ClearedHot

All, I can personally vouch for "Congressman". I know him personally. He is legit and is asking for honest input (no rumors, no emotions, just facts), so that he can ask honest questions about what happened. CH

In a related story, Rep Hank Johnson is now worried Texas will tip over from the weight of M2's guns.

Want this patch...

Ok....horrible story, but what about the hat??? Firefighter Pat Quagliariello charged in hit-and-run death of Brooklyn immigrant An NYPD detective took his brother to a firehouse instead of a police station after the smoke eater mowed down a pedestrian in Brooklyn and left him for dead, authorities say. Pat Quagliariello vanished from the firehouse and waited at least four hours before turning himself in at the 62nd Precinct stationhouse. Prosecutors charged him Tuesday with criminally negligent homicide, speeding, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and using a mobile phone while driving. Guatemalan immigrant Manuel Tzajguachiac, 25, was killed. "He was texting and speeding when he struck the pedestrian," Assistant District Attorney Craig Esswein said at the firefighter's arraignment. Detective Anthony Quagliariello wasn't disciplined for picking up his brother after the 12:30 a.m. wreck on Oct. 10 at 20th Ave. and 65th St. "The detective was forthcoming in reporting what happened, and there's nothing at this point to indicate that he interfered with the investigation or prosecution of his brother," Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne said. It wasn't clear if Pat Quagliariello was drinking before the Bensonhurst crash. After his initial arrest, he admitted just that he owned the BMW SUV. Then he got a lawyer and clammed up, police sources said. Prosecutors said Tzajguachiac, who worked two jobs, crossed against the light. Quagliariello, who joined the FDNY in 2004, pleaded not guilty and was ordered held on $50,000 bail. He was suspended for 30 days after the wreck and has since been assigned to desk duty. The firefighter's lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, told the court that Tzajguachiac had a blood-alcohol content of .24 - three times the legal limit. Prosecutors didn't challenge the statement. Esswein said Tzajguachiac's DNA was found on Quagliariello's vehicle and vowed to win the case. "There will be a jail sentence - an upstate jail sentence," Esswein said.

Don't forget the bacon Infused bourbon...two of my most favorite things in one!

