climb from Imlil, Morocco. C Dr. Tom Christensen’ 71 pictured in the city of Krasnodar, Russia, at the base of the Monument of Catherine the Great and in front of the Triumphal Arch in the center of the city. Christensen was in Krasnodar to lead a 30-day leadership development program for John Deere.

D Checkpoints was laying on the floor in

the rubble of Jim Kisch’s ’88 home in the aftermath of the Washington, Ill. tornado that destroyed 1025 other residences in their community. The Kisch’s are currently living in Morton, Ill. and they are doing well. E Brendan Epps ’01 had this photo taken during a June 2013 mission trip in Nicaragua. F Jim Ratti ’82 and his wife, Ellen, pose with Checkpoints during a 9-day Tanzanian safari. The picture was taken at the entrance to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Letters Guidelines Checkpoints welcomes the feedback of our readers. Letters should reference content published in the magazine and run 200 words in length or less. The editor reserves the right to determine the suitability of letters for publication and to edit them for length and accuracy. Please include your name and graduating year if you are an Academy graduate and email your submission to editor@aogusafa.org.

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Do you enjoy the enriched experience of Checkpoints online and want to save a tree?

Email editor@aogusafa.org and you can defer shipment of the print edition of the magazine.

Checkpoints

March 2014

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The Transmission USAFA news from around the globe … and beyond.

Colorado Names Aerospace “Champion” Colorado has appointed Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Jay Lindell ’78 as the state’s aerospace and defense industry “champion.” The announcement was made in a joint statement by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. Lindell will help lead efforts to assist aerospace and defense contractors in finding business opportunities in the state along with providing counsel on managing the implications of military base changes and closures.

DoD Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at Military Academies Released The Department of Defense released its Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies. This report assesses the effectiveness of policies, training, procedures, and initiatives for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response and Prevention of Sexual Harassment Programs at each Military Service Academy. The SH&V report determined that the Air Force’s Academy is in compliance with all of the Department’s lines of effort, to include prevention, investigation, accountability, advocacy and victim assistance, and assessment.

Last academic year (June 2012-May 2013) at USAFA there were 45 reports of sexual assault, to include seven incidents that happened prior to cadet accession. This is down from 52 reported during the same period the previous year. These reports can range from a variety of unwanted actions, to include sexual violence. We remain encouraged by the reporting numbers because we believe it reflects victim confidence in our program. However, our ultimate goal is zero incidents.

Prevention and victim care are the cornerstones of our program, and maintaining a climate of dignity and respect across the institution is central to eliminating sexual assault. (Excerpt from the Superintendent’s Statement on SH&V Report) Dr. Chad Hivnor ’94 Receives Paul W. Myers Award Dr. Chad Hivnor ’94 has won the 2013 Paul W. Myers Award. Formally known as the Clinical Surgeons Award, it became the Paul W. Myers Award in honor of retired Lt. Gen. Paul W. Myers for his 45 years of active membership within the society of Air Force Clinical Surgeons. The prestigious award is reserved for the Air Force medical corps officer who has made significant contributions in the health care of men and women serving in the United States Air Force.

Chad M. Hivnor, M.D., is a Board Certified Dermatologist fellowship trained in dermatologic surgery. Dr. Hivnor received extensive training in laser medicine and surgery and has treated many wounded warriors. He specializes in the care of scars.

Kaminski ’64 Named AIAA Honorary Fellow On November 19, 2013, the American Institute of Aero-

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nautics and Astronautics (AIAA) was pleased to announce that Dr. Paul Kaminski ’64 was named among three 2014 AIAA Honorary Fellows. Presentation of the new Fellows and Honorary Fellows will take place at the AIAA Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala, Wednesday, April 30, 2014, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, in Washington D.C. The title of Honorary Fellow, the highest distinction conferred by AIAA, is granted to preeminent individuals who have long and highly contributory careers in aerospace, and who embody the highest possible standards in aeronautics and astronautics.

Cadet Named Marshall Scholar A senior cadet was recently awarded one of the most prestigious scholarships bestowed to U.S. college students each year, allowing him to study in England for two years after he graduates from the Academy next spring. Cadet 1st Class Brad Hackert from Thomaston, Conn., was named one of the 2014 Marshall Scholarship winners Nov. 22, enabling him to pursue master’s degrees in War Studies and Public Policy at King’s College in London. Hackert is the 15th Marshall Scholar from the Academy and first winner here from the Boston region in at least 14 years. (Amber Baillie/U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs) Davis ’96 Named Dean at Everett Community College Ryan Davis ’96 has been named the dean at Everett Community College (Everett, Wash.) leading the Business, Advanced Technology, North and East County Division. Prior to joining EvCC, Davis was the executive director of the Regional Education and Training Center in Elma, Wash., a workforce non-profit specializing in creating pathways to high-wage jobs in the energy, advanced manufacturing and sustainable building sectors. Previously he was director of operations and founding member of Bonacare LLC, an international healthcare staffing firm serving clients in Korea, Japan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States.

USAFA Professor Wins NASA Award A U.S. Air Force Academy professor received a high-level NASA award last December for his contributions to a sixmonth project researching the use of alternative biofuel to power aircraft.

Dr. Thomas Yechout, an Academy Aeronautical Engineering professor, was one of about a dozen consultants to receive the NASA Outstanding Group Achievement Award for 2013.

One of the group’s only non-NASA members, Yechout was part of a NASA Engineering and Safety Center team studying the possibilities of using of oil from the Camelina flower as jet fuel. Specifically, Yechout was in charge of making sure

the smaller Falcon Jet aircraft flying close behind the DC-8 to monitor the larger plane’s emissions wasn’t damaged. (USAFA Research Department/Amy Gillentine) McArtor ’64 to Run Airbus North American Business Airbus Group has selected Allan McArtor ’64 to run its North American business. McArtor was named chief executive officer and chairman of the regional unit on March 1. McArtor previously served as chairman of Airbus’s Americas plane unit.

Kott ’85 Receives Secretary of State Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad On December 3, 2013, the Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (AAFSW) honored four Foreign Service employees and two spouses with the 2013 Secretary of State Award for Outstanding Volunteerism Abroad (SOSA), including Marilyn (Garcia) Kott ’85. Since its inception more than 20 years ago, SOSA has honored more than 100 winners chosen from over 130 diplomatic missions for their outstanding volunteer service.

Kott has spent her time in Pristina, Kosovo creating and assisting organizations that serve the local and Mission communities. Kott co-founded and runs “Clothes for Kosovo,” a means for Embassy personnel to easily donate used items.

Since its creation in the spring of 2012, “Clothes for Kosovo” has donated over 1,200 pounds of clothes, along with furniture and food, to local charities. Additionally, Kott established and taught three levels of English courses for the non-profit organization, AYA Pjeter Bogdani. This provided low cost English instruction for Kosovars and provided AYA with funds for its projects to promote cultural and ethnic diversity. She also worked to expand Mission involvement in volunteer work by creating a section in the CLO newsletter called “Opportunities in Volunteerism,” which contains information on organizations throughout Kosovo in need of volunteer assistance.

Kyle Smith ’11 Receives RAISE Award In February, Kyle Smith ’11 was awarded the Recognizing Aviation and Aerospace Innovation in Science and Engineering (RAISE) award at an event in Washington D.C. The award, which is sponsored by the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Department of Transportation, recognizes high school, undergraduate and graduate students exhibiting innovation and technical expertise in regards to aviation challenges.

Smith, who is now a first lieutenant in the Air Force attending Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas, was selected for the RAISE award for his involvement in MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s collision avoidance system, which is an on-board system that alerts pilots of potential conflicts with nearby aircraft and directs them to maneuver to avoid the threat. Smith’s work dealt with improving the system for aircraft approaching to land on closely situated parallel runways.

Save The DaTe

5th annual aog

scotch ta st i n g March 14

founders day april 4

Jabara airmanship award

dinner MaY 2 Visit usafa.org to be a part of these exciting eVents!

ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY

The First Frontier Astronaut Kjell Lindgren ’95 prepares for NASA Expedition 44/45 and his chance to live aboard the International Space Station.

Written by David Bergeman

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Photography by Cliff Patrick ’95, Tactical Image

As I type this sentence, Dr. Kjell Lindgren ’95 is stranded in a remote area of Russia having just crawled out of the Soyuz spacecraft. His team, which includes cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui, is taking part in three days of winter survival training designed to prepare the crew for the possibility of an off-nominal winter landing. They are equipped with three days worth of supplies and are required to build a shelter from scavenged parachute material. They must improvise to survive in brutal, minus 25 degree Celsius temps until they can be recovered by Roscosmos—the Russian Federal Space Agency.

Thirty years ago this scenario would have been more likely to play out in an apocalyptic sci-fi movie where the superpowers of the world are compelled to unite and repel an alien incursion of Earth. Today, NASA and the Roscosmos have a remarkably close working relationship despite the often-rocky diplomatic dealings between the two nations.

NASA and its Russian counterpart, rivals for decades, began cooperating with each other in the mid-’70s when they joined forces for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. That venture symbolically ended the space race. There were other joint enterprises leading to the massive collaboration between the nations as they have worked to build and operate the International Space Station (ISS) over the past decade plus.

An even more symbiotic relationship was formed with the demise of NASA’s space shuttle program.

Since it was officially retired in August 2011, the end of that era of American space exploration has been well documented. NASA’s goal now is to facilitate the development of U.S. commercial space flight that can provide cost effective transportation to the ISS. There are several international companies that believe they are already close to accomplishing that feat. Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is projecting its first flight to upper edges of the atmosphere this year. NASA’s objective is for a partnership to be formed by 2017. In the interim, the U.S. signed a $424 million contract with Roscosmos to provide transportation aboard their Soyuz vehicles.

Lindgren is preparing to take one of those rides as a member of Expedition 44/45 scheduled to fly in May 2015. In addition to his survival training in Russia, he is also getting fitted for his seat on the Soyuz TMA-17M. The Long Blue Line to Space Lindgren’s life story is illustrative of the tenacity, intelligence and qualifications required to become one of America’s current cadre of 89 astronauts (split into three categories: management, active, and candidates).

Dating back to the Class of 1959, the Long Blue Line has now produced 40 astronauts. Another graduate, Lt. Col. Tyler Hague ’98, is currently in training as a Class of 2013 astronaut candidate. Dozens of others have worked for NASA in some capacity.

The list of the Academy’s astronauts and their contributions is impressive. Col. (Ret.) Karol Bobko ’59 became USAFA’s first in 1969. Fred Gregory ’64 served as NASA’s Deputy Administrator, the agency’s first African-American deputy. Gen. (Ret.) Kevin Chilton ’76 piloted the Space Shuttle Endeavour on its maiden voyage. Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Susan Helms ’80 shares the record for the longest space walk at 8 hours 56 minutes.

That’s the short list of notable feats.

The next Falcon to enter space will be veteran astronaut Col. Terry Virts ’89, who will serve as commander for Expedition 43 scheduled to launch on a Russian Soyuz in December 2014. Virts’ back up is Kjell Lindgren.

Lindgren was an Air Force brat who was born in Taiwan, where his dad was stationed at the time. His family moved around the U.S. for several years before his father was assigned as a liaison officer to RAF Uxbridge in England. Lindgren spent a sizable chunk of his youth there and once sent a letter from Great Britain to the Academy requesting information on how he could one day be admitted. He remembers always wanting to be an astronaut and thinking that the surest route was through the Air Force and the Academy.

During his third-degree year, Lindgren met his future roommate, David Weber ’95, when both cadets were moved to 24th Squadron.

“We became great friends and he was, really, kind of a role model for me,” Lindgren explains. “He was a very hard worker, disciplined, and always looking to the future.

I remember he had long discussions with his dad about what major to pursue, and he decided upon computer science because it was going to be integral to the future.”

Weber’s classmate Cliff Patrick ’95 remembers him as having aspirations of being an astronaut himself one day. Lindgren was more overt in his intentions. He plastered their room with space memorabilia. Lindgren and Weber pursued their love of flight in different ways. Lindgren joined the Wings of Blue and became a jumpmaster and member of the competition team.

Weber would become a soaring instructor.

Tragically, Weber was killed in a tow-plane accident in the spring of his junior year. It was a devastating loss that has remained with Lindgren as he has pursued his dream of one day becoming an astronaut.

After separating from the Air Force, Lindgren received his doctorate of medicine from the University

Opposite page: Dr. Kjell Lindgren ’95 looks through the window of a high fidelity mockup of a space station hatch at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

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From top left: Lindgren sits in front of an original Saturn V rocket that is on display at Johnson Space Center; Winter survival training prepares the crew for the possibility of landing in a remote area far from rescue forces. Lindgren (right), Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko (center) and Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui (left) spent three days and two nights in the woods outside of Star City, Russia; a number of methods are used to prepare crewmembers for EVA (extravehicular activity), including virtual reality and underwater sessions in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. In this photo, Lindgren is suspended from the “POGO” or Partial Gravity Simulator. This repurposed Apollo-era simulator allows astronauts to practice managing their body position and tools—especially torque producing tools—that will spin the crewmember out of position if they are not adequately anchored to the structure (NASA photo).

Gravity-Go See It of Colorado and subsequently trained in both emergency and aerospace medicine. In 2007, he began working at Johnson Space Center as a flight surgeon supporting ISS training and operations at Star City and water survival training in the Ukraine. He was selected to join the astronaut corps in 2009. After two years of astronaut candidate training, he was assigned to the EVA (Extravehicular activity, or spacewalk) and CapCom (capsule communicator) branches in the Astronaut office. He spent 5 months as the lead CapCom for Expedition 30 resulting in a handy exposure to daily operations in Mission Control and on the ISS. He was assigned to Expedition 44/45 as a flight engineer in November 2012.

Despite years of effort that would give him an edge on the competition (there were 3,500 U.S. based applicants for class of 2009), Lindgren wouldn’t have made it without the support of his wife, Kristi.

“I decided I wasn’t going to apply,” he explains. “With the travel and everything I didn’t feel like it was going to be fair to her and the kids. She told me I was being ridiculous and really encouraged me to do it. She knew what she was getting into when she married me, and that becoming an astronaut was a dream of mine—we figured if it wasn’t meant to be I wouldn’t be selected.”

Training Lindgren is halfway through two-plus years of mission specific training. The workload is intense. He and his U.S. crewmates will be responsible for maintaining all of the diverse systems on the U.S. segment of the space station and are required to demonstrate their understanding of the station systems through a rigorous process of exams and certifications. There are Russian

Last November, Lindgren, fellow astronauts, and the Class of 2013 astronaut candidates went to see “Gravity,” the space drama that was an Academy Award nominee for Best Picture. Here is an astronaut’s take on the George Clooney and Sandra Bullock lead drama: “It’s an absolutely gorgeous film. The visuals are incredible.

The director and the producers got so much right in terms of movement in space and how the exterior of the space station looks. They were a little liberal with our communication and physics at times, but I can certainly understand that it’s not a documentary, it’s entertainment.

“I think more importantly it got people interested and talking about space and recognizing that there are folks working on a space station right now. It’s important that people understand that NASA is alive and well and doing amazing work in space.”

language and robotics classes, emergency simulations and payload training. In addition, assigned astronauts must maintain a high level of physical fitness, so PT is a regular part of the weekly schedule.

In 1958, President Eisenhower signed the Space Act which stipulated that NASA must be a harbinger of innovation that benefits all people. With more than 8,000 patents with the U.S. government, the organization has done that and more. Everything from memory foam to invisible braces are spinoff products of NASA research.

“Over the last ten years of space station assembly, the International Space Station has produced extraordinary results across so many disciplines that benefit Earth

From left: the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at the Sonny Carter Training Facility in Houston, Texas; spacewalk training in the world’s largest swimming pool (NASA photo).

From top: Lindgren in full spacesuit before beginning neutral buoyancy training; a Desert RATS joint training exercise coordinated with a number of NASA centers throughout the U.S. The 2011 expedition evaluated different operational models for exploring an asteroid. Lindgren and his crew spent two weeks in the field, operating out of a Deep Space Habitat mock-up, using rovers and “spacewalks” to conduct geological field studies around the Black Point lava flow in central Arizona (NASA photo); conducting a maintenance activity inside the Deep Space Habitat during Desert Rats 2011 (NASA photo).

and space,” says Dr. Tara Ruttley, an associate program scientist for the International Space Station. “We are looking forward to the additional scientific advancements that will come in the next ten years, and we’re also excited about the U.S. commercial space programs, such as SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp., that allow scientists access to send their experiments to the station.”

Examples of recent scientific advancements include new treatment options for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and a microbial vaccine development that could be used to fight methicillin-resistant infections or MRSAs, as they are known. Lindgren has not yet learned the specifics of his NASA research projects, but he has some ideas about the so-called personal science he may conduct during his six months in space.

“I am planning to look at medical equipment and procedures,” he explains. “Some things that we do on the Earth don’t quite work the same in space. For example, when we irrigate someone’s eyes because they have something in it we will squirt water in their eyes. In space you can still do that but if you are in a tight spot and need a quick fix, you can also just squirt water over the eyeball and it will just stick there because surface tension will keep it in the depression of the eye. You can just blink into that. I’ll be thinking about the things I would do in the emergency department and how being in microgravity would change those practices.”

Aside from being away from his family, neutral buoyancy training has been the most challenging aspect 20

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You can view more amazing photos of Kjell Lindgren training by visiting usafa.org/checkpionts/gallery/49

of his experience thus far, and that takes place in the largest indoor swimming pool in the world.

The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) pool at the Sonny Carter Training Facility near Houston, Texas, is 202 feet long, 102 feet wide, 40 feet deep and holds 6.2 million gallons of water. It has its own submersible space station and a support crew of 260 engineers and divers. The lab gives astronauts the ability to experience the equal tendency to float and sink, which is the closet approximation to spacewalking that is available on Earth.

There are two major differences between being in orbit and being in the NBL: a suited astronaut feels their weight while being neutrally buoyant, furthermore water creates drag that Lindgren will not experience if the mission calls for him to spacewalk.

“Having not flown, I think it’s the most realistic experience I can have to prepare me for something I may get to do in space,” says Lindgren. “It’s a lot of fun, but it is also very challenging, both mentally and physically. I actually really enjoy that aspect of it, the challenge appeals to me. Spending six hours at a time working in the pressurized suit is tough work.”

Russian Cooperation The ISS is one of the most amazing feats of conception, construction, operation and cooperation in the history of mankind—and there is no hyperbole in that statement. Major partners include the Canadian Space Agency, EuroSpace Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), NASA and Roscosmos. JAXA, EuroSpace, Roscosmos and NASA all have their own laboratories on the ISS and there is collaboration among all of them.

Astronaut training often occurs at Russia’s famed Star City. The significance of that is not lost on Lindgren.

“Having grown up in England during the cold war, it’s very interesting now to be a close partner with a country that was an enemy in the past,” he says. “I remember memorizing all of the Russian aircraft and, of course, the Russians were always the bad guys in the movies of the ’80s.

“I have a lot of interest in space history. Now to get to work and live at this facility, which used to be a state secret, in the same place where Yuri Gagarin and a lot of these Russian heroes lived and worked, is a little surreal. We’re in the same buildings and use the same facilities. Many of the instructors and engineers who taught those guys are still training us today.

“The Russians are terrific partners, terrific people, their instructors care a great deal about making sure we are well trained. They’re fun people to hang out with. The cosmonauts are incredibly professional and experienced.”

Long Blue Line Astronauts

Excitement for the Unknown Lindgren is a flight surgeon, so what would happen should the need for an emergency appendectomy arise in space?

“There has never been a major surgery in space,” Lindgren says. “The question of the appendectomy or gallbladder surgery, if we had that emergency, is something we’ll definitely have to address when we start doing deep space exploration. In an early version of the Space Station Freedom designs, in the late ’80s and early ’90s, there were plans for a surgical suite. The reality is that on missions in lower Earth orbit, if we encountered a serious medical issue that we were unable to address with the provisions that we have on the ISS, we would evacuate that crewmember. That crewmember and crewmates would get into their capsule and return to the Earth for medical treatment. The way that we practice aerospace medicine now is focusing on prevention. By flying the healthiest crewmembers possible, we hope to avoid serious illness in orbit.”

Lindgren is excited for many facets of his trip.

Conducting the science, sitting at the space station’s Cupola and viewing the Earth at 17,500 miles per hour, honing his photography skills and reentry are among the experiences he mentions. But as lift off quickly approaches, Lindgren is most concerned about how his mission will affect his family.

“Certainly, to put it in perspective, it is really nothing compared to what our soldiers and airmen are doing in defense of our country,” he says, adding that his family has learned to deal with the separation as best as is possible. “Flying in space, I think that folks who deploy feel the same way, the buildup to the deployment is the most difficult part. Once you get into deployment you’re able to dig in and get through it.”

In May of 2015, another member of the Long Blue Line will fly in space. From launch it will take about 8 and a half minutes to get into orbit. It will take six hours to dock with the ISS. It will be six months before he returns home. It will have taken nearly a lifetime to get there.

“I feel very blessed to be in this job,” says Lindgren.

“I’m keenly aware that this opportunity has little to do with me and my accomplishments, and that it is really a testament to all the terrific leaders, mentors, teachers, friends and family who have poured into me over the years. My favorite part of this journey is getting to share the experience with everyone who helped me get here.”

Karol J. Bobko ’59 Frederick D. Gregory ’64 John E. Blaha ’65 Roy D. Bridges Jr. ’65 John H. Casper ’66 Ronald J. Grabe ’66 Charles L. Veach ’66 Loren J. Shriver ’67 Richard O. Covey ’68 Guy S. Gardner ’69 Gary E. Payton ’71 Sidney M. Gutierrez ’73 L. B. Hammond Jr. ’73 Terence T. Henricks ’74 Victor M. LaSaxon ’74 Mark C. Lee ’74 Don R. McMonagle ’74 William A. Pailes ’74 Ronald M. Sega ’74 Brian Duffy ’75 Kevin P. Chilton ’76 Thomas D. Jones ’77 Charles J. Precourt ’77 Curtis L. Brown Jr. ’78 James D. Halsell Jr. ’78 Kevin R. Kregel ’78 Richard A. Searfoss ’78 William G. Gregory ’79 Susan J. Helms ’80 Michael J. Bloomfield ’81 Steven W. Lindsey ’82 Benjamin A. Drew Jr. ’84 Gregory H. Johnson ’84 James M. Kelly ’86 Eric A. Boe ’87 Terry W. Virts ’89 James P. Dutton Jr. ’91 Kjell N. Lindgren ’95 Jack D. Fischer ’96 Tyler N. Hague ’98 (Astronaut Candidate)

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In 2011, the AOG and Blanchard Family Wines created the Long Blue Line Wines to pay tribute to the Academy and provide our graduates a product they can be proud to share with their family and friends. The wine’s inaugural release was a great success having been served at the USAFA Founders Day dinner, Air Force Balls, Parent’s Club events, and numerous classmate gatherings. Sold all across the country, including the USAFA Class VI store, the first vintage sold out in 9 months and we are now happy to release our fourth offering of collector bottles.

These top quality wines make great gifts for your graduation, promotion, retirement, or other celebration and once these custom labels are sold out, they will not be used again.

About Blanchard Family Wines Winery owner James Blanchard is a 1998 graduate of the Air Force Academy. After a career flying both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, James returned to USAFA to teach in the Department of Management and serve as Air Officer Commanding of Cadet Squadron 15. After starting his winery it was one of his desires to create a series of military tribute wines to give back, if even in a small way. This is the third military creation

by Blanchard Family Wines, following the Red Scarf Blend and the Air Commando Association wines with a portion of sales going to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation and the Air Commando Association respectively. 20% of the sales of the Long Blue Line wines will be paid back to the Association of Graduates.

james@blanchardfamilywines.com www.blanchardfamilywines.com

The Attack onn Camp Bastion 24

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One graduate’s harrowing first-hand account of the worst airfield incursion since the Tet Offensive. Written by Major Matthew Komatsu ’99

At

around 10 p.m. on Sept. 14, 2012, 15 heavily armed insurgents penetrated the perimeter of Camp Bastion, a base in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan.

Slipping through a hole in the wire, heavily armed and outfitted in American military uniforms, they wreaked havoc across the northeast flight line, killing two American Marines, wounding nine others, destroying six AV-8B Harrier jets and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage. One of the dead was the Harrier squadron’s commanding officer, Lt. Col. Christopher Raible, who died using only his 9mm handgun against five insurgents.

In late September 2013, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James F. Amos, released findings from an investigation that found shortcomings in security at the base, despite warnings that such an “outside in” attack was possible.

General Amos forced two respected Marine Corps generals, Maj. Gen. Charles M. Gurganus and Maj. Gen. Gregg A. Sturdevant, to retire because of their culpability in the security failing.

Despite the widespread attention to the equipment damage and lost lives, there have been only a few stories describing the response to the attack by American Marines and British Royal Air Force troopers. And almost none of those accounts have mentioned that United States airmen, including four members of a combat rescue team, including me, also ran toward the sound of the guns that night.

I was deployed to Bastion as the commander of the 46th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron. We flew casualty evacuation and personnel recovery missions on HH-60G Pave Hawks, known to many by the call sign Pedro.

We ran several missions a day, pulling casualties out of hot landing zones. That night I was on a sort of second-line “anything else” kind of alert. “Anything

else” didn’t happen much, so I was looking forward to catching up on some administrative work. Around 10 p.m., I took a break from my office in the rescue operations center and walked to the alert tent to check on the men. The guys were doing what they normally did between missions: watching movies, reading e-mail, joking around, cleaning weapons. I wasn’t there more than a few minutes when a strange call come over the radio: “HC-130 personnel are bunkered down. Taking RPG and small arms fire.” (RPGs are rocket-propelled grenades.)

We looked at one another. Yeah, right. I walked back to the ops center. Everyone was gathered silently around the radio.

“Confirm your last.”

“All personnel accounted for; we are bunkered down. Receiving RPG and small arms fire.”

I peeked outside and could see an orange glow coming from the hangars. The base went to lockdown: people grabbed their weapons, flak vests and helmets; took defensive positions or headed for the bunkers. While I waited, we received a call from the main Marine headquarters. They had two casualties in a hangar and requested our help. The ops center chief looked at me. “Can you send a team?”

“We’re on it,” I said.

I radioed the men and asked for three guys.

Paul, Kyle and Dan volunteered. They grabbed an unmarked white Dodge pickup and loaded up gear.

The intelligence was garbage. Reports were conflicted, and lockdown meant everyone was bunkered down, ready to shoot. We would run the risk of getting shot by our own guys in the confusion. The safest thing to do was wait for better information. But by then, it might be too late. So I shouldered my armor, grabbed my rifle and walked out to the waiting team.

“We’re going to take this nice and slow,” I told them in my 60-second brief. “Any questions?”

Previous page: Marines pay their final respects to Sgt. Bradley Atwell during a memorial ceremony, Sept. 20, 2012. Atwell was killed in action while engaging insurgents during an attack on Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, Sept. 14. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Mark Garcia) Checkpoints

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Perhaps, I thought, this was nothing more than some mortar or rocket hits on the airfield and hangars. Maybe a bit of shooting at the towers, but nothing crazy. Pick up the wounded, get them to the hospital, I figured. In and out in 15 minutes tops.

As we headed to the flight line, several large fires burned bright, creating “blooms” in our nightvision goggles and making it difficult for Kyle to see where he was driving. As we drove south, sporadic gunfire turned into a gunfight, heavy machine guns booming and rocket-propelled grenades streaking across the sky. Attack helicopters were overhead. A fuel farm burned, flames reaching at least 100 feet.

cryogenics complex across the road from where they had taken fire. They said they’d appreciate a hand; we were looking for work. So we joined them.

Through my goggles I saw that the large complex was surrounded by protective barriers, including metal shipping containers. In back a tent was burning from an earlier airstrike. Kyle and I were in a small ditch when two figures emerged from behind a barrier, running in our direction. I could tell they were Americans, just by the way they moved. Plus, they appeared to be in their pajamas.

“Friendlies!” called Kyle. “Hold your fire!”

The two guys stumbled into the ditch, and Kyle

I peeked outside and could see an orange glow coming from the hangars.

The base went to lockdown: people grabbed their weapons, flak vests and helmets; took defensive positions or headed for the bunkers.

Klaxons wailed. Things were far worse than I had expected: Charlie, it seemed, was inside the wire.

“Thank God you’re here,” a British medic said.

He told us what he knew: No casualties here. Big firefight over there. That’s all, mate.

We jumped in a small vehicle and headed toward the firefight. There was a small hill on the other side of the burning fuel farm, and I saw a couple of friendly vehicles rocking .50-caliber machine guns at a hidden position. Paul, Kyle and Dan moved ahead on foot.

In a moment, Paul returned to brief me: a couple of casualties, enemy holed up about 50 meters to our right. To get to the casualties, we’d have to run to them, uphill, with zero cover. Ugly.

I was in the middle of briefing the team when I heard the volume of fire pick up significantly. I looked up, and Paul was already off and running.

“I guess we’re going,” I said as I slapped Dan on the butt and sent him off. Kyle went next, then me. I could hear gunfire around me, above me, booming through my headset. I couldn’t tell if it was coming or going, but it didn’t matter. There wasn’t time to think or worry. We made it.

Dan and Kyle worked the patients, while Paul and I manned security positions. There was sporadic fire, but the volume was replaced by the shouts of what turned out to be a largely Scottish contingent of Royal Air Force troopers running in and out of cover, grabbing ammunition and passing reports at the top of their lungs in an unintelligible brogue.

Waves of heat from the burning fuel farm buffeted us. Paul came back with a situation report. Kyle and Dan’s casualties were stable, mostly fragmentation wounds. The British were getting ready to assault a 26

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and Dan were immediately on them, searching and debriefing. One wore boxers and a T-shirt, and I could tell they were shell-shocked. They were pretty sure that Taliban fighters were still in the complex.

As we readied for an assault I thought it was a good thing that my team and I had completed a workup in small-unit tactics, including urban operations, closequarters battle and live-fire exercises in a house. We may ride in helicopters or jump from HC-130s, but we know the work starts on the ground.

We slowly cleared myriad metal shipping containers and heavy equipment filled with places to hide. We were behind a generator when the British troops opened fire with an automatic grenade launcher and heavy weapons. There was no return fire, so I figured maybe all the enemy had been killed.

As the assault team began their attack on a small bunker, there was a large boom, followed by fully automatic gunfire. One of the Taliban had thrown a grenade, but it had bounced backward and blown up in his face. The lead British assaulter was knocked back by the concussion, then fired on full automatic, killing the insurgent inside.

As I ran out from behind the generator, keeping my rifle trained on a dark blob at the rear of the bunker, something didn’t feel right. I looked back in time to see a muzzle flash and a bullet tear into a nearby barrier. I swerved back clumsily to the generator as another team hit the bunker again and finished off the insurgent hidden there.

We continued clearing the complex. Ammunition ignited by the fires was exploding everywhere. The situation was ripe for fratricide. As I cleared around one corner, shouting “Friendly!” I found myself star-

ing down the barrel of a British trooper’s weapon.

Inside one office, drawers were pulled open, papers strewn everywhere; the Taliban had ransacked the building before holing up in the bunker.

When we finished the complex, 40 of us regrouped to move north toward the end of the runway. I could see attack helicopters circling above burning Harrier jets, and recalled that earlier that night I had spotted the frequency for Righteous, the Marine Corps attack helicopters. So I pulled out my radio, pulled up the Righteous frequency and gave it a shot.

“Any Righteous, any Righteous, this is Varsity One-Actual,” I called.

My radio came to life. “Varsity, this is Righteous.” Success.

Righteous relayed what he knew: His pilots had eyes on five guys hiding behind concrete barriers and were preparing to attack them.

“Righteous, be advised: we have potential friendlies in the area,” I relayed, having seen British vehicles moving north. “Please hold fire.”

I ran down the line, looking for a British officer, and finally found the platoon leader. I asked if he had a team near the Harriers. He wasn’t sure and asked if I could help. In a few minutes, I confirmed with the British the location of all their forces so we could avoid fratricide. We were good.

“You are cleared hot,” I told Righteous.

At the request of the British platoon leader, I continued to work communications with the aircraft. Two helicopters made multiple attack runs on the Taliban position. Cheers went up and down the line as the helicopters unleashed steady streams of glowing gunfire. Righteous reported four Taliban apparently dead, with one more still moving, a grenade in hand.

Righteous let me know we were clear to move toward the Harrier area. But we were on our own once we went inside the hangars and containers.

At that point, I learned that the Taliban were wearing American uniforms, which complicated things seriously.

We got ready to move north along the road.

There would be two elements walking alongside two vehicles on the road, and as we moved into the inky darkness I felt exposed and vulnerable to the enemy and the friendly alike.

When we reached the southernmost end of the Harrier area, tall runway floodlights illuminated the area from hundred-foot poles. But, for all we could see, there was a lot we couldn’t. Containers, hangars, blind corners. The lights created as many problems as they solved.

A barrage of small arms fire suddenly ripped through the night. Dan used his night-vision goggles and identified the lone surviving insurgent

A destroyed Harrier jet from the insurgent attack on Camp Bastion, Sept. 14, 2012. Six Harriers were destroyed in total. Lt. Col. Christopher Raible and Sgt. Bradley Atwell were killed in the attack. Nine other service members were wounded. Images courtesy of Matthew Komatsu.

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It had been six hours since we had left our barracks.

The men were both excited and sobered. The scale of destruction surrounding us was appalling. Two dead Marines and several wounded. Millions of dollars burned to the ground.

clutching a grenade. His team unleashed a withering wall of lead on the insurgent. w “Target down,” Dan radioed.

Dan made contact with Marines bunkered down in a small building surrounded by concrete barriers. They had one casualty. Their commanding officer. Colonel Raible, 40. Dead.

“I am really sorry to hear that,” I told the Marines’ executive officer, a slim major. “Do you want me to call in a bird to move him to the hospital?”

The officer shook his head. “I don’t think we’re ready to let him go,” he said.

I walked back up to where Paul, Dan and Kyle waited. I tossed them energy drinks and bummed some chewing tobacco off Paul. We were behind cover, so I took my helmet off and sighed. It had been six hours since we had left our barracks. The men were both excited and sobered. The scale of destruction surrounding us was appalling. Two dead Marines and several wounded. Millions of dollars burned to the ground.

We walked to the dead insurgents behind the concrete barrier. Sure enough, they all wore American military uniforms, complete with patches and ball caps. Several had surgical masks around their necks, and I could see a green pallor to the lifeless skin around their mouths. “I guess they were huffing paint to get high,” Paul said.

They were armed to the teeth: light machine guns, AK-47s, grenades, plenty of ammunition, and RPGs were strewn around the area. Some of the dead men still clutched their weapons. One of them in particular stood out, his head misshapen, more than likely the result of direct hits from the attack helicopters. He was bearded, hair short. His name tape read “Watson.”

Filled with anger, I wanted to spit on his body. For the first time in my life, I understood why soldiers disfigure enemy corpses. I muttered a curse instead.

Dan got a flag, climbed up into a truck and placed it on Lieutenant Colonel Raible’s chest and escorted his remains to the hospital. It was our last act of the night.

We were all scheduled for casualty evacuation duty in a few hours, and we would need rest. Driving down the flight line, past the fuel farm still blazing, I struggled for a handle on the moment. It was impossible to make sense of things, but when you buy the ticket you take the ride. That’s all.

This was not the kind of combat scenario we had run countless times, getting ready for deployment. Those scenarios were easy by comparison.

Top: One of Major Komatsu’s PJs standing in front of a destroyed Harrier. Bottom: A burning fuel farm glows in the distance on the night of the attack. Images courtesy of Matthew Komatsu.

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Tonight we had marched into a full-on gunfight, risking fratricide along the way. We had then joined up with unfamiliar British soldiers and commenced an infantry action into what had become enemy-held territory. The men had met the challenge and everyone was going home in one piece. It was no small feat.

In the days, weeks and months since, I haven’t gone a day without thinking about that night. I continue to feel an inexplicable connection to Colonel Raible. The attack on Camp Bastion was the worst airfield incursion since the Tet Offensive. Yet Colonel Raible and Sgt. Bradley Atwell, the other Marine killed that night, became just two of the latest names on an ever-growing list of casualties of a nearly forgotten war. Beyond local memorials on the Web, I couldn’t find much about them.

Then, several months ago, I found Colonel Raible’s “Command Guidance,” which he had put out before he died, online.

The memorandum is short and to the point. I had hoped to find something profound, something to justify the way I felt, something that would explain the character of a leader who died for his men.

Instead I found a simple letter outlining his principles for being successful as a Marine Corps attack pilot. Principles like “Hire for attitude; train for skill.” Unadorned, straight talk from a leader to his men. It was an excellent memo, but not what I had hoped to find.

A year ago, I instituted a monthly leadership development session with my officers at my home unit, the 212th Rescue Squadron. I pulled from reading lists published by the Air Force chief of staff, the Marine Corps commandant and military staff college courses. Over a year, we worked through the books together. As I began to assemble an idea of how to structure this year’s program, I decided to start with Colonel Raible’s command guidance.

To a man, each participant in the session identified with Colonel Raible’s document. A couple even took lines from it verbatim. We all agreed that it was the best we had seen, simple and clear.

I felt a strange sense of catharsis. It was as if the colonel had spoken to us from beyond Arlington, providing wisdom that he surely never foresaw when he sat down to type that memo.

I count three bosses who have taken the time to mentor me personally as a leader. To that list I can now add Lt. Col. Chris Raible, United States Marine Corps, killed in action on Sept. 14, 2012. Dead before I even knew his name, but, as it turns out, a mentor. ______________________________________ Editor’s note: Major Matthew Komatsu is a full-time Alaska Air National Guardsman with the 212th Rescue Squadron at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

Major Komatsu’s team at Camp Bastion. Picture taken shortly before leaving Afghanistan in 2012. From left: Paul, Major Komatsu, Dan, and Kyle. Images courtesy of Matthew Komatsu.

in Anchorage, Alaska. His deployment in 2012 was his third combat tour in Afghanistan. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Air Force, Department of Defense or United States government.

From The New York Times, October 29 ©2013. All rights reserved.

Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing, copying, redistribution, or retransmission of this content without express written permission is prohibited.

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Q &A

Four Years in the Kingdom Interview by David Bergeman Former U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Jim Smith ‘74 on life as a diplomat in the Kingdom.

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audi Arabia. It’s one of the United States’ closest allies; the home of the world’s second largest oil reserve, imperative to fueling our nation. The Kingdom is also an essential partner in the war on terror with military interests that align on many levels.

Most Americans know little about the insular Saudis, their culture and politics. Yes, there are the generalizations shaded by popular culture’s depiction of their people (that women aren’t allowed to drive seems to be a prevalent one), and the Saudi connection with the 9/11 hijackers.

If there is one graduate positioned to shed some light on the Kingdom, it’s Jim Smith ’74.

Smith, a retired brigadier general, served as the American Ambassador to Saudi Arabia for four years, from September of 2009 until September 2013. Smith worked for the Obama campaign beginning in the spring of 2007 and helped with the DoD transition after the president was elected. However, he had no intention of working in foreign service until receiving a phone call from the administration in May of 2009.

“I was told that I was to come in and see the secretary. My reply was, ‘I just saw Secretary Gates last month what’s the issue?’ They told me it was a different secretary—Secretary Clinton. That was my first inkling of what was afoot.”

Smith experienced substantial progress in strengthening ties with the Saudis during his tenure. The number of Saudi students in the United States increased from 18,000 to 80,000, American exports to the Kingdom doubled and he successfully worked to make the Riyadh post more family friendly.

In the following interview the former ambassador speaks candidly about the four years he spent living and working in the Kingdom.

CP: You retired as a brigadier general after serving 28 years in the Air Force. Was there a specific experience that prepared you for working in this position?

JS: I can’t point to one experience specifically, but I can reference to a lot of different events that became useful. If I were talking to a group of cadets, I would tell them that so much of what they are learning, which they probably grumble about periodically—we did—makes a huge difference to somebody 40 years later. For instance, being on time; being prepared; working under stress; bringing calm to chaos; being respectful of other people and other cultures, these are things that were developed in my formative years and I will tell you that my time at the Academy was very important to me.

I didn’t know if my military background would be an advantage or a disadvantage as an ambassador because I was not a career statesman. In fact, I was never that good as a “diplomat.” I wasn’t trained at that.

The one event where it all came together and I knew that my background would help was in the spring of 2011 after the downfall of President Mubarak in Egypt. The concern with the Saudis was, ok, you let an ally of 30 years go by the wayside, what does that mean to us?

I would tell my colleagues there, friends, senior people in the government, “Twenty years ago when you were in trouble, I was flying F-15s in Dhahran. I’m here with you today. We will be with you tomorrow.”

And they said, ok. That’s really when I saw that it made a difference.

CP: In 2010, the U.S. agreed to a $60.5 billion sale of arms to Saudi Arabia, the largest such transaction in American history.

Previous page: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, accompanied by then-U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia James Smith, walks to greet U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry upon his arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on June 25, 2013. (State Department photo/Public Domain)

I would tell my colleagues there, friends, senior people in the government, “Twenty years ago when you were in trouble, I was flying F-15s in Dhahran. I’m here with you today.

We will be with you tomorrow.”

What is the extent of the cooperation between our militaries and how integral is the partnership between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ministry of Interior and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the fight against terrorism?

JS: There are two relationships that stand above all else in their strength: the military to military relationship and our relationship on counterterrorism. Those two are iron clad and they rise above the current political debate out there.

We have entities that have been in place: the Office of Program Management, the Saudi Arabia National Guard.

We have been working with the National Guard with command level soldiers for 40 years. We have individuals that are advisors in the Saudi military down to squadron and battalion level throughout the country.

They buy a lot of our equipment because it works and we take care of it. They have a long-standing relationship with American defense firms, so that mil-to-mil relationship is very, very, strong. We have worked with the Ministry of Interior since 2003 on the counterterrorism effort. I don’t think we have a stronger partner in that.

CP: How capable is the Saudi Air Force?

JS: I think they are pretty competent. It’s interesting that we flew with the Saudis back in Desert Shield and Desert Storm and those people who were the senior captains and majors in their Air Force back then are now the ones who are the chiefs of staff and the heads of their service. They have spent the last 20 years turning their air force into a professional organization modeled after what we did with them back then.

I was at Dhahran two years ago. We had a squadron from Jacksonville that was deployed over there. They were flying and I sat in on a briefing and a debriefing. They were flying very complex sorties. And the Saudi major who was the mission commander gave both a briefing and debriefing that reminded me of someone on the stage at Nellis and Redflag. So I would tell you, a very capable Air Force.

CP: You mentioned in a recent interview that perceptions on both sides of this relationship have been formed in part by a “politics of fear.” What did you mean by that and what do Americans need to know about Saudi culture?

JS: Wyche Fowler was a senator from Georgia who was an ambassador 20 years ago. He’s one of the great storytellers that I know. Wyche gave me the best piece of advice that anyone

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Sometimes I thought there was a sense that they feel the outside world is always judging them and that it’s a protective mechanism. I don’t know, I’m not a sociologist, but I know that as I met with groups of people, or individuals, it didn’t matter where in the Kingdom it was, I just found that they had a wonderful sense of humor.

Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, thenAmbassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia James Smith, and Secretary Clinton meet with King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia. (U.S. Embassy Riyadh photo/Mar 30, 2012)

gave me before I went over there. He said, “Jim, the Saudis are Southern. Just slow down and enjoy their company.”

In a way he’s really right. They are among the warmest, most generous, most hospitable people I’ve ever met. That was true for my wife Janet and me as we traveled around the country— and we visited every province in Saudi Arabia. You just have to respect that they have a conservative culture.

When I mentioned the “politics of fear,” what I’m saying is that during the decade after 9/11, people in the region, Saudi Arabia in particular, locked into one view of the United States because of the impressions we have formed about Saudi Arabia in the aftermath of 9/11.

In truth, when you dissect the 9/11 attacks, even though 15 of the 19 were Saudis, it wasn’t Saudi Arabia and the people of Saudi Arabia attacking the United States. This was a group of extremists who had fallen under the influence of Osama Bin Laden and they were specifically targeted to drive a wedge between the U.S./Saudi relationship.

If you understand that, than you realize that many Americans have formed an opinion about Saudis and Saudi Arabia that is not consistent with the people I met there.

CP: There seems to be a pervasive stereotype in the West that the Muslim world is a humorless one. In your interactions with the Saudi people, what were your impressions of their collective sense of humor?

JS: That’s an interesting question. The Nejd, the center of Saudi Arabia, the heart of the traditional Bedouin, is ultra conservative and it’s true that outwardly they project an image of sternness.

I had two captains who were the head of my security detail.

One was from Riyadh and he always had a stern look on his face, the other from Abha down in the south in the mountains, which look like the foothills of the Rockies. He always had a smile on his face, because there is a difference in culture there.

I use to tell jokes all of the time just to get the Nejd smiling.

There is this outward facade of sternness, but underneath that they have amazing senses of humor. I am routinely sending emails back to friends teasing each other and making light of the events of the day.

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CP: What is the average Saudi’s perception of American culture? Is there a distinction made between foreign policy and the culture itself?

JS: Saudis have an innate ability to separate America and Americans from U.S. policy. They have a really interesting capacity to compartmentalize. Sometimes you would meet somebody and he’s really upset about U.S. policy on Palestine or Syria or Iran, you name it; then he’ll break and tell you about that wonderful time he had at Colorado State University and those amazing four years, the people he stays in touch with, that he goes back on vacation and he’s planning on his kids to go to university in the states—and he’ll do it all in the same breath!

There have been different periods when there has been a spike in Saudi students coming to the United States. For the most part they will tell you that they really treasured their time in the United States. They really see America as a second home.

We’re a country that welcomes people and wants you to be a part of the community when you get here.

They have a great fondness for the country and Americans.

That is separate from issues they have with our foreign policy at times. We have worked very hard to ease the VISA process so that Saudis could travel back and forth—it’s good for our economy as well as being good for them.

They treasure the American education system, because their education system is really based on rote memory. When you come here for your undergraduate education you’re immersed in critical analysis. They know individually, and the government knows, that you have to have that critical thinking ability if you’re going to be successful in business. If the bureaucracy is going to be successful over the long term you have to challenge conventional thinking. You don’t get that element in their system. There is a reason why they come to the States for university education. Many of them go on to get master’s degrees and doctorates and they are going back to fill slots at the new universities in Saudi Arabia.

CP: On a micro-level what are the duties of an American Ambassador to Saudi Arabia? What was an average day like for you?

JS: I saw my job as to represent the President of the United States and the American people on our interests and values.

When we developed and engaged in a plan, we found that there were about nine core objectives to that end. It starts with a very strong political relationship for stability in the region, for the free flow of resources world wide, and that’s not just oil. It’s freedom of navigation in international waters and a range of other issues: access for basing rights, if necessary, a very strong mil-to-mil relationship, again for stability in the region.

Then the list goes down and includes things that are challenging: freedom of religion, women’s rights, human rights, so you are working all of those things over time.

My focus first thing in the morning and at the end of the day was the security issue. Was their intel community understanding what was going on in the Kingdom and what was going on in the region and how these things influence each other? Your first priority is the protection of people at the embassy, the consulate and, by extension, Americans in the Kingdom.

We had the additional challenge of turning Saudi Arabia into the post of choice for families. Saudi Arabia had been an unaccompanied post. It was a one-year assignment with no families for the previous five and a half years due to the Al Qaeda attacks from 2003 to 2005. So we brought families back, my wife was the first spouse to come back. That was a multi-year challenge to provide the requisite transportation, education, after-school activities, housing, that would make the Riyadh mission and Saudi Arabia a post of choice for families and we had a great deal of success with that.

you’ll make from $90 to $105 a barrel. If you take that barrel of oil and refine it, it creates three times the number of jobs and is worth about $300 a barrel to your economy.

Companies like SABIC have done a great job in moving downstream with this, but you’re still putting your natural resources on a ship and sending them to another country to make something with it. If you were to take the derivatives from that barrel of oil and turn it into products, then that barrel of oil is worth about $1000 per barrel to your economy and creates ten times the number of jobs.

Their strategy is to focus on manufacturing and developing derivatives and then all of the service industries associated with that, with particular focus on supporting entrepreneurs and the private sector as opposed to the singular focus on the public sector. That’s what they are after.

The challenge that you have in all of this is separating that which is a cultural norm and that which is a human rights abuse. For example, women being allowed to drive is not a human rights issue, it is a women’s empowerment issue, and to some a women’s rights issue. However in the cultural context, that’s for them to decide and not for us to tell them what to do.

So you’re working those kinds of internal issues. The rest of your day is a whole host of things working with the Saudi government and the different ministries; the ministry of health with health care initiatives, the ministry of education, the ministry of foreign affairs on the day-to-day diplomatic issues, the ministry of defense and the ministry of interior.

Our three focus areas were business, education and healthcare.

This drove us to be focused on connecting businessmen and businesswomen between the United States and Saudi Arabia and I can say with some pride that we doubled exports from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia in my four years. There are just slightly more than four hundred American companies that exported to Saudi Arabia for the very first time during that period.

When I got there, there were 18,000 Saudi students studying in the United States. If you want to make an impact on the relationship, both the bilateral relationship and the people-topeople relationship, you start with students. We went from 18,000 to 80,000 in four years. We also brought in a lot of American companies and universities to help with the health care development in the country.

CP: The U.S. is in the midst of a shale oil boom and there has been an executive push to diversify the sources of energy that we consume. Saudi Arabia realizes the need to diversify their economy—what is their strategic plan on this front?

JS: They are moving toward a knowledge-based economy. The strategy is fairly straightforward, you start with what you know and you work from there. What they know is upstream petroleum. They know that about as well as anybody in the world.

This all has to do with the value of a barrel of oil. If you drill a hole in the ground and pump it out and sell it to somebody

CP: What type of influence does the United States try to exert in terms of women’s and human rights advances in the Kingdom?

JS: There are several very formal processes that go on with the human rights report every year, the reports that we send to Congress and are published, and that drives some behavior.

We will apply quiet internal pressure. The challenge that you have in all of this is separating that which is a cultural norm and that which is a human rights abuse. For example, women being allowed to drive is not a human rights issue, it is a women’s empowerment issue, and to some a women’s rights issue. However in the cultural context, that’s for them to decide and not for us to tell them what to do.

On the issue of child marriage, which is a longstanding tradition, we spent a lot of time with the minister of justice, and working through how to change this because we do see that as a human rights issue. As it turns out, in the last five years the Saudis have completely cracked down on that, and they have used their trafficking in persons law, which we helped push through, and you don’t see the same type of human trafficking in Saudi Arabia as you see in other places, in the context of slave trading.

They did put a law on the books, and they have used that law to prosecute individuals who are involved in child marriage because money is always passed. It’s a unique use of a law intended for something else, but they are using it in a domestic human rights venue.

I think, on the human rights side, I saw a lot of progress in many areas. Below the surface, the women’s empowerment initiative is full force. When you educate an entire generation of women, it makes a difference. They will change the culture in the context of what they want to retain in the culture and what they want modernized, and in the context of their religion. w Checkpoints

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feature Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, third from left, walks with Saudi Deputy Minister of Defense Prince Fahd bin Abdullah, center, and Jim Smith, after arriving in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on April 23, 2013. (DoD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo)

She would be in an academic setting of only women, but inside the walls she would find the relationship would be just like any other university or classroom that was women’s only.

You have to understand how far they have come. In 1965 the literacy rate of women in Saudi Arabia was only five percent. Today 60 percent of their college graduates are women and there is nearly a 100 percent literacy rate. You have to believe, a generation from now, that makes a difference.

CP: If a first class female cadet took part in an educational exchange program in Saudi Arabia, what do you believe her observations would be pertaining to how her behavior would have to be modified in a public setting?

JS: A caveat, in my time there I was advocating a broadening of the student exchange program to allow more American students to come and study for a semester abroad. They had not allowed that in the past. There are student visits, but not exchanged students.

What she would find, is that she would have to dress conservatively because the culture demands it.

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CP: What were some of the reverberations of the Arab Spring in Saudi Arabia?

JS: It depends on what your definition of the Arab Spring is, because I drew much different conclusions than many people did. The first and overriding emotion was fear of chaos, because the governments didn’t understand it and in Saudi Arabia the default reaction was that it was caused by outside influence: the media, the U.S., Hilary, you name it.

As I sat down with them, they said that they didn’t have an Arab Spring in Saudi Arabia. I told them yes you have, and I would explain it to them and then they would look at me in fear. But I told them that it is not something they need to be afraid of.

This is all driven by the advent of the iPhone and the Blackberry, where people have information accessible to them that they never had before. In years past, governments could control the message, they could control populations and they could tell people what they needed to think and the expectation is they would do what they were told.

With the advent of modern media, and certainly with social media, people have access to global sources of information.

Saudi Arabia today has the highest percentage of Twitter users in the population of any country in the world.

There’s an amazing conversation that’s going on that you don’t see unless you’re a twitter user. I would ask the Saudis, “What are the top five or six issues that the people of this country are concerned about?” And they could always click them off: it was housing, education, career opportunities, a whole bucket of social issues regarding participation at the local level, corruption and the security apparatus. They wanted transparency there.

If those are the issues then just be responsive. So I defined the Arab Spring as a development where whole populations are demanding that their governments are responsive and transparent in the process. If governments are responsive and to a large degree, except for the problems we had in Bahrain early on, the monarchies in the gulf have been very responsive, therefore there is calm. Where governments attempt to crack down, and control, that’s where you’ve had the problems. That’s the lesson that I’ve taken from all of that.

Visit Checkpoints Online at usafa.org/checkpoints to read the rest of the interview, including the full story on how Smith was appointed to the post.

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the endowment

Our Cadets Your Impact A letter from the Chairman and CEO of the USAFA Endowment.

By Paul S. Madera ’78, Chairman of the Board and Gen. (Ret.) Stephen R. Lorenz ’73, President and CEO

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he USAFA Endowment was born in 2007 with a noble goal: provide transformative philanthropic support to the United States Air Force Academy. In these endeavors, we promised transparency in our actions, no donor fees applied to restricted gifts, a board comprised of donors who understand the responsibilities of stewardship, and a supportive organization in regard to the actions of the Academy and the Air Force. Admittedly, in 2007, our expectations were modest. Reflecting on where we find ourselves at the end of 2013, we have not only excelled, we have surpassed our wildest aspirations for the organization’s success.

Before we delve into 2013 results, let us go back to basics: why are we raising money to support the Academy? Why is federal funding not enough to sustain the Academy? The bottom line is federal support today only covers core programs for our cadets. We believe, however, there is much more needed at the Academy to develop and prepare the very best second lieutenants possible. We want to invest in opportunities that we call “margin of excellence programs” to elevate cadet experiences from excellent to superior. Ultimately, our investments directly contribute to producing better leaders for service to the Air Force and the nation. That is why we do what we do and why we ask you to contribute as well.

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So how are we doing? In 2013, the Endowment raised over $17.86 million in new gifts and pledges. This marks the third consecutive year of record fundraising results. As we think about “cash” dollars, which have direct impact on the Academy, the USAFA Endowment, and the Association of Graduates on an annual basis, we received nearly $13.2 million. Our graduates continue to step up to the donor plate in record numbers with over 5,100 making a gift in 2013. Donors at the Sabre Society recognition level crossed the important 1,000 mark with over 1,200 donors contributing at this level in 2013.

Any way we slice the data, the results are terrific!

It is easy for us to report numbers, but what is the real impact of your gifts? How are we, as donors, transforming the Academy through our philanthropy? We think of the answers to those questions as a shared endeavor for us all.

The Academy is unquestionably a national treasure. We all earned a stake in its future as we journeyed through Jacks Valley, ran the marble strips on the Terrazzo, and grew to lead the Cadet Wing. Today’s cadets are part of the legacy we built many years ago. They tread on the ground we laid, build upon successes we celebrated. Think of it as the physical incarnation of the Long Blue Line. Our legacy for today’s cadets. We have a vested interest in transforming the opportunities and futures for these cadets, for our cadets.

What, then, is our impact on our cadets? In 2013, through20 New Gifts and Pledges $17,857,529 the USAFA Endowment, you invested $4.4 million in the Academy for character and leadership programs. Because of15 your philanthropic contributions, the Academy advanced its progress on its newest iconic building to house the Center $13,108,432 10 for Character and Leadership Development (CCLD). You Cash Received supported the work of Lt. Gen. (Ret.) David Deptula, a senior military scholar at the CCLD who is researching and 5 $2,732,051 advancing the Academy’s knowledge of leadership studies $2,918,166 within the context of the rapidly changing profession of 0 2009 2013 arms. You supported the work of Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Chris Miller ’80, who is serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of New gifts and pledges to the USAFA Endowment have Character & Leadership Integration. Envisioned to become increased 554% since 2009. an internationally recognized research journal that incorporates input from thought leaders in all professional sectors of society, the research behind the Journal will inform the You helped deliver preliminary designs for a football stadium teaching of our cadets. And last but certainly not least, our renovation. You also provided operating support for varsity cadets were able to participate in CCLD programs, such as teams, including football and men’s basketball.

ACES and NCLS, which bring this research to bear through Part of building a legacy is to tell our stories to our cadets instruction and study. who follow. You helped do so by giving $145,000 to heritage In 2013, you contributed nearly $650,000 for academic projects, such as providing upgrades to the Southeast Asia programs through the USAFA Endowment. As a result of Pavilion on the Heritage Trail. And last but not least, unreyour generosity, cadets were able to experience cultural imstricted giving led to an investment of $2.3 million in Acadmersion programs that better prepare them for service as emy programs. You helped support things ranging from the Air Force officers in an increasingly smaller world. You also Falcon Heritage Forum to the Wings of Blue. These highhelped cadets pursue post-graduate study. Through curricular lights are just that—highlights—of a more comprehensive innovation funds, you helped reshape and accelerate course list. The bottom line is that gifts of every single size make a curriculum to make it more responsive to the Academy’s and difference, and you all contributed to the important opporthe Air Force’s needs. Moving to the fields of friendly strife, tunities afforded to our cadets. in 2013, you invested nearly $600,000 in athletic programs.

As we reflect on what we are doing for our cadets, we assess our progress as mid-stage, if you will. The USAFA Endowment has grown and evolved from our early incarnation of less than 50 donors. In 2013, we processed gifts from nearly 15,000 donors. The donor base is growing as donors do more and more each year to make a difference for the Academy and our cadets. But we cannot rest upon our successes. We have aspirations to do more and be more.

