SSG Rowe Stayton, USA
Squad Leader,
Alpha Company 1/153 INF BN
A 1973 Graduate of USAFA, Rowe Stayton graduated #2 Military Order of Merit (number two in his class based on Grades, Physical Aptitude, Leadership, Military Bearing, Etc.). As a cadet he was the Wing Open Boxing Champ from 1971-73. He attended flight school at Williams AFB and became a T-37 Flight Instructor before going on to fly F-15's for the 27th Fighter Squadron. He left the Air Force in 1981 to attend law school and fly the A-7 in the Iowa Air National Guard. With a total of over 2,400 flying hours in combat aircraft, he left the Air Guard in 1988 to practice law fulltime. He was admitted to Colorado Bar in 1984, and has been a practicing lawyer in Colorado with over 200 jury trials. After the terrorist attack of 9/11, SSG Stayton answered the call to serve once again, this time enlisting in the Army National Guard as an infantry soldier. He just returned in December 2008 from his second tour in Iraq as a squad leader. His awards include the Air Force Commendation medal, Army Commendation medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and most recently, the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service as a Squad Leader in Iraq.
This man spoke with us today during lunch, and he was one of the few guest speakers that we've had who truly inspired me. He’s currently 59 years old and a staff sergeant in the Army, and he still sees it as a privilege to serve his country. After 9/11 happened, he said he thought (loosely quoted) “I saw the first plane hit, and I thought it was a drunken pilot or maybe he had a seizure or something. But when that second plane hit, I was so out raged, there is nothing that this country has done to deserve that. We are good guys, we really are.” He had already served as an Air Force Officer and left after reaching Captain. During his career as an Officer, he flew for the first ever F-15 fighter squadron.
It turns out that Sergeant Stayton graduated USAFA with the now Chief of the Air Force, General Norton Schwartz and the two of them were pretty good friends. After some phone calls after 9/11 he ended up getting accepted into the Army despite his deficient hearing and staggeringly uncommon age. He’s been successful and finds every day that he serves to be “a gift”, a gift of which he shares with the kids he is in charge of that are often 40+ years younger than him. Some other great quotes from this warrior: "I've always wanted to kill f**king Russians, just kind of an innate thing I guess. I met some Georgians on my last tour; they said that they'll take me in if I want to fight the Russians with them. I’m planning on joining the Georgian army as an 80 year old after I tie up a few loose ends here in our own Army. Mainly, I'm at least going to stay in long enough for us to cross that Iranian border, because I still want to kill some of those f**king Iranians before I go for the Russians.”
This guy just oozed badassidness and pride for his country. I made a point to shake hand after the lecture, and he just said he was proud to be in the company of men who choose to serve. “I’m no one special, I really don’t find myself to be all that. Frankly, neither are any of you kids. We’re all just patriots doing what patriots do, and that is why you all have such strong bonds here.”
Here is the link to the website of all of the guest speakers we have over the next few days for this Leadership Seminar stuff, looks like there are some pretty prominent speakers. Yet again, not sure if the links will work for non-cadets…
