checkpoints USAFA Alumni Magazine
September 2014
Fighters
& Love
Three couples on life as married fighter pilots.
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FEATURES 18 Reflections on War Hugh Miller ‘07 cross-commissioned into the Army to serve as an infantry officer. After serving two tours in the hostile Kunar Province of Afghanistan, Miller reflects on his experiences and the lessons learned fighting a difficult war.
26 Id Semper Parati Venire A conversation about World War I teaches a group of service academy cadets a valuable lesson about the nature of service.
32 Fighters and Love Three married couples. Six fighter pilots. The bravado they are known for is essential to their jobs, but how does that maverick attitude play out in a military marriage?
On the Cover Lt. Col. Mike May ‘95 and Lt. Col. Melissa May ‘95 pose with their children in front of an F-16 at Luke Air Force Base. Image by Cliff Patrick ‘95. Visit tacticalimage.com to view more of Patrick’s work.
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DEPARTMENTS Columns
The Endowment
Back of the Book
4 CEO Update 6 Chairman’s Journal 8 From the Dean 10 Staff Directory 12 Letters 16 News
39 Accepting the Challenge
82 Gone But Not Forgotten 96 Class News 143 GX–Grad Exchange 144 Final Thought
Graduate Profile 42 2014 Jabara Award 44 Long Blue Ladle 48 Brothers in Arms 55 Falcon Fitness Fix 56 Love Birds 58 Manufacturing Hope
Heritage 64 Reagan and the Unsettling Sound 66 Fallen Graduate Returned Home 68 A Case Study in Honor 80 AFA Quarterback Club of Denver
Checkpoints Online Bonus Content
BCT Brown Shoes Style Basic Memories The Legacy of a Teacher Long Blue Ladle: Off the Menu Fine 89 A Special Bond Photo Galleries and More!
The Association 14 Election Information 70 Graduate Dependent Scholarships 72 Happenings
Cadet Life 76 The Class of 2018 in Numbers 78 Push Up Record Challenge Checkpoints
September 2014
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Thank You for a Fantastic Year By WIlliam “T” Thompson ’73, AOG President and CEO
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our AOG Board of Directors met in August and the staff had the opportunity to update the Board on its progress toward achieving goals in our Operations Plan as well as our fiscal year end results. The truth is there are always challenges and much more that can be done. Yet by a plethora of measures, your Association had a record year and is arguably in its best shape ever. Our plan is to give you, our graduates and members, a much more detailed report in the near future but I’d like to use this forum to mention just a few of the highlights from this past fiscal year. There is an old quote made famous by Jesse Unruh (nicknamed “Big Daddy”), a prominent California politician, who said, “Money is the mother’s milk of politics.” I’ll expand that quote to say, “Money is the mother’s milk of many things,” including the AOG’s ability to support the Academy and to serve the graduate community. As such it would seem appropriate to begin by noting our record breaking revenue growth this past year. Led by Marty Marcolongo ’88, our Senior Vice President for Business Operations, and fueled by your strong support for our merchandise offerings, our revenue both exceeded budget and rolled into “best ever” territory at the AOG. Sponsorship revenue and membership dues provided a bolstering assist to this positive effort. The entire team did a tremendous job but Jan Howard, who runs our merchandise operations, deserves special thanks for a job exceptionally well done. Speaking of membership dues, your connection back to the Academy through membership in the AOG continued to grow. Our Alumni Affairs department, shepherded by Vice President Corrie Grubbs, continued to hit new milestones. Under her leadership, AOG chapters have grown from 31 in 2010 to 80 this past fiscal year. Additionally, members in our chapters are more active than at any time in our past history. For example, the number of chapters conducting a Founders Day celebration event increased over four fold—from 5 to 21. Finally, attendance at AOG sponsored events like class reunions and the annual Scotch Tasting event held here at Doolittle Hall hit record numbers. We worked hard to continue to communicate with you in an effective manner while doing so in the medium that was most pleasing to you. Under the talented direction of our Senior Vice President for Communications, Bob McAllister, Checkpoints alumni magazine won the Gold Medal as the best alumni magazine for the second year in a row in competition with approximately 180 other universities and colleges across our region. At 4
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the same time we realized that many of you prefer information about the Academy and grads online or through social media. Your communication staff set a priority of growing our capabilities in this arena. Over this past year we caught and surpassed both Army and Navy in social media followers. Additionally we became the social media leader in the Mountain West Conference. Overall, the Communications department won eleven medals for excellence across our entire communications portfolio including the Sweepstakes Medal for Overall Best Communications. Under the leadership of the Board’s Finance and Investment Committee and with the talents of our graduate professionals who make up the Investment Sub-Committee (Wall Street types who help your Association pro bono) the AOG’s net assets continued to grow. Your Board has been prudent in planning for the future and had previously directed staff to create an acceptable reserve for more challenging times. A favorable investment environment coupled with our business revenue growth has enabled our CFO, Alton Parrish, to fully fund the reserve as directed by the Board. Finally, under the stewardship of our Executive Vice President Gary Howe ’69 and Bob McAllister we continued to make important heritage improvements at Doolittle Hall. We installed an exhibition which highlights a broad diversity of our graduates who have made significant contributions to the country. The display includes both young and older grads who are either in the Air Force or have transition to the private sector. An additional display was recently added which highlights the Academy’s selected Distinguished Graduates. These graduates are honored for a lifetime of service to our nation and for significant service to the Academy and the graduate community. In closing, let me thank you for the strong and growing support you have given your Association. Thank you for your strong membership participation, whether as a graduate, a parent or as a friend of the AOG. Thank you for your strong support of our AOG Gift Shop at Doolittle Hall and our online store. We have worked hard to bring you a wide selection of quality products and we are pleased that you have appreciated the value of those efforts. Thank you for participating in AOG sponsored events such as reunions, tailgates, Lunch and Learns, and golf tournaments. Thank you for all that you have done to help make this our best year ever. Finally, thank you for your service, the service of your kids and all that you do to help keep the Academy and your AOG vibrant and strong. GO FALCONS!!!
columns
Chairman’s
Journal By Brig. Gen. (ret.) Roger Carleton ’67
Fellow Graduates, The “Battle Rhythm” that characterizes the beginning of another year at our Air Force Academy is again in full operational mode. On June 26th the Class of 2018 began Inprocessing at Doolittle Hall. This was the first step for 1206 basic cadet appointees in a journey that will culminate four years hence when they receive their diplomas and commissions. Their class includes 14 entering cadets hailing from 12 foreign nations. As many of you recognize, change is a way of life in any military organization and USAFA is no different. Over the past few weeks, Brig. Gen. Stephen C. Williams ’89 replaced Maj. Gen. Greg Lengyel, Texas A&M ’85, as Commandant of Cadets. Brigadier General Evan M. Miller ’88 was replaced by Colonel Kevin Lamberth, University of Texas at Arlington ’90. Fortunately, the Superintendent, Dean of Faculty and Director of Athletics will provide the necessary continuity and direction during this personnel turnover. One of the AOG’s key missions is to promulgate and support the heritage and traditions of the Academy and its graduates to a larger audience. To accomplish this important mission, the AOG, in concert with the Class of 1960, developed a Heritage Trail located behind Doolittle Hall. The Class of 1960 provided funds for sidewalks and other amenities. The Trail is composed of three elements: the Challenge Park focused on the Challenge Bridge; the Recognition Park primarily reserved to memorialize individual graduate achievement and containing the Distinguished Graduate pedestals; and the Memorial Park, beginning at the Memorial Wall. The Memorial Park was to be preserved for solemn memorials, erected over time, in honor of those USAFA graduates who participated in major conflicts. Any class or individual donor can propose a project for the Trail. As an aside, during Inprocessing of the new basic cadet appointees, the cadet cadre escorts the appointees through a portion of the Heritage Trail ultimately ending at the Class of 1959’s Challenge Bridge where a member of the first class speaks to the importance of the journey they are about to commence. Along the way, new appointees get to view a replica of the Memorial Wall that is located on the Terrazzo. This wall—donated by the Class of 1970—contains the names of all graduates who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation. Prior to crossing the Challenge Bridge, the appointees pass by a number of pedestals, each with a bronze plaque outlining the accomplishment 6
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of USAFA’s Distinguished Graduates. Taking the appointees through a portion of the Trail reinforces two of the Academy’s core values: service before self and excellence. Why do I bring up the Heritage Trail as a topic for this article? Quite simply, there are two reasons. First and foremost, the AOG Board of Directors has constituted a Heritage and Traditions Committee (H&TC) to review all proposals for the Trail. Their review and recommendation to the Board for either approval or disapproval considers many factors: does the project meet the intent to honor graduates; is the design concept in line with other already completed projects; is the class prepared to provide the funding; can the project be completed in a timely fashion and does the proposed project require an environmental assessment (EA)? Not only must the AOG Board approve of any project, the Superintendent, in a parallel process, retains the final approval for any memorial project situated on Academy grounds. The AOG Board recently approved an AOG Heritage and Traditions Committee Instruction, dated 7 Feb 2014, that is available on the AOG/USAFA Endowment web site. This instruction provides initial guidance for new H&T projects. The H&T Committee ensures consistency and adherence to long-term AOG and Academy goals by carefully examining and vetting all memorialization requests in light of precedent and future impacts upon the AOG and the USAF Academy. Second, the latter issue surrounding the possibility of a lengthy environmental assessment can be the determining factor in any project with a desired completion date for an event such as a Class Reunion. Given that an EA may slow any project, the obvious question is, “How does a Class develop a project and know it can meet a desired completion date?” The answer is straightforward. When a proposed project is in the concept development stage, bring it to the H&TC through the AOG staff so the coordination process can begin. Do not wait until the proposed project is refined or designed to a specific level. The earlier a project commences, the less the execution risk. As an anchor project for the Memorial Park portion of the Heritage Trail, the Southeast Asia Memorial Pavilion (SEAP) was built and dedicated in 2010 with donations from the Class of 1970. Adjacent to the SEAP, the Classes of 1965 and 1970
have embarked a bit late on an ambitious project to construct a Plaza of Heroes to honor USAFA grads awarded the Medal of Honor, Air Force Cross and Silver Star in the Vietnam War. The plaza’s north wall will highlight the only graduate awarded the Medal of Honor in that conflict, Captain Lance P. Sijan ’65. The centerpiece will be a life-size statue of Sijan emphasizing the suffering he endured while evading his pursuers. The class’s objective is to dedicate the projects next fall at their 50th and 45th reunions. Both the H&TC and AOG Board have approved the concept but there are still a number of hurdles to overcome to make this combined project a reality. We are committed to doing all in our power to meet the 2015 date. We hope other classes will populate the Heritage Trail with memorials to the achievements of their classmates using the SEA Pavilion and Plaza of Heroes as a benchmark. The key takeaway is simple—if a class or individual has a project suitable for the Heritage Trail, start the approval process early. Finally, by the time you read this, the Class of 2018 will have been accepted into the Cadet Wing in front of parents, friends and members of the Class of 1968—2018’s Legacy Class. As all graduates realize, the journey is often hard but more than worth the effort to become a member of the Long Blue Line.
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Checkpoints
September 2014
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From the Dean By Brig. Gen. Andrew P. Armacost, Dean of the Faculty
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ur Air Force is retooling for the future, and so is its Academy. The service is acquiring the next generation of advanced systems to fly, fight, and win in air, space, and cyberspace. At USAFA, we are training the next generation of officers to lead our airmen and nation in those domains or in conflicts in those domains. And just as the larger Air Force is operating in an environment of fiscal constraint, so is the Academy. The service and its Academy are undergoing a transformation. Our transformation is a deliberate and careful process to achieve our defined ends using available resources. The Superintendent, working with senior leaders at USAFA, has clearly defined USAFA’s mission “to educate, train, and inspire men and women to become officers of character motivated to lead the United States Air Force in service to our nation.” As the national economy has slowed, the means to reach this objective, entrusted to us by the American people, have been shrinking. Our strategy for linking these means to the ends has many dimensions. The Academy-wide “Pathways to Excellence” initiative, under the Superintendent’s direction, is taking a systematic relook at all we are doing. A supporting project in the Dean of the Faculty identified our highest impact processes. While these broad efforts have many dimensions, three notable ways in which we have worked responsibly to achieve our mission over the past year have been: our response to reduced budgets, redesigning our curriculum, and reinvigorating our technology transfer program. The faculty has not been isolated from wider government fiscal conditions. Since FY10, our Operations and Maintenance Budget has declined by over 60%, and last year we took a hard look
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at our manning. In a deliberate process led by senior faculty, we examined our programs and asked hard questions about how they aligned with the outcomes we are trying to achieve. The result reduced our billets in the upcoming year, and we were fortunate that these reductions did not require any involuntary separations of our faculty and staff. While the faculty is undoubtedly leaner, we remain well aligned with our mission and fully capable of carrying it out. A second transformational effort this past year has been curricular change. We are examining the way we prepare the future leaders of the service. The Air Force needs a generation of officers prepared to lead in an uncertain world. Our curriculum has changed many times since 1955, adapting to the shifting strategic environment. The end of the Iraq war and the transition of our role in Afghanistan continue to alter the challenges the Air Force faces. We have to adapt the way we prepare its future leaders. Last year, we started a major review of the Academy’s academic program. A broad-based committee composed of seasoned military and civilian professors from across the four academic divisions met to study our way ahead. They produced options for the core curriculum that follow one of two basic philosophies. The first is similar to, but smaller than, the current curriculum. It seeks the right mix of courses, but in the framework of existing academic disciplines such as physics, math, and English. The second philosophy shifts the focus from the disciplines to our academic outcomes. This approach asks “what should our graduates be able to do,” rather than, “what should our graduates study?” It would present cadets and their academic advisors with more choices to achieve the
outcomes, not with a single prescribed path through the core. Both approaches would guarantee a core curriculum that is academically challenging, producing officers to meet tomorrow’s challenges. This semester marks a key moment as the senior faculty leadership debates and decides which philosophy to adopt. After that decision, the original committees will refine the philosophy and construct an even more detailed curriculum proposal. In the spring, we will subject the proposal to an independent review by peer institutions. With their input, we will craft a Curriculum Change Proposal for formal consideration by the Superintendent and Academy Board during the fall of 2015. If approved, the new core would take effect in the fall of 2016 for the Class of 2020. The core curriculum review is taking place in parallel with a close examination and realignment of our majors. Are we offering the right majors to prepare our cadets for service? As we examine the curriculum as a whole, and ensure its alignment with the Academy’s mission, every major is subject to reexamination. In the past year, we looked closely at eleven majors for elimination, ultimately selecting Environmental Engineering and the four divisional majors for removal from the curriculum. Biochemistry and Materials Chemistry will be offered as tracks with the Chemistry major. Cadets currently enrolled in those majors will continue their program of study, but the majors will be closed to undeclared cadets in the Class of 2017 and beyond.
As the result of earlier decisions, we eliminated the Systems Engineering Management major for cadets in the classes of 2015 and beyond, and cadets in 2015 are the last to whom Space Operations will be offered. This process is not only about removing areas of study, it can and has been about adding them as well. For example, the new Computer & Network Security major prepares cadets for the operational challenges of the cyber domain. Assessing and reshaping both the core and the majors is a continuous process, not an isolated decision. The unwavering focus of this ongoing effort is to continue to produce officers with the right knowledge and skills to serve in tomorrow’s Air Force. A third thread of our transformation is an enhanced approach to technology transfer. In addition to its mission of educating, training, and inspiring the next generation of officers, USAFA is also a federal laboratory. Federal law man-
dates us to engage in technology transfer functions, and our new efforts are enabled by that charter. We are actively seeking ways to move our innovations from the lab to the commercial sector. USAFA is home to 19 research centers and two institutes, all performing stateof-the-art research and development in both technical and non-technical fields. Our program in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, for instance, has more than 20 projects spanning academic disciplines as the Academy works to improve its teaching and academic standards. Our Center for Aircraft Structural Life Extension, on the other hand, works to extend the flying time of the Air Force’s fleet, and is an important research agency for the Air Force. This fantastic concentration of research presents an opportunity for technology transfer. This innovation cycle starts with core research already performed as an essential part of the cadet experience, but
then offers a path for the Academy to move its intellectual property to industry through licensing. USAFA ideas may become the basis for external commercial startups or incorporated into existing companies’ portfolios of technology. The Office of Research is using partnership intermediaries and developing relationships with incubators, which may then lead to commercialization. If successful, this process will yield additional funding streams to support cadet education, as well as faculty and cadet research. Change is constant and inevitable. This is true today for our Air Force, its Academy, and the faculty. We are transforming USAFA. The class of 2015 will lead the Air Force in 2045. That will be as different from today’s service as today’s is from the Air Force of 1985, led by USAFA’s first graduates. What is changing is how we achieve our objective, but the objective remains fixed: to inspire, educate, and train the next generation of Air Force leaders.
Checkpoints
September 2014
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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 History and Heritage Projects Officer Amanda Hess, ext. 103 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 Creative Director Sarah Larrabee, ext. 144 Managing Editor David Bergeman, ext. 143 Editor/Photographer Lewis Carlyle, ext. 140 Graphic Designer Chris Hureau, ext. 149 Class News & Obituary Editor Tom Kroboth, ext. 133 Director of Web Communications Troy Surratt, ext. 125 Systems Administrator Jason Finkle, ext. 124 Senior Programmer/Systems Analyst Gayatri Parepalli, ext. 118 Lead Programmer/Web Developer Toby Lortz, ext. 141 Director of Information Systems Jack Mueller ’70, ext. 122 Volunteer Editor Paul Henry ’67 Business Operations Director of Business Operations Beth Wade, ext. 134 Marketing Coordinator David Allen, ext. 150
Alumni Affairs Vice President for Alumni Affairs Corrie Grubbs, ext. 105 Director of Graduate Programs Megan Nash, ext. 108 Director of Parent & Cadet Programs Bill Preston, ext. 125 Membership Services Specialist Don McCarthy, ext. 139 Graduate Support Specialist Beth Szucs ’97, ext. 115 Doolittle Hall Events/Special Functions Director of Event Planning Ashlee Peterson, ext. 147 Special Functions Coordinator Jean Bickford, ext. 148 Alumni Affairs Event Coordinator Sara Dozier, ext. 138 Alumni Affairs Event Coordinator Michele Bergeman, ext. 136 Event Chaperone Daisy Hall, 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 Daisy Hall, ext. 148 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: Gina Simler | gina.simler@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 Alison Mercer, ext. 221 Director, Gift Planning Dale Zschoche, 719.238.7510 Major Gift Officer Obura Tongoi ‘11, 719.375.9082
Major Gift Officer Chris Brewer, 804.337.5767 Major Gift Officer Cindi Brothers, 719.464.7684 Leadership Annual Gift Officer Stella Grayson ‘99, 719.331.7430 Class Giving Officer Razelle Doherty, ext. 222 Annual Giving Officer Amanda Brown, ext. 223 Manager of Donor Relations Gina Simler, ext. 200 Stewardship Coordinator Kate Hutchison, ext. 240 Director of Development Communications Jermaine Johnson, ext. 220 Staff Accountant Susan Mackaman, ext. 204
Volume 43, number 2 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.
Scheduling the First Inter-Service Academy Football Games When reading the 60th Anniversary Edition of Checkpoints, I noticed on page 98 of the article “AF Athletics: A Proud Tradition” a discussion of Army-Navy football scheduling that varies from my recollections. Discussions about scheduling football games with Notre Dame, Army and Navy were held at a breakfast meeting in Chicago after the 1964 NCAA convention. Attending the breakfast were athletic directors “Moose” Krause from Notre Dame, Ray Murphy from Army, Bill Busik from Navy and myself. Army and Navy insisted that any Air Force game should not detract from the Army-Navy game at year-end. I offered early October and early November as possible dates with Notre Dame in mid-October. There was still some reluctance, until Moose Krause suggested Notre Dame would not play Army nor Navy until they both agreed to play Air Force every year. Agreement was reached with Navy in October and Army in November. Location of these games was discussed for about a year. Al Cameron, the new Navy Athletic Director at the time, and I went to Chicago and Memphis to see what arrangements would make financial sense. The cost of transporting many Cadets or Midshipmen to these locations became prohibitive. The three Athletic Directors concluded a home and home arrangement would be more than adequate. This arrangement was ratified at the 1965 Superintendents Conference with Navy coming to Falcon Stadium in 1966. 12
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General Curtis Lemay, then Air Force Chief of Staff, elected to have his fall “Corona” Conference at the Academy every year in conjunction with the service academy football game. Navy came to Colorado in 1966 and Army in 1967. These arrangements were never “hit or miss” as you put it, but still exist and do a lot to support what I call “Institutional Commitment” for athletics. Edmund A. Rafalko, USAFA Director of Athletics, 1963-67 A Founders Day Thank You Please accept my thanks and heartfelt gratitude for an absolutely magnificent Founders Day event. It truly was the most memorable event of my life, and will be an experience I will never forget and always consider a high point. Everything was outstanding and flawless ... from Lewis Carlyle’s article (March 2014)
TweetBack “The best part of my day is getting home and checking webguy #BCT #USAFA18” @usafalovelife,Twitter user USAFA Girlfriend expresses her gratitude for the AOG’s popular WebGuy program. Through BCT, over 200,000 pictures were taken of the basics as they completed the first step toward becoming a member of the Long Blue Line.
Quarterly Query
Did you date a fellow cadet while attending the Air Force Academy? Yes 47% No 53% 240 votes
and video to Ashlee Peterson’s coordination of the activities to Gary Howe’s great work on the bronze plaque and masterful master of ceremonies performance at the dinner. Additionally, the chef went above and beyond with the meal—it was one of the best I’ve ever had at a large gathering. Finally, I must compliment “T” Thompson on his moving and inspirational remarks. They struck an emotional chord with all in attendance, and made us appreciate what a magnificent Air Force and Cadet Wing we have. It especially gave all of us an appreciation for how far some have come to join our Wing. Once again, thank you for a magical experience. My thanks to all concerned. This was a World Class Event in every aspect of Founders Day. William R. Looney III, Class of 1972 Details Come to Light Decades Later The article “A Vignette in Black and Blue” (December 2013) by Fletcher H. “Flash” Wiley, Class of 1965, surprised me as I was involved without knowing what was “going on.” Wiley described how Colonel “Hooks” Jones bypassed the racial issue that existed. Down south at Fort Benning, white and black people did not openly party together. This included Air Force cadets as well as the general population. I had not thought of that fact. I did know there was a party in Georgia. We lived in Tuskegee, Alabama. Wiley did a good job in relating the specifics. It seems that parents are not told the specifics of any social occasion. It was that way then and it is that way today. Sarah L. Plummer Honor and the Profession of Arms The Honor Code requires all cadets to commit with their word of honor as a personal guarantee not to lie, steal, cheat, or tolerate those who do. As graduates, we expect cadets to bring a compelling commitment to their word as their personal guarantee with them when they join us in the Long Blue Line. We trust they will maintain that commitment (Continued on page 14)
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Do you enjoy the enriched experience of Checkpoints Online? Go green and defer shipment of the print edition by emailing editor@aogusafa.org.
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Check In with Checkpoints A This photo of Dean N. Wright ’87 was taken at the 2013 and 50th anniversary of the Reno Air Races. Wright normally flies as the lead pilot for the 6-ship Patriots Jet Team, but he had the unique opportunity to fly an aerobatic demonstration of the USAF T-39 Sabreliner. He says it’s still a solid bird! B Colonel Marc C. Van Wert ’90 and his wife, Misty, hiking Mt. Fuji in Japan. C Ken Bowers ’68 and his wife, Kakai, pose during 10-day trip through Myanmar, AKA Burma. The couple spent 3 days aboard a boat cruising from Mandalay to Bagan in this country that has just recently been opened for tourism. D This photo of John “JC” Miller ’69 was taken while approaching the U-Tapao International Airport main gate during a three week trip to Thailand with his wife and son. On the final day of the journey, Miller traveled back to U-Tapao, the base at which he completed his final 16-plus months of military duty as Race Relations OIC in 1973-74. E Lou Matjasko ’63 chills on a Mexican beach while vacationing at a Riviera Maya resort last March. F Steve Hoagland ’70 at the Peace Memorial Park Okinawa, Japan. This location is particularly significant to Hoagland because his father, the late U.S. Army Lt. Col. Charles E. Hoagland, was awarded both the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart for action during the invasion of Okinawa in World War II. The Peace Park is a poignant reminder of the cost of war.
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D Learn how to check in with Checkpoints at usafa.org/checkpoints/interact.
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(Continued from page 12) when they replace us as leaders of others in the profession of arms. An officer’s word of honor spoken, written, or implied provides an impeccable level of trust that is crucial for maintaining our national security. A Code of Honor enforced objectively, consistently, and equally throughout a cadet’s highly disciplined years at the Academy is considered by many to be the most effective method of infusing a lifelong commitment to one’s word as a personal guarantee. The profession of arms dares not lose that critical attribute in its leadership. Perhaps all graduates, in and out of uniform, have a vested interest in promoting a steady flow of that profound commitment into the Long Blue Line. Jon G. Shaffer, Class of 1959
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. Omission Regretfully, in the June article “The Graduates,” the name of an Air Force Academy graduate who was awarded the Air Force Cross was omitted from the list on page 70. Major Barry Crawford Jr. ’03 was presented the award in April 2012. Throughout a ten-hour fire fight with insurgents, Crawford exposed himself to grave risk on four separate occasions while helping to evacuate wounded Soldiers and Afghan commandos, and pinpointing enemy locations to better
coordinate airstrikes. More than 80 insurgents were killed during the fight. Corrections In the June article “The Graduates” (page 67) we state that Colonel (Ret.) Karol Bobko ’59 commanded the Space Shuttle Challenger during STS-6 in April 1983. This is incorrect. Col. Bobko was a pilot for that flight. Bobko served as the commander of Space Shuttle Discovery for STS-51D in April 1985. Bobko was next commander of STS-51J during the Space Shuttle Atlantis’ maiden voyage in October 1985. On page 68 we state that the parents of Lance Sijan ’65 were presented with his Medal of Honor by President Lyndon B. Johnson. This is incorrect. President Gerald Ford presented the Medal to Sijan’s parents on March 4, 1976. We apologize for these errors.
ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY
AOG Board Election Information Your Association of Graduates will hold an election for six new AOG Board Members beginning in February 2015. AOG bylaws require the Nominating Committee to put forward a slate that contains at least twelve candidates for these six positions. The Nominating Committee is now accepting applications for candidacy by Nominating Committee process. Additionally, any graduate member may have his or her name placed on the ballot by petition, without review by the Nominating Committee. If you are interested, please follow the directions below. PROCESS • Deadline for application or petition is October 3, 2014. • Specific requirements and forms are available on the AOG Web site – www.usafa.org/about/Governance/Nomination Procedures.aspx THE ELECTION • Will be conducted from 2 February to 2 March 2015. • Will be conducted using electronic voting. • Will elect six directors to four-year terms. CANDIDATE COMMITMENT • Be dedicated to the vision, mission, ideals and principles for which the AOG stands.
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• Be capable of attending all meetings of the AOG Board, and any committees to which he/she is assigned. • Be able to commit the time required to discharge Board and committee duties. • Be able to discharge his/her duties in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances, in a manner consistent with the best interests of the AOG. Important notes 1) “Capable of attending” means having the ability to travel to and from Colorado Springs at least four times a year and being able to afford the time away from his/her profession to attend these meetings. Board Members can be reimbursed up to $500 for expenses incident to travel from outside Colorado to USAFA to attend board meetings. 2) The workload of a Board member is very significant. In addition to quarterly meetings, Board members have discussions and debates via e-mail as well as committee and Board meetings by teleconference. QUESTIONS may be referred to the Chair of the Nominating Committee, Bob Munson at munson1@comcast.net; AOG Executive Assistant, Hadassa Munoz at hadassa.munoz@aogusafa.org or to AOG Executive Vice President Gary Howe at gary.howe@ aogusafa.org. You may also call the AOG at (719) 472-0300.
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The Transmission USAFA news from around the globe … and beyond.
Taverney ’68 Receives Award for Space Achievement On June 20, 2014, the Air Force Association presented the General Bernard A. Schriever National Space Leadership Award to Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Thomas “Tav” Taverney ’68 for outstanding lifetime achievements in support of USAF space and missile programs. The award was presented by General Schriever’s son and grandson. Taverney joins a distinguished list of USAFA graduates who have won the Schriever Award, including classmate Gen. (Ret.) Ralph “Ed” Eberhart ’68, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Don Walker ’66, Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Mike Hamel ’72, Gen. (Ret.) Kevin “Chili” Chilton ’76, and Gen. Willie Shelton ’76. Other past recipients of the Schriever Award include numerous Secretaries of the Air Force and senior Air Force space leaders, all of whom have made significant contributions to missions supported from space during their distinguished careers. Sen. Moran Appointed to USAFA Board of Visitors In February, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) was appointed to the U.S. Air Force Academy Board of Visitors. Sen. Moran was selected by his Senate colleagues based on his commitment to airmen in his home state of Kansas, and to all those who serve in the U.S. Air Force. “It is an honor to serve on the Air Force Academy Board of Visitors,” Sen. Moran said. “Americans are fortunate to have so many intelligent, hard-working and patriotic young men and women interested in serving our country in the Air Force. I feel privileged each year when I have the opportunity to recommend Kansans for admission to the Academy, and I’m fortunate to be in a position to make certain this institution provides the best possible education and training for the next generation. I also look forward to working with former McConnell AFB 22nd Wing Commander, Lt. Gen. Michelle D. Johnson ’81, who is the first female superintendent of the Academy.” Anzai ’88 Elected to TPMG Board Sacramento, Calif. based family physician Dr. Alan Anzai ’88 was recently elected by colleagues to serve on the Board of Directors of The Permanente Medical Group (TPMG). Based in Oakland, TPMG is one of the highest rated and largest medical groups in the U.S., with over 8000 physicians in the Group. Newby ’94 Named Commonwealth of Virginia Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs & Homeland Security Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe has appointed John Newby ’94 to be Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security for the state of Virginia. Newby previously was a captain in the Air Force, where he flew the Boeing B-1B Lancer strategic bomber, and served as a forward air controller in support of U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Following his military service, Newby served as both a private sector attorney and an international defense contractor. He was also a member of former Senator Jim Webb’s Service Academy Selection Board.
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Walker ’03 Honored by AFCEA Captain Robert Walker ’03 was honored at an Armed Forces Communications & Electronics Association (AFCEA) international conference held in San Diego, CA, last February. Walker is Deputy Chief Engineer, Air Traffic Systems Branch in the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Battle Management Directorate at Hanscom AFB, Mass. Walker received the prestigious Distinguished Young AFCEAN Award for his record of extraordinary achievement supporting AFCEA International and its Lexington-Concord Chapter. Walker was specifically cited for his exceptional organizational skills in spearheading the Chapter’s membership program and helping organize and support some of the Chapter’s most important events. According to Chapter President Bud Vazquez, his “enthusiasm for AFCEA work and his expertise in accomplishing it has resulted in a win-win for our Young AFCEANS and the Lexington-Concord Chapter.” Installations Director Outlines Vision for New Visitor Center In August, the Air Force Academy moved forward on the first step toward building a new visitor center just west of Interstate 25. Carlos Cruz-Gonzalez, director of installations at USAFA, said the Air Force’s Financial Management Center of Expertise in Denver conducted business case analyses on several alternatives, including sites at Falcon Stadium, on the east side of I-25, using leased space in an unfinished office complex near Interquest Parkway, or using the existing visitor center site, before settling on a site just north of the Santa Fe Trail parking lot on the west side of I-25, and outside the North Gate. “It gives us an opportunity to simplify our security situation,” he said. “If, heaven forbid, we have another incident like Sept. 11, 2001, and we have to close access to the installation, people can still access the visitor center.” The Academy will employ a public-private partnership to build the new facility, Cruz-Gonzalez said. The Academy already uses a public-private partnership for base housing, as do several other Air Force bases. Don Branum/Academy Spirit. Full article available at usafa.af.mil Popovich, Spurs Win Fifth NBA Title Gregg Popovich ’70 led the San Antonio Spurs to a 104-87 victory over the Miami Heat in game 5 of the 2014 NBA finals to win the best of seven series 4 games to one. It was the fifth championship in 16 seasons for Popovich and the Spurs. The title ties Popovich with Pat Riley and John Kundla for the third-most all time among coaches. In July, Coach Popovich signed a multi-year contract extension to remain with the team.
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ASSOCIATION OF GRADUATES UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY
S ER V I N G T H E LO N G B LU E L I N E
REFLECTIONS ON WAR REFLECTIONS ON WAR Rumination on two tours of duty as an Army infantry officer in eastern Afghanistan.
Gator Company
“33, 34, 35, and 36,” my platoon sergeant and I counted off our men from 2nd platoon, Gator Company, 2-12 Infantry. They were divided into two lines and heavily laden with weapons, ammunition, radios, batteries, food, and water. It was December 2009 and the night air was chill around our body armor as we conducted our final checks on our night vision goggles, adjusting them to our eyes and helmets. They opened the darkness around us in green, glittering images. The night’s final call for prayer echoed from a nearby mosque and the river roared at the base of cliffs outside our Hesco barriers. I walked over to my 1st squad leader in order to review some final instructions and discuss intelligence updates. Recently, our small camp had been the target of an almost month long period of indirect fire attacks—that is to say mortars, recoilless rifle rounds, and other munitions. Even a Howitzer artillery piece was destroyed during the first rocket attack, severely injuring the crewmembers. One enemy fighter was brave enough to approach as close as the camp perimeter, firing a rocket-propelled grenade inside the compound, killing the commander of our partnered Afghan unit. The unfortunate and final straw was an intensely accurate salvo of mortar rounds that resulted in the death of a well-respected soldier from our 100-man company on the outpost. With the majority of the fire coming from my platoon’s assigned area of responsibility, we were chosen to be flown via helicopter to a nearby cliff where we would
walk, climb, and otherwise scramble towards the firing locations in an effort to gain a better grasp of the enemy situation. During 2007, the United States Army was experiencing its greatest need for junior officers within its realm of combat arms, specifically Infantry, due to the asymmetric nature of the conflicts. Being a senior at the Air Force Academy, I knew I wanted to play a significant role within the war and my simple interest in cross-commissioning quickly evolved into orders to Fort Benning, Georgia. w
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Now, in a particularly volatile section of the Hindu Kush, my squad leader and I hovered over my map and examined our route under flashlight. The thumping of the arriving CH-47 Chinook broke the silence as the bird banked through the valley. If anyone’s adrenaline level wasn’t already at a high, it was now. No other units would be making the trip with us. Just 36 heavily armed men, many of whom were just out of high school. The heat from turbines on the rear of the Chinook gave some respite to the bitter cold night as the pilots maneuvered for a landing. The rotors beat the wind into submission, driving wood chips and rocks through the formation. The pilots wasted no time on the ground after we hustled aboard, rightly worried about the bright moon illuminating our presence to the many bad guys no doubt watching from their tree-covered huts and caves in the mountains. We were going above them to where the gigantic Himalayan Cyprus forests dominated the ridgeline. After a quick 20-minute flight, most of it straight up in elevation, the pilot slowed and drifted carefully over our LZ. A small, oval snowfield beckoning on the tree-covered ridgeline was the only spot on the mountain that was suitable for landing. Even so, he could not place the behemoth chopper fully onto the ground, so he held a position such that only the rear wheels contacted the 2-foot-deep snow. We begin clambering out of the chopper, two at a time. We struggle to pick up our 100 pounds of gear and avoid slipping on hydraulic fluid, literally falling out of the chopper, and moving quickly towards the tree-line with our rifles and light machine guns pointed out. My turn arrived and before I even hit the snow, the pilot is lifting off. He sees what I do not … a single enemy fighter has decided to make his presence known by firing single shots from his AK-47. The fiery but inaccurate tracer rounds crack across the black horizon. As the Chinook dips down into the valley away from danger, our stolen enemy radio comes alive with chatter. Our interpreter translates, “We don’t know where they are but they’ve come … the Americans are here, prepare for Jihad.”
Our battalion was ordered to take on one of the most unique problem sets in the whole of Afghanistan, a 20-mile long cut into the Hindu Kush called the Pech River Valley. To a layman, this name will not ring familiar but the following names should: Korengal Valley, Lone Survivor, and the Battle of Wanat. All these events took place within the boundaries and capillary valleys of the Pech. Situated in the Kunar Province of eastern Afghanistan, the Pech stretches westward from the capital village of Asadabad and away from the passes along the Pakistan border. It was the scene of a de facto rite of passage for Arabic jihadists and Fedayeen from all over South and Central Asia. If the tribal areas of Pakistan were considered the training grounds of our enemy, Kunar Province was their equivalent of Ranger School. Having spent my own fair share of time getting punished by Ranger instructors in America’s South, many of my peers and I felt an odd kinship with an enemy that purposely chose the most difficult terrain as their battleground. It was in this valley that I spent my two tours, totaling over 24 months in the Pech. During my first deployment as a rifle platoon leader, our unit was given responsibility of the Waigal Valley, a narrow corridor into the mythical province of Nuristan. This portion of the Hindu Kush was the last plot of land in Afghanistan to convert to Islam, and it was unwillingly forced to do so under the sword. While many Nuristanis maintain their polygamist views to this day, it is their fighting ability that is legendary. Inhabitants of this small 7-mile long strip of the Waigal were in fact responsible for the deaths of at least 20 U.S. soldiers in only two years of American presence in the valley. The infamous Battle of Wanat, where 9 paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Regiment were killed during a major attack, took place in a village on the edge of our zone of responsibility. The enemy was still recuperating from their losses when our platoon entered the valley. This meant the beginning of the tour was extremely quiet. We made great strides in regards to our social relationships with the elders. I learned more about tribal agricul-
The infamous Battle of Wanat, where 9 paratroopers from the 173rd Airborne Regiment were killed during a major attack, took place in a village on the edge of our zone of responsibility. 20
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ture, husbandry, digging bedrock wells, and reinforcing irrigation retaining walls than I would ever have believed possible. I found our tasks both interesting and rewarding. However, we would always hear the worst from the elders in regards to the enemy. The words, “Lashkar-e-Taiba” were uttered in hushed tones whenever I asked if anyone meant us or the villagers harm. This was the name of a vicious and particularly formidable group based over the border in Pakistan. They were responsible for the brutal 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India. As it turns out, their original home was Kunar Province—specifically the Pech—and they wanted it back. Key Leader Engagements (KLEs) Our task was to fuse a historically hostile and ancient tribal system with the fledgling, weak Afghan government. Most of the time, this assignment was attempted via the carrot and stick approach, using cement bags and developmental projects as our reward to those who showed a desire to connect their village to the wider Afghan infrastructure. My commander (a veteran of Iraq who had experience in fighting an insurgency) and I came up with a campaign plan to foster a local economy, therefore providing jobs for fighting-aged males who would otherwise be shooting at us. Every day we walked, drove, climbed, and flew into towns to foster relationships with village Mullahs (religious leaders) or Shura (tribal leaders). Many of them smiled at me through gritted, nervous teeth as my platoon, bristling with weapons, ammunition, and equipment, surely gave off a “Soviet” aura. But at least we were nicer. Stories of mass indiscriminate killings by the Soviets were still fresh within the local population and these hard-handed tactics yielded much local resentment. With this in mind, we brought well and irrigation projects rather than mass killings which, unfortunately, did little to stem the flow of foreign insurgents. At the end of our daily conversations in the more violent towns, I would always ask that the Shura send a representative with us as we left the village in order to mitigate potential ambushes. The majority of our contact with the enemy was during exfiltration, and having a village member with us gave some confidence we might not get hit on the way out. The elders almost always rejected this request with an unnerving, “we cannot guarantee your security on your way home.”
From Previous Page L to R: 2nd Platoon, Gator Company searches huts for enemy indirect fire devices and ammunition; The end of a small firefight in Kunar Province; Giving the gift of a goat to celebrate the Islamic holiday of Eid Al-Adha. Sitting from left: Sergeant Scott French, Hugh Miller, 2nd platoon interpreter and the Shura leader of the Waigal Valley.
These visits were called KLEs, which stands for Key Leader Engagements. Between missions such as ambushes, movementsto-contact, and project checks, we conducted frequent KLEs. Our sister platoon was supporting us on one such mission in the village of Dangaleek. It was November and the ridgelines were starting to turn white with snow, but we still sweated from the labors of maneuvering in places the enemy would least expect us to traverse. I took off my Oakleys and soaked gloves, smiled and extended my hand as the village Mullah walked towards me. “Haji Sahib,” I managed to get out between breaths. “I apologize for the surprise visit, but I wanted to get to the bottom of this group of Pakistanis firing mortars.” The Mullah plays dumb. “Che? Cherta?” he repeats. (Meaning “What? Where?”) Even if all of our signal and human intelligence was wrong, it would be almost impossible for the villagers not to know that fighters were shooting rounds at the base, since the origin was confirmed to be within mere meters of the town. One of our gunners from the trucks staged in overwatch sees people moving tactically in the trees above us on the ridgeline. Our conversation ends quickly with hurried apologies. “I’m sorry again to have bothered you and your village,” I tell him, “but it’s my duty to investigate anything that could harm the Afghan people.” My tagline has become quicker throughout the tour, but loses its weight as time passes. We trek up the hillside in a file until reaching a spur. Brass casings litter tree stumps. We could tell this was a fighting position used against us recently, as the enemy always did their best to sanitize. As we collect the evidence, the enemy radio suddenly blares with yelling. Shots ring out from behind us across the valley. Small arms fire cracks around the patrol, accompanied by a unique, much louder pop. It turned out that the enemy had employed an anti-aircraft
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One village managed to defend themselves from a small group of fighters intent on destroying their micro-hydro power dam. When we made a patrol to congratulate the villagers, we were greeted by small arms fire from the village itself. weapon that was now punching chunks off boulders above us. At this point in the deployment, we reacted quickly and deliberately, but there was always the fear of a lucky bullet. We sparred with each other across the valley throughout the afternoon until an F-16 dropped a 500-lb bomb, signaling an end to the fight. To put the war into perspective, this event was identical to what infantry platoons experienced across the Afghan hinterlands. Downward Spiral Due to the reintroduction of Lashkar-e-Taiba fighters, combined with the closure of U.S. outposts in the Korengal Valley, the remainder of our deployment devolved in a downward spiral. Frequent attacks on our patrols to villages away from the base prevented us from finishing planned school and infrastructure projects. Elders from such villages accused me of promising these plans and breaking my word. I would push back, saying I never promised anything and that it would be difficult for us to help them if they allowed the Taliban to attack us every time we visited. Most of the time, however, it was necessary to “lose battles” in the hope of a win, so I simply accepted their admonishments and tried to find a different way forward. The complex social dynamic of the region compounded our problems. The Shura, the leadership network responsible for the Waigal Valley, was already divided into three factions due to tribal allegiances: the Tasili, Arifi, and Nuristani councils. The Tasili and Arifi had a longstanding blood feud stemming from a family altercation involving rape and murder, while the Nuristanis were simply outcasts due to their customs and geographical separation from anything resembling civilization. The toxicity of outside insurgents fractured the Shura even more, turning many villages against each other. Glimmers of hope were shadowed by sobering realities. One village managed to defend themselves from a small group of fighters intent on destroying their micro-hydro power dam. When we made a patrol to congratulate the villagers, we were greeted by small arms fire from the village itself. By the end of my tour, our company had borne the brunt of losses in the battalion. Three of our best soldiers were killed in a spate of ambushes and attacks on our camp. Another infantryman was killed by a roadside bomb while clearing a route deep in the Pech, and a Navy Seal was killed in a mission going after an IED cell in our region. All this happened in the unit’s final months there, leaving a sour taste in our mouths as we meandered the maze of Bagram and Manas air bases during the trip home. I made a rare deal with my battalion commander and executive officer that if I did my time as the unit logistics officer stateside, I could transition to an Afghan National Army (ANA) advisor team during the next tour. It was already known that we would be going
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back to Kunar Province, and I wanted another chance (presumably my last) at being a leader at the tactical level. The Second Tour After 20 months spent planning training scenarios at Fort Carson and executing those scenarios at Fort Polk, I was finally given the privilege of being a part of what I considered the most experienced and capable combat advisor team in our brigade. With a team chief who had four long deployments under his belt, a Ranger-qualified NCOIC and many other combat-experienced individuals, we felt as prepared as possible for any problem set. Oddly enough, due in no small part to our finagling and networking, we were deployed to the exact same combat outpost I patrolled from during my first tour. Our task on this tour was to advise and empower an Afghan Army battalion to operate independently in the Pech. Our helicopter took off from Jalalabad Airfield the evening of March 1, 2012. Afghanistan’s largest eastern city flared vibrantly in our NVG’s as we lifted off. The irrigated fields of Nangahar soon gave way to the rugged moonscape of southern Kunar Province as we headed north. A black wall of peaks was visible through the front of the aircraft. As we banked left above Asadabad, the foothills rose higher still into the tree-pocketed mountains of the Pech as the bird climbed into the valley. The air grew colder and the lights on the ground became sparse, until only one single beam punched through the darkness. I knew that light very well; it was the defunct radio station in the Nangalam Bazaar that sat outside what was once Camp Blessing, now called Nangalam Base by the Afghans. We landed on the exact same LZ from which I flew many missions years ago. To me, this was American soil, our home away from home. But this time, the setting felt different. What was once a valley pocked with many U.S. outposts was now devoid of almost all security forces save for our camp, tucked far into the valley. I toured around the base, strangely depressed by the state of it. What was once a lively chow hall filled with two huge flat-screen TVs, colorful pictures, and soldiers swapping war stories was now barely lit with a single glowing bulb and dripping pipes in disrepair. The hooch my platoon sergeant and I had built on the first tour was damaged by an AGS-17 grenade attack and ultimately bulldozed by the ANA. Our team’s residence to be was one of the only brick and mortar structures on the premises. Unfortunately, it had been used as a makeshift latrine by the occupying ANA. The base had been handed over to the Afghans after my first tour, but severe security issues required that a small U.S. contingent be flown in to support the beleaguered Afghans. The stress of Afghans being left on their own so abruptly had led to both fatalities and corruption, so it was our job to prevent that from happening again. I wasn’t unaware of my unique perspective in seeing so many changes in the Pech River Valley. Several factors struck me immediately after walking out of the gate for our first patrol. As I was giving my team chief an overview of the valleys during a hike to a nearby outpost, the ANA commander anxiously motioned for us to stay low. This was odd, as we were very close to the base. In addition, our enemy radio device was blaring with traffic. The next morning we climbed higher on the mountain to another outpost. A cloudless, cobalt sky greeted us along with no enemy radio talk. Our feeling of
safety was gone with one call from the base, “Afghan intel says the attack will start in five minutes.” Roughly five minutes later, our observation post along with the main base was struck in a 30-minute complex engagement from several different locations. A relatively skilled mortar spotter and operator team was “walking” rounds in a line between us and the base in an effort to bracket their target. Thankfully for us, they repeatedly missed as the operator insisted on firing his rounds in this pattern while the spotter rebuked him over the radio. Eventually, after spending equal time fighting both the Taliban and the corruption within the Afghan military, we concluded that due to differences in capability, the ANA would be better off divided into mutually supporting static positions rather than patrolling far from the tactical and emotional support of their bases. While the ANA enjoyed a cultural advantage when they entered a village due to the simple fact that they were Muslim, it was undeniable that they would fail in fighting the Taliban using American tactics. Throughout the deployment, our ANA battalion was losing men at an alarming rate. During a night raid, an ANA company commander split up his men against our wishes. As my team sergeant and I crouched in the cornstalks, the Afghans approached the objective hut and mistakenly fired upon each other, fatally wounding a team leader. Too many joint missions were interrupted by inconsequential firefights, followed by ANA gun-trucks speeding by us with Afghan soldiers fighting for their lives in the truck beds. Their ability to defeat IEDs was courageous, yet insanely risky. The Afghan explosive ordinance disposal expert lasted four months before he was obliterated in an attempt to defuse a radio-controlled bomb. On what was supposed to be a small security patrol, a ground shaking explosion sent up such a plume of dust and smoke, it was difficult to tell what had happened. We rushed around the hillside to find a smoldering truck and all the Afghan soldiers inside killed. What also amazed me is that during my first tour, we patrolled sometimes up to twenty miles before we made contact with the enemy. Now, we could not move a mere kilometer from our base without the enemy contesting us. Knowledge of the enemy had also changed. The Afghan intelligence circle during my first tour was chaotic at times, but possessed extremely accurate data. As the infantry officer on our advisor team during the second tour, I was responsible for operations and intelligence. Therefore, I spent a great deal of my time with the ANA Kandak (battalion) intelligence officer, the Afghan police, and the local NDS (Afghan equivalent of the FBI). The NDS officer was almost cocky in our meetings, as he pulled out his phone to show me a video of upper-middle level Taliban leaders meeting not more than an hour from Nangalam. “You could have killed them all!” he would say, chuckling. Hardly timely or helpful intelligence! I did my best to not view the Pech River Valley as a microcosm for the rest of the country, but such a conclusion was virtually inescapable. The simple truth of the matter is that we lost an opportunity to give the Afghans a fighting chance against the Taliban when we felt it necessary to fight their war for them. This isn’t to say that we were wrong by involving ourselves in Afghanistan, but we somehow felt inclined to go aggressively after our enemies and leave our partners far behind for almost the entire war. As advisors on the
From top: The bazaar of Nangalam resides along the Pech River. The Waigal Valley opens into Nuristan in the background; Miller pets a dog dog in Qandaru, Afghanistan (photo by Sebastiano Tomada); Miller on patrol in Nangalam, Afghanistan (photo by Sebastiano Tomada).
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second tour, this fact was blatantly apparent in every task we undertook. After patrols we would sit down and discuss how things could improve: “Too little, too late” almost became our motto. Lessons Learned During my tours of duty in Afghanistan, I often thought of my classmates and how different our experiences in leadership might be. I felt I had much more of an opportunity to connect with a team on a different and more immediate level than many of my fellow 2007 graduates who remained in the Air Force. Spending a prolonged period with a small group of men in close proximity during life and death situations reveals many insights on leadership and human behavior. I also had a nagging suspicion that my ability to “manage
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systems in a controlled workspace” would be extremely lacking compared to my Air Force peers. Across my entire career, I was able to rely on the life and death nature of direct combat, or training for combat, to encourage my soldiers to complete the task at hand. On several occasions, heavy handed approaches were necessary. During the mission narrated at the beginning of this article, one of my team leaders revealed some less than desirable qualities. He had long been suspected of smoking the local hashish and his behavior now all but confirmed it, as he cursed at his squad leader and refused my orders. This was not exactly a training scenario cadets are given at the Academy. The enemy had engaged us, they knew where we were, and we had a toxic member of our team spreading seeds of discontent. One proposed solution involved taking his weapon and descending the mountain immediately with the NCO in restraints. I wanted to do more than just relieve him of his leadership duties, but felt uncomfortable doing so since we were already in a fairly non-permissive environment. I ended up taking him aside and explaining to him our options, all of which included kicking him out of the platoon and assigning him clerical duties, which is an enormous embarrassment for an infantryman. The Army teaches its leaders to know what is intimately important to your soldiers, so that when the time comes you know how to instill discipline. This individual’s priorities were going outside the wire and doing violence; therefore we took both of those roles away from him because of his transgressions. I remember the sergeant approaching me with tears in his eyes after having been assigned as the camp carpenter. He recounted fondly about one night in which he, his squad leader, and I caught a team of enemy fighters in ambush, killing both of them. He talked about how this tour was the high point of his life and now we’d taken that away from him. I knew we had made the right decision in firing him, but secretly I couldn’t deny sharing the pain he felt. In general, the Army is cosmetically similar to the Air Force. Deeper, though, there is a class within the Army that is far separated from normal society. Many units in the Army have deployed for over 15 months, some soldiers have several of these tours under their belt, but only a few were directly and intimately in close combat with the enemy. These prolonged deployments can be dangerous, both due to the physical threats posed by insurgents and from the mental pressures gained from playing an integral part in warfare. What is surprising about this cohort is that they actually seek out these opportunities. This has much to do with the comradeship between those of us with similar, but rare, experiences. Regaining relationships with those outside this environment is very difficult, sometimes not possible, but the comradeship is more than enough reward for such a price. _____________________________________ Hugh Miller ’07 cross-commissioned into the Army as an infantry officer. He served two tours in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, one as light infantry platoon leader and the other as a tactical advisor to an Afghan National Army infantry battalion. He is currently in graduate school studying international relations at the University of Denver.
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Id Semper Parati Venire A conversation about World War I teaches a group of service academy cadets an important lesson on the nature of service.
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Written by Dr. Charles Justiz ’74 ollowing a speech several months ago, I had the pleasure of some spirited conversation with a number of USAFA, Class of 2014 cadets. To be fair, there were also cadets and midshipmen from the sister service academies on hand. During the course of the evening, one of the cadets asked, “What do you see as the main threats we need to meet in the near future?” I knew what they were asking—where can we expect the next war and what will be the rules of engagement? It is a fact that military school graduates of this great country go to war following college if there is an active war. That is our commitment, and it is foremost on our minds as we near graduation. Instead of giving a definitive answer, I asked, “What is our mission?” The USAFA cadets gave their answer, as did the West Point and Annapolis students. I shrugged and said, “Those all sound like different missions to me. Since we are all on the same team, do you mind if I just consider our mission to be one of protecting and defending the United States? That covers all the different mission statements.” The cadets looked at each other and nodded. One of them was even so bold as to ask, “So … ?”
“What’s the next threat?” I asked. Bold Cadet replied, “That’s what we’re asking you?” “Okay, let’s do a thought experiment first. What was the political climate in Europe just before World War I?” The immediate answer from one cadet was, “Powder keg.” I turned to the cadet, “Keep going.” “The industrial revolution was in full swing and economics forced everyone towards cheap raw materials. The industrial revolution also shortened the amount of time required for one country to achieve a hostile asymmetry of forces. This forced all the Europeans into an undeclared arms race. Imperialism became the norm with countries trying to gather as much land as possible. Nationalism was still strong from centuries of conflict and led to a sense of superiority of each nation over other nations. Finally, people in some areas, especially the Slavic in Bosnia and Herzegovina, no longer wanted to be part of Austria-Hungary … what else?” “No, that’s good. After the war started, why did it become a World War?” Bold Cadet replied, “MDAs—mutual defense alliances. It was a row of dominos. Austria-Hun-
On June 28, 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, Sophie, were killed in Sarajevo by 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young Bosnia.
gary initially declared war on Serbia, so Russia got involved because of an MDA to defend Serbia. Germany, seeing Russia mobilizing, declared war on Russia because of an MDA. France was then drawn in against Germany and Austria-Hungary because of an MDA. Germany attacked France through Belgium, pulling Britain into war due to an MDA. Then Japan entered the war because of an MDA with Britain. Did I get them all?” “It should be enough. So, let’s assume that the catalyst for the war was the assassination of Franz Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip. Also, let’s limit the thought experiment to something manageable. What could we have done as service professionals to prevent the war on that day in June of 1914?” The cadets all looked around and finally gave a collective shrug. The room was cold, so I walked over to the fire. As I warmed my hands, I explained, “My grandfather was a Professor of History and Dean of the College of Social Studies at the University of Havana. As it turns out, World War I was a passion of his, and I remember him telling me a story when I was young. It turns out that Princip’s group had tried assassinating the Archduke
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While the driver is struggling to get the car started and moving, the assassin puts down his sandwich, walks out in front of the car, and fires two shots. The first shot fatally wounds the Archduke and starts a World War. This drawing, which depicts the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, appeared in the Italian paper Domenica del Corriere on July 12, 1914.
earlier that day while his driver was following the parade route. Princip was working with five fellow activists when one of them threw a bomb with a timer at the Archduke’s car. Fortunately for the Archduke, the bomb hit the folded convertible top behind him and it bounced out. Unfortunately, it exploded under the car following the Archduke. “Well, as you’d expect following such an event, the activists scattered. The Archduke’s people changed routing and itinerary, so there was little hope of the activists accomplishing their mission. But, even activists get hungry, so Princip selected a busy and popular deli on Franz Josef Street and ordered a cheese sandwich. “Soon, the Archduke’s entourage starts up again with their new routing, but the Archduke’s driver gets confused and takes the wrong street. Imagine Princip’s surprise while he’s in the deli eating his sandwich and sees the Archduke’s car drive past the
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front window. He hears the Archduke’s men yell, screaming at the driver to stop and back out of the street. The driver tries to comply, but stalls the car directly in front of Princip’s deli. While the driver is struggling to get the car started and moving, the assassin puts down his sandwich, walks out in front of the car, and fires two shots. The first shot fatally wounds the Archduke and starts a World War. So, my question to you is: Knowing what we know now, what could have been done to prevent World War I on that day?” The ideas began immediately. “Put road guards out to guide the car … ” “No, that would telegraph the route. They should have had contingency plans … ” “Are you kidding? After an assassination attempt, they should have aborted … ” The discussion whizzed about the room gaining momentum, volume, and enthusiasm as such dis-
Top left: According to the Spanish magazine El Mundo Gráfico, this photo shows the Austrian archdukes arriving at the City Council of Sarajevo following the first attempt on their lives. Above: Gavrilo Princip was trained in terrorism by a Serbian secret society known as the “Black Hand.” Left: In October 1914, Austro-Hungarian authorities held the trial for the assassins in Sarajevo. Princip, front row center, was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment. This was the maximum penalty allowed for a person under the age of 20 on the day of his/her crime. Princip died of tuberculosis on April 28, 1918.
cussions do. Debate point and counter-point fired at an increasing rate until reaching the inevitable crescendo. Only then did the ideas begin to flag and finally quiet down until the last thought was shared and only silence remained. Bold Cadet looked up at me and shook his head. “It wouldn’t have mattered.” I nodded agreement. “Through all our benefit of hindsight and after almost infinite analysis of that one day, there is nothing we can think of that would save the world from the horrible tragedy of World War I. We could have closed all the delicatessens in Sarajevo for that entire week, and World War I would still have happened. As service members, that’s not our duty. We are there to help prevent and deter, but after all best efforts have failed, we are still there to protect and defend. “There’s a phrase in Latin that I think sums it up—Id Semper Parati Venire. My Latin isn’t worth a darn, but I was told it means, “Always ready,
regardless of the challenge.” I can’t tell you how we could have stopped World War I, but once the hostilities threatened us, our people had to be ready and able to protect and defend. Similarly, I can’t tell you where the next hotspot might be, but our mission is to be prepared and able to protect and defend. You don’t have to know the nature of the threat. You have to know enough to meet the threat regardless of its nature. So, that means you asked the wrong question. What’s the right question?” Bold Cadet, now the de facto ambassador for the cadet group, smiled and asked, “Do we know enough?” I smiled back. “What do you think?” ______________________________________ 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. Checkpoints
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Fighters &
Love
It’s the rarest of Air Force birds: married fighter pilots.
Fighter pilots are a different breed. The bravado they are known for is essential to their jobs, but how does that maverick attitude play out in a military marriage? Three couples. Six fighter pilots. They have navigated pilot training, active duty life, the Air Force Reserves, assignments galore, deployments and more: but how have they managed to sustain a successful relationship?
Lt. Col. Ryan Savageau ’98 & Lt. Col. Trena (Emerson) Savageau ’98 Married 2002 Children 2 Met in pilot training. They didn’t know each other while attending the Academy. Have assignments been difficult to manage since you have been married?
able job. I’m not saying that active duty is bad, I just believe that the reserves has been much better for married life.
so much schedule shifting that’s usually the biggest concern. I’m not concerned about his safety. He’s an awesome pilot.
Trena The assignments were tough when we were active duty. Active Duty didn’t offer us a whole lot of hope for staying together, which is why we went to the reserves and it has been the best decision that we have ever made. We had to interview and get hired into the Reserves, but now we’re together. I’m actually a traditional reservist so I only work two days a week and I’m a stay at home mom—which is my real job—it’s amazing for us. I don’t know if we would have had kids had we stayed active duty.
