-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a prelude to war! 991972. AFRCC assists with golfer Stewart's aircraft in distress LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, VA. (AFPN) -- The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center here assisted in the search for a private civilian aircraft in distress that departed from Orlando, Fla., at about 9:30 a.m. Oct. 25. The aircraft, a Gates Learjet 35A that had five people on board, including professional golfer Payne Stewart, was en route to Love Field in Dallas, Texas. It crashed at about 1:30 p.m. EST about 15 miles southwest of Aberdeen, S.D. There were no survivors, according to South Dakota officials. Capt. Jimmie Evans, AFRCC shift supervisor, said the AFRCC received a call at about 10 a.m. from Jacksonville air route traffic control center. Although the aircraft had been cleared to climb to 39,000 feet, it was heading toward 43,000 feet. "The Jacksonville control center said they'd lost contact with the aircraft and wanted us to contact the Southeast Air Defense sector to have an aircraft intercept it and check its status," Evans said. "The Atlanta air traffic control center was also tracking it and around 10:30 a.m. contact was made with the aircraft." Evans said an F-16C from the 46th Test Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., was the initial aircraft that intercepted the Learjet. Two F-16Cs from the 138th Fighter Wing, Oklahoma Air National Guard, sighted the aircraft over Nebraska. Reports were that the aircraft seemed to be flying on autopilot at an altitude of about 40,000 feet. After trying unsuccessfully to make contact with the occupants, the fighters began following the aircraft. "The 138th FW pilots made contact with (sighted) the aircraft over Lincoln, Neb. at an altitude of about 48,000 feet," Evans said. "The aircraft was heading toward South Dakota, so we notified state officials of the situation." Air Combat Command's 84th Radar Evaluation Squadron, based at Hill AFB, Utah, was instrumental in assisting with tracking the aircraft. Two of the squadron's units, located at Tyndall AFB, Fla., and McChord AFB, Wash., provided the aircraft's flight profile and monitored the situation, officials said. The 84th RADES, in conjunction with air defense sector personnel, using available information on the aircraft's type, fuel capacity, altitude, airspeed and heading, calculated that the aircraft would run out of fuel and would crash in South Dakota. Moments later, the F-16s reported that the aircraft began spiraling out of control at an altitude of about 31,000 feet. The AFRCC is the single federal agency responsible for coordinating search and rescue activities in the continental United States. It functions around the clock and is manned by Air Force people trained and experienced in how to coordinate search and rescue operations. It also provides search and rescue assistance to Canada and Mexico. (Courtesy of Air Combat Command News Service) 991974. CSAF survey gets extension RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- The deadline for taking the Air Force Chief of Staff Survey has been extended to Nov. 12. Officials said Oct. 26 the need to collect as much data as possible was paramount to the success of the survey. That said, the success of gathering information through the use of the World Wide Web and the CSAF Survey's Web site has been unprecedented, according to one official. "The turnout has been amazing," said Capt. Pete Berg, CSAF Survey team. "In the first five days, we had 50,000 people turn in a survey via the Web. And these were people who persevered through some initial difficulty we had. It's a testament to people wanting to make positive change and let their voices be heard by the Air Force Chief of Staff." The Web-based portion of the survey is located at http://csafsurvey.randolph.af.mil 991975. Air Force implements fiscal 2000 involuntary NCO retraining RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- Some Air Force noncommissioned officers may find themselves involuntarily retraining next year, since the Air Force fell short of its retraining goal for fiscal 2000. The voluntary phase of the fiscal 2000 NCO retraining program wrapped up Oct. 15 with 945 approved applications, 70 percent of the Air Force's goal. The involuntary phase, which begins Nov. 1, will use an Air Force-wide vulnerability listing to identify those selected for retraining based on total active federal military service dates between: -- Master sergeants: August 1982 or later -- Staff sergeants and technical sergeants: August 1984 or later -- Second-term senior airmen: August 1993 or later. Vulnerable members will be rank ordered by grade, from most eligible to least eligible using the following criteria: -- TAFMSD: junior to senior (i.e., Jan. 1, 1990 before Jan. 1, 1989) -- Date arrived on station: longest to shortest (i.e., Jan. 1, 1989 before Jan. 1, 1990) -- Date of rank: junior to senior (i.e., Jan. 1, 1990 before Jan. 1, 1989) Date arrived on station, then DOR will be used only if the TAFMSD of two or more individuals is identical. Individuals selected for involuntary retraining must submit a minimum of three, and up to five, Air Force specialty code preferences for which they qualify by