- "We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us" might
have been the title of former U.S. Air Force aviation-safety expert Alan
E. Diehl's new book on the Pentagon's corrupted investigation procedures
for military accidents. In Silent Knights: Blowing the Whistle on Military
Accidents and Their Cover-Ups (Brasseys), he claims that during the last
two decades more than 15,000 members of the U.S. armed forces have been
killed in on-duty mishaps -- more than 15 times the number killed in combat
during that period.
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- Diehl traces the epidemic to an alleged cone of silence
thrown around accidents by military commanders with a vested interest in
covering up the death toll and billions in wasted defense dollars. Subordinates
tasked with investigating accidents do so behind closed doors and -- given
their frequent inexperience in safety issues -- in the dark. Invariably,
blame is laid at the feet of victims of the tragedies, with myriad problems
conveniently chalked up to "human error." The result of such
practices, and the reluctance of the Department of Defense (DoD) to spend
more on safety measures, are preventable disasters such as the Ehime Maru/USS
Greeneville collision last year.
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- There is an alternative to the pattern of deceit and
continued deficiency in Pentagon safety programs, Diehl says. Calling for
a new GI bill of rights, the award-winning safety expert says an independent
agency should be created to investigate military accidents, while the DoD
invests more to protect the safety of men and women in uniform. It's not
fun reading, but for those concerned about the general welfare of our troops,
it is a must.
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- Martin Edwin Andersen is a reporter for Insight. Readers
can reach him with tips on governmental waste, fraud and abuse of power
at InsightWatchers@aol.com.
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- http://www.insightmag.com/news/342424.html
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