Claymont native awarded for heroism in Afghanistan

For fearless maneuvers that enabled the rescue of 91 Italian and Afghan special forces, helicopter pilot, gunner and Claymont native Donald K. Procter has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, a medal that recognizes “exceptional heroism.”

Procter, 47, flies the AH-64D Apache attack helicopter. Now deployed in Afghanistan, Procter is stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and has served multiple deployments in Iraq, Korea, and Afghanistan. In more than two decades of service, Procter has served with the Delaware Army National Guard, U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force.

The official Army report says Procter was providing air support for special forces during a combat assault and search and seizure operation in Kharaba-I-Khwaja Mu, Afghanistan, on Oct. 2, 2010. After 3 ½ hours and two suppressive battles, with escalating fire from enemy forces, Procter handed the battle over to another attack team. But after his departure, the special forces started taking on enemy fire from every direction. An emergency rescue was requested, but it would be no easy task.

The pinned-down troops were at the bottom of a 2,500-foot river canyon, surrounded by mountains and only about a mile wide.

Procter heard a call that an Apache helicopter had been hit by small-arms fire, and when he was directed to return to the area he did so immediately. After arriving, his wingman was forced to leave to refuel. Procter stayed on to provide security for five aircraft arriving to airlift the troops out of the canyon. He saw that they were taking small-arms fire from just 450 feet away, and “with disregard to his own safety,” the Army report says, Procter unleashed his 2.75-inch rockets and 30mm guns, silencing the enemy fire and allowing the airlift to unfold.

“As a result of his actions, all 91 ground force soldiers were successfully extracted while only sustaining four wounded,” the Army narrative says. “CW3 Procter’s professional ability and heroic actions were above and beyond the call of duty and ensured the survival of numerous friendly forces.”

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Undercover and Overhead: Soldier/Police Officer Serves in Two Jobs

DECATUR, IL (04/01/2011)(readMedia)-- Lt. Col. Randy Sikowski of Decatur was a shadow on the tough streets - blending into the grit, the dirt, the scum - of drug dealers and gangs. He was immersed in the underworld of crack cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, Special K, and meth.

"Working undercover is a difficult job," Sikowski said. "You are always at the beckon call of criminals who maintain no normal schedules and who possess no moral character."

As an Illinois National Guard Soldier, Sikowski would trade in the street clothes of his job as an undercover narcotics sergeant with the Decatur Police Department to don the flight suit of a Blackhawk pilot in the 1st Battalion, 106th Aviation Regiment. His service included a tour in Iraq.

The company he keeps with the Illinois National Guard is far better than on the city streets.

"My fondest memories in Iraq are of serving with the professional Soldiers of the National Guard," said Sikowski, who is now on leave from the Decatur police to serve as the Illinois Army Guard's full-time State Aviation Officer and Commander of the 1-106th in Peoria. The performance of National Guard aviators was unparalleled in theater, he said.

Sikowski has been serving in the Army National Guard for 26 years. He enlisted with the Minnesota Army National Guard, before moving to Illinois and transferring to the Illinois Army National Guard in 1988. He has been an officer with the Decatur Police Department for 22 years while serving in the military. He worked his way through the department eventually becoming an undercover narcotics sergeant. He was in charge of a 12-man multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force.

Sikowski said it would take months, sometimes years, to watch cases come full circle. The objective was to build a strong case that would hold up in court. Although associating with the dregs of society was tough, undercover work had its rewards.

"I was able to see the effects of illegal drugs on both individuals and society as a whole," Sikowski said. "To be capable of enforcing the drug laws and actually putting people in jail who preyed upon society as drug dealers was very rewarding."

As an Army aviator, Sikowski has been part of several different missions. He was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in January 2004. He was the training and operations officer of Task Force Eagle which consisted of approximately 500 Soldiers and 44 aircraft. He planned all movements and deployments of the task force. Sikowski was also responsible for mobilization preparation for the Soldiers in the task force.

Sikowski has also been part of several two-week missions to different countries during his time in a military uniform. Some memorable missions include Honduras, Iceland and El Salvador. He has also responded in relief of many recent hurricanes and other natural events.

"During the floods we were able to rescue people and get them to safety," Sikowski said. "During the hurricanes, we were able to transport people out of the path of destruction. During the oil spill, we were able to transport sand bags to protected areas to keep the oil from destroying wetlands. During the war, we provided much needed air transportation to both combat forces actively seeking the enemy, and support forces that needed to safely traverse the battle space."

