News of the Force - Saturday, September 26, 2009 (Page 2)

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                                   Saturday, September 26, 2009 - Page 2

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U.S. Coast Guard finds sunken ship off Texas' coast

    The U.S. Coast Guard, in Port Arthur, Texas, is leading an effort to recover oil from a submerged shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico. The site is about 6 miles off Texas Point.

    The Coast Guard said officials initially thought the spill, described as minor, came from a pipeline. That was ruled out after sonar captured an image of the ship's hull in the recovery effort.

    Salvage company Resolve Marine has determined that heavy fuel oil was onboard the submerged ship.

    Several agencies are involved in the clean-up. The Coast Guard said the recovery effort could continue for several weeks.

 

Cops, deputies warned again about 'right-wing terrorists'

    A private activist organization apparently is picking up where the federal government left off when the Department of Homeland Security issued its Right-wing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence in Radicalization and Recruitment warning that returning veterans and people in a long list of other categories were potential terrorists. 
    The new warning, delivered recently to police officers, sheriffs and other law enforcement personnel across the country, is lumping those dedicated to the constitutional principles on which the nation was founded together with crazed killers.

 

Ground broken for new Armed Forces Reserve Center in Indiana

    Eight Indiana Army National Guard units and three U.S. Army Reserve units will use the new center in Franklin, Indiana, to train and prepare for various missions.

 

Disgraced Army officer considered bribes 'budget dust'

    Amid the billions of dollars being spent in Iraq in the wake of the U.S.-led invasion, a U.S. Army colonel from Utah convicted in a bribery scandal considered the cash he brought home from the war to be "budget dust," according to several co-conspirators.

    But Curtis Whiteford's actions - and his failure to intervene in other bribes - may have cost the government millions, according to the chief of the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice.

    And that's only one of the reasons why Whiteford - who was indicted on 13 counts of bribery and wire fraud but only convicted of one - deserves a stiff sentence, attorney William Welch wrote earlier this week in a sentencing memorandum for U.S. District Judge Mary Cooper.

    A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for November in her New Jersey court. Whiteford has repeatedly declined to comment on the case, and his attorney did not return a call seeking comment.

    Whiteford resigned from the Utah Army National Guard in 2002, along with another officer, after he was accused of taking more compensation than allowed. But Utah Guard officials did not push forward with formal discipline, and he was able to get a job with the U.S. Army Reserve. Within a year, he was overseeing a budget of more than $100 million for reconstruction in Iraq.

    Along with accepting a $10,000 "budget dust" bribe, prosecutors say Whiteford was part of a trio of officials who helped steer lucrative contracts to a building contractor in exchange for cars, computers, watches and promises of future employment. In total, Welch wrote, Whiteford took more than $55,000 in bribes - and his acquiescence permitted illegal inducements of $430,000 more to be paid to several co-conspirators. Those bribes greased more than $3 million in contracts to construction contractor Phil Bloom, who has received a nearly four-year sentence for his part in the scheme, according to Welch.

    "Whiteford seized every opportunity to exercise his decision-making authority in favor of the conspirators, and his corrupt leadership only served to embolden and help recruit others to the scheme," Welch wrote. "He took an oath to uphold the law and support and defend the Constitution, and he repeatedly broke that oath in order to line his own pockets."

    Prosecutors say that because Whiteford was "in a position of trust" as a high-ranking officer deployed during war, he deserves a stiffer penalty. They suggested his crimes merit no less than 30 years in prison under sentencing guidelines, but concede that the statutory maximum for the charge he has been convicted of is five years.

    Missing from the sentencing memo is any specific reference to the Utah scandal that drove Whiteford from the Guard, although the prosecutor did note the former Army officer - who was once the Utah Guard's chief aviation officer - wasn't the by-the-book soldier he portrayed himself. "Whiteford argues that he 'was a success by any standard,' and that his conduct was an aberration, but the factual record is the opposite," Welch wrote.