We will work closely with the Academy to define its priorities and identify those opportunities that can transform the cadet experience. As we noted earlier in this letter, such experiences are necessary to better prepare future officers for service to the Air Force and the nation. We promise to bring those important funding opportunities to you in a unified, organized fashion. Our dialogue with the Academy is underway, and we look forward to the future implications of these conversations.

Let us close by saying thank you for the investment you make each and every day in our Academy and our cadets.

Thank you for the hours you commit to on-site instruction and mentorship with our cadets. Thank you for the cadets you sponsor and host in your home. Thank you for the hours you commit to board service. Thank you for philanthropic gifts you contribute to build a better Academy experience for our cadets. Thank you for holding the Academy so dearly in your heart. It all matters.

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One Big Team

How annual charitable giving—of every amount—is supporting world-class cadet clubs and programs at the Academy.

By Jennifer Bateman, USAFA Endowment Vice President for Development

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Members of USAFA’s forensic team compete while winning a competition in Slovenia.

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ublic debate is an activity that may send many people running for the door. The idea of publicly presenting a position on a current political or social topic with only 15 minutes of preparation time seems daunting to most people, but not to the 16 members of the USAFA Forensics team. The team travels to 10 tournaments a year, spanning the regional, national, and international levels. To prepare themselves, team members train up to 15 hours a week and usually compete in up to 10 debates per weekend. At tournaments, team members find themselves pitted against undergraduate programs, graduate and law programs, and practicing lawyers and academics. The competition is stiff, but the USAFA Forensics team is good. Very good.

In 2012, the USAFA Forensics team was a finalist at the International Debate Academy in Slovenia. They placed first at the national qualifier for the World Universities Peace Initiative Debates in Indonesia. They also placed two teams in the final round of the U.S. Universities National Open Tournament. The team has consistently placed among the top 5 percent nationally and the top 8 percent internationally in intercollegiate debate.

According to Coach Gina Iberri-Shea, the commitment to the Forensics team is “extensive.” She believes that cadets easily invest the academic equivalent of a master’s degree each year while honing their leadership and teamwork skills.

“The cadets’ ability to compete against top undergraduates across the nation and the world, as well as graduate students, practicing lawyers, and professionals, speaks to their commitment to excellence,” Iberri-Shea said.

So what makes their success possible? There are many factors, including the intellectual prowess of team members, hours of training and practice, and good coaching. Annual charitable giving also makes experiences like these possible. Annual giving is a technical term that generally means efforts by a non-profit organization to secure gifts on an annual basis to support yearly budgets or general operations. Such annual gifts are typically raised through mail, phone, or electronic requests. In this case, the USAFA Endowment raised monies through the Air Force Academy Fund and the discretionary funds of senior USAFA leaders, including the Superintendent and the Dean. In 2013, cash gifts of an unrestricted nature to funds like the Dean’s Discretionary Fund totaled $2.3 million. The Endowment directed some of these monies to support the Dean’s Teams, including the USAFA Forensics team.

And your gifts make a difference. Without the generous support of donors, C2C Stephen Beaton and C2C Trevor Woodward would not have placed first at the 2013 International Debate Academy tournament in Slovenia. In doing so, Team Beaton and Woodward defeated top teams from France, Slovenia,

Finalists from Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia pose with team USAFA during a tournament in September.

South Africa, and Venezuela. Perhaps more importantly, in representing the United States Air Force Academy, C2Cs Beaton and Woodward broke down stereotypes about the U.S. military held by other countries and garnered international respect.

“Our ability to maintain a nationally and internationally ranked team would quickly diminish without outside funding,” explained Coach Iberri-Shea.

6000

Number of Graduate Donors

5000 4000 3000 2000 1000

4,279

2009

4,636

4,798

4,942

5,152

2010

2011

2012

2013

0 Debate is a venue—outside the military structure—for C2Cs Beaton and Woodward to put the leadership lessons learned at the Academy into practice. They can learn and refine in real-time their abilities to motivate and influence individuals and peers outside the chain of command. They also hone high-level critical thinking skills and learn about other nations and cultures in which they may operate as Air Force officers. Success in these endeavors strongly suggests the significant contributions C2Cs Beaton and Woodward will make in the Air Force.

“Debate has a lot of unique opportunities that do not exist elsewhere,” said C2C Beaton. “It allows us to challenge our beliefs and see issues from multiple perspectives. It incentivizes us to read and stay informed on current events beyond the superficial level; not only do we have to know what is happening in the world, we have to know why it is happening, what might stop it, how might other world events influence it, and why it is both good and bad. It also gives us the opportunity to develop critical thinking

skills that are imperative as an officer. Most importantly, we get to share time and ideas with people from across the nation and even the world in a peaceful manner.”

The USAFA Forensics team is as old as the Academy itself.

It was formed in 1955 and held its first USAFA Forensics Classic tournament in 1959. The team counts among its alumni Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Harold “Pete” Todd ’59, the first Academy graduate promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, and Heather Wilson ’82, the first USAFA graduate elected to Congress and the current president of the South Dakota School of Mines.

Last year, the 51st USAFA Forensics Classic, one of the Academy’s oldest traditions, would not have happened without the support of donors. A decade ago, the Forensics team was 100 percent funded from government sources. Today, 20 percent of the budget comes from philanthropic gifts. This percentage will only grow in the coming years. The USAFA Forensics team is a powerhouse in the world of international debate. At the USAFA Endowment, we will continue to invest in their preeminent success with your annual gifts.

In 2013, gifts of $250 or less added up to nearly $500,000.

Donors numbering 4,240 were able to amplify the power of their generosity; pooled together, these donors invested meaningfully in the USAFA Cyber Competition team, the Academy’s computer warfare team. Established in 2010, the Cyber Competition team is young but powerful. Team members compete in “Capture the Flag” competitions in which they identify vulnerabilities, reverse engineer software, crack cryptography, and perform computer forensics against teams from around the world, typically comprised of graduate students and industry professionals. Perhaps it comes as no surprise that all 15 team members are computer science or computer engineering majors. And again, they are good—very good. In the 2013 UCSB International Capture the Flag Competition, they ranked fifth in the world and first in the Western Hemisphere.

The team also participates in cyber defense competitions in which they design, build, and defend a closed-computer network against aggressor teams. In the 2013 Cyber Defense Exercise, the USAFA Cyber Competition team repeated its 2012 victory over the other service academies by defending its network from the NSA’s Red team. Their back-to-back victories are significant accomplishments, considering that the NSA Red

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team is comprised of NSA network specialists and military network experts. Immediately following their victory in the Cyber Defense Exercise, the Competition team participated for the third consecutive year in the National Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. Each year, only 10 out of 150 teams attend nationals, and the Academy’s team has participated each of the last three years.

“The fact that the USAFA team regularly places in the top 10 percent of competitions against industry professionals and graduate students speaks volumes about the talent, dedication, and education of our cadets,” said USAFA professor and Cyber Competition team coach Dr. Martin Carlisle.

The cadets on the USAFA Cyber Competition team are committed. They train in the cyber lab for almost two hours each weekday. All this practice and success is building to a future Air Force career in cyber warfare.

“I am constantly impressed by the dedication that cadets demonstrate on the Cyber team,” Carlisle continued. “They have a strong passion to learn as much as they can so they can take that knowledge with them into active duty.”

C1C Sam Kiekhaefer affirmed his coach’s sentiments. “Taking part in offensive and defensive cyber competitions has given me a greater understanding of methodologies that will allow me to combat future threats against our Air Force and nation.”

The Air Force could not be more pleased as it considers computer warfare to be a major part of future conflicts.

By funding the experiences where cadets can hone their tradecraft and put leadership principles into practice, annual giving is part of the machine that turns out 2nd lieutenants, ready for leadership posts in the Air Force. At one time, donations played a minor role in funding cadet clubs and

Gifts & Pledges by Area $0.4m Heritage Programs

$0.1m Cadet Activities

$1m Academics $4.9m Character and Leadership $3.8m Athletics

2013

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Cyber Competition team coach, Martin Carlisle tutors a cadet .

activities. Today, those same clubs and teams have come to depend on philanthropic dollars to supply their budgets.

Since its inception, the USAFA Cyber Competition team has been wholly dependent on external funding. In 2014, philanthropic gifts will be needed to fund the team’s participation at events like the inter-service competition.

“Private gifts are enabling us to maintain state-of-the-art equipment and participate in the highest levels of competition,” Carlisle explained.

When considering shrinking federal resources, this trend will only grow with other clubs and teams. Club and team activities unquestionably augment the cadet experience and help prepare cadets for the next steps in their careers. The USAFA Endowment will continue to make funding of cadet clubs and activities a priority.

Supporting cadet clubs and activities speaks to the importance of unrestricted annual gifts from donors. In addition to cadet clubs and teams, these dollars have supported the Holaday Athletic Center, an indoor training facility available to all cadets, and graduate services provided by the AOG. Annual gifts have an immediate impact on the Academy. Support through annual giving advances every aspect of the Academy’s mission and benefits every aspect of the cadet experience now.

A gift each year feeds the machine and builds the Academy’s success in preparing Air Force officers. A gift each year offers donors the opportunity to help build leaders of character for the Air Force and the nation. A gift each year helps donors make a difference for the Academy and cadets. A gift each year matters. Thank you for the gift you make each year to support the United States Air Force Academy.

C

To make an unrestricted annual gift to the Air Force Academy Fund or any of the discretionary funds, please visit www.usafaendowment.org.

GIVING by the Numbers Number of Paid Sabre Society Donors

1,206 2013 donors

893 901 1,042

2010 donors

2011 donors

750 2009 donors

2012 donors

TOP FIVE CLASSES 2013 Paid Sabre Society Donors

Class 1968 1970 1976 1972 1964

Number 70 48 43 41 36

TOP FIVE CLASSES 2013 Percentage of Graduate Donors 1963 1968 1967 1959 1973

58% 38% 37% 30% 25%

12% OVERALL 2013 ALUMNI PARTICIPATION RATE

Number of Graduate Donors 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009

5,152 4,942 4,798 4,636 4,279

For full listing of giving by the nymbers by graduation class, visit usafa.org/givingbythenumbers THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY

ENDOWMENT Looking Forward – Giving Back

Heritage

B art H ol a day, Class of 1965 D ist i n g u i shed Gr adu at e

2013

“I’ll probably never forget my first day at the Academy,” Bart Holaday says while sitting in his living room, thoughtfully traveling back down memory lane as the fireplace crackles peacefully beneath the mantel. It is a frigid winter afternoon and a fresh blanket of snow covers the yard outside. A clever smile crosses Holaday’s face as the memories come sliding back from the past.

“We got off the bus and things seemed reasonable enough … then I went up to the Terrazzo and things started to happen. I probably got there a little earlier than I should have—after some basic drilling, push ups and a lot of harassment, 44

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Written and Photographed by Lewis Carlyle

I was taken down to my squadron. Standing next to me was my good friend Mike Smith, who had arrived two hours earlier (what a mistake he made!). So, my first memory is of Mike, he’s been doing pushups, he’s exhausted, and as one upper classman is right in his face, Mike vomits all over the guy … obviously it was a very bad day for Mike from that point on.”

Holaday goes on to recount the tough summer of 1961, a time of relentless cadre, endless drilling and late night runs with rifles held high overhead.

“It pushed me in every way,” Holaday remembers.

“Physically, mentally, emotionally, it was very

demanding. I struggled with everything. It seemed to me that there was always more to do than there was time to do it. We were constantly trying to prioritize and figure out what needed to be done the soonest, and then move on to the next thing.”

Graduates of all generations can certainly empathize with the seemingly impossible time crunch at the Academy—as those who rise to the top ranks of the Cadet Wing seem to have an uncanny ability to bend space-time to their will. As a cadet, Holaday was a varsity athlete, class president and Wing Commander eventually earning a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University. Yet none of those accolades came to fruition until well after his lesser-known stint as a pugilist.

“When I was a freshman,” recalls Holaday, “I decided I would try my hand at intramural boxing.

My first match was against Jim Ingram ’64, who was the Wing Open champ in my weight class.

During the first round, Jim hit me in the jaw and my mouthpiece flew not only out of the ring but over the bleachers. I’m pretty sure I set the all time USAFA distance record that year.”

A few semesters after the mouthpiece was recovered, Holaday found himself on the varsity football squad. “My favorite sports memory (and I’ve quite often considered it the highlight of my life) was when we played Nebraska in 1963. This was in Lincoln at their homecoming, and they were ranked number three in the nation with an 18 game winning streak. We beat them! And I’ve often said life never got as good as that again … that was probably my all time fondest memory of the Academy.”

With the glory days of the gridiron not far behind, Holaday stepped into active duty where he served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Systems Analysis, making several trips to MACV Headquarters in Viet Nam. He explains that the character training at the Academy was crucial during his military career.

“The Honor Code,” Holaday says, “and all of the ethical preparation we had was terribly important.

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“

I’ve often said that in life, with trust, almost anything is possible.

Without trust, very little is possible.

Every relationship one has in life is based on trust. In business, the longer you’re in business, the more important trust becomes.

”

Another critical skill which would go on to serve me best in my professional career was the development of resiliency and persistence—learning to be knocked down, get back up, try something else and move forward. Having the ability to learn from failure was also important.”

Holaday insists that so often in life we try to avoid failure and, while that is an excellent overall strategy, sometimes the inevitable simply cannot be avoided. “In my experience,” he recounts, “the most important lessons I’ve learned have been from things I’ve failed at, because failure teaches you so much more than success does.”

Upon leaving the Air Force, he was recruited to a senior leadership position in the Department of Defense, serving as Director of the Econometrics Division in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Afterwards, Holaday went on to spend over 20 years as a venture capitalist, ultimately serving as an officer and board member of the National Venture Capital Association.

Years in the business world brought back many important lessons learned at the Academy. Holaday explains, “I’ve often said that in life, with trust, almost anything is possible. Without trust, very little is possible. Every relationship one has in life is based on trust. In business, the longer you’re in business, the more important trust becomes. Trust is founded on very simple principles … doing what you say you’re going to do, being there when you

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say you’re going to be there, following through and always being true to your word.”

As a philanthropist, Holaday founded the Dakota Foundation, an organization dedicated to funding entrepreneurial, non-profit organizations that help people help themselves in achieving greater economic self-sufficiency. An enthusiastic and life-long supporter of USAFA, he is also the Founding Chairman of the USAFA Endowment.

“Today,” Holaday says, “the Academy is facing a very difficult time. We have sequestration, government shut down and reduced budgets. It is a time when every resource that can be made available to the Academy is significantly important.”

In 2011, the Academy dedicated the new Holaday Athletic Center. USAFA’s latest 92,000 square foot indoor sports training facility was made possible by a generous donation by the Holadays which set the bar for future capital projects. The center has proven vital to a number of varsity sports teams who struggle against the dangers of Colorado’s intense, late summer thunderstorms which roam the afternoon skies during practice times.

“When we first started the Endowment,” explains Holaday, “we said appropriations will fund the Academy to the level of sufficiency, but we really need a level of excellence. It is now more important than ever to fund that level of excellence—and that has to come from donors.

Furthermore, given the situation in Washington, that task will be more difficult than ever. It’s a time when I think it’s exceedingly important that each of us consider all that we have gained from the Academy and what we can do to give back in this time of need.”

Today, Holaday serves as a trustee of the Falcon Foundation and also funds a post-graduate Fellowship at Exeter College, Oxford University, that sends a top graduate of the Air Force Academy to Exeter each year. “The best advice I can give today’s cadets is to appreciate what a fine education they are being given and to take advantage of every opportunity the Academy offers. It is a unique institution that gives us the chance to challenge ourselves in every direction.”

General William Looney III, Class of 1972 D ist i n g u i s hed Gr adu at e

2013

“Eagle Two-Zero this is the tower. Be advised, your left wheel just came off during takeoff.”

The cockpit of the F-15 is filled with bewilderment as Maj. Bill Looney ’72 and his flight check pilot Maj. Skip Bennet ’70 process the controller’s report. A missing wheel? Absurd. This had to be a mistake. The tower crew must be having a laugh. Looney and Bennet keep the gear down and make a low speed pass over Royal Air Force Bentwaters Airfield for visual confirmation. “Roger that Eagle,” says the tower. “Your left gear is missing its wheel.”

The year is 1985 and Maj. Looney had just reported to his new duty station at Bitburg Air Base in West Germany. In the 29 years since, Looney has pinned on four stars and seen just about everything the Air Force could dish out— looking back on the situation, he counts the Eagle with the missing wheel among his most memorable experiences. “I’d flown the Eagle for almost four years when I was at Langley,” says Looney. w Checkpoints

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“ 48

“Later, when I was reassigned to Europe I’d been out of the cockpit for about three years. During my re-orientation ride, a fellow grad named Skip Bennet ’70 was my back seat instructor during my check flight. We flew from Germany to England to do touch and goes on some of the British airfields just to get acquainted with the area. After taking off from Bentwaters we got a call from the tower informing us that we had lost a wheel. In the cockpit, Skip and I are thinking that’s impossible.”

After the low speed pass, the tower confirms without a doubt that the Eagle had in fact lost a wheel upon takeoff.

“Needless to say,” Looney recalls, “The cockpit went dead silent. The F-15 had never lost a wheel to our knowledge. There were no procedures on how to land the airplane. This was a first. We had a nose gear and a right main wheel. The left gear was nothing but a stub.”

Looney took the aircraft up for a mid-air refueling, buying them time to have a conference call with the engineers back at McDonald Douglas. They were treading on uncharted territory and the possibility of punching out became a serious consideration.

However, after careful deliberation, the two Academy graduates determined that they could bring the fighter down without having to eject.

Looney recalls making a pass over the airfield to case out the location of the arrestment barriers beyond the landing strip. “We made a pass to get a better feeling for the lay of the land before we put this thing down and, lo and behold, we see hundreds of people lined up to watch us try and land this jet with only two wheels! I guess the word went out that there’s an Eagle without a wheel and these guys are just crazy enough to try and land this thing. It was kind of a sobering event, as if everyone had come out to a NASCAR race to see a crash.”

It’s not every day that you walk away from a crash landing in a jet fighter.

Only a handful of officers could have pulled off such a stunt ...

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”

Miraculously, the two graduates were able to land the airplane safely. The Eagle sustained damage to the left wing and suffered a crumpled nose gear, but came to a stop on the tarmac with only two wheels. Both pilots walked away uninjured, checking off yet another notable first in the history of Academy aviation. “It was my first flight back in the F-15,” recounts Looney. “After we got out of the cockpit I remember being in such anguish over having wrecked that airplane.”

Crash investigators later discovered that the locking nuts on the left wheel had been installed backwards, causing them to loosen slightly with every rotation. It was only a matter of time before the wheel came off. “That’s an incident I will always remember,” recalls Looney. After all, it’s not every day that you walk away from a crash landing in a jet fighter. Only a handful of officers could have pulled off such a stunt, which takes our story back to 1967, when an ambitious young man set his sights on the Air Force Academy.

“The most difficult challenge I had to overcome was actually getting into the Academy,” says Looney candidly. “I grew up in an Air Force family.

My father was a career officer who flew fighters and, like most young men, I idolized my dad. He was my hero. I saw how much he enjoyed what he did as a pilot so, from an early age, I decided that was what I wanted to do.”

After high school, Looney applied for the Academy, waiting eagerly to begin his journey to the cockpit. “‘Thank you for your interest in the United States Air Force Academy,’” Looney recalls of the Academy’s response to his first attempt to get an appointment, “‘but unfortunately you did not qualify for admission this year.’ I can very candidly say that this was a crushing blow. I was considering my options among civilian colleges when I got a letter from the Falcon Foundation, offering me a scholarship to attend the Millard Prep School in Oregon. My SAT scores were lacking, and this was my chance to try again. Fortunately, I was successful the second time around and I entered the Academy in June of 1968 with the Class of 1972.

Just getting in was my all time biggest challenge.”

Looney recounts a slew of memorable experiences during his first days at the Academy, including several from BCT. “Everybody in the group was a big somebody in high school,” he says. “We had national merit scholars and all-state athletes, kids of all shapes and sizes—long hair, different clothing—by the end of the day we all looked the same. We had no hair, none of our uniforms fit properly, and we were all walking around in a daze because we were completely overwhelmed by what was happening to us. I remember that first night as

“

When you are given the gift of a command,” says Looney, “it’s all about taking care of your people. In turn, they expect you to be an honorable person. My character as a cadet and as a future officer was molded at the Academy. Work ethic and the importance of teamwork were reinforced by our class motto which is Strength Through Adversity.

”

they played taps. As the lights went out I’m certain that every last one of us was thinking to ourselves, what in the hell have I done?”

Looney remembers those first days as a rude awakening. Yet, despite the hardships, he began building powerful bonds among his fellow doolies.

“One of my most memorable experiences came toward the end of basic training,” Looney says.

“All summer long we had been told that we were not allowed to receive any packages from home until the end of BCT. My mother, bless her heart, despite my warnings, sent me a huge box of chocolates two days before the end of basic. At the time, we were required to turn all packages over to the upperclassmen. So I gave the package to my element sergeant and went back to my room.

Not five minutes later I was summoned by two second-classmen who proceeded to abuse me with pushups for the next twenty minutes for my brazen disregard of the no-package rule. My element sergeant was Harold Strittmatter ’70 (we ended up as wing commanders together 20 years later). Harry and his roommate, C2C Greg Popovich ’70—Distinguished Graduate and coach of the San Antonio Spurs—proceeded to eat my entire box of chocolates while I did pushups on the dorm room floor.”

Over 46 years have elapsed since the fateful chocolate caper, with Looney and Popovich remaining good friends in their home town of San Antonio (to this day, Pop denies taking part in the abuse and grand larceny).

At the Academy, Looney went on to be selected as Cadet Wing Sergeant Major, First Basic Cadet Training Commander, and Cadet Wing Commander during his junior and senior years at the Academy. After graduation, his aptitude for command continued into his military service.

During his career, General Looney commanded a flight, a fighter squadron, two fighter wings, a joint task force, an air expeditionary force, a military college, a warfare center, a numbered air force, a combatant component command, two acquisition centers, and a major command. During his 36 year career, he served on the Air Staff, the

European Command Staff, and the Joint Staff and logged more than 4,000 hours in a number of aircraft, with more than 2500 hours, including 62 combat hours, in the F-15 Eagle.

“When you are given the gift of a command,” says Looney, “it’s all about taking care of your people. In turn, they expect you to be an honorable person. My character as a cadet and as a future officer was molded at the Academy. Work ethic and the importance of teamwork were reinforced by our class motto which is Strength Through Adversity. Being an honorable person comes first and foremost, and that lesson stuck with me throughout my career.”

After retiring from service, Gen. Looney became the President of Integration Innovation, Incorporated (i3), a highly successful defense services company with U.S. and international clients.

He also is a national security consultant to many Fortune 500 companies, and sits on a number of corporate boards. Additionally, he serves as a Governing Trustee for The Falcon Foundation—the very institution which gave him a second chance at the Academy. He holds the distinction of being the first Academy Falcon Scholar to reach the four star rank.

“Be positive,” Looney advises cadets today. “The glass is always half full and many times it’s even overflowing. That’s the approach you have to take in life. When you approach the mission, your people and your challenges with that kind of an outlook then you’re already on your way to success. Rely on all those wonderful lessons you learned at the Academy. It’s not about you, it’s all about the mission and the airmen and their families who carry out that mission. It’s the team that succeeds. You may not be the one who scores the touchdown, but that’s not important. What’s important is that the team scores.

One of the greatest values to embrace throughout your life is the concept of Service Before Self. You will lead a great life in this United States Air Force.

It’s not a job, it’s an exciting, challenging adventure that is a true calling.”

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Serpentine ry

sto

Hi How Jim Vance ’59 changed the automobile as we know it.

Written by David Bergeman

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Back in the early ’70s cars started evolving into the vehicles we know and love today.

Accessories like power steering and air conditioning—the coolest luxuries of the day—became commonplace in most automobiles. As cars become more dependent on electricity, accessories that were once three or four horsepower were now topping off at around 40 peak horsepower.

The standard of the time was to have “V-belts” run each peripheral device in the motor. It got to the point where there were as many as four separate belts in one engine compartment taking up valuable inches of real estate. This problem was compounded, because cars were getting smaller and engines were getting bigger. This motor configuration was starting to suck up so much space that engineers began running out of room to fit everything. The engineering paradigm wouldn’t shift until 1978, when an Academy graduate devised a solution that would change the industry for decades to come.

Music to Motors Jim Vance ’59 is a Kansas farm boy who grew up working on all things mechanical. Before entering the Academy with the institution’s first class, he attended what is now Fort Hays State University on a music scholarship. Vance says that he quickly came to the realization that he could “starve to death” being a musician, so he transferred to the school’s pre-engineering program and entered the high-tech profession of television installation and repair with the Hays Music Company (nearby Wichita had just gotten its first TV station).

While at Hays Music, Vance says he would climb up 60-foot-high towers so people could get a fuzzy black and white picture. Fortune had it that he worked with a WWII bomber pilot who told him about a new military academy opening in Colorado Springs. Vance thought it sounded like a good opportunity and with a little elbow grease and some serendipitous connections he was nominated to attend. He graduated with an engineering degree in 1959.

After separating from the Air Force, Vance moved his family back to Colorado and secured a job at Gates Rubber Company of Denver as an engineer in product application. While driving to work one day in 1974, Vance was contemplating the V-belt conundrum when “a light bulb came on.”

Image from the Collections of The Henry Ford Museum

In most motors, the crankshaft pulley powered each V-belt: if the inner-belt went bad, you had to remove the other three. This was a mechanic’s worst nightmare. Removing a V-belt involves the tedious process of properly adjusting the tension so that each belt is properly secured. Furthermore, the V-belt was relatively thin in width, reducing its durability.

“I could drive all of these accessories on one belt,” Vance thought, “because the peak load on the various accessories occurred at different times and by going to the serpentine drive belt we would be able to move them all closer to the engine block so it could fit into a smaller car.”

Vance went to the Gates’ testing area and set up a prototype for how the engine configuration would be structured, testing various types of belts until deciding on the wider, ribbed belt that is popular today. The average modern serpentine belt will last around 150,000 miles, three times longer than a V-belt. It also saves around three inches of engine room. Vance’s idea was a simple, elegant, game-changing solution to a problem that had confounded the country’s major automakers for years. Yet, the biggest challenge for Vance wasn’t coming up with a solution. It was getting an automaker to buy into his idea.

“That same year, I did a dog and pony show for the engine division of General Motors and they

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Generator Tensioner

Idler

A/C

Water Pump Power Steering

Crankshaft

bought into it and sent me four cars to run prototypes on,” says Vance. “We tested them for about 6 months and things really looked good. Their criterion was that they couldn’t have more than 6 percent failures. So I went back and presented the data to the vice president in charge of the engine design. He said if this was a good idea then General Motors would’ve thought of it. Since they didn’t, the idea sucked. I picked up my models and went home.”

1978 and Beyond Four years would pass before another automaker would give Vance’s patent another shot—in 1978 Ford Motor Company came calling. They needed help with the new Mustang.

“It was the third generation Mustang,” explains Matt Anderson, curator of transportation at The Henry Ford museum. “It was only the third redesign in the car’s history. It was introduced originally in 1964-65 as a compact car, literally built on the Ford Falcon compact car chassis. It grew into a brutish muscle car in the late ’60s and early ’70s. With the gas crisis of 1973 foremost on everyone’s mind, the 1979 Mustang was designed to be smaller and more efficient. But, in order to fit the larger engine [there were three models; the serpentine belt was used with the 302 V8 engine] in that smaller car, they had to redesign the belts.”

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Vance brought the dog and pony extravaganza back to Michigan. This time, the executives bought a ticket to the show.

“Normally it takes about five years for a car company to make a decision but, in three hours, they decided they were going to come up with about 10,000 Mustangs with the V8 in it, and if no more than 600 belts failed during the 12,000 mile warranty, it was a good product,” Vance says. “I went home with an order for 10,000 belts and I didn’t have a clue how to mass produce them, because I had a prototype machine where we made one or two at a time. But we managed to pump them out. At the end of the year, Ford only had two belt failures. They proceeded to convert 100 percent to the serpentine drive belt in 1979.”

Not only was the space-saving product versatile and mechanic friendly, but converting to the serpentine belt saved about $28 in production costs per car at the time. In 1982, General Motors jumped on board with Vance’s innovation. Virtually every car built since then uses the belt.

Emissions “It’s one of those little innovations that doesn’t get the attention of the electric starter and things like that,” Anderson says of the belt, “but it’s pretty groundbreaking, and very clever when you get down to it.”

By the second year of production, Gates Rubber was making $12 million a year off of Vance’s patent. Vance was given a $70 a month raise. He chuckles when asked about those silly numbers.

“When you go to work for a large company, you sign an agreement that anything you invent, even at home, is property of the company,” he says. “That’s the way it is. I’m not bitter about it, I agreed to it, therefore it’s the right thing.”

Vance went on to secure 34 patents for Gates Rubber before retiring in 1996. In 1998 he moved back to Kansas and the rural community of Claflin. He loves flying and he spends a lot of his time building experimental aircraft. His passion for innovation continues to drive him. Now, instead of rubber products, he creates car bodies by hand and places them on the chassis of old vehicles. Today he is driving a 2007 Lamborghini Countach, powered

by GM’s 1987 Pontiac Fiero V6 engine—which has a serpentine belt.

So what does this twist of irony mean to Vance, who was told his innovation wasn’t good enough by that particular auto-making colossus?

“Well, I have a good feeling that I came up with a neat idea—and it worked.”

Think giving back doesn’t matter … we can win that debate!

Each year, 16 outstanding cadets from the USAFA Forensics Team compete internationally in debate competitions, they have proven to be a team you don’t want to argue with. There is no argument that private funding through the Air Force Academy Fund plays a key role in sustaining their efforts by providing competition and training support on an annual basis.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.usafaendowment.org Give online: giveafaf.org Give by phone: 719.472.0300 Give by mail: Checks payable to: USAFA Endowment 3116 Academy Drive USAF Academy, CO 80840

ThE SAbrE SociETy Recognizes donors who contribute $1,000 or more annually to the Air Force Academy Fund

The Long Blue Line Endowment and Fund Graduates Supporting Graduates and the Academy We Love The Long Blue Line Endowment and Fund provide the AOG with the capital to honor the courageous men and women of the Long Blue Line—to strengthen their connection with each other and the Academy they love. Your support of the Long Blue Line Endowment and Fund provides graduates around the world with the AOG’s many world-class services and functions.

Checkpoints Magazine Career Services Program Young Alumni Program Gone But Not Forgotten Founders Day and many more!

How the Long Blue Line Endowment and Fund Works and Why We Need Your Support The Long Blue Line Endowment and Fund were established to provide the AOG with the resources to carry out its mission of provinging services and support to graduate programs and to the Academy. The Fund provides current operational funds. The Endowment is a long term endowment. Since membership dues currently only fund fifteen percent (15%) of the AOG’s annual operations budget, this approach allows the AOG to aggressively press forward while securing the future of the programs and services we create.

Contact the USAFA Endowment to make your donation today! usafaendowment.org

Mouth Watering Recipes by Grads, for Grads Our most recent round of recipes are guaranteed to help you keep those New Year’s resolutions in check by providing a delightful palate of healthy vegetarian cuisine. At the top of our list, a sumptuous sushi dish that is certain to be a crowd pleaser at your next dinner party.

Nori Cucumber & Avocado Sushi Roll (Serves 2) Chef Carol Palmer, Class of 1997 Ingredients • 1 1/4 cups of water • 1 cup uncooked glutinous rice (sushi rice) • 3 tablespoons rice vinegar • 1 pinch salt

Directions 1. Combine the water and rice in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, or until rice is tender and water has been absorbed. Remove from the heat and stir in the vinegar and a pinch of salt. Set aside to cool.

2. Cover a bamboo sushi mat with plastic wrap to keep the rice from sticking. Place a sheet of seaweed over the plastic. Use your hands to spread the rice evenly onto the sheet, leaving about 1/2 inch of seaweed empty at the bottom.

3. Arrange strips of cucumber and avocado across the center of the rice. Lift the mat and roll over the vegetables once and press down. Unroll, then roll again towards the exposed end of the seaweed sheet to make a long roll. You may moisten with a little water to help seal. Set aside and continue with remaining nori sheets, rice and fillings.

4. Use a sharp, wet knife to slice the rolls into 5 or 6 slices. Serve cut side up with your favorite sushi condiments.

• Four sheets nor (dry seaweed) • 1/2 cucumber, sliced into thin strips • 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, sliced

Lean and green

farm to table

Red Lentil Soup with Lemon (8 Servings) Chef Mary Louisa (Morlock) Honchock, Class of 1987

Ingredients • 2 cups/14 ounces split red lentils, picked over and rinsed well • 1 tablespoon turmeric • 4 tablespoons ghee (or high quality cold pressed oil, though ghee is best) • Fine grain sea salt • 1 or 2 leeks, chopped • 1 teaspoon cumin • 1 teaspoon coriander • 1 teaspoon fennel (above 3 spices can be ground or buy the seeds and grind them before you make the soup) • 1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds • 1 cup chopped cilantro • Juice of three lemons, or to taste • Approximately 7 cups of water or veggie stock or a mix of both.

• 1 large bunch of spinach leaves (or Swiss chard or arugula) chopped • Cooked (warm) brown rice (or any whole grain), to serve • Plain Greek yogurt, to serve Directions 1. If using a rice cooker, turn on cooker warm it, add ghee or oil to warm.

2. Add spices to aromatic; add leeks and lentils, stir in spices.

3. Add liquid. Wait for 30 minutes to add the cilantro and greens.

4. If you are using a normal pot on a stove you can sauté spices, oil and leeks with the ghee in sauté pan then transfer to beans and water. It will take about 45 minutes to cook in either the rice maker or a pot on the stove.

Curried Chickpeas (6 Servings)

Chef Jannell (Zicarelli) MacAuley, Class of 1998 Ingredients • 2 tablespoons coconut oil • 1 onion, chopped • 2-3 garlic cloves • 1 can chickpeas • 1 cup diced carrots • Kale leaves from 4 large stems, chopped • 1 can lite coconut milk • 1 (heaping) tablespoon flax • 1 teaspoon sea salt • 2 teaspoons cumin • 2 teaspoons curry powder • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric • 1/2 cup chopped almonds • Black pepper, to taste

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Directions 1. Heat oil in large sauté pan over med-low heat.

2. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in the rest of the ingredients (except black pepper) and turn heat up to med-high until the coconut milk begins to boil. Turn heat back down to a gentle simmer, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add black pepper to taste.

5. Top with chopped almonds.

6. Serve hot. You can put this over a bed of brown rice or quinoa.

FOod LovErs Unite Asian Infused Inspiration

This is your opportunity to bring the delectable tastes of Asia to the Long Blue Line’s kitchen. Thai, Chinese, Japanese– the culinary possibilities are nearly as infinite as the wonders to be found in these enchanting lands. Send us your favorite Asian influenced recipe and you could be featured in the June edition of the Long Blue Ladle. Email your recipe to editor@aogusafa.org

Long Blue Ladle: Off the Menu

Visit Checkpoints Online and expand your cookbook with even more great graduate submitted vegetarian recipes.

The 2014 Association of Graduates

Cadet Photo Contest

This past February the AOG held a cadet photo contest with the theme centered on images of life at the Academy. The Cadet Wing submitted 328 photos, which were reviewed by a panel of in-house judges. It was a difficult task narrowing down the field, but ultimately the images of C1C Mercedes M. C. Dexter, C2C Elson Boo and C3C Samuel E. Hunt were chosen as the winners.

For sharing their talents with the graduate community, each of these cadets received an iPad Air, personalized with their name engraved on the back and a case in their corresponding class color.

Additionally, their photos will be featured on the new and improved AOG Membership Cards, which will initially be rolled out to new members who are current cadets, graduate Life Members with a reunion taking place this year and new Parent Plus Members. Thank you to all of the cadets who participated and congratulations to the winners!

From top: Ring Dance 2014 C1C Mercedes M.C. Dexter The Class of 2016 Acceptance Day Parade C3C Samuel E. Hunt World’s Finest Leaders C2C Elson Boo

Plotting the dangers of Near Earth Objects, Carrington Events and hypernovas—from the perspective of a techno-optimist.

A

S

pace:

cadet once asked me what I considered the greatest threat to society, and I answered, without hesitation, a hole in our knowledge.

When we take scientific measurements, we are gathering data, but data is not knowledge and it is clearly not understanding. In fact, I can safely say that all scientific arguments I have witnessed are due to data interpretation and demonstrate a lack of understanding of the underlying phenomenon.

That is where the danger exists when it comes to Space, because Space, more than any environment humans encounter, is supremely intolerant of ignorance.

Thanks to a robust space science program over the past several decades, we brought many facts out of the darkness of the unknown. For example, we have recently found and mapped the 10,000th Near-Earth Object, also known as a NEO. For those that are unfamiliar with that term, consider that they are called “dinosaur killers” at NASA. Not only are we finding more NEOs, but by studying past impact events, we are getting a better understanding of NEO impact dynamics and atmospheric effects. Such past impact events as the 1908 Tunguska explosion in Siberia, where a stony meteorite about 120 feet in diameter exploded with over 10 megatons of force, allow us to

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Written by Dr. Charles Justiz ’74

” put theories to the test. Thanks to these studies we now know that a 6,500-foot diameter stony asteroid is the lower threshold, should an impact occur, where the chances of survival of the human race falls to zero.

What we do not know is where the NEOs are and what their orbits might be. This was underscored by the unannounced arrival of the 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor.

This relatively small rock (about 60 feet across) managed to sneak in with no warning, damaged over 7,200 buildings in six cities, and drove over 1,500 people to seek medical help. All this damage was caused without ever coming within 30 miles of any person or property.

While we can be justifiably proud of having cataloged the 10,000th NEO, we must remember that estimates suggest there are probably 200 million NEOs. There are current efforts to catalog these objects; probably the most promising is the B612 Foundation, but we do not have anything available on Earth or in space that can find all these rocks. Space is supremely intolerant of ignorance.

Consider that the Sun, which is the source of all energy on this planet, can become hostile. In 1859, the British astronomer, Richard Carrington, was observing sunspots when he noticed two brilliant beads of white light form in the collection of sunspots he was observing. The event only lasted five minutes, but just before dawn of the next morning, auroras swept the skies with such singular intensity that newspapers could be read as if by day. These auroras were observed as far south as Cuba, the Bahamas, and Hawaii. Worse, telegraph companies, the Internet of their day, reported spark discharges like “streams of fire” that shocked telegraph operators and set paper ablaze. When the telegraph operators disconnected the telegraph sets from their batteries, they found the telegraph lines contained such an induced current they could still send messages.

Scientists now refer to this as a Carrington Event (CE) and think there is a one in twenty probability of such an event hitting Earth by 2020. Damage estimates for a CE occurring in 2014 run past $2 trillion and some think it would be over a year before we could restore power to the Northeast. GPS, telecommunications, power grids, banking systems, and the Internet

would be compromised. Your phone, your computer, your tablet, your television, your radio, and your car would be rendered inoperative in an instant. Tap water would not be available, and your toilet would not flush … perhaps for a year.

While we all realize that such an event would be thousands of times worse than any natural terrestrial event such as a category 5 hurricane, what we do not know is when the next solar storm will hit and with what intensity. NASA has a fleet of spacecraft (SOHO, STEREO, ACE, Wind, etc.) that are constantly observing the Sun, but space weather forecasting ability is where atmospheric weather forecasting was fifty years ago. If we had a reliable forecast, we could lessen the impact of a CE. For example, we could disconnect transformers from the grid, but how tolerant will the world be if we are constantly turning off the power grid due to false alarms? We just cannot predict when one of these monster storms will rain down from the Sun. Space is supremely intolerant of ignorance.

We can look out into the cosmos and observe gamma rays of intensity and duration that we cannot explain with our current understanding. Stretching our knowledge to its limit, we can postulate an answer to these gamma rays as being the death throes of very massive stars, an event we now call a hypernova. In such a hypernova, the dying star can release more energy in ten seconds than the Sun will release in its entire life.

Should Earth find itself caught in the gamma-ray burst of a hypernova occurring within about 3,000 light years, the effects would be staggering. The earth’s ozone layer would be blown away in an instant. Without an ozone layer, unfiltered ultraviolet radiation from the Sun would begin baking the ground and would literally burn up all life. Within a few years, the skies would darken with brown clouds of toxic nitrogen oxides. Any plants that may have survived the UV radiation would then die from lack of sunlight. In such an environment, humans cannot survive.

As deadly as this event might be, we have not mapped nearby stellar neighbors with an eye towards

Should Earth find itself caught in the gamma-ray burst of a hypernova occurring within about 3,000 light years, the effects would be staggering.

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establishing our vulnerability. Even worse, science in this area is at such an infant stage that we are not sure what we are looking for. Space is supremely intolerant of ignorance.

It may seem that the tone of this piece is somewhat pessimistic, and I do not wish to leave anyone with the impression that I believe the future of the humans on this planet is desperate, because it is not. I am an unapologetic techno-optimist that believes we humans can overcome any challenge presented to us if we have the time and commitment.

Humans are a freak of nature—an evolutionary inconsistency.

It is as if evolution had tinkered for millennia to come up with a hominid that walks upright, has unencumbered hands ideally suited for tool use, and a surprisingly overdesigned three-pound brain. We were a primitive species of hunter-gatherers in ancient Africa when we evolved this magnificent brain. In short, our brains are evolutionarily unnecessary.

I share this because I recently watched a music video with a naked woman swinging on a construction ball while singing her sad ballad. While watching, I wondered if the singer ever worried about living on the surface of a vulnerable spaceship whizzing around the Sun at nineteen miles per second through a minefield of boulders and mountains. Did she ever consider the Sun that nourished her and enabled her profession could also render her voice silent by destroying the electronics infrastructure on which her career was based? Had she lost even a moment’s sleep

considering that a hypernova may have already occurred? Did she consider that a blast pre-dating the birth of either Jesus or Buddha could doom the planet? Was there a moment where she interrupted her manicurist’s diligent hand to voice concern over this fragile spaceship on which we all travel?

I agree, probably not. However, I have heard the singer respond with eloquence and grace during an interview and the spark of intelligence was evident. I wonder if this person would have used their undeniable talents in science if society held a higher appreciation of that choice. Keep your singing career, oh naked-singer-on-large-construction-balls, but have a greater awareness of the world and the cosmos. Arm yourself with the mental tools to articulate your solutions to problems that vex us all. Humans are the culmination of billions of years of evolutionary effort. Use all the tools that your genetics have granted. At this point, my mind knots up a bit at the thought, and I have to smile. Maybe it is not just Space that is intolerant.

C

Dr. Charles Justiz ‘74 is the author of the Book of the Year nominee Specific Impulse.

A former NASA Research Pilot, Justiz is now a corporate aviation safety consultant and is working on the follow-up to his science-based thriller. You can learn more about his work by visiting charlesjustiz.com.

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719.472.0300, Ext. 147 events.usafa.org ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY

Falcon Fitness Fix

Dan Felix ’74, CFT

Building and Repairing Your Body Academy cadets and graduates self-challenge. They push themselves academically, physically, and personally. Applying to and graduating from the Academy cannot be accomplished with a casual effort. We push ourselves. That push achieves many ambitions. Unfortunately, the flesh and bones of our bodies cannot always keep up.

Faster than a Speeding Bullet The build and repair rate of our bodies is different for each person and changes as we get older. The more technical term is adaptation. The body adapts to the challenges it encounters. We can direct those adaptations with fitness programs and lifestyle decisions.

The Lockheed SR-71 was once considered as a possible fighter, the YF-12A Interceptor. Armaments were limited to missiles since it was faster than regular ordinance and would end up flying into its own bullets. The body can also self-destruct if we try to impose adaptations too quickly. It is the difference between a usable and functional callous or a debilitating blister. In the years I have been training I have witnessed far more over-training than under-training.

I see endless fitness delays due to injuries from trying too much or resting too little.

Effective fitness results require smart effort, not unrestrained effort.

Learning What Works A fitness program can have many variables but there are only two that matter: intensity and frequency. If the body is exposed to a sufficiently challenging workout with sufficient frequency, then it will repair and improve itself to better meet the next challenge. Different tissues have different repair

rates that change as we age. It is important to learn what works as early as possible.

Before the end of puberty, the body makes some rather permanent and sometimes unwanted decisions about its development.

• The bones of the body can prematurely and permanently end their growth if they are exposed to a lifting resistance that is repeatedly too high for a given individual.

• Fat cells are created until the end of puberty and thereafter they are filled and emptied but not removed.

• Tendons and ligaments are at their most fluid state permitting long-term flexibility results not acquirable later in life.

The best time to build long-term strength, speed, and flexibility is during your twenties and early thirties. Just remember that a poorly designed fitness program can have permanent and unwanted results.

It’s Not Too Late The tissues of the body age at different rates.

Basically, the harder the tissue, the sooner it ages. Bones stop growing in our twenties.

Tendons and ligaments begin to oxidize and harden in our thirties. Lung and ribcage elasticity decreases in our forties and fifties.

Even ambition seems to wane.

All is not lost. Change the workout.

In our early years, our bodies could

perform a great deal of repair in twentyfour hours. Not so much as we get older.

During our 20s, 30s, and for some, their 40s, the most effective strategy for fitness and sport training is to create body-part routines with enough intensity to trigger the adaptation response. Some body-part workout intensities can be so high as to require seven to ten days of rest and repair before repeating the workout.

That is not an effective strategy as we age.

Frequency of workout is more effective.

Plan a program of five to seven, modestly intense, 30-minute workouts using more muscle groups per workout. A classic circuit-training routine, one for the upper and lower body, is an excellent first strategy.

More workouts of shorter duration will create faster improvements and sustain results achieved earlier in life.

Learn how your body uniquely adapts.

Don’t rush to every new routine or diet with hopes of improved fitness. Observing your results as you explore routines and adhering to what materially works will give you early and long lasting results. ________________________________ Dan Felix has been fitness training for more than 25 years and has multiple certifications, including Certified Fitness Trainer from the International Sports Sciences Association. You can email him at dan@danfelixcft.com.

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From 1947-1969 the Air Force’s “Project BLUE BOOK” investigated 12,618 sightings of UFOs—701 of these incidents remain unexplained to this day. Across the decades and around the globe over 46,000 Air Force Academy graduates have pretty much seen it all when it comes to the skies. With that in mind, Checkpoints asked the graduate community to share their experiences of seeing something they still can’t quite explain—whether it was a flash of light or an object that moved in an inexplicable manner. There was a strong response to the request and some very discernable patterns seem to have emerged in the ether. You can be the judge.

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An Air Force UFO Pilot Prior to presenting my briefing about the U-2 in the late ’90s and early 2000s, I was sometimes jokingly asked if I believed in UFOs. My response, “I don’t know if I believe in them, but I used to be one.”

That elicited surprised responses and questions, which I ducked until giving my briefing. In the early ’70s, I was the project test pilot on a special R&D program for developing focused lasers to blind or track targets at long ranges. My black U-2 was painted with a white test pattern that enabled evaluation of the laser’s illumination and optical resolution at an approximately 70,000 foot range. The ground based laser gun was slaved to an optical tracker, which located me by the high-beam headlight that we had installed in the belly of the U-2. The tracker would record the illumination and resolution of the laser as it played over the surface of the aircraft. When I reached my base operating altitude of 65,000 feet I would turn on the light so the ground site could acquire me. Then I would circle for hours at night with that high-beam tracking headlight still lit and calls would come into various authorities from all over South Florida about UFOs circling over the Everglades.

The most difficult part of the mission was wearing, over my pressure suit helmet, a welder’s mask that was equipped with a prism to block the specific wavelength of any one of the three types of lasers being employed on any particular mission. The prism was 1 by 3 inches and sat in front of my pressure suit faceplate, greatly restricting my field of vision. I had to constantly move my head in order to monitor my instrument panel and systems. This led to terrific neck aches that usually limited the mission to 4 to 6 hours. As soon as I landed and was peeled out of my pressure suit, Polaroid photos were taken of the internal surfaces of my eyes to ensure I had incurred no damage. This was followed by the debriefings during which I observed videos of the flight. The laser illumination of my U-2 was so bright and focused I could clearly see my head moving in the cockpit.

Do I believe in UFO’s? Perhaps, but certainly to many—I was one. –Michael J. Clarke ’60

A Non-Conforming Cloud

“UFO Chasers”

As best as I can recall, it was summer of 1966 and in the West Virginia area, midnight-ish with moonlight, in a B-52 at altitude. Off to the southwest, there was a large spherical cloud.

It was just hanging there, all by its lonesome in an otherwise cloudless sky. I remember thinking it looked peculiar because of its conformity—pretty much like that of a golf ball with no dimples.

As I watched, it began to glow from within and the glow began to pulse—not with the brightness of lightning flashing but with a steady, pulsating one-two, one-two, in and out beat. As things happen, we shortly came upon a change of course and turned away from the cloud.

I do not know what it was, but I have seen a bunch of clouds day and night in all kinds of weather, surface to 50,000 feet—and I never saw anything that looked like that again.

–Joe Peters ’63

The December 10, 1978, issue of Parade magazine featured an article entitled “UFOs vs. USAF–Amazing (but True) Encounters.” The article discussed various UFO sightings, in particular in the area of Loring AFB, Maine, Wurtsmith AFB Mich., and Minot AFB, N.D. The article caught my attention because it included a picture of three F-106 aircraft with the caption, “This is a formation of F-106 jets, like those sent up to monitor and pursue unidentified aircraft seen over a U. S. Air Force base in Maine.”

I recognized the picture because I have a copy of the original, taken from a two seat F-106B with an AF photographer in the back seat, in 1974. I was the flight leader and the purpose of the flight was to get pictures over the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

The photographer took some great shots. However, I must admit this is the closest I ever got to a UFO. –Wayne G. Brown ’65 w

UFO Love Connection I was at AFIT in Dayton Ohio in 1973 when there were a lot of reports of nearby UFO sightings. Wanting to be part of this epic event, if it was actually happening, I grabbed some binoculars and convinced my girlfriend to climb a ladder up onto the roof of my house. We spread out some blankets there and spent the evening on the shingles watching for our own extraterrestrial encounter. We didn’t see any UFOs that night, but she did marry me and we’re still a team. We do stay off roofs these days, however. –Bob Denaro ’71

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“UFO” Encounter Over Laos, 1972 About an hour before sunrise on the morning of Sept. 15, 1972, I was flying a single-ship F105G Wild Weasel from Korat RTAFB across southern Laos and northern South Vietnam to meet a pre-strike tanker in Purple Anchor, just off the coast north of Danang. As I was driving south of the DMZ at about 15,000 feet I saw an aircraft with a white light topped by a bright red rotating beacon a little above my altitude and right on my nose. It looked like it was five miles or so away, but I couldn’t tell its heading. After a few minutes I asked Panama, the air traffic controller at Danang, if he could tell me who was in front of me. “No traffic observed,” was his reply. I continued to watch the aircraft, which seemed to be slowly climbing, although it never seemed to get any closer. By the time I got to my tanker, it was finally revealed to me that the “aircraft” I had been watching was actually Venus rising. There was nothing dramatic about this incident, but it was a “UFO,” at least for a little while.

–Jim Terry ’68

A Frightening Episode in Southeast Asia

Star Gazing?

In the fall of 1972, I was a 25-year old captain KC-135 aircraft commander on my third “Young Tiger” tour in Southeast Asia. My 28th Air Refueling Squadron crew from Ellsworth AFB, S.D., consisted of a 2nd Lt. copilot, a 1st Lt. navigator, a buck sergeant boom operator, and me.

Our main contribution to the Vietnam War effort was mid-air refueling fighter aircraft, especially F-100s, F-105s, and F-4s, before and after their missions over North Vietnam.

One night after launching from U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield (90 miles southeast of Bangkok), we were making slow race track patterns at one of the refueling “anchors” nicknamed Cherry, Peach, Orange, etc. The weather was clear and we had just topped off a flight of four “Night Owl” Phantoms when things got interesting. Shortly after the F-4s departed, my boom operator was completing his post refueling checklist when he observed a strange light behind us that was not a star or another aircraft. He called me on the intercom to tell me about it just as I was about to begin a left, 180 degree turn.

My pucker factor kicked in big time when the BO told me that the light stayed with us all the way through the turn. I called the anchor’s controlling unit (call sign “Lion,” if memory serves) on our UHF radio and asked them if they were seeing any other traffic behind us on their radar. The Lion controller said he did not see any other aircraft. So, it’s probably not an enemy MiG. About that time we made another left turn, and the BO said the light was still following us. I then asked Lion to get our F-4 “Night Owls” back to us as quickly as possible! It seemed like forever, but within a few minutes the cavalry arrived as our four Phantoms went screaming by our left wing. At that point, the BO said the light behind us went out.

The F-4s never saw the source of the mystery light. We completed our sortie and returned to U-Tapao without incident.

So what happened? Was a bored CIA Air America pilot messing with us? They were known to fly with their IFF transponders off. But we were flying above 25,000 feet, and the “company” guys spent most of their time down in the weeds.

We never did solve the mystery. –Doug Schott ’69

My “close encounter” came on an F-4 cross-country flight out of Holloman AFB, N.M. in the late ’70s. We had stopped off at England AFB, La. to refuel and were proceeding to MacDill AFB, Fla. on our “night” leg. We were in the high 30s, and I noticed a bright star (or so I thought) back over my right shoulder. I remember saying that I thought it was awfully close to be a star, but it was staying in the same relative position over my right shoulder, so it must have been a distant star. After we passed Tyndall AFB, we made a right turn to go down the west coast of Florida. I looked to my two o’clock position to get a better look at the “star” without having to look back through the canopy distortion. However, to my surprise, the “star” was still back over my right shoulder; not at two o’clock as I suspected. The “star” followed us all the way until we began our descent into MacDill AFB. –David S. Wilson ’74

Vanishing Aircraft?

Before I went to USAFA, I was walking home in Lakewood, Colorado (around 9 p.m.) from my weekly troop meeting with the Boy Scouts of America, when I looked up at the dark sky and noticed a bright descending light. I thought it was an airplane descending to land at the Stapleton International Airport. However, the light abnormally followed a large circular path around a star in the sky—accelerated and then vanished!

Several years later, after I’d graduated from USAFA and became a Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker pilot (Aircraft Commander), I was night flying in Saudi Arabia during a deployment, and saw straight ahead of me on the horizon (i.e., at the same altitude?) another bright light, slowly increasing in size. I confirmed that my copilot saw it (which he did) and then radioed the ground controller to find out if that aircraft (light) was approaching us at the same altitude. I was told that it wasn’t on radar and ground control couldn’t verify that anything was near us!

As the light got closer, I prepared to maneuver the jet to avoid a collision—but that light mysteriously vanished a couple of miles from my KC-135—and we never collided with anything!

To this day, I can tell people that I’ve witnessed two UFOs! –Patrick T. O’Brien ’76

Sighting in the Southwest Late one night when driving home from a church retreat event in Hesperus, Colo. (Four Corners area) to Albuquerque, around 1 or 2 a.m. my buddy Ron P. and I were talking in order to pass the time and keep awake. It was a clear, star-filled night, and we were in “the middle of nowhere,” when we both noticed a cigar-shaped light appear several miles in front of us, probably 2,000- 3,000 feet up. Suddenly, it took off at a rate of speed I’ve never seen before or since, flying away from us. Ron and I looked at each other and simultaneously said “Did you see that?” At which point Ron remarked, “I think that was one of them UFO thingies!” Needless to say, we were both wide-awake for the remainder of the drive home. This was back in ’93 or ’94, but I remember it like it was yesterday. –Phil Landweer ’81 66

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Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence, But …

Confirm

Unheard of speed HOVERING

Well, I’ve seen three in my lifetime. One as an AF brat at MacDill AFB in 1966, camping out with a friend— I wish I could remember his name to corroborate the story. We saw what looked like a diamond formation of four lighted craft flying high altitude over the base early one evening. It was nothing unusual except that it went from horizon to zenith to horizon in about four seconds, which I knew was impossible for any air or spacecraft we had at the time. That one we actually made a UFO report and sent it to the Air Force for Project Blue book and a UFO organization.

The second happened in 1981. I saw it returning from Hawaii to CONUS escorting and refueling navy fighters to their Southern Calif. bases in our KC-135. I was flying left seat and after we dropped off the fighters, we continued east before turning north to Spokane, somewhere over Eastern Calif. I looked out the left window and saw what looked like a large elongated metallic grey looking object, tapered to a point on either end, slightly below our altitude and tracking along at the same speed at an estimated five miles to our left. A guess at its size would be something longer than a zeppelin. Reflecting back, the only explanation I can think of were differential temperature air layers similar to a mirage on a hot road. Being a skeptic, I’ve prided myself on being analytical when seeing things too impossible to be true … as Carl Sagan once said, “Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.” But it sure looked like a flying saucer! Within a few miles, it just disappeared.

I saw the third UFOs driving late one evening to Phoenix from San Diego on March 13, 1997. There were numerous extremely bright white lights, between a half a dozen and a dozen, some lined up, some moving in pairs, and at different altitudes. While I had no explanation of what I saw, the AF did, and said they were flares dropped from A-10 Warthogs. Seems a reasonable explanation and there were thousands of witnesses to the event. I’d seen flares dropped from aircraft and have to say they weren’t moving like any I’d seen before. –Mark Holmes ’75

vanished

Flash of Light

Did I Just See That?

I always felt that as a soon to be Air Force pilot that I would eventually have an encounter with some form of UFO. I did not expect for the encounter to be on the ground. Having completed my daily sortie in the T-38 in the Fall of 1974, I was driving back from Reese AFB to my residence in Lubbock, Texas, when I became aware of a low flying, fast moving object just above telephone pole level. It was very bright, accentuated by the fact that it was dusk. What absolutely got my attention was the fact that it moved hundreds of yards at a time in approximately two to three seconds, followed by an impossible and instantaneous stop. Even with an amazing view at 60 mph, I had to stop for a better perspective.

It remained within about a one square mile area and I was able to get several clear views of it over the next several minutes. The very bright light masked its true dimensions, but it appeared to be Volkswagen Bug size with a metallic looking color.

