Marine Corp in Free Fall

[OregonRancher]

Can anyone post the complete story of the sabatoge of Marine Corp parachutes at Camp Lejeune, NC?

[AppyPappy]

Look here

I did a search on "lines".

[SJackson]

Marines: 13 Parachute Lines Cut

Parachute Sabotage

Lejeune probes parachute tampering after three are injured during jump (Sabotage?)

[Damocles]

Come on... Breaking news!?

[Constitution Day]

Parachutes cut by a deft hand

[JoeSixPack1]

Military probes parachute tampering

Wednesday, October 2, 2002 Posted: 7:48 PM EDT (2348 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The military
is investigating as a criminal case
the discovery of more than a dozen
sabotaged parachutes at the Marine
Corps base at Camp Lejeune, North
Carolina.

Suspension lines on 13 parachutes were
apparently deliberately cut in recent
weeks, U.S. officials said Wednesday.
The Naval Criminal Investigation Service
and the judge advocate general have
launched a criminal investigation.

The sabotage was first suspected
September 21 during a routine parachute
training jump from a C-17 aircraft.

The chutes of three Marines failed to
deploy properly and the men had to use
their reserve chutes to land safely. The
jump was immediately halted.

The C-17 was met on the ground by NCIS
special agents who confiscated all
remaining 22 parachutes and reserve
chutes. Nine additional chutes were
found to have cut lines, and one
additional one was later discovered.

"The inspections determined the
suspension lines had been severed on
the 13 affected main parachutes in such
a manner that pre-jump inspections would not detect any signs of tampering,"
according to a statement from Camp Lejeune.

All parachutes were being re-inspected at the base before further jumps.

Marines in charge of parachute inspections were taking the case very personally.

"A lot of people within the community who do jump have a lot of trust in you, a lot of
faith in your abilities to pack these parachutes correctly -- so that when they do jump
them, when they open, they have good lift," said Sgt. Carlos Sneed.

[JoeSixPack1]

http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/South/10/02/parachute.sabotage/

[leadpenny]

My son just finished Jump School at Benning a month ago and is back at Ft. Lewis. I e-mailed him the story and said he had just read the story in the Army Times and added that he hoped they caught the bas***** soon. Me Too!

[kinghorse]

Uhh, I am sure they already are on the case but most bases I've visited have ex-pat Phillipinos, Indonesians, etal working the different service positions (in the clubhouse, Officer clubs and the like). Seems like this is the first place to start looking, ex-pat folks from potentially anti-USA countries. Seems so sad a few people can paint a black stripe over a whole region of the world. It points out the enormity of what we are facing. Open borders and lots of enemies.

[AdA$tra]

A thread with the complete original article here^. Updated Story from yesterday here^.

[billbears]

Seems like this is the first place to start looking, ex-pat folks from potentially anti-USA countries.

In NC? The only people we seem to have from countries not friendly to our collective of states seems to be in Research Triangle Park around Raleigh. And I don't think any of them would know how to do this. I think this was aimed at one person and the perp just wanted to make sure he/she didn't miss.

[kinghorse]

Who hands out shoes at the base bowling alley? This is what I am talking about. If you've spent any time around a base you know we hire a lot of folks who are here as political refugees, husband/wives of US citizens etc. I'm not saying someone like this did it, I'm just pointing out that, like the commercial airline /airport business, we entrust a lot of menial jobs to foreigners. I feel so xenophobic writing this and I am not like that. I trust most people, I am an adherent of John Locke not Thomas Hobbes philosophy.

[Ed_NYC]

I was a Marine rigger from 93-97 in Lejuene and I can tell you that a rigger did this. Access to the personnel chute locker is limited to a few people.

[Cicero]

I agree. According to the stories, records are kept of who packed the chutes, and access to the process is highly limited.

If a Philipino waiter from the canteen wandered into the room where the packing is done, he'd be extremely noticeable.

No one wants to say that a marine did this. But even in the finest organizations you can get one bad apple--someone with a grudge, a drug habit, feeling suicidal, maybe mental problems.

They have to resist the impulse to cover this up and nail whoever did it before someone gets killed. And it's not just cutting parachutes. Would you want to depend on the person who was responsible for this in some future combat situation?

[Isle of sanity in CA]

I didn't know Marines jumped out of airplanes... Is this standard or were they force recon or something?

[Ed_NYC]

The only units that jump in the Corps are Force Recon, Radio Recon Bn., ANGLICO and the Air Delivery Plattons.

[Ed_NYC]

When I was there we had to sign the parachute record book then an inspector had to confirm it, inspect the rig then all the info was placed in a master parachute log book regord book. All personnel chutes had to be locked at all times, if a parachute was left on the packing tables even during lunch, it had to be re-packed.

"I will be sure Always"

Ed