I have thought, over the past ten years since my graduation from the Air Force Academy in 1999, that it would be fun to go back for a reunion. However, as the time of the 10 year reunion grew closer and life was as hectic as ever with our recent move back to San Antonio and my upcoming deployment to Afghanistan, I began to feel like it would be more of a hassle than it would be worth. We heard from some old classmates who were more ambitious and Kristel encouraged me that this was something I would regret missing. So we decided to do it. We cleared the schedule, pulled the kids out of school, and forked out the money for air fare, hotels, and rental cars and made the trip to Colorado Springs from September 24 to 27 of 2009.
We arrived at Denver International Airport late Thursday morning and made a trip to Casa Bonita for lunch, which was a memorable restaurant from my childhood when we lived in Colorado Springs. We had also visited when my family visited while I was at the Academy. Amazingly it didn't seem to have changed at all.
Colorado ended up being a bit colder than we anticipated. We drove from Denver directly to USAFA and our first stop was at the overlook. It was the first time I had been back since graduation. The athletic fields looked exactly the same. I had stood in the exact same spot with my family 16 years before on Parents Weekend after finishing basic training and starting my 4 degree year. I didn't really feel any of the old anxiety that always came with approaching USAFA this time. Strangely, it felt really good, even calming to be there.
We ran into the Hansens while looking around up on "the hill", and then got together again that evening at Cici's Pizza. We had seen them fairly recently when we made a trip up to Washington DC while living in North Carolina. Jared had gotten out of the air force a few years earlier and was working for NSA outside of DC. We also got together with the Higbees. We had kept in touch with them and they even lived in our ward (and even housesat for us for about a month) in 2005. Travis had recently gotten out of the air force and was in the guard and flying as an instructor pilot in Pueblo. We all went over to the Bodily's home. He had been the bishop of one of the singles wards for the Academy. The kids all had fun playing together which made it easier for the adults to catch up.
The next day, Friday, we went up to the Academy to look around. There were a whole bunch of 1999 as well as 1989 grads who were also having their 20-year reunion. It was fun to show the kids around. It did look pretty much the same, though there were some differences. There were a few more gates and fences separating the cadet area from the "tourist" area. (The cadet chapel is the #1 most visited man-made tourist attraction in Colorado). I'm not sure if it was more to keep tourists out or cadets in.
The normal noon meal formation had been cancelled but they had the annual memorial formation. The 40 squadrons formed up on the Terrazo and the cadet wing commander called for report on each of the grads who had died in the preceding year. Each time a name was read, the squadron commander of the squadron the cadet had graduated from reported "Absent Sir". The honor guard placed a wreath at the memorial wall and the names of the two graduates who had died in combat were read. There was a 21 gun salute and a missing man formation of four F-15's thundered overhead. That formation had always been a powerful experience even when I was a cadet, but it all brought back a flood of memories and was an emotional experience for me. I felt deeply grateful to have been there, especially as I prepared to leave for Afghanistan myself in less than two months. I had spent the past 10 years since graduation focusing on medicine. It was good to reconnect with the military focus that I had started with.
Nathan Karchner, who graduated class of 2000 and had returned as faculty, gave us a tour of the cadet area that we wouldn't have been able to see without an escort.
I went through basic training in 1993 with the class of '97 and spent my first two years with them in CS-39 before going on my mission. I will always feel a connection to them, though I guess they don't claim me anymore. I graduated with the class of '99. My strongest ties to '99 are to the other '97'ers who returned from their missions the same time as I did, though I did have some good friends in CS-25.
Mitchel Hall, the dining facility with capacity for the entire cadet wing (4,000), and able to serve them all simultaneously in less than 30 minutes, looked pretty much the same though it was going through some renovations. There were the same plates with the crest I had to keep my eyes fixed on at every meal my first year.
Fairchild Hall, the main academic building, was perhaps the most changed. There was a much more modern looking common area where cadets could hang out, talk, and study. It seemed very foreign to what I remembered. They had upgraded the lectinars where I took many classes as well as the early morning GR's (graded review - USAFA academic tests)
On Saturday we went to the USAFA football game where we sat in the section for the graduate reunion. It also have many memories of USAFA football games... some fun, some less so. This was the first USAFA football game I had attended without being required to do so. This one was fun.
At the end of the game, carrying Julia with her head on my shoulder, she threw up all over the back of my shirt. Fortunately they were selling AF tee-shirts in the stands and I was able to change.
We left the game and drove up to Denver where we saw the Gallaghers. Though they had lived in El Paso, I really first met them when Kristel drove out from Utah with Joey and Katrina to visit during my first semester at USAFA. I still remember very clearly how awesome that weekend was to escape from the hill and see my wonderful Kristel. I also remember feeling the depths of despair when they dropped me off in the lower parking lot of Sijan Hall and in the dark I climbed the stairs back to my squadron and life as a USAFA 4-degree. Over my remaining 3 and a half years as a cadet their home would be the only true refuge from the academy. It was great to see them and catch up.
I was so glad that we had decided to make the trip to visit the Academy, and especially that we were able to take the kids and show them around. It was such an important time in my life as well as Kristel's. I feel like it had a very important impact on my life at a critical time when I was not a kid anymore, but not quite grown up either. It changed who I would become and has set the course for the rest of my life.
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