Who is the better pilot? Trena We’ve never flown together— and that’s probably good for our marriage! Unless we’re on the same team, then we might be ok.
Is it more difficult to be a male or female fighter pilot?
Ryan The active duty was not super great about keeping us together and if they did they were placing one of us in an undesir-
Trena We don’t worry about each other flying. What I worry about is who is going to pick up the kids and we do
Ryan We’re fighter pilots. Every single fighter pilot you talk to is going to tell you they’re the best—so there’s the answer! Is there concern for your spouse’s safety when he/she flies?
Interviews by David Bergeman Photography by Cliff Patrick ’95, Tactical Image
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Trena Ryan has said that he doesn’t think there is a difference because we are all fighter pilots and we do the same thing. I think that it’s harder being female just because we’re under the microscope more. Ryan thinks it’s true that there are some people out there, where if they meet one woman flying a fighter and she isn’t good or rubs them the wrong way that they carry that with them and project that onto other female fighter pilots they might meet. It’s rare to be in a squadron with more than one girl. It’s more difficult to fade into the background. In that respect, I think it is more difficult to be a female, but as far as the difficultly of flying— that’s the same. w
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I think we have an interesting story to tell that could possibly get more women interested in flying fighters because they think they have to choose between a relationship and flying—that’s just not the truth. –Trena
Branch U.S. Air Force Reserve 944th Fighter Wing 69th Fighter Squadron Luke Air Force Base Rating Senior Pilot Flight Hours Just under 1,900 Aircraft Flown T-37, T-38, and F-16
Branch U.S. Air Force Reserve 944th Fighter Wing 69th Fighter Squadron Luke Air Force Base Rating Senior Pilot Flight Hours 2,700 Aircraft Flown T-37, T-38, and F-16
The Savageau family sits upon the wing of an F-16 in a hangar at Luke AFB. Checkpoints
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Lt. Col. Mike Curley ’95 & Danielle (Vogelgesang) Curley, St. Thomas ’98 Married 2002 Children 2 Met in Korea at Osan Air Base when they were both flying A-10s. Fighter pilots are known for their alpha personalities, does this come to play in your home life? Mike It got easier when she got out! I guess the biggest thing is, at work, being in two different squadrons. Danielle I am a little less alpha then he is so I guess it balances out! Is it more difficult to be a male or female fighter pilot?
Danielle From my experience there were very, very few times when I was reminded I was a female. Even when
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I’d look around and be just one of two because many times the “normal” thing females in an entire room, no one ever for a fighter pilot is too boring. reminded me that I was a female. It was equal. I had a great experience. Danielle We try to do stuff that keeps us active and is also exciting—as close Flying a fighter is arguably to flying as you can get without flying. one the most thrilling activiActivities like adventure parks or rock ties a person could experience; climbing and outdoor adventures. It’s do you seek thrills outside of those kind of activities that are a little work or do you try to keep bit closer to flying. things more mundane? Who is the better pilot? Mike I think if you’re a pilot you get Mike She can answer that one. kind of bored with the basic things. Even now on vacation or whatever, we Danielle Of course I’d say me! I’m like to go ride rollercoasters. We can see guessing it’s probably him. the kids love doing that too. It’s hard to just kind of do the “normal” thing, Mike I’m the only one still flying, so I guess I win the tiebreaker! Is there concern for your spouse’s safety when he/she flies?
The Air Force is not all just about flying. Obviously, if you’re in aviation that’s a big part of it. You don’t always get the choice of where you want to go or what you want to do but everything is somewhat temporary. You just have to make the best of it. It is an exciting adventure both in times of peace and in war. The best part is getting to work with and lead exceptional young men and women
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Danielle I think there is an advantage to both of us having the same job. I know the kind of pilot he is. I choose not to think about it too much. Mike It’s a little bit easier in that we understand what we’re doing. It’s not like one of us doesn’t know what the other is doing. We both have done similar things and been through similar training. That helps. Do you have any advice for young couples?
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–Mike
Danielle Be patient because sometimes it’s going to be difficult. You’re going to be stationed together and you are going to spend a lot of time apart. Keep the communication open. It can be long a haul but it’s worth it. w
The Curleys pose in front of an A-10 at DavisMonthan Air Force Base.
Branch U.S. Air Force Rating Pilot Flight Hours 1800 Aircraft Flown T-37, T-38, A/OA-10A, MQ-1 Predator
Branch U.S. Air Force 355th Fighter Wing 357th Fighter Squadron Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Rating Command Pilot Flight Hours More than 3200 Aircraft Flown T-37, T-38, T-41, A-10C, A/OA-10A, AT-38
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The Mays pose in front of an F-16 resting in a hanger at Luke Air Force Base.
Branch U.S. Air Force 56th Fighter Wing 308th Fighter Squadron Luke Air Force Base Rating Command Pilot Flight Hours Just under 2,000 Aircraft Flown T-37, T-38, and F-16
Branch U.S. Air Force 56th Fighter Wing 308th Fighter Squadron Luke Air Force Base Rating Senior Pilot Flight Hours Just under 2,000 Aircraft Flown T-37, T-38, and F-16 36
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You can view spectacular photos of Melissa May and Trena Savageau flying by visiting usafa.org/checkpionts/gallery/51
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Lt. Col. Melissa (Hyland) May ’95 & Lt. Col. Mike May ’95 Married 1996 Children 2 Met each other during BCT. Fighter pilots are known for their alpha personalities, does this come to play in your home life? Mike We are both pretty stubborn more times than not! Melissa We both think that our way is the right way, but we are approaching our 18th anniversary so we have somehow cracked the code. We are not afraid of open dialogue! Who is the better pilot? Melissa I am. Mike Me. Is there concern for your spouse’s safety when he/she flies?
Leadership has helped us to make sure that we have stayed together the whole time. It also helps that the F-16 is one of the aircraft with the most bases and the most numbers. It is a little bit easier to place us in the same spots.
there to watch because I knew that would be the start of “shock and awe.” I wanted to see if I could find her jet. Melissa He wanted to watch me get shot at!
Mike I was confident in her training. I do worry, but at the same time I’m pretty confident she can handle herself in the air. Is it more difficult to be a male or female fighter pilot? Melissa We laughed at that. Mike said females have it more difficult, I said males because they are naturally handicapped. I think when it comes down to the throttle and stick—flying the aircraft—there is no difference in gender whatsoever. Do you have any advice for young couples?
Melissa Of course there is a general concern, but not really any more so then if it were me flying. There’s always a little bit of the attitude of “It won’t happen to me.” We can’t sit home and worry about it all the time. I asked Mike if he had increased concern for me on the first night flying into Baghdad, and he said “nah.”
Mike Do something that you think you want to pursue. If you dream something big, go after it. I always wanted to fly. My dad was a pilot and I wanted to be like him. Put your efforts toward that and try it. That’s what we both did. We both had challenges getting into the flying world. We were both late rated and we were still able to get to do that.
Mike We had a feed at a secure facility at Misawa Air Base and I went over
Melissa We were AOCs at the Academy. It seemed like the girlfriend was always the
–Mike
one to sacrifice her dream of pilot training because of her boyfriend or fiancé. It was really heartbreaking to watch. That kind of kills me a little bit inside because we are proof that you can make it work. It’s been a challenge and it hasn’t always been easy, and it’s even more difficult if you end up in two different airframes, but if you simply determine your priorities, things will work out. During our relationship, there have been times when we’ve prioritized career and we were willing to be at different locations. There were also times when we were willing to sacrifice career in order to stay together. It is imperative to be on the same sheet of music and to know what you want and when. We’ve always been up front and honest with AFPC when it came to assignments and we’ve always had great assignments. No games. I wish and hope all other couples can have the same success. There are plenty of examples of joint spouse fighter pilot couples who are making it work. When your priority is joint spouse first, and career second or maybe it’s a point in your career where it is career first and you accept separation in assignments, plenty of people make that work too. Follow your dreams. If you go to the Air Force Academy for four years don’t just give it up. There are ways to make it work.
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accepting the challenge 4 teams. 10 days. 1615 graduates. 1mission. By Jermaine Johnson, USAFA Endowment Director, Development Communications
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purple smoke flare fills the air. Artillery fire claps across the valley. Commands are barked. Shouts echo. This is a scene from a decades-old tradition of Jacks Valley doling out its life lessons and punishments to a new crop of basics. They are traversing a right of passage that will build them into leaders of character for the Air Force and the nation. The Class of 2018 is up to the challenge. On June 26, the 1,206 basic cadets that were selected from a competitive applicant pool of over 9,000 arrived at the Academy. They are the crème de la crème coming from all 50 states and 12 countries. Twenty percent of the class achieved a perfect 4.0 GPA. Eight percent graduated first in their high school class. Ten percent graduated in the top 1% of their high school class. Eighty-two percent earned a sports letter. The class boasts an average SAT score of 1317. Among the class is a four-time Romanian Mathematics Olympian, a female high school football kicker, the founder of a soccer club for special needs kids, and a current ranking number 10 Taekwondo athlete in the United States for her age group, just to name a few. But as Jacks Valley teaches all—at the Academy, you just are not that special and some days everyone is better than you. Welcome to BEAST (Basic Expenditionary Airmen Skills Training)!
As the basic cadets of the Class of 2018 were grappling with Jacks Valley and the finer points of marching in formation, the USAFA Endowment was waging an effort to honor their journey of acceptance into the Cadet Wing. Always looking for a way to Beat Army and Sink Navy, a friendly competition was being waged among the service academies to honor and acknowledge the efforts of each service academy’s Class of 2018. How best can the 47,000 graduates who have come before the basic cadets in the Class of 2018 show their support and encouragement? Simple—with a gift. July 1 marked the start of the inaugural All Academy Challenge, a 10-day fundraising challenge between four teams—the Air Force Academy, the Coast Guard Academy, the Military Academy, and the Naval Academy. The goal: To garner the greatest number of alumni making gifts in honor of their respective service academy’s incoming class. The rules of engagement were simple—gifts of $5 or more made by graduates during the challenge were counted. Graduates could choose to support any fund. Naturally, the competition was fierce. Air Force Academy graduates can be proud that they stepped up and set the pace for the first eight days of the competition. Unfortunately, the challenge
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the endwoment
lasted 10 days. When the final results were tallied, the winner of the first-ever All Academy Challenge was the Military Academy, with more than 2,000 participants. The Air Force Academy came in a strong second, with more than 1,600 graduates who contributed a total of $242,000 to their alma mater. Each and every gift highlighted the importance of private support at the Air Force Academy and sent a strong message of encouragement to the basic cadets. While the Air Force Academy was unable to edge out the Military Academy for the overall win, the final day of the challenge marked a record-breaking day for giving at the Air Force Academy. More graduates, 268 to be exact, made online gifts to the Air Force Academy on July 10, 2014, shattering the record for gifts received in a single day at the Academy. Of the 150 areas to which gifts can be designated, the Air Force Academy Fund received the largest amount of gifts. Annual contributions to the Air Force Academy Fund provide the Academy with crucial, flexible funding to enrich
ing and friendly way for the graduate community to engage in philanthropy. “Private gifts are important. They touch all areas of the Academy—from academic and athletic programs to the Center for Character and Leadership Development,” said Greg Knedler, associate vice president for development at the USAFA Endowment. “We are encouraged by the generous support shown by our graduates,” Knedler said. “This year’s incoming class should feel honored as our future members and leaders of the Long Blue Line.” Silence has once again fallen on Jacks Valley. Only the Strong Survive, and not all basics did. For the 1147 basic cadets who marched back to the cadet area on August 2, and who were formally accepted into the Cadet Wing on August 5, they have completed their first steps in their Academy journey. And they did it with the support of the graduates who proudly came before them and were behind them every step of the way.
“ This year’s incoming class should feel honored as our future members and leaders of the Long Blue Line.” cadet programs, to support graduate programs and services and to help meet Academy needs. Monies contributed to the Air Force Academy Fund in 2013 supported intramural competitions, cadet formal events, the purchase of shooting equipment for the rifle team, and record boards for the swimming and diving team. Typically, July is a quiet time for donations at the Air Force Academy. With the challenge underway, this year was different. One hundred and sixty-six new donors were inspired by the Class of 2018 and were compelled to make a contribution for the first time ever. The All Academy Challenge, which was brought about through a collaborative effort by the service academies, provided much-needed support while offering an excit-
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The Air Force Academy will again rise to the challenge in summer of 2015, when next year’s crop of basics tackle BEAST. The USAFA Endowment will invite every graduate to accept the challenge next year to honor the Class of 2019. In the meantime, we look forward to avenging our loss in the All Academy Challenge on the gridiron this fall. The following infographic illustrates the results of the efforts of the many loyal graduates of the Air Force Academy who stepped up to the challenge. Refer to page 76 for several interesting statistics about the Class of 2018. As always, thank you for your philanthropic support. Your investment in the Academy funds margin of excellence programs that better prepare cadets for service to the Air Force and the nation. To make a gift, please visit www.usafa.org/give.
all academy
challenge
h o w ou r g r a d s g av e
Pa rt i c i patio n
$242,000 raised by
62%
1615 graduates t op 3 G ift designatio ns
Online
donor highlights
32%
314
1 Air force academy fund
2 USAfa endowment fund
150
designations TO CHOOSE FROM
3 long blue line fund
phone
new donors to the USAFA Endowment
166
6%
direct mail
new donors to the academy
f i n a l resu lts number of don ors per a c a demy
U.S. Military Academy
2062
U.S. Air force Academy
1615
U.S. naval Academy
1541
U.S. coast guard Academy
1007
www.usafa.org/give
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Captain Charles C. Napier ’06
Named 2014 Jabara Award Recipient By Lt. Col. (Ret.) Steven A. Simon ’77
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aptain Charles C. Napier, Air Force Academy Class of 2006, has been selected to receive the 2014 Colonel James Jabara Award for Airmanship. Captain Napier, a member of Air Education and Training Command, distinguished himself through heroic actions during a mission to evacuate three critically wounded U.S. Army soldiers near Sperwan Ghar, Afghanistan. “This year’s competition was extremely tough, and you can be proud of your selection. It is a true testament of your exemplary performance and professionalism,” wrote Academy Superintendent, Lieutenant General Michelle Johnson, in a congratulatory letter to Captain Napier informing him of his selection. Captain Napier was one of seven Air Force Academy graduates nominated for the Jabara Award this year by Major Commands, Forward Operating Agencies, and Direct Reporting Units. On December 10, 2012, Captain Napier launched from Kandahar Airfield on a high-risk mission to evacuate three critically wounded U.S. Army soldiers who were injured by small arms fire and an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). He flew his HH-60G Pavehawk helicopter, part of a twoship, through enemy-saturated terrain to the pick-up point, despite problems with his navigation system.
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Upon arrival in the area, he made contact with two Army OH-58 helicopters already on scene. After assessing the situation, he executed a perilous, restricted-visibility approach into a heavily rutted field, which required a low-hover profile with the wheels barely on the ground, to insert a three-man element of Guardian Angel medical troops. With small-arms fire nearby, he lifted off and established an overhead watch, covering his wingman’s landing and insertion of three more Guardian Angels. When the wingman was fired upon by a rocket-propelled grenade, Captain Napier had his flight engineer expend 50 rounds of .50-caliber fire on the target while his wingman disengaged. He maneuvered into a weapons-employment pattern to further suppress the threat when he experienced a problem with the Automatic Flight Control System. Despite degraded capabilities, he maneuvered his aircraft into a blocking position between the enemy and friendly forces with complete disregard for his own safety. When the Guardian Angels were ready for extraction of the three patients, plus an additional wounded member, Captain Napier returned to the treacherous landing zone for the pickup, where they again came under enemy fire. Captain Napier successfully departed the landing zone while his flight engineer returned suppressive fire on the enemy. He then expeditiously returned to Kandahar Airfield to deliver the patients to the Medical Treatment Facility. His exceptional heroism and airmanship were vital to evacuating the four coalition soldiers and protecting the lives of more than 25 soldiers pinned down on the ground. For his actions, Captain Napier was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Force Combat Action Medal.
Previous page: An HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter lands as an Army UH60 Blackhawk prepares to pick up a medevac patient June 13. The 33rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron is the first squadron to have a combat-searchand-rescue mission and a medevac mission, and is based at Kandahar, Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Brian Ferguson) Below: Captain Napier (center) is presented with the Jabara Award by Dean of the Faculty, Brig. Gen. Andrew Armacost (left) and Association of Graduatues President and CEO WIlliam “T” Thompson ’73.
Captain Napier joins an extremely exclusive group, becoming the fifty-second Air Force Academy graduate selected for the Jabara Award. Among the previous winners are such
notable alumni as Vietnam War heroes Karl Richter ’64 and Steve Ritchie ’64, pioneering astronaut Karol Bobko ’59, and Hudson River landing pilot Chesley Sullenberger ’73. Established in 1967, the Colonel James Jabara Airmanship Award is presented to a USAFA graduate, living or deceased, whose actions directly associated with an aerospace vehicle set him/ her apart from contemporaries. The annual award is jointly presented on behalf of the Academy, the Association of Graduates, and the Jabara family. Colonel James Jabara was the first jet ace and the second leading ace in the Korean War. In 1951, he won the Air Force Association’s most prestigious award and in 1957 was recognized as one of the 25 Americans who had contributed the most to aviation. Captain Napier’s exceptional airmanship, dynamic leadership, outstanding initiative, and unparalleled achievements reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force. The Academy, the AOG, and the Jabara family are proud to name Captain Charles C. Napier the recipient of the 2014 James Jabara Airmanship Award. ______________________________________________ Lt. Col. (Ret.) Steven A. Simon ’77 is the Academy’s graduate liaison, working in the Development and Alumni Programs office. In addition to his extensive non-fiction writing, he is the author of two novels, On The Dead Run and Service Before Self.
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Mouth Watering Recipes by Grads, for Grads
P R E PA R E D BY D AV I D B E R G E M A N | P H O T O S BY L E W I S C A R LY L E
For our latest round of the Long Blue Ladle we brought the sights and smells of Asia into our Air Force kitchen. We quickly discovered that these recipes are light on fat and rich in flavor, making them ideal for anyone looking to satisfy their taste buds while keeping a clear conscience. This issue’s signature dish is certain to be a crowd pleaser at your next dinner party. Bon appetite!
Classic Sesame Chicken (Serves 5) Chef Joe Szucs, Class of 1996
Ingredients • 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts Ingredients for the Batter Ingredients for the Sauce • 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour • 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth • 6 tablespoons low-sodium soy • 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil sauce • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil • 1 teaspoon ginger, minced • 1 teaspoon kosher salt • 2 teaspoons chili paste • 4 tablespoons cornstarch • 1/4 cup cornstarch • 4 tablespoons water • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar • 1 teaspoon baking powder • 2 tablespoons soy sauce • 1/2 cup sugar • Peanut oil, for deep-frying • Salt • 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds • 4 tablespoons finely chopped scallions • 6 cilantro sprigs, for garnish Directions 1. Trim any excess fat off the chicken. Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes and put into a large mixing bowl. 2. Combine marinade ingredients to the bowl and stir. Set aside while you prepare the sauce. 3. To prepare the sauce add the sesame oil to a saucepan and set over low heat. Add the garlic and ginger and fry 2 to 3 minutes. 4. Combine the remaining sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. 5. Pour into the saucepan with the garlic and ginger. Stir as you pour. Then keep warm over low heat. 6. Heat deep-fryer or a pot with oil halfway up the side to 375 degrees F. 7. Fry the chicken until golden, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove and pat down with a paper towel. Salt, to taste. 8. Place chicken in a mixing bowl. Pour sauce over and gently toss. Sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds and garnish with cilantro sprigs and scallions.
A taste of Asia
Asian Barbeque Salmon Chef Bob Weight, Class of 1962
Ingredients • 2 (or more) salmon fillets with skin Ingredients for the Marinade • 1/4 cup Chinese rice wine or dry sherry • 1/4 cup soy sauce • 2 tablespoons oyster-flavored sauce • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice • 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper • Chopped chives, to taste • 1/4 cup minced ginger • Minced garlic, to taste Directions 1. Remove small bones from salmon with needle nosed pliers (run hand against grain of fish). 2. Marinate salmon for 15 minutes to 2 hours. Save marinade. 3. Lay salmon skin-side down over hot fire, cover. Brush with marinade occasionally and cook until fish flakes. 4. Bring remaining marinade to low boil and reduce heat. Spoon sauce over the fish. 5. Serve with grilled potatoes, asparagus, and onions or mushrooms.
Thai Cucumber Salad
Chef Carolyn Prill, Class of 2003 Ingredients • 1/3 cup white vinegar • 1/3 cup white sugar • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 3 cucumbers • 2/3 cup red onion, chopped • 3 roma tomatoes, chopped • 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped • 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped • 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, chopped
Directions 1. Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise, remove seeds, and slice. 2. Whisk together vinegar, sugar, coriander, red pepper flakes, and salt in a large bowl until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in cucumbers, onion, tomatoes, cilantro, and mint, and toss to coat with dressing. Cover and refrigerate for one hour. 3. Before serving, toss again with peanuts.
FOOD LOVERS UNITE A Mexican Fiesta
Southern Colorado is known for its exquisite Mexican cuisine, which often employs a mouthwatering application of green chiles. Did you learn the tricks of the trade during your time in the Springs? Send us the recipe of your most beloved Mexican dish and you could be featured in the December edition of the Long Blue Ladle. Email your favorite recipe to editor@aogusafa.org today.
Long Blue Ladle: Off the Menu Visit Checkpoints Online and expand your cookbook with even more great graduate submitted Asian recipes.
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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
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IN
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It was time to say good-bye. We both got out of the truck and circled around back to give each other a hug. It was hard to see his face in the dark black of night—they keep most of the base blacked out after the sun goes down as a defense against Taliban rocket and mortar attacks. But I could see his silhouette, and I could hear his voice. We embraced. The hug was a little tighter, and it lasted a little longer than usual. He pulled back and placed both hands on my shoulders like he was holding me in place, making sure his words found their mark. He told me to be careful, reminding me not be a hero. He started to say something else, but then he stopped, and that’s when I noticed that he was crying. “I’ve seen a lot of people get really hurt out there,” he told me, talking through the tears, not letting them affect his words. “Just be careful.” “I will,” I said. “It was special seeing you today, you know. I’ll always remember it.” “It’s crazy, isn’t it?” he said, working now to push his words through the tears. “When you know you’re in a moment you’ll remember forever.” He hugged me again. “Be safe.” I told him I would, feeling a wave of guilt wash over me for some reason. And then I hugged my little brother one last time before we parted ways. The next day I loaded onto a CH-47 Chinook helicopter for a flight out of Bagram Air Base to a forward
operating base in Khost Province, near the AfghanistanPakistan border. For the next two weeks I would circulate among various U.S. forward operating bases (known as FOBs) as an embedded journalist with U.S. and Afghan military units, writing about the war on an assignment as a war correspondent for United Press International. My little brother, an Air Force captain and 2008 USAFA grad, was on his second deployment to Afghanistan—this time as the mission commander for a classified operation for the National Reconnaissance Office. This wasn’t my first visit to Afghanistan, or to a war zone. After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 2004, I deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan as a special operations pilot—the career I had prior to becoming a journalist. It required a serious mental shift to go back this time as a witness, and not a participant, and to try and objectively view the war and the people fighting in it. Although I quickly learned, as Sebastian Junger alluded to in his book War, that it is impossible to view your fellow countrymen in combat through objective eyes, just as it is impossible to be objective about the people shooting at you. And there’s also no way to write objectively about seeing your little brother in a war zone. It was a confusing, jarring experience. It seemed unnatural to experience something so familiar in such an alien place. I remember something similar when he and my parents visited me during Parents Weekend my freshman year at the Academy. It was strange to see something familiar in a place where I had fought such an isolated, personal struggle. And deployments are usually a very personal experience. Yes, admittedly, you are always surrounded by other people when you are deployed to a war zone, and privacy is a rare commodity (even the toilets rarely have doors on them). But by personal experience I don’t mean it’s a lonely experience. I mean the experience is usually a very reflective one; it draws you inward because it is so separating from every part of the life you left behind. Everything is unfamiliar: the smells, the sights, the routine, the nebulous idea of the enemy lurking outside the wire, the fact that people are walking around carrying machine guns to lunch as casually as a woman might carry a purse back stateside. The serpentine journey to Afghanistan helped forge that feeling of separation from the life I left behind. Three days before I met my brother at Bagram, I left on a flight from Miami to Paris, France. From Paris I caught a connecting flight to Bahrain, and then on to Dubai, where I spent the night before catching a commercial flight the next day to Kabul. Once in Kabul I hailed a taxi for a few-mile ride (a real butt-clinching experience) to a NATO coalition base where I spent the Checkpoints
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Top: The Peterson brothers together at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, in December 2013. Left: Drew (left) and Nolan Peterson at Parents’ Weekend during Nolan’s doolie year at the Academy, 2000.
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night. That base was a potpourri of foreign soldiers from countries including Turkey, Croatia, the United Kingdom, Australia, Jordan, Egypt, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, South Korea, Italy and more. Following the one night in Kabul I loaded onto an Air Force C-130 for the short flight up to Bagram Air Base. After arriving, I unloaded from the plane, gathered my gear, met the Army master sgt. who was my liaison, and then went to wait for Drew on a picnic table under the old Russian control tower that was a relic from Bagram’s days as a Soviet air base. Minutes after sitting down on the picnic table, a lone figure in combat fatigues rounded the corner a few hundred yards away. Even though he twore a brown beanie and dark sunglasses, I instantly recognized his smile. I knew that soldier was my little brother. But it just didn’t seem real, not even after we hugged and he was standing right there in front of me. Somehow this whole trip, the whole notion of being here in Afghanistan in a war zone, with the shadowy enemy sneaking around somewhere out there in the ether, well, it just seemed like a dream. Too disconnected from my normal life to really be happening; like it was some crazy hallucination from which I would wake up when I returned home in a few weeks. But that protective shield of disbelief was shattered when I saw my little brother and heard his voice. Suddenly it all felt very real, and I felt very heavy. I noticed the smell of the dust in the air, I could feel the chill of the wind, I heard the crunch of gravel under
my boots as I walked. I focused less on the space around me; suddenly aware of my presence within it. Yes, I was really here. I wasn’t just looking out the window at some tableau; I was in the belly of the beast, vulnerable. And then I felt something that had never even crossed my mind during all the months of planning for my embed—fear. It wasn’t that I had discounted the risks of coming to this place, or I had some naive notion that I was invincible or somehow unable to be touched by danger. While sitting in my apartment in Sarasota, Fla., planning this trip, Afghanistan and the threat of the Taliban were concepts that were just too alien and exotic on which to project my sense of self; and therefore I just didn’t seem worried by it all. But the wave of self-awareness that came from seeing my little brother in that place suddenly made me feel naked, no longer shielded by what I thought was my privilege of not belonging here by being rooted to life back home. If Drew was here, then all of me was here too. And that meant I was exposed and in danger. *** I was the first person in my family to hold my little brother after he was born. I remember when the doctor, who brought him out of the delivery room, reached down to take the transformers toy out of my hand, before placing my infant brother in my arms. I was only four years old at the time, and as far as I know, that is the earliest memory that I have. And that’s the beauty of being a big brother—I can remember the first time that I met Drew, and I’ll always carry the memory of that moment. Decades later, Drew followed in my footsteps by attending the U.S. Air Force Academy. He was there at my graduation, and as a captain four years later I read the oath at Drew’s commissioning ceremony. We always felt like we had a special bond because of that shared experience, to which so few of our friends could relate. I thought about those memories in the moments after Drew and I parted ways that night at Bagram Air Base. And I also wondered if one of us would have to carry the memory of the last time he saw his brother alive. This might sound dark or off-putting to those who have never been in combat or sent a loved one off to war, but when I hugged my brother good-bye before he left for Afghanistan, four months prior to our meeting at Bagram, I also found myself working to emblazon that memory in mind, worrying in some instinctive part of my consciousness that it could be the last time I ever saw him. I found myself doing something similar before I left for Afghanistan myself, making each farewell a complete one, with nothing left unsaid. The specter of possibly never again seeing each person to whom I was saying
good-bye loomed over every encounter. This might be how they remember me forever, I kept telling myself. I found myself thinking how poetically perfect each one of these farewells would be if I did die in Afghanistan. It would be tragic, but how rare is it to have the time to say good-bye to everyone in your life? Anyway, like I said, unless you’ve sent someone off to war or gone yourself this all might seem overly dramatic and macabre. But that’s how I felt, and I imagine I’m not only one who had those thoughts. War does that you know; it makes you see things a little differently. It reminds you that everything is temporary, and you’re never able to shake this feeling that everything you do in a war zone you might be doing for the last time. It also evokes one word, over and over again in your mind—why? Why am I here? Why is this war being fought? Why is the enemy fighting? Why can’t we just pull out all of our troops and go home? When Drew decided to deploy again, there were many who asked him—why? Why would you want to put your life on the line? Someone else could just as easily go and do it for you. It’s not worth it, they would say. I don’t understand why you’d want to go back. They said that when we went to the Academy too. Why not go to an ivy league school and make a lot of money? Why not go to the University of Florida and have fun? Why go to a school where they yell at you and make you march and make your bed? Well, the truth is that if you find yourself asking those questions, then you could never understand the answer. But what is the answer to the why? Army Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Martin, a veteran of six combat deployments, including Desert Storm and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, said it best: “When the bullets are flying and
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A lighter moment from the Peterson brothers reunion at Bagram Air Base.
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shit starts blowing up, you’re not thinking about any of that duty, honor, country bullshit. You’re just thinking about taking care of your buddy next to you and making it out alive.” Martin told me this a few hours after we were almost killed by a Taliban rocket, armed with a white phosphorous warhead, that exploded right over our heads. Miraculously, neither of us was hurt in the explosion. Not even a scratch on either one of us—it was a miracle. But seeing the thousand-yard stare in the eyes of someone with as much combat experience as Martin hammered home for me just how close I had come to dying that day. It also made me feel both mortal and immortal at the same time. Martin’s words echoed in Drew’s explanation for going back to Afghanistan: “There are people still fighting over there,” he told me before he deployed. “I’d feel like I wasn’t doing my job if I didn’t go do something to help out the war-fighters.” If the question why makes more sense than the reason why, then you’re not like my brother, or the hundreds of thousands of young men and women in the military, who still voluntarily put their lives on the line and spend months away from their homes and families in service to a nation that has largely tuned them out. Just think about the young private who deploys to Afghanistan for nine months or a year. He’s away from his family, living in squalor, waking up every day knowing that he’s in real danger. Going to bed at night knowing that a Taliban rocket could come through the
Reynolds Systems Inc. proudly supports the USAFA Alumni at home and abroad! 707-928-5244 PO Box 1229 Middletown, CA 95461 52
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ceiling in the night, killing him in his sleep. It happens more than you’d want to know. After his tour is over, he comes home, arriving late at night on some contracted airliner at one of the major hubs for returning troops like Baltimore International Airport. There’s probably elevator music echoing in the late-night silence and some janitors waxing the floor as he waits in line to get his passport stamped and go through customs. The next morning he catches a connecting flight home and maybe he has a girlfriend or a wife waiting to pick him up at the airport, she might even have a sign for him written in marker on poster board. A few old-timers probably shake his hand in the airport as he waits for his bag. Maybe he and his girl go out to Chili’s or Applebee’s for a celebratory dinner that night, and then that’s it. He slides back into anonymity and normal life. The year of his life spent in service to his nation is overlooked by nearly all of us. It’s like it never even happened. Except for that soldier, who will carry the memory of that deployment and every other deployment he has been on with him for the rest of his life. It’s the same feeling as having had too much sugar or too much caffeine, you always feel amped up, moving at a different speed than everything and everyone else, not able to really focus or connect to the rest of the world. You’re not jealous of what everyone else has, only envious that they can so easily enjoy it. So what’s the point of all this? Why are you reading this, what is the lesson that I gleaned from saying good-bye to my little brother in that pitch-black, Afghanistan night? The point is that there is still a war on, it is real, and it is dangerous. The point is that our soldiers don’t really care about you, but they know that there is a job that has to be done, and they want to be the ones in the arena to do it. They go because they know others will go, and they won’t let them go alone. Soldiers like my little brother don’t hide behind the cloak of knowing that someone could go in their place to do what is right, good and honorable. They never think that anyone holds their debt, and they don’t think the world owes them a damn thing. They understand there is a cost to be paid for our way of life by whoever has the courage to step forward and earn it for the rest of us. They are those rare and noble few who view the world not by how it affects them, but by what power they have to affect it. That’s what makes them better than you and me. People in the military don’t want praise; they don’t want a pat on the back, and they don’t ask for fame or fortune. But they do expect the rest of us to be worthy of the unrecoverable currency of youth that they have spent on our behalf in the mountains of Afghanistan and the dusty streets of Iraq. When we go out to eat at nice restaurants and see movies and drink beer and are able to not care about the dark places in this world, that is their gift to us. We should cherish it. So what’s the lesson? Thank God, or whatever higher power you believe in, that there are people brave enough to voluntarily step into the night so the rest of us can live our lives in the light. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Nolan Peterson is a former special ops pilot, war correspondent and the founder and editor of BlueForceTracker.com.
A passion for family, philanthropy, serving our Academy “While I am very engaged with USAFA now, that wasn’t always the case. Busy building a business and a family, I lost contact with the Academy for years. However, as my life settled down, I reflected on how many doors were opened and credibility instantly received just because I was a USAFA grad. I also realized how much my success was set in motion by the disciplines, character and work ethic learned at the Academy. I have taken the opportunity to give back to the Academy for all the wonderful experiences and advantages I have received. I hope by doing so, future cadets can have the full rich experience I received. I encourage all of you who are in a position to do so, consider adding the USAFA Endowment to your will. The Endowment will assist you in this process and steward your gift, making sure you wishes are met.” Keith has named the USAFA Endowment as a beneficiary, 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 or lifeincome gift to the USAFA Endowment may also lessen the tax burden on your family and estate. For information and assistance, contact Dale Zschoche at dale.zschoche@usafaendowment.org or 719.238.7510.
THE UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY
ENDOWMENT
Keith ’66 and Patty Withycombe
Falcon Fitness Fix
Dan Felix ’74, CFT
Health and Fitness as a Family Although lots of people have the best intentions when it comes to family health and fitness programs, such initiatives can fail. The most common reason well-meaning fitness or health programs fail comes from stopping the program, and not from the nature of the program itself. Most general family fitness and health programs are more than adequate to achieve results; it’s just that people often don’t stay with it faithfully, or for a long enough period. Families of all kinds are unique, of course, but Air Force families have added complexities and stresses, particularly when a parent or guardian is on assignment and away from the family. Aside from these unique military family characteristics, there are some common reasons people don’t “stick with the program.” Marginalized Programs A marginalized health and fitness program can potentially discourage a family member from staying with a new healthy routine. This is particularly true if an Air Force dad or mom has a health issue that requires different foods or special medications. Under those conditions, it is too easy to put those special requirements at the margin, in favor of catering to the majority of the family instead of addressing the unique needs of one person. If dad can no longer eat any red meat, then he is served chicken while everyone else eats steak! Add to this kind of requirement any duty assignments that take a parent out of the family for days or weeks at a time, and you can expect a marginalized health and fitness program to result. Both the program and the person in this situation are now outside the usual family routine. This kind of dysfunction is the number one reason a person will abandon a program, and they do so just to be part of the family again. Mealtime is one of the best opportunities for military families to establish and
reinforce gratifying experiences. Good professional health and fitness advice is to develop recipes and a meal environment that everyone can enjoy, and to refrain from noticeably changing the routine while a family member is away. Centralized Programs A centralized health and fitness program is the opposite of a marginalized program, and can also discourage family members from participating in a healthy overall program. Sometimes a specific health issue or fitness goal of one family member requires food and behavior changes by that person. As in the decentralized program case, if these unique demands begin to trump the preferences of other family members, then their needs can be jeopardized. I most often see this with child athletes. The proud parents want an athletically talented child to get the best opportunity for sport success and, in that effort, unknowingly they crowd out the needs of others in the family, including spouses. Balance is the key in assuring that health and fitness needs are being met for the entire family. Since military families in particular can experience dramatic and often recurring changes in their routines, try to create continuity by establishing meaningful health-related roles for each family member. Given today’s social media tools and forums, it is quite easy to keep all members connected. Once again, mealtime is a great opportunity to bring present and absent members of the family together. Make mealtime the daily platform for addressing inclusive family needs and reporting the health and fitness accomplishments of everyone in the family. Dangerous Programs There is a third issue inherent in family health and fitness, and that is the dangerous
program. There are diets, workout routines, and supplements in the marketplace that simply have no place in a healthy military or civilian family. A family member might feel desperate enough that they will try any program they’ve ever heard about just to get the result they feel they must have. Dangerous alternatives range from crash weight-loss for wedding dresses to crash weight-gains to make the high school football team. The human body is quite amazing at adapting to different foods and environments, but there are costs. Crash weight-loss can easily cause unrecoverable muscle and bone loss, particularly for women. Crash weight and muscle gain that occurs before the end of puberty can lay the foundation for future heart and weight problems that cannot be easily resolved. The body is not designed to change quickly, so any “crash” health plan has to be avoided for all members of the family at all times. Avoiding dangerous health and fitness approaches is the duty of every family member. Family First – the “Bottom Line” There’s only one “First Family” and that is your family. I wish I could claim to be the reason for the many successes I have seen among my clients, but that honor goes to the moms, dads, parents, guardians, spouses, siblings, friends, and relatives of those clients. The support of your family is your first and best health program, just as your support to them will help keep you all on the path to a balanced life-long state of health and fitness. ________________________________ 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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Love Birds They met as cadets. They left as Second Lieutenants in love. These blissfully married grads recount the first time they laid their Falcon eyes on each other. The Academy and romance are two words that rarely occupy space in the same sentence—but maybe that shouldn’t be the case. This year alone there have been 44 weddings held at the Cadet Chapel, and there are already an additional 32 on the books. Eight of these weddings will be entirely motivated by Academy spirit, cases in which graduates will come back to the Cadet Chapel to tie the knot under the 17 spires. “So many Academy graduates come back to the Chapel to be married because of the impact the Academy has had on their lives and their futures,” says Deb Hartman, the USAFA wedding facilitator. “The stunning beauty of the Chapel is like no other. It is so unique.” The love bug is also brought to life at Doolittle Hall. Newlyweds transformed the building’s assembly area into a beautiful wedding reception space some 16 times in 2014 alone. Considering Doolittle’s beautiful views, flexible setup, and affordable rates, this level of use as a reception venue should really come as no surprise. These frequency figures are reflected in the stats of a recent study of Facebook users in the U.S. which found that women who identified themselves as having attended the Air Force Academy had spouses who also identified as attending the Air Force Academy—a staggering 59.6 percent of the time. That rate was the third highest on the social network behind No. 1 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and No. 2 Michigan Technological University. Overall, the study found that 28 percent of married Facebook users married a fellow alum. Next time you gaze out across a barren Terrazzo trimmed with the cold hard steel of the campus, remember—there is actually a lot of love at the heart of the Academy!
All is Fair in Love and SERE
Our two-degree summer I was the First Sergeant for SERE and my future wife—we got married the day after graduation—was an interrogator in the Resistance Compound. She had been sick the previous year and needed to make up the half day of water survival training. We first met when she found me one evening and told me she needed to be added to the roster. She also required a ride and a box lunch to boot! I wrote down her information on the back of a laundry sheet, and she was sure I would forget her. Worse yet, she would have to work SERE again the next summer to complete the training. I, of course, did not forget her or her box lunch. We still kid each other about who then “stalked” whom, as we would “coincidentally” end up at the same table at Mitchell Hall for the rest of the program. 56
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It is tough to recount such a great memory in 150 words. Thirty-two years later, I am still thankful for that encounter. –David ’82 and Julia (Scheffelin) Graves ’82
A Privileged Encounter
I met Susan Lueken ’83 September of my junior year just after I moved from CS-35 to CS-13. My roommate, Mike Barrett, and I were studying when we got a knock on the door. This sophomore walks in and says she’s Cadet Lueken, the privilege clerk. She tells me that I have no overnight passes for the remainder of the month, and Cadet Barrett has all his overnight passes remaining. I told Cadet Lueken that my gymnastics coach can get me more passes anytime I need. She told me it was only her job to inform us of remaining passes so no one gets in trouble. As she left, I told her not to worry, coach will get me a pass. I was not too pleased with how this underclass cadet “told” me what I could not do.
Wedding Receptions at Doolittle Hall
The next day I asked coach for a weekend pass. The day after, coach came back to me and said the Commandant no longer allowed coaches (athletic department) to give out passes. That was Friday at practice. Friday night I was in my dorm room buffing the floor as Mike was signed out on a pass. Who happens to walk by but C3C Lueken. “Oh, I see you did not sign out,” she says. Dang! She won! I asked her if she knew how to play backgammon. The answer was no, so that night, with no overnight passes remaining, I taught C3C Susan Lueken to play backgammon. That was 34 years ago. Our son 2nd Lt. Erik ’14 just graduated, and our daughter Sarah is a junior on the Colorado College soccer team. –Chuck Schweiss ’82 and Susan Lueken Schweiss ’83
Back to the Start
We met in the “TV Room” (back when they had those!) as brand new 3-degrees of Fightin’ 4. We started dating about a year later, got married as 1st lieutenants, and are now in our 20th year of marriage with two kids, Gage, 16, and Haley, 13. We live just south of USAFA and sponsor several cadets—so after two USAF careers, we’re right back to where we started! –Geoff Maki ’91 and Jen (Miller) Maki ’91
Scenically located on the grounds of the United States Air Force Academy, Doolittle Hall is the ideal place to celebrate your special day with family and friends. Fabulous views of the Rocky Mountains to the west and the rolling hills of the eastern plains will treat your guests to the grandeur of Colorado and the Pikes Peak region. Floor-to-ceiling windows in the 5,500-square-foot Assembly, provide panoramic views of the natural surroundings. With an open-air atrium above, this expansive space produces warm natural light while maintaining a touch of intimacy. The happy couple can make a grand entry from either of the Assembly’s etched-glass open staircases. Guests can dance the night away on the built-in dance floor, or enjoy a cocktail at the private bar in the Library lounge. Let Doolittle Hall make your celebration everything you’ve ever dreamed! For more information on how you can utilize this beautiful facility visit events.usafa.org.
With apologies to Bogart—and the English Department
Of all the dojos, in all the towns, in all the world, she walked into mine. I put some good moves on her and took her down with a leg sweep. Twentytwo years later, she admits to falling for me, but she still says I tripped her. –Scott Frisius ’93 and Sharon Presley ’94
Biceps and BCT Haircuts
My husband, Jon Kaskela ’07, and I had almost every class together first semester of four-degree year, but I sat in the front row and he always sat towards the back, so I was oblivious. I first truly noticed him in the cadet gym. I remember thinking he had really nice, impressive biceps. After months of saying hello shyly in passing, he asked me to go to church with him at the Cadet Chapel, and we’ve been together ever since. He noticed me even with a horrible BCT haircut—now that’s true love! –Alicia (Stirewalt) Kaskela ’07 and Jon Kaskela ’07
Who can get married at the Cadet Chapel? Those who can get married at the Cadet Chapel include: graduates from any of the military academies, active duty or enlisted personnel stationed at USAFA, and legal dependents of graduates. The Cadet Chapel is temporarily available for use by active duty Air Force personnel stationed at Peterson AFB, Schriever AFB, and Buckley AFB as a way for the Academy to give back to the community, and thank people from these installations for their service to our nation. For more information visit usafa.edu/hc/visitors.cfm or email cadet.chapel@usafa.edu.
Manufacturing
H pe
Service Before Self as an Expatriate in Nepal. Written by Corban Bryant ’04
Life as a USAFA Expat Ten years ago I graduated from the Air Force Academy … ten days ago I drove my motorcycle through a roadblock of flaming tires on the dusty streets of Kathmandu. I was conducting business for my garment factory that employs survivors of exploitation in Nepal. This is not what I envisioned my life would look like ten years after graduation. But, even though I now live as an expat in a developing nation and am about as far off-track from an Air Force career as I can get, I am grateful for the lessons I learned ten years ago at USAFA and I lean on them often. Whether it’s serving as a scientific analyst (my old job), managing a social enterprise garment manufacturing company (my current job), or blowing through a flaming road-block and past angry protesters with sticks (something that comes with the territory of running a business in Nepal), there are some things I learned at USAFA that will never leave me … and I’m grateful.
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From Rocky Mountains to Himalayas If anybody can claim to be a part of the “Long Blue Line,” I guess I can. I was born at the USAFA Hospital in 1981; my dad was an instructor in the Computer Science Department at that time. He is a grad from the Class of 1975 and a 25-year faculty member. (In fact, most grads since the dawn of email probably recall receiving messages from Larry Bryant about maintaining their computers.) I graduated from USAFA in 2004, my older brother graduated in 2001, my younger brother graduated in 2012. I taught Computer Science and Operations Research at USAFA from 2009-2011 (and might be the only USAFA instructor to teach his little brother in class).In many ways USAFA feels like home to me, so it seemed like the perfect fit when I was offered a Ph.D. sponsorship with the intention of returning to teach at USAFA on a future assignment. But the night before my deadline for accepting or declining the Ph.D., I stayed awake until 4 a.m. with my amazingly understanding wife talking about
The sewing line at Purnaa’s manufacturing facility in Kathmandu.
graduate Profile
our family’s future. In the morning, I went to work and did the scariest thing I’d ever done in my life … said no to the Ph.D. and told my boss I intended to get out of the Air Force. Within nine months, that decision led us to New Delhi, India for a fellowship with d.light Design, a leading social enterprise, and now to founding our own company in Kathmandu, Nepal. Purnaa: Fashion as a Force for Change A year ago, we started Purnaa, a social enterprise ethical garment manufacturing company in Nepal. We are a contract manufacturer that makes garments for export to designers in the U.S. and Europe. We also create training and job opportunities for survivors of exploitation. Many of our employees are men and women who have suffered under human trafficking, bonded labor, or discrimination due to disease, caste, or religion. We believe social business creates sustainable ways to address real issues. It’s not charity, it’s real jobs that empower people to a fresh start and a changed life. It’s not easy, in fact each day is pretty much guaranteed to have an element of chaos, but it’s in those moments I’m grateful for my time at USAFA. Don’t Pee in the Sink The doolie year pretty much exists because of a belief that if a cadet is pushed beyond his perceived limits, he might just surprise himself by how much he can accomplish. It develops the courage required to keep trying audacious things. Whether it’s memorizing ridiculous amounts of facts, doing an insane number of push-ups in one day, or just mustering the courage to leave the room to go to the latrine during basic training, it’s all designed to force cadets beyond their preconceived limits. Starting a garment factory in Nepal is definitely audacious, perhaps even foolhardy. Unemployment in Nepal is over 40 percent, there are 12-hour power outages every day, the government isn’t stable (the prime minister was ousted three months after my family arrived and there is no ratified constitution), and 90 percent of the garment industry has collapsed in the past ten years. Before registering our company, my business partner and I spent about six months researching how to create sustainable jobs for survivors of exploitation. Time and again others told us not to try it in Nepal, especially in garments.
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Above: Corban Bryant (center, back row) with the Purnaa leadership and production teams outside of the facility in Kathmandu.
Before USAFA Recognition, I didn’t think I could do 3,000 jumping jacks without stopping. If I was able to do that, I might as well try running a social enterprise in Asia’s least developed country. When there are protests and flaming roadblocks that shut down the city, get out of my way—I have work to do. That One Thing We Remember from John Boyd Cadets seem to like simple models with which to interpret the world. That’s probably why we all latched on to the OODA Loop in Military Strategic Studies class. Maybe it was because we already knew how miserable life could be at USAFA if we failed to quickly gain situational awareness and take decisive action. In running a start-up, not to mention one in a developing nation, we need to think on our feet and adjust quickly or we won’t get past the morning commute. The current fad in startup literature is the Lean Startup, a company that rapidly tests product ideas and pivots based on new information from each test, basically
exactly what the OODA is all about. We’re testing new products in this manner at Purnaa through our second Kickstarter campaign later this fall. But more generally, no matter what challenges Nepal throws at us—fuel shortages, monsoon, corruption to name a few—running a new company requires making good decisions with imperfect information under less than favorable conditions. I think USAFA grads are trained to do this better than any other group of people I know. Not Just Something More Politically Correct Than “Bring Me Men” I attended USAFA during the sexual assault scandals of the early 2000s, and I remember the grumbling among the graduate community when the Bring Me Men Ramp became the Core Values Ramp. No offense to Sam Walter Foss, but in my opinion it was a great change. Those three little statements, “Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do,” are extremely powerful. Unfortunately, Service Before Self sometimes gets twisted into meaning we ought to have some sort of blind allegiance to Air Force systems. But really, it’s about leadership and self-sacrifice. I believe Service Before Self demands that we consider others as more valuable than ourselves. This is especially challenging when we find out about the needs of those around us. We are forced to decide if we’re willing to pay the price to address those needs. When my wife and I learned about the rampant problem of modern slavery in South Asia we felt compelled to get involved, even at the expense of our standard of living, safety, and perhaps hardest, the upbringing of our kids. After living in Nepal for a few years now, I see that the problem of exploitation comes from a broader failure to consider others as valuable. I believe Service Before Self is a value that, if applied, can set people free. I try to teach it to my employees and I hope that the work we do at Purnaa is a true example of it.
feel more like a USAFA Expat. USAFA is a unique place that gets into your bones and changes you permanently. I’m grateful for the lessons I learned there and I look forward to seeing many future generations of USAFA grads with the audacity to try the impossible and the conviction that putting others first is worth the cost. ____________________________________________ Corban Bryant is a graduate from CS-22 and a member of the Class of 2004. He holds a master’s degree in operations research from MIT. He resides in Kathmandu with his wife Katrina and their two kids. To learn more about his work in Nepal visit www.purnaa.com. He can be reached via email at corban@purnaa.com.
USAFA Expats There’s a funny word we use for ourselves as foreigners living in Nepal, “Expatriate: a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than that of the person’s upbringing.” I’ve come to learn that no matter how long I live and work in another country, my original home still holds significant sway over my whole outlook on life. Yes, I’m an American Expat, but in some ways I
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Ronald and the Unsettling Sound A moment of levity during President Reagan’s first flight on the “Doomsday Plane.” Written by Barry Walrath ’63
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uring the Cold War, the Department of Defense operated a series of airborne command centers to reinforce deterrence by providing a survivable means of launching U.S. nuclear forces in retaliation to a Soviet attack. By the late 1970s, the world-wide airborne system was based on the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) E-4 aircraft (a militarized version of the Boeing 747-200) operated and maintained by Strategic Air Command and based at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska. The normal NEACP crew consisted of a Battle Staff under the command of an Air Force, Army or Marine colonel, or a Navy captain; force status, emergency action, operations, and communications controllers; intelligence, operations, reconnaissance, and logistic planners; airborne launch system officers; weather and damage assessment officers; supporting administrators; communications operators; radio maintainers; and switchboard operators. The Battle Staff’s job was to provide an airborne National Command Authority (the President or his successor, and/or the Secretary of Defense) with the best possible information on which to base decisions and to communicate those decisions to U.S. forces, including the nuclear triad—bombers, ICBMs, and SLBMs. My job, as Commander of the 1st Airborne Command Control Squadron (1ACCS), was to provide the aircraft and the highly-trained flight crews, which consisted of two pilots, a navigator, a flight engineer, and a steward. When directed by the Battle Staff, the operating aircrew would rendezvous with the National Command Authority, bring him and his party aboard the NEACP aircraft, and get out of harm’s way and into a communications orbit as quickly as possible. To accomplish this mission under normal day-to-day conditions, we maintained an E-4 on alert at Andrews Air Force Base when the President was in Washington D.C., or accompanied Air Force One when he traveled. During the Cold War, the White House Military Office arranged for each incoming President to take a familiarization flight aboard the NEACP early in his first term in office. For President Ronald Reagan and his closest advisors, this flight was to occur on November 15, 1981. The President and his party were to fly from Andrews to an event in Houston on Air Force One (at that time, a Boeing
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An Air Force E-4B National Airborne Operations Center aircraft sits at the international airport in Bogota, Colombia. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Jerry Morrison)
VC-137), then return to Andrews aboard our E-4 operated by my alert crew under the command of then-Major Jeffery Polles. My boss, Col Donald Krause, Commander of the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, directed me to join my crew for the return flight “to make sure nothing went wrong.” Thus, the NEACP Team headed by Col. George McCoy, the Joint Staff briefing party led by Lt. Gen. Philip Gast Director for Operations J3, Col. James Kidd the Chief of NEACP, and my crew and I were in Houston before the President was ready to depart. In preparation for the flight, I conducted the external walkaround inspection with a member of the Secret Service. When I noted that the media was to be positioned on flatbed trailers just outside the fence behind engines three and four, the Secret Service agent suggested that the members of the fourth estate could take care of themselves. In deference to the media, Major Polles carefully began to taxi on engines one and two. After takeoff Lt. Gen. Gast and Col. Kidd briefed the President, the White House Chief of Staff and future Secretary of State James Baker III, the Deputy White House Chief of Staff Michael Deaver, and a handful of other White House staffers. The Battle Staff presented one of several practice scenarios that culminated in a nuclear attack on the United States, and walked the Presidential Party through a likely retaliatory decision-making and communication process. Col. McCoy then escorted the President and his party on a tour of the aircraft and crew, culminating in a trip with me to the upper deck and the cockpit to exchange a few words with the flight crew. That done, the President retired to the VIP cabin under the cockpit. This private cabin was configured with a desk/working area, a bunk bed, a few seats, a closet and a private toilet area. The rest of the party returned to the briefing room while Mr. Deaver and I chatted over coffee in the galley at the base of the
circular staircase near the door of the VIP cabin. After a few minutes, President Reagan cracked opened the door to the VIP area and whispered for me to join him. The President quietly explained that he had been reading one of the several files on his desk when he heard a strange noise. Unable to determine what he had heard and since it was not immediately repeated, he went back to work. Shortly thereafter, he again heard the sound—which to him seemed to be someone snoring. He eventually found the source when he pulled back the curtain on the bunk bed. At that point, he carefully pulled back the curtain again to reveal James Baker in coat and tie sound asleep in the lower Presidential bunk. The two of us quietly stepped into the galley area where the President asked if anyone on board had a camera. Are you kidding me! Even on short notice, everyone aboard knew it would be a trip with the President and several people—including members of the flight crew—had managed to secure a camera. As President Reagan looked on, we took a few incriminating photos of Mr. Baker, then we all stepped back into the galley area. The President asked that we forward the film to him personally so that he could use the pictures “at an appropriate time.” The remainder of the flight was uneventful. We delivered the President and his party to Andrews, following a 360 degree turn over southern Maryland to lose altitude and to make sure we would not arrive early and destroy the timing of the greeting party. I have no idea when President Reagan used the photos to embarrass Mr. Baker, but I am sure that he did—he had that twinkle in his eye!
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feature
Graduate Killed in Laos 44 Years Ago Returned Home By Tech Sgt. Sean Tobin, 62nd Airlift Wing Public Affairs
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Members of the McChord Field Honor Guard transfer the remains of Capt. Douglas D. Ferguson to an awaiting hearse May 1, 2014, at Seattle-Tacoma Airport in SeaTac, Wash. Ferguson, a native of Tacoma, Wash., had been missing since his aircraft was shot down over Laos Dec. 30, 1969. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Sean Tobin)
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issing for more than 44 years, the remains of Capt. Douglas D. Ferguson ’67, who was killed when his F-4D Phantom aircraft was shot down over Laos in 1969, returned home May 1 to Lakewood, Washington. Last year, members of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command excavated the Dec. 30, 1969, crash site in Laos and found remains and artifacts they believed were those of Ferguson. Through DNA testing and a dental records match, JPAC officials were able to positively identify the remains as being Ferguson’s, said the captain’s sister, Sue Scott, who was notified of the DNA match in January. “When I received word of the positive identification, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops,” Scott said. “We’ve been working on this for more than 40 years.” Ferguson’s remains arrived at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in SeaTac, Washington, May 1. McChord Field Honor Guard members met the casket at the airplane and ceremoniously transferred it to the awaiting hearse. A procession of vehicles, including Ferguson’s hearse, police vehicles from Joint Base Lewis-McChord as well as state and local agencies, family members, and Patriot Guard Riders, left the SeaTac airport bound for the funeral home. From a freeway overpass along the route, firefighters from JBLM and Central Pierce County, shadowed by a large U.S. flag draping down from the extended ladders of their fire engines, saluted the procession as it passed below them. “That’s what makes me teary is that I feel like we are embraced by love,” Scott later said, referring to the firefighters on the procession route. The following day, 627th Air Base Group Chaplain (Maj.) John Shipman held a funeral service for Ferguson at the McChord Theater. Hundreds of family members, former classmates of Ferguson, and members of JBLM attended the service. Col. Anthony Davit, the 627th ABG commander, provided opening remarks. “While I know that Captain Ferguson’s family has been waiting for his return for more than 44 years, I have been waiting for nearly 28,” Davit told those in attendance, referring to his time as a cadet in college where he always wore a POW/MIA patch on his flight suit. “I would often think about all the sacrifices those that came before me had made, and in many cases, may still be making. These thoughts guided my growing desire to serve and uphold the legacy of the great men and women that came before me.” Scott reflected on all the people over the decades who have helped her brother return home, and those who came to show their support once he finally did come home. “I am so grateful,” Scott said. “This is the best of who we are as Americans.” Ferguson was buried with full military honors later that day at the funeral home, in a plot just a few feet from where his parents are buried. “There have been ups and downs over the years for sure,” Scott said. “But the process has allowed me to meet the people who honor our country, not just with their service, but those who continue to give and give. That’s what blows me away.”
Honor A Case Study in
The Cadet Wing Honor Code is alive and well.
