by Scott Creighton
UPDATE: Yep. He’s Special Forces (see info at the end of the article)
UPDATE 2: His PMOS classification is 18c3 which according to the List of United States Army careers is “18C Special Forces Engineer Sergeant” – His PMOS was found on a Military Times listing .
Trey Scott Atwater is an unconventional warfare and demolitions expert. See US Army Info Site listing for PMOS 18c3 at the end of this article. “Performs and teaches tasks in demolitions, explosives.. Plans, teaches and performs sabotage operations with standard, nonstandard and improvised munitions and explosives.”
UPDATE 3: As mentioned in the original article, the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg does factor into this story as Atwater is assigned there.
“Lt. Col. Tom Bryant, a public affairs officer for the Army Special Operations Command, confirmed that Atwater is assigned to the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, which is at Fort Bragg, N.C.” OA Online
UPDATE 4: With the new NDAA 2012 declaring the entire world as the battle field, does that mean that the US Special Forces can conduct unconventional warfare operations right here in America? Is the threat of indefinite detention the least of our problems? read Trey Scott Atwater – Bringing Unconventional War Back Home?
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On Saturday morning, a soldier from Fort Bragg has been arrested for trying to board Flight 3283 out of Midland, Texas with military grade C-4 high explosives in his carry-on bag. The ink still wet on Obama’s signature on the NDAA and this soldier was heading back to Fort Bragg, home of Delta Force. Anyone thinking Waco?
Thirty-year-old Trey Scott Atwater, traveling with his family, was stopped going through the security scanner at the airport when a TSA agent noticed something odd in Atwater’s carry-on luggage. Turns out it was C-4, a demolition grade military high explosive. No reports yet as too how much C-4 Atwater had in the bag or whether or not he brought it with him on the trip to Midland from Fort Bragg.
A spokesman for the FBI said that there was no immediate threat to civilians because Atwater wasn’t found to be in possession of a detonator at the time of his arrest.
I’m not so sure.
Immediately after it was discovered that Mr. Atwater had high grade explosives in his carry-on bag, the security at the airport should have detained every other passenger who was boarding that flight and checked to see if any of them had the detonator. They should have also immediately grounded that flight and searched the plane itself to see if perhaps the detonator was already aboard. Seems like they found one piece of the puzzle and never thought to look for the rest.
If you were going to attempt to put a bomb on a plane and then detonate it by remote, seems like the most effective way to do that (barring having someone on the inside like a baggage handler or a technician plant the explosive in the service area of the plane prior to take-off) would be to have several passengers bring on the components separately and then have one of them assemble it during the flight.
There is absolutely no reason for a soldier to take C-4 off base and back to his family get-together for show-and-tell. Maybe a twelve-year-old might think that’s cool, but not a 30 year old man making a career out of the military. The repercussions would mean the end of his military career especially after taking that material on a commercial flight. This is not something a soldier would do lightly.
The online marketers are out in force where ever this story is being reported claiming that it isn’t that odd for a soldier to do something like this because, as they say, many soldiers take things like grenades off base. But grenades and C-4 are two totally different animals. You can show off a grenade to someone and they know immediately what it is. C-4 looks like a block of clay, not too impressive to say the least. You take a grenade and you’re just showing it off, you take C-4 and you have a purpose.
There is another aspect of C-4 that should be considered and that is C-4 is made with taggants. These are chemical markers built into the chemical make-up of the explosive. Were the FBI to be interested in finding out exactly where this material came from and who had it before Mr. Atwater, then they could very easily. But my guess is, they wont.
Here’s one last bit of information to chew on: Mr. Atwater is stationed at Fort Bragg. What else is housed at Fort Bragg?
- John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School
- United States Army Special Operations Command
- 4th Psychological Operations Group
- United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command
- 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D) is one of the United States’ secretive Tier One counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units.
Here’s a little more information on Delta Force…
Delta Force’s primary tasks are counter-terrorism, direct action, and national intervention operations, although it is an extremely versatile group capable of assuming many covert missions, including, but not limited to, rescuing hostages and raids.[3]
The Central Intelligence Agency‘s highly secretive Special Activities Division (SAD) and more specifically its elite Special Operations Group (SOG) often recruits operators from Delta Force.
It might just be a coincidence, but let’s put this into current events perspective. Obama had JUST signed the NDAA 2012 which would allow for the use of the military on the ground, in the U.S. to arrest and detain citizens suspected of committing terrorist acts and here we have a guy from Fort Bragg, possibly Delta Force but we don’t know yet, boarding a plane with high explosives.
Another interesting thing about Delta Force, killing U.S. citizens is nothing new to them. Remember Waco?
“Boykin and Schoomacher were present because the Army’s Fort Bragg-based Combat Applications Group-popularly known as the Delta Force-had been enlisted as part of the assault team on the Branch Davidian Compound. It appears that President Clinton had signed a waiver of the Posse Comitatus Act, with the precedent being Ronald Reagan’s revocation of the Act in 1987, allowing the Delta Force to be involved in suppressing the Atlanta prison riot.” Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St. Clair
It might be worthwhile to note that Timothy McVeigh had wanted to join Special Forces when he got back from his military service and the official story goes that he was rejected due to his psychological evaluation but there is substantial evidence that McVeigh was actually accepted into Special Forces. Special Forces are out of Fort Bragg, United States Army Special Operations Command
Was this a psyop gone wrong? Was this another special operation to justify the crack down on U.S. citizens? Is Atwater Delta force? Did he intend to set up a charge to be detonated by remote on the next flight?
Don’t worry, the FBI is heading up the “investigation”. They’re the same guys who “investigated” the anthrax attacks just after 9/11. They’ll get to the bottom of it.
UPDATE: One of the readers here found this announcement of Mr. Atwater’s return from Afghanistan back in 2010. He is Green Beret, Special Forces out of Fort Bragg.
“The Permian Basin Welcome Home Committee is rounding up people to greet Staff Sgt. Trey Atwater of the U.S. Army.
Atwater is scheduled to return to Midland at 4:24 p.m. Friday at the Midland International Airport.
He is the son of Bonnie Awater of Midland and is a 1999 graduate of Midland Lee High School. His wife, Tamra, and his two sons, Trent and Ty, will accompany Atwater.
Atwater is a Green Beret and is scheduled for a third tour of duty in Afghanistan in July.” OA Online
The following is from Wikipedia Special Forces web page.
