News of the Force - Sunday, October 11, 2009 (Page 1)

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                                                Sunday, October 11, 2009

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Gunmen held hostages in Pakistan's army headquarters

    Heavily armed militants were holding up to 40 soldiers and civilians hostage inside Pakistan's army headquarters yesterday after they stormed the complex in an audacious assault on the nuclear-armed country's most powerful institution.

    Pakistani soldiers had to raid their own headquarters today to free about 40 solders and civilians who were being held hostage by Taliban militants. Two of the hostages died in the army assault.

 

Foreigners bolstering Taliban, Afghan official says

    Thousands of foreign fighters have poured into Afghanistan to bolster the Taliban insurgency, the country's defense minister said yesterday as he called for more international troops.

 

Turkish-Armenian signing delayed

    Secretary of State Hilary Clinton engaged in last-minute diplomacy yesterday aimed at salvaging an accord to establish diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia after a century of enmity.

    Clinton had some fast talking to do yesterday when the long-planned deal between the hostile neighbors almost fell apart.

 

Eleven suspected pirates captured in Indian Ocean

    A NATO spokeswoman says 11 suspected pirates have been captured after a foiled attack on French fishing ships in the Indian Ocean.

 

China says it's time to act on North Korea disarmament talks

    North Korea appears keen to improve ties with the U.S. and its neighbors in Asia and perhaps rejoin nuclear disarmament talks, China's premier said yesterday, urging fellow leaders not to let the opportunity slip away.

 

Cuba reports swine flu deaths

    Cuba has acknowledged its first deaths from the swine flu, saying three pregnant women succumbed to the virus and many more have been treated for symptoms.

 

Madagascar's prime minister refuses to quit

    Madagascar's outgoing prime minister refused to quit yesterday, endangering a power-sharing agreement brokered by mediators to keep peace on the island.

 

U.S. troops help Philippines as storms' toll rises

    The U.S. military trucked in supplies and marshaled helicopters and Navy ships as the Philippines struggled with the aftermath of back-to-back storms that have left more than 600 dead.

    Rescuers dug out six survivors and more bodies buried under landslides that killed at least 225 people in the storm-soaked northern Philippines, as workers rushed yesterday to clear mountain roads to aid relief efforts.

 

Wounded soldier dies weeks after ambush in Afghanistan

    An ambush in a remote part of eastern Afghanistan that raised questions about the whether U.S. troops had enough artillery, air support and intelligence has claimed a fifth U.S. service member.

 

Bomb in Pakistan's Peshawar sharpens prospect of military showdown

    A suicide bomber that killed more than 40 people in the Pakistani frontier city of Peshawar capped a week of provocative moves by the Pakistani Taliban in defiance of a threatened military attack on their headquarters in the tribal region of South Waziristan. A military showdown now seems all but assured.

 

African drought said worst in decades

    Aid organizations are appealing for global help as millions of families face hunger, water shortages, disease and death across the eastern part of Africa.

 

An independent Scotland would let U.K. keep military bases

    

    An independent Scotland would allow English military forces to be based north of the border after a U.K. split, says the Scottish government's defense spokesman has said.

    Scottish waters consist of a large sector of the North Atlantic and the North Sea, containing the largest oil reserves in the European Union.

 

McChrystal puts Afghan troop increase of more than 60,000 on the table

    U.S. Army General Stanley McChrystal has essentially told the president, "You can be hung, shot, or eat your vegetables," by saying the nation's options are no troop increase, an increase of 40,000 or an increase of more than 60,000.

 

Lanza to provide MNF-I update

    

    Multinational Force-Iraq (MNF-I) spokesman Brig. Gen. Steve Lanza is hosting an on-the-record Western and pan-Arab media press conference, where he will provide an MNF-I update, tomorrow at 12 p.m., Iraq time. The briefing will be held at the Combined Press Information Center Conference Room on FOB Prosperity.

 

Congress to keep abuse photos hidden

    Congress is set to allow the Pentagon to keep new pictures of foreign detainees abused by their U.S. captors from the public, a move intended to end a legal fight over the photographs' release that has reached the Supreme Court.