 

Soldier serves up counsel, coffee

By PFC J. Princeville Lawrence, 1st Armored Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team

U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Virginia Stickler, a member of the Kansas Army National Guard's 287th Sustainment Brigade, is the manager of God's Grounds, a coffee shop on Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq, that serves free drinks, snacks and movies - as well as advice - for soldiers. (U.S. Army photo by PFC J. Princeville Lawrence)

 

    U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Virginia Stickler enjoys serving up drinks and snacks, as well as a bit of advice, to her fellow soldiers here at a coffee shop that speaks volumes about her deployment.

    God's Grounds is next to the chapel in an area of repose and comfort that soldiers come to for more than just a cup of coffee. 
    Stickler, a California native serving with the Kansas Army National Guard's 287th Sustainment Brigade, is the manager, and is more than happy to serve up espressos, slurpees, honey buns and muffins. There is a refrigerator full of drinks and shelves of snacks courtesy of the chaplains, people back home and Army supply. This is a place where folks kick back on the couch, munch on a snack and watch a movie. The best part is, it's all free. 
    And for those in need of some guidance, that's free, too. "A number of soldiers come here, and they're stressed and they're away from their families, away from their support systems and they come here to kind of talk and ventilate, and I'm able to listen," Stickler said. 
    For many soldiers, God's Grounds is a source of help in troubled times. Soldiers can talk to people like Stickler, who draws from a lifetime of experience in helping people. She has two master's degrees, a doctorate and experience as both a drug and alcohol counselor and a marriage counselor. "That experience and knowledge has helped me help some soldiers get their lives back on track," Stickler said. "The ones that I wasn't able to help, I generally refer some to the chaplains' office or various other resources. But for the most part, I have been able to talk to soldiers who have been in crisis and they came here, basically for something to drink, and just started pouring their heart out," Stickler said, "and I listened and gave them some guidance and helped them put their lives back together."

    Stickler finds it gratifying to help people and recalls a "special case near and dear to my heart. There was a very troubled individual whose marriage was on the rocks. This soldier had two children," she said. "I was able to talk to this soldier, as well as the spouse in the States, and we worked on their priorities."

    Helping other soldiers is Stickler's way of breaking the cycle. She has been dealing with family problems her whole life. "I came from a pretty messed-up background," Stickler said. "My father was a World War II veteran and he had post-traumatic stress. As a kid, I didn't know what that was. He was a very violent man. And all I could think of in my high school days was leaving my family because I was tired of being afraid of my dad." 
    Stickler left home at 18 and joined the military. "I met other people in life, and I realized that not everybody's like my dad and I started to grow."

    Her self-esteem continued to grow as she took college courses. After taking a psychology class, she was hooked. Between gigs as a school teacher, college professor, counselor and government worker, she amassed years of experience and was getting ready to retire.Then she got deployed. "I had just finished a week-long retirement seminar with my civilian job and that Saturday following, I received a FedEx package in the mail with a set of military orders for Iraq. So I put my civilian retirement on hold, and in six weeks I had to go to Fort Jackson, South Carolina." 
    A religious person, Stickler said she found her purpose during a sunrise Easter service at the birthplace of Abraham. As the sun came up over the ruins, she had an epiphany of purpose, and she knew why she had been placed in Iraq. 
    "I didn't want to do this because it really disrupted my life," she said. "But you know, sometimes God places us in places we don't want to go. After the experience, I realized why I was here. I think I'm blessed as a soldier who came here kicking and screaming, so to speak. Not only was I able to help a lot of people, but I myself have had a lot of spiritual growth and development while I was here. God has used me in a great way, and I'm glad for that."

 

And still more on the CAP

    Q: I am a long-term member of the CAP. I have been following your recent coverage with interest. Some of what you publish is very helpful. Some of it is interesting, but I don't know how we could use it. For instance, you report (again) the story of Taylor Fealy’s abuse by Sims. That is a story that would make any normal person cringe. Yet you report that not the CAP, not the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, not the OSI, took any action on that case. What could any member of CAP - especially those not in the Florida Wing - possibly do with this information?

