Sunday, October 21, 2012

USAFA Class of '82: 30 Years and Counting!


Time has finally caught up! An e-mail arrived not long ago announcing the preparations for my college reunion... my 30th college reunion. How is that even possible??

I debated for a long while about whether to go or not, but in the end, I decided that there were people I'd like to see, changes in the institution to get acquainted with, and it would be neat to attend one last reunion as an active Air Force member.

Laura and I flew out on Thursday, getting into Denver right about 10:30. The nice thing about that was we were were able to hook up with Bob Devaney for lunch. Bob was my roommates the second semester of my Junior year, and has been one of the people I've tried to stay close to over the years. In fact he is my daughter Jill's Godfather, so it was good to meet up and catch up on all the changes in his life over the past few years, including kids graduating, getting remarried and becoming a grandparent! (While that is definitely possible, it is still a very foreign concept to me!)

The reunion events actually started Wednesday with a golf outing on the Academy course. One day I would love to play the course again, mainly because I only played it once in college, and it's kinda like the Mecca of Academy graduates who golf or hack (me). Unfortunately, with busy schedules at both our jobs, that extra day just wasn't possible this time around.

Thursday night's event was a Class social down in the Lobby of the Embassy Suites, the main reunion hotel. There was a fine group in attendance and I ran into a bunch of people I knew, including Bill Harding (I went to High School in Las Vegas with him), Carson Berry, a roommate from Nav School, and Rich Shimko, one of the few folks from 38th Allstars, my graduation squadron. Laura started talking to Matt Hannifen's wife, Vance, and the next thing I knew, we were on our way to dinner with them to this neat little restaurant, Nosh, in downtown Colorado Springs. What a great place. They serve dinner as a series of small dishes (almost like Tapas), so we between us we ordered 8, and had a very delicious, yet eclectic, meal!

Friday was the big touring day. It was not very clear all the things that were on the schedule, but we tried to figure it out as best as we could. We drove up to the Alumni Center, Doolittle Hall and toured a couple of exhibits, shopped for USAFA merchandise (I think I'm good for another 10 years!), and ate lunch, meeting up with Tom Sylvester.  We then took a bus over to the campus, and walked around campus, including visiting the old 38th Squadron. At the 20 year reunion the Squadron had been disbanded, so it was good to see it back in full form, with all the Allstar pride we remembered. One of the odd things Rich and I noticed was the addition of FIVE names to the plaque for our year. We have ho idea who Robin Adkins, Jerome Jones, Jaime Puig, Robert Sanford,  or Victor Ventrano are, or were; they certainly didn't graduate with us!

Mid-afternoon, just about the time we were tired of strolling the Terrazzo, we had a very informative and well put-together briefing by the Academy Senior Staff, pretty much telling us that the Academy is alive and well, and still a viable institution. Most of the briefers were graduates themselves, so they were acutely aware of our concerns, and went out of their way to answer any and all concerns from the audience. I thought they did a pretty fair job of responding to everything except the issue of cadet suicides, which have sadly occurred once or twice over the past decade. On the other hand, I don't know that the Air Force in general has figured out a great response to this, try as they might.

After the brief we had a very moving Memorial Service in the Cadet Chapel to remember those Classmates who have passed over the years. Another classmate, Daryl "Bones" Jones, has become a Pastor and did a phenomenal job leading the service, sharing stories about many of those who have left us. Members of the current Cadet Choir led us in singing "Lord, Guard and Guide the Men Who Fly," and I doubt there was a dry eye in the house. It didn't hurt that we were in the Chapel... The afternoon sun streaming through all the stained glass just adds an incredible feeling of peaceful reverence and awe. It was the perfect venue for this occasion.

After the ceremony we streamed out the front doors to the Chapel steps for a class photo. Even with only about 230 members present, it's a pretty impressive picture. You can pick out the one or two people in uniform, pretty much all Generals these days. I debated wearing my uniform, but decided that it was a pain to carry cross-country, and it would look pretty weird having a bunch of Generals and a lone Lieutenant Colonel wandering around...