After four years at the USAF Academy with a top-secret security clearance, I was certain that this marvel of aviation was not from the Air Force (or any other global force) inventory. After it made a spectacular straight-line exit until it was out of sight, I turned to return to my car. At this point my sanity was assured as I noticed for the first time the dozen or so other spectators who had also vacated their automobiles behind me in order to get a better view. After five more years flying the C-141, followed by 25 years in the cockpit for Continental Airlines, I can truly admit that this encounter was one of a kind, never superseded during my 20,000-hour career.

Another later cockpit episode was just as spectacular but decidedly not in the UFO category. I was the Commander on a C-141 that had departed Yokota AFB in Japan for McChord AFB, Wash. It was about 4 a.m. and we had been airborne for five or so hours when the following incident happened.

The crew was of course a bit drowsy, but there was still some idle chatter at 37,000 feet over the Pacific on a pitch-black moonless night. The cockpit lights being dimmed to a very low setting just added to the dark and eerie surroundings. However, the blackness turned to full high noon extreme brightness in well less than one second. Everyone was now decidedly wide-awake and straining against their respective harnesses to find out what had literally changed night into day. Far below was a beautiful view of a perfectly blue Pacific, as well as a 600-mile horizon-to-horizon panorama. The uncanny spectacle returned to pure darkness in less than 6 seconds. The cockpit was a cacophony of wild chatter and disbelief of what we had or had not just seen. After much discussion the entire crew agreed that we must have been passed by an enormous meteor on the order of the one that carved the crater near Winslow, Ariz. All crewmembers were wide-awake and still talking about this incident when we made our arrival into McChord AFB approximately four hours later. Almost as mysterious to me was the fact that no one on the ground was aware of this happening, and I never found any printed information concerning that night from any news source. Regardless, I still remember that strange 1978 event of 35 or so years ago as if it were yesterday. Again, the aircrew had been the victim of a once in a lifetime phenomena.

–Richard Schanberger ’73 w Checkpoints

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Fog of Flight

Confirmed Phenomenon

Sometime in the 1970s, I was flying a DC-8 from New York to Frankfurt with a 9 p.m. departure. About midnight, I was passing off the coast of Newfoundland and had a stereotypical UFO sighting.

Looking down, there was the typical Frisbee shaped UFO, hovering below, rapidly moving side to side and up and down.

I thought to myself, great; I just finished a book on UFOs and now the power of suggestion was taking over. I looked away for a short time, then looked back to see the UFO still doing its hover dance. I was just about to call the rest of the crew over to take a look (and make a fool of myself) when I saw what it was.

Through a break in the clouds, I saw a small town in a valley near the coast. As the fog rolled in (ala San Francisco) the town under lit the thin fog layer. As the cloud undulated, the back lighting through the fog gave the appearance of a hovering UFO, rapidly oscillating.

I wonder how many UFO sightings have had a similar cause? –Larry Colvin ’64

My event took place on March 9, 2000, in a C-130E while en route to Trenton airport, a Canadian C-130 base in Ontario. It was already dark and I was the pilot flying northeast over the Great Lakes region and close to the U.S. border at an altitude of about FL190 (19,000 feet). We were in the clear but between cloud layers several thousand feet above and below us. It was funny that not just 30 minutes prior to this event I was having a conversation with the copilot about flying worldwide with thousands of hours over 15 years and never seeing anything funny in the skies—both of us hesitating to use the term, “UFO.” Not unusual, we saw traffic coming head-on to us from a distance over several minutes in the 11 o’clock position and slightly lower in altitude, just as traffic normally would occur on the same jet route but opposite direction with altitude separation. This single white light began to resolve into two lights, just as you would imagine a formation of two aircraft would resolve with the separation distance becoming shorter. Then all of a sudden, when the “traffic” seemed to move to the 10 o’clock position as it would when you began to pass each other, the two lights turned a very sharp 90 degrees to their right, as you would imagine an avoidance maneuver to occur but then these lights accelerated up in altitude thousands of feet in seconds and out of sight, well beyond the capability of any fighter aircraft we have known man to manufacture. The copilot and I were in awe, both with an expression of shock on our faces. We immediately contacted Air Traffic Control and asked if they had any “traffic” in our immediate vicinity in the last couple of minutes. Reporting “negative,” we asked the next question if any other aircraft witnessed the same phenomenon that we just described. After a “standby” and a pause that seemed forever, the Air Traffic Controller confirmed that other pilots in the area had witnessed the same thing. Whoa! Confirmation we just saw some amazing phenomenon! And from that moment, we both vowed we never saw anything, would never file a report, and would never mention the term “UFO” again. We thought we were sparing our sanity and preserving our remaining flying career. –Mike Brignola ’85

Flying Object Anomalies During my first year as a first officer with Southwest Airlines, while flying an arrival into Phoenix from the west, Phoenix approach control asked an aircraft in front of us if they could identify an object hovering over South Mountain. That aircraft described a long, slender dark object that was changing length as it hovered. We did not see the flying object while flying the approach into Phoenix. But, at the gate, the captain and I stepped onto the provisioning truck and looked towards South Mountain.

In the twilight sky we both saw the dark object changing length but getting smaller eventually leaving our sight. When we departed Phoenix 30 minutes later, we asked Phoenix Tower and Phoenix Departure if they had figured out what that object was.

They both said they didn’t know what we were talking about.

That same year while flying into Las Vegas in the middle of the day, I was flying the ILS approach to runway 25 Left about 12 miles east of the airport, when I saw a distortion in the shape of an airplane moving directly under us from left to right. The shape was completely see-thru but had a defined shape as it moved. The captain then asked me “Did you see that?”

I replied, “Yes, did you?” We went on to describe to each other the same thing. Both these “sightings” were 15 years ago. I have not seen anything unusual or unexplained in the sky since then.

–Jim Hynes ’88

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graduate Profile

Bringing the Universe to Afghanistan’s Youth During his deployment in 2013, Major Doug Kaupa ’95 helped educate and inspire Afghan children through the Discover the Universe program.

Written by Amber Baillie, Academy Spirit During his eight-month deployment to Afghanistan, a U.S. Air Force Academy officer encouraged schoolchildren to aim high and reach for the stars.

Maj. Doug Kaupa, a 1995 Academy graduate and Astronautics Department instructor here, deployed to Kabul from May to December 2013, where he was assigned to U.S. Forces in Afghanistan. While there, he distributed star charts and space images to 250 Afghan children through Discover the Universe, a program educating them on the planets, stars and constellations that dress the night sky.

“They were street-working children who had to work at the market or sell other things to help provide for their families,” Kaupa said. “They didn’t attend school traditionally—they only stopped by when they had time. The night sky is something everyone can enjoy and I wanted to give the kids something to look forward to.”

In November, Kaupa and a Navy officer journeyed 30 miles to Anna’s Educational Center where they distributed books, paper, and pencils to first through fourth-graders.

“We’d established a relationship, donated school supplies and I thought, ‘It would be cool if we could give the kids something else, something they’d really get excited about,’” he said.

Candy, soccer balls and glossy pamphlets displaying photos of planets, stars, and galaxies (provided by Astronomy magazine) were soon in students’ hands.

Kaupa said the children became intrigued while thumbing through the pages of vibrant images.

“Teachers said students would return the next day or week after receiving them and ask, ‘Is this how I look up at the night sky?’ or they’d try to describe the Big Dipper,” Kaupa said. “We wanted the children to see things more deeply and give them some kind of hope, some kind of dream.”

Major Doug Kaupa ’95 is an Academy astronautics instructor who was deployed to Afghanistan in 2013.

While there, he distributed star charts and space images to 250 Afghan children through Discover the Universe, a program designed to educate them on the planets, stars and constellations that dress the night sky. (U.S. Air Force Photo/Maj.Doug Kaupa)

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Kaupa and his colleagues were also able to supply binoculars to the students so they could explore astronomy further.

“The kids were always happy to see us because they knew we were bringing them something other than just smiles,” Kaupa said.

Kaupa said he enjoyed observing the local populous down range.

“The children are the future,” he said. “If you’re going to win the hearts and minds of people there, you want to start with the younger crowd. All they’ve known is war, conflict and they have struggled day- to- day. To me, the program was an opportunity to let the kids know that the world is a bigger place and that bigger opportunities exist within it.”

Kaupa, a KC-135 Stratotanker pilot, began teaching astronautics here in April 2012.

“I like to tell cadets about the program and emphasize we don’t know what tomorrow will bring,” he said. “I like to pull them out of their comfort zone. It’s always valuable for Airmen to deploy because if you always just do your one job, it’s like you’re walking around with blinders. This was my third deployment and it was very eye-opening. I enjoyed working with all military branches and the Defense Logistics Agency.”

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heritage

60

Years of Blue

D

ecember 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright embark on their historic first powered flight at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. The first flight only lasted 12 seconds covering 120 feet, but the implications would be intergalactic.

Military tactics would be revolutionized, commercial transportation transformed, space exploration reimagined and the coordinates to the Air Force and its Academy generated.

April 1, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs Public Law 325, 83rd Congress, 2nd Session, formally authorizing the establishment of the United States Air Force Academy. This act was the genesis of the world’s most progressive educational institution: in

On April 1, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower shakes hands with Secretary of the Air Force Harold E. Talbott, after signing legislation authorizing the establishment of the Air Force Academy. Looking on, from left, are Congressman Karl Vinson of Georgia; Gen. Nathan F. Wining, Air Force chief of staff; Representative Dewey Short, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee; James H. Douglas, under secretary of the Air Force and Lt. Gen. Hubert R. Harmon, special assistant for Air Force Academy matters.

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air, space and cyber the Academy has forever resided on the vanguard of each new frontier—pushing the boundaries of excellence in athletics, military training, academics, character and leadership.

As we rapidly approach the 60th Founders Day celebration, the Association of Graduates will commemorate six decades of distinction throughout 2014. Look for historical

retrospectives in Checkpoints, social media posts highlighting the important events and milestones that have marked the institution’s history, lectures at Doolittle Hall, videos and more. As the Long Blue Line soars forward, we will reflect on our venerable heritage and eagerly await the chapters yet to be written in the story of the world’s greatest military institution.

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The Legende of th 37th Squadron Smilers

By Geoffrey P. Michael ’73 and Clarence S. Bromberek ’73 When the Class of 1973 reported to the Air Force Academy in June 1969, a small contingent of the new cadets would join the 37th Flight of Jaguar Squadron for Basic Cadet Training. In the fall, they would move into the new dormitory along with upperclassmen who had been reassigned to form Cadet Squadron 37. Though it was never officially recognized as their squadron name, to this day they proudly call themselves the Smilers.

It had only been ten years since the first class graduated and construction on the campus had essentially been completed. The Cadet Wing had grown along with the number of buildings. The Class of 1959 enrolled 306 cadets in July 1955 when four squadrons comprised the Wing. Four additional squadrons were added in each of the following years: 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1961, bringing the total to 24 squadrons.

As construction on the “new dorm” progressed during the late 1960s, more squadrons were added: 74

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six in 1967, two in 1968 and eight in 1969, bringing the total to 40 squadrons. The authorized strength expanded to 4,417 cadets, which has since been reduced to 4,000 as measured on the day before graduation. The unofficial word was that the Air Force planned to name the new dormitory after an Air Force Academy graduate, but for whom and when wasn’t known by the cadets.

It was seven years after we moved in that it was dedicated as Sijan Hall in honor of Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Lance Sijan ’65.

It was existing policy for third-classmen to transfer to a new squadron at the end of their second year. Staffing the eight new squadrons formed in 1969 would require transfers by all three upper-classes, and the reassignments were not done uniformly across the Wing. This was particularly true for the new thirdclassmen who had just finished their first year. Because of varying attrition rates among the squadrons during

their Doolie year, the reassignments were structured to equalize the numbers for each squadron.

The third-classmen for 37th Squadron came from four existing squadrons: eleven from 24th Squadron, eight from 9th Squadron, three from 10th Squadron and three from 11th Squadron. The second-classmen transferred into the squadron as part of the normal rotation that took place after a cadet’s third-class year.

The first-classmen came from four existing squadrons: five each from 9th, 18th and 32nd Squadrons, and four from 25th Squadron. Since the Class of 1970 had gone through its normal rotation the previous year, each squadron in the wing transferred a similar number of first-classmen to the eight new squadrons.

A noteworthy outcome of this rearrangement was that the Class of 1972 in the eight new squadrons did not make the usual move at the end of their third-class year, and the Class of 1973 is one of very few classes that stayed together for its entire four years. The Class of 1970 underwent considerable rotation since 16 squadrons were added during three of its four years.

CS-37’s first AOC was Major Robert Blocher, a 1956 West Point graduate. He had been assigned to the USAFA Military Training department in 1968 to teach a Doolie course on the history of the Air Force. He quickly concluded the course content was inadequate and poorly structured, and he shared that assessment with the Commandant of Cadets, Brigadier General Robin Olds. Blocher told Olds that he’d “rewrite the course if you’ll agree to assign me as an AOC.” The deal was struck, but what Blocher didn’t know was that he would soon be the AOC of a squadron that didn’t yet exist. He also had no input into the process of selecting the upperclassmen who would lead the new squadron. It was the USAFA staff version of flying blind without instruments.

Prior to coming to the Academy, Blocher was one of the original 14 members of the legendary Misty Fast Forward Air Controllers commanded by future POW and Medal of Honor recipient, Major George “Bud” Day. Blocher was the twelfth pilot to join the Commando Sabre Operation, flying dangerous sorties over North Vietnam and Laos in two-seat F-100F Super Sabres. Their mission was to identify targets in their assigned areas and call in fighters to attack them.

Of the 157 pilots assigned to the unit during its three years of existence, 34 were shot down, of which 7 were KIA and 4 became POWs. Soon after the Misty unit was formed, Day and Blocher traded some music tapes which they planned to copy for each other. When Day was shot down, it wasn’t immediately known if he was captured or killed. Blocher and another officer were assigned responsibility to go through Day’s personal effects, and Blocher retrieved the tapes he had loaned him.

Six years later when Day was released from the Hanoi Hilton, Blocher was stationed at Hickam AFB and was there to welcome Day to Hawaii during his stopover on the way back to the mainland. The first words out of Day’s mouth as he exited the aircraft were “Bob, I hope you got all your tapes back!” Reflecting on that joyous day 40 years ago, Blocher said, “That’s the kind of man we lost when Bud passed away.”

Bob Blocher flew in very good company. In addition to Bud Day, other Misty pilots included Ron Fogleman ’63 and Tony McPeak, both future Chiefs of Staff. Dick Rutan went on to become a world adventurer and piloted the Voyager aircraft around the world non-stop. There were many other brave men who flew alongside them, and those who survived the war have ensured that those who gave their lives will never be forgotten.

As a new squadron in 1969, we had the luxury of designing a squadron patch for our athletic jackets. The decision was left to the cadets, but our final choice had to be approved up the chain of command. Squadron Commander Jack Norman ’70 established a patch selection committee and entries were solicited from everyone in the squadron. Two completely different concepts were ultimately produced for our consideration.

Tim Mooney ’70 designed the Moonraker patch which featured a knight in armor mounted on a white horse with a blue moon in the background (Figure 1). It was inspired by the first moon landing earlier that year and contrasted our future in space with the honor, chivalry and fortitude of past warriors.

The Moonraker legend originated in Wiltshire, England in the 18th century when two smugglers hid a barrel of brandy from excisemen in a local pond.

When they returned later that night to retrieve their contraband, they were caught attempting to rake the barrel back to shore. They explained that they were trying to rake cheese, the reflection of the bright moon, from the pond. The amusing explanation struck the excisemen as one that might come from harmless simpletons, (Figure 1) 1969 Squadron Patch. so they decided not to intrude.

The moral of the story is that Wiltshire locals are a lot more resourceful than they might appear to outsiders, and to this day they’re proud to call themselves Moonrakers. Our new squadron was poised to capture that same spirit of adventure and resourcefulness.

The second entry featured the face of Alfred E. Neuman, the sentimental favorite of those who identified with Mad Magazine and its celebrity cover boy. w Checkpoints

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Heritage

From left: (Figure 2) Cover of inaugural issue, Smiler Monthly, February 1970; (Figure 3) 1975 Squadron Patch; (Figure 4) 1976 Squadron Patch.

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The magazine’s “What, me worry?” fictional mascot never had a care in the world, but mischief was always on his mind. Many cadets could easily identify with that attitude while trying to survive Academy life from one day to the next.

The key proponents and driving force behind the Neuman “Smiler” patch were Steve Rasmussen ’70, John Tosti ’70 and Rick Tuseth ’70. While they knew we’d need to overcome copyright issues with Mad, that wasn’t seen as an insurmountable obstacle.

After all, other squadrons had obtained approval for fictional characters, including the 26th Red Barons, 32nd Roadrunners and 36th Pink Panthers.

While the Smiler patch had the most popular support among the cadets, there was concern that it would be viewed as too defiant by the senior officer staff. Because of those concerns, along with potential copyright issues, it was shelved in favor of the Moonraker design.

in showcasing our new squadron and gave us something to boast about.

With the patch selection behind us, we were determined to keep the Smiler legend alive.

Larry Cole ’71, became editor of the Smiler Monthly, a publication written by and about the cadets in our squadron (Figure 2). With a staff of ten, it provided news coverage of collegiate and intramural sports, special squadron events, professional facts about the real Air Force, an editorial by Larry, and a Sound Off column “where anyone may air their gripes. You don’t even have to send your name with your letter.”

April Fools’ Day was designated National Smiler Day and was first observed in 1970. The news was announced from the Mitchell Hall staff tower by Brendan O’Sullivan ’70 a first-classman from our squadron serving on Wing Staff. To kick off the celebration, the Doolies were tasked to put goldfish in the water pitchers before lunch. The goldfish didn’t last long because some of them accidentally landed in pitchers of lemonade. The rest soon perished because of the ice-cold water. Based on the stunned reactions of the other squadrons, our covert mission was a smashing success. National Smiler Day had succeeded

said about that grand proclamation? Our hopes of legitimizing the Smiler moniker were dashed with the simple stroke of a pen. After losing that battle, we feared the Smiler legend would be relegated to the dustbin of history. As it turned out, it was … for the next 39 years.

In the fall of 1972, Geoff Michael ’73 spearheaded a renewed effort to obtain approval for the Smiler patch that had been proposed three years earlier. A package was prepared including a sketch featuring our iconic hero and a three-page memo extolling the virtues of the updated design. Although our approved name was Moonrakers, it was never used by the cadets. We were the Smilers and we wanted it to be official. To demonstrate the point, the Class of 1973 already had “Smilers” engraved on the inside of its class rings.

The package sailed through squadron staff but hit a roadblock at group staff. They rejected our patch on the grounds that “Mad Magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman is a less than inspirational role model for impressionable young cadets.” What would the Dodo have

The Moonraker patch went through a quick succession of changes over the next few years, primarily in the coloring. The first occurred in 1975 (Figure 3) and the last occurred a year later (Figure 4). The 1976 patch is still being used today, although the squadron name was changed from Moonrakers to Skyraiders, and most recently, to Animalistic Skyraiders.

Following a reduction in the Wing authorized strength of about 400 cadets, Squadrons 37-40 were deactivated in 2000. This decision was reversed seven years later, resulting in slightly smaller squadrons to maintain the current strength levels. The existing Skyraider patch was reinstated and our squadron returned to its original location on the top floor of the west end of Sijan Hall.

In May 2011, two members of our class were dispatched as official representatives to present a saber to Ben Hessney ’11 on the occasion of his graduation.

This was our way of honoring Ben and the memory of his father Steve, our ’73 classmate who had passed away earlier that year.

During the presentation by Doug Hulsey ’73 and Ed Heisey ’73, they talked briefly about the history of our squadron and the Smilers nickname. Doug also showed the cadets a version of what our squadron patch might have looked like if Alfred E. Neuman had been approved decades earlier (Figure 5). Ben confirmed that he had “never heard the Smiler name used, except by my Dad.” Word quickly spread throughout the squadron that a vital part of its storied history had been resurrected.

Two cadets took it a step further and decided to create a lasting tribute to their Smiler legacy. We saw it when we visited our squadron area during the Class of 1973

lenges throughout the week. Hell Week was designed to elevate the art of hazing to an entirely new level and test our ability to work as a team. The run to the rock would actually seem tame compared to what had preceded it.

The Smiler third-classmen had other ideas, however.

A run to the rock would be too easy and far too predictable. Instead, they would send us on an endless run to find Mr. Garcia, the mythical leader of a revolution who was hiding in the hills surrounding the Academy. He held the key to our future survival at the Academy, and each of us must endure a treacherous journey to find him.

We had no idea who or where he was, but we were given directions to an initial checkpoint. Once there, we would be met by a fellow revolutionary who would provide clues to the location of the next checkpoint, and on it would go until we found him. Our orders were to report to Garcia upon the completion of our

reunion in September 2013. There, on the wall of the cross-hallway, was a 16’ x 10’ mural of Alfred E. Neuman, complete with freckled nose and missing tooth (Figure 6). All future Smilers may now pay homage and reverence to our fearless leader every time they pass by.

mission, and deliver an important, secret message that we carried in our mouths (Figure 7). We were told that this sealed message must get to Garcia quickly or the revolution would fail.

The Doolies departed at five-minute intervals under arms, accompanied by their mentors. The run took us up and down mountains, across creeks and valleys, through the trees and brush, around and under boulders, and seemed to go on forever. When we finally approached the last checkpoint, we caught a glimpse of a tall man standing under a giant tree, completely enveloped by a brightly colored serape and enormous sombrero. The only visible clue as to who it might be was the silver star pinned dead-center on the sombrero. As exhausted as we were at the end of our long mission, we all snapped to attention and saluted when we realized who Garcia actually was. He was none other than our Commandant of Cadets, Brigadier General Robin Olds.

We each delivered our message, whereupon the general told us it was for us and that we must read it.

Our mentors had written each of us a note congratulating us on becoming newly-recognized fourth-

Hell Week for the Smilers in May 1970 was extremely tough, as it was for the rest of the Wing.

Per tradition, it was held during the week prior to Recognition and represented one last chance for the upperclassmen to wreak havoc on the lives of the Doolies. The week was jam-packed with morning runs, special inspections, screaming, pushups, very little sleep and even less to eat. The week would normally culminate with a run to Cathedral Rock followed by the ceremony to receive Prop & Wings and formal acceptance into the Wing.

The third-classmen were in charge of Hell Week, and one of them was assigned to each Doolie as his personal “mentor.” This ensured that all Doolies received equal measure of physical and mental chal-

From left: (Figure 5) Saber presentation to Ben Hessney ’11, by the Class of 1973; (Figure 6) Mural in 37th Squadron area; (Figure 7) Doug Hulsey ’73 followed by his mentor Bob Carlson ’72 (Run to Garcia–Falcon News, May 1970).

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Heritage

classmen. The general then added his personal congratulations for our achievement and officially welcomed us into the Cadet Wing.

That moment with General Olds gave us all a tremendous sense of accomplishment after a long and challenging first year. Our days as rookies were finally over.

The task of getting the general to pose as Garcia belonged to Pete Sutton ’72. Pete volunteered for the assignment based on a friendship he had developed with the Olds family. It all started when a fellow high school and Academy classmate of his was laid up in the Academy hospital. Pete went to visit him and discovered that his classmate had gotten to know one of the general’s daughters who happened to be in the hospital at the same time.

They had arranged to get together sometime at the Olds’ home, and Pete was asked if he’d like to go along as wingman to meet the general and his wife and two daughters.

So it was fate that put Pete in a position where he could talk directly to the general about participating in the Run to Garcia. True to form, the general jumped at the chance to play a pivotal role in our Hell Week finale. For the Doolies, it was a rare opportunity to meet General Olds in the field, a setting with his fellow airmen that he truly relished and enjoyed. Our unique experience made 37th Squadron the talk of the entire Wing.

Our squadron has the proud distinction of having the top graduate in the Class of 2013, Lt. Zebulon Hanley. In

addition to his academic prowess and military training proficiency, Lt. Hanley also shined as an athlete. He was on the Falcon Cycling Team and competed in several national collegiate championships.

He’s also a member of the 500 Club for racking up the highest possible score on the aerobic fitness test. He’s now at MIT working on a graduate degree in operations research.

While Zeb’s story is fact and has been extensively documented, much of our squadron’s history relies solely on the recollections of those who lived it. Most of it has never been recorded, but we have undying faith in the tales handed down by those who preceded us.

At the end of the movie “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” the newspaper editor burns his notes when he learns the truth about how Valance was killed. Jimmy Stewart then asks “Well, you’re not going to use the story, Mr. Scott?”

The editor replies “No sir. This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” And so it is for the 37th Squadron Smilers. ______________________________________________ Author’s note: While our goal for this article was 100 percent accuracy, the passage of time has savaged our collective memories and distorted our ability to distinguish fact from fiction. Recognizing that reality, we sought the “best recollections” of first-hand witnesses to the key events surrounding the formative days of our squadron over four decades ago. We apologize in advance for any errors or omissions.

Preparing tomorrow’s leaders A non-profit organization dedicated to providing preparatory education and inspiring adult mentoring to young adults who are interested in exploring or pursuing attendance at a United States Service Academy.

www.HonorCamps.com (304) 579-7777

U.S. Military Academy

m

U.S. Naval Academy

m

U.S. Air Force Academy

heritage

The Secret Life of

Waldo F. Dumbsquat

by Don Hall ’76

C/4C Waldo F. Dumbsquat stared out the window

and watched the snow float by. Classes were over for the day, with no drill and no intramurals this afternoon. His roommates, “Regs” Buch and Warren Heels, observed their classmate watching the snow. They all waited for the author to make something happen.

“Doesn’t it seem like life at the Blue Zoo should come with subtitles?” mused Waldo. “Especially during the Dark Ages?”

Waldo wonders if events at the Academy could be explained with philosophical translations, particularly during the time between Christmas Leave and Spring Break.

“Interesting thought,” said Regs. “We do seem to have a jargon unique to our experiences as Zoomies.”

Regs humors Waldo, noting that cadets use a lot of acronyms.

“I don’t know about you doolies,” yawns Warren, “but I’m on SAR detail. Got to speed out or the CQ will write me up.”

Bored and referring to his classmates as insignificant creatures whose rank is measured in negative numbers, Warren says he must go to the Squadron Assembly Room and clean with a small mop. He must hurry or the sophomore serving as the Cadet in Charge of Quarters will issue Warren demerits.

“If a buffer rodeo breaks out, come get me!” Waldo called after his friend.

Waldo wants to see how long he can sit on a wildly gyrating industrial floor buffer.

Regs slipped on his A-jacket and stepped to the door.

Regs puts on his athletic jacket, akin to the Eisenhower short coat, and gets ready to leave the room.

“What’s the UOD?” asked Waldo, noticing this new activity in the room.

He asks about the uniform of the day.

“The lights in the hallway say winter service delta with A-jacket, grey gloves, and low quarter overshoes,” Regs informed Waldo.

Command Post has directed all cadets to wear the long sleeved dark blue shirt with scratchy wool pants, athletic jacket, issue

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gloves, flight cap, and galoshes. This is accomplished via a baffling array of bulbs mounted in each squadron.

“Where are you going?” asked Waldo.

Hopefully, no translation required.

“The OIC of the Ski Club is holding a meeting at the BOR ASAP.” The officer in charge wants the club members to get together at the base of the ramp as soon as possible.

Checking his gig line and tuck, Regs rammed in his chin and left the room. Hugging the wall, the doolie walked stiffly to the stairwell. He stopped only to greet a firstie coming out of the trunk room. Navigating the New Dorm stairs to the Terrazzo, Regs double-timed on the not yet slick marble strips. He slowed to a walk to salute the Fourth Group AOC, before carrying on. He briefly let his mind consider the upcoming Comp Sci GR and its implications for his GPA and MOM. No Ac Pro or WACQs for him! The sound of diggers and fillers in the Air Gardens brought him back to the mission at hand.

He had to amend his flight plan and divert around the construction. Passing Spirit Hill and the Thud, Regs found himself on the beam, with the Tour Pad on his left wing and the Ramp straight ahead. Regs smiled to himself and gazed at his watch. TOT was perfect.

Regs runs to the Ski Club meeting and arrives on time.

Waldo was just about to catch some Zs, when Warren burst into the room. Both freshmen thought there should be more to this scene …

No rest for the weary. Superfluous action narrative is edited for space.

“Let’s go, Waldo! You’re up. The time to beat is eight seconds!” shouted the excited freshman.

Another chance for Waldo to endanger his PQ … okay, pilot qualification.

“Falcon A!” exclaimed Waldo as he made for the door to set a new buffer record.

Life is so philosophical. Falcon A.

Don’t miss out on your 2014 reunion.

Go to usafa.org for more information

2014 Class Reunions: 1959, 1964, 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, & 2004

the association

CASE STATEMENT THE AOG WINS THE SWEEPSTAKES AWARD FROM THE COUNCIL FOR ADVANCEMENT AND SUPPORT OF EDUCATION

2013 Graduates Communications Department, as

was another great year for the Association of

we were recently recognized as one of the region’s best after winning 11 Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Awards. The AOG team is proud to have been awarded the 2013 Sweepstakes Award from CASE at the District VI meeting in Kansas City, Mo. this past January. The Sweepstakes Award, which acknowledges overall excellence in educational advancement, was presented to the AOG for being the most prolific winner in our respective enrollment category. There are currently 190 member institutions in the CASE District VI region.

“The Association of Graduates and the Air Force Academy have encountered a substantial number of challenges in this past year,” said AOG Senior Vice President of Communications Bob McAllister. “With the help of our dedicated staff, our leadership, and the graduate community, we have met those challenges head-on and produced some of the best communications products in the nation. I can promise you that we will continue to work hard to improve all of our communications vehicles. It is our unceasing goal to provide the Long Blue Line with the top-notch content that they deserve.”

With the help of the entire comm team, the AOG’s signature publication, Checkpoints, won gold for the June 2013 cover featuring President John F. Kennedy at the Class of 1963’s graduation ceremony. The publication was also 82

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awarded a bronze in the College and University General Interest (Alumni) Magazine category. Checkpoints Senior Editor David Bergeman and guest writer Bill Thomas nabbed silver awards for excellence in writing. Checkpoints Online won silver for its added features, video and usability online. Associate Editor and Photographer Lewis Carlyle has repeated as the recipient of the Photographer of the Year award. Furthermore, the compendium video to his December 2012 feature story, “Food Factor,” won top honors. Senior Designer Sarah Larrabee won the AOG yet another gold for the quality of the AOG’s 2013-14 Parent Handbook design.

Director of Web Communications Troy Surratt’s team continues to churn out noteworthy communications products. The AOG’s website was named among the country’s best, our e-newsletter, ZoomiEnews, was honored again this year, and Troy’s team is integral to producing Checkpoints Online. The AOG’s social media presence continues to grow exponentially. Our Facebook “Likes” have tripled in the past 16 months—we’ve surpassed our counterparts from Navy this year and we’re rapidly approaching Army.

The AOG would like to thank the graduate community for all of its constructive feedback and contributions over the past year. You help make us better in every way. We are honored to have the opportunity to serve the Academy, the Cadet Wing and the Long Blue Line.

Kansas City, the “City of Fountains,” is home to world class barbecue and the 2013-14 CASE District VI Conference.

THE ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES SWEEPSTAKES OVERALL EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATIONAL ADVANCEMENT WHEN JFK CAME (CHECKPOINTS, JUNE 2013)

GOLD

EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN COVERS

2013/14 PARENT HANDBOOK, DESIGN BY SARAH LARRABEE

GOLD

EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN CALENDARS

FOOD FACTOR, INSIDE MITCHELL HALL

GOLD

VIDEO GENERAL INFORMATION

LEWIS CARLYLE

GOLD

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

CHECKPOINTS ONLINE SILVER BEST WEB MAGAZINES ZOOMIENEWS SILVER WEB-BASED PERIODICAL FOR EXTERNAL AUDIENCES STRIKE OF THE SEQUESTRATION, BY DAVID BERGEMAN SILVER EXCELLENCE IN NEWS WRITING HEARTS AND BONES, BY BILL THOMAS SILVER BEST ARTICLES OF THE YEAR FOR HIGHER EDUCATION CHECKPOINTS BRONZE UNIVERSITY GENERAL INTEREST (ALUMNI) MAGAZINE WWW.USAFA.ORG BRONZE BEST INSTITUTIONAL WEBSITE

Checkpoints

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happenings march

april

May

15

1

2

Recognition

Founders Day

17

Jabara Airmanship Award Dinner

4

St. Patrick’s Day

Founders Day Dinner

21-29

16-18

26

20

29-30

Spring Break for the Cadet Wing

Falcon Heritage Forum

Easter Sunday

Graduation (Memorial Day)

Service Academy Career Conference, Washington D.C.

30

USAFA Golf Tour, Dayton Classic at Beavercreek Golf Club in Dayton, Ohio

USAFA Master Calendar

The AOG has developed an Air Force Academy master calendar of events! Get up to speed on all the important AOG and Academy happenings with USAFA’s most comprehensive master schedule. The easy to navigate search feature allows you to search event listings by specific categories, including interests and geographic region—all with the click of a mouse. usafa.org/calendar

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AOG Ambassador Program

An Ambassador is a graduate who serves as a liaison or point of contact for other graduates coming into your geographic area—whether for business or leisure.

You can help a fellow graduate answer questions that can improve their visit or relocation experience. Be their guide and share your knowledge about where to find housing, what school districts are best or what attractions are worth a visit. If you are interested in serving as an Ambassador in your area, please email us at chapter.support@aogusafa.org. usafa.org/group/ambassadors

Graduate Access to the Academy Has Expanded!

Your AOG has successfully worked with the USAFA 10th Air Base Wing Commander on your behalf to grant USAFA graduates direct access to expanded areas and activities, including the ability to book tee times at the Eisenhower Golf Course! The new access privileges, which are effective immediately, can also be used to book activities at the Aero Club, the Stables, the FamCamp, and Farish! Get your AOG Membership Card ready today and enjoy these great benefits!

Details for USAFA Graduate use of USAFA Category “C�

Activities can be found at www1.usafa.org/7258/stories/2013-Oct-17/gradaccess.aspx The AOG is pleased it could facilitate this great step forward for our graduates!

cadet Life

Realizing My Privilege A cadet review of the 2014 National Character and Leadership Symposium.

Written by C1C Lauren Linscott Photo Illustration

by Mark Watkins

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T

he throng of bodies in Arnold Hall does not resemble what I typically encounter in a briefing at USAFA. Today, the normal sea of cadet blue is interspersed with Technicolor patches of civilian guests and the darker blue of ROTC cadets. Instead of the typical raucousness one usually encounters with large crowds of cadets, there is a buzz of expectation and excitement instead. The 21st Annual National Character and Leadership Symposium—Character Overcoming Conflict: Individual Stories, Global Impact—is underway with speakers and guests from all over the world in attendance; military leaders, authors, Olympic medalists, and activists have all gathered to offer their perspective on what it means to not only be an officer of character but a global citizen concerned with doing well and doing good. As the emcee approaches the microphone to ask

that we silence all cellphones and other electronics, I look around the room. As a Firstie, this is my last time attending this event as a cadet and I bittersweetly realize that I soon won’t have the privilege of hearing changemakers on a yearly basis ever again. As the opening speaker walks on stage, I begin to feel an increased sense of responsibility to make this year really count.

While in the past I chose which speakers to hear with relative ambivalence, this year I carefully take my time to look through profiles and presentation topics.

While every speaker has offered important life lessons during the past three symposiums, I have found that the speakers that most inspired me were the ones that offered a more global perspective. This being the case, I first choose to attend Ms. Dori Samadzai-Bonner’s presentation in which she tells of her family’s escape from Afghanistan in the late 1980s. As she tells her story, I

am struck by the promise the United States held for her family that allowed them to persevere through so many hardships. Despite years of waiting for a visa in India to be able to live freely in America, the fright of being smuggled into the United States when no visa came through for her family, and the terror of being deported when her family arrived in America, Ms. Samadzai-Bonner continued to believe this country was her true home. The great faith her family maintained that the United States would offer them a bright future astounds me. Surely it would have been easier to gain access to another country; America is not the only nation to offer visas. However, they never wavered in their pursuit of reaching this land. Her parting words to the audience move me to tears, “As long as I speak, as long as I live, I will look for forums to say this: from the bottom of my heart and the depths of my soul, thank you for giving us a home.”

I realize walking into later lectures that day that Ms. Samadzai-Bonner has set the bar high; I do not recall tearing up during a presentation in years prior.

However, I trust the other speakers will be able to impart some valuable lessons as well. Mr. Scott Hines does not disappoint. I attend the session due to Mr. Hines’ involvement in Latin America as a Special Forces officer; it is another opportunity to expand my worldview and gain an understanding of what is happening around the globe. Instead, though, I find myself captivated by his personal life story. Growing up a foster child in poverty, he graduated from the Academy in 1992 to later become a Special Forces officer. His military career was cut short, though, when he decided to retire in order to live life as an openly gay man. Mr. Hines’ business endeavors were a series of successes and failures, eventually leading him to become the mayor of Rancho Mirage, California that he is today. Using the game of poker as a metaphor for life, he poses a challenge to those in attendance: Are you going to continue to play the game of life and hold ’em or are you going to give up and fold? While Mr. Hines has certainly encountered many challenges during his lifetime, he has chosen to pursue his passions and live fully. While I entered the lectinar with the expectation to learn more about what is happening in Latin America, I left with the much greater lesson that you always have the opportunity to deal yourself another hand in the game of life if only you have the courage to fold and start again.

Throughout the rest of NCLS, my perspective continues to expand. Social entrepreneurs, refugees, and Army generals all offer a learning experience I could not have anywhere else. While all of these lessons are different, there is a common theme I find myself

taking away from all of these presentations: I am incredibly privileged. Listening to Ms. Razia Jan—the founder of a school for Afghan girls—as she described the struggle of a girl in Afghanistan to receive an education, I begin to comprehend the blessing of my being an American female who is viewed as equally important as any male. Hearing Mr. Hines tell his history of escaping poverty by attending the Academy, I realize my great fortune of being afforded a fantastic education at USAFA that will allow me to support myself in years to come. As Brigadier General Kreiss, surgeon general of the Israeli Defense Force, shares his insights on leadership as a first responder to catastrophes such as the Haiti earthquake, I start to better appreciate the extraordinary partners I will get to work with as an officer in the United States Air Force.

While in years past I think I superficially recognized these great opportunities I was afforded at birth and through hard work, I never took the time to apply them to my motivation or attitude. Though typically an optimist, it has been easy during my cadet career to get bogged down in the day-to-day monotony of marching and schoolwork and forget the wonder of my being where I am. Had I been born a female in Afghanistan during the Russian invasion, I—like Ms. Samadzai-Bonner—might have had to flee the only life I had ever known simply to be able to live in peace. Had I not been accepted to the Academy, it is unlikely that I would have ever been able to secure a job in a Public Affairs office, a career I have desired since middle school. I would have instead gone down the “safe” engineering road to ensure that I could be able to find work even during a recession. It is easy to look at the Academy in terms of how it will give back to a graduate upon graduation, but I found that the Academy should be looked at in terms of what it has already given a cadet upon taking the Honor Oath.

Next week when the guests return home and the ROTC cadets return to their detachments, my life at the Academy will remain the same. I will still be taking an Astro GR in the near future; SAMI’s will still force me to clean my room. However, my perspective on what it means to be a cadet and, more importantly, what it means to be an officer has changed. While it is easy to complain about the requirements I must meet to graduate from the Academy, NCLS showed me that I am privileged to receive a well-rounded education. I am privileged that Academy leadership cares enough about my development to establish a program that teaches me to pay attention to detail and cleanliness. In short, I am privileged to be a part of the Long Blue Line.

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cadet life

Spanning Technology

Cadets work to improve structural health of bridges.

Written by Amber Baillie, Academy Spirit Staff Writer

Senior cadets at the academy are working to significantly extend the lifespan of bridges across the country through their latest research.

Six cadets from the engineering mechanics capstone design course are a part of a year-long project to develop effective ways to control corrosion build-up on concrete and steel bridges at the Academy and throughout the country through the concept of cathodic protection.

“Cadets understand they can’t stop corrosion,” said Kevin Gibbons, a senior scientist at the Center for Aircraft Structural Life Extension—or “CAStLE”—Research Center here and team advisor of the project. “It’s a natural phenomenon that will continue to occur.

They can however, affect where it occurs and the rate at which it occurs.”

CAStLE’s mission is to provide worldclass laboratory support to engineering curriculum cadets.

Last November, cadets completed their Preliminary Design Review, which they presented to the department’s faculty and staff, proposing the use of sacrificial anodes to protect metal on big, billion-dollar infrastructure such as bridges.

“The anodes are highly active metals that attract corrosion to them, protecting metal you want protected because the corrosion occurs somewhere 88

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else,” Gibbons said. “As long as the anode has mass and the ability to corrode itself, then it can protect something else.”

Many bridges in the country are being retrofitted with sacrificial anodes but the anodes are embedded— therefore can’t be monitored without tearing the bridge apart, Gibbons said.

“Cadets are attempting to develop ways to monitor the status of the anodes so they can assess how far and aggressive corrosion is occurring in that environment and on those bridges,” Gibbons said.

Cadets are also looking into using impressed current, where current from energy harvesters such as a solar panel or wind turbine—that can be taken to a remote area without access to the power grid, is used to impress electrons onto metal needing to be protected, directing corrosion elsewhere, Gibbons said.

Cadets began working on the project in August and are scheduled to complete it in May when they present their findings to the Office of Corrosion Policy and Oversight in Washington, D.C. “The Office of the Secretary of Defense is sponsoring the project,” Gibson said. “The CPO is really interested in cadet development as well as corrosion so they love it when a cadet project can involve corrosion.”

During the project cadets will investigate ways to affect the corrosion

problem in a positive way and begin with basic research, Gibbons said.

“They have to explore ways within their means, both technologically and financially in order to affect the system and make a positive impact,” he said.

Up to this point, cadets have used design tools for the project and will purchase and build a prototype they can test in the spring.

“If they come up with a technique that allows sacrificial anodes to be monitored and replaced in a timely manner it could be huge,” Gibbons said.

Cadet 1st Class Zach Schrock, a member of the team, said his favorite aspect of the project is the complexity of the problem.

“There are many different factors that can have an effect on corrosion and to try and find an innovative and effective way to accomplish this has truly been rewarding,” he said. “We are putting a tremendous amount of effort into finding ways to inhibit corrosion in bridges.”

It’s a real-world project, Gibbons said.

“It’s not a contrived, made-up assignment,” he said. “We all know corrosion is a huge issue on aircraft and on bridges in our country. Billions are spent, and bridges collapse. If we can do anything to contribute in that area, it motivates cadets to see they have that possibility.”

Help us serve future cadets ...

Remember the Academy in your will or trust.

Lyn (South) SherLock ’82 n

3,200 hours in six trainer and mobility aircraft

n

29 years service

n

Retired as Brigadier General in 2011

n

Married to Rick Sherlock, Major General, U.S. Army (Ret.)

n

Active in the non-profit sector

n

Ohio native, now living in Virginia

n

Polaris Society member since 2012

n

Legacy gift will help USAFA priorities

Says Lyn on her decision to make a future gift to support the Academy: “I’m pleased and proud to arrange for this bequest to help the Academy provide cadets with an outstanding education and training experience, just as I received to prepare for my Air Force career, and life beyond.”

A charitable bequest is one of the easiest ways to leave a lasting legacy at the Air Force Academy. In addition to helping to secure an exceptional future for cadets who will join you on the Long Blue Line, a bequest to the USAFA Endowment may also lessen the tax burden on your family and estate. For information and assistance, contact Dale Zschoche at 719.238.7510 or email him at dale.zschoche@usafaendowment.org THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY

ENDOWMENT Looking Forward – Giving Back

Bonus content

A Falcon

Lecacy Soars Written by Scott Irving

Chief Master Sergeant Damian Orslene had just lofted the discus from

the throwing cage in the Air Force Academy Field House at a Wounded Warriors camp session. It was late January 2011 and the practice was indoors, yet everyone who witnessed the throw seemed inspired and excited by it. The discus had an absolutely gorgeous flight, no wobble or turnover whatsoever, just straight and true, as if the Chief had been throwing the implement his entire life.

I mentioned that throw to him the next day and he was quick to give all the credit to his coaches, particularly Dana Pounds-Lyon. “She taught me everything I know about throwing. We clicked from the very beginning,” were his glowing remarks.

I would like to think something quite similar could be said about our coach-athlete relationship, when I had the pleasure of working with then Cadet Fourth Class Dana Pounds in 2003 and continued that association through the Olympic Trials of 2012.

During the spring of her doolie year, she would often bring her petite size-six discus throwing shoes to the track and ask, “Hey Coach, are we going to throw the discus and shot today?” She was quite serious about her query, because she had been a state shot/discus champion in high school (2002-Florida) and still had a burning desire to compete in those events. Obviously, the javelin was unknown territory for her, so she would readily admit she had no clue whatsoever how good she could someday be chucking the spear. My quick retort, “Dana, you are a javelin thrower,” and that ended the conversation.

She would begrudgingly put her shot-discus shoes away and we would grab javelins in preparation for the day’s work. I have no regrets in keeping Dana on task. I must have seen some javelin potential in her, although the extent of that talent, I am certain, I could not have fathomed at the time. A banner that now graces the east wall of the Cadet Field House in her honor tends to confirm that vision, as well as Dana’s incredible resolve to compete at the highest levels possible. At 5’2” tall, I cannot imagine any other athlete at USAFA so epitomizing the core value, “Excellence in all we do.”

Even during her frosh year at the Florida Relays, she demonstrated a resolve that merits mention.

Since she had never thrown the javelin in competition we did not have a mark to list her on our depth chart. She had also just completed her AFA basketball season, so we could not in good conscience place her on the travel squad for the meet.

Fortunately, she graduated from Westminster High School and had friends to visit over spring break in Ft Lauderdale, Fla. She was determined enough to throw the javelin that she met us in Tallahassee, a six hour drive from south Florida, for some training and competed in her first meet at the University of Florida in Gainesville the next weekend.

Before the competition and as the javelin throwers were warming up, I remarked to then Gator’s head women’s track and field coach, the late Tom Jones, “Believe we have an All-American in that thrower.”

Even though Coach Jones knew my history in developing throwers, when Dana threw a pedestrian 117’ and did not secure a spot in the javelin finals on her first three throws, and he noticed her diminutive stature, as mentioned earlier a mere 5’2” tall, he likely thought, “I’ve known Scott Irving for a long time, but this coach must be crazy.” Little did he or I know just how rapid Dana Pounds’ rise nationally in the javelin would be after 2003.

It was probably Dana’s father who had the best grasp of her ability. He often liked to say that, “Dana is a gamer.” We would all find out just how much a ‘gamer’ Dana really was in the years’ ahead.

Dana’s only reaction after the Florida Relays was to plead with me not to tell anyone in the future that I thought she could be an All-American.

Those who have followed Dana’s progress in the javelin over the years know that she not only won two NCAA Division I track & field titles, the only athlete, male or female, in Academy history to do so, but also won a USATF national

Checkpoints

Opposite page: Dana PoundsLyon ’06 throws the javelin. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Danny Meyer)

March 2014

a falcon legacy soars usafa.org

title in 2007 and finished runner-up at the 2008 Olympic Trials. Each one of those meets has its own story to tell.

In her junior year at USAFA, 2005, Dana improved steadily to a best mark of 188’8”. To understand the extent of her improvement, one must first realize that it was only her second full year of training in the event. She had thrown 174’ in 2004 to finish fifth at the NCAA meet and garner the first of three NCAA All-American certificates. However, she was fortunate to even make it through to the finals from the qualifying rounds in 2005 at Sacramento State University.

As a result of restrictions on spike length for the javelin runway, it appeared to me that these throwers would struggle. The Nike javelin boot that Dana was wearing had an indented spike plate, which meant the one-quarter inch spike that was allowed for the competition was actually more like one-eighth inch as it protruded from the plate.

To complicate matters, the polyurethane javelin surface on the runway was already pretty worn and slick. The slickness was made even worse by an unusual rain for Sacramento in June. In the men’s competition the leading competitor from Texas A&M slipped when he planted his left leg and tore his groin muscle. His injury was significant enough that he was out of the finals. This development, and the fact that Dana’s run up speed was faster than most competitors, made me very concerned about her ability to handle the runway. While Dana may not have been ranked to win this meet, she was considered someone who was in the hunt for the title.

The night prior to the competition I began thinking outside the box. What could we do to make certain Dana stayed within the facility guidelines of quarter inch spikes, but also had enough grip underfoot not to slip on this very challenging surface, especially considering the less than ideal rainy conditions? The next morning prior to the competition, I settled on the following solution. I got a small terry-cloth face towel and cut it up into hundreds of little pieces. Minutes before the competition started, Dana and I stuffed the terry-cloth pieces into the spike holes in hopes of making the required javelin spikes stick out further from the plate. To my own amazement, it seemed to work well and Dana had sufficiently better grip to handle the surface of the runway. While it was not perfect, she was able to

make it through with a mediocre final throw in the qualifying round, only because everyone else was struggling as well. In the finals, it was dry and sunny. The rules committee wisely determined to allow three-eighths inch spikes, likely a result of an injury to the leading men’s competitor. Dana found a much better technical groove and won the competition with a rather convincing throw in the 180’s.

In so doing, she became the first (and still the only female) Falcon to win an NCAA Division I track and field title in 41 years. Jim Murphy was the 1964 NCAA Champion in the men’s 5000-meter and he too has a banner hanging near Dana’s and alongside Olympic gold medalist Alonzo Babers in the Field House.

Despite being the defending champion and despite improving her lifetime best to 195’8” at the Mountain West Conference Championships, thus tying the American collegiate record at the time, Dana was not projected as the NCAA winner by Track & Field News in 2006. I thanked the editor of that publication, considered the “Bible” of our sport, for their oversight, because it helped take some pressure off Dana. And, while she had the competition wrapped up before her final throw at the NCAA meet in 2006, I could still tell that Dana’s nerves were frazzled. She looked quite disoriented and was pressing throws. I yelled at her prior to her sixth and final throw and spontaneously pointed heavenward. Had I not known of her devout faith, I would never have done so at such a time as this. But it seemed appropriate for her at that moment. In a split second, Dana seemed at peace, grounded and more focused. She was now like David taking on Goliath, somehow suddenly and miraculously transformed and imbued with power and might, and she finished with a crowd pleasing throw over 190’.

In 2007, while it was almost becoming routine, Dana won yet another national javelin title, this time the USATF (USA Track & Field) crown in Indianapolis. She did so in rather dramatic fashion on her final throw - matching her lifetime best of 195’8” in the process. It would not be so easy in 2008, even though she had more throws over 190’ during the season than all other competitors combined. At the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, she was the only automatic qualifier on the first day of competition. Unfortunately, there was no mark (sector arc) on the field indicating the Olym-

pic “A” standard or the automatic qualifying standard, for that matter. This oversight was surprising for track and field savy Eugene and the University of Oregon. However, since Dana met the automatic qualifying standard on her first throw, the rules were in place that she could not take any more throws in that preliminary competition. She was forced to pass her next two throws and would have to wait until the women’s javelin final two days later to throw again. Dana had so convinced herself that she would meet the qualifying mark on this day that she was shocked to learn of these circumstances. We literally did not know how far her first throw had gone in the qualifying round or she likely would have fouled the throw. As coaches, we were also caught off guard by the rule, but even had we known it, the fact remains no one knew the distance of her first throw until it was measured. Then it was too late. Dana missed out on two excellent opportunities to qualify for the Games in Beijing. More important, with respect to Dana going into the final day at the 2008 Olympic Trials, she had to regroup and think about how she now planned to qualify for the Games.

Dana did compete well in the women’s javelin final at the 2008 Olympic Trials, finishing runnerup, just not good enough to meet the Olympic Games A-standard. Standing on the awards podium, she was asked by commentator Dan O’Brien, “What are your plans now?” O’Brien meant to also convey, now that you have not qualified for the Olympic Games. Fighting back tears, Dana’s response was without hesitation or equivocation “To continue serving my God and my country.” The Eugene crowd spontaneously erupted with applause and cheers. I remember how very proud I was of Dana and our country at that moment.

Despite the rollercoaster of emotions that Dana must have been experiencing following the women’s javelin, she pulled herself together and we met the following day at the team signup, in hopes of garnering support for her making the 2008 US Olympic team. Unlike past Olympic teams where it was common knowledge that athletes had about one month to make the necessary qualifying standard, the 2008 USATF staff seemed very committed to towing the corporate line on finalizing team selection at the Trials. They were very concerned about traveling to China and the need to have all documentation ready early. Dana had been a

member of the USA World Championship team in 2007 that competed in Osaka, Japan, so documentation did not seem such a big concern. Even the IAAF (track and field’s world governing body) was allowing countries additional time in July of 2008 to make the needed standards for their various events. It seemed to us that the USA was putting their track and field team at jeopardy, compared to the rest of the world.

While the two female USATF staff members suggested we could speak with the ombudsman (athletes legal counsel), they were also quite quick to tell Dana and me, on more than one occasion during the course of our meeting with them, that we would be wasting our time. I was extremely shocked by their overt lack of support and Dana, as one could imagine, was devastated by this news.

USATF established a new rule in 2012— the Olympic A standard became the new automatic standard for the qualifying round and is sometimes referred to as the “Pounds Rule.” Unfortunately, the Pounds Rule of 2012 proved to be of little consolation and too late in 2008.

Fortunately, when I contacted the ombudsman, we were given much different news. We sensed that if Dana were able to make the Olympic A standard in the women’s javelin over the course of the next three weeks that she stood a very good chance of securing a spot on the Olympic team roster. So during the month of July in 2008 Dana embarked on a series of three USATF sanctioned competitions, two on the east coast and one in Seattle. In every one of those meets, she threw the javelin over 190’, often competing by herself. In fact in her final competition she had a foul throw measured that had it been legal would have sent her to Beijing. To clarify, she had two fingers on the foul line, which disqualified the throw, but they measured it anyway. What that shows is how tantalizingly close and yet how very far away an athlete can be from becoming an Olympian. In that week, we had also received strong confirmation from athlete legal counsel that Dana would have indeed been added to the team had she made the standard, but that

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assurance was of little consolation to Dana, who had been battling skepticism ever since the Trials’ meeting with USATF staff members. USATF established a new rule in 2012—the Olympic A standard became the new automatic standard for the qualifying round and is sometimes referred to as the “Pounds Rule.” Unfortunately, the Pounds rule of 2012 proved to be of little consolation and too late in 2008.

Over the course of the next year and a half, Lt. Dana Pounds was no longer in the AF World Class Athlete Program, but on her career path in the operational Air Force. During that time she married David Lyon ’08, in his own right was an incredibly gifted Academy athlete and the 2008 MWC Indoor shot put champion. He remains the

Was it the injury and surgery? Was it a technical problem? We were all a bit baffled. Then one week prior to the 2012 Olympic Trials, Dana was diagnosed with hypothyroidism.

She was immediately placed on medication and prepared to compete. She seemed to have more energy and wanted to train even harder and throw more prior to the Trials, which was just the opposite of conventional wisdom throwing less to peak for the biggest meets of the year.

Practice sessions for the Olympic Trials were conducted at Lane Community College where we met on a couple occasions prior to the women’s javelin competition at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of

Dana loved to throw the javelin and compete at the highest possible levels. She set a standard of excellence and a tradition at the Academy, not only for other throwers and not only for other track and field athletes, but for all women’s sports at USAFA. only MWC shot put champion for the Falcons in AFA history. Dana continued to train and compete for AF Sports, but obligations and long hours at work made finding sufficient quality training time a challenge. Still, she managed to persevere, train hard and compete. Unfortunately, in 2009 she sustained an injury to her right knee that would linger for the next four seasons. When she finally returned to the Air Force World Class Athlete Program and Colorado Springs in 2010, we found ways to work around the injury, as well as the eventual rehab from micro-fracture surgery to repair the knee. Through it all Dana never lost her resolve, but something also never seemed quite right.

While Dana would ultimately qualify for the 2012 Olympic Trials, guaranteeing a return to Eugene, Oregon, it seemed as though someone had placed a governor on her ability to throw over a certain distance. Physically, mechanically and quite frustratingly she was being held back, not so unlike a Wounded Warrior. She became convinced that she may never throw beyond 160’ again. She lacked the same power she had from 2003-2008.

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Oregon. While I wanted to hold her back from throwing too much, she wanted to push harder, which equated to more throwing. It was a delicate balance, because I could see that she felt better and was excited to test her limits. It was like trying to hold back a caged lioness, but I was totally convinced she would need to summon all the energy she could back at Hayward Field. After all, Track and Field News did not even rank her amongst the top ten for the 2012 Trials, let alone believe she had a chance of making the finals in the women’s javelin. And, who could blame them? Yet, not only did she make the finals two days later, she had throws over 180’— three of them to be exact—for the first time in over three years and finished a very respectable sixth overall. Considering the lows from which she had battled back over an unseen ailment, and the adversity she had overcome in the injury and subsequent surgery to her knee, it comes as no surprise to me that she works so well with Wounded Warriors. Chief

Master Sergeant Orslene would have been proud of her effort at the 2012 Trials and confident she would prove any doubters wrong. I know that, as her coach, my buttons were bursting. She had overcome so much and had been proving detractors wrong all her life, because they discounted purely based on her small stature. She had, to paraphrase Isaiah, soared on wings like Falcons which seemed quite appropriate at these Trials, as Dana read from scripture between throws.

Indeed, Dana loved to throw the javelin and compete at the highest possible levels. She set a standard of excellence and a tradition at the Academy, not only for other throwers and not only for other track and field athletes, but for all women’s sports at USAFA. NCAA Division I women’s athletics is still in its infancy at the Academy. Dana demonstrated that it could be done here. She never doubted that she could be successful and she succeeded marvelously at the conference level, by winning three MWC titles from 2004-2006 and scoring a then AFA career high point total (35) at MWC Championship meets. Other Falcon throwers have followed her achievements on the long blue line and garnered an additional eight MWC titles, now a MWC record five in the javelin. Three have passed Dana in career point totals: Olivia Korte in 2007 (56 points), Sara Neubauer in 2010 (122 points) and Paige Blackburn in 2012 (62 points). Admittedly, she in turn was inspired by throwers who competed before her, like javelin thrower Jocelyn Dooley, ‘03. Dooley was the first female track and field athlete to qualify for the NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships. Dooley was a senior when Dana was a fourth class cadet, but proved to be a powerful mentor, as Dana became for countless throwers who followed.

