(1996) #Ecuador- Here is a story from 1996 that involved two U.S. service members in Ecuador. '40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS - THE ANATOMY OF A MISHAP INVESTIGATION' Published Oct. 22, 2008 - By Col. JOHN W. BLUMENTRITT - HQ AETC Safety Directorate,Hurlburt Field, Fla. -
- "I got the call on a Sunday afternoon while working the chains at my 9-year-old son's football game. 🚁An SA-342 Gazelle gunship helicopter had crashed into a river in a remote jungle in northeastern Ecuador with two American special ops servicemembers aboard. 👨🏼🎤The Ecuadorian pilot was killed. One of the Americans, a Navy SEAL, escaped without injury, but the other, a Navy lieutenant, lost his lower left leg in the mishap.
Since the lieutenant was assigned to a unit at Hurlburt Field, Fla., I had been selected to serve on the mishap investigation board. "Why me?" I thought.
Being tasked to serve on one of these boards is almost never convenient. The calls come in the middle of family vacations, on wedding anniversaries, during children's birthday parties ... and football games. At the drop of a hat, safety investigators are taken away from family and normal duties at home units for nearly 40 days and 40 nights.
It's not easy suddenly changing roles. In my case, which took place in 1996, I went from piloting MH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters to investigating a major mishap in a foreign country.
And I won't lie; it's overwhelming when you walk up to the wreckage of a mishap and realize you have to sift through thousands of pieces of evidence. You're thinking, "How am I going to figure this out?"
Where's Matlock, Magnum P.I. or Sherlock Holmes when you need them?
But when I got there, I realized I simply had to put trust in my training.
To serve on a mishap board, investigators will have completed intense safety courses at the Air Force Safety Center. With its insightful instruction, which includes a crash lab, they become well-prepared for the daunting task they face.
As investigators go through the process taught, the "Ah, ha!" moment will come.
However, as the 16-hour days pile up, most will have some "Why me?" moments as well. Nevertheless, the importance of what they're doing won't be lost.
These professionals will determine what happened and why. They will find existing deficiencies, and then come up with recommendations that will save lives in the future.
In the case of the downed helicopter in Ecuador, we identified some problems and made recommendations that helped change special ops training programs for the better. These recommendations are still helping protect our aircrew members to this day. Moreover, we ensured that the lieutenant didn't lose his leg in vain.
Why me? ... Why such a system?
Because you are our greatest natural resource. And if saving you by preventing another mishap costs me another 40 days and 40 nights, sign me up!...." - https://www.torch.aetc.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/365121/40-days-and-40-nights-the-anatomy-of-a-mishap-investigation/
🤠iffin you gonna move down or remain in Ecuador on into 2025, get prepared for whats a coming down the pike🥷🏼its not and has not been just a Coastal & #GYE thang, its also a Sierra & Metro #Quito Thanggy as well👮🏻♂️💰
My 2025 NewYears Resolution is more time out on the La G range, zz style, 🎸🥁🎸 cuzz (imho) we gonna dang sure be a needin it🥷🏼if anybody wants to no longer be an outlaw? Call me to join our Qtowne Quito gun club and get legal to tote with a 55hr CCW Course,
now a days The CCW is pretty much streamlined down to this:
plan on about $300 for to join the gun club,about $200 or up to $300 for the CCW course,about $300 for psyche, psycho and toxico exams,
a 9mm Taurus for say $1200.
a 9mm CZ for say $1500.
aprox $80 to $100 for a box of 50rds 9mm FMJ
i see peeps now a days getting legally armed in about a 3-4 months time frame, kinda like a tuff assed visa process!
'Always be prepared' - BSA & SA,
"When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns" - Louis L'Amour (1908-1988) Western novelist of ...
01JUL25 - SOUTHCOM’s TMPI: Towards Integrated Deterrence in the Americas by Building Maintenance Capacity- #ECUADOR - "Analyzing Ecuador’s foreign policy trajectory over the past two decades is pertinent to illuminating the region’s evolving political and security landscape. During President Rafael Correa’s administration between 2007 and 2017, Ecuador pivoted by severing its military relations with the US.
This comprehensive shift included ordering the closure of the security cooperation office in the US Embassy and honoring but not renewing the lease term for the Manta Air Base, causing the withdrawal of approximately 300 US military personnel stationed there.
However, this period of strained relations was followed by the re-establishment of the Office of Security Cooperation (OSC) in 2018, signaling a potential shift that ultimately materialized with new military cooperation agreements signed with the US in 2023 under President Lasso and ratified in 2024 by President Daniel Noboa. ...
25JUN25 "Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced this Thursday the capture of Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias "Fito ," considered the leader of the Los Choneros organized crime group.
"For those who opposed and doubted the need for the Solidarity and Intelligence laws : thanks to those laws, Fito was captured today and is in the hands of the Security Bloc," the president posted on the social network X.
"We have done our part to proceed with Fito's extradition to the United States , and we await your response. Have a good afternoon, Ecuador," Noboa added.
The criminal leader had been on the run for over a year and a half , after escaping from the Guayaquil Regional Prison and hiding his tracks while the country was engulfed in a spiral of violence, culminating in the brief takeover of a television station.
'Fito,' who was serving a 34-year sentence for organized crime, drug trafficking, and murder , escaped on January 7, 2024, as he was about to be transferred to La Roca, a ...
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