Checkpoints
A newsletter from our Class Scribe,
Carson Tavenner  

CONTACT

 
Email: Angie Cadwell

Checkpoints

Checkpoints is the alumni association's magazine. It is published in March, June, September and December and is filled with pages of information about graduates, cadets and the Academy.
 

This is a Monthly/Quarterly newsletter that our class scribe, Carson Tavenner, writes.  The inputs for these articles come from you, so email them in so we can all keep up with what everyone is doing.

Photo

Spring 2004 '91 Article

Fall 2003 '91 Article - Pending

Winter 2003 '91 Article

Summer 2003 - Pending

Spring 2003 '91 Article

Winter 2002 '91 Article

Fall 2002

Heather PRINGLE and Carlene PERRY (CS-06), getting ready to ask “Tav, this isn’t going to be in Checkpoints, is it?”

June 2002

      Well, if there’s one thing I can confidently say about writing this column, it would be that over the years I have ended up writing several of them in the strangest of circumstances.  I can remember one was made on the road leaving Washington after my Masters degree work, and another was done during my deployment out to Riyadh.  Many of you will get a chuckle out of this new one; since I’m the Associate AOC for the new Global Engagement program here at USAFA, I’m currently sitting in Jack’s Valley with a laptop on some rickety old wooden table, the time is 11:05 at night and there isn’t anyone else awake around here, as all the cadets and NCOs have gone to sleep and I’m doing the night shift.  I hadn’t planned on being able to sleep (you see, I assumed that when they described this program as being a realistic exercise of a deployment mission, that would mean 24-hr security patrols and command & control ops at least, but not in this case I guess).  So after sleeping all day in preparation for the shift work, I find myself wide awake and with nothing to do except catch up on all this work, to include this latest installment.  Hey, this is actually pretty nice, come to think of it!  The weather has been hot; too hot, considering that huge wildfire in the news I’m sure you heard about.  It was a few miles west of the Academy, just beyond the ridges behind Eagle’s Peak.  Threatened Colorado Springs and burned, in some places, beyond Rampart Range Road.  That was just last week.  Needless to say, the fire danger out here is tremendous, and so training in Jack’s Valley has not only clamped down on fire safety for Global Engagement and BCT, but the CST (new SERE) program also has to be held here since the Pike National Forest we trained in has been closed.  Yes, they closed the forest, ladies and gentlemen.  Can you imagine having spent SERE in Jack’s Valley?  Man, that’s gotta be just the worst.

Getting back to the program, let me open up this time with an apology about my lame absence in the last issue.  Seeing as how this publication only comes out every quarter, you’d think that getting at least something on the table wouldn’t be too hard.  Well, it isn’t.  The hard part is deciding to dedicate the time to get it done.  Isn’t that always the case?  So, I have the reason of having been far too busy in March due to plenty of office work, but we all know the right response, don’t we?  “No excuse, sir!”

This brings me to today, the first day of BCT for the Class of 2006.  This class is the first class, since the days of Vietnam, to enter USAFA on Day One with the nation at war knowing with a good degree of assurance that when they graduate in four years they’ll be entering that war.  And I’m not even sure that the guys during the Vietnam era necessarily knew that would be the case with them, anyway.  Why am I bringing this up?  Because I, for one, am looking forward to seeing what they’re like in class.  Sure, for the most part they won’t be different from any other group of freshmen that come into my core World History course, but in another sense I imagine they could be more willing and able to take on a serious attempt to challenge their high school worldviews.  The Class of 2005 arrived with no reason to expect, of course, what our military has gone through this past year.  They are still a great class, don’t get me wrong.  I am simply looking forward to talking with this newest set of freshmen, hoping to discover whether they have a different outlook on the world at all.  Regardless, we’ll be giving them one of the most challenging courses on world history you can imagine.  What fun!

So, how are you doing today?  I hope the past few weeks have held opportunities for you to do great things wherever you work, to meet people you’ve never met before, to dedicate time to those you love, and to spend at least a little time sitting back chillin’ and watching the world around you go by.  I know that’s been the case with me.  As you can see from the photo, I’ve been out on the water recently (my dad has a small sailboat).  That’s in Puget Sound, in WA, and in honor of you all I’d been holding out on wearing my Class of 1991 10-yr reunion jacket until the first day I had a chance to go chill out on the boat.  So, here’s to you, Bold Gold!  As Angie CADWELL phrased it to me the other day, “we rock!” 

