» 2011 » November Ms Sparky

Dover mortuary landfill dumping: Congressman asked Pentagon about practice in Sept.

Posted on: November 12th, 2011 at 7:18 am — by Forseti

Craig Whitlock - (Washington Post) – November 11, 2011 – A New Jersey congressman wrote directly to Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta two months ago to seek details about the Dover Air Force Base mortuary’s practice of dumping troops’ cremated body parts in a landfill but says he never received a reply.

The congressman’s letter raises questions about when Panetta learned that the mortuary disposed of cremated portions of remains at the King George County, Va., landfill. Panetta has said he was unaware of the dumping before this week.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in A Soldiers Story, GOV. CONTRACTORS, Reports & Investigations. Tags: Arlington National Cemetery, Dover Air Force Base, Dover Mortuary, Gari-Lynn Smith, George Little, James Parsons, Mary Ellen Spera, Rep. Rush Holt, Secretary Leon Panetta, Sgt. 1st Class Scott R. Smith, William Zwicharowski. No Comments »

Supporting our troops, Veterans Day and other news

Posted on: November 11th, 2011 at 1:14 pm — by Forseti

…While the majority of our country has moved on or ignored what is happening, or has happened in these wars, bright and brave twenty-somethings are coming home paralyzed, maimed, severely burned and scarred both emotionally and physically. How our soldiers come to terms with, and rise above, what they’ve seen over a few months, a few weeks or even a moment during their tours of duty, will define their lives. It’s easy to honor this sacrifice in a day filled with parade and salutes, but it is much harder to live with it, day in and day out, for the rest of your life… ~John Koch, Huffington Post

Falmouth soldier’s Iraq death a homicide
Sean Teehan – (Boston Herald) – FALMOUTH – November 11, 2011 – The death of Sgt. Matthew R. Gallagher has been ruled a homicide by the U.S. Army, family members said Thursday.

Gallagher was killed under mysterious circumstances while serving with the 1st Cavalry Division in the Wasit province of Iraq on June 26, a week before his 23rd birthday.

When family members were first informed of Gallagher’s death, it appeared he had been killed by enemy fire while performing a house sweep, said Cheryl Ruggiero, Gallagher’s mother. But the Department of Defense later announced the incident was not combat-related.

Thursday, just a day before a memorial is dedicated in Gallagher’s name, family members said the death was not an accident.

“His autopsy ruled (his death) a homicide,” said Ruggiero. (Click HERE for article)

Our Veterans Day Wish: Give Our Troops the Support They Deserve
Ben Freeman – (POGO) – November 11, 2011 – This, as with all, Veterans Day will be filled with politicians from both sides of the aisle declaring their unshakable support for our military veterans and all the brave servicemen and women in the U.S. military. Republicans at this Saturday’s Presidential debate and Democrats on the Sunday morning talk shows will try to convince the American public that their support for the troops is unparalleled.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in A Soldiers Story, GOV. CONTRACTORS, Huffington Post, Indictments, Convictions & Arrests. Tags: BAC Home Loans Servicing LP, Bank of America, Brigadier General Don Packard, David Wood, DoD*, PTSD, Secretary Leon Panetta, Servicemember Civil Relief Act (SCRA), Sgt. Matthew R. Gallagher, Veterans Day. 1 Comment »

NPR: We Pause On Veterans Day To Reread ‘In Flanders Fields’

Posted on: November 11th, 2011 at 6:17 am — by Forseti

(For more information on how to properly display your U.S. Flag click HERE)
To all who have served and all that are serving in our armed forces and their families we thank you and we remember. ~ Ms. Sparky & Forseti

Mark Memmott – (NPR) – November 11, 2011 – Before we move on to the day’s news, serious and silly, we want to pause for a moment to note that it’s Veterans Day.

As President Obama’s declaration states, on this day Americans “pay tribute to our veterans, to the fallen, and to their families.” And, the proclamation adds, “to honor their contributions to our Nation, let us strive with renewed determination to keep the promises we have made to all who have answered our country’s call.”

In May 1915, the U.S. Air Force reminds us, Canadian military doctor, Maj. John M. McCrae, composed the poem In Flanders Fields after treating victims of a German chemical attack in Belgium. It inspired the use of red poppies as a symbol of Veterans Day for many years in the U.S., and they’re still used in Great Britain.

This seems like a good moment to recall McCrae’s words

“In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

“We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

“Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.”

(Click HERE for original article)

Posted in A Soldiers Story, Holiday Tribute To Soldiers. Tags: Flanders Fields, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, Veterans Day. No Comments »

Hero soldiers ‘thrown in the trash’: Military dumped body parts of dead servicemen killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in LANDFILL

Posted on: November 10th, 2011 at 2:45 pm — by Ms Sparky

THIRD scandal over how the U.S. Army treats its dead
Bodies at Arlington National Cemetery put in WRONG graves
U.S. Military lost body parts and shipped fetal remains in cardboard boxes

A damning new report reveals the military mishandled the remains of soldiers returning through Dover Air Force Base

By Daniel Bates – MailOnline
Updated 8:34 AM Nov. 10, 2011

Body parts belonging to U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan were routinely cremated and then dumped in a landfill site.