Women throwers at AFA now account for over half the total number of individual MWC titles for all Falcon women’s sports (eleven out of twenty).

They also account for seven of the ten NCAA Division I All-American certificates awarded to Falcon female athletes. Dana herself owns three of those All-American certificates and quite literally has spearheaded a legacy that soars.

She deployed to Afghanistan in August of 2013.

While she still may be occasionally haunted by missed Olympic opportunities, what she has done

for the Academy and the greater Air force surpasses, in my mind, all Olympic dreams, standards, proportions and claims. I am guessing that CMS Orslene would most heartily agree regarding her legacy and her ability to mentor others, including himself. No one need look any further than the banner hanging on the east wall of the Field House to realize her impact on future generations of Falcon athletes.

As Dana firmly believes, “It all boils down to life lessons and most of those are learned in the heart of athletic competition.” She is convinced that, “Athletics remains the best proving ground for Academy cadets, not only in terms of being placed in pressure packed situations, but in terms of leadership and character.”

Sounds like something else CMS Orslene would emphatically and enthusiastically endorse, for much like Wounded Warriors, Dana Pounds-Lyon learned to rise above adversity. ______________________________________ Editor’s note: It is with great sorrow that we learned of the passing of Dana Pounds-Lyon’s husband, Captain David Lyon ’08, prior to publication of this article. Captain Lyon died December 27, 2013, in Kabul, Afghanistan when a bomb detonated near his convoy. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Captain Lyon.

Author Scott Irving recently retired as the Associate Head Coach of Men’s and Women’s Track and Field at the Air Force Academy. He would love to hear from former AFA athletes he has coached and can be reached at dscottirving@gmail.com.

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March 2014

bonus content

What the AOG means to me

How connecting with fellow graduates can help ease and advance your career transition.

Written by JP Patino ’07 In May of 2012, I had made the decision that I would be getting out the Air Force in the next year.

At the time, I was serving in St Louis, Mo. as an AFROTC instructor. My wife and I wanted to move to Seattle, Wash. to be closer to family. The thought of making the transition was heavy, and seemed like such a daunting task. There were stressful conversations and so much uncertainty about the future. I knew that I would need to do a lot of planning to make a successful transition from Active Duty to the civilian world.

When I had graduated from the Academy, I had never joined the AOG but I knew that it could provide a network that I could trust as I started to think about my transition so I became a member about a year before I got ready to leave Active Duty Air Force.

I wanted to work as a management consultant for a small firm in the northwest. I wondered though are there an Academy grads who are doing that? The best suggestion I had gotten was from an ’06 grad, Matt Bader. I didn’t know Matt while I was at the Academy but I was friends with Cameron Schaefer ’06 and he made the introduction. After several calls and emails, I went to visit Matt in Portland while staying with family. As it turned out Matt was doing exactly what I wanted to do. At the time he was a management consultant for a growing firm in Portland, OR working at a project at Nike Headquarters. Matt had left the Air Force after serving as a contracting officer at Hanscom AFB, Mass.

As I met Matt for the first time over beers we talked about USAFA, we talked about people we knew and what making the transition was like. It was like talking to an old friend, somebody I could

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really trust and who had just been in my shoes. Later on he introduced me to a few people in his company and even a few people at Nike. He was extremely generous with his contacts and even when I thanked him constantly, he always said, “You will pay it forward soon.”

Before I left Portland, he gave me another piece of advice. Matt suggested using LinkedIn Group features to look for USAFA grads in the Seattle area who are in management consulting specifically the USAFA AOG groups. Then, reach out to them via LinkedIn’s In-Mail.

I began searching for companies that I was interested in and studied those, as well as plugging them into LinkedIn search tools. I found about 10 USAFA grads that were in Seattle and were connected to companies that I was interested in. So I reached out to all of them.

enough that they were willing to extend a hand and help out a fellow veteran.

Finally, on 30 May 2013, six years to the day on graduating from the Air Force Academy, I officially separated from Active duty. My family and I road tripped 2,400 miles from St. Louis to Seattle and moved in with family as I continued my job hunt.

The connections I made through Ben and Matt had gotten me several interviews at various consulting firms and then finally in mid-June I was offered a position with Caiman Consulting in Redmond, Wash.

Making the transition to leave active duty was often times frightening. I thought it was much easier to stay on active then to leave because my next assignment and job was decided for me. The thing that made the

one of the best surprises throughout my whole transition—learning how many grads are out there who are really willing to help.

That’s how I got in contact with Ben Brown ’01. Ben was working for Caiman Consulting and a member of the Puget Sound AOG in Seattle. On my next trip out to Seattle he offered to meet me for lunch. We talked over burgers and Ben gave me advice on translating my resume and helped me tweak it to connect with the management consulting world. Things like program versus project management and advice on taking the PMP certification.

During the week I was in Seattle, Ben introduced me to the head recruiter at his company, as well as a few other senior directors. At the time, I was still three months away from actually separating from the Air Force, but Ben was helping me develop a network in the industry that I wanted to be in as well as in the city.

I made two more trips out to Seattle in the following months. With each trip, I would reconnect with Ben and meet another one of his colleagues. I also met other Academy grads as well as West Point and Annapolis grads who I had connected with on social media. The commonality of our Service Academy connections was

biggest difference was knowing that I had a network that would back me up. Utilizing the tools available, I was able to connect to classmates and grads to hear about their transitions. I asked for advice, to review my resume and asked for introductions to others. It was time consuming and taxing but also fun to connect and reacquaint with others. Now, I love the fact that there’s a USAFA grad in the company that I work for. There’s a certain camaraderie that we share. Now, having made a successful transition I enjoy passing along my lessons learned to other grads out there.

The USAFA network is a tremendous resource and one of the many things I’m thankful for graduating from the Academy. My hope is that whether grads are staying in or as they leave the Air Force they know and trust that there are other grads who care about them and will help hem along the way. For me, that was one of the best surprises throughout my whole transition—learning how many grads are out there who are really willing to help. w

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21 Lessons Learned After leaving the Military 1 Start early.

I knew I was going to get out of the military about one year before I even submitted my paperwork and after that I gave myself

9 months to figure out the process. I knew I would need lots of time to really think through this process of leaving the military.

There was a lot to think about and not having enough time, really could have cost me money and leave me in a place I never intended. Plan to give yourself 9-12 months preparation time before you are officially out.

2 Get on the same page with significant other.

I had some of the most important and sometimes toughest conversations with my wife about leaving the military. As soon

as you know you are going to leave the military, you should let those that are important in your life know about it. Taking a weekend to discuss your goals and write them down will set you up to achieve them.

t Save. Save. Save.

I learned I needed to do some number crunching early on to figure out my minimum expenses (loan payments, mortgage/ rent, food bills). Once I knew those figures, I estimated that potentially I could be without an income for 6-9 months. This gave me an estimate of how much to save in emergency funds. Also, by having enough savings in the bank I don’t feel pressured to take the first offer that comes my way, giving me freedom to choose a career I can really enjoy.

4 Get your confidence back.

It took me awhile to believe that my skills would be valued outside the military. Many people have shared with me that they value most the leadership, the ability to work with teams, the communication skills of military veterans. In order to help me with my confidence I started doing things that I really enjoyed again and setting goals for myself to achieve. For me, I began to rock climb and write more and that gave me some of the confidence that I hope to show in front of employers. I recommend attending clubs and volunteer activities that you really enjoy. Who you are in those settings is who you need to be in front of an employer.

5 Get clear on your goals.

This was something my dad, an Air Force Colonel retired and liaison for Army transition program, explained to me. When you are looking at employment without a clear target, every job looks like it could be a good one. This is where it is important to define your criteria (along with your significant other, see Lesson 2). Spend time defining what you enjoy doing, what you are good at doing, and what you hope to do in the future. This will help you narrow choices down and stay focused on what your goals.

6 Market yourself towards goals.

Once it became clear what I want to do in the future, I marketed myself towards that in a way that employers understand. It

seems that every conversation I had with people in that industry I would learn a new word or term. I began translating my experience using the new language I learned. I recommend taking some courses or certification classes to help teach you the new language of your new civilian job.

7 Buy business cards.

I purchased business cards that marketed the skills that I bring to potential companies and used the language that civilians

would understand. You can find tons of creative examples of business cards, but making them translate is key. Once when I handed a business card out, the person immediately turned it over to the backside, which I had left blank. He said, “You are missing out on important marketing space!” I recommend putting a QR code with a link to your resume on the back, this shows you are technology savvy and you don’t waste space.

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8 Get familiar with social media tools.

The access that we have utilizing social media now is incredible. I have learned to use my network on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, to reach out to people as far as possible. I began to join groups on LinkedIn and then write people within the groups that were in the industry that I was interested in. From there, I asked if they would be willing to chat for 15 minutes with me.

Look for people via Facebook and LinkedIn in the geographic location or industry you want to be in, and then don’t be afraid to reach out to them.

9 Look sharp.

After serving on Active Duty for six years I got used to wearing a uniform every day and didn’t even own a suit. I knew I was

going to have to be up to date in my clothing if I wanted to make a good first impression. Acquire clothing that is appropriate for the industry that you plan to enter. When you go shopping take somebody that has a good sense of style or ask the store clerks for help. If you plan it right, go when there are sales. Know the style that is worn at the office you want to work and dress one step above that for the interview.

10 Take Good Photos of Yourself.

I asked a friend/co-worker with a Digital SLR to take a few photos of me in business casual attire. I had a couple of changes

of clothes because I wanted a few photos to choose from. Then, I used these on my social media sites. The key is to present a good image everywhere and having a friendly looking photo is makes for a good first impression.

11 Ask for Feedback.

I went through several resumes before I found a style and format that fit the industry that I was looking at. It took time and

it took asking for lots of feedback. I learned to never be afraid to ask people in the industry you want to work in to give you feedback on your resume. Some feedback is more valuable than others, but getting lots of feedback will help you tighten up your resume and marketing of yourself.

12 Ask to be Introduced.

Countless times I have asked, “Would you be willing to introduce me to.....” or “Could you introduce me to your contacts at (name of firm)?” Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t but more times than not, people are willing to help. Don’t be afraid to ask.

13 Listen.

Listening seems like such as basic skill but it must be practiced more and more with every person you meet. I have found that I

have to stop the chatter going on in my head (do they like me? does my breath stink? etc. ) and really focus on the person standing in front to me. As a result, really listening helps me come across as personable, approachable and sincere. All characteristics that people want to work with. Spend time really listening to others and not solely focusing on your agenda.

14 Share.

Share your goals and your hopes with anybody that is willing to listen. Share what type of work you hope to be in. Share about yourself, your hobbies, what gets you excited about life. I have found people look for ways to relate and connect and your sharing gives them an insight to make connections for you. But be sure to practice listening too! (refer to lesson 13). w

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15 Use recruiters … or don’t.

There are a number of recruiting firms out there for transitioning military members. I’ve learned that you must do

the research first. Does this firm match based on geographic preference? Have they worked with companies that you are interested in? Do they work with industries that interest you? I did a lot of research to find out if the recruiting firm is going to line up my goals before I went with them. Most recruiters are great people, who really want to help veterans find a good career. Using recruiters is neither good nor bad, but you have to decide if they move you closer to your goals or not.

16 Take Networking trips.

If you are planning to move to a different geographic area plan to take 2-4 networking trips. For three months, every

month I have taken a trip to the location I plan to move to. The objective of the trip was solely to meet people and expand my network in that area. I set 3-5 days aside during a week and fly out, stay with friends and go meet people.

Before going, I set up informational interviews so that I had an agenda for the week. I kept my week fairly open in case other meetings pop up, and they did. Afterwards I wrote thank you cards and asked to be introduced to more people. This has proven to be a great ways to expand my network, share my story and learn about the job market that I plan to enter.

17 Spend time with family.

Transitioning from the military is demanding work. One of the goals my wife and I set was to plan quality time with

the family during our transition. We knew it was important to take time away from the job hunt and have conversations that are not just about finding work. I’ve learned to plan quality time with friends and family every now and again to get my mind off of the job hunt and take a step back from the stress.

18 Never too late to apologize.

Over time it may become necessary to reach out to contacts who you are not sure where you stand with. I have found

it is never too late to apologize or own up for any wrong-doing. Allow any grievances to pass, you wouldn’t want to miss out on a great opportunity because you couldn’t reconcile the past. It’s never too late and holding onto those grudges could cost you more than those grudges are worth.

19 Stay organized.

It is so important to stay organized through the process. Keep a good filing system for your resumes and applications

and write down who you have spoken to and where you have applied. I have seen that as more opportunities come into the picture, keeping track of which tailored resume I sent them and what my marketing pitch was is important.

20 It’s a game.

The process of transitioning from the military is exciting and can open new doors and opportunities. I have found that it is easy to put pressure on myself to find the right job but really this is just a game. I’ve learned to play hard and have fun with it.

21 Pay it forward.

I have been so grateful for the times that people are willing to introduce me to somebody else. I recognize that it takes

effort and that they don’t have to. As I’ve continued to network, I’ve learned that I really enjoy paying it forward and helping others along the way.

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21 Lessons learned After leaving the Military

bonus content

Don’t miss out on your 2014 reunion.

Go to usafa.org for more information

2014 Class Reunions: 1959, 1964, 1969, 1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994, & 2004

Mouth Watering Recipes by Grads, for Grads This edition of the Off the Menu contains some fantastic recipes that we just couldn’t fit in print.

These vegetarian recipes, including a decadent soup, are not to be missed. Thank you to all of our loyal readers who have made the Long Blue Ladle a success with their sumptous submissions!

Crockpot Curried Cauliflower Soup (4-6 servings) Chef Tony Wolusky, Class of 1980

Ingredients • 2 tablespoons oil • 1 medium onion, chopped • 1 carrot, chopped • 2 teaspoons curry powder (Madras curry powder recommended) • 1 medium to large-size head cauliflower, trimmed and chopped • 1 medium-size Yukon Gold potato, peeled and chopped • 6 cups vegetable stock • Salt, to taste • 1/4 cup mango chutney Directions 1. Heat the oil in a medium-size skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and cook until softened.

Add the curry powder and stir to coat the vegetables.

2. Transfer the onion mixture to a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker. Add the cauliflower, potato, and stock. Season with salt to taste, cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

3. Add the chutney and puree the soup right in the Crockpot using an immersion blender. Can be garnished with a sprinkling of roasted cashews or minced fresh parsley, if desired.

Tip 1. You can use a regular blender or food processor if you don’t have an immersion blender. However, if you like this recipe, buy an immersion blender because they’re cheap and make pureeing any soup in a pot or Crockpot very easy.

Tip 2. If you’re going to be around the house anyway and want to skip the sauté part in step 1, you can turn the Crockpot on HIGH, add the oil, onion and carrot, stir, put the lid on and come back in an hour. Stir again, switch the Crockpot to LOW and continue with the recipe.

Tip 3. If you don’t have a potato, the soup is just as good made with cauliflower alone. Don’t skip the chutney.

It’s not a lot, but it really adds a great flavor.

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Roasted Garlic Dressing (Serves 4-6)

Baked Stuff Mushrooms (Yield: 12 Mushrooms)

Ingredients • 10-12 roasted garlic cloves (see below) • 1 cup olive oil • 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar • 1/3 cup water • 1 teaspoon salt • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Ingredients • One dozen clean large white button mushrooms, stems removed and diced • Mushroom stems • 1/2 stick of unsalted butter • 2 ounces of softened cream cheese • 3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs • 1/4 cup finely chopped onion • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese • 2 eggs • 3/4 teaspoon salt • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Chef Tony Wolusky, Class of 1980

Directions 1. Roast the garlic. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Take a whole garlic bulb, cut off about 1/4 inch off the top to expose the cloves, and peel off as much of the papery white outer layer as you can.

3. Take a sheet of aluminum foil big enough to easily wrap the bulb and place on the counter. Put 1/4 teaspoon of water in the middle of the foil, put the garlic on top, wrap the bulb securely so steam can’t escape, and place in the oven for 45 minutes. 4. Carefully open the foil. The garlic should be beige or a little brown and easily squeeze out when the clove is pressed. If not, wrap it back up and put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes.

5. When it’s cool enough to handle, squeeze the required roasted garlic out of the cloves for the recipe. (If you have extra roasted garlic, blend with olive oil or butter and use it to make garlic bread.)

6. In a blender or food processor, puree the garlic with the oil, vinegar, water, salt, pepper and mustard until smooth and well blended.

Covered and refrigerated, this dressing will keep for several weeks.

Great on salads, wrap sandwiches, steamed vegetables or potatoes.

Chef Olivia Elshehabi, Friend of the Academy

Directions 1. Mix all ingredients together.

2. Stuff mushrooms with rounded teaspoonfuls of mixture.

3. Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 25 min, then place under the broiler for 2 min or until the tops are golden and crispy.

4. Serve warm.

Off the Menu

Gone But Not Forgotten Melvin E. Pollard, ’59 Melvin E Pollard passed away on Jan. 8, 2014, in the G. E. Wahlen VA Nursing Home in North Ogden, Utah. Born in Ash Grove, Mo. to Felix and Grace Pollard, he grew up in Odessa, Texas, where he watched airplanes cross the West Texas sky and dreamed of being a pilot. His dream came true when he skipped 12th grade to join the Class of 1959.

Mel as a cadet is remembered as a smart guy with grit. He may have skipped his last year in high school but he did just fine academically while competing with guys who had several years of college.

Mel was a very laid back guy who always had a smile no matter what was going on. He was always unflappable. As one friend put it, “I spent all four years in the same squadron with him and I was a little envious of the way Mel could just lay back and absorb everything so calmly.”

Mel may have appeared calm, but he had an active and inquisitive mind.

After moving to the permanent site Mel took to studying the mountain slope behind the dormitories. One day, he spotted a flash, and marked it. The next weekend he went climbing to the point where he thought he saw the flash and found some aircraft wreckage, a B-24.

As he looked over the site he found the Mel Pollard aircraft log book. Needless to say most of the following weekends were spent mountain climbing where he ran across more wrecks.

After graduation he fulfilled another dream by marrying Louise Kelley, his best friend for the next 52 years.

Mel became an Instructor Pilot in T-33s and T-38s after pilot training.

That still wasn’t enough to satisfy his yen for flying, so he took up soaring. He merged the intellectual and the fun aspects of flying by analyzing such things as the differences between performing a loop in three significantly different aircraft types — the two AF trainers and acrobatic sailplanes.

In Vietnam, Mel flew F-4Cs, logging 121 combat missions out of Da Nang. He went through the July 1967 rocket attack on Da Nang, as well as the first Tet offensive in Saigon.

Mel and Louise moved to Utah in 1979 where he was in the Range Squadron giving the operational units realistic training, Meanwhile the skiing, sailing, and camping captivated them. Then, after 23 years in the Air Force, Mel retired and started a second career as an engineer and consultant in the aerospace industry.

He and Louise partnered in 1994 for his third career, running their photography company, The Outside View. They traveled extensively, photographing in the U.S., the Caribbean, and Europe. One of their favorite trips was to Vietnam, 40 years after his tour of duty there.

Mel is survived by his wife, Louise; daughter Kelley, son-in-law Andy Lindberg, and grandson Orion of Layton, Utah; and son Ray, daughter-in-law Jennifer, and granddaughters Lauren and Makenna of Sandpoint, Idaho.

For more current information about graduate deaths, please visit the AOG web site. www.usafa.org.

If you know of a graduate’s death, please notify the AOG as soon as possible. There have been cases in which the association was not informed in a timely manner.

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He continued to enjoy the important things in life like the three grandchildren and his fascination with airplanes. He was a former Flight Captain in Daedalians where he shared flying stories with those with whom he shared the skies in war and peace.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Bone Marrow Foundation in the name of Jennifer Price Pollard, Mel’s daughter-in-law, to help fund her transplant. (http://bonemarrow.org/financial-assistance/ one-to-one-funds/participants/jennifer-price-pollard/).

Mel’s ashes will be interred at the Air Force Academy in the spring.

(Mel’s daughter Kelley Lindberg and his classmates)

James M. Rhodes, Jr., ’59 Brigadier General James M. Rhodes, Jr. (Ret) passed away after a struggle with cancer. He lived up to his motto, “Proud, Positive, and Professional” to the end.

He is survived by his wife, Garrie Lynn Rhodes; his brother Harold W. Rhodes; his children James M. Rhodes, IV, Joni McHugh, and Jeffrey Rhodes; stepdaughters Robin Assousad and Katherine Valenza; and his grandchildren Jennifer Bielke, Derek Rhodes, Jacquelynne Webb, Michael Rhodes, Alex Mitchell, Matthew Assousad, Andrew Assousad and Molly Assousad.

Jim was born in Santa Monica, Calif. in 1937, graduated from Bellevue High School, Neb. in 1955 and immediately entered the Class of 1959.

Jim’s classmates remember his calm demeanor hid a personal intensity that ensured success. He was always willing to help others learn what came to him naturally.

His intensity came with an impish side. Once Jim and his roommate eased the routine of study by popping corn and selling it for 25 cents to anyone brave enough to stop by their room during CQ. Fortunately this transgression was not discovered.

Along the way he mastered the epee on the fencing team. When the team was formed in 1955 none on the team had fenced before. In 1958 they won the Western intercollegiate Fencing Jim Rhodes Championship. Not bad. He set his bar very high in academics and exceeded it, graduating 10th and earning the award as the Top Cadet in History.

After pilot training at Moore and Vance AFBs, Jim went to the F-100.

His first operational assignment was with the 7th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) at Spangdahlem AFB, West Germany, first in the F-100 then the F-105.

Next came the 563rd TFS at McConnell AFB as an F-105 instructor.

During a deployment to Thailand in April, 1965 he participated in the first attack on an operational surface-to-air missile site in Hanoi. On the last of his 65 missions he sank two North Vietnamese cutters while protecting his wingman who had ditched in the Gulf of Tonkin.

He spent the next five years at Edwards AFB as a test pilot, instructor, and program manager of the rocket-powered NF-104A Starfighter.

He received the 1969 David C. Schilling Award “For the most outstanding contribution in the field of flight.” He then went from the most advanced aircraft to the most basic, the A-37B Dragonfly, in Vietnam with the 8th Special Operations Squadron.

Jim was an inspirational leader and commander. His dream job was Wing Commander. The dream was realized at RAF Alconbury in 1982 where he flew the F-5 and the RF-4. Next came a tour as a Command Director at NORAD. He finished his career in the F-15 as the Commander of the 23rd Air Division.

Jim was a command pilot with over 4,000 hours and 350 combat missions. His awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Air Medal with 12 oak leaf clusters, and Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster.

After retirement, Jim and Garrie loved to travel the world, visiting most of the continents. Jim was a proud member of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilot Association and served three times as CINCRAT. Jim also enjoyed his memberships in the Old Bold Pilots Association, Quiet Birdmen, Daedalians, and the Palomar Pacific Men’s Chorus. He will be remembered as a great father, husband, and wingman.

As one of his classmates put it: A lifelong friend and respected professional, we’ll miss him. “Strong wings and clear skies dear friend”. (Jeff Rhodes, Jim’s son, and his classmates.)

Norman C. Alexander, ’60 Lt. Col. Norman Cope Alexander, Class of 1960, U.S. Air Force Academy, went to be with the Lord in his sleep on Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, 2013 after a long illness. Norm was born Sept. 5, 1938 in Joplin, Mo. Norm and I met during the hectic confusion that was our first day at USAFA when we were assigned to the same element during Fourth Class summer. We became friends, then roommates, and our families have remained friends throughout the years following graduation.

Norm’s flying assignments were as an Electronics Warfare Officer, both as a student and as an instructor at Keesler, AFB, Miss. and Mather AFB, Calif., followed by assignments as an operational crew member on the RB-66 at Toul-Rosieres and Chambley Air Bases in France, and during a combat tour at Takhli Air Base, Thailand.

After returning from Thailand, he was assigned to Custer Air Force Station, Mich. as a staff Electronics Warfare Officer. His next assignment was to AFIT at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio where he earned a master’s

Clement A. Yannacone, Air Training Officer, Dies at 83 Clement “Red” Yannacone, 83, passed away on Oct. 10, 2013 from complications due to lung cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. He was born on April 22, 1930 in Plainfield, N.J. Red graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor’s Degree and earned a Master’s Degree from Pepperdine University. One of his proudest moments was being awarded his pilot wings and becoming a 2nd lieutenant in the United States Air Force. He graduated in the Class of 54 J. Red served two tours as a fighter pilot in Vietnam, along with being stationed at numerous bases in the United States, an ATO at The Air Force Academy, Okinawa, Ethiopia and multiple countries in Europe. He was awarded numerous Air Force medals throughout his military career.

He was an active member of the River Rats and Sabre Jets, along with being a tow plane pilot for the local towing club.

He was a lifetime member of the Elks, served on the Airport Board, O-Club Board, and was Chairman of the Plan“Red” Yannacone ning and Zoning Board along with being president of the Board of Realtors. Red loved football and boxing and was an ardent Dallas Cowboys fan.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Janice Yannacone of Alamogordo N.M,; son Michael Yannacone and wife, Denise, of Kingston, Tenn.; son Randy Yannacone and wife, Shannon, of Fort Lupton, Colo.; son Chris Yannacone and partner Toby of Garland Texas; granddaughter Sarah Eledge and husband, Derek, of Tenn.; great granddaughter Abby Eledge, and great grandson Lijah Eledge of Tenn. He was preceded in death by his father, Clement Anthony Yannacone Sr.; his mother, Mary Yannacone; and his brother Nicolas Yannacone.

Red was cremated and his ashes were scattered from an airplane over the foothills of Alamogordo, N.M. (Chris Yannacone, Red’s son and Janice Yannacone, Red’s wife)

degree in Systems Management. After AFIT graduation, while still at Wright-Patterson AFB, he was assigned as program manager on the F-15 Electronics Warfare Systems.

During a surge to increase the capabilities of the Strategic Air Command, Norm was subsequently reassigned to Carswell AFB, Texas as an operational Electronics Warfare Officer on the B-52. During this tour he was subsequently assigned to the Air Force Plant Representative’s Office at the General Dynamics facility at Carswell. Norm retired from the Air Force active duty during this assignment.

His military decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, seven Air Medals and the Meritorious Service Medal.

During their time at Carswell, he and his family purchased a Victorian home in Weatherford, Texas, saved it from the wrecking ball, and utilized their talents and hard work to restore the home to its previous glory, making it a showplace within the community.

After retirement from the Air Force, Norm became engineering manager and company representative to the Norm Alexander Society of Automotive Engineers for Parker Hannifin/Stratoflex Division in Fort Worth, Texas.

Norm was an immensely talented, hard-working, intelligent and well-organized individual. He showed these traits as a cadet, not only in academics and military training, but also with his contributions to the yearbook during all four years, rising to the post of Editor in Chief his First Class year. He was always a vocal advocate of service to our country, and actively recruited and counseled many young men and women, educating them to the positive values of service and a military career, personally swearing several of these young people into military service.

Norm’s funeral was held Nov. 15, 2013 in Weatherford, Texas. He was buried with full military honors in Plot 9 of Commandment Garden of the Annetta Cemetery in Annetta, Texas.

His survivors include his wife, Deborah, of Saginaw, Texas; his daughters Suzanne (David) Delgado of West Seattle, Wash., and Michelle (Patrick) Titzer of Centennial, Colo.; grandchildren Benjamin and Melanie Titzer, and a brother George Alexander of Las Cruces, N. M., in addition to many nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his first wife, Carole Alexander, of Sun City West, Ariz. (Ed Haerter, Class of 1960)

Charles A. Holman, Jr., ’60 Charles Andrew Holman, Jr., better known as “Ace” or “Chuck”, died on Nov. 9, 2013 in Mobile, Ala. after an extended and courageous battle with Parkinson’s disease. Born in Kannapolis, N.C. June 27, 1938, Ace was one of our youngest classmates and brought with him the easy grace and charm of his Southern roots.

Many of us remember Ace for his courage, individualism and sometimes daring exploits during our time at the Academy. He was a member of the USAFA Mountaineering Club, and was remembered by Howie Whitfield as a daring and adept climber. Ace was fearless, loved sports and was a gifted athlete. George Pupich recalls his frustration that Ace beat him in every foot race, which was unusual for George.

Ace was probably the only cadet to own a monkey, “Buddy”, during his senior year.

Indeed, several of his classmate’s parents vividly remember babysitting the little beast during Graduation Week.

In August 1960, “Buddy” in tow, Ace reported for primary flight training at Graham Air Base in Marianna, Fla. Ace’s Chuck Holman quick mind and athleticism made him well suited to the cockpit and on solo flights he would take his aircraft to the limits, to learn for himself the true capabilities of our jet-powered training aircraft (as he did with his Alfa Romeo). He completed pilot 91

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN training at Craig AFB, Selma, Ala. in August 1961, and in due course reported to McGuire AFB in New Jersey for upgrade training the USAF’s new C-135 transport.

In the words of Wayne Kendall, “Ace was a free spirit”. Wayne, Ken Alnwick and Ace were roommates at a place dubbed “Happy Hill Farms” 15 miles from McGuire. Ken remembers Ace for his “unflagging good humor and willingness to seek new challenges”.

In 1963, frustrated by lack of flying time and having no desire to fly multi-engine aircraft, Ace left the Air Force to join the emerging new world of computers. Ace worked for RCA and was on the team that sold the first computer system to Disney World. RCA was acquired by Univac, and as branch manager, Ace was part of the team that sold a computer system to the University of Alabama. Ace was proud of this accomplishment and the fact that Bear Bryant would be using it. In 1978 Ace became SE Regional Manager with Triad Systems in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. and in 1985 joined Texas Instruments in Chicago, Ill. He finished his career in Mobile with Alabama Technology Network, and retired in 2006 due to his health. According to his co-worker and friend, Bayne Bridges, “Ace was a tough competitor and did not like to lose”.

Ace set up and ran the Class of ’60’s first website and operated it until his health restricted him.

Ace met the love of his life, Louise “Weese” Holman on a blind date for a Mardi Gras Ball in Mobile in Feb. 1992, moved to Mobile and they were married in Feb. 1993. Weese was his angel and caretaker during his struggle with Parkinson’s. He is survived by Weese, his five children, Stacey, Chuck, Kira, Jonas and Arica, six grandchildren and Weese’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was known to them as “Papa Chuck” and loved by all.

I know that all of us in the Class of ’60 are proud to have been his friend and Brothers in Blue, and he will be remembered and missed by everyone who had the good fortune to know him.

(Jon McClure) Contributed to by: Ken Alnwick, Greg Boyington, Bayne Bridges, George Pupick, Wayne Kendall, AL Johnson, Pete King, Mike Clarke, Frank Gorham and Weese Holman.

Robert L. Murphy, ’63 Colonel (Ret) Robert L. Murphy, Class of 1963, passed away on Nov. 19, 2013 at his home in Mountain Home, Ark. He was born June 26, 1940 in Saginaw, Mich. to Russell L. and Flora Andreotti Murphy. On June 6, 1964 he married Veronica Phannenstiel in Denver, Colo.

Colonel Murphy was a pilot in the U.S. Air Force, served three tours of duty in Vietnam, with a total of 30 years of service. He retired in Mountain Home in 1999, where he was a member of the St. Peter the Fisherman Catholic Church. He was also a member and past Grand Knight of the Fisherman Council Knights of Columbus #7353, Father Henry J. Chinery Assembly 2060 Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus, where he served two years as Faithful Navigator and was Commander of the Honor Guard for eight years. He was also Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Tracy Area Fire Protection District.

He enjoyed hunting and fishing and was a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association.

Survivors are his wife, Veronica “Ronnie” Murphy; three daughters: Kelly A Bob Murphy Murphy (husband Daniel Sullivan) of Carbondale, Colo.; Christine M. Murphy (husband Peter Ammon) of Breckenridge, Colo.; and Theresa L. Murphy (husband Troy Rapp) of Oakham, Mass.; a sister Jacqueline Murphy Klock of Georgetown, Texas; three grandchildren: Jacob and Mia Ammon and Kian Sullivan; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents.

For more current information about graduate deaths, please visit the AOG web site. www.usafa.org.

If you know of a graduate’s death, please notify the AOG as soon as possible. There have been cases in which the association was not informed in a timely manner.

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From Col. Tim Carey (USAF, Ret): “I, and virtually all the young pilots of the 21st Tactical Air Support Squadron, Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Republic of Vietnam, admired and respected Major Bob Murphy – one of America’s best combat leaders during the last year of our war there.

“He demonstrated and taught us maturity, responsibility, dedication to duty and to mission; but he also revealed his compassion, humor, and genuine personal concern for his fellow warriors.

“Though we never met again after the ceasefire, I have always remembered him, and am sure he had the same profound effect on all who were fortunate to know, live, and work with him. A truly great human being.”

Bob’s classmate John McTasney wrote: “Bob grew up in Michigan where he hunted and fished from an early age. In high school he stood out as a student-athlete, lettering in football. After a year at Michigan State, Bob accepted an appointment to the Air Force Academy Class of 1963. He continued to excel at the Academy as a student and leader and was a Cadet Lieutenant Colonel in his senior year.

“Bob purchased his dream car as a senior, an Austin-Healy 3000. A familiar sight around then-Lorreto Heights College, Bob and that red twoseater swept “Ronnie” into marriage soon after she graduated in 1964.

Weekend drives from Reese AFB in Lubbock, Texas to Denver allowed the courtship to flourish while Bob earned his wings flying the T-37 and T-38. Like most of us Bob wanted a fighter assignment out of pilot training. He got a B-52!

“But Bob never accepted second best; he quickly became the best B52 pilot on his base as a member of the Standardization and Evaluation crew. After several deployments to Southeast Asia, Bob volunteered to become a Forward Air Controller, again flying combat while stationed in Vietnam. Returning to SAC after his combat tour, Bob continued his Air Force career, raising his three daughters while being assigned coast to coast (Mather AFB Commander and HqUSAF/XO, among others). After his second retirement, he and Ronnie built their dream home in Arkansas, on a lake, of course.” (Compilation)

Howard (Michael) M. Tomme, ’63 Howard “Mike” M. Tomme, Class of 1963, was born on Feb. 20, 1939, the third of four sons, in Chicago, Ill. He joined the Air Force in 1957 and was sent to Yale University to study Chinese. While there he was accepted to the Air Force Academy Prep School and ultimately began his academy program in 1959.

Following graduation from the Academy he received a Fulbright Scholarship to continue his study of the Chinese language in Taiwan.

Following this program he was accepted to flight training at Chandler Air Force Base in Arizona, but ultimately decided that flying a fighter plane was not for him. The Air Force then sent him to officers’ intelligence training which was followed by a year of duty in Thailand as an intelligence officer during the Vietnam War. When Mike returned to the States the Air Force sent him to UCLA where he received a Master’s degree in Operations Research. This was followed by six years as a math professor at the Academy.

His last Air Force assignment was as a defense contracting officer attached to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel.

After retirement, Mike worked a number of years in the defense industry before settling in Las Vegas, Nev. and returning to teaching math at the community college level. He was an excelMike Tomme lent bridge player and participated in multiple regional and national bridge tournaments over the years.

Mike passed away after a long illness on Oct. 2, 2013. Mike is survived by his two sons, Mike Jr. and Jeffrey, and two daughters, Julie and Susan, plus eight grandchildren and two great granddaughters. He is also survived by his brother Steve. Due to the Federal Government shutdown last fall, the family made the decision to postpone Mike’s memorial until May 15, 2014, at the Academy Chapel. Following the service, Mike’s remains will be buried at the Academy cemetery.

As Mike’s brother, I miss him terribly, but I am comforted by the

memory of Mike’s love for his family, his generosity, and his wonderful sense of humor. (Submitted by Stephen Tomme, Mike’s brother).

Alfred L. Freathy, ’64 Alfred Lionel “Al” Freathy, age 70, passed away on Aug. 12, 2013, in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. He was born in Dayton, Ohio to Albert Edward Freathy and Delta Stubblefield Freathy. Al grew up the son of military parents and moved frequently until settling in Clinton, Miss. where he made many lifetime friends.

Al attended the Air Force Academy, graduating in 1964, and beginning his Air Force career as a pilot. Additionally in 1964, he married the love of his life, Sandra Kay, beginning their 49 years together. After Al’s tour in the Vietnam War, they moved frequently to assignments in Alabama, Arizona, Ohio, Florida, and Virginia, where Al continued his military service as a pilot flying F-4 Phantom jets, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, and developing a nationally-recognized expertise in air-to-ground weaponry. They claimed Shalimar, Fla. as their home town before and after his retirement in 1985 and he continued consulting for the Al Freathy Air Force until 2012 culminating over 50 years of professional support of the Armed Forces. He was a humble hero and dedicated patriot. When away from work he enjoyed growing exotic orchids, photography, and travelling to visit with family.

Al lost his life to an aggressive cancer, multiple myeloma. He is survived by his wife, Sandra Kay Freathy; a daughter Sharon and her husband, Jason Segars, of Wetumpka, Ala., with three grandchildren Sarah, Jonothon, and Jeremey; a son, Brad and his wife, Tammy, of Lithia, Fla., and three more grandchildren, Audrey, Bradley, and Blake.

He was preceded in death by his parents. Al took great pride in the achievements of all of his family and was always ready to share their latest successes.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the Livingstone Academy for Autism (formerly Bay Life Academy), http://www.crowdrise. com/alfreathy. (Brad Freathy, Al’s son)

James L. Leuthauser, ’69 James Lee Leuthauser passed away on Aug. 20, 2013, after fighting a short but impossible battle against an undeserved and sudden enemy: cancer. He was 66 years young.

Jim was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa. He was the eldest of three brothers, all graduates of the Academy. After flying F-4 Phantoms over Vietnam, Jim returned to marry Ursula, his wife of 41 years, who he met in high school while she was a foreign exchange student from Vienna. Together they raised two children: their daughter Amy, an emergency room physician and assistant professor at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, and their son Ryan, an attorney in Tampa.

From an early age, Jim dreamed of becoming an astronaut. He graduated from the AFIT with an MS in astronautical engineering and despite coming close; he ultimately did not get the chance to journey to space. Instead, he left the Air Force to enjoy a long and successful career with HewlettJim Leuthauser Packard. Jim excelled in several roles and oversaw a number of projects that took his family across the country and to Europe and back before he retired from HP after 22 years. In retirement, he spent the last few years as an entrepreneur, creating and running equity, commodity, and real estate ventures.

Jim loved music and was a talented vocalist. In addition to perform-

ing with the Protestant Choir and the Cadet Chorale while at the Academy, he treated countless audiences to his voice over the years, singing in various choirs, choruses, and barber shop quartets. He cherished classical music, but other genres of music, too, and joked of one day touring as a bluegrass banjo player.

Jim was a beautiful human being. He was and always will be my hero.

He was the most wonderful, selfless, and dedicated husband, father, and citizen I have ever met. My dad loved his country and knew more about it and its history than most. He was a scholar and a defender of the Constitution. He approached every day with a remarkable sense of duty: to simply do his best, at everything, for everyone, usually with a soft smile on his face. In the 34 years I had the joy of knowing my father, I am not sure he ever had a bad day. And if he did, he certainly never complained or asked for help. His brilliance was equaled only by his kindness and his steadfast readiness to lend a hand. He helped a lot of people.

Jim left a void that can never be filled. A quiet, unassuming man, he was a powerful source of goodness, of knowledge, of confidence, and of humility. The world is not the same, or as good, without him.

James Joyce once wrote, “They lived and laughed and loved and left.”

Before he left us, way too soon, Jim lived, and laughed, and loved, and touched the hearts of so many people around this planet. In his memory, we ask you—every day—to live, and laugh, and love with those you cherish. For we never know when the ones we love the most will be called to leave.

Thank you, dad, for everything. I love you. I miss you. Everyone misses you. We hope you finally realized your dream of going to space.

(Ryan Leuthauser, Jim’s adoring son)

Ernest G. Manglicmot, ’77 Ernest “Greg” Gregory Manglicmot, Class of 1977, was born on Oct. 12, 1954 in Norfolk, Va. Greg grew up in Chula Vista, Calif. and graduated from Hilltop High School in 1972 where he was on the Varsity Wrestling and Cross Country teams. After High School, he was selected to attend the USAFA Prep School in 1972. Upon completion of the Prep School, he was accepted into USAFA Class of 1977. While a Cadet, Greg enjoyed Intramural Wrestling and Lacrosse, playing Foosball, his first experience flying in a T-41, earning his Jump Wings and dating Diane Hayes.

Upon graduation, Greg married Diane Lee Hayes in Colorado Springs on June 5, 1977 and went off to Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, Okla. Upon completion of training he became a KC-135 copilot. They moved to Wurtsmith AFB, Mich. where he became an Instructor Pilot, sat on Alert, pinned on Captain, earned a Master’s Degree in Business Management, and had a son, Mark Gregory in 1984. Greg was selected to be a KC-135 Instructor Pilot at Castle AFB, Calif. where Greg trained new Tanker pilots and Kara Caitlin was born in 1987.

Greg Manglicmot In 1988, Greg left the Air Force as a Captain and was hired as a pilot for Delta Air Lines moving the family to Plano outside of Dallas, Texas. He flew as an L-1011 and 727 copilot before earning the position of Captain in 1999.

As he was preparing to go to Captain’s training, Greg was diagnosed with a large benign Meningioma brain tumor in his frontal lobes. He endured a complicated procedure to remove a portion of the tumor and suffered a serious stroke during recovery. Due to these and other complications, Greg was unable to fly again. He fought a long hard battle with this brain tumor and the many side effects that accompanied it. He had to deal with the loss of his career and passion of flying, which was his dream as a young boy. Not many people can say they achieved their dream, but Greg did in two career fields, first in the Air Force and again with Delta Air Lines.

Over the last 14 years, Greg became very involved in the North Texas Grey Matters Brain Tumor Support group, leading and participating in many events and fund-raisers for research and assistance. He enjoyed participating in Mark’s Boy Scout Troop, attending Kara’s dance recitals and soccer games, watching Air Force Falcon Football, cheering for the Dallas Cowboys, telling really bad jokes and traveling with Diane and the family.

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GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN Greg passed away on Dec. 4, 2013 in Plano, Texas with Diane, Mark and Kara by his side. He is survived by his loving wife of 36 years. Diane Manglicmot. of Plano, Texas; son Mark Manglicmot and wife Shannon of San Antonio, Texas; daughter Kara Torres and husband, Ricardo, of Plano, Texas; grandchildren, Madeline Torres and Kyle Manglicmot; father, Ernesto Manglicmot, and wife, Teresita; mother, Katherine Greene, and husband, Henry; sisters Barbara Schneekluth, Susan Dillard and brother Phillip Manglicmot. Greg was preceded in death by his sister Patricia Chambers.

Greg was laid to rest with Military honors on a beautiful January morning at the Air Force Academy Cemetery. Greg’s first love was his family, children and precious grandbabies and flying into the wild blue yonder was his life’s passion. (Capt. Mark Manglicmot, USAF – Greg’s son)

Robert J. Rehwaldt II, ’78 Robert “Rob” Rehwaldt was born the eldest son to Bob and Miriam Rehwaldt in El Paseo, Texas, on July 21, 1956. The son of a Southern mother and Wisconsin Air Force pilot, Rob learned to love grits, lima beans, and service to his country while traversing the globe from as far as Washington D.C. to Okinawa, Japan. Rob had the pleasure of teasing and guiding his siblings Eric, Frank, Dave, Laura, Dan and Chris, a role he treasured.

He discovered his lifelong love of running at Mascoutah High School through participation in track and crosscountry. Upon high school graduation in 1974, he attended the U.S. Air Force Academy as an honored member of the Roadrunners and “Bad Company.” Here, he first pursued his life’s passion: flying.

He graduated in 1978 and married Paula Field in 1980. They started their family which eventually grew to three children: Travis, Cassidy and Amy. Rob began his career in the sky flying B-52 bombers for the 337th Bomb Squadron in Abilene, Texas. Next, Rob flew F-15s with the 27th Fighter Squadron of the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing at Langley AFB, Va. After completion of active-duty service in the Air Force, Rob Rehwaldt Rob continued to serve his country in the Air National Guard. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2006 Following his time spent in the Air Force, Rob and family moved to Atlanta, Ga., where he began his 25-year career as a commercial pilot for Delta Air Lines. He eventually became an international captain and particularly enjoyed flights to Africa and Asia. Rob truly loved his time spent in the sky.

Rob moved to Vancouver, Wash. In 1989 and finally found his home.

In 2004, he married Karen Gilden, and three years later, twins Tori and Dena arrived. He raised his five children in a house that he loved and lived in for 20 years while looking across a pine-filled valley to the Cascade Mountains. Long runs across the valley led to the completion of several marathons.

Rob spent over half of his life in the role of father, a role in which he particularly excelled. Years of “wee-flips,” soccer games, golf lessons, long-winded lectures, loud morning renditions of the “school days” song, late night viewings of the Wizard of Oz, mini-van drives across Washington with the windows down and classic rock blaring, boogie boarding on the Pacific Coast until all were numb with cold, trips to the barber for trims and treats and nights playing Risk and Acquire – all combined to form three adult children who loved their friend and father very much and two little girls who will miss their Papa terribly.

Although he was taken too soon, we say goodbye to Rob knowing

For more current information about graduate deaths, please visit the AOG web site. www.usafa.org.

If you know of a graduate’s death, please notify the AOG as soon as possible. There have been cases in which the association was not informed in a timely manner.

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his life was full and spent making the world a better place. His kind words, sense of humor, and friendly nature touched many lives across the globe, especially the lives of his five children and family.

Someday, Rob, we will follow you down the Yellow Brick Road and join you somewhere over the rainbow. (Amy Rehwaldt, Rob’s daughter)

John F. Farrell, ’80 Dr. (Maj. Ret) John Farrell was killed in a traffic accident near his home in Wetumpka, Ala. He was born in Portland, Ore., the fourth child of Fred and Jean Farrell. John excelled as a student and athlete, playing varsity football and running track. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1980 and became an officer and pilot, flying C-130s in Asia and the U.S. for 24 years.

John met his wife, Liberty (Libay) Galang, in the Philippines, where they married in 1984. They had a daughter, Joanna Rae, in 1987. As a military family they moved often, living on or near bases in the Philippines, Tokyo, Hawaii, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas and Alabama. Wherever they moved, they made friends quickly and their home was often filled with Americans and Filipinos enjoying great food and karaoke.

John and Libay traveled to visit family and friends and explore historic and natural sites throughout the U.S. and Asia. After Joanna graduated from the University of Portland in 2009, they visited her in Kyrgyzstan, where she served in the Peace Corp for three years.

When he wasn’t flying, John was a student, teacher and scholar of military history and Asian studies. He received John Farrell his master’s degree from the University of the Philippines and earned his Doctorate from the University of Southern California. He served two tours as an associate professor at the Air Force Academy. John retired from the Air Force in 2004 in Little Rock, Ark. After retirement he taught at New Mexico Military Institute and was an Associate Professor at Squadron Officers College at Maxwell Air Force Base at the time of his death.

John is survived by his wife, Libay, and daughter Joanna of Wetumpka; three sisters: Jo Ann Farrell (Bob Gaido), Janet Farrell (Len Walker), Patty Farrell (Bob Watkins); two brothers: Bill Farrell and Tom (Anne) Farrell; one niece, Libby Watkins, and two nephews, David Preston and Will Watkins.

Visitation was on Nov. 3, 2013, at Alabama Heritage Funeral Home. A Funeral Mass was offered at St. Bede the Venerable Catholic Church on November 4, 2013. Burial was at Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo, Ala. (Janet Farrell, John’s sister)

Alan D. Hamm, ’80 Alan D. Hamm, Class of 1980, passed away on Nov. 25, 2013 following a five-month diagnosis of brain cancer.

Alan was born in Wichita, Kans. on Feb. 20, 1958 to Warren and Helen Hamm. Alan’s youth was spent moving around due to his father’s job working for Boeing in the missile fields. His family settled in Pratt, Kans. where he attended Pratt High School and I met him.

Alan graduated in 1976 as Salutatorian of his class and received his appointment to the Air Force Academy.

He had many fond memories to share of his four years there in the “first class with women,” and remained in contact with several friends from his Cadet Squadron 31. He graduated in May 1980 with a Bachelor of Science in Astronautical Engineering and was then off to pilot training in Enid, Okla.

It was Alan’s lifelong dream to follow Alan Hamm in his father’s footsteps and become an Air Force pilot. We were married on June 7, 1980 and began this great adventure together.

After training, Alan was assigned to fly A-10s at Bentwater/Woodbridge, England. Many lifelong relationships were developed there. Our first son, Matthew, was born right before we began this assignment and our second son, Jacob, was born while we were in England. In the winter of 1983, two of Alan’s close friends and mentors were involved in a mid-air collision.

One of those pilots was thankfully rescued. The other, sadly, did not return home to his wife and children. This tragedy caused Alan to reevaluate his career choices; thus paving the way for a new direction in our lives.

Alan loved flying but he loved his family so much more and he decided to give up that dream and serve his country using his degree.

Alan finished his Air Force career at Enid, Okla. as an instructor pilot and in Colorado Springs, Colo. as an Orbital Analyst in Space Command. Our third child, Emily, was born here in the Springs and we have remained here since that time.

As a Captain, Alan separated from the Air Force in 1987 and worked as an engineer for TRW for 10 years. He then went on to work for the Aerospace Corporation as a Project Engineer in Space Security until his death. In October 2013, he received a certificate of appreciation from the National Intelligence Manager for Science and Technology for his pioneering work in developing an advanced method of defining threats to U.S. Space Capabilities.

Alan loved his work but he would tell you his greatest accomplishment in his life was his three children. He was so proud of all of them and their families. I know that his legacy will live on through them. He adored being a grandfather to our five wonderful grandchildren: Landon, Hayden, Ava, Olivia, and Isaiah. We are expecting two more grandchildren in the spring.

A devoted family man, he was an “armchair” sports fan cheering on his favorite Kansas teams, the Chiefs, Jayhawks and Wildcats. Of course, he also loved his Air Force teams. He was an avid reader, collected guns, and loved cars; especially his Mazda Miata.

In addition to our immediate family, Alan is also survived by his parents, Helen and Warren; his two brothers, David and Larry and their families; and many extended family and friends. He is preceded in death by his two newborn siblings. It is with fond memories and heavy hearts that we remember our loving husband, father and grandfather. (Candace Hamm, Alan’s wife)

Philip A. Bossert, Jr., ’82 On Oct. 3, 2013, we lost one of the Academy’s finest graduates when Colonel (Ret) Phil Bossert, passed away. Whether in military service, academia, flying, or in his personal life, Phil remained true to Integrity, Excellence and Service Before Self. He is greatly missed by many.

Phil was born on July 6, 1959, in Queens, N.Y. to Philip Sr. and Virginia Bossert. He grew up in Massapequa, N.Y. with his siblings, David, Caroline, and Alison. His childhood on Long Island was where his passion for his Catholic faith, hard work, selflessness, and service began. His commitment to excellence started at the age of 12, when as a paperboy for Newsday, Phil won a contest signing up the most new subscriptions. The prize was an airplane ride over Long Island in a Cessna. His love of flying was born. At the age of 14, Phil became an Eagle Scout.

After graduating from Massapequa High School, Phil attended the Millard School, a military prep school in Bandon, Ore., on a Falcon Foundation Phil Bossert Scholarship. He was an inspiration to other “Millardies” in his intense dedication to academics and sports.

Phil was always so positive, even during his time on the “sunporch.” He and his fellow preppies received appointments to the USAF Academy.

While at the Academy, he was a member of the SABRE Drill Team. He was one of the sharpest dressed cadets, excelled in athletics and his military bearing was impeccable. As the fall CS-30 Squadron Commander, the “Trolls” won several awards. Phil graduated with a B.S. in International Studies as a distinguished military graduate.

After attending undergraduate pilot training at Reese AFB, Phil went on to become a command pilot with 3,900 hours of flying time, including combat time as a C-141 airlift pilot during Operations JUST CAUSE and DESERT STORM. During his 28 years on active duty, he also had

extensive experience in various command, joint, and multinational assignments. Phil held Master’s degrees in Economics, Military Studies, Strategic Studies, and Public Administration. He also served on the faculties of the Academy and the University of Houston, published 97 articles, two books, and was working on his third book about his deployments to Afghanistan.

Three weeks after retiring from the USAF in October 2010, he deployed a third time to Kabul as a civilian advisor to the Afghan Ministry of Defense at Camp Eggers where he taught 30 senior Afghan generals and colonels how to develop a three-year $15 billion defense budget.

His assignment was cut short by one month when he was medically evacuated on Jan. 29, 2012, with a brain tumor. Three days later, it was removed at the Walter Reed Military Medical Center. His initial recovery was so successful that he was called a medical miracle and continued that reputation with his follow-on treatment at MD Anderson.

Phil spent his last few months working on his company, Civil-Military (CM) Leadership Seminars, that was set to begin offering seminars on leadership. Phil’s passion to write and speak on leadership, strategic planning, transformational change, his Catholic faith, Afghanistan, and military affairs are what led to his founding of CM Leadership Seminars.

Phil battled glioblastoma/brain cancer for 20 months. Many admired his determination and the strength he exhibited as he persevered through this hard fought battle. Phil passed away with his wife, Anita, and their two children, Andrew and Stephanie, at his side. A funeral Mass was held on October 17 at the Academy’s Catholic Chapel followed by a burial at the Academy’s cemetery. Phil has come home to the institution he deeply cherished. (Tom Pfeiffer and John Bridge, classmates and friends)

Nicholas J. Goirigolzarri, ’10 With a passion for living life to its fullest, Nick Goirigolzarri, an adored family member and friend, lost, in a sudden and unexpected onset, his fight with Acute Myeloid Leukemia Nov. 29, 2013. Nicholas Jose Goirigolzarri was born Feb. 26, 1988 in Bend, Ore. He called Roseburg, Ore. home and spent the majority of his first 18 years of life there.

He attended Roseburg High School and was involved in sports, leadership, and multiple clubs. He graduated in 2006 in the top 10 percent of his class. His dream of attending the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs was realized with an early acceptance. Four years later his family and friends proudly joined him in his officer commissioning and graduation.

His love of high school football days developed into a love of Rugby at the Academy, where he played for the USAFA Rugby team. With his competitive spirit, athleticism, and disciplined physical preparation he was selected each year for the United States Air Force National Rugby team and their tournaments around the country.

In his short 25 years his gifts of humor, quick wit, loyalty, compassion, work ethic, athletic ability, determination, and love of life created a tremencircle of friends and “Nick” fans.

Nick Goirigolzarri dous His charismatic smile, spontaneous laugh, and high energy brought such life to any family gathering, rugby competition, fun with his friends and co-workers at Schriever Air Force base in Colorado Springs where he served. As a First Lieutenant, he applied his many gifts to his military career. Beginning in satellite operations, he quickly moved to the squadron’s executive officer then to Milstar Senior Crew Evaluator.

He was the organizer and eager participant of base celebrations, community service, and any athletic competition he could be involved in. Cut short were his many life plans -- work on his MBA, a Captain promotion, his hopes to be stationed in Washington D.C. as an acquisitions officer and dreams of having his own family and children someday.

Nick loved his family. Home was where he drew strength and the greatest of support. He embraced life with his love of athletics, Rugby, fantasy football, travel, cooking, hunting, fishing, and updating the “investment” house that he had so proudly purchased.

(Continued on page 142.)

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Class News Ed Josephson 23 Old Gordon Road Brentwood, NH 03833 H: (603) 778-1495 Cell: (603) 770-6003 Josephson@comcast.net

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Members

First up, Art Elser reports a reunion with an old friend. Art and Kathy flew down to Denton, TX for Thanksgiving to visit daughter Barbara, her partner Lisa and grandson Louis. Art had earlier discovered that the Cavanaugh Flight Museum had a great display of war birds, including an O-2A (21334) from Vietnam. It was the same bird Art flew from Pleiku on several night missions along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. One was with HT Johnson in the left seat with Art operating the starlight scope in the right seat. Later he flew the same aircraft out of DaNang during the siege at Khe Sanh. The museum arranged a personal guide, Russell Martin, to meet them at the Skymaster. Russell, the director of maintenance for the museum, supervised restoration of 21334 and flies it at air shows.

You may not know it but Art is an accomplished author, poet, teacher and naturalist. I have read his most recent work, We Leave the Safety of the Sea. It provoked unexpected emotional responses in this airlifter. Go on the Internet and Google “Art Elser” to see what you find. I liked Art’s Meanderings.

Did you know every time you drive your car you’re depending on the invention of a classmate? According to the gbtribune published in Great Bend, KS, in 1974 Jim Vance invented and patented the serpentine belt when working for Gates Rubber Company. He first offered his invention to General Motors but got no interest. When 1978 Ford Mustang came out with a V-4 it didn’t do well. “They needed to retool to a V-8,” said Jim. He showed Ford how they could use the serpentine drive belt without modifying the engine compartment. Ten thousand Mustangs were built with the belt. Two years later 100 percent of the Mustangs had the belt. GM got on the bandwagon by 1982 followed by many other carmakers. “Now you can’t buy a car or truck without a serpentine drive belt,” says Jim. Jim’s inventiveness didn’t end there. He received 34 patents during his civilian career, mostly for oil field equipment. Next time you go by an oil field look for an inflatable packer hose, inflatable down-hole packer, or reinforced inflatable packer. You can tell the workers you know the guy who invented them.

Most of the “Virginia” bunch had their annual Christmas retreat to Boars Head Inn in Charlottesville, VA. They compared notes on their latest medical challenges (that must have taken awhile) and shared fond memories of their flying days. While a few didn’t make it due to IFR conditions, enough made the trek for a great day of fun and war stories over a good meal.

other ethnic Germans, were forced to leave home, land and livelihood, most going to German refugee camps. Anne’s story had a happier ending.

The two families bonded immediately and are, to this day, three generations later, a part of each other’s family. For this family reunion their hosts gave a daylong party at their large farm near Munich.

