Saturday, March 17, 2018

The seven killed in the helicopter crash

Today, the Defense Dept released the names of those killed in the US helicopter crash in Iraq:


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of seven airmen who were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve. They died March 15 when an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter crashed in western Iraq. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
 
Killed was:
 
Captain Mark K. Weber, 29, of Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was assigned to the 38th Rescue Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia. For more information, media may contact the 23rd Wing public affairs office at 229-257-4146.
 
Also killed were:
 
Captain Andreas B. O'Keeffe, 37, of Center Moriches, New York.
Captain Christopher T. Zanetis, 37, of Long Island City, New York.
Master Sergeant Christopher J. Raguso, 39, of Commack, New York.
Staff Sergeant Dashan J. Briggs, 30, of Port Jefferson Station, New York.
 
All four were assigned to the 106th Rescue Wing at the Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base, New York. For more information, media may contact the New York National Guard public affairs office at 518-786-4581.
 
Also killed were:
 
Master Sergeant William R. Posch, 36, of Indialantic, Florida.
Staff Sergeant Carl P. Enis, 31, of Tallahassee, Florida.
Both were assigned to the 308th Rescue Squadron, Air Force Reserve, at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. For more information, media may contact the 920th Rescue Wing public affairs office at 321-615-0329.



CBS NEWS notes Christopher J. Raguso:


Raguso previously deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, Texas and the Caribbean for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
He joined the FDNY in 2005 and was also a volunteer firefighter in Commack, where he lived with his wife, Carmella, and two young daughters.
"I was with the family last night and this morning. As you can imagine, they're devastated. They can't put it to words how they feel. It's numbing," Commack Fire Dept, Commissioner Pat Fazio said. "It's numbing to us here in the fire department as his fire department family on the volunteer level."
Raguso died the day after his 39th birthday.
"He told his family this was going to be his last mission. He went over there hoping to come home. Unfortunately, he's not coming home," Commack Fire Dept, Commissioner Steven Fontana said.




FLORIDA TODAY notes William Posch and Carl Enis:


Posch, an Indialantic resident, was an 18-year veteran of the Air Force. He served the last 10 years with the 920th Rescue Wing. Among his many missions, he assisted in rescue operations in Texas after Hurricane Harvey and took part in a long-range sea mission last July to rescue a pair of stranded German sailors.
His decorations include the Air Medal with silver oak leaf cluster; an Aerial Achievement Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal with Valor.
Enis was an eight-year veteran and joined the 920th Rescue Wing in 2010. Among his decorations are the Air Reserve Forces Meritorious Service Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster; the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal.



Some Tweets on the fallen:


FDNY Fire Marshal Christopher T. “Tripp” Zanetis and FDNY Lieutenant Christopher J. Raguso, both of whom also served in the U.S. Armed Forces, were among seven military personnel tragically killed Thursday in a helicopter crash in Iraq.
0:29
54.5K views


Pentagon releases names of 7 airmen killed in crash in Iraq

All service members identified from deadly Iraq helicopter crash



It is with deep regret that FDNY announces the deaths of Lt. Christopher J. Raguso and Fire Marshal Christopher T. Zanetis. Lt. Raguso and Fire Marshal Zanetis died in an American military helicopter crash in Iraq on Thursday, March 15. Read more:





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CONSORTIUM NEWS

Some Tweets from CONSORTIUM NEWS:


  • With media attention on the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War’s My Lai massacre, Colin Powell’s role as a military adviser has continued to elude appropriate scrutiny, so we’re republishing an article from 1996 by Robert Parry and Norman Solomon.
  • Hollywood’s recent attempt to depict Frontier life captures the reality of “hostiles” shooting various weapons at one another, but the real history is more interesting, Jada Thacker explains in this essay.
  • The scapegoating of Russia has taken on an air of bigotry, based largely on Cold War-era stereotypes. In this article, Natylie Baldwin counters this intolerance with some of her positive impressions having traveled the country extensively.
  • Following up on his Feb. 24 article, “First Impressions of Russia’s Upcoming Presidential Election,” independent political analyst Gilbert Doctorow takes a close look at how the election is shaping up in the days before the vote.
  • The declining human rights standards on display with the Haspel and Pompeo nominations are the latest in a long line of policy failures that include the Obama administration’s lack of prosecutions of Bush-era torture, Nat Parry notes.
  • The assumption underpinning Russiagate – that Vladimir Putin preferred Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton – is not supported by the facts, according to “Initial Findings” of the House Intelligence Committee, as Ray McGovern reports.
  • The fact-free and logic-challenged allegations of Trump-Russia collusion have further lost credibility with the appointment of a virulently anti-Russia hawk to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Caitlin Johnstone points out.
  • Applying the principle of cui bono – who benefits? – to the case of Sergei might lead investigators away from the Kremlin as the prime suspect and towards Western intelligence agencies, argues James O’Neill.
  • With the Russian president in the heat of a re-election campaign, he sat down to talk with NBC’s Megyn Kelly for an interview that enabled him to burnish his credentials to the Russian electorate, Ray McGovern explains.
  • Four United States senators are urging a new approach to U.S.-Russian relations based on renewed arms control efforts, but you probably haven’t heard about it from the mainstream media, Gilbert Doctorow and Ray McGovern report.
  • Americans should welcome President Trump’s apparent willingness to speak with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, but instead naysayers are warning of dire consequences, Jonathan Marshall explains.
  • America’s wars in the post-9/11 era have been characterized by relatively low U.S. casualties, but that does not mean that they are any less violent than previous wars, Nicolas J.S. Davies observes.
  • On March 9, 1954, Senate Republicans criticized Joe McCarthy’s overreaches and took action to limit his power, marking the end of McCarthyism. On the anniversary of that event, we republish an article on the by Robert Parry.