-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a prelude to war! VOICE OF THE GRUNT, 2000-01-05-B ========================================================== ARTICLE 3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ARMY ACCIDENT RATE HIGHEST SINCE THE GULF WAR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This article appeared in the Dayton Daily News on 19 December 1999 and addresses the crisis in Army Aviation. Army Times picked up on the topic in its 3 Jan 2000 issue under the title: "Leadership blamed for aviation accidents." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------- NOTE: Combat aviation in all the services is suffering readiness problems. As a consequence, America's force projection capability is critically weakened. We like air war because it promises a "good war" against faceless enemies who we don't have to watch suffer and die, at minimum risk to us (normally 1 aircraft/1-2 crewmembers exposed). If we want to maintain our air combat assets ready and able, we must invest in them appropriately. Based on a realistic national strategy, we must buy the right equipment, maintain it adequately, and allow our crews to train to the highest level of proficiency. That means logging lots of training mission hours. To sustain proficiency, the services must retain the crack operator/crews and the support people it takes years to train. The McDonalds approach of hire and fire while keeping wages low won't work with high tech weaponry. ************************************************************************ By Russell Carollo The U.S. Army's latest annual aviation accident rate is the highest, excluding Desert Storm, in 17 years, and the Army's top safety official says mistakes are being made at almost every level. "Soldiers are dying and we are destroying costly equipment at a rate that is unacceptable," Brig. Gen. Gene M. LaCoste wrote in a cover story in the Army's December 1999 issue of its aviation safety magazine, Flightfax. "Most of the accidents didn't happen at the time of impact or during the crash sequence; they really occurred much earlier with a breakdown in leadership, standards, or discipline." LaCoste, director of the Army Safety Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., said that fiscal year 1999, which ended Sept. 30, "produced Army aviation's worst safety performance since Desert Shield/Desert Storm." Excluding Desert Storm, it was the worst since 1982, the article said. The Army reported a major aviation accident an average of once every 20 days during fiscal year 1999, which ended Sept. 30. Twenty people were killed, 10 aircraft were destroyed and damages exceeded $139 million. The fatalities, the accident rate and the amount of damages all showed increases. The Army reported 103 aviation accidents of Class C and above in fiscal 1999, and its overall accident rate for Class A, B and C accidents was 11.28 per 100,000 flight hours. A Class C accident involves at least $10,000 in damage or an injury causing a specified amount of lost work time. Army records show that from Oct. 1 to Dec. 16 of fiscal year 2000, the rate for A, B, and C accidents was 11.19--more than 66 percent higher than the rate during the same period last year. So far this fiscal year, the Army has had three Class A accidents, involving a death, permanent total disability, $1 million in damage or loss of an aircraft. That's one more major accident than during the same period last year. The Army reported 18 Class A accidents in fiscal 1999, giving the service a serious accident rate of 1.97 per 100,000 flight hours, up from 1.35 in fiscal 1998. The Air Force Class A accident rate also increased, from 1.14 accidents per 100,000 flight hours in fiscal year 1998 to 1.40 in 1999-the highest rate since 1995. The Navy/Marine Corps rate dropped to 1.44 from a five-year high of 2.37 the year before. LaCoste's comments follow a Dayton Daily News six-part series on military aviation safety, published Oct. 24-29. The newspaper series, the result of an 18-month examination, found that the military routinely allows helicopters and airplanes into the air that it knows are plagued with potentially deadly safety problems--conditions, in some cases, allowed to persist for months, years or even decades. The series reported that the military's already flawed aviation safety system recently has become further strained by massive downsizing and budget cuts, the loss of thousands of experienced pilots and mechanics, global conflicts and an aging fleet of aircraft. Thousands of the military's most skilled mechanics have left the services since the end of the Cold War, the series reported. LaCoste attributed the Army's rising accident rate to some of these same problems. "As an Army, we are involved in missions around the world and doing a lot of things without the experience base we once enjoyed," LaCoste begins his article. "The lack of experience, continuous deployments and not having the discipline to maintain and enforce standards are basic causes of accidental losses." The Army blamed leadership, too. "In many cases, leaders failed to take corrective action either before or during the accident," Lt. Col. William R. McInnis wrote in a separate article for the magazine. But LaCoste cautioned to: "Not allow yourself to say, 'We can't do this mission; It's too dangerous.' Your job is to step up to that commander and say, 'Sir, we can do this mission, but we can do it more safely by applying these controls.' Although the Army flies high-risk training missions, LaCoste wrote, most of the 18 major accidents during fiscal year 1999 involved low-risk missions. "Many of the so-called routine or low-risk missions end up being the subject of an accident report," he said. Earlier this month, following two major military aviation accidents in less than 24 hours, U.S. Rep. David Hobson, R-Springfield, and two other congressmen called for a "complete review" of military aviation safety, including issues raised in the Daily News series. "We remain concerned about the general state of military aviation," said joint statement from Hobson, U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., and U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. "These most recent accidents reinforce our belief that the military should use this time to conduct a complete review of their aviation program." In a Nov. 4 letter following publication of the series, Hobson asked Defense Secretary William S. Cohen to review the newspaper's findings. "These articles raise several concerns regarding the state of military aviation," Hobson wrote, adding that he "would like to know what the Department (of Defense) or Congress can do to address these problems." =========================================================== ARTICLE 4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE TROOPS HOLD THE TRUTH - WHY ISN'T ANYONE ASKING? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: You don't see letters too often. Normally the old timers do what needs to be done without complaining. When they begin to speak as forcefully as the following appeals for help, we should take note. After one failed combat deployment (Kosovo), it is time to fix our problems. Our pilots put their lives on the line in machines that are improperly maintained or hide design flaws. Others are expected to fly missions for which they don't have the proper flight qualifications. ************************************************************************ By CW3 DOUGLAS AGEE Just wanted to share a view with you on the continuing readiness issue. This was forwarded to me as you can see by a BN CMDR. The impression I got was to send this note to places that can make a difference and I KNOW you do! All you have to do is ask any Army aviator about the CH-47 and the AH-64A/D and you would be told about the lack of proper maintenance funding and procedures. The safety problems that continue to plague these aircraft are not to be taken lightly. A couple of Apache problems that come to mind are Transmission failures, lack of a proper emergency hydraulic system, and remanufacture of an airframe to a Delta configuration with almost all the A model problems to include transmission, main rotor head/blade, hangar bearings and total lack of an adequate parts supply. It all comes down to the almighty Dollar and where it actually goes after the budget battles are fought and the ink is dry on the document. This is all known to many but briefed to few. Please read and do with what you will! Thanks! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------- An Aviation Battalion Commander's appeal to tell the truth: Aviation troops -- defend yourselves! I want to see this as a public outcry. Send it to the press and those in a position to do something about it. To blame "Leadership, standards and discipline" for the lousy cost-cutting decisions made over the last 15 years is our leadership ducking responsibility. It is time to do something about it! Get mad. Take a stand! Name purposely omitted -- Ed. >>> LTC, AV >>> Commanding ========================================================== ARTICLE 5 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LACK OF OPERATIONAL EXPERIENCE - A SELF INFLICTED WOUND ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: Promotion boards are RIF-boards (reduction in force-boards). Don't let anyone tell you differently! The "number-crunchers" in the Personnel Command are contributing to our crisis in operational readiness and safety. They are eliminating our most experienced assets -- the professional combat flyers, our warrant officers. I let this article speak for itself but I can tell you as a former tank battalion commander, that it feels very reassuring to talk to an old, experienced combat flyer vs. a green junior officer when you're in a bind in ground combat. You know that steel will drop on target when "Owen" or "Frenchie" fly the mission! If you feel, as Hack and I do, that PERSCOM and the Army's Leadership are missing their target, pick up the phone or send a wake-up note to your political representatives. Let's stop the madness to further neuter a decisive combat asset for the modern battlefield. Let's keep the warriors with experience in! ************************************************************************ By Owen A. McNiff III CW3, U.S. Army (Retired) The Army just kicked out hundreds of pilots on the last promotion board, as they have done increasingly each year. Can you figure out why the Army is always short on pilots? I'll bet you can, just as a second grade elementary class can, but not the Department of the Army Personnel Stooges! Within the same building, we have folks juggling the numbers to see how many Pilots we can boot out this year, and those across the hall, we have folks that are attempting contact with the USAR/NG/ Just Got Out Crowd/ to see if they are homesick from the policies/procedures/way-of life that made them leave, or to never come on active duty in the first place. There are hundreds like me, kicked out in their prime each year. I was lucky to make it to twenty (5 years enlisted USMC, helicopter crew-chief/A-4/F-4 mechanic/15 years U. S. Army Helicopter Pilot) A very close friend of mine, CW3 Lawrence "Frenchie" Thoutte is fighting the system as we speak, and will be contacting you for support. Frenchie was twice passed over for CW4, and missed the 18 year lock-in by a few days -- a total shock to his senior commanders, and his friends. The bottom line is, if Frenchie does not receive assistance from the "outside," he will be forced to leave the Army with 17 years, 11 months, and twenty-seven days! Frenchie's MOS, is 153BF, which is an UH-1H Pilot/Instructor Pilot/Instrument Flight Examiner. This year, the promotion board decided to disregard the assigned floors and ceilings for each MOS, and combined them with the 153D's. (UH-60 Blackhawk) The Promotion Board was directed to promote a minimum of 6 153B's. They promoted zero! This was due to the fact that they shifted the "floor" of 6, over to the other MOS. During my 15 years as an Army Warrant Officer, I have never seen this done before. In addition to this shell game, (and possibly illegal procedure), the Army still adheres to the unconstitutional