Oldest news first:  Last I heard from him, Paul BAUMAN was spending a great deal of his time flying C-17 missions for Enduring Freedom.  Haven’t heard beyond that, but I can pretty much figure out why he might have continued to be a little busy with that sort of stuff.

Don’t believe I ever told you that Al WANSKY got married last year, to Allie.  Yeah, that’s right!  Oct 21^st was the date I heard, but that was before the reunion took place and I can’t remember what might’ve been said during that weekend.  So, Al and Allie Wansky are living in Atlanta; Al works for a company called Sapient.  He’s an IT consultant.  Al, you still got a job, man? 

Joyce (ELMORE) MERL PCSed from Lackland to Crystal City in January, and her daughter, Kira, is now over a year old.

Angie WALLACE, continuing to live an incredibly blessed life, sent me (back in January) the most wonderful narrative about her winter travels in Northeastern Europe.  See, I could’ve at least printed this bit in the last issue…  Anyway, here it is in true AngieSound ™.  “After finals ended on the 23rd of Jan, I went to Portugal with my old roommate Eli from Monterey.  He had just finished finals in St Petersburg Russia and we went together to see another Olmsted Scholar in Coimbra, Portugal.  We also loved the capitol of Lisbon, where they have a beautiful red steel bridge that was made by the same American company who made the Golden Gate in San Fran and it looks just like it, only smaller.  The weather was great, warm and sunny, but ironically, that's where I got sick.  The best part for me, though, was going to Fatima where the Virgin Mary appeared in 1920.  It is a beautiful and peaceful place.  [I am currently] in an internet cafe in Riga, Latvia!  After recuperating from the flu for a few days at my place in Lyon, Eli and I flew here safe and sound today on Lufthansa.  Eli has a USMC Major buddy here who is a FAO.  His job is to live here, and travel around Eastern Europe and Russia for a year while practicing his Russian.  He loves it.  He doesn't speak Latvian, but all the Latvians speak Russian even if they don't like the Russians!  The capital of Riga has about 800,000 people and the population of the whole country is about 2.4 million.  There is snow everywhere, lots of young people, and everyone is nice.  Things are super cheap and the food is good - kinda like hearty German cuisine.  We had chicken, sauerkraut and potatoes for dinner.   On Sunday we plan on taking the bus (the buses are faster than trains here in the Baltics if you can believe that!) to Tallinn, Estonia, and then to Tartu, the college town in Estonia where our fellow Olmsted scholar is studying.  I'll keep you updated as I move along.  I got over the flu a few days ago, but now I have laryngitis and a nasty smoker's sounding cough.  So, now that I have time to breath, I can't!  :-)  Eli is quite happy as he can enjoy a few days of peace and quiet since I don't have a voice!  After going to Estonia, we will head to Helsinki, Finland to see another Olmsteder on Wednesday, and then we'll make it to Eli's place in St Pete by Friday or Saturday.  It's great being here with Eli because he is being an awesome tour guide with his Russian language skills while I just stand there and smile.  Actually, everybody speaks pretty good English here too.  Wish you all could see this amazing part of the world with me.  You are all in my thoughts and prayers.”

Dave DAMRATH, who continues to function as a wonderful source of classmate news for me, has moved on from his job with Tropicana and now works as some sort of program coordinator, I think, for the RDV Sports Complex and the Orlando Magic team.  See Dave for free tickets when in Orlando!  Actually, he said you could check out the facility at www.rdvsportsplex.com.

Chris “Chill” HILL spent the past year as the Exec to the Commandant of Cadets.  Whew!  He just left USAFA for a new assignment in Georgia, with a new baby girl, Olivia, by the way.  That makes three little girls for the big guy.  Anyway, while he was out in Georgia on a house-hunting PTDY, during the April/May timeframe, he hit his pin-on date and went ahead and held a ceremony of undetermined solemnity right smack in Mark “Cake” BURNETTE’s kitchen.  Not recognizing Chill for being such an incredibly forward-leaning guy, the Commandant of Cadets still held a pin-on ceremony for him in the office when got back the next week!  One month later they kicked him out of the office and sent him on the road to Georgia.  Now there’s gratitude for ya!  : )

Tony and Siri MITCHELL became proud parents this past spring.  Tony is still teaching Aeronautics here.  Other ‘91ers hanging out in the Fairchild halls include Heather PRINGLE, Eric BOWMAN, Carlene PERRY, and Rob KRAUS.  Glen MAYES is still an AOC, and Brian BANKS moved into a different job within the Comm shop while waiting for the Stop Loss program to be lifted.

