TreeA10

Okay, that cut and paste kind of went bigger than expected. ADMIN NOTE: Fixed it for you! https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2025/02/05/the_armys_special_treatment_of_capt_rebecca_lobach_1089352.html The Army’s Special Treatment of Capt. Rebecca Lobach February 05, 2025 Favoritism Inevitably Draws Scrutiny: The Army’s Special Treatment of Capt. Rebecca Lobach Fuels Speculation and Dishonors all Who Perished in the Recent DC Air Collision On Saturday the U.S. Army released the name of the second pilot—reported to have been pilot in command—of the Blackhawk helicopter that collided with American Airlines flight 5342 over the Potomac River, killing 67 people. This was a marked departure from Army policy that states “Names, city, and state of deceased will be withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notification.” This was the standard process used to identify the other two members of the Army’s flight crew, Chief Warrant Officer Andrew Eaves, and Staff Sgt. Ryan O'Hara. It is the same process used to identify soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan—a process I followed as a military public affairs officer for over 20 years. Army public affairs officials followed the same procedures to publicly identify soldiers who died in not-too-distant helicopter crashes in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alaska. Yet, in an unusual deviation, the Army selectively withheld Capt. Rebecca M. Lobach’s identity for an additional two days. When her name was finally released over the weekend, the Army included a family statement of eulogy that praised Lobach and requested privacy. Army officials claim that violating its own rules was done to respect Lobach’s family’s wishes, but that decision casts an unnecessary shadow over her service and memory. Working a casualty release is a difficult task. I remember each one that had to be done when deployed to Afghanistan as public affairs director for the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division. Each time while combing through a fallen soldier’s deployment photo and service record, there was a painful awareness that I was handling information that would soon devastate this fellow paratrooper’s loved ones back home in the U.S. The entire brigade would be placed under an internet blackout to ensure the news did not leak out before the family was notified in person. This practice is taken seriously, and rightly so. Much of its dignity comes from its predictability and equal application. No matter the rank or position of a deceased soldier, the notification process is supposed to be the same for all—and was until now. The crash over the Potomac is a very unusual tragedy for many reasons that are being unraveled by investigators. The Army’s special treatment of Capt. Lobach adds to that complexity. The information shared by the Army and Lobach’s friends indicate that she was a stellar soldier. However, stellar soldiers do not ask for special consideration—they demand equal treatment to prove that they are one among a team. Yet we now see a movement to essentially canonize Lobach as a hero while civilian remains are still being recoveredfrom the submerged and fragmented passenger jet that her aircraft knocked from the sky. Army officials rushed to defend a single pilot among a flight crew of three and 64 dead civilians. This treatment echoes a 2015 Army study warning that male soldiers are driven instinctively to protect female colleagues over mission completion. In this instance, we see that tendency strangely playing out in a way that reflects allegiance to intersectional theories and bandwagon effect as much as complementarian instinct. Over the weekend, several Army public affairs officers and Pentagon reporters expressed heartbreak over Lobach’s passing, implying she was uniquely victimized above the 66 others killed. In contrast, they were largely silent when the identities of the other soldiers and jet passengers were released. Some narratives even suggested that the president was to blame for the Army’s deviation from standard protocol. Army officials surely knew the risk of this event becoming politicized and encouraged it through their unprecedented actions. Beyond violating military regulations, the Army strategically released Lobach’s identification on a Saturday—a classic public relations tactic used to bury news. Meanwhile, it appears her social media history was erased, despite the insistence that she was an admirable public servant. The inclusion of a family eulogy in the Army’s announcement further signaled that her passing was somehow more profound than the rest. Why? The Army’s actions invite speculation. The best way to honor Capt. Lobach as a soldier would have been to treat her like any other. Instead, by attempting to craft a heroic top gun narrative around her, Army officials took a path that increased concerns about the circumstances of the crash. This is a textbook example of the "celebration parallax"—as if the Army intends to prove that women receive no special treatment by giving one woman special treatment. I have followed air crash investigations for decades, worked numerous crisis communication initiatives since 2005, and teach crisis communication at the collegiate level. Never have I seen an airline spin a tragedy into an opportunity to highlight the greatness of a pilot when pilot error was likely involved. American Airlines is focusing its response on caring for the families of the 64 passengers lost on flight 5342, while the Army appears preoccupied with nurturing a politicized narrative. Early evidence suggests that cockpit mistakes contributed to the collision. Yet, in no prior case have I seen an airline or government agency publicly promote a downed pilot as a hero within 96 hours of an accident. Something is very different about this case. The point of this essay is not to ascribe blame. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board will get to the bottom of what is likely a complex set of factors that passed 67 lives into eternity. Rather than rushing to offer one pilot as above question in that investigative process, Army officials should focus on following their own regulations, addressing systemic safety issuesin Army aviation, and prioritizing public service over institutional image protection. Now is the time for introspection and hard questions—not attempting a flags of our fathers public relations play. If the Army wanted to lessen the grief suffered by Capt. Lobach’s family, it used the worst tactics possible. Those who deliberately hid, and are hiding, information from public view activated the Streisand Effect, drawing further attention to what they want to hide. Unfortunately, such malpractice is characteristic of the Army’s public affairs apparatus at top levels. This is the same field that resisted recent guidance from the acting Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs (ATSD) to implement a social media pause. It is the same group that failed to address false rumors about the paternity of Master Sgt. Matthew Livelsberger’s daughter after his tragic suicide in front of Trump Tower on January 1st. It is the same military career field that ignored an admonition from then Secretary of the Army Mark Esper that the Army is the slowest branch to respond to press inquiries. The Army’s public affairs code of "Maximum Disclosure, Minimum Delay" is often cited but never enforced. This is a well-known problem that refuses to self-correct. It will demand attention from the Pentagon’s new leadership to force a solution. Regulations lose legitimacy when selectively enforced. Lobach’s family is not the first to request privacy, but they are the first to receive such overt preferential treatment in recent military history. This sets a precedent that will make the jobs of commanders, public affairs officers, and casualty notification officers more difficult going forward. I feel tremendous sympathy for the family of each soul on both aircraft and cannot begin to imagine the pain each one feels. That pain was not lightened for any of them by the Army’s agenda-based actions since. I call on top public affairs officials across the Army to remember your oaths, and put them into practice. Chase Spears served as a U.S. Army public affairs officer for 20 years. Among other pursuits, he enjoys writing about courage, civil-military relations, communication ethics, and policy. Chase holds a Ph.D. in leadership communication from Kansas State University, where his research focused on the political realities of military norms and actions. He can be found on X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Substack at @drchasespears.

