Results tagged “Military” from Don't Go Into The Light

Forbes has pictures of prototypes and artists' renditions of yet to be built models.

At stake: $100 billion and a chance to make Arnold Schwarzenegger's driveway a little more crowded.

An arrest was announced this morning:

A Boeing Co. assembly line worker from Trevose has been arrested on charges of hacking wires on a $30 million Chinook helicopter being assembled at a Ridley Township plant last week.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan announced the arrest today, about a week after damage was discovered on two of the new model Chinook CH-47F helicopters. The dual-rotor aircraft were still on the assembly line, and no damage was found to other models in production or already deployed.

Meehan's office identified the arrested man as Matthew K. Montgomery, 32, an employee for 18 months at the Boeing plant. Montgomery admitted that he damaged one of the aircraft he was working on, Meehan said. Montgomery was arrested last night while being interviewed by Defense Department investigators.

Apparently, I was right about the motive - the sabotage was caused by a disgruntled employee:

Meehan said he would not speculate on a motive in the Montgomery case. According to an affidavit filed in the case, Montgomery was told on May 10 - two days before the severed wires were detected on one of the Chinooks - that he was being transferred to another assembly line at Boeing.

Montgomery told investigators yesterday that he cut the wires the day he was told of the transfer, the affidavit said.

There may have been "some sense of lack of appreciation for the job he may have been doing," Meehan told reporters at a news conference.

Well, he certainly got his wish - there's no way he'll get transferred to another assembly line now.

He appeared before a judge today, and was released on own recognizance. He also agreed to undergo psychiatric evaluation.

Both Boeing and the feds quickly settled on referring to this as "vandalism", rather than calling it sabotage. To me that suggested that they had an idea early on as to who and why.

They're still treating the second aircraft as a separate incident, and the investigation is ongoing.

Sorry for the quietness this morning - had a busy work day.

Boeing started production again on Chinook helicopters. If there was any doubt that this was not an accident, the Pentagon has removed it by offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the culprit.

I haven't had much time to scan news today, so please forgive me if any of this repeats what has already been reported. It's been confirmed to me that the washers were dropped into the oil sump of one of the transmissions - the one that combines the drive shafts from the engines and turns output shafts to the forward and aft rotors. The oil sump is protected by a debris screen which would have to be removed in order to place any foreign objects inside - not something that can happen by chance.

The wire harness was not cleanly cut, but looked as if someone used dull tin snips or scissors to sever, and struggled to do so. Both of the folks at the plant I spoke with agreed that this was not an accident.

I've heard that nailing the culprit may be difficult - Boeing has lots of security cameras in use to watch the perimeters of the buildings and grounds, but few positioned to view the interiors of buildings. While it may be possible that the list of potential suspects has been narrowed down to a short few, proof may be, for now, in short supply. The working assumption is that the acts occurred last weekend, when fewer folks were around to witness the damage.

Now that production has resumed, I expect the investigation will occur quietly in the background as most people will be focused on getting back on schedule. But I've been promised a call from a friend there should there be anything worth passing on. Stay tuned.

Yesterday, Boeing shut down production at the Ridley Park plant where CH-47 Chinook helicopters are assembled:

WASHINGTON - Army criminal investigators are looking into damage to two military helicopters on a production line at a Boeing Co. plant in suburban Philadelphia, prompting the company to shut down the line.

Rep. Joe Sestak, a Democrat whose district includes the plant, said Wednesday he was told that wires that appeared to be broken or severed were found in one helicopter and a suspicious washer was found in a second.

My sources (fair reliability, better than 60%) tell me that the "wires" were an entire wire harness, and the washer was more than one. The wire harness was apparently in an area where accidental breakage is highly improbable, and the washers were placed in an area where the only way they could have gotten there has to be planned and deliberate. I have a few more details but I'm waiting for confirmation before passing them on. However, I will share that at no time was there any danger of defective aircraft being delivered to the Army - Each and every aircraft is inspected thoroughly and passes a rigorous flight test regime before delivery. Additionally, these helicopters are put together the old fashioned way - by hand. That means lots of eyes on each aircraft each day, and chances are good that these problems would have been discovered outside of any quality process. I know many of these folks personally, and they take a great deal of pride in what they do.

Boeing sent home over 100 production workers yesterday, and todays production crew, including evening shifts, were told to remain home save for a minimal crew to assist in inspecting the other 6 aircraft on the assembly line.

As to a motive (should this be determined to be deliberate), there are several possibilities I can think of:

• Disgruntled employee - the most likely cause in my opinion. Someone who's been under fire at work recently may have decided to "get even".
• Corporate sabotage - Boeing is in a battle with Lockheed and Sikorsky over a $15 billion contract for USAF aircraft called CSAR, for Combat Search and Rescue. Boeing initially won the contract but the award has been tied up by numerous challenges to the government from the losers. One of the reasons Boeing initially won was low risk, a series of "mishaps" could certainly cast a shadow over that advantage.
• Domestic dissident - Chinook aircraft are, after all, military aircraft. There are a number of our own citizens who hold the administration, the military, and the war in contempt. Not everyone who works in the defense industry is a Republican.

I think the likelihood of international espionage is small, as this is a manufacturing site with the type of security you'd expect at a defense contractor. They don't do tours or allow unscreened visitors.

I have a personal interest in this one, so I'll be watching closely and let you know what develops.

If John McCain runs this as a campaign ad, he's gonna have an easy time in November.

Unlike the candidates who actually had access to classified intelligence, he opposed the war from the beginning. In other words, he opposed the war based on... ignorance. Good luck with that.

"I will cut investments in unproven missile defense systems." Sheer stupidity. How can you prove a system if you don't invest in it?