Here’s an interesting bit of news from a classmate some of you may remember, Sean MCKENNA.  Though he left USAFA early, he’s in the Air Force working at Peterson AFB, in Public Affairs.  Here’s some of what he emailed me a month and a half ago.  “…right now I'm typing inside a temper tent as I near the end of my three-month deployment to Al Udeid AB, Qatar, for Operation Enduring Freedom.  It's been interesting sleeping, working and eating in tents in the desert battling sandstorms and 120-degree temps.  Saudi Arabia was cushy compared to here, but it's still better than what the folks deployed to Afghanistan have.  I'll be PCSing to AF Personnel Center at Randolph soon to be the PA assignments guy down there.  Anyone in the San Antonio area should stop by.  It'll be nice going down there since both my wife, Leola, and I are from the area.  Our 2-year-old daughter, Devin Rose, will get lots of attention from the grandparents.  One classmate you might be interested in hearing about is Kim (Lane) McLEAN.  I got to see her a few times while TDY to Vandenberg late last year.  She's out of the Air Force working for a contractor close to Vandenberg.  Kim's got two children and she's still as fit as ever, with a great sense of humor.  We seem to keep running in to each other after going through SOS together, then meeting up by chance at Vandenberg.  My AFA roommate Tim WALLS is also out of the Air Force, married, two kids and working in Green Bay, Wisconsin.  Unfortunately we haven't been able to see each other in years.  That's about it from here.  I've got to go run to use the field latrine, so please excuse me.”

Also, I recently found out that General (Ret.) Joe REDDEN is now the Superintendent for Public Schools in Atlanta, Georgia.  He is working in a very urban environment, trying to improve the conditions of education there.  Isn’t that cool?  He’s such a dude.

Before we close this down, let me pass on some information regarding www.usafa91.com.  First, you may as well know (if you didn’t know already) that after two independent and thoroughly scientific reviews (performed by two Bold Golders) of all the other class websites out there, the clear conclusion is that ours blows away all others.  Not to sit comfortably on her volunteer laurels, Angie CADWELL has now provided individual squadron pages, to include the provision for doolie squads.  But most important, and exciting, is that the directory data for our locations (as well as entries for Checkpoints, hint hint) is now automated from a data entry page you can access yourself, so we don’t have to have Angie doing all that work to input the data we send her.  In order to access the page, you need the class ID & password, so email cadwella@usafa91.com for that info.  I don’t desire to publish it here.  Remember, there is also a photo album on the website, so send in what you have and wish to share.  Please spare us the shots of you engaged in questionable activities, though.

It’s 12:50.  Man, it’s getting cold out here.  I think I’ll start a fire.

Within a year of your reading this issue, our reunion plans should be underway. Be thinking about them, and please post any ideas in the Bold Gold Forum the next time you visit our webpage. And start saving money for tickets. I don’t have any information on this event except to say I haven’t uncovered any. So, who’s interested in working with me on this?

Return to Top

My joy is further hindered because something I must not cut out is news of another death. For those who have not heard, Ed MOODY passed away 19 April. He was at Bethesda getting leukemia treatment and ran into complications which ultimately took his life. As for me, I last saw Ed not even eight weeks earlier at SOS. We shared a couple of laughs and stories about counterdrug work in Panama while standing in the commissary parking lot. I was shocked to hear the news. Ed left behind a fiancée and his family, and was buried with honors in Arlington cemetery. His death, as with all that have come before, is a real loss for our class.

Don’t worry, from here on the column’s news gets better. I’ve tried to write it using information I’ve heard on people who are rarely mentioned/seen/tracked down, since several classmates have been sending me pretty regular updates via email. If you didn’t know already, I am posting monthly reports on our webpage (www.usafa91.com) where you can go to find every little thing said to me about anyone anywhere, no matter how bad the source or rumor may be! To be honest, most of the information in those monthly reports is self-reported, so I figure it’s at least one step up from the rumor mill. Again, since some names seem to keep popping up in the column over and over, I’ll try to devote most of this space here to covering the ‘rare finds’.