“The United States Army Special Forces, also known as the Green Berets because of their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force tasked with six primary missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, hostage rescue, and counter-terrorism. The first two emphasize language, cultural, and training skills in working with foreign troops. Other duties include combat search and rescue (CSAR), security assistance, peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, humanitarian demining, counter-proliferation, psychological operations, manhunts, and counter-drug operations; other components of the United States Special Operations Command or other U.S. government activities may also specialize in these secondary areas.[3] Many of their operational techniques are classified, but some nonfiction works[4] and doctrinal manuals are available.[5][6][7]
The original and most important mission of the Special Forces had been “unconventional warfare“, while other capabilities, such as direct action, were developed over time.” Wikipedia page Special Forces
This doesn’t prove anything one way or the other about why Mr. Atwater boarded a commercial airliner with military grade high explosives, but it is rather interesting isn’t it?
UPDATE:
MOS 18C: Special Forces Engineer Sergeant
Major Duties: Employs conventional and unconventional warfare tactics and techniques in combat engineering and maintains detachment engineer equipment and supplies. Duties for MOS 18C at each level of skill are:
Skill Levels Skill Level 3 MOSC 18C3O. Performs and maintains proficiency in all major duties. Performs and teaches tasks in demolitions, explosives, improvised munitions, U.S. and foreign landmines, mine/counter-mine operations, construction, field fortification, bridging, rigging, electrical wiring, reconnaissance, target analysis and civil action projects. Instructs and performs land and water navigation duties by interpreting maps, overlays, photos, charts and using standard and nonstandard navigational techniques and equipment. Plans, teaches and performs sabotage operations with standard, nonstandard and improvised munitions and explosives. Plans, prepares and conducts the target portion of the area study and conducts briefings, briefba-cks and debriefings. Supervises combat engineering functions when conducting split-detachment operations and missions.
Filed under: Scott Creighton, Trey Scott Atwater
Will they arrest him as a terrorist? Or will they ignore that and let him just disappear?
I am just sick reading these comments. This man has served three tours in Afghanistan, he has procteced each and every one of you and you are willing to jump to the worst possible conclusions about him. This is an incredcible good, kind family man that loves his country. He works with explosives for a living. He came home from Afghanistan and this was in his bag, threw it in the closest and forgot it was there. He got ready to come home to see his family for Christmas, grabbed his bag, packed it and headed out the door. We all make mistakes and forget things and you are all ready to see him hang. This man was with his wife and two boys, he would have never put them in any kind of danger. He is a good loving person that has given his life to this country and the military. He made a mistake, forgot it was there can you not understand that and rally behind him? He does not deserve to be treated like he is being treated. He needs our prayers and support not our criticism.
ARE YOU FOR F***ING REAL?? You don’t FORGET something as possibly dangerous as C-4. The guy had a purpose and sought to carry it out under the guise of appearing as the family man reuniting with loved ones over the holidays. A nice cover, but lucklily he slipped up! Would you still be making excuses for him if he copycatted Timothy McVeigh? Stop smoking crack!
I actually get the impression that this comment isn’t at all real.
It is a long paragraph that largely appeals to our emotion, assumes things we cannot know about the man, and tells us that we should rally for this man — which is what the government would want us to do if this was, in fact, a “technician” in a covert operation.
Furthermore, the two misspellings in the message appear manufactured – as if the poster wants to present this image of being a “regular person” who makes typos.
“procteced”
“incredcible”
“closest”
One of these spelling errors looks impossible to make — not only are there two Cs placed in the word “protected”, but the “t” is in the wrong place. An actual person wouldn’t have hit “c” before hitting “t”. The letter typed before that was “o” — far away from “c” on the keyboard.
The second one is more believable — since “d” is near “c” on the keyboard, one could reasonably accidentally put “c” after “d”. Though, I believe that this one was manufactured because of its close proximity to the last spelling error, and the general proficiency in the post’s spelling. The misspelling of the word “incredible” is one that you’d usually notice and correct. Someone could argue that perhaps this person was using hunt and peck — however, if you were using hunt and peck you’re even more likely to notice such errors (because you pay more attention to the keys).
The third one turns the word “closet” into “closest” — it’s hard to believe that someone could make such a typo without correcting it (especially if they were using hunt and peck). This is in the fifth sentence in the message, and the rest of the post seems perfect. Did this person have a “typing problem” during the first half of their message, then suddenly break free of it while writing their second?
And what kind of a fake, manufactured name is “A. Allen”? It sounds like the poster visualized some standard, telephone-book name.
If this is in actuality a fake message by the military, it is fair to wonder if they are actually going to start a campaign for his release (as a pretext to release him). It would be easier to compartmentalize the conspiracy if that was so — doing it secretly would require prison staff to be “in on” aspects of it, and possibly report it to the newspapers (potentially leading it to end up on blogs like this).
Wow you really are a freak to jump to all those conclusions. I am upset about this and typed it in a hurry, no Im not perfect….none of us are. I know Trey and I know he is a good man. What I typed is the truth, I just hope none of you ever make a mistake in your life and go through what he is going through.
At what point did I say I wanted to “hang him”? All I’m saying is when someone with his background tries to board a commercial airliner with a large amount of C-4, it deserves a little looking into. I think that’s rational, don’t you?
But let me ask you a couple questions since you decided to leave this comment.
Who exactly was Trey “protecting” me from during his 3 years in Afghanistan?
Do you know what unconventional warfare is? Do you understand how high explosives are usually used in unconventional warfare?
Do you understand how that career choice of his stands in stark contrast to your statement that he is a “good loving person”?
C-4 is a very stable high explosive, but that does not mean it cannot be set off by accident. This is not a lamp or an I-Pod… which means even if your theory is correct (which I strongly doubt) Trey still put many people’s lives at risk in the way he handled this material. Do you believe people should be arrested for DUI’s where they unnecessarily put other people’s lives at risk? And by definition, if he is absentmindedly walking around with his kids with a brick of C-4 in his bag, wasn’t he putting his kids lives at risk just the same?
“rally behind him”? What kind of language is that?
I hate to break it to you but the soldiers in Afghanistan and elsewhere are most certainly NOT “protecting us” so stop with that crap. Regardless of what you think of those who serve in the military please stop pushing the big lie that they are “protecting us” or “our freedoms”. Its a huge load of shit and a huge pet peeve of mine when I hear people say it. Its simply a way of conflating support for the troops with support for the wars. Don’t fall for it.
If you notice, the major players in the spin game don’t even try that line anymore. They simply state that our soldiers are there protecting our “interests” which translates to the Trans Afghan Pipeline, the poppy fields, the new privatized central bank system, the mineral rights, and making Afghanistan’s market safe for Wal-mart.
Yep, “vital US interests” is what the media and politicians tend to say now but I still hear way too many American sheeple saying-“thanks for protecting our freedoms and keeping us safe” for my taste. I usually just let it go but damn if it doesn’t bother the hell out of me.
Call me crazy but I never felt afraid that Saddam or Osama or Gadhafi were gonna “take our freedoms” or attack us. Those threats come from closer sources. If the US military leadership was actually concerned with “protecting freedoms” and stopping terrorist attacks they would have invaded D.C. and Tel Aviv long ago. They work for the same interests that our politicians do though so that wont happen.
