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

Craig Manson - Spirit of 76 - Col (RET) - Judge - Dept of Interior Asst Secretary - Missileer - JAG - Cadet Wing Staff

Craig grew up an Army brat and spent most of his childhood in Albuquerque, NM. As a Doolie Craig has one great spirit prank story as well as an infamous meeting with an upperclass football player of note.  As a 3 degree Craig landed on Ac Pro but survived. He also saw both sides of SERE as student and member of the cadre in later summers.  While a cadet Craig was on the debate team till Firstie year when he was on Wing Staff. Upon graduation Craig landed at Ellsworth as a Missileer which eventually turned into law school in No Cal which led to a series of Air Force JAG assignments from AZ to the UK to USAFA where he created the Air Space and Law program. From that achievement it was off to Sacramento as an attorney.  His legal career found him moving into roles with the state Government, Department of the Interior of the US as Assistant Secretary to professor at his law school alma mater to general counsel for wetlands and water in Calif.  

Steve Simon - 1977 - Missiles to AFA Liaison with Congress to Lt Col (RET) to EVP at AOG

Steve Simon is what I am calling the in-house AFA historian at the AOG. He writes many of the historical articles in Checkpoints as well as stars in the Heritage Minute videos produced by the AOG.  He grew up an AF brat on the enlisted side, was a football team manager all four years as a cadet, and chose missiles upon graduation.  While stationed at FE Warren Steve ran several marathons and was selected as a torch bearer for the 1980 Winter Olympics where he got to attend the "Miracle on Ice."  

Steve Hall - Spirit of 76 - Pink Panthers

Andy Kaufman, Robin Williams, and Lt Col (RET) Steve Hall. Three of the funnies people ever. This episode will cover all kinds of events and stories with humor and accents. Please do not be offended, it's just what comes out when Steve and I start talking. You will learn about science (Coke Can Cannon), history (marching tours in goose-step), language (nursery rhymes with a "clean" twist), leadership and people. Enjoy!

”Cliff” Clifford - Spirit of 76 - F-15 pilot to Ophthalmologist to Kansas State Legislature

"Cliff" leads off this season 3 with his stories of getting up in the rafters of Mitches to hang spirit banners to flying F-15's in Germany to MedSchool in So Cal to Ophthalmology in Utah (Intern) and Oklahoma (Fellow) to practice in Saudi Arabia to eventually President of Fryeye in Garden City, KS. And of course now he is an acting representative for his district in the State of Kansas and actually running for election as we speak.

Season 3 trailer

Welcome to Season 3 of the podcast.

Fred Gregory - 1964 - Astronaut with 3 Shuttle Missions, 550 Combat SAR missions in Vietnam, Fixed wing & rotary test pilot AFA Distinguished Grad 04 ...

Fred Gregory - 1964 - Astronaut Hall of Fame - 3 Shuttle Missions - 550 Combat SAR missions in Vietnam - Fixed wing and rotary test pilot: AF & USN - AFA Distinguished Grad 04 - and has a Fairchild Hall annex named for him! 
DC native with incredible tales of childhood and how he got to AFA.  Car enthusiast who still drives a Vette. I thououghly enjoyed our chat and  hope to have many more down the road.

Charlie Williams - 1977 (& 76?) - Fighter Pilot, Airline Pilot, High School Forensics and Drama coach/teacher, and Author

This episode you meet Charlie Williams, an F-4 and F-16 pilot on active duty, a Delta pilot for over 18 years, a high school forensics (debate) and drama coach/teacher, and currently published author. Charlie was in 5 squadrons, 5 groups, has 5 Polaris yearbooks, and is working in his 4th career. He is quite the character and has a bunch of wisdom to share.

Andre’ Kerenyi - 1986 - Pilot - Test & Measurement Engineering expert and consultant - MBA & MS -

Andre' lives in Prague on this episode. He gives a very interesting update on current events (spring 2022) and flying activities he is tracking on public sites. his background is as a pilot prior to attending USAFA, and getting deeply involved in several high adrenaline activities as a cadet -- Scuba, Mountaineering, Parachute, and Flying. Was a Pink Panther all four years and double majored in EE and Math. By his own admission was not the greatest military cadet but made it through with grit and determination. On active duty he was a measurement and test plan engineer which he converted into his civilian career of consulting and engineering for semiconductor and other high tech manufacturing OEM's.

Don Hall - Spirit of 76 - Waldo F. Dumbsquat

Lt Col Don Hall grew up an AF brat and served a full career as an Instructor pilot and Safety and Training officer. But his true calling has been writing the Waldo F. Dumbsquat series in Checkpoints for over 40 years. He is still conducting flight safety instruction in Texas for various university and private organizations.

Naviere (Hall) Walkewicz - 1999 - VP Strategy and Business Development: AOG - Fitessentials Owner - Lt Col USAF Reserves - 2019 Ms Veteran American

Naviere has a ton of energy and a wonderful attitude. She grew up an Air Force brat in a family where the dad is a '79 grad and her younger siblings are also grads. While a cadet she created her own PE program (aerobics) to get credits and help keep the AFA football team in shape in the off-season. On active duty she was logistics Transporter of the Year. She also successfully led Howard University to win recruiting branch of the year. She also carried those skills to her Offut, Nebraska recruiting offices where they won several similar awards. This episode covers some neat stories of her cadet days and current activities.