5 Longhorn Airman

AFROTC DETACHMENT 825—THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

Longhorn Airmen Receive Appreciation & Support in Houston

During Veterans Day weekend, members of Texas Silver Wings and Arnold Air Society traveled to Houston, Texas to attend the annual Regional Conclave. During this visit, the attending members had the opportunity to listen and speak with the Apollo 13 Space Flight Director, Mr. Gene Kranz! His experiences and story of how Apollo 13's mission was executed and how all passengers arrived back on Earth was inspiring to all those who heard it during the banquet on November 12, 2011. Along with the honor of hearing Mr. Kranz speak, the Region IX conclave, ASTROCON, was named "the best" conclave in the Nation! Congratulations to Region and Area IX Silver Wings and Arnold-Air Society for participating in such a great event! You represented the Longhorn Airmen well. ~Andrea Collins

the LONGHORN AIRMAN

Gene Krantz and members of the John Payne chapter of Arnold Air Society and Silver Wings

THUDs Do It Again at The DFW Mud Run!

The morning started out like any Saturday morning: a honey barbeque chicken strip sandwich, large fries and a Powerade at 8am. For Sean Zarsky, though, it was a little bit healthier route: hot apple pie and chocolate milkshake—the breakfast of champions. This was the start to a THUDs tradition: the Dallas Fort-Worth Mud Run. This is a 10k race through mud and obstacles that are designed by members of the Marine Corps; no challenge for THUDs. The THUDs tradition is not only to go to the race and have fun, but to win. Alongside Eric Canales, Isaac Ramirez, W+9 and Sean Zarsky, I stood ready to reclaim our title as the champions. In spring 2011, we ran the race and lost by seconds to the Marine Recon team from A&M- a sad loss. However, the director of the race told us that if we came back in the fall and defeated their team, he would come to Austin and throw a party at his expense for Det 825. This motivated us even more to go back out there and kick butt. As we were warming up, getting ready to prove ourselves, we realized and are told that the A&M Recon team did not show up…we were extremely disappointed and could only scoff at their absence. But the challenge was not at all absent. Up ahead stood a team of a couple Navy SEALs and BUD/s candidates. Now we were even more fired up; we had a chance to prove ourselves to men of comparable toughness. The guns fired and the race began. Our deliciously healthy food fueled us to run our first mile in 6:00 flat—that’s with boots and pants. We were in no way going to slide back. We stayed right on the heels of the SEALs and began picking them off, passing them, one by one as the race progressed. As we neared the end of the race, we were nearly in a full-out sprint and only had two SEALs team members to pass. Unfortunately, the two ahead of us reached the end before us, but upon crossing the finish line as a team with arms interlocked, we realized we had just won. The only way your time can count is if you finish as a team (within 15 seconds of each other). So the first two SEALs to reach the end had to wait another 5 minutes before the rest of their team reached the end. We talked with them afterwards and they congratulated us on getting first place in our division, with a finishing time of 1:07:00. The only time that was faster than ours was put in by a man from the single male competitor race. Reclaiming the trophy and taking home several new medals, THUDs reminded Dallas-Fort Worth what it means to truly be a warrior.

~Taylor Hale

March30 - 31 FTX at Ft Hood

April4 -6 President’s Cup13 Dining-Out at Alumni Center14 Field Day at Baylor19 CW/CC Board21 Paintball24 PFA for POC; QFR for Commissionees28 Parade/Open House, Change of Command

May1 PFA for GMC1 Awards Day (LLAB)3 Corps Video (LLAB)4 County Line on the Lake Couch Stories11 Senior Send-Off, CC’s house18 1000 Commissioning @ Capitol 1500 Joint CommissioningTHUDs Isaac Ramirez, Sean Zarsky, Taylor Hale, Caribbean Wawrzyniak, and Eric Canales:

Best of the Best....again.

