Final Review for Four San Angelo Area Aggies

Saturday, Final Review at Texas A&M University in College Station was held, and several cadets from the San Angelo area who are in the A&M Corps of Cadets are leaving Corps leadership positions or moving up to fill them.

Final Review is the last time seniors in the Corps will march with their outfits. These are company-sized units manned with 40 to 60 freshmen to seniors, both men and women. Generally, a member of the Corps is assigned to one unit, called an outfit, for their entire four-year tenure in the Corps. The last time seniors, this year’s class of 2015, march with their outfit is an emotional moment. For the juniors, it’s the first time they lead their outfits, and a moment to celebrate.

Held every May at the Ormond R. Simpson Drill Field on campus, the entire Corps marches in twice. The first parade is with this year's seniors to graduate leading their outfits for the last time. A second pass-in-review is conducted after this year's juniors put on their signature Aggie senior riding boots and lead the Corps as seniors for the first time.

Here is a sampling of San Angelo-area Aggies who particpated in Final Review this year.

Becca Scott, a graduate of Wall High School, and Texas A&M Class of 2016 will be the commander of Squadron 16 for the 2015-2016 school year. “To me, it’s a culmination of all of my hard work, and the hard work of the people around me. It’s going to be four years! And it’s a great opportunity to see everything I’ve put in, and come out as being a visual example of all of that work,” she said. Scott said she wants to attend a professional school to be licensed as an occupational therapist when she graduates next year.

Chris Hooker, also a graduate of Wall High School, and Texas A&M Class of 2015 marched for the last time with his outfit. “Today is the culmination of fours years of hard work. It means a lot because it’s the last time for the Zips to get together (a “Zip” is Aggie slang for a senior). It’s our last little ‘hoo-rah’ because after this, all of my class is going into the military. It’s our last moment together before we all go our separate ways and start the next chapters of our lives,” he said. Hooker will earn his commission in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant and will be assigned to flight school to learn to fly helicopters at Fort Rucker, Alabama in December.

Mason Brooks, a 2012 Graduate of Cornerstone Christian School will command Company D-2 for the 2015-2016 school year. “A lot of hard work is culminating today. As the (incoming) outfit commander, we’re going to start the next year off and hopefully do some good while enjoying our time. Hopefully we can propel D-2 to where it belongs,” said Brooks, Class of 2016. After graduation, Brooks wants to be a mid-level manager, maybe a management consultant. “But that’s still to be determined,” he said. Brooks was a platoon sergeant in D-2 his junior year before Saturday’s promotion.

Jordan Garner from Big Lake is the outgoing commander of Company D-2. “Final Review just bringing everything we’ve worked for the last four years together. I guess it’s a finished product of the last four years,” he said. Garner will train to become a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper. He will be attending the State Trooper Academy in Austin in July. Garner will also earn a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves and train to become a military intelligence officer. After all of his training is complete, he will be a fulltime DPS trooper and a part-time military intelligence officer.

The Corps of Cadets is a volunteer military leadership laboratory with 2,400 Aggie student members. The Corps was the student body of the A&M when it was founded in 1876. By the 1960s, the Corps was no longer compulsory for students. The purpose of the Corps has always been to train citizen-soldiers to serve in the U.S. armed forces as reserve officers. A&M has a rich military history. Eight Medal of Honor recipients were students at A&M.

Corps members have the option to pursue a commission in the U.S. armed forces, or serve as a “Drill and Ceremony” cadet and pursue a civilian career after graduation.

Saturday's Final Review was also the last time we will see the A&M mascot, Reveille VIII. She retired after Saturday's march and Reveille IX was introduced in the second pass-in-review. Here is Reveille VIII's pass-in-review:

Saturday was the first Final Review when a female cadet took command of the entire Aggie Corps in its 139-year history. Cadet Colonel-Select Alyssa Marie Michalke of Schulenburg was named the 2015-2016 Corps Commander.

My classmate Randy Brooks ’86 attended Saturday’s Final Review for his son and conducted the audio interviews. He took the photographs using an iPhone.