Starting off with my latest delivery, Bill WOSILIUS sends news from Wright-Pat, including some names that I sure haven’t heard in a long time, if ever. Bill has been there for several years, first with AFIT and now finishing up a job in the F-22 SPO. Bill is separating from the AF in Aug, but we’ll get back to him a little later. Bill and Haley DONOHO went to AFIT together, but now Haley's moved on to a Logistics Plans job at AMC HQ at Scott AFB, along with Russ MAJOR. Russ finally got his little boy (after two girls...he was rolling the dice!); his son’s initials are TD and his room is painted like a football stadium. Is Russ living his dreams through his son, or what?! Mark CHERRY was at AFIT when Bill arrived in 96; he was doing a post-AFIT assignment in engineering of some form or another and has since moved on to McClellan. Mark and his new wife Jen got hitched 13 Jun at USAFA. Roy GOZUM is also at Wright-Patt, finishing up his AF service working in the C-17 SPO; no word on Roy’s future employer. As Bill and Roy have searched for jobs, Chris BAIR has apparently been a pillar of knowledge, having medically separated two years ago and working for Orion International Consulting. If it wasn’t for Chris, Bill’s version of customer relations would have been "Would you care to SuperSize that?" Moving on . . . Jason CAMPBELL was flying C-130's up at Elmendorf when Bill left in 96; he moved on to Hill AFB; is he a functional check flight pilot for C-130s? The last card Bill got from him had a photo of a Cessna bug-smasher rolled over on it's top-side on a dry river bed that he was apparently a passenger in. He swears he wasn't flying it at the time . . .

Dale FRENCH (started with us but finished with '92) of USAFA basketball fame was one of Bill’s groomsmen and is still in Alaska, but not for long. He's been weird intel stuff. Dale, like many of us, has decided to separate from the AF, although he hasn't decided what he's going to do when he grows up. He

and his wife Katie are planning to tour the wild wild west in the next 6 months before deciding where to go to work. I was a doolie with Dale, and this sounds like him all right! Hey, Dale, if you’re reading this, Adam Henderson got in contact with me, and asked about you! Email me, please! Still more news from Bill: Mike BRAUCHER, another of Bill’s groomsmen and roommate during maintenance school is finishing AFIT and will be cross-training into supply for a tour at McConnell. Mike’s theory is "Kansas will give me an excuse to get on an airplane to go see people and go to new places." Bill attended Rick WILLIAMSON's wedding out in New Jersey back in the fall. Rick is a C-141 pilot transitioning to the C-17 down at Charleston SC. His new wife, Suzie, is a saint as she can put up with him when he's home (which isn't

very often due to the 141 worldwide duty). Bill finally ran out of updates, but I told you we’d get back to him for a bit here at the end. Bill is married (Laurel) and has a little girl (Hunter). When he separates, he’ll be working for Kurt Salmon Associates. No permanent home for about three years, as KSA will be moving the family around the world to different projects in the retail logistics business. Bill will be scanning the webpage for classmates at the locations he’s visiting, so remember to lock your doors at night!

OK, let’s see here, who else . . . oh, yeah, we heard from Angie WALLACE. She’s in the sunny desert of Edwards AFB! Here’s a quick history: she was stationed at Eglin for almost 4 years as an aero engineer doing F-15/F-16 flight testing of electronic warfare and weapons. It was a great job AND a great location to boot! Then she went through Test Pilot School in 95 and graduated as a Flight Test Engineer. Over the course of the first year alone, she flew 25 different aircraft (from the Goodyear blimp to the P-51 to the B-1) and got about 120 total hours of flying time! Not too bad for a geeky engineer! She stayed at Edwards, did 2 yrs F-16 avionics testing and flew back-seat F-16Bs & Ds. Earlier this year she was moved to the F-117 squadron, doing more flight tests (unfortunately, no two-seaters there!) This lifestyle must not be taxing enough for her, because now she wants to be a teacher! Whew! Go, Angie!

She reported on ‘91ers at Edwards (virtually all of which I haven’t heard from in a good while!). Bob KRAUS graduated Test Pilot School on 13 June 98 and going to be a C-130J test pilot. Vanessa (REBELLO) SIEWERT is in the junior class at TPS as a flight test engineer, Todd LEVINE is in the junior class at TPS as a flight test navigator (both graduate Dec), Frank PATRINOSTRO is a KC-135 pilot for the Speckled Trout (VIP transport), Heath GRAVES is an SP there, Glenn MAYES is a human factors engineer in the F-16 flight test squadron, Ingalisa LUNDY is a KC-135 navigator for the ARIA tankers, providing airborne telemetry for cruise missiles and rockets, and then there’s Deb (STEVEN) and Jeff LAMPE: Deb's been a great mom and Jeff's a KC-135 pilot in Inga's squadron.

