NEWS OF THE FORCE - Monday, January 16, 2012 - Page 2

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NEWS OF THE FORCE

Monday, January 16, 2012 - Page 2

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Missouri man gets $50K in Taser lawsuit

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

     

    A Columbia, Mo., man has received $50,000 to settle a lawsuit against the city's police department and two officers over their stun gun use.

    Cadilac Derrick, 24, settled his federal civil suit earlier this month. The case was then dismissed from Missouri's Western District U.S. Court after it went to mediation.

    Derrick was pulled over by two Columbia officers in a Feb. 24, 2009, traffic stop. A patrol car dashboard video shows the man being subdued with a Taser after he didn't immediately respond to a request to leave the car. Derrick's girlfriend and her 3-year-old child were also in the car. Criminal charges filed against Derrick for resisting arrest were later dismissed, but a police internal affairs investigation found the two officers acted appropriately.

 

News from the National Guard

    

    More than 100 Arizona Army National Guard soldiers are safely back with their families after a year-long deployment to Afghanistan.

    Indiana Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. October D. Blodgett received the Air National Guard's Hometown Heroes Salute award. The award recognizes airmen for their contributions to overseas missions, based on the duration of their deployment.

    Two hundred and sixty soldiers of the Utah Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 211th Aviation, are heading to Afghanistan today for a 12 month deployment.

    A welcome home ceremony for the 422nd Expeditionary Signal Battalion, of the Nevada Army National Guard, was held at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, yesterday.

    Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Sellars, a Brockton native and commander of the Massachusetts Army National Guard, has been named as the "Citizen of the Year" in Boston, Mass.

    Firefighters from the South Dakota Army National Guard's 451st Engineering Detachment's Firefighting Team responded to a hazmat spill call at Camp Marmal, Afghanistan, on Jan. 9. The 451st EDFT works as a part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

    And Our Story, Inc. (www.ourstoryinc.com) in association with the Nevada National Air Guard, will be hosting three documented Tuskegee Airmen on Jan. 20, in celebration as the George Lucas film Red Tails debuts in movie houses across the nation.

 

Are you 'Progressive'?

    

    You know their TV commercials, the ones featuring the ditsy actress dressed in white. What you might not know is that the chairman of Progressive is Peter Lewis, one of the major funders of leftist causes in America.

    Between 2001 and 2003, Lewis funneled $15 million to the ACLU, the group most responsible for destroying what's left of America's Judeo-Christian heritage. Lewis also gave $12.5 million to MoveOn.org and America Coming Together, two key propaganda arms of the socialist left.
His funding for these groups was conditional on matching contributions from George Soros, the America-hating socialist who is the chief financier of the Obama political machine.

    Lewis made a fortune as a result of capitalism, but now finances a progressive movement that threatens to destroy the American free enterprise system that is targeting television shows on Fox News. Peter Lewis is making a fortune off of conservative Americans (who buy his auto insurance) that he applies to dismantle the very system that made him wealthy. He's banking on no one finding out who he is, so, stop buying Progressive Insurance and pass this information on to all your friends.

    Lewis' gift helps the ACLU promote their anti-Christmas agenda such as:
    · Removing nativity scenes from public property;
    · Banning songs such as Silent Night from schools;
    · Refusing to allow students to write about the Christian aspect of Christmas in school projects;
    · Renaming Christmas break Winter break;
    · Refusing to allow a city sponsored Christmas parade to be called a Christmas parade;

    · Not allowing a Christmas tree in a public school; and,

    · Renaming a Christmas tree displayed on public property a Holiday tree.
    In addition to their war on Christmas, the ACLU uses gifts like that from Lewis to:

    · Sue states to force them to legalize homosexual marriage;

    · Force libraries to remove porn filters from their computers;

    · Sue the Boy Scouts to force them to accept homosexuals as scout leaders; · Help legalize child pornography;

    · Legalize live sex acts in bars in Oregon;

    · Protect the North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) whose motto is "sex by eight or it is too late";

    · Censor student led prayer at graduation;

    · Remove "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance; and,

    · Remove "In God We Trust" on our currency.

 

Taking aim at child porn in the armed forces

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

    

    He was a rising star described as the "most respected chaplain in the Army." Assigned to the elite Special Operations Command, Lt. Col. Keith A. Jackson accompanied some of the first military forces into Afghanistan and Iraq, returned repeatedly to the combat zones and earned two Bronze Stars. He seemed destined for the military's highest ranks.

    Instead, last week, Jackson became the latest soldier to be convicted of sexually exploiting a child. Over a seven-month period, Jackson, 46, a married father of two, used the Internet to send hundreds of obscenity-laced texts and about seven hours of graphic video of himself to what prosecutors said he believed to be a 14-year-old girl. In reality, it was a St. Charles County, Mo., sheriff's detective.

