Free Republic

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) — The fallen come home here with such dignity that every American flag on every case of remains is inspected for the tiniest smudge. The dead are treated with reverence by everyone. Including their commander in chief. For the second time in his presidency, Barack Obama was at Dover on Tuesday, saluting troops who died on his watch. Sadness hung everywhere. For Obama, it was a day to deal with the nation's single deadliest day of the decade-long war in Afghanistan. For the families of the 30 Americans who were killed, it was a...

President Obama has arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware Tuesday to pay tribute to 30 U.S. service members, including 22 Navy SEALs, killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Obama led a delegation of administration and military officials to salute the remains of the fallen troops, whose helicopter was shot down by insurgents Saturday. It marked the highest single-day death toll for U.S. forces since the long war began a decade ago. The scene has been closed to the public and the press, with Obama's trip chronicled by a small group of pool reporters.

At 12:47 p.m. on December 9, 1999, the CH-46 Sea Knight lifted off from the Bonhomme Richard as the lead of five helicopters on an exercise to train Marines how to "take down" a hostile ship at sea. While SEALs boarded the ship from rubber boats, the Marines would lower themselves hand over hand from a rope dangling from the hovering helicopter. As part of the exercise, the Marines lugged assorted weapons and breaching tools, including 16-pound hammers and 30-pound cutting torches. The Sea Knight proceeded uneventfully to a designated holding pattern 10 to 12 miles behind the rear...

At 12:47 p.m. on December 9, 1999, the CH-46 Sea Knight lifted off from the Bonhomme Richard as the lead of five helicopters on an exercise to train Marines how to "take down" a hostile ship at sea. While SEALs boarded the ship from rubber boats, the Marines would lower themselves hand over hand from a rope dangling from the hovering helicopter. As part of the exercise, the Marines lugged assorted weapons and breaching tools, including 16-pound hammers and 30-pound cutting torches. The Sea Knight proceeded uneventfully to a designated holding pattern 10 to 12 miles behind the rear...

The U.S. Navy selected Northrop Grumman to supply infrared missile warning systems for fleet of heavy lift helicopters. The contact is worth $80 million, the company said Thursday. Under terms of the agreement Northrop Grumman more than 450 IRMWS and 90 processors to Naval Air Systems Command beginning in May 2011 and concluding in the second quarter of 2013. The hardware, in conjunction with Northrop Grumman's Guardian laser transmitter assemblies and control indicator units delivered under the same U.S. Air Force indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract, will complete the initial Department of Navy Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures installation requirements on 156 aircraft...

Two Pendleton Marines ID'd among dead in helicopter crash By: JOE BECK - Staff Writer CAMP PENDLETON ---- At least two Marines from Camp Pendleton were among the seven service members killed Wednesday in a helicopter crash in Iraq. Thursday, family members and reports from hometown newspapers identified the dead as Sgt. Travis Pfister 27, of Richland, Wash., and Capt. Jennifer J. Harris, 28, of Swampscott, Mass. Both were killed when the CH-46 Sea Knight troop-transport helicopter they were riding in went down about 20 miles west of Baghdad in Anbar province, an area that has been the scene of...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2007 – A Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter that went down in Iraq’s Anbar province Feb. 7 most likely experienced a mechanical failure, the director of operations for the Joint Staff told Pentagon reporters today. Army Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute said early indications show the crash, which killed seven crewmembers and passengers, resulted from a mechanical malfunction. Lute said eyewitness accounts factored with considerations about the type of aircraft, its flight pattern and other early indicators, led to that conclusion. “So the response of the aircraft leads the people on the ground to believe, early...

Excerpt - BAGHDAD, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Wednesday it was checking reports that a Chinook transport helicopter might have come down near Baghdad. Two witnesses in the area, just north of Baghdad, told Reuters they saw a Chinook helicopter come down amid gunfire from the ground. They said it was unclear if the helicopter had crashed or made an emergency landing. ~ snip ~

The Antelope Valley-based Marine Corps Reserve aviation detachment based at Edwards will send both of its squadrons overseas, deploying giant CH-53 helicopters to Afghanistan and medium CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters to Iraq. "They will be joining with their active-duty counterparts of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Group based at Miramar Naval Air Station," said Lt. Col. Drew Crane, in the leadership team of Detachment Bravo at Edwards. Both squadrons were mobilized within the past week, with Marines reporting for duty prior to overseas deployment. The Marines were told to expect to be activated for about 12 months, with a six-month overseas...