Jan. 10. "Major commands will then update applications and all attempts will be made to match individual preferences," according to Tech. Sgt. Paul Grady, noncommissioned officer in charge of Air Force Enlisted Retraining Programs here. "However, the needs of the Air Force may force retraining into an AFSC that's not listed as a preference." Voluntary retraining applications for other personnel, including first-term airmen, may continue to be processed by the MPFs and updated by MAJCOMs provided they meet retraining requirements. "People who are vulnerable and do not want to retrain may apply for a special-duty assignment outside of their control AFSC," said Grady. "There are also numerous recruiting vacancies." All requests, including pending retraining actions, must be approved and finalized in the system by Jan. 14 to avoid involuntary AFSC selection by AFPC. "AFPC will select AFSCs for individuals who have failed to submit completed retraining applications by the Jan. 14 suspense," he said. People who have further questions regarding the involuntary retraining program should contact their local military personnel flights. (Courtesy of Air Force Personnel Center News Service) 991977. 'No mission impact' says Air Force Y2K director by Tech. Sgt. Ann Bennett Air Force Print News RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany -- "I'm absolutely 100-percent certain there will be no mission impact," the director of the Air Force Year 2000 program said of the upcoming year 2000 rollover. Brig. Gen. Gary Ambrose took the opportunity during a recent visit here to get the word out about the millennium bug, saying he has spent every waking moment of the last year making sure the Air Force can continue to fly and fight after Jan. 1. On a scale of one to 100, "the Air Force is at 99.5" as far as being Y2K compliant," said Ambrose. In fiscal 1999, the Air Force spent $300 million of the $1.1 billion Congress gave the Defense Department to solve Y2K issues. Everything from the weapons systems and Global Positioning System satellites to personnel and pay systems is being assessed, fixed, tested and certified as Y2K compliant. The Air Force has tested 394 mission-critical systems, which Ambrose says, are all Y2K compliant. The Air Force is also tracking more than 2,200 other systems that are non-mission critical. Going into the last three months of 1999, "we're looking hard at configuration management," Ambrose continued, "which means making sure you don't make changes to systems that you've (already) fixed and undo the fixes. "The process includes making sure Y2K compliant software is actually what's loaded on the systems," he added. He said another area Y2K experts are looking hard at during the last three months is "outreach," the word used for the military's interface with local communities, suppliers and utility providers. "We want to make sure communities near our bases are on the same step we are (with) Y2K," the general said. "What concerns us is the unknown -- the things we don't know and the things we can't control, (like systems) outside our gates." Stateside relationships between the U.S. government and industry differ from those at overseas locations. "The good news is, based on the indicators I've looked at, the countries where we have bases are working Y2K," he said. "I'll tell you," he said, "in no case has anyone come to us and said there is an adverse mission impact. Everyone is going to be able to do the mission and take care of the people no matter what happens." Although the Air Force is optimistic about its preparation for Y2K, it has taken out additional insurance with the creation of the Fusion Center at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. The Fusion Center, which has been running around the clock since Sept. 1, will be used for early warnings. "It gives us a world view of what's happening in the Air Force from a Y2K perspective," he said. Everyone will want to know what's happening at Andersen AFB in Guam since it will be the first air base to experience the rollover, Ambrose said. "If they encounter any problems, the Fusion Center will make sure other people throughout the Air Force and the Defense Department know what's happening," he added. At midnight Dec. 31, the general said he'll be in the Air Force Operations Center in the Pentagon because, " we've prepared all year and that night is essentially the big game for us. "My hope and goal is that we've made this the biggest non-event in history," he added. (Courtesy of U.S. Air Forces in Europe News Service) 991973. Global Hawk flies extended range mission to Alaska from Edwards by Sue Baker Aeronautical Systems Center Public Affairs WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFPN) -- In a picture-perfect touchdown, the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle landed at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Oct. 20 after completing a 24.8-hour mission that included several firsts. Those firsts were: first mission over water; first flight beyond the continental United States, to Alaska; and the first of several extended-range sorties commissioned by U.S. Joint Forces Command in a continuing military utility assessment. The mission demonstrated Global Hawk's ability to linger long over