Are the rumors true about the most extensive collection of Asian midget porn known to man?

I did hear using Deepseek the user must agree to allow access to their computer data. Can't verify that, however.

Wow. So attributes of a Nazi are giving money to causes you support and fathering children with the help. So George Soros is a Nazi? How about Doug Emhof banging the nanny? Nazi behavior there to, I suppose. Sounds like you are grasping at straws which I'm sure are paper, not plastic. Where can I get one of these magic Nazi behavior decoder rings?

Congratulations! You outed a Nazi! Somehow, Musk had given hundreds of speeches, been subject to thousands of hours of video recording, been followed by countless reporters recording his numerous meandering thoughts, been the subject of multiple documentaries, and, yet, cleverly concealed his Nazi leanings but your detailed analysis of a couple seconds of video finally broke the code and you figured it all out. Genius!

Classic projection. Biden knows what a corrupt DOJ could do because he did it. Therefore, he wanted to protect other Biden Crime Family recipients of the influence peddaling they benefited from.

IIRC my connection colors of live vs training, Does the power cord come with a black or orange connector?

During a past fire, the water droppers asked to use sea water since it was closer and plentiful but were told no because the salt water wasn't environmentally compatible. I don't think they are complaining about salt water now, however.

GLOC and puking added to the already intense process of giving birth. BRILLIANT!! As if my wife needed more reasons to hate me.