    Federal courts have so far rejected the government's arguments against the release of 21 color photographs showing prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq being abused by Americans.

    The Obama administration believes giving the imminent grant of authority over the release of such pictures to the defense secretary would short-circuit a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

    The White House is asking the justices to put off consideration of the case until after a vote on the measure in the House and Senate, as early as next week. The provision is part of a larger homeland security spending bill and would allow the defense secretary to withhold photographs relating to detainees by certifying their release would endanger soldiers or other government workers.

    The ACLU said the court should not disturb a ruling by the federal appeals court in New York ordering the photographs' release. The pending congressional action "does not supply any reason for delay," Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU's national security project, told the court.

    The dispute is on a list of cases the Supreme Court could act on Tuesday.

    Lower courts have ruled that a provision of the FOIA allows documents to be withheld from the public for security reasons only in instances where there are specific threats against individuals.

    President Obama initially indicated he would not fight the release of the photographs. He reversed course in May and authorized an appeal to the high court. The president said he was persuaded that disclosure could further incite violence in Afghanistan and Iraq and endanger U.S. troops there.

    The photographs at issue were taken by service members in Iraq and Afghanistan and were part of criminal investigations of alleged abuse. Some pictures show "soldiers pointing pistols or rifles at the heads of hooded and handcuffed detainees," Solicitor General Elena Kagan said in the appeal to the high court. In one, "a soldier holds a broom as if 'sticking its end into the rectum of a restrained detainee,'" Kagan said, quoting from an investigation report prepared by the Pentagon. Two investigations led to criminal charges and convictions, she said. Kagan said the military has identified more than two dozen additional pictures that could be affected by the court's ruling.

    The government made much the same argument to prevent the release of 87 photographs and other images of detainees at detention facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, including the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

    International outrage resulted when photographs from the Iraqi prison showing physical abuse and sexual humiliation of inmates that took place under the Bush administration were revealed. One picture showed a naked, hooded prisoner on a box with wires fastened to his hands and genitals.

    The government dropped its appeal related to those photographs after they were made public and posted on the Internet.

    The ACLU, in seeking the other pictures, said the government had long argued that the abuse at Abu Ghraib was isolated and was an aberration. The new photos would show that the abuse was more widespread, the ACLU said.

 

Brown admits damage to retina

    British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has two minor rips on his retina, Downing Street disclosed yesterday as the prime minister sought to clear up speculation surrounding his eyesight.

 

One American, two Polish troops die in Afghan blast

    Bombs have killed one American and two Polish troops in Afghanistan, military officials said yesterday.

 

Nigeria oil tanker truck explodes, killing 14

    A Nigerian official says at least 14 people died yesterday when a petroleum tanker truck exploded and set nine other vehicles on fire on a road in southeastern Nigeria.

 

Castro lauds Obama's peace prize

    Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro lauded the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Obama, saying yesterday it was "a positive measure" that was more a criticism of past U.S. policies than a recognition of Obama's accomplishments.

    And while Russia's president also congratulated Obama for winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Republicans see the award as so outrageous that they're using it to raise campaign money.

 

Pressure is on Czechs as Poland signs E.U. treaty

    Polish President Lech Kaczynski signed the European Union's reform treaty into law yesterday, leaving the Czech Republic as the only country still to ratify the document.

 

Iran sentences three to death over voting unrest

    A court has sentenced three people to death over unrest that erupted after Iran's disputed election in June and who have links to exiled opposition groups, the ISNA news agency reported yesterday.

 

 

Forces kill six Taliban fighters

    Afghan commandos - with the support of NATO-led forces - have eliminated a Taliban commander and five of his armed men in Wardak Province.

 

Nine Islamists killed by Algeria's security forces

    Nine armed Islamists have been killed by the Algerian security forces, the nation's army has said.

 

India commissions new Coast Guard vessel

    Adding more teeth to its coast-guarding capabilities off the Kerala coast, the Indian Coast Guard has commissioned a new Interceptor Boat fitted with ultra modern navigational and communications equipment.