Drones Converge on California, Ready to Take Off Five years ago, the Pentagon was on cusp of an air-combat revolution. For a few brief, heady months in late 2005, it looked like the U.S. military might soon launch full-scale development of a new class of fast, lethal Unmanned Aerial Vehicles eventually capable of replacing all kinds of fighter jets, from the older F-15s, F-16s and F-18s to the latest F-22s. But the revolution fizzled when the Air Force abandoned its share of the so-called Joint Unmanned Combat Air System effort. Manned jets continued to dominate, culminating in today’s mammoth, $300-billion F-35 program. The embers of upheaval kept burning, almost invisibly. The technology from the 2005 effort survived in various forms, slowly maturing amid a growing demand for combat UAVs. Today, no fewer than three separate killer drone designs — two of them direct descendants of the original J-UCAS demonstrators — have converged on two airfields in California for flight tests. The revolution flared up again without many people noticing. While the F-35 still gobbles up the bulk of the Pentagon’s fighter funding, jet-powered killer drones are back — and revolution is once again a real prospect. High-endurance armed drones such as the General Atomics Predator have been a fixture of U.S. military operations since the mid-1990s air war over the Balkans. Besides being cheaper to buy and operate, robot aircraft carry fuel in place of a pilot and so can stay in the air longer. Plus, if they crash or get shot down, nobody gets hurt. That means the military can assign drones to what a robot-industry insider from Boeing called the “worst down-and-dirty missions that even the nuttiest pilot wouldn’t want to do.” But today’s drones are “fair-weather” killers, too slow to survive the sophisticated air defenses of, say, China or Iran. To bring the advantages of robot aircraft to high-intensity warfare, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency along with the Air Force and Navy sponsored J-UCAS starting in 2003. Boeing’s X-45 (pictured) competed with the Northrop Grumman-built X-47 to “demonstrate the technical feasibility, military utility and operational value for a networked system of high performance, weaponized unmanned air vehicles,” according to Darpa. By 2005, the J-UCAS program had sent its prototypes on mock bombing runs and proved the drones could develop their own tactics on the fly. The “Common Operating System” meant to control the speedy, lethal bots was particularly promising, and with it J-UCAS even threatened to upstage the $300-billion F-35 manned-fighter program. The new drones were “on the cusp of making history in the aviation world,” said the insider. Then in 2006, the axe fell. The Air Force withdrew from the program. Officially, the Air Force wanted to shift its focus and cash to the new, manned (and ultimately short-lived) “2018 bomber.” There were concerns that algorithms might not be trustworthy to make combat decisions, quite yet. Unofficially, the move away from J-UCAS might have reflected concerns among the Air Force’s top brass that the new killer drone could hasten the demise of the traditional fighter pilot. In any event, without the Air Force J-UCAS collapsed. The Navy continued funding the X-47 for a modest series of tests. The original X-45 ended up an exhibit in the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum, never to fly again. Or so observers believed. In fact, Boeing had secretly continued work on a new version of the X-45, apparently believing the Air Force would come back around to the idea of fighter-style killer drones. Meanwhile, a high-profile think piece co-written by future Navy undersecretary Bob Work (.pdf) helped persuade the Navy to raise its expectations for the X-47. Sensing a new momentum for armed UAVs, General Atomics spent its own money to develop a bigger, jet-powered cousin of the Predator called the Avenger. In the summer of 2009, the Air Force published a “road map” showing how robots might replace nearly every kind of manned aircraft in today’s arsenal. Just a few months later, the air branch lifted the (patchy) veil of secrecy surrounding its fighter-like MQ-170 spy drone, built by Lockheed Martin. The stage has been set for an unofficial revival of J-UCAS. There are no official requirements for a new fighter drone — yet. But the Pentagon is obviously very, very interested. As is often the case, the drama is taking place in California. Northrop’s X-47 is at the Navy’s China Lake base in the Mojave Desert, running ground tests prior to a planned first flight “before the end of the year.” Not to be outdone by its former J-UCAS rival, Boeing two weeks ago bolted the new-and-improved X-45 to the back of a 747 for a ride from St. Louis to the Golden State’s Edwards Air Force Base, where the bot will have its first flight early next year. General Atomics beat both of the bigger companies into the air: The Avenger has racked up scores of test flights at Edwards since 2009. Years ago, one analyst called J-UCAS “the worst-funded good idea in decades.” There’s still not a lot of government money behind the current revival: The Navy has allocated around a billion dollars for X-47 tests. The X-45 and the Avenger are both company-funded efforts. But the idea is as good as ever. And with the impending first flights of the X-45 and X-47, killer drones are about to get a second shot at transforming aerial warfare. Danger Room will be there, every step of the way.

I have the DVD to watch this weekend and have been reading the book "War" written by Sebastian Junger who is the journalist that shot the video for the movie. There is also an associated picture book called "Infidel" written by Tim Wetherington that documents all the key players. This is a must read if you want to understand what it is like on the front lines of hell in Afghanistan.

You understand the local situation better than us but given some of the other videos of this same guy that are out there, there should be some leadership changes. Such a tremendous waste and a lot of people had to know what was going on.

Houston Store Owner Kills 3 Would-Be Robbers HOUSTON -- Police say a Houston jewelry store owner has shot and killed three men who tried to rob his business. Houston police spokesman Kese Smith says two men were in the store Thursday afternoon pretending to be customers when a third man burst into the store and stated, "This is a robbery." All three men then pulled out pistols, tied up the store owner's wife and took her to a back room. They were trying to tie up the owner, when he took a handgun from his waistband and fatally shot one of the suspects. Smith said he then grabbed a shotgun and shot and killed the other two suspects. The store owner was shot in the stomach and taken to a Houston hospital. Smith says his wife was not hurt.

