Retired Air Force Gen. T. Michael Moseley has been selected as the Campus Muster Speaker for the 2021 Muster Ceremony.
According to a Feb. 23 press release by the Muster Committee, Moseley, Class of 1971, served more than 40 years in the United States Air Force and was the branch’s 18th Chief of Staff.
Speaker Executive and political science sophomore Marcus Peña said Moseley was selected to speak last year but ultimately was not able to participate due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“[Having the speaker already chosen] is a really rare opportunity for people [on our committee] to have,” Peña said. “It was cool because I got to be a part of the process of voting for him, but I was on a completely different sub-committee at the time. By the time that he actually gets to speak, I am leading the sub-committee that is getting to know him and get to have him be a part of Muster.”
Peña said he was able to bond with Moseley as they were given opportunities to talk and get to know one another. In fact, Peña said they discovered their freshman years were very similar, looking at events that were going on in the world at the time.
“We talked about what it is looking like now and what was it looking like in 1968 when [Moseley was] in college,” Peña said. “We found out there are very many parallels: racial tension, political unrest, all these things that [were] problems in 1968 are problems now, and it is literally 50 years from the time he graduated now.”
Peña said Moseley is very knowledgeable about A&M, its traditions and the Core Values, being a student himself and having earned two degrees from A&M. Moseley was also a member of the Corps of Cadets during his time at the university. According to the Muster website, Moseley has been awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Association of Former Students and was inducted into the Texas A&M University Hall of Honor.
Moseley said it is a huge honor to be selected as the Campus Muster Speaker, and he is humbled to speak at such an important event for the Aggie Community.
“[Muster means] everything. It meanseverything to an Ag,” Moseley said. “It’s the reaffirmation of Aggie culture and tradition [and] a chance to renew that commitment to Aggieland.”
Although the ceremony looks different from past years, the Muster Committee still has been able to get to know Moseley as he prepared to speak at the Muster Ceremony.
“He spoke at our weekly meeting last week and did a fantastic job,” Peña said. “He is very well-spoken and wanted us to ask him questions about what he experienced at A&M, and it was a very open-forum thing.”
In addition to Moseley, the Campus Muster Ceremony will also feature Interim President John Junkins, Student Body President Eric Mendoza, the Ross Volunteers, Corps of Cadets buglers and the Chair of the Association of Former Students Pat Beaird, according to the Muster website.