Every time Muammar Qaddafi makes the news, I’m reminded of something that happened almost 25 years ago when I was serving as an Air Force public affairs officer at McConnell AFB in Wichita, Kan. After the Libyan dictator was blamed for the deadly April 5, 1986, bombing of a Berlin discotheque frequented by U.S. service [...]
Turmoil in Libya Brings Back Memories
February 21st, 2011 · No Comments
Tags: · 184th refueling wing, Air Force, berlin discotheque bombing, kansas, kc-135r stratotanker, libya, libyan dictator, mcconnell afb, mu'ammar qaddafi, north africa, north africa bomb comp '86, president barack obama, President Ronald Reagan, public affairs officer, Ronald Reagan, strategic air command, turmoil in Libya, Turmoil in Libya Brings Back Memories, White House, Wichita
If Not for Memo, Torture Might Not Be An Issue (Updated)
May 6th, 2009 · 2 Comments
By Bob McCarty Copyright © 2009 Bob McCarty Writes. All rights reserved. To request reprint permission, send an e-mail to BobMcCartyWrites (at) gmail (dot) com. The question of whether members of the U.S. military and intelligence communities should be allowed to use waterboarding and other forms of torture during interrogations might be largely irrelevant today [...]
Tags: · Afghanistan, Army, Army, Bob McCarty, Bob McCarty Writes, BobMcCarty.com, centcom, Central Command, computer voice stress analyzer, confessions, credibility assessment technologies, cvsa, defense department memo, department of defense memo, dod polygraphers, Enemy Combatants, GITMO, Guantanamo Bay, guantanamo bay detenton facility, hand-held lie detector, intelligence, intelligence advisors, interrogation officials, interrogations, Iraq, james r clapper, james r clapper jr, jim kane, lafayette instrument company, Lie Detector, memo, military intelligence, national institute for truth verification, National Security, pcass, Pentagon, polygraph, polygraph examiners, portable lie detector, preliminary credibility assessment screening system, public affairs, public affairs officer, Terror Suspects, Torture, u.s. central command, water-boarding, waterboarding
Will Military Continue Stonewalling on Lie Detector? (Updated)
April 20th, 2009 · No Comments
Nearly two weeks have passed since I published a post (“Is Tech ‘Turf War’ Putting U.S. Troops at Risk“) about my attempts to learn about the effectiveness — or lack thereof — of the military’s use of the Preliminary Credibility Assessment Screening System. Today, I wonder if officials at U.S. Central Command will continue the [...]
Tags: · Army, centcom, Central Command, chris fausett, dave foster, foia, Freedom of Information Act, hand-held lie detector, john redfield, lafayette instrument, lafayette instrument company, lee packnett, Lie Detector, lt col lee packnett, maj john redfield, pcass, pcass expert, Pentagon, polygraphy, preliminary credibility assessment screening system, public affairs, public affairs officer, turf war, u.s. central command
Air Force Thunderbirds Release 2008 Schedule
December 31st, 2008 · No Comments
When I served as an Air Force public affairs officer years ago, I had the privilege of working with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds on several crowd-pleasing occasions. Therefore, when I saw the team — formally known as the “U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron” — had released the schedule for its 56th season, I [...]
Tags: · 2009 Thunderbirds Schedule, Air Force, air force officer, public affairs officer, thunderbirds, thunderbirds 2009 schedule, Thunderbirds 56th season, thunderbirds in arizona, thunderbirds in california, thunderbirds in colorado, thunderbirds in delaware, thunderbirds in florida, thunderbirds in georgia, thunderbirds in hawaii, thunderbirds in illinois, thunderbirds in maryland, thunderbirds in michigan, thunderbirds in mississippi, thunderbirds in missouri, thunderbirds in montana, thunderbirds in nevada, thunderbirds in new jersey, thunderbirds in new york, thunderbirds in ohio, thunderbirds in oregon, thunderbirds in puerto rico, thunderbirds in south dakota, thunderbirds in utah, thunderbirds in virginia, thunderbirds in wisconsin, thunderbirds in wyoming, u.s. air force, u.s. air force air demonstration squadron, u.s. air force thunderbirds
AARPers Might Like This Brian Williams Story, Too
September 24th, 2008 · 2 Comments
The November/December issue of AARP The Magazine features an interview of NBC’s Brian Williams, according to an AARP news release today. While I’m certain the article is full of a lot of newsman wit and wisdom, I suspect readers of the silver-haired group’s publication might get a bigger kick out of my experience with “the [...]
Tags: · 347th tactical fighter wing, aarp, aarp the magazine, american association of retired persons, Brian Williams, f-16, georgia, Moody Air Force Base, NBC, nbc newsman, NBC Nightly News, nbc's brian williams, network news anchor, Operation Desert Storm, public affairs officer, Valdosta, wcbs
Challenger Disaster Recalled 22 Years Later
January 28th, 2008 · No Comments
Twenty-two years ago today, I was a young Air Force second lieutenant attending the Public Affairs Officer Course at the Defense Information School, then located at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis. During a break from morning classes, I gathered with a dozen or so of my classmates from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps in [...]
Tags: · Air Force, Army, cape canaveral, challenger, defense information school, first teacher in space, fort benjamin harrison, indianapolis, Marine Corps, Navy, President Ronald Reagan, public affairs officer, Ronald Reagan, sir francis drake, space shuttle, space shuttle challenger, touch the face of God