Harumpfff

Mexican aerial drone crashes in backyard of El Paso home EL PASO (AP) — An unmanned drone belonging to the Mexican government crash landed Tuesday in El Paso's Lower Valley, officials confirmed today. "I was told that it crashed in somebody's back yard, and that no one was injured. I was paged at 6:28 p.m. on Tuesday, so it happened shortly before that. We were told it was not a police matter," said Detective Mike Baranyay, a spokesman for the El Paso Police Department. The crash occurred at Yarbrough and Loop 375. Police said the U.S. Border Patrol seized the aircraft, which was to be transported back to one of the international bridges so that Mexican officials could recover the drone.

Jerusalem (CNN) -- The Israeli Air Force shot down an unidentified flying object over the Dimona nuclear plant in the Negev Desert Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said. The object appeared in a designated no-fly zone, the air force was scrambled and the object was shot down, the IDF said. The object could have been a party balloon, the IDF said, but forces have not yet found the debris to determine what it was. There have been unconfirmed media reports that it was a motor-driven object. The air force reacted according to procedure when the object was spotted, the IDF said. The Israeli daily newspaper Haaretz reported that last October "IDF warplanes intercepted an Israeli ultralight aircraft that accidentally flew into the area and forced it to land at an airstrip in southern Israel." It also reported that "an Israeli surface-to-air missile downed a crippled Israeli fighter-bomber that strayed into the restricted zone" during the Six Day War in 1967. The craft's pilot was killed.

With the promotion I break even.

Yeah...what I said.

Mission first, People always.

Well...sort of...he is in an odd situation and I think he could argue rate protection to the amount he is currently making. I don't see them taking money because you are promoted. He certainly will NOT get the 2010 rate for the next rank, but his BAH should not go down.

"Two"...No HUD...gasp, how did us old farts ever learn to fly or land the T-38? I never found T-38 TOLD to be that difficult, I guess because in the old days we did it with an abacus.

Brother...utter fail. He made a liar, fool, embarrassment of himself.

