MSU Alumni Magazine, Fall 2004 issue - MSU Alumni Association ...

SPARTAN SPIRIT 2004—Sparty
made his presence felt at this
year’s Spartan Spirit event at Spartan
Stadium, the largest gathering
on campus for new students every
fall. Sponsored by the MSU
Alumni Association and the Student
Alumni Foundation, the
event drew upwards of 15,000
students and community members
this fall. They learned the
MSU Fight Song and MSU
Shadows directly from the Spartan
Marching Band, and also
heard inspiring words from President
Peter McPherson, President-
Designate Lou Anna K. Simon,
football coach John L. Smith,
hockey coach Rick Comley,
women’s basketball coach Joanne
McCallie, men’s basketball assistant
coach Mark Montgomery,
and a number of student-athletes.
Kurt Stepnitz/University Relations
Photo by Carole S. Berk
BASEBALL SPARTANS—June
25: MSU adjunct professor and
Fourth Genre editor Mike Steinberg,
author of Still Pitching (p.
11, Winter 2004), a memoir that
focuses on his love for baseball,
signs a copy of his book for fellow
Spartan Dale Petroskey, ’78, at
the Baseball Hall of Fame book
store in Cooperstown, NY. Petroskey
is president of the national
baseball shrine.
SPARTANS ORGANIZE ANTI-
TERROR EXERCISE—Many
MSU alumni are involved in
homeland security initiatives. In
July, for example, Col. Mike Mc-
Daniel, Asst. Adjutant General
for Homeland Security in Michigan,
and an adjunct professor at
the MSU College of Law, directed
an anti-terror exercise that included
2,000 soldiers from 18
countries. The multinational
force performed simultaneous exercises
in Latvia, Lithuania and
Estonia, involving mass casualty
response, maritime search and
rescue, maritime recovery of unexploded
ordnance, forest search
and rescue, disaster recovery, and
humanitarian assistance to displaced
persons.
McDaniel and two of the planners,
both MSU ROTC Distinguished
Alumni, nicknamed the
exercise “Task Force Spartan” and
the MSU flag flew alongside 18
Country flags as well as the
NATO flag. McDaniel explained
to the participants, which included
soldiers, sailors, and civilian
emergency workers from Latvia,
Lithuania, Estonia, Germany,
Bulgaria, Moldova, Azerbaijan,
Romania, and other ten countries,
that “Spartan values” as
exemplified by Leonidas and the
Spartan Army at the Battle of
Thermopylae, included vigilance,
teamwork, and selfless service.
Protecting and defending the
homeland is McDaniel’s number
one mission. Working with
Michigan National Guard Joint
Force Headquarters (JFHQ),
McDaniel, who also serves as the
Governors, Homeland Security
Advisor, is responsible for ensuring
that National Guard troops
are trained, equipped and ready to
execute Homeland Defense and
Security operations at the request
of the Governor or President.
SPARTANS IN LATVIA–Col.
Michael McDaniel (middle) and
Maj. Stephen Potter (left) watch
Maj. Scott Hiipakka raise the
Spartan flag during anti-terrorism
exercises conducted in Aluksne,
Latvia, by 2,000 multinational
forces from 18 countries.
McDaniel directed the exercises.
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