    A Pentagon spokesman said problems with child pornography and child sexual exploitation were not widespread in the ranks. Still, the military has taken steps to address the issue, including offering training and blocking access from government computers to some sites.

    A spokesman for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said that although the organization saw many cases involving military personnel, it had no data to suggest the crimes were a greater problem in the military than in any other segment of the population. "The military is like the rest of society," said Ernie Allen, the center's president. "The problems of child pornography and child sexual exploitation have exploded in this country particularly with the advent of the Internet. It's certainly our view that the military is not immune."

    Allen credited the military for its aggressive pursuit of such cases and noted that a Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) special agent was assigned to work directly out of the center. "We're pleased and impressed with the effort of the military to attack this problem," Allen said.

    In 2011, the Army tried 40 soldiers for child pornography, with 37 convicted and three acquitted. In addition, 26 soldiers were court-martialed for charges related to indecent acts, liberties or language with a child under the age of 16, with 22 convicted and four acquitted. The numbers don't include soldiers tried in civilian courts. Army officials say they don't track those numbers, which makes it difficult to determine how widespread the problem might be.

    At Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., at least eight soldiers, a Marine and a civilian employee have been charged since December 2008 with either producing, possessing or distributing child pornography or indecent conduct with a child. A fort spokesman said the command and was doing everything possible to eliminate an act that "compromises everything that our soldiers and Army stand and fight for. We are committed to using all available tools, including aggressive investigation, the Uniform Code of Military Justice and prosecution of offenders in court to reduce these behaviors," said Tiffany Wood, the post's deputy public affairs officer.

    Jackson was not assigned to Fort Leonard Wood. He was charged there after investigators from the St. Charles County Cyber Crime Unit discovered him in an Internet chat room for Missourians. The unit, which was formed in 2001, has four forensic computer analysts and three investigators. It handled more than 320 cases in 2010.

    Jackson was arrested in May, in Alexandria, Va., where he was living while taking part in a fellowship affiliated with the Army War College, a coveted training program for senior Army leaders. He spent 10 days in solitary confinement in a civilian jail before the Army took jurisdiction of the case and he was transferred to Fort Leonard Wood to await court-martial. There is no hard and fast rule for whether a soldier arrested by civilian authorities will end up being tried in a military court. In Jackson's case, the Army approached St. Charles County authorities about taking custody of Jackson, a 21-year veteran. "Our preference is for us to clean our own laundry," said Col. James Agar, Fort Leonard Wood's staff judge advocate.

    Jackson faced 20 charges and 47 years' confinement for his Internet exchanges with a person using the screen name strawb3rry_babi, whom he first came across in a Yahoo! chat room in September 2010.

    During his court-martial last week, prosecutors portrayed Jackson as having a dark side: a trusted man of the cloth who provided honorable service to his nation but who repeatedly sought out a young girl for sexual gratification. "He is the wolf in sheep's clothing," said Capt. Robert Luyties, the military prosecutor. "The cloak has been removed, and we can see what Col. Jackson is - a man who likes to masturbate to 14-year-old girls."

    Jackson's attorney countered that he was an outstanding officer deep in the grips of alcohol abuse and crumbling from the relentless pressures of his job.

    Jackson testified that he never believed the person he was communicating with was a minor, pointing out that the terms of use agreement required chat room participants to be at least 18 years old and that the undercover detective's profile listed her age as 23.

    "Just because she said she was 14, doesn't mean he believed she was 14," said Frank J. Spinner, Jackson's civilian attorney.

    Jackson said that he was role playing when he participated in the exchanges, often blacked out from the liquor he had consumed and afterward had little or no recollection of most of what occurred, including the detective's twice saying she was 14.

    Jackson, wearing his dress blue uniform with rows of ribbons spilling across his chest, testified about having lost 20 close friends in combat. On three occasions, men died in his arms. He told of accompanying the bodies of fallen comrades home, ministering to their grieving families, conducting their funeral services, then returning to the battle zone to repeat the process. The high tempo of operations meant little down time for Jackson, one of the command's few available chaplains. He said he routinely failed to take his earned leave. In 2005, he said, he began to drink heavily to help him sleep and forget traumatic events. He said that he was able to keep his drinking secret from his family and colleagues and that his career continued to flourish.

    When he moved to Virginia in August 2010 to take part in a fellowship at George Mason University, his wife remained home to Fayetteville, N.C. Alone, depressed, grief-stricken and wracked with guilt over the deaths of his friends, Jackson said, his drinking escalated. He said he would sometimes drink a quart or more of vodka in 20 minutes and wake the next day with no recollection of what he had done. He said that it was during those drunks and "blackouts" that he engaged in the improper Internet behavior, but that he had no recollection of it. "I am repulsed by it and ashamed by it," he said.

    Prosecutors pointed out that despite claims of blacking out, Jackson was able to recall key details of some conversations, never appeared with a drink in the hours of recorded web camera chats and typed one-handed without misspellings. They said the undercover detective never presented herself as anything other than a 14-year-old.

