Posted on 10/18/2017 4:28:18 PM PDT by iowamark
Jeffrey Michels disappeared from an Air Force base in northern North Dakota on a summer day in 1977and was found last week in Florida living a double life, Fox News reports. Michels, 64, was arrested Oct. 12 on desertion charges filed against him after he went missing from Minot Air Force Base near the Canadian border. Police say the former airman had taken the name Jeffrey Lantz, married, and had kids, per WFTV. In 1998, "Lantz" applied for a business license and started a construction company, Atlantic Development Corporation. Michels, originally from Ohio, was nabbed after the Facebook group Veteran Doe posted his photo in July, nearly 40 years to the day after he failed to report for duty. (That photo has since been taken down.)
The site calls "attention to the many missing veteran/active duty cases and unidentified person cases where there is a possible military connection." The Air Force hasn't explained how Michels was found, per the Miami Herald. But Seminole County authorities identified him by a scar on his left leg near the ankle. There's no statute of limitations on desertion, so Michels will stand trial in a military court, per the IB Times. He was turned over to the custody of the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations. Why Michels walked away from the remote base is unknown, but the Herald notes it's known for its nuclear missile silos and hard winters. (One of the first women Army combat engineers was accused of desertion.)
We always said, “Why not Minot, because it’s so damn cold!”.
No it was “Why not, Minot?”
Answer: “Freezin’s the reason!”
I noticed that. When I was in the AF in the early 1970s Minot was considered one of the worst assignments you could ever get.
64 years old and a contractor. Send him to Siberia to work for the Russians. Same with Bergdhal. No need to feed and house them.
Lesson to would be deserters...change the color of your shirt! Even if 40 years go by.
My ex had orders that he/we would be assigned to Minot in ‘71. Then the orders changed for Alaska. From what I’ve heard about Minot, Alaska was a MUCH better assignment.
Almost every photo features snow and/or ice.
Maybe I’m imagining things but I swear a friend of mine was stationed at Thule,but he was navy———any navy there?
.
They say that Minot is the end of the world. Not true. But you can see the end of the world from there.
My brother lived around Sanford.
Not exactly the Riviera.
I had some college friends who sat in Silos for two years in Minot. Both of them told me the only good part of that tour was the chance to get your masters, sitting underground with nothing else to do.
40 years as a fugitive is punishment enough.
In 1977 the war was over. No big harm.
Carter was president, and the military was not going to be used for anything good.
In ‘77, there wasn’t anything going on and they were actually wanting to start a draw down - he went through a lot of unnecessary gyrations to remain fugitive when he could have had a clean break with no strings attached.
I agree, not worth trying this guy. General discharge, maybe a short time in confinement but I doubt they’ll even do that.
Why?
They can't let him go completely scot-free. He'll get a punitive discharge and a prison sentence, with all but a very short amount suspended. He'll do a little time, that's for certain.
30 days mopping floors and picking up trash in the base hospital ...
Time to face the music. Time since committing crime doesn’t reduce the crime
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