Connected to Angie is Chuck BEK (Turkish exchange), who’s F-16s were tested by Angie! Chuck’s own words: "Right after graduation I started UPT in Turkey and started F-16s in about two years after graduating the Academy. And I have been flying since. I am flying F-16s in Merzifon, Turkey, a small city on the Northern part of Turkey along the Black Sea region. I got married in 1995 and have a kid on the way in about 4 months. Things are just fine for me in Turkey". Awright!

Here’s another "long lost": Shari (FOX) SILVERMAN "Over the past several years, I have kept in touch with a couple of Academy gards but not a whole lot. I lost touch with most of you folks when I dropped out of the USAF world and enetered my graduate program through a triservice program sponsored by the ARMY. I survived and am now a licensed Physical Therapist at Spangdahlem AB. I have slowly been traveling the world first at Osan AB, ROK last year and now in Europe. The most recent news is that I [am married: 24 Apr] to a wonderful man, Capt Shawn Silverman . . . a PAVELOW helicopter pilot stationed at RAF Mildenhall so next year we will be doing the joint spouse thing."

From another old doolie pal of mine, William "Astro"GLASCOE, "I'm on a quest to establish the world's first Space Force, namely the USSF (more than providing pictures of anything to anyone anywhere at anytime--I'm talking about FIREPOWER/Electromagnetic Power, lethal, precise, and omnipresent). I'm rewriting United States Code Title 10 now. Wish me luck."

Now for the hardest part of this job: Close it up, Tavenner! How about I just give you a list of the grads who’re out (or have said they’re getting out) of the AF? Then you’ll know to get in touch with them before they’re MIA (Making Incredible Amounts). In rough order of announcement: Lisa BUKATA, Cherie (KELLNER) LAVANTURE, Jim LYNCH, Paul GRIMM, and Todd KINROSS (did I say I saw him at SOS in the last column?!).

Later!

TAV

What a wild ride! And to think I was excited doing class scribe stuff from Saudi! The past three months (not counting the two that have passed since I’ve written these words) have changed everything about this job. And it is a most wonderful change at that! Now you will get stories, not data, on classmates. But where will you get data, data, oh sweet data?

If you don’t know already, you can get in touch with all sorts of classmates, read the latest adventures, enjoy old memories and prepare for boondoggle TDYs by visiting www.usafa91.com. It’s a virtual treat, provided solely through the very excellent and astounding efforts of our own Angela Cadwell! She and I have been collaborating on ideas for a while, but she has certainly done all the hard coding work. Thank you, Angela!

So, what to do with this column? I knew almost as soon as I started the job that I couldn’t manage to write "He’s at Hurlburt, she’s at Kirkland, he’s at McChord," for the rest of my scribe life. As I read older classes’ columns, I see there is indeed a world out there much larger than just the Air Force. The way I see it, this column should be able to bring out the best in us, in both our Air Force and our personal lives.

That’s why this month’s column is so short.

No, really, there is plenty of great stuff going on out there. Take for instance….

I really did enjoy getting to see so many of you together at SOS; I imagine every class has had several 91ers there, and for those of you who haven’t been able to go yet, I really think you’ll enjoy the experience while you’re there. Though I’m sure I don’t have every 91er’s name from class 98B, I know I ran into (or heard of being there): Jay AYRES, Blair CONROY, Hank CORMIER (my flightmate!), Dennis GARRETT, Kevin HARMON, Jeff HENTZ, Mark HOEHN, Chris HOWARD, Todd KINROSS, John "I’m still alive" KINSMAN, Casey (LEGLER) HAINES, Ed "NarcoMan" MOODY, Brian PETERSON, Pat REED, Vanessa SAVAS, Charley SCHLEGEL, Greg SCOTT, Bartz SYKES (another flightmate!), Diego "Question Man" WENDT, Mike WILBURN, John "Wolfy" WOLFORD, Donney WOOTEN, Bryan HUBBARD, Colleen LESTER, Mike SAYLOR, and Kurt SCHUSTER!! My only regret is that we didn’t have a class party at my flight commanders’ house…

Here it is, almost the beginning of March, and I’m only now getting out the emails you’ve been sending me since the last Checkpoints submission. It’s a long set here, so don’t hit ‘print’ just yet . . .

