CLASS NOTES Terror one PowerPoint at a time.” I also got a phone call from Ken Jambor as he was getting ready to pilot a Delta 757 from Seattle, Washington, to Salt Lake City, Utah. He was inquiring about how Col. John Brodie (Hon.) was doing. If you hadn’t heard Col. Brodie has dealt with some very serious health issues, but he seems to now be headed toward recovery. Dave Johnson sent me a picture of him, Chris Yeatts, Sid Mitchener and Drew Dunnington who all made it up to the Washington, D.C., area for the ceremony when Dave assumed command of the
Class of 1995: Brother rats celebrating U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. Dave Johnson assuming command of the 2nd Civil Affairs Group. From left: Sid Mitchener, Chris Yeatts, Johnson and Drew Dunnington. U.S. Marine Corps 2nd Civil Affairs Group. Interesting note, Dave assumed command from Adam Strickland ’94. Dave Doss sent me a note to tell me that he was heading off to Yongsan, Korea, after completing the National War College. He is going to be working for the United States Forces Korea joint staff in the J35. Sgt. Maj. Goodson (HBR) sent me a note and said that he’s still playing competitive basketball at age 61, running several times a week and knocking out his physical training. He works for Bayer Healthcare, and his family is doing well. I had the occasion to see John Mayo and Lester Johnson in Richmond, Virginia, in April while I was there for a conference. I had to have a meal at Mama J’s, and boy was it great! The food was fantastic, and the place really has a nice atmosphere; it was packed! Several BRs sent me emails in response to my note informing our class that we wouldn’t be able to hold the 20th Reunion at The Homestead. Speaking of our reunion, you will receive a letter later in
2014- Issue 4
the fall, but mark it down now for the last weekend in April 2015. Our headquarters will be the Hampton Inn Col Alto in Lexington, Virginia, and we’ll have a casual function on that Friday in Moody Hall (pending) and an even more casual function under a tent at the Hampton Inn that Saturday. As always, please continue to stay in touch, shoot me an email, call on the phone or feel free to stop by the office or house in Lexington. ’95, ’95, ’95.
’96
Peter Segersten
Brother Rats, I hope you and your loved ones are doing well. Scott Morris checked in to say he recently moved from New York City to Raleigh, North Carolina, to start a new job with Dell Computers. Congratulations on the new job, Scott! Mike Waltz has been quite busy as of late. He recently was on Fox News discussing the release of the five Taliban leaders by the current administration. He is also releasing his new book, “Warrior Diplomat: A Green Beret’s Battles from Washington to Afghanistan,” in November 2014. I will be picking up the book. Mike recently spent some time with Jon Sherrod, Chris Gorman and respective families at Jon’s house at Lake Caroline in Caroline County, Virginia. They spent some time on Jon’s boat while they had ribs smoking for a fantastic dinner later in the evening. I chat with Tom Danielsen occasionally. His lovely wife arranged a surprise birthday party for him in Las Vegas, Nevada. John Pearce and Stephen Johnson were able to make it out, and they had a fantastic time. Speaking of Stephen Johnson, Steve took command of the U.S. Navy Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 23 Wildcards in June. Steve is still running triathlons and doing quite well. Congratulations, Steve! Rusty McGuire also had a change of command and is commander of Army Unit 2 – 183rd Calvary Regiment. Congratulations, Rusty! Jim Flaherty dropped a note to me from Richmond, Virginia. He recently started a new job at the attorney general’s office in Richmond, focused on governmental and administrative law for state agencies throughout the state. He recently had dinner with Pete Ehlers in Williamsburg, Virginia. Pete decommissioned his previous ship and is still stationed in Mayport, Florida, as deputy commodore at Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 2. Jim plans on meeting up with Pete, Jeff Mozgala and respective families in North Carolina for a mini reunion. Paul Dickinson continues to globe trot and sent me a note on his travels. Paul and his family are living in Bangalore, India. He recently took an 800
kilometer, four-day motorcycle trip through the Himalayas on Royal Enfields, including tackling the highest motorable pass in the world at 18,380 feet in altitude. Paul says there is an open invitation to visit for any BRs who happen to be in that part of the world. Chris Noe dropped a line from Daegu, South Korea: “I had a chance to visit VMI with my oldest son, who spoke with admissions. Out of three schools we visited, VMI ended up third. Oh, well, I tried! I also had a chance to eat lunch with Taylor Smith in Staunton, Virginia, who I don’t think I’d seen since 1996. He’s doing well running his business and seemed to be hitting the ski slopes a lot in Snowshoe. I spent an afternoon at Jared McCormick’s house right outside of Fort Lee during my trip, as well. It was great catching up with him, his son and his mom. Melissa, the kids and I moved from Fort Knox, Kentucky, in May, to Daegu, South Korea, where I took command of Army Field Support Battalion-Northeast Asia in June. It is the battalion that is responsible for all of the Army Prepositioned Stocks in Korea and Japan.
Class of 1996: Paul Dickinson on the top of Himank Khardungla in the Himalayas. We’ll be in Korea for two years, so, if any of you are in Korea or Japan, come by and visit.” Jared McCormick also wrote me. Jared is stationed at Fort Eustis with Joint Task Force-Civil Support. During his commute to Fort Lee, he sees a bunch of VMI bumper stickers and license plates. He traveled to VMI for Legacy Day and was astounded by some of the changes there. He is disappointed in the sliding stones in New Barracks. No longer will cadets be able to slide there in the rain. He says if anyone is in Fort Lee to please look him up. I hung out with Kevin Boteler at a local establishment to watch a World Cup game. Kevin is doing fantastic with his career in the information technology world. And talk about a small world: As we watched the game, he ran into his U.S. Marine
117