Bobo sends us links to the stories of two more flag officers who succumbed to their darker sides and joined their peers on the Naughty List. Rear Admiral Rick Williams was fired on Friday from his job as commanding officer of Pacific Fleet’s carrier strike group training command for looking at porn on his government computer, according to the Navy Times;
During a routine inspection, Williams was found to have looked at pornographic images on his government computer, violating Navy rules, said a Navy source familiar with the incident. The misuse of the computer did not involve any classified material and the investigation is ongoing, the source added.
“They have enough information to say it wasn’t just a mistake,” the source said. “It was extensive enough that they knew it was not just an error.”
Williams, a career surface warfare officer, has been the head of Carrier Strike Group 15 since June. He could not be immediately reached for comment Saturday.
I guess he couldn’t wait until he got home.
Michigan National Guard Major General James Wilson is being investigated for using his position for private gain, according to the Air Force Times;
At issue were two contract proposals submitted by now-retired Maj. Gen. James Wilson for his Springfield, Virginia-based consulting firm Northstar Services LLC. Northstar’s proposals, submitted in 2010 and 2011, contained Wilson’s official photograph in military service dress, according to the IG report. At the time, Wilson was still in the Guard as a brigadier general, and the photograph had his ceremonial one-star flag in the background.
[…]
“Brig. Gen. Wilson’s inclusion of his official photo in uniform for the contract proposal can reasonably be construed to imply that the Government sanctions or endorses his personal business,” the report said in its conclusion.
Wilson retired in September to avoid the investigation after he got a counseling statement from Vice Chief of Staff General Larry Spencer in January.
The views expressed here are personal and do not represent the Air Force, the Department of Defense, or the United States government.
I’ve recently written about Brandon Bryant, ex-Air Force drone sensor operator (or as they apparently call them in Norway, a “pilot”) over on my blog, PickYourBattles.Net. Brandon is the star of a new Norwegian documentary called Drone, where his personal story is apparently the meat of the flick. There is just one problem. Brandon Bryant is a liar.
In the short video embedded above, at one point Brandon claims, to an audience in New York City, that the FBI called him to inform him that he was being targeted by ISIS. Then the video shows him telling that exact same story to an audience in Germany, where instead of ISIS he says that the FBI told him he was being targeted by a conservative right wing “Christian Patriot” group. This is par for the course. Sadly, most in the media seem to ignore Brandon’s utter lack of credibility. Or at least they don’t carefully research him. I guess I can’t really blame them. After watching more than forty videos of Brandon running his yap, I do not begrudge them for passing up on the experience. Still this charlatan needs to be exposed.
I know Brandon hates him some TAH so I had to show up over here. And when asked to pile on as a guest blogger, I just couldn’t say no. Kind of like Bryant couldn’t say no to violating his oath of office because he was scared that he might be “ridiculed.” Yeah he said that. In public.
To be fair, those of us in the defense business know that ridicule strikes fear into the hearts of even the most courageous soldiers, strike that, “warriors.” Mortars, rockets, small arms, and anti-aircraft artillery are one thing, but we’re talking about ridicule here. This ain’t X-box, ridicule is the real deal, it’s like being in “the shit.” In fact, I may have just now developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) simply from the thought of ridicule. I am viewing a computer screen right now, so there is a case to be made. If you’re Brandon Bryant, of course, or one of his Legion of Jerkoff superhero sidekicks.
Not only does Brandon claim PTSD from being a drone operator with only a handful of lethal actions from ten thousand miles away from the battlefield, but he has also publicly stated that he’s waiting on his VA benefits so that he can have a place of his own. He’s too good traumatized to get a job and he claims to be homeless. Never mind that he lives with his mother in Missoula, or at least he did, and was using the generous GI Bill to go to school; a bounty that comes not just with full tuition, but also with more than $1000 a month in Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH). Still, Brandon will tell ya, he’s homeless and he’s a “disabled veteran” with no income. He says he has nothing. He touts a “physical injury” from his time in the service, but somehow that doesn’t keep him from literally doing back flips on internet video. If you don’t watch this video for any other reason, it’s worth watching just to see that. But to be fair, I can’t swing a stick without hitting a homeless disabled veteran doing gymnastic maneuvers. So there’s that.
But show some compassion, dear reader. Brandon is too disabled to work. Especially not while also fitting in his globe trotting and fine foreign dining, and giving speeches and attending long Q&As about his European film. That poor bastard really pulls on my heart strings.
I’ve known Brandon online for some time now. When I first became acquainted with him, I thought he might have something of substance to offer to an important discussion. Turns out I was wrong. His story morphed over the years from wanting to be a voice for drone operators serving under bad leadership, to him later claiming that distance technology is cowardly and bad. Of course, there are many who agree with him on that point. We in the biz call them the enemy. They hate our distance warfare capability as much as Brandon does, and they prefer making hand-to-hand IEDs. You know, what Brandon would call honorable combat. Practically a fist fight.
Now this self-proclaimed expert on war is writing letters to the President of the United States, as though he has some kind of moral authority despite the fact that he directly violated his oath of office while he was serving. That doesn’t stop him from making lofty proclamations, though.