I’ve edited lightly, to keep out unnecessary lines and private material.

If you send me something you don’t want printed, PLEASE TELL ME!

Your friend,

TAV

I promised to do a favor for the sad Class of ’90. They need so much help these days! Actually, they’ve got one up on us with a Class of ’90 webpage! James SANCHEZ wants to tell his class (and anyone else who follows the Class of ’90) to "check it out!" at www.usafa90.com. Can you guess the background color?

There is a significant amount of email traffic coming at me (we’re gonna want a webpage, too!), and it is a real fight to get it all into a short column. If you remember the last one, it was huge! This time I’ve really tried to cut down, so please forgive the telegraphic tone and be warned that in the future I will probably NOT be printing everything I get in this column but will feed all news through the email channels instead! And speaking of which, please include me in your ‘change of email address’ announcements! Here I go:

A large contingent of ‘91ers started the Air Force Intern Program last fall, including James HODGES, Julie WALKER, Steve BLEYMAIER, Steve MACLEOD, Mike HOWER, Bill YOUNG, Craig

ALLTON, Nancy WEISS, Jim ROBINSON. Here’s James’ description of the experience, "The first 3 weeks were filled with some neat and some not-so-neat briefings and field trips to many of the DC agencies. Right now we are in full-time school at George Washington (2 hrs/day Mon-Thurs). [1998] will be much more fast paced—two 6-month rotations on the Air Staff, OSD, and/or Joint Staff with night school to boot. Jan - May 99 we'll be back to full-time school again until we're done."

Mike REINER and wife had a daughter, Emma, in April. Mike is finishing up an MA in criminal justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (AFIT program). Mike will soon go to HQ ACC Security Forces Directorate to work force protection. He spent part of last summer in Venezuela taking 18 teens from his church youth group on a mission trip to Caracas and Valencia. Finally, he says Joe CRAMPTON is flying RC-135's at Offutt.

Laura (GRAY) FOGLESONG married in Dec 93; she and husband David (USNA ‘90) are both USAF intel officers, both attending PGIP/JMIC at DIA (Bolling AFB). They PCSed from Korea and went to SOS enroute to DC. Laura seems to really have her finger on the pulse of the place, consistently passing me the awesome scoop. Maybe that’s because except for Tauni SEARCY (who separated) all the female freshman Campus Rads are there. Lois (BAIRD) TRUE is the Bolling AFB 11 OG/XO and Jen (MRAZ) COS just graduated from JMIC, staying in the area (in J2T at the Pentagon) while husband Alex (‘90) flies Buffs at Barksdale. There is a rumor that Rob BORJA also returned to the DC area but no one knows where. Jay HEALEY is working on Air Staff (XOI). Chris BADEN and Kyoko graduated from PGIP in '96 and are now in Guam and Jay was going to visit them in Dec. Kathy (GREEN) JOERS is (finally!) in her last year of medical school at USUHS (don’t ask me what school that is) and hubby Jeff JOERS ('92) is an acquisitions officer at Andrews AFB, MD. Kathy hopes to go to Eglin after graduating this May.

Dave GYURE is going through PGIP. Lance COOK recently graduated from the Intel Weapons Instructor Course (IWIC) in Las Vegas. Esmee' (OSHITA) DAETZ separated and followed Dan ('90) to AFIT; Dan should be at Wright Pat now until Jan 99, then to Edwards AFB as a test pilot! Laura saw him (Dan) as well as Shari FOX, Brigham BRIGGS and Jim ROBINSON at her SOS enroute; Shari is a physical therapist at Ramstein. Brigham is at Gunter Annex; he was an undefeated volleyball coach at SOS. Jim ROBINSON is in the AFIP. Heath GRAVES and wife Laura PCSed from Osan to AFIT. Last summer, Chris (HARVEY) BELL PCSed from England to Macdill AFB. Dan MUIR left Kunsan in ‘95 and went to Pope to fly F-16s in 74FS until Jul 96; he was hoping to go to Shaw AFB but Laura hasn’t heard from him since his time to play in the sandbox. Just when it seems as if the only news is of people PCSing from Korea, Laura tells us that Steve LATHAM was still at Osan flying A-10s when she left!