In some ways, Sikowski's jobs as a police officer and Army aviator aren't all that different. Both focus on protecting people. And, as the Illinois Guard's State Aviation Officer, Sikowski oversees Detachment 1 of C Co., 1st Battalion, 376th Aviation Battalion, which works with law enforcement on counterdrug operations.

With his two different careers, Sikowski has had one mission: serving others. He is scheduled to deploy again with approximately 350 Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 106th Aviation Regiment, in support of Operation New Dawn, formerly Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2012.

"I am excited about the next deployment," Sikowski said. "Illinois aviation is a strong professional community with some of the best aviators in the country."

Photo by Staff Sgt. Kassidy Snyder, Illinois National Guard Public Affairs/ Lt. Col. Randy Sikowski, a member of the Illinois Army National Guard, has spend more than two decades in civilian law enforcement. His careers in the military and civilian law enforcement have been dedicated to serving the citizens of Illinois

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Gulfstream G650 aircraft crashes

Gulfstream Aerospace, located in Savannah, Ga., has confirmed the crash of a Gulfstream G650 flight test aircraft at Roswell International Air Center, N.M., Saturday morning, April 2. Four lives were lost in the accident. The following statement was released by the company early Saturday evening:

“Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. confirmed today that a Gulfstream G650 crashed Saturday morning during takeoff-performance tests in Roswell, N.M. Two Gulfstream pilots and two Gulfstream flight-test engineers died in the crash. ‘Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those who were lost,’ said Joe Lombardo, president, Gulfstream Aerospace. The accident is under investigation by Gulfstream, the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. ‘We are cooperating 100 percent with the investigation,’ Lombardo said.”

FAA Southwest Region spokesman Lynn Lunsford of the told AOPA Pilot that the aircraft, N652GD, had just taken off when the right wing hit the ground. The aircraft crashed back to the runway, collapsing the gear. “The aircraft skidded for quite some distance,” Lunsford said. “It came to rest 35 to 40 feet from the tower.” Lunsford said the aircraft had been in the pattern for at least two hours. It was his understanding that the aircraft was conducting brake testing.

There are records of recent flights for the aircraft on FlightAware.

The new G650 is billed as the company’s “ultra large cabin, ultra high speed” model. It can carry a crew of four and eight passengers on a nonstop, 7,000-nautical-mile flight, according to the company’s website. It can cruise at Mach 0.85 on longer trips, or cover shorter distances at Mach 0.925. Rolls Royce BR725 engines rated at 16,100 pounds of thrust at takeoff power the aircraft.

The aircraft that crashed was one of the G650 models used for certification testing. One of the four test aircraft flew at near the speed of sound last year.

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Two injured as small plane makes forced landing on Weston Canal Road in Franklin

A single-engine airplane made a forced landing on Weston Canal Road in Franklin just before 1 p.m. Saturday, and the two people on board were hospitalized with injuries, police said.

The plane, which damaged utility lines, caused power outages and diverted traffic for hours, came to rest across Weston Canal Road near School House Road.

The tail of the plane partly cracked off the fuselage. Joel Kipman, chief of the Elizabeth Avenue Fire Company, said the first firefighters on the scene extinguished a small fire in the plane.

Both occupants were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick with "nonlife-threatening injuries," Franklin police Lt. Kenneth Williams confirmed.

Officials were investigating late Saturday afternoon what caused the forced landing, and were trying to determine where the plane took off and where it intended to land, said Jim Peters, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in New York. It was a clear day with unrestricted visibility, Peters said.

The plane, a 1979 Piper PA-38 Tomahawk, a singe-engine, front-propeller airplane, is registered to a New York City man named Thomas K. Dempsey. Officials did not identify the people on the plane, or say whether Dempsey was on board.

Township resident Mark Tomlin was in a field adjacent to the accident site when the plane landed. He did not hear a plane engine and assumed a big truck with a heavy load crashed at the intersection, he said.

"I didn't hear a thing until "Bang,' " Tomlin said.

