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

Kirk Bell- Spirit of 76 - Pilot, Financial Advisor, AOG Chapter President

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.

Larry New - Spirit of 76 - Major General, twin (from Texas), F-15 pilot, USAF Procurement, Boeing VP

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 Penley - Spirit of 76 - Federal Prosecutor and Texas Attorney

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 Eisen - Spirit of 76 - Col (Ret) - pilot, IP, PhD, Dean of AWC

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.

Gary Turnipseed - Spirit of 76 - Lt Col (Ret) F-15, T-37 and United Airlines pilot with great Gathering of Eagles story

Gary is originally from Texas and was an upper classman in CS-29, the Black Panthers (at that time). Upon graduation was assigned to Vance for UPT and kept there as a IP till he got an assignment to Eglin and F-15's. Luke, Osan, Langley, and Tyndall followed his flying career. once the desks loomed he transitioned to United Airlines. While at ACSC he hosted Hub Zemke at a Gathering of Eagles weekend. Gunter Rall, Gabby Gabrreski, and Jerry Johnson also were there. Look them up!

Randy Chang - Spirit of 76 - Lt Col (Ret) C-130 and Gulfstream pilot with interesting satellite package recovery story and VIP close encounter tale

Randy is from Hawaii originally which helped greatly in his USAFA experience. Upon graduation he was initially a MAC pilot flying C-130's in Little Rock and Yokota. After his first assignments he got a very interesting job flying as a test pilot at Hickam recovering falling satellite packages with an unusual method he describes. His success with the GAMBIT project led him to Andrews where he flew VIPs in the C-20. Here he also has a hair-raising close call which earned him an Air Medal personally from Sec Def. Air Attache in Thailand followed by return to Andrews ended his active duty time. Upon retirement he became a corp pilot for JC Penny and others. Some of the later recording gets choppy, (thanks cell sites!), but I believe you will enjoy the full story of Randy Chang.

Bill Franklin - Spirit of 76 - Lt Col (RET) Bomber pilot and United Airlines pilot - Hampton University Aviation Instructor

Bill grew up in Lynchburg, VA and became fascinated with aviation when his mom, a single parent, purchased a ride for him at a local airshow. This started him on the trajectory of Jr AFROTC in High School, USAFA, USAF B-52 and B-1 pilot career to United Air Lines 727, 757, 767, 777, and A320 pilot career, to aviation instructor and professor at Hampton Univ, and now United Fleet Technical Instructor. Not bad for a CS-33 Cellar Rat!

Marc Felman - Spirit of 76 - Col (ret) - Tanker pilot - Harvard Fellow - MacKay and Jabara Award winner - 8/8 Semesters Comm’s list - Ac Pro 7/8!

Marc Felman grew up an AF brat and shares his wisdom about how such a childhood carries into adulthood. At USAFA Marc was on Ac Pro 7/8 semesters, survived 4 academic boards, was on the Comm's list 8/8 times, and that combo meant he graduated far from the bottom of the barrel. After R flight he got to become an honorary non-com as well as SERE instructor. On active duty received both the MacKay and Jabara awards as a tanker pilot with an incredible story concerning weather and quick thinking in the Azores. Also spent a tour at USAFA as commander of 34th flight ops. USAF base assignments included: Columbus, Kadena, Seymour-Johnson, Maxwell, Pentagon, USAFA, and Naples, IT. Three post grad degrees included one as a Harvard Fellow. Became a squadron and wing commander and finished out his AF career at the Pentagon in ops and plans. Booz-Allen and MITRE followed active duty and he still contributes on national strategy and policy for MITRE. Marc only tried to seriously quit once and the USAF and nation are grateful he didn't.

Emma Przybyslawski - 2010 AF brat and daughter of 76 Pink Panther - USAF Intel and AFSOC - AOG board member - CS-19 Squadron Commander -Bronze Star

Emma is the daughter of a classmate from the Pink Panthers and is full of enthusiasm and experience. From AF brat to the zoo, after 4 high schools, to eventual CS-19 Squadron Commander to foreign travels during cadet summers she shares her pre-active duty life. Upon graduation the path continued -- USAF intel in Honduras (counter crime) to Eglin & Hurlburt in FL (AFSOC) to joint ops in Iraq (counter ISIS) = Receipient of the Bronze Star from Seal team 7. She is currently the co-founder of Strike Solutions after leaving active duty and figuring out her best path. Finally, she is nearing the end of her 8 year term on the USAFA Board of Directors.

Rachelle DeShazo Stoll - 2009 - USAF Air Battle Manager - Honor & Ac Pro survivor, wife & mom of two, Management Consultant, athlete

Rachelle grew up a hotel managers "brat" and lived in the Philippines, Korea, Japan, and Bahamas before graduating HS in Boise. At USAFA she landed on both Honor and Academic probations doolie year and wanted to quit, but only daily, so her dad made her gut it out. He gave her a great gift upon graduation. She became an Air Battle Manager in AWACS while on active duty, overcome airsickness, and eventually managed over 300 people during major system upgrades while undermanned. Tindall, Tinker, and Mountain Home were her primary location assignments and she deployed several times to other places. She transitioned to civilian life and after moving to the Springs during COVID and helping with the USAFA web and video content is now the typical grad juggling multiple roles: mom of two, wife, management consultant, canine foster parent, and cross fit level 1 instructor.