    Governor R. S. Gavai formally commissioned the vessel C-144 at Vizhinjam. To be based at Beypore, the boat will help enhance close-coast surveillance capabilities.

    The 26-meter vessel, displaces 90 tons and was built by ABG Shipyard Ltd., in Surat.

    Commanded by Commandant Chandra Shekhar Joshi, the boat has one officer and ten enlisted personnel. It has an endurance of 500 nautical miles with the economical speed of 25 knots and can achieve a maximum speed of 45 knots.

    After the terror attacks in Mumbai last year, India's Coast Guard is pursuing an urgent enhancement of its surveillance capabilities. It has drawn up the Coast Guard Perspective Plan (2007-22) and the Development Plan (2007-12). The present force level and manpower will be doubled.  Further, the government has sanctioned 14 new Coast Guard stations. Each new station will have two fast speed boats to undertake search and rescue, close coast patrol and to respond to calls on a required basis.

    Air Vice Marshal Rajinder Singh, the senior air staff officer of the Southern Air Command; and Inspector General S. P. S. Basra, the commander of Coast Guard (West), were present at the ceremony.

 

Former Los Alamos lab worker accused of theft

    A federal grand jury has indicted a former Los Alamos National Laboratory worker on two charges after he was accused of trying to take radioactive-tainted gold worth $2,000 from the lab.

 

Frank says D.C. gay rights march misses the mark

    U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, an openly gay member of Congress, says he'd rather see gay rights supporters lobbying their elected officials than marching in Washington, D.C., this weekend, calling the demonstration "a waste of time at best."

 

Graham moves to block Obama from trying terror suspects in the U.S.

    

    NOTF's friend Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), is trying to prevent the Obama administration from holding criminal trials in civilian courts for the alleged Sept. 11 plotters instead of bringing them before military commissions.

    In addition to being a U.S. Senator, Graham is a colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserve and has served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Obama will campaign again in Virginia, Deeds says

    Democrat Creigh Deeds says he'll take all the help for his campaign for Virginia governor that President Obama wants to give him.

 

UFO cuts through Iran missile launch video

    Iran launched two short-range missiles last Saturday, and announced a long-range missile plan as well, angering Israel and the West. But what was more unexpected was the appearance of an as-of-yet unidentified flying object (UFO) during the second launch.

    The video was aired during a report by Fox News on the launches. As the commentator is remarking on the missile's launch, an object can be seen to accelerate quickly off-camera, slicing a nearby cloud formation in two.

    Nick Pope, a former UFO analyst for the U.K.'s Ministry of Defense, examined the remarkable footage and said, "One theory is that it's a secret American drone, but the speed and acceleration [of the object] seems phenomenal."

 

U.S. Army tests alcohol abuse treatment

    

    For better and sometimes worse, alcohol is a common battle buddy. Troops use it to celebrate after a long deployment and to self-medicate when the euphoria fades, leaving only stress, emotions and memories.

    To combat that abuse, the U.S. Army is trying something new: allowing soldiers who have no alcohol-related blemishes on their records to seek treatment for alcohol abuse or addiction with anonymity and without affecting their permanent records.

    Under a pilot program in place at three stateside bases, soldiers who qualify can receive counseling without anyone telling their commanders, without any delay to promotions or re-enlistments and without anyone counting their need for help as an automatic step toward a discharge.

    "This is a profound change in the whole ASAP program since its inception in 1975," said James Slobodzien, who directs the Army Substance Abuse Program at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, one of the three pilot sites. The pilot will run six months at each location. After that, the officials will assess whether to expand it Army-wide.

    Many soldiers end up in alcohol counseling because they are forced to go. Commanders must refer soldiers if they are involved in an alcohol-related incident such as a fight or an arrest, or if they have problems at work. Those rules still hold, and any soldier getting counseling as a requirement is not eligible for the pilot program, Slobodzien said.

    Yet voluntary enrollment in the traditional program also sends automatic notifications to commanders. Participation, whether voluntary or required, puts promotions on hold and restricts a soldier from re-enlisting. The soldier's record will forever note the enrollment, and after two enrollments in the ASAP, he or she can be dismissed from the military, Slobodzien said.