You all are idiots. First the mere fact that myself and others serve and we therefore have a military protects you.its called show of force. Second since you have never served or deployed you have no clue how easily something like this could happen. Is your pathetic existence more exciting if you create retarded conspiracies?
I don’t think you have any clue how vile and offensive your comment is to many people, those who have served and those who have not. It highlights one of the problems we have talked about here before and that is this elitist mentality of some of the soldiers who actually view Americans with contempt when they exercise their first amendment rights and dare to think in ways that they are told not to. This mindset of “soldier as unassailable hero” is dangerous and stands in direct contradiction to both our constitution and the oath every military service-person takes. When you start viewing the general public as “retarded” and “pathetic” because they haven’t signed up to rush off to occupy Afghanistan or Iraq or Pakistan, then you’re really not to far from an elitist military organization that existed back in the 30s over in Germany and since this country is fast becoming fascist and since the occupations are just as imperial as their’s was back then, I would be really concerned about people reading your hate-filled comment and starting to make connections like the one I just made.Imagine, if you bare this much contempt for a goodly percentage of the people you are supposed to be protecting, how are you with Afghanis or Pakistanis or Iraqis?
Let’s shed a little realism on this myth of yours about “show of force” shall we? Here’s something from William Blum about that marvelous job we did in Iraq:
So after one lie after another the Bush/Cheney regime got the war and occupation they have wanted since ’91 and we did all this, not because of 9/11 and not because of WMDs… but we did this because we needed a “show of force” to keep us “safe”?
Do you really believe that or is it just better than the truth?
Is your pathetic existence more exciting if you naively buy into whatever mommy media and daddy government tell you about “conspiracies”? Talk about fucking retarded.
Again, regardless of what one thinks of military service in general it is undeniable(to those of us capable of independent thought) that the wars in Aghanistan,Iraq,Pakistan and elsewhere are not “protecting our freedom” or “keeping us safe”.
Show of force my fucking ass. We would still have the largest military on the planet even if we didnt fight these RETARDED wars that hicks like you try to justify. “Fight them over there!” though right dumbass? Whatever works for you and makes you feel useful. Its just too bad you have no idea who is actually using you.
I completely agree with you Jenn!!
here’s a link to a recent video of some U.S. soldiers blowing up a stray dog in Afghanistan for shits and giggles. Just listen to them laugh. Is this the kind of “love” you are talking about?
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f31_1325120226
The only way I want to support the troops is for our government to give the vets all the care and treatments that our vets need….. if our service men/women have gone to these illegal wars (out of need for a job or maybe they really believed our country was in danger), then they deserve a paid education and good medical care when they get home.. many are angry about what they did and saw while in service..
I support their need of ‘care’ and I support all of them being brought home ..away from all the wars… these service people are our people…. stop all the wars and bring them home….
You can forget about something like that. I have twice. Once I crossed a “political boundary” with some 9mm ammo in my truck that I forgot was there. I destroyed it and buried it before attempting to return. I also had some TNT in a trailer that a peice rolled out of the box and got stuck under a tool bax, and was there for years before being discovered.
Well maybe, just maybe he was preparing for some stealth attack on the enemies of this Country??? I can dream.
They want war this bad with Syria and Iran that they’re willing to bring down a civilian airliner?
The writer is an idiot with an overactive imagination. This is like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, you can find connections to anything if you obsess over it enough. That plus a fertile immagination plus paranoia equal conspiracy nuts. Why not just go ahead and connect this to the “demolition” of the World Trade Center? Idiot.
The guy was stationed at Fort Bragg and getting on a plane with high explosives in his carry-on. In my opinion you have to work pretty damn hard not to make those obvious connections. Talk about willful ignorance.
Will President Paul be able to stop this madness?
No, I’m sure this guy was an “al qaeda double agent” like on the show Homefront right dumbass? Or at least you would buy that if mommy media and daddy government told you it was so.
The ‘writer’ is not an idiot… he is definitely a lot smarter that you, Mace.
If the writer – Scott Creighton – had ever served in the military he would know how outlandish this writing is. The accused Trey Atwater is about to be crushed by the the military justice system, and everyone will see him go to Leavenworth penitentiary and his career flushed down the toilet.
As for conspiracy theories ask yourself, who benefits when America is further diminished?
Who do you turn to when you cannot trust your own country?
Oftentimes, those spreading those conspiracy theories are doing for their own gain, such as the Soviets did throughout the cold war…
Already hit with the marginalizing label of “conspiracy theory” huh? Damn, that didn’t take long. I wonder if anyone else has noticed how this interesting story is already off the main pages of the MSM news sites. Nothing to see here folks. Move along.
It is a “conspiracy theory” and as someone that subscribes to it you’re in the same “idiot” class as the writer.
turns out Trey is in special forces and it turns out he is a demolitions expert who “Plans, teaches and performs sabotage operations with standard, nonstandard and improvised munitions and explosives.”
You keep calling people names and I’ll keep digging. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I am the guy who wrote the article.
Fuck you, dumbass. Go wave your flag.
Anyone who generalizes “conspiracy theories” instead of providing a counter-argument to them is an idiot. How’s that, “Mace”?
Yes, of course that is correct because everyone knows that any suggestion that the military could come up with a plan to attack U.S. citizens to justify some military plan is just an absolute whacko conspiracy theory.
Oh, well except for that little Operation Northwoods thing where they put together a plan to blow up a commercial flight and blame it on Castro
And there was Operation Dirty Trick where they thought about destroying one of the Mercury Mission rockets on the launch pad and blame that on Castro
Oh wait… were those some of the conspiracy theories the Soviets created?
Oh no, still caught up in the red scare huh? Scott, I think hes calling you a “commie”. LOL!
The DHS and TSA – multiple $US billion industries, each –, have been getting loads of bad rap, lately.
Given that the FBI has engaged in numerous entrapments, to keep the idea of “homegrown terrrrrrism” on the front burner, it shouldn’t be a stretch to imagine that DHS / TSA would employ their own tactics to defend their exorbitant funding.
C-4 in the carry-on bag of a military ‘agent’, traveling with his family? Isn’t that a bit of an … um … implausible scenario?
Sure makes a good headline, though. The TSA has just saved countless lives! Rogue element in the US military nearly killed himself and his family by blowing up a commercial airliner!
Had the operation succeeded, no doubt the culprit’s driver’s license would have been discovered, intact, on the roof of nearby farmhouse.
.
It’s really not that unusual for soldiers to steal all kinds of things from their bases. In 2009 a SF soldier at Fort Campbell was arrested for allegedly having 100 lbs. of C4.