It was indirectly the Marines that drove the design because it had to fit on the assault ships. "The Dream Machine" written by Richard Whittle covers the whole history of the V-22 and the limitations thereof. Lots of compromise to get the weight and size down to make it fit on the boat.

I flew a CRAF mission (2003?) into Kuwait City international and picked up the Patriot battery that shot down the Tornado and Hornet. Flying back to Frankfurt, the Battalion Exec was sitting on the jumpseat and we talked about the shoot downs. IIRC, the Tornado was interpreted as a ballistic missile track, had the wrong squawk codes therefore didn't respond to interrogation, so they shot. The Hornet was in a side lobe and the battery wasn't completely set up to fill in the lobe, also got interpreted as a ballistic track, the Hornet had the correct codes but the side lobe problem somehow affected the interrogation which failed, so they shot. The Exec said they would have to do some serious overhaul of their procedures when they got back to Ft. Bliss.

I failed to direct attention to the point I wanted to emphasize. It's not the money but the number of people: 130,000. I agree the government should attract and retain qualified people but I'm trying to wrap my cranium around the need for 130,000 that are being paid more than a governor who deals with the complex running of a state.

Data from about 5 years ago showed the governor of PA as the highest paid governor at @ $200k. At that time, there were approximately 130,000 federal employees that made more than the highest paid governor in the U.S. Fauci was the highest paid at @ $416k. Are we getting our taxpayers moneys worth out of these people?

I got "randomly selected" multiple times in quick succession as a Reservist. After the 4th test, I sent a letter to the WG/CC with a courtesy copy to the Medical CC with a list of possible OSHA violations. Never heard a thing from anybody but was never drug tested again over the next 8+ years until I retired.

That thing is so huge that it's shadow has a RCS.

Looked like the bird proximity fused on the tail.

A moose in Alaska soaked up a BDU-33, got up, and ran about 400 yards. That's what I heard, didn't see it, never saw confirming video, I can't remember who told me, please refer all questions to my attorney.

Some background on the Gaetz accusations and, more importantly, the accusers. https://thefederalist.com/2024/11/17/house-probe-into-matt-gaetz-relies-on-witnesses-doj-found-lacked-credibility/

Laptop - real as admitted by the FBI. Gaetz allegations investigation not enough to charge - also FBI. If there is proof of crimes committed then charge him, convict him, and I'll gladly join the firing squad. Unsubstantiated anonymous accusations which seem common in the last couple years or rumors do not a criminal make but do make for great reputation destroying MSM fodder.

Took some jets to Nellis for some night A-10 FWS support. Can't remember the building we were flying out of but some F-15s from Elmendorf supporting the F-16 Weapons School were also there. I bumped into a former student now F-15 dude as he was coming from a 4 vs I don't know how many and they start to debrief the ride. Anyway, that was around sunset and I launched with the 1st go. Got back, took over as Top 3, and launched our second go. We recover those jets, put them to bed, finish the paperwork, and completed the schedule for the next night. Sun is coming up and F-15/16 guys ARE STILL DEBRIEFING.

Some district in CA has successfully counted 76% of ballots. I'm envisioning some 90 year old dude with an abacus pulling sacks off the dusty delivery donkeys before dragging the bags into a 1930s vintage country store counting a few ballots between conversations with the locals about that new fangled telephone on the wall.

I'm baffled in this age of near instantaneous information exchange, Google searches in microseconds, and real time tracking of millions of package locations by freight carriers, why the hell can't votes be counted in a day? A week is just plain stupid.

I've got recurrent training next month. I'll get back to group if they have added a low level gun jink maneuver to the syllabus.

Few on the Dem side had the testicular fortitude to call BS on this but a week later, everybody saw it coming and thought it was a losing path. Maybe they were also in China with Tampon Tim when Tianamen Square want down. The scary part is none of this would come out if Harris had won and then the past policies are good to go for another 4 years.

And as I type this, CA District 13 has only counted 57% of the vote according to the Real Clear Politics page. And there are 8 CA districts total that haven't finished counting! WTF California??? Yeah, we really need to spread those California values across the nation