They did it again! In 2007 RL and Eugenia Penn met the “7 continents in 12 months” challenge. This time they travelled around the world in grand style —First Class by air and the equivalent on the ground. They revisited adventure places, like Alaska and a safari in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Zanzibar), and great cities including Tokyo, London, Paris and Vancouver. The new experiences included Hong Kong, Singapore, Myanmar, Dubai, Maldives and Barbados. It took 10 months (with occasional returns to USA) to complete the full circle.

The highlight of the trip? Seeing new babies in East Africa. It seemed every kind of animal had offspring running around with the parents doing their best to provide food and safety. Another high point was everyday life in Myanmar a country newly opened to the outside world. Ten days were spent enjoying the rich local culture and sights like the omnipresent barefoot Buddhist monks always talking on the cellphone. RL and Euginia also went diving and snorkeling in Maldives as a great way to relax. What else could be on their bucket list?

Jack Hundermer sent a nice summary of his and Shirley’s activities last year, a “doozie” involving travel, family, health and finances. A few things really stand out, especially Jack going skydiving for his 79th celebration.

They took the AOG grads steamboat cruise and were Sabre Society Donors the only ones from ’59 but Marcus and Ginny Anderson from ’61 were there. Despite the lack of familiar faces it was “the best cruise ever for two kids from the banks of the Ohio River.” With the urge for river travel still in their blood, they flew to Memphis to stay at the Peabody to see the ducks marching to the fountain. Then it was the American Queen for New Orleans and seven days of river town tours, river lore briefings and a program of great meals, entertainment and incredible personal services.

They still spend time both in Cincy and Grand Cayman but Jack has had to trade his diving gear for a nighttime oxygen generator. As he notes, “hopefully I’ll soon have some definitive answers after all these flippin tests. Yes, they are still ‘practicing’ medicine.”

Jack closed with these thoughts: “Some friends have suffered grievous losses in ’13 and our heart goes out to them, and we pray for their peace and comfort. To all of us lucky ones, I truly hope we have earned it. So, God bless us everyone, grant us health, happiness, and let us love and be loved unconditionally.”

From Wayne Pittman a very special note. He says Pete Todd was always close to the 307th bomb wing and president of their reunion group for years. One of the alumni of the 307th, Mike Gingrich, lives in Dayton and was as touched by Pete’s passing as we all were. Mike and Wayne got together to memorialize Pete in the AF Museum’s new Legacy Wall as seen it the photo.

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(If you would like more info on the Wall go to www.legacydataplates. com/.)

Thought for the quarter: Laws control the lesser man... Right conduct controls the great one.Mark Twain Shown at the Boars Head In are , from left, Brenda Welch, Bill and Anna Telford, H.T. and Ann Johnson, Steve and Patty Hamer, Marian and Mike Reardon, Judy Jay, Joe Morgan, Bev and Robin Kozelka, and Bonnie and Wayne Jefferson.

Bill and Anne Telford have decided to move to a beautiful retirement community in Blacksburg, VA and are building a home in the “active seniors” part of the full-care community.

In June, Bill and Anne went to Germany with Anne’s oldest son and his family to celebrate her birthday and their 25th wedding anniversary.

It was the trip of a lifetime. They visited a family who had given Anne, her mother and her grandmother refuge at the end of WWII (at the time Anne’s father was missing on the Russian front). Anne’s family had been expelled by the Czechs from the Sudetenland. They, along with 11 million

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A.J. (Rosie) Cler, Jr. Members 5423 Myrtle Wood Sarasota, FL 34235-4624 Phone: (941) 371-4843 E-mail: RCtherose@aol.com Class Web Site: www.usafa.net/1960 “This has been a year of travel. We started in February with a 20-day cruise on the Queen Victoria from San Francisco to Sydney,” wrote Frank and Eve Mayberry. “Our friends Gill and Peter flew from Sydney to join us at a time-share in Point Arena, CA, then we left on the cruise, making

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Class News stops in Maui, Hawaii, Apia, Samoa, and Sydney. In Australia we spent a nostalgic week at Bateman’s Bay to rest for our return to Hawaii near Hilo for a week, and then took a night cruise to see the red hot lava flowing into the sea. After returning to Mesquite, it was to Panama City (FL) for a week, then Biloxi for another week. All the beautiful antebellum homes along the seafront were gone, victims of Katrina. We then went to Long Beach, CA to see our son and grandson and pick up his dog, Kayla, to take to our daughter’s home in Colorado; then back to Mesquite (NV) for a trip to Moab, Utah, then to Pagosa Springs for a week with our daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren Raechel and Merritt. Besides enjoying the hot springs, we took a trip on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.

Our grandson, Merritt, took the opportunity to make a film for YouTube: ‘My Summer Vacation 2013 TRAIN RIDE.’ My brother, Ted, and sister-in-law, Darlene, also joined us in Pagosa Springs.

“We then went to our daughter’s place near Denver, where Kayla was introduced to her animals and became one of the clan. In September we headed to Europe. First we stopped in England for a few days to Sabre Society see Eve’s brother’s family and some friends. From there Donors we flew to Budapest for a week. We saw all the sights and a few shows. It is a lovely city. Then we flew to Kiev for a week, seeing the sights and taking in a show. This was followed by a cruise down the Dnieper River to the Black Sea, terminating in Odessa. On the way we visited several towns, including Yalta where ‘The Conference of Betrayal’ took place. We saw a Cossack show at one stop, where great horse-riding skills were shown. We also went to Balaklava where the ‘Charge of the Light Brigade’ took place.

We spent a week in Odessa, and taking in opera and ballet at the opera house, which must be the most beautiful in the world. Tickets were inexpensive, costing $20 for a box seat. We stopped in England on the way back and saw the stage version of ‘War Horse.’ Now, all we have left to do are two trips to California for Thanksgiving and Christmas with our son.”

“The weather at our home in Scotland last summer was storybook-delightful—70s for highs, blue skies, rain as required, only between 2 and 4 a.m. (a welcome change from the past several years in which winter continued year round),” wrote George and Evey Elsea. “Our kids and grandkids are thriving. We had a houseful for the Thanksgiving week here in Texas, with both our son and daughter, three of four grandkids aged 13, 14, 15, plus two cats and a dog. I was able to fly our daughter and the three boys in the Tiger Moth one fine afternoon.”

“We stayed in Connecticut for the holidays, and returned to Florida (Naples) early on January 14th. Carol had a double knee replacement in March. We spent Thanksgiving with Carol’s mom in Texas, she’s in mediocre health at 94 years,” wrote Brian and Carol Kaley.

“I’m still flying my airplane—three more years and I can join the UFOs (United Flying Octogenarians),” wrote Tony Bilello. “All’s well here in Denver. I have a cousin in Palm Harbor (FL) and a nephew in Jacksonville; if I get down your way, we can get together for a snort and bite of food. Carol and I just returned from a 42-day cruise of the Mediterranean with Jim and Judy Bujalski. It was a fun trip, but, we couldn’t make it to my ancestors’ home in the heart of Sicily.”

accepted a job with USAA in San Antonio. Matthew is in his 3rd year of college in Austin, Jared is a senior in high school in Houston, Caitlin works as a realtor with her mother, Chad is a junior at U. of Texas and Brent is in high school in Austin. Dale’s mother is doing O.K. in Lawton, OK at the age of 94, and is still in her home of 63 years. And, good friends Ron and Connie Yates and Andi Biancur have visited us at our ranch.”

George Fries wrote: “Becke and I are now in a two bedroom home (AKA “apartment”) at a local retirement community. We spent the holidays with our nurse/daughter Stefanie and her USMC husband. We’re going to visit Niagara Falls and Nashville soon.”

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Tony and Carol “We‘ve done little travel this year except to visit family and the Thud pilots’ reunion in Fort Worth,” wrote Dale and Ina Thompson. “We fighter pilots may look a little older and may have slowed down some; but when we get together we take up where we left off, tell lots of war stories, and feel young again. We still spend much time at our ranch. We’ve had visits this year from our daughter Karen, son Dale and his wife, Amanda, and son Brent, and daughter Stacey and her daughter Emma. Our oldest grandson, Dr. Kyle Walker, spent one of his rare weeks off with us—he’s in his third year of residency in psychiatry at Harvard. Brett graduates from Texas A&M this spring with a degree in Computer Engineering, and has

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The Waddle Family “We’re still busy with our church Chancel Choir,” said Mary and Jim Waddle, discussing their work at United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs. “We sang a patriotic concert in February (’13) featuring Randall Thompson’s Testament of Freedom. In May, we sang Mendelssohn’s Elijah. On December 8th, 2013, we sang Handel’s Messiah.” (Also: they now have a GREAT granddaughter!)

Howie and Jutta Howie Whitfield writes from Jamul, CA: “This summer I spent a few days with my two daughters Dawn and Lynn in the Olympic Peninsula, WA, hiking and enjoying the area. Later, my companion Jutta and I went to Oahu, HI, for a week to visit her son David, SSgt in the Marine Corps, his wife and their newborn baby girl. David left in September for Afghanistan.

Thanksgiving this year was hosted by my daughter Lynn and her husband Eric, at their house in Moses Lake, WA. My other daughter Dawn and husband Dean drove over from Orting near Tacoma. All three granddaughters are in college and doing well. The oldest, Lauren, graduates in May with a teaching degree from Whitworth University in Spokane. I have decided to retire from being Executive Director at the Naval Helicopter Association in May after the 2014 symposium in Norfolk, VA. I feel fine, except for a little arthritis in my hands and wrists.”

Final Roll Call: James Clinton O’Rourke died 3 February 2014 of pneumonia following a long illness. (There are currently 60 deceased and 167 living classmates).

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Earl N. “Nelson” O’Rear Members 50582 Stonington Drive Granger, IN 46530-8243 H: (574) 273-2597 E-mail: enoandtjo@gmail.com Class Web Site: www.usafa1961.org Terry Norris took his last flight at Arlington National Cemetery on December 16th. Our DC Contingent serenaded Terry and his family with the

Air Force Song at the end of his Memorial Service. The crowd, including his widow, Sandy, were very appreciative. Classmates/spouses attending were Twy Williams, Bill and Theda Foster, Hector Negroni, Bill Stackhouse, and Lowell and Sandy Jones. Mary Francis Koerner also attended as the Air Force’s “Arlington Lady” for the graveside service. She requested to do this for Terry. She handed Sandy a card signed by the AF Chief of Staff and his wife, as well as a personal note when Sandy was receiving the flag. Thanks to Mary Francis for this service, which she does for many other Air Force fallen, as well.

Gordon Clarke’s interment ceremony was held January 8th at Arlington National Cemetery. Peggy and her family were very gracious hosts.

Despite the below-freezing weather, which limited our classmates’ attendance, the military honors consisting of the Honor Guard, horse-drawn caisson, rider-less horse, firing squad, bugler, chaplain, and the Army’s Arlington Lady performed superbly. Lowell Jones, John Kohout, and Jack McDonough represented our class.

On January 3rd, the Executive Director of the American Astronautical Society (AAS) notified Tom Eller that he had been elected to be an AAS Fellow, limited to 1% of the membership. Typically, four to six are elected annually. Tom joins a distinguished group, which has included Werner Von Braun, so this is a distinct honor. The AAS is a sister society to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) with whom they jointly conduct two technical meetings annually. Tom was selected as an AIAA Associate Fellow in 1982.

Mark and Ginger Anderson are planning their first trip to Australia and New Zealand this spring. Mark, Bob Wagner, and Jim Ulm are working on the first ever Reese 63B Pilot Training Reunion, May 8-10, in San Antonio So far, Sabre Society about a dozen classmates plan to attend; hopefully, a few Donors more will join them.

When Bob Best’s twice-repaired knee locked, he tumbled head over heels down two flights of stairs. He attributes sustaining no additional damage (other than his knee) to our unarmed combat training at USAFA when he learned: (1) how to get beaten without crying, and (2) how to fall. Bob is having a total knee replacement in late February. He still hopes to move to Florida but first needs to sell his house in Arkansas.

Stu and Marnie Boyd are planning a 50th Anniversary trip to Paris and the British Isles—six days in Paris, eight in England, eight in Scotland, and eight in Ireland—in October and would appreciate any “things not to miss” ideas from those of you who have been there. Stu will do some “family hunting” in Scotland and Ireland. They will stay in B&Bs and travel by train and metro except for Ireland, where they will drive their rental car. They already have city passes for London and Paris.

In October, the surgeon who resurfaced Pat Buckley’s right hip a year ago cleared him for normal activities. Pat is easing into jogging and planning to ski several weeks this winter. Marilyn’s daughter’s family visited from England in November. Pat and Marilyn had lunch with Gene and Judy Davis and visitors Jerry and Sue Lefton, as well as dinner with them on the waterfront in November. When Jim Darnauer and family visited the Kennedy Space Center, all met for a waterfront dinner in Cocoa Beach.

Pat and Marilyn enjoyed Christmas week with his brother and his wife, and in January, with Gene Davis, hosted a waterfront lunch for Jack and Diane McDonough. At the end of the month, Pat and Marilyn departed for their two-month Winter-in-Europe trip.

Gene Davis said that several of our classmates often enjoyed his mother-in-law’s (Jane Russell’s) hospitality in Colorado Springs. She lamented to Judy during our time at the Academy that, “Your friends are costing me $50 a weekend in booze and food.” Later, Gene told her, “Yes, but look at your return on investment. I married Judy.” Pat and Marilyn Buckley joined Gene and Judy for a celebration of Jan’s life on January 18th. Jan died December 18th. Any of her former guests wishing to contribute in her name, should contribute to the Wounded Warrior’s Project. Jan owned a coffee, tea, and spice shop called The Spice of Life. All of us will miss the 97 years of the Spice of Life she provided.

Tom and Anne Eller will be snowbirds in Florida through most of March.

Don and Pat Grant are again wintering in St. George, UT. While visiting their daughters in Salt Lake City, Don passed out in the Costco parking lot, luckily across the street from a hospital. At the ER they discovered his heart was in 3rd degree blockage. So, he received an emergency pacemaker. No golf for Don again for two months.

Henry Howe and Peggy Ogden-Howe are planning an extended 50th Anniversary celebration beginning with three weeks in Hawaii split between the Big Island and Maui in February. During June and July they will travel around the US to avoid the Texas heat. August and September will be in Iceland and then Prague, before proceeding down the Danube—Budapest to Bucharest—to the Black Sea. They will have a formal celebration with friends on October 19 with a lunch reception at Briarwood Retreat Center in Argyle, TX, where Henry was formerly the interim Executive Director.

He invites all classmates but needs to know your interest in attending by e-mailing him at henry.howe39@gmail.com.

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Lowell Jones and our DC classmates had to cancel two luncheons, in December and January, because of ice and snow.

In October, Bob Kellock and Samantha participated in the three-day 99s Club Airborne Treasure Hunt from Tucson Intl and the Airport Garden Hilton. Their other traveling has been two-month-long visits in Patagonia, with Samantha’s uncle’s red 1975 Mustang II a primary activity.

The Mustang Club is quite active. They spent Thanksgiving in Long Beach for the first time in six years, went to Nampa, ID (via commercial air) for Samantha’s aunt’s 94th birthday in early December, and returned to Patagonia for the winter holidays. They are looking forward to three reunions: UPT Class 63B in San Antonio, 6-10 May; Blind Bat V (C-130 Flare/FAC/ ABCCC) in Las Vegas, 19-20 May; and FAC Homecoming at Eglin #9 Hurlburt Field, Ft. Walton Beach, 21-26 October.

The McCleskey family had an event-filled time, starting with plans to visit Arkansas at the end of October. They canceled that trip after Lee/Mac lost his grip while climbing the ladder on the back of the travel trailer to wash it. He managed an incomplete aileron roll before striking the ground.

The sudden stop broke his arm and his pelvis. The gash on his head and massive muscle sprains of his left leg were incidental. Two sons helped with many things, including getting the house ready for Christmas and a major function for Joanie’s ladies group. All that went well; and all of their children and spouses, and the grandchildren (eight adults, 15 children, and three dogs) came and stayed portions of the period from 26 December through 11 January. Although it was controlled chaos, they loved every minute of it.

Lee expected to see the orthopedic doctor in February releasing him from all restrictions; however, Joanie has a few words to say about ladders!

Charlie and Lynda Neel hosted the Colorado Springs classmates to a Christmas celebration. They ate, drank, sang, and—best of all—laughed a LOT. Attending were Tom and Susan Conley, Randy and Jan Cubero, Tom and Anne Eller, Wayne and Erna Haring, Dean and Jo Jones, Worth and Joan McCue, Terry and Carleen Storm, and Frank and Claire Willis.

Hector and Joan Negroni arrived safely at their Florida winter quarters on 14 January and are now “operational.” They have some great neighbors, who stocked their refrigerator and pantry with essentials prior to the Negronis arrival. They will be there until 30 May. They traveled down via Amtrak’s AutoTrain from the DC area to Sanford, FL. Although Hector was pleased not to have driven 1,000 miles on I-95, he was less than satisfied with the entrée, wine, and sleeping accommodations. Pat Buckley had a much better experience with Amtrak in 2008 when he and Marilyn rode round-trip from DC to Orlando for their Florida house hunting. Their price was competitive with flying, they had a good night’s sleep and two good meals (dinner and breakfast), and the staff was efficient and courteous. They would do it again, assuming a competitive price.

John and Mary Payne are still enjoying life in Oxford, MS. A new greatgrandson has been a major item of interest on Mary’s side of the family.

John’s term as President of the Homeowners Association ended in September. Having to deal with eight different builders in a growing subdivision was like a full-time job. John’s minor ailment that kept him from going to the reunion in Ft. Walton has turned into a major problem. He has a degenerative disk in his lumbar region, allowing the upper vertebra to pinch his spinal cord. On January 31st, he had back surgery and went on the Injured Reserve list for about four months. He hopes to be able to travel by the time of the 63B Reunion in May. John plans to use some of his idle time to catch up with phone visits.

Sarah and Charlie Stebbins survived the great West Virginia Water Disaster—7+ days without tap water. (Thankfully, they missed only one of their regular Saturday night baths.) They’re still a little leery about drinking from the taps and are living on bottled water for now (and, of course, Brice’s fine wines). Anyone planning to visit Charleston should plan to stay with them.

Carleen and Terry Storm will be traveling to L.A. frequently starting in June, when daughter Shari’s family move there from Castle Rock. Her husband is getting a big raise and executive VP position with California Pizza Kitchens. Their grandson is also going into the Marines then.

Ad Thompson took a three-week trip to France and Monaco in October, spending a week in Paris and several other cities in south and central France, plus some time at a couple of wineries—which were good but not better than Brice’s pinot! Ad flew home on an Airbus A380 directly to Los Angeles, which was very comfortable. He’s not sure he wants Ma Boeing to know that he traveled on the competition’s jet though.

Thanks to all who contributed. A greatly expanded version, with pictures, is available at our web site.

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John W. “Jack” Jamba Members 4 Judy Court Satellite Beach, FL 32937 H: (321) 777-5520 O: (321) 861-6279 Cell: (321) 432-1370 E-Mail: jwjamba@aol.com

Happy New Year, Redtags. I hope you all have had a great start for 2014 and avoided the nasty “polar vortex” that the North Pole sent to us as a late Christmas present I’ll start with an email from Paul Landers. “On 6 November a group of Texas RTBs and spouses gathered in Plano for a day of stories, golf, food, drink, and...whatever. The event was hosted graciously (again) by Bob and Christi Staib at Prestonwood Country Club. The golf scramble was shortened due to darkness; too much time was spent searching for balls. I will attach a photo of the RTBs with spouses. I think you once told me that Checkpoints prefers just the guys, but with this lovely group maybe they’ll change their minds. (Scribe note: The guidance is that any picture has to have a grad in it. So a husband and wife picture is OK. Or a group picture like the one below.) BTW...you may have noticed that last year some of the RTBs were cut out of the photo when printed, although their names were included in the caption below it. Is there something I should know about size or pixels or format to avoid that? (I talked to Tom Kroboth, who prepares the Class Columns in Checkpoints. He said the optimum photo size is 250dpi. But he can work with larger pictures, if necessary. Also, this is the first time I have heard of a picture being clipped.) Jo Anne and I send our best to you and your family, hoping you are well and happy and that 2014 will bring you many blessings. Paul”

From left are the Singletons, Williams, Butchkos, Staibs, Hallagers, Landers, Dave Roe (wife not present), Dentremonts, Dinsmores, Stantons, and J Smiths.

From Shep; “Don Shepperd and P.K. Robinson at Misty reunion in Florida with Ron Fogleman (’63) and his father on his 90th birthday. They were on their way to play golf. A few days earlier his dad shot a 92 -- WOW! -- I’m hoping for both – Shep” Thanks for the news and quit slicing the ball.

From left are Don Shepperd, Ron Fogleman’s father, Ron Fogleman (’63) and Paul Robinson.

By dogsled from Phil Merkel. “On Dec. 28th Cis and Phil Merkel celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. Included were 6 beautiful foster children between the ages of 2 and 12 and under the care of their 23-yearold grandson and his wife of less than a year. It appears that adoption is in the future, and that Cis and Phil will soon be able to make the claim of having the most great-grandchildren in the Red Tag community. Any challengers? We regard this as our own wonderful Christmas Story. Happy New Year!” Thanks, Phil. What a wonderful story.

Then there was the Army game at USAFA. That 28-42 score was great to see.

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It was a bit chilly but at least it wasn’t that same weather we had at the 50th Reunion the year before. Anyway, the accompanying picture shows how the Redtags enjoyed getting together.

From left in back standing: Bob McNaughton, Jon Staples, Don Shepperd, Jerry Smith, Dave Roe, PK Robinson, and George Bifolchi. Seated: George Larson, Jim Mack, and Huck Spory. Don Egan, at right, was a late arrival.

Sam Dehne sent a video of his presentation before the Reno, NV, City Council. He has been doing that for over 20 years and has attended hundreds of meetings. Also, Sam’s granddaughter Monet got married and Sam made a special music album for the grand occasion. He sent a picture of the album cover showing Garth Wilson proposing to Monet.

Great album cover! Thanks, Sam and our best wishes to the newly-married couple.

Tom Young and Chuck Cheeseman shared a deer blind during Florida’s muzzleloader season for deer. Unfortunately, the biggest wild animal they saw all day was a scrawny gray squirrel.

I got this interesting email from Don Shepperd. He was recalling a memorable incident from his Air Force assignments. To wit: “We were sitting Victor Alert at Hahn in 1965 in the Hun. I can’t remember if we pulled 4 or 6 lines but we were playing cards in the alert shack and had just taken a break. Our personal ‘aircrew firearm’ at the time was the .45 carried in our survival vest. Jimmy Brinkman took the clip out of his gun and was dry-firing out the shack window at the nuke weapon mounted under the belly of his aircraft, probably a B-61 (.3-340 kt, dial-able) about 75 yards away: Cock- click; Cock-click; Cock-click. He reinserted the clip in the gun and aimed again: Cock -- just as we all shouted -- NO! -- BAM! -- perfect hole thru the alert shack window.

Our immediate collective reaction was - HOLY CRAP! Now the question was, did he hit the nuke, or not? A really big-time major reportable “Bent Spear.”

It was collectively decided not to report the incident but rather to break out the window to hide the hole and whistle past the graveyard and just let Jimmy B casually but VERY CAREFULLY inspect his bomb during the afternoon two-man-concept systems run-up check with crew chief (we were all now co-conspirators and officially criminals).

Later in the day Jimmy B casually strolled to the aircraft with crew chief and whistled while he worked. We all noticed his check took a lot longer than usual. He came back with a dour expression and we expected the worst. He suddenly broke into a smile and reported, “No sweat, guys. You know nobody ever hit anything with a .45.”

I think he called a buddy from the Rod&Gun Club to replace the bullet when he got off alert because the rounds had to be accounted for by PE.

Foreground: Caitlin and Caleigh, the twins -- no we can’t tell them apart either, but they are younger than we RTBs. Then from left are Betsy Roe, Rose Shepperd, Don Shepperd, Al Mosher, “Ming” Mangold, and Dave Roe.

And, that was just one incident when Jimmy Brinkman almost ended up in jail - he lived on the edge and the world is a sadder place for his loss. “ Dave and Betsy Roe came driving thru Arizona on a southwest tourist circuit and we had a small lunch get-together with Tucson RTBs. The accompanying photo shows the festive gathering. That generated a question: “How come Al Mosher still has all his hair? It’s not fair -Shep.” Well, we can initiate a “Hair Growth Factor” to help eliminate unwanted furry people at our gatherings.

Sabre Society Checkpoints wants to interact with the Long Blue Donors Line by seeking content for the subjects listed below.

We value graduate participation so we can maintain the magazine’s status as an award-winning publication! Send Us Your Favorite Vegetarian Recipes. Or how about Close Encounters with Unidentified Flying Objects. Checkpoints wants to know about that time you saw something you still can’t quite explain. Or maybe you visited a place that no one else goes to or can reach. Send a hi-res (300 DPI) digital image of you and your Checkpoints magazine at a unique locale and your photo could end up in the magazine. That’s it for this time. God bless; Good luck. Go Redtags!

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Norman I. (Skip) Lee 63119 E. Cat Claw Lane Tucson, AZ 85739-2058 Home: (520) 825-7980 Cell: (520) 241-3498 54wrs63@gmail.com Class Web Site: www.usafa63.org

Here is a piece from Fred Bauer on the CS-2 Squadron Rejoin. Fred wrote that one of his strongest memories was how hard it was for him to herd all the Class of 1963 members of CS-2 together at one place and at the same time just prior to graduation to get a photo and I paraphrase: it just might be that this photo represents the FIRST time that we (just us, alone) got together (as a separate, identifiable group at the same place at the same time). Yes, we were ‘all together’ for the four years we were Cadets, but we were always coming and going, together in other sub-groups, and mingling with other people, but I cannot think of another time when we gathered together -- just us. I have always cherished this photo in my album and in my mind, but this new insight makes this photo even more special for me.

“I reflect on the fact that, after Graduation, we were dispersed into the Air Force, like seeds in the wind, and we rarely saw each other again. In our minds, we knew we were all out there, somewhere, but we rarely met again, if ever. In all my Air Force assignments, I rarely served in a unit with ’63 Grads, although I did serve with a few Academy Grads of other classes.”

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The Association of Graduates informed us of the death of our classmate Col (Ret) Robert L. Murphy, CS-14. Bob passed away on 19 Nov 2013 at his home in Mountain Home, AR. Entombment will be in Baxter Memorial Gardens. The family suggest donations can be made to the St Peter’s Scholarship Fund; PO Box 298; Mountain Home, AR 72654. Condolences may be sent to his family in care of his daughter, Theresa L. Murphy, 1941 Old Turnpike Rd; Oakham, MA 01068.

Gift Report: Diff sent a report saying “this is the final report on our 50th Reunion Gift Campaign. We reached 63 percent participation – yes, 63 percent – an amazing achievement! Thanks again to all Squadron Reps who did a terrific job reminding and emphasizing the importance of our class gift. Two squadrons, 21st and 22nd, achieved 100 percent participation.

“The Class Endowment Fund is well funded at nearly $900,000. The USAFA Endowment manages the fund and will make distributions to the Air Force Academy each year for character and leadership development.

The Endowment’s mission is to provide superior stewardship. As a result, we as donors will receive annual reports on distributions and status of the fund.

“Thanks for your outstanding support. On to the 55th; let’s all be there!”

There is still time to join that long line of participation. Our giving officer at the USAFA Endowment is Razelle Doherty razelle.doherty@usafaendowment.org. She can be reached at (719)472-0300, ext. 222. The Endowment address is USAFA Endowment 3116 Academy Drive USAF Academy, CO 80840.

Cadet Squadron 2; then and now!

Squadron Reunion Photo: Fred says he “looks at our 50-Reunion photo and I see material changes, yes; but also I see how hard it is, still, to get us all together. In fact, I look at the names in the ‘golden box,’ and I see that, materially, ALL of us will NEVER be together again. So, here is another insight: our Squadron Graduation Photo might not only be the first time that we came together; but also, it surely is the LAST time that we were all together.” Thanks Fred—a great contribution and spot on.

Hank Hoffman wrote about his memories of the 50th Reunion and sent this photograph of our two intrepid Class Flyby pilots. He wrote that “Saturday was the day for me! Lucky Ekman, my table mate from UPT, was determined to have a flyby. All such aerial activity had been canceled with the sequester budget cuts, so he arranged to fly recently deceased classmate Bob Mazet’s Spanish fighter/trainer, a SAETA HA-200B over the foot-

Septuagenarian Acrobatics Team: Lucky and Hank.

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Class News ball game with Notre Dame. He even paid for the gas. My own lucky star was shining bright, and Lucky selected me to fly in his back seat! If I had a motto, it would be ‘Better to be lucky than good!’ I had done a flyby or two, but never over the Academy or a football game. I was totally stoked to be a part of the Academy’s first septuagenarian acrobatics team! I had considered that it could well be my last flight in a military fighter, but not that it could be my last flight, period. All the same, two weeks later I had a triple bypass heart operation, and I’m sure glad we didn’t find that out while airborne over the Academy in front of just everyone. Cheated Death again!”

It plays out that according to an e-mail about the bypass procedure Hank was going to an appointment for an elective angiogram when the cardiologist found the need for the bypass operation. Indeed, lucky. He Sabre Society reports his health is no longer an issue.

Donors 2014 Mini-reunion: Bob Hayes wrote he will not be available to participate in the 2014 mini if it is held during the Navy football game (first weekend in Oct). He added if a local brave soul were to volunteer to be the go-to person for that weekend Bob can help organize/plan it beforehand. Otherwise, the mini will need to be held during a September football weekend. By the end of March we should know the football schedule. We’ll keep you updated.

Very Important Subject: If you haven’t logged-on to the Class of 1963 Web Site and brought up the USAFA Class Histories site you should. I spent a lot of time over the holidays looking at and listening to the many videos posted by our classmates. They are funny, informative and insightful and downright riveting. A real treasure.

Classmates who have yet to record their videos for our USAFA CLASS Histories website are welcome to record and submit a DVD to Gil Merkle.

Also, there are video kits with Gordon Bredvik in C-Springs, Gil Merkle in San Antonio, and Lou Matjasko and John Borling in Northern Illinois. A good number of bios and other personal data are still missing for many classmates.

Questions on how to access and update can be directed to Gil at merkleg@ texas.net or Lou at usafa63historian@msn.com. Videos and Photos are still available for purchase—again the info is on the Class Web page.

Lou also passed along a photo last September that has yet to find its way into the Class News. Since my records don’t show Dave Johnson has ever appeared in the Class News it needs to be published!

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on the reunion and we all owe them for carrying the load for us. By the way, the Antlers Hotel is giving us the same room rate as last time!

Class History – For those of you who haven’t posted a history or story on the class history website – DO IT NOW! (I think Rod said something like, “I ask for your attention to the Class History Program.”) They plan to give a CD of the class history to each reunion registrant.

Class of 2014 -- 2nd Lt Bars – On May 27th, we will be presenting 2nd Lt bars to the new lieutenants in the Class of 2014. We need two of us for each Squadron. Although the deadline for contacting Rod Wells or Claude Billings Sabre Society to volunteer is past, I’m sure they can use help even this Donors late in the planning for the event. With at least 40 of us in one place, it looks like a practice-reunion to me!

Mini-Reunion in Michigan – John Shriner reported that Harry Pearce hosted the annual 7th Squadron at his lake house in Bay Harbor, MI. He took the group on a beautiful boat tour along the Lake Michigan shore and into Lake Charlevoix. Due to his exemplary naval skills and iron-fisted discipline, no one fell overboard! The attendees in the photo, from left are Tim O’Keefe, Pat Durick, JJ Williams, Tom Eggers, Lou Comadena, Jock Rosenberger, Harry Pearce, Scott Sudmalis and John Shriner. Dan Trial also attended but missed the photo-op.

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Harry hosts another 7th Squadron reunion. I don’t know about the boat, but those are neat go-carts on the dock!

REALLY mini-reunion in Texas – Paul Belmont wrote, “I had the pleasure of spending a day with my 20th squadron mate Ford Keating (and his charming wife, Martha) at their lovely home in Austin. We had a delightful time recollecting and reflecting. The attached photo attests that we both still have hair.”

The Johnsons and Matjaskos on the Lake Michigan shore just north of Two Rivers, WI last August. From left are Karen M, Mary J, Dave and Lou. That’s it for now. Thank you all for all the great inputs. Until next time we ask everyone to stay healthy and safe.

Bob Hovde 206 Walker Ave. Huntsville, AL 35801 (H) (256) 532-3923 (M) (256) 348-9794 bob@hovde.us

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Reunion – The 50th Reunion Planning Committee met in early January to make an Ops Plan to get from now to the Reunion (3-6 September). The committee chairs are working their parts of the plan as best as they can until the Academy finalizes the football schedule. Expect to get another letter from the committee soon with more information and registration instructions. Plan on a golf game, a Thursday night Soireé, a Friday night banquet and a tailgate/football game on Saturday, with Squadron Socials Saturday night and a Prayer Breakfast sometime. It’s possible that a Thursday or away football game may change the schedule some, but we’ll work everything in somehow. There are a couple of dozen classmates working

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Paul Belmont and Ford Keating practicing for the reunion.

Another mini in California – Dave Neal wrote, “As you can see from the attached photo, the elusive Paul Matthews can be drawn out of his lair.

We chatted over a couple of beers last night in Omaha. However, he insists that crowds of more than two people make him uncomfortable and, hence, unlikely to attend the 50 year reunion.

JOIN THE SABRE SOCIETY! YOUR MONEY HELPS FUND CADET WING PROGRAMS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE GO UNFUNDED. CALL (719) 472-0300 X200.

“I did enjoy spending some time with Paul. He is still upset with Haley for not acknowledging the fact that he outpointed Bob in their boxing match. (Bob insists that he won.) ‘Grudge Match’?

“It was 4 degrees F when I left Lincoln for Omaha yesterday, a clear reminder of why I moved to California 46 years ago.”

do it. Although Al and Trash were classmates both from the Dirty Thirty of Cadet Squadron Six, Al was barely an acquaintance of Karen. Al flew from California to Birmingham, was tested and determined to be a match. On July 10, Karen Tindall received a kidney from Big Al Pfeltz. I’m happy to report that as of this date both Karen and Big Al are recovering nicely and the kidney now known as Little Al, is functioning perfectly. For anyone who might want to read Karen’s journal documenting the period leading up to the transplant and her recovery it can be found here: http://www. caringbridge.org/visit/prayersforkaren.

Paul, you think YOU have hair? Check out ‘Grodave’!

Classmates in the News – Congratulations are in order (again!) for two of our most distinguished classmates. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) announced that Paul Kaminski is being presented with the title of Honorary Fellow, the highest distinction conferred by AIAA. (For the non-technical among the readers, the title of AIAA Fellow is among the highest honors that one can earn in the aerospace community.)

Also in the news, Al McArtor was announced as the new Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Group, Inc. – moving up from his position as Chairman of Airbus Americas. He also was announced as one of the “Living Legends of Aviation” at an awards ceremony in California.

Moving Around – Dan Busse is back from Bangkok and living again in Acton, MA. He said that over eight years he established an ATC equipment product base along with local agents and partners, so there wasn’t much need for the company to keep him there anymore. He and Nancy might move to Beijing next year, because the Chinese ATC market is huge and growing. On the other hand, he says that the local Chinese companies have managed to clone most of the necessary products that were originally sold there by international suppliers!

Gone but not Forgotten – I received notice from the AOG that Pete Caldarelli died in December in Florida as the result of a severe aneurism.

Post Office Blues – Al Herzberg sent out a new address with the following message: “My residence is still at 1410 Friendship Lane West but the mailbox has been removed. “Why?” you might ask. Because the Post Office has totally screwed up mail forwarding and mail holding for me more than once. Plus they are once more returning my mail to sender simply because they are totally and almost maliciously incompetent. Perhaps I should have taken this step a few years ago when our letter carrier was found to be stealing ATM cards and PINs from our mail and taking them up to Cripple Creek to gamble, but I didn’t and just wish I had.

“In theory packages will still be delivered to the front door, but the only safe address will be the one above. It is a private mailbox at the local UPS Store. They even have a phone that gets answered and are consistently pleasant and responsive. Thank you for your kind attention, Allen” Go for it, Al! I wish I could do something like that with my cable company. AT&T kept saying they were bringing fiber-optic cable to Huntsville, but they stopped 20 miles short.

Bruce Wood 7610 Sonatta Court Lincoln, NE 68516 Home and Cell: (402) 470-7152 brucewood1965@gmail.com http://usafa1965.org (official) https://usafa-1965.org (auxiliary)

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Hello Silvertags!

Once again, as of my submission date, no Classmate has passed away.

I thought it was extremely noteworthy and newsworthy that one of our classmates did an amazingly generous and compassionate deed last year. Karen Tindall, the wife of ’65 grad Bob “Trash” Tindall had been in need of a kidney transplant for some time and had been searching for a donor. When the first two volunteers, a relative and close friend, were tested and found to be unsuitable, Big Al Pfeltz stepped up and said he’d

From left are Bob and Karen Tindall, Al Pfeltz and Cat Vercruyssen, Lynn and Chrys Coleman. The photo was taken the evening before Karen and Al went into the hospital for the transplant.

Recently, Warren Langley, a classmate and one of my Facebook friends, got me started in the Stamp Stampede. This is a nationwide effort to get money out of politics; out of the Legislators’ pockets and left in the banks and under the mattresses of the filthy rich. Too many laws in this nation were bought by the wealthy through politicians to assure the ultra-wealthy get wealthier! Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, started and continues to promote the Stampede and sent the following note: “It’s great having Bruce and Warren Stamping money with us in the StampStampede. You and other veterans have guarded our country for a long time and we need your help now. Join us in protecting our Democracy and working to #GetMoneyOut of Politics. Thanks for your Service.” -Ben, Cohen, Head Stamper, StampStampede.org. “The time is always right to do what is right.” -Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

Warren Langley tipping for pizza with bills stamped in red, “NOT TO BE USED FOR BRIBING POLITICIANS.” On a separate note, but one that may apply to some of my classmates and friends: Now that I’m a septuagenarian, I find I’ve become woefully out of shape. My balance is tenuous and my coordination can best be described as morbidly spastic! I know I should have kept exercising over the past few years, but the weaker I’ve become, the harder it has become to maintain my will and motivation. Something had to be done. So, in mid-January, Betty and I ordered and began a 90-day course in Tai Chi. The baseline body Sabre Society measurements and scores for things such as squatting, Donors standing on one leg, and other movements which I’ve taken for granted for many years were disheartening but, realizing the Tai Chi lessons could return some of my strength, balance and suppleness, encouraging. If any of you feel you are losing your physical strength, muscle tone, balance and flexibility, you might consider Tai Chi or some other regimen to restore some of the physicality you possessed as a Cadet. “And you know, the baby boomers are getting older, and those off the rack clothes are just

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Class News not fitting right any longer, and so, tailor-made suits are coming back into fashion”. -Amy Irving Finally, I abuse my position as Class Scribe with a short note expressing my disappointment in the Academy’s OSI Informant program. I don’t believe we had one or that such a program was even considered. I noted in the Superintendent’s comments about the issue that neither Annapolis nor West Point has or ever had such a program. For me, no rhetoric is required: abandon this ill-conceived debacle, expect adherence to the Honor Code, and accept the consequences. No matter how many times you clean and inspect the barrel, there will be rotten apples.

The above is all the input I received this Quarter (plus perhaps too much personal comment). Please send (e-mail, snail mail, Facebook chat, pony express) any updates on your status, trips, events, offspring happenings, meetings, issues, gossip, tips, jokes, or anything else. You can also text me (402-470-7152).

Bruce. ’65 – Best Alive!

Ryan Denny 1635 Mary Todd Lane O’Fallon, IL 62269 H: (618) 624-4255 E-mail: ryanden@aol.com

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Greetings, Redtags! If you have been keeping up with the USAFA news, then you know that our Academy is going through some “challenging times”. That’s the politically correct way to say that things are changing and some of us old guys are not happy about it. I guess that’s to be expected—change is inevitable and us “more experienced” folks don’t always agree with the response to it. There seems to be a new controversy every six months or so, coupled with the never-ending budget cuts, and people questioning why we even need to have an Air Force Academy. It’s a tough job for the leaders who have to wrestle with all these problems and try to strike a balance between honoring traditions while ensuring that the Academy will be relevant in tomorrow’s Air Force. We are fortunate that many of these leaders are products of the Academy and are the right people to face these issues. There seems to be a lot going on now, but many similar challenges were around when Paul Stein was the Superintendent and he was able to keep USAFA on course and on target. I think we have to trust that the current leadership (with the appropriate guidance from our AOG) will do Sabre Society the same.

Donors Larry Bagley is our Class Senator and is in a unique position to observe and comment on how USAFA is meeting some of these challenges. He has been able to attend and participate in some of the training that today’s cadets are going through, and he keeps us up to date in his “CAS Reports”. In a recent report, Larry commented that “The Class of 2016 is a lot like we were in general – young, overwhelmed perhaps, eager, dedicated, naïve (in some ways), and willing. But, the Class of 2016 is also different from us – exposed to much more worldly things, more electronic, have to be in touch with friends, more “sensitive” (never been chewed out, more into feelings, etc.); less inclined to fly (doctor, intel, lawyer, acquisition, not pilot training, even though qualified), more into “me”, and a lot smarter than me.”

This is the cadet raw material that the Academy is starting with to mold into leaders who will handle the “challenges” twenty to thirty years from now. I imagine if someone from a class of 1916 had sat in on a few of our training sessions they might have made similar observations about us. (Fifty years ago doesn’t seem like a long time until you think about it—which I try to avoid whenever possible.)

Speaking of fifty years ago, Gregg Swanson, who claims to be disoriented by the crummy ski conditions this winter and the Oregon gloom, has offered to attempt another “50 years ago” article. This time Gregg wants to write about our overseas field trips in 1964. He needs stories that are mostly true, preferably not anonymous, and would be OK for family and friends to read – especially your spouse. That may not leave much room for good stories, but he thinks it’s worth a try. Gregg will submit the article for the June Checkpoints, and if that fails he will try to post the stories on the class AOG web page. Good contributions would include amusing stories about the trip, motivating experiences or people, and optimally include a color photo or two. The best story will be celebrated at our 50th reunion, only two years away! Send your ideas to gregg@humaninet.org.

Inputs by April 15 -- sooner is better, but later is better than not at all.

Gregg has been living in the Portland, OR area for 13 years now and says that he has “sort of flunked retirement”. After an Air Force career in fighters and another career in the computer business, he set up a nonprofit. The business is now 11 years old, and is a sort of help desk for NGO

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people, missionaries, and others to demystify the use of satellite phones, how to get Internet in the middle of the Amazon and other ways to use technology. Gregg says that it’s been fun and he even went to SE Asia a few times, following the 2004 tsunami. He now works with Oregon counties, first responders, and local preparedness folks. It’s a part-time activity but he doesn’t let it get in the way of skiing, traveling, grand-parenting, and goofing off. So send him your field trip stories so he can use that spare time more productively!

Based on the news and Christmas cards I’ve received, most of us seem to be traveling, chasing grandkids, enjoying hobbies, doing some volunteer work, and fighting off even the thought of old age! Harry Icke says that they plan to travel some more this year with a cruise in the Caribbean for Harry’s 70 birthday in February, then a two week visit to the Holy Land in April, Zion National Park and surroundings in May, and a two week cruise from the UK into the Mediterranean in September. Looks like Harry still hasn’t recovered from the travel bug he contracted during his Air Force career.

Harry and Betsy Icke visiting the Equator, because Texas was not hot enough.

After the Shuttle program ended in 2011, John Casper joined the Orion program, which is building the next deep-space exploration vehicle to go back to the moon, the asteroids, and eventually to Mars. It’s a development program with the first unmanned flight in September 2014. John says that his challenge is to keep the team motivated and moving forward after budget cuts of 40% since 2010. He is also trying to figure out how to retire from NASA when he still has two of four kids in college (he obviously got a late start). He thinks it will probably be next year if all goes as planned—any bets?

Randy Carlson says that he will be joining the retired ranks in less than a year. He thought that he would know when the right time to retire was.

He thought it was last year, but then he promised to teach another year, so he’s still working. Randy says that at least all of his courses are online, so he is not tied to a desk and classroom. He spent considerable time on the road visiting children/grandchildren this year—thus starting his transition to real retirement.

Ron Davis belongs to a group called the “Valiant Air Command” that supports an air museum in Titusville, FL and sponsors the TICO Warbird Airshow every year. Ed Shirley sent me a news clip from Ron’s local TV station in Titusville, which featured him talking about a new aircraft they had just received for the museum. Although the museum has normally focused on WW II type aircraft, this aircraft was a retired F-16 that they had managed to acquire. They were thrilled to get the aircraft, but has the F-16 been really been around long enough to be retired?

Send me pictures! Send your stories to Gregg and, until next time….

Happy Landings!

Larry Wilson 13100 Pinehurst Ave. NE Albuquerque, NM 87111 H: (505) 291-8949 E-mail: Lwilsn628@aol.com

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Ah, winter in New Mexico – while the rest of the country is enjoying (?) below- zero temps, we are having to make due with many days +40 or higher. That means tennis, golf, other outdoor activities go on pretty

much year round. Exception: water sports, and to some degree skiing.

The drought has hit New Mexico and most other areas of the Southwest hard. But it is nice to NOT be chipping ice, etc. Eat your hearts out…

To begin – Bill Powley sent a couple of notes and pics. He was “…inducted into the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame on 9 Nov.” He also noted that he had been “…guest speaker at Veterans Day program at Sullivan South HS where (he) taught for the past 11 years …” At the ceremony, he and the family of his past roommate at Ubon, who was lost on 23 Apr 70, were reunited, after 43 1/2 years. He met his former roommate’s family members before the hall of fame ceremony, which they attended. “…Austin Moody is one of my students who is trying to make it in Nashville and came to the program to sing More Than a Name on the Wall with an added verse I wrote for (former roommate) Bob…”

Bill with his airplane.

Bill and his wife, Phillis Fox. Well done, Bill, and congratulations for your honors and well-deserved recognition!

Some/many of you are no doubt aware of the recent publicity and controversy about the OSI and its use of cadets as informants. There seems to be much ugliness surrounding this entire situation, some of which has focused on the OSI and their practices. I do not know if the final chapters have been written in this matter. A couple of points: 1. The lawyer for the cadet whose disenrollment from the Academy started the ball rolling on this matter is a ’72 graduate, he has a son who is a graduate, he was previously on the AFA’s faculty and he has represented the AOG in one or more difficult issues. I know him personally, and believe him to be a person of integrity.

2. Crimes have been committed, including sexual assaults, on and by cadets 3. Obtaining information/ evidence about the crimes is necessary for resolution of the legal procedures 4. Sometimes obtaining that information/ evidence without information from cadets is impossible – thus the use of cadet informants.

This story seems to have now died, or at least dropped off the radar screen. While the Superintendent has made some statements/taken some action, I doubt that the situation has been fully resolved, and I expect that there may be more headlines and ugliness down the road.

The OSI seems to have become a target and some have characterized the OSI in pretty mean terms. If any of you/us choose to take sides on this, I’d suggest rememSabre Society bering that a number of our class spent time in the OSI. Donors From my experience, graduates who went into the OSI

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did not check their integrity, etc. at the door.

The previous Checkpoints included an article from LTC Brus Vidal (USAFA Public Affairs) entitled “Final Clause in Cadet Honor Oath MADE OPTIONAL” (sic). Roy Miller – whose Letter to the Editor was published in the October Checkpoints -- takes issue with the logic of the Vidal article. Roy acknowledges that – on the

heels of his previous letters being published – it is likely that his more current one will not. So – here is its final paragraph: “… I contend that it is the Honor Code that needs ‘more seriousness,’ not the Honor Oath and I offer the same recommendation that I have in past articles, namely, if we would simply enforce the standards reflected in the Honor Code we would not need all these additions and their accompanying ‘explanations’ and ‘clarifications.’ Will Rogers reminded us many years ago that ‘When you straddle an issue, it takes a lot more explaining.’ Let’s stop straddling these issues.”

In the previous Checkpoints, I included some comments from Ray Leopold about the Cadet Chapel. More on the chapel from Bob Muldrow: our chapel is the exact same height as the Paris Notre Dame cathedral and “… (it) is on the top 10 list of the world’s most spectacular churches based on modern architecture and design… Here is a link to the story: http://www. businessinsider.com/spectacular-modern-churches-2013-12?op=1.”

Current info from Ray regarding Don Hickman and hot-air ballooning of yesteryear: “…I soloed Don out on Dec. 10, 1977 in a Piccard AX-6 type of hot-air balloon with the designation N3US which went by the name of F.P. Lahm ... What made that flight particularly interesting was the fact that… we got caught over the Black Forest and there really wasn’t anywhere to land, so I told Don to take the balloon down so we could pick pine cones out of the trees. When we got into the trees, I got out into a tree, told Don he was ‘Cleared Solo,’ and then I climbed down the tree.

Our chase crew followed the balloon, as did I, and I was eventually able to meet up with all of them when Don finally found a place to land by himself -- he had the distinction of having a solo landing before he had a solo takeoff! Don Piccard had built the F.P. Lahm balloon… he also had built several other balloons we had flown, including and AX-5 with the designation N5YW, which I had once flown inside the Cadet Field House and whose designation means November-5-Young-Willie in honor of Don’s wife, Willie… That Field House flight was actually a world record for indoor flight at 7,051’ MSL, but I’d always been rather embarrassed about making an actual world record claim. A video of the flight was on the local evening news that night and I still have a Beta video of that broadcast too, along with my log book and a copy of the official AF log for that flight.

The amusing thing is that altitude records, including this indoor record, according to the FAI (Fédération Aéronautique Internationale), need to be broken by at least 3%, making that record impossible to break unless someone has some big plans to build a rather large building up some very high mountain! As I flew that balloon in his Field House that day, John Clune just stood there laughing at me!”

From Doc Halliday: “Steve Holohan and I participated in the High Sierra Century in September at Mammoth Lakes, CA… Emphasis on the “participated” rather than “completed.” You’d think we’d understand what exercise in the mountains at 7,000+ feet was like. Well, it was 50 years ago.”

Doc and Steve on the road again.

From Mike Wirth – food for thought: “…A few graduation anniversaries ago I noted how 6/7/67 was closer in time to WWII than the current date. Well, try the following on for size. Our entry to the Academy is closer to the beginning of WWI (that’s “I”, not “II”) than it is to now…”

Tim Davidson 9712 Hidden Valley Road Vienna, VA 22181-6094 Phone: (703) 255-5313 Mobile: (703) 772-6052 E-mail: timdav1968@verizon.net Class Website: www.usafa68.org

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HELLO ’68! Happy 2014! As you check our classmates’ personal chronometers you will note that this is the year the majority of our fellow

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’68ers turn 68. I don’t know whether that information should influence your Power Ball or Bingo card number selections, but it should give you pause to reflect on how far we’ve come since our first muster on the terrazzo nearly 50 years ago. In looking back across the decades, I hope your memories of our collective starting point as cadets are mostly good ones.

Colorado Pheasants Did Not Stand a Chance! From left are Elton Pollock, Don Caughlin, Gary Vasek, Dave Thorburn, Mick Edlund, Doug Wilson, Ken Bowers, George Hoffman, Carl Janssen, and Pat Russell.

MUCHO GRACIAS TO 45TH REUNION COMMITTEE: With instructional videos on reunion events, merchandise, and giving back to our alma mater, the 45th Reunion Committee did a superlative job in keeping all of us in the information loop and organizing a first-class event in Colorado Springs. Even the USAFA Football team kicked in by soundly defeating Army in front of the cheering masses. So, from a grateful Class, we thank Al Blumberg (Reunion Chairman), Mike Parkinson (Reunion Vice Chairman), Carl Janssen (Participation/Giving Initiative Chairman and Get-Away Sunday Brunch Sabre Society Host), Neal Starkey (Participation/Giving Campaign Donors Chairman), Gene Rose (Communications Committee Chairman), Dale Oderman (Memorial Service Chairman), Bill Sasz (Venue/Social Committee Chairman), Vince Rusinak (Merchandise Committee Chairman), Barney Mills (Golf Tournament Committee Chairman), Doug Wilson (Pheasant Hunt Committee Chairman), Gary Hoffman (Transportation Committee Chairman), Pat Russell (Class Webmaster), and Sara Dozier (AOG Liaison for 45th Reunion). We sincerely appreciated the time and effort you put into our 45th reunion to make it such a memorable event!

clubs doing battle with Mother Nature as they attempted to wend their way through 18 holes on the Eisenhower Silver Golf Course. With winds gusting at more than 30 miles per hour at times, any serious attempts at driving accuracy proved to be a bit illusory. When all was said and done, Gary Teeter came away with the coveted closest-to-the-pin award on the hole selected for the competition. Congrats to Gary for a fine shot and winning round of golf!

Shepherd Dresses for Trick or Treat. From left are Barbara and Bill Shepherd Without and With Halloween Mask.

HALLOWEEN RECEPTION: Amidst tales of hunting pheasant and battling the golf course, classmates mingled mightily during the reception at the C-Springs Marriott Hotel on Halloween night. The reception was our first opportunity to gather en masse and attempt to remember classmates’ faces without sneaking a peek at their nametags. Based on the non-stop frenzy of conversations, eating, drinking, and table-hopping, the event was a smashing success and left groups of people still catching up with each other long after the food and beverage services were shut down for the night.

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Teeter Shines in Golf Tournament. From left are Jim Lozito, Gary Teeter, and Bruce Buono.

GOLF TOURNAMENT: A BATTLE OF WITS, SKILL AND WIND: In what some may describe as a typical day in Colorado, ’68’s 45th Reunion Golf Tournament featured foursomes of die-hard classmates, spouses and golf

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’68er’s Enjoying Camaraderie at 45th Reunion Reception. From left are Pete and Eva Davis, Buzz and Susan Glade, Doug and Lucy Batchelor, and Frank and Brenda Moore.

MEMORIAL SERVICE: On Friday morning (1 Nov), the Class was transported from Doolittle Hall to the Cadet Protestant Chapel to participate in a memorial service for deceased classmates. As the roll of the fallen was called, classmates from the same graduating squadron responded with a somber “Absent, Sir.” The scripture and music selected for the service was wholly appropriate and in keeping with the honor and respect we feel for those who are gone but not forgotten.

LUNCH WITH ’88: Following the Memorial Service we returned to Doolittle Hall for a buffet lunch with the Class of 1988, which was celebrating their 25th reunion. From a strictly age and appearance standpoint, the casual observer would not have too much difficulty discerning which group was from ’68 and which was from ’88, but it was most enjoyable to break bread with those who were 20 years down the trail from us on the Long Blue Line.

NEWS FROM USAFA BRASS: After lunch, we boarded the buses again to rendezvous with Lieutenant General Michelle Johnson (USAFA Superintendent) and her key staff at Fairchild Hall’s large auditorium. General Johnson was quite candid about the state of affairs at the Academy and how the sequestered budget was affecting much-needed financing for basic USAFA academics and operations. She also discussed revelations about cadet confidential informants being placed in cadet squadrons by the OSI to ferret out sexual predators and drug users and the Honor Oath where cadets would no longer have to swear “So help me God!” at the end of the oath. As you might imagine, many of us had rather fervent opinions about the use of cadet informants and the honor oath and expressed our views quite explicitly as members of the graduate community.

CLASS SOCIAL AND DINNER: The class social and dinner on Friday night was a premier event! The tables were set with the finest Marriott silver and glassware and the menu choices of steak, chicken, salmon, and vegetarian options were expertly served. The cadet chorale entertained us as former chorale members from the class were encouraged to join the

Two classmates were bestowed with significant awards over the fall months. Fittingly, on Veterans Day, the Samaritan Institute honored Charlie Baldwin with a national-level award at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in Denver. He was recognized, as were such past winners as Barbara Bush, Rosalyn Carter, and Norman Vincent Peale, for his “significant contributions to human health and growth.” Anne was able to accompany Charlie to the event, and John Dallager had the good fortune and honor of introducing Charlie to a full house of active duty and veteran men and women and their families. Karl and Linda Bruce and Jane Dallager also attended.

Enjoying the Banquet. From left are Kim Underwood and Tom Harkness and Lorraine and Rich Abramson. group next to the piano on the dance floor. As a special honor to our classmate, Greg Shuey, the chorale sang an original musical composition Greg wrote called “The Long Blue Line.”

ASCOTS PERFORM WHILE ’68 DANCES: As dessert was being served, ‘68’s very own class band, The Ascots, took to the stage and made 45 years melt away with their strains of “We’ve Got to Get Out of This Place” and a whole registry of songs that were popular “back in the day.” The smiles of days gone by were seen on the faces of 60+ year olds finding their sense of rhythm after a long hiatus. It was a truly transcendent experience!

FALCONS TAME KNIGHTS FOR SECOND WIN OF SEASON: Playing with their third or fourth quarterback of the football season, the Falcons played well in both the first and second halves of their contest with Army’s Black Knights and gave Zoomie grads something to cheer about by winning 42 – 28. The early kickoff at 10 a.m. messed up tailgating pretty badly since a morning beer is usually not the beverage of choice, but a victory is a victory with or without a cold beer at 10 a.m.!

SQUADRON DINNERS AND GET-AWAY BRUNCH: Since the game was over by early Saturday afternoon (2 Nov), many squadrons took the opportunity to have dinners, buffets, or informal get-togethers before they left the area. I am hoping that those squadrons that got together will send me some photos of those events for a future class column or for our website. On Sunday (3 Nov), Carl and Debbie Janssen hosted a last call getaway brunch for those who were not taking off until Monday. Please see our class website and Joe Michel’s photos of those who attended.

THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS: We are thankful that all who attended our 45th Reunion returned home safe and sound. We pray for classmates and their families who are battling health challenges or the loss of loved ones. We especially pray for Rich Abramson whose 10-minute film about his disease and his swim around Manhattan may be found at: http?www. youtube.com/watch?v=d7NuljHZ1Kc. His challenges and resolve to meet them are an inspiration to us all. We also pray for Pete Davis and Jim Estes as they persevere the medical treatments necessary to sustain them. We recognize that life has its priorities and thank all three of them for joining us in Colorado for our 45th.