    For instance, you report that CAP lost an opportunity with the Flying Minute Men Project [FMMP]. You say understanding this involves a familiarity with copyright law. I don't remember ever hearing word one about a Flying Minute Men Project and I don't think we have an abundance of copyright attorneys in the CAP. If the FMMP’s former executive says the FMMP is dead, what is the point of making an effort now? What is the relevance of these stories to the present situation?

    A: Those are good questions. You're probably not the only one who wonders. We'll do our best to answer them.

    First, the Fealy case. NOTF recounted this story as an illustration of the point that outrageous things happened in the Florida Wing when Pineda was the wing commander and Bowling was the Southeast Region commander - and no one seemed to have to answer for them.

    This case involves the sexual abuse of an underage female cadet, Taylor Fealy, by a CAP officer, then-1st Lt. Robert Sims, in the Florida Wing. That is a criminal matter of statutory rape. The CAP has limited authority in criminal matters, but it is required to report to civil authorities and it certainly has an obligation to protect the cadets. Sims was not only not disciplined, but, for some time, took a position in CAP working with the cadets.

    It also has to do with the arrest (by Pineda) of the cadet’s brother, Dustin Fealy. Dustin, just a kid then, showed up at a CAP meeting to publicly confront Pineda and Sims with his sister’s abuse, Pineda's involvement in moving his sister in with Sims, and the CAP's inaction.  Pineda arrested Dustin on false charges. Reportedly, when Fealy's case came before the bench, Pineda stood, whispering right into the judge’s ear. Because Fealy was on probation, he was found to be violating the probation and sent to prison.  Pineda also escaped any discipline then - or later - for his role.

    There isn't much anyone can do about this case unless s/he can provide good testimony for a case Dustin Fealy is making to clear his name. In that case, if you will send a confidential message to Dustin Fealy, including contact information. NOTF will make sure it gets to him.

    Members of the CAP can't do much to change these realities, but they can be loud and persistent in demanding answers about how this - and so many other serious issues - seem to disappear into what everyone is starting to call "the black hole." When that is known, the way should be cleared to remove some of the remaining rot and the CAP's governance committee can start designing a system where this is less likely to happen.

    With regard to FMMP, the relevant core issues are similar. It's true that the FMMP is unlikely to rise from the ashes and verifying some facts in that case might involve consultation with an attorney who has a specialty in rights law - not necessary for our purposes.

    NOTF has two interests in that story: The first is that the principals of the FMMP wrote an impressively documented and witnessed narrative about their experience - reviewed, we understand, by an attorney on their end.  NOTF obtained a hijacked copy after the fact. It's a persuasive multi-charge case identifying Stan Leibowitz and Drew Steketee for unprofessional and unethical behavior, Pineda and Kauffman for manipulating the votes of the CAP boards [the National Board (NB) and the National Executive Committee (NEC)], and the Northeast Region's commander, Robert Diduch, and Pineda, and Kauffman for abuse of power. That manipulated board vote and by the way, created more legal exposures for the CAP. But one of the most interesting things is that the FMMP story makes a strong case that Pineda and Kauffman were fully informed prior to the NEC meeting of Nov. 2005 that their lawyer was misrepresenting the law, and that if the contract was voted in, it was unworkable and the FMMP would abandon the project, and that the contract would likely create liabilities for the CAP. They nevertheless persisted in getting the vote to the NEC, where it passed.

    The story of how Diduch became the Northeast Region's commander without ever throwing his hat in the ring, and over the choice of the region's wing commanders and the selection committee, is another story that needs to be told.