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/ap_special_forces_soldier_arrested_110209/
Here’s another one.
http://www.yumasun.com/articles/airport-71446-yuma-arrested.html
Hyssop may be on to something. It could have been a set up. Or just back from Afghanistan, he may have been half crazed. Or just a stupid mistake. I’ll bet the story quickly goes down the rabbit hole.
Yeah, I’m sure soldiers do steal stuff from the base, I was just saying if they do, they aren’t likely to hop on a plane bringing it back to the base with them. As in the case of the 100 pounds of C-4 that was taken, my guess would be they stole it for a reason, they some plan to use it or sell it. This guy supposedly takes it off base, and then jumps on a plane to go visiting with it and then doubles down on the risk factor by loading it up in his carry on to take it back? That doesn’t make sense.
Hyssop’s theory is plausible with one minor exception: it’s not on the front burner and with very little coverage of the story by the MSM, that doesn’t go a long way in the way of convincing me they did this for TSA or “homegrown terrorist” propaganda. It almost seems like they are deliberately NOT covering the story.
FYI. This guy is a Green Beret. Just a a little fact that the media fails to mention.
http://www.oaoa.com/articles/midland-44466-atwater-return.html
Thanks. I worked that into an update on the story. Nice find.
Hey Willyloman,
Glad I found this blog. When I heard that a soldier was arrested for trying to carry military-grade explosives onto a commercial plane “by mistake”, I immediately thought it was probably a foiled false-flag operation.
I did not know that Atwater was stationed at Fort Bragg — if he was connected to Delta Force, the Special Forces, or the 4th Psychological Operations Group, that is a HUGE red flag.
There was probably another man on the plane who was a middle-easterner (probably Iranian) or a domestic terrorist with anti-government, anti-fed views — another patsy from the McVeigh-Stack mold, in order to set a precedent for the NDAA.
Something tells me there will be no reporting on his trial or sentence. This is going to be swept under the rug.
HOLY CRAP — I made my post before I saw the update.
He was a Green Beret?
That seals it for me. This was a covert operation gone awry. As one of your readers said, this is going down the rabbit hole.
This guy is just a dip-shit who did not clear his range-bag, then used it to go home (with his family) on Christmas leave. He probably had it with him on the flight to Tx. If you concider the psych profile of the type that would commit himself to an act of the home grown terrorist…..he is not the one. While I appreciate the man who monitors the news and looks for the lesser known agendas, this is nothing more than a dip-shit.
That is a possibility, however…
I doubt that someone that highly trained in demolitions and explosives would treat C-4 with so little regard as to leave it in his bag that he packed for a holiday visit and then take that bag on a commercial flight. Twice. I also question the fact that, as you call him, a “dip shit” would be involved with that outfit and a member of the Special Forces Green Beret. Typically, aren’t those guys usually some of the brightest members of the armed forces? That’s kinda why the CIA recruits out of their ranks, right?
I don’t think he’s a homegrown terrorist or was going to be set up as another Timothy McVeigh / Lee Harvey Oswald type.
Here’s a possibility…
Let’s say that his job was to set something up that looked and could have been dangerous but would not have detonated. He sets it up on the flight and then after the plane drops him off in North Carolina, the plane then goes on to another destination and during the flight the bomb is “discovered” and disarmed by someone on board. That makes the news, the “terrorist plot” is thwarted, and we have yet another reason to crack down on the homegrown terrorists in America.
Remember the Umar Fizzlepants sparkler of doom show they put on around this time two years ago? They don’t have to take an action full term to get the required attention they want. Not always anyway.
There are all kinds of ways that this could have played out without him setting a bomb to kill a bunch of people on a plane, but of course, with his background and that brick of C-4 on a plane on New Year’s Eve, you have to consider many possibilities and unfortunately a lethal false flag event is certainly one of them.
No. You’re thinking of PFC Dip-Shit who barely made it through basic training. This guy’s the real-deal.
I am still thinking dip-shit!!! Lets look at him…Peers, NCOER’s, his history before we tag him as a terrorist. After all that trully is a big deal.We should gather more information first.
that’s exactly what I am doing.
Willyloman,
Not only does the CIA recruit from the Special Forces, but:
“The Special Forces were created as the covert military arm of the Central Intelligence Agency.”
-David A. Hoffman, The Oklahoma City Bombing
and the Politics of Terror
I did not know that, thank you.
Our options are: dipshit, framed, or planned….those are the only options here. I doubt he is that big of a dipshit.
At least he wasn’t carrying the nuke DeadEye swiped off the flight from North Dakota.
Just sayin.
Which authority confirmed that he was carrying C-4? I’ve been trying to find out what they discovered in his bag, and your site is the first one that I’ve found that actually identified the explosive.
The early reports stated that the explosive was C-4 and I suppose that came from the FBI spokesman who briefed the reporters after the event. Seems like the new reports this morning are moving away from that claim but at this point, C-4 in a military wrapping is pretty obvious.
“Atwater was taken into custody for questioning Saturday after the C-4 plastic explosive was found in his carry-on luggage at a Transit Security Administration checkpoint at Midland International Airport.” Fox Jan 1
“Saturday morning December 31, 2011 at about 8:45 a.m. CST, when TSA airport screeners found military grade C-4 explosives in his carry on luggage, according to reports published on Monday, January 2, 2012”
http://www.examiner.com/airlines-airport-in-national/afghan-vet-arrested-at-texas-airport-with-plastic-explosives
Seems like the CNN story that I read yesterday has been updated and the term “C-4” removed.
CBS reported that it was a Midland Police department source….
“A Midland Police Department source told CBS affiliate KOSA-TV in Odessa, Texas, that the explosives are C-4. Security agents found the explosives in the man’s carry-on bag when it was going through the X-ray machine.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57350605/man-with-explosives-detained-at-texas-airport/
“A source with the Midland Police Department bomb squad tells our crew that the explosives found were military grade explosives. A second source, also with MPD, has told us that the explosives found were C-4. No official word from FBI on what type of explosives were found.”
http://www.cbs7kosa.com/news/details.asp?ID=31421
Thanks for the extensive list of sources!
Maybe there would have been no need for a detonator. C-4 is fairly easy to ignite with just a match or lighter. It burns very hot and bright and gives off a poisonous vapor. Soldiers frequently come up with off-label uses for equipment and supplies. Maybe he was going to use it for the burning and not the exploding properties. A fire could cause havoc on a plane.
This guy was just a dip-shit. He was not in SFOD-D. He taught at the above mentioned JFK SWCS. Do not label him as a home grown terrorist. This man has done many things on behalf of our nation durring a time of war, lets not forget that. As for the C-4, was it a block, was it residue? He will be dealt with accordingly. Dont be supprised if this does not get alot of air-time due to the sensetivety of the individual, as well as the circumstances of this incident.