Longhorn Airman 6

AFROTC DETACHMENT 825—THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

the LONGHORN AIRMANTri-Service Beatdown

It all started early on a Tuesday morning with the Warrior Mile--a one mile run with buddy carries, jerry cans, litter carries, and ammo box presses that was a test of strength, speed, and endurance for the seven participants. Obviously, Air Force won. But we didn't just win, we dominated. We finished almost five minutes before Army or Navy. This was a recurring theme throughout this Fall semester's Tri-Service Games. In five out of six events, Det 825 was first place. We flew around the track on the one and a half mile relay. We cranked out hundreds of pushups. We set, bumped, and spiked like nobody's business in volleyball. And, of course, we didn't forget the 5 D's of dodgeball. On the final day of the games, all three services came together for a warrior run chock full of jodies, camaraderie, and esprit de corps before the results were officially announced. However, to achieve our ultimate goal of winning the Tri-Service Cup, the Longhorn Airmen will have to repeat their unrelentingly dominant performance in the Spring. This is no small task, but one that is certainly within our grasp. Air Power!

~ Caribbean Wawrzyniak

Medal of Honor Recipient Army Staff Sgt. Salavatore “Sal” Giunta

Detachment 825 had the honor of attending Army ROTC’s leadership class with Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sergeant Salvadore “Sal” Giunta. Sergeant Giunta, a very humble man who prefers to be addressed as Sal, received America’s highest decoration for valor for his actions in the war in Afghanistan which included running into enemy fire to retrieve a wounded comrade being dragged away by two insurgents. Before becoming the first living recipient of the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War, Sal was a Subway employee in Iowa with no intentions of joining the military until he met with an Army recruiter. He was sold at the moment he realized he could make a difference now, in the immediate future; he enlisted as an Airborne Infantryman. With intense passion and the most dignified demeanor, Sal gave leadership advice every cadet should adhere to. He started with how events will change your life. When he received his medal, he knew his life changed. He accepted it for his comrades who had “valiantly and selflessly signed a blank check, offering their most valuable assets in order to protect our country – their lives.” Sal became the face of everyone he represented and he knew he was going to be watched every day. As a leader, our every move and impression will be under scrutiny whether we are in a professional setting or not because the strongest thing we can lead with is our credibility. A great leader leads from the front, but also has empathy for the well-being of her troops and makes them her priority. He gains and maintains respect by giving his best effort and more with a credibility one would never doubt. Sal exemplifies all a great soldier and American should be; he is a wingman, leader, and a warrior. ~Rebecca Kim

Longhorn Airmen model the new Detachment event uniforms. Det 825 would like to thank Mr. Mike

Cooper for the donation from the Maj Chris Cooper Excellence Fund.

Cadet Wing CC Brandon Stout presents Det 825 goodies to Dr Hans Mark, former Secretary of the

Air Force

Longhorn Airman tradition: Presenting the colors and singing the National Anthem at the Longhorn

Baseball season openerAIM HIGH! FLY! FIGHT! WIN!

7 Longhorn Airman

AFROTC DETACHMENT 825—THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

the LONGHORN AIRMAN

My First Combat Dining-In So, there I was, a new cadet at my first combat dining-in. It was social hour and everywhere you looked cadets were playing soccer, frisbee, and football. The Stout Cup volleyball tournament was also going on. The GMC flights, POC flights, cadre, and a two-man underdog team of AS700s were all competing for the coveted Stout Cup trophy. It was an exciting series of games to watch. The underdogs absolutely crushed the competition and made their way to the finals. However, despite the underdogs' fierce efforts, they still lost to the cadre who claimed victory in the tournament. Tired and hungry after an action-packed social hour, we cadets began to look for something to fill our stomachs with. Mouthwatering barbecue had been provided for dinner. We gracefully toasted and gave thanks to the powers above us and quickly began to indulge in what was on our plates. While we ate, there were a number of unfortunate folks who were called to sip the grog. No one was safe. The cadre, cadets, and even our guest speaker had to drink from that vile concoction. Luckily I did not, but I imagine it must have tasted something like Satan's bath water. After dinner, our guest speaker, Major Mary Jennings Hegar, shared her experience as a CSAR helicopter pilot with us. In her presentation she played footage of a real combat experience while flying a mission. She finished her presentation with a moral lesson concerning integrity. She stressed that in any job, even if you are not the ranking person, it is imperative you have the confidence and integrity to call out any safety transgression; it could mean the difference between saving or losing lives. Weeks before combat dining-in I had doubts about my choice to be in ROTC, but after dining-in I felt content with my decision. Major Hegar's inspiring presentation and the evening's camaraderie were encouraging. After having attended combat dining-in I look forward to the rest of my time with Detachment 825. ~ Michael Campos

