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June 2001 Hello again Great '98! Hopefully the summer is treating everyone well. I have some long letters this month, so I'll head right to them. First one of the bunch is from Antonio Ramos (Antonioram75@cs.com): Hello again from the Army. I finally got an email from BJ Pater, but my server broke and deleted the email. So now I am back to square one trying to get an email from him. Things are going great here at Fort Bragg, NC. I just made the Captain's Promotion List and will be pinning on here shortly. Quick rank is one advantage to being in the Army along with sleeping on drop zones all of the time. I also want to say hello to my buddies Pancake, Asain Spice, and Buck Nasty. I am not able to say just yet, but one of them will soon be engaged. Well I got to run. Remember to Beat Army! Good to hear from you again Tony. I wish promotions in the Navy worked as fast as they did in the Army. I will say I like your sense of loyalty to the Academy: in the Army and still saying Beat Army! Next up is an update from Michael Davis: I'm now working on my M.B.A.‹two years left to go on it, and then who knows what will happen. If anyone ends up with an assignment to Millington, that's only about an hour away from me‹I'd love to hear from them. If I remember right, BUPERS moved there a few years ago, so someone might end up being posted there. Thanks Mike, best of luck on the M.B.A. Pat Smith playing at the Executive Surf Club Here is a terrific letter from Jen Dowell with tons of good info: I write with an update of some '98ers who went through Kingsville together and got winged last September. A large group of us completed flight school last fall, and just prior to that we cheated death in our initial carrier quals aboard the Roosevelt out of Jax. After we officially became hookers, we had a crazy Mardi Gras themed winging (complete with our own carrier quals on a Slip'n'Slide), and then we dutifully reported to BOLT together, which is where the photos come from. Along the way we met up with Pat Smith (P-3 FRS in Jax) in downtown Corpus, and we were lucky enough to see him perform at the Executive Surf Club‹he rocked the house! Those of us participating in BOLT braved the Luce Hall flashbacks, survived a van catching fire, and kicked the Prop guys' butts in a rough game of Speedball. In the photos you will find: Mike "Mein" Kampfe (Hornets Lemoore), Terry "Shasta" Shashaty (Prowlers), Mike "Redman" Valenzuela (Hornets Lemoore), Kevin "Lucky" Robb (Tomcats), and me, Jen "Roadkill" Dowell (Hornets Miramar). Sadly, since I have been out here, it looks like I am going to be permanently NPQed, but I am still hoping for the best. I am happy to report that I am getting married in a couple of weeks to the love of my life, Dave Baker '94, and that lots of Alumni will be in attendance. Dave is in a class in VFA-106 with Becky "Sticks" (Dowling) Adams, Brian "Sparklet" Summers, and Chris "Woman" Hayter and they should hit the fleet this July. By the time everyone reads this, I think just about all of the Navy and most of the Marine '98ers from Kingsville or Meridian should be winged and on their way to the FRS. I wish everyone safe flying! '98ers at BOLTC: L to R: Kevin Robb, Mike Valenzuela, Jen Dowell, Terry Shashaty, and Mike Kampfe For a down and dirty 13th Company '98 update, I have the following for you: Mike Borrelli is happily married, with a P-3 squadron in Maine and already two months into his first deployment. Carlos Jativa is on KAMEHAMEHA out of Pearl Harbor, and also recently left on his first deployment (his longest separation from his Super LazyBoy Recliner to date). Ruth Golden is now Ruth Lane and last I heard, somewhere in the Gulf aboard TRUMAN on her second deployment. Bradley Ledbetter is engaged (can anyone believe this?) and finishing up a tour in Lejeune. Bryan Shipp just CQed in January and got his E-2/C-2 wings in February‹he is now back of the plane with Jerry Schafer. Dave Danelo is finishing up his time in glorious 29 Palms as a Weapons Company XO. Nat Stusse married Ryan McCrillis's younger sister, Allison, last June and is in the final phase of flight school in Meridian‹he is joined there by Eric Anderson and his wife. Nate Marvel is engaged to an awesome girl from Montana (the motherland), flying his dream machine (Cobras) in his dream location (Pendleton) and still cynical as hell. Keith Roxo finished up in Kingsville not long after me, and is now in LEMOORE HORNET RAG where he continues to date only "beautiful women." B-I-L-L Delmar is in the 60 RAG in Jax, and last but not least, Ed Hanley is kicking butt on his sub out of Norfolk, where he lives with his wife, Stephanie. New signees partying in downtown Corpus: L to R: Mike Kamfpe, Terry Shashaty, Jen Dowell, Kevin Robb, and Pat Smith I also keep in touch with my maid of honor, Amy Kellstrand, who managed to