(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 ...
16SEP26💯%Choneros🚀"On Sept. 16, under the direction of #SOUTHCOM, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM)
forces successfully interdicted a floating refueling station supporting illicit at-sea drug trafficking operations in the Eastern Pacific.
Intelligence confirmed the vessel's involvement with the Los Choneros violent narco-terrorist organization.
Individuals removed from the vessel have been transferred to Ecuadorian authorities. After clearing the vessel and disembarking the crew, U.S. forces sank it.
JTF-WHEM continues to conduct precise and professional operations to dismantle the logistical networks fueling narco-trafficking in the Western Hemisphere.
"Alongside our Ecuadorian partners, we are relentlessly pursuing narco-terrorists who prey on our citizens,
undermine hemispheric security, and leave death and suffering in their wake. This deliberate, lawful, and precise operation saves lives and makes our citizens—from Ecuador to the United States—safer." -
SOUTHCOM ...
"It is an absurdity, it is laughable, to speak of such a
pending disaster as "The End of the World."
We are discussing the end of Humanity, or we are discussing the
end of Civilization, or we are perhaps even discussing
the end of some this or that Empire that we mistakenly
believe to identify with.
The end of the world will come when the sun
expands and engulfs it.
Now, is it truly a surprise that our discourse relates
economic tragedy with an ecological one?
That we actually behave as though a marked downturn in
the Market can somehow be compared to the death of Nature?
We are so enamored with our vastness and resource that we have forgotten the lark and the sparrow.
So I say, come armageddon. Come, you horsemen.
Let us speak these things no more."
— Takici Kaneko, 1934 - 'SteamPunk Magazine' 3-A4
https://archive.org/stream/SteamPunk_Magazine_3-A4/SteamPunk%20Magazine%203-A4_djvu.txt
07SEP26👷🏼♀️👷🏽👷🏼♂️Happy Labor Day🌭🍔🍻💪🏼🦾to US/CAN/ECU do it again⁉️
#Ecuador🪖'US MARINE AIRCRAFT ALREADY IN ECUADOR FOR OPERATIONS IN ALTO PUTUMAYO IN ORELLANA-
"The Armed Forces of Ecuador receive support from a US MV-22B Osprey aircraft for military operations in Alto Putumayo, Orellana.
🇪🇨/🇺🇸
This cooperation strengthens the mobility, transportation, and logistical support capabilities of the military units." -
https://x.com/eldatoecua/status/2097099950479806862?s=46&t=i54L5FgQ-47_fA61IWaAQg
