The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "U.S. Air Force" ...
-
CSAR-X: Rescue Chopper Requirements Sacrificed for Schedule and Rivalries
The U.S. Air Force violated its own procedures and guidelines to pick a new helicopter for its combat, search and rescue (CSAR-X) fleet. The Air Force chose an aircraft that did not meet the rescuer's requirements because it was settling old rivalries and arbitrary deadlines.
Tags: special operations command; army; armed forces; government accountability office; Pentagon Inspector General;
-
Suspect Soldiers
The series identified hundreds of military recurited or retained during the Iraq war with criminal records and other questionable backgrounds. At least 70 were linked to incidents in the military, most involving crimes against civilians or other misconduct in Iraq. Some of the incidents had been well-publicized, although the backgrounds of accused personnel had not previously been disclosed, and others incidents were made public for the first time through never-before released records obtained by The Bee.
Tags: Iraq; soldiers; misconduct; civilian incidents in Iraq; soldiers with criminal backgrounds; U.S. Navy; U.S. Army; U.S. Air Force
-
Under the Radar: U.S. Aire Force purchase of air defense shields against terrorist attacks raises questions
"The Pentagon charged the US Air Force Electronic Systems Command, or ESC, with the task of developing a radar system that would marry NORAD and FAA radars together in a manner meant to prevent terrorists from using hijacked jets for 9/11-like attacks. Under the guise of such work, ESC instead used the panic of the 9/11 charter to fund another project that the Air Force and Pentagon had rebuffed years earlier as being too expensive: the funding of a mobile air defense system."
Tags: air force; defense; military; federal government; FOIA; government spending
-
Brian Ross Investigates: Conduct Unbecoming
"In a year-long series of stories for World News and Nightline, ABC News' chief investigative correspondent and his team reported on a pattern of unbecoming and unethical behavior in offficial Washington that culminated in the revelation's of Congreeman Mark Foley's sexually-explicit internet messages with high school students who served as Congressional pages." Stories in the series also examine some of the consequences from the lack of an ethics code for the Supreme Court and a probe of unethical behavior of a retired U.S. General.
Tags: broadcast; financial disclosure forms; lobbyist Jack Abramoff; Congressman Tom Delay; Congressman Mark Foley; instant messaging; Congressional Pages; House Ethics Committee; Kyle "Dusty" Foggo; CIA; Air Force; Department of Defense Inspector General's Office; Federal Election Commission; Political Money Line; Federalist Sociey; legal ethics; Supreme Court; Congress; Pentagon; influence peddling; FBI; IRS; Brent Wilkes; Taxpayers for Common Sense; Keith Ashdown; Porter Goss; Thunderbirds; General T. Michael Mosely; Senator Tom Coburn; General Hal Hornburg; Project on Government Oversight; Danielle Brian; U.S. Trademark Office; General John Jumper; Blue Angels; midterm elections; access; Campaign Legal Center; Gerry Hebert; pay to play; House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children; sexually explicit messages; sexual exploitation; graphic language; solicitation; Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert; Internet sex; FBI investigation; Congressman Tom Reynolds
-
Religious Intolerance in the U.S. Air Force Academy
This story exposed incidents of religious bullying and an atmosphere of religious intolerance at the U.S. Air Force Academy. It includes the first television interview with Melinda Morton, the Air Force Academy Chaplain who blew the whistle about religious bigotry at the academy. Morton's charges spawned a Pentagon task force and generated interest from Congress. The academy's superintendent retired early after the charges became public.
Tags: religion; evangelical Christian; Air Force Academy; discrimination; Air Force
-
Anthrax
This special report and series of follow-ups investigates allegations made by a former Air Force commander that says the U.S. Government tested an experimental anthrax vaccine on Air Force personnel. Many of these people contracted illnesses not typical for their age brackets and claim the tainted vaccine made them sick. Personnel were not informed of the dangers of the vaccine and were often demoted or discharged if they refused to be vaccinated.
Tags: anthrax; military; medical testing; guinea pigs; vaccine; Air Force; Dover Air Force Base; Pentagon
-
"Under the Radar" and "Stormy Weather"
These stories revealed crucial information undermining the U.S. Air Force's controversial plan to lease 100 air refueling tankers from Boeing-a deal, which, if completed, would have cost U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars more than if traditional purchasing were used. "Under the Radar" deals with documents showing how Boeing pushed a plane that even some military officials doubted was right for the job. It also revealed how the Air Force relied on Boeing to shape the basic performance requirements for the tanker and let the company devise the financial structure of the costly, unusual lease agreement. "Stormy Weather" discloses a perverse effect of the derailing of the lease proposal.
Tags: U.S. Air Force; air refueling tankers; Boeing; taxpayers; Air Force officials; Congress; White House; Pentagon; White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card; endorsement; tanker planes; Lockheed C-5 transport; Lockheed C-17 transport; Continental Airlines; lobbying campaign; European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co.; Senate Commerce Committee; EADS; Congressional Budget Office; Defense Department; Air Force Air Mobility Command; Fleet Viability Board; General Accounting Office
-
A Colombian village caught in a crossfire
The LA Times investigates a 1998 controversial bombing of a Colombian village, in which 18 people were killed. The report finds that U.S. military help played a role in the tragedy. The story refutes the Colombian military's version that the bombing was actually a premature detonation of a car bomb planted by rebels, and finds the prosecutors' charge -- that a Colombian air force helicopter actually dropped the bomb -- to be more credible. Other findings are that U.S. Customs planes, tracking a plane supposedly filled with drugs, helped initiate the bombing; two American companies provided supplies and help to the Colombian military on the day of the operation; the bombing site was under aerial surveillance of a U.S. Coast Guard officer.
Tags: FOI; FBI; human rights; drug war; military aid; Alien Tort Claims Act
-
Flying high - U.S. Air Force pilots on speed
An ABC investigation reveals that, "in a little known policy, Air Force F-16 combat pilots, currently flying long night missions over Afghanistan, are being kept awake with speed - "go-pills" - amphetamines issued to them by their superior officers." The main findings are that the pilots are told to take the pills or otherwise would be found unfit for the missions; the pills -- Dexedrine -- are highly addictive and banned for use by commercial pilots and truck drivers; the FDA has not approved the drug for treatment of fatigue.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; aviation; pharmaceuticals; wars; drug abuse; FOIA; Department of Defense
-
Broken System/Broken Rules
A Newport News Daily Press investigation revealed that the way the Pentagon buys, builds and refurbishes aircraft carriers invites mismanagement and waste. The newspaper found that "the Navy bypasses federal law, Pentagon policies and the service's own procedures when it buys its carriers or pays for programs to improve the ships. Navy program managers also bypass the Defense Department regulations for developing and testing technology, taking shortcuts to push through vital ship components like computer networks and combat systems. The immediate result -- hundreds of millions of dollars wasted. Long term, the costs will add up to billions of dollars."
Tags: Pentagon; aircraft carriers; mismanagement; waste; U.S. Navy; Air Force; Defense Department; contractors