Written by Lt. Col. (Ret.) John Webster ’93 Cadet Wing Honor Board Officer Mentor
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have no hard data on the Cadet Wing Honor Code. I have not completed a quantitative analysis of past or current honor related incidents. As a social scientist, this absence of data makes it very difficult to support any type of defendable generalization. However, I still offer this judgment: the Cadet Wing Honor Code is alive and well. I recently sat on a Wing Honor Board as the officer mentor. The case involved an accusation of cheating against a first-class cadet. There was no dispute about his actions. A previously graded paper was turned in a second time for a separate assignment. The cadet, when confronted, freely admitted his mistake. His defense was that he did not know it was in violation of the Dean’s Academics with Honor policy and the department’s own policy. As a result, no credit was given for the assignment. However, the instructor’s conscience was not clear. The action felt like more than a simple violation of an academic policy. He referred it to the honor board for them to decide: was this a violation of the Cadet Wing Honor Code? Often repeated are the words “We will not lie, steal, or cheat … ” The question before the board was the meaning of “cheat.” This was not a case of classic plagiarism. The cadet was not trying to submit someone else’s work as his own. However, cheating can take many forms. The Air Force Cadet Wing Honor Code Reference Handbook instructs: “The submission of undocumented work clearly implies it is the product of your own words or ideas and you have not used this work for credit before.” In defense, the cadet adamantly denied any intention to cheat. He had not doctored the second submission to look like a new paper. With
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just a few minor corrections, he turned in the same work. He argued correctly that cheating needs both an act and the intent to receive undeserved credit. From his personal perspective, he did not intend to break the honor code. During this particular Board experience, I reflected on my own understanding of honor. I arrived at the Academy over 25 years ago in the summer of 1987. After Recognition at the end of my freshman year, we were given seemingly significant privileges, to include the use of the squadron’s soda machines. During a study session, I excitedly set off to enjoy my new freedom with quarters in hand. Alone in the squadron activity room, I made my selection. Unexpectedly, two cans dropped down. I grabbed both cans but hesitated. Less than a year before, this would have been considered fortuitous—a two for one bonus. But almost unknowingly, my honor lessons had started to take effect. What does it mean to steal? I had paid for one soda, not two. Was it not someone’s business to sell sodas? Even if I “inadvertently receive a service or property for nothing” the Honor Handbook noted that I was expected to “make proper compensation by either paying for or returning the property.” I stood at the machine and mulled over the situation. In the end, I resolved to return what I had not paid for. As I reached up to put the extra can on the top of the machine, I saw it: a line of soda cans. It was a living monument to other cadets who had decided: “We will not … steal.” Fast-forward a few years to the country of Bosnia. I was a NATO peacekeeper, working as a liaison to the Russian Air Force at Tuzla airbase. I coordinated the resupply flights from Russia directly with two Russian
Air Force pilots. One week, the Russian communications line was inoperable and the Russian pilots asked to use my phone line to call their base in Russia. I agreed and the communication shop routed the call. Not long after, the Russians came by my office again to make another call. However, this time it was a call to the colonel’s wife in order to wish her a happy anniversary. In the spirit of good international relations, I agreed. They were very appreciative. Afterwards, I doubted my judgment and decided to check with the O-6 Group Commander if I had made the right decision. The answer was an emphatic “no.” The Russians should not use U.S. communication resources to make personal phone calls. This made the situation slightly difficult when the Russian pilots came by again. The other officer wanted to call a family member for some type of personal celebration. I resisted initially but in the end relented with the warning words that this was the last time. After the phone call, the Russians departed my office just as the Group Commander walked up. He waited for them to leave and asked me directly, “What did they want?” This was my moment. Had I internalized the honor code? I paused, recognized the seriousness of the situation, and then lied. I mumbled something about them wanting to coordinate the upcoming resupply flight. He accepted my answer and moved on to take care of more important business. I returned to my office with the weight of a heavy conscience. No matter how hard I tried to justify it, the nagging, gnawing feeling of dishonesty wouldn’t go away. As a USAFA philosophy instructor had once described it, the feeling was like a cold hand had reached in and wrapped itself around my heart. It took a few hours before I found myself at my commanding officer’s door. I didn’t need an honor board to tell me “lying is making an assertion with the intent to deceive or mislead.” I told the group commander what I had done. His reaction was a model of leadership. He didn’t condone the act, but he didn’t condemn me either. He recognized that I was in an awkward situation as a lieutenant dealing with foreign colonels. He invited me to seek his assistance if it happened again. And he told me it took courage to come forward. He treated it as a mentoring opportunity. I left his office resolved to live more honorably so that next time I would make the right decision at the right time. Returning to the Wing Honor Board, the question was not one of lying or stealing but one of cheating. Was there intent to receive undeserved credit? After the testimony of the cadet and the instructor, and the subsequent questioning by the board members, the room was closed for deliberations. I was the lone officer in a room of cadets who would decide if their classmate
had violated the Honor Code. Even before the Honor Board Chairman’s warning, they understood the gravity of the situation: the accused was only months away from graduation and commissioning, just like they were. The consequences of their decision were life-changing. I cannot discuss the details of the deliberations, but I can share these insights. These cadets were resolute— they were going to do their duty. As the first hour rolled into the second hour of deliberation, the room was hot and stuffy. The Honor Chairman invited the Honor Board members to take off their service dress jackets. No one did. Perhaps they thought it would distract from the solemnity of the situation. They poured over every detail and reviewed each angle. As a group, they ensured no single board member had anything left to contribute. And though I had twenty-plus years of experience, my verdict was not solicited (nor would it have been provided). This was a very tough decision but it was their decision. And they understood that. In the end, a secret ballot was cast with each member voting his or her conscience. The board members were emotionally exhausted. This was likely the toughest decision of their cadet careers. But, I observed a group of future officers now even more prepared to make difficult decisions on behalf of their service and our country. Before the Honor Board’s verdict was announced, I asked to speak and with a bit of emotion, I thanked the board members for their service. I related how proud I was to be a graduate of this institution, possibly more so than at any other time. The honorable way in which these cadets fulfilled their duty was inspiring. The accused cadet was called in and told that a board of his peers had found him in violation of their honor code. There was no celebration. When I graduated, I acknowledged in the Polaris yearbook my gratitude to the Academy for “enlarging my understanding of integrity.” Surprisingly, a different group of cadets from the same institution continues to do so today. The Honor Board experience made me want to live more honorably so that I may be counted as trustworthy as these future USAFA alumni. Indeed, I wish every graduate could observe the honor system in action as I have. No, the system is not perfect, and violations of the Honor Code continue to happen. However, this particular case convinced me that the Cadet Wing Honor Code is alive and well. It serves to strengthen the standards to which professional officers and future leaders should aspire—we will not lie, steal or cheat. Once the cadet experience is behind us, it is up to each graduate to ensure the honor code is alive and well in her or his own life.
Checkpoints
When I graduated, I acknowledged in the Polaris yearbook my gratitude to the Academy for “enlarging my understanding of integrity.” Surprisingly, a different group of cadets from the same institution continues to do so today.
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the association
GRADUATE DEPENDENT SCHOLARSHIPS ACADEMIC YEAR 2014-2015
Since 1987, the AOG Board of Directors has continued their long-standing support for the Graduate Dependent Scholarship Program. This year, awards of $500 have been approved for twenty children of USAFA graduates. A total of 129 completed applications were sent to a volunteer committee to review and rank. The volunteer committee, consisting of Maj. (Ret.) Thomas Sullivan Jr. ’72, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Martha Stevenson-Jones ’82, Col. Lisa Boyce ’88, Maj. Christopher Rouse ’99, Maj. Elizabeth Mathias ’01 and Capt. Lauren Viscito ’07 devoted considerable time to scoring each applicant’s package. Scores were then consolidated and the twenty applicants with the highest total points were awarded scholarships. The AOG congratulates all of the GDS applicants, especially the winners, for their records of academic achievement, community involvement, and exemplary service. Those selected to receive a scholarship for Academic Year 2014-2015 are listed below in alphabetical order. Graduate parents’ names are shown in parentheses. Emily Babski** – Miss Babski is a sophomore at the Virginia Tech (Blacksburg). She is studying to become a certified public accountant. (Ronald Babski ’85) Heather Brevard – Miss Brevard is a freshman at Vanderbilt University where she plans to study Computer Science. (Michael Brevard ’95, Jennifer (Buss) Brevard ’95) Daniel Brown – Mr. Brown is a freshman at Stanford University where he plans to study production design engineering. (Billy Bob Brown Jr. ’87) Adam Burgess – Mr. Burgess is a sophomore at Texas Christian University. He is studying neuroscience and hopes to attend medical school in the future. (Robert Burgess ’89) Gabriella Cavuoti*** – Miss Cavuoti is a junior at Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. She is studying for a degree in Nursing with an emphasis in pediatrics. (Frank Cavuoti ’85) Zachary Clemmons** – Mr. Clemmons is a junior at Union University (Jackson, Tenn.). He is studying philosophy and theology. (Thomas Clemmons ’86) Anne Crafton – Miss Crafton is a freshman at the University of Arkansas where she plans to study English. (Robert Crafton ’90) Veronica Cruz** – Miss Cruz is currently a sophomore at Stanford University. She is studying computer science. (Robert Cruz ’83) Kristina DeGiovanni – Miss DeGiovanni is a freshman at Brown University where she plans to pursue a medical degree. (Vincent DeGiovanni ’84, Susan Easter ’84) Christopher Ecklund – Mr. Ecklund is freshman at North Carolina State University where he plans to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering. (Eric Ecklund ’89) Emily Kenney** – Miss Kenney is a junior at Washington University pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering. (Thomas Kenney ’87)
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Megan Kilbride** – Miss Kilbride is a sophomore at the University of Notre Dame seeking a bachelor’s degree in biology. (Carol Foote ’82, Patrick Kilbride ’83) Connor Liggett – Mr. Liggett is a freshman at the University of Virginia. (Christopher Liggett ’83, Nancy Burdick ’83) Natalie Niles** – Miss Niles is a sophomore at Seton Hall University and pursuing a degree in biology. (James Niles ’81) Kelly Proctor – Miss Proctor is a freshman at Truman State University. She plans on studying biology and agricultural science with a concentration in pre-veterinary studies. (Douglas Proctor ’85) Jessica Richelieu**** – Miss Richelieu is a senior at Idaho State University (Pocatello, ID). She has consistently maintained a 4.0 GPA in her biology studies. (Rodney Richelieu ’83) Nicole Romanzo – Miss Romanzo is a freshman at Siena College and Albany Medical College where she is studying in an eight-year science, humanities and medicine program. (Daniel Romanzo ’91) Brigitte Rooney*** – Miss Rooney is a junior at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is studying environmental engineering. (Daniel Rooney ’94) Reilly Smith – Miss Smith is a freshman at Texas A&M University. She plans to study chemical engineering. (Joy Meyen ’84) Benjamin Taylor – Mr. Taylor is a freshman at Texas Christian University. He plans to study international relations or global affairs in pursuing his goal of being an ambassador. (Timothy Taylor ’88) *Asterisks indicate this person has previously won a Graduate Dependent Scholarship. The number of asterisks corresponds to the number of awards the individual has received.
happenings September
october
november
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2014 USAFA Golf Tour—Atlanta Classic; Château Élan Golf Club, Braselton, GA
Class of 1974 Reunion Kicks Off
Air Force vs. Navy Jolly Greens and Sky Raiders Plaque Dedication at Doolittle Hall
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Air Force at Georgia State and AOG Tailgate in Atlanta
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Falcon Heritage Forum begins
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Red Marker Plaque Dedication at Doolittle Hall
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Homecoming Weekend Reunions for the Classes of 1979, 1994 and 2004 Kick Off Air Force vs. Boise State (27th)
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AOG Fan Fest in Logan, UT
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Air Force at Utah State
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Reunions for the Classes of 1969 and 1989 Kick Off
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Air Force vs. New Mexico
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2014 USAFA Golf Tour—San Antonio Classic; La Cantera Golf Club, San Antonio, TX
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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.
An AOG Affinity Group is formed when graduates create a non-geographically based group built on a common bond or shared interest. The group offers graduates the opportunity to stay connected to the Academy and connect with each other beyond the traditional regional structure of the AOG Chapter Program. Groups can be based on cadet experiences—for example, those alumni who were Wings of Blue, Honor Guard, or Drum and Bugle Corp—or based on shared interests/careers such as small business owners, engineers, pilots, or realtors. There are also identitybased groups such as the current Way of Life and Academy Women Affinity Groups. If you are interested in starting an Affinity Group, please email us at affinity.support@aogusafa.org
usafa.org/calendar
usafa.org/Group/AffinityPrograms
usafa.org
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Air Force at UNLV
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Air Force vs. Nevada
20-21
SACC San Antonio; Hyatt Regency San Antonio, San Antonio, TX Air Force at San Diego State and AOG Tailgate in San Diego (21st)
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Thanksgiving
28
AOG Gift Shop “Black Friday” Sale
AOG Affinity group Program
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AOG Gift Shop Annual “Hoodie Palooza” begins shop.usafa.org
Air Force vs. Colorado State
Next of Kin Coffee
USAFA Master Calendar
Air Force at Army and AOG Tailgate at West Point
december
1
“Cyber Monday” Sale at shop.usafa.org
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AOG Gift Shop daily holiday sales
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 providing 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
Helping Veterans One Cup at a Time!
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G.I. Joe Coffee and the USAFA AOG have partnered to provide its supporters with high quality coffee from one of its own USAFA Graduates. Purchase a bag of coffee that will help fund and expand the programs supporting USAFA graduates. A portion of the proceeds from every bag of coffee and products at www.gijoecoffee.com goes towards supporting these programs. Go to http://usafaaog.gijoecoffee.com/3BhFV and help us. Join the Club and support us every month!
THE 1954 SOCIETY Named for the United States Air Force Academy’s founding year, the 1954 Society was launched by the USAFA Endowment to recognize individuals who make consecutive year gifts at any level to the Academy. deserved recognition to those donors who consistently and generously give to the Air Force Academy Fund each and every year. Donors set a philanthropic example for fellow graduates, parents, and friends and play a vital role in preserving our graduates’ legacy for each new generation of our Long Blue Line. to the Air Force Academy Fund every year, start today.
For additional information visit www.usafa.org/afaf1954society or email afaf@usafaendowment.org
cadet life
The Class of in Numbers
2 0 1 8
Applicants and Nominees
Where They Came From
Applicants........................................... 9052 Candidate Pool.................................... 6740 Qualified Candidates........................... 2499 Offers of Admission............................ 1498
Geographical Distribution
Admitted New U.S. Cadets................................. 1188 New International Students..................... 14 Turnbacks Returning................................. 4 Total.................................................... 1206 Sex Male........................................ 942 (78.1%) Female..................................... 264 (21.9%) Race Non-Minority......................... 883 (73.2%) African American........................ 91 (7.6%) Asian........................................... 77 (6.4%) Native American......................... 17 (1.4%) Pacific Islander............................ 15 (1.2%) Ethnicity Hispanic.................................. 123 (10.2%) Non-Hispanic....................... 1083 (89.8%)
Cadets were admitted from every state in the nation. The Class of 2018 also admitted fourteen international students from Bulgaria, Gabon, Kazakhstan (2), Malaysia, Moldova (2), Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Romania, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates. Sons and Daughters of Alumni (excludes turnbacks) The Class of 2018 includes 77 sons and 27 daughters of Service Academy graduates (8.6% of the class). Four male cadets and two female cadets had both parents attend the Air Force Academy. Three male cadets had both parents attend West Point. Sons Daughters Service Academy U.S. Air Force Academy............ 56...............18 U.S. Military Academy.............. 11................8 U.S. Naval Academy.................. 7.................1 U.S. Coast Guard Academy........ 2.................0 U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.1.................0 High School Honors and Activities
Class President................................................10% Class Vice President..........................................8% Valedictorian.....................................................8% Salutatorian.......................................................3% National Honor Society..................................69% Boys’/Girls’ State or Nation Representative...........17% Yearbook/Newspaper (Editor or Business Mgr)......3% Yearbook/Newspaper (Other Staff)..................11% Debate Team.....................................................7% Dramatic Production.......................................14% Band or Orchestra...........................................21% Chorus/Glee Club.............................................8% Boy/Girl Scouts...............................................23% Eagle Scout/Gold Award.................................12% JROTC Cadet.................................................13% Civil Air Patrol................................................11% Academic Bowl Team......................................12% Athletic Letter Awards ....................................82% Figures as of July 3, 2014
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P n i a h C e g Challen
U.S. Air Force
By U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs The Academy’s Class of 2018 tried to break the Guinness World Record for the largest chain push-up during Basic Cadet Training field day on July 11. Nine hundred and eighteen basic cadets attempted to break the record, requiring each cadet to rest his or her ankles and calves on the shoulders of the cadet behind them, creating a human chain before attempting a push-up at the same time. Guinness World Record attempts typically take months to verify and the Academy will submit required paperwork, along with video and photo documentation to Guinness. It took almost seven months for Guinness to verify the Academy’s successful attempt to shatter the thenGuinness World Record for the largest dodge ball game, May 19, 2011, when 3,623 cadets pounded each other with just more than 1,000 dodge balls. This record was broken when 6,984 students at the University of California, Irvine, Calif., competed in a dodge ball game on Sept. 25, 2012.
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AFA Quarterback Club of Denver Supporting the
Falcons for 54 years By Ray Haygood ’69
I
t’s a sunny fall day in Centennial, Colo. and avid fans of your Fightin’ Falcons are gathering for an Air Force Academy Quarterback Club (QBC) luncheon. Graduates, World War II fighter pilots, parents of cadets, businesspeople and other supporters of the Academy return year after year for these special events. These are patriots who cherish the traditions and values of our country, our military, and our Air Force Academy. The Air Force Academy Quarterback Club of Denver (originally named The Falcon Quarterback Club) was founded in 1960 by a group of Denver business leaders who wanted to actively support the new Air Force Falcons. The mission of the QBC is to foster interest in and support the Air Force Academy Intercollegiate Athletic Program. The QBC was the first non-military organization to support intercollegiate athletics at any service academy. Now in its sixth decade, the QBC is recognized as the longest established private organization in the United States to support a service academy sports program. The Early Years In August 1958, Academy facilities were sufficiently complete for the Wing to move into its permanent location in Colorado Springs. However, Air Force home football games were played at the University of Denver’s stadium until Falcon Stadium— built entirely from donated funds—was dedicated for the 1962 football season. The QBC was established when the Academy moved from Lowry AFB to Colorado Springs. The football team, under Head Coach Ben Martin, had already developed a strong following among Denver supporters, especially after their inaugural, undefeated season in 1958 and their subsequent appearance in the Cotton Bowl where they tied Texas Christian University 0-0 earning a top 10 national ranking. Founding club members wanted to do everything possible to encourage support, not only for football and other Academy athletic teams, but also for the institution itself. They recognized that Coach Martin had a formidable task. His job, and that of other intercollegiate coaches, was to field a team that would compete against elite national programs while also being one of the “public faces” of the Academy. Martin was integral to raising funds for the construction of Falcon Stadium and lobbying in Washington for additional funding for the athletic program. Thus, the QBC became a welcome advocate, not just for athletics, but also for the fledgling institution itself.
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Club Activities and Contributions The Quarterback Club contributes the Outstanding Football Player of the Year Award, supports the football team’s end-ofseason dinner banquet and also supports the Athletic Department with occasional donations for special purposes. The club financed the formation of the AFA Athletic Foundation, staffing that organization’s officer positions for several years. To date, the foundation has raised over $250,000 for the AFA Athletic Department. The QBC has provided additional contributions including: •Co-funding construction of a trophy case to display the Commander-in-Chief ’s Trophy •Contributing funding towards the Air Force Academy Athletic Hall of Fame •Contributing to the purchase of a new uniform for “The Bird,” expansion of the press box at Falcon Stadium, Mountain West Conference banners for the weight room, and caricatures of each football player receiving All-Conference recognition •Funding for honorariums to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes on behalf of Coach DeBerry During football season club members meet weekly for lunch at Valley Country Club in Centennial, Colo. Additionally, club members gather at regular intervals throughout the off-season. Luncheons feature a social hour, door prizes, a wonderful meal and featured talks. Speakers have included Air Force Academy leadership, coaches, local sports media members and other distinguished guests. Membership Membership in the Air Force Academy Quarterback Club is open to all who wish to support the Air Force Academy and the intercollegiate athletic program. If you would like to be a part of this special group, please join and enjoy the luncheons and the fellowship to come during this upcoming football season. For more information on the QBC please visit www.afaqbc.org. _______________________________________________ The Air Force Academy Quarterback Club would like to extend special thanks to the following people for their contributions to this article: Ted Beatty, Winetta Mahaffey, Timo Sullivan, and Pam and Gary Bone ’69.
At some institutions donors are not sure their gifts hit the target, but at the Air Force Academy, they do! Annual gifts to the Air Force Academy Fund provide support to many important cadet clubs, including the USAFA Combat Shooting Team. Private funding through the Air Force Academy Fund plays a key role in sustaining our tradition of producing leaders of character. Show your support by giving today at giveafa.org.
THE SABRE SOCIETY Recognizes donors who contribute $1,000 or more annually to the Air Force Academy Fund
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Bonus content
BCT
During the first three years of the Academy, there were no first-classmen. To provide the leadership and training that is normally the responsibility of the first class, the Air Force recruited a number of officers, mostly first and second lieutenants. They were known as Air Training Officers (ATOs), and many of them were graduates of the Military Academy at West Point. BY HARRISON KING ’60
W
ith this background, a core part of basic cadet training the first three years was infantry weapons training. The weapons were the M-1 rifle, the M-1 carbine, the M-1911 .45-caliber pistol, the 60 mm mortar, the 57 mm recoilless rifle, the .30-caliber machine gun, and the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). We did not just fire these weapons, we were thoroughly trained in them, with 5 to 10 hours of class time on their care, assembly and disassembly, employment, and tactics. First, there was the M-1 rifle, a basic cadet’s best friend. We had to sand the stocks down and then treat them with boiled linseed oil to put them in parade condition. After we completed our classroom training on the M-1 we took them to the firing range at what was then Buckley Naval Air Station. As I recall, it was a 100-yard range and we fired from the standing, kneeling, sitting, and prone positions. While half the group was firing, the other half was in a trench below the targets with a marker on the end of a pole, and, after each round was fired, we would indicate where it hit on the target. At the pistol range on Lowry, we were told that the shooter with the highest score would get a T-Bird ride. We all assumed this meant a flight in the T-33, which was called the T-Bird. The cadet with the highest score got a short ride in a Ford Thunderbird belonging to one of the ATO’s. usafa.org
BROWN SHOES STYLE
Checkpoints
September 2014
The 60 mm mortar consisted of a tube, a bipod, a base plate, and an aiming device, or sight. The sight had a leveling bubble and vertical and horizontal lines. An aiming stake was placed several yards in front of the mortar in line with the vertical in the sight. The mortar was aimed by adjusting its alignment left or right of the stake. Range was adjusted by the angle of the tube as shown by the bubble. For the first practice with the mortar, we returned to Buckley. Set up there was a dollhouse village, with a 20-foot mound between the “village” and the firing point. The rounds were non explosive, and the forward observer, on top of the mound could see where they fell in the “village” and call back aiming adjustments to those firing the mortar. The 57 mm recoilless rifle was recoilless because it had a precisely measured open breech. The weight and velocity of the exploding powder gasses escaping from the breech equaled the weight and velocity of the projectile. The result was a deadly blast out the rear of the weapon. Anything within a 60-degree cone and 30 feet to the rear was blown to bits. Imagine being in the prone position with a 57 mm recoilless rifle on your shoulder. You made very sure your butt was out of that cone. We returned to Buckley for recoilless rifle practice using no n-ex plosive rounds. Instead of a dollhouse village, the targets were toilets and urinals from a demolished barracks. One Monday we were told that the uniform for PT would be fatigues with rifles. Thus began two weeks of the most inhumane torture known to man. They called it bayonet training. We did long thrusts and parries and short thrusts and parries until it felt like our arms would fall off. They even set up a course with swing arm dummies for us to charge through, stabbing the dummies and knocking their “arms” aside with our parries.
THE FINAL WEEK
Our final week of basic cadet training consisted of a bivouac on the Buckley bombing range somewhere southeast of Denver. We were bussed most of the way and marched the final four or five miles with our shelter halves, sleeping bags, and clothes in our packs. We set up camp with tents neatly lined up by squadron and flight. Then we were treated with a firepower demonstration by the Colorado Air Guard. Watching their F-86s strafe and drop napalm on the hill across the valley from us was quite motivating to all us aspiring pilots. The next five days of bivouac were spent live-firing the weapons we had been trained in. This time we used fullup combat warheads. One new weapon
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was introduced: grenades. After a brief instructional period, we each tossed two into the target area. Two events during bivouac stand out in my memory. The first was firing the BAR. After the required course of fire we had some extra rounds, and several gunners agreed to target a single wooden ammo box downrange. After a number of rounds, the tracers set the box on fire. The second involved the 60 mm mortar. The required course of fire had us using the mortar on the bipod with aiming stakes as we had done at Buckley. But the mortar could be removed from the bipod and, with the tube on the baseplate, aimed by hand, sighting the azimuth and estimating the range and tube angle. We called it “Kentucky Windage.” My flight was the last to go through the mortar course, and, when we finished, there were three cases of shells that had not been used. The instructor did not want to carry them back to the truck, so he agreed to let us fire them using “Kentucky Windage.” And there was a prairie dog town on the hill about 300 yards away. We chased prairie dogs all over that hill with high explosive mortar rounds. This phase of our basic cadet training was both exciting and motivating. The Korean war had been over only three years, and we had all seen these weapons at use in actual combat when we saw newsreels from the war. I think that all this training in the weapons of war helped instill within us the fact that we were at a military academy, not just some college. Perhaps it intensified our objectives to become military officers even more.
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Basic Memories The story of a Second Beast push up contest with lifelong implications. Written by Randy Jayne ’66 e all have memories of the stresses and strains of doolie summer, and here is my own favorite. My wonderful Redtag ’66 roommate was Dave Yoakum, a Tucson native, basketball player, and son of a USAF officer. Both of us were tall, so we were in the front row for “Cougar Squadron,” the combo of doolies from 7th, 8th, and 9th Squadrons. Dave had an amazingly infectious sense of humor, and he and I were very lucky to have walked into USAFA in June of 1962 in superb physical condition. We therefore were not overly stressed by the physical part of the basic training experience.
stage for this story, note that the BCT Cadet Wing Commander in the summer of 1962 was Michael J. C. Roth from the Class of 1963. This godlike figure was the same height as Dave and me—6-feet-4-inches or so—and very impressive in his white cadet T-shirt. So here’s the scenario—Dave and I are in our beds, flashlights on, reading Contrails and quizzing one another on stuff. It’s an hour after lights out/taps in the Cougar Squadron hallways, and suddenly, there is a very loud knock on the door, followed by a grand entrance by none other than Cadet Colonel Roth.
Everyone remembers “lights out” in the evening, and our many tricks to continue to study Contrails and other fourth-class Knowledge covertly. To set the
We had of course jumped out of bed and were standing at attention in our skivvies and t-shirts. Before I could say a word, Dave Yoakum, always quick on the draw,
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“So what are you Smacks doing with lights on after taps?” Roth bellowed.
answered in a very firm voice, “Cadet Roth, sir, we were just waiting to challenge you to a pushup contest, sir!” While my jaw obviously dropped immediately, Roth’s did the same, but he recovered quickly, ordering us, “Let’s get on with it!” The three of us hit the floor, and for reasons that I cannot explain to this day, Dave and I actually matched Roth pushup for pushup for a very long time, and while both of us were dying inside from tired muscles, we were not about to quit, thanks to the massive adrenaline surge.
With the stalemate quite clear, Roth got up, followed instantly by us, standing with chins in. He quietly said, “Good workout—you gentlemen need to turn the lights out, and get some sleep.” At our tandem, “Yes, sir.” He left. Two elements of what happened next, one really fun and instructive, the other so very sad. First, almost every week of BCT after that, Cadet Wing Commander
Roth would come back to our room at night, never demanding pushups, often just telling us to stand at ease and tell him about our day or week or whatever. It was a great lesson in command leadership even in the sometimes over-demanding days of doolie BCT. Second, Dave and I roomed together three times in the next four semesters in Seagrams 7th. Sadly, he left USAFA for academic reasons after third-class year and went home to Tuscon. Always deeply committed to our Air Force, Dave Yoakum graduated from the University of Arizona just as we did at USAFA in June of 1966, completed ROTC, was married and had children, was commissioned as a 2nd Lt., went to UPT, and became an ATC jet instructor pilot. Six years after we were both commissioned, just weeks after I had returned from my own SEA combat tour in the A-1 Skyraider, Dave Yoakum was shot down and killed in his O-2 FAC aircraft on June 25, 1972, on a mission in-country in South Vietnam. My colleagues and I lost a very dear friend, and one of the very best senses of humor on the planet, but we all continue to smile and laugh to this day as we recall his wit, antics, and ability to handle great stress with a big smile.
Checkpoints
September 2014
BONUS CONTENT
The Legacy of a Teacher Former Deputy Head of the USAFA History Department Lt. Col. David MacIsaac left a lasting impression on his students. Written by Roger Smith ’77
M
any in the USAFA community lost a dear friend with the passing of Lt. Col. David MacIsaac on 25 March 2014. “MacI” taught at USAFA four times, 1964-66, 1968-70, 1972-1975, 1976-78. He held degrees in history from Trinity University (1957, B.A.), Yale University (1958, M.A.), and Duke University (1970, Ph.D.). He also taught and lectured many years at the Air University. When I first met him, I was a second classman at USAFA. MacI was Deputy Head of the History Department, but I knew him from his frequent appearances at our USAFA Rugby Club matches. MacI was a man’s man, an Ernest Hemingway type “go-for-it” kind of guy whose intelligence led him into Air Force academia instead of operations. He didn’t wear wings, but his knowledge and appreciation for the contributions of not only air power legends but military leaders and strategists from
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Alexander to Clausewitz to Hap Arnold and his ability to relate their contributions to the world we fledglings were about to enter stamped an indelible mark. I liked him from the start. During autumn of my first-class year, I came to know MacI even more. He was my instructor for History 457, the History of Military Strategy. He was a master of combining both fascinating lectures with the Socratic method of instruction. We learned, even when we thought we were engaging in simple dialogue, but he was not only focused on the academic side. The Cadet Wing at that time had three “Go Arounds” during which we assumed various military positions. I can still see MacI’s face beaming when I wore the shiny Cadet Lt Col shoulder boards into class that first day as winter Squadron Commander of CS-30. I hadn’t thought it
was such a big deal until it was a big deal to him! Later that semester, he introduced me to his wife, Sweet Charlotte, who cooked a fabulous lasagna dinner for all of his students—I think there must have been about forty of us. Charlotte was the love of MacI’s life and I would discover through the years just how deeply that love ran. It was one of many valuable lessons he taught me outside Fairchild Hall. Another lesson occurred in MacI’s office just prior to spring break firstie year. We were discussing rugby and the upcoming trip the team was making to England to play several matches, including one against the RAF Academy at Cranwell. I told him I wasn’t going, because I simply didn’t have the money. Since rugby was a club sport we had to fund our own way, and I think it was around $300. He was incredulous.
“At the first opportunity, young man,” he instructed succinctly, “march yourself over to Air Academy National Bank, take out a personal loan, and pay it back from your magic money upon graduation.”
Harmon Memorial Lecture at USAFA he said, “It is in the hope that […] my comments might lead you to question seriously the eternal heresy that our own times are unique.” Those words embodied MacI’s view of the world and of history. He saw life so clearly for what it is because he understood so well the path he and others walked before us. He told us not to make too much of the confusion, panic, or hysteria of the world we live in because lots of folks in the past have “been there, done that.” We simply must strive to understand the lessons they left and apply them in the context of our own times. His instruction, advice, humor, and friendship were true blessings to all of us who knew him.
Thanks, and Godspeed, my friend, as you soar “up, up the long, delirious burning blue!”
I did as I was told. That trip was the highlight of my time at USAFA (we beat Cranwell!), and the experience of traveling abroad had a profound impact that was no doubt related to my four USAF overseas assignments during my career. MacI had a way of seeing into situations clearly when others couldn’t. He knew the potential such a trip offered a young man who had seen so little of the world. Since his daughter Donna married one of my classmates and best friends, Mark Clodfelter, I kept in close contact with MacI. He was probably the most intelligent and insightful man I’ve known, and I frequently sought his advice (otherwise, my average career might have been even less spectacular!). His love of the Academy and the ideals it fostered led him to go well beyond the normal role of faculty or staff to become intimately involved in our lives. He made a difference. In his conclusion of the prestigious 1987
Checkpoints
September 2014
Mouth Watering Recipes by Grads, for Grads This edition of the Off the Menu contains some fantastic Asian recipes that we just couldn’t fit in print. Beef ribs? Succulent shrimp? Geonbae! Thank you to all of our loyal readers who have made the Long Blue Ladle a success with their sumptuous submissions!
Spicy ChauDoc Shrimp (Serves 2-3) Chef MJ Brence, Class of 2007
Ingredients • 1 pound thawed, large shrimp (for a more creamy authentic taste, use shrimp with head attached) • 9-10 garlic cloves (medium or large), chopped medium • 4-5 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOL) • 5-6 fresh Thai chilies, chopped medium (Tip: Avoid burning fingers by using kitchen scissors to slice these spicy little numbers!) • 1 Lime • 2-3 tablespoons of fish sauce, for most authentic flavor use “Red Boat” brand Vietnamese fish sauce Directions 1. Bring a medium sized skillet to medium/high heat (to test if pan is ready, sprinkle water on pan with finger tips, if it sizzles-perfect!). 2. Coat pan with 4 – 5 tablespoons of EVOL, wait 1-2 minutes. 3. Stir in chopped garlic. Continue stirring for 1 minute or until edges are lightly brown. 4. Add in shrimp, stir until shrimp is pink. 5. Turn off heat. 6. Stir in chopped Thai chilies. 7. Mix in 2-3 tablespoons of fish sauce. 8. Squeeze and mix in juice from one whole lime. 9. Serve with steamed white Jasmine rice.
Kalbi-Barbecued Beef Short Ribs (Serves 4-6) Chef Don Brooks, Class of 1959
Ingredients • 4 to 5 pounds of quality beef short ribs, minimum fat For Marinade • 3/4 cup soy sauce • 1/2 cup red wine • 1/4 cup sugar • 1/4 cup sesame oil • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper • 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger • 4 cloves garlic, minced • 3 green onions, chopped • 2 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds Directions 1. Prepare ribs. There should be only one bone in each portion. 2. Make cuts, parallel to the bone, almost through on either side of the bone, accordion or butterfly style. 3. Thoroughly mix all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Place ribs in bowl, covering with the marinade. 3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in your refrigerator for several hours or over night, turning the ribs every so often. (Hint: If you are going camping or to a picnic, put everything in a plastic bag and place in your ice chest.) 4. Prepare hot charcoal or high heat in your gas grill. 5. Carefully, so as to not lose the bits of onion, garlic, etc., unfold each piece of meat and place it on your grill. Watch carefully for flare-ups. 6. When seared, turn over, again using care so as to minimize the loss of marinade pieces. Spoon some of the marinade over the ribs as it cooks. 7. When second side has seared, reduce heat and continue to cook until done, trying to minimize the number of times you turn the ribs over. Continue to add marinade until the ribs are almost done. Unused marinade can be refrigerated and used again within a few days.
Serving You can serve these ribs with almost any side dish you would serve with steak. However, in Korea, pieces of the meat are cut from the bone and placed in a leaf of red lettuce, along with a bit of rice, possibly a small piece of onion, and a smear of red, spicy, Korean bean paste (available at any Korean grocery). Fold it up and eat it like a taco! Then use your fingers to finish off the bone! As with any Asian recipe, the quantities listed above should only be used as a general guide. Once you try this recipe, I’m sure you may wish to adjust some (or all) of them to suit your taste. I was most surprised at the great flavor that the sesame oil provided. Even while cooking, the smell of the smoke is out of this world! While cooking these ribs at campgrounds, I’ve had fellow campers from other campsites follow their noses to find out what the great smell was coming from my grill!
Off the Menu
BONUS CONTENT
TROY CALHOUN
STEPHEN WILLIAMS
Fine 89
A look at the Class of 1989 as they near their 25th Reunion. JEFF “KJ” KLOSKY
The Class of 1989 seems to be making their mark in Air Force Academy history, as they approach their 25th reunion this October. The “Fine 89,” which the class loudly chanted with pride as Doolies on the Terrazzo, is making a difference for the future of the Academy, the country and for all of humanity.
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Air Force head football coach Troy Calhoun, and now the new 27th USAFA Commandant of Cadets, Brigadier General Stephen Williams, are both Fine 89ers. They are making a direct and positive impact for all the cadets and USAF personnel under their command and leadership This year, one high flying ’89 grad, Lt. Col. Jeff “KJ” Klosky, became one of only three individuals in USAF history to reach 2,500 flight hours in the U-2 Dragon Lady reconnaissance aircraft. But one even higher flying 89er, will soon be making a positive impact for all humanity and representing the Air Force Academy and our country, as he leads the next NASA mission this winter on the International Space Station (ISS). His flight will put him near the top for the number of days and space flight hours by the Long Blue Line of Astronauts from the USAF and the Academy.
Colonel Terry Virts will be on NASA’s Expedition 42 and 43, which will launch November 2014 and return to “terra firma” May 2015. He will serve as the Expedition commander on mission 43. Colonel Virts will be on the ISS for 6 months and be later replaced by another USAFA grad, Dr. Kjell Lindgren ’95, as a flight engineer (see the March 2014 Checkpoints article “The First Frontier”). This mission on the ISS will also mark the beginning of Astronaut Scott Kelly and Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko’s one-year long mission. Theirs will be the longest Expedition to the ISS, and the longest by anyone since Soviet cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov spent 14 months aboard Mir in 1994-95. Colonel Virts’ previous space travel was a 13 day and 18 hour Space Shuttle, STS-130, as mission pilot to the ISS. He has also served as operations support ground communication and control officer for NASA in the Houston control center helping support other ISS and STS missions.
TERRY VIRTS
There are several other USAFA graduates that have amassed large amounts of space travel time which include astronaut Kevin Kregel ’78 with 52 days in space; astronaut Steven Lindsey ’82 conducted numerous STS missions with 1,510 hours in space (almost 63 days); and astronaut Susan Helms ’80 conducted operations on the ISS with an amazing 5,064 space hours (211 days) and a world record space walk of 8 hours and 56 minutes, to name a few of the top high flying USAFA astronauts. As Colonel Virts prepares to launch into space later this year, his class will be meeting at USAFA for their 25th year anniversary reunion. All his classmates are proud of Terry as he breaks new barriers and records, leading the way and making Fine 89 shine. Colonel Virts is a command pilot with 4,300 hours of flight time in 40 different aircraft, having served as USAF Test Pilot and flying 45 combat missions in the F-16. Married with two children, he calls his hometown Columbia, Maryland. You can follow Colonel Virts on his next missions at: https://twitter.com/AstroTerry or at the official NASA website: www.nasa.gov Many blessings to you and your family Colonel Virts, on your next missions. God speed. Fine 89.
Checkpoints
September 2014
Bonus content
A SPECIAL BOND By Terry Silvester ’70
On November 10, 2013, in a ceremony at the Seattle Museum of Flight, a memorial bronze sculpture by artist James Nance ’71 was unveiled. The sculpture depicts a map of the U.S. Air Force Southeast Asia military theater of operations. The map features locations of American airbases from 1959 to 1975, and is now part of the T.A. Wilson Great Gallery in the Museum of Flight. The sculpture is dedicated “ … to the members of the Armed Forces of the United States of America who served our country with distinction, valor, and honor in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.” At the unveiling ceremony, the map was presented in memory of Lieutenant Richard N. “Dick” Christy, II ’70. Why Dick Christy and why now? While Lt. Christy was at the USAF Academy Prep School, he became friends with Dave Sabey who was also attending the Prep School. Dave received a nomination to the Academy, but chose to go to a civilian college and became a very successful businessman in Seattle. Dave thought the world of Dick, and was very moved by Dick’s death in 1972. Dick was the first person Dave knew personally who was killed in Southeast Asia, and it had a profound impact on him. Dick Rauschkolb, USAFA ’70, a Prep School classmate of Dave’s and Dick’s, suggested to Dave and philanthropist Bruce McCaw, it was time to remember Dick and his fellow countrymen who served in Southeast Asia. The two longtime supporters of the Seattle Museum of Flight sponsored the Southeast Asia bronze map display, and attended the dedication ceremony on November 10. Lt. Christy’s sister, Janet Christy Silvester, attended the ceremony, along with her husband, Colonel (Ret.) Terry Silvester, also USAFA Class of 1970. Richard N. Christy, II, entered the USAF Academy Preparatory School in August, 1965, and received an appointusafa.org
ment to the USAF Academy in 1966. While at the Academy he was on the Commandant’s list four times, was co-captain of the wrestling team, and earned his parachute wings. He graduated from the USAF Academy in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science Degree and a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. On July 13, 1970, Lt. Christy began his undergraduate pilot training at Sheppard AFB, Wichita Falls, Texas, receiving his wings and assignment to the 21st Tactical Air Support Squadron (TASS) at Tan Son Nhut Air Base in South Vietnam in 1971. Before he left for Vietnam in November, 1971, he attended Forward Air Controller (FAC) training at Hurlburt Field, FL. While in Vietnam he piloted O-2A aircraft as a forward air controller. Lt. Christy was killed in action on February 17, 1972, in Cambodia while on a FAC mission. His O-2A aircraft was struck by hostile fire. Lt. Christy was killed and the enlisted interpreter flying in his right seat attempted to steer the aircraft back toward Vietnam, but had to bail out, and the aircraft crashed. The interpreter was later rescued by helicopter. The friendly Cambodian forces thought highly of Lt. Christy and sent ground forces into hostile territory, at great risk to themselves, to recover his remains. The location where Dick was shot down in Cambodia is shown on the memorial bronze sculpture. Lt. Christy was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, and Purple Heart. The citation
Ceremony attendees from left: Sue and John Verardo ’70; Jim Nance ’71; Terry Silvester ’70; Dave Sabey; Janet Christy Silvester; Curt Scott; Daucey ’70 and Pat Brewington; Coach Wayne Baughman; Rod ’70 and Sherry Horner; Don ’70 and Jean Forbes; Dick ’70 and Marilyn Rauschkolb.
accompanying Lt. Christy’s Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Force’s seventh highest medal for valor, states “he flew in support of a friendly ground unit receiving intense fire from an attacking hostile force. In spite of constant ground fire directed at his light, unarmed aircraft, Lieutenant Christy made repeated passes over the area in order to keep positive contact with the friendly troops in the rapidly moving struggle as he directed tactical aircraft to strike the opposing forces.” Lt. Christy is survived by his sister, Janet Christy Silvester. The Lt. Richard N. Christy, II, Scholarship Fund was established in his memory at Marietta High School in Marietta, Ohio, and helped graduates afford college for many years. The USAF Academy Outstanding Wrestler Award is presented each year in memory of Lt. Christy. Marietta College created a mall in the center of the campus in 1987 and dedicated the mall in memory of Lt. Christy. Lt. Christy is buried at the USAF Academy. Remarks at the ceremony were made by Doug King, CEO of the museum, Dan Hagedorn, museum curator, Dave Sabey, Wayne Baughman, former USAFA wrestling coach, and Terry Silvester. Curator Dan Hagedorn said he had been trying for some time to find a way for the museum to honor those who served in Southeast Asia, and that it was about time we did so. Dave Sabey and Coach Baughman told stories of their close relationship with Dick Christy and of the attributes and ideals Dick possessed that are representative of those who graduate
from the Academy and serve this great country of ours. Terry Silvester explained how Dick had introduced him to Janet, his future wife. He also made a point to say that although many thought we lost the war in Southeast Asia, in his opinion, we may or may not have lost the battle which was Southeast Asia, but we certainly won the war, which was the Cold War, and that those who fought and died would rest easy knowing we had. The ceremony was attended by several USAFA graduates who live in the Seattle area. The Museum of Flight has acquired a flyable O-2A Cessna aircraft for future display at the museum. During a luncheon reception after the ceremony, the O-2A flew by, within view of the dining room window, and landed at the airport just outside. This was the first time Dick’s sister, Janet, had seen a flying O-2A. The memorial bronze sculpture will be on permanent display at the Seattle Museum of Flight. Jim Nance also sculpted the map in the Southeast Asia Pavilion at the Academy. The Pavilion at the Academy was funded, designed, and built by the Class of 1970. It was donated to the Academy at the Class’s 40th Reunion.
Checkpoints
September 2014
From top L to R: A miniature replica of the Southeast Asia Bronze Map was presented to Terry and Janet Silvester and Dave Sabey; This O-2A, which is owned by the Seattle Museum of Flight, was flown for the ceremony; This plaque is located on the bottom of the Memorial Bronze Map at the Seattle Museum of Flight and better explains the memorial’s significance. Terry Silvester ’70 and Janet Christy Silvester in front of Memorial Sculpture by Jim Nance ’71.
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Gone But Not Forgotten Editor’s note: The following 10 pages are reprinted from the “Gone But Not Forgotten” obituary section of the June 2014 online-only edition of the magazine. The current obituaries and “at presstime” follow.
Marvin W. Buss, ’59 Marvin Wayne Buss passed away with courage and grace at home Feb. 10, 2014. He grew up in Holton, Kans. the youngest of five children of George and Kathryn Buss and graduated from Holton High School. After attending Kansas University for two years, he found his way to the Air Force Academy. At the Academy, Marv was the rare individual who had the same roommate, Clark Lovrien, after Doolie summer to graduation. (In fact, after graduation they were roommates again in both Basic Pilot Training and Advanced Pilot Training.) At the Academy Marv was known as a tough competitor in sports who didn’t quit. He was an equally tough competitor in bridge, yet had a great sense of humor and a dry wit no matter the situation. Marv was smart, got good grades, enjoyed sports and loved the Austin Healy he got just before graduation. After graduating, Marv went to Basic Pilot Training at Webb AFB and Advanced at Stead AFB. Upon graduation from Stead, but before reporting to their first operational assignment, Marv and Clark checked in with their respective homes in Kansas and Wisconsin and planned a trip to Rio de Janeiro. Before hitting the road again, they took their beautiful new sports cars and headed for the famous Road America racetrack. It wasn’t open but that didn’t stop them and they found a way to get on the track and let it rip. What a grand Marv Buss time they had. Then it was onto Charleston S.C. for a MATS C-121 Constellation Space Available Embassy run to Rio and a great adventure. After those grand adventures Marv reported to Lincoln AFB, Neb. where he met the love of his life and future wife, Lynn. In 1965 Marv graduated from the RAF Empire Test Pilot School and then did a two-year exchange with the RAF at their main testing base, Boscombe Down. Upon return to the U.S. he separated and went to work for a start-up company as a test pilot for their very innovative tandem-rotor rigid-rotor helicopter. He later attended Kansas University and received his Master of Engineering degree. He worked as a civilian test pilot and engineer for the Army at Edwards AFB and in St. Louis. He was co-author of a series of engineering flight test publications on the AH-1G Huey Cobra covering everything from airworthiness and flight characteristics to specialized equipment such as the stabilized night sight. The pride of his life was his three sons, their wives and his six grandchildren. Regular family trips to Kansas and Nebraska as well as coaching and attending countless sporting events served to bind the family together. Marv and Lynn bought, remodeled and lived in several houses in St. Louis, and traveled extensively after retirement. He will be remembered for his passionate interest in human rights and the environment, his curiosity about many things and the world around him, a taste for fine whiskey and good cars and a love for animals. He will be greatly missed by his family and many friends. 82
June 2014 Checkpoints Online Edition
Marvin is survived by his wife of 50 years, Lynda Haynes Buss; children Michael (Mary), Jonathan (Catherine), and Matthew (Jane), as well as their children. He is additionally survived by his siblings Edward Buss, Luella Dick and Leota Ester. (Marv’s family and classmates)
Conrad M. “Casey” Kay, ’59 Conrad Michael “Casey” Kay passed away on March 18, 2014 when the bicycle he was riding was struck by a car. He was born in Santa Fe, N.M. to Arthur and Selma Kay and raised in Taos. Casey came to the Academy after three years at the New Mexico Military Institute. At the Academy he starred as a gymnast and cheerleader. After graduation came pilot training and a stint as an Instructor Pilot at Webb AFB. There he met and married the love of his life, Rosalind Rubinow. They celebrated their 50th Anniversary in December. Just a year after Casey and Roz were married he was off to Vietnam as an IP for the Vietnam Air Force. Apparently the likelihood of future remote assignments did not sit so well with Casey because upon his return he signed on with American Airlines. That change of careers probably went well with Roz and their two daughters, Jennifer and Rachel. It also suited Casey’s love of flying. Casey wanted to experience flying of any kind. In the ’70s he was a member of the International Aerobatic Club and a judge for the International Aero“Casey” Kay batics championships in the Soviet Union in 1976. He served as the manager/treasurer of the American team. Later he joined the Texas Soaring Association (TSA) flying both sailplanes and tow aircraft. When he began flying for Mercy Med Flight as a pilot and Chief of Operations he combined his instincts to volunteer with his love of flying. But he didn’t limit his volunteering to things involving flying. He tutored adults with reading difficulties and was involved with reading for the blind and disadvantaged persons and recording newspapers and books for both adults and children. With that kind of resume it is no surprise that Casey was honored by Governor Rick Perry with the presentation of the 2004 Volunteer of the Year Award. In his spare time Casey loved his Texas Rangers and his motorcycle. He was known to drive the motorcycle down to Houston from Dallas just to get together with a few classmates. The words of his friends tell everything: “Casey was the quiet one, but he always seemed very sensitive and polite to everyone he met. He wasn’t a bragger – he was a great listener and thinker.” “He was one of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet; a pilot with flight in his soul, and he gave a huge effort to make TSA a safer place.” “Casey was the kindest, most generous, caring and compassionate person I ever met. He had the gift of words and the heart of a poet.” A classmate put it all together. “I don’t think many in our class realize what an amazing guy Casey was. From competing nationally on his unicycle, to riding motorcycles long distances, to riding both his recumbent and road bikes for 100-mile rides. Aviation: traveling with the USA Aerobatic team, to flying air ambulance flights, to the present of towing and flying sailplanes. He was definitely one of the top aviators of our class. On top of all that, he was on the top of my list as one of the most considerate and nicest guys I’ve known.” Preceding him in death are his parents and sister Eva Jolton. Those left to cherish his memory are beloved wife, Rosalind Kay; two daughters, Jennifer Kay (Steve Lord) and Rachel Kay. He leaves two wonderful grandsons who he loved dearly, Jonathan and David Lord. He will be remembered. (Casey’s family, friends and Ed Josephson, ’59)
John J. Gaunt, Jr., ’59 John Jefferson Gaunt, Jr. passed away on Feb. 25, 2014 losing his battle with cancer. John was born in Little Rock, Ark. on Oct. 17, 1937 to John and Kathleen (Jones) Gaunt. He was a proud member of the first graduating class of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. During his extensive 22-year career in the military he received numerous medals, including the Distinguished Flying Cross. After retiring, John fostered his interest in the viticulture industry by taking classes at UC Davis, and this knowledge led to working for Nevada City Winery and Solune Winery. He will be missed by his many friends in the tasting rooms where he was known for his wonderful stories, wit, humor and ever-present friendly smile. A resident of both Lake Wildwood and Grass Valley, he belonged to the Nevada County Travel Club, holding office there. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Lynne; daughter Kathleen John Gaunt (Daniel) Hoover; grandsons Austin and Conner; son John III (Patricia); granddaughter Samantha; brother William (Consuelo); and nephews Nicholas and Miles. John was predeceased by sisters Phyllis and Elizabeth. A private family service was held in the Woodland City Cemetery, Calif. on April 26, 2014. (John’s loving family)
Jon R. Day, ’60 Jon Roby Day joined the Class of 1960 from West Caldwell, N.J. in July of 1956. While at the Academy Jon became known to his classmates as a person who would listen as a close friend and reply with an ever-present smile. At the Academy, he enjoyed playing bridge and the piano -- his rendition of “Autumn Leaves” was second to none and he would occasionally entertain the troops on Saturday night at Arnold Hall or the local pub. His main interest though, prior to April of our senior year – when they were legal, was hiding his ’54 Ford from the Academy officials. Jon graduated as a navigator and joined Tactical Air Command to fly C-130s for the next four years. While stationed at Langley AFB, Va. he met his wife, Brenda. They married in 1965 and began a family, consisting of Mark, who preceded Jon in death by some 10 years, and daughter Lisa Day Burbaugh, currently of New Smyrna Beach, Fla. After several long night hours of soulsearching Jon made the decision to foreJon Day go his Air Force career, follow a life-long dream, and take on four-plus years of poverty and sacrifice with his young wife, Brenda, to be a med student and intern. He entered the University of Virginia Medical School in 1965. Graduating in 1969, he served as an intern for the Panama Canal Company at Gorgas Hospital, Panama Canal, Panama. He returned as a resident in Ophthalmology at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville, Va. Dr. Day then established what would be his permanent practice as a board certified Ophthalmologist in Sanford and Orange City Florida for the next 25 years. It was no surprise to those of us who knew him that he would quickly become recognized as a brilliant, respected eye surgeon who would touch thousands of his patient’s lives in a gentle positive and caring manner. After retirement he became a “gentleman farmer” raising chickens – hens -- for their lovely, turquoise, eggs -- still warm with skid marks -which he lovingly shared with his friends. His little “chicken girls” lived in his “coop de minimum” which he designed and built himself. Those who knew him soon became aware that when visited by Jon and Brenda, they could expect to receive a welcome gift of eggs rather than the usual gift of wine or flowers
His politics were somewhat to the right of Rush and his religious beliefs somewhat to the right of Billy. As a member of Holy Cross Lutheran Church he also attended Markham Woods Presbyterian Church, where he played piano for the children’s Bible class and lent his talented voice as a stalwart member of the bass section of the choir. Daily, Jon could be found on the local bike path as he worked to soften the ravages of the previous mortal sins we all share. Dr. Jon Roby Day passed away Monday, Nov. 18, 2013 at Central Florida Regional Hospital from complications of cancer, leaving his wife, Brenda, daughter Lisa, and grandson Kyle Eastman. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. As we go about tallying up our own lives, we his classmates will all miss him but can find peace in sharing a small part of his life and the contributions he made to our nation and the society he served so admirably. God Speed Jon. (Andi Biancur, with input from other classmates)
Arthur J. Lewis, ’60 Arthur (Art) Joseph Lewis, 75, of Plano, TX, passed away Thursday, April 10th, 2014. Born in Boston, Mass. on July 8, 1938, Art loved building WWII combat aircraft models as a boy. This fascination led to an interest in the Air Force Academy in high school, and in 1956 he was appointed to the Academy’s second class. We, his classmates, quickly recognized his athletic skills as he excelled in every physical activity we were directed to perform. Those athletic skills coupled with his strong competitiveness served as a hallmark to push each of us to perform at higher levels that initial summer. Throughout next four years he developed as a strong military leader and student athlete, earning an engineering degree and competing as a gymnast and cheerleader. Following graduation, Art decided to pursue a career in missiles. After initial training, his first assignment was on a Titan II Combat Crew, 451st Strategic Missile Wing, Lowry Air Force Base. His follow up assignments included the 6555AerospTestWg Art Lewis Patrick Air Force Base and duty at Los Angeles Air Force Station. Following Squadron Officers’ School, and graduate study at Harvard University, he completed his military career at Strategic Air Command Headquarters in Omaha, Neb. It was in Omaha that Art met his wife, Patricia. They were married on April 17, 1971, and shared 43 wonderful years together. One year later, in April 1972, Art resigned from military service as a Major, prepared to enter civilian life and begin a family. In 1976, he joined Hewlett-Packard in Waltham, Mass. where he managed medical instrument manufacture. Art and his family moved to Plano, Texas in 1981, where he was logistics manager for a telecom firm, called Intecom, for 22 years. As a manager, he was known for his work ethic, ingenuity, and his genuine warmth and caring. Art spent his retirement years enjoying his interest in computers, actively practicing his Christian faith by serving on prayer teams and other ministries in the United Methodist Church, tinkering with projects around his house (as well as his children’s houses!), and keeping up with colleagues and friends from both Intecom and the Air Force Academy. Most of all, in retirement Art devoted himself to spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren. He was his grandchildren’s’ biggest fan and photographer, cheering for them at virtually every game and capturing images of their exploits. Art loved to laugh and had a great sense of humor, which shined around his grandchildren; he is affectionately known by them as “Silly Dada” because of his jokes and antics. Each summer, Art and Pat took all of the children and grandchildren to the Texas coast for a week together on the beach. Those weeks were the highlight of his retirement years. His family and those who knew him describe him as a person full of joy, kindness, and gratefulness. Art embraced every day with an appreciation for life and all of its gifts. Art is survived by his wife, Patricia Lewis; son Andrew Lewis and his wife, Sondra, of Carrollton; daughter Rebecca Langevin and her hus83
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN (June 2014 Online Edition) band, Dennis, of McKinney; and grandchildren Nathan Lewis, Jared Lewis, Sara Lewis, and Danielle Langevin. Art is also survived by his sisters Grace Tymann of Byfield, Mass., and Ruth Trites of Kennebunk, Maine. (Art’s daughter Rebecca [Becky] Langevin)
James C. O’Rourke, ’60 Jim’s story began in Miami Springs, Fla. on the edge of the Everglades on Nov. 23rd, 1936. He was the fifth of 10 children – nine of whom served in the U.S. Armed Forces (believed to be the most from any one family in the U.S). After high school, he attended Miami University for one year prior to joining the Class of 1960, spending all four years in 8th Squadron. His love of the outdoors was shown in his cadet club memberships: Bowman, Fishing and Hunting. He worked as a survival instructor during his first class summer teaching Doolies how to cope with the rigors of outdoor living and E & E through the mountains above the Academy. Jim lettered all four years in gymnastics as a stand-out gymnast competing in all the disciplines. While in pilot training he met his future wife and avowed soul mate, Beverly, on a blind date, deciding on the spot that she was “the one.” They were married three months after Jim won his wings and remained devoted to each other for 52 years. His first assignJim O’Rourke ment took him to Donaldsonville AFB in Greenville S.C. to fly the C-124 for almost six years. He then flew for 23 years with Eastern Airlines, assigned to New York, Miami and Atlanta. Retiring as a Captain from Eastern early, Jim joined the Boeing Company, and over the next 11 years served as a training and aircraft delivery pilot for the Boeing Business Jet, B737, and B767 AWACS purchased by Japan. Following his formal retirement from Boeing, Jim continued working part time as an independent training captain and simulator instructor for the Boeing Business Jet. Jim valued learning and was a natural and gifted teacher, passing on his love of learning to his children and grandchildren. A consummate handyman, he loved to create beautiful handcrafted wooden gifts for family and friends. He never met a stranger and always valued his friendships. With his quiet and clever sense of humor, Jim was an active participant with the Northwest Falcons – a classmate group in the Puget Sound Area, having hosted a group cookout and dinner party at his home shortly before his final illness. Jim successfully battled against melanoma and leukemia with incredible tenacity and unflagging optimism for over two years, enduring a blood-type change with the help of his brother, but was left vulnerable with no natural immunities. At the end of that time, he was declared to be in remission. He felt great, resumed taking walks, playing tennis, doing woodworking and even flew an instrument check in a Bonanza with superb results. Then, with little immunity to infection, he contracted the flu, which rapidly became pneumonia. After a three-week battle, he died of lung failure on Feb. 3, 2014. When Jim arrives at the big airport in the sky, two of his former roommates, Kirk Canterbury and Jerry Mason, will be waiting on the ramp to check him out on his new wings. He will be fondly remembered for things he created, his willingness to offer a helping hand, his joy in life, and all his bad puns. Jim is survived by his wife, Beverly; his son James Jr.; his daughters Leslie, Deborah and Jeanine; and his grandchildren Meghan, Cassidy and Jonathan. Jim, you have made it through the storm now. You can turn down the lights, unlock your shoulder harness and loosen your seatbelt. May you have clear skies, a smooth ride and strong tail winds. (George Luck & Jim Glaza, Class of 1960)
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. 84
David W. Haines, ’61 David Winfred Haines passed away on Feb. 19, 2014 in Tucson at the age of 74. He was born in Taylorville, Ill. (about a two-hour drive northeast of St. Louis) on Sept. 8, 1939, where he graduated high school in 1957. He was an outstanding math and science student and he is remembered by his former math and physics teacher as the best student he ever had. Immediately following high school, Dave was accepted into the United States Air Force Academy with the Class of 1961. Upon graduation, he took an around-the-world trip to further educate himself for a military career and as a reward for having graduated from the Academy. Following graduation summer leave, Dave attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Webb AFB, followed by a transition course to C-124s at Tinker AFB. His first assignment was to the 3rd Air Transport Squadron at Charleston AFB, flying worldwide airlift missions. Next, he was assigned to the 31st Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron (ARRS) at Clark AB flying the HU-16, followed by a subsequent assignment to the 41st ARRS at Hamilton AFB, Calif., also in the HU-16. Pat Buckley has an enduring memory of Dave Dave Haines talking about having to ditch one of his beloved HU-16 Albatrosses and watching from his rescue ship as it sank beneath the waves. From Hamilton, Dave volunteered for a selective-manning assignment (1967) with the 58th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, Kirtland AFB, where he flew the RB-57F. This mission involved high-altitude atmospheric sampling and support of the National Nuclear Test Readiness Program. The Squadron routinely deployed to Eielson AFB, Albrook AFB in Panama and Mendoza, Argentina. Dave was also TDY to Mendoza for several months at a time as the Task Flight Commander. During his frequent deployments to Argentina, he met and married his first wife (two daughters). Dave decided to separate from the Air Force in 1969, and he commenced a career in real estate in Orange County, Calif. and subsequently Reno, Nev. Eventually, Dave decided to return to aviation and he flew for the United States Postal Service for several years. Later, he was a corporate pilot for a Savings and Loan executive in Houston. From time to time, he would be spotted “in the system” by some of his former Air Force friends. During this period, he was married for a second time (one son). In the early 1990s, Dave returned to Taylorville to assist his mother and then moved with her to Bonne Terre, Mo. to be close to his sister and her family. Upon his mother’s passing, Dave relocated to Tucson. One of Dave’s hobbies was attending estate sales and auctions, and he was able to turn a profit on many of his transactions. Dave also proved to be an expert on home improvement projects, particularly those involving extensive plumbing and wiring problems. Dave received several significant decorations for his Air Force service: the Distinguished Flying Cross (three awards), the Airman’s Medal and six Air Medals for critical missions in support of downed aircrew members during his deployments to Southeast Asia. His parents, Byron and Edna Haines, plus twin sisters Lynda VoglerTaylor and Synda Prisbrey all preceded him in death. He is survived by two nieces (Elizabeth Vogler-Black and Jenifer Prisbrey), two nephews (Fred Vogel and Galen Prisbrey), and brother-in-law Jerry Prisbrey. Though Dave was a very private person, he is remembered as a very generous guy, friendly to everyone, and respectful of all. He will be genuinely missed by his classmates and friends. (Jerry and Jenifer Prisbrey, brother-in-law and niece, Hanson Scott, ’61 and Tom Conley, ’61)
Teney K. Takahashi, ’61 Teney Kunio Takahashi was born on May 18, 1938 to Takeno and Torao Takahashi. He was the eldest of three children. He graduated from Iolani High School in 1956 and pursued a pre-med degree at the University of Hawaii (UH). It was at UH where he first met Mae Yamamoto in a freshman World History class. She was sure that she had met the “man of her dreams,” but Teney was not quite ready to settle down. He had a great
desire to leave the island and fly airplanes. Following his dream, he became the first cadet from Hawaii to graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy. During those four stressful years, all of his 1961 classmates without fail would say that Teney truly was a “gentle-man” and that they never saw him without his infectious smile. Everyone loved Teney! Teney and I were together at McGuire AFB, N.J., our first transport flying assignment. Teney was a bachelor then and as fate would have it, Teney met Mae while still on active duty in 1964, some eight years after their first meeting in 1956. On this chance-encounter Teney recognized Mae, now a flight attendant for Pan Am, while shopping in a Tokyo department store. He separated from the Air Force in 1966, returned to Hawaii and dated Mae on and off along with other Pan Am flight attendants. However, on a very special date with Mae and her best friend, Teney Takahashi Charlotte in Nov 1967 at the Halekulani Hotel, Teney got up in front of the small group of friends and proposed to Mae. Mae was understandably totally surprised by the proposal, as they hadn’t really been dating that seriously since he returned to Hawaii. According to Keio, their son, there were two explanations for this sudden change of heart; one was that Teney finally found the “woman of his dreams” or that with Mae Yamamoto, Teney reached the alphabetical end of his little black book. They were married at the Iolani School Chapel on Dec. 30, 1967. Mae and Teney were a very successful business couple. Mae was the Director of Inflight Services for Aloha Airlines after leaving Pan Am in 1969. Teney was a real estate executive and played a key role in the development of the magnificent Kaanapali Beach Resort in Maui. He served as president of many real estate companies. Their lives were blessed in 1979 with the birth of Keio and, thereafter Teney’s life centered on Mae and Keio. Unfortunately, in 1975 and 2005 Teney had two open-heart surgeries for aortic and mitral valve replacements. He bore these major medical episodes without complaint and each time seemed to bounce back with a renewed zest for travel to their next adventure. Sadly, Teney reentered the hospital with heart difficulties on March 12. After 10 days of what appeared to be a routine hospital stay, Teney succumbed to cardiogenic shock. On March 22, 2014 the Takahashi family lost a wonderful husband and father and the class of 1961 and many others, a cherished brother and dear friend who will always be remembered for his gentle nature, fun-loving spirit, humility along with his many achievements and his dedication to God, country and family. Teney’s funeral service was held on April 6, 2014 at the Iolani School Chapel where he graduated High School and married the woman of his dreams. He will be inurned at the Punchbowl federal cemetery in Oahu, Hawaii, and may he forever rest in peace!! (Randy Cubero, USAFA 1961, classmate and dear friend)
Ted Schroeder, ’63 Ted Schroeder, age 72, died Feb. 27, 2014 in St George, Utah from illnesses related to Parkinson’s disease. He was born on April 4th, 1941 in Painesville, Ohio to Bill and Emma Schroeder and graduated from Admiral Farragut Naval academy in New Jersey. He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1963, completed a master’s degree in 1973 and doctorate in 1974, both at Colorado State University. He completed post-doctorate work at Stanford in 1977 and MIT in 1987. Ted married his wife, Susan, on Jan. 23, 1965. He served as both a pilot and a scientist, while living around the world during his career in the Air Force. He loved hiking in the Pine Valley Mountains, cooking, gardening, flying Ted Schroeder and his German Shepherd dogs. He spent many years performing animal rescue for displaced pets. He was
a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints where he enjoyed service in many positions, in many wards. He enjoyed genealogy, indexing, temple work and baptism for the dead. Ted had a passion for teaching both in the church and in various colleges in communities across the globe. This passion was fueled by his constant pursuit of knowledge, often reading several books at one time. He was instrumental in the creation of a computer network for the Royal Saudi Air Force after the second Gulf War. He is survived by his wife, Susan; his son Ty and his wife, Kellie; his daughter Tara, and several grandchildren: Kaitlyn, Teddy, Lucas, Ty Jr., Robbie, Ryan, Sandra and Krysta. He was preceded in death by his parents and several aunts and uncles. A private memorial service was held per his request. A special thanks to the Beehive Homes staff, especially Makail, for their loving care of him. He was a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend to many. (Ted’s loving family)
Peter D. Caldarelli, ’64 Peter David Caldarelli, Class of 1964, died Dec. 5, 2013 at Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Fla. surrounded by his wife, Gale, and his children Scott (from Ohio), Steve (Florida) and Cristen Weisner (Mississippi). Raton, New Mexico was his hometown (which is about 150 miles south of Colorado Springs) where he graduated in 1957. The inception of the Air Force Academy was making the local news along with the advent of jet engines and the combination spurred his interest. He was accepted and entered one year later after attending Millard School (prep school) in Oregon. He met and remained great friends with many guys there who also graduated from the Academy. After graduation he spent one year in pilot training in Laredo, Texas and began what he considered “a very selfsatisfying military career.” After a few assignments at different bases (New Hampshire, Texas, Arizona, etc.), he was off to Vietnam where he flew FAC planes and received the Silver Star and Distinguished Flying Cross. He was glad to get back to the States and to begin his next assignment in England. Pete often reflected back on his five Pete Caldarelli years (extending was an option at that time) at RAF Bentwaters, England flying F-4s. Not only did he love the plane, but the people he served with and enjoyable times like spending a week’s leave playing golf in Scotland and TDYs to Aviano, Zaragosa and Sardinia flying range missions. He was a flight commander for one of the squadrons and enjoyed the many flights, bringing in several “bullet” awards as “Top Gun” for that period of time. His military career was most enjoyable with the focus on aviation. Unfortunately, his last flying assignment was at Holloman AFB, N.M. for a few years as a squadron commander and then later, a non-flying position at Eglin AFB, Fla. So with 22 years of service behind him, he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. He applied for and was accepted as a pilot with American Airlines at age 45. (Retiring at the then-required age of 60.) He always felt lucky that the airline was hiring older pilots and that he would once again be flying. (He remembered when he was 32 years old, he was considered too old.) Most of Pete’s flying time was with the F-4 and civilian B-747 Pete enjoyed collecting and working on classic cars; one a 1930 Model A he bought as a teenager. He was a runner, worked out at the gym and, his favorite, played golf. It took a massive aneurism to keep him from succeeding in whatever he chose to do -- and that happened minutes after he was able to par what some consider a difficult hole at Eglin AFB golf course. He leaves behind his wife, three children and five grandchildren. One of his grandsons is now attending the Academy and is in his second year. His brother is hoping to join him after he graduates. Both are proud to hopefully follow in his footsteps. We all are proud of his accomplishments in life. (Gale Caldarelli, Pete’s wife)
Lorenzo M. “Ren” Crowell, ’65 “You’re a hard man to kill,” said a doctor to Ren Crowell four years ago. By then Ren was eight years into his battle against multiple myeloma, and still he would not quit. All told, he endured 12 years of countless 85
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN (June 2014 Online Edition) tests, periodic hospitalizations, two stem-cell transplants, meds that fixed one problem and caused another, and crises that twice brought all the family to his bedside before this last time, when doctors had no more tricks up their sleeves. Sustaining him was Marianne, the love of his life, who wouldn’t quit either. She made the phone calls, dispensed the pills, drove Ren to doctors, and slept in his room whenever he was hospitalized. Ren lived to see their four children grow into fine adults and to hold a grandson, Lorenzo M. Crowell V. Ren was a big man with a loping gait and booming voice. Left alone in a room, he’d fill it. He could be, in his own words, “rude, crude, and generally obnoxious.” But his gusto and good cheer made him fun to be around. He often turned his boisterous sense of humor on himself: “You’re young only once, but you can be immature forever!” and “I’m so well-behaved these days, I bore myself!” He delighted in the cadet comment card that read, “Mr. Crowell’s “Ren” Crowell sense of humor borders on insubordination.” He marched tours with a radio in his parka. You can glimpse the rascal behind the smile in the photo, taken 18 months ago, when Ren found the energy to tour Portugal with some 5th Squadron classmates. The hard-drinking, fast-driving cadet grew up. He served his country by flying B-52s out of Minot and HH-43 rescue helicopters and C-130 rescue planes from Thailand and Vietnam. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in military history at Duke University and to teach at the Academy and Air War College. Those public achievements aren’t the reason Emily Murawski thought the world of Ren. When Tom was in Southeast Asia, Ren traveled to the Springs to visit her. He sought out odd jobs to do around the house and took Emily to dinner at the Broadmoor Hotel. She never forgot his thoughtfulness. On retiring from the Air Force in 1988, Ren moved the family to Starkville, Miss. where he taught history at Mississippi State University for many years. And he did more. Ren served on the university’s faculty senate and the board of Statewide Federal Credit Union. He also was active in the Democratic Party. A great believer in youth athletics, Ren coached baseball, basketball, soccer, and softball. As a Rotarian, he established the Rotary’s first international student-exchange program in Mississippi. To that record add Ren’s greatest gift to many of us: the courage he displayed, day in and day out, for so many years. Whenever we thought we were having a bad day, we knew Ren’s was worse. Yet he never complained. He was the toughest guy we knew and a model for how to soldier on against terrible odds. His ashes will lie in Arlington National Cemetery. Donations may be made to Crawfish for Cancer, a charity founded by his son James in 2008 to fund research into multiple myeloma: CrawfishForCancer.org/donate. You can reach Marianne Crowell at mariannecrowell@gmail.com. (Tom Murawski, Class of 1965)
Michael E. Heenan, ’66 Col. Michael E. Heenan (USAF, Ret), beloved husband, father and friend, passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends on March 12, 2014 in Colorado Springs, Colo. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Edward and Jane Heenan. He is survived by his wife, Charlotte; four sons, Brian, Kevin, John and Tim; five sisters, Mari O’Brien, Connie Heenan, Pat Ellen Heenan, Jill Heenan and Sharon Galbally; and three brothers, Kevin Heenan, Brian Heenan and Jack Heenan.