THAT’S A WRAP: Mind the flak; keep ’em flying, and keep those cards, letters, e-mails, and photos coming in to Pat Russell and me. Send photos and stories from our 45th! Ciao for now. Tim

Lindsey Parris 616 King’s Cloister Circle Alexandria, VA 22302 Home: (703) 836-3604 102177.1033@compuserve.com

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It is bitter winter, and the super bowl looms. Seems like a two-bestteams match-up as of yore, old-fashioned football, think Colts-Giants OT in ‘58... and in a sport that hasn’t yet expanded the number of playoffeligible teams to more than half that are playing. [I mean, weren’t professional hockey’s Washington Capitols selected as a wild card for last year’s NBA playoffs?] At any rate, the Broncos should get a boost on Sunday from all the ’69ers in the Rocky Mountain area.

For those of our era at USAFA, the number “327” can only mean one thing—the deep throated, small-block, carbureted or fuel-injected engine that powered GM’s stoplight bandits of the time, especially the Corvette.

That number now has new meaning for ’69, incarnated in every-bit the snarling, menacing and prodigious fashion as the engine itself. Give Brian Nelson enough gin and he’ll explain further. It’s majestic, that’s for certain!

Karl Bruce and John Dallager flank Charlie Baldwin on the occasion of Charlie’s Award, Veterans Day, 2013.

Also in November, Darrel Whitcomb was honored by the Air Force Historical Foundation during a pair of ceremonies. His story “Flying the First Mission of Desert Storm” was named the winner of the “Best Air Power History Article of 2012” Award. Darrel reports he still has a book or two in him. Rock on, Darrel.

Presenting Darrel with his award are Lt. Gen. Burton M. Field (USAF); Foundation President Maj. Gen. Dale Meyerrose (USAF Ret.); and USAF AsstViceCSAF Lt. Gen. Stephen L. Hoog (USAF) Near Nashville, Al McCree still presides over his own eponymouslynamed entertainment company and promotes the shows of entertainer and motivational speaker Jeanne Robertson. In addition, he is involved in several other entrepreneurial ventures in the entertainment industry.

He’d love to share a story and a beer anytime you are near Brentwood, TN, and he travels nationwide for both solo stints and accompanying Ms. Robertson.

The Marco-Polo-ish Team Percy was at it again last fall, this time in Australia diving the Great Barrier Reef for three days with a complement of much younger (than Randy anyway) colleagues, driving the obstacle course of suicidal Kangaroos dashing into the paths of Sabre Society onrushing cars in the Outback at dusk, taking in the Donors Flinders Range with its Aboriginal petroglyphs, before heading to Adelaide (for the wine of that area, no doubt) and then flying to Cairns.

And, as I write, Randy and Judy are gathered on Hawaii’s Big Island at Roy and Lindsay Coppinger’s annual weeklong-fest, along with John and Anne Buckner, Ron and Nanci Olds, Tom and Karen Fleming, and Mike and Nancy Thiessen. Pix to come. In honor of Kona’s role as the site of the Ironman competition, John is leading the group in Cross-Fit workouts to prepare for the physical ordeal coming in roughly six months -- the 45th reunion cometh, and will be here as sneaky-fast as the warm air that rushes under your thresholds in this cold winter.

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Our football Falcons needed a great deal of faith last year, and Class support was abundant. Shown gathered at Gerry Boesche’s after the Notre Dame game are Randy Percy, Roy Coppinger, Tom Fleming, Craig Collins, John Buckner, Ron Olds, and Mike Goode. Much better things portend for 2015.

Post-Notre Dame hot wash.

As reunion committee chair Glenn (Schlabs) has written you, we are still awaiting decisions from the NCAA and USAFA about football scheduling for the fall. When that is decided, which with luck should be before you read this, the Committee will lock in a date. For planning purposes, the target window remains mid-September to mid-October.

Great congratulations to the Class! We have met our original monetary goal of raising $2 million for our Class Gift, which is funding the Cadet Wing Honor Board Room in the Center for Character and Leadership Development; however, there remain many who have yet to contribute.

Though the window for contributing is closing, of course the fund would accept contributions of any size from those who did not know of the project, or from those who did, but would now like to contribute to inch us toward 100% participation. Those in Colorado and those who have been close to the project know the meaningfulness with which the Academy regards this Gift, which could not come at a more opportune time, with the winds of character and integrity blowing so capriciously across all sectors of our society. Please continue to reach out to those who may not be aware of the gift, as our utmost achievement to make this a Class Gift in its truest sense is to achieve 100% participation. We are really at the last possible juncture for contributions.

On a sad note, the Class just learned in mid-January of the death of Jeff Trenton. Jeff passed in his sleep on 14 January,. Services were held on 20 January at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in Virginia Beach, VA, with ’69ers Mike Rose and myself in attendance, with interment at Albert G. Horton Jr. Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Suffolk, VA on 24 January. Jeff is survived by his wife, Karen, son Matthew, and daughter Lily, a sister and many cousins, nephews, and nieces. Condolences to the family can be sent to Karen Trenton, 2469 Windy Pines Bend, Virginia Beach, VA 23456. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Catholic Relief Services; PO Box 17090; Baltimore, MD 21297-0303. [(877) 435-7277 or www.crs.org/donate/. The subtextual imperative of the Raven’s adopted lament “I would have been a better friend, but I trusted to time” looms poignant at these times. Deepest sympathies to Karen and the family on this painful loss.

To help the Class honor its gone-but-not-forgotten brothers, Steve Kirby has graciously assembled a website that presents in a single, accessible place the ranks of our fallen. So far, 72 classmates have taken the ultimate Exit 69. See http://69ersrip.homestead.com/.Great kudos to Steve for this valuable source of information, which we all appreciate.

Butch Henkelman shared a story with many of us in the Class about his attending a Veteran’s day ceremony at his granddaughter’s elementary school in San Antonio… Over 100 vets in attendance, from all services, many in fatigues and even Class As with ribbons. Butch was aware he was surrounded by self-sacrificing heroes, but he was most touched by seeing a full school of K-5 children dressed in red, white, and/or blue, waving American flags, pledging allegiance to the flag and singing God Bless America at the tops of their lungs. Politics aside, this side of America continues to live on, and gives cause for great optimism about the future direction of our country, present-day politics notwithstanding. May the continued contributions of our Class across the public and private sectors help set an example of “service beyond self” for following generations.

Esse non Videri. Lindsey

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Dick Rauschkolb 130 Luxury Lane Colorado Springs, CO 80921 H: (719) 761-5764 Cell: (719) 310-6928 Email: AOG70@comcast.net

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Happy 2014 Classmates! When I write this column next year, we will be gearing up for our 45th Reunion. Hard to believe, but we are getting OLD! Many thanks to Dave Gaw and Tooey Emery for “volunteering” to head up our Reunion Committee.

My wrists are starting to heal after enduring the worst football season in Academy history. At least many of us got to enjoy a win over Army. Rich and Nanci Downing hosted yet another great ’70 Mini-Reunion! It seems it gets bigger every year. Here is a list of attendees—most of whom attended with their spouses or significant other: Bob Baskett, Keith Bennett, Jim Breckwald, Joe Burke, Pat Collins, Mick Davey, Terry Dessert, Chris Dunbar, Tooey Emery, Mark Ewig, John Gallagher, Dave Gaw, Bruce Harmon, Frank Heming, Mike Lambert, Tony Marietta, Roger Hill, Rick Humke, Mike Lyons, Marty Martin, Henry Mitchell, Jack Mueller, Ray Oakeshott, Mike Paddock, John Penney, Bill Porter, Brian Prendergast, Shawn Raintree, George Rayl, Bryan Spitzer, Cook Villareal, Phill Whitehead and Larry Vaughn. Apologies to those we missed.

’70 Men Enjoy Mini-Reunion at Rich and Nanci Downing’s.

George Keys, Greg Woodhead, Ken Greene, and Oker O’Connor enjoyed the game at Ken’s place in North Carolina. Also heard that former CS-13 men gathered after the game for a big poker match and the obligatory adult beverages.

CS-13 Men Enjoy Adult Beverages and Poker after Beating Army.

From left are Dana Demand, Chris Calvert, Phil Moore, John Russ, Craig Northrup, and BJ Bjorklund.

I spent some time with Ross and Martha Johnson watching their daughter, Jordan, help DU demolish the Falcon women’s basketball team. The Falcon golf team won the Falcon Invitational for the first time in years and C1C Kyle Westmorland won a major amateur tournament, beating the #8 ranked amateur in the world on the sixth hole of a sudden death playoff!

Kyle will be in my foursome at the Reunion golf tournament. W.C. Weir is now available to the highest bidder.

Pete Peterson, Jerry McKee, and Darrel Massey did some climbing near Seward, Alaska in August. They successfully found the “the cheapest beer in Alaska” and caught their limits in Silver Salmon and Halibut. Russ and Sue Carparelli moved to Nashville where he will serve as the executive director of the American Judicature Society -- a 100-year-old non-profit

membership organization. Roy Long says Anne has him running six miles a day—feels like he should be back in BCT! Ron and Pam Kelly celebrated a wedding in the family and took a vacation in Cancun. Joe and Diane Burke have enough grandchildren to make up an element.

Eric Myers checked in from the left coast. He ran into John Disosway on the elevator at the Boeing Training center in Seattle. Eric is working part time as a Boeing 737 flight instructor. He is working on his golf game during periodic work trips to Miami. Tommy Thompson is keeping Cookie in iron man and marathon events, while he enjoys a golf vacation to Ireland where he paid homage to Guiness. Jerri and Pam Bruni once again donated a large sum to the Colorado Springs Empty Stocking Fund. Dave Palanchar recently retired from his leadership position at the El Pomar Foundation. Dave led the effort to support numerous charities and projects in Colorado Springs for many years. The city and many people owe him a deep debt of gratitude for his distinguished service.

Dave Sterling is a new grandpa and continues his volunteer work with the CAP. He recently upgraded in the Cessna 182. Donna said he tested Homeland Security by flying over DC at midnight.

Pat Collins also became a grandparent and did lots of traveling including a trip to Belgium where his son is an aide to an AF three star. Marilyn and I enjoyed becoming a member of the grandparent club when we got to see out grandson for the first time over Christmas. A special thanks to Chuck and Pam Gray for the Sabre Society book they authored, Jammyman, that they sent for Donors our new grandson. It is really a great children’s story.

I have seen a few classmates on Facebook—Jeff Krauser, Mike Lambert, Bill Benedict, Dan Forbes, Rob Robison, John Hale, Jim Mulford, Tim Kinnan, Tom Waskow, John Russ, Wild Bill Stealey, Roger Radcliffe, Rob Robison and Jim Bell to name a few. Some interesting debates take place!

In November, several classmates attended a ceremony at the Museum of Flight (MOF) in Seattle. Dave Sabey, our Prep School classmate, purchased a large portion of a replica of the SEA Map in our Pavilion. Dave, a very successful businessman, wanted to honor our classmate, Dick Christy, who was his wrestling teammate and good friend at the Prep School. The map and a plaque honoring Dick were dedicated at a very moving event. Terry and Janet Silvester, John and Sue Verardo, Daucey and Pat Brewington, Rod and Sherry Horner, and Don and Jean Forbes were there as well as legendary USAFA wrestling coach Wayne Baughman.

If you get up to Seattle, make sure you visit the MOF.

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Gary Dahlen said Col (Ret) Jerry Richards passed away. Major Jerry Richards was the Officer in Charge of our SERE Program and was responsible for getting it accredited on our first try by the AF. On a very sad note, I just learned our classmate Tom Pratt passed away.

Kathy indicated he put up a good fight. He was buried at the Academy in February. Tom was a good man and our thoughts and prayers are with his family. Also, at press time we learned Bill Kirkman lost his wife, Pam, and Gus Sorensen passed away.

Paul D. Knott 5565 Lantana Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80915 H: (719) 570-9162 E-mail: pk71knott@gmail.com

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This is one of the sadder duties that a scribe must perform; Robert “Jack” Jackson passed away just before Christmas in Florida. John Grueser represented the class at his memorial service.

John has had a busy quarter. Not only did he and the lovely Katherine marry, but he is now an Academy Liaison officer. During the All Academy Military Ball in December, the Gruesers and the Sauers (Hal and Linda) graciously posed for the camera.

Speaking of marriage, John reported that Ron Hale has remarried in October. Best wishes to the happy couples!

The Gruesers and the Sauers not dancing the Tennessee Waltz.

Honoring Dick Christy. From left are Sue Verardo, John Verardo, Jim Nance, Terry Silvester, Dave Sabey, Janet Silvester, guest, Daucey Brewington, Pat Brewington, Coach Wayne Baughman, Rod Hornor, Sherry Horner, Don Forbes, Jean Forbes, the Phantom and Marilyn Rauschkolb.

Saw Gerry Shaw, Larry Bush, Dave Gaw, and Jack Mueller at the Rampart AOG Chapter meeting. The Supt spoke on a number of issues. I am sure she will have an article in this issue describing the many challenges she faces. Anticipated major budget cuts will definitely affect the future of the Academy as well as the Air Force.

The first phase of the project to upgrade the interior of the Southeast Asia Pavilion with interactive screens that capture the history of the war, Air Force Operations, and graduate stories/memories is complete. It has received many positive comments from graduates, cadets, and visitors. Many thanks to classmates who provided stories for the Pavilion: Til Harp, Ken Greene, Joe Boyles, Mike White, Ken White, and Tom Reel to name a few.

As we approach our 45th Anniversary, we have a number of heritage projects (reface the Memorial Wall, HVAC in Pavilion, restroom, vibrant web site, and a courtyard near the East Wall) surrounding the Pavilion that we would like to fund and complete before our next Reunion! This will be our last major fund raising effort. Our class has set the stage for other classes to emulate. We hope you will continue to support our important heritage goals that will preserve the legacy of The Long Blue Line and serve as an inspiration to future generations of cadets. Check should be made to the Class of ’70 Gift Fund and sent to the Endowment.

One of the fun things that the Dark Ages brings the area is the annual Association of Graduates business meeting. The class almost had a table to ourselves this year, with Cass Casada (more on him in a minute), Mike Fuhs, Honi Garvin, Tom and Jackie Berry, and your scribe. Feature speaker was the new Superintendent, Gen Johnson, who turned out to be unassuming, low-key, and personable. Luckily, the bad weather just missed us, and the house seemed to be satisfied with the way the Academy leadership seems to be going.

I mentioned that Cass Casada was planning a combination housewarming/Class Gift fundraiser on June 9th at his and Laura’s new digs in Larkspur, just south and west of Castle Rock.

Events will include golfing with payment of $114 (71 + 43) per golfer. To let Cass know you’re coming, get more information, or offer to help in any way, send an e-mail to afa71mini@gmail.com. Cass intends to send out a mass invitation in March or April, but the more advance notice, the better.

Sabre Society Dan Devine recently updated us on his life in the Donors South Pacific, in the kingdom of Tonga. He and his princess bride, Donor, should have moved by now into a house that they designed and had built. Dan still teaches at the International School, as their primary substitute in both high school and elementary. In a typical week, he might teach on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and then instruct a business class. Even though gasoline prices are higher than many of us would find comfortable, he sounds happy and fulfilled with his new career.

Gene Kraay’s daughter, Stefanie, took her women’s soccer team to the NCAA College tournament. Although Minnesota lost in the first round, two of her players were named to the All-Tournament team. Their goalie is a freshman, so we can hope for a return visit.

Chip and June Reny have been busy this year. Chip still is one of HP’s senior project managers while not working with the Ski Patrol. His lovely bride still pursues her decorating muse. They put a lot of miles on their RV

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– almost literally from “Sea to shining Sea” – visiting family and friends.

Glad to hear that you guys are doing well and having fun.

GBA

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Bob Bell 13 Pacific Ave. Sinking Spring, PA 19608 (610) 678-3182/Fax: 678-4513 E-mail: rabell767@aol.com

Members

Good morning everyone. On another snowbound day in the midst of a seemingly unending Eastern Pennsylvania winter, I sit down to once again put together your Checkpoints news, having fought off the ill effects of the cold that has been plaguing us for over a month. There has not been much in the way of news this time and since I am at my publication deadline, I will get right into what I do have for you.

In the last issue you may have seen a short note in which Dave Newill reported on the presentation of honors being awarded to our own Greg Anderson. With thanks to Dave for finding this news item, I will directly quote the reporter on the kudos that Greg has received for his long-standing role as a giant in the aerospace industry.

“Colorado, We Have Liftoff -- New Exploration of Flight Reaching Major Milestones” by Maxine Scheer During AirVenture 2013, (ANN) had an opportunity Sabre Society to meet with one of the recent inductees to the Living Donors Legends of Aviation, Greg Anderson, President and CEO of Wings Over the Rockies Museum, based at the former Lowry Air Force Base in Denver. Greg was presented with Harrison Ford’s Living Legends Award in January 2013 by the actor/pilot/and recent EAA Young Eagle’s Chair. Ford selected Anderson for his achievements and commitment to “making the world a better place through aviation.”

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Living Legends Award Recipient Greg Anderson, at left, with EAA Young Eagle’s Chair/Award Presenter Harrison Ford.

EAA veterans recognize Greg Anderson through many accomplishments, not the least of which was founding the Young Eagles program in 1992. An estimated 1.75 million children have been introduced to aviation through EAA Young Eagles volunteer aircraft flights.

Anderson, a 1972 graduate of The Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs returned to Colorado and established his presence as a leader in the museum world in 2004. “After many years of preflight planning and take-off, we are entering the climb phase”, as he described the development of a new aviation center of education focused on the future, ‘Exploration of Flight’.

In August 2012, a 14.5-acre site at Denver’s Centennial Airport Interport Development was secured, and financial supporters have helped move forward design planning and fundraising, identified as the ‘Wingspan Campaign’. “It’s not a function of if we will open,” said Anderson, as he described the years of progress, “but when we open.” Over $7 million in leadership pledges are reported towards a $21 million budget to establish a world-class facility, open to the public, and planned for future expansions, including space for an aviation charter school.

Anderson also described the “Spreading Wings” program, whose Honorary Chair is astronaut (and former teacher) Eileen Collins. A temporary space is currently dedicated to this teacher-centric program, established in 2011, with the goal of providing a personal flight experience for one teacher in every school in Colorado’s Front Range. Anderson described his family’s legacy as educators and believes that inspiring teachers is essential.

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One beautifully restored 1940’s Stearman Biplane has been donated for the program, and highly trained and enthusiastic volunteers provide flight support. Recognizing that teachers need content in a variety of subjects, and ongoing training, ‘Spreading Wings’ builds on extensive materials and programs for classrooms and informal education activities developed at Wings Over the Rockies.

Wings Over the Rockies Museum President/CEO Greg Anderson Exploration of Flight is expected to serve over 100,000 annual visitors, and by 2020 Spreading Wings is anticipated to reach all 1,600 schools in Colorado’s Front Range, allowing access to over 80% of Colorado’s K-12 participation.

Congratulations, Greg, on this remarkable achievement as well as on all the rest you have accomplished, bringing aviation and its heritage to all of us.

David Tumino is slated to once again set out on a two-day 180-mile cycling ride from Houston to Austin as the annual fundraising effort for the National MS Society. He had sat out last year, but due to much popular demand of his followers, he is back for 2014. His trek this 12-13 April supports the Lone Star Chapter and is his 12th time to ride as part of the 30th anniversary event, the largest event of its kind in North America. Through 2013, the nationwide ride has raised more than $175 million for multiple sclerosis, and the Houston BP MS 150 has raised more than $148 million since the first ride in 1985.

David rides as a proud member of Team Audrey’s Heroes. In 2012 he rode as #55 of Club 300, raising more than $16,000. His goal this year is $20,000 which he hopes to raise by tax-deductible financial support of his many friends and interested parties.

If you would like to participate, David’s personal website connection is at http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/tumino where direct donations can be made. He has personally pledged to match the highest donation he receives, which will also be company-matched. Checks to National MS Society sent via snail-mail are also welcome using David’s address listed in the AOG Register.

Short and sweet, this completes your initial 2014 Checkpoints News, with hopes that some of you find more for us to share in the next issue.

Now that the Christmas holidays and the Super Bowl have passed, let’s look forward to the onset of Spring and all good things that follow. FPA.

Mike Arnett 5285 Copper Drive Colorado springs, CO 80918 (719) 310-8100 jmikearnett@gmail.com

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Well, guys, we’re in the Dark Ages again. End of January as I write this; it’ll be sometime in February or March before you read it. I think Bill “Trapper” Carpenter, as the head of recruiting for the athletic department, is the only member of the class still stuck up on the Hill for the duration. Of course, he does get to go home to wife, Iris, each night, so it’s not quite the same.

Heard from Larry Dodge last month. He does genealogical research and fine woodwork when up to it—he’s survived a whole lot more medical issues than any of us want to think about: cancer survivor, clean since 2000; and just completed the second of three craniotomies with complications of infection and body rejections of the titanium screws. He’s still married to his high school sweetheart, Trena. They have six children and 22 grand children. He said that between church, doctors and family, life is busy and full; can’t complain. He claims not to really be antisocial, just busy enough with what he’s doing. It was good to hear from him.

Scott Wilson sent in a pic of CS-38 at the reunion. Missing from the photo but at the reunion were BJ Stanton and Mike Koerner, and maybe Bruce Slawter.

From left are Mike Tremonte (sitting), Rick Ralph, Jim Vitelli, Al Hoover, Grover Stein, Luke Coker (sitting), Scott Wilson, Juan Rangel (sitting), and Paul Brenner.

Don Rightmeyer sends greetings from Kentucky. His book Torn: The Civil War in Kentucky, has been slipped to April because of production schedule problems. Those of you who have pre-ordered your copy should get it then. Don left the Kentucky Historical Society at the end of August and with his expertise in genealogy and local history began working as a part of the library staff at the Mercer County Public Library in Harrodsburg, KY. In doing so, he traded a 90-mile round trip per day commute to about 20 miles each day. Sounds like a winner to me. But ever the glutton for punishment, Don has already started a book-length biography of Major Robert Anderson, the commander at Ft. Sumter when the Civil War began. He was a native Kentuckian (Jefferson County), West Pointer, and one of the men who brought together the USMA Association of Graduates in the immediate postwar years to begin healing the wounds inflicted on the “Long Gray Line” by the Civil War. Don added a postscript apology for not making the reunion, as it fell right in the middle of his job transition.

Sabre Society Tom Kennedy reported in for 31st Squadron. As Donors of 13 Jan 2014, Dan Connelly had continued good news regarding his melanoma diagnosis: clean bill of health as of that day’s PET scan at the Mayo Clinic.

The laugh of the day was when a 30-something physician’s assistant described Dan’s mucositis as a “significant goober.” There’s a good chance his visits will change from every 3 to every 4 months in the future. It’s so good that he and Robin continue to have a sense of humor in spite of their challenges. Tom (Kennedy) and Charlie Meyer both have sons in the service: LTJG Thomas “TJ” Kennedy (USCG, USCGA ’12) and 2LT Christopher Meyer (USAF). TJ is stationed at Port Angeles, WA, and Chris is serving in South Korea. Upon TJ’s recent return to port from a sea-borne mission on 23 Dec, he wasn’t able to commute all the way to Virginia in time to be with his folks for the Christmas holidays, so Charlie and Pam (who live nearby in Washington) were able to act as TJ’s surrogate family. TJ got to sample a Swedish-style holiday meal, and the Meyers got to enjoy the company of a young officer even while their own son was far off in Korea. The extended Academy family can even span generations, and by the way, TJ discovered he really likes pickled herring.

Even though Mike Hub is now fully retired from the clergy, he is involved with a new Anglican Church near where he and Callie now call home in Sun City at Carolina Lakes, Indian Land, SC where they are closer to their children, Caroline and Ryan’s families. Jim and Kathy Boehm missed our 40th reunion while moving to their new retirement home in Smyrna, GA, closer to their daughter Alyssa and her family. Tom sent photos of Mitch and Tami Mitchell and Jim and Kathy Boehm, but as I’m limited to two photos for this column, I’ve sent them to Mike Nishimuta to be posted on the usafa73.org website. Finally, for that large group of classmates who went to Moody for pilot training (those who were there met during the reunion), Tom says to look out for Glenn Johnson’s daughter, Laura, at the Sochi Olympics. She’ll be officiating the women’s ice hockey events.

At the reunion, Ninth Squadron had 16 grads, plus guest of honor Bev Dick representing her husband, Doug, who passed away in May 2013. All the grad attendees are in the picture except Jack Glavan. It didn’t hurt that five of us live in the Springs: Trapper and Iris Carpenter, mentioned above; Jack Glavan, who manages the Pikes Peak Highway, and his wife Teri; Skip Smith, space lawyer with Sherman & Howard law firm; Eric Nickerson, currently between jobs; and me, retired from the Air Force and L-3 Communications, and my wife, Pris.

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Don Pettit was in from Springfield, VA, where he runs his own business teaching three-letter agency personnel how to manage projects. Denny Clark and family came up from Orlando, where he is still flying for FedEx. Dave and Maria Barcus were also in from Florida, transitioning from Miami Beach to Tampa. Dick and Karen Schanberger came up from the Houston area, where they are retired in their golf course home after Dick finished flying for Continental. Joe and Mary Walker and Ed and Diane Parry also were up from Texas, just north of Dallas. Joe’s retired from flying for Delta, and Ed is still busy as a dermatologist.

John and Carrie Keesee and Vic and Connie Thuotte flew in from the Boston area. John is the GM-15 Director of Engineering for the Space, Aerial and Nuclear Networks Division at the Air Force Lifecycle Management Center (formerly Electronics Systems Center) at Hanscom AFB. Vic is retired from the cybersecurity business, and they’re seriously considering moving to Colorado Springs in the next few years. Kevin McHugh was in from Folsom, CA, where he teaches science in the local school district.

Scott and Brenda Stine made it in from Carrollton, Ohio, where he is a family practice physician. Dale and Linda Wrisley came in from Arkansas, where they have “retired” to a 20+ acre place near Lake DeGray that keeps Dale busy and out of trouble, at least when the grass is growing.

Standing from left are Joe Walker, Trapper Carpenter, John Keesee, Kevin McHugh, Don Pettit, Mike Arnett, Dale Wrisley, Eric Nickerson, Dave Barcus, Denny Clark; Kneeling: Vic Thuotte, Scott Stine, Ed Parry, Skip Smith, and Dick Schanberger.

Keep the updates coming—no need to wait until I call for them again in April. Please include pix. If I can’t include them, I’ll send them on to Mike Nishimuta, as above.

“Here’s a toast…to the host…of the men we boast…the U.S. Air Force!”

Mike

Joe Brezovic 288 Senior Circle Lompoc, CA 93437 (832) 285-4179 launchops74@gmail.com

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Greetings classmates. Would you start thinking about our 40th reunion October 4 weekend—Navy Game? Biggest story for family life this year: Mark and Mary Bell’s oldest son, Milton, married Steve and Beth Sterne’s daughter Marianna.

Pictures to come! Fun note for grandparenting from Chris Kelly. He writes that his and Kathy’s grandson, Jacob, goes to the same Kindergarten class as Denny and Linda Carel’s grandson Parker. Denny and Linda’s son Jacob teaches there, too. He said he’d try to send in a picture of the combined three Sabre Society generations sometime. Chris and Linda Lanzit upDonors dated us on their move from smoggy Beijing, after 7 years, to Sydney, Austrailia! Linda was offered a job at the Lowy Institute for International Policy and Chris urged her to take it. They love Australia for the clean air and opportunities to do long bike rides around Sydney and on the outskirts. By April 2014, Chris plans retirement from working with American Standards and Beijing, but both are looking to do something less demanding. They plan to go sailing in New Caledonia and Vanuatu from May through July this year on their Finngulf 36 sailboat. Here is a picture in Australia aboard their sailboat.

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News dren are close by and the phone calls come from grandchildren. Granddaughter toddler Ada returned with her parents from one year in Japan and probably understands Japanese better than Joy or Joe! John and Cheryl Ephland still live in Belton, MO. John is back into airport security, in the training department. Cheryl is recovering from a lung tumor surgery, this time benign. Now she’s back to grandmotherly daycare to their granddaughter and other crafty sewing. John and Cheryl are still active in AWANA bible quizzes and games for Missouri and Kansas.

Midwest couple Denny and Lin Hughes travelled from Omaha to visit 7 European countries in 14 days via plane, mainly bus, boat, and train. No retirement plans yet. Denny serves as the First National Bank property manager for several cities while Lin serves as the Dean of Nursing at the Nebraska Methodist College. Their children and grandchildren are spread among Offutt, San Antonio, and Kansas City.

Chris, Linda, and granddaughter Klara On the other side of the globe, Steve and Cindy Lunsford wrote of their renting a 40-foot catamaran for a week. In June, Cindy and Steve took Kurt, Mary Beth, Jessica and Steve’s sister Deirdre to the British Virgin Islands. Steve completed his 17th year of flying for Southwest -- counting the few years left to retirement. Southwest opened a pilot base in Atlanta in August and Steve transferred. Getting to and from Atlanta is easier than getting to and from Baltimore. He did get to do his longest offshore sailing trip this year. In early November, he crewed on a 43-foot sailboat 10-day trip from Norfolk in the Caribbean 1500.

Jessica, Steve, Cindy, Mary Beth, Deirdre and Kurt From the East Coast, I get updates from David Daley. The most recent is that he met classmate Dr. Steve Randolph who has been the State Department Historian for two years. He was a panelist at the Public Interest Declassification Board meeting hosted by the Archivist of the U.S. at the National Archives building in D.C. Steve oversees the publication of “Foreign Relations of the United States” series of historical official documents since 1861. Dave’s office does the DoD declassification review of FRUS documents.

Michael and Loretta O’Connell made a recent move to Grand Junction.

Finally, after years of being an Air Traffic Controller (ATC), they moved to a more quiet [but colder!] area. They have two sons and one grandson.

Speaking of ATCs, and their mission, Phil Irish sent out an electronic email Christmas card of a NOTAM of a North Pole Approach. I wonder if any child felt bad when a jumbo jet pulls into the terminal with Santa Claus and packages smashed into the nose!

Rich and Peggy Bowman continue their travels on the ground this year.

After their Ford truck died, they got a good deal on a motor home in Vancouver. They flew to Washington to inspect it, bought it, and then began their tour. It seems they celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary alllllll year from a visit to the volcanoes in Hawaii thru the frigids of Alaska and icy cold of Colorado, through Texas… and, you’ll have to ask Rich! One of the hard tasks for Rich and Peggy was to resign from the Beavercreek Fire Department Auxiliary which they founded in 1995 and served in the community these 19 years. They feel they are travelling more and are unable to support the auxiliary as it deserves. Watch for their motorhome; it could be in your neighborhood. Another task that Rich has had these years is the Legacy for the USAFA class of 2014, which is graduating this year. But the tie to USAFA continues… Rich is the lead on the Golf Tournament for our 40th reunion! Bring your clubs, and perhaps distinctive colored golf balls in case 3-5 October has snow.

Another family in the Frankfort, IL, snow is Dr Joe and Joy Kelley. Joe is teaching at Rasmussen College and serves as the chair on the town’s police commission. Joy heads up the keeping the family and friends side contacts going -- and an invitation to visit is open to all. Their grandchil-

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Denny and Lin in Paris.

John and Deb Fair sent a short note. John is working in parish ministry.

He confesses it has been a challenge but laughs that he still has all his hair with no tint of gray -- “must be my good Viking genes”! Jim and Helen Shamess threw caution to the wind and bought a “wow” house in Fairfax, VA, Northern Neck area…with a view of water from every room. Jim has his boat and caught some fish! Their son Jon [AF Special Ops] served in the first-response to the Philippines after the Typhoon Haiyan and was interviewed by Anderson Cooper. Andy and Kim Scroggs in Merritt Island, FL, visited Bavaria in October. Kim’s recent retirement changed their lives for the better, wrote Andy. All is well: grandkids (2) fun, travels are great, the Cobra may be done in 2014, and their door is open for visitors!

Roy and Ann Lower, from up in Clinton, WA, feel like they are in the home stretch after over 7 years of building. The latest industrial adaptation was a Finland artisan laying 5000 pieces of limestone in a herringbone pattern in their home. Two more projects, or so, to go. They did take time to visit friends in England (25 years ago last visit) and a few other friends in the US. Vic and Katie LaSaxon are (barely) keeping up with two teens, adult kids, and two grandchildren…but going strong. Their son John recently updated the fort (with Dad Vic’s input) and tree house that he had so grandson Caden could have fun. Avid aerohistorian Vic did get to fly in a B-25 this summer! May each of you live long and prosper. See you at the 40th.

Jeff Chappell 14729 Birken St. Herriman, UT 84096 (210) 488-6137 jtmjbda@sbcglobal.net

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As we emerge from the Dark Ages...

After the (October) Deadline, Jeff Hackett checked in from the Valley of the Sun: You’d think as a former Scribe I would have noted what you were sending was your deadline to Tom as opposed to our deadline to you (but if you’re undermining my nearly unblemished record of NEVER getting a column submitted on time...well, that just wouldn’t be right). Time flies: Chris and I celebrate our 11th Anniversary next week (beginning of Nov). It’s good to be a 60-Year-old USAFR retiree–first check showed up on June 1st! Still loving life at Boeing (but consciously on glideslope for retirement Memorial Day 2015). Was happy to see several Ninth Squadron classmates on this year’s college football trip (cycle through alma maters with two other crazy-for-college-football fans, an Ohio State and an Arizona State grad). This year we caught USAFA–SDSU. Very cold (for a boy from the desert) and the outcome not at all what we had hoped for, but tons of fun.

Jeff Hackett, Kent Traylor, Chris Pearce (Phil’s widow), Mark Volcheff, Dale Meyerrose, and Duane Jones.

GBNF: The AOG announced the death of Maj (Ret) David K. “Doc” Livingston, CS-19, on 14 Dec 2013 in Florida. Scott Arnott noted that Buck Rogers’ daughter represented the class and squadron, since the timing was difficult for others to attend. See you on The Other Side, Doc! Jack Van Ryn is enjoying his new assignment as Missouri State Air Surgeon (MoANG) and still enjoys flying. He is based in Jeff City, lives in St Louis, and has units in St Louis, Knob Noster, and St Joe. He gets to fly the T-38 at Whiteman, C-130s at St Joe, and 135s out of Scott. Looks like all that work getting through medical school and beyond is paying off!

From several alert readers: The November issue of Air Force magazine featured the “other” AFA’s presentation of the Gen. H. H. Arnold Award for most significant contribution by a military member to national defense to our own Doug Fraser, once again showing that ’75 truly is Best Alive!

Ralph Paul sent this photo of Don Lewis (Thirsty Third), who bagged a feral pig on his Texas ranch while checking his mail. The title of his e-mail was “Why We Carry a Rifle to Check Mail.”

Don Lewis and victim.

From the Murray B&B in the DFW area: Mark Stickney and Jayne stopped by Dallas to see us after spending Thanksgiving with Jayne’s parents (90 and 91) in Kansas City. I didn’t realize it, but it had been two years since we had seen them. Stick is a check airman on the A-319/321 Airbus for Delta. That’s the same airplane that I’m teaching on for American right now, so we had some fun talks.

Chris Glaeser: I just returned from the International Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) annual safety summit and was quite surprised to be awarded one of their top awards for lifetime achievement, especially since I retired from IATA in Montreal in July. Amazing journey: President and safety officer of USAFA flying club 1974-75, safety officer USAF Test Pilot School 1984-86, NWA airlines director flight safety 2000-2006, VP safety Alaska Airlines 2006-8, director global safety IATA 2009-13. I was lucky to lead a very talented global team at IATA, and I find it very interestSabre Society Donors ing to note that I continued to leverage the expertise of our classmates such as Scott Hammond (NWA and now DAL) during these 30+ years. Definitely a lot of progress in the industry (zero fatalities by major US operators for more than ten years). While I was at IATA, I created, launched and implemented the biggest safety data sharing program in industry history called the Global Safety Information Center (GSIC) which had 7 active databases and data input from more than 600 different companies in operation when I left in July. Those of us still flying around the world salute you, Chris!

Karen and Chris Glaeser In case you’re reading this before 4 April, Harry Mathis retirement ceremony is now at 0900 on 4 April–see Dec 13 Checkpoints for details.

Still serving after all these years. Gernot Pomrenke posed the logical follow-up question to Last Man Standing: How many ’75ers are left as civilian employees in the Air Force? There are bound to be several, so send in your (self) nominations and we’ll have some more friendly competition and recognition for this category. I’m pretty sure my doolie roomo Bruce Linster is teaching at our beloved alma mater, and I bet there are a bunch of guys at the Puzzle Palace in federal service. Maybe we should have a competition for Beltway Bandits, airline weenies, and some other categories. The floor is open!

Keep smiling and see you around the campus!

Dan Beatty 12196 Stanley Canyon Road Colorado Springs, CO 80921 H: (719) 488-1962 C: (719) 338-0276 E-Mail: whrlybrd76@aol.com

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Fellow ’76ers, The cycle repeats as it always does. The “Dark Ages’ are upon us…and the cadets. Ahhh… the memories. Hope you all had good holidays and your New Year is going well.

Class Gift update: To date we have had $682,422 pledged with 21% of our class participating. If you would like to participate in our ’76 Class Project, please let me know.

Sad News: Ron Weber who spent 2 years with our class, died on Thanksgiving Day. Please keep the Weber family in your thoughts and prayers.

Moving up/moving on: Brian Meenan, MG, USAFR retired in January. Dave Merrill offered the invocation at his retirement ceremony. Brian and Ali plan to stay Sabre Society Donors in Sherman, CT and he will still fly for United. Byron Hepburn, MG, also joined the retired ranks in January.

Jim Crowe advises he will retire from USAFR in June.

Cathy Chilton nominated to MG, USAFR. Congrats to Brian, Byron, Jim and Cathy!

General Class Stuff: After a bit of delay, I got some photos from Mike Gould’s retirement. The photo shows the gang of our classmates that were able to attend his retirement dinner. Space doesn’t permit me to list all the names, but the event was well attended.

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Mike reminded me that Randy Spetman was the architect that helped create the FSU championship football team during his tenure as FSU ath-

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Class News letic director. Good job Spet! Thanks to Tony Przybyslawski for reminding me to get an update of our Class Project status. As I mentioned above, let me know if you want to get involved. Jeff Larsen sent a nice note. He and Cyndy have settled in nicely in Rome, but says he is swamped with the new job, new home, and flag level events but the good red wine helps in dealing with maddeningly slow Italian bureaucracy and crazy drivers.

Joe Birchman tells me he and Carol will be moving soon to their country property. Please send me an address update when you do Joe. Chuck Ohms linked up with Charlie Morgan for the AF – Army game and says they had great seats. Charlie sent some photos but I can only publish 3 and we already have an obligatory Jack Catton shot in the group photo above. Charlie noted that Joe Drew, Larry Weaver, Mick Erdle, Mike Scott, and Mark Welsh were also at the game. Chuck is an ALO in the St Louis area and I and Martha were able to help out recently with a fine young lady USAFA candidate who needed some help with a visit to see if she wants to choose USAFA over Hudson High or Canoe U. Thanks for letting us assist Chuck.

Joe Shirey and Ed Morely both sent updates on Bob Hinger. Joe says he and Dave Clary both visited Bob last fall and said Bob is in great spirits. Ed saw Bob and Loretta very recently, says Bob is doing well with his chemo treatments, is staying strong, very positive and is keeping the faith.

Ed sent a photo of himself and Bob.

Mike Fricano says Jack Catton visited on business for a short time in Hawaii. Randy Schavrien says he will be grandpa for 5th time in June. Bob and Ellen Corrie will marry off daughter Amanda in January. She and hubby, Rob, headed to Athens, Greece for State Department work. Luckey Dunn, Val Vollunga and Dave Berg have NSTR. Doug Fry is now fully retired in south central Colorado, headed to St Thomas in March for his 60th. Terry Williams and Denny Rea working with Marc Moore. Marc has his own company providing communications capabilities for emergency operations.

Bill Dea retired from Delta in February and will celebrate his 60th in late March. Chuck McHenry took his daughter to Breck in January. Kirk Bell runs his wealth management office in Plano, also involved with Rotary and a college foundation and is on 3 tennis teams. Finally, Joe Wysocki sent me a note from the Super Bowl saying he and Julie were supporting the Bronco’s. Hope you didn’t bet on them Joe. I have had several of your emails bounce recently. If you have not received an email from me in the last 4-6 months I may not have a current address for you. Please send me an updated current email contact. Also, if you ask me for contact info classmates I will only release it if the requestee gives me permission.

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 “Lou” Michels, Jr. 4107 Harvey Ave. Western Springs, IL 60558 (312) 463-3412 jmichels@lbbslaw.com loumichels55@gmail.com

Bob Hinger and Ed Morley Ed also says he and the family will be headed to Miami this summer for his next diplomatic courier posting. Tough location Ed. Chris Reamy sent a nice holiday greeting and Richey Felder sent a short note. One of my Dirty 30 squadron mates, Ray Tyc, says he drives the elderly niece of Kelly Johnson to mass each week and he gets a few stories from her every now and then. Wade McRoberts asked for some contact info for Dave Robinson and I was able to help him out. Wade also sent a photo of and allUSAFA-grad golf team that won the York County Virgina Sheriff’s Shootout Golf tourney. Ernie Woolard inquired about Checkpoints on line and I got him squared away with that. Mike McGinty rang in on one of the retirement emails with some comments/questions about what ’76ers are still in a ‘blue suit’. We still have several GOs, two USAFA professors, and few USAFR bubbas out there.

Jim Dolan is still doing great things with “Heros on the Water”. Good on ya Jim! He asked for some assistance in contacting Mark Welsh about visiting while in the DC area. I was able to get Jim the info and Mark was very kind in assisting Jim. Thanks Mark! Greg Boomgaard attended his niece’s Hindu wedding in Lucknow, India in November; also took a side trip to Taj Mahal, spent Christmas in Cancun. Building those frequent flyer miles Boom? Mike Eyolfson sent a photo of ’76ers who gathered for Marv and Janine Van Every’s wedding.

Marv and Janine Van Every with Chris Sullivan, Mike Eyolfson, Roger Renard, Dave Vandergriff and Jim Porter.

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On Watch: I hope that all of you are reading this in a warm, snow-free, spring-like atmosphere. But I doubt it. I don’t think Chicago is going to warm up until sometime in July, when the last of the icebergs will clear from Lake Michigan. It’s been a miserable winter – fortunately, there has been plenty of personal warmth on our class Facebook page, and in my email inbox to sustain me through the Dark Ages.

Passings: I am sorry to start the column with the announcement of another loss for the class – Greg Manglicmot (Diane) who up until recently had been flying for Delta Airlines, passed away following a battle with cancer. Prior to his death, Greg had been very active with the North Texas Brain Tumor Support Group. The thoughts of the class go out to Greg’s parents, Diane, and to their kids, Mark and Kara.

Contact me or check the Facebook page for information on memorial contributions.

Sabre Society Cleanup from Last Column: Sonia and I were able Donors to sit down with Curt and Terri Taylor for dinner on one of our visits out to Colorado Springs. Curt and I were doolies together, and then we bounced around lovely Holloman Air Force Base for a while after I finished law school and entered the JAG Corps. Terry works as the director of professional development for Memorial Hospital in the Springs (at Holloman she was an absolutely superb critical care nurse) while Curt is doing the contractor thing there. They have one of the most interesting non- work

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Curt and Gary at Normandy

activities that I know of – the Taylors host tours and visitors at a French bed and breakfast in Normandy for several weeks each summer. Curt acts as a tour guide for the Normandy beaches and D-Day invasion sites while Terry (who Curt refers to as “the Sainted Mrs. Taylor”) takes care of logistics at the B&B. Kurt has, understandably, developed a tremendous expertise on virtually every aspect of the invasion, and the fighting that took place thereafter in the Normandy region. They are looking at setting up again in the last 2 weeks of July, here’s a picture of the digs featuring Curt and Gary Green (Ruth) who was visiting as part of a tour group last year.

To use the current vernacular, this is like, totally awesome. Sonia and I had an absolutely marvelous evening listening to stories about bed and breakfast management, dealing with the guests and the weather, and, of course, Curt’s discussion of the history of the region. Thank you again, guys, and we’re hoping to connect in France, eventually.

Football Encounters: Although the Falcons had a miserable year (reminiscent, in fact, of some of the teams when we lived and played there) I had some terrific get-togethers with classmates around Falcon Stadium.

At the last game, in addition to seeing the Taylors, I walked over to what can only be described as a massive tailgate operation run by Horst Roehler (Mary). This is a big deal, gentlemen – I think we could safely feed most, if not all of us, with what Horst and Mary pulled together on Saturdays. It’s pretty much a permanent encampment site with propane stoves, grills, serving area, all nestled in the woods on the Northeast corner of the parking lot. Not to mention an extremely well-stocked liquor cabinet/ cooler arrangement.

I just missed Charlie Butler (Lynn) at the Roehler encampment due to my poor navigational skills. But Charlie graciously updated me with information on his numerous other class contacts. He is living in Washington and flying for Alaska Airlines as a Captain. Like me, he punched out of the Reserves early in the ’00s and is looking forward to a few more years of pushing metal up and down the West Coast. Charlie had reports on some other Alaskan Air types: Bob Porter (Karri) touched base with Charlie and reported that Jim Anti Antisdel (Sharon) is or will be shortly retiring from the flying business. Charlie sees Neil Youstler (Renee), Lorin Long (Mary), and Steve Horton (Corrinne) on his tours around the Pacific Northwest. He has also touched base with Rich Moore (Jeannie), Ken Jennings (Heather) and Terry Smith (Deena). The Butlers and the Smiths managed to sneak in a couple of vacations together, in fact. He also dropped Mark Gunzinger’s (Beth) name – they were UPT roommates together, and lo and behold, via LinkedIn, Mark touched base with me almost immediately. He and Beth are in DC where he is a Senior Fellow at a Washington tank – the Center for Strategic Budgetary Assessments. Given the way our economic numbers look, I am guessing that’s fairly intense work. Thanks, Charlie and Mark for the reports and checking in.

Warm Thoughts: Stan Hill (Cynthia) and Toby Nichols (Ann) were crewed up on a Delta flight out west. Here’s a shot of them from somewhere that is not Chicago:

Overnight crew reports that it is great, but thinks his significantly younger classmates are a little more childlike than we were at 23. I think that’s why they are called “millennial’s” Bill.

Other Stuff: Dr. Dave Kissinger (Lauren) dropped me a line to rub it in my face that he just spent 2 ½ weeks in Australia for a great family vacation. He promised me a picture, but I thought it was just too depressing to surface a shot like that in the middle of this kind of weather. Thanks for the update, Dave; I’m glad you guys had a great time.

Closeout: Check out our Facebook page, keep the pictures and e-mails coming, and take a peek every now and then at what’s happening at the Zoo. That’s it from the ice-choked shores of Lake Michigan – stay warm and hunker down until Spring. Be seeing you.

Bob Kay 40411 Tesoro Lane Palmdale, CA 93551 Home:(661) 274-2201 Cell: (661) 974-1417 Email: Robert.kay78@gmail.com

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Greetings ’78ers…

I certainly hope all is well this cold winter for those of you dealing with the Polar Vortex…or whatever it’s called. I think ‘Winter” is an apt description.

Heard from Bob Herris who as you might recall, took military leave a few years back to “re-up” in the USAF as a Predator/ Reaper pilot. He completed his commitment back in November and is now back at American Airlines for the last few years until retirement. I personally appreciated his desire to keep serving even after his military retirement...an apt testimony to our class. Thanks Bob for what you did; hope you enjoy some higher seniority.

Sabre Society Around the time of the reunion, Bonne Weida sent Donors this shot of three guys (all retired two stars) hanging out at Rick and Elizabeth Devereaux’s beautiful home in Asheville, NC. As you saw in a past article, Rick retired last year and is working on the next phase. From left are Rick, John Weida (A5X on the Air Staff: Dep Director of Ops Planning, Policy and Strategy), and Kevin (Allison) Kennedy (VP Strat Development/Assessment for Textron in D.C.). Nice scenery in the background Rick, think I see why you live there!

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Toby and Stan with their umbrella drinks in Honolulu.

On the way back from Hawaii, they picked up Dave VanDam (Gayanne) and all headed back to Atlanta. They arrived just in time for the Georgia Demolition Derby that resulted from a few snow flurries falling outside of Hartsfield. I think Toby was actually stuck in the airport for half a day and was looking for some iodine tablets so he could start purifying water.

I guess everybody eventually got home, but Hawaii looked pretty good about by then, I’m guessing.

FedEx delivers: Bill Brandt (Susan) dropped me a quick picture with a couple of familiar faces pushing metal for Federal Express.

Bill is in the middle of the shot, and flanking him are Tom DeBoalt (Deborah) and Steve Marsh. Tom is a 757-767 Captain who lives in the Springs and Steve is an MD-11 captain who lives in Tucson. Bill also bumps into George Patterson (Nanci) who is living just outside of Memphis. In addition to all that pilot stuff, Bill recently started law school, and

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Class News Speaking of retirement, want to give the remaining space to fellow Bulldawger Al ‘Mad Al” Myers who retired the last week in January at USAFA. Al truly distinguished himself by becoming a three-star Admiral in the Navy (tough time during the USAFA-USNA game!). He was the first (and I believe still the only) USAFA grad to command a carrier as well as a Carrier Strike Group. At one point, he was responsible for every airplane that flew in the Navy and the Coast Guard.

The ceremony was officiated by the current Supt, Lt Gen Michelle Johnson. The special touch was Al’s dad being there to not only observe but to serve in a special role as you’ll read later. To give a bit of comparison, the next picture was during the CS-13 commissioning ceremony the night before our graduation. From left are 2 Lt Gary Storie, Ens Allen G. Myers IV, Col Allen G. Myers III and 2 Lt Bob Ireland.

Fast forward 35+ years to his retirement with, from left, J.B. Betz, Al, Col Myers and Tom Lash (JB and Tom stood in for Gary and Bob who couldn’t make it).

program, but also offered me opportunities to command. So I pursued my dream to cross services at graduation and into flight school through another service. It took courage to leave the comfort of AF Blue, but my dream was worth it.

“This institution, the Academy, was pivotal in helping me pursue my dream – with the support of my parents. In the Navy, I discovered camaraderie very similar to what I learned to appreciate at USAFA – in my squadron – the closeness and feeling of belonging. In some ways, going to sea was like being here again…but in a good way, doing something I believed in.

“In the Navy, I felt like I was making a difference…in the air, on our missions, with my maintainers and crew, and to our Nation. It was easy to believe in Naval Aviation and in our Navy. If felt like I was finally in my element – making a difference every day…and doing something I believed in.

I was fortunate – in the opportunities the Navy afforded me; Sq Command, Carrier Command, Carrier Strike Group Command, flying Phantoms Tomcats and Super Hornets, and finally Command of all Naval Aviation.

“Looking back, I was lucky. Lucky to have a Mom and Dad that were my role models and heroes – a Test Pilot, Command Pilot, and Wing Commander, and challenged my thinking and decisions. Lucky to have the opportunity to come here, where I learned time management, the value of camaraderie, honesty and challenged me to focus on tasks at hand “Lucky to serve in the Navy – where everything I learned at home and at the Academy were applied. And to apply what I learned to make a difference – every day – in decisions, in the lives of those who worked for me, to our mission…all while believing in our leadership, my wingman and shipmates, and our mission – leaves me with a sense of satisfaction & accomplishment.

“And lucky to have an incredible family – wife, Judy, and son Allen and daughter Morgan – all amazingly successful and supportive. I missed my classmates over the years, and coming back here is like returning back after a long deployment…proud of what we’ve done, but relieved to be safely home. For the Cadets – have the courage to pursue your dreams.

“And for the Academy – have the courage to help make those Cadet’s dreams come true. The AF Academy made a difference in my life…and those I served with in the Navy. I believed in the Academy then, and I still believe in this institution today…it will continue to make a difference and shape our military through the careers of their graduates, and make dreams come true. God bless the AFA, our Navy and Nation. Thank You “I will now render my final salute to my Dad, who swore me in over 35 years ago and who I gave my first salute as a commissioned officer.”

God Bless. ‘78 is Great!

Geoff Mulligan (719) 593-2992 geoff@proto6.com

Al, Dad and Bulldawgs Al was kind enough to send the pix as well as his remarks. I’ve posted them here because they are truly excellent—I believe they capture the essence of USAFA and what we as a class did, regardless of our AFSC or the color of uniform we wore. Thanks Al…well done: “Thank you, Lt Gen Johnson, for being kind enough to host this ceremony – to return to the Academy (the scene of the crime, if you will) and come home to close out my career where it all began.

Thanks also to your Staff, Claude Skelton your Protocol Officer, and C3C Steven Brandt from 13th SQ for escorting us, and C1C Daniel Barringer, who is getting ready to begin a similar Navy journey – more on the Cadets later.

“And to my fellow Bulldog classmates – John Betz and Tom Lash. I’ve missed you over the years and your presence completes this event.

“To my Mom and Dad (Mom couldn’t be here) for their endless support and channeling my energy so positively…getting me to this place.

“My wife Judy and Son Allen and Daughter Morgan – all busy back inVirginia pursuing their own transitions, for their love, reinforcement and support.

“I’ve wanted to fly for as long as I can remember. At first, I didn’t know why, but it’s what my Dad did…and growing up in AF communities, it’s what everyone’s Dad seemed to do So I set out to pursue my dream, and coming to USAFA, to facilitate that dream, became my focus throughout high school.

“When I arrived here, it was everything I expected. Tough, disciplined, and challenging. What I didn’t expect is that my vision would slip, and my dream of flying was fading my junior year. So I looked into the Navy, and discovered that they would not only welcome me in their tactical aviation

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Apologies since this is my first (probably last) foray into writing for Checkpoints. Mike Watson called on a Wednesday and said it needed to be done on Monday. I was actually kind of jazzed and excited, but then I got a message from the AOG that Mike Hoobler – CS 17 – passed away on Dec 9th. Our warmest thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

It’s been fun being back in DC for a bit while working at the White House. I was stationed here right after graduation but there were no other ’79ers here then.

Now we’ve got quite a crew. Brian Koechel does a great Sabre Society job gathering a number of classmates that live in or Donors around DC for coffee nearly every Saturday morning.

If you find yourself in DC on a Saturday morning send a note to the ‘79 list (see below) and we’ll get you the coordinates. This coffee klatch is great for catching up.

I found out that Andy Busch is the Vice Commander at AFMC and that Jeff Moore, who used to be up in DC, is back flying for UPS.

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JOIN THE SABRE SOCIETY! YOUR MONEY HELPS FUND CADET WING PROGRAMS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE GO UNFUNDED. CALL (719) 472-0300 X200.

This last Saturday we had a great turnout (possibly ‘cause I threatened everyone). Steve Mueller let us know that he will be retiring this summer on July 18th. Steve, thank you for your long service. Burt Field brought his son Burton who is on staff at Langley while Burt continues to serve as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations in the Pentagon. Down the hall from Burt, Steve Hoog is serving as Asst. Vice Chief of Staff. Also at Saturday’s coffee was Jon Box, who is working as a SME in the Pentagon, Rich Treadway (Rebecca) who commutes up from New Orleans for Booze Allen.

From left are Steve Mueller, Mike Roller, Geoff Mulligan, Jon Box, Brian Koechel, Rich Treadway, and Burt Field.

Mark Owen, who is moving from COS to DC, and Mike Roller, who is working for UTC, were there. Mike asked me to let everyone know that he and Steve Newbold are pulling together the spring golf tournament.

Steve Lepper’s retirement was held at Bolling in January. A number of ’79ers and the Chief himself were there for a wonderful event and to hear a phenomenal speech by Steve. Steve wrote from Nassau that he was enjoying retirement. Showing true selflessness and service to duty first, Steve is giving up his terminal leave to come back to work to fill back in at the AF JAG office – Thank you Steve. I’m sorry I missed the retirement dinner.

in), Russ Rosebush (Kay), George Morgan, Reed Schotanus and Randy Helms, who is moving back to COS from DC. Bob Kronebusch (Jennifer) is living in Colorado Springs and has just finished building an amazing pizza oven which he uses when he is not out flying for Delta. Also at Delta are Ken Goodwin and Tom Wingo.

Watch out: Our 35th is coming up this fall. I’ve been told it will be the first game after Parents’ Weekend. Korky von Kessel – who wrote me from the beach in Maui while sipping a Mai Tai – and Omar Bradley are already hard at work on the event. If you would like to help, please contact them.

Perhaps we can all descend on Greg Roman’s bar – Rhinos Sports and Spirits. He’s promised a ‘79 drink special.

By the way – I maintain an e-mail list for our class. If you would like to get added to the list send me a message. If you want to send a message to all our classmates you can use 79mail@proto6.com.

Mike Watson (michaelwatson@cox.net, 623.451.4131) is on deck for the next article. Send him your updates and pictures.

Don Myers 401 Chambray Hill Peachtree City, GA 30269-4247 (770) 631-1429 E-mail: DMyers80@hotmail.com FB group: “USAFA Class of 1980” Class Website: www.usafa80.org

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Folks, we’ve lost two more of our own, John F. Farrell and Alan D. Hamm. Please refer to the GBNF section for more information. I’m going to use some of Ed Herlik’s words to voice some thoughts: “I attended Al Hamm’s funeral this morning. As usual for a photographer, I offered to document the event. That’s actually a pretty tough gig as I’d much rather anonymously hang with my classmates.”

Bob Alardice, Mark Reidinger, and Gail Colvin comfort Candace Hamm after Al’s funeral at USAFA.

Steve Lepper’s Retirement Paul Schubert made it to Steve’s retirement with his son Joe. Paul said that he is just three baseball stadiums short of visiting all 30. He is missing Miami, Tampa and Seattle, so expect a call if you live near-by.

John Dallas wrote and said that he is about to start flying 767 Internationally for AAL. He and Daren are living in Ft. Smith, AR. His youngest daughter, Drennan, is studying pre-dental and his oldest Megan is a teacher. Brian Kelly is still working as Executive Director with Ernst & Young conducting Security & Fraud investigations and wrote that his daughter Amanda had her wedding in January attended by Ray Sands.

John Pardo got together with Mike Mullady in Albuquerque. John was down visiting with his AF JROTC marksmanship team. Mike has retired there and is on the golf course at least 3 times a week. Greg Goldbach is moving from Scott AFB to University of California at Berkeley – that is quite the culture shift. He will be working in the Operational Excellence Program Office.