water when supporting multiple theaters of operation, said Lt. Col. John Wellman, chief, Joint Reconnaissance Operations, U.S. Joint Forces Command. "We focused on effectively locating mobile targets," Wellman said, "and baseline range imaging for Naval Air Station Fallon Range near Reno, Nev., and Cope Thunder Ranges in Alaska." The 33rd overall flight for the Global Hawk flight test program, this latest mission was the 22nd sortie for Air Vehicle No. 1. Following takeoff at 12:07 p.m. Oct. 19, Global Hawk reached 66,000 feet, collecting 193 imagery scenes, including 169 synthetic aperture radar spot images and 24 synthetic aperture radar wide-area search images. "While in Alaskan airspace, Global Hawk disseminated 148 SAR spot and 12 SAR WAS imagery scenes," noted Maj. Victor Martinez, Global Hawk System Test and Demo Team lead. "As it flew over NAS Fallon, it disseminated 96 SAR spot and 3 SAR WAS imagery scenes. And while there were three Integrated Sensor Suite restarts after initial flight boot-up, the ISS set a new record of 15.5 hours of continuous operation. With this mission, the Global Hawk flight test program has reached 361.5 hours, with 187.6 hours focused on 10 Development and Evaluation sorties that began in June. "Preliminary flight test results and information from the mission debrief indicate that all Global Hawk engineering test objectives were met except for one series, because we shortened the mission slightly," Martinez said. "Now that Global Hawk has flown to Alaska and back, the U.S. Joint Forces Command and the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center will evaluate exercise (results)." The major added that Global Hawk posted additional accomplishments during this mission. "For the first time, we performed a common data link engineering test at Fallon Range where Global Hawk images were transmitted in near-real-time to a multi-service imagery exploitation system, showing the unmanned aerial vehicle's capability for direct downlink to users," he said. "We also demonstrated the UAV's navigation and operations capabilities at latitudes above 65 degrees north." Global Hawk is being developed by the Air Force as a long-endurance, high-altitude UAV intended for multiple battlefield applications. It will give military commanders the ability to "see" movements of enemy assets from great distances with startling clarity and near-real-time accuracy. Capable of surveying an area the size of the state of Illinois, or 40,000 square miles, in just 24 hours, Global Hawk can range as far as 13,500 nautical miles at altitudes approaching 65,000 feet. 991979. Sky train to Dili by Maj. Stephen Clutter Operation Stabilise Public Affairs DILI, East Timor (AFPN) -- It's late October -- a hot spring day here -- and from the cockpit of an inbound Air Force C-130, the afternoon sun seems to be boiling the clouds that tower above the southern shore of East Timor. The billowy tops are straight ahead, and Dili, the destination for today's mission, is somewhere on the other side. Which is a bit of a concern for Capt. Jarrod Hatfield, who is trying to keep his eye on a German transport plane he's been trailing since taking off from Darwin, Australia. Hatfield, the co-pilot flying from the right seat, squints as the tiny black spec vanishes into the tops of the clouds. The German plane's call sign is "INTERFET 8030." The American crew is "INTERFET 8084." Together, they are like cars in a train, which has been rolling 420 miles across the skies from Darwin to Dili and back for more than a month in support of the International Force in East Timor, or INTERFET. Operation Stabilise, the Australian-led peacekeeping effort in East Timor, isn't grabbing a lot of headlines in the United States, but history is being made on the ground and in the skies between Darwin and Dili. Lives are being saved. Peace, where there was once bloodshed and horror, is being secured. And a new nation is being formed -- sustained in part by one of the oldest airframes in the inventory -- the ubiquitous C-130 Hercules. Not since Vietnam or Desert Storm have C-130s from so many far-flung nations been assembled on the same ramp for a real-world contingency. The British are here; the Australians, of course; New Zealand, Thailand; the Philippines; France; Canada; Singapore and others, including aircraft from the United Nations. For the moment, though, the Germans are on the mind of Capt. Artie Bagomolny, aircraft commander of INTERFET 8084. Where are they? They should be out of the clouds by now. Bagomolny and Hatfield decide that if they can't spot the Germans soon, they'll steer a bit off course, just to be sure they don't overtake them. Hatfield pulls back on the power to slow the Herc's decent. Capt. Eric Hook, the navigator, gets out of his seat and stands behind Hatfield, lending another set of eyes to the hunt. Senior Airman Jeremy Mulkey, the engineer, scans the horizon from his middle seat. A few seconds pass. The crew chief, Staff Sgt. Marc Maschhoff, is now on his feet, peering ahead for a black dot in the sky. Nobody now notices the grey plumes of smoke from fires burning in the fields toward the east, which just a few minutes ago had been such a topic of conversation. All eyes are on the other side of the clouds, waiting for the