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Mike was born in Philadelphia, Pa. the second of nine children to Edward, an Air Force pilot, and Jane Heenan. He graduated from Saint Joseph Prep School in Philadelphia in 1962 and the United States Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs in 1966. While at the Academy, he received high marks in Academics, Military Training and Athletics. He coached and played on several Wing Championship Intramural Teams resulting in Cadet Squadron Three winning the Mulanaphy Trophy for top squadron in Intramurals. Mike attended Undergraduate Navigator Training at Mather AFB, Sacramento, Calif. Prior to attending Navigator Training, while on Temporary Duty at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colo. he met the love of his life and wife of 46 years, Charlotte Ostmeyer. He received his Master’s in Communications/Public Affairs (Magna Cum Laude) from Denver University. His military schools include Squadron Officers School, Armed Forces Staff College and Air War College, receiving the Commandant’s Award. Mike had many distinguished accomplishments during his Air Force career. As a Weapons Systems Officer flying out of Udorn Royal Thai Air Base he flew combat missions over Southeast Asia where he was shot down and rescued, after evading both enemy forces and a variety of natural jungle threats. He quickly returned to finish out his combat tour after recovering from his injuries. He was later honored to esMike Heenan cort the remains of his pilot, who had perished when the aircraft went down, for burial at Arlington National Cemetery, when they were repatriated after the war. Mike was one of the Air Force’s first Navigators to hold the position of Fighter Squadron Operations Officer and Squadron Commander, holding both positions in F-4 squadrons at Clark Air Base, Philippines. He later served as the Support Group/Installation Commander at Wheeler Air Force Base, Hawaii. Mike’s last assignment was the Director of the Air Force War Gaming Center at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. He retired as a full Colonel after 26 years of distinguished service. After retirement, Mike and Char moved to Colorado Springs and then to Stockton, Kans., Char’s hometown. In Stockton Mike assumed the status of “Gentleman Farmer” and small town politician, serving on the Stockton City Council as both Council Member and Mayor. Eventually they moved back to Colorado Springs. Mike’s loving wife, Char, was the center of his universe for 46 years; while their four wonderful sons – Brian, Kevin, John and Tim – were the pride and joy of their long life together. Mike and Char have always been unequaled in generosity and willingness to share their home, love and hospitality with friends; but especially with the many Air Force Academy Cadets they have sponsored, showing them by word and example what it means to be an Air Force officer and loving family. Mike always exuded a marvelous, contagious sense of humor and was a devoted husband, father and brother. He was both an extraordinary patriot and an unforgettable friend; and he will be sorely missed by all who knew him. Godspeed, Mike. (Vic Andrews, Bill Berry and Mike Rhynard, friends and classmates)
Thomas M. Pratt, ’70 Thomas Michael Pratt passed away Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2014, surrounded by his loving family at Duke Hospice Hock Family Pavilion, Durham, N.C. after a seven-year battle with Lewy Body Disease. Tom was born Feb. 12, 1948, In San Antonio, Texas. He graduated from Georgetown Preparatory School, Garrett Park, Md. in 1966. He graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in June 1970 with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering management and earned a Master’s degree in personnel management from Central Michigan University in 1977. Tom completed Squadron Officer School in 1975, Air Command and Staff College in 1980, and graduated from the National War College, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. in 1989. Upon graduation from the Air Force Academy, Tom attended undergraduate pilot training at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, earning his wings in August 1971 with follow-on T-38 instructor pilot duties. His later assignments included flying F-4s with the 90th Tactical Fighter Squadron, Clark Air Base, Philippines, and the 526th Tactical Fighter
Squadron, Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Tom returned to Air Training Command in the Standardization/Evaluation Division then took command of the 559th Flying Training Squadron, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas in 1987. Following Staff assignments at Headquarters, U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., Tom assumed command of the 14th Air Base Group, Columbus Air Force Base, Miss. in 1991. His final military duty was in Norfolk, Va. where he served as Inspector General U.S. Atlantic Command prior to his retirement in August 1996, after 26 years active duty. Tom was an avid sailor who enjoyed many hours cruising the Chesapeake and occasionally competing in friendly races on the “Prime Time” a Hunter 34. He was always happy to show his Navy friends that “zoomies” were just as powerful on sea as in the air. After retirement Tom and his wife, Kathy, moved to Palm City, Fla. where they lived for nine years. While there he was a dedicated supporter of Holy Redeemer Catholic Church where he served as sacristan, lector, alter server and trainer, wedding and funeral coordinator. Tom was honored to serve on the Board of Tom Pratt Directors of Molly’s House in Stuart, Fla. where he chaired the Annual Clambake and BBQ Fundraiser and participated in many other charitable events. Also at this time, he was especially pleased to learn that by being on the National Bone Marrow Donation List he was able to donate to a young man whose life was extended several years. Prior to moving to Durham in 2007 Tom lived at Lake Gaston where he remained active in the church and on the lake. He was preceded in death by his parents, Brig. Gen. (USAF Ret) William C. Pratt and Catherine Briggs, of Rochester, N.Y.; and a brother William. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Kathy McNally, of Hamilton, Ohio; his daughters Kelly Jacobs and husband, Ron, of Palm City, Fla.; Katie Custer and husband, Max, of Durham; his brothers Ted and wife, Peg, of Chapel Hill; Andy (Colonel, USAF Ret.) and wife, Frances, of Smith Mountain Lake, Va.; Jamie and wife, Denise, of Dayton, Ohio; his sister Susan of Smith Mountain Lake, Va.; and his grandchildren Sophia Jacobs, Jack Thomas Jacobs, Chloe Custer and Kira Custer. (Tom’s wife, Kathy, and family)
Marius Gus Sorenson, ’70 M. Gus Sorenson (’70) passed away on Feb. 16, 2014 in Dallas, Texas after a fall on ice which resulted in a traumatic brain injury. Gus was born on Aug. 7, 1944 in Seattle, Wash. on the day his father shipped out with a Merchant Marine unit to the Pacific theatre of World War II. He was the second of four children born to parents, Marius H. and Ethel (Whitelock) Sorensen. Gus grew up in South Dakota and graduated from Belle Fourche High School. He enlisted in the USAF serving at HQ U.S. Security Service at Kelly AFB, Texas and at Shu Lin Kou Air Station, Taipei, Taiwan. He was selected to attend the USAF Prep School, followed by an appointment to the USAF Academy class of 1970. Gus graduated with degrees in International Affairs and Far Eastern Studies, receiving an Academic Order of Merit. Following pilot training, he flew C130s, logging over 3,000 hours during his career. As an Olmsted Scholar, Gus attended Taiwan University and Gus Sorenson received an advanced degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts. He returned to the USAF Academy to teach political science. Perhaps because he was the oldest member in his class, Gus became the “older brother” and mentor to many classmates. He carried this role into all facets of his life, both professional and personal, as he believed that it was his obligation to guide and counsel those he could, in repayment for the
guidance and counsel that he received from family, friends, and colleagues. Gus retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1989. Reflecting on his 27 consecutive years of service, he wrote, “I retire with the hope that I made a difference, and that today’s and tomorrow’s Air Force will be better in some small way because of my effort.” Following his retirement, Gus served as the Senior Program Manager of Weapons Programs at Base Ten Systems in Trenton, N.J. In 1992, he was Chief of the Air Force programs at the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and then Chief of the Technical Section at AIT. Gus remained in Taipei as Vice President of Marketing in Taiwan with Northrup Grumman. He joined Lockheed Martin Global in 1999 as Vice President of Business Development in Taiwan and the Philippines. While in Taipei, Gus was an active member of the American Chamber of Commerce and the American Club in China and served as president on both organizations. He was diligent about his physical fitness and enjoyed playing golf, tennis, racquetball, and �������������������������� squash�������������������� . Gus and his wife, Maggie, loved to travel and they did so extensively all over Asia. He had a love of art and artistic expression, and retirement allowed him to practice the piano and take art lessons and he spent hours working on the landscape at their retirement home in North Carolina. Gus is remembered by family and friends as a gentle, generous, loving man of intellect and integrity. Gus is survived by his wife, Maggie Sorenson; his son Eric, from his previous marriage to Sandra Jo Geanetta; a step-daughter Karla Gentry; two step-grandsons Tyler and Trevor Gentry; sisters Myrna Jean Sorensen and Marlene Rothermel (Robert); and brother Gary Lee (Diana). (His loving family)
Michael B. Lackey, ’71 Michael Lackey lost his battle with gall bladder cancer on Feb. 12, 2014. Services were held at the Memorial Pavilion at the USAFA Cemetery with many friends and family in attendance. Michael started his Air Force career flying various helicopters, including the Rescue UH-1N Huey, Special Ops CH-53 Sea Stallion and Special Ops UH-1N Huey Gunship. From October 1974 to September 1975 he was stationed in Nakhon Phanom (NKP), Thailand, flying the CH-53. On April 30, 1975 Michael flew in Operation Frequent Wind, the hasty evacuation of U.S. citizens and Vietnamese refugees out of the US Embassy in Saigon to the USS Midway. He flew several sorties between an unfamiliar aircraft carrier and a city being overrun by hostile forces under substandard weather and dimly illuminated landing zones. For his actions during this mission, Michael was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. May 15, 1975 again found Michael flying into a hostile environment to rescue the crew of the SS Mayaguez in what has come to be known as the “Mayaguez Incident.” Before inserting his aircraft full of Marines onto Koh Tang island, he flew his CH-53 to the site of a CHMichael Lackey 53 downed by hostile fire in open water about a mile from the island. Michael successfully rescued 13 men, including fellow USAFA classmate Karl Paulsen. In spite of heavy ground fire severely damaging his aircraft (over 75 holes including a direct hit by an RPG) he successfully delivered his Marines to a small landing zone on the island. He then flew his damaged aircraft 200 miles on fumes to friendly territory where a wounded member of his crew could receive life-saving medical attention. For his actions, Michael received the Silver Star. Very few knew of his actions during these times as he was not one to ever talk about it. Following his helicopter time he went on to fixed wing conversion training and flew the F-15 Eagle for the next 14 years. During that time he held many jobs he was proud of, notably Squadron Ops Officer, First Air Force Chief of Staff and Commander of Air Forces Iceland. He stopped flying for a short period to wear the hat of Inspector General for NORAD and Space Command. During this time he became interested in general aviation and purchased a 1960 V-tail Bonanza. One last assignment found him in Oklahoma City as the Vice Wing Commander for AWACS. 87
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN (June 2014 Online Edition) Michael was a Colonel when he retired with 25 years of service. Within three weeks of retirement, Michael started his next career, flying for Southwest Airlines. Going to Southwest was almost like old home week, so many of his fellow classmates were already there. During his 10 years at Southwest, Michael realized there was a need for a comfortable Active Noise Reduction (ANR) headset, so he designed the perfect answer and his company, UFlyMike, was founded. UFlyMike has grown into a successful family run business and its products are the popular choice of commercial pilots. UFlyMike will always be Michael’s legacy. Once Michael’s flying careers were done, his need for speed turned to auto racing. He joined the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) in the Rocky Mountain region and before long he was an instructor. His love of racing was enhanced by both of his sons joining him in this endeavor, spending many evenings and weekends building, maintaining and racing their two American Muscle race cars. Michael is survived by his wife of 42 years, Debra Lackey; his children Shawn Lackey (Amanda) and Brandon Lackey (Rachel); his mother, Berniece Lackey; his sister Karen Oliver, and two grandchildren. (Michael’s loving family)
John F. Farrell, ’80 (Editor’s note: The photograph accompanying this obituary in the March 2014 magazine, although it was the only photograph in his cadet file and was labeled with his name and squadron, was not the image of Dr. (Major, Ret) John Farrell. The AOG and obituary editor sincerely apologize for the error to his family, friends, classmates and fellow graduates. Apologies also to Michael R. Watson, ’80, whose photo was misfiled, mislabeled and published in error.) 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. John Farrell 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 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
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November 4, 2013. Burial was at Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo, Ala. (Janet Farrell, John’s sister)
James David Byerly, ’86 Colonel James David Byerly, 49, vice commander, 166th Airlift Wing, New Castle Air National Guard Base, Delaware, died on Feb. 4, 2014 at his home. He was a command pilot with more than 5,000 flight hours, including combat hours in Operations Just Cause, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Colonel Byerly entered the Air Force in 1986, graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He earned his pilot wings in 1987 and served on active duty for eight years. He then joined the Air Force Reserve where he served for 13 years before joining the Delaware ANG. During that time he earned his Juris Doctor degree and practiced law with Campbell Trial Lawyers for 15 years before retiring to accept his current position. He has flown C-130 aircraft throughout his entire career and has served as an expeditionary squadron commander on two separate occasions. Colonel Mike Feeley, a friend and colleague of Dave’s at New Castle Air Guard Base, made the following remarks concerning Dave: “Dave absolutely loved Dave Byerly his wife, Jess. He loved his children – his entire family. He loved his friends and neighbors. He constantly talked about what you guys did. “Dave also loved the Guard. He loved it as an institution. The lawyer in him loved its legal precedence, founded in our Constitution. He loved the idea of the Guard: Ordinary people defending their Country. Citizens, neighbors, helping each other in a time of need. . . “For me personally, Dave and I always tried to balance each other. We were both constantly pulling each other off the cliff, because, as many of you know, we tended to be a little impatient, trying to accomplish things perhaps a little too quickly. I will miss his balance. . .” Dave was a kind, generous, loving friend, husband and father. His passions included flying, woodworking, furniture making, reading and spending time with his family. Dave also enjoyed a good bourbon and spending time with his many friends especially when “the garage door was open.” Dave is survived by his loving wife and best friend, Jessica; his son Hank, 15; his daughter Lake, 12; step-children Sydney Nelson, 25, and Reed Nelson, 20; his brother Will of Annapolis, Md. (wife Cathy, daughter Jennifer); and sister Shelley Heijerman of Martin, Mich. (husband, Mark, daughters Laura Beth and Pamela, son Thomas (wife, Sara). He will be deeply missed by his family, many friends and colleagues both in his military and civilian life. A memorial service was held at the New Castle Air National Guard Base on Feb 7. 2014. Donations can be made to The Wounded Warrior Project or the Delaware Food Bank. (Dave’s loving family)
Daniel M. Wuchenich, ’88 Lt. Col. (Ret) Dan Wuchenich, a great leader, mentor, and friend, departed our Air Force Family much too early on Jan. 6, 2014. Dan’s boundless spirit and generosity impacted his family and friends throughout his Air Force career and beyond. One could not find a better husband, father, and friend—he will always be an inspiration to us all. Dan graduated from Upper St. Claire High School, in Pittsburgh, Pa. and entered the Academy in July 1984. While focused on academics and military training and spending time at the hockey rink, he served with the prestigious Wings of Blue team, completing over 350 military freefall jumps, 454 total jumps, and numerous competitions. Dan graduated from CS-03 and made a lasting name for himself. After graduation, Dan began pilot training, where he suffered an unfortunate accident that took him off the pilot track. Doctors treating his injuries said they could not medically understand his remarkable recovery. One doctor told Dan’s father that if he had read about Dan’s recovery in a medical journal, he would have doubted the story. His positive attitude never wavered—he cracked jokes and was always ready to encourage others facing life challenges.
Dan’s first active duty assignment was as Officer in Charge, Inspection Branch, for the B-52Gs and KC-135Rs at Loring AFB, Maine (SAC). In Aug 1991, Tessa married Dan and made him an even better man. After his transition to AMC at Loring, Dan became Sortie Generation Flt/CC until 1993, when he made his way to Little Rock AFB, Ark.— the home of the Razorbacks. Dan became a Red Devil as 50 AS Sortie Generation Flt/CC and then became a Contracting Officer in a careerbroadening move. In 1997 Dan decided he needed another MAJCOM tour and moved to RAF Mildenhall, UK, to support AFSOC. In 2000, Dan determined that school was his next milestone and was competitively selected for the Advanced Study of Air Mobility (ASAM) at Ft. Dix, N.J. That demanding year featured intense study fueled by large doses of caffeine combined with excellent travel and great friends. Dan’s academic year went down to the wire as he completed his research project just two days before graduation. Some believe he wrote his original thesis on foosball based on countless hours spent on the foosball table, but unfortunately, he could not get a formal AFIT degree in the subject. Following ASAM, Dan moved to Italy where he enjoyed wine and fresh seaDan Wuchenich food at HQ Air South in Naples, Italy. He then completed two Sq/CC tours—first at the Rock again, and then in Hawaii. While in Hawaii, the best thing “ever” happened to Dan when daughter Elly came into his life. In 2007, Dan made way to the Pentagon, where he managed, planned, developed, and implemented innovative HAF/A4 logistics initiatives across the Air Force. He retired from active duty in April 2010 and spent his time as a contractor in D.C. and then took a two-year contract in Guam, solo, with family visits every three months. In April 2013, Dan returned to D.C. and his family. We will all remember how Dan stood tall and pursued his Air Force career with everything he had. From serving as Commander of the Air Force’s largest squadron to mentoring junior officers, Dan touched the lives of many Airmen and inspired everyone he met. He always had a smile and a quick comic touch that cut through even the tensest situation. Most importantly, he never failed to extend a helping hand to anyone in need. Dan may be gone but his memory lives on in all of us. (Thom Gilster, classmate and friend, with input from his loving family)
Brian J. Allen, ’93 Brian Joseph “BA” Allen, 43, died on Feb. 4, 2014 at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah of leukemia. BA was born Dec. 18, 1970, in Ann Arbor, Mich. to Claire Hosey Allen and John W. Allen. His strength of character is attributed to his parents and a solid Midwestern upbringing. Raised in Marion, Ill., BA parlayed his academic success and all-state football honors into an appointment to the USAF Academy. He graduated in 1993 and later earned an MBA from the University of Northern Alabama. BA’s first USAF assignment was to Hanscom AFB, Mass. as a program manager in Electronic Systems Center where he was recognized for his work in Combat ID. He left a lasting impact on the programs and people he served. He was recognized for singularly unique accomplishments, specifically during temporary assignments to Italy and as Chief of Operations for Defense Contract Team, Hungary, Bosnia, and Croatia, in support of Operation JOINT “BA” Allen GUARD. After transferring to a satellite office with industry partners in Park City, Utah, BA transitioned out of the Air Force in 1999 and into the defense and aeronautical contracting world in Park City and Iuka, Miss. Even as a civilian, BA volunteered to deploy as a part of OPERATION
IRAQI FREEDOM, this time to Baghdad and Basrah, Iraq. He was again recognized for his lasting impact on the efforts of deployed coalition forces. BA most recently worked as Director of Programs for Exelis in Salt Lake City. In addition to the exemplary work accomplished for the USAF, BA battled a Boston winter in a jeep with no top, road-tripped to Sturgis in an ’86 low-rider sleeping double in a single-man tent, battled rapids in Maine, climbed white mountains in New Hampshire, joined the Red Sox nation, bought stock in Guinness, ran New York marathons, conducted numerous Harley trips throughout the west, back-country telemarked all over the Rockies, led snowmobile treks to his yurt in the northern Wasatch Mountains, was an avid “cross-fitter,” and loved NASCAR and the Oakland Raiders. BA was described by friends as “a huge mountain of a man.” His sense of humor and mischievous spirit live on in endless tales, repeatedly relived between family and friends. With a smile that lit up the room, and eyes that warmed the heart, BA treated others as if they were his own— children, spouses, relatives, and friends alike. He was described as a “man on point”; once he determined a vector, there was nothing that could detract his effort. He made better people of all those he knew. BA is preceded in death by his grandparents, Jack and Dolly Hosey, and John and Lucille Allen. His memory lives in the hearts of his mother, Claire, of Pasadena, Calif.; his father, John, and wife (Patti), of Springfield, Ill.; brother John David and wife (Thuy Nguyen) and their children (Kaitlin and Madeline) of Noblesville, Ind.; and brother Patrick of Springfield, Ill. BA will be deeply missed by his aunts, uncles, cousins, and his rich network of friends, especially his Academy classmates and his Park City family (John, Christine, Ben [BA’s Godson], Matthew and Sweet Baby Jane Heskett). Memorial donations to seed a perpetual endowment may be made in BA’s name to the Huntsman Cancer Foundation. “It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” –Abraham Lincoln. BA exemplified a larger-than-life persona in the years he shared with us. He was a force. His larger-than-life presence offered silent assurance and occasional pause; his absence is final—his memory eternal. (Luke Ahmann, ’93)
Gregory N. “Fez” Dash, ’98 Gregory Nath “Fez” Dash, 37, of Silver Spring, Md. passed away February 14, 2014 in the company of his loving wife and parents. He lost a four-year-long battle with Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare type of cancer. Gregory was born in Silver Spring, Md., on Oct. 14, 1976 to Mr. Gopendra Nath Dash and Mrs. Isabel Dash. He graduated from Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Md. in 1994. He excelled in sports, held a Black Belt in Taekwondo, became an Eagle Scout in 1992, and graduated from the USAF Academy in 1998. Greg quickly distinguished himself as an Air Battle Manager and was selected for, and graduated from the USAF Weapons School in 2004. During his career, Fez was an aviator and an employment expert in the E-3 AWACS, E-8 JSTARS and C2ISR. He participated in combat operations in the Kosovo, Iraq, and Afghanistan areas of responsibility. Greg “Fez” Dash Greg was medically retired from the Air Force in 2012 as a highly-decorated Major, having earned 17 medals and numerous other awards of distinction. During his four-year battle with cancer, Greg being the leader that he was, did not settle for the offthe-shelf treatments that were not working effectively on his cancer. He researched, he fought the system, he went way “outside the box” and found leading-edge treatments, not yet federally approved, and volunteered on one occasion to be trial patient number “one of one” in hopes of finding a cure to the disease that was ravaging his body. He wanted everyone (and specifically those who may be in a similar medical position) to know that he fully supports the “FJC/Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative”: The Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative, 17 Bethea Drive, Ossining, N.Y. 10562-1620. Fez was an intellectual-warrior; though he tested at the “genius” IQ 89
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN (June 2014 Online Edition) level (literally) and was a tactically lethal proven warrior, Fez was also humble, approachable, and credible. He was well known in his military circle and by his leaders as being the “go-to-guy,” period. He also was more importantly known for touching hundreds of lives (in his short time), and was loved for his kindness and his gentle spirit. Fez was never superficial with anyone, and always seemed to mentally operate at a level several layers deeper than most (or at least this author anyway). Greg’s favorite poem was “The Dash,” by Linda Ellis. He read it to his family and friends the night before he passed away. It was a powerful and humbling experience to witness; He wanted everyone to know how important “The Dash” in each of our lives is, and challenged me to share it with as many as possible. Well, in his honor I ask you to look up the poem (Google works just fine) and read it, today. You won’t be disappointed and your lives perspective may likely be changed forever. Greg is survived by his wife, Krisztina Pinter Dash, and his parents, Gopendra and Isabel Dash, who reside in the Silver Spring, Md. area. To my dear friend, your mission is complete, you may now rest. I love you bro, “Coach” Fournier. (Tony “Coach” Fournier, Greg’s good friend)
David I. (Lissy) Lyon, ’08 Husband. Son. Friend. Athlete. Warrior. Officer and a gentleman. A man of character and integrity. Captain David I. Lyon, known by his loved ones and friends as “Dave,” was born March 31, 1985 in beautiful Sandpoint, Idaho. Dave attended the AFA’s Prep School and graduated from USAFA in 2008. Dave’s athletic successes as a three-sport athlete in high school -- football, basketball and shot put/ discus -- positioned him to become the first football player from Idaho to play for USAFA. After graduating from the Academy, he had his name legally changed (from Lissy) to his stepdad’s name out of respect for the tender heart whom he considered to be “Dad.” Dave was killed in action on Dec. 27, 2013 in Kabul, Afghanistan when the enemy attacked his convoy with a vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device. He was performing a Combat Advisory mission with the Afghan Dave Lyon National Army Commandos while working with Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan. Since 2010, Dave was assigned to Peterson Air Force Base, 21st Logistics Readiness Squadron; before that assignment, he served with the 366th LRS at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho. He is survived by his beloved wife, Captain Dana (Pounds) Lyon of Lexington, Kentucky, a 2006 USAFA graduate; his canine, “Colt .45”; parents, Bob and Jeannie Lyon, and brother Sean Lyon, all of Sandpoint, Idaho; mother and father-in-law, Rick and Nancy Pounds of Lexington, Kentucky; and brothers-in-law, Eric (USAFA c/o ’04) and Darren Pounds. Dave and Dana met at USAFA. Both were members of the Track and Field team and very accomplished athletes. Dana beat the odds and at 5’2” became a two-time NCAA champion in the javelin throw. She competed for the Air Force and Team USA on the international level. Meanwhile Dave was a standout “Field and Track” athlete himself; he set an Academy record in the discus throw, won the Mountain West Conference title in the shot put, was a NSCA Strength and Conditioning AllAmerican and served as the team captain his senior year.
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. 90
They married in April 2009 and were inseparable. Although their military assignments often separated them by thousands of miles, their hearts were intertwined. They loved each other with an everlasting love – a love that was seen by all who knew them. He and Dana coached and mentored young athletes, sponsored USAFA cadets, and volunteered with the Air Force Wounded Warrior program. They were actively involved in their local church where Dave served on the security detail. Their hobbies included camping, hiking, lifting, and just enjoying life together. Dave was the type of man that made you better by just knowing him – he was that rare breed that exuded a love for life and passion for living. Dave was known as a tender warrior. He was lighthearted and a gentle giant. Kind and compassionate to everyone he met; Dave’s smile would light up a room. He was a silent leader who earned the respect of his authority and peers. Dave took joy in serving his county. He was awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, and Combat Action Medal for his courage and ultimately giving his life in defense of his country. He was also a committed follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom our hope lies for seeing Dave again. We Praise the Living God for the assurance of his salvation, and celebrate his life and the impact he made on this earth. In loving memory of his life and sacrifice, we recognize there is No Greater Agape--John 15:13. (Dave’s wife, Dana Lyon, USAFA c/o 2006)
Christopher S. Stover, ’08 “These things we do, that others may live.” Captain Christopher “Banjo” Stover embodied this motto, not only in his calling as a combat rescue pilot, but through the way he inspired others to live fully. In his short 28 years on earth. Chris’ life was full of accomplishment and lives he touched for the better. Chris was born in Cleveland, Ohio; a true Buckeye fan and rollercoaster enthusiast by birth. However, Chris spent most of his childhood in Vancouver, Was.—the community he called home. In Vancouver, Chris excelled as a student and athlete, gaining friends and giving back to his community along the way. After graduating at the head of his class in 2004, Chris pursued a physics degree at the Air Force Academy with the intent of fulfilling his childhood dream of becoming a pilot. Chris always wanted to fly. As member of the 2008 Trolls, Chris solidified lifelong friendships with the men and women of his squadron. Chris also joined the USAFA Marathon team, where he ran the BosChris Stover ton Marathon twice with a personal record of 2:42:47 in 2008. Chris trained at Columbus, Fort Rucker, and Kirtland, pursuing a career as an HH-60 pilot with Combat Search and Rescue. While stationed at Moody AFB in Georgia, Chris served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as a copilot, and a tour in Italy as a pilot. While deployed to Afghanistan, Chris flew roughly 100 rescue missions, four of which saved military dogs. When not deployed, Chris spent his time helping out friends in the squadron. As a math and science whiz, Chris was always excited to share his knowledge and enthusiasm with fellow crew members. His curiosity and passion for learning were contagious. Throughout his career, Chris was the go-to man for math tutoring, as well as the resident craft beer enthusiast. Chris began brewing his own beer after returning from Iraq in 2011. He was best known for his Russian Imperial Ale, Pedro the Great. Chris inspired an appreciation of fine beer in the lives of many friends and encouraged others to start their own brewing endeavors. At home, Chris could usually be found working on small projects intended to improve his brewing process while watching a Flyers game on TV. Chris’ curiosity filled him with a sense of adventure. He did not waste a moment pursuing his interests and passions, from competing in triathlons to pursuing a Master’s in Nuclear Engineering. Chris never missed the chance to have fun, whether on vacation or TDY. His career and sense of adventure afforded Chris the opportunity to experience the world, from a USAFA trip to the Philippines to touring
Europe with his best friend and academy roommate. His final move to England was no exception. In his few months stationed at Lakenheath AFB, Chris and his wife visited Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Belgium. Chris’ life left an imprint on everyone with whom he came into contact. His legacy lives on through those he has touched with his intellect, sense of humor, and love. Chris is survived by his loving parents, Rick and Mari Stover, who raised a son full of energy and honor; his sister and friend, Kelly Stover; his wife, Sarah Stover, and their dog Schrodinger, who miss their favorite running companion; the 2008 Trolls; and his brothers and sisters in the Rescue Community. In the words of Chris’ father, Chris was able to reach and teach us all. You will forever be missed, BANJO. (Chris’ loving family)
Keith M. O’Brien, ’10 Keith was born July 26, 1988. He grew up in Oak Forest, Ill. with his parents, Susan and Jack, alongside brothers David Trier, John O’Brien, and the late Anthony Trier. He attended Oak Forest High School where he played varsity football and wrestled. After graduating from the Air Force Academy in 2010, Lt. O’Brien spent the better part of a year in training at Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, Texas before his first duty assignment as an Intelligence Officer at Beale AFB; Calif. Keith quickly became proficient at his job and earned his qualification as an instructor. He didn’t just teach the required technical material, he challenged his students to become effective leaders. Keith taught so many of us through the example he set; simply by the way he lived his life. As a leader, Keith saw people as people. He didn’t look at rank, status, or where someone came from. He just cared, unconditionally. Lt. O’Brien knew the names and stories of all his airmen, totaling over one hundred. Keith was the leader who never left until each and every one of his crewmembers had gone home, and would jump in to help anyone with whatever task needed to be finished. As a young Keith O’Brien Lieutenant, he offered to pick up holidays and weekend shifts so that his fellow crewmembers could spend time with their families. By simply speaking to the men and women in his flight and on his crew, it is clear as day that Keith was someone that truly cared about his team. He built bonds, he built trust, he built morale, and he did everything he could to build up those around him. As an officer, Keith made things happen. He was not a talker; he was a doer. He had the ability to see the big picture and to think outside of the box. Keith created more efficient processes on numerous occasions, saving manpower and money. Keith had very high standards for himself and took the time to ensure his work was quality. He was the voice of reason, a man who told the truth and said what needed to be said, regardless of the consequences. He earned the respect and trust of subordinates, peers and leaders, alike. As a son, brother, and friend, Keith was incredible. He truly valued his relationship with his parents, looked up to his brothers and lit up every time he told a story about their times together. Friends would describe Keith as someone who was selfless, had their back, always up for an adventure, a man of his word, sincere, driven to make positive changes, and the first to offer a helping hand. They would probably recall his funny stories (and he always had one), his love of country music and a cold Miller Lite, firm handshake, meticulous uniform, big heart, boots, dusty jeep and troublemaker grin. We’ll hold these memories close.
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.
Keith left us after only twenty-five years. However, he truly lived during his time here. The way he spent his abbreviated time on earth made such a powerful impact that while we may never see the full effect Keith had on the world, we can look around to all whose lives were touched, and see the result of Keith’s investment in people. Each of us will take the parts of Keith that made us better leaders, better friends, better people. We’ll cultivate and spread it, and Keith’s legacy will live on and on. (Katie Broyles, Keith’s friend) (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. John J. “Jack” Dougherty, Class of 1963, who died on April 24, 2014 in Ringgold, Ga. Mr. Fred Patterson, Class of 1964, who died on April 30, 2011 in Grassy Meadows, W.V. Mr. Joseph E. Rodwell, Class of 1964, who died on March 6, 2014 in St. Paul, Minn. Mr. Michael B. Ryan, Class of 1970, who died on Feb. 20, 2014 in Bakersfield, Calif. Mr. Richard A. Wohlman, Class of 1974, who died on May 9, 2014 in Colorado. Maj. Gen. (Ret) Robert A. Knauff, Class of 1975, who died on May 3, 2014 in a glider accident near Anguila, Ariz. Maj. (Ret) Thomas P. Mathews, Class of 1978, who died on Feb. 4, 2014 in Charlottesville, Va. Maj. Gen. (Ret) Alfred J. “Al” Steward, Class of 1981, who died on March 9, 2014 in Universal City, Texas Lt. Col. (Ret) George J. Reyes, Class of 1986, who died on April 8, 2014 in Papillion, Neb. Mr. Glenn M. “Bernie” Koser, Class of 1989, who died on May 29, 2003 in New York, N.Y. Maj. Warren R Kadrmas, Class of 1992, who died on May 8, 2014 in San Antonio, Texas. 2nd Lt. (Ret) William Maggio, Class of 2005, who died on March 1, 2014 in Monument, Colo. Our sincere condolences to the family and friends of these graduates.
Checkpoints Magazine Obituary Procedures Outlined The Association of Graduates is often asked what the procedures are for submitting an obituary to appear in the magazine. The process goes like this: Once the AOG is notified of a graduate, cadet or Air Training Officer (ATO) death, Michele Cowan, Customer Service Supervisor and deceased notification coordinator, posts the notice of death on the AOG web page and informs various AOG and USAFA Endowment personnel to record the event and make sure that no future mailings will be sent to the individual. At this point the AOG President/CEO, William “T” Thompson, ’73, sends a condolence letter to the deceased’s next of kin informing them that an obituary may be provided for publication and that the Obituary Editor, Tom Kroboth, will be contacting them concerning specific obituary requirements. Depending at what point the current magazine’s production cycle is in, the obituary editor sends the next of kin a letter defining specific obituary requirements (600 word limit and photo specifications) and a request to provide a writer for the obituary and a current photo of the deceased. If the current magazine is close to publication, this letter will not be sent out until the current magazine is published. If the current magazine is in the early stages of its publication cycle and the obituary and photo could be provided by deadline, the obituary editor’s letter will be sent shortly after the CEO’s letter. All obituaries must be approved by the deceased’s next of kin if one exists. Additionally, at the end of each article, we run the name and relationship of the writer to the deceased. If an article is submitted after the deadline for the current magazine, the obituary will appear in the following issue. If anyone has any further questions considering obituaries appearing in Checkpoints magazine, please contact Tom Kroboth at Tom.Kroboth@ aogusafa.org or (719) 471-0300 extension 133. Email is preferred.
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Gone But Not Forgotten
Editor’s note: The following pages contain the obituaries and “at presstime” for the current September magazine. The previous 10 pages contain the obituaries and “at presstime” from the online-only June Gone But Not Forgotten section of the magazine.
Donald L. Palky, ’64 Donald Lee Palky was diagnosed in May 2014 with renal cancer which ended his earthly life on July 6 at Encinitas, Calif. Don was born on a farm in southeast Nebraska, the great-grandson of pioneers who emigrated from Europe to Nebraska to homestead on the prairieland a century before Don was born. And living on the land, Don learned a work ethic which stayed with him throughout his life. In addition to academics, Don excelled at all athletics, winning many awards in both areas and graduating Valedictorian of the Class of 1960 at Dorchester High School. The achievement of being appointed to study at the United States Air Force Academy was a milestone for Don; and his graduation from that course of study in 1964 was the launching moment of a very challenging and life-changing career, first as a pilot and then as part of the Space Shuttle and Navy submarine programs. Don always spoke with great loyalty Don Palky and respect for all of the United States military men and women who devoted their lives to serving throughout the world to preserve the peace and freedom which had been the light bringing his immigrant ancestors to America. Although Southern California had been Don’s home for several decades, when facing the illness which was to take his life, it was Don’s heartfelt wish to “return home” to be laid to rest at the Air Force Academy. He had lived his life by the motto of the Eagle and Fledglings Statue: “Man’s flight through life is sustained by the power of his knowledge.” (Kathy Palky, Don’s sister in heart)
Joseph E. Rodwell, ’64 Joseph Eugene Rodwell was born Dec. 24, 1942 in Mahnomen, Minn. He attended St. John’s Prep School, a Catholic boarding high school, the oldest secondary school in Minnesota, before attending the USAFA in 1960. Of his class at the Academy, he’d say he was surrounded by greatness because of their accomplishments and integrity. He believed the academic, military, athletic and community service programs were top of the line at the Air Force Academy, and he maintained friendships with many fellow graduates and others who were affiliated. Joe enjoyed his Academy football experience immensely and was influenced greatly by the discipline and dedication football success there required. He was named AP All-American in 1963 and was fortunate to have played in the Gator Bowl in 1963. Head coach Ben Martin told him several years after gradation that he was the first recruit ever brought on campus for football. Regarding football, Joe was fond of quoting one of his personal heroes, Colonel Red Blaik, the former Army head football coach, “If it (football) is the game most like war, it is also a game most 92
like life, for it teaches young men that work, sacrifice, selflessness, competitive drive, perseverance and respect for authority are the price one pays to achieve goals worthwhile.” Joe married his high school sweetheart Sue Johnson at the Cadet Chapel the day after USAFA graduation; they would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary June 5th. After graduation they went to Vance AFB in Enid, Okla. for pilot training where their first child, Beth, was born. Next they moved to Tucson where Joe completed Combat Crew Training in the F-4 at Davis-Monthan. The F-4 assignment with the 78th TFS Squadron at RAF Woodbridge in England followed. Joe and Sue loved England and enjoyed traveling throughout Europe while assigned there. Their sons, Scott and Mark, were born at the Lakenheath RAF hospital. Upon leaving the Air Force, Joe was a pilot for Northwest Orient briefly in Minnesota until he went into financial services sales, which he truly loved. He also had over 20 years of experience in the ownership and leadership of financial companies and was a nationally recognized business consultant. He had two highlights in recent years Joe Rodwell relating to the Academy. In 2009 both he and Sue attended his 45th reunion, an uplifting experience for several reasons: • the powerful speakers at the prayer breakfast, three of whom he had personal connections with • having a reserved table with former teammates at the Friday football luncheon, discussing the upcoming game and reminiscing • dedication of the three beautiful statues on the Mall of Heroes • sitting at the dinner/dance with his former squadron, and • being named honorary captain for the AF-Army football game. And in 2010 he was humbled and honored to be named to the Air Force Academy’s All Time Football team’s offensive line by the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph newspaper. Joe was passionate about his family and if asked what his proudest accomplishment was, he would answer without hesitating that being married to his wife for almost 50 years and raising his three children successfully were his greatest accomplishments. He was tenacious and persevering in business as well as in life and refused to succumb to medical diagnoses without fighting with all he had. He was adept at reinventing himself and worked until nearly the end of his life. He was a very spiritual man, devoted and faithful to his beliefs and went home to the Lord on March 6, 2014. He is survived by wife, Sue; children Beth (Brad) Hill, Scott (Joan) Rodwell, Mark (Cathy) Rodwell, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. (Beth Hill, Joe’s daughter)
John M. Carney, Jr., ’67 Col. John Martin Carney, Jr. (Ret), BS, MS, MBA passed away June 5, 2014 of a heart attack in Bend, Ore. at age 68. Services with full military honors were held at the Cadet Chapel of his alma mater, the United States Air Force Academy, on June 24, 2014. Colonel Carney graduated with the USAFA Class of 1967. He was a decorated Vietnam veteran (1968-1970) who served his country proudly for 30 years. John retired from the Air Force in 1993 as a master navigator, and had subsequent careers at Eastman Kodak and Booz Allen
Hamilton. He loved rock and roll, golf, fine wine and food, world travel, and volunteering in his community. John was happiest surrounded by friends, family and his beloved dog Lizzie the Lab. He always said, “If you don’t share it, it didn’t happen.” Colonel Carney is survived by his wife, Cynthia Bassett; his three daughters Jennifer Noble, Christine Carney and Julianne Carney from his first wife, Bonnie; his stepson Justin Allen from his second wife, Ginger; his four grandchildren Jackson, Avery, Piper and June; and his brothers Robert Carney (USAFA ’69) and Patrick Carney. John was a “military brat” who followed his father, Col. John Martin Carney Sr., into the Air Force. He and his family lived all over the U.S. as well as overseas. He spent four years at the Academy with the 5th Squadron, aka “Frat Five”, then went off to fly after graduation. He volunteered for Vietnam and flew low, dangerous Agent Orange missions in a C-123 as lead navigator. Volunteering for a second tour, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and many Air Medals. After Vietnam he flew C-141s out of Robbins AFB and McChord AFB followed by flying high altitude John Carney B-57s out of Kirtland AFB to collect debris from nuclear tests and other classified missions. In the early 1970s, John got a master’s in physics and optics at the AF Institute of Technology and was later assigned to the AF Weapon’s Lab in Albuquerque where he worked in the High Energy Laser program analyzing laser weapon engineering. In the mid-1980s John joined the Air Staff at the Pentagon working in the AF Office of Information Technology during the early days of computers. Then he went on to OSD/Trade Security Policy where he was a senior defense policy maker keeping critical technology out of the hands of unfriendly foreign elements. John became a senior U.S. representative to COCOM in the early 1990s for four years in Paris. There he implemented technology transfer policy with all allied nations. In France Col. Carney’s love of fine food and wine was born. After retiring from the Air Force in 1993, John began working as a consultant first at Eastman Kodak and then Booz Allen Hamilton supporting a host of government organizations on critical technology issues. When he retired to Bend, Ore. he had completed careers a warrior, aviator, scientist, policy maker, diplomat and consultant while also being a loving husband, father, grandfather and friend. John was much like the Pinot Noir he enjoyed—complex, refined, multi-faceted, with notes of Oregon blueberry. But in the words of his dear friend Bill Savage, “He tastes red, white and blue, like the American hero that he was.” He will be greatly missed. (Cynthia Bassett, John’s wife, and Bill Savage, classmate and good friend)
Thomas E. Evans, ’67 Lt. Col. (Ret) Thomas F. Evans, Class of 1967, passed away on July 14, 2014 after a courageous several-year struggle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Thom was born on April 22, 1945, in Kansas City, Mo. He was raised in Shawnee Mission, Kans. and graduated from Shawnee Mission North High School in 1963. After graduating from the Academy, he completed pilot training at Webb AFB, Texas. Following T-38 instructor training at Tyndall AFB, Fla. he returned to Webb as a T-38 instructor pilot. In 1972, Thom went through RF-4 training at Shaw AFB, S.C. and was assigned to Udorn RTAFB, Thailand, where he was an instructor pilot and flight examiner. He flew 250-plus missions in support of the Vietnam War. Thom returned to Shaw AFB in 1974 as an instructor in the RF-4. Thom was accepted into the U-2 program in January, 1975 and remained in the U-2/TR-1 program until he retired in 1988. During this time, Thom
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.
was assigned to Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., Beale AFB, Calif., Osan AB, ROK, and RAF Alconbury, UK. While in the U-2, Thom was an instructor pilot, flight examiner, and squadron and detachment operations officer. He also held various Wing positions. Upon his retirement, Thom was the USAF’s high time U-2 pilot. Thom was a command pilot with over 5,000 hours of military flying. His awards and decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross with one oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, and Air Medal with 25 oak leaf clusters. After retiring from the Air Force, Thom flew for American Airlines until retiring again in 2005. Shortly thereafter, Thom was diagnosed with a late stage, aggressive lymphoma. Thom met the challenge by completing an arduous eight-month chemotherapy regimen and ultimately became a rare five-year survivor. Following his wife, Helen’s, retirement in 2008, Thom and she spent Thom Evans summers in Estes Park, Colo. hiking and doing volunteer work in Rocky Mountain National Park. Thom was the son of the late Alice and Albert Evans of Shawnee Mission, Kans. He is survived by his wife, Helen; his stepmother Ethel Evans, his daughter Heather Evans, stepsons Kenneth Cummings and his wife, Luanne; Keith Cummings and his wife, Andrea; Kevin Cummings and his wife, Tanya; and grandchildren Kimberly, Christopher, Brittany, Ashley, Hyatt, Hayden, Hunter, Courtney, and Connor. He is also survived by his sister Jean Davis and step sister Jeanne Hoisington and her husband, Van. His older brother, Nick, preceded him in death. Thom was a patriot who considered it a great privilege to serve his country. He is an exemplary graduate of the Academy and will be remembered for the courage, resolve and dignity with which he faced his own mortality. He’ll be sorely missed by all those all those whose lives he touched. Thom was interred at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. (Classmate and friend Fred Milanovich; wife, Helen; and daughter Heather)
James E. Madsen, ’68 Jim Madsen died of an E. coli infection on May, 15, 2014 following back surgery in early April. His last days were under excellent Hospice care in Chandler, Ariz. He requested no memorial service after his passing and his remains will be cremated. Jim had a diverse Air Force career. After pilot training Jim was a Forward Air Controller in Vietnam. That was followed by T-38 Instructor assignment at Laredo AFB, Texas. When Laredo AFB was closed, he went to Randolph AFB as a T-38 instructor teaching new instructor pilots for Air Training Command. Jim volunteered for the U-2 program in 1974. He was accepted and joined the U-2 program at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson, Ariz. He moved with the squadron to Beale AFB, Calif. in 1976. Jim had numerous TDY tours to several worldwide U-2 detachments during his tenure in the program. Jim separated from the Air Force in 1979 to pursue an airline career. He initially was hired by Texas International which was bought by Continental Air Jim Madsen Lines. He had a successful career flying several different aircraft. He also served as an assistant chief pilot at the Denver pilot domicile. Jim retired as an international Captain on the Boeing 777 in 2005. In retirement, he excelled at tennis and poker. He greatly enjoyed living in Arizona and spent most of his airline career commuting from Tucson. His ready smile and easy friendship will be greatly missed by his family and friends. His passing came as a shock to all who knew him. It was too soon for him to go. 93
GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN Jim will be greatly missed but remembered for his honesty, integrity, and life-loving attitude. He truly lived this line from High Flight: “Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I’ve climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of...” (John Swanson, USAFA ’68)
Michael B. Ryan, ’70 Michael B. Ryan was remembered by his high school classmates as a gentleman, scholar and outstanding athlete. He entered the Air Force Academy with academic and athletic awards (Latin, History, Biology, English and Chemistry). He was the holder, and former holder of five national and four world high school records for distances ranging from one mile through 10,000 meters. During Michael’s Air Force Academy years, he earned three All-America cross country team titles and was an NCAA champion in 1968. He was featured on the front cover of Runners World in 1970. Michael always had an interest in the law. He graduated as the Outstanding Cadet in Law and General Studies. During his five years in the Air Force, Michael worked in contracts and was eager to attend law school. In 1975 Michael entered the University of Cincinnati Law School and graduated in 1978. He moved to Lompoc, Calif. While working for Martin Marietta at Vandenberg Air Force Base he spent every evening and weekend studying for the California Bar. Mike Ryan During this time Michael met Katrina (Katie) Canale, a high school business teacher at Lompoc Senior High School. Michael and Katie were married in 1981 and moved to Bakersfield, Calif. in 1983 where he began to practice law serving as in-house counsel for Williams Brothers Engineering at the Navel Petroleum Reserve. Michael was eager to get into the court room and was employed by the Kern County Public Defenders Office and then opening his own criminal law practice. He was known for his great sense of humor and was well respected by judges, District Attorneys and members of the Kern County Bar Association. Michael is survived by his wife, Katie; his mother, June Ryan; brother Tim Ryan, and sister-in-law Lynn Ryan. His high school classmates chose an accurate description… A gentleman, scholar and outstanding athlete. (Katie Ryan, Mike’s wife)
Robert C. Jackson, Jr. , ’71 Robert “Jack” Cowan Jackson, Jr. of Ormond Beach, Fla. passed away on Dec. 24, 2013. Jack was born June 26, 1949 in Maryville, Tenn. to Mary Elisabeth Jackson and the late Robert Cowan Jackson. He attended Maryville High School (Class of ’67), and he was a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy (Class of’71). Jack was honorably discharged in 1976 after attaining a rank of Captain. He furthered his education by earning an MBA from Central Michigan University. His began his professional career in banking in his hometown before moving his family down to Ormond Beach in the early 1980s to open several franchise restaurants. Jack would go on to spend time practicing property management in Atlanta and Charlotte before settling in Summerville, S.C. where he owned and operated a commercial paint contracting company. He retired in 2012 and returned to Ormond Beach to be near “Jack” Jackson his children. Jack was a proud patriot. He once served as President for the South Carolina Fairtax organization, and he donated countless hours to the Republican Party. He was a wonderful cook, enjoyed reading, riding 94
Harley Davidson motorcycles, and rooting for University of Tennessee football. He loved NASCAR racing, and in 2003 he drove his Chevy Nova to a track championship at the Summerville Speedway. He is survived by his two children, Martin Jackson and Lauri Stockman, his mother, Mary E. Jackson; three sisters: Francis (Fran) Jackson, Nancy Jackson, and Peggy Jackson, and his brother Dr. William Andrew (Andy) Jackson. (Martin Jackson, Jack’s son)
Gary A. Winterberger, ’72 Gary A. Winterberger’s well-lived life ended on May 20, 2014 at home with his family following a sudden diagnosis of cancer. Gary’s love of country and service to others was learned growing up in a military family, the only child of Lou and Gwen. He proudly served for 34 years from flying B-52 bombers at Blytheville AFB, Ark. to Commander, NATO AEW&CF at Mons, Belgium. Gary often said if you love what you do, you won’t work a day of your life -- he never worked a day. Whether at home, work or on the golf course, Gary’s antics, ready smile and sense of humor were highlights of his outgoing personality. His optimism and faith in the greater good made him many great friends over the years. Most have a memory of Gary which ends in a laugh. Gary’s true passion, though, was for his family. We were married for almost 42 years and together raised our two sons, Devin and Brad. Gary enjoyed the years of sporting events, Gary Winterberger family vacations, coming-of-age trips to Las Vegas, trying to get the boys to like golf and, of course, imparting wisdom through long lectures. With Brad and his wife, Bri, and Devin all living in Birmingham, Ala., it was the obvious retirement city. Brad and Bri had their first child, Allie. Devin married Allison and they had Charlie. Then Allie’s little brother, Phillip, was born. Gary dearly loved his daughters in law and was an unabashed pushover for his grandchildren who loved their grandfather so much. Gary will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him. (Carolyn Winterberger, Gary’s wife)
Robert A. Knauff, ’75 Air Mentor, leader, visionary, friend, a good and righteous man – words his friends and colleagues used to remember a man who was special to many people from many walks of life. Major General Robert A. Knauff, USAF (Ret), 61, of Cazenovia, N.Y. died on May 3, 2014 in a glider crash in Aguila, Ariz. He was born Feb. 3, 1953 in Pasadena, Calif. to George and Alice (McKee) Knauff. He graduated from Bernards High School in Bernardsville, N.J. in 1971 where he ran on the State Champion Cross Country team. He graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering degree and completed undergraduate flight training in 1976. He later earned a Masters of Aeronautical Science from EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University. He also studied at Syracuse University, USAF Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College, Air War College and in the NATO Tactical Bob Knauff Leadership Program. General Knauff served for nearly 34 years in the U. S. Air Force. He was a combat veteran with more than 3,900 flying hours in F-106 Delta Daggers, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Falcon and OV-10 observation aircraft. He commanded the 174th Fighter Wing at Hancock Field from 1996 to 2003. In addition to his supervision of the F-16 organization, he was also the senior supervisor of an Air Operations Group, an Air Support Operations Squadron, and the host commander for the Eastern Air
Defense Sector. During his final assignment, Knauff commanded the 6,000-member New York Air National Guard and served as deputy commander of the 17,000 men and women of the New York Army and Air National Guard. In addition, he served from 2006 to 2008 as the Air National Guard Assistant to the Commander, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). During his time with the New York Air National Guard, Knauff played a key role in the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) during a critical period of expansion. New York Air National Guard LC-130 flights were instrumental in the successful completion of the new South Pole station, which was dedicated in 2008. Upon his retirement from military service in February 2009 the National Science Foundation recognized Knauff for his contribution to Antarctic science by recommending that an Antarctic feature be named for him. Mount Knauff, a mountain that rises to over 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) on the Pennell Coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica, has been named in his honor. After his retirement in 2009, General Knauff served as the former Chief Operating Officer for the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance, LLC (“NUAIR”) and was an independent consultant for aerospace and defense industries specializing in U.S. Forces and Air National Guard programs. In addition to being a man who loved to fly, Bob, as he preferred to be called, had a wide range of interests. Two of his “prides and joys” were his perfectly restored 1927 Chandler and his 1952 Indian motorcycle. He loved history, especially the Revolutionary and Civil War, unusual antique cars and planes, motorcycle trips, and was working to perfect his wine-making skills. General Knauff was predeceased by his parents and his beloved wives, Kathy Graham Knauff and Tara Howard Knauff. He is survived by his sister Christy Knauff Fitzpatrick and her husband, Leo, of Buena Vista, Colo. and Houlton, Maine; and 13 nieces and nephews who adored him. Funeral services were held on May 19th at St. James Church in Cazenovia, N.Y. and General Knauff was buried with military honors in the Gerald B.H. Soloman Saratoga National Cemetery. (Christy K. Fitzpatrick, Bob’s sister, with input from the Division of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation)
Glenn M. Koser, ’89 Glenn Koser was 35 years of age and at the peak of his personal success when he was stricken with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He died eight months later on May 29, 2003. A clear-headed, intelligent fighter with an irresistible personality, all of Glenn’s doctors were his biggest fans and he seemed to inspire in them the remembrance of why they chose their professions. Glenn found his calling in the field of market research, helped by strong math and analytical skills. With his statistician’s mind he viewed a 14 percent chance of survival as a guarantee that 14 out of 100 people with his disease had a 100 percent chance of survival. He inspired us all to fight along with him. Glenn was multi-talented and excelled throughout his life. Born in Queens, New York City on Oct. 29, 1967, he attended prestigious Stuyvesant High School where he studied with teachers like author Frank McGlenn Koser Court and was quarterback of the football team. Glenn spent a year in California where he became a surfer, but returned to Stuyvesant to graduate with honors. He also played baseball for Stuyvesant and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates, but had a high number because of knee damage due to football.