After that, it was a race back to the hotel to change and get over to the Embassy Suites for the formal Class dinner. We didn't dawdle, but were still about 15 minutes late for the start, though luckily Rich and Karla saved us a place at their table. We shared the evening with Rich and Karla, Ken Wuttke, and Dave Pistilli. Dave was apparently a Defense Attache for several years, and had some interesting stories to share about life in Morocco.

Dinner was very nice, and while the food was delicious, the highlight had to be when the staff brought out two big platters of "Mitch's Mountain" to every table. Mitch's Mountain is a famous dessert served at the Academy dining hall: a pie-pan sized cake heaped high with scoops of strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice cream. It has always been a cadet favorite, so was a true surprise everyone really appreciated. Entertainment was provided by a specially selected band suggested by Tom Sylvester. Apparently they are all terrific session musicians and had a hole in their schedule. Their song selection was diverse and was punctuated by awesome solo riffs that held everyone captivated.

Over the course of the evening, I was able to hook up with a several classmates and get some pictures to mark the occasion, including General Barb Faulkenberry, and Mike Eayrs, more Nav School Classmates. Got the entire 38th Squadron contingent together, which totaled me, Rich and Barb. Not bad: far better than my Freshman Squadron, CS-27, which was just me!

 Saturday morning broke cool and clear with a promise of a warm-up in time for the game. For Breakfast we ventured out onto the economy and found a place called Eggs and I, which was a nice breakfast joint that seemed to be a local favorite. More than a diner, but less than a chain, it hosted a nice breakfast worth the price; just what the doctor ordered.

Our itinerary this morning was a caravan tour of Jack's Valley, the field training area for all new cadets during Basic Training. Jack's Valley is the second half of basic training, coming after the first three weeks of orientation which consists mostly of drill and physical fitness. During Jack's Valley, we dressed in fatigues, lived in 10-man tents, and underwent such field training events as the confidence course, the obstacle course, the assault course, and Project X, which is a basic team-building exercise. It was neat seeing the old obstacles, the low crawl through the concertina wire, the pugel stick combat arena, the bayonet assault training facility, and even the open-air movie "theater" where we watched "Patton" in the rain. You can't find those things just anywhere these days!!

After the tour we did some last minute shopping at the Cadet Visitor's Center and then headed down to the game for the tail-gate and the football game against the University of New Mexico. I was actually very impressed that the tail-gate included some prime parking... we were dead center, right up next to the Stadium. It think we had to walk maybe 50 yards total to the beer tent. They had a pretty good spread: beer and soft drinks, along with fairly decent mexican: tacos and pulled pork with all the fixings. Bob Devaney and his lovely bride, Kim were waiting when we arrived, and Rich and Karla joined us a bit later.

The game itself was as good as I remembered: the very inspiring march on of the cadets; a precision parachute demonstration by the Academy parachute team, including two cadets trailing flags for each of the reunion classes in attendance, '72 and '82, and one with the US. Flag; and an ear-shattering fly-by of two F-4s, one piloted by an 82 Grad. The game itself was very entertaining: it went back and forth early, then Air Force seemed to take command, scoring several times to run up a nice lead, then hanging on with tough defense to hold off New Mexico for the win, 28-23. It was a fun night shared with a LOT of familiar faces and friends. Overall I think Laura and I had a great time and are really happy we made the trek west to share in the experience. I don't have much experience, but I don't think many colleges, save other service academies, have such close-knit classes, based mainly on shared academic experiences and at least initially, shared work backgrounds. After 30 years, I cand definitely say I am proud to be a member of the United States Air Force Academy "Long Blue Line."

And the Class of '82 all said, "Amen!"

Saturday, June 2, 2012

30 Years!

It's been 30 years since I stood in a football stadium in Colorado, swore to protect and defend the Constitution and our country, and threw my hat in the air... Can't think of a better way to celebrate that anniversary than flying a low level airdrop sortie. 

'82 - Still the Best in Blue!

Monday, May 28, 2012

Memorial Day Address: Delivered 28 May, 2012, Zelienople, PA

Good morning! Thank you Commander MacFarland, and Mayor Oliverio for inviting me to join you today, I am truly honored to share this morning with you.

