Military Alumni

Military High School Alumni

Honoring Our Heroes

This area is dedicated to our alumni that have served or are serving in our armed forces!

Lost Class Rings

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Honored Military Alumni

Allen Trembath
Allen Trembath
Class of 1977
Marine Corps, 10 Years

E-7
Demolition & E.O.D. Expert
Arthur Schnoor
Arthur Schnoor
Class of 1964
Marine Corps, 3 Years

Artillery, Vietnam in ‘67
Cecil Stout
Cecil Stout
Class of 1973
Marine Corps, 25 Years

Private, Gunnery Sergeant, Chief Warrant Officer, Vietnam, Grenada, Lebanon, Kuwait and Somalia.
charles * skip* gilleland
charles * skip* gilleland
Class of 1970
Air Force, 3 Years

Jet engine mechanic assigned to B52 bombers & Kc 135 transport planes assigned to airforce 1
Charles R. Hamilton
Charles R. Hamilton
Class of 1964
Army, 20+ Years

Went from E-1 to E-6 and then 01 to 04. Worked in Human Resources, Computers (programming and operations), Counter Int., Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery. Enjoyed it all and had the opportunity to see most of the world.
Charlie Drown
Charlie Drown
Class of 1958
Navy, 4 Years

Served aboard destroyer in the western pacific
Dan Greenley
Dan Greenley
Class of 1967
National Guard, 6 Years

served 6 years in wyo. air national guard (when regular military refused to take me because of a heart murmer) during Vietnam war war. The first 2 years I served as a fire protection crash rescue specialist, and the last 4 years I was an electrician. I was a staff sergeant when I got out in 1972. Even though I could not serve in the Active duty I was proud to serve support to Vietnam in the service of my country.
David Jones
David Jones
Class of 1967
Army, 11 Years

Counter Intelligence, Hawk Missile Mechanic, and Avionics Technician and other duties as assigned.
David L. Hubbard
David L. Hubbard
Class of 1965
Navy, 20+ Years

RETIRED CHIEF STOREKEEPER
David Lewis Barlow
David Lewis Barlow
Class of 1964
Army, 3 Years

1966-1969, Vietnam Veteran
Donald J. Etnier
Donald J. Etnier
Class of 1967
Army, 4 Years

I joined after high school and was placed in military intelligence...generally referred to as an oxymoron! July 4th 1968 arrived in Saigon and eventually stationed in Phu Bai. One year later I went to southern Japan for two years.
I think the hardest part of Viet Nam was coming home. I joined out of patriotism but arrived home and was despised. Something our country has forgotten is that over 100,000 returning Viet Nam vets have committed suicide.
Doug Cortez
Doug Cortez
Class of 1972
Navy, 5 Years

Medic in the navy. Served on the U.S.S. James Monroe SSBN622(submarine). Attached to marines serving 16 mos. Viet Nam. Senior Corpsman at Oakland Naval Hospital where I was honorably discharded after 5 yrs. service.
Doug Hemler
Doug Hemler
Class of 1974
Air Force Reserves, 22 Years

Served 11 years active in the Army Medical Corps and 11 years in the Air Force Reserve as a Flight Surgeon. Retired in 2014 with rank of Colonel.
Everett Maynard
Everett Maynard
Class of 1998
Air Force, 6 Years

F-16 Crew Chief
Stations: Hill AFB Utah, Osan AFB S. Korea, Luke AFB Arizona
Served in War on Terror at Beni Suef Egypt immediately after Twin Towers Fell. God Bless America!
Frederic A Parker
Frederic A Parker
Class of 1967
Marine Corps, 20+ Years

USMC 1969-1991
Jakob Z. Norman
Jakob Z. Norman
Class of 1994
Army, 20+ Years

Air Force 1994-1996
Army 1996 - Present

Jobs: Transportation/Medic/Infantryman/Judge Advocate General

OIF Deployment: 115th Fires Brigade, Command Judge Advocate
OEF Deployment: Afghan Prosecution Liaison
James Poulin
James Poulin
Class of 1965
Army, 3 Years

Construction Surveyor. Served in Vietnam from May 1969 to May 1970. Honorable Discharge.
Jim Judge
Jim Judge
Class of 1963
Army, 4 Years

Four years Army Security Agency (ASA) 1965-1969
Lee C Dunlap
Lee C Dunlap
Class of 1955
Army, 20+ Years

Active Duty 1955 - 1977 most of it in Special Forces. DOD civilian 1980 -2001 retired from the US Special Operations Command at MacDill AFB Fl. Reside in the Brandon/Riverview area presently...
Lt. Col. Don Axlund
Lt. Col. Don Axlund
Class of 1987
National Guard, 17 Years

Barrasso reunites with patient in Afghanistan

by Carol Crump
Wednesday, March 26, 2008 9:45 AM MDT

Wyoming's junior senator went to Afghanistan to check out the health care available for the troops fighting in Operation Enduring Freedom.

During his visit, U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., hoped to see one of the 17 Wyoming National Guard members serving there. He didn't expect to find a former patient, Lt. Col. Don Axlund.