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.
At the same time, he had worked tirelessly to ensure he had the grades to get into the academy because of a lifelong dream to fly jets for the Air Force. That dream came close when he was accepted and headed to Colorado Springs. Glenn’s friends at the academy called him “Bernie,” and could attest to the fact that he was a bit of a rebel. It broke Glenn’s heart that he was unable to become a jet pilot after graduation, but he never lost his love of flying or jumping out of airplanes. After the academy, his compulsory service, and a brief stint playing beach volley ball in North Carolina, Glenn moved back to his home town of New York. He started his own public relations practice out of a loft in SoHo, with clients including non-profits and service companies. I met Glenn in 1995 when he was living in SoHo, working for himself and volunteering for the Sierra Club. Glenn ran the Endangered Species Committee. That committee put together a public service radio announcement about threats to the act, and Glenn was named Volunteer of the Year. We were married in the Actor’s Chapel on 49th street in Manhattan where Joan Crawford married Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. We had our reception down the street in a tower suite at the Waldorf Astoria. After experimenting with a job working for one of his clients, Glenn was searching for a new direction when he took a temp job at a major market research firm in Manhattan. Within four years he had moved up and moved on in three different companies, found a mentor, and was being wooed by clients to leave and come work for them. Instead, he fulfilled another dream and started his own business again, adopted a dog and began working from home on the upper east side of Manhattan. He was busy putting together a conference in Amsterdam when he became ill. Glenn was at the height of his success and enjoying life to the fullest. We were considering a move to the west coast, and, with seemingly unlimited capacity, in addition to running a thriving market research practice and walking the dog, he was sculpting, writing, taking acting classes and taking up the trumpet again. He shone very brightly. He is missed daily and we can’t help but wonder how far he would have gone. (Kim Koser, Glenn’s widow)
William Maggio, ’05 William “Billy” Maggio, age 31 of Monument, Colo. died suddenly and way too soon on March 1, 2014 battling cancer for eight years. Billy fought the good fight, finished the race, and most importantly kept the faith with dignity, grace, humility and strength. He never gave up on his Heavenly Father. Billy was born to Bill and Eileen Maggio on Nov. 2, 1982 in Lake Worth, Fla.; the youngest of a set of twins and an older sister. Billy will be remembered as fun-loving, faithful to his Church, friend to many, humble, kind, considerate, thoughtful, well read and traveled, unassuming, intellectually sharp to the very end of his life; always helping us so we could help him. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in the Class of 2005 and proud to be on the Wings of Blue Team with over 500 jumps. On his way to Pilot Training, Billy fell ill and two weeks later was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer, Hepatic Epitheliod Hemangioendothelioma, a vascular malignant tumor in the liver. Treatment was a liver transplant. God graced him with a new liver on March 1, 2006, Ash Wednesday. Unfortunately, the liver cancer returned two years later. “Billy” Maggio The next six years Billy battled cancer, most recently having it travel to his lungs. It never stopped him from living his life to the fullest, not wanting to be defined as a cancer victim. Billy retired as a 2nd Lieutenant and after a year of recovering from his transplant at home, relocated to Colorado and started a career in Aerospace Engineering. He always stayed involved in his community, especially participating in many Catholic young adult activities. He supported local charitable foundations including the annual Donor Dash, World Youth Day, and advocate in Pro-Life and Social Justice Causes. He loved the outdoors, all God’s creation especially fishing, camping, climbing, rafting, canoeing, and snowboarding. He had a great love for traveling, covering the globe including pilgrimages to Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal and Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Rome with his parents last May hoping for a miracle.
(Continued on page 142.) 95
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
I surrender. For the first time I have more to write about than space available. The additional items are salted away for future needs. It was also impossible to decide which item to feature so I’ve taken the easy way out – chronological order. Dave Archino sent a note about a mini reunion at the Alumni Dinner in Charleston, SC on May 9th. I’ve extracted the following from Dave’s note. Pete Winters contacted Tom Stack, Loren Krueger and Dave Archino of the Alumni Dinner and suggested they go together. The guest speaker was Superintendent Lt Gen Michelle Johnson. We all felt this opportunity would be great to get an update on the Academy and its plans and do some sightseeing in Sabre Society Charleston with Pete as the tour guide. Donors The dinner was well run, had a great attendance and included appointees to the Class of 2018. We received quite a bit of interest and questions and were recognized along with other notables. It was unexpected for four ’59ers to attend the dinner. Was fun to be treated – in a good way – like relics. The Superintendent answered quite a few questions. It seems the Academy has evolved to something far different from what was taught 55 years ago. There is a great deal of emphasis on leadership and integrity, but no real tie to the discipline needed to follow the honor code or why that discipline is important to an Air Force officer. We did some sightseeing downtown Charlestown, then the wives shopped while we sat around a local pub. That evening we had a great southern dinner on Queen Street. All of us had a great time. The photo is of Dave and Jean Archino and Pete and Kay Winters. (Lorin and Tom forgive me; I have a limit on photos. The tiebreaker was Pete’s patriotic tie.)
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The Embassy Suites in Colorado Springs was the site of the 55th Reunion June 17th thru 23rd. Thanks to the hard work of many classmates and, friends everything went exceptionally well. Even the weather cooperated (no snow like the 50th). Only one day was devoted to “organized” activities. On Thursday we had lunch at Doolittle Hall followed by a State of the Wing presentation by Lt Gen Michelle Johnson (’81), our Superintendent. Her briefing style matched the approach we took for the reunion, relaxed, friendly and candid yet informative and worthwhile. After the session with General Johnson we took the bus to the Cadet Chapel for the Class/ATO Memorial Service and the photo session. Then back on the bus for the visit to Val Bourque’s statue at the Mall of Heroes. Sculptors Mark Austin Byrd and Jennelle Armstrong Byrd created a won-
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derful full-size statue depicting Val wearing the original parade dress uniform. The Mall of Heroes currently comprises three statues located in the grass area next to the McDermott Library at the base of the Core Values ramp. We owe the Class of ’64 thanks for sponsoring the inaugural display, that of Karl Richter (’64). The other two statues are of Val and Lance Sijan (’65). This is an impressive and meaningful memorial now and will become even more so as the additional statues are added. On Saturday we had the Class Business Meeting, I’m just highlighting the meeting here. By now you should have received a copy of the notes. President Joe DeSantis opened the meeting with a rundown of the reunion attendees. Summarizing, we had a total of 164 attending including 69 grads, 15 ATOs, 7 widows, 4 members of the Class of 1960 and nongrads for a total of 95 primary attendees and 69 guests. The next item was re-affirmation of the back-ups for each of the Class Officer positions. They are Jim Brown backing Joe, Brock Strom backing Jim Brown, Dick Carr backing Ed Josephson and Dick Trail backing Charlie Meier. Andi Biancur, President of the Class of 1960, gave us some insight into the thinking about future reunions. He said the AOG’s Gary Howe, Executive Vice President, has confirmed support for the Class as long as we have reunions. There will come a time when a class no longer wants to hold its own reunion. Then it is likely we will combine classes into something like a college homecoming. If we do combine, classes would be able to participate every year. The Academy prefers it be in the fall so one weekend could be sanitized for the event. Joe DeSantis took this opportunity to encourage more mini-reunions and moved to options for the next reunion. There was general agreement on several points. First, the next reunion will be the 59th reunion for the Class of ’59. Second, planning will begin in two years. Third, a sea-level reunion will be seriously considered. (Some did not attend because of concerns about the altitude and several attendees had to get supplemental oxygen). The Gone But Not Forgotten column was discussed at length. Because the column is for sharing memories and insights into the character of a friend and is not a typical obituary, it should be more personal. It is for classmates and friends, not the general public. We agreed to encourage classmates to arrange with another classmate to prepare the column in advance of need (or do your own). Rules have been established to ensure privacy and the family will have the final say on what is printed. Jim Reed brought us up to date on his Facebook Class History project. Currently 34 members have access to the site, which is restricted to those approved by Jim to protect the security and privacy of the site. He envisions developing a history of the class based on input from you, the members. He could use some help from those of us with relevant skills, such as data base management. He also wants you to provide information on a variety of topics (e.g. those who flew the B-52) and data that might be used to develop a composite picture (e.g. total flying hours, years in service, etc.). Jim’s final topic prompted the most active dialog of the meeting. It was a request for help in getting grant money and other sources of support for specific projects. For example, the Academy Library has a 7-volume early history of the USAFA comprising some 3,400 typed and bound pages. They do not plan to digitize these volumes but would not object to having it done providing certain conditions are met. The estimated cost of the project is between $3,000 and $5,000. One of the outputs of the project will be a CD or DVD of the volumes for every member of the class. A long and varied discussion followed. Many classmates including Dave Phillips, Charlie Meier, Brock Strom, Wiley Burch, Mike Reardon, Ron Lanman, and Jim Brown offered significant ideas, suggestions and commitments. We agreed to pursue the project and assigned responsibilities of researching the best means of getting it done and paid for in the shortest feasible time. Joe Morgan suggested we honor spouses during the memorial ceremonies — all agreed. Bill Telford recommended including spouses in planning the next reunion — the recommendation will be taken into account when the process begins in two years. Don Brooks asked about the status of the Challenge Bridge Ceremony. Max Miller said the current thinking is to continue the ceremony during in-processing while allowing squadrons to re-visit the bridge during training. The thought is that the first day might be too intense for a new cadet to adsorb the full meaning of the Challenge. It might sink in the second time around. In light of recent events the meaning of the challenge can’t be overemphasized. Speaking of the Challenge Bridge Ceremony, what has now become an established tradition was repeated on June 26th. Don Brooks, Curtis Cook, Art Elser, Jon Gallo, Max Miller and Ed Montgomery issued the Class Challenge at the Bridge during in-processing for the Class of 2018 with one particularly notable incoming doolie among those accepting the Challenge -– the granddaughter of the late Herman Gilster (West Point ’53, a special ATO and friend of the Class), Tori Gilster.
The picture shows Tori and classmates being briefed at the Bridge by Ed Montgomery. Tori’s father, Thom Gilster (’88) is in the background watching with pride. Thus, the Long Blue Line once again merged with the Long Gray Line. On the 4th of August Judy and I had the privilege of greeting Mike and Arohanui Bender as they checked off a really remarkable item on Mike’s bucket list. We witnessed dunking the front tires of their bikes in the Atlantic after riding (with about 40 friends) from the Pacific where they had dunked their rear tires.
Mike was the oldest of the group and considering his twin knee replacements, had shown once again he is capable of overcoming enormous personal challenges. Arohanui is no slouch herself with impressive credentials as a participant and instructor in marathon biking. They have both participated in multiple 100-mile marathons in Death Valley. Their son Mark gave them a surprise welcome at the finish at Wallis Sands State Beach in Rye, NH. Mark had flown in the night before from Houston. Three cheers and hardy congratulations to the Benders. Thought for the Quarter: Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. Winston Churchill
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perience tutoring his granddaughter -- understanding modern Algebra - then translating his methods to suit her impending test. He also covered the difficulties encountered investigating second-generation effects of exposure to Agent Orange. Jim Waddle told us about his recent trip to Hickory, NC to visit a grandson. He is planning a summer trip to Alaska. Jim Glaza is planning a fishing trip with John McCullough in South Dakota. Gordy Savage is going to Oregon in July for a biannual family reunion, and looks forward to gathering with his kids in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Long Beach, CA. Wayne Kendall has been trimming trees around his home to mitigate possible problems with another wildfire, and also plans a trip in September to Oregon. Bruce Mosier had a sad month, as his younger brother died from cancer; this is just the latest in a series of illness in his family, of which Bruce is the oldest. Dave Reed offered this about his life: “Here’s a photo of Pat and I, plus the Bujalskis and Bilellos. We got together in May for dinner at a local Boulder restaurant. Pat and I sold our home in New Zealand and now live aboard our wooden sail boat -- usually from November through April. Invitations are open to visit, as long as you are not prone to ‘mal de mer.’ Better hurry, as this may be our last year in NZ!
“We plan to go diving at San Salvador Island in the Bahamas sometime in September, and perhaps driving to Apulia on the heel of Italy for a few weeks in October. We visited several Colorado and Utah National Parks in May. An especially lovely one (Colorado National Monument) is south of Grand Junction, and the 60-mile drive northwest from Moab along the Colorado is spectacular. I am still trying to get the 300 diamond soaring XC in this summer, but the WX is not cooperating.” Jack Brush wrote that “I finally sold my company in 2013, so while I don’t have an office to go to anymore, I did keep the Aero Star. I have been using it to visit kids and grandkids. We recently visited Maryland and upstate New York and saw a tornado hook on Nexrad about 50 miles away. We spent two weeks in the Windward Islands this spring on our favorite Dutch Clipper ship Stad Amsterdam. We will spend a week in San Marino and on the cliffs of Galway, Ireland, next month. In the picture are Elaine and I, on our travels; and, Clem Douglass and me with our 6th Squadron Intramural Lacrosse equipment, probably around 1959.”
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 is a report from the Colorado Springs Luncheon Group (presently 21 members). These monthly luncheons -- organized and conducted by Wayne Kendall -- provide a wonderful opportunity to exchange information. There are no ground rules, but there is a program or agenda. The May luncheon at Colorado Mountain Brewery was at 1230 hours, 21 May 2014. Attendees were Jim Glaza, Dick Schehr, Fred Porter, Gordy Savage, Jim Waddle, Bruce Mosier, Wayne Kendall, Tony Bilello, Pete Roe, Dave Reed, and Denis Walsh. Fred Porter disSabre Society cussed his teaching activities at Colorado Tech, which Donors include College Algebra and Statistics, and stated that he “recently shared a special evening with friend, Clark Lovrien ’59, who was in town for ’59’s Reunion. Mary Lou and I went to dinner with him, and relived many memories. We were in Third Squadron together, and later at Edwards AFB, where we both flew the U-2 and P-1127 Kestrel (XV-6A, prototype for the Harrier Jet).” Dick Schehr continued the topic of College Algebra by relating his ex-
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Class News
The June luncheon was superseded by the funeral for Jim O’Rourke at the USAFA cemetery on June 19th, with 15 classmates present. In the photo, back row, are Jim Glaza, Dick Schehr, Bruce Mosier, Wayne Kendall, Pete Roe, Dick Sexton, George Pupich, Dave Reed, Andi Biancur, and Tony Bilello. In the front row are Jim Waddle, Gordy Savage, Jim Bujalski, and Denis Walsh; not shown is George Luck. It was a beautiful day and a fine send-off for Jim. His family was well represented, with Bev leading the group. Chaplain Bob Browning ’59 presided over the ceremony, and a gathering at the Golf Course followed the interment. Jim’s daughter delivered a very moving tribute to kick off the luncheon.
George Luck said that Ed Leonard just returned from the Portland, Oregon VA Hospital, where he spent three weeks getting treatments for his “back problems.” Suzanne said that his back was broken three times during captivity and that he is plagued with arthritis. Pete King wrote that he had broken his hip (femoral-neck fracture), which resulted in hip replacement. After four weeks in rehab, Pete is getting around with a cane, which he hopes to get rid of soon. Class President Andi Biancur had this announcement: “1. I urge all our classmates to write their personal biographies -- for their grandchildren -- and supply a copy for the Class. 2. Please either write your own obituary or contact a classmate to help. It will take a huge load off the bereaved family, and those of us tasked with that duty when it becomes necessary. 3. Write any thoughts of early class trivia, pranks, etc. for a semi-formal collection of items that led to some of the practices of today’s Academy life. Much of the early history and events surrounding the Academy are in danger of being lost if we do not record them now. “55th Class Reunion. Comments, suggestions, recommendations, gripes, and/or ideas, are gladly accepted; i.e., send me your thoughts to: bacfly60@msn.com. The present thinking is to have a Class of 1960 Reunion on the 2nd or 3rd weekend in September, 2015. A simplified version of our past get-togethers is proposed, with no merchandise offered, no registration gift, and conducted at the Academy with far less movement required. A typical schedule might look like this: Thursday – arrive Embassy Suites (ES); Friday -- Arnold Hall -- briefings and lunch, Cadet Chapel -- Memorial Service; Saturday – Class meeting (ES), Football Game* Class Dinner (ES); Sunday – Social Events** and Departure. “See ‘ya there—next year—at our 55th Reunion!” DC Addendum: Leon Goodson is spending time with grandkids; one is an intern for DC HILL magazine. Bill Hockenberry continues to work. Les Querry is preparing for the next ‘Roosting’ and caring for Marty’s mom. Jerry de la Cruz is busy with teenage grandkids, and Betty, despite recent shoulder surgery, won the “PICKLE BALL” TOURNAMENT”. Jack Schira’s wife is getting ready for retirement. He and the grandkids are enjoying his new 20-foot boat. Bill Carnegie’s kids are home for the month. Mike A. Clarke, who has a bad knee and shoulder, and whose eyesight precludes reading, reckons he has listened to 900 books. Tom Burke, still working, spent the July 4th weekend with family on the Jersey shore. He and Mary recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. This column was written by Denis Walsh, and contains some interesting tales involving 32 of our classmates. Now, go to www.usafa.net/1960, and take some time to peruse those recent additions to the site made by Les Querry and JT Smith -- you’ll be glad you did! Final Roll Call. George Joseph Charles Fries died 7 August 2014 from pneumonia, after developing lung cancer.
JOIN THE SABRE SOCIETY! YOUR MONEY HELPS FUND CADET WING PROGRAMS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE GO UNFUNDED. CALL (719) 472-0300 X200. 98
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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 Those attending our Colorado mini-reunion gathered for graveside services on 16 July for David Haines, who passed away on 19 February in Tucson. Paul “PB” O’Connor said that fellow airman Braxton Ashe, who was assigned with Dave at Charleston AFB, absolutely blew everyone away with his eulogy. Tom Eller thanked Tom Conley for his protracted yeoman work dealing with Dave’s death, starting in February. Tom C dealt with the Tucson police, the VA hospital, the Pinal County officials, Dave’s relatives, and the Air Force Academy Mortuary Affairs Officer (Janet Edwards) to bring the memorial service together. Janet Edwards worked closely with our class throughout and was the consummate compassionate professional, doing her usual outstanding job. The Academy Ladies and the spouses of two superintendents (Paula Gould and John Hargreaves) added a lot to the event. We appreciated their graciousness, the presence of the Hospital Commander, and the service of the Honor Guard. Attendees sang the appropriate Sabre Society verses of the “Air Force Song,” followed by three “Hip, Donors Hip, Hoorays” and then witnessed the burial of Dave’s ashes and the traditional “Nickels” deposited along with the urn. Tom Wilson organized our July Class mini-reunion in Colorado Springs, and Charlie Neel arranged golf outings. Embassy Suites did a very nice job hosting. The get-together was mostly a social with few scheduled events. Everyone seemed to like that aspect and took advantage of their free time enjoying personal activities. On two evenings the majority dined together, swapping old stories, adventures, and laughter. The first scheduled event was the Memorial Service honoring Dave Haines. The second was golf, set up by Charlie Neel. The other two scheduled events were the Class meeting and the Class dinner. Jim Wilhelm, assisted by PB O’Connor, highlighted the evening with their delightful show -- even though much of it was really intended for a “much older” audience. Attendees: Doc and Marty Arnold; Braxton Ashe; Bill Combest; Tom and Susan Conley; Randy and Jan Cubero; Tom and Anne Eller; Dick Fairlamb; Bill and Theda Foster; Jerry Gill; Jim, Peggy, and Christina Hinkle; Paul Hinton; Dean and Jo Jones; Bob Kellock and Samantha Carlson; Bud and Carolyn McCollum; Worth McCue; Charlie and Lynda Neel; PB and Marilyn O’Connor; Mike and Ruth Quinlan; Jim Rogers and Linda Cain; Dale and Kay Tabor; By and Gloria Travis; Jim and Nancy Wilhelm; Frank and Claire Willis; and Tom and Judy Wilson. Opinions differed about holding annual reunions, particularly in the year preceding the traditional 5th year ones held at the Academy. Tom Eller suggested that we begin thinking carefully about our upcoming 55th in 2016. The AOG’s plan is that reunions subsequent to the 50th be in conjunction with Homecoming on the second home football weekend. If we participate in that plan, our support by USAFA is relatively easy to get. If we hold our 55th on another date in COS, it is more difficult to arrange Academy support. If we want to hold the 55th elsewhere, a massive amount of work needs to start soon. Those present wanted to hold annual reunions for all who can attend at various locations. Bud McCollum “volunteered” to see about hosting the 2015 reunion in Santa Fe. Let him know if you are interested in attending. Mark Anderson and Bob Wagner said that 44 gathered in San Antonio, 8-11 May, for the first reunion of Reese AFB’s UPT Class 63B. Attendees included 15 classmates, wives and significant others, one German student, who traveled from Germany to attend, and two USMA UPT classmates. Mark and Bob were the prime organizers, assisted by several other classmates. They enjoyed the Riverwalk, a tour of San Antonio, golf, and nice accommodations at the Rivercenter Marriott. Everyone enjoyed it. Other classmate attendees: John Dates, John Payne, Art Kerr, Jim Tulis, Phil Woods, Bill Aylsworth, Ad Thompson, Allen Blaisdell, Jim Darnauer, Bob Kellock, and John May. Stu and Marnie Boyd enjoyed six plays in a Globe Theater replica at the three-day Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City. Their tour group includes a terrific teacher who makes the Bard come alive. Pat and Marilyn Buckley, following John and Joan Kohout’s lead, volunteered to host two Spanish Air Force Academy cadets for three weeks during the summer vacation of their fourth year to help them polish their English language skills. Four other Space Coast USAFA alumni families (including Gene and Judy Davis) shared the load. The hosts had almost as much fun as the two cadets.
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Lily Carlstrom said that Dave is about the same as he has been since September 2013. The VA is taking good care of him. Occasionally, he seems to try to whisper something to her, but she cannot make it out. Lily visits Dave daily, or nearly so. She doesn’t really know how much Dave absorbs during their visits. Neither can use e-mail. Jan and Randy Cubero are sponsoring Will McCollum, grandson of Bud and Carolyn McCollum and son of Mike and Morre McCollum, as a new USAFA Cadet this year. Bud adds that the McCollums are very proud of Will for his entry to our Academy class of 2018, and that Randy and Jan have graciously helped so much and essentially adopted Will, his parents, and Carolyn and Bud. Paul and Donna Dean are moving to a retirement community, downsizing from 2,800 to about 1,000 sq ft. They will still be in Irving, just a little farther north. Even though they are donating a lot of their things, Paul is sure they will still discover they can’t fit everything into their new home. He much preferred going to weddings in our younger days, instead of funerals every month and becoming more aware of our mortality. Tom and Anne Eller attended the air show/open house at Cannon AFB where their grandson pilots an Osprey for the Special Operations Command. In early August Anne and Tom headed to England, Switzerland, and Scotland to spend time with their ’96 son and his family, returning in the fall. Jerry Gill completed his17-state/17-day, mostly top-down trip. He attended the mini-reunion in Colorado Springs, visited Clair Carling and Mary Kay in Salt Lake City, and attended the Mormon Tabernacle radio/ TV program with Clair. He also toured San Francisco, including a visit with Brice Jones, and a winery tour. Then, he attended a wedding at a resort in Ojai, CA. Jerry had to raise the top several times on his way home. Pat and Bruce Hinds spent a good deal of the winter in their Evergreen, CO house joined by their children and grandchildren for a lot of ski time since this was one of the best Colorado ski seasons in years. Son Bruce III spent his 6-month sabbatical from his U of Kentucky professorship there, renaming it “Skibbatical” since he skied more than 50 days. The rest of the gang skied around 30 days, and the grandchildren ended up “double diamond” good and impossible for the old folks to follow. Peggy and Henry Howe spent 14 days in Iceland, then Prague, and finally down the Danube to the Black Sea on their first riverboat adventure. Afterwards, they celebrated their son-in-law’s AF retirement in Florida. Their daughter, Tricia, can retire in three years. Dean and Wayne Jones and their wives attended their sister’s 90th birthday party in Kansas City. Mary and Wayne drove back to Colorado with Dean and Jo, spending a few days with them in their “new” home on Cottonwood Creek in Colorado Springs. They hosted a party at their home for all of the local ‘61 classmates who could make it. Upon returning to San Diego, Wayne joined the Distinguished Flying Cross Society group there in a Padres pre-game, onfield ceremony to honor local veterans. He also marched with that group in the Independence Day Parade in Coronado, CA. Bob Kellock and Samantha traveled to: Aspen, CO, for a wedding at the top of Aspen Mountain; Brice’s End Of Frost get-together in Sebastopol; the 63B Pilot Training reunion in San Antonio; a Blind Bat Flare/ FAC/ABCCC reunion in Las Vegas; the ‘61 mini-reunion in Colorado; and Henderson Harbor, NY, (Bob’s roots). Planned is the FAC/Special Ops/ Air Commando Reunion in Ft Walton Beach, FL, 21-26 October. Samantha continues three mornings a week in the VA Hospital, Long Beach, and they’re waiting to be vetted by Los Angeles County for the Missing In America Project (MIAP). Jerry and Jo (Sucherman) Mason attended the Santa Fe Opera production of Carmen -- bucket list item. In late spring, a rattlesnake bit Jerry on the hand while he weeded his back yard. After an overnight stay in the ICU (receiving 12 doses of antivenom) and blood tests every four days for over a month, he’s back to normal. The DC Bunch of the Class of 1961 held a luncheon on 3 June at the Springfield Country Club. They were particularly happy to see Bill Foster and Sandy Jones after their recent surgeries. Bill thanks all for the hundreds of get-well messages he received. Attendees included: Lowell and Sandy Jones, Twy Williams, Bill Stackhouse, John Kohout, Charley Dixon, Bill and Theda Foster, Jack and Diane McDonough, and Hector Negroni. PB and Mer O’Connor had a fabulous visit with the Class at the July Mini-reunion in Colorado. Super kudos to Tom and Judy Wilson, Charlie and Lynda Neel, and the Mortuary Affairs Officer Janet Edwards. Byron Theurer and Pat Pilcher enjoyed the ultimate historian’s voyage, a WW II Pacific cruise. Ports of call included Fiji, Espiritu Santo, Bougainville, Guadalcanal including Edson’s Ridge, Milne Bay, and Port Moresby. They also enjoyed their daylong post-cruise tour of the Great Barrier Reef. Ad Thompson was in the San Diego area for a nephew’s graduation in early June and took the opportunity for a ‘61 very-mini-reunion with Sam Hardage. They had a great lunch and good visit, overlooking the ocean. Bob and Winnie Wagner spent two weeks in San Francisco, Yosemite, and Lake Tahoe. Keeping up with their three grandchildren and one set of parents made it interesting. Bob showed the children all of his old haunts
in The City. He asks if anyone recently has done the “Four-mile hike” from Glacier Point down to Yosemite Valley. He was sore the next three days. Twy and Nancy Williams celebrated two events increasing their family: the birth of great-granddaughter Grace Abigail in May; and the July marriage of their granddaughter Erin Marie Williams in Pensacola—the latter of which they happily attended. Judy and Tom Wilson thoroughly enjoyed the Colorado mini-reunion in July and express a special thanks to Jim Wilhelm and PB O’Connor for the entertainment at their closing dinner and to Charlie Neel for setting up the golf.
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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
Hi Redtags. Got this recently from Art Farrington. “Sandy and Art Farrington’s youngest offspring shared a family moment at The Beach Shack in Falls Church, Virginia, recently -- Scott (youngest) and Paige (both born in Misawa, Japan – despite lots of TDY to Korea J). Scott, far left, wholesales ‘Energy/Oil’ investments for Select Capital Corporation while raising 5 boys in Cumming, GA. Paige, left with husband, Michael, is getting a Master’s Degree in International Relations while raising 2 girls and 2 boys in McLean, VA. We are enjoying ‘all of the above.’ Art.” Thanks, Art. Glad a fellow New Jerseyite is doing well.
Farrington family gathering: From left are Scott, Paige with husband, Michael, Art and Sandy. Got this on the Redtag net on 24 July from Mike Tietge, updating the status on his wife, Terry: “This is a hard one to send. Terry went to an orthopedic surgeon and the X-ray showed a possible hip fracture. But it was not a conclusive picture so she had a PET scan. The cancer has spread. So she starts radiation next Monday. It won’t get rid of the cancer but it should help with the pain by shrinking the cancer tumor. Then we meet Monday to see if she qualifies for a study that uses an experimental drug that helps the immune system stop or reverse the growth of tumors. If she qualifies for the study it will start in about a month and could last for a year. So there are lots of unknowns and an uncertain future for us. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers... Mike.” Please send your notes of love and support to Mike and Terry at tietgem@outlook.com Got this from Mike Butchko. “Nothing big. Kay and I are happily settled in Nacogdoches, TX. We both are very active in the community already. I love small-town America. I had lunch with Jerry Singleton near DFW a couple of weeks ago -- no pictures. He is doing well also. Mike.” From Tom Moore: “Jack, Virginia and I ate lunch with Conrad Biegalski (“Ski”) in Maple Valley, WA, on June 18. Attached is a photo of Ski and
Tom and Ski
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me. He was in good spirits and seems to be enjoying his business activities. Best regards, Tom Moore.” Thanks Tom. I haven’t heard from or about Ski in years. Tell him he owes me an input for the next Checkpoints. From Willie Gray: “Hello Jack, Nancy and I just returned from a transAtlantic cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam. It was a wonderful 15-day voyage with stops in the UK, France, Portugal, and Belgium prior to the arrival in Amsterdam. The highlight of the trip was meeting Randy Schamberger and his lovely wife, Lieu, on our third night out of Fort Lauderdale. We managed to get together and share some RTB stories. Randy and Lieu continued on from Amsterdam for the Baltic cruise while Nancy and I returned home after two days in Amsterdam. Attached is a picture of us looking for donuts at lunch. Did you see the RTB on page 13 of the latest issue of Checkpoints? Cheers, Willie.” I saw your picture with the Checkpoints mag in Istanbul, Turkey. Good one. It started me thinking about an interesting place I could visit. I concluded that Disneyland was not a good choice. Maybe next year.
Willie and Nancy Gray on the left with Randy and Lieu Schamberger enjoying thier transatlantic cruise. Now some sad news. The Association of Graduates has recently learned of the death of Dr. Robert J. Kuchlewski, CS-19 Class of 1962. Dr. Kuchlewski passed away on 10 Apr 2014 at The Sanctuary Nursing Care Facility in Dayton, OH. Dr. Kuchlewski was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Charlotte, and his son Robert. No services were held. We are sorry but no next of kin information is available. In addition I received this from Don Shepperd: “I talked to Kuch at the time we were compiling those Red Tag Bastards -- he was in an assisted care facility and able to communicate well but was obviously in trouble Sabre Society physically. He said he would be unable to attend the Donors reunion. I believe he said he had lost his sight a couple of years ago. He was a physician and one really bright guy -- sad as is the passing of any Red Tag – Shep.” I talked to Bob at the 45th. He had to be escorted by his son because of his poor vision. It was sad that his wife and son preceded him in death. The obituary leads me to believe that he had no surviving family. Got an email from Bob Felts, to wit: “On August 1, I celebrated my 75th birthday with my local family here in Elk Grove, CA. We had a small gettogether at Shotmaker’s Indoor Golf Center, son Jon’s business venture here in the city. Although I know there are a few Redtags who are older than I am, it was still a major milestone for me. I thought I would have departed long before now! Life is good. Enjoy it while you can. Cheers! Bob Felts.”
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The Felts family gathers for fun. From left are Shane, Julia, Bob, Peggy, Amanda and Jon Felts. From Don Hallager: “Don and Ginny Hallager had the pleasure recently of hosting Jack and Jeanne Geiger at Air Force Village in San Antonio. The Geigers are researching Continuing Care Retirement Communities
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and were advised by the East Coast Redtags to pay us a visit. Jack was a senior pilot with Continental Airlines and retired from them with 33 years of service. We had not seen each other since graduation so we had to check our yearbooks to remember we were in the same class. Jack and Jeanne plan to visit Charlie and Pat Hale at Air Force Village West in Riverside, CA sometime soon. We shared with Jack that Air Force Village has opened its eligibility to those who can afford to live independently, pass the medical, and reach the old age of 62 (which all of you Redtags are!). Previous military affiliation is preferred but not required. We also changed our name to Blue Skies of Texas to appeal to more than just Air Force folks. Check out the website at afvillages.org for background on the changes. If you need more, email me. Cheers Don Hallager” Thanks Don. And I saw the picture of Ginny and you in a recent publication advertizing the Air Force Village. You both are now rock stars! And this from Jack Swonson: “Not much new from here in Scottsdale. Polly Ann and I are just traveling a bit each month to get out of the summer heat: June: Park City; July: Canada; August: New England; September: San Diego. In between we play golf and bridge and I am managing the financing of college for our youngest two granddaughters who begin freshman year this fall. We are both thankful we can do this and are still enjoying good health. All the best to you and your family. Go Redtags!” Thanks Jack. Keep up the travelling as long as your body and money last. I have started reading each Checkpoints almost from cover to cover. I recommend that those with the time do the same. Many interesting stories to keep you entertained. Jack. Go Redtags!
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
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The Association of Graduates recently learned of the death of our classmate John J. “Jack” Dougherty, CS-07. Jack passed away on 24 Apr 2014 in Ringgold, GA. A funeral service was held on 27 Apr at the First Decatur United Methodist Church in Decatur, GA. Jack was predeceased by his wife, Jeanette. Upon graduation in 1963 Jack went into the Marine Corps and served in SEA as a fighter pilot flying the A-4M Skyhawk. Jack was a career pilot for Delta Airlines. He also earned a Juris Doctor (JD) degree from the Woodrow Wilson Law College. In case you did not receive this information from Diff I am repeating it here. “For some 50 years our class has been represented at memorial services for fallen classmates by a flower arrangement and a note to the surviving family. Often the AOG receives notification Sabre Society too late to send flowers; then, we are not represented Donors at these services. Therefore, we are changing to the following. By this announcement and others that will appear, you should know the Class of 1963 will make a gift to the Air Force Academy in your name when you pass. The AOG will send a letter to your family notifying them of the gift, and I will continue to send a personal note on behalf of the class. These gifts will accumulate. When we gather for the next reunion, the total gift will be presented to the Academy.” Diff also added; “Thank you” to donors in our recent request to bolster our class funds. As of mid-July 2014, we have approximately $4,000 in our Agency Fund and $1,500 in our Gift Fund. All debts from the 50th have been paid.” Gil Merkle provided a tally of the Class Histories web site effort: In addition to written biographies and photos, we collected 417 short video clips from classmates. The videos totaled 2,905 minutes (48.4 hours) of recorded personal stories that were collected by classmates and placed onto the class histories website at http://www.usafaclasshistories.org. bThe videos were recorded and collected during the 18 months preceding our 50th reunion in October 2013. Thanks to all who participated in or worked on this project. By the time you read this the 2014 Mini-Reunion will be just a couple of weeks away. Back in July, Bob Hayes sent an e-mail to his growing list of mini-reunion attendees. If you did not get the e-mail and are still interested (needing more information) please let Bob know right away but not later than September 19th at bchayes@comcast.net.The 2014 mini-reunion is planned for 26 and 27 September. On Friday, the 26th, we’ll meet in Arnold Hall at 6 p.m. for the annual cup-turning ceremony for three of our classmates who passed on since our 50th -- John Dougherty, Bob Murphy and Ted Schroeder. After the cup turning we’ll enjoy a catered
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dinner. The football game with Boise State will start at 5 p.m. on Saturday. We’ll gather for our traditional tail gate starting at 2 p.m. in the regular far northwest corner of the stadium parking lot -- the golden class flag will be prominent next to the road. Post-game activities are still in doubt but Bob is thinking about dinner and drinks at the Eisenhower Golf Club. This photograph was found on my Facebook Page last week. In the picture Norm Wells is sitting in the cockpit of the F-4 he flew in SEA. The aircraft is located at the Evergreen Aviation Museum in McMinnville, OR, also home of the “Spruce Goose.”
Norm Wells in the actual F-4 he flew in SEA. Peeps Bogaert sent the following: “Hi Skip: The weather was wicked in New Hampshire and Colorado this winter, so we headed out to warmer climes at the Hale Koa at Waikiki where we met up with Dick and Lynne Shutack. Here’s a photo of us at the Barefoot Bar. Oh, we only had coke (the cola, of course!).”
person crossing the US30 Bridge over the Willamette River. I think it’s me but I am not my normal happy looking self. That can be expected after 200 miles on a bike. Gordon Bredvik says that he, Dian and John Elfers recently climbed Quandary Peak (a Fourteener) on Monday, 28 July. The trailhead for the climb is located about 6 miles (10 km) south-southwest of the town of Breckenridge. Total elevation for the climb is 3,450 feet to the summit (14,260 feet). Some kind of feat for a couple of 70+ year olds. Dave Nuss attached a story for my enjoyment giving an account of a hunt for a problem lion in South Africa. He says it took a month to finally get the job done. Dave is a NB Safaris professional staff member and was designated as the shooter for the expedition; which says a lot for his marksmanship. This is his third year as a staff member at NB Safaris where he was a client for three years prior to joining the staff. At the then age of 72, he is the oldest student to have completed the rigorous South African National Professional Hunting School. What is this? A bunch of 70+-year-old guys out biking 202 miles, climbing 14,000 ft. mountains and lion hunting in the bush. What are they thinking? Denny King has resurrected his writing efforts and taken positive steps toward getting his first novel, Price For A Patriot, published. “I want my novel in book form and on my shelf even if it’s the only copy because writing, although a joy, is still a lot of work and I want to see it finished.” Amazon will have that ready in about a month. It is the story, according to the summary he sent, of an abandoned soldier who’s fighting spirit burns intensely. It is the victory of the human spirit over opportunism and cynicism, and an American hero is finally welcomed back. Denny says he plans a sequel. That’s it for this time. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the mini-reunion in September. Bob Hovde 206 Walker Ave. Huntsville, AL 35801 (H) (256) 532-3923 (M) (256) 348-9794 bob@hovde.us
From left are Jim, Pauline (Peeps), Lynne and Dick at the Barefoot Bar. Looks a little chilly for Hawaii. Neil Sorensen describes his Seattle to Portland (STP) bike ride. The ride was as usual, long (202 miles). I had forgotten how difficult it is to get out of Seattle. It seemed like every time I had my speed up there was a stop light and had to unclip and put my foot down. Then I had to get back up into the saddle when the light turned green. Saturday was difficult because I was late taking on H2O and cramped. Sunday was better. It was cool and even a bit of drizzle. Ilene retrieved me at the finish line. The ride would have been more enjoyable if I had company. If any of our class are interested in doing the STP next year they can contact me for details. It would be nice to have a group ride. Attached is a photo of a
Almost there!
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Reunion – If you didn’t make the reunion, we’re sorry to have missed you. This article went in before the event, so my report on it will be in the next issue. Biking for MS Research – Roger Neeland is still biking around the mountains. His ride for MS research is an annual event and, just in case you think biking is a ‘non-contact’ sport, Roger’s website says, “My bionic parts are still working. I was able to compete in some ‘seniors’ competition in the past including the Rocky Mountain Senior Games and a weeklong tour of Colorado (450 miles). I was not able to complete the Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, Utah in which I usually ride. I crashed part way through the third race and ended the games having surgery for a broken femur. Bummer!” Roger continues that he hopes to continue to be one of the “old Folks” examples for the younger riders in the annual 150-mile ride to raise funds for MS research. [Roger, even 50 years ago I couldn’t have gone 150 miles in a week, let alone in a day!] Practice Reunion – Fred Gregory reported on his annual East Coast practice reunion: “What a terrific time we had with more than 60 in attendance! The meal was world-class catered by a gentleman and his staff who have worked for and served all significant US military leaders in the past 15 years. The raves for this chow were deafening! As part of the afternoon we reviewed 4th class knowledge from our Contrails, we responded to bugle calls, we remembered our deceased classmates, we stood together while our sister services songs played and then had a rousing rendition of the Air Force Song. The weather was outstanding. I can safely give 100%
Practice Reunion – 50 years? No Way!
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assurance that the Class of 1964 is ready and fully prepared for our 50th reunion in Colorado Springs.” Complications – Jeff Levy was at Fred and Annette’s Practice Reunion and then had hip replacement surgery the next day. Supposed to be routine! Paul Belmont reported that, unfortunately, there were some complications resulting from the surgery. “I talked with Jeff earlier today and learned that while the hip replacement seems to have gone OK, he has experienced a complication with his (already very) messed up back. Seems the anesthesia (epidural) he received has caused him to lose all sensation in his left leg (initially both legs, but now just his left one). While this can be very Sabre Society serious, he understands that this ‘sometimes happens’ Donors and he anticipates return of feeling over time. However, the situation is such that his recovery from the hip surgery is not going to be normal at all.” I [your scribe speaking] called Jeff a couple of weeks after the surgery, and he is in great spirits. He has been able to move about with help, but has a long way to go. He’s optimistic, but has no idea how long it will take to recover. He sent out an email that said, “Surgeon’s guess was 3-6 months, but family practice doc said it could be as much as a year while one of other docs said feeling could return in a day or so. But in any event, I am totally out of commission and can’t start real rehab until I can move/feel leg. Really gives one time to think about how lucky we are just to be moving about. “I can’t begin to thank you all enough for your thoughts and prayers. I am truly blessed to have such good friends/brothers. (And, it was great seeing you all last Sunday at Fred’s -- wasn’t that a great event.)” Class of 2014 Commissioning Ceremonies – I had the privilege, along with a bunch of other Class of ’64 “Legacy Class” participants, to help in the commission ceremonies held by each Cadet Squadron the evening before graduation. We presented each graduate a set of 2nd Lt bars with “1964” engraved under one and “2014” under the other. We also attended the Graduation Parade and the Graduation as the Superintendent’s guests. As Rod pointed out to us at lunch just before we started, if our class had had a “Legacy Class,” it would have been the Class of 1914, and the Class of 2014 will be the Legacy Class for the Class of 2064! Kind of makes you feel old, doesn’t it?
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opinions from our Class of ’64 mates on a variety of issues. I look forward to being a part of this process, and I thank Rod and Pete for the opportunity to serve in this capacity.” Another Surgery – Right after Chuck Noyes’ surgery in June, Terry sent out the following: “On Friday 6/6 Chuck underwent a C2 to T9 spinal fusion surgery lasting for 11 hours. Throughout the surgery he did well and went directly from the OR to the Neuro ICU with the breathing tube still in. It was removed the next morning and he has since been able to take his meds and eat a little food. “Chuck is a real fighter and I know that when the recuperation period and rehab are done he will be proud to stand straight and happy to be pain free for the first time in years. He may still have the ‘halo’ on at the time of the reunion. Your prayers will be very much appreciated.” Small World Connection – My son-in-law, Andy Armacost, the Dean at USAFA, was corresponding with Lars Hoffman, Commandant, USAF Test Pilot School and John Hoffman’s son and realized, “We met a long time ago. Your parents lived outside Dallas, as did my in-laws. They were good friends, and your folks had us all over for Christmas or New Year’s dinner. I believe you and your wife were both there. “In fact, your mom’s legacy lives long in our family. With six or seven Christmas trees adorning their home, they showed us what holiday decorating is all about (even a red hot chili pepper tree!). When Kathy and I finally had enough ornaments for a second tree in our home, we proclaimed, ‘We’re catching up to Sally Hoffman!’” That’s all, folks! Hope I saw you at the reunion! 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! We have lost no classmates since the last issue. Mike Phillips is still working! He visited Lincoln in mid-May while on an Army visit for SAIC (a defense contractor which has employed a great many USAFA grads over the years). He was kind enough to use his expense account to buy us all prime rib dinners at Misty’s, a storied steakhouse here in Nebraska. Though I didn’t know Mike well, there is a bond between classmates which made our conversation lively and filled with anecdotes. Too soon the evening was over and we returned to our everyday life. I’ve been to our class reunions every five years since our 20th and there never seems to be enough time to talk to all the classmates I wanted to visit nor is there enough time to spend with those I do see! “There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.” -Linda Grayson
1964 Legacy Parade – Legacy Class 1964 flag during the “Pass in Review”.
1964 Group Photo – [MOST of the Legacy group] – Some always miss the call. New Class Senator – Doug Jenkins reports, “I have been appointed by Class President Rod Wells to replace Pete LoPresti as USAFA Class of 1964 Class Senator. Article VII of the AOG’s Bylaws provide for a Class Advisory Senate (CAS), with a representative from every class in the Long Blue Line. The CAS is required to meet at least annually, but I am told it meets four times per year. It shall act as an outreach arm of the AOG leadership, seeking members’ views and attempting to resolve differences among those views. The CAS will be advisory to the Board and will inform the Board on relevant issues. I expect that I will be called upon from time to time to seek
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Mike Phillips with Bruce and Betty Wood at the Cornhusker Hotel. Last issue, I ran a photo of classmates from the affair honoring Bart Holaday and asked for help in identifying everyone. Only Bill Roberts sent me a few names, so I’ll wait until I can get a complete listing to run the picture again. “The holy passion of Friendship is of so sweet and steady and loyal and enduring a nature that it will last through a whole lifetime, if not asked to lend money.” - Mark Twain Wes Dixon sent me the following from a USAFA news release: “The
Academy will move forward next month on the first step toward building a new visitor center just west of Interstate 25, the director of installations said July 21. “Carlos Cruz-Gonzalez said the Air Force’s Financial Management Center of Expertise in Denver conducted business case analyses on several alternatives, including sites at Falcon Stadium, on the east side of I-25, using leased space in an unfinished office complex near Interquest Parkway or using the existing visitor center site, before settling on a site just north of the Santa Fe Trail parking lot on the west side of I-25, just outside the North Gate.” “The better part of one’s life consists of his friendships.” - Abraham Sabre Society Lincoln Donors FYI. I and others in our class receive a monthly newsletter titled “Tidbits in Time”. It is written and distributed by E. Adrian VanZelfden, class of ’69. In addition to memorable past events for each month, Adrian adds a business information and advice section for entrepreneurs and business owners. Overall, I think it is a very interesting publication, usually only two or three pages. Adrian is interested in expanding his distribution and encouraging inputs in the form of monthly anniversaries and interesting events. If you’re interested in receiving this newsletter or contributing, please contact him at Adrian@vanzelfden.com. “It takes a long time to grow an old friend.” - John Leonard As you can see by the 500 or so words here, I received very little input over the past 3 months. I can only plead for more input - unless you want to hear about my garden, volunteer activities, dogs, and health! Bruce. ‘’65, Best Alive!
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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! Because our last edition of the class news was delivered only digitally, we’re going to repeat a few bits of information so that those of you who missed the digital version can see them in print. So don’t start blaming my advancing years if you think that you’ve heard some of these stories before. Here’s a repeat of some news about our 50th Reunion from our class Senator, Larry Bagley: “The Class of ‘66 Colorado Springs area Grads have had a couple of informal meetings concerning the 50th Reunion in the Fall of 2016. We will become more formally organized is year, and will be seeking feedback from all ‘66 Grads concerning the 50th Reunion. The 45th Reunion Committee elected Bill Riley to be Chairman of the 50th Reunion Organizing Committee. If you want a head start in providing feedback on anything concerning the reunion, please feel free to contact Bill via e-mail at: mtntennis@msn.com. Also, a reminder from Dick Oliver – “In anticipation of again having a special Reunion DVD, now is the time to send in those recent photos taken at our 45th reunion, before they are stowed away and forgotten. We also need more photos from classmates who have not contributed in the past. Great shots include group photos of squadron mini-reunions, as well as pictures from Nam, other career highlights, weddings, grandkids, etc. Just email the digital photos to: RockyDick@gmail.com”. Mike Parmentier hosted a party in Vienna, VA to introduce his son’s new wife to the family and some friends. He invited classmates Mike Gaffney and Bill Hohwiesner to the affair, hoping they would say some-
As always, the wives look a lot better than the guys. Kathy and Mike Gaffney, Gail and Mike Parmentier, Bill and Patty Hohwiesner get together in Wash DC.
thing nice about him to his new daughter-in-law. (But I think the Honor Code might have prevailed.) Lou Turpen has received another prestigious award for his contributions to aviation. The Airports Council International -- North America has awarded the William E Downes Jr Memorial Award to Lou for demonstrating outstanding leadership in promoting the cause of airports and aviation throughout local, national, and worldwide communities. Lou was the director of the San Francisco International Airport from 1981 to 1995, and then was the CEO of Toronto’s Pearson International Airport from 1995 to 2004. Among Lou’s accomplishments were two major redevelopment projects at SFO for a total of $3 billion and a ten-year redevelopment program at Toronto Pearson International Airport worth $4.4 billion. Airport executives from around North America praised Lou as a “visionary leader”, with “a tremendous ability to think strategically”, “a great leader and a great teacher”; but most importantly “He was also a lot of fun to work with”. Lou has also been elected as a fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society in Great Britain; and, most recently, he has been serving as president of the Sabre Society San Francisco Aeronautical Society Donors Randy Jayne writes that the boys of “Seagrams Seven” Squadron gathered in San Antonio in March for their annual Spring Fling golf outing. The event, which was hosted by Bill and Suzan Eubank, drew nine classmates from 7th Sq who chased that little white ball around and told stories of times gone by. Thanks to our classmates who live in or near Charlottesville, VA, 7th Sq is planning for the 2015 version to be held in that historic area. (Maybe they can rent Monticello for a little golf and dinner?) Randy claims to be moving steadily to a 2015 status of semi-retirement, which they call “Partner Emeritus”, where his work will be much reduced. He says that he is practicing for that status right now. He and Nancy were in COS for an Endowment board meeting, and went to the Founders Day 60thanniversary dinner at the club, where they visited with several other Redtags who were also enjoying the celebration. Randy also says that they plan on being back in COS in September for the dedication of the A-1 Skyraider Memorial Plaque for the SEA Memorial in Doolittle Hall. Of the approximately 700 USAF pilots who flew the A-1 in combat in SEA, 39 were USAFA grads. Among the seven of these grads who were killed in action and memorialized on the plaque is our classmate, Ramsey Vincent. We’ll have an update in our next newsletter.
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The Seagrams Seven crowd in San Antonio. From left are Bill Eubank, Dick Wetzel, Bob Gravelle, Larry Sidwell, Tobe Gooden, Jim Boney, Jim Simpson, Randy Jayne, and Bill Dunne Another event going on as we write this newsletter is Commitment Dinner for the Class of 2016 as they make their “Commitment” to the Academy and to serving their country as future leaders of the Nation. The dinner was on August 12th and should be well attended by our classmates as they support this new tradition. Lee Smith writes that, while driving through Kansas recently, he noticed that the Kansas welcome sign included the Kansas motto “Ad Astra
We’re not the only ones with this motto!
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Per Aspera”. After glancing down at his class ring to confirm that it was the same as the Class of ’66 motto, Lee did some research (Google). He and I both always thought that it meant “through hard work” or “through endeavor”. But it seems that Kansas (and the Oxford Latin Dictionary) interpret this to say “to the stars through difficulty” -- and who can argue with Kansas? I’ll just chalk this up as one more of life’s lessons (but I’m not sure what it is…). While trying to track this down, I did discover a new feature in the on-line version of our Register of Graduates. There is a section called “What’s been happening in your life?” that each of us can complete and have included with the rest of our biographical information. Only a few classmates have filled out that section, but it provides some interesting reading. For instance, did you know that Mason Botts always wanted to pursue a career in music, but a couple of real jobs in the Air Force and Raytheon, as well as other facts of life kept getting in the way? But he is now a vocalist and bass player in the Ken Smith Band in the DC area. Maybe if you just send me an update on what’s happening in your life, I won’t have to keep telling the same stories again and again. 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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Greetings, one and all. As I compose this, rain in falling in Albuquerque as it has been almost nightly this past week. While we have come to love the desert (especially in Feb…) – the drought has been very tough on all. This rain is not enough to reverse all that – but it is nice. Remember 24 June of ’63? How could any of us forget? Apparently the CoS paper provided some insight on how the activity is now choreographed: (from Bob Muldrow) “There was an article… on a training session the cadre went through today... The cadre practiced how they would greet the new class in the buses from Doolittle Hall over to the Hill. You know the getting into the faces; use a little extra volume in your corrections, etc. That part was fine, but the part I thought was stupid was doing the yelling in the face of the Commandant and the Dean. The cadets thought it to be a Sabre Society little strange to be yelling at a two-star and I think that Donors is an understatement. But what do I know...” Another summertime tidbit: This year’s graduation speaker was VP Biden. Here is a description, “…from one person who went to the graduation ceremonies... The first ten minutes he talked about folks who worked for or with him in the past who were grads. Most were discipline cases having received well over one hundred demerits, putting them on the Centurian club. I never heard of such a club... Anyhow, (the attendee) thought that (Biden) was giving the… message to the cadets… that they can be screw-ups and still get ahead, rather than encouraging them to do great things. She said the next part of his message was typical political stuff that (earned) a tepid response from the cadets. About the only cheer with vigor that went out was when he granted amnesty to those who had not committed serious infractions.” I’ve read that the West Point graduates were similarly impressed by their speaker. From Lex Page: “This is a World War II Nazi flag which flew over the Remagen Bridge and was captured by the Service Company, 14th Tank
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Battalion, when the Americans overran the German Army at the bridge on March 7, 1945. A friend’s granddad saved the flag from being burned and had members of his unit sign it. When he died last year, I arranged for his family to donate it to the US Army Artifact & Art Collection at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, for display.” Current/ ongoing news reports out today describe issues of the USAFA athletic department, sports programs, recruitment of athletes, and more. It is pretty sick, and sad, and tarnishes (again) the institution. Another of our group is a published author: this from Ken Sproul: “…I am still alive and living back home again in Indiana… Xulon Christian Publishing Company just published and printed parts 1 and 2 of my memoirs… My life has truly been unique... just as everyone’s’ lives are unique… The books are available now at Barnes and Noble (and) Amazon… in paperback and downloadable to kindle. I want as many folks as possible to read my books and learn just how God can ‘save a wretch like me’…” Two of our class went Home these past months – John Carney and Thom Evans. Both had services at the Cadet Chapel and were interred in the Academy Cemetery. Both have longer write-ups in the Gone But Not Forgotten section of this Checkpoints. John’s services were attended by Frat Five grads Bill Savage (main speaker), Jim George, Jim “Ike” Icenhour, Ralph Palmer, Tom Hepner, Roger Williams and Steve Holohan. Locals included Ralph Femrite, Bob Muldrow, Joe Burke, Paul Henry, John Pletcher and Roger Carleton. From Roger: …“John Barhaugh flew in from California. He and John spent their first two years as Lts together. ‘67 entered USAFA 24 June ‘63. 51 years later to the day, John Carney was laid to rest.” Thom Evans’ services at the Academy were also well attended, including (from Bob Muldrow) “…buddies from is U-2 days, classmates, especially from 13th squadron, and good friends/relatives… The… keynote speaker was Thom’s dear friend, Fred Milanovich…” Thom had a series of serious health issues and succumbed to ALS, aka Lou Gehrig Disease, a terrible, progressive and debilitating disease. “…Not once during those last years did anyone hear him complain. Thom said this was just another journey that he had to take. Fred’s final words were for all of us to mentally fasten our seat belts for our last journeys. We should use Thom’s example on how to live life from this moment on. That should be our charge.” A (likely incomplete) list of grad attendees includes Bob, Fred, Buz, Patrick Finnegan, Roger Carleton, Jack Fry, Jeff Schofield, Ron Morishige, Beau Crosby, and Pat Dowling. Again from Bob Muldrow -- news of another gathering: “We had a mini-Blackjack reunion the other day; Paul Schlichter, me, Steve Landers, and Ralph Femrite. Steve came in for a retirement of an old friend of his from the Chemistry department. When not telling stories from our days as cadets, Steve told us of his and Sherry’s farm and the issues nowadays in raising grain-fed beef, chickens, their adopted geese etc. Paul just got back from Budapest and a river cruise where Beverly caught a nasty cold. Since we will be doing a similar trip shortly, they will be pumping us up with things to do, places to see, etc. this coming week. Ralph is now undergoing chemo. He takes some pain and nausea medicine regularly, but the good news is that he played some golf last Wednesday…” Fred Milanovich also sent a pic from a happier gathering of CS 13 guys.
