Jim Walsh talks about his journey from West Point, to the Army, to senior leadership in the State Department. He fought off the Talaban, drug cartels and cancer in his 35+ year career. He talks about being the middle child of 3 West Pointers, and the emotional toll of career transitions. Co Hosted by companymate Jay DeJarnett and Norm Litterini. 

Tôi đã cuộc sống giấc mơ Mỹ. - translated from Vietnamese to English means "I have lived the American Dream" Hung Nguyen’s indomitable spirit has carried him through life—from escaping the fall of Saigon to currently confronting his battle with liver cancer. His journey is inspiring. You can view the youtube version of this at this link:   https://youtu.be/Nq5cYa45i8E

Fellow D-1 Ducks Tom Blake and Kevin Kearns fondly remember our fall classmate Brian Kleyensteuber who passed away April 23rd, 2025.  Tom, Kevin and Brian all branched engineers and became members of the small but mightly community of US Army Divers. Tom and Kevin reflect on the great loss to our class of one of the most cerebral, physically fit, and spiritual members of our class. 

Steve Havel (B1) talks about the challenges of fatherhood and supporting family members with addiction and substance abuse problems. Steve's bravery is discussing this important topic will undoubtedly be of service to some members of our class. 

In this repeat episode, we revisit with Mark and Holly West who are our local West Point ambassadors. We hear about their passion for serving the community of West Point and Highland Falls with their exciting venture Westy's - Where Craft Meets Community.

In this episode, co-host and companymate Tony Wizner joins John Cook as he shares his remarkable life journey. From his roots in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, to his time at prep school, West Point, and his distinguished 30-year Army career, John offers an inspiring look into his experiences. Together, we explore the high points of his service, as well as the profound challenges of losing soldiers in combat. John also reflects on the incredible support he received from fellow classmate Doug Winton, who helped shoulder the burdens of war. John Cook is a true example of a selfless warrior and leader, facing trauma with bravery and resilience.   Sign up for our mini-reunion in Denver. link below for hotel block for mini reunion in Denver from Aug 21-24, 2025 Thursday:golf, and cocktail reception Friday: hike and party at Pat Kerns Saturday: white water rafting, Coors tour, dinner at cactus club Limited rooms in the block, book early https://bookings.omnihotels.com/event/denver-interlocken/west-point-reunion-main

Reflections on OGP and Intentions moving Forward.  Name of deceased GraduateCompanyProject Leader Michael A. Aguilar F4 Shannon D. Beebe I3 Timothy H. Burnham E2 Andrew F. Clements A4 Kimberly L. Daffern B3 Russell A. Davidson E4 Anthony J. Detoto A3 Kenneth A. Evans H3 Carl T. Every E2 Todd D. Farrington B3 Peter C. Graff H2 Janet M. Greco Gibson C4 Joseph B. Gudenburr F2 Michael J. Haas I2 William F. Hecker B3 Timothy B. Hoskinson I3 Jenifer L. Kelley H3 Yu S. Kim C3 William J. Love B4 Shawn D. Maxie 0 Thomas A. McTigue D2 John P. Rann I3 Robert R. Soto F2 Steven E. Yost B4 John J. Tiner D2 William F. Van Mullen G1 Eric J. Dejong I4 Lennis S. Lammers A4 Aaron R. Pogue H1 David C. Reardon B2 Keith T. Melinson C1 Mark A. Wildermuth D3 Paul J. Haggerty I2 Howard M. Slee E3                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Dede and Brian met at Beast in 1987 while in the same India Company for Cadet Basic Training. After our yearling year, Brian left to complete a mission with Church of Latter-Day Saints while Dede finished with our class. Today they are stationed at West Point and Brian is the Deputy Department Head for History.  We talk about their faith-filled journey while serving our country. 

In this episode we talk about Jason Marquith's journey from barely being 17 years old as a plebe at West Point to a lifetime of service to the Nation. We talk about the unique experience he had transporting his father across the country to meet his great granddaughter for the first time in his final days. 

