USAFA - Spirit of 76 - Legacy Project - REPORT! Interviews with the Long Blue Line.

The Anchor app I use to record and edit these chats is going away. So I am working with the AOG on new tools and how to keep the show going. Yep, old dog needs to learn new tricks. Anyone else expect a train wreck?

This episode I want to provide the series' backstory and update on what our new grad (Class of 24) is off to do.

I shared the backstory with a Rwandan Grad, Class of 14. We had to do all our comms via recording since pre-calls weren't available. We had his episode up for a year but he got some promotions and was asked to take it down since he overshared some stories. It is all good now..and why I let every grad edit their episode as much as necessary.

This episode you meet Randy McPeak. He shares his interesting story of how he grew up in S. Illinois, survived USAFA, became a USAF T-38 and B-52 pilot, and transitioned to US Air and commercial flying while in the USAFR. After "flunking" retirement from American Airlines he now repositions aircraft all over the world leading to very interesting photos in his FB feed.

This episode you meet "Wild Bill" Stealey, Class of 1970, AFA lacrosse defender, IP & C-5 pilot, Wharton MBA, Management Consultant, President & CEO of successful video game companies... and grandpa. You will figure out on your own why John Wilbur Stealey got the call sign "Wild Bill." Also he shares his USAFA days which shows how the zoo experience was in the early days as the New Dorm was being constructed. One of the key people "Wild Bill" mentions is the video game creator Sid Meyer of Civilization fame (at least famous to me, this old peddler of parts to the X-Box teams at Microsoft)

Kirk Bell grew up in Gary, IN and attended three high schools, two of them military ones in OK and MO. His older brother was a Preppie in the class of 74 which led to some interesting overlap for Kirk. As an upper class cadet Kirk was in CS-28 and they won Honor Squadron our Firstie year. (Cuff-links? Really?) Upon graduation Kirk became a pilot and followed UPT at Vance with an IP tour. He also had a short Air Ops stint at Keflavik, Iceland followed by another IP tour at Randolph in San Antonio. From there he left active duty and became a financial advisor at Shearson- Lehman - Smith Barney rising to branch manager till 2003. He now is a managing partner (and still Financial Advisor) for his own firm, Bell & Valente, a company affiliated with Raymond James. Kirk is a past President of the North Dallas AOG, pilot for Angel Flight, and Rotary Volunteer. And he is still active playing tennis and golf. Kirk is a very proud member of the Spirit of 76 and represents us well in his community.

Major General Larry New and his twin brother are both grads and classmates of the Spirit of 76. They both hail from Texas and flew fighters, Larry primarily in the F-15. Larry accumulated over 3500 hours in fighters even flying into his 50's! As he climbed the general officer ranks he worked on USAF procurement and resources for force structure at NATO and Pentagon assignments. Upon retirement from the USAF he became a VP at Boeing as well as an AOG Board of Directors member. Larry has numerous awards and honors and is an outstanding member of the Spirit of 76.

Mark grew up in Denton Tx, was also a history major, roomed with Rich King for a stint, spent his active duty as a maintenance officer at Reese where the challenge was to keep the training flight schedule on track while repairing and logistically supporting T-37 and T-38 aircraft. After finishing his commitment he went off to law school and worked as a trial lawyer in Dallas followed by 15 years as a Federal Prosecutor followed by a role with the Texas Attorney General's office. I got to know Mark best when we returned from Europe, me finishing up my 30 day leave, Mark and his wife their honeymoon.

Stef grew up on a farm in CT the son of a Luftwaffe pilot and learned to fly in HS. At USAFA he excelled academically (DG top 40 MOM's) as did his cadet squadron who was the top academic squadron while we were at the zoo. Upon graduation he became a pilot and stayed in the IP/training role throughout most of his career. With a Masters and PhD he eventually rose to Commander of AF Basic Command in TX and the AWC in AL. Since retirement from active duty he has been the director of USAF Negotiation's Center of Excellence and a professor of research.