Congratulations to the US Air Force Academy Class of 2009 graduates and their parents!  Your hard work and perseverance has been rewarded and now you embark on your careers as 2nd Lieutenants! Fantastic!!!

Welcome to the parents and members of the incoming USAFA Class of 2013, your time has just begun.  But as we have all learned, it passes quickly.  So enjoy the journey, even the SAMI’s and Parades along the way!  Recognition Day will be here soon!  2013 Parents, please reach out to others in the Parents Association with your questions and concerns.  Our goal is to help one another, from In-Processing through Graduation.  We have all been where you are now.

Sue and I will try to fill the shoes of our predecessor and with the help of the Parents Association’s Leadership and Membership. We have some nice events planned for us parents and services for our New Jersey Cadets.  First off is our Summer Picnic, scheduled for 25 July 2009, at the McGuire Air Force Base Chapel #1 Annex.  This is a great venue for our gathering.  Please try to attend, we can meet the new 2013 Parents, catch up on each other’s news, and hopefully hear from the Alumni Parents about Graduation and where their new Officers are now in their careers!  We are also planning a “Road Trip” in October to Annapolis, MD, to watch the Falcon Football Team defeat the Navy squids.

By way of introduction, Sue and I are the parents of C1C Stephen Curtis Makuka, CS21- Black Jacks.  Stevie is a member of the Falcon Wrestling Team, Systems Engineering Management Major,  and recently was awarded a “pilot slot” in Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) after his Graduation in May 2010.  Thus, fulfilling his dream since the fifth grade!  Our daughter, Sasha, is attending Graduate School, Museums Professions, at Seton Hall University.

We look forward to meeting the new members and collaborating with the membership during this our fourth year as very proud parents of a US Air Force Academy Cadet.

Wishing You All Blue Skies and a Tail Wind!
Steve & Sue Makuka
AFAPANJ President, Class of 2010