Classmates
How pleasant to get your email with the link to last year's event. It was not possible for us to come north for the reunion, as I needed to be on call here in Tallahassee. I serve as rabbi to the community here. The idea of having a reunion in Florida would be great for me, as attending would be so much easier.
I do not know if you are still posting classmates' updates, but mine is pretty simple. I have been married for over 33 years, have 2 daughters and a fabulous granddaughter, now 16 months old. Life has treated us well.
Again, thank you for sending this follow up and link. I look forward to hearing more.
Jack Romberg
Rich Irwin, PHS Class of '73's press release for his exciting new book. It will be on the bookshelves in Feburary, 2010 or you can reserve a copy at www.AdducentInc.com
KH601
“And Ye Shall Know the Truth and the Truth Shall Make You Free”
My Life in the Central Intelligence Agency
By Richard G. Irwin
“KH601” is the astonishing true account of a veteran CIA covert operations officer who witnessed the rise of global terrorism first hand.
It is a fascinating, behind the scenes, riveting book that details some of the most successful operations in the annals of the Agency; stories told, until now, only within the hallowed halls of the CIA. The book races from stories about the CIA supported Contra Program in Central America (including the only photographs ever taken of Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) William Casey’s visit to Honduras in 1986), to the newly established Counterterrorism Center, to the first Iraq War, to the war in Bosnia. KH601 paints a chilling picture of the rise of Al-Qaeda and the events leading up to 9/11, provides a firsthand account of CIA operations inside Afghanistan, and shares details of the worldwide plan to fight terrorism. Enthralling and compelling, KH601 reveals, for the first time, the behind the scenes story surrounding the creation, initially, of the Office of Homeland Security soon after 9/11, the Homeland Security Council, and then the creation of the Department of Homeland of Security as part of the largest U.S. government reorganization in the past 50 years.
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We are pleased and proud to be working with Richard to edit and publish KH601. His book brings to light details people outside the Central Intelligence Agency would likely never know about significant events that have had impact on our country over the last 28 years and about the men and women who played important roles in those events.
KH601 will be our 4th book project under contract since launching our publishing venture in May of this year. It will be published in January 2010.
About the Author
Richard Irwin is a former Senior Special Operations Program Officer with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). His 28 years of service with the CIA has provided him with extensive operational and senior management expertise in all levels of crisis management, special event planning, physical, technical and operational security, counterterrorism, personal and VIP protection, force protection, post blast investigation, threat and vulnerability inspections, and surveillance and counter-surveillance—domestically as well as internationally. He served in several Central American and European posts, gaining extensive experience in dealing with foreign governments. His skills in this arena were further honed through his work with US federal, state and local law enforcement departments and agencies. These include the Department of State, Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, the Homeland Security Council and the National Security Council at the White House. Mr. Irwin is fluent in Spanish, Italian, and French.
After distinguishing himself in Afghanistan following 9/11, Mr. Irwin was assigned to the White House at the direction of the Director of Central Intelligence. There he served as the Director of Incident Management in the Office of Homeland Security for a year, until February 2003. Elevated the next month to the position of Director of Incident Management for the Homeland Security Council at the White House, he served in this capacity until May 2004. At the request of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, Mr. Irwin was appointed Director of Incident Management for the Department of Homeland Security. Six months later, he detached from the Department of Homeland Security, retiring from the CIA on March 31, 2005. He immediately entered the private sector, assuming duties as Vice President of Alutiiq LLC—a company focusing its considerable management capabilities on providing quality services to the federal government. He heads Alutiiq’s Homeland Security Division.
Mr. Irwin’s journey with the CIA has taken him to 87 countries, giving him the opportunity to live overseas and to learn three languages. He served eight DCIs, and, while at the White House, President George W. Bush.
Craig Ritschel & Family
Craig and Nancy Ritschel
P.O. Box 1451
Pinedale, Wyoming 82941
Ph. 307-367-3797
Cell 307-360-6952
Craig.Ritschel@Shell.com
Dear PHS Class of ’72,
I regret that I won’t be able to join you all to catch up on all the years passed but instead, I offer this brief update and family photo in hopes of bringing you up to speed.
My wife Nancy and I have been married for 17 years and have two beautiful daughters, Angela (16), who will be a senior this year and Sara (14), who will start high school this year in the 9th grade. Nancy and I met in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where we both lived and worked at the time, got married there and raised our kids for the first years of their lives until we moved to our present home in Pinedale, Wyoming about 9 years ago. Nancy was born and raised on a cattle ranch here in the Green River Valley and all of her family is nearby so although I’m not able to live near my family in the Lehigh Valley, I’m grateful for the opportunity to be a part of hers. Our little mountain town is bordered by the Wind River Range to the east and the Wyoming Range to the west, with the Tetons and Jackson Hole 60 miles to the north. Nancy is a real estate agent with a local broker and I continue to work in the oil and gas exploration industry (Shell Oil Company), which has been my livelihood in one way or another since leaving Pa. in 1975. Our long range plans include the possibility of traveling abroad with Shell after both of the girls are finished with high school but our hearts will always be in the mountains so only time will tell.
After leaving Pa. in ’75 with Craig Snyder, we traveled the country extensively and eventually landed in the Rockies, where Craig and I worked for a seismic oil and gas exploration company for many years. Craig eventually moved back home and I stayed here, continuing the life of an oil and gas nomad and working in many of the western states and Alaska. Eventually, I managed an exploration project in the Routt National Forest near Steamboat Springs and was fortunate to be able to stay in the same place for an extended period of time, which gave the Lord the opportunity to bring Nancy into my life. As noted above, we lived in that area for about 7 years, raising our kids thru their first years and then moved back to Nancy’s home in Wyoming where we spend our time active with our church, chasing Angela in all of her sports, Sara in 4H and her horse activities and appreciating the beauty of the land God has created for our pleasure.
Once again, I regret not being able to see all of you again and think of many of you often but I extend to you an invitation to call, write or stop by if you’re in the area.
Yours very truly,
Craig
