CDRINF

Labor Day weekend. Fort Dodge, Iowa. A true "old school" boogie. Great jumps, great friends, and much mayhem abound. CDR

I just got back from Iraq less than a month ago. "Civil War" makes a good sound bite, and that's why you hear it. What is going on in the last month is not much different from what has been going on for the last 3 years. Just a new spin. It is also not, as simple as Sunni vs Shia. It's not like they are going to line up on opposite sides in Blue and Gray and start fighting it out. If only it were that simple! The culture is very complex, with many tribal and cultural divisions. Family/tribal ties trump national and religious ones every time. There are many competing groups, everyone has a hidden agenda, and they switch sides very quickly based on what the particular group thinks is in their interests. In the area I was in, the dominant tribe ratted out the foreign fighters and sided with us, because they figured that siding with us was now more in their interest than siding with the foreign fighters. Then the dominant tribe wanted to make sure that they got the lion's share of the police academy slots, because, after all, if your cousin is the police chief, that makes life easier. Its more like a large scale, live version of "The Sopranos" than anything else.

Never claimed to have all the answers and am not arguing why we went there in the first place. All I said is that my personal observations on the ground and what I am seeing on T.V. and in the papers do not match. Not even close. The real issue of the war (and by this I mean the larger war against radical Islam) is the American peoples' will to see it through. Our enemy knows this better than we do. They want to break our will to continue the fight so that we withdraw from the region. If we lose the will of the American people, this war is over. Unfortunately, that will is being influenced by inaccurate and sloppy reporting. CDR

Here is a rather timely retraction that I believe pretty much says it all on this subject. As I said earlier, it is more about sloppy, lazy reporting going for the sensational headline and quick buck, than it is about bias. New York Times March 18, 2006 Editors' Note A front-page article last Saturday profiled Ali Shalal Qaissi, identifying him as the hooded man forced to stand on a box, attached to wires, in a photograph from the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal of 2003 and 2004. He was shown holding such a photograph. As an article on Page A1 today makes clear, Mr. Qaissi was not that man. The Times did not adequately research Mr. Qaissi's insistence that he was the man in the photograph. Mr. Qaissi's account had already been broadcast and printed by other outlets, including PBS and Vanity Fair, without challenge. Lawyers for former prisoners at Abu Ghraib vouched for him. Human rights workers seemed to support his account. The Pentagon, asked for verification, declined to confirm or deny it. Despite the previous reports, The Times should have been more persistent in seeking comment from the military. A more thorough examination of previous articles in The Times and other newspapers would have shown that in 2004 military investigators named another man as the one on the box, raising suspicions about Mr. Qaissi's claim. The Times also overstated the conviction with which representatives of Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International expressed their view of whether Mr. Qaissi was the man in the photograph. While they said he could well be that man, they did not say they believed he was. Editor's Note: The article by Hassan M. Fattah appeared in the Current News Early Bird, March 11, 2006.

I just got back from Iraq and I had no idea we were losing the war until I came home and started watching the news. Much of the reporting and almost all of the commentary bears no relation to the reality on the ground. Then we get gloom and doom stories about American public opinion from polls where people are influenced by the same reporting. I have always respected the roll of the press in our society, but now I am beginning to think that either they are very lazy, or flat making stuff up. I figured out it was combination of both. Here's how: I never saw a reporter my entire time in Iraq. Then I noticed something. Take a look at the articles from major papers supposedly written by their "Senior correspondent in Baghdad." At the bottom of the article you often see the notation "This article prepared with assistance by" and then a string of Arabic names. The western reporters are staying in their hotels, and hiring Iraqi stringers to bring them information. Now, if I learned anything working with the Iraqi Army, it is that Iraqis live by rumor, love to exaggerate, and take everything at face value. They have also probably figured out that the juicier the story, the more they get paid. Remember the banner headlines about 1300 bodies in the Baghdad morgue a few weeks ago? Notice how quickly those stories disappeared? It simply was not true. The story served it's purpose, however. They got the banner headline, sold some more papers, and the reporter got kudos from his bosses for his "scoop." So, it ain't about bias, it's about sloppy reporting and going for the sensational to make a quick buck. CDR

I just got back from Iraq and asked Mirage, since I heard they had a 50% off deal if you had been in Iraq or Afghanistan. This is what I got back from them: --------------------------------------------------------- The program you are referring to has ended. We are offering 35% off base container price and 15% off options to all active duty military. Blue Skies, Bob Bob Beck Mirage Systems, Inc. Ph: 386-740-9222 Fax: 386-740-9444 www.miragesys.com bobb@miragesys.com