This guy is not the boogie man.
According to the news report from his hometown he was Green Beret and his classification makes him a Special Op demolition expert who served 3 tours of duty in Afghanistan. You don’t teach JFK SWCS in Afghanistan. He was an unconventional warfare operative with high explosives trying to get on a plane. I don’t know about you, but that concerns me.
All true, however all have to go back and teach at the school house after a period of time. Trust me on this pal….its true.
More to this story, according to the Fayetteville Observer (local newspaper near Fort Bragg, NC) referring to Sgt Atwater: “He flew out of Fayetteville Regional Airport to Texas on Christmas Eve. Security officers at the Fayetteville airport detained Atwater after finding a military smoke grenade in his bag but they apparently did not find any other contraband. Transportation Security Administration officers allowed Atwater to continue on the flight to Midland after confiscating the grenade and admonishing him, the FBI affidavit said.”
Full story at this link: http://fayobserver.com/articles/2012/01/03/1147733?sac=Home
My question is, did Atwater have the C-4 in his bag and TSA didn’t find it at the time they discovered the grenade? Scary thought. Why is MSM already ignoring this story? I mean, I am just a middle aged registered nurse, but it doesn’t take a rocket science to figure out that something is very, very WRONG in this situation, and it is all about to be covered up.
Thanks for that link. Very interesting. It confirmed that he did 3 tours with Special Forces as I thought. I don’t buy the mistaken C-4 line. You don’t grab a carry-on bag with a brick of C-4 in it and not notice it. It’s a carry-on bag. How big is a carry-on bag going to be? And how could a TSA agent miss the C-4 after they found the grenade? That’s impossible. He had to have gotten that C-4 in Texas. He’s suggesting that his bag was sitting around in the garage with a brick of C-4 in it and he has two kids? Two boys? One of the commenters makes a good point in that article and that is a cherry bomb can set off C-4. And he left that shit lying around the house?
This is interesting “Documents do not say how much C4 was in Atwater’s bag or whether there were blasting caps.”
[…] willyloman.wordpress.com, 2 jan – ”On Saturday morning, a soldier from Fort Bragg has been arrested for trying to board Flight 3283 out of Midland, Texas with military grade C-4 high explosives in his carry-on bag.” […]
I came on to this information several days after it was posted here and it may be everyone arguing their viewpoints have long departed, so, i may be wasteing my time. Story of my life, a day late and a dollar short
A couple of the commenters way up above led me to believe their possibly current millitary, and at least one commenter claims to have a direct connection to Sgt Atwater.
To the commenter’s who expressed outright contempt to Willy and perhaps a few other’s, in particular, to any who have never served in the millitary, or combat etc, let me tell you this. I was doin all that when it was not popular at all in this country. And while i was doint it, you two yard birds were still single cells roaming around your daddys loins but don’t get mad at me though, cause i do appreciate what you are doing.
But your comander n chief lied his ass off to create all this crap, and it’s my desire now to see that he and his DOD boy (Rumsfield) spend some time in a courtroom facing some legal accountibillity, but thats not why im here. Im here because you don’t like to hear oppinions you disagree with and you really threw out the insults. Every American has the constitutional right to their oppinions and the right to voice them, isn’t that right? Right? If not, then, WTF are you doin there? Don’t come on here an tell me your fighting for my godamm freedoms. Cause guess what? your lossing that fight. And your losing it to your own government. I suggest you get current in your current events and then you’ll see what the facts are.
Now, for what it’s worth, i don’t think there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that SGT ATWATER had any maliclous intent in his possession of this C-4. But he is guilty of possession with intent to transport contraband aboard a civil flt and the evidence will support that reguardless of his actual state of mind with respect to his knowledge as to possession. Reguardless what he knew he was in possession of, or what he did not know, at the time, he should have known. I hope the Midland county judge goes easy on him cause the millitary is all likely going to burn his ass for this. He probably is a good troop. Im not going to judge his service record. It’s gotta be better than mine cause i got two short form Art-15’s while i was in. One for misapproation of a millitary vehicle. (i borrowed a tank,,alright? it wasen’t like i was gonna keep it)
You borrowed a tank? It’s a good thing you didn’t try to board a plane with it…. what were you going to do? Go to town on a week-end pass?
I say.. if you are going to ‘borrow’ military equipment, then by George, take something useful… and a tank is transportation ! Bad on gas mileage though. and probably a very bumpy ride. LOL
btw…. hello B-waves !!!!
I have made my position very clear; I don’t want to burn the guy for having taken C-4 on a domestic commercial flight.
But just like anyone else who gets caught with high explosives on a plane full of people on a high visibility day like Christmas Eve (he was busted with the smoke grenade) and New Years Eve (he was busted with high explosives) you have to take a step back, evaluate their story, consider their background, and report on what you find.
Ever since I wrote my first article (this one I think) about this, it has turned out the guy’s story does not make sense and his background is most likely that of someone who has created terrorist type destabilization events in other countries.
You want to give him the benefit of the doubt because he is a soldier? Fine. I think it’s dangerous to simply give someone a pass across the board for that reason alone. McVeigh was a soldier, so was Lee Harvey Oswald, and the list could go on and on.
I don’t know what he was doing or why he was doing it, but I will tell you this, there’s something to this story other than “he forgot a brick of C-4 in his carry on bag”
hey,,,
hey there yourself
I don’t know of any appropriate millitary other than whan what i told you so him having some sort of contact in the MAF area seems remote.
Thats not to say there wasent He is to be held to a higher standard of conduct due to his rank.
So, the local Midland federal courts have allowed him to be released.
So now he’ll have to get his ass back to Ft Bragg. It’s probably gonna suck to be Atwater.
How bout that TSA check point there in the Fayette airport. Now for sure,,,theres some mo-fo’s who’s asse’s we can get up into cause untill something else surfaces, to the contrary, heres some incompitence that should not be over looked, and this may be the weakest link in this chain of events.
So you think that the TSA agents overlooked two 2.5 pound blocks of marked C-4 in Atwater’s carry-on case?
Each one of those is about 11 inches by 2 inches by 3 inches.
And he had two of them in a little central compartment… which they found a smoke grenade in.
And you really think they simply overlooked them?
What im saying is, it would go a long way in establishing whether or not Atwater was up to something if it was known exactly what the TSA screeners did after the grenade discovery. What they should have done, which is SOP, is, Atwater would be secured in a locked room, with his carry on, and the contents of the carry on dumped out completely. Not only that, if he had any checked bags, those would have been brought in, and they too dumped out. But security check point screeners are sometimes nothing but dick weeds. There should have been some police officers present during this shakedown. Because the second the screeners determined a genuine security breach, they have a button where the screener is watching the x-ray screen. They push that button, the police will be there fast. Within a couple of min’s. Screeners don’t have any real police type authority so once they determine a security breach, they hand over the situation to the responding police.