"I will slow our development in Future Combat Systems." You know, the massive Army program that has spawned all of the force protection and unmanned systems that are saving soldier's lives. Yes, while it's true that the systems being fielded today aren't technically part of FCS, they wouldn't have been developed as fast or in some cases not at all had it not been for the investment in FCS. Maybe Senator Obama would prefer that Army doctrine return to the days of trench warfare - it worked in WWI, after all.

Considering his view of FCS and missile defense, his statement about the quadrennial review really comes into focus. What would Barack consider to be unnecessary defense spending? Pretty much all of it, by the looks of it.

As for nukes - is he talking about the same Russia that's been pining for the good ol' days lately? Is he really so naive as to believe that everyone else will dispose of their nuclear weapons after we do? A nuclear weapons-free world is a nice goal. But to assume that Putin will suddenly start wearing flowers in his hair because Obama asks nicely is more than a little naive. It's downright dangerous. Oh, and notice he doesn't mention China.

When it comes to national defense, Obama's views sound less like a potential Commander-In-Chief and more like Jane Fonda. Is this really what you want for a President?

Via AP/Yahoo:

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb killed four U.S. soldiers in Baghdad on Sunday, the military said, pushing the overall American death toll in the five-year war to at least 4,000. The grim milestone came on a day when at least 61 people were killed across the country.

Well, I guess we know what the topic of the week is going to be for the Democrat candidates. Expect more dishonest tripe from both as Obama claims his ignorance-based stance on the war shows better judgment than that of those who actually had access to intel, and watch Hillary spin like a top as she regrets basing her Iraq war vote on facts instead of opinion polls of the moonbat wing of her party. And both will attack each other on which plan for surrender waves the white flag faster and higher.

Lost in all of this will be the troops, some of whom have made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom while the left continues to actively undermine the morale and mission of those that remain.

As a military retiree, I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the men and women currently serving their country. Your tireless devotion, courage, and professionalism are appreciated.

The Wall Street Journal answers your questions - apparently, it's a lot like the good ol' days, when service was more than a bag of peanuts and a soda:

Airman Fauci, a diminutive blonde, was working in supply management on the flight line of an F-16 squadron in New Mexico two years ago. When she told her base commander she planned to leave the service at the end of her four-year stint and apply to be a flight attendant at Southwest Airlines, the officer put her in touch with the 89th Airlift Wing. Soon after she was selected, Ms. Fauci re-enlisted for four more years. She has traveled to foreign destinations ranging from Australia to Belgium, serving first lady Laura Bush and members of Congress.

When it came time to serve the new cookies on Secretary Gates's trip to College Station, the extra work paid off. They "were so much better," she says. And when the passengers noticed they were shaped like Texas, "they thought that was awesome."

Just doing the jobs that American flight attendants (and Southwest, Northwest, Delta, US Air, Continental, etc.) won't do.

Posted on Delaware Watch is the below video on Diego Garcia. I'm not studied on the primary subject of British policy in Diego Garcia, but the second minute of the piece paints the US military as baby killers. Sadly, this kind of disgusting totally untrue smear of the troops happens far too frequently in leftist circles. It is beyond dispute that no military in history has worked harder than ours to avoid civilian casualties.

The piece does show what appears to be horrible treatment of the indigenous population of Diego Garcia. However, its view of the U.S. military is so dishonestly wrong that the rest of the piece is highly suspect.

There's a lesson here. Journalists who really care about exposing injustices should check any ideology at the door else risk discrediting any good they might accomplish. Same goes for those who spread it.

Update: If the atrocities outlined in the film are real, then notable are the dates - the key years for the United States' involvement are between 1961 and 1968 - all during Democrat administrations.

I'm sure that makes it all OK, right? Since it was for the "common good", after all...

This post was blocked by Blogrolling.

Two clips - the first is the USAF-produced newser, the second is raw footage of Maggie being loaded into the shipping container and aircraft.

You never, ever see this happening with donkeys. Donkeys hate the military.

The Air Force article with more details can be found here.

H/T Michelle Malkin for the Danny Glover link.

I couldn't help but think back to the visit his vile bunch of haters made to Delaware. Kristin Harty recalls the event in the Wilmington News-Journal today:

Demonstrators from Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church huddled together with their signs.

"God Hates Fags."

"Fags Doom Nations."

"Thank God for Dead Soldiers," some of the signs read.

Then one of the demonstrators smiled at Dunn and spit on the American flag.

"Can't you do anything about that?" Dunn asked one of the dozens of policemen protecting the protesters.

"Not a thing," the policeman said.

Thankfully for the family of Cpl. Cory Palmer, the town of Seaford poured out into the streets to counter the Kansas group's disgusting display. The town made sure the location of the protest was out of view from where friends and family paid their respects to Cory. A funeral for a fallen hero is surely a sad event, but thanks to many Seaford residents, it was also a proud day for Delaware as over a thousand folks stood up for their own.

It wasn't just Seaford residents. Ms. Harty doesn't mention the efforts of 370+ Patriot Guard Riders, who helped to cancel the sick vitriol from Phelps' haters.

Marine Corporal Cory Palmer, 21, died on May 6, 2006 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Tex., from wounds received while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Anbar Province. One of Delaware's own, and a true hero.

Paul Tibbets, 92, passed away yesterday. Paul was the pilot of the "Enola Gay", the B-29 bomber that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima during WWII.

Most of the coverage I've seen on the news sites centers on controversies surrounding the atomic bomb that helped bring about the end of the war with Japan. I won't deal with that here.

Paul Tibbet was part of a generation that placed country above self. He and the others who served in WWII answered the call from their nation with courage and honor, and enjoyed the support of a grateful American public. Today's America could learn some valuable lessons from that era.

Rest in peace, Paul Tibbets.