Bobo sends us a link to the Army Times report of Major General Joseph Harrington, the commander of US Army, Africa, who communicated his innermost desires to a subordinate’s wife on the Book of Faces;
Harrington’s messages escalated from business-like to personal, USA Today reported, from commenting on the woman’s appearance to acknowledging that her husband wouldn’t appreciate their communication.
At some points, he encouraged her to delete the messages altogether.
Sign up for our NEW Good News Report – All positive stories about the military.
For more newsletters click here
The married general could face Uniform Code of Military Justice action for his conduct, though USA Today reported that the relationship never became physical.
The target of his affections shared the messages with USAToday;
The messages, many sent late at night, veer from the mundane to the personal. Harrington oversees the Army’s activities in Africa from a post in northern Italy. In some texts, he complained about travel and getting sick on local food.
In others, he doted on the woman’s appearance, referring to her as “HOTTIE,” and “looking good for sure.” In another series he wrote: “You seem to have a great modeling resume! Truly! Though I hadn’t noticed! Where is your hubby tonight? Work?”
When she replied that she’d fought with her husband, and that he was asleep, Harrington responded: “I’m sorry! Make up se…x is fun”
Harrington suggested “U can be my nurse,” and added, “I’d enjoy being in a tent with U.”
Facebook is the tool of the Devil, especially after the sun goes down.
Chief Tango sends us a link to the Associated Press which reports that a Blackhawk helicopter crashed during a training event off the coast of Yemen and that one servicemember is missing as a result;
Five others aboard the aircraft were rescued, officials said in a statement issued by U.S. Central Command.
The crash took place Friday evening. Officials said the crash was under investigation.
Asked if the crash involved another special forces raid, Central Command told The Associated Press that “this was a routine training event specifically for U.S. military personnel.”
The Washington Post reports that the helicopter was an asset of the 160th Special Operations Air Regiment (SOAR);
The helicopter was conducting hoist training just feet above the water when it lost power and went into the sea, quickly rolling over and ejecting six aboard. Col. John J. Thomas, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, said ships were nearby and five of the six service members were quickly recovered. Thomas said the search and rescue efforts for the missing service member are ongoing.
The helicopter and crew were a part of the U.S. Army’s 160th Special Operations Air Regiment and working alongside a Special Operations Task Force operating in the region, said Thomas. He added that additional military units have launched from nearby Djibouti to help with the rescue efforts.
David sends us a link to the Washington Post which reports that Major General James J. Grazioplene has been called back to duty in the Army so that he can stand for a court martial for crimes that happened over thirty years ago while he was on active duty. The charges are six counts of raping a child over a six-year period.
The Army will hold a probable-cause hearing this weekend at Fort Meade, Md., to review evidence against Grazioplene. In April, the service announced in a terse statement that it had charged the retired general with six counts of rape of a minor but disclosed no other details. Army officials have declined to answer questions about the case since then.
Charging documents obtained by The Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act show that Grazioplene is accused of committing rape on six occasions between 1983 and 1989 while stationed in the United States and Germany.
According to the charging documents, the rapes occurred at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Amberg, Germany; Bindlach, Germany; and Woodbridge, Va.
Grazioplene retired in 2005. Since the rapes took place in several places over six years, I have to guess that it was a family member who was the victim. We wrote about him in April when the Army charged him.
A number of folks have sent us links to the news that more than one drill sergeant has been charged with sexual assault at Fort Benning, Georgia, the Maneuver Center where the Army trains infantrymen and tankers. From the Washington Post;
The cases are under investigation by Army Criminal Investigation Command and the service’s Maneuver Center of Excellence, Army officials said. The investigation began after a female trainee accused a drill sergeant of sexual assault, and it expanded after that allegation “revealed indications of additional allegations of sexual misconduct involving trainees and drill sergeants,” the Army said in a statement. It declined to say how many drill sergeants are now under investigation.
I’ll withhold judgement until the investigation is complete because I have doubts about the situation. Like I said, the Army trains tankers and infantrymen at Benning. Traditionally those jobs were strictly for men. Women didn’t go to basic training at Fort Benning. I suspect this is the result of culture shock for one or more of the people involved.
David and Mick sends links to the news that 5 soldiers are missing after an Army helicopter went down during an exercise near Hawaii. Two Blackhawk crews were conducting night training when one helicopter crew lost sight of the other bird;
Responding teams reported spotting a debris field about 2 miles (3 kilometers) west of Kaena Point, Oahu, shortly before 11:30 p.m., the release said.
An airplane, two helicopters and several boats are being used in the search across an area with light winds and 2-foot seas.
Because training for war can be as deadly as the war itself. And gravity is unforgiving.