AP: Pilot duped AMA with fake M.D. claim He seemed like Superman, able to guide jumbo jets through perilous skies and tiny tubes through blocked arteries. As a cardiologist and United Airlines captain, William Hamman taught doctors and pilots ways to keep hearts and planes from crashing. He shared millions in grants, had university and hospital posts, and bragged of work for prestigious medical groups. An Associated Press story featured him leading a teamwork training session at an American College of Cardiology convention last spring. But it turns out Hamman isn't a cardiologist or even a doctor. The AP found he had no medical residency, fellowship, doctoral degree or the 15 years of clinical experience he claimed. He attended medical school for a few years but withdrew and didn't graduate. His pilot qualifications do not appear to be in question — he holds the highest type of license a pilot can have, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said. However, United grounded him in August after his medical and doctoral degrees evaporated like contrails of the jets he flew. He resigned in June as an educator and researcher at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., after a credentials check revealed discrepancies, a hospital spokeswoman said. Doctors who worked with the 58-year-old pilot are stunned, not just at the ruse and how long it lasted, but also because many of them valued his work and were sad to see it end. "I was shocked to hear the news," said Dr. W. Douglas Weaver, who was president of the cardiology group when it gave Hamman a training contract for up to $250,000 plus travel a few years ago. "He was totally dedicated to what he was doing, and there is a real need for team-based education in medicine," said Weaver, a pilot himself from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Even after learning of Hamman's deception, the American Medical Association was going to let him lead a seminar that had been in the works, altering his biography and switching his title from "Dr." to "Captain" on course materials. It was canceled after top officials found out. Now, groups that Hamman worked for are red-faced that they hadn't checked out the tall, sandy-haired man who impressed many with his commanding manner and simple insights like not taking your eyes off a patient while talking with other team members about what to do. "This is Your Captain Speaking: What can we learn about patient safety from the airlines?" is how his training sessions typically were billed. Journals that printed articles listing Hamman with M.D. and Ph.D. degrees are being contacted in case they want to correct the work. Beaumont removed him from a U.S. Department of Defense medical simulation contract that a physician at the hospital had obtained. Doctors who attended Hamman's sessions don't have to worry — the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education will not revoke any education credits they earned. "That just makes the learners more of a victim," said the council's executive director, Dr. Murray Kopelow, adding that this is a first in his 15 years on the job. "Sounds like there's lots of victims in this case — the learners, the accredited providers, the whole CME system." Hamman did not return several phone calls and e-mails seeking comment. David Nacht, an employment lawyer in Ann Arbor, Mich., acknowledged that his client did not have the medical and doctoral degrees he had claimed from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the 1980s. "It's Mr. Hamman's desire that he clear up any misconceptions about his background that he has caused. He wants to be completely straightforward about it," Nacht said. There is no indication Hamman ever treated a patient, though his teamwork training had him videotaping in emergency rooms and other settings where patients were being treated. Hamman does have an associate's degree in general aviation flight technology and a bachelor of science degree from Purdue University. He also has "type ratings" to fly half a dozen very large commercial planes, according to the FAA. United would not discuss his job history, citing employee confidentiality. But the company confirmed that he is not currently authorized to fly. Hamman lives in Michigan and is based in Chicago. As long ago as 1992, an FAA workshop listed Hamman as an M.D. from United's flight center in Denver. In an interview last year with Cath Lab Digest, a publication for heart specialists, Hamman says that being a doctor may have "opened up some doors at United, and I ended up as manager of quality and risk assessment." In 2004, he joined Western Michigan University, a Kalamazoo school with a big aviation program in nearby Battle Creek, as co-director of its Center of Excellence for Simulation Research. In 2005, the center got a $2.8 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to expand simulation training into medical settings. Matching funds from other groups brought the total to $4.2 million. Soon Hamman was videotaping heart attack treatment drills and deconstructing what doctors did right and wrong. He spoke at Northwestern University and for the AMA and the American College of Emergency Physicians. In 2009, he joined Beaumont Hospital. Dr. Sameer Mehta, a Miami cardiologist who runs an annual conference for heart specialists, had Hamman lead sessions in 2009 and earlier this year. He seemed to understand the jobs of the EMS, emergency room and cardiac catheterization lab staffs and how they needed to work together, Mehta said. "He was able to simulate exactly what we were doing," and to offer suggestions from aviation to help, Mehta said. It's easy for groups to assume someone else has vetted a popular speaker, said Dr. William O'Neill, a legendary cardiologist who spent 17 years at Beaumont before becoming an executive dean at the University of Miami in 2006. "Somehow you've gotten the name or seen them in the literature," said O'Neill, who has helped with many conferences. When he heard that Mehta and others had been duped by Hamman's phony degrees, "I thought, `There but for the grace of God go I.'" Hamman's ambition may have done him in. In checking a grant proposal he wanted to submit in late spring, the Beaumont staff discovered the lack of an M.D. degree, said spokeswoman Colette Stimmell. Hamman resigned June 15. In hindsight, the careful wording in some of Hamman's comments is apparent. "I couldn't handle a full-time cardiology practice" with the demands of being a pilot, he told at least two reporters. Less clear is what, beyond basic principles of teamwork, his training really offered. "In a sense, he didn't talk about anything medical," said Dr. Stephen Mester, a Florida cardiologist who took one of Hamman's sessions at the cardiology conference in Atlanta last spring. "I did not find it worthwhile, but I believe it could be worthwhile for programs just getting started." After fessing up, Hamman asked the AMA and the cardiology group to let him continue, saying, "the work is the work." They decided that a lie is a lie. "He really didn't need to be a physician to do what he was doing. He could have been successful without titling himself," said Weaver of the cardiology college. "He made a very serious mistake."