party her way though flight school, still kick butt, get winged in Pensacola and orders to fly her first choice aircraft‹53's (West). Caroline Rodi, after a rewarding tour as both Deck Division and Legal Officer aboard ARCTIC, is now the training officer on MT. VERNON and recently joined me in San Diego. A newly crowned aerobics queen, she loves the Surface Navy and is thinking of staying in for a career. I had the opportunity to go to Colleen and Sandra Kosloski's winging in San Antonio last fall; they are in the P-3 RAG in Jax with eventual orders to MAINE where they might actually have to be in separate squadrons. Kate McCreery is now Kate Glynn (she married one of my best friends from flight school, Pat Glynn '97 last February), and out here in San Diego for the 60F RAG; she'll deploy in July. Chuck Spenceley and his wife recently had their first baby, Darrienne Michelle‹the pictures on the Net were adorable! Todd "Mouth" Zentner got winged not long before me and is back at home in Washington for Prowlers along with Mike "Rocky" Kinsella; Pedro Espinosa lives with his wife in Corpus and is flying MH-53s. Warren "Bizarro" Tomlinson is in the Tomcat FRS, and Mark Johnson lives with his wife, Lori, in Norfolk and is flying the CH-53. Kent Hepler is finishing up the 60B RAG (along with Lisa Berberich) and will report to Hawaii soon, and Matt Ledridge is already in a 46 squadron in Guam. I know am forgetting others, but I have already written too much. Hope the rest of '98 is well and enjoying Fleet life! Wow, wow, wow. Thanks Jen, you just set a record for the longest and most informative letter. Thanks! L to R: Chad Redmer '99, Sara Stires, April and Scott McBride at the TCU-Navy Football game in September 2000 Now here's a letter from April McBride: Hello from Jacksonville, FL! Now that our first anniversary has come and gone, I am finally getting around to sending in some pictures from my wedding to Classmate Scott McBride. We were married on 20 February 2000, in Fairfax, VA. Several Classmates helped us celebrate our big day. Carrie Spannagel was a bridesmaid, Sara Stires, Jillene Bushnell, and Ashley Harrison were swordbearers. Yes, we were both swatted as we walked through our co-ed sword arch! Also in attendance were Nate Bailey and his wife, Angela, Aaron Beattie, Mike Kampfe, Mandy Thumm (Doug Thumm's wife), Tara Sweeney (Darren Sweeney's wife), Jen (Hogan) Johnson '97, and Chad Redmer '99. Scott and April McBride's sword bearers: L to R: Sara Stires, Jillene Bushnell, Ashley Harrison, April and Scott, Doug Thumm, Kaitan Gupta, and Ben Kavanaugh After lots of expensive phone bills and frequent flyer miles during our engagement, we are happy to be co-located now that we are married. Scott is currently the CICO on ROBERT G. BRADLEY (FFG 49) stationed in Mayport and I am a P-3 NFO assigned to VP-5 Mad Foxes at NAS Jacksonville. We are lucky that our deployment schedules are very similar: Scott will leave in late July for deployment and I will head to Sigonella at the beginning of August. Scott and April (Goldsby) McBride: 20 February 2000 Before signing off I want to say congratulations to Carrie Spannagel on her recent engagement. I also want to congratulation Doug and Mandy Thumm who are expecting a baby in June, and Tara and Darren Sweeney who are expecting in October. We hope that you are all doing well. Better late than never! Thanks for the update, and best of luck to you guys. Old friends gathered for the wedding reception in Charleston, SC: back row L to R: Andrea Mason, Scott Grossman, April and David Forman, front row: Robin and Shawn Gee I too am happy to be done with the phone calls and frequent flyer miles. On 10 March I married April Michelle Varnadore of Charleston, SC. We are together in Bremerton, WA, but by the time you read this, we'll be in Hawaii. Scott Grossman and his fiancée, Andrea Mason, made it up from Kings Bay, and Shawn Gee and his wife, Robin, came in all the way from San Diego. It was great seeing those guys again, I wish the party could have lasted longer. Newlyweds April and Davis Forman On a more somber note, just three weeks later, on 31 March, some members of '98 unveiled a memorial stone for Scott Kinkele. A sandcarved stone was placed along the road, where Scott's car came to rest. Scott's parents, Jack and Mary Kinkele, flew up from Las Vegas for the memorial, and the ceremony was covered by the Seattle news. Tommie Watkins and I placed the stone, and Shannon Callahan came by to pay her respects. Scott's squadron also organized a fly-by for the occasion. It was a special afternoon that meant a great deal to those who knew Scott. On State Highway 20 in Skagit County, not far from Whibey Island, Tommie Watkins and David Forman place the memorial stone for Scott Kinkele on its foundation This article is long enough as it is. Hope all is well with everyone else. Be safe and fair winds...DSF