Living in Washington State, Glenn Hanbey and Mark Hargove both work for Boeing, where Mark is still serving as the 47th district state representative – yes he was reelected. Have you heard about Veterans Airlift (www.veteransairlift.org)? Tim Fyda and Pete Bunce serve on their board of directors – check it out. Bill Barry’s (Monica) son just returned safely from Afghanistan. Bill is still the Chief Historian for NASA and just rejoined CAP. Colorado Springs update – Thom McCarthy (Jodi) is back living in COS. He is a training pilot for the AF Initial Flight Screening Program in Pueblo.

While I thought that Thom was running the program, he said “Not true, happy to be a lieutenant again.” Thom is flying with Paul Bordenave.

Guys, keep an eye out for Mike Roller’s daughter, Christina – she is heading down for IFS. Also in COS are Rod McNeil (Jeanie), Miles Trumble (Rob-

“I’m more than a little disappointed—with Al. I didn’t know he was sick.

I didn’t know he got a terminal diagnosis last summer less than 10 miles from my home. I didn’t know my summer-program roomie would end up in a Gone But Not Forgotten email without a chance to visit. Don’t do that! If Life smacks you upside the cranium, tell me [and us]! Don’t wait until I’m left wishing I’d been able to (respectfully) insult you in person one last time—when I’m the last one left after the service, watching the caretaker shovel dirt on your grave. If you think you’re in this life alone, then you don’t get that Sabre Society classmate thing.”

Donors On a related note, there are still three squadrons without a contact person: 5, 19, and 32. Please, take a step forward and email me.

A new place to visit. As our 35th reunion approaches, we have a new (and outstanding) class website, courtesy of Jeff Mielke: www.usafa80.org. Lots of good stuff is already there. More will be added.

As a way to entice you, since I only get 1200 words for these articles, you will occasionally find completely new or more in-depth items located on our website, when appropriate. Oh, this quarter is one of those times— there was a lot I couldn’t fit in the allotted space; some I’ve been hoarding for quite a while, like: 1) John Farquhar, who has been at the Zoo for 23 years in a variety of jobs; has a son that’s a firstie. John provides some interesting insight. 2) Two of our classmates and families have homes in North Idaho; one is a full-timer and the other comes up about once a month. Find out who they are. 3) Interesting Empty Nesters and a 1964 Airstream stories. 4) Who has two Naval Aviator sons and one in NROTC? 5) Is it possible to ride together in a bike race for 30 miles before recognizing a fellow classmate? This, and more, at usafa80.org. And when you see “(GoTo usafa80)” imbedded in the text here, that means there is more material on this topic at our new website. Enjoy!

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Better late . . . Dave Francis duly noted there were no photos of Doug Owens’ retirement ceremony in the last issue. He’s fixed that for us here.

From left are Jim Sturch, Dan Saville, Frank Saxon, Dave, Rick Thiele, Doug, Mike Jefferson, Al Baker, Eric Bussian, and Fred Kornahrens.

“Most of that group were in UPT class 81-07 at Columbus AFB, the world famous Hog Flight. Overall, it was a terrific ceremony—Doug and Teresa had smiles on their faces the entire time.”

Mostly Hogs “I’ve been working in the Pentagon since 2002, which means I’ve run into a whole lot of our classmates over the years. Recently I’ve chatted with J.C. Witham, Deputy Director of the Air National Guard, and John Posner, who recently announced his retirement from SAF/AQ. Also had lunch with Mark Graper shortly after his retirement from a NATO position. Rich McFarland lives just around the block from me and works in downtown DC for a major corporation. A couple weeks ago I was in a meeting with Bill Coutts, who is running F-35 testing for Lockheed down in Ft Worth. Mark Cummings and Scott Wheeler are also working as civilians in the Pentagon.”

Speaking of moving on, Brig. Gen. Kory G. Cornum, Commander, 81st Medical Group, Air Education and Training Command, Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., to Command Surgeon, Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. Important lesson, from George Ryan: “I came close to retiring from the US Secret Service in July. Lined up a job teaching Air Force JROTC at a high school about 25 minutes from Annapolis. All was well until I got diagnosed with bladder cancer in June. Had to put retirement on hold so I could take advantage of a full pay check, as well as all my accrued sick and annual leave. I was quite pleasantly surprised when the principal, after I explained the situation, said not to worry about the job, as he will hold it for me. A huge relief and eliminated a lot of potential stress. Chemo went as well as could be expected. Took a toll on me but I think I got off a lot lighter than many others who go through chemo. It was probably rougher on my family than it was on me. For me, at least, the situation was: I’m sick, I’ll get my treatments, and I’ll get better. There was really nothing my family could do except watch me lose about 30 pounds and get very fatigued. But we got through it. I’ve been back in the gym for about 6 weeks now, and doing well.”

George’s surgery, late December, went well. He joked about bionic parts and having something in common with Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man. He was also was happy to learn he’s able to get his FAA medical back, so he may exercise his private pilot privileges. George’s takeaway point: “I only found the cancer by noticing some blood in my urine after a PT run. I went to the doctor and got it checked out. That symptom, the only one I had, only appeared a couple of times. My small soapbox from all this is that if something doesn’t seem right, pay the copay and get it checked out. It saved me.”

Tight. Rob Renner and his brother Mike (’76) got a paver for the front

Sans T-Birds: Mike Renner and son, Greg ’13, Rob, and Alan Partridge ’01.

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of Doolittle Hall. It simply reads, “BROS”. Rob notes, “I have only two godsons and both graduated USAFA. We had a family reunion to coincide with the graduation, sans Thunderbirds, due to ‘sequestration’. Funny how the uniforms shrink in the closet after retirement.”

Smile. As you know, I enjoy sending a sample from the Dean and Carla Eisberg Annual Christmas Letter, where Dean shows us how to laugh a little (GoTo usafa80): Kim: “Who made the yummy cookies.” Dean: “Mom.” Kim: “You need to give her more credit.” Dean: “I’ve been giving her credit for 30 years.

That’s why she’s so indebted to me.”

Jeff: “I got called ‘Sir’ today. It would’ve made me feel like a real man had it not been followed by, ‘The wind chimes are not a toy.’”

Dean: “Jesse, do you think you can back the car off the ramps and park it in the garage without running over me.” Jesse: “Dad, I have a permit AND I own a car!” Dean: “That’s what scares me.”

Jesse: “They should make a cereal that cleans your teeth for people who don’t brush their teeth.” Dean: “They already do. It’s called a dog biscuit.”

All the best, my friends. Don Rich Trentman 11102 Asbee St. Falcon, CO 80831-8170 Work: (719) 452--7708 Cell: (719) 640-9586 USAFA Class of 1981 (Facebook) rptrentman@usafa-grads.com Class Website: www.usafa81.com

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Hope all of you had a great Holiday season. It was a challenging Fall/ Winter at USAFA with a very bad football season (worst in AF history) and the front page news about OSI recruited cadets embedded in the Cadet Wing. Hang tough!

Class News: Russ DeFusco sent me an interesting update. He said the “buzz” among his CS-29 squadron mates was that I was no longer scribe.

Oooops. Russ and Zane Shanklin went on an Alaskan moose hunt last Fall. They floated down a river in central Alaska – cool. Look at that picture. It is huge! (See photo at the top of the next column.)

Kelvin Manning shot me some sympathy for the Detroit Tigers loss in the ALCS and touted his Orioles in 2014. We both also lamented a tough AF Falcon football season. Paulette and Dave Huff have both sons out of the house and more importantly, in the workforce! Dave is now a check airman on the S80 for American Airlines and enjoying his new role. He gets to be home a bit more. He was planning to visit Maryon (Whitener)

Russ DeFusco and Zane Shanklin in the wilds of Alaska.

Baumgartner on an upcoming trip. Jeff Braley (up the road in Ft Collins) is still flying an Airbus for FEDEX. His son, Andrew ’06, is interviewing with the C-21 Guard unit at Peterson AFB. Jeff said his oldest daughter, Lyz, is expecting, again this Spring. Jeff and Paula’s youngest graduates from HS in May and will go to CSU. Jeff admitted he had not been down to a USAFA basketball or hockey game in a while.

World traveler Scott DiNapoli met up with Marty Waugh in the Bahamas. They randomly met up at the Hilton and coincidently were on the same commercial flight back the next day. Both retired out of Andrews AFB and fly private jets. Here is a picture of the two in the lobby.

believes our Academy can capitalize on these historic (and transitional) times to focus on enduring values (being called “Essence”), and make our Academy’s program stronger and relevant for excellence in air, space, and cyber. There will be ripple impacts felt at USAFA (TBD) from the 25,000 person cut to the Air Force as a whole by the end of the fiscal year. Michelle and her staff are anticipating and preparing for impacts. She will continue to improve communications and make choices fact-based to thoughtfully shape our approach and landing, both practically and emotionally (the latter will be most significant). She, again, appreciates the support of her classmates. ’81, Second to None! ’81 Endowment: For those classmates who haven’t seen the committee updates, here is where we stand: The committee received three International Program packages from the Academy, each with their own merit, proposing different experiences in three different parts of the world. After much discussion, the committee selected the proposal that we felt best met the intent and vision of our endowment when it was created.

The international experience we selected will take place this summer to Rwanda. Col Marty France, ’81 and Chair of the USAFA Astro Department will lead the trip. Marty has chosen four outstanding cadets for his team.

Meet them at: http://usafa81endowment.com.

We still need your help to provide this opportunity for USAFA classes in the future. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift to the Class of 1981 International Cultural Immersion Program Fund. Donate at http:// giving.usafa.org/give81cip.

I thank all of you for your inputs and kind words. Despite the wild rumors from CS-29 (Russ), I am still your scribe and look forward to crafting my 50th article this Summer! Go AF!

Jim Ratti 2860 Arbor Pointe Drive Middletown, OH 45042 (937) 760-2333 rattijm@mindspring.com

Scott DiNapoli and Marty Waugh in the Bahamas.

Scott commutes to Geneva, Switzerland twice a month to fly a family around in a Gulfstream G550 all over the world. Scott’s wife, Kymberlei, holds down the fort running a successful gourmet store and restaurant/bar (The Olive Café) in Wilmington, NC. Scott says life has been good. Marty chimed in with Scott’s input. Marty and Melissa adopted two beautiful children a few years ago: Lexi, 10, and Bryan, 8. They are both blessed to have such great kids in their lives. They reside in Lynchburg, VA and Marty flies a Global Express for a single owner. Marty keeps in touch with Ted Boward and recently had dinner with Ted on a lay-over in West Palm Beach, FL. Ted lives in Dover, DE and flies for United Airlines out of Baltimore/DC. Sabre Society Terry Dickensheet is living in Ocala, FL running the Donors AFJROTC program at Belleview HS. He says keeping up with the high school kids is a piece of cake! He has instilled his love for Honor Guard into the high school drill team and they have taken 1st and 2nd in state the past two years. Terry’s wife, Dru, runs a 4th grade program, so as empty nesters, they can take school breaks together to visit the kids and grandkids (who all live in Florida)!

My Doolie squadron mate, Craig Jenkins, is doing well in Atlanta. We foolishly continue our diehard support of the Detroit Lions. With 1 playoff win in our lifetimes, it is truly fanaticism (or foolishness) that keeps us rooting for the Lions. It was cool to see the article on Steve Hirst in the last Checkpoints! I sit by Steve and Susan at all the AF football games. I am fortunate or something to see Marty France every week at AF basketball games. Now, he promised a picture of Frank Cheeseman I knew he had taken if I reminded him, but his memory failed him despite verbal and email reminders. It is so sad, to see the mind of a friend go…but, I’ll keep trying to help him.

From the Superintendent: Michelle wanted to pass her thanks for the tremendous support and constructive feedback she has received from our class. She said it is complex times not only for USAFA, but for higher education and the armed forces as we enter an inter-war period. She firmly

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Greetings Redtags!

The holidays are over and it’s time to get back to work! Although here in Ohio a lot of that work seems to be shoveling snow – we seem to be getting quite a lot this year. But compared to what I remember growing up in south central Pennsylvania, our winters now are a lot milder, both in terms of temperature and snowfall. Still, I always look forward to spring!

But on to the mailbag. First up, Mike Sinisi hosted another of his aperiodic luncheons for the D.C. crowd just before Thanksgiving. Don’t know if it was due to sequestration, furloughs, congressional gridlock or early Christmas shopping, but only a handful of the regulars were able to make it. Just the same, everyone enjoyed the reunion and had a great time reminiscing and discussing the topics of the day.

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The D.C. Lunch Gang Here’s a picture of the folks who showed up and were willing to be photographed together in public. From left are Gerry Sohan, Bob Otto, Julie Ryan, Doc Kimminau, Gail Tarlton, Keith Zuegel, Mike Sinisi, and Brian Neal.

I received a Christmas letter from Doc and Trish Kimminau relating their 2013 adventures. Their daughter Rebekah is thriving in the Philippines, studying to be a missionary midwife at Newlife International School of Midwifery. Their other daughter Erin is doing well as a freshman at Seattle Pacific University where she’s majoring in linguistics with a minor in music. Son Riley is taking classes through a variety of sources: co-op, community college, a tutor, and a course Doc designed and is teaching to him. He is gearing up for debate season, and just won his first parliamentary debate tournament. Riley is a Junior Assistant Scoutmaster with the Boy Scouts and hopes to complete his Eagle project this spring. Trish is homeschooling JJ, who is also active in debate and Boy Scouts. Doc continues to work as the Analysis Mission Technical Advisor for USAF/A2 (intelligence). He says he enjoys the work, and it keeps him quite busy. He teaches online courses with American Public University. Trish continues

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as a Bible Study Fellowship leader and she also leads the prayer ministry at the Ft. Belvoir Chapel.

I also got a Christmas letter from Dave Hagginbothom, who is living in the Williamsburg, VA area. Dave is staying busy, having brushed up his Poli Sci skills over eight months as a “temp” GS-13 working for the Political Advisor to the Commander of Air Combat Command at Langley. He also served as the liaison for William & Mary’s e-intern program, as well as dealing with a seemingly endless list of home maintenance repairs.

Daughter Shannon is halfway through her 3rd year at University of Virginia. An International Relations major, she’s active in Kappa Kappa Gamma, Reformed Sabre Society University Fellowship, and she flew to Colorado for Donors Athletes In Action – Ultimate Training Camp. Daughter Beth works full time (and then some) at Williamsburg’s new Riverside Doctors’ Hospital. She works in Emergency Room administration and also moonlights at Bath & Body Works, all while steadily dating Alex, a Wake Forest and William & Mary law school grad who’s a local county prosecutor. Last June, the girls and their mom went on a two-week-long Mediterranean cruise which included ports of call in Barcelona, Naples, Rome, Pisa, Marseille, and Palma de Mallorca. Assuming all went as planned, the two now renowned international jet-setters also spent five days and four nights on Grand Cayman with their dear old dad right after New Year’s.

Tom LaValley used the AFC Championship game as an excuse to host a mini ’82 reunion at his home in Colorado Springs just after the first of the year. He had a pretty good turnout as you can see in the picture below.

near the end of the Friday afternoon briefings. I would like your class to know the outburst does not reflect the ’63 attitude toward the Academy.”

Jude Villars wrote a long remembrance note to his friend and brother Steve Wallender (after Steve passed away.) He shared so many fond memories. I share his close: “I am happy God gave me the opportunity to know you and to see you again at our 25th. In my thoughts and prayers forever.

Your brother, Jude” Dave Remondowski has become the ‘domestic god of the Haus’ and shares a reunion picture: Catholic Choir (83). I thank the catholic choir for locking Colin in the closet before the photo.

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AFC Party Animals Pictured in the back row from left are: Greg Tate, Angus Simpson, Rob Peterson, Paul Franz, Dean Mills, and Ted Brewer. Front row: Bob Nissen, Ken Carbaugh, Tom LaValley, Steve Topper, and Herb Schreiber.

Tom passed on the news that Paul Franz is a Chaplain in the Colorado Air National Guard, and Greg Tate is working in the Center for Character and Leadership development at USAFA. Herb Schreiber just moved back to Colorado Springs and is teaching math at a local high school.

And finally, I’ve got a bit of news on the personal front. I’ve been promoted to vice president and asked to join the Board of Directors of Dayton Aerospace, the company for which I’ve been working since I retired from active duty in 2007. We’re a small group of retired military and civilian senior leaders who specialize in acquisition consulting. While it sounds more impressive than it really is (it’s a very small privately-held company), it’s still humbling and gratifying to be asked to help lead this dynamic and talented group of folks.

So that’s about it for this round. Send me a note or e-mail from time to time and let me know what’s going on in your world.

Your humble scribe, Ratman.

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W. Wade Wheeler PSC 2, Box 14652 APO AE 09012 wwade83@me.com Germany cell: 0171-6090249

Members

Just imagine how this article would have started if Army had beaten USAFA two years in a row at football. Army did get a copy of the USAFA playbook -- and executed the ‘run out of time before getting in the lead again’ play.

Jim Diffendorfer, President Class of 1963 sent a note to Ray Blust shortly after our reunion. This is an excerpt from his apology to our class for one of his classmates’ action during the meeting with the Superintendent Lt Gen Michelle D. Johnson. “I apologize to the Class of 1983 for the outburst

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Faces from left are Steve Stech, Lori Stech (Abuyan – ’85), Steve Moritz, Mark Torres, Dave Remendowski, Cheryl Phillips (Newhouse), Bob Lemm, (Mr. Ed Ladaceur - Honorary Grad/Choir Director), Rick Ragaller, Kay (Smith) Armstrong, Ricky Nazarrio, and Frances Chun.

They even sang “Lord Guard and Guide” under Mr. L’s direction right there in the kitchen.

Cheryl (Newhouse) Phillips had a blast at the reunion and sent the photo of the ’83 ladies. I want to thank Nancy Liggett (Burdick) for stepping in front of Colin Moffat in this photo (just kidding). If you know who is behind her please let me know. For a listing of who is in the photo – email me.

I was told that Colin Moffat was voted “Most wanted NOT to be in Checkpoints photo until 50th reunion”. I have to come to Colin’s defense.

We all know who has been putting him in Checkpoints all these years – it’s not all Colin’s fault. But then again, he does keep sending photos to Stu. I want to thank Chuck Murrillo for sending me the formal Schedule of Events to the United States Naval Special Warfare Command, Change of Command for Rear Admiral Brian Losey. Chuck went to San Diego to attend… Did I get a picture? The Navy knows how to put on a Change of Command! I would say the Navy didn’t do it first rate… they went over the TOP! Wish I had joined Chuck. Congrats and good luck to Brian and Ivy. Bob Stambaugh and his wife, Virginia, visited the Sabre Society Romaj Dairy during their retirement vacation tour. I Donors have a wonderful picture of them and Janae Murillo during their visit to Chuck’s dairy farm in Archbold, OH. Retired Bob is building a new house in Airfield, CA (near Travis), riding his bike a lot, RE-connecting with friends and family in California and thinking (occasionally) about what he wants to do next.

Joe Banna sent Ray an email after the last Checkpoints came out …

“Thanks for making me famous in the last Checkpoints -- I look like a deer caught in a car’s headlights! However, you misspelled my last name…

I’m not related to the actor who played the Incredible Hulk (Eric Bana).

Of course having the last name Banna has resulted in many luggage and body cavity searches by the TSA, who must think I’m related to the terrorist who founded the Muslim Brotherhood (Hassan al-Banna). BTW, the tattoos on my shins did hurt like hell!!”

Tom Buckner retired this last summer and sends that his daughter is at the University of St Andrew’s in Scotland. The birthplace of golf… isn’t helping his golf handicap, but I suspect he may end up with a son-in-law

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who speaks the queens English!

News you might have missed… Patty Jo (Martinez) Gillette was inducted into the USAFA Athletic Hall of Fame! Outstanding! Now if only the athletic dept would make it easy to look at all the members of the hall of fame on their website. I went to see if any other classmates had made it in the 5 years it has been done.

I have to pull a great photo out of my archives -- Brad ‘Boog’ Powell, Steve ‘Knobs’ Knoblock, Roger Yeshnik, and Brian McIntosh played with the Air Force Gray Birds in the Grand Masters Division (over 50) in the Vail lacrosse tournament July 5-7, 2012. Unfortunately, they did not lead the team to glory. Roger and Bog both pulled ‘hammies’ but nothing serious. They did share quite a few libations to take the sting off their losses.

Brad flies for United, Roger for American, Knobs is a test pilot for Martin Marietta, and Brian is the only ground pounder; teaching AF JROTC in Jacksonville, NC.

Our next scribe is Jon Duresky. Send him photos and info at DureskyJB@aol.com. H: (478) 953-3141. C: (478) 396 7787.

I’m looking forward to our 35th year class reunion… still NO doubt about my choice of football games for our reunion weekend… Go Army beat Air Force! (Until Army beats AF again... I will keep my Army comments to end of article.)

Mike Jensen 12035 Milam Road Colorado Springs, CO 80908 (719) 338-3570 www.usafa84.com usafahomes@gmail.com Twitter: @USAFA84

we’ll be there!” That is so great to hear from you, Doug, and our thoughts are with you and Linda.

Speaking of weddings, Tom Wilson recently celebrated his anniversary to Dana, and later in January came out to Colorado and brought young Tommy for a couple of days at Breckenridge. Tommy showed us his best downhill routines and we did our best to keep up. It was fantastic! Thanks, Tom, for getting me back out on the slopes and back to Colorado Springs with minimal tree bark and snow coverings.

Tom and Tommy Wilson on top of the world in Breckenridge.

In the Springs: I had the pleasure of lunch with Bob Perry, his wife, Lori, and son John at Thunder & Buttons II down in Old Colorado City.

We were getting ready for the USAFA vs CSU men’s basketball game. The team is young, but Coach Dave Pilipovich has exceeded expectations and has them competitive. (Meaning we lost, but the pregame food and beer were good.)

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Congrats are in order! Doug Fogle checked in time for last issue, and I missed it. His message is such that I thought to quote it directly. “I met and married a woman that God has so graciously put in my life. Her name is Linda and, like me, she was widowed by cancer about 4 years ago. We are living in Valparaiso, IN, married 3 July 2011, and between us we have five kids- four boys ages 20, 19, 18, and 17 and a 12-year-old little girl, 15 chickens, 2 beeSabre Society hives, 3 big dogs, 7 rabbits, 2 ducks, and a beta fish. We Donors are busy, although 3 boys have flown the coop, they still seem to rely on us every once in a while. I’m still flying for Southwest Airlines and Linda goes with me every chance she can. We love to go on cruises, but the trip she’s really looking forward to is our class reunion next year, so I guess

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Bob Perry, Lori and John Track Stars: Legacy ladies Annette Eichenberger and Morgan Malone are DOMINATING in track and field. Annette set a program record in the 1000-meter run at New Mexico, and added her name to the top of another event as she crossed the finish line of the 600-meter run in a time of 1:31.56. That time, a personal improvement by over two seconds, cutting over one second from the previous Air Force record that had stood since 2010. Morgan broke the Academy’s nine-year-old record in the 200-meter dash and clocked the Academy’s 7th best time in the 60 yard dash. Hey, Bob, maybe we need to watch some of this!

As usual, I am horribly late on news and it has been scarce. I hope you are getting the reunion info and are making plans to attend.

Please check www.usafa84.com for all of the reunion updates. I’ll be in touch. Jens

W. Scott Carney P.O. Box 210 Princeton, ME 04668 USAFA.Class.of.1985@gmail.com

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(16 Sabre Society Members)

Linda and Doug Fogle

Greetings ’85ers!

I hope you all had a safe, happy, and warm holiday season. I used to think USAFA had extreme winters until I moved to Maine. The dark ages seem to hit here earlier and last longer. I still have a good three feet of Polar Vortex covering my yard. So much for global warming. As we enter 2014, it’s not too early to start planning ahead (Do we do that better now

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than we did as cadets?). Anyhow, we have less than 2 years until our 30th reunion -- Fall of 2015! Let the countdown begin.

Annette (Perez) Deiters sent me a family picture from the Air Force vs Navy game. My apologies for the lack of timeliness but it was not received until after the last deadline. Although the outcome of the game didn’t go our way, the weather was perfect and a good time was had by all. Pretty good for an event that almost didn’t happen due to sequestration. Thanks again to USAA for footing the bill for Air Force.

Congratulations to Joe Michell on his promotion at Delta Airlines. Joe is now an instructor pilot on the B-717 aircraft. Way to go! He recently celebrated his birthday stranded in Cleveland (four days and counting) due to the weather.

Thank you to those who have sent me inputs for use in Checkpoints. I always look forward to hearing from you. It still seems strange to reside in a state without an active duty air force base. I miss the roar of the sound of freedom. Keep those letters and e-mails coming. ‘85 Best Alive! Scott

Bob Colella 9247 Northedge Drive Springfield, VA 22153 (703) 455-3176 rkascolella@verizon.net colellar@ndu.edu

From left are Annette Deiters, Jeff Deiters, and Alyssa Deiters (‘12).

Jack Stuart II sent me an e-mail indicating he had just retired from active duty. He now resides in Colorado, and practices law as legal counsel for a Fortune 500 company. In addition, he returned to United Airlines in January. I thought retirement meant you slowed down?

Mark Altobelli informed me that Bruce Desautels retired as an O-6, having served as Deputy J3/7 at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. No word yet on his post Air Force plans. The picture is from his ceremony.

From left are BGen Marc Sasseville, Col Bruce Desautels, and Mark Altobelli.

Lee Curtis is proud to share that his daughter Angie is going strong as a member of the Class of 2017 in CS-22. Angie is starting off way ahead of her dad, as she made both the Dean’s and Commandant’s Lists her first semester. It took Lee until his final semester Firstie year to accomplish that. Lee and Angie attended the All-Academy Ball in Norman, OK on December 28th.

From left are LtGen (Ret) Don Wetekam, ’73, C4C Angela Curtis, and LtCol (Ret) Lee Curtis.

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Attention in the Area, Attention in the Area: Ground Hog Day 2014 appropriately begins with a twist! The soon to be very popular parlor game: Grandpas, AARP, and Two Stars – Your task: See if you can guess “who” in the following list is in which category (answers at the end of the article): J.L. Briggs, George Bumiller, DJ Hauck, Carl Martin and JP Horner, Angie Faulise**. (Two stars, get it?)

Social Media Alert: Here is what you are missing if YOU are not on Facebook with the “closed group” (very exclusive) for the USAFA Class of 1986: Red Trunks are Sabre Society “vanishing” from attics – photos curbside will grip you Donors with a chill! Even worse – there are “mixed” marriages where one trunk stays and the other trunk goes – whose trunk with what junk? You have to tune it to know. And speaking of junk in the trunk, you have to watch the ongoing battle of “who still fits into what?” A-Jackets are the most competitive category: Niki Kozak is current leader, with Jonathan Putney bulging a bit and Dwight Robinson unable to provide a seated photo; Andy Garboden is too busy laughing to try. Running Suits – they are out there, but nobody is brave enough to try one on for fear of thigh to thigh auto-ignition. In addition there are a large number of “Bathrobe” survivors who

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not only fit into them, but 32 years from the issue date are still using them daily! (Count me, or rather my dog, in this category) Lastly, there are many folks out there taking surveys to discover “who they really are, should be, or should have been: Prolific survey taker Bridgit (Burton) Malfer has discoverer her “Once Upon a Time Character” – Prince Charming (Does that mean Dennis is not only Thunderbird Solo, but is also Snow White?), and that she should have been an astronaut (which is pretty close to the mark right?). To be fair, I got “Hook” and of course found out that I should have been a plumber -- Once again, you have to check-in, to check-it-out, that would be the Check-point of the day Ah, Christmas! (I know you are reading this at the equinox) When the scribe gets photos to share!

Long time correspondent Angie (Langley) Faulise checked in (no trunk data to share here: Angie’s or Joe’s Gold Edition from ’87: Angie writes: (Spoiler alert if you haven’t completed the quiz at the top of the page) “Life is good here as I prepare to surpass the half century mark. AARP card arrived in the mail the other day and I got a solicitor calling to sell me a life-alert system. If I wasn’t so busy with the 4th grader and the 2d grader, I might have time to lament my passing youth. Ariel and Jackie do keep us busy with sports, drama, choir, etc. Thankfully Joe’s around much of the time to help with the running. As a 767 first officer with 17 years, he’s got a lot of flexibility with the schedule - -which means he can satisfy his need to golf AND be there for the family stuff. As I said, life is good. I continue to volunteer with church, the kids’ school, and our local air show. Driving through town the other day, listening to the ’80s station, the Tommy Tutone song, Jenny, came on the radio -- it made me smile.”

Excellent Update Angie – and yes, I think we all still sing along 86-75309 with Tommy Tutone (another thing our/my kids wonder/worry about with dad)

Peter, surfs and will likely be an Air Force cyber warrior. Our youngest, Madeline, ice skates and enjoys crafts like her mother. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about Yeti, our mascot. Looking forward to our next reunion in 2016.”

Aren’t we all Steve – me in my bathrobe and others in theirs?

Lastly, another spoiler alert:

Grandpa Carl Martin, Daughter Erica, and Jeremiah -- Class of 2036.

That’s all for now – as you know this job is one that doesn’t pay much in money, but certainly pays the soul as it allows me to keep in touch with some of you – so in that vein, where you can connect please do, and encourage others to do the same – the magazine is great, but the real-time interactions on social media really do lend themselves to feeling connected to all of you.

Cheers and over to the “Assistant to the Scribe” Lawrence Cooper for the next edition! Bob Colella. **Congrats to 2-Star Selects Briggs, Hauck and Horner, to Grandpa George and Carl, and to Angie who hit the “half” Century mark and got a nice note from AARP, a boat we are all about to join her in.

John & Carolyn Sammartino 3107 Woods Cove Lane Woodbridge, VA 22192 H: (703) 492-5492 W: (703) 808-6234 jsammar@verizon.net

Joe and Angie Faulise with Ariel and Jackie.

This update flew in from Steve Skotte along with a family photo: “I’m living the dream back in my hometown (San Diego) since retiring from the Air Force in 2007. I’m a professor and space acquisition director for the Defense Acquisition University. The Navy culture is rubbing off -- my office is on the third deck, not the third floor. My beautiful wife, Jane, and I are coming up on our 25th anniversary this summer. Our oldest, David (Steve’s snorkeling partner), will be headed off to college in the fall -- still waiting to hear from 2 of the 4 universities before deciding. Our middle,

Steve, Jane, David, Peter, and Madeline and the only one that listens to him – Yeti.

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Greetings ’87 from the frozen tundra of our Nation’s Capital—coldest winter we’ve seen in the 13 years that we’ve lived here; time to start thinking about heading further south! Not too many inputs this quarter, I have to resort to passing on tidbits from the AOG and other sources, and offering editorial comments on several troubling items that made the news last quarter.

But first, hearty CONGRATULATIONS to BJ Shwedo and Jim Marrs for their selection as our class’s first Major Generals! They are both in the Intelligence Officer career field, a wise choice I might say!

Laurie (McLean) Farris sent us a long-awaited input after much badgering—it pains me to actually include a favorable comment about the Red Sox, being a New Yorker and lifelong Yankee fan, but she said: “Here’s a picture of my family from this past Christmas. Taylor is 19 (sophomore at Syracuse), Drew 16. Life has been good to us! It was a great year for our Sox, after 17 years of season tickets, we were able to be there when history was made and the Sox won the World Series at Fenway Park! New Hampshire Air Guard has been a great place for me for the past 20 years; (got to fly with classmate Dan McMackin too). I’m still flying as a traditional

The McLean Family

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Class News Guardsman and working in the NH JFHQ. I enjoy hearing how everyone is doing; so thanks for continuing to write these articles. Hope to make it out to Colorado one of these days. That’s about it in a nutshell. All the typical deployments everyone else has been on over the past 25 years. So glad I found the Guard; it’s been a great fit for me and the family to help balance being a stay-at-home mom, while keeping my hands on the flying game. Laurie.”

Thanks Laurie, great update!

Now back to the news, where the first of these was the story that the AF OSI was using a cadet as an informant—don’t know about you all, but I don’t know how anyone could think that this is a good idea—how are we supposed to teach someone to live by the Honor Code, and then have this going on in the background? Last time I looked, fully 87 percent of grads agree that this should not have taken place. Lt Gen Johnson also issued a couple of statements to the effect that she would personally oversee the use of any confidential informants (CI) with a longterm intent to eliminate the need for cadet CIs in the Cadet Wing. Thanks to Chris Simpson for providing some clarity on this hot topic via Facebook.

Sabre Society Donors There were also several issues going on in the AF relating to missileers—as a former missileer, it really pained me to read about this. Having sat many alerts below ground in Missouri, I know how boring it could get, but we still had a job to do, and we did it well. I’m sure it is hard for the instant gratification generation to see this, and it will take some great leadership to turn this tide around. Makes me long for the days of SAC! Okay, enough of the “debby downer” syndrome. On a happier note, please check out our class giving website -- for our latest class gift effort we are simply encouraging our classmates to join the Sabre Society or to give back to a designation of your choosing at the Academy. Our primary goal is participation in giving back. You may have noticed in a recent copy of Checkpoints that our class giving participation rate is around 11%. Our goal is to get our overall giving participation rate up to at least 50% by our next reunion.

Private funds are vital to a variety of USAF Academy programs that benefit all cadets. These very programs are the same tools that we benefitted from and shaped our cadet experiences. Now is the time for us to build our philanthropic culture as a class for the good of our institution.

We have the opportunity to shape our Class of ’87 legacy and enrich the development of the next generation of leaders.

Our Class Gift Committee is asking you to consider a small monthly recurring gift of $87, $50, $20, or more to support an Academy program or fund of your choice.

Please feel free to email Glenn Strebe at 1987usafa@gmail.com for additional details. Together we can give back to our Academy and contribute to the continuous development of our elite institution.

Now, let’s get super serious here! Who else is addicted to Candy Crush?

I can tell you Carolyn and I consistently ask for lives! Who can we count on? LOL! This is what happens when our children leave the nest! We know what Ron Porte, Mick Testa and Marc Willis are doing in their spare time!

We’ve been supplying them with lives for awhile now! Marc is so far ahead of all of us I think he’s waiting for them to develop new levels!

Got a random email from Adrian Van Zelfden, a ’69 grad who turned out to be quite entertaining. He compiled a somewhat satirical, somewhat serious, history on June 4, their graduation day, dating back to 1946, the year most of their class was born. For instance, on June 4, 1987, he wrote that “just eight days later, on June 12, 1987, and shortly after delivering a D-Day anniversary speech at Pont-du-Hoc, Normandy, France, President Ronald Reagan traveled to Berlin. There he spoke into the air words that caused a thing to come into existence which had not previously been.

“Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

In a less-well-reported portion of his speech, Reagan said, “As I looked moments ago . . . I noticed words crudely spray-painted on the wall, perhaps by a young Berliner, ‘This wall will fall. Beliefs become reality.’ Yes, across Europe this wall will fall. For it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom.” Like I said, it is quite entertaining, if anyone wants a copy let me know and I will email it to you.

Checkpoints wants to interact with the Long Blue Line! We are seeking content for the subject listed below. We value graduate participation and with your contributions we can maintain the magazine’s status as an award-winning publication!

Check In with Checkpoints: Send is (content@aogusafa.org) a hi-res (300 DPI) digital image of you and your Checkpoints magazine at a unique locale (say on top of Mount Kilimanjaro) or cool event (like at the World Series) and your photo could end up on the State of Mind page in the magazine.

That’s about it for this quarter; send us some inputs and photos for the next issue! Fly Safe ’87.

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Craig McCurdy 46992 Smithwood Court Potomac Falls, VA 20165 Cell: (202) 570-3058 ccicdjmccurdy@yahoo.com

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(10 Sabre Society Donors) (Editor’s note: We did not receive an input from Craig for this issue.

Please send him your information and photos for the next issue.)

Paul W. Tibbets, IV 102 Ira Eaker Drive Barksdale AFB, LA 71110 (318) 742-1505 E-mail: p2a2tibbets@gmail.com or p2a2me.com Class web site: http://www. usafaclasses.org/1989/

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Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=43101356987.

Greetings ’89ers! In January this year we had 1 classmate nominated by the President for appointment to Maj Gen – Pete Gersten; and 11 to Brig Gen – Dieter Bareihs, Doug Cox, Greg Guillot, Greg Gutterman, Darren Hartford, Dave Hicks, Mary O’Brien, Chris Short, Kirk Smith and Stephen Williams. Additionally, I was humbled to be selected as well. By the time you read this the Tibbets family will have moved to Offutt AFB, NE where I will be serving as USSTRATCOM/J3N. A huge congrats to these classmates and their families, we are proud of you!

Our first letter is from Greg Clark, who retired as the wing chaplain from the 151st Air Refueling Wing (Utah Air National Guard) on Dec 7th! Greg flew active duty Sabre Society and Air Guard for a total of 13 years, then became an Donors ALO for the Academy and ROTC in 2002 and finished

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up the additional graduate studies required to become a chaplain. He served in this capacity from 2006-13 in both Utah and Idaho Air National Guards, as well as deploying to Afghanistan, Cuba, Curacao, and Washington DC. Greg started flying for American Airlines in 1998, and after 15 years with two jobs looks forward to spending more time with his wife, Amy, and their three youngest sons, Isaac, Eli and Jonas. His two oldest children, Ethan and Christian, are on full-rides to (respectively) the Universities of Delaware and Pittsburg. Greg recently checked out in the 777, and notes there are a slew of ’89ers at AA, including Rob Anderson, Tom Copeland, Bill Faris, Andre Haith and Lev Prichard. Thanks for the update Greg and CONGRATS!

Greg and Amy celebrate his retirement with the family: Ethan (21), Christian (19), Isaac (9), Eli (7) and Jonas (5).

Next we hear from Christy Kayser-Cook, who continues to enjoy teaching Physics at the Academy, and also picked up duties as Director of Operations and course director for a core course. Daughter Haley, 12 and in 6th grade, joined a new soccer club with sister Emily, and also plays basketball and runs track. Both girls participated in AF Academy soccer and basketball camps over the summer. Emily, 15 and in 9th grade, is taking 2 honors classes, plays basketball and soccer, and runs track. The family visited a plethora of national monuments (NM) and national parks (NP) throughout 2013, including Cabrillo NM and Joshua Tree NP in California;

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Class News Wind Cave NP, Jewel Cave NM, Crazy Horse, Little Devils Tower, Mount Rushmore NM, Badlands NP and Devils Tower NM in South Dakota and Wyoming; and Aztec Ruins NM, Four Corners Monument, Canyon De Chelly NM, Navajo NM, Hovenweep NM, Yucca House NM, Mesa Verde NP and Gunnison NP in Arizona, Utah and Colorado. They also rented a 60-foot double-decker houseboat and a 21-foot ski boat for a week on Lake Powell! Thx Christy!

My good friend Eric Chandler flew his last Viper sortie in 2013, officially retiring the first day of 2014 with over 3000 hours in the F-16! He crossed the Nile 14 times and was back and forth to the Middle East on 7 different trips. Eric met his wife, Shelley, because of the Air Force, and is grateful for all his friends and comrades in arms. He also skied his tenth Birkie in 2013, ran his tenth Grandma’s Marathon, caught and cured Lyme disease, and climbed most of the way up Mt. Rainier. Shelley started a new business as a personal chef, where she goes into a client’s home and cooks them a week of meals in one day. Son Sam just beat Eric in a Thanksgiving 5k, is a junior black belt and picking up Debussy tunes on the piano. He is skiing for the Duluth East High School Nordic team as a 7th grader! Daughter Grace recently received her junior black belt, is rocking the piano, and also enjoys gymnastics. Thanks Eric and CONGRATS!

Eric and Shelley celebrate after his Viper fini flight!

Jeff Louie writes to say he and wife, Dana, have relocated from Colorado to Maryland. Jeff was selected for the Afghanistan-Pakistan Hands Program, and will report to Afghanistan for a deployment later this year.

In preparation, he is in the NCR studying Dari. Dana was recently selected as a PhD student in the University of Maryland’s Astronomy program, which will begin this fall. In the meantime, she will finish her Physics Master’s degree at the University of Colorado at the end of the current semester. Thanks Jeff!

Our last update comes from Tony Pollizzi, who is wrapping up a 6month deployment flying the MC-12 in Afghanistan. The family relocated from Scott AFB to Rocklin, CA, which is about 40 miles south of Beale.

Tony’s follow-on assignment will be flying the Global Hawk at Beale.

Before deploying, Tony was able to fit in Hockey, Boy Scout and Soccer camps with his boys Dominic (12) and Nicholas (9). Although missing the convenience and security of living on base and the many family-friendly

Tony and his Scouts, Dominic and Nicholas.

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activities of St. Louis, wife, Raquel, and the boys are enjoying the new location and being closer to family again. Thanks Tony, stay safe!

That’s a wrap for this quarter. Keep those cards and letters coming.

Take care and God bless!

Mike Shepherd 3801 Derby Circle Quartz Hill, CA 93536 (661) 266-2133 michael.j.shepherd@hotmail.com

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“Air Force Col. Mark E. Weatherington has been nominated for appointment to the rank of brigadier general. Weatherington is currently serving as the military assistant to the deputy secretary of defense, Office of the Secretary of Defense, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.” DOD NR-016-04.

Stop the presses! What fantastic news—our first Mighty 90 general officer! Fantastic news!

Brig. Gen. (Select) Mark Weatherington

I checked with Mark and his bride, Stephanie, and this is what they had to say. “What an incredible honor to represent the Class of 1990 as a general officer in our Air Force—one of many sure to follow. There have been so many people we have served with along the way, warriors from every one of the services, civilians, community patriots, friends and family, without whom this would have proved impossible. Thank you. I owe much to the friendships that took root on 1 July 1986 on a parade ground outside Colorado Springs. Today, those same ’90 grads are making a difference for our Air Force as senior leaders, group and wing commanders, and mentors; others have moved on to become difference makers in the public or private sectors. Stephanie and I are excited and very grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve with you and with incredible Airmen and patriots, wherever this leads us. PS -- no idea if/when we’ll move yet, but I’ll send an update when we know.” Oh, and Mark didn’t mention he was one of my Doolie roommates—glad to see that even after that experience he was still able to Sabre Society prosper in the USAF! Donors We had some other great news from John Bernhart via our Facebook page. “I remarried in August 2012 to my bride, Leslie, our newest Leah Austyn was born April 18, 2013 and she is now 9 months old. We moved from the Florida panhandle to Abilene, TX on Leslie’s orders to Dyess AFB over the Christmas holidays and our now settled in. I accepted a position with Air Methods flying the AS350 this past week and start training Feb 3rd. I still work part time with a small Systems Engineering firm, Pioneer Technologies, and am continuing my wealth management practice and completing my Certified Financial Planner (CFP) by Dec of this year.

Met up with the local AOG Chapter and plan to keep active there as I did in Niceville/Eglin. Wishing our classmates all the best and a productive 2014, feel free to steal a family FB pic.” Well I did steal one of the wedding (Photo 2)—it looked like a fabulous event and even better to know that the end result was Leah! Congratulations to the new Bernhart clan!

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The Greg and Robyn Newman Family with children, from left, Alyssa, Alec, Courtney, Ellyana, Ana and Katy.

89th in DC: Mike Kosco is also hired on at UAL and is flying 737s out of Houston. Jim Moore is on with US Air. Scott Hollister got some cush job flying Gulfstreams for 3M way up in the Northern Midwest. Those are all the ’90ers that were pilots in the 89th that have all retired and moved on.”

Thanks for the update and enjoy the friendly skies!

In other news, frequent contributor and friend Laura Radley let me in on the latest goings on in AMC. “Hi. I saw your post. I’m at Westover now but found out I’m going to Air War College in residence this summer. Kim Scott replaced me in Air Mobility Command’s A3 Fuel Efficiency Division.

Dave Almand is still the wing commander at Andrews AFB and his bride, Cathy (Beddow) Almand, will eventually go back to American Airlines.”

Congratulations on the selection Laura! Another classmate in for more schooling is Marc Robinson who has begun classes towards a physician’s assistant degree and will be licensed in Michigan.

Wow, lot’s of changes both in and out of the Air Force, and it is great to hear about all of the exciting opportunities out there! Enjoy the spring and drop me a line if you can! Mighty ’90—Flash.

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Carson Tavenner 7216 W. Country Club Drive Arlington, WA 98223 (301) 367-8969 Tavenner@hotmail.com

John and Leslie Bernhart enjoying a little slice of heaven.

Another family doing well are the Newman’s down in Arizona. Greg provided his first update in 24 years, and I really appreciated it. Here it goes: “I retired in 2010 and became ‘Mr. Mom’ to 6 kids while my wife, Robyn, returned to the active duty Air Force as a flight surgeon at Luke AFB. She’s currently deployed to Ali Al Salem until July 2014. We miss her dearly. (If you look for her at Al Salem, look for Lt Col Kramer… she’s Newman socially, but Kramer professionally) And I’ve heard all the Seinfeld-related jokes about our last names… Newman and Kramer! She will separate from active duty upon RTB with 11 1/2 years of service. I was recently hired by United Airlines and should start training in March or April.

If anyone’s ever in the Phoenix area, please look us up! Yes, we’ve got lots of kids, but we always have room from friends.” Greg sent a great photo in as well (Photo 3) with the explanation “Courtney, Alec and Alyssa are ‘mine’… the twins Ana and Katy are ‘hers’ and Elly is ‘ours!’” (See photo at the top of the next column.)

Joseph “Bo” Deane sent an update on the latest airline hiring. “Tamara (Reardon) Cinnamon just spoke to me this morning and asked me to give an update. I think you already have posted my news but I can give you a taste of what I’ve seen recently. I got hired by CAL/UAL in May... now flying the CAL B756 fleet as a First Officer out of Newark, but still living in Northern Virginia. I started the ’90 grad LinkedIn group that is going well but could still use more members and discussions (especially as we close in on our 25th! in a few years) so please spread the word on that. Ryan Cecil is doing really well and is already a Captain for UAL, flying the same equipment as myself out of the same base. As for all of us that were in the

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Bold Gold, 2013, done and gone! By the time you read this, you’ll have completely left it behind and are likely well focused on your plans and activities in 2014. Still, in 2013 there were several job changes that took place which I never dedicated the space and time in this column to tell you about. So as a bit of looking back on 2013, here they are: Dirk Armbrust became the Director of NexBank Capital Advisers. Mike Callender has been the Vice Wing Commander out on the Azores since June. Wow! That’s gotta be a very interesting and pleasant time though no doubt the work is probably relentless as in every location. Chris Craige turned over command at Incirlik this past July and is now the Director of Air Force General Officer Management at the Pentagon, and at the same time Reggie Godbolt became the Group Commander of the 6th Maintenance Group in the 6th Air Mobility Wing at MacDill. Angie (Wallace) Sabre Society Donors Suplisson became a PhD candidate at AFIT, working on the latest generation of applied algorithms for terrain avoidance. Derek West is now the Deputy Division Chief for Southern Africa and International Military Cooperation at US Africa Command, and Pete Berg is now an engagement management consultant at Oliver Wyman! Congratulations, everyone!

On 19 January, Tom Anderson swam the 5th annual Frogman Swim, which is a 5 KM swim across a small part of Tampa Bay... a swim a good friend helped start up in 2010. “My goal is to raise money and awareness for The Navy SEAL Foundation. This Foundation supports the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) families who have endured the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the freedoms we all enjoy. SEALs are willing to risk everything for our country without hesitation; however, all Frogmen want to know that their families left behind are taken care of if something tragic were to happen. It’s not about my time, my overall place or how I did. It’s above me and all the swimmers that braved the chilly waters this morning. For

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Class News those of you that saw Lone Survivor, the race is about supporting the families of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. God Speed!”

CJ Didier is flying for United (not certain whether that’s news, but glad you’re still flying, CJ!) and I’ve been reconnecting with my old roommate Don Yu who is doing very well flying for UPS out of Dallas.

Bill Wosilius has been moving up in the world of corporate responsibility and service, being now on the board of directors for The Innovar Group (been trying to learn more about that!) as well as an advisory board member for 3t Systems. That’s great, Bill! As I have been learning more and more myself (directly) about the roles, nature and requirements of boards over non-profits, I am increasingly convinced that more of us need to be taking that step in our lives; if you are not serving on or seeking a board position for an institution, private or civil sector (maybe a school board, a non-profit board, even) then I encourage you to think about that and look around for opportunities. It would be the thing to do at this stage in life, I think. I am very pleased to have Derek Linden (and Mark Cozad, ’93) on my board, and invite any of you interest in joining us to give me a call!

We’re on the lookout for good board members for the Tai Initiative.

Short and sweet this quarter, I guess! All the best, Tav.

Over the Christmas holidays, the Barrow family linked up with Ed Cavanaugh and his family. Steve and Eddie were roommates in BCT and during 4-degree year. Note the close alphabetic order of their last names… brings back memories, doesn’t it? Ed and his wife, Elizabeth, retired out of Robins AFB and Ed now works for Centric Consulting in the greater Cincinnati area. Anyway, Steve got a laugh when reading the last column when I mentioned that Wes Schaeffer was expecting his seventh Sabre Society Donors kid. Steve’s not too far behind with five and Eddie had the lead on Wes for a while with seven of his own! Steve sent me a great photo of the two families at Christmas in Ohio. I first thought Steve sent me a photo of his family at a Christmas party and I was supposed pick out the Barrows.

However, it was just Steve and Eddie’s families! Take a look for yourself:

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Mostly on the left, the Barrow clan, and mostly on the right, the Cavanaughs.

Steve summed it up well: “As far as I’m concerned, Ed and Wes hold the unofficial record until I hear of a classmate who has sired more offspring!”

So how about it, has anyone else equaled or topped seven?

True Blue Wing Kings. I got a quick email from Dave “Kumo” Kumashiro while he was out here in DC at Joint Base Andrews for a Wing Commander’s Conference. During the conference, Kumo organized a photo with General Welsh.

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James S. Mehta 3802 Elbert Ave. Alexandria, VA 22305 james.mehta@us.af.mil jamesmehta@earthlink.net

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What a cool time! Those who have stayed in past 20 and were lucky enough to have been selected for promotion “on time,” are finally getting to pin on Colonel. In the Pentagon where many of us are clustered, it seems like the promotions are one after the next just like the weddings in the chapel after graduation. It’s pretty cool.

Mailbag. I got an email from one of my doolie year squadron mates— Steve Barrows. Despite being selected for promotion to Colonel, Steve opted to retire as the Commander of the ROTC Detachment at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. He was enjoying the academic environment too much, was ready to stop moving around. He opted to stay in the academic arena longer. Steve got his PhD a few years back and taught at USAFA before leading ROTC cadets. Steve and his wife, Kim, decided to find a place to put down some roots. Steve is now an associate professor of economics at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI.

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Back: Lance Bunch, Rick Moore, Bill Spangenthal, and Brook Leonard.

Front: Kumo, Troy Brashear, Joel Jackson, General Welsh - CSAF (Class of 1976), Lance Landrum, and Clint Hinote.

Of course these are the proud True Blue ’92 sitting wing commanders out there today. Shortly after receiving this email, I saw the vice wing commanders’ and the group commanders’ lists. Needless to say there are many more ’92ers on those lists as well.

One of those group-level commanders is Mike Rokaw. Mike is on the Joint Staff in J-8. I see him around the Pentagon from time to time when we have lunch. Mike is on his way back to Los Angeles AFB to lead one of the GPS Space units. Mike and his family have been out here in DC for a few years after he finished Naval War College. They are now heading back to the warm sunshine of LA. Mike and I pinned on Colonel the same day.

Unfortunately, we didn’t make one another’s ceremonies.

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Mike Mote and Ken Ohlson are in J-33 with me on the Joint Staff. Both just got promoted the month after Mike and I did. Several other classmates were able to attend as well. Here is a shot of several True Blue colonels at Mike Mote’s ceremony at the Pentagon.

Michelle (Meyer) Kilgore, Ken Ohlson, Mike Mote, James Mehta, Mo Krishna and Brent Griffin.

Brent Griffin is at OSD and Mo Krishna is also on the Joint Staff. Michelle (Meyer) Kilgore is on the ANG “Air Staff” over at Joint Base Andrews.

Since those of us “on-time” guys are all bunched up together for promotion, I also got a colonel promotion photo from Scott AFB. My old roommate, Don Unwin, who is still flying in the Reserves at Scott AFB for a little while longer, attended Ken Moss’ and Perry Long’s dual promotion ceremony there. See photo

From left are Jim Dittus, Scott Gundlach, Andy Crum, Ken Moss, Perry Long, Pat Dabrowski, Don Unwin, and Nate Allerheiligen.

While much of this column was devoted to highlighting the many that have been promoted to colonel, clearly there are many more that were also deserving of promotion, but weren’t selected. Please update me on the great things you are doing out there. Similarly, there are many more that have left the USAF and are doing great things in the private and public sectors and taking care of their families. I want to highlight those amazing accomplishments, as well. It’s easy for me to get updates from those I see in the halls of the Pentagon, but more difficult to know about those of you who are not around here. So, let me know what you’re doing.

After all, it won’t be too long from now, that rest of us will be turning to the next chapters of our lives as civilians. So send me a note and keep the True Blue faith. God bless! James Michael D. Sundsted 1805 Macadams Place Alexandria, VA 22308 703-307-0903 Michael.Sundsted@whmo.mil Class Website: www.zoomienation .org–”Class of 1993”

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Greetings Class of 1993! Welcome to Spring and another approaching graduating class for our alma mater! While there are many bright and shiny lieutenants soon to be named by our esteemed military university, we have many in our class who are hanging up their flight suits/blues/ ABUs (airman battle uniforms) formerly known as BDUs for the retired/ civilian life! Retirements started in August and you may have heard some prior to the reunion. We have had a plethora of retirements since then.

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Class News And no…I’m not retiring yet…still enjoying the flying here at Joint Base Andrews in D.C. Lori, Collin and I are making it through the extreme cold that normally stays much farther north. I hope this article finds you well…On to the news…

Don’t know if you happened to see the last Checkpoints, but check it out online if you can. Our classmate Dan Oosterhous was featured on the cover for his recent struggles and successes in overcoming them. Dan, thanks for being a true unsung here of our class and for motivating so many people! Dan is the USAFA men’s tennis coach. Make sure you find time to read the article—it’s great!

Tanya (Kobberdahl) Kubinec checked in from Tinker AFB, OK with her husband John (Class of ’92). John is the Air Force Sustainment Center Vice Commander. Tanya commutes to Kirtland AFB for her Reserve job as IMA to the AF Nuclear Weapon Center Vice Commander.

The biggest news from the Kubinec’s has been the birth of their daughter, Hanna. She was born in Albuquerque, NM in 2012. Thanks for the update Tanya!

Fernando Silva recently sent me an update. It was great that he could make it to our reunion all the way from the Southern hemisphere! Fernando is currently Sabre Society the commander of the Chilean Aviation Unit deployed Donors for PK operations in Haiti MINUSTAH). There he leads troops in United Nations stabilization efforts. He commands UH-1H helicopters and associated missions, executes passenger and cargo transport missions, as well as troop insertion and extraction and MEDEVAC/CASEVAC. He moves from his deployment to be the Air Operations Manager of the international air show called FIDAE, organized by the Chilean AF. In the 2016 version of the airshow, Fernando will be the CEO of the Air Show and he says to stop by and see him! Oh, and for you O-6s and maybe O-7s in the class, Fernando says he is looking for cool demonstration teams from the US! Congrats on all your success Fernando and best wishes for the Air Show—send us pictures!

Tiffany (Handel) Dawson updates us from Joint Base Andrews. She is still in the Air Force and has worked as a Joint Advocate General in AF/ JA for the last year and a half. Tiffany was selected for O-6 last summer and will be attending National War College beginning in August 2014 (and hopefully pin on around that time). Tom Dawson recently returned to work after being at home with our 3 kids (ages 7, 9 and 11) the past seven years while working on his foreign currency trading business. He is now working as a Program Manager at HP. Weekends are crazy busy with sports for the kids, but life is good! Congrats to the Dawsons on their success and thanks for the update!

A couple of O-6 moves that are coming up…Dave Benson who is moving to Whiteman Air Force Base where he will become the Operations Group Commander. Dave has lived right down the street from me for the last year. Anne, Andrew, Grace, Nathan, and Jacob are ready for the trek to the middle of the country. They will leave after school is out. We were at least able to have some good dinners and a ski trip with the two families while he was here. It’s great hanging out with your classmates! Bruce and Tina Ybarra will be returning to Joint Base Andrews where Bruce will be the Deputy Group Commander for the Presidential Airlift Group. Bruce will be moving back to the DC area this summer.

I had the chance to get together with the Kosefeski’s over Christmas while they were up from the Richmond area. Kevin, Kelly, Matthew and Megan were enjoying the National Harbor and the cold weather. We saw 4 beautiful Bald Eagles circling over the harbor—truly amazing! Kevin is doing great things on the outside at Chemtreat and Kelly is shaping the future of our country be teaching children at St. Anne’s Belfield in Charlottesville.

Lance Orr is about to transition in to the civilian world in the next year.

Lance is currently stationed at the Pentagon working deep in the intelligence world. Lance, Manu, Liam and Elise will be staying in this area.

My son, Collin, and Lance’s son, Liam, have been great friends since we were stationed at McGuire AFB back in 2000. It’s been pretty cool to have classmates all over DC! I just have to see everyone else!

Don’t be surprised if I give you an email requesting an update. I am trying something new. Normally I have waited until the last three weeks before Checkpoints is due, but I am going to be actively seeking inputs as I know everyone has been extremely busy. My regards to all of you and I look forward to hearing from you! Congrats again class of 2014! Mike

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Craig Allen 85 Quail Creek Drive Del Rio, TX 78840 H: 830-313-7089 C: 660-864-5374 kegsdoolittle@yahoo.com

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It’s 2014 already! Wow, if you’re keeping score at home that means we’re at the 20-year point this year. A lot of ‘94 grads will be making big life transitions this year. In fact, by the time this magazine is published there will be people on Terminal Leave, leading up to their retirement this summer. I’ve heard of numerous people that have established retirement dates, many of whom are moving on to the airlines. I also have heard of quite a few ‘94 grads moving up to some major O-6 positions in the AF. It’ll be a very interesting year leading up to the 20-year reunion this fall. There will be a lot of people entering a “transitional period” much like Samuel L. Jackson’s character in Pulp Fiction. I didn’t get much official input this quarter, or any pics, so I pulled the pics below from the archives to generate reunion motivation. As of right now, reunion dates are TBD pending the release of the football schedule. Check the AOG website for updates.

