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Pentagon holds fake ceremonies

Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2013 6:50 am
by YoUDeeMan
"HONOLULU — A unit of the U.S. Department of Defense has been holding so-called "arrival ceremonies" for seven years, with an honor guard carrying flag-draped coffins off of a cargo plane as though they held the remains of missing American service men and women returning that day from old battlefields.

After NBC News raised questions about the arrival ceremonies, the Pentagon acknowledged Wednesday that no honored dead were in fact arriving, and that the planes used in the ceremonies often couldn't even fly but were towed into position.
The ceremonies have been attended by veterans and families of MIAs, led to believe that they were witnessing the return of Americans killed in World War II, Vietnam and Korea.

The ceremonies also have been known, at least among some of the military and civilian staff here, as The Big Lie."
:shock:

:tothehand:

Edit: link: http://news.ca.msn.com/top-stories/pent ... t-cant-fly" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Pentagon holds fake ceremonies

Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2013 6:57 am
by Ibanez
Wow. I don't know what to say to that.

Re: Pentagon holds fake ceremonies

Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2013 7:01 am
by AZGrizFan
Sweet mother of God. The illusion is complete.

Wag the Dog has become reality. Orwell would be so proud.

Re: Pentagon holds fake ceremonies

Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2013 7:12 am
by andy7171
This is pathetic!

Re: Pentagon holds fake ceremonies

Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2013 7:56 am
by 93henfan
andy7171 wrote:This is pathetic!
It's also disgusting, Andy!

Re: Pentagon holds fake ceremonies

Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2013 7:57 am
by grizzaholic
93henfan wrote:
andy7171 wrote:This is pathetic!
It's also disgusting, Andy!
But it is really just wrong.

Re: Pentagon holds fake ceremonies

Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2013 7:59 am
by Pwns
Spandos, what's really going on here? :suspicious:

Re: Pentagon holds fake ceremonies

Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2013 8:00 am
by 93henfan
Pwns wrote:Spandos, what's really going on here? :suspicious:

FEMA!

Also sodomy!

And giant owls!!

Re: Pentagon holds fake ceremonies

Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2013 8:13 am
by 93henfan
But seriously, if you read the whole story, which Cluck conveniently cropped and did not link, this story is more a matter of bad logistics and convenient publicity than an outright lie. The facility in question identifies remains of long lost POW/MIA. Some remains are at the facility over 10 years before they are released. What the facility does, rightly or wrongly, is hold regular ceremonies with transfer cases to publicize the fact they are processing the same number of unidentified remains. At least they are doing their best to do it with dignity. DoD can't win really. If they did no transfer ceremony at all, people would bitch about that too.

I happen to have been around Dover AFB for decades, as my mom worked and retired there and I worked there for five years. I have toured the mortuary, DoD's main and largest, and the folks working there are incredible. Have they made mistakes? Yep. Are they human? Yep.

I value the service they provide and the manner in which they do it. The attention they pay to each human remains is impeccable. It's a stark contrast to how it was done during Vietnam, when they'd literally have an airman drive a forklift or aircraft loader onto the flightline and they'd stack a dozen transfer cases or body bags and haul them to the mortuary with no ceremony.

Re: Pentagon holds fake ceremonies

Posted: Thu Oct 10, 2013 8:28 am
by YoUDeeMan
93henfan wrote:But seriously, if you read the whole story, which Cluck conveniently cropped and did not link, this story is more a matter of bad logistics and convenient publicity than an outright lie. The facility in question identifies remains of long lost POW/MIA. Some remains are at the facility over 10 years before they are released. What the facility does, rightly or wrongly, is hold regular ceremonies with transfer cases to publicize the fact they are processing the same number of unidentified remains. At least they are doing their best to do it with dignity. DoD can't win really. If they did no transfer ceremony at all, people would bitch about that too.

I happen to have been around Dover AFB for decades, as my mom worked and retired there and I worked there for five years. I have toured the mortuary, DoD's main and largest, and the folks working there are incredible. Have they made mistakes? Yep. Are they human? Yep.

I value the service they provide and the manner in which they do it. The attention they pay to each human remains is impeccable. It's a stark contrast to how it was done during Vietnam, when they'd literally have an airman drive a forklift or aircraft loader onto the flightline and they'd stack a dozen transfer cases or body bags and haul them to the mortuary with no ceremony.
Sorry about the lack of the link...I thought I included it.

However, it was portrayed as a lie...intentionally. There really is no way around that. :ohno:

Be honest about your intentions and most people will understand. But to fool people, especially old veterans, is weak sauce. :tothehand: