Mike Sevier, Millennium Hall of Fame

With a disciplined approach to defense, former Corona del Mar High

basketball standout Mike Sevier keeps his guard up when our country’s

Commander in Chief travels aboard Air Force One.

Once the epitome of CdM Coach Tandy Gillis’ in-your-face defensive

scheme, Sevier is now a colonel in the U.S. Air Force stationed at the

Pentagon in Arlington, Va., and is in charge of the zone that includes

the airplane detail of President Clinton, the First Lady, Secretary of

State Madeleine Albright and any other high-ranking U.S. Government

official.

“It’s a tremendous honor,” Sevier said, “but I’d be kidding myself if

I ever thought I was making this (task) happen. It’s just like in

basketball -- I’ve got a small team of experts and I just happened to be

there.”

From Gillis to the Air Force Academy to Secretary of Defense William

Cohen, Sevier has always served for defense-oriented leaders.

Starting with the President at the top, there’s a pecking order for

military plane requests that go through Sevier’s office. When two

requests arrive simultaneously from officers ranked equally, and there’s

only one airplane available, “that’s when I get energized,” Sevier said.

“I need to figure out who really has priority on this.”

A pilot at heart with over 3,600 flying hours, Sevier has moved

several times in his military career. In 1991, he was transferred to the

U.S. Headquarters European Command at Stuttgart, Germany, as Chief of

NATO Exercises and a member of the Battle Staff during Desert Storm.

When Sevier moved his family in the final stages of Operation Desert

Shield (before the sweeping ground forces entered Iraq under General

Schwarzkopf), it was the shortest notice of his career -- three weeks.

Typically, branches of the military try to give at least three months’

warning.

“They don’t keep colonels around,” said his wife, Jenny. “They move

you around faster when you’re up in rank.”

A highly decorated officer, Sevier was the senior leader of Gillis’

1971-72 Sea King squad that finished 23-3 and captured a share of the

Irvine League championship. Casey Jones, Jeff Wharton and Matt Keough

were juniors on that squad, while Scott Cameron was the captain.

“(Gillis) brought in a very disciplined style of basketball,” Sevier

said. “We focused on defense. Offense wasn’t ignored, but defense is more

demanding when you’re headstrong into it and really on the ball.”

Sevier, also part of the 1972 CdM class with hoopsters John Sumner and

Dan Grigsby, said he was influenced by CdM players a year ahead of him,

including Jeff Goelitz, Don Killean, Tim Conroy and Jeff Conroy.

“Corona del Mar had some great players, and I learned an awful lot

from them,” said Sevier, a 6-foot-4 center for the Sea Kings with

excellent jumping ability.

Primarily a forward in college, Sevier would usually guard the

opposing center, often going up against players in the 6-10 range. With

the Air Force Academy’s policy on cockpit ejection height limitations,

rarely did the Falcons have a player much taller than Sevier.

“I just went out there and did the best I could,” Sevier said. “I’d

play defense, and every once in awhile I’d get lucky and make a basket.”

In his four-year collegiate career, Sevier endured about 100 stitches

to his face from the horizontal arm swings of opposing centers. “My face

would tend to be like a catcher’s mitt,” he said. “But that’s all part of

the game.”

Sevier played every game in four years for the Falcons, who won a

tournament at West Virginia his freshman year (1972-73), the first time

in almost 10 years that Air Force captured a basketball title of any

kind. The next year, Air Force ranked among the top five defensive teams

in the country.

Following an NCAA rule change, Sevier became the first Falcon to play

varsity basketball as a freshman.

Sevier, a member of the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame, celebrating

the millennium, graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1976 and started at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona for Undergraduate Pilot Training.

He reported to the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron at Keesler AFB in

Mississippi.

Sevier served as Wing Current Operations Officer, Wing Plans Officer

and CT-39 Instructor Pilot at the 41st Rescue and Weather Reconnaissance

Wing at McClellan AFB in California. Next, Sevier moved to the Pentagon

for an Air Staff Training assignment in Plans and Operations, then was

transferred to Dover AFB in Delaware, where he was upgraded to Instructor

Pilot.

Following stops at Maxwell AFB in Alabama and Travis AFB in

California, Sevier was assigned to the U.S. Headquarters European Command

in Germany during the Gulf War.

In August 1996, he became Deputy Commander, and in July 1997, he

assumed command of the 436th Operations group.

His military decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service

Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters,

Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, Joints Service Achievement

Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award and Air

Force Outstanding Unit Award with two Oak Leaf Clusters.

Sevier also graduated in the Top 10 percent of Air War College.

In July 1998, Sevier was involved in another change of command, moving

from Dover AFB, where he had been Operations Group Commander, to the

Pentagon in charge of Air Force One.

He lives in Springfield, Va., with his wife and two children, son

David, 15, and daughter Christine, 13.