20 January 2009

Early Bird summary

Tuesday’s Early Bird leads with a story from the New York Times that reports that tribes in Iraq’s Anbar province are jockeying to gain or maintain power, while people complain bitterly that the machinery of democracy is gilding corruption, internal rivalries and an intense feudal instinct that regards elected office — unthinkable under Saddam Hussein — as a chance for a bigger cut of provincial resources and security forces.
A related story from the Associated Press reports that a new election rule allows Iraqis to vote for individuals instead of only political parties for the first time since Saddam's ouster. That has encouraged a number of first-time candidates to join the race, hoping to persuade voters to turn against politicians widely criticized for misrule.The field is crowded. There are 14,431 candidates seeking a total of 444 seats on councils in all but four of Iraq's 18 provinces. The electoral commission says 75 percent of the parties and coalitions are new.
Other noteworthy articles in today’s EB:
§ The Boston Globe reports that Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the lone Cabinet holdover from the Bush to Obama administrations, will be the designated no-show at today's inauguration.Gates will be at an undisclosed location while others in the immediate line of presidential succession - vice president, speaker of the House, president pro tempore of the Senate, secretary of state, and treasury secretary - are at the Capitol for Obama's swearing-in.The safeguard was put in place by President Truman in 1947 to make sure the US government could continue if there is a nuclear attack or other event that killed most top elected officials.
§ USA Today reports that Afghan insurgents have learned to attack U.S. troops and scatter before they can be hit by airstrikes, a change in tactics that creates new pressure on coalition ground forces, say defense officials and military experts.Insurgents "have a pretty good idea of how long it takes for close-air support to arrive," Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said. "We've seen some indications that they will fight for as long as they believe they have until close-air support will likely arrive on the scene."Military records show U.S. aircraft conducted a record number of aerial raids over Afghanistan in 2008 but dropped fewer bombs and missiles than they did in 2007.
§ The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Russia is ready to cooperate with Afghanistan on defense matters, the Afghan president said yesterday. The announcement coincides with increasingly public tensions between Afghan and Western officials, as well as Russia's heightened efforts to assert itself on the international stage. In a letter, Russian President Dmitry A. Medvedev said cooperation on defense issues would "be effective for both countries and also effective for maintaining security in the region," Afghan President Hamid Karzai's office said in a statement.The statement did not say how the two countries would cooperate, but historically they have been at odds. Russian soldiers were part of the Soviet army that occupied Afghanistan throughout the 1980s, before being forced to withdraw in 1989 after years of a U.S.-supported insurgency that drained Soviet resources and contributed to the country's collapse.
§ Washington Times reports that an al Qaeda affiliate in Algeria closed a base earlier this month after an experiment with unconventional weapons went awry, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Monday. The official, who spoke on the condition he not be named because of the sensitive nature of the issue, said he could not confirm press reports that the accident killed at least 40 al Qaeda operatives, but he said the mishap led the militant group to shut down a base in the mountains of Tizi Ouzou province in eastern Algeria. He said authorities in the first week of January intercepted an urgent communication between the leadership of al Qaeda in the Land of the Maghreb (AQIM) and al Qaeda's leadership in the tribal region of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan. The communication suggested that an area sealed to prevent leakage of a biological or chemical substance had been breached, according to the official.
Media summary
Leading newspaper headlines: In a morning rife with sentiment and speculation, the New York Times leads with a long rumination on President-elect Barack Obama's leadership style as understood through his transition, casting him as a cool cucumber not afraid to get others hot under the collar. (Slate Magazine)
More procurement problems for the Marine Corps?: The Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector General (IG) has just released another report raising concerns about Marine Corps procurement. (Defence Pro News [Germany])
Navy to hold scoping on new squadrons’ EIS: The Navy will hold a public meeting Feb. 13 here (Emerald Isle) to conduct public scoping on an environmental impact statement (EIS) for basing 13 new fighter squadrons at two bases, one of which is Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point in Havelock. (Carteret County News-Times [N.C.])
