Hope Somebody In The AOG Office Knows C.P.R. For the first time in the six years I’ve been penning this missive, my input will be on the editor’s desk before the “drop-dead, get-on-your-knees-and-beg-me-to-include-it” deadline! But, lest you think I’m suffering a mid-life behavioral change, I should explain that Mister/Major Hackett is on his Annual Tour at Hill AFB without a lot to do on a Sunday afternoon. As for your behavior – relax, it hasn’t changed either; the mailbox spider only had to dodge one letter this summer.
Unfinished Business. I inadvertently left Steve Groathouse off the list of hosts at the Luke AFB O-5 Promotion Party that we went to in May. I didn’t actually see Steve (just drank his beer) but did find the copy of the Luke newspaper with the names of the promotes/party hosts a couple of weeks after I wrote the last article. LtCol Groathouse’s name was listed under the 405TFW which means he’s some kind of cheese in the F-l5E world out there.
One of the two long-lost photos I mentioned last time has been submitted for our review! We were lucky enough to have dinner with Dave Haugen several weeks ago and shamed him into finding his copy of the picture and sending it to me. From the “if it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all" department; the occasion of the rendezvous was to see Dave off to Colorado Springs where he has reestablished his residency after being furloughed by America West. In Dave’s words, “Go figure – I’ve worked for three airlines and all three have gone into bankruptcy!" I trust we’ll all be keeping Dave and any other classmate going through a tough time in our thoughts and prayers.
It’d Be Like Trying To Recount What That Girl Whispered In Your Ear When You Took Her Out To The Black Forest After The Graduation Ball! Justice would not be served if I attempted to paraphrase any of Rick Layman’s letter (as a former scribe he just has a way with words) so here are selected excerpts:
“You’ll probably be set upon with several letters full of war stories from the Gulf War. (WRONGO! - jlh) Fort McNair wasn’t exactly the best place to make contributions to the effort, but I guess killing trees (also known as “pushing paper” – jih) has its place too. ‘What did you do in the Great Gulf War, Grandpa?’ says the youngster. ‘Well, I wrote six double-spaced five-to-seven-page papers and did a twelve-page research project on the national security implications on the development of a maritime strategy in Czechoslovakia.
“Bob Akers and I were classmates at ICAF over the past year... Bob was apparently on an athletic scholarship, playing All Star Softball and being selected as a member of the ICAF Party Team...I, on the other hand, pursued academic excellence (sure I did) and generally hung out...in search of a means of offsetting some of the strain associated with the harrowing school experience, I got married in November. I’m not really sure how it all happened. I think the headline reads, ‘Aspiring young lady traps unsuspecting officer into lifetime commitment.’ Angela’s story, however, carries a bit of different headline, ‘Nasty and aging lieutenant colonel in search of fleeting youth pursues vibrant and well-built young blonde until she relents.’ (l’m thinking Angela’s story is closer to the truth! - jlh).
“Bentley Rayburn was also attending school in the area at the State Department's Senior School. He has gone to TAC to be exec to General Loh. Bob and I have been assigned to less lofty positions befitting our accomplishments – Bob’s in OSD Acquisition and I’m in the START Division of the Joint Staff, having arrived just in time to participate in the treaty process prior to the historic signing in Moscow.