    After listening to testimony over two days, Col. Jeff Nance, the military judge, found Jackson guilty of 18 counts. The sentence was still to come. Prosecutors asked for two years' confinement.

    Jackson knew before the court-martial began that his Army career was over. He hoped to at least salvage his retirement and avoid having to register as a sex offender, which he said would make it almost impossible for him to find employment. He worried that his family, who had sacrificed so much for the Army and the nation, would be destitute.

    In some cases, soldiers have been granted administrative separations from service in lieu of court-martial that allowed them to avoid sex offender registries, but Agar, the fort's staff judge advocate, said such cases were rare.

    Among Jackson's character witnesses was Col. William Coultrup, a veteran of the Special Operations Command who offered a glimpse into Jackson's service with the secretive Special Mission Units, an insular group not often receptive to chaplains but who came to regard Jackson as a brother during some of the toughest fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. "He's been absolutely the best chaplain I've ever worked with," Coultrup said. "I would be absolutely honored to have Keith guard my back."

    Col. Tom Solhjem, command chaplain of the Special Operations Command, said Jackson's case was indicative of a "force fraying around the edges. Across the board there's been a monumental failure to understand the effects of a 10-year war," he said.

    Because of the secretive nature of the Special Operations Command's work and the need to maintain security clearances, Solhjem said there was "no protected place to seek help that doesn't ruin a career."

    Retired Army Col. Scott McChrystal said he had known Jackson for 20 years and believed Jackson still had "enormous potential." McChrystal, who spent seven years as senior chaplain at West Point, called Jackson the "most respected chaplain in the Army."

    In the end, the military judge ordered Jackson dismissed from service, the officer's equivalent of a dishonorable discharge. The sentence still must be approved by the fort's commanding general, who could lessen the sentence. Should the sentence stand, Jackson won't be able to vote or own a gun, and prosecutors estimate he'll forfeit about $1.5 million in retirement benefits. He will serve no further confinement, but he will have to register as a sex offender.

 

Today in History

    On Jan. 16, 1991, the White House announced the start of Operation Desert Storm to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait. Read more of Today in History at our web site, http://newsoftheforce.org .

 

NOTF Lite

    Miss Wisconsin, Laura Kaeppeler, was crowned the new 2012 Miss America last night. Kaeppeler, 23, has an unusual background. She says she thought long and hard as to whether she should make her father's jail time for mail fraud part of her pageant platform. Her father, Jeff Kaeppeler, served 18 months in a federal prison for mail fraud, a sentence he started when Laura was entering college. He was backstage last night with his daughter, who called him her "best friend." Kaeppeler's mission: She wants children of incarcerated adults to feel less alone, to have mentoring and as much of a relationship with their parents as possible.

    The 69th Golden Globe winners have been announced. The list is here:

69th annual Golden Globes winners – USATODAY.com .

    Famed director George Lucas says his soon-to-be-released movie on the Tuskegee Airmen almost didn't make it into theatres because the film industry didn't want to fund its release because of the all-black cast. "It's because it's an all black movie. It has no major white roles in it at all," Lucas said in an interview with Comedy Central's Jon Stewart last week. Lucas said Red Tails, which he funded himself to a budget of about $58 million, met nothing but closed doors in the film industry, which Lucas was depending on to market and distribute the film. He said Red Tails was expensive and cost more than traditional black-cast films that play to smaller audiences. "And they don't believe there's any foreign market for it," Lucas said, adding that if the film isn't successful, larger budgets for future films with black casts may be in jeopardy.

    Canadian prosecutors say that three leaders of the bankrupt tele-communications equipment maker Nortel manipulated the books to show a profit and win bonuses for themselves.

    If you're a critic of President Obama, Newsweek apparently doesn't think you're smart. The magazine yesterday posted an image of this week's cover story that poses the question: "Why Are Obama's Critics So Dumb?" The magazine's Twitter account posted this message: "Presenting this week's cover: President Barack Obama! In which we ask, why are his critics so dumb? Newsstands Monday." Liberal commentator Andrew Sullivan is the author of the story.

    Today's words of wisdom from Alec Baldwin's Twitter feed: "What should my next career be? Easy, now..."

    And, Carthage, Mo., Mayor Mike Harris is hoping a few more residents will decide to run for one of the six open positions on the City Council. The filing deadline is 5 p.m., tomorrow, but as of Friday only three people had filed paperwork. Harris says he's concerned about the apparent lack of interest and encourages people to get more involved in their community. The Joplin Globe reports two of the three who have filed are incumbents, while the third previously served on the council by appointment. The mayor says he does not understand why people are not interested in taking part in their local government. Candidates must pay a $25 filing fee or submit 25 signatures of registered voters.

 

 

                    

If at first you don't succeed
skydiving is not for you.

 

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