Tuesday, April 24, 2001

To Walk on Wings - 130

An OSPREY was hit by an ocean swell during a "ride-along" conducted for representatives Latham (L) and Fetzer. L tried to kill the Osprey during her hearings. She blamed the mishap on the Osprey which was "so faulty that the pilot couldn't handle it", played to the press then claimed there had been a cover-up because the pilot over-flew the data recorder. Mac (M) was asked to assist Fetzer on the committee and "blew away" Leatham's hired henchman, William Markey, a civilian weapons analyst. Harm (H) represented Maj Asher, the pilot, and eventually showed that the mishap was due to Latham's 2 hr delay, thich put their course directly into the blinding sun; and, Fetzer's prolonging the jump, due to standing for a picture. M restored the data recorder which proved that Asher was honest. L flippantly asked "is there anyone else you would like to blame?" H said "yes: the Critics - who expect hardware to be perfect out of the box; the Media for sensationalism, exaggerating everything to the dimension of tragedy; and Congress for not listening to those who know the aircraft best, pilots, who are telling you they are willing to risk their lives because they believe it's important to the defense of our country."

Harriet said she feels like a valueless paper pusher and investigated and cleared an old case of Mstr Chief David Litrell who refused exoneration on a commissary theft in order to avoid his wife's embarrassment for infidelity with him, (her then husbands best friend.) However he still wouldn't accept exoneration not wanting his wife to live with the stigma. Gunny and Tiner were planning the bachelor party for Brum.

Tuesday, April 10, 2001

Salvation - 129

Sgt Maj Krohn had been in prison for beating his wife unconscious with a brick. H (H) had defended him and tried to convince the jury that Krohn's testimony was true when he said that he had seen "the Padre" in a vision leading him to his injured wife and enabling her rescue. But, him being there had created circumstantial evidence against him. M (M) received a bloody knife in her package from the Leavenworth wood shop, a present for her wedding. In her investigation of the matter she "accidentally" found that Clark Palmer had been "converted to religion." There had been a stabbing and Krohn's prints were found on the knife. Harm defended but neither he or M could convince the warden that Palmer was capable of masterminding the whole incident just to "get at Harm." Then, while they were investigating, Palmer seemed to have a stroke and went unconscious with the doctors saying he wouldn't last through the night. Krohn stayed at his bedside all night praying and Palmer woke up saying he had his own "vision of the Padre" who showed him Krohn was innocent. H was pressured into arranging for both Krohn and Palmer to go out of prison to prove it. An emissary from the Vatican was sent to investigate the "miracle" for the "Padre's" sainthood. They were all present when Palmer had them waiting in a van for his "second" vision to lead them to "real" attacker. After waiting so long that H sent the police "backup" home and started back to the airport, Palmer said the Padre was leading them back the other way and did give some directions which proved to be true. While waiting for a train signal arm to go up Krohn had a "real" vision of the ambush Palmer was planning and informed H who brought up the waiting police and captured the accomplices. It actually turned out that in order to set up the ambush Palmers gang had bought a "hot car" which turned out to be Krohn's wife's stolen car and led to the overturning of Krohn's conviction and release.

M and Brumby (Brum) received other wedding gifts. Chegwidden (C) gave M & brum season tickets to Shakespeare plays. It was the Navy's turn in rotation and Bud (B) was assigned to carry the "nuclear briefcase" for the president. Tiner said that people felt that the "launch codes" should be implanted into the briefcase carriers' chest so that if the president wanted to push the button the first thing he had to do was to "cut open your chest." While the president was speaking at a function, B was left out in the hall. He went to the head but when he got back the president had gone. B ran all the way back to the White House but was relieved from duty in favor of the next in rotation, the Coast Guard. C said "it was probably for the best."