Sandstorm may have caused fatal Army helicopter crash

www.gomemphis.com ^ | February 26, 2003

[LBGA]

Pentagon officials said Tuesday a fierce sandstorm in Kuwait might have caused the fatal crash of an Army helicopter.

The UH60 Black Hawk went down about 1 a.m. Tuesday Kuwait time some 30 miles northwest of Kuwait City, where night training exercises were under way. The Army says the cause of the crash is under investigation, but strong winds and blinding sand were reported in the area overnight.

The Pentagon identified those killed Tuesday as Spc. Rodrigo Gonzalez-Garza, 26, of Texas; Chief Warrant Officer Timothy Moehling, 35, of Florida; Chief Warrant Officer John Smith, 32, of Nevada; and Spec. William Tracy, 27, of New Hampshire.

The helicopter was part of the 158th Aviation Regiment, 5th Battalion, of the 12th Aviation Brigade based in Giebelstadt, Germany.

The group is attached to V Corps' 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment, which is part of some 9,000 troops from the corps deployed as part of the recent U.S. buildup.

The accident highlights the difficulties of engaging in combat in a region renowned for its intense heat, ubiquitous sand and unpredictable winds. During Operation Desert Storm, sand and sweat were far worse adversaries than the Iraqi army for most GIs.

Tuesday's crash came almost 12 years to the day after a Feb. 21, 1991, accident during Operation Desert Storm in which seven troops died when their Black Hawk crashed during a sudden Saudi storm.

Even before the latest accident, U.S. troops now assembling in the region were bracing for the climate changes that accelerate in March and April. The Iraqi desert heats up to triple-digit temperatures and 60-mph dust maelstroms form. That is currently seen as the most likely timeframe for a U.S. attack on Iraq.

Although acknowledging the challenges of desert warfare, the Pentagon does not count weather as an unduly dangerous constraint.

Most military experts believe any war with Iraq would be intense but brief, with most of the fighting over in a month, if not far sooner. But if combat stretched into the hotter months, GIs would still be able to fight well, military leaders and analysts say.

"Many battles have been fought in the heat of summer," Secretary of State Colin Powell, the nation's top military leader during the 1991 Gulf war, said recently.

Anthony Cordesman, military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, agreed, saying the notion that U.S. troops would be significantly impaired is "militarily ridiculous."

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

A bump for Fallen Warriors

[LBGA]

Below are the photos of the eight who have been lost in just the past four weeks. I posted a thread on the first crash in Afghanistan and only eight people stopped by to remember them. That is why I am pushing this so hard.

We ought to pay respects to them and their families for the sacrifice they made for us. I want everyone to at least know their names.

Thank you all who stopped by and pinged your friends.

May these brave soldiers rest in peace.

January 30, 2003 - Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan
160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment

Sgt. Gregory Frampton, 37, of California. He is survived by his wife and his mother.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Thomas Gibbons, 31, of Maryland. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Staff Sgt. Daniel Kisling Jr., 31, of Neosho, Mo. He is survived by his wife and three children.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Mark O'Steen, 43, of Alabama. He is survived by his wife and three children.

February 25, 2003 - Camp Udairi, Kuwait
V Corps' 11th Attack Helicopter Regiment

Chief Warrant Officer 2 Timothy W. Moehling, 36, of Panama City, Fla. He is survived by his wife, Lisa and three children; Alex, Sarah and Noah.

Spc. William J. Tracy, 27, Manchester, N.H. Single - Tracy was a soldier to the core, volunteering for every mission.

Chief Warrant Officer 2 John D. Smith, 32, of Salt Lake City, Utah. He is survived by his wife, Meredith and daughters, Kiara and Madeline.

Spc. Rodrigo Gonzalez-Garza, 26, San Antonio, TX. Single - When he stayed at the home of a friend with a small baby, Gonzo would get up during the night to change his diapers or play with him.

[LBGA]

And so... thanks for stopping by and supporting this effort to acknowledge these brave men. I am heartened by the response to this thread, and I am finished pushing it. :-)

Continued prayers for their loved ones and friends.

[Aquamarine]

Tearful Heroes bump!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

May God bless and keep them. May their families find comfort. I can't begin to thank them for their great sacrifice.

[B-Cause]

Bump

Thank you LBGA - What a thoughful tribute you have paid to these fallen patriots.

[mystery-ak]

heroes bump

My son Jonathan was promoted today to Spc......6 months early....HOOHA!

[ohioWfan]

HOOAH for Jonathan. Rumor has it that Eric may be soon promoted to Specialist himself! We'll see!

Another bump for this moving post, LBGA!

[Bigg Red]

Prayer bump

[LBGA]

Thank you for helping out, B-cause.

[LBGA]

Hooah for Jonathan!!! Six months early is quite an accomplishment! I know you are SO proud of him.

[LBGA]

Believing in Eric, too! Please keep us posted, and thanks for your help (and Mystery-ak's) in getting the names of those we recently lost in front of everyone.

[mystery-ak]

Bumping for our heroes

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you for introducing us to these heroes. I join in prayers of blessing and peace for their loved ones.

[Victoria Delsoul]

Thanks for your post, LBGA.

My prayers are with their families.

[archy]

Why do so many aircraft crash when we are deployed overseas? I have heard from an ex=Army green beret (ex father in law) that had top secret clearance and 30 years in the service that 90% of the "trainiong accidents" and *hardware failures" are merely ruses thought up to cover an illicit mission gone awry

... My son is in special ops He tells me he might disappear for months on a fishing trip, and he won't be able to tell me, ever, what he has done or where he has been. I, for one am grateful that our special forces' movements aren't broadcast daily. ...

Just so. While I was stationed in then West Germany working border tours with 10 SF Group on the 5 kilometer *Iron Curtain* strip with Czechoslovokia and DDR East Germany a few border incidents that had resulted in fatalities were explained away to the grief-stricken families as *vehicle accidents*. That cover story worked well enough until one body shipped home for burial and marked as *contents non-viewable* was found to have sustained a pair of bullet holes during the *accident*, with one to the head....

In other locales and more recent incidents, the casualties are sometimes said to have be caused by *local bandit gangs* where that story is usable, or as *suicides* when an investigation can be contrived to make the situation at least slightly appear as such. And some guys just *go AWOL*- forever.

-archy-/-

[Libloather]

Bumpin'...