For five years, between 2003 and 2008, staff at the Dover Air Force base mortuary, Delaware, disposed of parts that could not be identified or were later recovered from the battlefield.

Family members were not told what happened to their relatives – and the company running the landfill site was not even informed what was being thrown away.

It is the third scandal engulfing the Army in its treatment of its dead.

It is the third scandal engulfing the Army in its treatment of its dead. (Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in A Soldiers Story, GOV. CONTRACTORS, Reports & Investigations. Tags: Afghanistan, Air Force, Dover Air Force Base, FBI, Gari-Lynn Smith, General Norton Schwartz, Iraq, Lt. Gen. Darrell D. Jones, Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner. 2 Comments »

Recruiting SCAM uses KBR name to swindle job seekers

Posted on: November 10th, 2011 at 1:27 pm — by Ms Sparky

We first posted warnings nearly two years ago regarding recruiting scams targeting those who may desire to work for major defense contractors such as Fluor, DynCorp and KBR. During this time of economic disaster in the States, those desperate for work may be more likely to disregard warnings in hopes the offers are legitimate, therefore setting themselves up for identity theft and financial ruin.

According to a recent article from WBJFedBiz Daily, identity thieves are still setting their sites on those who want to work for KBR.

Fraudsters out to steal money and private information from those hoping to land work are using the name of KBR Inc. in their scam.

KBR, an engineering and construction company based in Houston and with a primary office in Arlington, posted a notice on its website acknowledging that “fraudulent employment offers are being transmitted via email by people claiming to be employees or representatives of KBR.” According to the notice, prospective candidates are provided salary information, instructed to obtain immigration documents and pay application/processing fees, which will supposedly be reimbursed.

“Please be advised that these communications are FRAUDULENT and are NOT sent from anyone within or affiliated with KBR,” the notice stated. “These email messages are a scam and should be treated as such.”

Those that receive such notices are instructed to contact local law enforcement and to forward the messages to ReportFraud@kbr.com.

A company spokeswoman said that — by policy —no information about KBR is released, including employment numbers for the D.C. metro area. The company’s Arlington office is located at 2451 Crystal Drive. (click HERE for the original article)

If anyone has one of these fraudulent emails they’ve received stating they are recruiting on KBR’s behalf, please send it. I’d like to post it for all to see.

There are few things I despise more than liars and thieves, especially identity thieves.

Ms Sparky

Posted in GOV. CONTRACTORS, Miscellaneous. Tags: DynCorp*, Fluor*, KBR, Recruiting Fraud, SCAM. No Comments »

Three Former Directors at Military Body Armor Supplier Settle SEC Charges

Posted on: November 10th, 2011 at 1:03 pm — by Forseti

(SEC) – Washington, D.C. – November 10, 2011 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that three former directors have agreed to more than $1.6 million in monetary sanctions to settle charges that they were involved in an accounting fraud at a major supplier of body armor to the U.S. military and law enforcement agencies.

The settlements agreed to by Cary Chasin, Jerome Krantz and Gary Nadelman – former members of the board of directors at Pompano Beach, Fla.-based DHB Industries – would impose permanent officer-and-director bars in addition to the monetary sanctions. The settlements are subject to court approval.

“These directors failed to comply with their responsibilities by ignoring the repeated red flags of the massive accounting fraud that senior management orchestrated at DHB,” said Eric I. Bustillo, Director of the SEC’s Miami Regional Office. “While we won’t second guess the good-faith efforts of most company directors, we will hold accountable those who completely abdicate the duties they owe to the companies and shareholders they represent.”

Earlier this year, the SEC separately charged DHB Industries and Chasin, Krantz and Nadelman. The SEC previously charged former DHB CEO David Brooks as well as two other former DHB senior officers for their roles in the fraud. DHB Industries is now known as Point Blank Solutions.

(Read the rest of the story here…)

Posted in GOV. CONTRACTORS, Indictments, Convictions & Arrests. Tags: Cary Chasin, David H. Brooks, DHB Industries, Gary Nadelman, Jerome Krantz, Security and Exchange Commission. No Comments »

Two Senators Send Letter To Unseal Wartime Contracting Commission Records

Posted on: November 10th, 2011 at 7:31 am — by Forseti

Jake Wiens – (POGO) – November 10, 2011 – In an encouraging development, the two Senators—Jim Webb (D-VA) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO)—responsible for introducing legislation that created the Commission on Wartime Contracting sent a letter yesterday which called on the Archivist to “take immediate steps” to publicly disclose the Commission’s records, which had been sealed for 20 years. In a recent blog post, POGO called on the Congress to take action to lift this seal.

The full text of the letter is below:

November 7, 2011

Mr. David S. Ferriero
Archivist of the United States
National Archives and Records Administration
700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20408

Dear Mr. Ferriero:

We are writing to request that you take immediate steps to publicly release the permanent records of the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan (the Commission), consistent with your authority under the law.

(Read the rest of the story here…)