    With the pilot program, officially called the Army Confidential Alcohol Treatment and Education Pilot, the Army is testing whether lifting those consequences will encourage more people to seek help. Most of all, the Army wants to begin helping soldiers before they get into trouble, Army medical officials said.

    "We're not complaining about the regular system," Slobodzien said. "That's working, too. But this is the program for those who haven't had a problem yet."

    Soldiers deemed a threat to themselves, others or their missions are not guaranteed anonymity, said Brig. Gen. Steve Jones, the head of the Pacific Regional Medical Command and Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii. And soldiers with certain jobs, such as aviators, cannot enroll in the pilot program, he said.

    "We had to walk a careful line about giving soldiers an opportunity to do this without risking other soldiers in their units," said Les McFarling, who directs the entire Army Substance Abuse Program.

    The pilot program asks commanders to trust both their soldiers and the counselors to ensure the unit's safety and mission. At first, commanders were anxious about the idea of not knowing everything about their soldiers' situations, Jones and others said. But support for the program, so far, has been strong, he added.

    The pilot began at Schofield Barracks on July 6, with clinics at Ft. Richardson, in Alaska, and Ft. Lewis, in Washington state, following later in the summer. So far, about 60 soldiers and officers have qualified for the pilot at the three areas, though most have been at Schofield, according to Slobodzien and others.

    That represents about a quarter of all newcomers to the abuse program, whether required or voluntary, in the same time period, according to Jones. "Those are good numbers," he said during an interview last week in Tokyo.

    One of the reasons for the pilot program, Jones said, came after surveying returning troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. Data showed that alcohol use and incidents were rising, but enrollment in treatment programs remained stagnant. The Army picked the Hawaii, Alaska and Washington sites because the counseling staffs there were best able to handle an increase in cases. Even so, their staffs were increased by about 25 percent above normal, according to McFarling. The clinics offer evening and weekend hours to encourage soldiers to seek help during off-duty times, he said.

    The staffs created a database to track the caseloads, but that data does not get shared with commanders or recorded on an individual soldier’s military record, officials said.

    So far, most of the participants at Schofield have been younger soldiers, ranks E-1 to E-4. Four officers have sought help, Slobodzien said.

    Slobodzien said he hopes the program will continue. After working at the clinic at Schofield for 14 years, he's seen soldiers leave his office after learning their treatment would appear on their military records.

    "Studying this in a six-month period is not good enough," he said. "Trust has to be built with people we've treated. So they can go out and tell their friends, 'Yes, they didn't tell the commander. No, it didn't affect my promotion. Yes, you can go.'"
    Alcohol abuse generally means a person's relationships, work performance and health are suffering as a result of drinking. Alcohol dependence describes a state in which a drinker has built up a tolerance to alcohol and suffers withdrawal symptoms without a drink.

    So how do you know if you need help? "Three to four drinks a night, three or four nights a week? That's a lot of drinking," said Les McFarling, head of the Army Substance Abuse Program. "Especially if it’s more on the weekends. That’s something you ought to watch."

    Think about your actions after you drink, McFarling says. If you get out of control, want to dance with everyone on the dance floor or fight everyone at the bar," he says, "then you've got some issues."

 

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Missouri firefighters honored at memorial service

By Jim Corvey, News of the Force-St. Louis

    

From left, Bryan Meyers, Capt. Craig Tihen and Andy Zeisset, all firefighters with the Cottleville, Mo., Fire Protection District, listen to the playing of "Taps" during a service honoring firefighters Thursday evening.

 

    Firefighters from across St. Charles County, Mo., spent a few moments Thursday night reflecting on those who came before them and why they do what they do.

    About 90 people - mostly firefighters, some relatives and friends - took shelter from the storm Thursday night by pouring into the chapel at the Baue Funeral Home for the candlelight memorial service to honor current and fallen firefighters.

    The guest speaker was Bill Zieres, with the state fire marshal's office, who said the work of a firefighter is more than just a way to make a living. "It's not just a job," Zieres said. "It's a life. It’s a calling from God. And it’s a gift to all of us and to all of mankind."

