Alpha Company Class of 2002 History


How rapidly the past four years seem to have gone by. It seems like only yesterday that we entered Lesegne Gate as a group of scared young men who had chosen to take that proverbial “road less traveled.” Immediately our lives were put into perspective, and for some of us, the realization that all that we had once been was now meaningless was too much to bear. Those were the few who so quickly packed-up and headed back towards the comfort of their high school existence. For those of us who stayed behind prepared to discover what truly lay beneath the pearly white façade of our new home, the first nine months became, as Dickens would say, “the best of times and the worst of times.”

It always seemed horribly funny when our seniors would tell us that our knob year would be the most fun; however, with the benefit of hindsight to our advantage, it is clear now that they were telling the truth. Despite the constant anxiety that accompanied every formation, there always seemed to be some sort of joke taking place in the squad room. As a knob everything is funny, and we certainly had some things about which we could have a good laugh. Who could forget Mr. Kennedy singing cadence to himself as he walked to the bathroom or Mr. Stout’s constant clowning? And, we cannot forget our obviously Cuban platoon sergeant's ability to disguise himself as one of us or sniff out any food that we may have been hiding in the rooms. Of course, it did not always take someone outside of the class to make us laugh. All of the member’s of Knarr’s squad can certainly attest to that fact: i.e. the infamous nametag-switching incident that only got funnier with time. Although we certainly could fill this page with the recollections of all of knob year’s funniest moments, there is no reason to waste valuable space, since there is no doubt that all of our brothers can now remember with fondness the things that we experienced together. We may have taken things for granted our knob year, but sophomore year truly showed us for just how much we truly had to be thankful.

In the Fall of ’99, most of our brothers returned to school with a little more hair and our chins a little farther out only to find that 157 years of Alpha tradition had vanished in an instant. The ranks of our beloved home now made accommodations for a weaker breed. The tears of the men, who had a mere 3 months before wept at their acceptance into the band of brothers that was Alpha company, were washed away by the high-pitched cries of some of the incoming class’s “different” members. For some of us, it was inevitable; for others, it was unbearable, but for all of us, it put an end to all that we had grown to love over our first nine months. Despite this great new change, we persevered and attempted to impart upon our new knobs the very same lessons that we had learned; however, because of circumstances beyond all control, some of our attempts were viciously thwarted by the powers that were. In the end, however, we managed to pass on what we could and continue on to the next level: junior year.

The new year brought new challenges and responsibilities, yet as a class, we managed to manage all of our new duties with aplomb. As every new challenge arose, we were able to step up, meet it and in most cases, overcome it. What set us apart this year, however, was not our efficiency or “tool” mentality; rather, it was our ability to get things done with style. We may have been swarthy, arrogant, stubborn, un-checked, maybe even rude, but we managed to get things done. Although some people’s new positions may have caused others to see them in a different light, these new images were merely silhouettes. The truth remained; we were all the same family. Never did this seem so apparent as it has senior year.

While it may be that a member of most companies can be easily spotted as an “Echo guy” or an “F-Troop guy,” our beauty is that there has never been such a thing as an “Alpha guy.” We epitomize the idea of a company acting like a family. While our personalities are all over the spectrum and our interests differ dramatically, we have always retained that sense of brotherhood. Certainly, as with any family, there has been a fair share of little squabbles, yet through it all we have all been willing to sacrifice for the benefit of the group. There is no doubt that without this sort of understanding and camaraderie these four years would have seemed like an eternity. Best of luck to everyone in the future. God bless the class of 2002, and God bless the boys of Alpha Company.

SEMPER OMNIS VIRILIS
A ’02

Andrew D. St. Jean
Class of 2002
Alpha Company



HOME PICTURES PRAYER LASTCLASS DIRECTORY ADDRESS FORM NEWS SUBMIT NEWS LINKS REUNION DOWNLOADS
Please send comments and suggestions to LtBegola@aol.com
Copyright Ó The Citadel and Alpha 2002.