A lot could be established knowing what occured there in FAY.
I hate to be the one to point this out to you, but it was the TSA screeners who found his smoke grenade in North Carolina and it was the TSA screeners who found the C-4 in his luggage in Midland Texas.
Even Atwater himself claims that he doesn’t know if the C-4 came from Afghanistan. That is his official position on the matter.
So your condemnation of the screeners instead of condemning Atwater, seems oddly misplaced.
I have also noted that you don’t seem to want to leave a comment on either of the three follow-up articles that I have done on this case, namely the ones that deal with Atwater’s background in unconventional warfare (using indigenous populations to carry out terrorist type explosive attacks to destabilize targeted nations), his connections with the 7th Special Forces Group (long history of black op terrorism in other countries from Vietnam to Ecuador to Afghanistan via Task Force 373), and the actual dimensions of the blocks of C-4 themselves which seem to make it nearly impossible for Mr. Atwater to have “overlooked” them in his little carry on bag ( each one of these TWO blocks of high explosives were 11″ X 2″ X 3″ and weighed 2.5 pounds. Roughly the same size as two 11 long pieces of 2×4. Imagine having these two bricks of high explosives in your carry on bag and trying to explain to someone that you didn’t “notice” them in there… especially after you were caught with a smoke grenade on the previous flight. You think you could make someone believe that?)
Any other individual would have their background carefully scrutinized in a situation like this one, taking high explosives onto a commercial airliner on a high risk day like New Year’s Eve. Atwater made a career out of setting up terrorist type actions across the world. And yet here, we ignore that aspect of his background, we ignore the ridiculous nature of his story about how he forgot 5 pounds of high explosives were in his carry on bag, and we suggest the TSA is to blame?
im not necessairly disagreeing with your assessment of Atwater.
I was not standing there in FAY watching what occured after they found the grenade. Neither were you. We have only their (TSA) statements to go on. But, after nosing around this, admittidly, your assessment carries more weight. Now here is something i want to point out.
Notice Atwaters gotee? How long do you think that took to grow out?
A lot of our guys doing certain activities in Afghanistan were encouraged to grow beards because among the male population in Afghanistan, that is a statas thing. But Atwater is now back in the States. That is not a regulation beard, gotee, what ever. And he is not in the US Navy. With that gotee, Atwater presents a non millitary appearrence. Just sayin.
One of several links I put up relating to the ongoing TSA investigation into what happened in North Carolina, says that the TSA has a video tape of that very inspection and that they are waiting till the trial or some other legal issue before releasing their findings. Of course they have a video of the inspection of his bag. So they obviously have more than just their TSA statements to go on, which may of course explain why Atwater refuses to say for certain on the record that the C-4 came from Afghanistan.
I think it can be said for sure that Atwater had to know, if he knowingly was carrying those blocks of C-4 in his bag , it would not get through screening. And he had to understand that discovery was tantimont to terrorism.
For the sake of argument, lets go ahead and assume Atwater was clean when he departed Fayetteville. The truth is, i don’t think thats an unreasonable assumption at all. In spite of what i said before. Im just looking at it from all the angles i can come up with.
I wonder if that was C-4 he might have inadvertantly carried to Midland on a previous trip there, and now decided to take it back to Ft Bragg.?
Did you get any impression that Atwater has a pretty casual attitude about transportation, possession etc, toward C-4?
Atwater hasn’t spoken to the press or to the courts for that matter so I don’t know what his attitude about transporting high explosives is or isn’t.
It’s possible he got it in Texas, in fact it’s more likely than the TSA guys missing such large blocks of C-4 in the same bag they found a smoke grenade in.
Then the question becomes “why?’
If he found C-4 that he had from a previous trip, then he would certainly turn it in at a local military base, wouldn’t he? and if he didn’t want to get into trouble, he would just keep it there or dispose of it there. Why risk a felony bringing it back?
There is absolutely no legitimate rationale for him trying to bring high explosives onto a plane risking lives at most and his career at least.
So why do it?
The only question becomes, did he know it was there. And I think as I have shown, that he must have known. Those blocks are too big to have missed, especially after the smoke grenade incident.
@willyloman, Sir, you are way out of line ! I know Trey personally. We went to school together, played high school football together along with other activities. All he has ever wanted to do in his life is to serve and protect this country from all forign and domestic enemy’s of this country, as I’ve always wanted to and done. I served eight years in the Army along with multiple tours overseas. What have you done ? Trey has always stood up for the weak, the young, the elderly, and the one’s that could not defend themselves. I ask again, what have you done ? What you don’t understand is that when you are in the military you get into a routine, a routine of doing things. You tend to do things without realizing it, i.e. pack things into your bags, all because it becomes second nature or leave things in your bags 1: because you forget they are there because they have been there for awhile or 2: your so used to something being there you don’t think twice about it being there. He had two 2.5 lbs blocks of C-4 n his bag. Do you know how big the bag was ? Have you ever had anything in your bag you forgot about then just ended up throwing some stuff in it which inadvertently covers up whatever was at the bottom of the bag ? I find it funny how people are so quick to jump to conclusions when they don’t even know the person or have never been in there shoes, i.e. served this country. So, what have you done for this couontry besides sit in front of your computer and type words to spread rumors on something you haven’t the slightest clue about ? Reckless and irresponsible reporting…
I’m sorry… what did you say? You served your country? Really? Defended us from what? All those weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? did you go after the “terrorists” way over there in Afghanistan? Pakistan maybe? Panama? Libya? Yemen?
Who did you serve? You wore one of our uniforms, you carried hardware paid for by us, you took the accolades when you got home, but who did you really serve?
Read “War is a Racket” by Gen. Smedley Butler and get back to me.
As for Trey: I looked at a very suspicious situation (VERY suspicious) and I evaluated his past and his service history and I found it to be extremely ODD that someone who did the kind of service he did, would be found with high explosives running around inside the continental United States.
You tell me what I was wrong about regarding his service.
You call me “reckless and irresponsible” for accurately reporting on his career and yet at BEST what your friend did was attempt to board a commercial flight with 2 2.5 pound BRICKS of high explosive.
That’s a funny definition of reckless don’t you think.
You served your country?
Look I salute young men and women who sign up at 18 or so to do what they are told (by people like you) will be service to their countries. But according to you, you have been in for 8 years, so you damn well know better. Don’t come here looking to promote your religion cus I am not going to give anyone a free pass.
I serve my country and I serve humanity as best I can right here.
At great risk to myself, my future career, I investigate and write the truth in spite of the bullshit propaganda they use to try to justify sending more good young men and women off to fight wars for various corporations and financial institutions… not for our country.