U.S. ‘agrees Afghan supply route’: The US says a new supply path to Afghanistan has been agreed with Central Asian states and Russia as an option to the troubled Pakistan route (BBC)
Iraqis comment on U.S. troop deal: Four Iraqis across the country give their reaction to the agreement their government has reached with the US, to bring American troops under Iraqi authority, off the streets by next year and out of the country by 2011. (BBC)
65 years after Ryan disappeared in a dogfight, Marine fighter pilot buried in Charleston: The last time Charleston native Ryan McCown was seen alive, the Marine aviator was in the middle of a dogfight over the Pacific Ocean with a Japanese Zero on his tail. (The [Charleston, S.C.] Post & Courier)
A sense of duty ends in death: Sergeant Marquis Porter had served two tours of duty with the Marine Corps when he volunteered for a third. (Boston Globe)

Leading newspaper headlines
In a morning rife with sentiment and speculation, the New York Times leads with a long rumination on President-elect Barack Obama's leadership style as understood through his transition, casting him as a cool cucumber not afraid to get others hot under the collar. Michelle gets the same treatment, although focusing on how she might run the administration's domestic side. (Hint: She's delegated choosing the china.) The Washington Post devotes its entire front page to the city's party of the century, leading with a more academic preface to Obama's tenure: The inauguree will enjoy perhaps the most power in presidential history, both by virtue of his personal characteristics and President Bush's legacy of a stronger executive.
USA Today and the Los Angeles Times lead with more straightforward rundowns of questions that Obama will have to consider in his first weeks in office, focusing on security and foreign policy—more details inside the Post—but also including deficit management and the auto deal.
The Wall Street Journal, mercifully, largely confines its inauguration coverage to one lead article, with a peek at what Obama will address in his address (pssst: responsibility!) and a preview of what's on deck for the first day (closing Guantanamo and rescinding bans on federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research and funding for abortion programs abroad).
The papers today suggest that this inauguration has been covered from more angles than any other in history, among them the reaction in places outside the political mainstream. The NYT fronts a snapshot of an unemployment center in Columbia, S.C., which illustrates that while the out-of-work may be jazzed about change in Washington, you can't eat hope. The paper also reports that Obama has made some headway in places where he didn't start out popular, namely Oklahoma. The WSJ takes another look at life not changing with new leadership, albeit much closer in: the poor neighborhood of Anacostia, just south of the Capitol in Washington D.C.
Beyond reports of long journeys and massive crowds, the inauguration's procedural aspect has an element of fun. The WSJ has an awesome profile of Emmett Beliveau, the walkie-talkie-toting man in charge of making sure the event—and, as the newly named director of advance, all of Obama's future appearances—goes perfectly. The Post's portrayal of D.C. hotel acrobatics is nearly as entertaining, and the LAT fronts a poignant illumination of the history behind the inaugural route: From the steps of the Capitol built by slaves, past the National Council of Negro Women headquarters, toward D.C.'s first integrated hotel one block from the White House.
There's still some old business to take care of, though. At the end of George W. Bush's pardoning power, he commuted the sentences of two border guards who shot an unarmed smuggler in the back. In all, Bush racked up 189 pardons and 11 commutations, in contrast to Bill Clinton's 396 and 61 respectively. The Patriot Act is still kicking, the LAT uncovers, having been used to prosecute 200 passengers for disorderly—but hardly terroristic—behavior on airplanes. Read carefully the Post's article about the conclusion to a fight over Vice President Dick Dick Cheney's records, because it's confusing: A federal judge ruled that there was no proof that he had been planning to destroy documents, as transparency advocates had alleged, so they will enter the National Archives unchecked. However, on other arguments of principle—such as whether the court even had jurisdiction in the matter—Cheney's office lost. Which, for the vice president yesterday, was just adding insult to injury.
Meanwhile, it seems like nothing has changed in Iraq, where tribes still vie for representation in ostensibly democratic provincial elections at the end of the month. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani is telling everyone to participate, the Post reports, counteracting a sense of disillusionment with the result of the last elections in 2005.
Postmortems continue in the wake of Sunday's cease-fire in Gaza, as Israel pledged to accelerate its withdrawal enough to get all troops out by the time of Obama's inauguration. The official Palestinian death toll has passed 1,300—the Israeli body count stopped at 13—and Hamas said 5,000 homes had been destroyed. The Post and NYT both chronicle the human cost of that destruction, while the WSJ argues that Hamas has more support than ever.
After many false starts, the leaders of Russia and Ukraine finally put pen to paper on a 10-year agreement that will get gas flowing again to Ukraine and beyond. Russian oil monopoly Gazprom lost $1.5 billion on the two-week shutdown, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin promised negotiations would be "absolutely transparent" from here on out.
Fiat of Italy is nearing a deal to buy a large chunk of Chrysler, the Journal reports, in a move that could save both struggling automakers. Rather than paying in cash, Fiat is expected to take a 35 percent stake in the American company through retooling one of Chrysler's plants to produce Fiat models for sale in the States, as well as more efficient auto technology. In another survival move, the New York Times Co. sold about 18 percent of itself to Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim, raising $250 million in the short term—at 14 percent interest. London announced its own bank bailout boost, pumping billions more into the Royal Bank of Scotland as it became clear its first cash infusion hadn't stopped the bleeding. The latest move brings the British government's stake in RBS from 58 percent to 70 percent.




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Global Defence News
More procurement problems for the Marine Corps?


The Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector General (IG) has just released another report raising concerns about Marine Corps procurement.The DoD IG found problems with the program management of the Expeditionary Fire Support System (EFSS) and the Internally Transportable Vehicle (ITV) that led to the Marine Corps Milestone Authority approving the programs for the production and Deployment phase "before the system before the systems had demonstrated acceptable performance in developmental test and evaluation.As a result, the schedule for initial operational capability has slipped 22 months for the EFSS and 17 months for the ITV, while the average unit cost has risen by 86 percent for the EFSS and by 120 percent for the ITV."While the technical problems have been solved, the DoD IG also found that the contract was not awarded in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) (but did not violate the law), and that Marine Corps Systems Command internal controls were not adequate. The Marine Corps Commander disagreed with the report's findings, saying that the DoD IG "misapplied the relevant law, regulation, and policy."In yesterday's confirmation hearing for several DoD nominees, Deputy Secretary nominee William J. Lynn III told the Senate Armed Services Committee that acquisition reform is an imperative. If the findings of this report are accurate, this helps to underscore his point. We just hope that Lynn's relationship with Raytheon won't prevent him from making the kind of real reforms needed at DoD. The entire report can be found here: http://www.dodig.mil/Audit/reports/fy09/09-041.pdf
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Navy to hold scoping on new squadrons' EIS
NEWS-TIMES
Published: Friday, January 16, 2009 3:05 PM EST
EMERALD ISLE — The Navy will hold a public meeting Feb. 13 here to conduct public scoping on an environmental impact statement (EIS) for basing 13 new fighter squadrons at two bases, one of which is Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point in Havelock.The meeting will be from 4-7 p.m. at the Emerald Isle Community Center at 7500 Emerald Isle Drive. There will also be two other meetings at the same hours; one on Feb. 10 at the Havelock Tourist and Event Center at 202 Tourist Center Drive in Havelock and one on Feb. 12 at the Fred A. Anderson Elementary School Cafeteria at 507 Anderson Drive in Bayboro.Each meeting will have an informal open house format after the public scoping. Proposal-related displays and materials will be available for public view at the open houses. Marine Corps and Navy staff will also be present to answer questions and the public will have an opportunity to submit written comments on environmental concerns that should be addressed in the EIS.The Navy is proposing to operate a total of 13 squadrons of F-35B aircraft at two proposed stations: MCAS Cherry Point as well as at MCAS Beaufort in Beaufort, S.C. The F-35B is a short take-off/vertical landing, multi-role fighter aircraft whose primary emphasis is air-to-ground combat.