Not only have I learned that Brandon will lie without a second thought, as the video above demonstrates, but his motivations are not pure. They weren’t pure when he was in the military, and they’re not pure now. It’s still all about him. He knows nothing of service despite his collection of Reader’s Digest quotes to the contrary. He admits that he’s always wanted to be a hero and that he grew up with comic books. I think it’s fair to say that him plagiarizing the words of Captain America from a Marvel comic both at his Tedx talk, as well as during his ramblings at the Drone documentary premiere in New York City, shows that he hasn’t lost that love of fiction. Brandon is all about spreading fictions.
But public service and public discourse are not the stuff of fairy tales. And there is an important discussion to be had about our nation’s national security and how our military capabilities are utilized. Sadly, Brandon is hurting this discussion and the credibility of better people who inexplicably enable his shenanigans. For some reason, these more serious people are not relegating Brandon to the kid’s table where he belongs. Perhaps these journalists and lawyers are just taking their time, as I did, figuring out his lack of character. I suspect, however, that many of Brandon’s foreign friends, like Tonje Hessen Schei, are not too troubled by his character so long as he follows a particular script.
And that script is infecting and hurting an important discussion all over the internet. Hopefully the fine folks at TAH can help foster and improve the discussion by continuing their fine tradition of exposing this guy for the fraud that he is. Brandon likes social media and a lot of people are eating up the piles of manure he’s feeding them. I hope that those who hate liars as much as myself, and who love their country and want our capability to remain strong while we debate the proper use of that capability, will help get the word out on Facebook and Twitter about this scoundrel.
A few weeks ago the mis-named Military Religious Freedom Foundation and their founder, Air Force Academy grad, Mikey Weinstein has been complaining about cadets on the football team who took advantage of the freedom to practice their religion and prayed before a game. From the Chatanoogan;
“It’s a disgrace. It’s a putrid example of fundamentalist Christian supremacy, triumphalism and exceptionalism and it has to stop,” Mr. Weinstein said.
“Those individuals that are dressed in the Air Force uniform, that’s their uniform of the day. They’re members of the military and they are under different rules than the civilian counterparts they’re playing on the field,” he charged, causing the Air Force to immediately call for a Board of Inquiry.
Because the MFers aren’t about religious freedom at all. Well, just before Christmas, the Air Force Academy responded;
“Recently the United States Air Force Academy received a complaint about its football players kneeling in prayer. An inquiry was initiated, which found the football players’ actions to be consistent with Air Force Instruction 1-1 and its guidance on the free exercise of religion and religious accommodation.”
“The United States Air Force Academy will continue to reaffirm to cadets that all Airmen are free to practice the religion of their choice or subscribe to no religious belief at all,” academy officials said in the statement. “The players may confidently practice their own beliefs without pressure to participate in the practices of others.”
Mikey and his penchant for hyperbole compares the Air Force Academy to Pol Pot;
The Air Force Academy’s internal review of this matter is a pathetic sham and transparent farce of the highest order.
Let us not forget that it was hardly a respected, deconflicted and disinterested third party entity or outside agency that inquired into MRFF’s charges against the Academy of unlawful, orchestrated, Christian-sectarian team praying by its football players.
Indeed, having the Air Force Academy’s very own Athletic Dept. essentially “investigate itself” in this sordid unconstitutional matter of fundamentalist Christian triumphalism and supremacy is about as “impartial and effective” as having Pol Pot “investigate” himself for his killing field crimes against humanity or having Bernie Madoff direct the “investigation” of his investment business for allegations of pyramid or Ponzi scheme illegalities.
Maybe if the team busted out their prayer rugs and faced Mecca it would make Mikey feel a little better about the whole thing. Mikey and MFers, on the other hand, need a crying towel and they really need to consider changing the name of their organization to something like the Freedom From Religion Foundation. Or ISIS.
C B sends us links to stories about this John Bordne fellow who was a missile mechanic on Okinawa on October 28, 1962. You might remember that was during the “Cuba Missile Crisis”. Bordne claimed earlier this year his unit received orders to launch their nuclear missiles that day, but that now-deceased Captain William Bassett received those orders, but held his launch officers at gun point to prevent them from entering launch codes.
The men with their fingers on the trigger were ready to launch the nukes, but by Bordne’s recollection, the Captain stalled again and ordered two armed airmen to “shoot the [lieutenant] if he tries to launch without [either] verbal authorization from the ‘senior officer in the field’ or the upgrade to DEFCON 1 by Missile Operations Center.”
[…]
After the crisis had passed Bassett reportedly told his men: “None of us will discuss anything that happened here tonight, and I mean anything. No discussions at the barracks, in a bar, or even here at the launch site. You do not even write home about this. Am I making myself perfectly clear on this subject?”
Despite the fact that no one can verify Bordne’s story, the Japanese media published it anyway. From Stars & Stripes;
“I’m as sure as I am of my name that this never happened,” said Gene Stirewalt, 74, of Salisbury, N.C.