    The firefighters memorial was Baue's first, though the funeral home has hosted similar memorials for police officers for nearly 20 years. Jan Smith, a manager at Baue, said that after so many years of honoring police, it was time to do the same for firefighters. Also, she said, it's appropriate because October is National Fire Prevention Month.

    The service also included prayers, songs, roll calls of firefighters killed in the line of duty and those who died while serving, a candlelight ceremony and ringing of bells.

    Smith said the funeral home plans to hold the firefighters memorial yearly. She said Baue is also planning to start an annual service to honor ambulance workers.

 

60 Minutes will feature fallen Marine's unit in segment about the war

    

Lance Cpl. David R. Hall, USMC

 

    The U.S. Marine Corps unit of a Lorain, Ohio, native killed in Afghanistan will be featured as part of a CBS News 60 Minutes segment about the war there.
    Lance Cpl. David R. Hall, 31, who was killed in action Aug. 31, was serving with a force that became part of the research for the 60 Minutes program scheduled to run this evening.
    The segment, Afghanistan: 14 More Years? is an analysis of the war and U.S. policy dealing with insurgents.

    It appears the television crew has footage from Helmand Province, the same place where Hall spent his final days. The reporters were a kilometer away when a bomb took Hall's life and may have footage of the helicopter that swept him away, said Hall's sister, Lora. "It's like a gift from God and from David," she said.

    The Hall family has not seen the video, but they hope it will offer a glimpse into Hall's work and life serving his country.
    "To get that phone call and to say we're going to be able to see exactly where he was, they just have no idea the magnitude of that for the families," Lora Hall said. "The magnitude of that I just can't describe. You just want to be there with them. You want to hold their hands. In a way, it reunites you with them."
    CBS Reporter Scott Pelley spent three weeks with "Golf Company, Two-Eight," the U.S. Marine Corps' Company G, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines. Golf Company, in which Hall served, was sent to Afghanistan as part of President Obama's troop build-up.
    Despite a number of battles over three months, Golf Company followed new orders to be wary of killing civilians and they hurt none. But in the same time, they lost seven Marines, an unusually high number, according to CBS News.
    Among the fallen was Hall, a Southview High School alumnus who left his job at Ford's Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake to enlist.

    Hall's family learned about the program late Thursday through a telephone call from a CBS producer, Lora Hall said. The Hall family wishes to thank the news crew as well as the Lorain community for the support given to the family. "We do want to extend our most heartfelt thanks to the community and really, the nation," Lora Hall said. "We've received letters from nearly every state in the country. We've gotten them from other countries. It's amazing."
    It follows recent letters from Hall's commanding officer, Marine Corps Capt. Matthew J. Martin, and from Lance Cpl. Jean Fenelus, Hall's best friend in the Marine Corps.
    "Our connection was so strong," Fenelus wrote in a letter to Hall's family. "We built trust and we had a perfect brotherhood that people would never, ever understand. That's how powerful me and David were. So much to say but in our hearts we knew what we were about, and everybody who knew us knows that me and David will never separate. He is always going to be in my heart and in my mind and I know that he is in Heaven looking after us."
    Lora Hall also shared excerpts from Martin's letter that described her brother. "Over the last four months, I observed David's heroic performance under some of the harshest conditions in a combat environment that I have witnessed in the last 19 years of service," Martin wrote. "Not a single day went by that he didn't lead the Marines of his squad from the front! His selfless demeanor and genuine concern for his men instilled strength and confidence in every Marine he came in contact with."
    Martin also described Hall's last mission as part of two squads sent out to investigate an improvised explosive device. It was a success that destroyed the bomb before it could hurt any troops or civilians. However, another IED was waiting for the Marine in front. Hall "volunteered to take the lead as his squad swept through multiple choke points," Martin wrote. "Selflessly placing himself in the front so he could scan the terrain with his metal detector, he was struck by an improvised explosive device and succumbed to his wounds before evacuation."