German crew to emerge. "Anybody see him yet?" Bagomolny asks. The load on this mission is a compilation of the operation itself. Senior Airman Ted Weber, the loadmaster, riding in the cargo bay, checks in with the cockpit crew to give a final tally on what's being hauled by INTERFET 8084 -- Four pallets, 24,000 pounds, and three Italian troops, two Thai troops, three U.S. troops, two Australians and one French officer. Today's load is typical of the variety of people and supplies the crews have been hauling. On one mission, they even hauled two frozen goats -- for Gurkha troops, who ate the goats as part of a holiday feast. "It's been a fantastic experience because many of us have never been involved in a 'real world' international effort like this," Bagomolny said. "...The one thing that stands out is seeing how all the training we've done has prepared us for these missions." For many of the young crewmembers, the Gulf War was something on TV. For them, this is their first taste of a major contingency operation. The same goes for the young strategic airlift crews, who have been flying foreign national troops on long-haul flights into Australia aboard C-141, C-17 and C-5 aircraft. In all, there are about 400 U.S. troops in Darwin or Dili. Another 1,800 sailors and Marines are afloat to support the peacekeeping effort. Australia is providing the bulk of the forces, along with the leadership. But the U.S. is providing critical support, such as transportation, logistics, command and control, communications, and intelligence. The bulk of the 123 Air Force troops come from the 517th Airlift Squadron based out of Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. They were originally in the region with three C-130s to support President Bill Clinton's trip to New Zealand. When the crisis began in East Timor, they were sent to Darwin and immediately began supporting the effort to restore order. Pro-Indonesia militias began burning, looting and killing in retaliation for the overwhelming vote for independence cast by the East Timorese on Aug. 30. "One thing I'm proud of is that we flew the first mission into Dili," said Mulkey, who is the youngest engineer in the squadron. Other Air Force troops supporting the effort have come from four other Pacific Air Forces bases --- Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; Andersen Air Force Base, Guam; Yokota Air Base, Japan; and Kadena Air Base, Japan. Col. John Sheekley, from Andersen, is commander of the 613th Air Expeditionary Group and U.S. Air Forces INTERFET. "We've got a bunch of young people here who are motivated and are pumped about doing this mission," Sheekley said. Meanwhile, back aboard INTERFET 8084, the mystery of the German transport has been resolved. "There he is," Mulkey calls out. "Twelve O'clock low, real low." The tension melts and the crew of INTERFET 8084 prepares for an assault-style landing in Dili. Every crewmember is wearing a flak vest and has a weapon strapped to the hip. Hatfield goes over emergency procedures. On board, in the cargo bay, are armed security forces. The crew has also taken several measures to reduce risks to the aircraft while flying into Dili. On landing, the rear cargo doors open and security forces run out and set up a defensive perimeter around the aircraft. The cargo is offloaded and passengers flying back to Darwin are boarded while the engines are still running. The intent of keeping the props turning is to minimize time on the ground. In less than 15 minutes the operation is complete and INTERFET 8084 is back in the air for the return trip to Darwin. A bit later another C-130 appears -- this one flown by the Aussies. It makes a wide turn out over the East Timor Sea, and lines up for a landing. The sky train to Dili rolls on. (Courtesy of PACAF News Service) 991980. Lackland hosts Defender Challenge LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- Ten major command security forces teams and a team from the British Royal Air Force Regiment are ready to compete in Defender Challenge. The week-long event runs from Oct. 31st through Nov. 6th at various military sites around San Antonio. The annual exercise, in its 18th year, was renamed Defender Challenge last year to better reflect security forces new mission of force protection under the aerospace expeditionary force concept. Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, became the home of Defender Challenge after the Security Forces Center moved to Lackland from Kirtland AFB, N.M., in November 1997, according to Brig. Gen. Richard A. Coleman, director of Security Forces and Security Forces Center commander here. The competition, which was first started in 1952 as a marksmanship event by Gen. Curtis E. Lemay, Strategic Air Command commander, has grown into an Olympic-style competition featuring security forces teams from all Air Force major commands, the Canadian Forces Air Command, and the United Kingdom Royal Air Force Regiment. "This is the one time each year that the 'best of the best" of security forces compete against each other in the craft and tools of our trade -- physical fitness, weapons and tactics," Coleman said. Each major command holds its own competition which produces a single team that then trains and prepares for the worldwide