“PROTECTOR OF THE FREE”

Kevin Manley: We had a wonderful time at Ring Weekend. In addition to the scheduled activities, Kevin proposed to his girlfriend and she accepted. He did a takeoff of the “ring Poop” and had his Firstie buddies surround his girlfriend and chant to her, and then he appeared and proposed. It was very emotional and we got it all on videotape. So we have a graduation the first of June nest year, and a wedding two weeks later. I hope he and we survive all of that. Kevin’s Firstie year is going well. He is the Third Regiment’s honor representative and he received the Bronze Star for being in the top 5% of the Corps in his military standing. After much soul-searching he has declared his preference to Branch Infantry. We are really looking forward to his being here during the Christmas holidays with his fiancée.

CLASS OF 2004

“FOR COUNTRY AND CORPS”

Jennifer Barrow: G2, Jennifer was awarded Gator Excellence NCO of the week for her performance as the Community Service NCO. The CFC collection, the Breast Cancer Walk, and refereeing a Civil War reenactment were some of the community activities she helped to coordinate.

She also earned a wreath for having at least a 3.0 average in academics, physical fitness and military grade. She caused a minor stir afterwards by requesting a double check to make sure she was eligible (she was). As a result, her actions are to be cited as a positive example of the spirit of the honor code.

A West Point Speech Team competition gave Jennifer a chance to visit our old stomping grounds- Boston, Massachusetts. She won half of her trials, which is considered a solid performance for a rookie her first time out.

Jennifer’s grades are up, her courses are all in her fields of interest, and she shares a room with two of her best friends. Her life has its challenges, but overall it is a time to be enjoyed.

Aaron Poe: A3, Aaron’s duties as Administrative Sergeant have become more manageable as he has become more efficient with job responsibilities. He says it is still time consuming but more reasonably so. Cow year is very challenging for him and he is handling it. We met him in the Big Apple on Oct. 18^th and spent PPW playing tourists in the big city. Thoroughly enjoyable time was had by all. Headed back to West Point Sunday afternoon and after a late lunch at the

(2004 cont.)

Mexican Restaurant in Highland Falls, Aaron headed to the barracks for studies that awaited him. We spent Monday looking for a place for graduation and were successful. Met our cadet for dinner at Grant Hall and enjoyed seeing some of his classmates and sharing the meal with his roommate. We are looking forward to Thanksgiving and then Army/Navy and shortly thereafter, winter leave. This Cow year is flying by!

Mark Swanson: A1, Mark’s first semester as a Cow has been relatively uneventful. He was awarded the Superintendents Wreath for outstanding Academic, Military and Physical Fitness performance. He is enjoying his major (Environmental Geography) and is “so-so” about his track (Systems Engineering). The highlight of the fall was the trip to Orlando to play in World Cup Paintball (October 24^th-27^th). The family got a chance to see the new format “X-Ball” in action and route for USMA in the intercollegiate division. Much to our surprise, it was a fast paced interesting game with a huge following. The Swanson family brought the carport canopy and lunch and was able to enjoy the company of 12 cadets for a few hours. Later, we joined team, the faculty sponsor (Major Seibert), and the Hall’s for a team dinner-with other parents and Hudson Valley Paintballers, we were about 38 altogether! Mark’s girlfriend, Jessica; and sister Heather were able to Join too! We heard it was 35 degrees in NYJ….We are all looking forward to Thanksgiving leave!

Micah Green: Micah is enjoying taking classes in his major. He finds mechanical engineering to be as hard and time consuming as he expected. He recently went on a field trip to Sikorsky Helicopter, and saw how they
engineer and build Blackhawks. He got to see lots of new generation stuff, and fly the Blackhawk simulator. He said he wasn't very good at flying, but at least he didn't crash. He is the community service officer this semester, and one of his recent projects was a Saturday spent building for Habitat for Humanity. He is looking forward to coming home for Thanksgiving to drive the 1989 Corvette that is awaiting him.

GO ARMY, SINK NAVY!

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