    CBS News issued a press release with quotes from Marines interviewed for the program that also hint at the difficulty of the war on terror. "Killing a thousand Taliban is great but if I kill two civilians in the process, it's a loss," Battalion Commander Lt. Col. Christian Cabaniss said as he described the new mission of restraint. "I told the Marines before we deployed, it's about a three-second decision, especially with his personal weapon. The first second is 'Can I?' The next two are: 'Should I? What is going to be the effect of my action? Will it move the Afghan closer to the government or further away?'" Cabaniss asked. "Decisive is winning the consent of the people," Cabaniss said. "Winning is really the government of Afghanistan filling the vacuum with delivery of governance."

    The Marines could be in for a long haul, says one of the top generals in the Afghanistan theater. "Well, if you look back in history a successful counter-insurgency usually lasts at least 14 years," U.S. Army Brig Gen. John Nicholson, who specializes in counter-insurgency said. "We're early in that spectrum."

    The 60 Minutes program will air on CBS at 7 p.m., EDT, this evening, or a little later, depending on the duration of the NFL game shown before the program.

 

Iran: Israel's threats 'inexplicable'

    Iran's ambassador to the U.N., Mohammad Khazaee, sent a letter of protest to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in which he wrote that "there is no explanation for Israel's continuing threats against Tehran."

    He was referring to an interview given by former Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh to London's Sunday Times in which he said that if Iran were not further sanctioned by this Christmas, Israel would attack the country. Sneh told the paper that if Israel were forced to attack the Islamic Republic on its own it would do so, remarks the Iranian ambassador deemed "irresponsible."

    He said he hoped the U.N. would take steps against such comments. "Remarks such as these, stated once in a while by Israeli leaders, are no more than sorry excuses aimed at avoiding supplying answers regarding Israel's nuclear arsenal and deflecting public awareness from the crimes and terror Israel commits in the region," he said.

    Khazaee once again stressed that his country's nuclear program was intended for peaceful purposes and said that "the only threat in the region is Israel's nuclear arsenal, which remains unsupervised to this day."

 

Yellow Ribbon Program aids loved ones of Army Reserve unit headed overseas

    Gainesville, Ga.-based soldiers and their families were preparing for battle on two fronts yesterday.

    As the men and women of the 802nd Ordnance Company ready themselves physically and mentally for a tour of duty in Afghanistan, their wives, husbands, parents, siblings and children will take on a different challenges on the home front.

    Yesterday’s "Yellow Ribbon Program" at the Lakewood Baptist Church was a primer on what kind of help soldiers and their families may need during the deployment, from health insurance to support group networking to psychological counseling.

    The day-long program is a fairly new initiative for the military. "This is recognizing the fact that while we're fighting battles in Afghanistan, families are still fighting battles in the rear," said Capt. Todd Bostic, commander of the 225-troop U.S. Army Reserve unit based out of Gainesville. "This gives them a lot of support they haven't had before."

    The 802nd, which supplies ammunition to fighting forces, is scheduled to mobilize next month and could be in Afghanistan by December. The unit last deployed overseas in 2003-04, when it was among the first ordnance companies in Kuwait and later Iraq, supplying troops in the early ground battles of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

    There are a lot of new faces in the company since then, many who have never been in a war zone. "Some are anxious," Sgt. First Class Eleanor Jackson said. "If you look at this unit, they're very young. So this is new to them. That’s why they need this support - we need to let them know we've got their back."

    Yesterday’s workshop with soldiers and their families covered family networking on the home front, financial readiness, family issues during deployment, counseling and veterans benefits, among other topics.

    Alisa Grayson, of Braselton, Ga., soon will see her husband, Staff Sgt. Gerald Grayson, off to war for a second time. The couple has three teenage children. "Mentally, we have to get prepared," said Grayson, who is active in the network of soldiers' families known in military lingo as the "FRG," or Family Readiness Group. "We're just trying to readjust our lives, with the household and the children." The FRG is all about "being supportive," Grayson said. "It's just a lot of praying, talking and communicating. It's a close-knit support group."

    Grayson said yesterday’s program showed that "the outreach is extraordinary, as far as what the military is offering families."