policy of Reverse Discrimination. I am always a proponent of everyone getting an "equal opportunity" at getting promoted. I am incensed, when I witness a minority, (non-white male), that is selected for promotion, and have full knowledge of his or hers mediocre performance (affirmative action quotas). Yes, Frenchie will lose his retirement if his case is lost, but the Army will lose one of the most experienced and gifted helicopter pilots on active duty today. Not only is he a great pilot, instructor pilot, and instrument flight examiner, he also possesses a level of integrity and loyalty that surpasses any other Warrant Officer/Officer/Civilian that I have met or served with.. Additionally, he is the type of friend/fellow aviator that you can depend on. Frenchie and I pulled several tours in Korea together, and we both knew that things could get ugly in a minute. I could always rest assured, that if shot down, I had a friend like Frenchie that would put his life on the line to pull me out of a bad situation. The same goes for life away from the Army. Frenchie would give you the shirt off his back. That's just Frenchie! (A rare commodity in today's world) It is a real tragedy that the Army continues to inflict pilot shortages on itself, by kicking out its most experienced professionals. The Army thinks it is saving a few bucks by letting these guys go, and bring in more young flight students, and recalling USAR/NG rookies, to do the job. Remember the untrained/unprepared Apache unit in Albania? MG Cody complained that his young aviators were not up to the task of fighting that war. The average flight time for that Brigade's pilots was 500 hours! Yet, the Army consistently passes over its most experienced/high time pilots. This selection rate has a direct link to the retention rate. The accident trend for the past year tells of what the future holds. Army Aviation just had its worst year for accidents since the Gulf War. My forecast: watch it get worse. And, if the U. S. gets itself into another Gulf War scenario, they will be calling up guys like Frenchie and Owen to get the job done. Without hesitation, we would be there. Not for the U. S. Army that betrayed us, but for the United States of America. Please study these links carefully. <http://leav-www.army.mil/wocc/RC/99calltoad.htm> <http://leav-www.army.mil/wocc/promote/acbd-99.htm> CW3 Owen A. McNiff III 4230 accident- free flying hours ( U.S. Army Pilot 1982-1998) 988 accident-free flying hours ( USMC Crew-Chief 1977-1981) Instructor Pilot/Standardization Instructor Pilot (Contact/Tactics/ Night Vision Goggle) (520 hours NVG) Fort Rucker, Alabama Trained Pilots from 10 different countries, and additionally for the U.S. Air Force Maintenance Test Pilot/Maintenance Test Pilot Evaluator Fighter/Attack/Helicopter, Jet Engine Mechanic Master Army Aviator Wings Naval Aircrew-member Wings =========================================================== ARTICLE 6 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE WARRIOR EXODUS AVIATION STYLE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: The natural, instinctive combat leaders are leaving the services in droves. No different in Army Aviation. Why? Because priorities are warped. We have turned Aviation Branch that should be a decisive combat asset into an equal opportunity experiment in which the "go along and get promoted" kind of leader will succeed. This is extremely dangerous, especially since we are an Army that is highly dependent on aerial firepower. The attack helicopter, as a slow moving weapons platform with extended loiter time, is an ideal complement to any combined arms team, may it be high intensity conflict or peace enforcement. Only our battle proven A-10 Warthog has the same qualities. Most critically, our senior leaders tend to forget that the lethal machines are only as good as the aircrews that fly them. ************************************************************************ By CW3 Douglas S. Agee It wasn't long ago it seems that I was a fresh CW2 and I had a great company commander. I would have followed that man anywhere. He was the perfect Commander. Our Company teams constantly came in first in any sport in the intramurals not because of our great athletic ability but because of his excellent team building and leadership. His attitude was both contagious and inspiring at the same time. When we went to the NTC our company always "Kicked but!" He would listen to all concerned and then make a decision based on all info available and then stick to it. His employment of an attack helicopter company was something to behold and learn from. This guy could run the company through his scout and attack platoon leaders or senior warrants while flying the aircraft and keeping track of the situation! He was a true Apache Warrior and I would have followed that man into combat. The problem is that this West Point graduate and awesome Commander wasn't what the Army wanted from a company commander. I asked him why he was leaving to take a job in the civilian sector. He told me this:"The Army doesn't want a commander that can win in war, it wants a 'Yes Man' to do all the paperwork and one that will stabilize the boat in all storms." And today the Army hasn't changed that much in 5 years. Now it's apparent by the amount of great officers and NCO's are leaving in droves. ATTACK! ================================================== ARTICLE 7 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AIR FORCE -- KUWAIT FATAL CRASH UPDATE ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: Our Air Force is suffering similar readiness problems as the other services. C-130's have been flying since the 50's, with no end in sight for their lifespan in service. As the fleet ages, more accidents should be expected. It's good to know that we have pilots ("trash haulers") that have the experience and cool head to work through in-flight emergencies. ************************************************************************ VOTG AF sources Aviation web reported end of December that three U.S. servicemen were killed in an Air Force C-130 accident in Kuwait, but the