Aloha True Blue Class! Time is flying and I hope you're having fun. I am
definitely enjoying life in Hawaii. Unfortunately, the Air Force keeps
seeing a reason for me to go elsewhere. I narrowly escaped a six month
deployment in the Balkans. Not that I didn't want to go-- Soon, I should
be seeing a lot more of my good friend Dave KUMASHIRO who just PCSed
from Washington DC to Travis AFB. He's going back into the C-5 cockpit
which means (hopefully) a lot of TDYs through Hickam. Dave always has
the knack of calling at the right time. I was sitting down to write this
and looking through my e-mail INBOX and Dave called. We figured it had
been a few months since we last spoke--what timing. Dave found a nice
apartment in Benicia where he is setting up "home." Until he moved in,
he was staying with Tanya (DUTKO) Daniels and her husband Rich. They
were gracious hosts to Dave while he settled in. Tanya is working as the
Public Affairs Chief for the Reserve unit there at Travis. Dave has only
been there a short time, but has already seen a lot of '92 folks in the
22nd. Scott Gaab recently got married and is flying in the squadron.
Also, Mark May, Jason Higa, Sean Murphy, John Wozniak, John Fair, and
Matt Mathis are at Travis flying the C-5. Ron Lee and Chris Colbert are
in the 21st flying C-21s (I think). And, Dave saw Mark Guerrero who is
in the Logistics Group. A few of the others Dave knows about: Bill
Spagna is a Vance and Dan Dewenter is at Laughlin where they both are
flying T-1s. From the Intern Program that Dave just left, Amanda Kato
went to Kirtland, Troy Bashir and Fred Taylor went to Vandenberg, and
Jeff Handy went to Elmendorf to fly F-15s. JJ Menozzi and Kelly
Kirpatrick got engaged while in DC and are both headed to Mountain Home
to fly F-16s and KC-135s respectively. Congratulations!!
After the last issue went out, I got a few e-mails from around the Air
Force. I even got some new contributors. James Buck gave me a quick
update from Hill AFB where he says he "hasn't met anyone here at Hill
from '92 except Sid Conner. He lives down the street on base-- and
enjoys his two young children also." So if anyone else is sitting there
on Hill AFB, look up James and give him a call! You may also be thinking
there are no other '92 grads there. James and Val were due to deliver #2
when he wrote in March. He says that Evan (2 years old) needs another
playmate. James is the lead engineer for AMC flight simulators (C-5,
KC-135, KC-10) and loves playing with "the most expensive video games in
the world." TJ Thompson is living in Menominee, Michigan where he is
taking classes at a local college after being medically retired in 1994.
TJ is doing better with his medical condition and is pursuing another
degree. James and TJ had a great time visiting last summer and just
catching up on each other's lives.
Rob and Leisa Tobler just sent me a note their last day in Germany
before heading to Altus where Rob is cross-training from the C-9 to the
C-5. Their final destination is Dover after the several months of
training. They have also been blessed again and are expecting their
second child, who Rob excitedly points out (sarcasm) will be born in
Oklahoma. He did avoid two of the coldest months in Germany by
completing his "two months of community service in Alabama" getting
re-blued. Then he mentioned something about my "hardship" tour in Hawaii
and how Leisa keeps trying to get him to come out here--
Brook "Pump you up" Leonard sent me a quick note from Osan where he is
flying in the 36th Fighter Squadron--"The Fiends." He and his wife,
Maria, are headed to Misawa AB, Japan in July. I will actually be in
Osan within the next week or two for some self inspections (oh, joy) and
hopefully we can get together. Otherwise, I'll have to catch them in
Misawa when I go there later this year. Lefty Pakulski is at Osan in CE
and Steve Broderick recently left the 36 FS to go to Moody.
