Investigator interviews 186th members
By By Buddy Bynum / editor
May 7, 2003
A Florida Air Guard officer returned home Tuesday after five days in Meridian probing allegations of misconduct at the Mississippi National Guard's Key Field-based 186th Air Refueling Wing.
Col. Ken Emmanuel arrived in Meridian last Friday to "conduct interviews about allegations against individuals and past activities that occurred in the 1990s at the 186th Air Refueling Wing," according to Mississippi National Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Tim Powell.
Emmanuel, a staff judge advocate with the Florida Air Guard, was appointed by Maj. Gen. James Lipscomb, commander of the Mississippi National Guard, to investigate allegations raised by former 186th officer Jody Bryant and others. Allegations substantiated by a separate U.S. Air Force Inspector General's investigation completed in January included racial bigotry, fraud, favoritism and illegal operation of an on-base liquor store.
Sources close to the unit said most of Emmanuel's interviews during his Meridian trip took place away from the 186th's Key Field headquarters and included current and former 186th members based on a witness list prepared for him. He also met with Lipscomb on Tuesday.
Two former top 186th officers Col. David Weaver and Col. Tommy Temple have lost their National Guard jobs over the activities and the investigation is "on-going," Powell said, noting "it would be inappropriate to discuss the allegations or the individuals involved at this time."
Powell said when Lipscomb was made aware of the allegations that occurred prior to 1999, "he turned them over to the Air Force IG for investigation. He also requested out-of-state assistance with the follow-on investigation of additional allegations."
No further disciplinary actions have been taken at the 186th, Powell said, as Lipscomb awaits Emmanuel's findings to determine what additional actions are appropriate.
According to information provided by Powell, the 186th ARW has 350 full-time employees and a total population of 1,100 full-time and traditional guardsmen.
Its payroll in 2002 was more than $45.1 million and more than $1.1 million in military construction projects were under way at the Key Field base.
The 186th ARW's basic mission is to provide air-to-air refueling support to operational missions of the U.S. Air Force and to tactical, strategic and airlift aircraft. The 186th operates nine KC-135 aircraft.
Since September 11, 2001, members of the 186th have served in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, France, Spain, Germany, Tajikistan, Diego Garcia, Greece, Bahrain, Pakistan, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan. Previous deployment locations include Iceland, Turkey and Istres, France.
Twenty-three members of the 186th returned safely home on April 26 after completing their combat support mission in the war in Iraq. The rest of the local contingent is scheduled to return when their
overseas missions are completed, Powell said.
