I spoke to my sister in Santa Fe yesterday and she told me that her neighbor has a brother who is an Army helicopter pilot in Afganistan.  She was informed that he was killed in action on Monday.  No word was ever mentioned in the media about this and now just yesterday the Army is claiming the death of the *first* US casualty, a totally different guy.  I was also unaware that helicopters were flying in Afganstan at this time.  Why would the death of this pilot be covered up?  

R U sure your source is correct?  Disinformation, I would think.  

This is bull.  As soon as a helicopter is shot down you can be sure that the taliban will make a huge stink about how powerful they are.  There will be no way to coverup the arabic media frenzy.  I hope someone beats your sister's neighbor's brother or whoever starts rumors like this.

Edit:  Also, why would the military inform your sister's neighbor of her brother's death if they wanted to cover it up?  Some people need to get some sense into their heads.

SPECOPS maybe? Secret hush-hush, behind-the-back-blindfolded-handshake plus keyword kinda stuff. Just a thought.

Yup... if the Taliban knocked one of our birds down we would see pictures all over the world media.  Remember Somalia?  It's possible we could clamp down on the US media but it's not likely we could persuade media outlets world-wide to help in this cover-up.  Ahh, the beauty of the Internet.

Also, to say he was "killed in action" implies he died while operating in a combat environment... not accidental.  

Now, if he was a pilot for the Special Forces and he was on a covert op there might be some truth to it... but highly unlikely.

Well, it isn't "bull".  The woman who's brother was killed is a good friend of my sister's.  And in fact the Taliban HAVE been reporting here and there about shooting down our planes, to which the Defence Dept. has been denying all allegations.  I don't think it would be "all over the media" because there aren't too many cameras in the country, as you can tell by what shows up on the news.  I can't say what the motives are for this "cover up" just stating that is has happened.

No it didn't.  The taliban have claimed to have shot down one of those unmanned things, to which the DoD simply said "it was shot down but we don't know by whom".  That's it.  That's the only thing the taliban have claimed.  When they claim they have shot down a helicopter we will hear about it, and we will see it.  How do you think we heard about the unmanned plane they shot down?  The taliban obviously have sources outside afghanistan through which to spread all of their "great victories".  As someone else pointed out, is your sister's neighbor's brother a special ops soldier?  That's the only way he'd have been at risk.  Just admit that you've been lied to.  Use logical reasoning and it is clear that your accusations must be baseless.  Gun owners are stereotyped as unthinking, don't lend credence to that.

Edit:  Sorry if this sounded harsh...I've gotten so many e-mails from people that have turned out to be completely false since 9/11 that I just assume everything is a lie until proven otherwise....  But I don't see how this could have happened.  The army doesn't cover up things by telling the families of the deceased that their loved ones have died....  Nor would the taliban refuse the temptation of showing pictures of the crash site all over the world.

I certainly hope that NONE of our boys or girls get killed over there but I also hope that the military KEEPS OUT EVERY SINGLE JOURNALIST, VIDEO CAMERA AND STILL FRAME CAMERA until this operation is finished.

Where was it, Somolia, where the press was waiting on the shore when the seals landed?  I don't know how they (Seals) managed to keep themselves from at least destroying every single camera in sight that day.  The medis needs to be kept at a specific distance for an operation like this.  This isn't any beachhead fight boys and girls.

Be safe.

CMOS

I do recall reports of "airplanes" too.  I don't recall any reports of "helicopters".  The Defense Dept. hasn't denied everything though, they have admitted that drones (which are used often for recon) have been downed.

I can assure you the Taliban have plenty of cameras.  Our media isn't allowed in the country like they were in Iraq that's why the perception there isn't any cameras present.  If the Taliban wanted to make pictures available of wreckage, they would.

I'm not saying your sisters friend is lying, but there just seems to be a couple of unanswered questions.  If it's a cover-up, it's a poorly executed one.  All your sisters friend needs to do is contact the media and inform them.

Also, I don't believe they make a phone call to inform the family that a serviceman has been killed.  They dispatch someone from that branch of service and they are sometimes accompanied by local law enforcement.  There would be written record in her hands that he is dead and the cause of death... which seems to state that he was killed in action.

Again, poor cover-up if this is the case.  It's more likely the media screwed up perhaps... who knows.

One sure way to confirm this- what was the guy's name and what is his unit? If you can get this info from the neighbor or sister, at least his full name, then the info could be credible. If not forthcoming, moderators, bin this thread, please. I can see where it's heading.

On the subject of cover ups...
 While working FORSCOM's EOC in the mid 90's I was privy to alot of info that never made it public. For instance:
 Military aircraft going down and killing the whole crew (multiple incidences), soldiers going apeshit and killing their entire families, Rangers & SF members being killed on spec ops, Military chemical emergency's etc.
 Believe me, the DOD can cover things up...and does every day. I love my country but I don't trust my governement.

     -Rangers lead the way

yeh, they are going cover it up, but then tell the sister.  Think about it.

thumbhole, so you have third hand info that you believe 100%??  Come on man...your smarter than that....I hope.

Sgtar15
[img]http://www.tartarus.net/images/dino/dragon.gif[/img]

There are units of the Army that don’t exist on paper – Delta is one of them. When a member of one of these units is KIA, a cover story is prepared, and the unfortunate soldier is reported as having died in a training accident. This is done to protect the unit, and unfortunately the valor of the deceased is never known beyond the immediate circle of his peers.

The truth is so precious(?) in war-time that she must always go about with a bodyguard of lies--Winston Churchill

The government does not *have* to tell the truth, even in peacetime.  I don't think anyone is even in a position to make the gov. tell the truth.

Since you can't do anything (useful) about this, let it go for now.

[size=4][b]Truth is the first casualty of war![/b][/size=4]
Well, that's what 'they' say, anyway. I wouldn't believe a whole lot of what is being said right now, I hope we're being lied to up to a point.

I'm just sick and tired of the media asking 'When will the next strike be, and from what direction and at what time?'

It reminds me of the question that was asked about reporters' actions if they were with an enemy troop contingent that had set up an ambush for American soldiers - would you alert the Americans or not?  The answer was depressingly unanimous - no!

So long Ernie Pyle, a reporter who died in combat in the South Pacific in 1945! Just like a lot of his buddies, who happened to be American soldiers!

Eric The(AfterTheFederalJudges,TheFourthEstate-'ToTheWall!')Hun[>]:)]