#projectnewhope | Oscar Mike Radio

139 – Why Not Guilty

by Travis Partington | Mar 15, 2019 | Podcast

As I said in the podcast, I was watching a Sopranos episode when this got me thinking. Tony, Paulie, and Christopher were in Italy, and when an Italian found out Paulie was an American, he said something to the effect, “Your plane cut our ski lift.” and walked away.

That got me thinking, and then looking around. I remembered this happening while I was in the Marine Corps. A USMC EA-6B Prowler cut a ski lift line in Italy and killed all 20 people on the lift. It was significant because the pilots were found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter and negligent homicide. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/marine-jet-severs-ski-lift-cable-in-italy

Not guilty? No guilt at all for killing 20 people? The pilot,
Captain Richard J. Ashby was flying about 300 feet off the ground. 300 feet was well below the mandated 2000 feet for operating in that area. Also, the pilot, Captain Ashby and navigator, Captain Schweitzer destroyed the video flight recorder.

While they were acquitted of the charges for manslaughter and homicide, they were found guilty of obstruction of justice. The end result being they were kicked out of the Marine Corps.

Captain Ashby argued that equipment failures on the aircraft led to the ski lift being compromised. Suffice to say, the Italian government did not see it the same way. I would say that an experienced pilot knows the difference between 300 and 2000 feet altitude wise.

The fact that the flight video recorder was destroyed leads me to believe that there was some measure of guilt. I don’t know, and I can’t really understand how these pilots were found to be not guilty. I am sure the families involved still have a difficult time answering that question. OMR sends

Upcoming Events in Massachusetts

South Shore Veterans Assistance

Meat Raffle – March 30th 7 PM Whitman, MA VFW – Go to https://www.facebook.com/SouthShoreVeteransAssistance/

Wild Hearts Horses for Heroes

Benefit Dinner & Silent Auction – East Bridgewater Commercial Club 6 – 10 PM. http://www.wildheartstherapeutic .org/

Project New Hope

Veterans Wellness Retreat – May 17 – 19 – Grotonwood Camp and Conference Center – https://www.projectnewhopema.org/

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134 – Bill Moore – Project New Hope

by Travis Partington | Feb 8, 2019 | Podcast

LiveCast at Project New Hope

Bill reached out to me on Facebook Messenger about coming on Oscar Mike Radio. He asked me if I would come out and talk to him at his headquarters in Worcester, MA. I headed up on cold morning in February and found the office pretty easily.

I met Bill and said introduced myself. The first thing that stood out were all the coats and toys in his office. He explained that they were a donation from UNUM Insurance Company https://www.unum.com/ and would be given to children of Veterans in need.

Bill got a laugh out of me with some good natured ribbing about me being a Marine. I had learned about Bill’s Air Force Career and gained a massive amount of respect for what he did when he served.

We moved the conversation to how Bill got Project New Hope off the ground. There is this desire that Bill has to serve and be of service. Meeting the other volunteers who popped in and out to work the mission was one of the highlights of the day.

There is also a Project New Hope Office in Westfield, MA. By car is it 60 miles one way to Westfield. That is a lot of ground to cover for any non profit organization. Bill and his team are committed to Veterans and I was glad to make the trip to meet everyone. A big shout out to BOSE for supplying headphones to troops. Thanks for my pair Bill, they sounded great!

Project New Hope – Retreat

Bill talked about this upcoming retreat in March. This is an Alcohol and Drug Recovery Retreat designed to help Veterans struggling with addiction. Go to – https://www.projectnewhopema.org/retreat/alcohol-and-drug-recovery-retreat/ to find out more and register.