The senator's visit to Kabul had the same purpose as his Thanksgiving visit to Baghdad.

"As a doctor, I wanted to see our injured warriors got first-class care," he said.

The U.S. contingent of the NATO forces in Afghanistan currently numbers 28,000, the largest representation from the 35 countries that make up the multinational force.

Barrasso said the Wyoming Guard has received notification of training for a 2009 deployment that likely will put more of them in Afghanistan next year.
*

Barrasso, along with Sen. David Vitter, R-La., and Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert Wood, visited Kabul and the Russian-built air base north of that city in Bagram that houses the hospital.

The full-scale trauma hospital includes an emergency room, operating rooms that Barrasso visited and an intensive care unit.

"They had the equipment you would want: a CT scanner, operating room, the same as Wyoming Medical Center," Barrasso said.

During his tour of the air base that is the most modern city in Afghanistan, Barrasso was re-acquainted with Axlund, a former athlete from Natrona County High School.

Don's father, George, was in his garage, working on fishing lures, when the phone rang at 10:30 p.m. on a Tuesday. The call was from Barrasso, who was having breakfast with Don in Afghanistan.

Barrasso's last contact with Axlund was in high school, when he operated on the teen's broken hand.

"We were very touched by his (Barrasso's) doing that," said Marlene Axlund, Don's mother. "It was uplifting for the guys to have him over there."

Don's job

The Axlunds' oldest son grew up in Casper, graduating from NCHS in 1987 and the University of Wyoming in 1991. The 38-year-old helped pay his college expenses with a summer lawn service.

He received a regular commission in the Air Force from President George H.W. Bush because of his college record in ROTC.

Married to Amanda, with a daughter, also Amanda, the senior pilot is assigned to the Pentagon as chief of air missions planning.

In that role, he coordinates all of the airlift support requirements for the most senior government and Department of Defense officials, including the president and vice president.

Marlene said a March 18 visit to Kabul by Vice President Dick Cheney involved Don's advance work.

For the last 4-1/2 months, the senior pilot has set aside flying for an assignment in Kabul, developing training, leadership and readiness assessment programs for the Afghan National Police.

The program is a new initiative by the Afghan Interior Ministry to improve policing in Afghanistan, district by district, according to an e-mail from the lieutenant colonel.

"Our purpose is to develop an effective, well-organized and professional police force loyal to the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan," he said.

In a country where 85 percent of the population has no electricity or plumbing, there are few roads and 82 percent are illiterate, Don is getting an "education he didn't expect," Marlene said.

Her son has an interpreter for Dhari, the main language of Afghanistan. Most of the communication is verbal, in a language that uses the same word for hand and the whole length of the arm from the fingers to the elbow.

"We commend Sen. Barrasso for going over there to get a first-hand experience of what they need," George said.

"We're proud of our son, but all the others too. They all deserve a lot of credit."

A letter from Kabul

Excerpts from an e-mail from Lt. Col. Don Axlund::

"Progress is being made, but challenges remain politically, as shortfalls exist primarily in manpower from our NATO/Coalition partners; this concern is presently being addressed and corrected by senior leadership.

The Afghan illiteracy rate is exceptionally high (between 70-75%), thus training the locals under traditional methodologies is exceptionally difficult. Many don't understand the basics of counting, street signs, even fuel gauges in a vehicle or generator, much less the complexities
of modern community policing.

War and oppressive regimes have prevented a community policing program in Afghanistan for many decades, but we're working diligently to develop one through Focused District Development (FDD).

“FDD leverages resources to create concentrated conditions for development within selected districts (and over time, the entire country), improving Rule of Law and domestic law and order by reforming, training, equipping the police.

Additional FDD projects focus on developing infrastructure, such as wells, buildings, community centers, governance facilities, banking structures, and transportation, to name a few.

Afghan personal loyalties tend to lie with tribal affiliations instead of within religion or traditional forms of nationalism; however, Coalition efforts are slowly changing this situation to develop pride in Afghan nationalism.

I believe that as the next generation of more educated Afghans mature and grow into power away from the ravages of war, sizable results in the democratic process will most certainly be
realized--and at a much greater pace.

Our work and success here now are essential to ensuring our children are not fighting these same battles in future years."
Ned Scholz
Ned Scholz
Class of 1949
Air Force, 4 Years

During Korean War was attached to the first Marine Div, I was in the 1st Shoran Beacon Unit from July 1951 until end of June 1952
Nicholas Silveira
Nicholas Silveira
Class of 2008
Air Force, 2 Years

In military
Peter Harris
Peter Harris
Class of 1992
Army, 15 Years

Served as a mechanic (63B) in 461st Eng Co, then D btry 144 ADA at Ft Hood, TX. Went to Korea with 501st MI and then to Ft. Lewis, WA. Joined the Wyoming National Guard and made two trips to the middle east.
Philip Young
Philip Young
Class of 2008
Army, 4 Years

12B1P. Airborne Combat Engineer.
Fort Bragg, NC
OIF X & OND
Richard L. Meester
Richard L. Meester
Class of 1997
Navy, 14 Years

