Colin Coker:  

It's been almost 25 years since the 'glory days' and I must admit that I don't dwell much on them. I do, however, often wonder about those of you that I shared them with. Here's my story ... I joined the Army Reserve the day I turned 18 and a week after graduation, I was standing at attention in a formation of new recruits in Ft. Dix, NJ. While there, I was accepted into the Army's commissioning program at NMMI, and after nine weeks of boot camp, I ended up in Roswell, NM. While at NMMI, two significant events occurred in my life, although I didn't realize either of them until much later. First, I learned that everyone has the potential to excel, all they need is the right opportunity. I remember one cadet in particular that had been in and out of at least a couple of private schools before finding himself at military school. Our paths crossed often during my first year as we were both assigned to the same troop. I was not impressed and more than a little surprised that he graduated from the high school program the following year. I saw him again about ten years later in the movies. His credits include, among many others, "The Cable Guy", "Shanghai Noon", "Behind Enemy Lines", and both "Night at the Museum" movies. Oh yeah, I also met my future wife, Helen, who was also a cadet at NMMI. I graduated in May of 87 and revieved a commission as a second lieutenant in the New Mexico Army National Guard. I spent a year at NMSU in the Electrical Engineering program before embarking on a great adventure; I moved to Alaska. Helen had been born and raised there and since I didn't have anything better to do, well, who was I to deny a beautiful lady of my company? Although we only expected to be in Alaska long enough to finish our undergraduate degrees, fate ha...Expand for more