February 24, 2005

From: Ralph V. Buck, USNA 1958

To: Classmates of the GREAT Class of 1958

Subject: A Link in the Chain

The attached article is a result of an idea that sprang simultaneously from the minds of two Alumni, one from the Class of 1958 (me) and the other from the Class of 2004 (Kristen Murdock). My wife and I met Kristen after one of the Navy football games last fall, when we ventured into the "Black Market" shop in Annapolis. Ens. Murdock was moonlighting there as a highly knowledgeable sales clerk (one can only wonder at the size of her wardrobe <grin>. Her regular duty was in the Commandant’s discipline office while waiting for a Fleet School Seat. We quickly found many common points of interest, apart from the obvious, and I found she had been Head Cheerleader and was from the 18^th Company (the company we sponsored). She remembered our class well: evidently we are well known to all Mids. I asked her if she might consider keeping us informed of her career events and the following article is the first installment. I encourage you to write her and carry on the GREAT tradition of welcome and outreach for which our class is known. She can be reached at: prezkm2004@yahoo.com

By Ens. Kristen Murdock, USNR, USNA 2004, 18^th Company

When I was first asked by Ralph Buck to write an article for the Class of ‘58 website, I was apprehensive about what to write. I didn’t know if I had anything to contribute three months after graduating from the Academy in May. But since then, I’ve come across so many stories from my classmates about their lives out in the "real world," I realized that our careers have started, and maybe I do have something to write about.

In January of last year, I found out that I would be a Naval Flight Officer. I was so excited; flying was all I wanted to do out of the Academy. In a strange (and at the time – unwanted) twist of fate, I found out the day before graduation that I wouldn’t be flying. I received a billet for Naval Intelligence the following week. I stayed in Annapolis until November, working in the Conduct Office and was an assistant coach for the cheerleading team. I definitely learned a lot in both positions; it was interesting to see how my peers and teammates viewed me since graduation. In August, I got my orders to go to Intelligence School, and in November, reported to Virginia Beach.

It is now the middle of February, and I will graduate from school two months from today. Myself and two other classmates from the Academy, Brendan Looney – a standout lacrosse player who helped Navy to the championship round against Syracuse, and Holly Siebel – the pitcher on the Navy Women’s Softball Team, national champions for 2004, have gotten our follow-on assignments. Brendan will be going to South Korea on a remote assignment before he returns to Virginia Beach to be the Intel officer for SEAL Team 10. Holly is heading to Whidbey Island to work with a ground-based Prowler squadron. Out of the 11 people in our class who needed assignments, only three of us got our first choice in regards to job type and location. I happened to be one of them. After I am done with Intel school, I’ll go to a Joint Targeting School here in Virginia Beach, and then will head out to Lemoore, CA to meet up with VFA-154, a former F-14 squadron which has been converted to an F/A-18 squadron.

I can’t help but be nervous, but I can’t imagine that all of my classmates who have already reported to their ships or training squadrons feel any differently. Particularly since every one of us knows what is at stake. During our Firstie year, we had begun to hear stories from grads who had been out in the fleet – and didn’t know if they would be staying. It’s no secret that the Navy is slimming down across the board - all recent grads, as well as current midshipmen, are hearing that there are entirely too many junior officers. I was one of the lucky ones who were re-designated into a different community. For many of my classmates, particularly those in Pensacola, it has been a situation of "Thanks for playing, but we just don’t need you right now." I now have friends who, instead of following their dreams and flying, are working at Target, Pizza Hut, or bartending to make ends meet. With an attrition rate in API and Primary which grows with each class’s start-up date, the Class of 2005 must not be very comfortable with the increasing standard with which the Navy has left us. Even friends who are SWOs have been told that instead of a five year commitment, they could be released in as early as three years. As we face a continuing war in Iraq, possible conflicts with Iran and North Korea, the possible decommissioning of another aircraft carrier, as well as multiple aircraft being phased out in favor of others that haven’t even been built yet, I can’t help but wonder, where do we go when the job stability we thought came with an Academy diploma isn’t there anymore?

Very Respectfully,

Ens. Kristen Murdock, USNR, USNA 2004, 18^th Company