I am in Iraq right now. There is a civil war here. The media says so. We expect them to declare a winner by next Friday. Seriously, most of the media and pundits have no idea what they are talking about. "Civil War" makes a good sound bite. It is not as simple as Sunni and Shia. It's not like they are going to line up on opposite sides in Blue and Gray and start fighting it out. If only it were that simple! The culture here is very complex, with many tribal and cultural divisions. There are many competing groups, everyone has a hidden agenda, and they switch sides very quickly based on what the particular group thinks is in their interests. In an area I was in, the dominant tribe ratted out the foreign fighters and sided with us, because they figured that siding with us was now more in their interest than siding with the foreign fighters. Its sort of like a live version of "The Sopranos." CDR

When I was in Korea in 2003, the jump ticket price at the one DZ in the country was 100,000 Won, equivalent to about $80. The club rented the aircraft, and that's how they paid for it. CDR

I am in Taji right now, killing time until I redeploy. Tell me where manifest is, and I'm there! CDR

Ahhh, seeing people argue about skydiving while I sit in Iraq and am not able to jump is like watching two fat men argue about whether to eat prime rib or filet mignon. I jump in the KC area (when I'm home) and am on the MRVS staff, so call me biased if you want, but here's my take, which is similar to Gary's: I don't wish failure on anyone. I wish the new DZO's good luck in a spirit of furthering all skydiving. I'll even stop by the new DZ and make a jump or two. The fact is, however, that starting a business is a lot harder than establishing a web site. I see a lot of promises being made before they have flown their first load. You don't just show up the first day and open up Skydive Arizona, you build a solid business over time. Larry Hill built what he has now over many years. I have seen several recent attempts to open new turbine DZ's with much fanfare that then folded fairly quickly. Can the market support a full time turbine DZ? I'm not sure its big enough, but time will tell if it can draw from a wide area. I'm not an expert, but to turn a profit I am guessing you need to keep that airplane turning loads on a constant basis from first jump to shut down. The Lincoln SPC held a turbine boogie this summer that was quite well done, and drew jumpers from all over the KS, MO, IA, and NB, area, but even then could barley keep one plane turning constantly. Lots of Cessna DZ jumpers yearn for a turbine, but then want to jump it at a Cessna pace, rather than the constant pack/ jump/pack/jump required, unless you have a very large jumper population to make the loads. Just my 2 cents. Less than a month to go here in Iraq and I can get back into the sky! CDR

IMO it is completely overplayed, esp the bagpipe version, to the point it has become a cliche'. I am in Iraq right now and left explicit instructions that if I get whacked, it is not to be played at my memorial service. I told them instead to play "Spirit in the Sky." CDR

Billy Colwell, "Mr C" to his fellow skydivers, passed away Wednesday, October 4th in the afternoon, at home. He had been in ill health in recent months. Burial will be 7 Oct at the KY Veterans Cemetary West at 1:30 pm. Many will remember "Mr C" as the "godfather" of the Fort Campbell Sport Parachute Club/Activity and Demo Team. He was one of the club's two life members. He was also very active in the 101st Abn Div Association. It was my great honor to jump with him and Tom Morrison in a 101st Airborne combat vets demo jump as the Desert Storm jumper at Week of the Eagles 2000. Blue Skies, Mr C

Well, that added a new level of clarity and maturity to the discussion! CDR

newpassion, You can believe what you want, it sounds like you weren't there, just like most people posting here. If you don't believe me, ask Orlando who posted the original message in the Spanish forum, or Snowhite who worked at manifest. It is interesting also that people read what they want to. You just proved your point about the telephone game. I never said I saw him take anything. I did see him going through piles of gear at one point, though, and leave quickly when confronted. I also know what I saw with my own eyes, which was the young man being lead away by police and convention security, and friends who later had jump tickets and other items returned which were in his possession. At this point there is very little useful info coming from this thread. Those who want to blindly defend the man without knowing the facts are just as bad as those who want to threaten the man without knowing the facts. I just don't want him at any DZ I am at and don't want other skydivers victimized by him. CDR

It is a fact that yes, I was told this by some of the staff involved shortly after the incident. Did I see this stuff with my own eyes, no. That is why I said it was "my understanding." So, if you want to split hairs... ...but then that gets back to my point several posts ago above. What are the subsequent facts? The original post asked two simple questions: Is there an update, and what became of the guy? After all these posts, we still do not have those answers. CDR