Today, Americans across this nation and around the world will pause to observe Memorial Day. Since its first official observance on 5 May, 1868, when it was called Decoration Day, it has been a day of remembrance for those who sacrificed and died in our nation’s service. And while it was originally dedicated to honor Civil War soldiers, we know it today as a time of reflection to honor and respect those who fought to protect the liberties that our Founding Fathers proclaimed with certainty in the Declaration of Independence and that were so thoughtfully and carefully framed in the Constitution of the United States.

In his proclamation to set aside this day in 1868, General John A. Logan, Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, instructed our nation to “…cherish tenderly the memories of our heroic dead who made their breast a barricade between our country and its foes.”

During the Revolutionary War more than 25,000 lost their lives in the initial pursuit of a freedom they believed in but could not yet fully comprehend. In the Civil War almost 600,000 gave their lives as the very foundation of this nation was challenged from within its own boundaries; WWII claimed the lives of more than 400,000; and scores of others gave their lives in conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Panama, Grenada, Somalia and the Persian Gulf.

Today, America continues to realize the never-ending sense of duty that our Armed Forces have as they serve our nation. In each instance, without regard to politics or the popular opinion of the moment, our nations’ finest citizens have picked up their arms to take on the awesome task of fighting for our freedoms and to push back the threats to liberty throughout the world.

Since 2003 I have deployed five times to Southwest Asia with my Air Force Reserve C-130 squadron, flying and fighting with men and women of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines. We fought jointly against terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan and Eastern Africa. We fought in climate extremes from sub zero in the Afghanistan mountains to over 130 degrees in southern Iraq. This was a humbling experience because every day I would watch young volunteers risk everything - exhibiting courage, valor and selflessness in the face of our country’s enemies. I consider each one of them heroes.

Over the past 11 years, 6,460 soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen have given their lives in the terrible duty that are the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. On one cold January night in 2004, my crew and I had the distinct honor to carry the remains of FIVE fellow soldiers out of Baghdad on the first leg of their journey home.

I cannot adequately describe the feelings conjured up by the sight of two caskets being loaded onto my plane, and then a few hours later being told there were three more. I physically hurt as we worked silently to configure the back of the airplane to accommodate the placement of the large, cold metal boxes.

As the caskets were unloaded from a large refrigerator truck and carried up a ramp onto our plane, my crew and the airfield ground personnel formed a makeshift honor guard. We used flags we carried aboard our planes to drape over the caskets; the blue field of stars placed in the upper left hand corner to cover each hero's heart.

When the last casket was loaded, the flag draped and secured, a Chaplain who accompanied these troops to the plane gathered us around the caskets and conducted a short, poignant service, including a reading from Psalm 23:


    1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want;
    2 he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters;
    3 he restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
    4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.
    6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.


An hour and a half later, in Kuwait City, we reversed the process: We formed an honor guard at the rear of the airplane and stood at silent attention, saluting as the flag-draped caskets with our fallen comrades were slowly carried, one by one, down the ramp and slid into the back of another truck for transfer to a second aircraft heading home to the United States later that day.

We did this twice in one long, bone-chilling night. By the time we landed back at our base I was wrought with countless emotions: pride that I could be a small part in these heroes' journey home, sorrow for their families' loss, sadness at the sudden end to lives cut much too short, anger towards the people who did this.

It was a very sad and emotional experience, but I'm glad I was there to be a part of it. I would like to think my aircrew made those soldiers' journey a dignified one, in keeping with their sacrifice for their country, and the land where they died.

Since that memorable night, at least 42,000 men and women have died or come home on stretchers; many horribly wounded and facing months or years in military hospitals. Thousands more suffer from the effects of Traumatic Brain Injuries and Post-Traumatic Stress. My unit carried many of them, and it has been a distinct honor to move each one closer to home.

Today, as we gather here on THIS Memorial Day, let us make it a priority to care for the broken warriors who have returned home after sacrificing their lives and bodies at the call of their nation. Let us pray for the soldiers who remain on the battlefield, alive and well, doing their best to bring peace and security to lands that have been bereft of it for so long their people don't realize life without misery is even possible. And finally, let us remember and honor those brave men and women who have answered the call of their country and traveled so far only to fall in battle so that we may live in freedom.

Remember them, but do not grieve. In the words of General George S. Patton: "It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."

Thank you.