And I dare say, it takes a great deal of courage for me to do it. I don’t hide, my name is right up there. I lose jobs over it, I get death threats, but I write the fucking truth which is a hell of a lot better than the New York Times does I might add.
And you would probably have a few more friends alive right now if the New York Times wrote more like I do back in 2002 if you know what I mean.
When Hillary was trying to spin up a new war with North Korea over the Cheonan, I was one of the few investigating and writing the truth about that incident. Did you lose friends in North Korea? I serve my country and I serve the men and women in the armed forces. I serve them all honestly “codeman”
Now, you want to put your friend in touch with me? I’ll give him a fair shake. I would love to hear from him how he forgot 2 bricks of C-4 in his carry on a week after he got nearly busted at another airport for forgetting a smoke grenade in that same bag. You go ahead and put him in touch with me.
But if the best you can do is come here and keep implying that I haven’t “done anything for my country” because I didn’t sign up to go to war for Exxon Mobil, then take that shit someplace else.
I know better than that and so do you. Or at least you should after doing it for 8 years.
Has there been another attack on US soil by an organization since the start of the war ? No there hasn’t, well your welcome. Wore one of “our” uniforms ? Who is “our” ? Oh are you talking about tax payers ? Damn, if I wasn’t a tax payer then why in the hell on my pay stubs did it say “Federal With holdings” ? I have a friend that is a cop and he used to say that when he handed out speeding tickets sometimes the speed offender would be upset and say that he pays my friends salary because of taxes so in reply my friend tells them that he too pays taxes so that ticket is on him. I will agree with you on the “suspicious” comment but knowing Trey, his beliefs, his past, and knowing he is a family man I would have to come to the decision that he was not planning on performing a “Terrorist” act. You say you did your homework on Trey, did you talk to his family, friends, first-line supervisors ? Did you see his military history, i.e. awards, citations, deployments, what groups he was affiliated with, what schools and colleges he attended, what church’s he attended, etc., etc. ? I’m asking because of your comments in your original blog about how the Fed’s screwed up by not asking questions of all the passengers or searching the passenger’s and the plane, therefore NOT investigating further to get ALL the facts, no matter how minute they may seem. Let me ask you this, do you believe that the First and Second World War was BS ? Do you think that the soldiers that fought and died in those wars were protecting us ? If I thought like you I could say no. Let’s look at this a little closer, shall we ? Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941, Japan attacked US military forces. September 11th 2001, middle eastern men of different middle eastern countries, yes none of them were Iraqi, hijacked multiple commercial airliners and used them as weapons of war, killing American CIVILLIAN’s. America declared war on Japan but wait there is more. America also declared war on Germany and Italy. What did Germany and Italy do to us ? The only thing I can think of that Germany did to the US was try to conduct sabotage missions within the US. Italy, I have no clue, maybe guilt by association ? Might I add that Hawaii wasn’t even a State at the time of the attacks and Japan did not want to invade the US. Ok, so you might say we went to Germany because Hitler was attacking our allies or maybe because he was killing all the Jewish people, even though we didn’t know he was until AFTER we invaded. So why did we invade Germany and Italy ? Alright, so we invaded Afghan. Yes the cowards that killed Americans on 9/11 were from different countries, as I have already said, but where were they trained, who were they connected to, who was the mater mind ? Before you say anything, listen to what President Obama said when Bin Laden was killed, ” Justice Has Been Served “. Afghan is a birth place for radicals. The people in that country are oppressed by THUGS and COWARDS. With that I will jump to the invasion of Iraq. Again a country which is between many other unstable middle eastern countries. Also Iraq and Afghan are strategic countries. The best way to stabilize a REGION is to stabilize a country or two. To do this you must get rid of a ruthless dictator, the ” Head of the Snake “. Saddam was an evil man, along with his son’s. Not only did he MURDER his own people and oppress them but he also destroyed the ecological system in Southern Iraq. Check the link at the bottom, I also have seen it with my own eyes. Saddam had to go for the sake of the people. Yes war destroys lives but it also brings freedom, prosperity, and hope. If you don’t believe this look at Europe and Japan, countries that were decimated during the World Wars but look at them now and it did bring stability to the world. Open your eyes and look at history. Yes, it was thought that there were WMD’s in Iraq, bad intell. Now look at the hope of freedom and democracy that the Iraqi people are now seeing. I’m not preaching my “religion” as you say, I’m preaching freedom. The freedom to be able to choose what school you go to, the freedom to do what you please, the freedom to SPEAK YOUR MIND without the FEAR of being taken in the middle of the night to be raped, beaten, and murdered by the government under which you live. There was also a place in Iraq known as the ” Slaughter House “, Saddams son’s would take women whenever they wanted and would rape and then murder these women when ever they pleased. If Iraq’s soccer team ever lost a game he would either have his family killed or have them killed, depending on who he thought didn’t play well. You sit here and say oh its for the oil, well I go back to the stability of the nation. Have you ever payed attention to how the price of oil gets dictated as to the stability of a region that has oil ? Stability brings lower prices. Oh and do you really believe that we would get Iraq’s oil for FREE ? So you might say no but the US would get a discount. So look at it this way, lets say you own a car dealership and I work for you. I’m your best employee, I keep all the cars clean, I sell the most cars for you, I bring in repeat customers for you, so therefore I make you money. Are you gonna give me a discount on a car when I decide to buy a new one ? In Iraq the soldiers are also building and repairing schools, health clinics, hospitals and their infrastructure. What kind of humanitarian things do you do ? Are you doing Meals On Wheels, are you doing Christmas in April, do you do Christmas for less fortunate kids by donating or actually giving gifts to these kids which is through the Salvation Army, do you volunteer anywhere ? I sure do. Hell did you even protect builders from insurgents while they built schools and health clinics for the Iraqi people. Did you or anyone in your family send clothes and essential items to soldiers so that thay could give it to the people of Iraq and Afghan ? Second link at the bottom. Think about it this way when you wonder why we went to Iraq and Afghan. Whats the best way to entice someone ? Look at freedom as candy, the best candy in the world. Now give that candy to one or two kids on the playground, a playground where kids are fighting all the time. Those first two kids have stopped fighting and have also learned how to make the candy. Pretty soon other kids around them are gonna want some candy too. So along with the person who gave the first two kids candy they too are gonna give the other kids candy, which in turn makes the playground a much better place with less fighting, i.e. the region. Now, I was serving in South Korea from 2002-2003. Did you forget the N. Koreans fired a missile into the sea of Japan ? Did you know that N. Korean spies are usually found in S. Korea and on military installations along with digging tunnels underneath military camps ? Hilliary doesn’t have the power to start a war and if she did it wouldn’t be a ” new war “, we are still at war with N. Korea, there was only a cease fire instated. I’m sorry that you get death threats, and not hired to do jobs because of your views but that is your choice, a FREEDOM that YOU have just like I have the FREEDOM and CHOICE to serve my country just like all my brothers and sisters that have served and are still serving and the ones that were injured and who still voice that they would go back and do it all over AGAIN. For those of us that are fortunate enough to have lived through the Hells of war and come back to our families unfortunately we bring those memories back with us along with the visible and non visible scars of that war but on top of that we have to read and listen to people like you, who have no idea what war is like and what the price of freedom really in tells and when I talk about freedom I mean for the unprivileged world to know what freedom is. So I really don’t care to hear your sob story about death threats and not getting jobs. Try staring down the barrel of a gun and then you can tell me how it feels, oh wait, you don’t have to because I know how it feels but I’m not crying over it because it was my choice to SERVE MY COUNTRY. You say you investigate and right the truth, maybe you should do a little more investigating. That’s what I mean by reckless and irresponsible reporting. It’s ok because everyone does it, unfortunately your part of the problem and not part of the answer. You seem to dwell on one thing and report on that one thing and not look at both sides with an open mind. As for Trey, I could probably make a better judgment than you ever could. I grew up with him, I know his beliefs, I have also served in the Army as where you have done neither.
