Alumni and Friends of VMI:
Cyber Corps Numbers: 401 (I'm pleased to announce that we recently broke the 400 mark. And the person who is number 400 is none other than my BR David "Salvo" Lape. Quite an honor in anyone's book!!)
Mark Wilson 5K: The Mark Wilson 5K is a tribute race held in Richmond to honor the memory of Mark Wilson '88. Mark was on SEAL team 2 when he was killed during a training exercise. At the time of his death Mark was married and had a 10 week old son. This race was established to start a scholarship for someone attending VMI. This is the 2nd year for this race and it will be held on Saturday, November 1 at Godwin High School in the Richmond area. You can get further details about entry, etc, by contacting Mark's BR Gordy Fox at 800 565-4062. Or you can contact him by e-mail at: hcd@mnsinc.com. Also, you can obtain an entry form and additional details at web site: http://www.erols.com/vmialum/markwilson.html.
I spoke to Gordy Fox the other day to get some additional information. It is his hope that proceeds from this race will eventually accumulate enough to fund a full scholarship for a VMI cadet in Mark's honor. Gordy indicated that they are looking a corporation or corporations to help underwrite the cost of this worthy event. For those who cannot participate or attend, you can send a donation to Gordy Fox at PO Box 4726, Richmond, VA 23220. Checks should be made payable to: Mark Wilson 5K. I urge everyone to seriously consider making a donation to this worthy event in the memory of one of our own who died in the line of duty. Thanks in advance for your participation.
Suspension of Female: As most have probably already heard, the female rat who hit an upperclassman was recently suspended for 2 semesters. She may return next year and enter the rat line again if she desires. In looking at some of the newspaper reports it's noteworthy that her father, an Army Chief Warrant Officer, said that VMI handled the matter appropriately. The Executive Committee recommended the suspension and it was approved by the administration. It's interesting to note that the female rat in question was the first class president's dyke.
Keydet Football: Keydets fell to Wofford by the score of 23-13 last weekend. I think we play William and Mary this weekend.
Meantime Down South at The Citadel: A couple things to report about down at The Citadel:
1) One of the two female rats who quit last year has filed
suit against The Citadel in
federal court. In her suit she alleges that the college permitted
a hostile environ-
ment that prevented her from getting an education. She is suing
for monetary
damages.
2) One of The Citadel's two sophomore female cadets was
counseled after she
made an inappropriate comment to a male knob (rat). Supposedly
during the
first week of class she caught a male knob looking at her and she
said, "What
are you looking at" You want to date me?" She was later
counseled for making
a comment the was "not appropriate or professional."
Editorial Note Here From Me: "Huh?"
More Happenings at VMI:
1) The Military Science Department has returned TACs to the hill.
They will serve as
TACs only (as opposed to serving as OCs). And, yes, TACs do spend
the night
in barracks.
2) As has been the case in the past several years, there are
no stick checks in
barracks. All members of the Corps must be accounted for at Taps.
There are
bed checks after Taps and the bone for running the block have
apparently gotten
much tougher.
3) I recently learned that each military department at VMI
established its own leader-
ship and organizational structure that is separate and distinct
from Corps
structure. For example, you could have someone who is a first
class private in the
Corps but who holds rank in the separate structure. I spoke to
some folks about
this and they indicate this is probably the case because it
enables a greater
number of VMI cadets to acquire leadership experience and this
comes in handy
when our grads are competing for the dwindling number of regular
commissions.
Comment From Potential Future Cadet: I was reading some of the more recent Electronic Turnouts posted on the Alumni web site. If you've been following these, you've noticed that some of the postings have gotten rather heated. One turnout posted by an alumnus indicated that his son had been reading the turnouts and had not been too impressed by what he'd seen. Apparently, the young man said, "Dad, with the exception with you, are all alumni assholes, or just the ones with computers?" Hmmm....this gives me pause. I may have to start producing updates via the pen and quill method.
Looking for Electrical Contractors, etc.: Kevin Leary '85 e-mails that he's looking for some VMI men that are electrical contractors or consulting electrical engineers in the Richmond area. You can contact Kevin at 908-791-1120 or drop him an e-mail at KLeary@aol.com. Apparently he's looking for some help pronto.
Comments on SMI: I asked for participant comments on SMI (Southern Military Institute). The respond was largely negative. "Half-baked idea" was one of the more printable comments I received. Of course, one person did comment that the idea of a Christian school was an interesting one. They did remind me of a comment made a number of years ago which was something like: "Christianity is a great concept. Now if only someone would try it." Well said.
The Final Word: One final word on the female who was recently suspended. Gen Bunting was quoted as saying, "Man bites dog. There's all this miasma of gender-military issues, and here's a place where it was a woman who challenged the system. I think the executive committee did exactly right."
"miasma" (according to Webster's Collegiate Dictionary): a noxious influence or atmosphere. (all you Scrabble players can thank me later)
That's it for this week.
Yours in the Spirit,
RB Lane '75
Last Updated: October 11, 2009
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