In interviews with Stars and Stripes, six other airmen who were assigned to the Okinawa missile sites with Bordne during the Cuban Missile Crisis disputed the truth of his account. Meanwhile, the Air Force said its historians have looked into the alleged incident but have been unable to find any record of it.
Bordne claims that the reason no one else will talk about it is because none of the others have been cleared to talk about the episode;
“I’m the only one who has been cleared to talk about it,” Bordne told Stars and Stripes.
Other missileers who dispute him are either lying about being on duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis or are jealous of not receiving Air Force approval to discuss the near-launch, he said.
Now at the center of a Cold War controversy, the former enlisted airman has a thick manuscript, a memoir of the near-launch and his time in the Air Force, which he hopes to have published.
Bordne said he first envisioned writing about the alleged incident while coming out of the missile bunker on Okinawa in 1962.
Of course, as the articles point out, the Japanese don’t like nukes on their soil, so naturally they want to paint the US as a war mongering hegemonic power, so there’s always some fame-seeking phony looking to cash in on it.
Eggs and Bobo send us a link to the Air Force Times which reports that the Air Force’s “Tops in Blue” ensemble entertainment group’s tour has been canceled while the service scrutinizes the continuation of the group after they surveyed the force.
In 2015, Tops in Blue had a budget of at least $1.3 million, including more than $1 million in MWR funds. That’s a nearly 13 percent increase from 2014.
Critics have said in comments on AirForceTimes.com and in other places that MWR funds going to the band could otherwise help fund on-base amenities that are more widely used by airmen and their families, and have been squeezed by budget cuts.
The Air Force also provided $319,000 in taxpayer-provided appropriated funds, and also got $25,000 from a commercial sponsorship.
That budget also does not include the cost of paying the salaries of the 37 members of the band, which comes to at least $1 million more. Those airmen are detailed from their jobs for virtually the entire year.
The first I heard of them, was when one of the members wrote about “Life in Hell” on the road. I guess there’s relief in sight for the crew now.
. . . something comes along to show you that no, you haven’t. And occasionally, it’s something you can even smile about.
Here’s what appears to be an item of official correspondence promulgated at Thule AB earlier this year. (Click the image for a larger copy.)
OK, here’s the background.
Earlier this year, the USAF Space Command CG – Gen. John Hyten – apparently visited Thule. He was supposed to be there for 2 days.
Due to a number of mechanical delays, he ended up staying six.
A band – called “Blue Steel” – was also apparently stranded there as well. That band apparently often played the old Eagles tune “Hotel California” quite often while Gen. Hyten was there. The song’s final couplet:
You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave
Apparently the Base Commander (or perhaps someone on his staff – the memo isn’t 100% clear on the “who”) ordered the band not to sing the song’s last lines one night. The next day, the mechanical problems with Gen. Hyten’s aircraft were fixed and he was able to depart.
The policy letter followed. Anyway, “That’s their story and they’re sticking to it.” (smile)
It is good to see senior officers with a sense of humor. God knows they sometimes need one.
Like when their command ends up unexpectedly “babysitting” high-level visitors from HQ wearing stars for an extra few days. (smile)
(Original story – from the “John Q. Public” website – can be found here.)
I guess since the Air Force can’t get rid of the A-10, they can’t afford to send seven Air Force members to the graveside of pensioners, according to KHON2.
The U.S. Air Force says it can no longer provide the salute for funeral services.
A family contacted Action Line after they were told they cannot have the full honor guard service for a loved who served in the Air Force for more than 30 years.
[…]
A spokesman for the Air Force says it’s because of the lack of funding and personnel and it’s being done across the country. A memo was sent out to all the funeral homes saying the honor guard will reduce retiree and veteran funeral details from a seven-person detail to a three-person detail.
You know, I can think of a million other things that could be slashed from the budget besides a final salute to service members. But, you know, the generals need their drivers and cooks, their cars and their maids. Congressmen need their six-figure pensions and their huge staffs. Ammo for one of these salutes is about $3 that they’ll never get back. Gotta fund that F-35 somehow.
Airman 1st Class Kcey E. Ruiz came home to Jackson, Georgia for the last time a few weeks ago. She was 21 years old when she died in a C-130 crash on October 2d at Jalalabad Airfield in Aghanistan. The whole town turned out for her, according to the Henry Herald;
Led by law enforcement officers, with a helicopter flyover, the procession made its way from Tara Field Tuesday afternoon, through Griffin and into Jackson bound for the Lewis Sims and Son Funeral Home.
According to the article, her first choice for military jobs was in the medical field, but because there was nothing in the field available, she worked as one of the Air Force’s security folks, but she planned to train as an EMT after her deployment.
Jackson Mayor Kay Pippin said Tuesday the city joined thousands of others who mourned Kcey Ruiz’s death.
“Today is a sad day in the city of Jackson as we welcome home a fallen hero, U.S. Airman Kcey Ruiz,” Pippin said in a statement. “While no words can fully express our sympathy to the family of Airman Ruiz, the city of Jackson joins the throngs of thousands in expressing our sadness and our heartfelt respect and appreciation for this outstandng soldier who has paid the ultimate price to assure this great nation stays free.”