Ron Morishige and Buz Carpenter in front and standing from left are Jan Messinger, Fred Milanovich, Beau Crosby, Ross Leonard, Mark Stugart, Rick Schmitt, Clint Price, and Pat Dowling. Our hard working and dedicated Reunion Committee has started to plan for our 50th: “The overriding objectives… are two-fold. First, make the 50th Reunion a very special event. Second, and most important, encourage all physically able Classmates to attend. This is our premier – and perhaps last official – chance as a Class to renew old friendships, swap stories and pay tribute to those who have left us all too soon…” If
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you have thoughts about activities (i.e. with football game, or not), venue, etc. – please contact one or more of the reunion committee members: Bob Muldrow (muldrow@pcisys.net), Jack Fry ( FRYJACK@aol.com), T om Griesser (tomgrie@aol.com), Ralph Femrite (femriter@gmail.com), Frank Chuba (fchuba@aol.com), Jeff Schofield (jaschofie@gmail.com), Pete Knepell (pete@pcisys.net), Paul Henry (pauhen1@aol.com), Gary Koldyke (gksandy1@gmail.com), Joe Burke (march15th@centurylink.net), and Roger Carleton (Carleton67@aol.com). One final pic, of Ted and Trish Legasey and Jim and Gayle White enjoying a Gloucester, MA evening in June.
ing as our Class Senator, we extend congratulations to Tina and Garry on the celebration of their 46th wedding anniversary. ’68ER AUTHOR RETURNS TO COLORADO: After reading my spring column of Checkpoints, Geo Roberts wrote: “In case you don’t know, there is some news from Heidi and I – after 38 years living and working in the UK, we are returning to Colorado Springs to establish our permanent residence. It has been a long-term goal of ours that is finally coming true. We’ll be back in the UK to visit family and friends and do some work with the charity I support; otherwise it will be catching up with the great friends we have Sabre Society made over the years; our family in the US, and catching Donors up on some long overdue sunshine! “Also, you may remember I have written a book, IMPACT! How to Make a Positive Difference. This is a book semi-autobiographical, how a small town Nebraska boy ended up in England and how people have made life-changing impact on others through developing some core skills. It is a practical how-to book as well for those who do want to make a powerful difference in their own worlds. Hopefully ages from teens to 90s will enjoy it. “We look forward to catching up with you in Albuquerque at the Reese AFB 70-01 UPT pilot training reunion in September. Hopefully, if our sale goes through, we’ll be residents of Colorado by the mid-summer.” To Geo and Heidi: Good luck with your move and please accept a warm welcome home from your classmates!
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Jim and Ted with wives Gayle and Tricia. And with that – my words have been expended. Adios, my friends. Take care. God bless the troops, and the United States of America. 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! For those who missed my spring column (because class news was not contained in the hard copy version of Checkpoints) please go to our ’68 website to catch up on that edition of “All My Classmates” and specific articles about Mark Torreano, Tony Robertson, J.B. Schroeder, Jim Reese, Dennis Busch, Skip Pardee, Steve Mish, and Mike Nash. Thank you!
68’s Class Senator and his bride: Garry and Tina Dudley. LEGACY CLASS FOR 2018: With USAFA getting older, the Legacy Class has been re-designated as the class that graduated 50 years earlier. Hence, we are now the legacy mentors for the Class of 2018. This designation offers opportunities for us to become more involved in Academy life and heritage events with this year’s incoming class. The point-of-contact for these activities is our Class Senator, Garry Dudley. The first scheduled event was the Acceptance Parade on 5 August. The featured speaker was General Bill Begert and classmates who will be presenting Contrails to the Outstanding Basic Cadets from 2018 will be Carl Janssen, Garry Dudley, Bill Eckert, Bill Crimmel, Bill Maywhort, Bill Wood, Dan Hites, and Al Blumberg. Garry said he will be posting photos and information on this and future legacy events on our class website. In addition to thanking him for serv-
East Coast reunion at the Eberharts. From left in the front row are Dan Bucchioni, Roger Sorensen, Mike Bednarz, Lew Reed, Bill Hoge, Bob Pavelko, Dennis McLain, and scribe. Back row: Gerry Wyngaard, Mike Wagner, Jim Seevers, Bob Mirabello, Bill Drennan, Tom Mc Daniel’s white tuft of hair, Steve McPhail, Pat Heinig, Ed Eberhart’s left eye, John Gonda, and Nick Nicholson. EAST COAST REUNION: The reunion season kicked off at Ed and Karen Eberhart’s home in Arlington, VA on 21 June with ’68’s annual East Coast Reunion. We had a great turnout with classmates coming from as far away as North and South Carolina to join in the festivities. As noted in previous columns, we are indebted to the warm hospitality of Ed and Karen who have so graciously welcomed us into their home and hosted these wonderful events for so many years. 2ND BREAKFAST AND BIPLANE GATHERING: A pot luck breakfast and biplane gathering is scheduled for 12 August from 7:00AM – 11:00AM at Dave and Jeanne Allen’s home/airplane restoration and flying operation. The notional time for breakfast is 8:30AM. It is a beautiful setting located on Kelly Air Park and features both powered and glider operations. Attire is casual and you may want to bring a windbreaker if you are fortunate enough to get to fly. Questions? Contact Carl Janssen or Dave Allen. August 14th is the weather back-up day. REESE AFB 70-01 UPT 45-YEAR REUNION: Jim Lozito has done a great job organizing and coordinating events in Albuquerque, NM for Reese AFB UPT Class of 70-01’s 45-year reunion. The dates are 18-21 September. The reunion lodging is at the Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town. The itinerary includes visits to the New Mexico Veterans Memorial, 58th Special Operations Wing at Kirtland AFB, International Balloon Museum, tram ride up Sandia Mountain, and sights around Old Santa Fe. A coat and tie banquet will follow on the evening of 20 Sept. Many thanks to Jim for all of his efforts. RANDOLPH AFB 70-02 45-YEAR REUNION: Steve McPhail is organizing a 45-year reunion for Randolph AFB UPT Class of 70-02 in San Antonio, TX. The reunion dates are 17-19 Oct and lodging will be at the Omni la Mansion del Rio. Itinerary includes golf, tour of Randolph AFB, BBQ dinner, river cruise, and a Mexican fiesta. Many thanks to Steve for his efforts, too!
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Clark Gerhart at American Alpine Club (AAC) dinner with the USAFA Mountaineering Club. MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS ARE US: Clark Gerhardt writes: “The photo is of me (ex-president USAFA Mountaineering Club -- now on the American Alpine Club Board), Captain Kate Schifani (OIC USAFA Mountaineering Club – USAFA ’09) and the current USAFA Mountaineering Club President and club officers at the AAC annual dinner in Denver last January -- who were guests at my table. I got my start climbing at USAFA via the Mountaineering club and climbing has been a life-long passion, taking me all over the world in search of summits. Being on the AAC Board is a great honor as well as a lot of fun -- great people/climbers involved. We had about 600 people at the Denver annual dinner. It was a unique gathering and I was able to introduce the USAFA contingent to many of the old and new mountain gods that were there. I think they really enjoyed themselves... it was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Hope all is well with you -- on our way to Canada for a month near Banff. Cheers!” THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS: We lost our classmate Jim Madsen on 15 May 2014 in Chandler, AZ after he suffered complications from surgery. Please keep Jim’s family and friends in your thoughts and prayers. Special prayers are also offered for Debbie Janssen as she undergoes chemotherapy treatments in Colorado. 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. 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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Last Checkpoints before the Reunion in October. Hope the Falcons are enjoying a good start to the football season (as is predicted), and all of you so-able are heading to the confab in Colorado come October… Some tidbits to pass along… Chris Hope, a 4-time Master and SAFE member, was renewed in his Master Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) status. To put that in perspective, of the 98,000 CFIs in the US, fewer than 800 have achieved the Master credential, and only 55 worldwide have earned it four times. Recognized by the FAA, the Master designation not only includes functional expertise and performance well beyond that which is expected to earn the flight instructor certification, but also encompasses committed service to the aviation community in general. Though our VP might exercise different wording, enough said is that this is a “big deal.” Congrats, Chris. Keep ’em flying. And, Tim Mason keeps on running, biking, and swimming, and placed 3rd in our age group in the early August Ironman competition held in Boulder. 13:29. Try that on for size! Sounds like a 100-yard dash time for the over-30 demographic, but Tim may have been hampered by some knee surgery (menisectomy) in late April. Bigger things in store for him. Great work, Tim! Still awaiting pictures from the Tour d’Colorado this summer; Jim Downey, Rick Olafson, and Jim Hansen (and maybe others) rode together this year, the hundreds of miles being Jim’s first shot at it. Roy Coppinger, golf maven, arranged a Portland area lunch at Dick’s Kitchen, in honor of Dick Swanson, with John Buckner in town. Swanie is doing his best impression of Don Ho here, but falls short of the 3rd runner-up in the Northwest finals of his look-alike contest, but only because he was hanging with Roy and Buck.
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Roy, Swanie, and Buck at Dick’s Tavern. Mike Thiessen, who played ball with PGA golfer Tom Watson in high school, invited Roy down to Kansas City to participate in an event honoring Watson at the KC Country Club. Mike does a bang-up job supporting Tom and his effort for the “First Tee,” and Mike Beezley was able to join as well.
Mike, Roy, and Beez support “First Tee”, flanking event sponsor Tom Watson and friend at the Kansas City Country Club. After many years, Mike T. has elected recently to switch law firms, and is now ensconced in new office digs. He and Nancy and Team Buckner, on separate trips, headed to Bordeaux, France, the former for an extended stay, the latter for a touch-and-go, and for a look at the fabulously crafted wines of that world-famous region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site John Banbury is still doing his Mitsubishi gig, which allows him the flexibility to head to Japan once every 4 to 6 weeks, and spend most of the summer in Europe. He and Eva are playing tennis regularly, and are working with Glenn Schlabs to set up a tennis outing for those interested in hitting a few during the reunion. Jeff Grime is following up his fall Carolina Golf Association 4-ball win with a trip to Michigan to play with his partner in the Peninsula Open, a three-day event. Sabre Society Says they’ll be fortunate to finish in the top half, as Donors there are loads of golf “sleepers” who shoot lights out,
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but don’t hit the tournament circuits regularly—but enough to keep a sharp edge on. Jim Erickson sends regrets for his upcoming absence at the 45th reunion, which he had hoped to attend, but is looking forward, as are we all, to the 50th. And now an account you will all want to read; an amazing testament to family, love, transcendent values, and brotherhood. Our classmate, Robert E. Ryan, was honored on May 31, 2014, near Greensboro, NC, at the dedication ceremony of the “Carolina Field of Honor” officiated by North Carolina’s governor. As most of you know, Bob was killed in Oct ’71 when his O-2 was shot down, one of nine ’69ers who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country in Vietnam. Bob’s widow, Barbara, subsequently married a wonderful man, Chris Guest; what they have done over the next 40 years is simply remarkable. Barbara and Chris and their own lovely family have made a conscious
effort over the past four decades to make Bob Ryan and his memory a part of their family legacy. And so, when Greensboro decided to build a memorial park for veterans, Barbara and Chris became involved in making the “Field of Honor” a reality, helping raise $5 million in donations for the site, and donating generously themselves, as did another of our classmates. In addition, Barbara and Chris have purchased Pavers at the memorial in honor of each of the nine ’69ers killed in Vietnam, Bob’s Classmates, our Classmates. In the center of the “Field of Honor” is a large Obelisk surrounded by five monuments representing the five branches of service. The Air Force monument is being named “In Memory of AF Lt. Robert E. Ryan, USAFA 1969, KIA.” (You can read about the “Field of Honor” at the website www. ncwmf.org.)
played exceptional courage during the war in SEA. The centerpiece will be a bronze sculpture of a suffering Lance Sijan. Graduates who earned the Air Force Cross and Silver Star will also be honored. The Plaza will be located east of the Pavilion. It will be a joint project with the Class of ’65. Our goal is to raise $500K. We need your help in funding this great project. Please make your donation to the USAFA Endowment. In the note section, put ’70 Class Gift Fund. Mail to: USAFA Endowment 3116 Academy Drive, USAF Academy, 80840. This will be our last major fundraising effort so we need maximum participation. Our goal is to raise most of the funds before the end of this calendar year so we can start the design and construction and you can get the tax deduction this year. We would also like to continue to upgrade the interior of the SEA Pavilion with graduate stories and populate Sabre Society our web site—70SEAPavilion.com. Please give serious Donors consideration to making a donation this year. On a very sad note, I am sorry to report that Donna Sterling lost her courageous battle with cancer. Our thoughts and prayers are with Dave and his family. I am sure all of you were ecstatic to see our own Gregg Popovich win his fifth NBA Championship! The future Hall of Famer showed Lebron and the Heat what TEAM basketball is all about. Redemption is sweet! Ed Rashid got to see the Spurs win their championship up close and personal, being a San Antonio resident. Holy Falcon Feathers! By the time you read this, our 45th Reunion will be about one year away. It is hard to predict the dates without a firm football schedule and that won’t be released until March or April. I expect our Reunion will be between 20 Sept and 15 Oct. We will try to have it while the weather has the potential to be nice. Start lining up your foursomes for the big golf tournament! For those of you attending this year’s Navy game, Rich and Nanci Downing will be hosting their great annual mini-reunion at their home after the game. If you plan to attend let Rich know at Richdown70@gmail.com. He can give you details on what to bring and directions. I invited CSAF General Mark Welsh to visit the Pavilion after the graduation. He and his wife spent 40 minutes at the Pavilion and were very impressed. Gary Dahlen, Curt Emery, Mark Torreano, and I were proud to show off our class’ legacy.
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Husband, Brother, Son, Friend. Honoring Lieutenant Robert Ryan are Bob and Nan Schaller, Charles and Anne Baldwin, Barbara and Chris Guest, Mike and Vivian Rose, and Jimmy Abbott. Thanks to Charlie Baldwin and Mike Rose for following up on the details of this marvelous story, about which some of the Class had been aware. It is the most moving account I’ve had the honor of relating to the class over all these decades of Checkpoints. Symbolic of so much about family in all its definitions, the ties that bind, and commitment, saying worlds about what it means to be a Class, and all that is entailed in the word “Classmate.” It also reminds us of the sometimes-forgotten recipients of our Class Gift other those of the long blue line -- past, present, and future -- who will benefit from the Cadet Wing Honor Board Room. Those beneficiaries are ourselves, the members of the Class of 1969 -- we’ve made this project a reality to honor each other. Thanks to all who have contributed so far; happily, many who were unaware of the project until the latest “get out the word campaign” have now come on line and helped us break through the $2 million goal we set for ourselves. However, we are still short of our other important and coequal goal -- 100% participation. So, if you are so inclined, even if you’ve already contributed, please continue to spread the word to any and all ’69ers you see. As I write this, we have about three months left to make contributions to this notable Class legacy project. The account of Bob Ryan above reminds us again that there is great symbolism in this gift and in the rooms within it. Yes, the Academy itself looms large in our thoughts -- as do each and every one of the young men we spent four years with back in the mid1960s and together made the Class of 1969 a group with which to be reckoned before, during, and after the blue-suit years. And still now. Salute, all. Esse Non Videri. Lindsey
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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“It’s a screw job Seventy!” Those infamous words yelled by Bill Manning during Hell Week back in 1967 became our unofficial motto and united us in a special way that few, if any, classes can match. We have showed that unity by coming together to fund the SEA Pavilion, the cornerstone of the Heritage Trail and a lasting legacy for our class (see Board Chairman Roger Carlton’s article earlier in the magazine). As we approach, our 45th Reunion we need to come together again and raise funds for a major project—The Plaza of Heroes. The Plaza is designed to honor those graduates who dis-
CSAF visits SEA Pavilion. From left are Gary Dahlen, Betty Welsh, The Phantom and General Welsh. It was great to play some golf with Chuck Weir on his and Barb’s visit to the Springs. His game is starting to show some promise, but there were times I thought he should take up bowling. I also enjoyed a great dinner with former roomie, Mike (The Phantom) Huber. We had a great time sharing war stories and enjoying several adult beverages. We also enjoyed a great meal with Mark and Kristie Ewig. Mark won Colorado’s Outstanding Economics Educator Award and has been nominated for the Colorado Teacher of the Year! During graduation week, I saw proud dad Angus Macdonald with son Angus—a member of the graduating class of 2014. I once again was honored to present the Outstanding Wrestling Award in honor of Dick Christie. C/3C Josh Martinez won the award and assured me he would win it the next two years. I like his confidence! While walking the cemetery on Memorial Day, Bob McKinney and I lamented all of our classmates there. We had some fond memories of our many friends who are at their final resting place. Marilyn and I also enjoyed seeing Terry and Janet Silvester in Florida at the baptism of our grandson. In June, several classmates heard our own Mayor Chuck Reed give a great talk at the AOG. Chuck has certainly made many significant and difficult decisions in balancing San Jose’s budget. (See photo at the top of the next column.)
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massive flooding in Pensacola. Jimmy is a Lt in the Navy. After the flooding, he was transferred to Camp Pendleton and was evacuated again due to the fires there -- two evacuations in a matter of weeks. USAA was going to pay Jimmy about 60-70% of his claim, but Bill Tench stepped in and got them to pay 100% given Jimmy’s remarkable story. Shows how close ’70 classmates are! With that, I will close by again requesting you support our fund raising effort and make a donation for our class gift for our 45th Reunion. Let’s continue to leave a lasting legacy to our Alma mater. Arriba Falcones!
Paul D. Knott 5565 Lantana Drive Colorado Springs, CO 80915 H: (719) 570-9162 E-mail: pk71knott@gmail.com Classmates support Mayor Chuck Reed. From left are Ray Oakeschott, Tooey Emery, Gary Dahlen’ Roger Hill, The Phantom, Chuck Reed, Dave Gaw, Jim Brechwald, Rick Lesch, Vic Bradford, Jerry Bruni and Gary Finley. I see Larry Tieman and family visited Iceland. John and Sylvia Disosway are in London. Mike Kelley had a nice golf outing to Ireland. Roger Radcliff continues his travels around the country in his RV. Larry and Jo Anne Vaughn are traveling around the globe. Last stop was in Shetland Islands and a visit to Paris. Rob Robison did some serious camping around the country including climbing near Mt Rainier. Don Forbes has a new yacht! I saw a picture of Chip Terrill at the World Cup. Dana Arbaugh visited a lot of our national parks on a senior pass. Roy Kessel and Bob Stratton got together in San Antonio. Dave Hallman will be at the Georgia State game. Saw Steve Sharkey at the Academy pharmacy. I think I have a second home there! Mike Lambert’s son’s band was featured on PBS. Little known but interesting fact—Vince Puglisi’s dad was a navigator on the Columbine—President Eisenhower’s plane. Pat Collins and Craig Johnson did some serious fishing near Destin, FL. Seems Harry Strittmatter lives in that neck of the woods too, but is getting ready to move to Texas. Some of our classmates are in pretty good shape. The boys below just completed a 62-mile bike race near Castle Rock.
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It is with the greatest sadness that I must let you know of the passing of Bill Venemon. Cancer claimed him in July, in Scottsdale, AZ. If you wish to contact his wife, Lawana, I have her contact information. Charley Lucy of Holland & Hart, LLP was named by his peers as the “go-to” guy in government law in a recent edition of Colorado Springs Style magazine. Cass Casada’s golf extravaganza on June 9th may be the beginning of a tradition. Cass just missed having eight foursomes on what turned out to be a gorgeous day. One of the options was to buy mulligans before heading out, and Tom Berry offered to match the amount for the Class gift up to a certain amount. I’m happy to say that he ponied up every penny he pledged. Andrea and I weren’t able to get up for the golfing, but we were able to get a tour of Cass and Laura’s brand-new home. They moved in literally three days before the tournament! Not only do they have a cozy but spacious main level, there is a lower level with a home theater, a kitchen and several bedrooms and an upper level for contemplation of the Ramparts’ scenic vistas. Sabre Society Donors Randy “Rowdy” Hetherington and Brian Haggerty spent a great week at the Sun N Fun Fly-in in Lakeland, FL. Brian flew his Cessna 185, and Rowdy cruised in in his RV with mass quantities of home-brewed beer. Every evening he and Brian opened up the “Sky Wagon Bar and Grill” and fed homeless and needy pilots who wandered by. Per Rowdy: “If you are in the vicinity for next year’s festivities April 21-26, 2015, ya’ll are welcome to come by for some beer and brats. Saturday night is steak night. Bring an empty mug.” You guys have been busy this quarter! Eric Howell sent a photo of the “John Wittenborn” Hole at the Founder’s Day Golf Tournament, which was held at Andrews AFB, MD. Terry Weimer was in charge of the festivities. John, Eric, Bruce Crimin, and Bob Peterman did decently as a foursome, but didn’t win anything.
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’70 Men enjoying adult beverages after Tour de Castle Rock. From left are Roger Riggs, Mike Lyons, Gary Finley and Jim Brechwald. Have been to a few Falcon football practices. The boys look bigger and are showing a new intensity on defense. Let’s hope that translates to at least six wins in the upcoming season. I wish had the space to tell the whole story, but you can read it here: http://www.pnj.com/story/news/2014/05/17/fsu-grad-saves-flood-victims//9234477/. Bottom line, Don Westbrook’s son Jimmy saved three people’s lives - three women, one with cerebral palsy and in a wheelchair -- during the
JOIN THE SABRE SOCIETY! YOUR MONEY HELPS FUND CADET WING PROGRAMS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE GO UNFUNDED. CALL (719) 472-0300 X200.
Stalking the wily birdies at Andrews: Crimin, Wittenborn and Howell on the course. John Higgins recently ran the Falcon 50 Marathon at the Academy. For those of you who are interested in the May 2015 edition, John sent along an on-line registration. Tom and Jackie Berry sent a photo of a Memorial Day get-together. As you can tell, this event was well-attended
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News and Jean Morgan, Timo Sullivan, Dave and Arlene Bowman, Felix and Lin Dupre, Larry Reynolds, Brian Binn, Al Sellers, George Pollard, Greg Bishop and Harvey LeCato. I apologize if I left anyone out! Heartfelt congratulations certainly go out to all of the previous Distinguished Graduates, Mr Holaday, and to Bill Looney in particular for this well-deserved recognition of his stellar performance over the years! You did us all proud, Tunes!!
In the front row are Mac McFarland, Honi Garvin, Larry Smith, Steve Mott and Steve Dehaven. Back row: General Erv Rokke, ’62, Tom Saba (USAFA wannabe!), John Hertel, USNA ’70, Tom Berry and Bob Lowe. Sam Clovis’ political career has been interesting. He was hugely outspent in the Iowa Senate primary contest, but still came in a strong second. Then, during the Republican collection, the lieutenant governor nominated him as the Republican candidate for state treasurer. The other candidate then withdrew, so Sam is on the Iowa ballot. The next few months will be busy for him, I’m sure. GBA
Dave Bowman and Felix Dupre
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Bob Bell 13 Pacific Ave. Sinking Spring, PA 19608 Cell:302-399-3240 E-mail: reservist777@yahoo.com
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Gentlemen of the Class of 1972! Once again it is time for a short news report. Since the 60th anniversary edition of Checkpoints magazine did not include the Class News, if you are reading this, then you have found the repeated print edition which was online at the USAFA website. It is my intent to let anyone who missed that online version to see the last edition of our news, with a few additional comments. On a personal note, I officially retired from American Airlines in August, having hit the big 6-5 after spending 29 years with the company. It was a great experience all Sabre Society told, especially after having had a full military (active Donors and reserve) career as well. This getting older seems to have some of its own drawbacks but may eventually turn out all right, considering the alternative. Things in the journalistic world seeming to be slower in the waning days of winter, there were only two stories featured in today’s news. The first was sent in by Harvey LeCato reflecting our class participation in some of the multitude of activities surrounding the 60th Anniversary of the Air Force Academy.
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From left in the top row are Brian Binn, Larry Reynolds, and Harvey LeCato. Bottom: Al Sellers, George Pollard, and Greg Bishop. On Friday, April 4th, 2014, hundreds of grads and their guests celebrated the Academy Founders Day with the Founders Day Dinner and presentation of the Distinguished Graduate Awards. This year the honorees were Mr. A. Bart Holaday, ’65 and our own General (Ret) William R. Looney, III, ’72. Joining “Tunes” to recognize his achievement in this event were Skip
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Skip Morgan (Jean), and Timo Sullivan Thank you, Harvey, as usual, for your help here. We had some follow-up on the David Tumino event reported last issue, only the latest of the many that David has been involved in. He completed the MS Marathon Bike Ride with its accompanying pledge of donations, some reportedly coming from our mention here of his continuing activity in that regard. David also brought up an idea that hopefully we can expand upon -- his personalized State of Texas license plate which features the USAFA logo and of course, “72CNDO” prominently displayed. He wondered, as do I, if we polled the entire class to find any other classmates with similar personalized plates from the rest of the 50 states, how would that collection look? I remember having had one entry years ago sent by one of you guys. Let’s see if we can find that one again and some others. Finally, a short message dropped into my email following our feature last edition of classmate Greg Anderson, recipient of kudos for his work with Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum. He continues his efforts to make Wings the best, meeting and involving other graduates in the process as well. Greg reports that there are already three grads on the Wings Board of Directors. This is one place worth getting out to for a visit, if you have not already done so. And, by the way, Greg was just catching up on some reading during his recent vacation when he found himself in that issue of Checkpoints. See, you never know where your name will pop up when you are doing good things! For some newer information, we find on Facebook at the site “USAFA ’72 – Best In Blue,” this entry from Bill Kasson: “Thinking this is the easiest way to get this to you for the next Checkpoints. A little background; a group of us began running in the ’70s. We were mostly based in the Sacramento area. In 1980 we entered the 16th DeCelle Memorial Lake Tahoe Relays, a 72-mile, 7-person running relay race around Lake Tahoe. It was my first year of “serious” running after quitting smoking and being talked into running a marathon by our classmate Gary Grant. One of our teammates made tye-dyed T-shirts for the team and we adopted the team name the Psychedelic Pseven, which stuck with us over the years. After a few years as a mixed group, the Pseven morphed into an all Zoomie team, comprised of grads from the classes of 1975, ’74,’73 and of course the “Best in Blue.” We ran the race 21 straight years from 1980 to 2000, during which time we placed as high as 3rd overall, and then won the over 40 division a couple of times (those great feats were accomplished without me on the team). In 2004, we got back together to make a “run” as an age 60 entry in 2014. Race day, June 14th, was the usual beautiful Lake Tahoe day. The race circles Lake Tahoe, starting in South Lake and running counterclock-
wise, with each leg covering from 10 to 12 miles. We competed against two other over 60 teams; 124 entered in total. At the end of the day, the Psychedelic Pseven once again prevailed, winning a very competitive over 60 age group and placing 51st overall. The team includes, from left: Jerry Wallace ‘75, Bob Thompson ‘75, Bill Kasson ’72, Scott Mills ’73, Craig MacPherson ’73, Ed Zerambo ’75, and Doug Frost ’74. Also present, but not participating due to injury, was our classmate Eric Ianacone. One of the over 60 teams commented that they used to be “fast and good looking.” We were fast enough on this day (our anchor runner passed the one over-60 team ahead of us about 100 yards from the finish), and you can tell from the photo still good looking.” Thank you, Bill, for the news and photo! Now on a more somber note, some of you may already know that we have lost two good friends recently. Gary Winterberger passed away on 20 May 2014, while Gerry Benfield left us on 30 June 2014. I send wishes of peace to the families of both of these fine gentlemen. They are already missed by all. That does it for this go-around of the Class News. Let me hear from you with your latest anytime at all and it will be published. Inquiring minds do want to know! FPA. Mike Arnett 5285 Copper Drive Colorado springs, CO 80918 (719) 310-8100 jmikearnett@gmail.com
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Greetings, members of the Illustrious Class of 1973! Thanks for all the inputs. Keep ‘em coming. Too many pictures to include here, so go to usafa73.org to see all. Now for the updates. Kent Buchanan, CS-33, gets the award for sending in the most unrecognizable photo (below). He claims he’s on the right and Al Rotach is on the left. Kent is enjoying retirement, visiting friends and family, sun and sand in Florida, and traveling. He and Diane will celebrate their 30th anniversary in Italy in October. (Congrats!) Kent recently visited daughters Lindsay and Emily and two grandsons, Drew and Milo, in DC. Lindsay was in DC on a four month rotation to the Department of Agriculture and will be returning to her assignment to the Forest Service in Santa Fe in October.
Al Rotach and Kent Buchanan Incognito!
As if we weren’t feeling old enough, Rick Karvosky, CS-10, is trying to make us feel worse. Until proven otherwise, he’s staking claim to being the first great-grandfather in our class. His great-granddaughter was born on his birthday this past Feb Rick writes, “I can’t believe there are now four generations of me!” (There may be four generations of Karvoskys, but only one original, Rick!) As he just turned 62 in Feb, Rick says it’s a bit ironic that he might be the first GGF. If anyone else beat him to GGF status, please let us know and send in proof. Rick sent in a four-generation pic, another with just him and his granddaughter, and several from their recent trip to Kona, Hawaii that are at usafa73.org. Speaking of Hawaii, Tom Kennedy, CS-31, noted in last quarter’s column that Phil and Chris Yavorsky, CS-31, also spent some time in Hawaii and hoped to have news for this column. Phil obliged, noting they had stayed with Chris’ brother, MG James Walton (US Army), in the house which General (then a lieutenant colonel) George Patton lived in (Pre WWII) at Ft Shafter, Oahu. They also did the tourist thing, beaches, Pearl Harbor, lava tube, luau… See pics at usafa73.org. Phil suggests we have a reunion there. Not a bad idea. Maybe we could have it in February when those of us in the northern half of the States are in need of some warmth. Finally, Phil reported their first daughter made them grandparents for the first time, bringing young Sam into the world. Guess that Sabre Society would make him the class of 2036! Donors Mike Nishimuta, CS-40, is the “newest” “old” pilot to restart his flying career. He reported in May: “I left Italy in January to take the recall offered by American Airlines, and used all the bananas American had to teach me to fly again after a 13-year furlough. In July I’ll be based in Dallas and look forward to catching up with any classmates in my future travels. Had a nice visit with John O’Connor in Pensacola. My old roomie Don McMillan is with USAirways, and since we are all one big happy family now, it will be nice for the two of us to end our flying careers together in the same company. For me, it will be Nov 2016, just under 1000 days from now. Catherine, my lovely wife, is still holding down the library in Aviano, and received a promotion and is director of the library until her DEROS in May 2016.” Gary Brobeck, CS-13, retired 12 July 2014 from Jacobs Engineering after over 22 years as a program engineer with the 96 TW at Eglin AFB, FL. This gives him 46-plus years for both active duty and DOD contractor service. Plans are to continue residence in DeFuniak Springs, FL. Al Dunlap, CS-08, was one of four named Teacher of the Year by the Abilene (Texas) Education Foundation back in April. There’s an article about the award at www.reporternews.com/news/teachers-from-taylorabilene-high-and-madison, though apparently you have to be a subscriber to access it. Stakler Reed, CS-07, sent in a most interesting report about long-lost squadronmate and “adventurer extraordinaire” Bill Hanlon. Stalker and squadronmates Mark Coffman and Al Nacke met up with Bill in San Diego in June. Bill had flown in from Phuket, Thailand to administer his mother’s estate in San Diego (our condolences, Bill), interrupting a multiyear around-the-world cruise on his schooner Seawanhaka. Apparently having had enough of the mundane life, Bill retired as a district attorney in Bend, OR and has devoted his life to adventure. According to his website, www.seawanhanka.com, he’s got over 50,000 sailing miles under his belt. In 2004, he won the national schooner race, and in San Diego this June he discovered his name etched on the large trophy at the yacht club, next to sailing legend Dennis Conner. As of the end of June, his plans were to return to Phuket at the end of July, then spend a few months trekking through Korea, Siberia, Mongolia, and China before resuming his voyage to the Mediterranean through India and the notorious Gulf of
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Reed, Coffman, Hanlon and Nacke in San Diego June 2014.
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Aden. Stalker also reported Bill had kayaked down an uncharted river in Nepal. Fair winds and following seas, Bill! We look forward to your updates on your website. Craig MacPherson, CS-39, reports that for the 23rd time since 1980, the Psychedelic Pseven (including ’73ers Craig and Scott Mills, CS-12) entered the 72-mile Tahoe Relays. Over the years the team evolved to be all USAFA grads, with seven runners each running a leg of approximately 10 miles. This year, the team won the “Over 60” male division, and did it in dramatic fashion. They took the lead for the first time in the last 100 yards and then closed the deal, winning by 10 seconds after a 10-hour 22minute race. That’s 8.5 minute miles at 6,500 feet, with dramatic elevation changes. Craig joked, “Key to success was obviously the terrazzo runs at 5:00 AM.” (That and good knees.) [Editor’s note: See photo at the bottom left of the next page.] From left are Doug Frost ’74, Ed Zerambo ’75, Craig MacPherson ’73, Scott Mills ’73, Bill Kasson ’72, Bobbie Thompson ’75 and Jerry Wallace ’75. Again, thanks for the interesting inputs this quarter. Don’t forget to send your updates to me at class.scribe@r-netservices.com or jmikearnett@gmail.com. There’s no need to wait until I call for them again in October. Please include pix. If I can’t include them, I’ll send them on to Mike Nishimuta to post to usafa73.org. “Here’s a toast… to the host… of the men we boast… the U.S. Air Force!” Mike Arnett Joe Brezovic 228 Senior Circle Lompoc, CA 93437 (832) 285-4179 launchops74@gmail.com
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Hello Classmates! Great to be alive. I am not sure when you get this edition. Hopefully, it is not too late to show up for the 40th Reunion! If it is, perhaps you can catch up from some classmates or from upcoming Checkpoints. This pic comes from the graduating class 100th Night celebration, which Rich Bowman worked with the Legacy Program and our classmates. So now you may be able to recognize a few of us at the 40th reunion.
Mike Cranford, Frank Forsyth, Diane Witt (Phil Irish’s wife), Phil Irish, Peggy Bowman, Rich Bowman, Kathy Inscoe, Phil Inscoe, Spike Murphree, Bill Van Horn Also for the reunion, in case you have not gotten onto the websites, class memorabilia: https://sites.google.com/site/74forevermore/reunion-1/ merchandise. Ted Roth and Dino Schweitzer have worked together to get this up for us. There was quite a bit of calling and coordinating, and calculating, besides the webbing. Thanks to Ted and Dino for these possibilities. I stopped in for a visit with Tom Hayden and Charlie Bryant at the Marriott. Those two are working extremely hard and making the 40th reunion happen! They are amazing! There are others working; however, from my short visit – they Sabre Society are a dynamic duo. As for other notes… here starts this Donors edition of summary of news from around the world. Joe and Darlene Brezovic attended their daughter’s (Adrienne) wedding in Durango, CO, on August 3. Thankfully, there was no rain for the day’s events. They will be living in Albuquerque at least for 18 months while her husband completes his internship for prosthetics. Joe and Darlene are still grandparenting in Lompoc, CA. Another top of the world news comes as a pic on strange places for Checkpoints. Jim Tietjen ‘74 in north central Nepal’s Mustang District, 8 miles from Tibet at 12,500 feet elevation. The ancient city of Lo Manthang built in 1380 is over his left shoulder -- 28 May 14.
Teijen on Top of the World, again! Space newsbrief: I helped out during the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs this June. I met Ron and Ann Sega there, still looking fit and young. I am sure I saw Don McMonagle stride quickly by but couldn’t catch up with his walk… I was stuck on a duty post. I had hoped to see more classmates there. Perhaps I didn’t recognize you and you didn’t recognize me! A short note came in from Bill Yeoman. He plans to be at the reunion. I learned he has been in Cypress, TX. Chris Lanzit sent a “Hi” from Sydney, Australia to let me know about classmates’ moves. Gene Bednarz and his wife, Tami, wrote a “Hello” from their summer house in Alaska, but may not be able to come to the reunion on their way back to their house here in the southern 48. Dan Surber wrote he and his wife, Sara, are in the countdown to his retirement in January 2015. His bucket plans include doing some CONUS and OCONUS trips and perhaps some non-fiction history writing. As for running around, Dave Hoglund participated in the Boston Marathon. His note reads: “What an act with some 30,000 runners! Good weather; amazing crowd. Don’t have any pain, except some minor blisters. Did 7:57 per mile (or 7.5mph)… Wanted 7:50 for a 3:25… But will take a 3:28:22… my best marathon in the last ten years...” Congrats to Dave! I’ve not heard from Bill Casement and his Ironman competitions, or any other runners for a while. Perhaps some of you are trying to stay in excellent (at least good) physical condition. I completed a 10k with my son and daughter. “Completed” is the operative word because they both beat me -- as I expected. Please note that I came in before the last 25 people on the Vandenberg AFB race! Other notes: Mike Carter and (Maggie) live in Lakeland, FL where his still works with Oracle. Mike has been doing that for the last 18 years. Their three boys are married and spread around the country: Winston, NC with 5 kids, and one in Niceville, FL with two; and newlyweds in New York City. Richard Dennis and Mary Jo are living just north of Philadelphia, but working in Jersey. Richard is still doing consulting work, mostly on Data Centers. Their four children are also spread around: one in North Jersey with two children; one in Wilmington with three children. One is still single in Philadelphia, and one just married near Pittsburgh, PA. Short note from Clarence CD Smith -- he is in Ashburn, VA, just outside DC, still working. Rod Bishop and Mary are well. Rod came back recently to the Cadet Chapel because USAFA asked Rod to be the Baccalaureate Speaker for 2014’s Catholic Services. I think that was quite an honor! Napoleon Conception wrote he would want to come to our 40th anniversary, but he has run out of leave days -- trying to save up a few for his son’s wedding this December. Nap flies the A-320 for Phil Air Lines. He adds: “If anyone happens to be in the Philippines you are all most welcome to stay. Mi casa su casa. I am based in Manila but my family lives in Davao City. Don’t believe the Intel, Davao City may be in Mindanao Island but it is the safest city in the entire country.” Paul and Christine Guzowski are living in the Eglin AFB, FL area. Paul
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Paul and Christine at their 37th anniversary.
is still working as a contractor (operations research analyst) with Leidos (formerly SAIC) supporting the Joint Staff J6’s Joint Deployable Analysis Team. He currently supports the development of digitally aided Joint close air support. One of his closest colleagues who worked for Paul as a staff sergeant when Paul was a brigade Air Liaison Officer in Germany in 1979 works with him now! They are close to family in Florida. Recently they celebrated their 37th wedding anniversary with a week camping trip in Branson, MO. The photo shows them after a show. There are no other newsbits to pass on. I have had some difficulty trying to contact classmates through the address list the AOG maintains; unfortunately, the list can only be updated by the owner of the name and address. I have had many emails bounced back, and phone numbers answered by either an unhappy owner or the computerized “this phone number no longer works.” Although you may have lost track of classmates, classmates still reach out to each other. This is a request for you to update the list. Please verify that your address and email is updated and encourage USAFA members in your circle of friends update theirs. Would you agree it helps encouragement and support at low times and happier to share happy times when we stay connected? Above briefs have all been good news! One sad note is the recent loss of classmate Richard A. Wohlman, who passed to rest in May. May each of you live long and prosper. See you at our 40th.
Jeff Chappell 14729 Birken St. Herriman, UT 84096 (210) 488-6137 jtmjbda@sbcglobal.net
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GBNF: Bob Knauff was killed in a glider accident in Arizona on 3 May. I recall the little Taylorcraft Bob bought during UPT in Big Spring, and his total love of everything aviation. Chip Kerby noted that Bob is probably the only classmate who has a mountain named after him. See http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Knauff. Ed Zerambo reports: A group of us began running in the ’70s, mostly based in the Sacramento area. In 1980 we entered the 16th DeCelle Memorial Lake Tahoe Relays, a 72-mile, 7-person relay around Lake Tahoe. Team Name: the Psychedelic Pseven—hey, it was the late ’70s! After a few years, we morphed into an al-Zoomie team, comprised of grads from the classes of 1972, ’73, ’74 and of course, the Best Alive. We ran the race 21 straight years from 1980 to 2000, during which time we placed as high as 3rd overSabre Society all, and then won the over-40 division a couple of times. Donors In 2004, now all over 50, we won that age group. Last year, there was some loose talk about “getting the band back together” to make a run as an age 60 entry. The race starts in South Lake and runs counter clockwise, each leg covering 10 to 12 miles. We competed against two other over-60 teams, with 124 teams total entered. The Psychedelic Pseven once again prevailed, winning a very competitive age group and placing 51st overall. The team includes, from right: Jerry Wallace ’75, Bob Thompson ’75, Bill Kasson ’72, Scott Mills ’73, Craig MacPherson ’73, Ed Zerambo ’75, and Doug Frost ’74. One of the over-60 teams commented that they used to be “fast and good looking.” We were fast enough on this day, and you can tell from the photo still good looking!
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Health warning from Jim Mahoney: Thought I’d pass along a reminder to the guys that if they aren’t getting their PSA checked regularly to get off their duffs and do so. I’m just finishing a bout with prostate cancer that was found as a result of an elevated PSA. I had zero symptoms. Robotic surgery six weeks ago took the whole prostate and the cancer with it (they think). Otherwise, life goes on here in Las Vegas. Only a few more years until retirement from Southwest; only two more years until the youngest graduates high school; then who knows what! Looking forward to seeing another record-setting crowd for the 40th. Had a chance last week to visit the Colorado Mountain Brewery, across I-25 from the stadium. Great views, great restaurant, highly recommended. While sipping a brew there I realized that the Zoo itself is over 50! Beltway Bunch update from John Charlton: We had a ‘75 threesome of Magic Beesley, Cowboy Awtrey and myself at the Founder’s Day golf scramble at Andrews. Our 4th was Magic’s “blonde du jour,” who actually kept us in the game most of the day. One sponsored hole featured our class crest on it and read, “Best Alive, small but elite! Jack Hoffman, ‘75.” From Duane Lodrige: After 30 years of the DC rat race, Michelle and I have retired to the high desert in Reno, NV where we hope to cycle and ski for many years with friends and family. Leading up to my 60th celebration, I took an 1800-mile, three-week bicycle trip down the Blue Ridge and Natchez Trace from Annapolis, MD to surprise my Dad in our hometown near Natchitoches, LA. Also did some skiing with classmates this winter at Bob Thompson’s in Colorado with Bob, Bud Calloway, and John Fritz. Jerry and Beth Wallace are near us in a magnificent place overlooking Lake Tahoe.
World explorer Paul Kent wrote in: My daughter graduated from San Diego State and she and I did something we had talked about doing for years: We went to Peru and Machu Picchu. We elected to trek for a few days and found ourselves at 15,200 feet on the Lares Valley trek. So that altitude is a new record for me (on foot). This was great father-daughter adventure with a great kid. Apparently she told her mom: “I better do this with Dad soon, because I don’t know how much longer he’s going to be able to do this kind of stuff.” She is SO right about that. J.O. Magoffin from Oshkosh with a Lockheed Vega: Do any of our classmates have an interest in old airplanes? (Wiseguy Scribe comment: Hey, we’re old guys: We like old cars, old airplanes, and old women!) I think they might be interested to know that the Vega was the first Lockheed ever acquired by the U.S. military and at one point was the fastest airplane in the USAAF inventory. Can you imagine the chagrin of a P-12 fighter pilot who watched the Y1C-12 or Y1C-17 pass him like he was standing still? Anyway, if any of our classmates are going to be at Oshkosh this year, I would like them to stop by and visit. We will be front and center at the Red Barn. If you can make it to OSH, I have been comped two rooms, one for the boys and the other for the girls and booze. You are welcome; bring your sleeping bag. (Sounds like a blast -- did anyone make it? Send pics and stories please!) Still serving after all these years: Bob Shappell reports “I was just elected Wisconsin State Commander of the American Legion. For the next year I will be representing the 59,000 Legion members in Wisconsin, as well as advocating for the rights and benefits of all veterans and their families. I have been involved in the Legion since I retired in 2001. I will be documenting my travels and experiences on my Facebook page, the Wisconsin American Legion Facebook page, and on Twitter (Bob Shappell@equinebob).” Tim O’Connell’s Adventures in Paradise: Jack VanRyn (roommate during my two-year residence in CS-12) and wife, Debbie (sister of Fred Weems, ‘75), are vacationing in Colorado from St Louis. Dr. VanRyn is an orthopedic surgeon; Colonel VanRyn is the State Air Surgeon, Missouri Air National Guard. He might be the last not-yet-retired military member of our class. To celebrate his 61st birthday, he climbed to the top of Mt. Democrat. It was the first time he “Bagged a Fourteener,” which means reach the summit of one of Colorado’s 58 14,000+ foot peaks. No, driving to the top of Pikes Peak doesn’t count.
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News of their 60th. Hope all went well classmates! Charlie sent a photo of himself and Dave. Dave’s birthday is 02 July so he ‘celebrated’ on our first day of BCT. Right!
More macho outdoor adventures: Mark Schoning has probably conquered more trails in the West than anyone else in the class. Among his latest conquests is Pinnacles National Park, near Soledad, CA. “The park is renowned for being home to the California condor, and having many mountain ridges, formations, and caves. We saw some condors.” Last I heard, Mark was planning a circuit of Mt Rainier’s Wonderland Trail. Happy Trails, Mark, and all the Class of ’75 wanderers!
Dan Beatty 12196 Stanley Canyon Road Colorado Springs, CO 80921 H: (719) 488-1962 C: (719) 338-0276 E-Mail: whrlybrd76@aol.com
Charlie saw Mark Nielsen recently. Mark is still an IMA Flight Surgeon at USAFA. Rick Mantei sent Bob Hinger a Lladro for his birthday, Bob sent this photo back.
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Fellow ’76ers, BCT is over, the Class of 2018 and the rest of the Cadet Wing now settling into their academic year. Falcon football is almost here! Moving up/moving on: Lori Robinson, wife of Dave Robinson promoted to 4-star and selected to command PACAF. Willie Shelton retired from AFSPC/CC. No word on future plans. Jim Crowe retired at Dobbins ARB. Mike Wilson retired from USAF but is still flying for Delta. Bill Dea retired from Delta in February. Congrats to Lori, Willie, Jim, Mike and Bill! General Class Stuff: Had a first-time input from Phil Schlener. He retired in ’95 after a USAF career in KC-135s and T-37s, returned to USAF after 9-11 for two years at SAF working Canada, France, and Switzerland issue, then GS-14 for a year working North/South America issues. From there to schoolteacher/pastor in Lisbon, Portugal until 2012; then to Madrid, Spain for a year. His wife passed in 2008 from cancer. Back to CONUS 2013-14 helping in a Spanishspeaking church in Sterling, VA. He and son Matthew Sabre Society now in Belem, Brazil teaching high school at Amazon Donors Valley Academy. Thanks for the update Phil. Always like first time inputs. Please don’t wait another 38 years to write. Jim McNamara hosted Deucers Joe Galavotti, Rob Parker, Rick Schoenlein, and Manny Lopez on Bob Dobson’s 60th. Mike Walsh, Don Olynick, Dave McAlister, Howard McCarthy, Dean Flower, and Bill Dea sent address/phone updates. Thanks guys! Bill says they had a big 60th birthday/retirement party end of March; also just returned from a two week Ireland jaunt. Monty Lee pinged me for local restaurant info. Craig Manson highlighted the June AFA magazine photos showing three highest ranking USAF space officials: classmates Doug Loverro, DoD DepAsstSec for space policy; Willie Shelton, AFSPC/CC; and Mark Welsh, USAF Chief of Staff. Thanks Craig! Chuck Ohms and I conferred on a young lady coming to USAFA Class of 2018. He is USAFA ALO in her area, and we were going to sponsor her, but she suffered and injury and will have to delay a year. I was able to link Keith Feigh with Mike Fricano reference a Hampton-Newport News, VA D-Day anniversary article featuring Mike’s dad. Ed Morely now in Miami Reg Diplomatic Courier Div, staying with JW Whitehead while house hunting. Ed Gallagher finished language training, headed for Bosnia as Director, US embassy Branch Office. Val Vollelunga hailed from Paris on a layover; oldest son Alex coaching diving in San Antonio, youngest son Mark on tour with “Nothing More”, a popular alternative rock band. John Rivera saw Greg Schneider, Dave Arbutina, Charlie Morgan, and Don Nerge in early August for symbolic celebration
Says Bob is hanging in there. Russ Casella has two new grandsons, Desmond and Cooper. Congrats Russ. Dave Berg had Mike Fricano for a visit in June. Doug Fry has two of his four grandsons with them while son is deployed. John Floersch’s wife, Becky, sent him to the 70th D-Day anniversary for his 60th. He escorted WW2 vets to Omaha and Utah beaches. How cool is that! He sent a photo escorting “Blackie”, B-17 pilot who dropped bombs in this area during the Battle of the Bulge.
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Bill Clifford has his first grandkid. He joined several former flying mates recently for a unit reunion in Hawaii. Jerry McFarlane recently hosted Lance Christian, Dave Yauch, John Hildebrandt, Jimmy Carter and wives for a BBQ. Al Patriquin and Roger Clements attended USAFA soccer alumni weekend in May. Al is trying to organize a ’76er soccer gettogether, possibly at our 40th. If you are interested, let me know and I can link y’all up. Mike Ellen again qualified for the Boston Marathon, still has a solo urology practice. Jeff and Cyndy Larsen back in C-Springs for a short visit from their hardship tour in Rome. Jack Catton sent a golf flyer he and Lance Christian received. Thanks Jack! Scott Gough has NSTR. Lee Cuevas took Best of Show with his Porsche in a recent car show. Congrats Lee! Rich Mintz still trying to get an article in Checkpoints about our French exchange classmates. Bill Dunn and Luckey Dunn still doing well in Florida. Joe Wysocki, Bob Olesky, Joe Drew, and John Mashl were not able to attend a recent SkySox outing but Bob Mansfield and Dan Moore made the event. Mike Ponzani finished his fourth Pelotonia bike ride (77 miles!) raising cancer research money. You can donate at pelotonia.org/mjponzusafa76
thru 10 October. Stef Eisen’s wife, Cathy, has been diagnosed with cancer. Stef says a note or card would boost Cathy’s spirts. Address is Cathy Eisen 58 Creek Drive, Montgomery Alabama 36117. Lots of response to my 02 June 38th anniversary note of entering USAFA. Heard from Doug Fry, Hal Getzelman (who included this link to our graduation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbVjhpARk1E\), Luckey Dunn, Mark Felman, Dave Berg, Chris Reamy, Mike Ponzani, Terry Petrie, Willie Shelton, Bob Norman, Russ Laney, Jose Santiago, Jed Alexander, Dave Ross, Bill Clifford, Pete Kluck, Jack Catton, Tom Trainor, Scott McComb, Kirk Bell, John Hildebrandt, Lee Cuevas, Val Vollelunga, Scott Gough, Kevin Martin, Mike Walsh, Duke Evans, Gary Turnipseed, Steve Skidmore, Gary Kyle, Jim Boma, John Bauschlicher, Randy Zellner, Dave Ternes, John Hazen, Chuck Pinney, Dan Price, Larry Weaver, Mike Beauchamp, Steve Scheufler, Buddy Lott, Jim McNamara, Denny Damiens, Patrick O’Brien, Charlie Morgan, Carl Rebarchak, Dave Arbutina, Mick Erdle, Mark Nielsen, Greg Schnieder, Dean Flower, Woody Woodman, and Craig Manson. I appreciate all the notes and especially the kind words classmates. On a personal note, I retired completely at the end of June, so am now an official ORF (old retired fart)! Martha and I took a 39-day, 6100+ driving miles, RV road trip to see the five of our six kids and other family who live east of Colorado. Finally, lots of notes about 60th birthdays recently and upcoming. Drives me to ask the question “who is our oldest and who is our youngest classmate?” If you think you are one of these two, send me a note. I know I am close to, but not the oldest. 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
John Christ (Louise), with whom I correspond regularly from his Georgia abode, sent me some sad news on Paul Dettmer (Katherine). Paul is battling lung and liver cancer and is working his way through chemotherapy now. I posted this up on Facebook and have been in contact with Paul since, but your thoughts and prayers for both he and Katherine are always welcome. New Feature: The Graduate Directory this year features little vignettes about members of the class that are apparently inserted at random. So I’m including one of these tales for an inclusion in the Checkpoints Sabre Society updates because: (1) they’re pretty interesting, and (2) Donors you guys don’t send me enough mail. I’m starting today with Dick Corzine (Barbara), who used to live across the street from me at Maxwell, and now pushes metal for Delta out of Omaha, another of my old stomping grounds. Dick’s flying career covered everything from O-1Es, to A-37s, to F16s. He got to jump out of airplanes with the Army, executed plans for NATO in Bosnia, and finished up as the active duty advisory to the 114FW in lovely Sioux Falls. He is now doing the 767 thing on international travel and occasionally plays “dutiful spouse” (Dick’s words) to Col. Barbara, who is the maintenance group commander for the Nebraska Guard. The only remaining thing I can say about Dick is that it’s been a long time since we stepped into that boxing ring as doolies. All the best to you both. Turn to Final: The above mentioned 2014 Register contains a section that has old and recent pictures by class. Take a look at our section; there are some reasonably well preserved specimens in there that are worth your view, including Bob Bruce (Tammy), Tom Lewis, and Darryl Jones. Fred Swartz (Carmel) posted up on face book the following picture of him at Oshkosh:
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I hope this finds everyone tanned, rested, fully recovered from a fairly miserable winter and spring. I know my friends out West are suffering in a drought, my friends out East are suffering under wave after wave of rainy cold fronts, and here in Chicago we are just suffering. Let’s see if I can alleviate some of the misery. Initial Approach: We’ll start with a picture:
Jeff, Dennis and Mark in Arizona. Gail Meakins sent me this picture of Jeff Remington, (Michelle), Dennis Bellamy (Lorraine) and Mark together for Dennis’s daughter’s wedding in Chandler last spring. I’m guessing Jeff had to travel the furthest for this since he’s working for Northrop out of Honolulu. Dennis is in Phoenix and Mark had to jump over the mountains from Salt Lake City. Thanks for the great shot, Gail. Steve Wittman (Betsy) shot me an email with a nice job announcement for Doug Atkins (Kristen) who will be heading to Guatemala to head up the American School of Guatemala as its General Director. Doug’s had one of the interesting career paths: he cross-commissioned into Navy Special Ops and once he had his fill of the life aquatic, he and Kristen headed off to Harvard for a Master’s of Ed. They have worked running colleges and K-12 schools around the world. Best of luck guys and enjoy the new country and new challenges.
Fred in a T-Bird two-ship take-off. Beautiful aircraft and beautiful picture, Fred. That brings back some memories of BCT summer, for sure. Thanks. Segueing from Stardust memories, Jeff Lewis posted up a shot of a bunch of guys hanging around in flight suits about to go on a T-33 ride at Peterson. And speaking of throwbacks, Rich Hart (Julie) posted up a link in the August 17, 1973 (41 years ago -- really?) edition of the Falcon News, showing a picture of Hellfire Squadron. Rich’s picture goes along with a number of other UPT class photos that have been making their appearance on the Facebook page. Like the one below:
Skip Day (Tracy) and some old airplane! I encourage those of you who are not members to join so you can check it out. Among the other reminiscing that you will find on the Facebook site is a discussion of the Harry Chapin concert in 1975 -- was there a more meaningful Allied Arts presentation while we were there? And PFT stories. A bunch of those.
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I got to sit down with Tony Grady and his son Benjamin, a West Point grad and a Russian speaker, to talk law practice. I’m convinced that Tony made the introduction mainly to provide Benjamin with some confidence building: i.e., if this Michels guy can get through law school, you certainly can. Tony’s daughter is also up here in Chicago finishing up school so we are planning on connecting a lot over the next year or so. Duff and Mary Muir are returning to USAFA roots -- they are moving to Denver into a house on the old Lowry site. Let me know if you see any ghosts around there, Duff. Geno Redman dropped in a post about a Cirrus aircraft accident making the news -- he flies his own and commented about the limits of the parachute safety system. On a more somber note, Dan McNeil (Donna) who passed away on June 17, 2011, was interred at the USAFA cemetery on August 11th of this year. And many of us were fortunate enough to have Lt. Col. Don MacIsaac as an instructor in History; he passed away last spring -- Mark Clodfelter (Donna) (and Col. Mac’s son-in-law) and several others attended the memorial service at the Zoo. Robert Massey (Andrea), who flies fire spotting missions out of Tucson when he is not tracking the stock market, got a chance to put his airplane down next to the only active flying B-29 in existence when he was working out of Boise this summer. Tom DeBoalt (Deborah), who flies for FedEx, is biking in the 2014 Colorado Courage Classic, a three-day, one-hundred-sixty-mile ride through the Rockies as a fundraiser for Colorado Children’s Hospital. Good on you, Tom. And finally, I put up a feature on the class page involving exploding ordnance on Fridays. After I posted a piece of the Sensor Fuzed Weapon, Dave Kish (Leni) surfaces to let me know he had actually managed that program at AFOTEC. A pretty impressive thing to place on the resume: “Developed the Weapon of 13 Miracles.” The aforementioned Mr. Grady also chimed in on a video of a B-2 dropping a full load of Mark 82s: “This is probably a picture of Steve Cameron (Catherine) and me at Edwards… he was the Flight Test Squadron Commander and I was the Ops Officer…” Pretty neat. Touchdown: That’s it from the place where baseball players go to die. Keep writing and I hope to run into a bunch of people of your ilk this fall when I get out there for a few football games. Be seeing you. Bob Kay 40411 Tesoro Lane Palmdale, CA 93551 Home:(661) 274-2201 Cell: (661) 974-1417 Email: Robert.kay78@gmail.com
start back up later this month! His e-mail is fmgahren@gmail.com and phone number is 719-231-5265. Sure he would very much appreciate some messages and calls. Most thankful that you’re OK Frank and thanks for keeping us posted.