    Sgt. Shamika Grimes (pictured, above) can't say she’s looking forward to her second deployment overseas. Her parents and siblings will be praying for her safe return. "It's here," Grimes said of the order to ship out. "You can't change it. I'm ready to do what I've got to do, and come home."

 

The CAP's California Wing: May the Keilholtz not be with you

    "I just got my copy of the CAP magazine Volunteer," a Civil Air Patrol (CAP) member has written in a message to News of the Force.

    "I noticed a great article in there about 'Two recent California Wing saves.' CAP regulations preclude the use of a helicopter in any training activity, let alone a search and rescue mission. Yet Bob Keilholtz was out taking part in a training exercise in his helicopter.  He also happened on a crashed aircraft next to Oceanside, after the ELT went off, and after the folks on the ground and at the airport saw the crash and called 911. I'm not sure how Keilholtz contributed, but he was there," the source told us.

    :Then he was the incident commander on a search for an ELT after having been returned to active status from a 60 day suspension by his group commander. When the group commander noticed he was back in action, he contacted the wing commander, and the wing commander, for all intents and purposes, hid under his desk, as did the wing's vice commander," the source said.

    "Remember the resignation letter that was published from Major Randy McClure in the NOTF awhile back? Same Keilholt, same attitude, and same 'stick in the eye' of his group and wing commander. This guy cost the CAP one of the best group commanders in the country -  a guy who was the California Wing's and Pacific Region's Senior Member of the year in 2009!" the source said.
    "In all of South Coast Group Seven, only one squadron reacts to his [emergency alerting]pages since he's disrespected and mistreated most of the active players in emergency services. Group One also wasn't responding, either, for the longest time," the source wrote.

    "All in all," the source said, "Keilholtz gives the CAP a bad name, but the Air Force loves him because he takes most of the Air Force-directed missions in Southern California."

    News of the Force received this message last Monday. The source's name has been withheld to protect his identity. And NOTF sent an e-mail message to Capt. Storey, who was listed on the California Wing's Web site as it's public affairs officer, on Tuesday requesting comment. As of this morning, their has been no reply from Capt. Storey or any other officer of the CAP's California Wing.

 

U.S. military deaths in Afghan region at 792

    

    As of yesterday, at least 792 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department. Of those, the military reports 612 were killed by hostile action.

    Outside the Afghan region, the Defense Department reports 72 more members of the U.S. military died in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, three were the result of hostile action. The military lists these other locations as Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba; Djibouti; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Jordan; Kenya; Kyrgyzstan; the Philippines; Seychelles; Sudan; Tajikistan; Turkey; and Yemen.

    There were also four CIA officer deaths and one military civilian death.

 

Padalka, Barratt, Laliberte make successful landing
    A Russian Soyuz spacecraft carrying commander Gennady Padalka, flight engineer Michael Barratt and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte undocked from the International Space Station yesterday and plunged to a successful landing in Kazakhstan early today.
    Descending under a big orange-and-white parachute, the Soyuz TMA-14's descent module settled to a jarring rocket-assisted touchdown at 12:32 a.m., EDT (10:32 a.m. local time), today to close out a 50-minute descent from orbit. Russian recovery forces, including U.S. and Russian flight surgeons, monitored the final stages of the descent before moving in to provide assistance, opening the capsule's hatch within about six minutes.
    A few minutes after that, video from the landing site showed the crew members resting comfortably in chairs draped with blankets, with Laliberte wearing his familiar red clown nose. Padalka could be seen enjoying an apple as he and Barratt chatted with support personnel.
    For Padalka and Barratt, launched March 26, touchdown closed out a marathon 199-day stay in orbit that was highlighted by the expansion of the crew from three to six astronauts and cosmonauts. Padalka, veteran of a flight to the old Mir space station and two expeditions aboard the ISS, boosted his space flight total to 586 days, putting him sixth on the list of most experienced space fliers.

    Laliberte, a Canadian billionaire, is believed to have paid around $35 million to spend nine days aboard the space station as a tourist. He took off Sept. 30 with cosmonaut Maxim Suraev and NASA flight engineer Jeffrey Williams, who remained behind aboard the space station as part of the six-member Expedition 21 crew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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