Dudes/Dudettes, Topic back open for discussion that is within the proper bounds of the released AIB. Discussing/comparing/mentioning items in the SIB will NOT be tolerated on this forum. We all want to learn to prevent future loss of life, but do so within legal limits and with some common sense in mind.

Done. WTF people...really....

Yup...

Egyptian Official: Israel Could Be Behind Deadly Shark Attack An Egyptian official believes that Israel's intelligence agency might be behind the fatal shark attack of a German tourist in Sinai over the weekend, the Jerusalem Post reports. "What is being said about the Mossad throwing the deadly shark (in the sea) to hit tourism in Egypt is not out of the question, but it needs time to confirm," South Sinai Gov. Muhammad Abdel Fadil Shousha told egynews.net. Israeli officials told the Jerusalem Post that the claims were ludicrous and would not comment. Egyptian authorities have reopened some Red Sea beaches that had been closed to swimmers after an unusual series of shark attacks over the past week. Swimmers were being allowed back into the water of several bays at Sharm el-Sheikh, a resort at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula that is a renowned reef diving spot. Diving remained restricted to professionals. Shark attacks at Egypt's Red Sea resorts are rare, and three shark experts from the U.S. are trying to determine what is behind them. Besides the death, four other swimmers and snorkelers were badly injured. On Tuesday, Ziad al-Basel of Egypt's Chamber of Diving and Watersports, said a limited number of bays were reopened for swimmers.

5 generals mishandled $87M, comptroller says By Bruce Rolfsen brolfsen@militarytimes.com Five generals have been disciplined for mishandling $87 million and failing to meet Air Force standards. Gen. Roger Brady, Gen. Stephen Lorenz, Lt. Gen. Glenn Spears, Maj. Gen. Anthony Przybyslawski and Brig. Gen. Sandra Gregory received letters of admonishment for acting inappropriately in 2005 by allowing the Air Force to over draw its fund for permanent change-of-station moves, according to Lt. Col. Todd Vician, a service spokesman. All had budget- or personnel related jobs. The Defense Department uncovered the shortage in 2006 during a routine audit. Brady and Lorenz are set to retire by the end of the year. Gre gory retired in 2006. Today, Spears is commander of 12th Air Force and Przybyslawski is a special assistant to the commander of Space Command. Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz issued the letters after being briefed in August on the results of an investigation Donley had asked DoD’s comptroller to conduct. In a statement, Donley said the officers did not intend to act inappropriately but did fail to meet Air Force standards. “Everyone is accountable for their actions, and we expect the highest standards of conduct from everyone in the Air Force — regardless of rank — and senior leaders have a special responsibility to those who follow them,” Donley said. Also singled out were Gregory W. Den Herder, then the executive director of the Air Force Personnel Center, and three individuals whose names the Air Force declined to release citing Privacy Act limits. Den Herder retired in 2006. The comptroller held Lorenz, Herder and two of the unnamed people responsible for violating federal regulations. Donley determined Brady, Spears, Przybyslawski, Gregory and one unidentified person should be held accountable because their “actions or inactions” contributed to the overdraft. In an e-mail, Lorenz told Air Force Times he was unaware he had committed a violation until after he left the budget office in October 2005. “When I learned [about the violation], I was very surprised and terribly disappointed,” Lorenz wrote. “I accept full responsibility for everything. ... Our team would have prevented this unfortunate situation, had we known of it at the time. I am glad to know that our system is being improved to prevent any recurrence. ” Brady, too, accepted responsibility. “In the context of supporting two wars overseas, yet drawing down the Air Force by 40,000 people and other force shaping efforts, it is regrettable we didn't recognize the accounting systems, in place for many years, were inadequate,” he said in an e-mailed statement. Spears and Przybyslawski declined to comment. Lt. Col. Steve Kelly, Spears’ attorney , said the comptroller report had “exonerated” Spears. Brady Retiring Lorenz Retiring Spears still in command Przybyslawski a Special Assistant Gregory retired