Joined the Navy in November of 1997 a few months after high school. I went in as an AS which is Aviation Support Equipment Technician...basically a diesel engine mechanic. From boot camp in the winter I ventured to Florida for school for 6 months. I wound up being stationed in Virginia Beach for 2 years. I transferred to my first ship USS Bataan in September 2000-september 2004. I went on 3 cruises in a 4 year span. Joined the fighting efforts during Operation Enduring Freedom and operation Iraqi Freedom. Those were the longest 7.5 months and 5.5 months of my life. From there I went back to oceana to work on turbine engines then found my calling working with diesel engines. After supervising that work center I was picked to be a flight line troubleshooter. The best job in my rating. After that I took orders to go to Bahrain for a year. I was shop supervisor there for a couple work centers and also got forward deployed to Kuwait and Afghanistan. A year later I transferred back to Virginia to be stationed on the USS Iwo Jima for my last 2 years. Went on one deployment to South America for continous promise. Basically keeping up with relations for aid purposes. I got to see many different places and experience a lot of cool things. Also endured some of the worse times we as a nation had to witness first hand with these terroristic attacks. My time was cut short due to government cuts and was forced out. I got out as an E5 and now still work on the GSE side at the Airport loving it!
Robert Bragg
Robert Bragg
Class of 1973
Navy, 20+ Years

US Navy regular service as a Torpedomans Mate through First Class, Transferred to Career Recruiter Force and ultimately to a position as a Counselor at the Naval Hospital Long Beach Alcohol Service. Retired and came home!
Vietnam Era Veteran, Two Navy Achievement Medals, Four Good Conduct Awards, Expert Rifle and Pistol, Naval Recruiter, Meritorious Unit Commendation. Honorable Discharge and Retirement.
Robert Kosmal
Robert Kosmal
Class of 1985
Army Reserves, 35 Years

1986-2004 Counterintelligence Special Agent SFC/E7
2004-2022 (Direct Commission) Major, All Source Intelligence Officer - Retired
Ronald Cooper
Ronald Cooper
Class of 1965
Army, 4 Years

US Army Security Agency, 1967 thru 1971
Specialist 5, Served in Japan and the Philippine Islands.
Sean Eric Howie
Sean Eric Howie
Class of 1991
National Guard, 20+ Years

Joined Wyo. Army National Guard in 1993 as "Self-propelled Field Artillery Systems Mechanic" (MOS 63D) with HHB (-) 3/49 FA. Reorganized and became 2/300 FA where I served as a Ammo Team Chief, Assistant Gunner in B Battery from 1997-2007. During that time I served for 7 months on Operation Skyguard at NCIA (Oct. '01 - May '02), Force Protection at Camp Guernsy, WY (Feb. '03 - Feb. '04), deployed to Baghdad, Iraq with 2/300 as "in lieu of MP's" (Feb. '04 - Apr. '05), Force Protection again (May-Oct. '05). Reorganization again in 2007: transfered to and took part in standing-up of A Co. 960th Brigade Support Battalion where I have served as Team Leader for a fuel storage section (MOS 92F - Petroleum Supply Specialist). Deployed to Kuwait with HHC 960th BSB, 115th Fires Brigade as life support for military units leaving Iraq (Apr. '09 - Apr. '10). Planning to retire from service by end of 2013.
Stan O'Brien
Stan O'Brien
Class of 1967
Navy, 20+ Years

NAVAL STATION PEARL HARBOR, NAVAL MAGAZINE PHILIPPINES. USS PROVIDENCE, USS MARVIN SHIELDS, RECRUIT TRAINING COMMAND SAN DIEGO (COMPANY COMMANDER), USS LA SALLE, USS FORT FISHER, USS MOUNT VERNON, NAVY MANPOWER ANALYSIS CENTER PACIFIC, USS NEW ORLEANS, NAVAL STATION SAN DIEGO.
Terry Burch
Terry Burch
Class of 1993
Army Reserves, 8 Years

Served as a 51B (Carpentry and Masonry Specialist) and a 91B (Combat Medic) with the 45th Infantry.
Toby D Carman
Toby D Carman
Class of 1964
Army, 4 Years

After attending Defense Language Institute West Coast in Monterrey, California, I spent almost 3 years in Stuttgart, Germany as a military policeman.
Vernon Walter Nix III
Vernon Walter Nix III
Class of 1967
Army, 1 Years

US Army 1967-1968 KIA Viet Nam 4/29/1968

Classmates Spotlight

Natrona County High School Classmates

Earl Sichterman
Class of '83

Alumni Stories

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Read and submit stories about our classmates from Natrona County High School, post achievements and news about our alumni, and post photos of our fellow Mustangs.

School News

Class of 1994 20th Year Reunion

We have CONFIRMED DATES NOW!! Friday July 11 through Sunday July 13. We will be getting a block of hotel rooms for out o...
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Our Natrona County High School military alumni are some of the most outstanding people we know and this page recognizes them and everything they have done! Not everyone gets to come home for the holidays and we want our Natrona County High School Military to know that they are loved and appreciated. All of us in Casper are proud of our military alumni and want to thank them for risking their lives to protect our country!