Josh JONES and Marcy are at Malmstrom AFB in the rescue unit. Josh is back in the USAF after some time in the US Army after graduation. Tony PERKINS and Odette (JONES) are at Travis; Tony is a communications officer. He passed to Laura that Ed MOODY was flying with C-130s at Dyess AFB. HURRY UP MOODY and MUELLER?!? Any Campus Rad freshman would have to smile at that … he must be faster at getting ready now!! Whew! Gee, Laura, was that all you had?

Also at Travis is Tim RUNETTE; he’s been there awhile, but now he’s flying C-5s. Another quick mention, Andy HIRD went through C-17 training at Altus AFB.

Mark ‘Zero’ CIERO sent a ‘life update’ since we haven’t heard much from him in this column since graduation. He married Elaine in Aug 92 and has a son Benjamin, born Apr 97. Mark is currently assigned to the 336FS at Seymour Johnson AFB, NC as an F-15E wizzo, along with Chris ANTHONY. He started his first 2 yrs after the zoo getting a Masters from MIT. He spent 10 months at UPT, 18 months at UNT and then the Strike Eagle. He says fighting and dropping bombs is very rewarding.

Karen (SUZUKI) CHILDERS separated on 1 Aug and now works for System Simulation Solutions, Inc. doing the same thing (for ACC) that she did as a captain assigned to ACC Studies and Analyses Squadron for the past three years! For anyone who is wondering, life on the outside is highly recommended by Karen! She and her husband, Brooks, recently moved to Gloucester, Va, which is way out in the country; they have two horses, two dogs, and one cat. Her brother (David SUZUKI) is in the DC area at the NRO.

Severin Blenkush has been married for 3 yrs and they just had a son, Severin III, 13 Sep. Severin’s a contracting officer at Shaw AFB on the CENTAF staff, going everywhere in SWA except Saudi, supporting exercises and contingencies. He and Chris CORTEZ were in the same flight at SOS last spring, and he still drives the Lotus Turbo Esprit, as well as several other sports cars since graduation. Severin’s quite the motorhead, taking time on leave returning from one of his TDYs to tour the Lotus factory in England! He also gave us a bunch of good info: Doug SERSUN married Elaine ('92). They are at Hanscom and just had a little girl. Doug was on the competitive athlete program for a year, but fell a little short of the '96 Olympic team. He's planning on giving it one more shot. Chris LEE is a maintenance officer at Shaw. Terry MUELLER was a maintenance officer at McGuire, got a pilot training slot with the Reserves, got to Hondo and was medically disqualified; he's still in the Reserves, and trying to get into med school. Rick AARON is flying 130's at Dyess. He's married and they just had a little girl. Mike WILBURN was on the inside back cover of an Airman magazine for helping some lost boat people in Guam, and Jeff DAVIES is at Shaw flying 16's, married with a brand-new baby!

Unfortunately, I missed Steve & Teri ASTOR when they were here in S.A. at Randolph, along with Lars HUBERT and Jay AANRUD ('90). They were all going through T-38 requal. Steve and Lars are in the process of crossflowing from Herks to Vipers.

Shannon and Angie CURRY’s son Joshua was born 12 Oct (7lbs 15oz, 21in) and Shannon will be returning to his family (waiting for him at Ft Huachuca, AZ) in March. There he will be teaching the flight Mil Intel mission at the airfield. That means lots of flight time for him! John and Janet MINER had their first baby, Elizabeth, on 9 Oct. They are stationed at Ramstein and doing well. Brad and Christina ANDERSON had their 2nd baby girl, Kendall, 15 Oct. They also are doing fine but they are at McConnell AFB. Mike and Amy LEE have been living in Charleston for over a year now. Mike is flying the C-17; he reports liking it better than the C-141. Amy does fundraising and public relations for the Red Cross and is working on her master's degree. Derek WEST is an AFIT PhD Candidate in Physical Meteorology at the Atmospheric Sciences Program at Ohio State. He got to fly into Hurricane Linda in the eastern Pacific Ocean while doing doctoral research! Now that’s something you don’t see everyday! Dan CURRY is out of the AF and has accepted a job with Raychem in Menlo Park, CA. Mike SMITH is out at McGuire AFB with wife and sons, and enjoying what life has to offer. Just before Mike went on a trip to Japan, he talked to Chris ALLEN; Chris and Stacey have a new little girl.