He was found with lots more than skydiving gear in his possesion. It is my understanding he had lots of new electronic gear that the police confiscated ***Can we stop the witchhunt already? It's woefully childish, and does nothing beneficial for either the victims of his crimes or for him. *** The benefit is that we are trying to protect the larger community. I do not see how warning other skydivers to be wary when dealing with this individual constitutes a "witchhunt." It is warning to members of our community based upon observed behavior. We have an entire forum on this board for scam alerts to protect our community from fraud. Are they all verified scams, or do they merely look suspicious because they fit a pattern? I do not see how this is all that different. CDR

His website: http://erikgpeterson.com/ The link to his online "store" This is the one that says, "we will get it for you. http://eriksonlinestore.com/ CDR

I have posted on this thread before. Based on my reading, I believe I am one of a few people on this now long thread who was actually a witness to this incident. This thread originally started as a search for facts. Interestingly it has turned into an argument between those who want to castigate the young man and those who want to defend him, and lately it has devolved into the finer points of what constitutes a mental illness or personality disorder. I agree that the mindless name calling serves no purpose, and that lots is being said by many who have no first hand knowledge of the facts. In that sense I am sorry to see this as the latest example of these forums, which started as a fun and interesting way to exchange information about skydiving, headed the way of rec.skydiving as a board for name calling, innuendo, and opinionated pontification unrelated to the original post. In a perhaps vain attempt to get this thread back on topic, I will again state: I was there. Friends of mine had things stolen that were found in this man’s possession. That is a verifiable fact. So in the spirit of trying to stick to the facts I again pose the question: What is the current legal status of this situation? What happened after the police took him away? Has he been charged with a crime? I am interested in how all this is playing out in the legal system. Is there anyone from Rantoul, or the WFFC staff that can shed light on this? One poster made reference to what a slick lawyer might do with this case. That was a concern at the time of the apprehension. One of our group said, “Nothing is going to happen. If he does go to court, you won’t be able to get anyone to travel back to Rantoul to testify.” I think it was at this point that someone suggested putting his picture on Dropzone.com. The thinking was that if the legal system did not take him off the street, at least we could alert the skydiving community to be on the lookout for a thief. I am actually surprised that the info took so long to migrate from the Spanish forum to here. There are some additional issues that bear looking into. This young man has a web site where he sells electronic gear and holds auctions. It even makes the claim “If we don’t have it, we will get it just ask.” He also has a thread on these forums with links to aid for Hurricane Katrina victims. His postings stopped abruptly when someone posted “Don’t I remember you from the WFFC?” Some have suggested that he might be using his web site to fence stolen property. There are also plenty of hurricane relief scams going around. There is no proof of this, and I am not accusing at this point, but boy, it sure makes you go “hmmmmm” given his demonstrated behavior. This may be worth investigating further. The bottom line for me is that this man violated the trust of our community. He stole from fellow skydivers. If he does have a serious mental or emotional problem, I hope he gets help and that his friends will look out for him. Don't ask me to be his friend, or excuse his behavior, however. I don't know him from Adam, I just know what he did to my friends. In the near term, I do not want him at any drop zone or boogie where I am. If I see him, I will inform the DZO/organizers of what he did at WFFC 2005 and do my best to encourage that he be banned from the premises. That may sound harsh or unfair, but I want to protect myself and other skydivers. Many cultures and groups deal with violation of group norms by shunning the individual. Call it the “silent treatment,” “excommunication,” or “banishment,” it amounts to being ostracized and outcast from the group. If that sounds like a sophomoric, archaic, or medieval concept, look no further than our own sport or these forums, for that matter. We probably all know people who have been asked to leave our drop zone and not return. If the elected leadership of our “club” (USPA) decides that members have violated the clubs rules, ethics, or norms they kick the individual out of the club by revoking membership. There are some recent notable examples. On this website, individuals have been admonished, suspended, and even banished for breaking community rules that are far less serious than the crime of theft of personal property. Again, I hope this man gets help, he has a problem, however you look at it. I hope justice is done, however our legal system determines. At this time, however, I don't want him around any DZ where he might steal from others again. CDR