http://www.iraqfoundation.org/edenagain/2005media_articles/Record%20by%20Pink%20Sep05%20Reversing%20Iraqs%20ecological%20disaster.pdf
http://voices.yahoo.com/what-we-done-right-iraq-309013.html?cat=37
SGTMAC…..I suggest you start with reading the constitution, dig a little deaper and read the Federalist Papers, you can dig even further and read the anti-Federalist Papers. Following that explore the real history of events. Keep in mind that when you fully begin to comprehend that history it will be painful for you; as the cognitive dissonance will immediately begin to set in. Once you get past it and start looking into the truth, you perhaps cn break through. Your journey will be painful, but if you can take it, it will be well worth the effort.
All charges were dropped against Trey Atwater and was deemed “above average soldier & not a risk”.
All charges were dropped against him? What did you expect? You think that clears him or does it suggest someone pulled some strings to get the story over and done with?
Ok SGTMAC, let’s go through this some more.
So why didn’t you just come here and give us your opinion on what you thought? Why were you hostile toward me for simply wondering aloud about his background and the suspicious nature of his story? And I never said the man was planning a terrorist act, What I DID say is that IF someone tried to board two separate planes carrying grenades (smoke) and high explosives, then one should be curious and concerned about it. ESPECIALLY if his background is with the 7th Special Forces Group who has a HISTORY of organizing destabilization campaigns in other countries. And I still stand by that. It’s fucking logical.
No it wasn’t. They were LYING. Remember the 935 lies article? Remember Colin Powell admitting they were uncomfortable with what he was saying in the United Nations Security Council meeting? They were LYING because they had wanted to force regime change in Iraq for a very, very long time prior to 9/11 even. Remember the sanctions? Cheney and the oil companies were planning on who got what reserves in Iraq in January of 2001. Remember the Energy Commission meetings? come on man… “bad intel”? You’re smarter than that.
Well if that is true, I guess we shouldn’t have given him all those weapons and financed his war on Iran huh?
Freedom? Come on man. Who do you think you are talking to here? do you think we brought “freedom” to Iraq? Afghanistan? Libya? That ain’t freedom buddy.
You are absolutely right on that. It is my choice. Just like I said that I don’t begrudge some young person making the choice to serve this country. However, you have been there, and you know as I am sure you have had discussions very much like this one with your fellow Brothers in Arms. You know what I am talking about. You know the difference between Iraq and WWI or WWII. You know who Smedley Butler is and what he wrote. Things aren’t always black or white but sometimes they lie in the grey between.
Again, you have fallen into the sweeping generalization trap. I have probably had more guns pointed at me at close range by men who intended to use them than you have. Good guys, bad guys, bad guys who were basically good, good guys who were basically bad. All kinds. I made, how shall I put this, questionable choices earlier in life. All that aside, I know what a clip rattling in a Glock sounds like at 4 oclock in the morning and I know what the end of a barrel looks like at close range.
You ended as you started, insulting me because I had the audacity to not serve in the military.
My father was career Navy. I took the ASVABs. Was set to go into cryptology for the Navy. Turned out it didn’t work out then and later when I tried again, I had already had 2 PEs and was on blood thinner which ended that little attempt right quick.
All your assumptions based on what you THINK you know about me are wrong. I wrote about what I found out about his background and what he had in that bag. And you have YET to tell me anything that I had wrong.
If you know this man, Trey, and you want to set the record straight, that is one thing. And I certainly don’t mind that. In fact, I hope people come here and speak up for anyone I write about.
But if all you are going to do is insult me for things you know nothing about, things you couldn’t, then how is what you accused me of any different than what you are STILL doing now?
As you said, I found this story and his background suspicious and I wrote about what I found after thoroughly investigating it. No I didn’t talk to his family because to me that would be an invasion of their privacy and they certainly had more things to worry about at the time.
But you agreed that this was suspicious. But you also tell me that your opinion, not mine, is the one that is the biased one.
I hope he is alright. I hope they are not too hard on him for his mistakes if that is what they were. I still find it hard to believe that he just happened to forget a smoke grenade on one trip and then 2 bricks of C-4 on the return trip. Seems like someone who works that closely with high explosives would develop a little more respect for them.
Believe it or not, I do appreciate people’s service to the nation. That includes yours. It is not for the soldier to misappropriate the human resources of our military, that is the job of the lying politicians and warmongers.
I also appreciate your taking the time to comment here and your loyalty to your country and your friend. But loyalty can be a blinding thing SGT.
We are not that different you and I. You just still believe in a system I gave up on long ago. A system that I think unfortunately gave up on it’s own soldiers long ago.
and another thing sgtmac while we are on the subject. Perhaps you like the idea of sending more of your friends and brothers in arms into harms way over in the Gulf because of lies and misrepresentations of the truth to the people of this country, but I certainly don’t..
therefore I will, as you suggest, keep “sitting at my keyboard” investigating, writing, and exposing the bullshit propaganda where I find it. It’s just my little way of doing what I can to actually HELP the troops rather than exploiting them.
sgtmac has problems with understanding these current wars (and possibly WWII )…. and he has to defend his aggressive actions in service.. or he feels he does… and that is a shame.
Our leaders put our service people in harms way and they have to defend them selves and their buddies. Our greedy leaders know that.
Our service men and women are not guilty of war crimes… our leaders are… they organize the destruction of smaller nations and the deaths and injuries of our service people…..
Most civilians want the wars to stop… bring our people home in one healthy piece and bring jobs back home….. Stop the bringing grief back ..shrouded in a flag…