Stars & Stripes identified the two paratroopers killed in Iraq this past weekend as Sergeant Allen L. Stigler Jr., 22, and Sergeant Roshain E. Brooks, 30. S&S says that the soldiers were killed in a premature detonation of an artillery round while they were trying to destroy an ISIS emplacement;
The artillery crew was targeting an ISIS mortar position when the mishap occurred, Manning said. The unit was firing an M777 howitzer, a towed 155 mm artillery piece, according to another defense official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Despite ISIS’ claims Sunday that it killed the soldiers with rocket fire, Manning said “there is no indication at all that ISIS had anything to do with” the soldiers’ deaths. He said the incident was under investigation.
The five others injured in the accident are expected to survive.
Sergeant Stigler joined the Army in 2013 from Arlington, Texas and Sergeant Brooks, from Brooklyn, New York began his career in 2012.
Bill sends us a link from MLB.COM in regards to the Toronto Blue Jays new pitcher, Chris Rowley, who became the first West Point graduate to pitch for Major League Baseball last night.
Rowley became the first graduate of United States Military Academy to pitch in the Major Leagues when he debuted Saturday afternoon at Rogers Centre. More important, Rowley left a lasting impression by tossing 5 1/3 strong innings in Toronto’s 7-2 victory over the Pirates.
Less than two years ago, Rowley was on active duty in the United States Army. The big leagues were nothing more than a pipe dream for the undrafted pitcher, who joined the Toronto organization as a Minor League free agent in the summer of 2013. Now he has a Major League win and an entirely new country filled with fans who are quickly learning his backstory.
For a West Point grad, he sure needs a haircut and a shave.
For over a year Lt. Blanchard had warned her command that 54-year-old Clifford Currie was a threat to her safety.
At approximately 5:10 p.m. on September 7, 2016, a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (NP) at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, heard screaming from an office adjacent to hers at Munson Army Health Center. The civilian NP ran into the hallway and found 26-year-old 1LT Katie Ann Blanchard, an active duty Registered Nurse (RN) and mother of three, on fire from the waist up. (Details of the attack from the FBI Criminal Complaint, dated 8SEP16 can be found here.)
The smell of gasoline filled the hallway. The NP could see another coworker, 54-year-old Clifford Currie, in the office with Katie. He was clutching a straight-edged razor in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. Currie, a short, rotund man weighing well over 200 pounds, was screaming at Katie and stabbing at her face even as she was engulfed in flames.
The NP rushed in and attempted to help Katie put out the flames and get away from Currie. Both the NP and Katie fell to the floor while struggling with Currie, who continued to stab at Katie while putting his foot on her neck and hollering incomprehensibly.
A Doctor from a neighboring office heard the commotion and rushed to assist. She and the NP struggled to restrain Currie, who continued to stab at Katie. Even with Katie’s two heroic female co-workers fighting him, Currie was hell-bent on continuing his assault as Katie lay smoldering on the floor.
Clifford Currie: Employee of American Federation of Government Employees Union
One would think the horror of this event would have some kind of closure because Clifford Currie was found guilty this past week of Assault with Intent to Commit Murder. He is facing 20 years in federal prison and will be sentenced in October. Sadly there is much more to become outraged about when it comes to this case.
For most of the thirteen months that she worked with Currie, she tried to have him disciplined or removed before his disturbing behavior would eventually escalate to her attempted murder.
Katie was Currie’s immediate supervisor, and she wrote over twenty negative counseling statements for Currie stemming from his consistently abysmal work performance, complaints directly from patients, and his outright negligence in performing his role as the Exceptional Family Member Program Care Coordinator. Katie repeatedly communicated to her command that she felt unsafe with Currie at work, and she felt untrained to deal with his combative attitude and escalating threats.
Currie overtly threatened Katie on multiple occasions prior to the September 7, 2016, attack.
Katie and her husband before she was brutally attacked.
Clifford Currie was a member of AFGE (American Federation of Government Employees Union). It is being reported that his Union President, Audrey Harris, has loudly stated to multiple employees at Munson Army Health Center, that Katie “deserved” what she got. She did not deserve to be doused in gasoline, lit on fire, stabbed and beaten. It is my understanding that Audrey Harris is still employed with the AFGE Union Local 738.
When Katie’s initial Section Chief transferred from Leavenworth, her new Section Chief took Katie’s pleas for help seriously. She endeavored to stop Currie before he escalated by going to the next Officer in the Chain of Command. But this Section Chief’s effort to put a stop to Currie’s behavior using the proper protocol was met with an admonishment that both she and Katie were acting irrationally as women and needed to come with facts—and not emotions.
It appears to me that Clifford Currie is not the only one that should be held accountable for what happened to Lt. Blanchard.
Before and After picture
It seems the Command and AFGE need to have their altitude adjusted. There is much more to this case. Google is your friend. I am not sure who should be contacted if anyone wishs to voice their concern, but I think this guy:
Michael Kelly – National Vice President, District 9
Phone: (405) 670-2656
Fax: (405) 677-8481
kellym@afge.org
Seems like a good place to start. I will post some links below.