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Undercover and Overhead: Soldier/Police Officer Serves in Two Jobs

DECATUR, IL (04/01/2011)(readMedia)-- Lt. Col. Randy Sikowski of Decatur was a shadow on the tough streets - blending into the grit, the dirt, the scum - of drug dealers and gangs. He was immersed in the underworld of crack cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, Special K, and meth.

"Working undercover is a difficult job," Sikowski said. "You are always at the beckon call of criminals who maintain no normal schedules and who possess no moral character."

As an Illinois National Guard Soldier, Sikowski would trade in the street clothes of his job as an undercover narcotics sergeant with the Decatur Police Department to don the flight suit of a Blackhawk pilot in the 1st Battalion, 106th Aviation Regiment. His service included a tour in Iraq.

The company he keeps with the Illinois National Guard is far better than on the city streets.

"My fondest memories in Iraq are of serving with the professional Soldiers of the National Guard," said Sikowski, who is now on leave from the Decatur police to serve as the Illinois Army Guard's full-time State Aviation Officer and Commander of the 1-106th in Peoria. The performance of National Guard aviators was unparalleled in theater, he said.

Sikowski has been serving in the Army National Guard for 26 years. He enlisted with the Minnesota Army National Guard, before moving to Illinois and transferring to the Illinois Army National Guard in 1988. He has been an officer with the Decatur Police Department for 22 years while serving in the military. He worked his way through the department eventually becoming an undercover narcotics sergeant. He was in charge of a 12-man multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force.

Sikowski said it would take months, sometimes years, to watch cases come full circle. The objective was to build a strong case that would hold up in court. Although associating with the dregs of society was tough, undercover work had its rewards.

"I was able to see the effects of illegal drugs on both individuals and society as a whole," Sikowski said. "To be capable of enforcing the drug laws and actually putting people in jail who preyed upon society as drug dealers was very rewarding."

As an Army aviator, Sikowski has been part of several different missions. He was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in January 2004. He was the training and operations officer of Task Force Eagle which consisted of approximately 500 Soldiers and 44 aircraft. He planned all movements and deployments of the task force. Sikowski was also responsible for mobilization preparation for the Soldiers in the task force.

Sikowski has also been part of several two-week missions to different countries during his time in a military uniform. Some memorable missions include Honduras, Iceland and El Salvador. He has also responded in relief of many recent hurricanes and other natural events.

"During the floods we were able to rescue people and get them to safety," Sikowski said. "During the hurricanes, we were able to transport people out of the path of destruction. During the oil spill, we were able to transport sand bags to protected areas to keep the oil from destroying wetlands. During the war, we provided much needed air transportation to both combat forces actively seeking the enemy, and support forces that needed to safely traverse the battle space."

In some ways, Sikowski's jobs as a police officer and Army aviator aren't all that different. Both focus on protecting people. And, as the Illinois Guard's State Aviation Officer, Sikowski oversees Detachment 1 of C Co., 1st Battalion, 376th Aviation Battalion, which works with law enforcement on counterdrug operations.

With his two different careers, Sikowski has had one mission: serving others. He is scheduled to deploy again with approximately 350 Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 106th Aviation Regiment, in support of Operation New Dawn, formerly Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2012.

"I am excited about the next deployment," Sikowski said. "Illinois aviation is a strong professional community with some of the best aviators in the country."

Photo by Staff Sgt. Kassidy Snyder, Illinois National Guard Public Affairs/ Lt. Col. Randy Sikowski, a member of the Illinois Army National Guard, has spend more than two decades in civilian law enforcement. His careers in the military and civilian law enforcement have been dedicated to serving the citizens of Illinois

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Nitt Links wishes this was some cruel April Fools Joke

Boy when it comes to the offseason, no news outside of the recruiting front is often good news.

Remember early last month when State College police asked for help identifying a couple students involved in a simple-assault and criminal-mischief incident that happened at 6:05 p.m. on State Patty’s Day at the Cedarbrook apartment building, 320 E. Beaver Ave? Well it wasn’t too hard to tell from the surveillance photos that several of the suspects in question were players on the basketball and football teams. And if we could identify them through grainy surveillance camera photographs, it wouldn’t be long before the State College police could put 2 and 2 together.

Well an entire month later, the SC police finally concluded what some have figured out immediately after the pictures were released.

    State College police Lt. Keith Robb said Wednesday they were among seven suspects charged with the summary offense following the Feb. 26 fight that left one person with minor injuries.

