This Saturday, Rachel will have her “Ring Dance” at the Air Force Academy, which ends the 2 degree / junior year and marks the start of her “firstee” or senior year.
This prompted me to open up the ‘ole photo albums (pre-digital cameras, of course) and find a few pics I haven’t seen in many a moon.
This first one was ring dance weekend, in May of 1991, on the porch of my beloved sponsors in Colorado Springs, Wes and Barbara Deiter. With Carol Caronna, who I met through the Academy Speech and Debate Team.
The second photo is from my firstee year, I’m thinking spring semester, because I had Cadet Lieutenant shoulder boards on… and in the fall I was the Squadron Training Officer as a Cadet Captain.
This is an audio recording by Rachel Fryer recorded in September 2012, when she was 9 years old. This is the earliest recording I know of when Rachel mentions the possibility of attending the US Air Force Academy, where she is now a junior and an astronautical engineering major.
I originally recorded this with Audioboo, that changed into Audioboom, and I thought all those recordings were offline! Today (3 Jan 2026) I discovered EMBEDDED versions of my AudioBoo recordings are still accessible, via this blog post from September 2012.
My mother, Angie Fryer, kept meticulous records of every letter I sent home as a cadet at the US Air Force Academy from 30 June 1988 to 27 May 1992. She also kept numerous other related news articles, photos, and other correspondence. These are chronologically stored in several 3 ring binders, which she gave me a few years ago before she passed away on Christmas Eve 2022.
That summer in 1990, in addition to leave, I served as a survival instructor in the SERE program (“Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape”) at USAFA, and also served as a “Philmont Ranger.” These are a few photos from that summer.
Since Rachel is currently a cadet at USAFA in her 2 degree summer programs, I looked for some correspondence I sent home that summer. I found a letter dated 13 August 1990, which was just after the end of summer programs before the start of the academic year, my “2 degree” or junior year at USAFA.
Mon. 13 AUG 1990 1800 AIR FORCE ACADEMY
Dear Mom, Dad & Trudy ~
Hello! Sorry I missed you all when I called on Sunday! I don’t really have time to call, so I thought I’d write a quick note & send the 2 enclosures.
School is going good so far — and tonight it looks like I’ll do my first homework assignment! Training NCO has taken up (and is & will continue to) take a lot of time — but I’m enjoying it and the squadron’s doing very good military wise.
Guess what I did this past weekend? Along with Brad (my roommate), Tim Greminger & Eric Marshall (Firsties I went to Philmont with) I climbed my first “14’er”! We climbed Mt. Elbert, which is the highest peak in Colorado & the 2ⁿᵈ highest mountain in CONUS! It was tough, but I enjoyed it & am glad I went. Hopefully the pics we took will turn out.
As you can see — unfortunately — our 1ˢᵗ tourney is the weekend of Sharol’s wedding. I’m the trip planner for the Salt Lake trip — so unfortunately I’ll miss the wedding. I’ll hafta write Sharol a note.
Hope all’s well at home — I’ll probably call next Thurs weekend!
A couple of weeks ago, I drove 1500+ miles from North Carolina to Colorado Springs to deliver Rachel’s car to her at USAFA. It was a long journey but well worth it. Lots of water under the bridge since the summer of 1990, 35 years ago, but still lots of water left (God willing) to pass under as well.
Join us on Christmas Eve 2024 in Charlotte, North Carolina as three members of the Fryer family, spanning multiple generations, reflect on their experiences at the Air Force Academy. From Tom Fryer of the class of 1963, to Wes Fryer of the class of 1992, and current cadet Rachel Fryer of the class of 2027, hear their stories of in-processing, basic training, survival courses, and the traditions that both endured and evolved over the years. From humorous anecdotes about boxing classes to the challenges of adjusting to the rigors of the Academy, each shares unique perspectives on their freshman and sophomore years at the prestigious institution. Don’t miss this heartwarming and insightful discussion on the legacy and transformation within the Air Force Academy, spanning over six decades.
00:00 Introduction and Setting the Scene 00:19 Meet the Panel: Generations of Air Force Academy Graduates 01:56 In-Processing Day Memories 03:01 Basic Training Experiences 06:28 Physical Training and Adjusting to Altitude 08:39 Spirit Missions and Salmonella Incident 14:14 Summer Programs and Field Trips 18:52 Three Degree Year Reflections 19:33 Academic Life and Majors 20:43 Christmas Adventures and Travel Stories 22:35 Current Academic Challenges 26:40 Boxing and Physical Training 31:36 Extracurricular Activities and Debate Team 33:38 Financials and Borrowing Cars 35:52 Concluding Thoughts and Future Plans
