Remarks By Navy Capt. Michael D.T. Edwards (Ret.): Huslin’ One, Second To None
For more than 40 years, Huslin’ One has produced well-educated leaders of character that were well prepared to answer the call for values-based leadership and service in the public and private sectors. So what happened to these Huslers’ after graduation?
Here is a partial accounting:
- I was an Air Force Pilot, a Marine Aviator and Infantryman, a Naval Officer, a US Army Infantryman. I was Airborne, I was a Ranger.
- We flew AC 130 Spectra gunship missions over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Vietnam and over Iraq during Operation Desert Storm.
- I was the senior navigator for Air Force One.
- I flew F8E missions over Vietnam.
- I made the ultimate sacrifice while searching for downed pilots over Cambodia during my second tour. The Corps of Cadets Baldridge award for “best drilled outfit” is named after me.
- I was a Forward Air Controller and A-37 pilot in Vietnam. I later flew as an A-7 exchange pilot with the US Navy and finished my Air Force career flying F-117 Stealth Fighters.
- I was a mission planner for the SR-71 Blackbird.
- We made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam, over Laos, and in Afghanistan. We fought in Desert Storm I and Desert Storm II.
- I was a Marine Captain, wounded in a Vietnam minefield and was medically retired. I learned 40 years later that the CH-46 pilot that rescued me was a ‘fish bud.’
- I was a project officer in the Rocket Propulsion Laboratory at Edwards Air Force Base.
- I served in the Pentagon on the staff for Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and Gates.
- I served as a member of the Visual Arts Development Council and Vice Chair of the “One Spirit, One Vision” Campaign at Texas A&M.
- I wrote “Softly Call the Muster” and two other books about the Corp of Cadets and Texas A&M and received my Ph.D from Texas A&M.
- I served in Afghanistan as the Commander of the Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team.
- I practiced law before the U.S. Supreme Court.
- I commanded the 345th Training Squadron and the 374th Transportation Squadron.
- I invented a top-selling sandwich sold nationwide in Subway sandwich shops.
- I was co-founder, president and CEO of Employers General Insurance Group, Inc.
- I created Jason’s Deli chain with more than 250 establishments in 28 states, and I am a Mays Business School Outstanding Alumnus.
- We have been awarded: The Silver Star; The Defense Superior Service Medal; The Legion of Merit; The Distinguished Flying Cross; The Bronze Star; The Purple Heart; The Defense Meritorious Service Medal; The Army, the Navy and Marine, and Air Force Meritorious Service Medal; The Air Medal; The Joint Service Commendation Medal; The Army, the Navy and Marine, and Air Force Commendation Medal; The Army, the Navy and Marine, and Air Force Achievement Medal; The National Defense Service Medal; The Presidential Unit Citation; The Combat Action badge; The Vietnam Campaign Medal; The SW Asia Campaign Medal; The Kosovo Campaign Medal; The Afghanistan Campaign Medal; The Iraq Campaign Medal; and The Global War on Terrorism Campaign Medal.
- We have been the Cadet Commander of the Corps of Cadets five times.
- We have served on the Corps Staff seven times.
- We have commanded the Cadet Wing on five occasions and the Group on 11 occasions.
- We have served on the Cadet Wing staff 14 times and the Group staff 26 times.
- More than 60 of us were selected as Ross Volunteers.
- More than 45 of us were members of the nationally recognized Fish Drill Team.
- Five of us were Yell Leaders.
- We have served in Student Government and have been Class President, Class Vice President, Parliamentarian and Secretary.
- We have served in numerous student organizations like SCONA, Travel, and Town Hall in leadership positions; we have been Chairman and counselors for Fish Camps; lettered in Varsity Football; we were distinguished students and have been named to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities.
- We borrowed BEVO and led him around the circular driveway of the Presidents’ house at Texas A&M University.
Simply outstanding! The CORPS is an honest-to-God, real world, everyday leadership “factory” where the graduates go on to a lifetime of selfless service doing extraordinary things. The CORPS should promote more stories like this.
It has been 44 years since my last Final Review as a Husler, but my buddies from Huslin’ One remain among the best friends I’ve ever had in my life. The simple dignity and honor with which those men have lived their lives, both as cadets and later in their chosen careers, is something they’d all tell you was ingrained at A&M in Huslin’ One. I am proud to be associated with them, and feel more pleased than I can convey about the re-establishment of Huslin’ One.