cause was not smoke inhalation, as originally reported. An Air Mobility Command report released this week said the C-130, with a crew of eight and 86 passengers, hit the ground some 2,900 feet short of the runway at Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base. The landing gear punched through the fuselage, fatally injuring the three men seated above the gear. The pilot got the plane airborne again, and flew to the Persian Gulf to dump fuel, while firefighters and a medic on board tried to resuscitate the victims. The Hercules then made what must have been a tense emergency no-gear landing at Kuwait City International Airport, more than 45 minutes after the initial crash. Seventeen of those aboard were injured. There was no sign of a fire. =========================================================== MEDAL OF HONOR ARTICLE 8 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: After a stimulating discussion with my MOH research expert, we decided that we would start out the New Year with our Medal of Honor recipients from the Somalia police action. As we are going into an election year, it is only appropriate that we remember what the Rangers and Special Forces troops experienced there. In Somalia, men gave their lives in an ill-defined mission that we abandoned without anything to show for. Our troops executed faithfully and professionally as expected of them. That firefight in Somalia was one the of the most intense fights in Ranger/Special Operations history. Our troops held their own against overwhelming enemy numbers. They refused to surrender, they fought for each other, and they gave their lives believing that America and God was on their side! In that fight, air support couldn't win the day and reliable American Armor was not available. Our message to you our readers: No more Somalia's and no more Task Force Smith! Make Your vote count in 2000! ************************************************************************ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GORDON, GARY I. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Rank and organization: Master Sergeant, U.S. Army. Place and date: 3 October 1993, Mogadishu, Somalia. Born: Lincoln, Maine. Citation: Master Sergeant Gordon, United States Army, distinguished himself by actions above and beyond the call of duty on 3 October 1993, while serving as Sniper Team Leader, United States Army Special Operations Command with Task Force Ranger in Mogadishu, Somalia. Master Sergeant Gordon's sniper team provided precision fires from the lead helicopter during an assault and at two helicopter crash sites, while subjected to intense automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fires. When Master Sergeant Gordon learned that ground forces were not immediately available to secure the second crash site, he and another sniper unhesitatingly volunteered to be inserted to protect the four critically wounded personnel, despite being well aware of the growing number of enemy personnel closing in on the site. After his third request to be inserted, Master Sergeant Gordon received permission to perform his volunteer mission. When debris and enemy ground fires at the site caused them to abort the first attempt, Master Sergeant Gordon was inserted one hundred meters south of the crash site. Equipped with only his sniper rifle and a pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon and his fellow sniper, while under intense small arms fire from the enemy, fought their way through a dense maze of shanties and shacks to reach the critically injured crew members. Master Sergeant Gordon immediately pulled the pilot and the other crew members from the aircraft, establishing a perimeter which placed him and his fellow sniper in the most vulnerable position. Master Sergeant Gordon used his long-range rifle and side arm to kill an undetermined number of attackers until he depleted his ammunition. Master Sergeant Gordon then went back to the wreckage, recovering some of the crew's weapons and ammunition. Despite the fact that he was critically low on ammunition, he provided some of it to the dazed pilot and then radioed for help. Master Sergeant Gordon continued to travel the perimeter, protecting the downed crew. After his team member was fatally wounded and his own rifle ammunition exhausted, Master Sergeant Gordon returned to the wreckage, recovering a rifle with the last five rounds of ammunition and gave it to the pilot with the words, "good luck." Then, armed only with his pistol, Master Sergeant Gordon continued to fight until he was fatally wounded. His actions saved the pilot's life. Master Sergeant Gordon's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest standards of military service and reflect great credit upon him, his unit and the United States Army. ========================================================== ARTICLE 9 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GI HUMOR - CAN'T BEAT AIR FORCE LOGIC ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leave it to the Air Force to convince their troops to do the right thing. ********************************************************************** Airman Jones was assigned to the induction center, where he advised new recruits about their government benefits, especially their GI insurance. It wasn't long before Captain Smith noticed that Airman Jones had almost a 100% record for insurance sales, which had never happened before. Rather than ask about this, the Captain stood in the back of the room and listened to Jones's sales pitch. Jones explained the basics of the GI Insurance to the new recruits, and then said: "If you have GI Insurance and go into battle and are killed, the government has to pay $200,000 to your beneficiaries. If you don't have GI insurance, and you go into battle and get killed, the government only has to pay a maximum of $6000." "Now," he concluded, "which bunch do you think they are going to send into battle first?" ========================================================== **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! 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