Stealth Force Beta

Stealth Force Beta was a secret society on the New Mexico Tech campus from 1989 through 1992, following the credo of “Constructive Vandalism”. The Stealth Force generally worked under cover of darkness, and always in secret.

The Beta Operatives were nine men and three women, each of whom exemplified the Beta Spirit of loyalty, courage, and secrecy. No matter how hopeless or dire a situation looked, Beta Operatives always pulled through. The most amazing acts of valor were rewarded with Beta Medals—the coveted Purple Toe awarded for Bloodloss in the Line of Duty, and the ultimate award, the Greasy Rail for Miserable Suffering and Valiant Escape from a Wretched Greasepit.

New Mexico Tech is no ordinary college—sited 75 miles from the nearest big city, its remote desert environment and intense academic focus on science and engineering mean a great many intelligent minds seek something to do when they're not studying. Other students formed and joined the Adrenaline Club or the (waterless) Yacht Club; these twelve operatives instead created a clandestine Stealth Force.

The leader of Stealth Force Beta was Tom Jones—code named “Sasquatch”—mild-mannered editor of the school newspaper Paydirt in 1990 and 1991. After a tumultuous triple-ballot 1991 student government election, Sasquatch was elected student government president for the 1991–1992 school year.

Now that statutes of limitations have expired, nearly all can be told. Here are the stories of most of Stealth Force Beta's fifteen operations, and the amazing operatives who performed them. Click on any mission name below with a colored box around it. The best missions to read are

If you have any questions, e-mail General Sasquatch. If you'd like to get in touch with any of operatives listed below, you can also ask the General. See other things General Sasquatch does at his personal website. You can also see a list of content on my site of interest to current and former Tech students.

Full-color coil-bound volumes of the complete Stealth Force Beta history—all the missions described on this site—are now available for about $20. If you're interested, let me know. (There's a discount if you were involved with any mission or contribute information we're missing. The Operatives receive free copies.)

Do you have information that this page (or any Beta page) is lacking? E-mail tjones@spril.com.

Information on the Beta Operation pages about the pre-1987 history of New Mexico Tech comes from the following two sources:

Storms Above the Desert: Atmospheric Research in New Mexico 1935-1985 is the work of Joe Chew and Jim Corey. It describes the personalities, coincidences, and feuds that affected Tech's transformation from a mining occupational training school to an institute of solid science. Amazingly, it's an interesting read even for people who care little about New Mexico Tech or atmospheric physics. It is also available on the web, or you can often buy a copy at Amazon.com.
College on the Rio Grande: The Story of a Small School is Paige Christiansen's history of New Mexico Tech—and I mean “history” in the worst sense. This book is long on historical trivia and short on explanations of what really happened, and it glosses over most confrontational moments of transition with vague oversimplifications that leave the reader crying for more of the story. But it is available on the Web for free reading and includes many details of Tech's history that I haven't found anywhere else. You can often buy a copy at Amazon.com.