Spring 2007 Class Notes

Greetings Gentlemen,

 Well the holidays are probably long since out of our minds, but I wanted to say thanks to all who sent greeting cards this year.  I must be getting old because I really enjoyed reading all of the end-of-year letters and catching up on everyone’s families.  Amazing how time flies by.

 Chip Chenery forwarded me a photo of Kelly Musick that we agreed was probably the best representation of Kelly’s creative sense of humor (hopefully the photo made this issue of the Alumni Review). Kelly is currently in Baghdad as a Navy civilian working as an Operations Analyst on the Multi-National Forces-Iraq staff in the Green Zone.  Kelly was pleasantly surprised to find that CDR Kevin Miller and COL Mark Waters ’83 are just a few doors down from him.  Kelly expects to be home in April ’07, and with any luck he’s reading these notes from the comfort of his living room.

Thanks to that connection, I was able to touch base with Kevin Miller, who let me know that his wife Susie has been doing an amazing job with their sons Joyner (6) and Tanner (2).  He could not say enough nice things about what a trooper she’s been keeping the home front together, and that Jeff Crist, Taylor Smith ’95, John Darby ’92, and their families have been giving her some “grown-up time”.  Kevin has been in Iraq since the August ’06 and expects to be home by June ‘07. He’s assigned to the National Coordination Team in the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office.  His group controls the Provincial Reconstruction Teams which help build the Rule of Law, Governance, and Provincial capacity. He said that the work has been more than challenging, but that the food and accommodations are better than when he was at VMI.  Kevin conveyed that it’s a stark contrast to the in-country folks, and that he has a deep respect for the local Iraqi’s who work with him because they are putting their lives at risk to make their country a better place.

 I got a nice update from David Kaulfers who’s still a part time soldier, who works for VDOT in his civilian life.  He let me know that he’d just finished his Master's of Engineering in Civil Engineering at ODU in Norfolk.  I know that’s a long road – congratulations sir!  He keeps up with a few of our BR’s and filled me in.  Pat O'Leary is an engineer turned attorney, who works for the Virginia Attorney Generals Office, but may be headed to Afghanistan in June to be a Resident Engineer in the Corps of Engineers. Laurence Farrell is a MAJ(P) in the Pentagon, who’s heading to Iraq soon with the Corps of Engineers.  David also keeps up with Dave Stanley who has 2 girls and is working for Corbitt Construction in Winchester, and Dave Wright who has 4 children and has gone back to work for VDOT as well.

Speaking of Laurence Farrell, he sent me an email detailing his current status.  Laurence will complete his two years on the Army Staff and become the Deputy Commander, Gulf Region Division, North District (GRN) US Army Corps of Engineers in the spring of 2007.  He expects to be in Iraq for a year, and when he gets back to the States in June 2008, he will take command of an Engineer District / Battalion of a place yet to
be determined.  Hali, his wife of seventeen years and his children Genni (12), Adam (10), and Ben (8) will remain in Northern Virginia while he's deployed.

Doug Spitz gave me a call from Powhatan, VA where he’s running the sale team for Share Technologies.  Doug spends some of his free time fishing for striped bass down in Virginia’s tidewater area, and the rest spending quality time with his kids Alexander (15) and Abigail (12).  I was having a challenging day with my son Jacob (4) when Doug called, and I asked him to tell me about what it’s like to have kids near their teens.  He said that the best thing is being able to travel and explore places they’ve never been before.  Doug said that getting to discover new things and places with his kids has been one of the best experiences he’s had.  He said it let him really get to know them, getting insight into their individual personalities and seeing how they think.  Good advice Doug - I’ll keep that in mind.

I got a few emails from folks telling me they’ve recently relocated to Virginia.  George Palomar has landed back in the DC area with his wife Arlene, and is working with the engineering firm VSE Corporation. Chuck Smith has made it back to the east coast, and let me know that he and Wendy have returned to their old house in Chesapeake, VA.

My family recently got to spend some quality time with Rob Hays, who is back in Virginia and flying KC-135s out of Andrews AFB. Charity and their son Alex (2) got to know the area and did some house hunting while I tried to convince Rob that my neighborhood was the ideal location for raising kids. Alex is a real chip off the old block, and has so many of Rob's mannerisms down, it's uncanny.

Folks, please keep the emails & pictures coming.  I’ve been forwarding Rick Neff electronic photos from our BRs to post on the class website, and we’re getting a good collection going.  Take a look at www.vmi90.org if you get a chance.

Thanks for all your support, and I hope to hear from you soon!

Hunter

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