Collegiate Times

Junior cadet Tim Brooks, the gun captain of the Skipper Crew, attempts to repair the cannon on the field during Saturday's game

The cadet gun captain of the Skipper Crew said Monday he is confident the corps of cadets' iconic cannon, which malfunctioned during the second quarter of Saturday's football game against Wake Forest, would be operational this weekend.

The 10-member crew of sophomore and junior cadets that man Skipper during football games noticed the malfunction when one of its brass primers, which are the size of a rifle casing and ignite the cannon's charge, became stuck inside the cannon. Because of this, more primers could not be inserted into the cannon, making it incapable of firing.

"It's unfortunate that something so small could render it inoperable," said Tim Brooks, a junior cadet and the gun captain of the Skipper Crew.

Brooks said although the cannon became inoperable, the cadet operating it at the time "immediately knew what was wrong."

Brooks, who has worked with the cannon since his freshman year and has been the gun captain since March of this year, said everyone on the Skipper Crew can do every job. Although the members of the crew recognized the problem, they were not able to repair it on the field.

"Although attempts were made on the field to repair the cannon, the proper tools were not available to conduct the repairs," Brooks said.

"We were really frustrated," he said. "We make it a priority not to miss shots."

Brooks said Monday afternoon the primer's casing was still stuck inside the cannon and repairs were about to begin.

He said his team would pursue one of two options — either using a nail press to hammer the stuck casing further into the cannon or using a drill to loosen the brass currently stuck inside.

Brooks believes the casing got stuck inside Skipper for one of two reasons: It either did not have enough oil around it, causing it to get stuck, or the brass casing itself malfunctioned.

"It wasn't anyone's fault," Brooks said, noting that this is the first time the Skipper Crew has experienced this particular issue.

He said the repairs shouldn't carry any extra cost.

Skipper was first introduced to the Virginia Tech football tradition in 1964 by several cadets, including Homer Hickam, an alumnus notable for his memoir, "Rocket Boys," which was later adepted into the film "October Sky." The cannon is fired in celebration of every score at Tech home football games and during other corps events.

Cadet members of the Skipper Crew said Saturday afternoon the cannon has not malfunctioned since 1982.

Cadet members of the crew expressed hopes the cannon would be functional again for the next Tech home football game against Duke next Saturday. Brooks said he hopes to have Skipper fully functional for a corps formal retreat on the Upper Quad Friday afternoon.

Brooks said he was "95 percent sure" the cannon would be functional again by the weekend.

"I wouldn't say I'm stressed out," Brooks said, "but I've been like, 'I've gotta get this up and running.'"

A version of this article appeared in the Oct 19 issue of the Collegiate Times.