Tony Mitchell is in the Engineer and Scientist Exchange Program sponsored by AF Office of Science and Research. He works at ONERA, the French National Aerospace Agency, in the suburbs of Paris, France! Gee, that’s rough! Though he hasn’t run into nearly the number of grads Laura does in DC, Randy SAUER has been through Paris twice since Tony’s been there. The second time was New Year’s Day ('97) and they ushered in the new year with Champagne on the Champs-Elysees with 100,000 Frenchmen and other members of Randy’s KC-135 crew from Robbins AFB. Randy is now at Altus going through A/C commander upgrade training. Before he started his stint at Altus, Randy was in the Pacific and just missed Chris LUPLOW flying 135s out of Kadena, who was already at Altus for the same class. Finally, Erik BOWMAN relocated from Wright Pat to Nebraska and got married 22 Nov. Tony closed his email saying there is an open bed at "Chez Mitchell" and they would be glad to put you up if you are in the area!

Pete FRY and wife are settled in Phoenix now, going through F-16 RTU. Pete ran into Todd ERICKSON there (Todd and his wife, Mary Beth, are probably in Aviano by now). News from the ‘other’ RTU (Eagles) is that Matt ISLER and Mai Lan had their first child a few months ago. Matt says he and Terry WALKER graduated from F-15 RTU. Terry is at Kadena (with his wife and 3 boys) and Matt went to Langley. Other '91ers at F-15 RTU are Matt WILSON (went to Eglin in Jan), Murray NANCE (starts in March), and Bill PERIS. More are on the way with the increasing "cross-flow" program. Paul VILLEM graduated in October and is up in Elmendorf, Alaska.

Mike BECK married Laura after UPT at Reese. After that a C-12 to Kadena. Left after only a year as most of the C-12 units closed. Went to Pope AFB to fly 130s. Been to Germany once, the Desert twice (once in Al Kharj), South and Central America, as well as all over the U.S. They have a son, David, and another baby on the way--due in the middle of MC-130E training at Hurlburt (they arrive there around mid-April). Mike also said Brian PIKE is out and is now working as a P.I. in Michigan. George FRITTS is leaving tankers at Grand Forks to be a T-37 IP at Vance. Mark JOHNSON is a nav at Pope; Rich SVOBODA, Derek KEYES, Colin REILLY, and Chris DECOLLI are 130 pilots at Pope.

CJ Hemmer was TDY to Al Kharj at one point, and Brad Anderson was (is?) at Altus going through Instructor Pilot upgrade for the KC-135. He’s run into several 91'ers down there, including Bill PRICE who just finished up his instructor upgrade and is now at Robins AFB flying the 135. Scott BURNS is in Brad’s upgrade class, currently stationed at Fairchild AFB

And just before sending this off to the AOG (unfortunately, also just as the last Checkpoints came out!!) is news from Mark HOPSON at Offutt. Mark, Joe GAY, Rich KRUPP and Joe CRAMPTON have all been flying RC-135s for 5 years there. A lot of TDY, a lot of hours, and they're all instructor and/or evaluator pilots. Joe GAY managed to escape and went to KC-10s at McGuire in January. The other three are non-vol bait, but unreleasable due to pilot shortage. Other 91ers at Offutt include P.K. COTTER, an instructor nav, Rod COUSINS, Russ SAKATI, and Mike LA ROCCO, all pilots. P.K. is single and has a Guard job lined up in Georgia flying B-1s. He leaves for that this summer. Rod is married with no kids. Ditto for Russ. Mike--single. As far as kids go, Joe GAY has a son Quentin and a daughter Payton, Rich KRUPP has a daughter Margaret and a son Alex, Joe CRAMPTON has a son Trey, and Mark HOPSON has a daughter Hannah and one on the way. He’s seen Stefan ELING (KC-10/Travis), Sean LOGAN (C-141/Travis), Brad ANDERSON (KC-135/McConnell), Scott COTOIA (KC-135/Fairchild), Aaron TROXELL (135/McConnell), and Tom THIBAULT (135/Fairchild).

Before I close, who commemorated graduation with the following: "’I look up and see the sky, I look down and see the ground, I look at you and sing a song about up and down.’ – Cookie Monster. I guess I do know the difference. Thanks to my parents and friends, I love you all."

Later -- TAV

Until we meet again -- TAV