A couple survivors of basic training, Aug ‘90. Jeff Dalrymple and another guy.

The recent release of the Command Select List revealed that many ‘94 grads will take command of groups and wings across the AF this summer.

Debra Lovette is going to be the 18th Mission Support Group (MSG) Commander at Kadena AB in Japan. Also going to Kadena is Dave Mineau as the 18th Ops Group (OG) Commander. Kadena will be in good hands. Scottie Zamzow is headed to RAF Lakenheath, UK as the 48th OG/CC. Greg “Spike” Keeton is going to Sheppard AFB, TX to be the Vice Commander of the 80th Flying Training Wing. Steve “Jester” Jost will be the 20th Fighter Wing Commander at Shaw AFB, SC. Thomas Falzarano is going to Patrick AFB, FL as the 45th OG/CC. Robert Charlesworth is taking the 96th MSG at Eglin AFB, FL. Julian Cheater is headed Creech AFB, NV as the 432d OG/CC. Solid ‘94 representation all around. Congrats to all!

Others I’ve talked to are pulling the trigger and establishing retirement dates this summer. Mark “Cougar” Rusk reports he’ll be on Terminal Leave in March Sabre Society and retire from the good life in the 560th Cheetahs at Donors Randolph AFB. He’ll then be moving on to training with United Airlines in Denver. Cougar said he found the key to getting hired by United was his use of a Top Gun quote in the interview. It didn’t hurt that one of the guys interviewing him turned out to be a retired Naval Aviator. Well played Cougs. John “Vapor” Foncannon and Scott “Chains” Allison, both squadron commanders with me here at Laughlin, have established retirement dates this summer as well. No word on definitive after-AF plans for the two, but I think one of them has an airline job in the works and the other has a wife that has a high paying gig in the civilian sector. Nice work guys. Also here at Laughlin, Jess “Rack” (Nickodem) Rhyne, has a retirement planned this summer and Andy Ratliff will soon be on Terminal Leave as well. Andy told me recently that Southwest hired him. Another Southwest hire is Chris Eden, who I saw on social media had his fini-flight at Andrews last week.

Brent “Raygun” Brockinton is making an interesting move, transitioning to the AF Reserves to fly T-38s at Eglin. This sounds like a dream job to me...I may be calling you soon Raygun. A Christmas card from Noah Hardie revealed that he and his family moved back to the states from Fin-

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COS at NORAD. As I write this, we’re in the week between the NFL Conference Championships and the Super Bowl. Moments before the Patriots v.

Broncos playoff game kicked off, I sent Split a pic of Bill Belichick to taunt my lifelong-Broncos-fan friend. This good natured, pre-game trash talk turned out to be bad karma, however, as I now await next season’s installment of the best franchise of all time.

That’s what I know for now. Drop me a line and a picture to let me know what you’re doing, either in or out of the AF. I’ll keep an eye out for the football schedule, as it relates to our 20-year reunion. Get up for it. Maybe there will be another Leo Gage sighting. It will be hard for someone to top Tom Fry showing up at the 10-year in a Sopranos-style, Puma track suit. For now, enjoy this last picture that I snagged from Todd Kusserow -- Kegger.

Viking 9 Class Pic land and are now living in New Orleans. Jim DeReus, another ‘94 guy at Laughlin, just took over as the Ops Officer of my squadron...the 47th Student Squadron is Red Hot-centric; what could possibly go wrong? Cary “Pistol” Culbertson told me he’s headed to Osan after his year at Army SDE in Carlisle, PA. Brian “Hack” Jackson is headed back to NOVA to attend ICAF this summer. Chris “Split” Colcord took an assignment back to

T. Koch 2406 Pretty Bayou Island Dr. Panama City Beach, FL 32405 W:(850) 282-43-1 DSN 742Cell: (840) 499-8242 richard.koch@us.af.mil traviskoch@yahoo.com

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Much Obliged: I want to thank Jon Tinsley for writing last quarter’s column. If you’d be up for sending in 1,200 words and three pics for the Spring issue, I could use the help. Also, if you’d like to write this once a year (looking for three folks; one from 1st, 2nd, and 4th Groups), let me know. We’ve had a big winter and will be moving to Montgomery next year. Ed Casey is on his way their too. I’ll be leaving down the street from Tony and Stephanie Retka (’94) so I’m sure I’ll have a few stories from them.

High Flying: No, this is not about Rob Kinerson flySabre Society ing in Denver these days for United (but congrats). Sam Donors “Vandal” Mann brought is mighty Spikes of the 62FS into town. The picture is of him and “Hike” Heikkinen (’86). Hike gave Vandal a ride in the back seat of a QF-4 while he was in town. The most memorable part of his sortie was trying to fit in the “rear” seat that was built for 5’8”, 160 lbs. guys.

Needless to say, V’s Punjabi-warrior-physique was not built for that small

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Todd Kusserow and Trey Chastain “mentoring” new recruits.

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Class News of a saddle. They had a great time and Hike mentioned that he flew, “95% of the sortie.” Stuck it. Vandal also wanted to pass his congrats to Joseph Locke who is (maybe?) the first Wing Commander from our class. Joseph will be commanding the 93d Air Ground Operations Wing at Moody AFB. There are a number of other folks that will take command this summer (I’m sure I missed a few from our class) so congrats to all.

Hike and Vandal in front of their Double Ugly.

Chris Zuhlke is at Al Dhafra and took over the EOSS for a one-year command tour in June. Amy and the kids (Jacob and Abigail) are still back at Mountain Home holding down the fort while he’s down range. Chris says ADAB is like the glory days of the old composite wing where we’re able to do a bunch flying with the Host Nation, the Navy, Marines, Brits, and French. He’s able to keep flying the F-15E over there as long as they’re in town. Fly safe and hurry home. Matthew “Blitz” Ayers (’96) came over for dinner in November. Blitz is commanding the 77th Fighter Squadron at Shaw AFB. He took over for Johnny Vargas (’96) this summer. Johnny is in DC flying with the DC ANG. He and Arbo made their way down to in Savannah, GA this spring. I also ran into Chris Tumilowicz down in Georgia. Tumor is the Ops Officer for the Vermont Air National Guard’s Green Mountain Boys. Tough life. Nate Graber is up there too as well as Luke Donald (’93).

DC Happenings: I got to sneak up to the DelMar VA area last fall to play some golf (see the JHSU below). Kenny Butler picked me up at Union Station. Ken is working at the White House managing AF acquisitions programs supporting the POTUS. Think, develop the next Air Force One. Pretty cool stuff. Even cooler, Butler won our 15th season of Fantasy Baseball and a C-note from Sang. Ken and Patti had me over for dinner. Patti gets prettier every time I see her and is doing great. Jack and Benny are hilarious and are such good boys (…thanks mostly to Patti). Those guys had a great bash in Georgetown last October to celebrate Rex Ballinger presenting his Doctoral Dissertation in Economics at American University.

Celebrants included Rex, Jimmy Lamar, Greg Bender, Rocky Thurston, Bone, and a few other non-Gold Taggers: Chris Eden (‘94), Josh Hartman (??), Mike Bergner (??). Lamar said upon entering Mr Smith’s that he had not been to that bar since he had a fake ID. Congrats to the second Dr. in the family. Rex and Nikki joined the Brooks’ (’96) family and the Gjone’s in Chamonix, France for an amazing ski trip. Looks like it was fun:

is commanding the C-130 squadron and still moonlights as a Bing Crosby impersonator. I heard back from Kjell Lindgren (sorry for butchering the spelling last time). Kjell is in fact assigned to Expedition 44/45 and will launch out of Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan in May of 2015. He’ll keep us informed and will send a few pics from the ISS. I wonder if he will be able to see the ’95 on the Flat Iron that Eric Davis and Boyd Haugen put up there on that spirit mission they did so many years back. James Manu did not jump off a cliff with the Bronco’s loss. Mike Bettencourt and Jess are rocking the Bella Baby picture market and he is a big fan of the Full Squat. Kip Wilkowski (’92) just got hired by Southwest Airlines. Jake and Heather Maloy had another son. He will be joining the rest of us for the “They look like your Grand” Parents Weekend in 2034. Here’s a great snap of John and Di Nemecek:

The Neme’s looking GOOD! And finally, the Jon Hamby section of the update. I got to play in the Chantilly National’s Member-Guest golf tourney. What a treat. Four rounds in four days. And out of 72 teams, we easily laughed the most… but finished dead last. That’s right. I shouldn’t have bought our team in the Calcutta. I’ll remember next year. Bone is doing great. His kids are amazing (although the soccer teams need to press more) and Steph gets better looking every day. He is teaching ski school this winter at Ski Liberty so if you need a lesson, look him up.

Till then, keep the Faith. T.Koch.

Melissa S. Cunningham 9712 Hidden Valley Road Vienna, VA 22181 (C) 719-332-4912 (W) 703-697-9121 Melissas.s.cunningham.mil@ mail.mil fmcunningham@me.com

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Happy New Year Bricks! By the time you read this the crazy winter we had will be behind us and spring will be in full force. Thanks to all of you that sent updates.…

This issue I took the opportunity to catch up with the mighty Black Panthers of CS-29! Dave Gretz has been living in Northern Virginia as a defense contractor the past 8.5 years after separating in 2007. Mark Gehringer is back at Hurlburt for his 2nd round in the AC-130 and 13 years in the Florida panhandle. He’s married with 2 kiddos all enjoying the Riviera.

Don’t have him build a playset for your kid.

Rex, Kenny, Matty, Nikki, Deb, Meghan and the kids.

Random Updates: Amanda and I got to eat our annual lunch with Mandy and Dane Crawford in Sandestin over the Christmas holiday. Dane is commanding the 19ASOS in Fort Campbell, KY and is crushing it. Rob Rossi is in Ramstein with Joby Turner (’96) and Ryan Barney (’96). Joby

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Gehringer putting his CE degree to work!

In other Florida news, Chris Sims (also flew AC-130s at Hurlburt from 1998-2006) separated from the Air Force and traveled around the world

(travel blog: http://crustydustysojourner73.blogspot.com). He settled in Miami, FL in 2007 and has been working in the health and fitness industry, currently in grad school and plans to start a business offering mind/ body fitness services and wellness coaching. Scott and Tracy (Healy) Lorenz have been in Santa Cruz since 2006. Scott flies for Southwest and frequently sees LeRon Hudgins, Joel LaFleur, and Ryan Porterfield. Tracy recently pinned on Lieutenant Colonel and is in the reserves at Travis AFB. She’s also a busy soccer coach for 6-year-old Noah and you can usually find 2-yearSabre Society old Joshua on her back. This past summer Scott got toDonors gether with Matt Dean, Todd Robbins, JR Lawless and Andy Meehan in Vail. Todd Robbins is the Commander of the 4th FS at Hill AFB (Deano and Lawless made it to the change of command). Todd, Claire, and the kids said the door is open to anyone looking to ski next year! Andy Meehan left active duty OSI (maybe he knows who the cadet snitch was?) in 2004 and practiced law in New York for a few years before riding his wife’s coattails to Hong Kong where he is an in-house lawyer for Credit Suisse part of the time and a part-time human jungle gym for their two-year-old daughter.

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JR Lawless, Scott Lorenz, Matt Dean, Andy Meehan, and Todd Robbins.

Chris and Erin (Berry) Finnigsmier are still in Omaha. She separated in 2003 and after a short stint as an intelligence defense contractor decided to take on the tough job of staying at home with the kids (now 10, 6, and 2). Chris (CS-05) separated in 2004 and is a civilian working at AFWA HQ. Chris Sheppard and his wife, Sherrie, are still enjoying D.C. They are both in the Air National Guard; Chris is the OSS/CC, flies the F-16 and works for Northrop Grumman. Jason Ortiz is a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Public Health Service – so it looks like he’s in the Navy now. He’s been surfing his way around southern California and made it out to Denver to watch the Chargers lose. Hayley (Parker) Huggins is a Texas resident but still considers herself a Georgia girl. She and her husband live in College Station where her primary role is Mama to her 2-year-old John. Brian Willits separated in 2008 after flying the A-10; he’s part-time Guard, living in Phoenix and is another Black Panther flying for Southwest. Paul Riberio separated in 2007 to attend law school. He’s currently in Charleston, SC working as an investigator at Boeing. He’s been married to Allison for 12years and has 3 kids, 7-year-old twin girls and a 4-year-old son. Erik Hoffman is transitioning from Eielson AFB where he, his lovely bride, Jennifer, and their two kids spent the past three years to McIntyre ANG in South Carolina. Erik will be one of the active duty guys in the unit – It should be pretty much exactly like Fairbanks... We ran into Rick Kjellberg at Erik Hoffman’s wedding in 2008. Rick flew choppers until late ‘05 and is now in the wind energy industry, living in Boston. Kevin McGowan is at the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Edwards AFB, CA. His team completes tests for aircraft including a few C-130 upgrades, the KC46A, and the new Air Force One aircraft. Kevin and his wife Nicole have been married since 2000 and they have two beautiful daughters.

Johan Deutscher is currently stationed at Camp Murray, WA. He left active duty in 2007 to be a full-time Guardsman. He and Alexis have been married 15 years and have 4 kiddos. Johan flew F-15Cs until 2010 and then switched careers to become a logistics squadron commander and now deputy group commander. Johan recently ran his former roommate and one of the three squadron physicians, Jason Arnold. Jason went to med school at Emory University (Atlanta), then family medicine residency at Eglin AFB, a couple of assignments and then to Lackland AFB to complete a dermatology residency. He graduated in 2012 and has stayed on as faculty. He and his wife have three kids. Kshamata Dolly (Patel) Skeete is currently stationed at Eglin AFB as an orthopedic hand surgeon. She is married to a civilian ER physician and has three boys. Robert Knowlton and his wife, Charlotte, are at Offutt AFB. Most of his career has been in the nuclear enterprise, currently working in the Air Room at STRATCOM targeting ICBMs and building nuclear plans. Hope he didn’t text out any answers. As for me, I’m headed to Al Udeid AB to be the Medical Group Commander for the next year. If you are passing through, please look me up. That’s my CS-29 update, missing a few; it has been great to hear from everyone. Should only take 10 more years to hit the other 39 squads.

Other Bricks headed to group command include Jennifer Hammerstedt (Robins AFB Maintenance Group) and Matt Brooks (Whiteman AFB Vice Commander). I’m pretty sure Matt and his family will have a hard time exchanging Switzerland for Knobknoster! And to SDE: Tony Babcock, Ron Cheatham, Nate Chine, Melissa Cunningham, Doug Distaso, Clay Freeman, Merna Hsu, Ryan Link, Gavin Marks, Chris Spinelli, Brandon Wilkerson. My apologies to those I missed; shoot me a note and I’ll include next time.

Brad Turpen and his wife, Tara, are raising three daughters in Boise, ID. They’re loving the Idaho life, with school, youth sports, music, skiing, mountain biking, and all the other fun out there. They have a place just outside of town with a big garden, a small orchard, and some animals.

Turp works in healthcare administration at St. Luke’s Health System and is loving it. In his free time he’s a Boise City Parks and Recreation Commissioner. (I’m wondering if he is more a) Leslie Knope, b) Ron Swanson, or c) Tom Haverford?)

Vernon Fletcher his wife, Patty, and two kids are doing well in Northern California busy with soccer, dance and 1st grade activities. If he’s not busy or traveling with family, he’s knee deep building Patriot IT as President & CEO. He’s kept in touch with Marc Tourville (St Louis), Jason Mock (Charlotte), Kelvin King (Atlanta), LeRon Hudgins (San Francisco), and Craig Hancock (Austin).

That’s all for this issue… enjoy your spring and send in more updates to andivinyard@yahoo.com. Andi

Melvin E. Maxwell, Jr. PSC 2, Box 10931 APO AE 09012 mel_maxwell97@hotmail.com melvin.maxwell@us.af.mil

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Greetings ‘97!

As always, hope this update finds you well. Just woke up to a personally disappointing result in the Super Bowl. As a life-long Denver Broncos fan, I was hoping Peyton Manning and the Broncos would bring the trophy back to Colorado. Since game time didn’t start until 1230 a.m. here in Germany, I luckily slept through what was a pretty tough game for Broncos fans. Here is a photo of Chris Barrett and other happy Seahawks fans who enjoyed the game.

(See photo at the top of the next column.)

Speaking of Seahawks fans, I spoke with Ty Barbery the other day. Ty is married with two sons and lives in Spokane, WA working as a financial advisor with EdSabre Society ward Jones. The company has a targeted program for Donors former military personnel so give Ty a call if working as a financial advisor has ever crossed your mind. Also have to shout out to another Seahawks fan, Tanji Johnson, who lives in Renton, WA and continues to make waves in the fitness world. Tanji won the 2013 Fitness International title at the Arnold Sports Festival last year.

A few updates as we head into summer PCS season. Chris Kay is finishing up squadron command (contracting) at Andrews and is headed to his next command at Nellis AFB in Vegas this summer. Sarah Williams is in year 2 at Langley AFB working Maintenance training at ACC. Mike McKee had his A-10 fini-flight this past January at Davis-Monthan and heads off to teach UPT in the T-38 at Columbus, AFB. Classmate Christophe Powers is retiring this summer... with prior enlisted and Academy time, that’s 24 years in the military. Congrats to Randall “Cheese” Johnston who recently

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The McGowans

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News certainly has her hands full. I’m now anxiously awaiting updates from the other ’98ers I flew with at McGuire… you know who you are Guy Johnson, Chuck Whitehead, Marc Segal, Tait Stamp, Ben Menges, John Mirtich, Jon Lee, Mona Alexander and Todd Schift.

(I’ve never received an email from a father-in-law of a classmate until now. Chris Ridlon’s father-in-law, Jim Parker (’68), emailed me with the whereabouts of the former CS-29 squad comm. Chris is flying F-15s at Kadena AB and his wife, Anne, is there flying the AWACS. Jim sent along a copy of the family Christmas card – the AFA jerseys in front of the tree… this thing has a permanent place on my refrigerator.

Chris Barrett and family of Seahawks fans. got married and honeymooned with his wife, Brandi, in Jamaica this past December. Congrats as well to Dave and Michelle (Gadus) Pryor on the birth of their first child, Matthew David Pryor. That’s all I have for this round. Until next time….Mel

Pat Fox 1260 Bragg St. Sonoma, CA 95476 (707) 837-6356 pfox@hannonarmstrong.com

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I’d first like to thank Roy and Felicia (Thompson) Recker for ‘taking the stick’ the last few quarters; your contributions were upgrades in every sense of the word. During my Checkpoints sabbatical, my wife and I had our third child, a beautiful little girl – Orly. The switch from man-to-man defense to a zone has gone surprisingly well, the zone defense we’ve installed resembles that of the Seahawks a lot more than the Broncos… sorry, but I couldn’t help myself Roy, Matt Dunker, Zach Hall, and Guy Johnson. I wasn’t the only one ‘taking a break’ and having kids: Brian Quinn and wife had a baby girl, their second, and second girl; Jeff and Felecia (Bell) Mohr also had their second, and second girl, and, finally, Mike and Jenienne Gismondi had to outdo us all and had triplets.

Sabre Society Donors I received an email update from Aaron Tallman. I flew KC-10s with Tallman at McGuire and for years I’ve been trying to get in touch with him, it seemed like he was always a step ahead of me – changing cell phone numbers, not listing his address, etc. It’s great to finally hear from him.

The West Virginia native and New Jersey-raised boy is flying C-40s with the Reserves at Scott AFB and was just recently hired by Southwest – congrats, Tall-Guy! He’ll need that new paycheck to feed his beautiful and growing family. The Tallman clan recently added to the kid count with the adoption of their daughter, Delaney. Tallman, send Lindsay my best… she

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Jim Parker (’68) and son-in-law Chris Ridlon.

It would be impossible for me to submit an update without at least mentioning the OSI-related article that appeared in the Gazette this past fall. I went to the Academy thinking the mission was to develop officers and leaders, and by the time I graduated I was convinced the ‘leadership’ there was more focused on enforcing regulations than developing leaders.

My cynicism had declined over time, but that article and the Academy’s response called a lot into question. It was comical to read that the OSI was trying to ‘infiltrate’ cliques that partook in such activities as keeping cars off base, having unauthorized apartments and drinking under age. If OSI is having trouble getting members of those cliques to talk, they should come visit me – as a cadet, I did all those things.

On the complete opposite end of the continuum, I’d like to thank the Class of 1963 for allowing me to attend their fiftieth reunion. My late father was a ’63 grad, and members of his class and squadron reached out to our family and encouraged us to attend. It was a terrific weekend, and a truly distinguished group of Academy graduates. Friday evening included a moving tribute to their 18 classmates who died in Vietnam, and their two classmates who were POWs, Maj Gen John Borling and Col Jerry Driscoll.

Thank you Class of 1963 for your gracious invitation, and for the standard you’ve set for future classes.

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Mary Stewart Arlington, VA marybeth1999@hotmail.com mary.stewart@pentagon.af.mil

Members

(Eight Sabre Society Donors) Shiners, No excuse, sir or ma’am. But I’m going to make them anyway.

The holidays seem to have monopolized the time folks had to send in updates, and I was focused on cavorting my way through the UK with our classmate and expat, Trisha Eknes. I did speak briefly to Kevin Schultz, who’s currently out at Travis AFB, but moving this summer to take over the Medical Support Squadron at Maxwell AFB. He just ran into a former 4-star/2-bar friend of yours and mine, Matt Jones, who’s running the Wing Safety Office out there. I considered FaceBook stalking everyone for lots more fun facts, but decided to avoid such drastic measures for at least one more iteration of this magazine. So let me hear from you—M-5 Guest Lecture speakers always welcome!

Visit the AOG Web Site.

Gone But Not Forgotten, Merchandise and more! www.usafa.org Aaron, Lindsay and Tallman Kids

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Jason Simmons 110 Mara Court Prattvillle, AL 36066 Jason.Simmons@Outlook.com

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Classmates, Our news is a bit thin this go around, even after shaking the bush via social media, so please send updates as they happen.

Dana Granger (Hansen) and Bryan (’01) have PCSd to Pensacola with their four children. Dana is exploring the area while Bryan is in San Antonio for T-6 Pilot Instructor Training.

(Bryan Trinkle made his first trip to Lima as an Air Advisor assisting the Peruvian Air Force in ISR & Mobility Ops. They have like North California-like weather and he notes that there are plenty of good motorcycling roads to be had!

I recently caught up with Kevin Kuciapinski; he and Sabre Society Ryan O’Hara graduated AFIT back in September 2012.

Donors Ryan earned a PhD in Aeronautical Engineering and is now assigned to the Joint Staff. Kevin earned a PhD in Electrical Engineering and is now assigned to the National Reconnaissance Office.

Lauren (Maher) Courchaine gave birth to George “Cooper” Courchaine on 7 Jan 14. She has been selected to become the AFISRA Det 4/CC. The Simmons family had a new bundle of joy as well. Allison Hope Simmons was born on 22 Jan 14. My wife, Melissa, has been selected for Lt Col and with her promotion and my graduation from ACSC in June; we hope to get PCSd together as a family… anywhere! For now though, I’m just enjoying having them with me while she’s on Maternity Leave.

Please send me class news updates and pictures when you read this, before months fly by and you miss another chance to let your class know what’s happening with you, your family, career, etc. and especially some pictures of classmates meeting up.

Thanks so much. Jason “JW” “Cueball” Simmons

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Faith (Hitchcock) Dunn 6423 NW 94th Court Johnson, IA 50131 Faithd03@hotmail.com

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Hi all! Here are the updates I have received for the article this quarter.

Thanks to those that sent updates! Keep them coming!

Melanie (Bates) Presuto and her husband, Dax, have had a year of milestones; hit 10 years of marriage, both finished their PhD’s, Dax made Lt Col, and they finally got to experience an overseas tour! Melanie working at the HQ AFRICOM as the Branch Chief of Joint Training and Education in the J7, and Dax is the contracting officer for special operation missions in Africa. She is enjoying learning the Joint world, though working at an Army Garrison has reinforced her love of the Air Force! They are both challenged by their new jobs and are having a blast traveling, learning the language, and hanging with their dog in the off hours since he is allowed in all Sabre Society restaurants, trains, and hotels! They will be there until Donors at least 2016 and then scheduled to return to USAFA for a second teaching tour. They were able to take a New Year ski trip to Murren, Switzerland... feeling so grateful for this opportunity the AF has provided them!

Danny Heil and his wife, Dianna, took a trip to the Bahamas this summer to celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary this summer. Danny was able to be DETCO for EC-130Hs at Red Flag Alaska and got to fly an Edwards test sortie with Jesus Cosme in December. Danny and Dianna also welcomed their third child (first boy), Blake Edward on October 16th.

(See photo at the top of the next column.)

Jordan Collins is working at the headquarters for US Forces-Korea/ Combined Forces Command in Seoul and should be heading out sometime in the Dec ‘14-Jan’15 time frame. He went to Sydney, Australia for New Year’s and got to catch up with Corey Nelson and his wife, Dawn.

He’s gotten to hang out with Ryan Fleming a few times when he has flown through Seoul during his FedEx missions. Ryan flies 777s for them and is

Danny, Dianna, Sam, Addie, and Blake Heil still in the Charleston Reserves flying C-17s. Jordan is also heading to New York for the Super Bowl where he’s hoping to catch up with Kima McCoy, who is living there working for the BNP. JD Foy is working at AMC HQ at Scott AFB. Barry Weaver is finishing up being “deployed” down to Shaw and he’ll be moving back to the DC area to finish up his time at the Pentagon. Jesse Goolsby is finishing up his first semester at Florida State as he is working on his PhD. Patrick Giggy got hired to fly F-15s for the Louisiana ANG; he is in training at Klamath Falls right now. Givey Kochanowski got promoted to a GS-14 working for Department of Energy in Alaska. He and his wife, Chelsie, are expecting their 4th child this year. Major Derrick Vincent was named as Director of Operations for the 388th Operations Support Squadron at Hill AFB. Greg Ball (NY State Senator and Chairman of the State Veterans, Homeland Security and Military Affairs Committee) also had the privilege of ringing the closing bell of the NASDAQ stock market recently. He joined US Army 1st Lt Chris Molaro of the Things We Read non-profit organization which is dedicated to serving soldiers deployed overseas and communities in need.

Andy and MaryEdith Malin are still in Florida with their three children.

Andy is an orthopedic surgeon at Hurlburt and deployed again to Afghanistan this past year for five months, returning in August. MaryEdith stays home and volunteers with various non-profit programs in the local area.

She has helped Zane Holscher with the Destin 50, beach ultra-running race, for the past 3 years which is coming up in Feb. All proceeds benefit the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Sign up next year for a great cause and beautiful Florida trip (www.destin50.com) . It would be great to have some ’01 teams competing!

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Andy and MaryEdith Malin with their children Kate, Pierce and Lucy.

Jon Scofield is currently in the Seattle area and is working as the Senior Director of Seattle Market role with CORTAC Group with dual hats of supporting CORTAC Strategic Initiatives and growth and additionally as a Business Manager within Microsoft’s Skype Division. (See photo at the top of the next column.)

Mike and I are doing well. We also celebrated our 10th anniversary in November and took a wonderful trip to Tahiti and Bora Bora. It was amazing and we had a great time. We got home just before Thanksgiving and

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News at a very leisurely pace. A wizened Yemeni peasant with deeply calloused feet operates a small boat to ferry visitors across the river to the other side where one can begin hiking deep into the wadi (valley or canyon). The water is fresh without any salt, and extremely clear and clean. It’s just incredible to see and every now and then a local peasant passes by with a bundle of grass going to places unknown.

“After about 45 minutes, we reached an area where we could only continue through the river. Shedding shoes, backpacks and T-shirts, we jumped in the cool but comfortable water and swam deeper, walking at times where shallow. Suddenly we were at the end of the wadi with rock walls on all sides and a tiny peep hole through rock to a hidden entrance to a smaller 360 degree canyon. We swam underneath the rock to enter this secret area that is the true attraction of Wadi Shab. Inside, there was a water fall coming from above. No sunlight enters this area because of its depth and the steep rock walls around us. It’s very hard to describe the uniqueness Sabre Society and beauty of this place. I don’t even have any pictures Donors because I had to leave my camera behind to enter.

“A local Omani who is in his country’s Air Force was with our group and he set the tone once inside the smaller area. He climbed up to an inner perch above the river hole and jumped in from about 25 feet above. Then we all started to do this... as the water is very deep and diving is safe as long as you don’t initially jump short and brush the rock on the way down. The daredevils of the group did back flips, front flips and other creative dives into the water. I merely jumped feet first.

“After about four hours inside the wadi, we departed for a late lunch and then arrived at the edge of the Sharqiya desert to camp for the night.

We were treated to a traditional Omani dinner and we learned from the locals how to eat in a traditional group setting and how to behave around the sheikh. Several tried on the traditional Omani dress wear and then we retired for the night, four people to each straw hut. On some desert nights, one can witness the billions of stars and the brilliance of the Milky Way galaxy; however, a full moon eliminated this chance.

“Sunday morning we awoke to a desert sunrise and after breakfast, camel riding and dune bashing were next on the agenda. The camel riding was anticlimactic; however dune bashing was a ridiculously fun experience. Four of us loaded into an older Toyota Landcruiser along with our 45-year-old Omani Bedouin driver. He took off along a winding sand path and quickly hit 100 km/hr. Then we rocketed up in the sand dunes and started careening in different directions at high speeds, wheels spinning, Landcruiser drifting, and sand sliding. It was literally a roller coaster ride on huge sand dunes and a great view of the desert for as far as the eye can see. The round wasn’t nearly as jarring as it might sound because the sand is continually giving way and no curves. Several times it felt as if we might roll over but the Omani driver just kept smiling and driving. I went twice, the second time with a different driver and it was clear that the driver makes all the difference. Our second driver was much more timid than the first.

“Soon we headed back on the road going north again to start returning to Muscat and stopped at another wadi, this time Wadi Dayqah. Wadi Dayqah is also a mid-sized hydroelectric dam. At the top of the dam is a large park area where many Omani families and tourists go to have a picnic and enjoy the mild winter climate. We had lunch while appreciating the view of the canyon and fresh water and soon hit the road again to stop at Muntazza Hawiyet An-Nijm which is basically a huge sinkhole caused by an asteroid strike. Within this 30-meter-deep hole is a fresh water area that goes very deep. Divers have tried and failed to reach the bottom of this hole. It’s really quite amazing to see and the water inside is so clear

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Jon Scofield, his wife, Amy, and boys Gabriel and Luca. enjoyed spending the holidays with the kids and our families. This year we are looking forward to heading down to Kansas City for a couple days over Spring Break and catching up with Brent Greer, his wife, Amy, and their 2 kids as well as Mark Lennon, his wife, Suwanee, and their son Lincoln. It will be the first time our kids have met!

I hope this finds everyone well. At the time of this article, I had just learned of the loss of 2008 grad Capt. Christopher Stover in a helicopter crash in England. Please keep his family and friends in your thoughts, here’s a toast. Faith Eric Ballew World Cell: +1.850.543.9936 ericballew86@yahoo.com eric.ballew@us.af.mil Class Facebook: USAFA Class of 2002 Class Website: www.usafa02.org

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Class of 2002, NO LIMIT UPDATE: Dear Beloved sent the following update from an excursion he took while on an immersion in Oman for 16F training…

“I capped off the first week of school by partaking in our school’s excursion outside of Muscat. Advertised as a visit to a couple Wadis (canyons) and the edge of the desert, I had minimal expectations with the aim of seeing a little more of the country and relaxing a bit. As it turns out, I did this and much more. Departing early Saturday morning, we drove the main highway east through the city of Muscat and then into the small mountains that dominate the coastal landscape in the north.

“First we stopped at Wadi Shab, which is just north of the city of Sur. To enter Wadi Shab, one must drive down a steep 360 degree curve underneath the highway bridge that traverses along the Gulf of Oman. At the bottom, you are at once in a steep valley with a river draining in the ocean

Dear Beloved on immersion training.

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Paul Scheglov and Isaac Bell catch up at McChord.

that it’s hard to discern where the ground’s edge stops and the water begins. One could also swim and wade in here and if brave (foolish) enough, jump in to the deep water side of the hole from 60 feet above! One Omani with us had jumped before and almost jumped again before getting cold feet! With four stops in 36 hours, we headed back to Muscat as weary but amazed travelers, appreciating the many hidden beauties of Oman.”

Paul Scheglov and Isaac Bell met up with the CSAF during his most recent visit to McChord AFB. It was a great no limits reunion. Isaac is currently the CSAF aide-de-camp and Paul is with the 1 ASOG at joint base Lewis-McChord. (See photo at the bottom of the previous column.)

JOB OPPORTUNITIES: Chris Pace posted that if any C-17 IPs are interested in becoming a sim instructor with travel between St. Louis, the UK, and the UAE to message him. Also Hesham Aly posted a link to the Women in Aviation conference this spring. He describes it as a giant job fair for all the airlines. Bring your resumes or contact him if you want any further details.

Will Sanders holding his bride (of 5+ years), Hannah!

Life, Love & Loot! Eating free donuts (aka treasure) with my little buccaneers on Talk like a Pirate day….arrrgh!

KEEP ME UPDATED: If you run into any classmates send me a message and a picture so I can keep everyone in the loop with the RTB sightings around the world and since I only received minimal updates this quarter I’m going to force everyone to look at my family photos!

AFTAC’s (Air Force Technical Application Center) research labs underground for the last 3.5 years as a Nuclear Physicist. The Air Force added an AFSC for nuclear physicists apart from the regular ones so he’s one of 70 61DXN’s in the Air Force. Will has been married to his wonderful wife, Hannah (Samuel), of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India for just over 5 years now, and they have two wonderful boys William (Liam) F. Sanders V and Andrew (Andy) G. Sanders, ages 3.5 and 1.5 years. His wife just became a US citizen on December 23, 2013 which is probably the greatest thing that happened to them all year. She’s quite proud to finally be a citizen of the country her husband defends.

Thanks for your continued updates. Take care, Susan

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Breezy Long 120 Sunfest Drive Deatsville, AL 36022 windyshort82@gmail.com

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Members Susan (Doyle) Maly Linked In: USAFA 03 USAFA2003@gmail.com Class Facebook Page: Usafa Zerothree

(Six Sabre Society Donors) Hi Bongers, I hope spring is treating you well. We heard from Will Sanders (CS-29) – he is currently stationed at Cheyenne Mountain AFS running one of

(Three Sabre Society Donors) (Editor’s note: We did not receive an article from Breezy for this issue.

Please send her your news and photos for the next magazine.)

John Tamasitis 801 King St., Apt. K Columbia, SC 29205 Tamasiti@email.sc.edu Cell: 610-850-3352

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Class of ’05, Hope all is well. Over the past few months we have received a lot of tragic news regarding the untimely passing of several graduates. The news of these losses is never easy and I know that they have an incredible personal impact on several ’05ers. With this thought mind; I wanted to take a personal moment and wish everyone and their families a safe and happy 2014.

We have several updates for this issue. Our first update comes from Heidi (Slayton) Carlson. Heidi got married to Drew Carlson, a surface warfare office in the Navy, while on active duty and they had a little girl Petra, who is now four years old. Heidi later separated Sabre Society Donors from active duty and has decided to tackle the most demanding career of all – a full-time mom. Heidi and Drew have had two more little ones: Daughter Amara, who is two years old, and a brand new addition, Isaiah, who was born this past September. Heidi, thanks for the update and best of luck to your growing team.

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Will Sanders Family: Will (William IV) tickling Liam (William V) and Hannah holding Andy.

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Class News On a final note, I have been in several conversations with fellow 2005 graduates who have expressed an interest in “giving back.” With our 10year reunion fast approaching, I think is time for us to consider ideas for a Class Gift that is in tune with our values as a class. Weldon Hobbes and I have discussed the opportunities extensively and welcome any ideas. You can email me at jtamasitis@1971.com or Weldon at wldon.hobbs@gmail. com. You can also reach out to us on Facebook.

With that being said, I want to remind everyone to please sign up for our Facebook page -- USAFA Class of 2005. At drafting, we have over 540 members. In the near future, we will be using the page to make announcements about our reunion, as well as keeping up with class news, getting people in touch with each other, and discussing the fundraising effort for our class gift. So please sign up…our goal is 100% participation.

Thanks to everyone and all the best. John G. Tamasitis

Heidi, Drew and their three beautiful children.

Next, Veronica (Gao) Brownheim sent us a photo of her and Nick Brownheim’s newest addition Zoey. Zoey was born on November 27, 2013. Probably more excited about the arrival of Zoey, is Zoey’s brand new big sister Olivia, who was born on July 29, 2011. The ever-expanding Brownheim clan recently moved to Offutt AFB this past summer. Veronica currently works with the 55th Aerospace Medicine Squadron and Nick works with the U.S. Strategic Command. Both Veronica and Nick wanted me to let everyone know that their door is open to anyone passing through Cornhusker country.

Dayle (Morell) Hartung 12918 50th Ave. Court NW Gig Harbor, WA 98332 daylehartung@gmail.com Facebook page: USAFA Class of 2006

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(10 Sabre Society Donors) (Editor’s note: We did not receive an input from Dayle this issue, nor did she respond to any of the editor’s reminder emails. This is the second issue in a row that we have had no input from the Class of 2006. If any other classmate wishes to volunteer to be the Class Scribe, please contact Tom Kroboth at Tom.Kroboth@aogusafa.org.)

The Brownheims We also have an update from Cameron Sanders. Cameron got the opportunity to meet up with classmate Kelly Kwan and his beautiful wife, Kailin (Tuscano) Kwan (’07). The Kwans currently live in St. Louis. Thanks Cameron for the update.

Casey (Bayne) Whitson 32741 Pointe Stirling, Apt. F Dana Point, CA 92629 (310) 343-5969 email@caseywhitson.com

Cameron Sanders and the Kwans.

I also wanted to take a moment and provide you an update on Ashley Simone Maybin. I met up with Ashley this past summer while I was working in Charleston, SC and, I can tell you, she is doing quite well living out her dreams. Ashley is currently in the midst of her venture to start her second career as a doctor studying at the Medical University of South Carolina. However, on top of that demanding venture, she is living her lifelong dream – being a positive role model in the fitness industry. Just last year she earned her professional status as a Figure Athlete. She hopes to combine her fitness and medical careers into a unique entity in the near future. If you want to get in contact with Ashley or help her with her amazing journey, go to her awesome website at simonemaybin.com. You can also use that website to help her achieve her dream there by voting for her to win the Cardillo Weightbelts Fab 4 Model Contest.

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Hi Class of 2007, It was wonderful to hear from so many of you for this edition. Thank you for taking the time to send in your updates. I look forward to hearing from more of you next quarter.

Babies: Janelle (Hyde) West and her husband, Jeff, welcomed their identical twin boys Jefferson Wilder West and Theodore Easton West on Aug 5, 2013 at the nation’s first hospital in Philadelphia. They are stationed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst where Jeff flies C-17s and Janelle is the Financial Analysis Flt/CC. Congrats West family on the birth of your handsome boys! (See photo at the top of the next column.)

Beth (Brende) Kiefat and her husband, Brian, welcomed Dakota Skyy on 17 December 2013 in Alaska. Kaiden, their son, is SUPER proud and introduces her everywhere they go. Beth is currently deciding whether to separate when her DEROS hits. Once VSP was announced, she started applying and looking at the Air National Guard. They would like Brian to be selected for a job as a Chaplain in Delta Junction, AK. If this doesn’t happen they will head back to North Dakota and Beth will stay at home with kids. Beth kindly wrote, “So if anyone wants to visit the Land of the

Plichta’s roommate again (although with a house and Captain’s pay this time), I’ve managed to stay busy by working with both the Women’s Rugby team and the Cadet Mountaineering Club. The rugby team took 6th in the American Collegiate Rugby Association last season, and it was fun to be a part of it and give back to the team. The Mountaineers went to Ouray, CO over MLK weekend and enjoyed the good weather at the Ouray Ice Park. I fell in love with ice and alpine climbing in Massachusetts, so it’s nice to be back in Colorado and share that passion with the cadets. Clark Gerhardt (’68) invited us to attend the American Alpine Club Annual Benefit Dinner in Denver on February 8th. We’re excited to go listen to some legendary American mountaineers talk about the beginning days in Yosemite and share dinner with the Long Blue Line of mountaineers.” Here is a great shot of Kate pulling through the mixed start of a climb in the Ouray Ice Park in January 2014. Here is a great shot of Kate pulling though the next start of a climb in the Ouray Ice Park in January.

The West Family Midnight Sun, we might still be here for a while! Praying all is well with the class of 2007, whether you’re getting out or staying in! It’s great getting to “catch up” with you all on FB and in each Checkpoints publishing.” Thank you Beth, we wish you the best in making your upcoming career and life decisions and congratulations on the birth of beautiful baby girl, Dakota.

Alicia (Stirewalt) Kaskela separated from the Air Force in June 2012 and is enjoying being a full-time mom and part-time online tutor. Jon Kaskela is still Active Duty and flies the F-15E Strike Eagle. Their son, Carter William Kaskela, was born March 14, 2013. They are looking forward to celebrating his birthday just before they PCS in late March to Mountain Home AFB, ID. Engagements and Weddings: Kevin Quinn sent in Sabre Society some exciting news, “My fiancée’s name is Ann Graf. We Donors have been dating just over 6 years and were just engaged at the AF vs. Army tailgate in front of all our friends. It was a huge group for Grant (T-Bone) Thomas’ bachelor party and I used him as a prop. I gave him a toast and then said I wanted to follow in his footsteps and got down on one knee and proposed to Ann. Ann and I first met at ASBC where Dawn Higginbotham introduced us. We talked for about 5 minutes then I saw her again when she got to Shaw AFB and we started dating. She is an ROTC grad out of the University of Cincinnati and an FSS officer at Shaw. Ann is now out of the Air Force working as a registered nurse and pursuing her Master’s Degree to become a nurse practitioner.” Congrats Kevin, sounds like you found a wonderful lady. We look forward to seeing a wedding photo and hearing about your big day.

Ronda (Helart) Clark sent in a quick update, “I recently got married in October of 2013 to Bill Clark who is a police officer with the United States Park Police in DC. After separating from the Air Force in October 2012, I went to Cambodia for 4 months with the International Justice Mission. I currently work for Department of Homeland Security in Washington, DC in the National Operations Center. Included in my bridal party were fellow classmates Christin (Schulte) Nichols and Jenna (Maxfield) Mirandette. Other grads who attended were Marc Nichols, Erik Mirandette (’08) and Christine (Powers) Wintermote.

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Christin Brodie (817) 223-9793 Christin.Brodie@usafa.edu cbrodie2@icloud.com

Members

Happy 2014 Richter class!

Let’s learn and grow from the trials of 2013 and move on into 2014 with hope and moxie.

I’ve gotten a few good news stories from classmates. Bryce Johnson passed on some news from our classmates flying UAVs at Creech. They have received their follow-on assignments… in manned aircraft! Ryan Weaver will be flying KC-10s at McGuire AFB. Seth Hutcheson will be moving to MacDill AFB to fly the KC-135. Bryan D’Arcy will be piloting the B-52 at Barksdale AFB. Jay Page is off Texas to fly the B-1 at Dyess AFB. Jon Florsz is now flying C-17s Sabre Society in Charleston AFB. Bryce is off to Ramstein to fly the CDonors 130J with the Blue Tail Flies. Congrats guys!

William Sutcliffe earned his MBA from UMASS Amherst and is working in acquisitions at Hanscom AFB. This past fall he and Adam Tardiff took a 2,000-mile motorcycle trip around Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Canada.

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The Clark Wedding Other News: Kate Schifani sent in an amazing photo and update, she writes, “Here’s a quick update from USAFA now that I’m in my second year teaching in the English department. Aside from living it up as Katie

William and Adam looking weary in Halifax during their Canadian motorcycle trip.

Noel Trew married Lauren Maurer who he met in graduate school at Florida Atlantic University. Noel is back at USAFA as the assistant course

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Class News director for Behavioral Science 110. Lauren is a nonfiction science writer who takes scholarly works and puts them into words even us fuzzy majors can understand. Their wedding was in Ft. Lauderdale, FL over the New Year’s break (Jan 5th) and featured a few ’08ers in stunning mess dress.

From left are Melissa Hughes, Erinn Woodside, Ryan King, Noel Trew, Kara Thoreson, Monica Herrera (’07) and Leah Pound.

My email address has changed to Christin.Brodie@usafa.edu because I am now an instructor in the Athletic Department at USAFA. Please send any updates you want to share with the rest of our class to the above email or contact me via Facebook.

I know we had a rough year and I do not want to neglect the loss of four close friends. However, just as Mr. Richard Stover stated on 27 January at Chris’ memorial, “let us keep telling their stories and spread the joy they brought to us.” Good luck to all of you in 2014.

Until our paths cross again, Brodie.

Forrest Underwood PSC 2, Box 9538 APO AE 0012 forrestunderwood@gmail.com Facebook: Forrest J. Underwood

675 passengers were transported out of Tacloban City, Leyte on the way to Manila on board USAF C-17 flown by Mike Hank. Doin’ work!

The Kirchoff Family Aaron and Meredith (Leake) Kirchoff celebrate a hero’s return from war with their two kids! Welcome home!

Mike Knapp shows us how many years it took him to get on his first trip to the desert. The crew celebrated this incredible feat with near-beer!

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Members

Happy New Year, Classmates! 2014 has a lot in store for the Hub Class.

May marks the 5th and final year in the Air Force for some of us. It’ll be sad to see you go but we’ll love to watch you leave and go on to achieve other amazing things! It is more critical now than ever for us to rely on the strength of our network. Please keep us updated with where you are going and what you are doing. If you haven’t already, send in your updates to our Class of 2009, Air Force Academy Facebook Page!

Remember, anyone can send in updates so if you’re a friend, spouse, mother, or father, please contribute!

Sabre Society BABIES: Ben De Riggi and Mark Bishop are both Donors proud new dads! James Johnson and Cameron Unterberger are both expecting kids this year! Congrats fellas!

ENGAGED: Dan Strishock, Drew Musser, Sid Maru and Steve Belieau all got engaged! We wish them the best!

OTHER SPOOGE: Leighton Bagby and Craig Hyatt are both trading Ramstein AB for Travis flying the C-17 and KC-10!

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Mike Knapp (SHAMELESS PLUG: Check out www.crashpadsinaltus.com! Classmate owned!

If you ever need a place to stay in Altus, OK you need to look no further than the Bat Cave!

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Members Todd Gamiles 2010checkpoints@gmail.com

(No Sabre Society Donors Yet) Greetings class! Compared to the last few updates, this quarter has been relatively quiet! Evan Rodts got engaged this past quarter, as did a fellow squadron-mate of mine, Carol Quirindongo-Crespo. Congratulations to the newlyweds-to-be!

Mike Hank

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Hannah and Gary Wayne Haverkorn

In baby news, Hannah Haverkorn (Marcelo) and Greg Haverkorn (‘09) celebrated the birth of their first child, Gary Wayne Haverkorn, on 17 Jan. Mom and baby are doing fine (and presumably dad too!) The proud parents were kind enough to share a picture of mama and the little one!

These next few months should prove interesting for our class, especially with the Force Shaping Boards currently on the horizon. Whether you separate voluntarily, stay in, or not, I wish each and every one of you the best. Whatever happens, please continue to share your life experiences with the class wherever the roads of life may take you!

‘Til next time, blue skies and tailwinds!

We have also had a couple of cute kiddos born over the past few months!

Congratulations to Jason Gabrick and his wife, Tracy, who welcomed the birth of their son Christian on 12 Dec 2013, and Katie (Barber) Bronson and husband, Jordan, welcomed the arrival of their daughter Elizabeth on 13 Dec 2013! Everyone is happy and healthy and the parents are doing great! A special congratulation also goes out to Kyle Moses and wife, Nikki, who are expecting their first baby in June 2014!

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Elizabeth Borroni 908 Swift Water Drive Abilene, TX 79602 (979) 571-1180 elizabeth.borroni@gmail.com

Members

Class of 2011!

I hope your New Year has been wonderful and everyone is keeping to their resolutions! This May, we will have been in for 3 years (can you believe it!) and I am eagerly awaiting that bump in our paycheck! It is, without a doubt, that 2014 is the year of deployments for our class! Since the start of the New Year, I have been stationed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany as an additional C-130J crew for the 37th Airlift Squadron and I have seen SO MANY of our classmates. I had a mini reunion with some old Dirty Dozen squadron mates, Sabre Society Nathan Carter and Jeremy Smith, saw a few friendly Donors faces in passing to include Kaitlin Bibeau, Joe Fry, and Laura Sturdevant, hung out with Katie Gorbacz who is stationed at Ramstein, and I’m currently here flying with three other great co-pilots from our class, Chris Ansel, Dave Clark and Jeff Larkin! It has been an amazing experience so far and it is awesome to see so many friendly faces when you are not in the United States, it definitely makes the time away from home go faster.

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Katie, Jordan and Baby Elizabeth And that’s a wrap! As always, it is so awesome to see our class doing great things. Without a doubt, the Class of 2011 is making its mark on the world and I commend everyone! Please keep in touch, whether it’s a phone call, email, or even a text because Checkpoints is a great way for our class to stay connected! Until next time, take care and keep in touch! Liz

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LeRoi Edwards leroi.edwards@gmail.com

Members

(One Sabre Society Donor) HAP! Happy holidays and cheers to a new year of our post-Academy lives. As always, I’ve found that there are so many people doing so many crazy things out there. Between grad schools, deployments, babies, and drop nights, it is tough to keep up with this bustling group of solid-gold hard-chargers.

Fortunately for me, a few of you have reached out and shared what you are up to so that I might highlight the good the bad and the ugly over the past few months. First, I would like to cover a “just-missed” opportunity and proudly announce that Imed Rebhi and Amanda, formerly Amanda Johnson married on Sept 27 at the Patrick Haley Mansion in Joliet, IL. Dave, Chris, Liz, and Jeff in Rota.

Kevin Dandino sent me an awesome email, not only letting me know he will be marrying his fiancé, Nancy, at the Academy Chapel on April 12th (congratulations!), but to also say that Andy Cutler is currently deployed with MC-12s in Afghanistan and Kevin is currently deployed as a Nav in the E-8 JSTARS. I know everyone is working hard both at home and deployed and I hope everyone is staying safe! Best wishes to those who will be deploying as the year progresses and I hope everyone will be returning safely.

Amanda and Imed on their wedding day.

Nancy and Kevin

Similarly, one of my best good friends Brandon Poje not only found the girl of his dreams, but then convinced her that they should spend a lot of time together. On 4 Jan 2014, in the small chapel of Langley AFB, Poje ceremoniously glued his soul to its mate. Her name is Marissa and she is a nice lady. (See photo at the top of the next column.)

After a couple blue-to-blue stories, a classic example of how awesome we are was brought to my attention in the form of some blue-to-green

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Class News

The Poje Wedding changes. Jake Bruder, Michael Hauser, and Jonathan Broadbent took the plunge of bad-assery and completed Army Ranger School at Ft Benning, way back in May. Michael succinctly expresses their accomplishment as, “We were 3/3 for 100% completion. I’m pretty sure only around 50% of West Point grads completed. Air Force Academy-1, West Point-0.”

While the polar vortex beats most of you down, don’t forget to keep in touch with your drops. Which, by the way, have seemed to be excellent for our Happers. Lots of really fast, really cool drops out there. Shout out to D.J. Foss for the Raptor good luck getting inside. All in all, keep me informed and I will get your information out there. Similarly, if you’re interested in taking a stab at writing one of these columns, let me know. Sincerely, LeRoi. PS – Don’t forget to get involved with the Class of 2012’s Five Star Commitment Program give back to the program that kept you sane during your time at the Blue Zoo. Cheers, all. <http://www.usafa.org/endowment/classgiving2012>

Gone But Not Forgotten: Nicholas J. Goirigolzarri, ’10 (Continued from page 95 .)

Nick is survived by and remains in the hearts of his adoring family, his friends, colleagues at Schriever Air Force base and his Rugby Brothers and coaches. A “Team G’ Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ teamgoirigolzarri was created upon his ICU admittance and diagnosis of the disease that claimed his life where the story, the many lives he touched and his legacy continues. (Written by his ever loving family: Parents Javier and Karen and brothers Ben and Alex.)

David D. Ostrom, ’10 David Dana Ostrom was born April 27, 1988 and passed away Sept.

27, 2013, after a battle with Adrenocortical Carcinoma. He peacefully passed away on a flight home with his wife beside him.

David graduated from Mission Viejo High School, Calif. in 2006. He was a member of the baseball and water polo teams. His senior year he was awarded MVP of the South-Coast League for water polo. He was an honor student and member of the Model Untied Nations.

David went to college at the United State’s Air Force Academy, where he played water polo. He was named MVP his junior year. His senior year he was an honorable mention and remains one of the top-five all-time leaders, in career saves, at USAF. In 2011 David was stationed at Vance Air Force, in Enid, Okla. where he began pilot training. In 2012 he received his wings. David met Whitney Moore, in Stillwater, Okla. and they were later married in Omaha, Neb. where Dave was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base. He was scheduled to begin training for RC-135s. His training was postponed due to illness.

David is survived by his wife, Whitney; parents, Dana and Laura Ostrom, of Mission Viejo; sister Kristan Ostrom David Ostrom of San Diego; grandparents Russell and Betty Ostrom; grandparents Tom and Anna Craver; uncles and aunts, Paul Ostrom, Steve and Heather Ostrom, Mike and Kate Joyce, Tom and Laurie Craver; cousins, Bri and Cody Craver, Kyle Krainock, Audrey, Marlee, and Jerry Ostrom; father and mother-in-law, Danny and Shelli Moore.

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From left are Bruder, Hauser, and Broadbent dominating fools at Ranger School.

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Members No volunteers yet.

(One Sabre Society Donor) (Editor’s note: We still do not have a volunteer for the Class of 2013 scribe.

Please contact the Class News editor, Tom Kroboth, at Tom.Kroboth@ aogusafa.org, to provide a Class News column for your class.)

David lived life to its fullest. Through David’s battle with ACC, he remained energetic and positive. His personality was contagious and he was big-hearted. David would light up a room with his outlandish outfits and his beautiful smile. He had a love for making music and snowboarding.

He was a man of passion and integrity. (Whitney Ostrom, David’s wife) (Editor’s note: The AOG does not always have all the information concerning the death of a graduate. We only publish the information we have available on each deceased graduate or cadet.)

At press time we learned of the deaths of the following graduates: Mr. Marvin W. Buss, Class of 1959, who died on Feb. 10, 2014 in St. Louis, Mo. Mr. James C. O’Rourke, Class of 1960, who died on Feb. 3, 2014 in Lakewood, Wash.

Lt. Col. (Ret) Peter D. Caldarelli, Class of 1964, who died on Dec. 5, 2013 in Gainesville, Fla. Mr. Roy A. Fricke, Class of 1965, who died on Dec. 31, 2013 in Redmond, Wash.

Lt. Col. (Ret) Jefferson E. Trenton, Class of 1969, who died on Jan. 14, 2014 in Virginia Beach, Va. Mr. Thomas M. Pratt, Class of 1970, who died on Feb. 5, 2014 in Durham, N.C. Lt. Col. (Ret) Marius G. “Gus” Sorensen, Class of 1970, who died on Feb. 16, 2014 in North Carolina.

Mr. Robert C. “Jack” Jackson, Class of 1971, who died on Dec. 24, 2013 in Ormond Beach, Fla. Col. (Ret) Michael B. Lackey, Class of 1971, who died on Feb. 12, 2014 in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Maj. (Ret) David K. Livingston, Class of 1975, who died on Dec. 14, 2013 in Florida.

Mr. Michael A. Hoobler, Class of 1979, who died on Dec. 9, 2013 in Oregon.

Col. (ANG) James D. Byerly, Class of 1986, who died on Feb. 4, 2014 in Kennett Square, Pa. Lt. Col. (Ret) Daniel M. Wuchenich, Class of 1988, who died on Jan. 6, 2014 in Woodbridge, Va. Mr. Brian J. Allen, Class of 1993, who died on Feb. 4, 2014 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Capt. David I. Lyon (Nee Lissy), Class of 2008, who died on Dec. 27, 2013 in an IED attack in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Capt. Christopher S. Stover, Class of 2008, who died on Jan. 7, 2014 in an HH-60G Pave Hawk accident off Norfolk Coast, England.

Our sincere condolences to the family and friends of these graduates.

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Final Thought The Academy was well represented at Super Bowl XLVII in New Jersey this past February by two graduates. Ben Garland ’10 and First Lt. Alicia Quaco ’10 were both on the sidelines for the big game. Garland, the former defensive tackle who was converted into an offensive guard last offseason, traveled with the Denver Broncos as a member of the team’s practice squad. Quaco, a Seattle Seahawks cheerleader, received national attention leading up to the game because of her dual roles as an Air Force officer and “Sea Gal.” In a lopsided affair, Quaco’s Seahawks defeated Garland’s Broncos 43-8 to bring the Lombardi Trophy to Seattle.

Don’t feel too bad for Garland though, two days after the game he was resigned by the Broncos for the 2014 season. You can read about both graduates’ Super Bowl experiences through Twitter by following Garland @BenGarland63 and Quaco @littlequaco.

From top, left to right: Quaco poses with a Super Bowl XLVII football while on the set of the “Fox & Friends” news studio; The nameplate on Garland’s locker at MetLife Stadium; Quaco (second from left) and fellow Sea Gals on the field after the game; Garland flashes his Academy ring before kickoff; Garland prepares at the team hotel before the game.

POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Checkpoints, Association of Graduates, Doolittle Hall, 3116 Academy Drive, USAF Academy, CO 80840-4475.

www.RusinakRealEstate.com Vince Rusinak, ’68 Vince@Rusinak.com

Nancy Rusinak Brother, R. Berthiaume, ’73

Nancy@Rusinak.com

Rusinak Real Estate, Inc. 7150 North Academy Blvd Colorado Springs, CO 80920 719.590.6110 Toll Free: 1.800.789.6650