My old roomie from Edwards, Lyle Shidla, has finally taken the
plunge--oh, not that plunge! It's not that that miraculous! He got out
of the Air Force in May and is working for Seagate Technologies in
Bloomington, Minnesota. Yeah, for those of you who know Lyle well,
Bloominton is his hometown. He was debating whether to stay in Boston,
"but between the high cost of living and the Red Sox trading away Mo
Vaughn, I decided I couldn't pass up, so I'm outta here!" So for anyone
in or passing through Minnesota, stop by and look Lyle up. Lyle when the
winter gets cold there, come visit the Islands!
Dan Garber sent me a long letter that actually came in an envelope and
had a stamp on it. It starts out "Greetings from USAFA!" Ok, to use his
words, "my Air Force career has come full circle." Dan is a Military Art
& Sciences Instructor (can you say PMS?) in the 34th Education Squadron.
Actually, he is enjoying the change from his R & D career field. And, he
has an astute observation about how different it is being an officer at
the Academy versus being a cadet. He had an stressful PCS into the Zoo
since his wife nine months pregnant! But, she delivered a healthy baby
boy, Mack, the same week they moved into their new house and PCSed in. I
guess good things do come in threes. But, if that's the case, I think we
need to spread out the good things. He ran into Jesse Johnson who is the
Comm's Exec and claimed "it's not that bad." And, Ron JAMES is also at
the Zoo teaching Thermo. Dan went to SOS (class 98-E) before PCSing to C
Springs and saw a bunch of folks there. Steve Breeze is ready to PCS
from Hurlburt where he flies UH-60s; Doug Beck is at Dyess flying 130s.
He also saw Godfrey Guerzon, Longinos "Gonzo" Gonzales, Collin Ireton,
Michelle Lamontagne, and many others he couldn't remember at the time.
He recently spoke with Fred Bravo who deployed overseas from Dyess. Rich
Flake recently got married in New Orleans and is still a FAIP at
Laughlin. Fred Taylor (Mentioned twice in the same column--Fred you owe
me!) finished up the Intern Program and headed to Vandenberg to be a
missileer. And, Jim Mueller got married last December and is
crossflowing into the F-15. Dan thinks he may still be at the Zoo when
we have our 10 year reunion (let's not get ahead of ourselves--we only
recently passed seven and that it's been quick enough) and invites the
whole class to stay at his house. Well, not really, but I'm sure he
would have offered had he thought of it.
I was surprised by an e-mail that found me at work last week. It was
from an old Tarantula--Jim "Little Jimmy" Meger. He and Kari are
finishing up a great tour in Germany and will be headed to Columbus AFB
to fly the AT-38 via Randolph. He was writing me from his deployed
location in Gioia Del Colle (southern Italy) supporting ALLIED FORCE. He
had "--35 combat missions in Kosovo chasing the Serbs around, and was a
Sandy 1 for the CSAR of the F-117--" pilot. He said the squadron
performed awesome and was looking forward to being home. Thanks to you,
Jim, and the rest of the airmen who kept the heat on and finishing this
quickly.
I routinely get an entertaining update from Brandy and Steve Anderson
stationed at Langley AFB. Steve recently was honored as the Company
Grade Officer of the Quarter and is looking at a PCS soon. Even though
he and Brandy have been married for a year they are still looking for
time to take their honeymoon. Brandy has been keeping busy taking
various computer certification classes and Steve recently deployed to
the desert and left Brandy to practice on their home PC. Sounds
risky--but I think she usually gets all the pieces back to where they
belong. Hey, the e-mail still seems to work. That and catering to their
dog, Rody, seems to be keeping them busy. I hope they keep me on their
mailing list, because Brandy's e-mails are really entertaining
to read!
Well, my old roomie Don Unwin and his wife Kathleen are still enjoying
the great outdoor state of Alaska. My girlfriend Michelle and I are
going to visit them at the end of the summer. I'll give the full report
next issue.
My pen (brain) has run dry, so to speak. I look forward to writing for
you again next time. Please keep in touch and drop me a note to let me
know the exciting things you are doing and the friends you are visiting.
Until next time, be good and God bless! Aloha, James. (Oh yeah, it will
be football season by the time you read this--GO FALCONS!)
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