Again, I was there when this happened. These are the facts as I know them: FACT: Skydivers in LO tent #1 at WFFC were reporting that jump tickets were coming up missing. FACT: Based on observed behavior of rumaging through piles of gear, the individual in question was thought to possibly be responsible. FACT: I observed this person going through a pile of gear myself. When asked what he was doing he stated: "Looking for my checkbook." FACT: Convention security apprehended the individual when he was going through gear. I was in the air at the time. After getting on the ground, I heard one of the security personnel tell one of the LO's that the guy had wallets, credit cards, cash and a number of jump tickets that did not belong to him. Shortly after this I saw him being escorted to manifest by security personnel and police. FACT: A load organizer took the pictures of the aprehended individual posted to this thread. Name of the individual pictured is Erik (Eric?) Peterson. FACT: He was taken away by Rantoul PD. There may be more verifiable facts, but this is what I know from being there. What I do not know: Were his gear and cameras stolen from someone else or purchased with stolen funds? Was he kiting checks to gear vendors? There was a report the next day that he had been. What is the disposition of his case and his current whereabouts? I know nothing about him having any sort of medical, emotional or psychological condition. I spoke with him one or twice. Seemed a bit of an odd duck, but harmless. He even flew video for our group once or twice. CDR

Getting back to the original topic: Does anyone have any info on what this guy's legal status is? I note from his website that he posted the WFFC pics on 31 Aug, so he's not locked up. Does he have a court date? I was also curious if the serial #'s were ever run on his gear to see if the gear was stolen. To add my slant, I was there when this happened. I arrived Friday afternoon and a friend immediately told me "Watch your stuff. People have had jump tickets stolen. We think that guy is going through people's gear and we are keeping an eye on him." The guy he indicated was the person in question. It was a guy I had jumped with before at previous conventions and had judged a bit strange, but harmless. That evening while a friend and I were re-packing, We saw him starting to go through a large pile of gear that had collected in the center of load organizer tent #1. My friend asked him what he was doing, and Erik said he was looking for his checkbook, then left. The next day he was spotted doing the same thing by convention security and apprehended when he was seen to take something. Report we got back was that he had large amounts of jump tickets, cash, and credit cards in his possession. The jump tickets had in many cases been altered to obscure the wrist band numbers or name written on them. He also had a book of counter checks so there was a suspicion that he had been passing bad checks to the vendors. He was taken to manifest where one of the LO's took the pictures posted here and told him "Hope you enjoyed your skydiving career, you won't jump again anywhere, these are going out to the world." He reportedly broke down and curled up on the floor, crying like a baby as he realized his world was falling apart. Stealing is stealing, what ever the reason or excuse. You can see by this thread the kind of distrust and strong feelings it causes. Some have argued that this guy is "part of the family" and we ought to help him. I hard lesson I learned long ago is that you cannot continue to support people, even family and friends, when you know they are wrong. I just hope the legal system takes action in this case. Anyone know the status of the case? CDR

There are actually 3, the team commander, the XO, and the operations officer. There are also the pilots, who are warrant officers. As far as why officers are not active competitors, or demonstrators, its the same reason officers are not machinegunners or tank drivers: Officers get paid the big bucks to command and lead rather than perform individual tasks. To put it another way, as any NCO will tell you: "NCOs and enlisted men work for a living!" CDR

Missouri River Valley Skydivers, near Lexington, MO. http://www.skydivemrvs.com/ CDR

There used to be military jump clubs just about everywhere you went. Almost all shut down by the mid to late '90's due to budget and flight hour cuts. I think the only active Army club is at Fort Bragg, but they jump off post using civilian aircraft. There are several command demo teams around. As for jumping while on active duty in general, your boss can no more tell you not to jump than he can tell you not to ski, not to go scuba dive, not to hunt, ride motorcycles, etc. That said, while you are a student in some courses where the military is investing big $$$$ in your training, you sometimes may have to comply with a policy that prohibits high risk activities while in the course. In general, I don't talk much about jumping at work. Reason is, every once in a while, even in the military, you will run into some old coot who thinks that there is something inherently wrong with skydiving and that you shouldn't be doing it. As Colin Powell once said, "If you ask enough people for permission, you will eventually run in to the person in the organization who thinks it is his job to tell you 'no'," Chris Reed LTC, Infantry D-15996

A good friend was a company commander in The Army's 3rd Infantry, The Old Guard. He and his soldiers witnessed the crash while finishing a funeral in Arlington Cemetery. Clearly an airplane. Two days later they went in to the Pentagon to recover bodies. The soldiers all asked the same thing, "where was the plane?" What they soon realized was that the Pentagon is so solidly built, that the plane quickly disintegrated as it traveled through the structure. The largest piece they found was a section of ten rows of seats that was compressed into about 10 feet. The bodies were still belted into the seats. CDR

You may want to check with the Rantoul PD and the Convention Security folks. We caught a guy red-handed (and he was a jumper, sadly) going through gear in the Load Organizer tent. He was stealing jump tickets, money, credit cards, etc. Turns out he had also passed bad checks to some of the vendors. He had a lot of stolen stuff in his posession when caught. They may have your bike. CDR