Mark Livesay was joined by fellow company mate Norine D'Arcy Walker. We talk about the great experience in company Happy 2 and reminisce about barracks antics they called "Capers." Mark leads a team of people at Google and his internal bio reads as follows: Helping awesome people do amazing things for the best possible reasons Mark’s tried about every fun job [and a couple that weren’t] in aerospace and auto manufacturing, businessoutsourcing, and financial services. And now, he’s giving technology a try. He's built airplanes, acquisition strategies, communication plans, submarines, customer relationships, corporate business strategies,market segments, pickup trucks, integrated supply chains, mission statements, annual reports, user experiences, spaceships, anddefensive fighting positions. During that time, he’s also created training curricula, career planning tools, executive succession plans, professional and personaldevelopment programs, as well as personal branding strategies for senior executives. People and culture are what make great thingsgreat, and it starts with connecting to a vision and purposeful path. Prior to going all corporate, Mark ran around the woods and blew stuff up as a U.S. Army field artillery officer. He barely graduated from the U.S. Military Academy with a B.S. in leadership studies and has an MBA from Notre Dame. Mark enjoys time with family, anything triathlon or open water, writing about himself in third person, and irony. October 1st, 2024 Healthy Leaders Call Topic: Healthy Leader Class of '91Time: 7pmET Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/85182019860 Meeting ID: 851 8201 9860One tap mobile+13017158592,,85182019860# US (Washington DC)+13126266799,,85182019860# US (Chicago)   Sign up for Class Tailgate on October 19th, 2024 - Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/usma-class-of-1991-football-weekend-tickets-970995693257?utm_experiment=test_share_listing&aff=ebdsshios&fbclid=IwY2xjawFht5tleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHcR3vSdirZaMs7h9mvDNqCQtDFD_-7Ssxtev4L8kaXvtfZvtlWh9Muw15w_aem__PC09fRo2Yek4OkV6ij-2w

Dave Dadich joined by fellow Hog co-host John Cook.  We talk about living every day like it could be your last.  Sign up for our class tailgate: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/usma-class-of-1991-football-weekend-tickets-970995693257

Tony served 30 years in the Army and retired at the rank of Colonel. He was commissioned as an Armor officer and then transitioned into acquisitions following his company grade time. He supported special operations command in that capacity which included multiple deployments in some unique situations. 

Mark Cramer commissioned FA upon graduation and served in Hawaii after attending DLI for Turkish. After the Army, he went to B-School at Thunderbird (U-Arizona) and worked in technology for a number of years before transitioning to residential real estate where he works with his wife Lisa. They have two children and reside in Denver - the location of our next mini-reunion. The first 20 minutes are a fun AAR with the Wests as we recap the recent mini-reunion in Lexington Kentucky. 

Ron Lukow served 26 years in the Army as an aviator. In this podcast, he chronicles his journey from growing up in Mattoon Illinois (the youngest of five children in a military family) to West Point, the Army, and now at BAE Systems. He and his wife Kathy reside in Northern Virginia and have 2 children. Ron talks about highlights of his Army career including as commander of Task Force Comanche where he received the highest aviation honor the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroic actions under fire. 

Brian Turner serves as the Associate Deputy Director of the FBI. He details his story from humble beginnings on the South Side of Chicago to becoming the 2nd most senior official in the FBI today.  Despite his meteoric rise through the ranks of our government, BT remains true to his roots and lives by his Leadership Philosophy: Character, Competence, and Empathy - all values that were instilled in him at West Point and in the Army. 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OuArapr-keE5JtpyPZ3e7bp-fnSPO60s__QrM_IMba0/edit   Class of 91 Mini Reunion Lexington KY 18-21 April 2024  Marriott Lexington Griffin Gate Golf Resort & Spa 1800 Newtown Pike Lexington, Kentucky 40511   Critical Links: Hotel Room Block: Activity Sign Up Link:  What’s App Commo Link   Agenda:   Thursday 18 April: 10:00am Golf ($90 pp) or spa (book appts on your own) 6:00 Welcome cocktail party at Hotel ($125pp)   Friday 19 April: 10:30 am: Keeneland Races ($25pp ) ( https://www.keeneland.com/) 6:30 pm Dinner at Malones (https://bluegrasshospitality.com/malones/) ($125pp) Bus transportation for the day ($60pp)   Saturday 20 April 10:00 Bourbon Tour ($200pp) Evening (dinner on your own) Downtown lexington is pretty cool (https://www.lexingtondistillerydistrict.com/attractions)   You have 4 ways to pay. If you need Holly’s cell number, it is 270.304.7221 Venmo (hollywest1991) Zelle (holly.f.west@gmail.com) Paypal (hollywest91) Check -->PO Box 163 Fort Montgomery, NY 10922 Update your file with AOG, Log in Here: https://alumni.westpointaog.org/login   Holly  270.304.7221 Mark  270.304.7196 Jamie 732.690.4331  

Chuck served 30 years of active duty following graduation from West Point and retired as a Colonel. He now works as counsel for The Defense Threat Reduction Agency. DTRA is both a defense agency and a combat support agency within the United States Department of Defense for countering weapons of mass destruction and supporting the nuclear enterprise. Chuck takes us through his 30-year Army career and highlights points of wisdom and leadership he learned along the way. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife Renee and they have two young adult children Madeline and Zachary. 

Chris Hartley, formerly a law department professor at West Point, retired from active duty after his last assignment there. He is currently serving as a company tactical officer at the Citadel in Charleston, SC, where he finds immense fulfillment in shaping tomorrow's leaders through his role.

On this call we have Ted Russ, Andy Iliff, Major General Jim Isenhower, Mr. Iliff Senior, Ron Massey and Holly West all sharing their stories of stealing the goat.