Home Member      Log-In      Log-Out      Registration Membership Directory (Members Only) Picture Gallery Mailing List Message Boards Shipmate Articles Class Reunion Links What's New Site History/Credits Help

January-February 2003 Greetings '98! I hope everyone had some time to relay over the holiday. I am filling in for David while he is deployed. Keep sending emails and I'll make time to submit them for print. Brian Eisenhuth and I are now assigned to PCU VIRGINIA (SSN-774) and dealing with life in the shipyard. Huth has developed quite a reputation during the past few months in Groton. I'm happy to say that I now have plenty to keep me out of trouble. My wife gave me my Christmas present early this year with the birth of our daughter, Sarah Cathryn on 1 December. The sleep deprivation underway didn't prepare me for this, but she is definitely a blessing. A few other Classmates are in the area and doing well, Arny Stankus, Justin Anderson, and Jonas Zikas to name a few. Now on to the letters for the month: Robby Burton sent me this letter from down South: How's it going; not bad here. I'm currently stationed at Fort Knox, KY, where I'm the XO of the Marine Training Company. We train the Marine enlisted tankers and tank mechanics. Not only am I stuck on an army post but our company is actually in an Army battalion. Gives a new spin on joint warfare, especially come Army-Navy week. To make matters worse, the West Pointers c/o '99 got promoted to captain the same day I did. If anyone is ever in Louisville or the Kentucky area feel free to look me up. There's only a handful of Marines here so I'd be easy to find. My wife, Julie, is fine and we are expecting a baby girl in January. Brendan Eagan is stationed at Camp Pendleton now with the LCAC's. And I've heard that Chris "Happy" Gilmore is going to report to the Ole Miss ROTC unit next year. Serves him right after all the flak he gave me for being an Ole Miss Fan. Travis Campbell is making history as one of the first tank officers to break inside of the Grunt Mafia. He's with a fast company in Virginia and will be deploying (for a second time, quite a feat for a tanker) to Japan next year. I've also heard from Re and Rocky Burns who's been living it up in Italy. Apparently Rocky took a little trip to England and got roughed up by some grammar school hoodlums a few weeks ago when he refused to give up his milk money. I believe he broke his orbital bone and suffered from double vision for awhile but is doing better now. Well, that's all I've got for now. And if anyone is thinking of getting out and working for a large corporation, check out the Army. There's more civilians than soldiers there now. Thanks, Robby, it's nice to know Fort Knox is in safe hands. In addition to Jeremy Markin's obituary for Matt Shubzda, Keith Roxo provided this update on a few of the aviators out there and some thoughts about Matt: You may have heard about the mid-air collision that took the life of Matt Shubzda. Matt was flying Super Hornets with VFA-41. The details of the accident are privileged and the safety investigation is still ongoing. For all of us who knew Matt, we know what a solid dude he was. Matt was recently married, but since our paths through the flight training commands were different, as was the timing, I never met his wife. My heart goes out to his wife and his squadronmates. Liam Booher '97, Doug Booher '99, and Gary Buxton '99 are all members of VFA-41. On the lighter side, Dave Hickey and Jason Covarrubius are currently deployed with VFA-113. The were participating in Operation Enduring Freedom and now are on their way to Operation Southern Watch. Mike Garcia is in work-ups flying with VFA-14, TJ Kneale just finished carrier qualification with VFA-122 and is awaiting assignment to his fleet squadron. Jake Parsons and Chris Smith are out flying with VFA-27 and VFA-192, respectively, in Japan. I have not spoken with them in some time though. Jeremy Markin and Paul Till are both members of VFA-146 as part of CAG 9 which is now the ready carrier battle group. And I recently saw Brandon Roach while on Airwing Det in Fallon. I was flying CAS and he was my FAC. Kind of funny how small the Navy can be sometimes. If I am forgetting any other '98ers out here in the wonderland known as Lemoore, I apologize. It is either because I am unaware that you are out here (since I leave every chance I get), or more likely it is because I am stupid. As for me, I am in VFA-22 which has recently joined CAG 9 (my third CAG in less than a year) to make an all Hornet CAG. We are in the middle of a highly modified work-up cycle to be the ready carrier. Joining me in 22 is Todd Bode '94, Luke Kremer '96, Gerry Tritz '99, and Peter Quinn '99. Thanks, Keith, our thoughts and prayers go out to Matt's family. The family has no special requests, but they set up a scholarship fund for Matt. Here is the address: Matt Shubzda Scholarship Fund, PO Box 450207, Garland, TX 75045. And that completes this issue's updates. Fair winds... -S.C. Gee