"As you can imagine, being in the Pentagon is like attending a class reunion. Steve Brown, Roy Rice, Jerry Levesque, Dan Burkett, and Larry Bryant are all in J-8. Randy Davis is slugging it out as exec in SAF/AQ, as is Dave Fleming…I have heard that Flamer is so proud of his having been a navigator before attending UPT that he’s sponsoring an effort to make it legal to wear both ratings on your dress uniform. (As a guy who’s never even seen a dress uniform, I’d like to hear more about this; waiting for your letter Dave/Ann - jlh) Paul Narzinski is also in AQ, Jess Pitts is in the Guard Bureau. Al Colley, Jim Fellows, and Rick Pyatt were all in SAF/LL, working the Hill, but Rick has recently left active duty, Duane Jones is in DOD IG at Crystal City, and Dick Webber will be in the ICAF Class of ’92; Dale Meyerrose is going to National War College. Jed Vandendries, Steve Redmann, John Oleksey, Joe Siniscalchi, Chris Soto, Joe May, Steve Pitotti, are all in XO, and Dan Falvey recently reported to LE. Butch Byrd is about to return to the Skunk Works (XO Strategy office) from his vacation at American Enterprise lnstitute. Bill Davis, recently arrived, will be there with Butch." (end quote; now that‘s what I call a letter! - jlh).
Continuing The Role Reversal. Having had someone else essentially write the article for me this time leaves me with enough energy to, for once, give a little news about the Hacketts. The good news is that we’re all in good health and roaring up on our 15th anniversary (still the happiest married people I know). Debby’s career continues to hasten down the “golden girl” track – now a supervisor in U.S. Fraud Operations for American Express, making life unpleasant for cardholders that never got or have forgotten their honor code training, Tiffany is in seventh grade, excelling in school and dance (13 hours a week at the studio!). She‘s a little taller than her mom and just as good lookin’ – I’ve been practicing my most “vicious" BCT cadre glare/snarl in anticipation of the first boy that comes to our door! As many of you know, the bad news is that life in the military/industrial complex is unhappy and, as a “scum contractor” who’s also an IMA Reservist in the “over-staffed" AFLC, I think I’m getting an extra ration. For now, both McDonnell Douglas Helicopter and the F-16 Program Office here at OO-ALC are still convinced that they want me to keep on “keepin’ on” but I have some “lines in the water” and your next letter to the class scribe (you know – the one you’re just about to go write) may wind up somewhere other than Tempe, AZ.
It’d Be Like Washing Down Filet Mignon With a Warm Bottle Of Schlitz! So I won’t bore you with the no-notes-in-the-margin, less-than-interesting COA cards. Hope that by the time this gets published we’ll all be making plans to go see USAFA in the Holiday Bowl as they celebrate their first WAC championship. We should know more on that after next week’s game at BYU where Debby and I will be in attendance/screaming our heads off. Of course the timing of my Annual Tour to Hill AFB, coinciding with two Falcon football games in Utah in a three-week period was purely coincidental. Believe that and it really is later than you think!
figure out! His family (three kids) likes the area a lot and Lance enjoys flying the F-15 and T-38. Bentley Rayburn put his eagles on in July and worked as the ADO for the F-15 wing until his recent departure for the National War College. Wayne Willis continues his extended stay in New Mexico as the AFOTEC F-15 pilot at Holloman. Walt Burns is also reported to be at Holloman in the Eagle-jet. Ben Phillips’ wife is in Alamogordo although Ben left in July for an ALO job in Korea. Don Lewis is in the running for most unusual duty as the commander of Det 1 of the Weapons Eval Group, where they fly F-100s before they turn them into drones.
up shop. Of course it’s always nice to see old friends, but it’s really something special when they make O-5 during their visit and have you out to the Club for the promotion party! That occasion brings a little more Class News as Kent was not the only ’75 grad wearing his hat in the bar that night – Tug McGraw, Mike Marro, and Ted Parker were also our hosts. Sorry to say I only got to speak with Tug, who is at Luke transitioning from the Eagle to the Beagle (Bomber-Eagle, F-l5E). The change will not involve a PCS however, as he is staying at Elmendorf and going into a new squadron that’s being formed there. I can tell you from hearsay that Ted is an F-16 IP at Luke; I’m clueless on Mike. (Maybe he should make a 25¢ local phone call?) Also spoke to Dave Wallace, who had just arrived from the NORAD desk-warrior world for F-16 training enroute to Hill AFB (more on ’75ers at NORAD later).