    The second reason for our interest is the strong case the FMMP makes against Kauffman, who has, for years, been manipulating events and bullying CAP members. These bad apples in the CAP all have a similar MO. They all recruit henchmen to do their dirty work for them.  Then, if the deal goes sour, the stooges generally find themselves kicked to the curb. The corrupt ones rarely deal direct and it's hard to get to them. The significance of the FMMP story is that there are multiple witnesses who had direct conversations with Kauffman about making sure the FFMP story was never made public.

    As we reported earlier, Kauffman became national chief of staff under Bowling and served in the position under successive commanders until he dodged a bullet by moving onto the national headquarters staff as the head of the aircraft and vehicle maintenance program.  Kauffman also rolled over on Pineda. These birds, we suspect, blackmail each other. But he's still around and  still in contact with a network of CAP officers he put in place during his "Kingmaker Kauffman" years.

    So, we don't know about you, but NOTF is really interested in knowing where these matters are being stopped and what's in them that would make anyone so heavily invested in stopping them from reaching the daylight.

    So, does this answer your questions?

 

Red Cross assists flood victims in Georgia and Tennessee

    The American Red Cross sheltered more than 275 people in Georgia and 109 in Tennessee overnight, a signal that flood waters are slowly receding.

 

State must reimburse Tampa judge's legal costs

    Tampa, Fla., Circuit Court Judge Gregory Holder, who is also a retired colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, successfully defended a charge that he had violated Florida's Code of Judicial Conduct.

 

Utah airfield picked for U.S. Army's unmanned aircraft testing area

    Ground was broken this week in Utah on a new testing center for unmanned aircraft systems near Michael Army Airfield and the Dugway Proving Ground, because of its expansive unrestricted air space, 10,000-foot-long runway and lack of radio frequency interference.

 

Make-a-Wish Foundation fulfills pilot's dream

    Rich Martin, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 14, received his pilot's license at age 17 with the help of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northwest Ohio. Martin, now 25, is pursuing a career in the U.S. Air Force through flight training at Randolph AFB in San Antonio, Texas. "Make-A-Wish definitely led me to where I am today," said Martin.

 

The parting shots

    Spider-Man actress Kirsten Dunst has served as a star witness against a man charged in the theft of her designer purse from a New York City hotel suite while she was on a movie set.

    A man and a woman accused of training the woman's 12-year-old daughter as a sexual dominatrix in Missouri and prostituting her online have pleaded guilty in a deal that will send both to prison.

    Over the last decade, the drinking water at thousands of schools across the U.S. has been found to contain unsafe levels of lead, pesticides and dozens of other toxins.

    Pop superstar Michael Jackson feared the ravages of old age, sought the company of sycophants and appeared to be abusing prescription drugs and cosmetic surgery nearly a decade before his death, according to a new book by a former adviser.

    Danica Patrick has agreed to a three-year contract to remain at Andretti Green Racing and stay in the IndyCar Series, according to a report in the Indianapolis Star.

    Nearly one out of five U.S. drivers surveyed has read or sent a text message while behind the wheel, even though nearly all of the respondents in an AAA survey released yesterday considered such action unacceptable.

    Major Democratic fundraisers have disappeared over the course of the year, creating anxiety about the party's prospects in the 2010 election.

    You've heard of the Great Wall of China, now Tampa, Fla.'s Ybor City has the "Great Wall of Gee." The wall and guard house are being erected around the s Hillsborough County Sheriff's Operations Center there. (The county sheriff is David Gee.)

    The city of Tampa, Fla., is considering using recycled sewage water for drinking water. Every day the city dumps 55 million gallons of treated sewage water back into Tampa Bay, and City Council Member Charlie Miranda says it is an absolute, uh, waste.

    A Florida county is one of the divorce leaders in the U.S. Newly released Census figures show that Indiana and Florida both have three counties in the top 10 list of those with the highest percentage of divorced people.

    And baristas at a Washington state coffee stand have been busted for prostitution after a police investigation revealed that "Grab-n-Go Espresso" may have taken its name a little too literally.

 

 

 

 

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