Kevin Stout points at the hole in the ozone Brandon “Guns” Stout intimidates the competition Maj Mary Jennings Hegar addresses the corps.

Team Cadre gloat over their Stout cup win.Just wait till next year....

Fall 2011 Cadet Wing CC Amela Kamencic, Col Staha, Maj Hegar and Cadet Victoria Carrillo

Longhorn Airman 8

AFROTC DETACHMENT 825—THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

the LONGHORN AIRMAN

The Longhorn Airman is published four times a year; it is not an official publication of the USAF, AFROTC or The University of Texas at Austin; the opinions ex-pressed in this publication do not represent any of these entities. No state or federal funds were used to print this newsletter. The Longhorn Airman was created with Adobe InDesign & PhotoShop software. ~Nan Bradford-Reid, Editor

Warrior Week

Warrior week is nonstop competition among the flights of Detachment 825. The fall 2011 flights were Alpha, Bravo, Foxtrot, and Mike. These friendly competitions occurred during Physical Training (PT) in the morning and Leadership Laboratory (LLAB) in the afternoon. The competitions included games of all sorts, such as sprints, relays, ultimate frisbee, soccer, tug of war, and many more. Alpha Flight jumped out to an early lead, winning the sprint challenges in back-to-back, close races. That lead was quickly diminished by all the other flights, led by Mike flight in the succeeding competitions. Alpha Flight held the lead late into the games, and things got really intense as we rounded the corner to the home stretch. The two final competitions were soccer and the flight shield competition. It came down to the wire, soccer was a close one with Alpha Flight edging out the win in PKs for maximum points. It was so close after the entire week that the flight shields ended up being the deciding contest. After some intense deliberation amongst the POC, Mike Flight’s impressive shield was named the champion. After the week was all said and done Mike Flight came out victorious followed closely by Alpha, Foxtrot and Bravo respectively. It was a hard fought week full of determination, each cadet doing their part to elevate their flight to the top of the podium. Mike Flight might have won this semester, but the good news is, next semester we get to do it all over again!

~ Ryan Sutten

B-29 in Austin!

On Saturday 22 Oct and Sunday 23 Oct, Longhorn Airmen cadets were lucky enough to have a unique experience volunteering with “Fifi,” the last flying B-29 operated by the Commemorative Air Force. It was a great experience to be able to see, hear, and even feel the vintage B-29, a still living and flying piece of history. Although most of the day was spent helping to direct riders and visitors as well as selling souvenirs such as authentic Fifi skin and spark plugs, one very lucky cadet, Stephanie O’Harris, managed to secure a seat on the B-29. Though it was a bumpy ride, she came out of it with an inspired sense of having been part of a historical moment. Overall, the Commemorative Air Force staff truly appreciated our work and even promised to save seats for Detachment 825 cadets the next time Fifi rolled around Austin!

~Rufei Wang

Where’s Mort?

Cadre and cadets manned the Physical Challenge stations at UT’s Explore UT

Name that aircraft.□ F-101 Voodoo□ F-86 Sabre□ F-5 Freedom Fighter