competition. This year's Defender Challenge consists of five team events and one event in which individuals compete. Eleven teams will compete in the fitness challenge, the handgun, the combat rifle, the combat weapons, and Sadler Cup competition. Each MAJCOM selects a fire team member to compete in the "Chief's Challenge," which is the final event. According to Coleman, events will take place at three local venues this year. "The fitness challenge and the Chief's Challenge will take place at Lackland, the handgun challenge will take place at Medina Annex, and the combat rifle, combat weapons and Sadler Cup competitions will take place at Camp Bullis," explained Coleman. The tactical team competition, which was renamed the Sadler Cup last year, will take place at night at Camp Bullis. The event was named in honor of Maj. Gen. T. M. Sadler, former director of Security Forces. According to Frankie Farris, competition control official, the fitness challenge takes place on a 1.1 mile up- and down-hill course punctuated with 21 gut-wrenching obstacles. Over the years the obstacles have been fondly named by the competitors to include the "belly buster," the "dirty name," and the "high step." Three years ago, the Canadian team's captain collapsed and died a short time later, after completing the obstacle course. Again this year, Capt. Cletus Cheng will be honored at the closing ceremony when the Fitness Challenge trophy will be presented in his honor. Cheng's mother will be traveling from Canada to present the "Cletus Cheng" trophy to honor his memory. Bob Dameworth, competition control official for the handgun competition, said this year's competition will be held at the Medina Annex again. "Last year, we installed a brand new computer-driven handgun course which controls pop-up steel plate targets," Dameworth explained. He said this year's handgun competition will be very challenging because of some added "twists" that will make it more difficult and competitive. For the first time, the combat rifle competition will be conducted during the day and night at Camp Bullis. Competitors in the M-16 marksmanship event will use night-vision equipment to locate and shoot the targets. Fire teams consisting of M-16 riflemen, an M-60 machine gunner and a M-203 grenadier will compete during daylight hours on ranges located at Camp Bullis. This event will involve running a distance, then engaging the targets. At certain points during the competition, competitors will have to don gas masks and continue shooting at the targets. 991982. Republic of Korea air force exchange pilot serves at Eielson by Staff Sgt. Elton Price 354th Public Affairs EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (AFPN) -- In what's being touted as an Air Force first, an F-16 pilot with the Republic of Korea air force will serve the next two years as an exchange pilot with the 18th Fighter Squadron, an F-16 unit here. Maj. Ryu, Young Kwan, along with his wife and two young sons, arrived at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, Sept. 30. Plans call for him to begin flying with the squadron as early as November. After a short time to settle in, he'll travel to Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., for two months of more formal training in U.S. tactics and procedures. "The ultimate goal is better defense of Korea," said Capt. David Murphy, Ryu's sponsor at the 18th FS and a fellow F-16 pilot. "He'll be learning American flight techniques, tactics and culture." Murphy explained that by training together, if the need ever arose for the United States and Korea to fight together, both sides would better understand what their teammates plan to do in the air. Plans call for an American pilot to serve with a Korean unit within the next year. Though American and Korean pilots interact almost daily at U.S. and ROKAF bases in the Republic of Korea, they only serve side-by-side in a joint environment in a few select places. The Military Personnel Exchange Program seeks to give Korean and American pilots a chance to immerse themselves in the tactics and techniques of their counterparts. Ryu was selected for his flying and English skills. He has more than 2,900 flying hours -- 830 of them in an F-16 -- and has served 13 years in the ROK air force. In Korea, he served as an instructor pilot and the 3rd Flight commander for safety with the 20th Fighter Wing's 120th Fighter Squadron at Seosan Air Base, about 50 miles southwest of Osan Air Base. In Korea, Ryu flew Block 52s -- a newer model than the Block 42s he'll fly here. Ryu was selected for the program in May. After he was selected, he received three months of intensive language training at the ROKAF Education Command. He still speaks English somewhat haltingly, but is quick to laugh and joke with his counterparts at the 18th FS -- sometimes about the various cultural differences. One cultural shock for Ryu was the price of food -- especially how much Korean food cost at the Korean markets in nearby Fairbanks. "Too much," he said as he smiled and shook his head. But he's already learning to think like a well-traveled American military member. "I had some (food) shipped from home," he said. (Courtesy of Pacific Air Forces News Service) **COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
