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News 8 Investigates: Airline mechanics who can't read English 10:03 AM CDT on Saturday, May 16, 2009 By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA-TV News 8 has recently revealed serious flaws in the way the FAA licenses mechanics who fix planes. There is evidence of years of problems in testing these mechanics. There is also evidence that hundreds of mechanics with questionable licenses are working on aircraft in Texas. Now there is evidence of repair facilities hiring low-wage mechanics who can't read English. Twenty-one people were killed when U.S. Airways Express Flight 5481 crashed in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2003. The plane...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq, April 27, 2009 – Mechanics from the Iraqi army’s 8th Motor Transport Regiment attended a six-day generator maintenance course here recently to improve their self-sufficiency and sustainability. The Iraqi army is not staffed with generator mechanics, even though a lot of their units rely on generators for their electricity. The soldiers who attended the course are vehicle mechanics who can directly apply the skills learned in the course to help to maintain the 8th Iraqi Army Division’s generators. “We want to learn as much information from the U.S. mechanics as we can and gain...

On March 16, 2009, the Templeton Foundation announced the winner of its annual 1 million pound sterling (1.42 million USD) prize, an amount that exceeds the payoff of the prestigious Nobel Prize...Dr. d’Espagnat was awarded the prize for his work using theoretical physics to predict the reality of a hypercosmic god, who exists outside of the physical universe...

Iraqi Army mechanics proudly show off the skills they've learned in a generator mechanic class taught by U.S. Soldiers, March 12-16. Photo by Spc. Allison Churchill, Multi-National Division – Center. FOB DELTA — Seven Iraqi Soldiers recently learned how to repair generators in preparation for the handover of the Joint Security Stations in Wasit province.U.S. generator mechanics from the Ground Support Equipment (GSE) section, 41st Fires Brigade, conducted the training here, March 12 - 16.“They’ve absorbed six months of training in a few days,” said Sgt. 1st Class Vernon Watson, GSE non-commissioned officer in charge.The training began with classroom-style courses,...

An Iraqi Soldier conducts maintenance on a vehicle after attending a two week training course at Forward Operating Base Warhorse, located in the Diyala province of Iraq. The maintenance on the vehicle acts as a final assignment for the course. Photo by Pfc. Alisha Nye. FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARHORSE — Soldiers with Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, have begun training Iraqi Army Soldiers the delicate art of vehicular machinery at Forward Operating Base Warhorse, located in the Diyala province of Iraq. “We first started training ... close to the end of the year,...

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq, Jan. 27, 2009 – For the members of Company E, 3rd Battalion, 142nd Assault Helicopter Battalion, a National Guard unit out of Patchogue, N.Y., the job begins well before helicopters begin their flight here. Army Sgt. Darryl K. Joseph, a light equipment mechanic with the Army National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 142nd Assault Helicopter Battalion, based in Patchogue, N.Y., checks a transmission belt on a Humvee for rips and tears at Camp Stryker, Iraq, Jan. 27, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Jasmine N. Walthall  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Company E is made up of...

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Jan. 22, 2009 – A winter rain from the previous night had turned the camp here into a pool of sticky mud. Soldiers wearing waterproof boots walked gingerly through the slosh as they made their way to work, and traffic moved slowly over a slick surface. Army Sgt. Craig Priest, a transportation noncommissioned officer, ensures a soldier has enough room to maneuver a M1088 tractor truck during a cargo transportation mission at Camp Taji, Iraq, Jan. 12, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jason Dangel  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Sgt. Craig Priest, on...

CAMP DHI QAR — Throughout Iraq, Coalition and Iraqi Soldiers have been training side by side in military operations. This partnership has been enhancing the Iraqi’s technical skills in areas ranging from engineering to maintenance operations. One such partnership took three young, technically proficient welders/machinists from the Forward Support Company, 14th Engineer Battalion (currently stationed on COB Adder in Southern Iraq) to adjacent Iraqi Camp Dhi Qar to work alongside Iraqi Army maintenance personnel. There, they helped them construct a covered maintenance facility in their motorpool. Over the course of five days, the three FSC Soldiers trained eight IA mechanics...

Iraqi Army Soldiers guide a Humvee engine to the ground with a small crane as part of a vehicle repair course, Aug. 30, 2008, at Camp Taji, northwest of Baghdad. Photo by Sgt. Whitney Houston, 2nd Stryker Brigade 25th Infantry Division. CAMP TAJI — Sixteen Iraqi Army mechanics graduated from a vehicle maintenance course on Camp Taji, northwest of Baghdad, Sept. 4, following a month of rigorous training. The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled vehicle (Humvee) course was conducted by a Military Transition Team (MiTT) and focused on repair techniques, and ensuring IA Soldiers could teach their fellow Soldiers. The students’...

COMBAT OUTPOST SUMMERS, Iraq, July 16, 2008 – On a sweltering hot July morning, the soldiers of Company B, 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, are hard at work on two of the company's Bradley fighting vehicles. Army Pvt. Terrence Behanna, an infantryman with 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, works with another soldier to clean out the engine compartment of a Bradley fighting vehicle at Combat Outpost Summers, Iraq, July 8, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. David Turner, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The engines sit on the concrete floor...

NURISTAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan, March 19, 2008 – Mechanics from Bravo Troop, 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, have their work cut out for them here. Army Spc. Nathan Bolt-Ray, a mechanic in Bravo Troop, 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, turns a wrench while fixing a radiator on Forward Operating Base Keating in Afghanistan’s Nuristan province Feb. 28, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brandon Aird  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The mechanics are stationed at Forward Operating Base Keating, located in a valley between two snow-melt-fed rivers in the Hindu Kush mountain range. Vehicle rollovers, flash floods, road...

KARKH DISTRICT — After eight weeks of intense training, Iraqi Army Soldiers finally graduate from the first ever mechanics course, Dec. 30. More than 150 Soldiers now possess valuable knowledge in vehicle maintenance which will greatly help them with their mission. The training encompassed the basics repair of engines, clutches, manual and automatic transmissions, differential gear, two-and-four-wheel drive vehicles, brakes systems, mechanical and hydraulic steering mechanisms, cooling systems and basically everything else on the vehicle, said Eugene Koster, contractor of Fiafi Group and senior trainer at the training center. From the theoretical to in-depth, practical training, the Soldiers received clear...

Paratroopers Trade Shop Tools for Security Duty Mechanics, cooks, medics keep watch for VIPs, dignitaries. By Sgt. Timothy Dinneen Regional Command-East Public Affairs CHARIKAR, Afghanistan, March 5, 2007 -- Paratroopers that once spent their days making sure Humvees were ready for battle as mechanics at Fort Bragg, N.C., have exchanged their shop tools for M-4s and are now the driving force outside the wire as part of Task Force Gladius’ personal security detachment. "I trained with them and know what they can do, and they can do their jobs,"Army Cpl. Timothy Cozelos Mechanics, cooks, medics and other 82nd Airborne...

Good attitudes attribute to the division's success. By Spc. Alexis Harrison 2nd Brigade Combat Team 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs BAGHDAD, Jan. 30, 2007 — Mechanics from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, have been setting the pace for how a support platoon operates. "Dedication and hard work are just what these guys are made of," Sgt. 1st Class Carlton Parkhurst When they took over operations from the 4th Battalion Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), the platoon had more than 30 vehicles in need of repair. Not only...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE PROSPERITY, Iraq, Nov. 20, 2006 -- The new mechanics in town wasted no time getting busy when they arrived in Baghdad. Army Spc. Donald Blazer, a generator mechanic for 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, fixes a bracket on a generator door at Forward Operating Base Prosperity in Baghdad. Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kap Kim, USA  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Mechanics from the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, took over operations from the 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th...

JIM MEIGS AND DAVID DUNBAR OF POPULAR MECHANICS appeared on PBS to debate the Loose Change folks regarding 9/11 conspiracy theories. You can see the Video HERE

U.S. Army Mechanics Maintain Wheels, Weapons Soldiers assigned to F Company, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment maintain everything from vehicles to weapons for the entire Regional Command of Eastern Afghanistan. By U.S. Army Sgt. Tim Sander345th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment FORWARD OPERATING BASE ORGUN-E, Afghanistan, June 7, 2006 -- “I don’t believe in band-aids; I expect my mechanics to fix the problem,” said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Raymond R. Longoria, maintenance platoon leader for F Company, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment from Fort Drum, N.Y. "I personally have not heard the soldiers complain at all. The troops here are...

MUQDADIYAH, Iraq (Army News Service, June 6, 2006) – What began as a way to alleviate mechanics’ boredom between jobs has turned into a chance to enhance the combat capabilities of the fledgling Iraqi Army in northern Iraq. Mechanics supporting the 4th Infantry Division's A Battery, 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery, part of Task Force Band of Brothers, have used their downtime to restore both American and Russian-made vehicles for use by the Iraqi army. The rebuilt vehicles were salvaged from a lot on Forward Operating Base Normandy called the "bone yard,” where many of the vehicles had been abandoned...

HIT, Iraq, June 4, 2006 – The infantry isn't going to move far without help from a bunch of oil-stained soldiers. Just 11 soldiers are responsible for keeping the vehicles of Task Force 1-36 here running. Army Pfc. Guillermo Armendariz and Pfc. James Vail work to change an engine in a Bradley fighting vehicle in Hit, Iraq, June 3. Photo by Jim Garamone  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. In this environment, it's a particularly tough job. Sand and dust clog intakes and contaminate oil. The infantrymen are driving the vehicles as much in a month as they used...

U.S. soldiers assigned to Company B, 589th Brigade Support Battalion, Fires Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, take a moment to mingle with their Iraqi counterparts from the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, based at Forward Operating Base Constitution. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Malec U.S. Army Mechanics Train Iraqi Counterparts U.S. soldiers will show their Iraqi army counterparts how to repair one vehicle, assist them with the next, and then let them finish the job with the remaining vehicles. By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jerry Malec Fires Brigade, 4th Infantry Division BAGHDAD, May...