European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 11, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse Wednesday january 11, 1995 the stars and stripes Page 3 by Chuck Vinci. Washington Bureau Washington a the court martial for air Force capt. Jim Wang the a acs Crew member charged in the shoo Down of two . Army Black Hawk helicopters in Northern Iraq last april is set to begin next month at tinker fab okla. Wang the Crew senior director aboard the e-3b airborne warning and control system plane involved in the incident faces three counts of dereliction of duty. The initial part of the trial will Convene feb. 14 without a jury to hear evidence and arguments on All pretrial motions including requests for discovery and the a a a a. The jury Quot a Quot Lively scheduled to begin March 13. Production of witnesses. The jury trial itself is Tenta the military judge who will preside Over the court martial is it. Col. Howard Altschwager of the air forces trial judiciary Eastern circuit at Bolling fab in Washington . The most serious charge against Wang is his alleged failure to pass on an accurate tactical picture of the area to two patrolling f-15cs, which mistook the uh-60 Black Hawks for iraqi Hind helicopters and destroyed them killing All 26 people aboard. Airmen run away from Home at Wang the Black Hawks carried military and civilian staff members of operation provide Comfort who were visiting kurdish Vil Lagos in the Northern Rio Fly Region of Iraq. If convicted on All three counts Wang faces a maximum penalty of nine months in prison dismissal from the air Force forfeiture of two thirds of his. Pay during confinement and a possible Fine Wang is the Only person involved in the incident who faces trial. Charges initially filed against four other Azacs Crew members and one of the two f-15c pilots were eventually dismissed. ,. The weekly newspaper air Force times quoting Anonymous sources recently reported that air Force Secretary Sheila Widnall made an unusual Appeal to defense Secretary William Perry to dismiss the charges against Wang Widnall herself has the authority to drop the charges against Wang and it is unclear Why she Felt a need to go to Perry. The Issue is sensitive because no one would be accountable for the mishap if Wang is exonerated but pursuing a court martial could make him appear to be a Scapegoat. A. A a air Force officials declined to comment on Widnall s re ported behind the scenes actions on Wang Scase. But one official said the setting of a Date for Wang a court martial does not prohibit Widnall from dismissing the charges. An exhaustive defense department inquiry found that the disaster resulted from a series of errors by everyone from the senior military commanders in charge of theoper action to the aircrew members on the scene of the Accident. In a . 19 statement to the Media Wang contended that he was not derelict in his duty. A a i acted in accordance with the training i received and the tools i was provided a a he said. A a Wang described the failures in operation provide Comfort that led to the Accident As Quot systemic Quot and called the no Fly operation itself Quot tremendously flawed and destined for by Nancy . Bureau Raf Mildenhall England airmen from Raf Alconbury a 7th special operations so May have saved the air Force some relocation expenses when they ran 42 Miles to their new Home at Raf Mildenhall. Thirty two members of the Squadron ran individual segments of the distance leaving Alconbury at about 8 . Tuesday and arriving at Mildenhall about 2 35 that afternoon. The run marked the squadrons relocation of 150 airmen to Mildenhall. Their move is part of the bigger relocation of 900 military member from the 352nd special operations group to Mildenhall by april said staff sgt. James Greeley a spokesman for the group. A they did it ran to Mildenhall to show that they re Gung How Greeley said. It. Col. David Scott Squadron commander said the Squadron also opted for its unusual arrival because a the Bottom line is that we special operations Are paid to be the 7lh special operations so is responsible for the. Mc-130h combat Talon ii aircraft that support the special operations the 352nd special operations group plans and executes general War and contingency operations using advanced aircraft tactics and air refuelling techniques to infiltrate and resupply special operations forces within the . European come according to an information Sheet front Raf Alconbury. Recently the 7th special operations so has been working instead to prepare for its relocation to Mildenhall. As the moving Date approached Squadron members decided they wanted to Mark the move with something special Scott said. A a we re sad to leave Alconbury but we re looking Forward to getting to Mildenhall As Well a Scott said. Quot we want to get Back to work.�?�. A a a a. A. A a. Ass Davo Dicuio senior airman Robert Managlia carries his units Guidon into Raf Mildenhall England on tuesday followed by other members or the 7th special operations so which is moving from Raf Alconbury. No by Nancy l. Torner . Bureau Raf Lakenheath England plans to renovate runways at Raf Lakenheath could require . Fighter planes to relocate temporarily. Two f-15e strike Eagle squadrons and one f-15g Eagle Squadron currently arc assigned to Lakenheath s Airfield. A a. ,. British flight it. John Shepherd a spokesman for Raf Bonington said .-air Force officials have expressed an interest in temporarily relocating to Raf Bonington during Lakeah Cathy a runway renovations. The British base is about 10 Miles cast of Lakenheath. A the third air Force has approached the ministry of defense regarding this matter Quot Shepherd said. A at the moment it is just a. a Shepherd said Lakeah Cathy a. Proposal called for using. Bonington a Airfield from about june to september. Be said it was not known when the. Ministry of defense would Rule on the request. A a spokesman for Raf Lakenheath confirmed that Raf Bonington was being considered As a temporary Home for Lakeah Cathy a fighter aircraft during the renovations. He said no other. Information was available a at this Point consideration a a the Lakenheath spokesman said. Runways at Raf Bonington have been empty since last november when British aircraft were transferred to. Other bases in England and Scotland. The base currently is used by the a British army As an air training base a ministry of defense spokesman said. The first person out of Alconbury a Gate was capt. Frank Fields the longest standing member of the Squadron Scott said. _ Fields was part of the Squadron when it moved to Alconbury in 1992 from Rhein main a Germany. As the first runner Fields covered the first five Miles before turning the unit Guidon Over to staff sgt. Brendon Grimes. Grimes and 29 other Squadron Mem Bers ran about 1,2 Miles each., each runner was trailed by several support bicyclists. A a a Quot it shows the significance of the Squadron moving from Alconbury to Milden Hall Quot Grimes said. A a it a a Squadron thing. Nobody who crossed paths with the runners had a clue what was going on. They just saw these crazy americans out running . The final runner senior arinian Rob Ert Managlia who turned the Guidon Over to Scott at Mildenhall was selected to conclude because he had. The least amount of time with the Squadron Scott said. The 352nd special operations group also includes the.21st special operations so which is responsible for mb-5.3j pave Low Iii helicopters the 67th special operations so. Responsible for he 130 Hercules aircraft the 321st special tactics so and the 352nd Maint so
