Alert Issued for 17 Afghan Military Members AWOL From U.S. Air Force Base

[TheSarge]

A nationwide alert has been issued for 17 members of the Afghan military who have gone AWOL from a Texas Air Force base where foreign military officers who are training to become pilots are taught English, FoxNews.com has learned.  

The Afghan officers and enlisted men have security badges that give them access to secure U.S. defense installations, according to the lookout bulletin, "Afghan Military Deserters in CONUS [Continental U.S.]," issued by Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Dallas, and obtained by FoxNews.com.

The Afghans were attending the Defense Language Institute at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. The DLI program teaches English to military pilot candidates and other air force prospects from foreign countries allied with the U.S.

"I can confirm that 17 have gone missing from the Defense Language Institute," said Gary Emery, Chief of Public Affairs, 37th Training Wing, at Lackland AFB. "They disappeared over the course of the last two years, and none in the last three months."

Each Afghan was issued a Department of Defense Common Access Card, an identification card used to gain access to secure military installations, with which they "could attempt to enter DOD installations," according to the bulletin. Base security officers were encouraged to disseminate the bulletin to their personnel.

"The visas issued to these personnel have been revoked, or are in the process of being revoked. Lookouts have been placed in TECS," it reads.

Treasury Enforcement Communications System (TECS), which is shared by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is a computer-based database used to identify people suspected of violating federal law.

Included in the bulletin are photos of the 17 men, accompanied by their dates of birth and their TECS Lookout numbers.  

The bulletin requests, "If any Afghan pictured herein is encountered, detain the subject and contact your local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office, the FBI or NCIS."

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/17/afghan-military-deserters-missing-air-force-base/

[formerlurker]

"I can confirm that 17 have gone missing from the Defense Language Institute," said Gary Emery, Chief of Public Affairs, 37th Training Wing, at Lackland AFB. "They disappeared over the course of the last two years, and none in the last three months."

Last two years?? 

[TheSarge]

Last two years?? 

Yeah that kinda jumped out at me too.

[rich_t]

And now it is headline news?

[BlueStateSaint]

And now it is headline news?

Blame Bush!

[IassaFTots]

Last two years?? 

WTF?  I am rendered speechless.   

[JohnnyReb]

"The visas issued to these personnel have been revoked, or are in the process of being revoked. Lookouts have been placed in TECS," it reads.

Been gone 3 months or more and they're just getting around to revoking them.

YES! I want these idiots deciding my healthcare.

Doctor: "Mr JohnnyReb you have cancer. Without treament you have less than 6 months to live."

JohnnyReb: "How long will it take to get my Obamacare treatment approved?"

Doctor: "If we're lucky......I'd say it shouldn't take more than a year.....or two."

[Eupher]

Lots of DOD spin in this one:

The official further said that an unspecified number of the 17 have been caught. "A number of these guys have already been located or accounted for by now," the official said. "Some are in removal proceedings to be deported already. (Authorities) still need to locate the others, and that is why the bulletin went out."

The official said the information is "kind of old" -- up to two years -- but added, "It is important in the sense that some people look to come to the U.S. and will take advantage of invitations to train or attend a conference or to study, etc. But their real intention is to get to the U.S. and start a new life. It is not completely rare for this to happen....

...snip...

"When a DLI student goes missing," Emery said, "officials report the incident to the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as the sponsoring service branch. Invitational Travel Orders, passports, driver licenses, and airline tickets are revoked in order to hamper travel opportunities for the missing students."

If there's any doubt about any of these people, why do we continue to bring them to this country so they can jump ship?

If they want to come here and study, has anybody ever heard of jail cells in which to house these people? You know, just so they can watch al Jazeera and stay on top of things? Hell, I'm sure we can provide the sat link for TV. When they're done watching the latest Terrorism and You episode (narrated by OBL, of course), they can then tune in to American Idol and throw excrement at the TV screen, symbolizing the agony their brothers are undergoing down in Gitmo.[/sarcasm]

[cavegal]

OH how NOT safe I feel!!

[thundley4]

EXCLUSIVE: AWOL Afghans Found ... on Facebook

At least 11 of the 17 members of the Afghan military who went AWOL from an Air Force base in Texas and are considered deserters by their nation have turned up in the exact place you'd expect to find them in the year 2010.

They're on Facebook.

And, by the look of things, they're not unlike millions of other young men on the social networking site. One proclaims to be a fan of Paris Hilton and is a member of a group named “FREE Webcam Sex with ME!” Another is a fan of hip hop music, Michael Jackson, the tearjerker movie The Notebook, Family Guy and Sports Center. Another is a fan of soccer and the Godfather.

But others have friends whose motives may be much more sinister. Some belong to the “Afghanistan Mujahideen” group, a page that features, among other content, videos from the American-born Al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn, a.k.a. Azzam the American.

According to a nationwide be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) bulletin that was sent by the North Texas Joint Terrorism Task force to law enforcement agencies across the country last week, the 17 Afghan deserters walked away from the Defense Language Institute at Lackland Air Force Base, where they had been studying English. The men have military identification that would give them access to secure U.S. military installations, the bulletin read. The existence of the BOLO alert was revealed exclusively by FoxNews.com.

Fox News

[Thor]

Too bad that they're not "Wanted, DEAD or Alive"........

[IassaFTots]

Too bad that they're not "Wanted, DEAD or Alive"........

...........and there sir, is my earworm for the day.

[Chris_]

Number of Afghans Gone AWOL in U.S. Reaches 46

A be-on-the-lookout alert issued last month for 17 Afghan military men who walked away from an Air Force base in Texas has turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg. No fewer than 46 members of the Afghan military have gone absent without leave from the Defense Language Institute’s English Language Center at Lackland Air Force Base in recent years, FoxNews.com has learned.

Military and law enforcement officials say it’s not uncommon for foreign military personnel who come to the U.S. for training to get lured in by hopes of a better life. But the number of AWOL Afghans has become a growing problem.

Last year alone, 21 Afghan military students disappeared from DLI — a much higher rate than students from other countries who attend the school. Two of the men went AWOL weeks after graduating from the program; the others vanished before completing it.

[IassaFTots]

Oh well.  Hells Bells!   

[Eupher]

You'd think DOD would have a clue.

They're trying to parse it by saying "put it in perspective", meaning that it's acceptable for a certain percentage of foreign military students to just wander off.