    Police identified four of those charged as Curtis Drake and Derrick Thomas, both 20; and Tre Bowman and Taran Buie, both 19. Drake and Thomas play football, while Bowman plays basketball.

Although summary offense is incredibly minor, the players presence in this entire snafu represents yet another blunder in their judgement. This would be Derrick Thomas’ second offense having been involved in a marijuana possession incident that put him in  Joe Paterno’s doghouse for much of the year. Curtis Drake and Taran Buie are also repeat offenders both having had run-ins with the law since last year. Considering Buie’s multiple run-ins with State College police, it’s not hard to determine how Buie found himself suspended from the basketball team originally for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

As mentioned before summary offense is extremely minor. They aren’t considered criminal convictions unless jail time is served. Violations like underage drinking, open container, obstruction of the highway and even giving a pig away as a lottery prize are all summary offenses in Pennsylvania. Summaries are often punishable by a fine, but in the extreme summary offenders can receive up to 90 days in jail. More often than not though, these players will be able to expunge the violation from their records by arranging to do some community service or taking a class in alcoholism, for example especially if they have had a clean record prior to this citation.

But though Curtis Drake and Derrick Thomas might face a slap on the wrist from the law, they will assuredly be deep in Joe Paterno’s patented doghouse. Buie has long considered a transfer out of Penn State following his year long suspension from the basketball team last season, but it’ll be interesting to see how Ed DeChellis handles Tre Bowman.

This next one might be considered a little more severe if the accusations turn out to be true. And please keep in mind that while the accusations have been made, there has been no verdict rendered nor has a criminal trial taken place.

Penn State’s legendary defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky is being investigated for accusations of indecent assault against a teenage boy. A grand jury has been hearing testimony for the past 18 months connected to a 15-year old’s allegations that Sandusky inappropriately touched a teenage boy multiple times over a four year period. The grand jury hearing is used by courts and prosecutors to determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence for a criminal charge. This is a disturbing accusation that follows a similar accusation made by another boy against Sandusky back in 1998.

Penn State’s head coach Joe Paterno, athletic director Tim Curley, retired university Vice President and Treasurer Gary Schultz were among those who appeared before the grand jury in January over the case.

    Last fall, Sandusky announced that he was retiring from day-to-day involvement in the charity [The Second Mile] to spend more time with family and handle personal matters.

    Since then, rumors of misconduct by Sandusky have lit up Internet comment threads and message boards that are normally havens for Penn State football fan chatter.

Being a key figure in The Second Mile, Sandusky is exposed to and involved with over 10,000 Pennsylvanian youths a year through summer and year round camps programs. Even as we speak following 18 months of a grand jury hearing, the Attorney General’s office has still not determined whether Sandusky has done anything inappropriate. Though I refuse to speculate over the details of the case until a trial is concluded, Mike has a nice breakdown of the possible legal ramifications for Penn State and Jerry Sandusky himself.

Sandusky has also released a statement through his lawyer concerning the matter:

    While Jerry has been aware of an ongoing investigation by the Attorney General’s Office for many months dating back to 2009, he has steadfastly maintained his innocence throughout this ordeal.

    In his many years of service as a football coach and in his almost daily involvement since 1977 with The Second Mile, which helps thousands of kids at risk each year, Jerry has dedicated his life to helping young people develop into solid, community-oriented, and successful young adults.

    Should the allegations as set forth in today’s newspaper article eventually lead to the institution of criminal charges against Jerry, Jerry fully intends to establish his innocence and put these false allegations to rest forever.

The man is innocent until proven guilty. And given that The Second Mile was founded by Sandusky way back in 1977, 34 years with close to 10,000 youths in a given year is alot of exposure to children. Though these are tough allegations, I can only hope the man that has successfully run The Second Mile for 33 years will be exonerated from these accusations.

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West Michigan sports links: A stripper pole dance at the Griffins, lottery controversy at MSU

• A woman was caught on video gyrating a la stripper style at a Griffins game, and apparently the security guards weren't impressed. [via Deadspin]

• The Michigan Lottery Commission has suspended the Downtown Coaches Club, an MSU football booster club, after improprieties with a 50-50 raffle at games. Michigan State University athletic director Mark Hollis said MSU will alter its relationship with the club and perhaps keep all fund-raising responsibility within MSU. [via the Lansing State Journal]

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