As he brilliantly does just about every year, Mike “Smacko” McMillie arranges and hosts a Beltway area class event commemorating our BCT entry and this year was no exception. So on 1 July 2014 (the big 40 anniversary) several ’78ers gathered for lunch and had a “Great” time. In the photo (left side of the table front to back) are: Garry Dean (JFC J-3 in Naples but was in DC at the time), Kevin Kennedy, Wayne Hermandorfer (VP at Lockheed Martin), Paul McVinney, and Key Sabol. Moving over to the right side (front to back): Rick Glitz, John “Puff” Puffenbarger, Bill Troy, Steve Knott, and Kris Krisinger.
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Greetings ’78ers… It is with great sadness that I need to lead off this quarter’s installment with the notification of Tom Mathews’ passing back on 4 Feb after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s. Unfortunately the AOG wasn’t notified until May and the funeral took place at the Riverview Cemetery in Charlottesville VA on 22 Feb. Even though it’s been several months, am sure Jennifer would appreciate any condolences sent to 501 Eastbrook Dr., Charlottesville VA 22901-1117. Thankfully we do have some good news. Frank Gahren sent a message and great picture below as he was leaving the hospital back in mid-June. Text follows: “Since January 22, 2014, I have had four major surgeries at the University of Colorado Hospital (Denver, CO) including two liver transplants (first one did not take) and throughout it all I had constant support from many of our classmates through prayer, cards, emails, visits, and donated leave. During some of the toughest times, I would get a card or a call from a ’78 grad encouraging me to hang in there, and I deeply appreciate every one. In addition to being humbled by this outpouring of support, I learned two things – that God is faithful and to never take even the smallest things for granted. I had to learn to do some very basic things all over – like getting out of bed, eating without a feeding tube, and walking. I am currently at home Sabre Society convalescing; my wife, Patti, has been at my side every Donors day and is taking great care of me, but I still have a long recovery to go but am glad to be out of the hospital. “I have attached a picture of me leaving the hospital – I have my red “’78 is great” cap on that J.R. Inglis bought for me at our last reunion. Please use it as you see fit and for the verbiage I don’t mind if you leave out the details, but I’d like to get the message across of how much I appreciate the support received over these last few months. What a great bunch of guys and what a privilege to be associated with them!” I just had a tremendous call with him and he’s doing very well. So well that he’s looking to go back to full-time teaching at USAFA when classes
Next, a pic from Puff with some better views from the other end of the table starting with the left side (front to back): Al “Mad Al” Myers (Lockheed Martin VP), Jeff Brake, Chuck Greenwood, and Bach Hollerbach. Right side (front to back): John Hicks, Craig Gourley (Dep AF IG), Dave Lengyl, and Russ Frasz (SES in A-1).
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Smacko has also arranged a 13 Aug get-together at Sal Speziale’s new restaurant in Centerville, VA called Ciao Osteria (http://ciao-osteria. com/...… great shot of Sal in the moving gallery on the homepage and promises to send some shots of that as well. Smacko opines that 13 Aug was the date of our Acceptance Day…I’ll take his word for it because I sure can’t remember the date much less the event! Turns out that Smacko, Garry and Kevin had met prior to traveling to USAFA for the first time as they were all from El Paso, TX. Impressed that they could remember that.
Thanks and well done as always Smacko! Received some e-mail updates from a couple of guys that were much appreciated (hint hint). UPT classmate Sig Nelson still resides in Mesa, AZ and has been very busy flying 20-23 days a month with American Airlines. Due to American’s “temporary pilot shortage” he’s been keeping much busier than normal. He is currently sharing a crash pad in Miami with nine other pilots. Wife, Jill, made O-7 (congrats!) in the Arizona ANG but was not chosen to be the Joint Forces Adjutant and elected to retire in January of this year. She found out that she had throat cancer soon after and since April has been doing well after surgery and radiation. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jill’s complete recovery Sig. Don Blackwelder reports that he and Brenda are doing well in Albuquerque. Don’s is “mostly retired” and is doing part time work for Engility Corp which a part of L-3 Comm. Brenda is a full-time artist with Don as his helper and “roadie” when he’s not playing golf. Finally, please visit the class web site at http://usafa78-is-great.org/index.html. Cliff Huff has been doing a great job of keeping it up to date and has most Checkpoints articles from 2003 as well as classmate updates. It’s well worth a look. Also, we are steadily growing in our LinkedIn group “78 Is Great” but haven’t been doing much communicating as of late. Please consider joining and contributing if you are a LinkedIn member. If anyone wants to start a Facebook page, please let me know as that would another great way to keep in touch. My thanks as always to guys who wrote in with updates and events. Please consider a note and/or update so we can keep the class informed. Everyone has stories to tell! Until next quarter... God Bless. ’78 is Great!
John Pardo 40 Westgate Road Wellesley, MA 02481 (781) 439-2036 pardo_john@hotmail.com
Received inputs from two of our classmates at UPS. Jeff “Jammer” Moore and Wes Miller are both still in Kentucky. Jammer is a regular attendee at the annual River Rats convention—this year in Dallas—where he once again spent time exchanging war stories with my father. Meanwhile, Wes’ big news was the addition of a son-in-law (congratulations to his daughter Julie!). John “J.R.” Dallas writes he upgraded to 767 captain in April flying international routes and shortly thereafter interviewed for, and was hired, as a 767 Check Airman! He now teaches at the American Airlines “schoolhouse” in the 757 and 767. His normal routine is two months instructing in the simulator followed by a month flying the line. In family news, J.R. and wife, Daren, spent the 4th of July weekend celebrating daughter Drennan’s 21st. Drennan is doing an internship in Philly as part of the Teach for America program. Debbie Mueller sent information and great photos of husband, Stephen’s, retirement ceremony presided over by General Mark Welsh (whom Debbie commended for the wonderful job he did). Maggot retired on 18 July with lots of classmates in attendance, including Mike “Omar” Bradley, Steve Hoog, Thom “TMac” McCarthy, John Player, Greg “Smitty” Smith, Ed Zanowicz, Dan Repasky, Brian Koechel, Mike “Rolls” Roller, Burt Field, Randy Helms, Steve Lepper, Paul Schubert, Bill Rew, Guy Walsh, Andy Busch, Steve Newbold and Robin “Baba” Rand. The Muellers are remaining in the DC area to stay close to their grandkids but hope to see many of us at the reunion.
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Greetings, fellow ’79ers. Thanks for the updates, inputs and photos that follow; they make this task a lot easier. If you do not see your input in this article, it’s because you forgot to click the “send” button! While there are lots of great stories to tell, unfortunately I also need to inform those who have not heard of the passing of our classmate, Jay Armstrong in May. Bob “Bubba” Edmunds writes that he participated in a golf tournament set up by Steve Newbold to mark the 35th anniversary of our commissioning on 30 May at Old Hickory golf club in Northern Virginia. Also in attendance were Greg Nemeth, Ted Needham, Guy Walsh, Trevor Albo, Brian Koechel, Pete Melim, Bob Sabre Society Kadlec and honorary ’79er, Jack Catton. There were Donors other classes and commissioning sources participating, but as usual, ’79 stole the show. Greg “Smitty” Smith sent a great picture and accompanying information on another golf event in the Virginia/Maryland area. This was more of a golf tour attended by hard core golfers James “Doc” Colvin, Reggie Holmes, Greg Brundidge and Chris Austin with three strap hangers (Smitty’s description) Chris Brown, Lenue “Gil” Gilchrist and Smitty. They got together for three days, 4-6 July, of serious golfing and story-telling. They played courses in Fredrick, MD, Bowie, MD and Manassas, VA. According to Smitty, a lot of golf was played, plenty of lies were told and everyone had a great time.
In the front row from left are Mike Bradley, Steve Hoog, Thom McCarthy, John Player, Greg Smith, Ed Zanowicz, Dan Repasky, Stephen Mueller, Brian Koechel, Mike Roller, Burt Field, Randy Helms, Steve Lepper, Paul Schubert, Bill Rew and Robin Rand. Back row: Guy Walsh, Steve Newbold and Andy Busch
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General Welsh and Steve Mueller
From left are James “Doc” Colvin, Reggie Holmes, Greg “Smitty” Smith, Chris Brown, Chris Austin, and Lenue “Gil” Gilchrist.
Mark Neice writes that Carl Hawkins and he, and their spouses, Chrystol and Leslie, recently got together for a 25-year reunion of their Test Pilot School class along with eight other couples. It was a cruise from New Orleans that included touring Mayan ruins and beer/tequila drinking in Cozumel. Mark retired from government service for the second time in December 2012 and now works for an educational non-profit group promoting laser and RF research. Leslie and he are looking forward to the 35th. Craig Bash sent a short note to let everyone know he is alive and happy in Bethesda, MD. Also, I did not exactly “hear” from Vance Skarstedt, but I did get a bounce-back message relaying he is now serving as the DIA Chair at Marine Corps University. Korky von Kessel wanted to get in one final reminder about the reunion, 24-28 September. The best place to find out information is the AOG website at: http://www.usafa.org/Reunion/1979. If you cannot make the official event, Dan “Bubba” Baumgartner is putting together an alternate event in the Fredericksburg, Virginia area the same week. He is promising lots of
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golfing, food and adult beverages. Contact him at: Daniel.baumgartner@ osd.smil.mil. Korky also wanted me to mention that we our officially sponsoring the Veterans Airlift Command as a part of this reunion. Any of you who have read the class news articles in the past year will recognize this organization because we have included it in a couple of our articles. Both Tim “Fido” Fyda and Pete Bunce are members of the Advisory Board for this group of over 900 private pilots and their aircraft. Their mission is to provide flights for our wounded post 9/11 veterans. While Pete is working on getting a feature article in Checkpoints, he wanted to remind our class of some details including the fact that VAC has created a dedicated link to track ‘79 donations at: http://www.veteransairlift.org/m/donate.aspx?campaign=USAFA79. If you are looking for more information on the group, their homepage link is: http://www.veteransairlift.org. And there is a very nice NBC Nightly news feature at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtf3GmlXagQ. To date, they have flown over 9100 passengers—combat wounded and their families—for medical and other compassionate purposes through volunteer aircraft owners and pilots. Bud Vazquez sent a short blurb of a mini-reunion he had with Randy Gricius at a recent Raytheon meeting. Randy works in Tucson for Raytheon’s missile systems business while Bud is still at Corporate in Boston. When he emailed in mid-July, Bruce Gebhard was busy going through 777 training for FedEx. Bruce and I managed to spend a few hours together in March at the Museum of Flight during one of his rare trips to the northwest. In other news from the great northwest, Mark Hargrove graciously agreed to support a Junior ROTC initiative to formally recognize JROTC as a student leadership organization. Mark is running for his third term as a Washington state representative and is an instructor pilot for Boeing. Also, in between international trips, Glenn Hanbey—KC-46 program at Boeing—helped out my AFJROTC cadets by setting up a tour at Boeing’s Future of Flight that included an awesome VIP tour of the factory floor. It is nice to have friends in high places! That’s it for this edition other than to note that Nancy, the kids and I have moved across the country and are back in Massachusetts after 7 years in Washington. Her promotion to director in January came with the caveat that she would have to come back to the home office, so here we are. Next up is Bud Vazquez at budvazquez@msn.com or bud.vazquez@ raytheon.com. 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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“I am also attaching a picture of new grandfather Kent Fonseca who could not make it due to grandparent duties.” Kent is still flying for American out of Texas.
Kent with his excuse. “Dan Costello is a very successful insurance man in the Bay Area of San Francisco. Hawk Sadlowski is living in the San Francisco area, flying for United, and playing ice hockey. Zap Zapata is a retired full bird and former Special Forces Commander enjoying life and traveling between his homes in Florida, Spain, and Queens, New York. Mike Hill is still heavily involved in Youth Soccer and real estate, has a son that is a sophomore playing soccer at the AFA, and a daughter at UCONN on the U-20 U.S. Women’s National team. Joe Lanni is a retired General working for Lockheed in Ohio, and taking time to learn the game of golf. Sabre Society “Al Schillinger has a boy playing baseball at ColoDonors rado School of Mines and is a real estate mogul in the Phoenix area. Steve Matus is flying for Delta, has a successful business selling generators of all kinds, and is involved in youth soccer with his daughters.” Mike also recently came across one Dr. Tom Neal, “who is a very successful doctor in Maryland.” He also updated us on Matt Hornung, who left our class after two years (medical); he’s been living in Monument the last 15 years and recently switched into the real estate field in C-Springs. At the Zoo. You’ve been reading a lot about USAFA’s Center for Character and Leadership Development. Well, our own Chris Miller is Editor-inChief of the Journal of Character & Leadership Integration at CCLD. Newbie. Fritz Wiegman recently had the opportunity to return a first salute to his nephew Airman Austin Lester who is on his way to PJ (Pararescue) school.
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You should be reading this about the time the leaves have fallen from the trees and there is a crispness in the air. Most of us are/were busy winding-down another summer and pressing on with. . . life. Cadets are busy beating the Dean, each other on the intramural fields, and worthy opponents in various intercollegiate venues. Everybody is busy. I’m sure that’s why I’ve heard very little from you this quarter. Of course, only seeing our class news in electronic form last issue likely had a small affect as well—since you couldn’t read about classmates and then immediately put your Checkpoints on your desk as a reminder to send something to Don next week. So, relax, read, and remember. . . to get to the keyboard to help me make this informative! Futbol? “I [Mike Hill] wanted to send you a little material and a good picture from the Air Force Academy Alumni Soccer weekend. It was a fun-filled, fantastic weekend and we got to experience first-hand how fast we used to be.”
Fritz still standing tall.
’80 Soccer Attendees: Dan Costello, Hawk Sadlowski, Zap Zapata, Mike Hill, Joe Lanni, Al Schillenger and Steve Matus.
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Next Gen. Phil Collins has “Just a quick update on my goings on of late. I retired from the Air Force for the second time (not many can say that) back in March after completing my four-year return-to-active-duty stint and logging over 1,700 hours flying the Predator. I received my retirement pin with oak leaf cluster (smiley face). I’m now back at my old job with Raytheon, engineering modeling and simulation software for USTRANSCOM. This left the Air Force short one Collins for a couple months until my daughter Sarah graduated with the class of 2014. She will be on casual status doing research for the Mech Department until February, when she reports to Columbus for pilot training, making her a third generation pilot. I’ve attached a picture of all three generations taken at her commissioning ceremony.”
Scott Land has moved back to Missouri and is unfortunately a land baron for now as he is selling his home in Papillion, NE as well as owning three in Missouri. Tanya’s job at a hospital in Missouri drove the “Land” grab... he, he… couldn’t resist. Scott and Tanya’s daughter is preparing for her job as a traveling nurse and their son is in Los Angeles working in the film industry. Maura (Burke) Wingard is doing well in hot Texas. Her oldest daughter, Natalie, graduated from high school and is off to the University of Dallas this Fall. There was an AFA Alumni Soccer weekend and Mike Hill ’80 sent a group photo that included several ’81ers. Greg Walsh was also there.
A Collins three-ship formation! That’s it for this go. You know where I live. Beat ‘em! Rich Trentman 11102 Asbee St. Falcon, CO 80831-8170 Work: (719) 452--7708 Cell: (719) 640-9586 USAFA Class of 1981 (Facebook) rtrentman@falconbroadband.net Class Website: www.usafa81.com
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Summer has flown by and football is around the corner! Class News: Greg Beaves sent in a long update (his first since graduation). Greg cross-commissioned into the Marine Corps at graduation and following his time in the Corps graduated from law school in Houston. Greg met and married Sara, an Aggie, who had transferred to Houston. Greg became bored with desk work after a few years and became a police officer. While in pursuit of a speeder on his police motorcycle, Greg had a terrible accident as a young driver pulled in front of him. He has been going through a very long recovery for two and a half years, but making tremendous progress. Keep Greg in your thoughts and prayers. Greg was motivated to write after reading the article by our classmate Steve Hirst in Checkpoints.
AFA Soccer. In the bottom row are Gary Allard ’74, Bob Zapata ’80, Mike Hill ’80, Keith Bean/Bob Singer/Bob Alvarez, all ’81, and Roger Clements ’76. Standing: Joe Lanni/Al Schillinger/Steve Matus, all ’80, Kurt Baum/Ed Shiembob/Hans Buss, all ’81, and Al Patriquin ’76). Gerry McPartlan completed a triathlon – congrats. Gerry said he thought the competition in the swimming portion had propellers on their feet! (Or it was possibly old age?)
Gerry McPartlan, Ironman Gerry also keeps in touch with Lantz Balthazar. Lance is flying for FedEx and lives in Germany. Lantz’s family (six children) keeps in close contact with the McPartlan tribe of three children. While Gerry was doing a triathlon, I ran into Dean Carlson at Dunkin’ Donuts last week, again. Dean and I bump into each other there and he sits behind me at AF basketball games. Obviously, Gerry is doing a better training regimen than Dean and I or is he? I did mention last quarter that I ran a Boy Scout Wood Badge course and one of the participants was Sabre Society our classmate, Bernie Schwartz! Bernie may not be too Donors happy with me since we had a lot of snow both weekends. Bernie lives down in Pueblo, CO. Marty France is off to Singapore for four and a half months to do something? It was emotional to see my son, Patrick, graduate from our school in May as many of you with sons and daughters already know. It was doubly emotional to have our classmate, Michelle, there on stage as he saluted her. She may have had an “extra” smile as she was saluted and heard “Patrick Henry Trentman”. (See photo at the top of the next column. [’81 Endowment News: The inaugural International Cultural Immersion Experience sponsored by the Class of 1981 took place this summer from June 20-July 12. Fellow classmate Col. Marty France led the experience. The cadets met with the Embassy Defense Attaché Office of-
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2nd Lt. Patrick Trentman saluting General Michelle Johnson. ficials and other agencies including USAID, officials from the Cambodian National Defense University, Cambodian Air Force officers, toured the countryside before arriving in Kep to work with an NGO in country. The cadets spent a majority of their time in Kep, building latrines for some local families while learning how NGOs work in foreign countries, the importance of the NGOs to the people they support, and also as future commanders on the battlefield, their interaction with government agencies. The positive response from the cadets was overwhelming. You can view their thank you letters, End of Tour Report and Marty’s 5,000-picture and 31,000-word blog on the class website (www.usafa81endowment. com). Finally, we need your financial support to continue to make these Endowment learning opportunities available for the cadets. Please give back to your Alma Mater. Thanks for all the great emails and calls over my past 12+ years as scribe. I cannot believe I have been doing these since just after our 20th reunion. I hope I have another 12+ years in me supporting you. Go Air Force.
Jim Ratti 2860 Arbor Pointe Drive Middletown, OH 45042 (937) 760-2333 rattijm@mindspring.com
math, and their son Austin (19) is a sophomore at San Diego State and in the Air Force ROTC program. Bill works for United Launch Alliance (ULA), orbiting satellites for the Air Force, the NRO, NASA and a handful of commercial customers. Had an exchange of e-mails from Tom Sylvester around 2 June 14 in honor of our 32nd hat-tossing anniversary. He passed on that his daughter, Dr. Jillian Sylvester, MD, Captain, USAF also began her Air Force career on June 2nd (of this year…). She’ll do her residency at Ft. Belvoir Community Hospital, just south of DC. Tom’s sure she had a geriatric rotation in med school and can therefore immediately start prescribing old age medications to geezers like Jack Mohney (Ft. Belvoir/Defense Acquisition University). Tom is very proud of Jil, and points out that for those of us who know him, it’s easy to recognize she got her brains from her momma! Our Washington Bureau correspondent Mike Sinisi sent an update and told me that Lt Gen Bob Otto spoke at an Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) gathering back in June. Bob is the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (A2) at the pentagon, and enlightened the assembled masses on all things cyber. Mike says the talk was well received, as you’d expect for a distinguished looking gray-haired General! Here’s a picture of Bob and Mike at the luncheon.
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Greetings Redtags! It’s been a busy summer so far! Lots of news, so let’s get right to it. Unfortunately the first thing out of the bag is bad news. We learned via a notification from the AOG that Bill Paramore passed away on 7 July in Melbourne, FL. I don’t have any information on his passing other than that. Of course, I know that the thoughts and prayers of the entire class are with his wife, Luwana, and with Bill’s family. Rest in peace, my friend. Bill Harding and his wife, Charlene (Jardin, ’85), sent me an e-mail back in April recounting their February vacation in Greece, and I covered that news in last quarter’s “online only” issue. However, I promised you a picture, so here ‘tis!
Lt Gen Bob Otto and Checkpoints Washington Bureau Correspondent Mike Sinisi. Mike also let me know that Al Goard is the Director, Safety, Health and Environment for BAE SYSTEMS Support Solutions located in California. California, MD that is. Al says he lives in Chantilly and works in St Mary’s County, Rockville, Stafford, and at 80-M Street SE DC - whichever place he feels like landing that day! And, Col Gary Packard is a Permanent Professor and head of the Behavioral Science and Leadership Department at USAFA. Retired Maj Gen Zan Vautrinot checked in from San Antonio with news on her post-USAF activities. She and Bill are enjoying the transition and love the new life. Zan said she joined a couple Boards of Directors (Symantec and ECOLAB), and is busy learning and loving the private sector. Through LinkedIn I learned that Mark Baker is the new Senior Director of Airport Infrastructure at Denver International Airport. I don’t suppose that means you can complain to him about lost luggage, but it sounds like a huge job! Mark says he truly loves the work. Despite the long commute for Mark, he and Diane will stay in C-Springs for now so that their son can finish high school there. They anticipate a move to Denver in a couple years. And in the spirit of having a little bit (well okay, a LOT) of fun, thanks to a tip from Martha (Stevenson) Jones, your crack gossip columnist came across a video (http://youtu.be/ZL4DO8LhF1A) of Mary K (McConSabre Society non) Dauenhauer dancing with her son at his wedding Donors in early July. You’ve just GOT to check it out. Go on. I’ll wait. Mike Sinisi and I received a note from Mike Honsinger who, as you may recall, famously married the Commandant’s daughter right after we graduated. He sent the following update on his father-in-law: “I thought you might like to hear an update on a guy who had just a little impact on our class -- Gen Bob Beckel, my father-in-law. He is doing well, in great health, living in Air Force Village in Riverside, CA. He has a waterfront condo in the nearby mountain town of Big Bear. Unfortunately, Donna passed away a few years ago, which hit him pretty hard, but he is doing well and enjoying life nowadays. After retiring as a three-star, he was the Superintendent of New Mexico Military Institute, in Roswell, NM, for seven years, which he and Donna absolutely loved. He’s also done a few corporate gigs over the years, but as of last June is now fully retired. He does a little fishing and some travel and
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Bill Harding and his two youngest, relaxing on Santorini. To recap their news from last time, Bill and Char are still living in Manhattan Beach, CA with their two youngest children, Candace (9) and Chase (12). Their oldest daughter Christina (23) teaches high school
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spends about a third of his time up at his condo escaping the heat and crowds of Riverside. In a couple of weeks he and his daughter (my wife, Valerie) and I are traveling to Brussels and Paris for a week each so he can show us around some of his old stomping grounds, associated with a few tours he had in Europe over the years. Gen Bob does have a lot of free time on his hands and I know he would enjoy hearing from any of you. He often recounts, very fondly, his favorite tour of his Air Force career, as our Commandant. You can reach him here: beckel@roadrunner.com�������� . Home phone: (951) 567-5499.������������������������������������������ 21121 ����������������������������������������� Foulois Ave,����������������������� Riverside, CA 92518.” And that’s all I’ve got this time around. Things continue to progress well here in Ohio and Ellen and I are staying very busy with work, volunteer work, family visits and short trips out of town. We head to Europe in August for a river cruise on the Danube from Budapest to Nuremberg. We’re looking forward to the trip! Until next time, your humble scribe, Ratman.
Stu Pope 520 Ramona Ave. Sierra Madre, CA 91024 stu_pope@yahoo.com
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Almost a year after the fact, the big news for the Class of ’83 continues to be the terrific 30-year reunion a sizeable percentage of Bohicans enjoyed last fall. So much fun was had there’s even talk of organizing future get-togethers for ’83 grads on cruise ships, remote archipelagos, and even the tunnels beneath The Zoo. Not that we don’t dig gathering at our massive collective squadron assembly room, the ever-groovy Embassy Suites in Colorado Springs; it’s just that we can’t seem Sabre Society to get enough of one another and now want to hang out Donors on a regular basis. It’s like we’ve finally achieved class unity, decades after it was demanded of us. I’ve got a serious stash of photos with just about everyone who was milling around at the Suites, but since we can’t show them all, here’s the 40th Squadron get-together, held at a local brewery not far from The Garden of the Gods (chosen specifically because – to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin – beer is proof the gods love us and want us to be happy).
Starship Troopers (and hangers-on): Chris Brantley, Ray Blust, Rick Scholz, Steve Benz, Andy VonCannon, Dave Wright, Jeff Fiebig, Stu Pope, and Mike Rampino. to make a pilgrimage to The Golden Bee for a yard or three of ale. Just as we were leaving the Embassy Suites parking lot, Kevin Carreno ran up and dove through the (fortunately open) back window of the car, curling up on the back seat and relating a story about how he was approached by TV personality George Lopez to be his stunt double. And you know something? There really is an uncanny resemblance between the two.
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George Lopez with LeAnn and Kevin Carreno. A few months after the reunion, Drew Wacker wrote to relate news of an epic ski trip he made to Breckenridge with Steve Lundy and former 3rd Squadron cohorts (and former Bohicans) Spence Stefansic and Ric Ladonne (whom you may have known as Ric Santacapita). Spence is Drew’s neighbor in Monument and does data management for Anthem/Blue Cross and Verizon; Ric’s a contractor at Hanscom AFB; and Lundo (the only Bohican I know whose hair is as grey as mine) is CEO of Venaxis, a “in-vitro diagnostic company” in Castle Rock (though he ‘s currently living in Austin).
Four of the 40 Thieves: Tim Jacobs, Holly Franz, Hey Mister, and Mike Rosas. Okay, one more pic, since it’s a reunion thing. Here’s photographic evidence of a gathering of the Starship Troopers (as 19th Squadron was called back in the day). Ray Blust, bless his liver, provided the brews, and even Starship Trooper wannabes Chris Brantley and Rick Scholz were allowed to partake in the cosmic fun. (See photo at the top of the next column.) Speaking of the reunion, the evening we arrived Noelle and I decided
JOIN THE SABRE SOCIETY! YOUR MONEY HELPS FUND CADET WING PROGRAMS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE GO UNFUNDED. CALL (719) 472-0300 X200.
Drew Wacker, Steve Lundy, Ric Ladonne, and Spence Stephansic Drew also related news of Tom King, who, since the demise of the Dead, now follows The Band Of Heathens around the country, or at least around Texas, when he’s not scheduled to fly for Delta. Presumably BoH were on tour during the reunion as the Kinger was nowhere to be seen. All right, then – you know the drill. If you want the next ’83 news column for Checkpoints to be longer than this brief missive, send news of yourself and your fellow Bohicans to Agent Double Double-U (i.e., Wade Wheeler) at wwade83@verizon.net.
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Class News Mike Jensen 12035 Milam Road Colorado Springs, CO 80908 (719) 338-3570 www.usafa84.com usafahomes@gmail.com Twitter: @USAFA84
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to both seeing the new changes, and reminiscing about the way things used to be, during our 30th reunion next fall. Please get the word out to your fellow classmates to plan on attending. Congratulations to Bruce Desautels on his son Kyle’s appointment to USAFA. Kyle is now attending basic cadet training as a member of the Class of 2018. We wish him all the best as his starts his Air Force career. Chris Claunch, Jim Green, and Craig Hall recently attended the San Antonio Graduate Business and Networking Group Luncheon. It is always great when we get the chance to catch up with old classmates. Looking good, guys.
(19 Sabre Society Members) If this edition of Checkpoints arrives when I think it will, and you have not signed up for the reunion yet, it really is crunch time! We would love to see you! There has been an overwhelming response to our 30th reunion. I know of six hotels that are housing us, the local restaurants have been prepping for arrival, and the weather will be perfect and we will SINK NAVY! However, if you cannot attend this year’s reunion, would you please send in some old cadet photographs ASAP? You can also send a story or an update for next Checkpoints.
From left are Chris Claunch, Jim Green, and Craig Hall. Chris and Lisa (Drinen) Mazur’s daughter, Catherine, joined the Long Blue Line in May as a member of the Class of ‘14. Chris sent me this photo taken after Catherine’s commissioning ceremony.
Johnny Weigand sent a couple of great photos from his retirement ceremony. Generals Gould and Loh were there. Congratulations on a great career! I know we had several more retirements this year, so please send in a few words and pictures, if you have some to share.
For the latest, go to www.usafa84.com, follow @USAFA and @USAFA84, or you can call anytime. Thanks for all you do! Hope to see you soon! Jens
W. Scott Carney P.O. Box 210 Princeton, ME 04668 USAFA.Class.of.1985@gmail.com
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From left are 2nd Lt. Catherine Mazur ’14, Gen Janet Wolfenbarger ’80, and Lisa Mazur. Chris and Lisa both worked for Gen Wolfenbarger when she was the AFMC A2/5. Gen Wolfenbarger also gave the graduation address at Catherine’s high school, where they were both graduates of the Beavercreek High School in Ohio. Chris and Lisa both work in the Pentagon as civil servants. Chris is in the AF/TE, and Lisa is in the AF/A2D. Chris reported that he ran into Mike Canino and his wife at graduation, too. Their son was also a Class of ‘14 graduate. Mike Masucci was the subject of a recent article in Sabre Society Stuff magazine. Mike is the pilot for Sir Richard BranDonors son’s Virgin Galactic SpaceShip Two VSS Enterprise aircraft. He will be piloting the maiden flight as part of this commercial space program, taking passengers to an altitude of 110km and flying in a zero g environment. Paying customers are shelling out $250,000 for a seat aboard this futuristic aircraft. Linda Sverdrup recently hung up her blue suit to join the civilian ranks. Linda retired after 29 years on active duty. MGen Jay Silveria was the Presiding Officer at her ceremony. Linda is currently job hunting, but is also available for contract and subcontract work. She hasn’t decided whether to settle in Northern California, Colorado Springs/Denver, or Albuquerque. As long as the skiing is good, she will be happy. We wish her well with the job hunting and relocation.
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Greetings ’85ers! June 22nd has once again passed us by, and with it the realization that 33 years has elapsed since our class first met at the base of the Bring Me Men ramp for the start of Beast ‘81. It seems so long ago, and the years have certainly been wrought with changes. Dinner now consists of selfserve “to go” boxes, final exam snacks include “popcorn bars”, the Bring Me Men logo was replaced with the Core Values, and freshmen carry cell phones. The list goes on. Who would have ever guessed that we would be referring to our days at USAFA as “the brown shoe days”? I have not been back to the Academy in over 15 years, and am very much looking forward
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certain – but you can create your own caption: Leslie is in front in the pink helmet, Daryl has the training wheels.
From left are Maj. Gen. Silveria, Lt. Col. Sverdrup, Pauletta Henderson, and Scott Holswade. Congratulations are also in order to MGen Burke “Ed” Wilson. Ed just assumed command of the 24th Air Force, Air Force Space Command as well as U.S. Cyber Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Well Done! I appreciate the inputs I’ve been receiving for Checkpoints. For those of you whose pictures did not make it to print, please keep in mind that we are limited to 3 photographs per non-reunion issue. Don’t forget...you can also share your class news “real time” by posting it on our class Facebook page. I look forward to hearing from you. ‘85 Best Alive! Scott
Bob Colella 9247 Northedge Drive Springfield, VA 22153 rkascolella@verizon.net
Haucks on bikes. Also keeping young AND fit are the Bryants. Dave, (’86) and Cindy (Haney) (’88) with their kids out playing a version of Soccer/Golf – Cindy hasn’t changed a day (Sister Beth Haney, is an ’86 grad).
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Attention in the Area! As summer draws to a close, I reflect back on what were the “best of times” at the zoo – summer programs. Not just leave, but the great opportunities we had to “see the world” – I see today that college students get ramped up about a semester abroad and recall with delight the summer of ’83 when I was sent on a “Conus Field Trip” around California and wound up in the backseat of a F-4G going supersonic over the Mojave Desert and at Edwards AFB seeing all the wonders of aviation flying and screeching across Sabre Society the sky. Summer of ’84 took me to the Azores for two Donors weeks, and perhaps the most fun I had in my four years working as a SERE instructor for the “Camping” phase of the program -- it was like going through the program again, except with food. Senior year wasn’t as much fun but it was spent working the “yard” in the SERE compound and 1st Beast. 1st Beast was unique in that within that three-week period, I was issued more Form 10s than in the entirety of my cadet career. Thankfully, leave followed and I was able to “recover.” For most of us, it would appear, summer is still a pretty good time to enjoy ourselves – so I have a few photos to share and a little bit of news to pass along, but find myself more and more on the dynamic Facebook forum for our class: USAFA Class of 1986 : USAFA1986@groups.facebook. com (email) and https://www.facebook.com/groups/USAFA1986/. In the news: Promotions (Still?) – for those “still playing” – we have two Lt Gen Selects: Steve Kwast and Terry O’Shaughnessy. We also have Brigadier General Daryl Hauck and wife, Leslie (Flying nurse on Southwest Airlines these days), out an about with (hopefully) their organ donor cards filled out. Second childhood/mid-life crisis – not
While there are few of us still shooting for the stars, most of us are on our last lap or at the finish line: Here is a photo of Dwight Robertson’s retirement – off to PHX for post-USAF meanderings.
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Visit the AOG Web Site. Gone But Not Forgotten, Merchandise and more! www.usafa.org 123
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That’s it for me – send me updates, photos, jokes, skits, or rumors! 30 year reunion is kinda around the corner – time flies… Go Air Force! Beat Navy/Army and everybody else! John & Carolyn Sammartino 3107 Woods Cove Lane Woodbridge, VA 22192 H: (703) 492-5492 W: (703) 808-6234 jsammar@verizon.net
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Happy days are here again ’87! We are in the middle of the college football season and hopefully we will have taken care of business in the Georgia Dome among others as you read this, and we will have run into several of you for inputs for our next Checkpoints issue! We know everybody’s busy, but thanks to your emails and Facebook messages we’re happy to report we gathered a bunch of inputs this quarter, so here we go: We touched base with Colonel Carolyn Benyshek for some data after Brou Gautier mentioned that his son was just recognized with the class of ’18 (really!); there are currently 32 cadets in the Wing that are children of our classmates; what an amazing number, including 13 in the class of ’18—the pipeline is alive and well! Parents weekend is darn close to being a mini ’87 reunion these Sabre Society days! Donors BG Dave “Stilly” Stilwell checked in after some gentle prodding; I can’t believe he is already back from China. I remember talking to him right before he was getting ready to go: “Dave and Jan Stilwell landed back in the Beltway (Joint Staff J-5 Asia) this time last year after a fun-filled two years in the US Embassy, Beijing. Stilly bumps into Gus Guastella in the E Ring from time to time. Probably the most significant ‘87 moment was joining Todd Lovell and Paul Hastert to honor Bruce LaCharite at his retirement in June. I’m sure there are lots of other ‘87ers around in the Building, but they’re all hiding in back offices and cubicles as far as I can tell. (Photo is of me and Henry Kissinger after a senior PLA officer had an office call with him in New York, New York.) ” Stilly currently sits in 2E811a at the Pentagon if anyone wants to stop by.
Mark Arriola and Tom Stanley I retired from the 99 AS at Andrews AFB in 2007 and have been with Southwest ever since. I live in Southern Maryland and fly out of Baltimore-Washington International Airiport. I know there are many other ’87 folks here at the airline but I thought you might like this pic of a couple ’87 folks in the same cockpit. Hope all is well.” Great photo Tom, thanks for sending it. Love the ties! Keith Fletcher lives in Huntsville, AL, with his bride of 27 years, Rose. By day he is an acquisition program manager, and by night and weekends he is a stellar beekeeper. We recently had a bee issue up at my dad’s house in New York and consulted with Keith for some advice—long story short, but the bees may be a very rare variety that my dad may not be able to get rid of with the local hardware store remedy! Thanks Keith for the advice! The picture is Keith with Mike Walker: Keith posted “My college classmate Mike Walker dropped in for dinner. 31 years ago we were Doolies in 22nd Cadet Squadron getting abused by the class of ‘84 & ‘85 in BCT. Look at us now!” Mike lives in Rio Rancho NM.
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Keith Fletcher and Mike Walker Found an interesting story about Greg Mooneyham via Facebook. He ventured into the world of franchising in the fitness industry during an economic downturn in what was a calculated move to practice what he preached. Mooneyham, CEO of Atlanta-based JRG Fitness Operations, recently closed a deal with a private equity firm that opened the financial door for him to acquire 35 Snap Fitness facilities. The move made JRG Fitness the largest independent North American franchisee of Snap Fitness, the compact, state-of-the-art 24/7 fitness center concept based in Chanhassen, Minn. Check out the whole article at: http://www.franchising.com/articles/taking_flight_greg_mooneyhams_not_afraid_of_risk_ in_the_air_or_on_the_groun.html#sthash.juTm573M.dpuf. Pretty impressive stuff Greg, way to go! That’s about it for this issue. Thanks for all the great inputs and keep them coming—remember when it comes to our classmates, nothing is too small to mention to the masses! Hope to see some of you at a bowl game later this winter. Go Falcons! Fly safe…
Craig McCurdy 46992 Smithwood Court Potomac Falls, VA 20165 Cell: (202) 570-3058 ccicdjmccurdy@yahoo.com BG Dave Stilwell Tom Stanley also sent an email: “I went into my phone to find this picture of Mark Arriola (left) and me, Tom Stanley in a Southwest 737. We flew a trip together a couple of months ago.”
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My son Isaac (’16) attended the USMC Summer Leadership and Character Development Academy (SLDCA) at Quantico this summer. It was a
great program. Isaac seemed to have been greatly impressed by the program as well. He told me after the course that he would seek to obey me as quickly as he had obeyed the drill instructors. He was a good son already before the course but now I can see that he is striving for perfection. Anyway, I would recommend it to anyone with high school-aged children. My wife, Christine, and I are in the picture with Isaac at the USMC Museum in Quantico, VA.
Craig, Isaac, and Christine McCurdy Here is a letter from Kip Turain: “Dave Argyle and his wife, Desiree, live about 40 minutes from us in New Jersey and we try to get together around all our schedules. Their daughter is active with high school lacrosse and she’s been accepted to play at Vanderbilt for her college excursion! They’re extremely proud of her. Their son has been attending Univ of West Virginia and decided to transfer to Temple, so will be a lot closer to family as he finishes out his college year. Dave gets his travel in as a USSOUTHCOM J3 Joint Operations Center Director and also flying out of Baltimore for Southwest Airlines. All the plates they have spinning on sticks didn’t deter our families spending the first day of the New Year together at the Mummer’s Parade in Philadelphia, though! “Also ran across Steve Browning during a course at Hurlburt. He serves as the IMA to Tanker Airlift Control Center’s Global Readiness Division at Scott AFB, IL. It was a quick 1-day touch, but fun to enjoy a handshake and a smile with him. Also had the pleasure of seeing Rhonda (Greenberg) Kelly and her family at the McGuire AFB, NJ movie theater. She serves as the 514 Air Mobility Wing Inspector General and she and her husband have a handsome son and beautiful daughter. “Finally, had an opportunity to shake hands with Sabre Society Shaun Turner 3 days prior to his retirement on 2 May. Donors Shaun and I flew KC-10s together at Travis AFB, CA a few moons ago and wrapped up active duty by imparting wisdom and teaching some of the AF’s newest Lieutenants at THE Ohio State University as the AF ROTC Detachment Commander. He and his family will remain in the Columbus, OH area for the immediate future. : I remain married to my loving wife, Maria, and we’ve been at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, NJ for 2 years. Our daughter is entering her senior year at Loyola University-Chicago and is looking forward to “travelling the world” upon graduation. Our son is beginning his sophomore year at THE Ohio State University. He also participated in AF ROTC the second half of his freshman year (hence the connection with Shaun!) and looking forward to next year’s program. Our door is always open for anyone swinging through South-Central New Jersey!”
Thursday, Oct 16th 0730-1300 Golf Tournament (Shotgun 0800) Eisenhower Golf Course 1030-1300 Prep School Reunion Community Center Theatre 1145-1230 Lunch with Cadets (200 max) Mitchell Hall 1200-1700 Reunion Check-In Antlers 1730-2200 Social Antlers - Summit Ballroom Friday, Oct 17th 0800-1600 Late Reunion Check-In Doolittle Hall 0900-1100 Tour the AOC/Demonstration RPA AOC - Bldg 2314 1000-1600 Cadet Area Open House Cadet Area 1000-1130 Academic Open House Fairchild Hall (Park at Doolittle Hall and ride the bus) 1100-1300 Buffet Lunch Doolittle Hall 1330-1500 USAFA Leadership Briefing Fairchild Hall 1500-1700 Hap’s Open House (optional) Arnold Hall 1600-1630 Memorial Ceremony Cadet Chapel 1730-2100 Class BBQ The Otis House Saturday, Oct 18th Time TBD Tailgate Falcon Stadium Time TBD AF Falcons Beat UNM Falcon Stadium Time TBD Squadron Socials As arranged by Squadrons Had a great time with 11 of our classmates at the Senior Leader Orientation Course (charm school… I failed!) at Andrews AFB, MD the end of July. It was a rare opportunity to hear from and engage with our Air Force Secretary and Chief of Staff, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, sister Service Chiefs and Combatant Commanders. More importantly, we had a wonderful time reconnecting with old friends and making new ones.
The SLOC ’89 crew: From left are Stephen Whiting, Kirk Smith, Dave Hicks, Greg Guillot, Steve Williams, Ty Thomas, Joe Oder, Doug Cox, Greg Gutterman, Chris Short, me, and Andy Toth.
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Paul W. Tibbets, IV 11 Custer Drive Offutt AFB, LA 68113 E-mail: p2a2tibbets@gmail.com or p2a2me.com Class Facebook group: http:// www.facebook.com/ group.php?gid=43101356987
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Class Reunion site: http://www.usafa.org/Reunion/1989. Greetings ’89ers! Just a few short weeks until our 25th reunion – check out our Facebook page and Reunion site listed above for the latest info. Tentative schedule is below. Rooms need to be booked NLT Sept 15th, and the registration deadline is Oct 2nd. These can be accomplished through the Reunion site, as well as donating to our class gift, purchasing merchandise and football game tickets. Look forward to seeing everyone there!
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Ron Garrett writes from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) where he has been for 5 years after retiring in ’09. He recently graduated from the National War College and said it was a great experience. Also heard from Chris Kulas, who retired in June and moved to Texas where they are settling in. Thanks Ron and Chris! Living the hard life at RAF Molesworth, Tim Traub and wife, Rhonda, are enjoying England where he is the Commander of the NATO Intelligence Fusion Center. Sabre Society Tim says it is an amazing place to live and work, where Donors he is privileged to lead intel analysts from 28 nations who are all supporting NATO interests in Afghanistan, Kosovo, Indian Ocean, and Ukraine to name a few. The picture is from a recent bike ride Tim and Rhonda took in Northamptonshire. They stopped in the town of Grafton Underwood where there was a memorial for the US Army Air Forces, Eighth Air Force, who flew B-17s out of RAF Grafton Underwood during WWII. Congrats on the job Tim and great to hear from you!
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Rhonda and Tim enjoy bike riding around the beautiful England countryside. Speaking of Europe, Rondall Rice recently retired as Chief of the ISR Division, 603rd AOC, Ramstein AB, Germany. He and the family are back in North Carolina where Rondall will be the inaugural Director of the Bachelor of Science in University Studies program at East Carolina University. His oldest daughter, Katie, will be a Tar Heel and started at the “Southern Part of Heaven” – Rondall’s words – (UNC Chapel Hill) just last month. His youngest will be a high school sophomore in Greenville. Rondall says it was a “hell-of-a-career” and he feels very blessed to retire as a Colonel and PhD. Thanks!
Rondall’s final day on active duty! 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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the globe in Afghanistan. He tells me that he is doing his thing over there supporting SOF, but also working on the withdrawal plans. Since 9/11 he’s been a constant fixture over there—I’m sure his bride Lisa will look forward to him coming home to Florida for good next June. I heard from Melissa James about her hubby DJs tour at Vance. “Darren James just finished his time as wing commander of the 71 FTW Vance AFB and we moved to Scott AFB in June. Darren is now the Deputy Director of Operations and Plans USTRANSCOM. Our son Ryan is beginning his junior year at Wheaton College, majoring in chemistry pre-med and still playing football. Our daughter McKenna will be a senior in high school. I’m excited to get back into teaching.” Mellissa sent us a great shot of hosing down her wing king after his fini flight at Vance.
Darren James gets hosed by bride, Melissa. If you haven’t had a chance to visit our facebook page, please give it a look. Gordon Klingenschmitt posted a great link to the audio for “Boots, boots, boots, moving up and down again” that was a favorite of mine— Aaron Prupas commented it reminded him of a cozy retreat at the base of the Rockies! Mark Robinson is busy as ever as he pursues is Physicians Assistant degree at Easter Michigan University. “This is the first class at EMU, and we are learning a lot. The program is being run in collaboration with St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, and they have an Sabre Society awesome best-in-the-world (right now) simulation faDonors cility – it’s like Red Flag for medical students! We’re just about through the first semester, and I’m representing ’90 well and maintaining good grades. Two more semesters to go, and then a year of clinicals. I don’t know how many PAs there are from ’90 – I know Terry Arnold is one, and I’ve talked to him a lot on this journey.” Other than that, I don’t have too much news to report, but I’m sure you
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Hello Redtags! I’m writing this during the dog days of summer out here in the Mojave Desert where I live and I am definitely looking forward to some cooler days and for the football season to begin! As I write this my old roommate Bob Watwood is IMing me from across
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are all out there making news! Please drop me a line when you have the chance. My bride, Shelly, used to give me a hard time because back in the day I didn’t see too much about my closest classmates in these pages—she would then ask “Well have you written in to the scribe?” She is pretty keen to pick up on the little things! Go Falcons and Mighty ’90!—Flash.
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Carson Tavenner 7216 W. Country Club Drive Arlington, WA 98223 (301) 367-8969 Tavenner@hotmail.com
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“The best thing about Matt’s new job is visiting with friends!” I couldn’t agree more with that sentiment, and was so happy to read it (and view the accompanying photos from the previous few days) on Mai Lan Isler’s FB post August 3rd. Matt “Knocker” Isler became the 12th Flying Training Wing Commander at Randolph (change of command was 25 June) which gives him the opportunity (*ahem* …I mean, ‘responsibility’…) to travel frequently to Colorado Springs to check out the group under his command…the 306th Flying Training Group (USAFA’s flight operations), commanded by our own Colonel Steven Burgh (Steve! Where have you been all these years?! It’s been a looooong time since a mention in Checkpoints, if ever…) Matt and Mai Lan have made efforts to be in touch with many in the C-Springs area, and have been able to hold some long-awaited visits after their years Sabre Society in the Beltway and Hawaii. Donors Meanwhile, Colonel Dave Drichta is another of his group commanders, for the 12th Operations Group at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, which is responsible for the fighter fundamentals and instructor upgrade missions among other things. I think that is the group my father flew for in 1970 shortly after I was born (thought you’d appreciate this continuation of 1991 associations with the Wing’s history). With so many GOLD eagles around this wing, you have to wonder what the wing all-calls are like! Congratulations on the sweet positions, fellas; be true to your responsibilities, your people, and build up a great Air Training Command! Bold Gold command around the USAFA Campus doesn’t stop there. Colonel Kabrena E. Rodda (’92) relinquished her command of the Prep School to our classmate Colonel Gerald “Jerry” Szybist on June 30th. Jerry is now the commander of the Prep School! How cool is that?
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And this story was a great Facebook photo series, the greatest Bold Gold instance was this photo (but there are many more to experience on Max Torrens DeSpain’s page. She has a smile that wraps around the entire Earth, I’m telling you! While still at Manas Air Base (she is now back), she got “connected” to this very special stuffed falcon. And, well…the pictures tell the story! Here, she and John Vaughn (who recently left his post as the Vice Wing Commander at Manas) celebrated our 23rd graduation anniversary halfway around the world with the scariest rendition of the Eagle and Fledglings statute that I’ve ever seen! Trust me, you have to check out Max’s other photos with this cutie.
Man’s flight through life is sustained by the power of CRAZINESS! John wasn’t the only one to leave command behind this season; Colonel Jim Sears relinquished command of the 14th Flying Training Wing at Columbus AFB; his “fini-flight” was June 27th. I am not clear where he has gone next. Bananas? Pete Fry is now a First Officer with Southwest Airlines and Jeff Davies is now a First Officer on the 737 fleet with United Airlines. Jeff wrote that he is “transitioning from full-time Reservist to part-time after 23 years of full-time AF work. I look forward to another full career with United. The folks I have met at the company to include the new hires are all great. My best to all of the Bold Golders out there doing their thing with the passion and gusto it takes to enjoy life to the fullest.” Sean McKenna pinned on the eagles 1 June and expressed “pretty sure I’m the last Bold Golder to pin Colonel. Happy day. Thanks to classmate Robert Borja for attending Friday.” I don’t know, Sean, I guess we’ll have to see about that! Congratulations! Mike Wilburn graduated from UCLA’s law school on/around May 16 “After a twenty-year USAF delay, and three years spent studying when I’d rather be flying, I’m happy to finally graduate!” That’s awesome, Mike! I just recently returned from China where I was leading a small team of retired military officers teaching English to rural Chinese 5th – 8th graders in Hunan province (home of Chairman Mao). I was glad to be able to see things this time from a perspective I’d not had on previous trips to China, and I can honestly say I also grew in significant ways as the new deputy director of this important team. I will be glad to tell more to anyone who wants to be part of what we’re doing.
This was pretty much the tall and the short of it. “Little Ben” and I hit off on our new relationship as if we were old pals. Okay, I know there is plenty more Bold Gold news out there in LinkedIn land (thanks to the many who have been connecting with me; it is great keeping up with you all that way). I would go get some more, but I’m late with this column, and you know how it was at the Zoo: “If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute to do!” Until next time, Tav.
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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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Greetings class of 1992. I’m on leave in California and getting caught up on my “to do” list. First, is getting this column in to Checkpoints. Unfortunately, I have very few inputs and photos. I think this may be one of the shortest columns I’ve ever written. Pentagon sightings. A couple of weeks ago, I was walking through the food court at the Pentagon looking for my War College classmates who sometimes meet for coffee. I didn’t find anyone from that group, but ran into Mike “Scooby” Bruzzini. He is working at SAF/US(M)X—Enterprise Transformation. Not sure what that is, but I’m sure it’s exciting! (That’s sarcasm!) Mike arrived at the Pentagon in the beginning of July. Like a lot of us who have had multiple assignments at the Pentagon, he moved back into his old house in the area that he had rented out for the past five years. His children are reconnecting with old friends while Mike and his wife are still unpacking containers. The family’s two dogs are en route. Soon everyone will be settled and Sabre Society the things unpacked…we all know how good it feels to Donors get to that point. By the time you read this, Mike will feel that he never left the Pentagon or his house. Mike attended Arlie Haddix’s retirement ceremony on June 6. Mike and Arlie were roommates at USAFA. Mike thought it fitting that Arlie retired on the anniversary of D-Day going “out with a bang.” Following the ceremony, there was a lot of celebrating. Mike said he was “not sure if it was because we were sad to see him leave, happy that he is gone, or to ensure he left and didn’t come back!” I also ran into Gary Jenkins recently. He arrived at the Pentagon this summer, as well. I think he told me he was at OSD. We’ve yet to have lunch and get caught up. My old roommate, Don Unwin, just retired from the Reserves out of Scott AFB. He continues to fly with FedEx and still lives in the St. Louis area. Dave “Kumo” Kumashiro is starting his second year as the Wing CC at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He recently texted me a photo of him with Hall of Famer Tony LaRussa from a charity event to support the base. He’s doing well and has another year to go out there.
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Kumo, Hall of Fame manager, Tony LaRussa, (and a CMSgt photobomber). Final sad note. Finally, I have sad news to report. We’ve lost another 1992 classmate. On May 8, 2014, Warren Kadrmas died in an automobile accident in San Antonio, TX. I got a note from Sam Jones and Chuck Henderson who were CS-39 squadronmates. I think a good number of former Campus Rads attended his memorial service. Warren was an Air Force orthopedic surgeon and most recently stationed at Wilford Hall Medical Center. Here’s a toast… That’s it for this short column. Please send me your inputs and photos for the next one. I’m still on the Joint Staff J-33 with Mike Mote and Ken Ohlson. We’ll all continue to row hard for at least another year. There are a few more ’92ers around the Staff and in OSD, not to mention, the Air Staff. When I can escape the basement of the National Military Command Center (NMCC) and get into the sunlight on the surface or in the rest of the Pentagon, I frequently run into classmates or other Zoomies. If you are in the building, make sure to say hello. True Blue, James.
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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 Nonus Superato! I hope this finds you doing extremely well. For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, happy summer! For those of you in Chile (Fernando), happy winter! Many thanks to those who have helped with this article and with the beginning of the Class of 1993 Gift Committee! More on that in a minute…Lori, Collin and I are doing great in Alexandria, VA. Fresh off of a nice vacation to the shores of Jersey…no not the north Jersey shore, the southern one…more relaxing! 21+ years in the service for many of us, but we have had numerous retirements this past year and are looking for more this year. I hope to have a status update from the AOG on how many we have in, but judging by the number of invitations I get to attend retirement ceremonies, we will only have Colonels and Sabre Society above before long. My best to all and thanks for your Donors service! Over the past year your class has formed a gift committee charted to find a way to give back to our alma mater in some capacity. Many classes have partnered with others and designed grand architectural feats throughout the grounds of the Air Force Academy. Others have sponsored awards and plaques that have benefited cadets, squadrons and academic instruction. Our class committee, comprised of Vince Harrill, Jeff Kubik, Tim Songster, Matt Carpenter, Wispy Speros, Rob Dam, Dave Carroll and myself, have met in person and over teleconference to bring our class together and sponsor a gift for our 25th reunion that is both meaningful to us as a class, but also benefits the cadets in a way other than creating a plaque on a wall, or some piece of architecture that may or may not be seen on the Academy grounds. How can you help, you might ask? Before we move forward with what we are proposing to the class, we need to make sure that our lines of communication are tight. We are seeking one member from each squadron to help with ensuring that we contact everyone in our class. Our committee needs one volunteer from each squadron from our class. For those who have already volunteered, many thanks in advance—for those who haven’t please let me know if you are interested. As important as volunteering your time, is dedicating/donating personal funds from each member to assist in funding our class gift. Once we have our communication team established you can expect information in a letter in the mail, email traffic, website information and phone calls from the members of our committee and/or members of your class. On to the news… We received an update from our resident Air Attaché, Matt Yocum. Matt has been in the Middle East for a while, except for a few schools back in the states. He arrived in Amman, Jordan at the beginning of the summer to begin a three-year stint as the Air Attaché/Deputy for Attaché Operations at the Defense Attaché Office (DAO) in Amman. Though the environment has been hectic in all quadrants surrounding his new location, he and his family are very happy to be in Jordan. Anne Marie and the twin boys are doing great. Matt says that the twins just turned two and amaze him every day. Matt is still plugging away at creating comics. He recently sold a story that should come out next year. It’s his first military-themed story. It follows two brothers, twins, and what happens when one brother (a combat controller) is…well we’ll have to wait and see what happens next in the comic. Matt says he had an amazing artist on the project and I can attest to that after seeing the cover. Matt has already had numerous comics published by companies like Marvel. Congrats to the Yocum family and their new assignment and great news! Trent Tuthill also checked in from Colorado. The Tuthills have enjoyed their tour in Colorado for the past two years. Trent was the Deputy Mission Support Group Commander. He and his family were able to catch up some great fun while there -- skiing, fishing, and hunting topped the list.
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They now reside at Langley AFB and he will discover what it means to be the AMIC (Acquisition Management Integration Center) deputy director. Trent admits that the Air Force has been good to his family and is excited about a few more adventures before he retires. Jeff Veyera is doing great in Richmond, VA. He left Bank of America after 10 years to join a Fortune 500 healthcare logistics company as its Director of Process Engineering. He and his wife, Anita, enjoy living in Virginia with their three children (Winston, 6, Sophia Bella, 4, and Christopher, 2). Graham Whitehouse is doing very well in Seattle, WA. He is working for Boeing along with fellow classmates Mark Forkner, Sean Solly and Mark Brown. Graham works on the KC-46 program along with many USAFA grads ranging from the classes of 1965 to the class of 2003. He is excited about having four new tankers flying by next year. He is also a Reservist in the 701st Combat Operations Squadron – he is an Air Operations Center (C2) warrior tasked with supporting the Korean Theater of Operations. Donna Turner (Vines) checks in from sunny southern California. She left the Joint Staff and is now the Group Commander for the 61st Air Base Group at Los Angeles AFB, CA. (CONGRATS!) She had just returned from wing commander/group commander pre-command training and ran into several classmates—her Academy roommate Ali (Ward) Trevino who is in group level command at DCMA Minneapolis, Chris Juarez who is on his way to DCMA Kuwait City and Dave Benson who just took command of the 509th Operations Group at Whiteman. Incidentally, Dave Benson took great care of me on the back-up while I was at Whiteman. It’s always great to have dinner with a classmate and family. Thanks Dave and Anne…we sure miss you in Alexandria! Brian Burns just arrived in Northern Virginia about one mile from where I live and is starting his SDE with the State Department. He looks forward to wearing a mismatched suit every day and looking forward to his visits to the Men’s Warehouse and dry cleaning. Hawaii was fun, but he is already enjoying being closer to family and friends. He noted that Brad “Tonto” Bird is lost somewhere in the J8 area and Brian “Buzz” Wolford is also there as well. Chris “Swanie” Swanson checks in and updates us that he and his family are living in Colorado Springs, CO. His wife, Gina, teaches at Pikes Peak Community College. Swanie owns and operates an internet marketing and SEO company called 88Platinum (88patinum.com). He and his boys are quite active in Boy Scouts. His daughter is starting her third year at University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. His oldest son just earned his Eagle Scout last year. His youngest son (who is inspired to go to an academy someday) is a Star scout. The Swanson’s have no complaints and life is very good. Great updates from ’93 this quarter. My best to you and your families! Until next time…Mike.
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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Fall 2014. Summer is winding down and we’re gearing up for an awesome fall, which includes a trip to COS for the 20-year reunion. This summer has been great. The Allen family took a road trip over to SEC country to see my sister in Jackson, MS. It was a fun time for our kids to hang out with their aunt, uncle and cousins. We hit all the Southeast hot spots. A Memphis day trip included Graceland, Beale St. and Dyer’s for lunch (they boast that their burgers are cooked in grease they’ve maintained for over 100 years -- they’re legit). Our ten-year-old daughter has become a big Elvis fan, which I’m pretty sure originated from watching the movie Lilo and Stitch. Sabre Society So, we were also obligated to make a trip to Tupelo, Donors MS to see Elvis’ birthplace. That excursion included a stop at the best lunch spot near Columbus AFB -- The Little Kitchen. If you’re ever in the area you’ve gotta go. Then, we went on a New Orleans jaunt. We toured the French Quarter which is a much different experience with your kids in the middle of the day than I’m used to from Colleen and my trips down there in our younger days. Finally, on the way back to Del Rio, we had to make the quick trip off of I-10 down to Avery Island, LA to see the Tabasco Plant, which is basically my personal Graceland. I got addicted to that stuff in Mitchell Hall. So, that was the big summer trip. I hope your summer was nice too. Now it’s time to cool off and ease into the fall. I got a few updates this summer, including one from Lance Kent, who
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was deployed to Kandahar flying the E-11A. He said on his first mission in country, they had to divert to Bagram where Lance was able to meet up with Jay Bruner (a fellow alum from Columbus Pilot Training Class 9801) who was the Deputy OG there. Lance said Jay gave him a tour of the base that culminated at the Bagram Russian control tower, which he said, “has been converted into a sky lounge of sorts, complete with Sanford and Son style couches, stereo setup, and best of all...beer and cigars.” Photo evidence pictured. Lance also said he ran into Col Chris “Elroy” Stricklin over there. Elroy was on his way from a year-long deployment in Afghanistan to a NATO job in Ankara, Turkey. Thanks for the update Lance.
Bagram Nights...Lance and Jay. Retirement season rolls on in full force. Scott “Chains” Allison just retired on 1 Aug out of the 47 OSS/CC position here at Laughlin. He’s relocating with his family to the Houston area. Chains reports that his civilian job is...TBD. His wife, LeAnn, however, landed a nice job in the greater Houston area. Another recent AF retiree, Mike Miller, relayed a similar scenario. Mike just retired in the DC area. His wife, Andrea (Kerkman) Miller (‘95) is still in the AF. Mike’s immediate plans -- play golf. Dream job. I also got a retirement invite from Jeff Dalrymple who flew a T-1 fini-flight and retired out of Randolph. Last word from Daly was that he took a job with Sprint, but was still considering the airlines. Another recent retiree, Bill Sullivan, just posted a pretty cool pic of himself being recognized at Fenway Park for his military service. With the Red Sox in a rebuilding year, Sully looks to have inspired the Fenway fans to keep the faith. Congrats guys. Tony “Fargo” Retka and family recently returned to the U.S. from their extended Pacific region tour in Japan and South Korea. They are on their way to Sweet Home, Maxwell, AL for a year. On the trip back, Fargo was able to stop over in C. Springs to see some friends. He, Stan Lawrie and Betsy (Moore) Russ met up at an old hangout -- Old Chicago’s. (see photo)
Old C’s Rendezvous...Stan, Tony and Betsy. I only got two pics this time, so the third is from our trip to Tupelo, MS, birthplace of The King. When we went to buy tickets, it wasn’t advertised, but I asked the lady working there about a military price. In a serious Mississippi accent, she surprised me by replying, “Oh, y’all get comps.”
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The full tour was free for all of us. Keep that in mind if you’re ever near there; it’s worth the trip. I hope to see many of you at the reunion in late September -- Kegger.
me to first class whenever he was my pilot. Others joining Vandal flying the friendly skies are Duke Pope (’94) and Jeff Ward (’96) who both were hired by Delta. Others retiring this summer include Miles Mathieu who was honored at a Texas Rangers ball game on the big screen. Mike Mills narrated the ceremony. He and Audrey (Allcorn) have maybe moved back to Colorado Springs where Miles will be running the weekly promotions for Meadow Muffins. Paul Spaven also retired and was rocking a Viking IX mug at the after party. Mike and Andrea (Kerkman) Miller (’94) celebrated Mike’s retirement with a trip to Australia. Finally, Joe DiFidi retired in June and has offered a few rounds for anyone who makes it to Nashville this Fall. He, Dane Crawford, and Margaret Coffey met up last February and jumped out of a perfectly good airplane together:
Elvis’ childhood home...looks like base housing I lived in as a kid.
T. Koch 9193 Martson Way Montgomery, AL 26117 Cell: (840) 499-8242 richard.koch@us.af.mil traviskoch@yahoo.com
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Alabama USA: We are in the heart of Montgomery enjoying Air War College one Clausewitzian strategy at a time. We live right down the street from Otis Jones. Otis just finished his year as the AMC/CC executive officer and is enjoying his time. There are a ton of other KTPers including Phil Acquaro who just left Davis-Monthan and recommends Café Poca Cosa if you ever want some delicious molé. Paul Brezinski and his wife are here and have a beautiful daughter. Marshal Groves is representing the Thunderbirds of 27. Mike and Nicole (Kennedy) Miller have two handsome sons, Jacob (11) and Eli (8). Other USAFA grads that I’ve run into include our AWC Vice President, Harlie “Leash” Bodine (’93) and Jeff Russell. Last time I saw Jeff, he was asking me to recite Schofield’s quote and Sabre Society Donors was reminding me that having my shoulders up, back, and down was not optional in his Air Force. Red-Hot ’94ers include Tony Retka and Todd Smith. Tony’s wife, Stephanie, is as stunning as ever and is directly responsible for their three amazing kids: Brogan (16), Iesan (13) and Emerson (11). Todd also has three great kids (Garrett, Cooper and Allie) and lives just around the corner. Jason Rudd (’96) and John “Krusty” Kent (’96) are here as well. Jason has one of the few coveted ANG war college slots and has become a staple at our house for Thursday night dinners. He doesn’t know yet he’s going to have to teach my son how to pitch. Krusty talked me into a Blue Horizons course where our final project consists of writing on a bar napkin how air power will be used in 2040 and defending it. Should be easy. Ed Casey was on his way here too but decided to keep flying in the Alabama National Guard with Chris Jones. Here’s a manly picture of Ed down range:
THAAAA WINGS OF BLUE! Random Updates: Joel Stephens and Jason Smith were in attendance at the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship only to see their mighty Kentucky Wildcats lose in the finals. Not a total loss as Joel, a perennial Diaper Dandy, met Dick Vitale. Dermot Coll and Steve Russ are on their way down here this fall to Atlanta when AF plays Georgia State. Russ is the new defensive coordinator for the Falcons and we wish him and the staff our best this season. By the way, did you know 42 football players made the Dean’s List last year? Joe Lombardi (’94) is the new offensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions; well done! Greg Bender is a Derivatives Sales and Trading Manager at Bloomberg. Cooler than that (pun intended) is Mark “Mama” Sheie (’93) is the new Security Supervisor for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Pete and Dawn Sheridan welcomed Delaney into the world last fall and are still living in Golden, CO. Doug Kaupa deployed to Kabul last year and he distributed 250 star charts to Afghan children. He is teaching astronautics now at USAFA.
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The Governor and his lovely First Lady. And finally, the Jon Hamby section of the update. Bone has been promoted to “Pool Governor” at Chantilly National. He feels up to the task but more importantly looks forward to being introduced as, “The Honorable Jon Hamby” at the next pool event. I won’t be able to join him at the Member-Guest this year but we look forward to hearing the results. 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
That’s a whole-lotta macho. You are now free to move about the country: Sam “Vandal” Mann is officially retired from the AF (thanks TERA) and is flying for Southwest Airlines. He would not promise me any drink tickets but said he’d upgrade
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Hello from the Deid! I had the pleasure of taking command of the 379 Expeditionary Medical Group on 25 May. It’s been crazy in the Middle East ever since and I can’t believe that as I type this I’m almost a quarter
of the way done with my year-long tour. We’ve got a great group of people here and TABS are rotating through all the time. Jai Pope is the first TAB I ran into here. He is also out here for a year of fun in the sun as the 763d Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron Commander. While I don’t think he’s spending nearly as much time as he would like in the sun, I have seen him and his fellow squadron commanders sporting their awesome sweatsedo’s (sweatsedo.com if you want your own). Jai’s family is spending the summer visiting family and hanging with friends. Jai and Annie are celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary on 1 September…I’m sure Annie will enjoy a phenomenal anniversary dinner while Jai will enjoy a fine DFAC meal of chicken nuggets! My first visit to the CAOC, I ran into Kevin Silknitter as he was transitioning home to Sheppard AFB where he is a UPT instructor and then John “Stump” Orchard at the DFAC the day before he flew back to RAF Lakenheath. John and his family finished up 3 years at Lakenheath where he was serving as the 492d Fighter Squadron Commander. As another tough assignment, the Orchards are moving to Garmisch, Germany where he’ll be completing his SDE at Marshall Center. If anyone gets to southern Germany or Edelweiss Resort, go ahead and look him for a hefeweizen! Marty “Hobo” Garrett is up the road at Ramstein with his wife, Shannon, and their 3 girls. Hobo completed a 365-day deployment as the EOSS/ CC at Bagram with a combat fini flight in the A-10. He’s currently the Military Assistant to the Commander at HQ AIRCOM (NATO). Sounds like he, his wife, ShanSabre Society non, and their 2 girls are squeezing in lots of travel Donors when he’s not trying keep up with his new boss. Stump also connected me with the Lakenheath Command Post Chief Paul “Diggler” Heitmeyer before he PCS’d back to Mountain Home AFB with his wife, Jen, and their two kiddos. Diggler left Mountain Home in 2009 (after 3 years of great flying), did a 2-year accompanied Italy remote at Poggio Renatico CAOC-5 which was a quiet staff job until Odyssey Dawn/Unified Protector kicked off. He said it was very satisfying to be Section Head of Offensive Plans during the NATO Operation. Their family really loved Italy as well; fantastic food, wine, people, and tremendous travel opportunities... saw it all and plan to go back someday. After Italy and a quick requal at Seymour-Johnson they moved to Lakenheath in Aug of 2011. Their house is empty and they will be staying with the Rob Eller for a few days. What free time the Heitmeyer’s have is spent with the family travelling the world... the most recent big trip was a Safari to South Africa. Otherwise, you’ll find him in the garage or driveway working on his 1988 Defender 110 which he’ll ship back to the states and hopefully drive it another 260,000 miles that it already has!
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ready to start a hand fellowship next year but is currently enjoying the beaches of Destin. Scott Ogledzinski is the Air Attaché in Vienna. Shaka Walker, also an orthopedic surgeon, and his family recently moved to the Pittsburg area after separating from the AF in July. Shaka commented that, “we’re finally able to do the normal things—build a house and thinking about a permanent life after moving for school, residency training, PCS’s etc. Now, at 40, I can finally feel a little grown up and wear grownup clothes to work everyday. It’s fun.”
Shaka and Denise Walker with Helena, Penny, and Duncan. That’s all until next time…hopefully when the next issue comes out we’ll be enjoying a cold one at the Deid in cooler weather. It’s great to hear from everyone, keep your inputs coming my way… andivinyard@ yahoo.com.
Melvin E. Maxwell, Jr. 4660 4th St. South Arlington, VA 22204 mel_maxwell97@hotmail.com melvin.maxwell@us.af.mil
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Greetings ’97! As always, hope this update finds you well. Like many of you, my family and I just completed a PCS. We’re enjoying the DC area and I’m looking forward to running into classmates in the halls of the Pentagon. I ran into the Cathy (Blake) Barrington in the Bolling AFB Exchange. Cathy recently completed a command tour at the 319th Missile Squadron at FE Warren AFB and is now working on in residence Senior Development Education in the area. I played a little golf with Mike Bailey who was in the DC area meetSabre Society ing his leadership before heading off to Germany this Donors summer to take command of the Stars and Stripes in Europe. Congrats are also in order as Mike and Kate (Meyer) who are expecting their second child this fall. I’ve also been fortunate enough to bump into York Pasanen and had lunch with Dave and Michelle (Gadus) Pryor in the Pen-
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Heitmeyer Family in Zambia Rob Eller and Adam Starr are both orthopedic surgeons at Lakenheath. Rob has been serving as the deputy squadron commander and will likely be PCSing next summer. Adam just finished 8 months of working as an exchange surgeon with the UK’s National Health Service at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge. He was fortunate enough to work with the Orthopedic Trauma Unit and he’s headed to a Hand Surgery fellowship next summer at Brown University in Providence, RI. Adam is married with two kids…while his professional life is exciting; his personal life isn’t lacking either…11 months ago their daughter was born (unexpectedly) in the bathroom of our home! Finally, through the ortho connection I found out about several more folks: Joey Gower is currently in San Antonio where he is one of the staff hand surgeons at San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC) and currently the orthopedic consultant for the Air Force Surgeon General. Joey offered up if anyone is ever coming through San Antonio he has an open bedroom with free airport valet and a bar that is open all week! Erik Sell is in CE leadership at Lackland. Ed Anderson is one of the SAMMC Spine Surgeons and the Ortho Clinic Service Chief. Shea Brannan is getting
Warthog CCs: Dave Rayman and Bryan Stone in Bagram.
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tagon food court. Looking forward to catching up with James Finlayson and Christian Basballe soon as well. I’ve got just a few quick updates this quarter. Bryan Stone sent in a photo of himself and classmate Dave “D-Ray” Rayman at Bagram AB this past April when the 303 FS replaced the 75 FS. Stoner is a Reservist, living in Kansas City and flying for Southwest Airlines. Insert Photo “Stone-Rayman”: Warthog CCs: Dave Rayman and Bryan Stone in Bagram. Chris Kay and family just completed a PCS to Nellis AFB to take command of the 99th Contracting Squadron. Chris ran into classmate Gina Muse who is the Inspector General and rumor is Ian Young is in town but Chris had not made contact yet. Chris took part in a mini USAFA basketball reunion when he met up with Coach Reggie Minton and former teammates Reggie Minton Jr. (’96) and Jarmica Reese (’98) at a USA Basketball game in Las Vegas this summer. Roy and Felecia (Thompson) Recker with Ryan Boyle in Rome. som AFB in a Reserve squadron. An AC in the KC…I like how you roll. Her husband, Matt Basler, a pilot training classmate, has separated from AD is working as an assistant football coach at Kansas State…you always looked good in purple Baz! The following ‘98ers were at Altus with Shelby: Jason Work, 96 ARS/CC, Joint Base Pearl Harbor, Jon Burdick, 909 ARS/ DO, Kadena Air Base, Jeff Cashion, RAF Mildenhall, Chad Marchesseault, Fairchild AFB, and Ron Schochenmaier, 349 ARS/DO, McConnell AFB.
USAFA Basketball Reunion in Las Vegas. Finally, Christophe Powers will retire from the Air Force effective 27 Aug 14, from Officer Training School instructor duty at Maxwell AFB, AL after 24 years of service to the US Air Force. Congrats, Christophe! That’s all I have for this round. Until next time…Mel
Patrick Fox One Crestwood Lane Hanover, NH 03755 (707) 837-6356 pfox@newenergycapital.com
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It’s good to be back after a six month absence. I received word that last quarter’s Checkpoints wasn’t going to include class updates due to it being a commemorative edition, which is why there’s been the six month break. In unprecedented fashion, I received a mountain of updates – thanks; it makes the column a lot easier to write and keeps my commentary to a minimum. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to submit all the pictures – my apologies in advance to those who don’t see their submitted pics in this column. Like all good St. Regis HS alums, Roy Recker, went on his annual pilgrimage to the Vatican. While there he and Felicia ran into Ryan Boyle – who after enduring one too many copilot landings decided his true calling was the priesthood. Ryan is currently in seminary in Rome and will be ordained a Catholic Priest next May and will continue to serve on active duty. Congratulations Ryan – well done! The only downside for Ryan was the AF demoted him to 2nd Lt – and Marc Segal claims it’s only the Jews who are discriminated against. (See photo at the top of the next column.) Mona Alexander-Ffield checked in from the Desert. Sabre Society Donors Mona just finished a year-long deployment as the 908 EARS (KC-10) SQ/CC in UAE. Oh how the 908th brings back memories – I spent many days out there from 2003-2005 listening to high school hero stories from Aaron Tallman, Tait Stamp, Chuck Whitehead, Mike Boos ’00, Gil Sanders ’95, Matt Pasco ’94, Rob Barnett ’97 and Brad Hall ’96. Mona is now studying advanced MAS at the Naval War College in Newport, RI. Quite a change in locales. A big update came in from Shelby Basler Ortiz. After seven years back at USAFA, Shelby is getting back to her roots – she just finished KC-135 requal school at Altus AFB, OK. Shelby is now flying the tanker at Gris-
EPQ study session at Altus AFB. Scott Crabtree has had anything but a boring life over the last few years. He writes, “Since 2008: two more whippersnappers, that makes 2 girls and 2 boys. I had the pleasure of being in Egypt 2010-2011 during the first Egyptian revolution. My family happened to be visiting and had to be evacuated. Colleen (French) Crabtree ’01 was supermom – she returned to the U.S. with a 4, 2, and 6-month old baby -- alone. I returned months later to be a T-38 instructor at Laughlin AFB. In April 2012, we had our fourth baby. Three weeks later, I sustained a very serious head injury while waterskiing. The Air Force moved me and family to San Antonio for me to get well. I had a miraculous recovery and returned to duty (except for anything that has to do with operating an airplane). I PCSed to Nellis AFB about a year ago, where I’m upgrading to be an instructor in the USAF Air Ground Operations School.’
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Scott Crabtree and his cranium staples spending some quality time with his newborn.
Scott also checked in with updates from James Wilson who he ran into while in Egypt. He and James spent some nights partying in Tahrir Square. He rendezvoused with the pride of Greenwhich, CT, Mark Falsani in Boise, ID. Scott also spent some time with Sam Berenguer while in San Antonio at PIT and while receiving medical care in San Antonio he saw Conrad Preedom, who was leaving PIT for Laughlin Part II. At Nellis, Scott is squadron mates with Rochelle (Ng-a-qui) Kimbrell and he’s also run into Carl Dieckmann, Jason Fuller, Jordan and Holly (Cooper) Grant, all of whom are living in Vegas. Rob Makros recently took over the B-2 squadron at Whiteman. Maz – thanks so much for the invite into your change of command, even though I guilted you into inviting me. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it. Jeff Mohr made the trip from C-Springs to Missouri for Rob’s change of command and Rob sent a great picture of J Mo, which due to the previously mentioned picture limitations I couldn’t fit into this column, but I will include it next quarter. No real J Mo update – as I write this it’s late summer, which means two-adays in Mohr household to get ready for football season. And two-a-days in the Mohr household mean cell phones off for the month for Jeff and Felecia, hence no real update on J Mo. After seven years in California, three of them in beautiful wine country, we’re moving back to the East Coast… the family isn’t happy but ‘you gotta do what you gotta do’ to stay one step ahead of those crack detectives in the OSI. Please send me updates at my new email address, pfox@newenergycapital.com. Steve Maturo ’97, if you’re back home in Manch-Vegas why don’t you take 89 up to Hanover…don’t be a stranger. The saddest part of the whole move was that the movers mistook my ‘blue magnet’ for one of their moving blankets. After 20 good years together our roads diverge. If you hire Allied Movers, please look for my magnet – it’ll be the ‘moving blanket’ folded in the Cadet E.
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Mary Stewart Arlington, VA marybeth1999@hotmail.com mary.stewart@pentagon.af.mil
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Guten tag, Shiners! As I am in the midst of a PCS, fan favorite M5 Guest Lecturer Matthew Watson took over this quarter’s update for me. This is an especially impressive feat as he and his wife, Dana (Moss,) just had their first bouncing baby boy in mid-June, Matthew Junior—Congrats to Matt and Dana!
Room CIC Extraordinaire Evan Jones is the hand surgeon at Elmendorf and has approximately 14 years remaining on his commitment. Evan and wife, Jess, (Guynn ’00) have two kids, Iris (8) and Rhett (6). They are enjoying their time in Alaska and spend their off hours teaching their children essentials like memorizing drink lists for the dinner table, making those smiley face things when folding socks, and rifle manual. Speaking of lifting weights, Rob Giles is living in San Francisco and recently placed 3rd out of 30 contestants in a national bodybuilding competition. When not pumping iron, Rob can be found managing large scale construction projects in the Bay Area. He has been married to Priscilla Giles for 13 years and they have one daughter, Olivia (10). And now it’s time for everyone’s favorite segment, quarterly scatter shooting. Elycia Morris (Hall) is living in Boca Raton and works for GE. She recently celebrated 10 years of marriage to her husband, Todd, and they have two children, Stella (2) and Reid (5). Joe Starr also celebrated his 10-year wedding anniversary and is living in New Mexico. Glenn Gonzalez is an aircraft salesman for Honda Aircraft Company. Glenn is married with two kids and spent time as an international demonstration captain at Gulfstream and flew F-15Cs. Kris Thiele is in San Antonio with the Texas ANG flying the Viper. He also packs full time and insists that if Jesus had a gun, he’d still be alive. Brian McKiernan is back in native Chicago. Chad Holesko is the 180 OSS/DO in the 180FW (I don’t know what any of that means) and is doing his part to bring Stillwater flavor to NW Ohio. David Walker is working for Raytheon doing business development outside of Boston. He is married (Erin) and has two kids, Rylan (5) and Jack (3). Adam Grayson, Joel Nelson, and Ryan Harris have finished their PhD course work and are all working on their dissertations. In their full-time jobs, Adam (Edward Jones) and Ryan (Merrill Lynch) are financial advisors and Joel is working at Ball Aerospace building satellites to spy on bad guys. Nathan Atherley just left his venture capital job in Silicon Valley and moved back to Utah to begin a startup in the online reputation space. The company is venture capital funded and the Repiscore.com site should be up soon. John Fenwick sold his company, Skybox Imaging, to Google for a Falcon Card with an unlimited supply of Magic Money (Google it!). Josh Parvin is still doing Josh Parvin things in (insert last known whereabouts here).
Jason Simmons 5756 Range Rider Drive Colorado SAprings, CO 80923 Jason.Simmons@Outlook.com
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(15 Sabre Society Donors) Classmates, I’d like to start off by congratulating all those that were selected for Lieutenant Colonel and a special congratulation to those already wearing it. The cuts were deep this year, and so for those that did not get selected, we all know the AF is at a loss for not doing so. I’m now at USNORTHCOM and already taking advantage of being in the area by attending recent Falcon Fan Day, and look forward to being nearby USAFA. Here’s a recent pic of me with my family:
Dana and Matt Watson with their son, Matthew, Junior—July 2014. After 10 years in NYC, Bobby Farina and wife, Anne, have been belched out of New York. They relocated to San Francisco, have two well-behaved plants, and promise Vespa rides around SF for any prospective visitors. Both plan to attend the Air Force-Navy game in October and invite everyone to join them at The Golden Bee on Friday night. Frank Layo is a partner with consulting firm Kurt Salmon in Atlanta. In his spare time, Frank serves as a counselor for troubled youths and maintains constant vigilance in order to stay one step ahead of the law. Also filed under the category of one step ahead, Shane Sabre Society Donors Decker discovered a loophole encoded in some ancient scrolls buried at Fam Camp and took early retirement. He is a blue card-carrying, commissary-visiting, pension-collecting, blue blocker-wearing, too slow in the fast lane retiree. He has three kids and currently works for AMRAAM International at Eglin. At the opposite end of the active-duty longevity spectrum, Weight
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Another route that many are considering is early retirement. Jeffrey Scott retired at 17 years via TERA, and has moved to Denver. He’s leveraged his Human Factor experience to start a job at Charles Schwab as a usability researcher. Jeff has been on the job for a month and has already traded his CAC for a green retiree card. I’ve heard of several others on that road, but until I get official news submissions, I’ll hold off of airing that. In baby news, Kev-
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in Xavier Adamson was born at on 2 July 2014; here are separate pictures of Kevin with Daddy, Dave Adamson, and Mommy, Susie (Murphy) Adamson.
Dave also notes that he moved to the AFSOC Operations Center and is working on Global Force Management. In August he was TDY to Korea for participation in Exercise Ulchi-Freedom Warrior. Erin Elarton wanted to share this picture with us of her with Chris England, Jadee Bell Purdy, and Julie Weiss Childers. They were at the Charleston area chapter alumni dinner celebrating USAFA’s 60th anniversary. It was a central locale for us to reunite with her at Charleston High School, Chris in Bluffton, Julie in Jax, and Jadee in Goldsboro.
I have seen a couple recent weddings on Facebook so please share pictures when you get a chance…Shannon Merlo, Rob Marshall, Heather Huot and anyone else that isn’t coming to my mind right now! Brian Beekman returned from his 12th deployment in April. He just finished his IP upgrade to be a Reserve FTU instructor in the U-28 at Hurlburt, while employed as a contractor IP in the MC-12 and having 2 kids in the last 2 years!
Brian Beekman and family Raul and Angela Ochoa emailed me a while ago to let me know Kylene (Grove) and her husband, Andy, (and big brother Gabe) welcomed Tanner Michael into the world on June 26th. Angela says “Mama and baby are doing well. Fitting that he came on such a great day! I will never forget walking into my room to meet my 6’ tall roommate and her telling me to drop my pants... she needed to get me dressed. Kinda startling way to start Basic!” I love it Angela and Kylene; glad to hear about the lasting friendships that continue Sabre Society to grow after all these years! Donors Amy and Brent Greer sent me a great photo of a recent mini-Wolfpack reunion. Amy and Brent are stationed in DC; Ian Swayze and Barry Weaver and their families are close by and they all decided to get together for a reunion when Givey Kochanowski visited from Alaska. They took Givey to a DMB concert which I’m sure was a very fun and entertaining night with the Stein!
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Kristopher Malloy shares that his professional photography business, Think Photography, is celebrating its 8th year this month. Justin Hohn notes that he and Karen are now living in Columbus IN, where he’s been with Cummins since separating in 2008 under VSP. Justin is a factory support engineer for the largest engines (up to 4000hp). He finished his MBA this summer and says the kids are well -- Abigail is now nine and Ethan is five years old; they’re excited for homeschool to resume next week. Other than that, I did not hear much this go-around, so please send me class news inputs. Best wishes – Cueball.
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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! Jeremy and Melanie Ferguson left active duty and are both in the Guard. Jeremy Brown took early retirement this summer and will be settling down in Colorado Springs. Carmen Yocum moved to Colorado Springs as well last fall and is sponsoring 3 cadets this year. Carmen separated a while ago and now works for CACI on the NexGen IT project for AF Civil Engineers. Carmen also practices Taekwondo with her family in her spare time. JD Foy just moved to Kuwait City and will be the DO of the 5 EAMS at Al Mubarak AB. Jenn DiCarlo just finished up a 14-month deployment and is enjoying being back home at Dyess AFB. David Huinker is still active duty and enjoyed a break during EWI and starts DHA in DC in August. 134
Barry Weaver, Brent Greer, Givey Kochanowski, and Ian Swayze Mike and I are doing well. Amy and Brent Greer came to visit us before they left Kansas City and headed on the road trip east to DC. It was such a fun weekend and we loved getting all our kids together again; the Wolfpack’s 2nd generation is getting so big! We have had a busy summer with work, a couple small trips and all the kid’s activities. School starts this week, Grant is going into second grade and Abby starts preschool. Here is a picture of us all from July 4th festivities.
JOIN THE SABRE SOCIETY! YOUR MONEY HELPS FUND CADET WING PROGRAMS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE GO UNFUNDED. CALL (719) 472-0300 X200.
anu Reeves to come surf the Hundred Year Storm with him. Aaron Celusta is opening Iron Bird Brewery in Colorado Springs so everyone should stop by and grab a beer with him after any Falcons game. After instructing at the B-1 Weapons School from 2011-2013, Seth Spanier just finished up a year of IDE at National Intelligence University with the Defense Intelligence Agency on Bolling AFB, Washington D.C. He earned a Master of Science in Strategic Intelligence. He and his wife, Chris, are looking forward to their upcoming move to Hickam AFB, Hawaii where he will work on the PACAF HQ staff, as the Chief of Bomber Operations. I got word that at least two of our classmates (Seth Spanier and Dave “Squanto” Morales) are total rock stars on a red hot vector making LtCol 2 years Below Promotion Zone. No Limits and great work guys!
Mike, Faith, Grant and Abby Dunn Thanks again for all the photos. Just a reminder… while I follow a lot of you on Facebook and love keeping up with all your lives and milestones, I will not share your photos without your permission. So be sure to send me an email or message me if you would like a photo/update shared in the article. Thanks! 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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NIU’s graduation you can steal them off my FB. Scott McCusker took photos and celebrated the fini-flight after a C-130 three ship of fellow classmates flown by Yancey Walker, Ginny Walker and Jake Bergmann.
(4 Sabre Society Donors) Class of 2002, NO LIMIT UPDATE: How has everyone’s summer been? I have a few quick updates from our classmates. The first one is from Matthew Finn and his fiancé, Jensine. They are living in Lompoc CA. Matt currently works at Vandenberg Air Force Base as a missile engineer. He loves his job and enjoys the opportunity to work closely with Air Force personnel, now that he is a government employee. He’ll be getting married this September in Southern California at Malibu Lake Mountain Club. In his spare time, he loves to travel and he just completed what he describes as “an epic road trip” that took him from California to Idaho, Montana, Washington, and finally Oregon. Along the way, he visited the Sawtooth National Forest, Glacier National Park, and North Cascades National Park.
Yancey and Ginny Walker Post Fini-Flight with classmate Jake Bergmann. FAST, NEAT, AVERAGE: Next time you are catching a flight take a look in the cockpit to see if a classmate is up front flying the jet. Sham Aly, Mark Hannon, and Jeremy Simmons were all recently hired by Delta airlines and Kevin Watry is flying for Southwest Airlines. KEEP ME UPDATED: Just so everyone feels really old, the current Basic Cadets, Class of 2018, are the next generation of RTBers running around Jacks Valley right now! Keep sending me messages and don’t forget to keep the pictures coming so I can keep everyone in the loop with our class sightings around the world! NO LIMITS!
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Matthew Finn and fiancé, Jensine Matt Clugston is currently living in Texas. He plans to be part-time Reserves at Laughlin AFB flying T-38s and jumping into a few business ventures after his terminal leave travels take him to Chicago-Rio-PragueLisbon-Dallas. It’s like 60 days all over again! Dave Orleans and Mustafa Danquah are having a Facebook posting competition and Tony Straw has appointed himself as the official judge of who gets more certified “likes” on the hundreds of pictures that they post every week. Jamie Arthur is helping start a Surf Lodge off the Peruvian Coast while he’s waiting for Ke-
Members Susan Lynn (Doyle) Maly Linked In: USAFA 03 USAFA2003@gmail.com Class Facebook Page: Usafa Zerothree LinkedIn: USAFA03
(6 Sabre Society Donors) Hey Bongers, We heard from Adam Ciarella. In April he and his family moved to Las Vegas to be stationed at Nellis. Adam is in the F-22 division in the 422nd Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron.
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Adam, Shelly, Emily and Ben Ciarella Bongers say hi from Eglin, AFB, FL where Krystal (Shamblin) and Chris Wolfard are stationed with their three kids. Joining them are Chris Wee, his wife, Jen, and their two kids along with Ric Turner, his wife, Mhari, and their four kids. Alex, Chris, and Ric are test pilots in the 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin. They are all soakin’ up the Florida lifestyle as you can see in the photo. As Krystal says-it’s rough. Ha!
Now, to catch-up on the news we’ve missed over the summer. Ryan and Leigh-Anne (Withers) Fitzgerald moved to Okinawa, Japan, where Ryan is now stationed at Kadena AB with the 82d RS, continuing to fly the RC-135. Leigh-Anne is volunteering through the Red Cross as a RN at the Naval Hospital in Okinawa. They’re happy to report they’re adapting well to island life and enjoying the new experience and adventure—probably because anyone who’s been stationed in Japan can’t help but realize it’s amazing! Also, Marci (Freund) and Dan Walton recently moved out to Okinawa with their one-year-old son Breck. They are now flying KC-135s and are stationed on Kadena AB with the 909th ARS. Leigh-Anne is glad to have another soccer girl living nearby after so many years and suggested they might need to dust off their cleats—if you do, we want to see pics! Last but not least (simply smallest), the Fitzgeralds have added to clan. Rory Giggs Fitzgerald was born February 3, 2014, and Sabre Society Donors joins big sister Reese (3) and big brother Liam (2). They admit “life is hectic and wild in toddler-ville” (isn’t that a great word!) but they feel truly blessed. They’ll be in Japan until summer 2016. Next we received word from a proud new papa. Jason Fullmer and his beautiful wife, BriAnne, now have a gorgeous little girl named Lexington. . (He bets all the fellow history majors out there will appreciate the name.) She will be about a year old by the time this magazine is published. The Fullmers are still living in Alaska, where Jay is back to flying the C-17. He feels fortunate to have an awesome squadron up there, and they hang out with a bunch of other USAFA grads.
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Krystal (Shamblin) and Alex Wolfard with Chris and Jen Wee. Hope everyone had a great summer. Please join our class LinkedIn and Facebook pages. Enjoy the fall and take care, Susan
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Breezy Long 120 Sunfest Drive Deatsville, AL 36022 windyshort82@gmail.com
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Jay Fullmer, Dan Holder (’08), and Ryan Voorhies with their families, ice skating on a lake…with strollers! Beyond that, they’re making the most of their time in amazing Alaska. The Fullmers take every opportunity they can to go fishing, hiking, hunting, skiing, dog-sledding, etc. They even joined a curling league one year! Jay sends everyone his best—hopefully you can all do that in person soon enough! (Reunion plugs getting old? Sorry, can’t help it….)
Time flies, and our 10-Year Reunion is upon us! As a reminder, you can find info and connect with the festivities planners on our FB page (USAFA Class of 2004) and our class reunion website (http://usafa2004.wix.com/ wwwusafa2004com). Wish I was going to make it back from SWA in time to attend, but I hope most of you all can make it--have a blast!
Jay, BriAnne and Lexington Fullmer hiking at Eklutna Lake. Finally, we join Matt Boyd’s family in welcoming him home from his most recent deployment on July 4th—check out these touching photos. The Boyds are currently stationed at Hurlburt Field, FL, where Matt is flying U-28s.
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Matt Boyd, greeted by wife, Carrie, and their three daughters: Elizabeth (7), Samantha (5), and Olivia (2). Thanks, again, for sharing all the news and photos. We look forward to seeing lots more after the reunion—those unable to attend will need to live vicariously through you guys, so please share share share! Happy 10 Years, Ready for Warriors!
John Tamasitis 801 King St., Apt. K Columbia, SC 29205 Tamasiti@email.sc.edu Cell: 610-850-3352
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’05ers, I hope this update finds everyone and their families healthy and happy. The last Class of 2005 Checkpoints update was published online in early June at www.usafa.org/Checkpoints. For those of you who missed the link, I thought it would be appropriate to republish some of the updates in this current issue. First, it is with great sadness that this update must include the news that we lost one of our own this past March. On March 1, 2014, our classmate Billy Maggio lost his eight-year battle with a rare form of cancer. This Checkpoints edition will have an obituary in the Gone But Not Forgotten section of the magazine dedicated to honoring Billy’s life. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Order of Malta - Western Association, USA 465 California St., Suite 818 San Francisco, CA 94104-1820. The following grads were in attendance: Mark Liu who is currently practicing medicine at Wilford Hall in San Antonio; Mike Sackenheim who has just finished two A-10 tours and is flying T-38s at PIT in San Antonio; Mac Byard who has just finished up EC-130’s at DM and is headed to teach pilot training; Chris Lowe who has been selected for the initial cadre Sabre Society Donors of F-35s at Luke; Tom Duffy who is no longer on active duty and working as a Space & Missile contractor at Schreiver AFB; and Marc Austin. I have also received several updates from our classmates throughout the summer. Miranda (Brasko) Michael separated from active duty this past June to take on her most difficult assignment – fulltime mom of her brand new daughter Natalie. It was a difficult choice, but she indicated that she is ready to move on to the next phase of her family’s life and is thrilled to be a new mother. While on active duty, Miranda was a B-1 WSO. She deployed three times, flew over 100 combat sorties, and accrued over 1,800 hours of flight time. Miranda married her husband, Curtis Michael, in Albion, NE in Sept 2012. Curtis is a B-1 pilot and the family is currently preparing for a PCS from Ellsworth AFB to Dyess AFB. Miranda graciously attached a photo with her update of her, Curtis, and Natalie. (See photo at the top of the next column.) In addition to Miranda’s good news, I heard from Karl Scheuerman. Karl, Trey Fryman, and Joseph Leman have been serving on the board of directors for “A Family for Every Orphan,” a non-profit organization that
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Visit the AOG Web Site. Gone But Not Forgotten, Merchandise and more! www.usafa.org
Miranda, Curtis, and baby Natalie works to place orphans in permanent, loving families within their own countries overseas. Cam Schaefer (’06) has also worked with the group. According to Karl, it has been a great way for them to stay in touch and contribute towards a good cause. More information can be found at www. afamilyforeveryorphan.com for anyone else interested in getting involved. Trey is currently stationed at Langley, Joseph is at Altus, and Karl is now in the Washington (State) Air Guard. I also got an update from Teresa Moreno. Teresa took a weekend trip to D.C. to watch her beloved Chicago Blackhawks play and had brunch with Christine (Todd) McLean. Teresa and Christine were stationed together at Seymour Johnson AFB. Christine PCS’d to D.C. after Teresa returned from her deployment to Afghanistan. According to Teresa, Christine’s family was a great support to her while she was deployed. Teresa is now stationed at Barksdale AFB as a JAG officer. Christine is still stationed in DC with her husband, Jason McLean (’04), a Navy test pilot, and their 2-month-old baby Madeline Belle, also known as Maddy.
Teresa, Christine, Jason, and Maddy I trust everyone had a fantastic summer and is looking forward with anticipation to this upcoming Fall and another successful Falcons football campaign. As always, take care and best of luck to everyone in their future endeavors. If you ever find yourself in Columbia, SC, please feel free to reach out and I’ll show you around town. Until next issue – Go Falcons.
Shawn “The Schulz” Schulz 7840 Swiftrun Road Colorado Spring;s, CO 80920 (915) 309-5612 USAFACAD@hotmail.com Facebook page: USAFA Class of 2006
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Hello fellow classmates. I hope this message finds you all well. A quick update on the life here at USAFA. Cadet BMT is over and the class of 2018 has marched into the cadet wing via their acceptance parade. Parent’s weekend is right around the corner! By the time of this publishing, classes will have started. I spoke with a few Smacks and they had Calc 3 and Comp Sci on their mind... YUCK! But, we’ve all be there. I would like to let each of you readers know that last quarter publishing
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News Casey (Bayne) Whitson 32741 Pointe Stirling, Apt. F Dana Point, CA 92629 (310) 343-5969 email@caseywhitson.com
was an anniversary edition and the class updates were only available with the online version of CheckPoints. I would like to take the opportunity to give you all a condensed version of what you may have missed last quarter. First off, I just want to thank Dayle Hartung (Morell) for valiantly carrying the Class Scribe “torch” this whole time. You did a great job and we all appreciate it. I will try to hit the mark like you did! Now on to some class news: The first person to respond was Amy (Gilliland) Justus, announcing that she got married over a year ago! On 27 April 2013 she married Capt Jake Justus on her parent’s farm in Warriors Mark, PA. They were blessed to have Dana Lyon (Pounds), Kezziah Dale (Lloret), Casey Whitson (Bayne) (’07), Kristine Rebuck (Muth), Matt Shemo (’07), and Amy’s old roomie Colleen Hake (Smith) in attendance. Up next was my boy from BCT James Schannep who held a book signing at Ft Hood, TX for his newest title Murdered (I believe this is a Kindle version of the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books many of us may recall). James majored in English and left the service honorably in 2011. More info is available at www.JamesSchannep.com. Then we have one of our many classmates who currently live overseas. Hsiang-Yu Chen (’08) and L. Amber Collins just had their 2nd son on Jan 14th, 2014. Their firstborn, Logan, is almost 2 yrs old now and is probably eager to play with his new brother Kayan. They are still living in Taiwan where Hsiang-Yu is an E-2 Hawkeye pilot for the Republic of China AF (ROCAF) and Amber is a stay-at-home mother. Rounding out the previous updates is a classmate serving at my old stomping grounds (Scott AFB was my 1st assignment). William “Mac” MacVittie was recently married in Mount Pleasant, SC. Mac met his wife, Amanda, while he was stationed in Charleston flying C-17s. In attendance were fellow ’06ers John and Ashley Haney, Mike Lewis, Mike Phelan, Steven and Susie Haynes, and Mike Lebovitz (Leboooooo!). Also in attendance was former CS-18 AOC and grad Col Thomas Nicholson (’92). Mac and Amanda are living in St Louis, MO (also called the ‘STL’) where he is currently flying the C-21A. Sabre Society Now for the most current updates. Hey “Mac” Donors MacVittie I saw a “fini flight” celebration online. Are you done at Scott, or are you done with the AF? You gotta let us know! Some other classmates have decided to take the opportunity to say “peace” to the AF. As I understand it, Anthony Stinton took the money and ran. Here is what he had to say, “I took VSP, and my wife, Katie, and I have moved up to Greeley, CO to work for JBS, which is the world’s largest meat processing company.” Hey Anthony, G’Luck in the outside! Another fan of the outside is our own Mark Fuller. He stated, “got VSP, will be out in November, looking to see if the Airlines may be a good fit...” I say G’Luck to you as well bro! Rounding out the “Hollaback AF” was our one and only Adam Huebel. He stated, “I am VSP approved fool! T1 reserves at Laughlin AFB for now.” Well Heebs, keep those Texas wings straight and level brutha. I do recall that some of you spoke up and had nothing to say. Of note, I will give a shout out to Dave Smalenberger and Clyde Cross II. Thanks for using the 2006 F@ceB**k page! Also on the page was Steve Nelson and Brandon Nauta giving a shout-out to our awesome IBM ThinkPads. Sweet, I know mine still works. Thanks to those that provided updates this time around, and spread the word to others that I will gladly accept more. As for me (ShawnSchuuuuulz), I am still the Budget Officer here at USAFA and would love to meet up if any of you are in town. I have my Falcon Football season tix, so if you are here for a game and need a place to stay...just hit me up!
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Hi Class of 2007, We only have 121 of our classmates in our USAFA Class of 2007 Facebook group. This group is a great way for everyone to stay in touch and also allows us to keep you up to date on class events like our upcoming reunion. Please take some time to visit the page and add yourself and other classmates to the group. A note about photos: I’m limited to 3 photos per update so when I receive more than 3 I have to choose them in the order they were sent in. We were granted an exception for this update due to the special Sabre Society edition last quarter and allowed to have 4 photos. Donors Weddings: Kevin Quinn married Ann Graf on July 26, 2014 in Cleveland Ohio. A number of our classmates were in attendance including Joey Keller (now U.S. Army), Grant “T bone” Thomas, Brad Miessen, Scott Wright, Stephen Lawson, Kurt Wagner, Bridger Lord, Andrea Taylor, Meo Park, Mary Zinnel, Eric Liscar, Stephanie Brown (left after soph year). Ann and Kevin will be stationed at USAFA for the next year and Kevin is hoping to extend to 2016.
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The Quinn wedding Kim Brady and Donny Legans (USAFA c/o 2004) were married on July 3, 2014 in a beautiful and simple wedding in Philadelphia, PA. Donny separated from the AF in 2006 and is working in communication sales. Kim is currently flying the C-17 out of Dover AFB but is separating from the AF on Dec 31st under VSP.
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Kim and Donny Babies: Matt Schwandt and his wife, Patty (West Point c/o 2006,) recently welcomed their first child, Elise Gennett Schwandt, into the world. Elise was born on July 28th. Lukas Wyatt Sanders was born to Keith Sanders and his wife, Megan, on March 29th at the Marienhaus Klinikum in Bitburg, Germany. Keith and Megan moved on July 25th to Maxwell AFB where Keith is now working as the Bioenvironmental Engineering flight commander.
Katie (Barlow) Lee and Shaun Lee welcomed Micah Henry Lee born on April 21, 2014. He was delivered by Dr. Jerry Cline (USAFA c/o 1997). Katie is a pediatric dentist at Ramstein AB and Shaun currently works Intel at NATO Air Command.
The Lees and Sanders Kailin (Tuscano) Kwan sent in a wonderful update on the birth of her and Kelly Kwan’s (USAFA c/o 2005) first child, “We welcomed our daughter, Lana Marie Kwan, 10 days earlier than planned on June 19th in Belleville, IL at Scott AFB. She had a full head of black hair and strong lungs! Kelly left active duty back in 2012 and was a civil service employee for a year before joining the private sector as a Project Manager at Toll Brothers in July. I am separating on Sept 29th and will be joining the Reserves in California. We’re excited to be moving back home for good to the Bay Area!” Chrystina (Short) Jones and Matt Jones (Citadel c/o 2005) welcomed Jackson Sky Jones born on June 11, 2014 at Yokota Air Base, Japan. Matt is currently flying the C-130H there in the 36AS and Chrystina is flying the C-12J in the 459AS. While she was pregnant, Chrystina upgraded to Aircraft Commander and partnered with Ambassador Caroline Kennedy on a major project to encourage women to join the U.S. Air Force as well as the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force. VSP and AF Separation News: Kyle Vaughn had his last day in uniform on August 1st. After 7 years of deployments, countless missions, and 3 moves, Kyle and his wife, Heather, said goodbye to the Air Force. They are also expecting their first child in February 2015. Brian Walsh is also separating on VSP and his last day is Dec 31 and he’s planning on flying for the airlines. Brian recently graduated from the Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University with a Masters of Science in Entrepreneurship. Reed Wildman left Active Duty on Sept 11, 2013 (not on VSP). He took a year off to travel, spend time with family, recharge his batteries and develop spiritually. Now he’s headed to Stanford GSB to get his MBA this fall. Elizabeth (Brende) Kiefat did not get VSP but is separating on her ADSC date. Sept 25th is her effective date but she finished work on July 24th She’ll be a stay-at-home mom while running a business out of her home at Fort Greely in Delta Junction, AK. Her husband, Brian, works as the 49th Missile Defense Battalion Chaplain and they will be stationed there until 2017. Life Updates: Brandon Gould sent in a nice update, “Jenna (DorseySpitz) Gould and I celebrated our second anniversary in June and our son, Skyler, just turned 1 in July. He’s a little bundle of energy and loves his dog, Copper! We’ve been stationed at the AFA for about 2 years, where I’ve been instructing cadets in the Powered Flight Program. I’ll be separating from active duty in January, and as much as Jenna and I have enjoyed our ride with the AF that began at the Prep School 11 years ago, we’re excited to start the next chapter in our lives. I’m still working to solidify plans for my next career, while Jenna has become a very talented and successful Pilates instructor.” Steve Mackinder wrote, “In a 2-and-a-half-week span I graduated from AFIT with an MS in Engineering Management, my wife Jill had our first baby, Lincoln, and then I passed the Civil Engineering Professional Engineer exam. Then a month later we hit the road and moved to Ramstein AB, where I’m now on the USAFE A7 staff. It’s been nuts, but worth it, although I’m glad we can start settling down now. Here’s a picture of the three of us from the day before Easter when he was 12 days old. Now I’m headed off to Kabul for six months in Oct for deployment #3.” (See photo at the top of the next column.) Alicia (Peasley) Hartigan had a few life changes this year; she separated from the AF in January, got hitched and became a stepmom in February and moved to western Wisconsin in March. Mrs. Hartigan has been traveling the world with her family ever since. Michael Tanner, his wife, Katie, and their children are moving to Oxford, UK this fall. The AF is sending Michael for a 3-year PhD in Electrical Engineering with the intent to come back and teach at USAFA in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. They are also expecting their third child en route, just to keep life exciting.
The Mackinder family Kaelin Thistlewood and his wife, Brittany, PCSd to Hurlburt Field, FL, after four and a half years at Cannon AFB flying the AC-130H. Kaelin will be flying the AC-130U now. They also welcomed their first child, Brayden, on April 25, 2014.
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Christin Brodie (817) 223-9793 Christin.Brodie@usafa.edu cbrodie2@icloud.com
Members
Well class of 2008, another class has finished basic training and is starting their first classes as fourth-classmen. It’s hard to believe that we were there ten years ago (yep, our 6 active duty and 4 as cadets). I just went to my ten-year high school reunion and it was pretty eye opening. A bunch of my high school classmates have stayed in Texas, have steady(-ish) jobs, but most work for companies I’ve never really heard of or for a franchise in the local area and most of them had “wild” stories from their overseas travels in…Mexico (really not all that far. I mean, we’re from Texas). Then there is me who, like most of you, went to college out of state, have a steady job for Sabre Society a well-known corporation, have lived overseas for a bit, Donors and now know that our government makes decisions about more than just legalizing marijuana and taxes. But seriously, nice work class! We’ve done some pretty cool stuff in the last ten years. We’ve learned to fly planes, traveled the world, completed graduate degrees, blown stuff up... legally, and a few have even gotten married. I could give you specifics, but I need you to send me your stories for that to happen! Send me stories about all the cool stuff you are doing. The marathons you’ve won, the classmates you have run into, the weddings, the births, the life-changing trips, and even the exciting new jobs after the Air Force. Please let me share all the amazing stuff that you are doing with everyone else in our class. Your story could be the inspiration someone else needs to get them started on their new adventure. So call me, send me a message on Facebook, or look me up in global! I look forward to hearing about your amazing adventures!
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Forrest Underwood PSC 2, Box 9538 APO AE 0012 forrestunderwood@gmail.com Facebook: Forrest J. Underwood
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Members
(Two Sabre Society Donors) Great turnout this month! Thank you to everyone who sent in updates and pictures! As always, continue to send in updates with where you are and what you are doing! If you haven’t already, Like our Class of 2009, Air
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Class News
Force Academy Facebook Page! Remember, anyone can send in updates so please post to the Facebook Page or email me directly! Here’s the latest… BABIES: Jon Yates and Ben Nail are both proud dads! Andrew and Chelsea (Tompkins ’10) Hendel are expecting a boy soon! Dave Brown is also expecting his second this Sept as he’s flying the EC-130 at DM!
Mike Knapp hasn’t discovered transition lenses yet. SHAMELESS PLUG: Check out www.crashpadinaltus.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 The Manganos MARRIED: Ladies and gents, may I introduce Mike and Kelly (McGowan) Mangano! Ian Noel and Stephanie (Bailey ’08), Aaron Nelson and MaryCatherine (Harvey ’08), Mike McVay, Tanner Doss, Sid Maru, Drew Musser, Chuck Scholfield, Steve Beaulieu, Mike Giannone, Rob Arcand, Adam Hopkins and Jimmy Miltenberg all got hitched! ENGAGED: Ryan Christie and Mike Brittner are both on-deck to get married to their lucky ladies soon! NEW JOBS: Brain Dunn and Robbie Nitzburg are gonna be flying the Tanker in Mildenhall! Sean Perry is headed back to De Rio and Nick Bente will be at Vance teaching the next round of TONE studs! Sean Callahan and David Operchal have traded in their Hueys for a Pave Hawks at Davis-Monthan and Nellis! Jane Hwang will be the newest Flight Doc for the 35th FS at Kunsan AB! Erin (Wallace) Issler is going to grad school at George Mason University to study Human Factors and Applied Cognition. Wolfgang Zahner separated and is working for GE Oil & Gas in Houston. BOOM!
Todd Gamiles 2010checkpoints@gmail.com
Hello all once again, hope the summer finds you well! It’s been a busy last quarter for our class, so let’s get right down to it! Kicking things off, fellow squad-mate and friend Jon Lewczyk got married in April, and Brett Killion and Erin Keane tied the knot earlier this year on a Caribbean cruise. Joshua McCormick and Rebekah Kepple engaged vows, and Jonathan Coffey and Anne Mitchell also said “I do”. May you all have many happy years together! Of course, there are many weddings still to come! Ben Garland (of Denver Broncos fame) got engaged, as did Haley Brewton. Julie Waren and Clayton Turner (’08) are engaged, and Jeff Hutchins popped the question as well. Rounding out the engagement announcements for this quarter, Jonathan Tellefsen proposed to his now-fiancé Emily! Congratulations and best wishes for everyone! The class has one birth announcement. Michael Sabre Society Harencak is now a proud father to a beautiful baby Donors son! As for me, I’m still living it up in Northern Japan, but getting ready to head off to SOS for the August-October class. Hopefully I’ll see a few of you there! I wish the best of luck to everyone, especially with the results of the Force Shaping Board set to come out at the end of August (as of the time of this writing). 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!
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OTHER SPOOGE: The Wing of Blue had their 50th Anniversary. Dan Klepper and Justin Storm still fit into their Blue Suits. Barely.
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Elizabeth Borroni 908 Swift Water Drive Abilene, TX 79602 (979) 571-1180 elizabeth.borroni@gmail.com
Members
(One Sabre Society Donor) (Editor’s note: We did not receive an input from Elizabeth this issue. Please send her your information and photos for the next issue.)
Our very own Matty Davis is an IRONMAN! Finishing in 10:06 and Top 5% despite being injured!
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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.
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LeRoi Edwards leroi.edwards@gmail.com
Members
Other ’12ers in that program included Mike Ceci and J Mintzmyer. Not only is J my go-to guy for off-the-wall financial advice, he is busy making other people happy as well. I wish him all the luck in the world with his recent wedding to Christina Murrieta. They were wed in March and were able to enjoy an amazing honeymoon to Sandals resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. After selflessly devoting himself to a year of grad school, he is going through the paces of UPT. Feel free to shoot him some “congrats” and trade him pilot training insights for his masterful financial secrets.
(One Sabre Society Donor) Greetings Hap-ers! Let me start by saying that I am extraordinarily happy to hear from everyone as they continue to do awesome things. With new bars of responsibility and a nice paycheck to match, I hope everyone is blazing through their endeavors around the globe. It is wholly exciting to see everyone excelling as we all grow further from the Zoo and closer to our destiny (if you believe in that sort of thing). With a completely unbiased and impartial tone, I can say that we are most likely the greatest class of all time… To highlight some of the zest and excitement of our class I have received some personal notes from our classmates. First let me congratulate Christina England who had to change her name in the global, after Dustin Hayhurst and she took the plunge to a life of happiness. This, of course, was right after she graduated #1 in her master’s degree program in Public Policy at the University of Maryland.
A happy Hayhurst family on their wedding day.
J and Christina celebrating with friends, including ’12ers Scott Brooks and Dave Hein. I am further pleased to announce the wedding of long-time couple Tony Alt and Erin Dannemyer (now Alt). They tied the knot 10 May 14 in Anaheim, CA on a likely beautiful day. They are both living near Andrews AFB, so if you need a couch to crash on tell them I sent you. As you can see by the picture, they are more than willing to share their space and could not be more perfect for each other. Finally, I am going to transition from the past to the future and would like to announce/congratulate ’12 grad Shaina Thompson. She recently accepted a proposal in the whispering forests of North Pole, Alaska from an extraordinarily foxy Canadian woman named Tessa Baker. In May 2014, Tessa popped the big question. Elated, Shaina replied “Are you serious!” before digging through her heart for her most genuine answer to the question. They are planning to get married in the most beautiful Pacific Northwest, as Shaina’s family resides near Olympia, WA. If your travels take you north next summer, the love celebration will be in Saskatoon,
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Class News
From left are Rob Cilla, Tom Pitcher, Mark Jordy (’10), Erin, Tony, Justin Merrick, James VonAhnen, and Kyle Kenerley. Saskatchewan (Canada) tentatively scheduled for Aug 2015. Congratulations to all of our grads living, learning, loving, and enjoying an abundance of libations through their various walks of life. As always, I encourage you to give back to the Academy through our class’ 5-Star Commitment Program and stay involved with each other. We are awesome. It is my absolute pleasure to serve you all as the class scribe and I encourage you reach out and share your life stories with me. I will be at Travis AFB for at least another year; please let me know if you need a couch to sleep on, a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, or a drinking buddy to… drink with. Cheers, LeRoi. <http://www.usafa.org/Endowment/Classgiving2012>
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Members Andrew Hedman awhedman91@yahoo.com andrew.hedman.2@us.af.mil
This is most certainly the season of relationships. From post-graduation wedding anniversaries, to engagements, to some of our friends receiving news about little ones on the way, love is most certainly in the air! Congratulations to everyone on their big announcements. In particular, here’s a shout out to Luke Hantla for his engagement with Amy Bird! Here’s to everything working out for you two. In other news, for some of us today is our first anniversary for being at our first base after USAFA. Looking back, it is pretty amazing to think of all of the things I myself have learned. Many of you have made awesome accomplishments and I can honestly say I am proud to have graduated with you. Now that we have been at our stations for a year, I encourage you to think back on your experiences since graduation. Whether in training, leadership, or personal aspects, we have all grown in tremendous ways. If any of you have any stories or experiences you would like to share, let me know and I’ll put it in the next column.
Congratulations USAFA Class of: The Association of Graduates congratulates the Lt. Col. Jay Zeamer, Jr. Class on their recent graduation. Beginning with the next magazine, the Class of 2014 will have a Class News column in this book. Any volunteer class scribes and/or the class president please contact class news editor, Tom Kroboth, at Tom. Kroboth@aogusafa.org.
(One Sabre Society Donor) William Maggio, ’05
(Continued from page 95.)
(Gone But Not Forgotten)
He lived such a full and meaningful life in such a short time here on earth and made a difference to so many people just by the way he lived. Throughout his long suffering, Billy always had a smile on his face and accepted God’s will in his life. He taught us all how to live but most important how to die. On Billy’s last day on this earth he had a message to the world he wanted to convey to everyone – “Be There (in heaven). Don’t let anything deter you from keeping that appointment… This is the only thing of real significance in your life … above every other purpose and goal, the only thing that really matters is that you deter(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: Lt. Col. (Ret) Roger G. Conant, Class of 1959, who died on July 30, 2014 in Hayden, Idaho. Col. (Ret) George J. Fries, Class of 1960, who died on Aug. 7, 2014 in Newport News, Va. Col. (Ret) William E. Aylsworth, Class of 1961, who died on Aug. 9, 2014 in Miami, Fla. Dr. Robert J. Kuchlewski, Class of l962, who died on April 10, 2014 in Dayton, Ohio. Mr. Daniel L. Kearns, Class of 1964, who died on May 19, 2014 in Oregon. Lt. Col. (Ret) Robert L. Dunham, Jr., Class of 1966, who died on May 31,2014 in Texas. Col. (Ret) Jeffrey H. Bower, Class of 1969, who died on May 28, 2014 in Dallas, Texas.
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mine now to Be There!” He will be waiting for you there by the gates of heaven. Billy’s final gift to our world was his donation of his corneas in gratitude for the liver he received eight years ago. Even in death, he was thinking of others. We will miss his wonderful smile that always filled the room, his big beautiful brown eyes, and his crazy and funny ways. He was a devoted son and brother who loved his family immensely just as much as we do him. God bless you, our dear Billy, and may God hold you in the palm of His hand until we are together again. We love you and miss you terribly! Billy was interned at the Air Force Academy with full military honors. (Bill’s loving family) Lt. Col. (Ret) Gerald R. Benfield, Class of 1971, who died on June 30, 2014 in Ft. Walton Beach, Fla. Maj. (Ret) William R. Venemon, Class of 1971, who died July 12, 2014 in Scottsdale, Ariz. Mr. Michael C. Patton, Class of 1973, who died on June 20, 2014 in Maplewood, N.J. Mr. Richard A. Wohlman, Class of 1974, who died on May 9, 2014 in Parker, Colo. Lt. Col. (Ret) Daniel L. McNeil, Class of 1977, who died on June 17, 2011 in Delta, Colo. Mr. Jay A. Armstrong, Class of 1979, who died on May 21, 2014 in Conroe, Texas. Mr. Joseph F. McConville, Class of 1981, who died on Aug 6, 2014 in Colorado Springs, Colo. Mr. William D. “Bill” Paramore, Class of 1982, who died on July 7, 2014 in Melbourne, Fla. Mr. Thomas F. Moses, Class of 1983, who died on Aug. 4, 2014 in Roswell, Ga. Our sincere condolences to the family and friends of these graduates.
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final thought
Class of 1959’s 55th Reunion On June 17-22, members of the Class of 1959, their families and 13 Air Training Officers returned to Colorado Springs to celebrate the Academy’s first 55th reunion. The Association of Graduates helped plan the event, which will now be a yearly occurrence. It was great to see everyone that could attend the event back at USAFA!
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usafa.org
POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Checkpoints, Association of Graduates, Doolittle Hall, 3116 Academy Drive, USAF Academy, CO 80840-4475.
AcceptAnce pArAde clAss of 2018
Vince Rusinak, ’68 Vince@Rusinak.com
Nancy Rusinak Brother, R. Berthiaume, ’73
Nancy@Rusinak.com
www.RusinakRealEstate.com Rusinak Real Estate, Inc. 7150 North Academy Blvd Colorado Springs, CO 80920 719.590.6110 Toll Free: 1.800.789.6650