A notice in the Federal Register Jan. 12 said the F-35B is a next-generation stealth, supersonic, multi-role fighter aircaft meant to replace several aging Marine Corps fleets. The proposed basing action would provide facilities and functions to support and maintain the new aircraft, as well as airfields, airspace and ranges to train crews to use them.Several alternatives have been proposed as to how to divide up the 13 squadrons between the bases:• No Action – no F-35B squadrons would be placed at either base.• Alternative 1 – MCAS Cherry Point would receive eight squadrons, while MCAS Beaufort would receive three squadrons and two Pilot Training Center (PTC) squadrons.• Alternative 2 – MCAS Cherry Point would receive 11 squadrons, while MCAS Beaufort would receive two PTC squadrons.• Alternative 3 – MCAS Cherry Point would receive three squadrons and two PTC squadrons, while MCAS Beaufort would receive eight squadrons.• Alternative 4 – MCAS Cherry Point would receive two PTC squadrons, while MCAS Beaufort would receive 11 squadrons.• Alternative 5 – MCAS Cherry Point would receive nine squadrons, while MCAS Beaufort would receive two squadrons and two PTC squadrons. Public comments will be accepted on the proposed actions and alternatives during a 30-day scoping comment period, which ends Feb. 16. Comments can be submitted by attending one of the public scoping open houses, by e-mail at the project http://www.usmcJSFeast.com/">Web site http://www.usmcJSFeast.com/, or by mail submitted to the following address:USMC F-35B East Coast Stationing EISP.O. Box 56488Jacksonville, Fla. 32241-6488.For additional information on the EIS, contact the F-35B EIS project manager at (757) 444-1126. Requests for special assistance, sign language interpretation for the hearing impaired or other auxiliary aids needed at the public meetings should be submitted to the project manager by Jan. 28.
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US 'agrees Afghan supply route'
Gen Petraeus (left) also met Pakistan army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani
The US says a new supply path to Afghanistan has been agreed with Central Asian states and Russia as an option to the troubled Pakistan route.
US Central Command chief Gen David Petraeus made the announcement on a visit to Islamabad.
The route through the Khyber Pass has come under attack from militants in recent months, sparking closures.
Gen David Petraeus has met President Asif Ali Zardari and other leading figures on his one-day trip.
The visit comes after a week-long tour of Central Asian states.
Public anger
Gen Petraeus said the Pakistan route had been flowing "generally freely" in recent weeks but that the US and Nato had sought "additional logistical routes from the north".
He added: "There have been agreements reached and there are transit lines now and transit agreements for commercial goods and services in particular that include several countries in the Central Asian states and also Russia."
The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says the announcement will be a concern for Islamabad.
Raids on trucks supplying Afghanistan have been a major concern
Our correspondent says reports from the meetings also suggest that Pakistan expressed concern about US missile strikes against suspected Taleban and al-Qaeda militants in its border region.
Islamabad says this triggers public anger, which undermines its own counter-terrorism efforts.
Our correspondent says there has been no formal indication that this policy might change under the new US administration, although a senior official of Barack Obama's Democratic party has questioned whether it is counterproductive.
At his press conference, Gen Petraeus said the US would continue to help Pakistan tackle terrorism and militancy in the tribal areas.
"It is clearly in the interest of all countries involved that Pakistan succeed in dealing with its internal problems," he said.
Pakistan's actions and arrests following the Mumbai attacks were also discussed.
The general said the US and the international community would continue to support Pakistan, but Pakistan must also put its house in order on the issue of militants.
'Risky'
Gen Petraeus is a key advocate of a major US troop surge in Afghanistan.
The US has said it is sending up to 30,000 new troops to Afghanistan this year to take on a resurgent Taleban. They will join 33,000 US and 32,000 other Nato troops already in the country.
This is Gen Petraeus's second visit to Pakistan since taking up his new position.
He was until recently commander of the US military in Iraq.
He was widely credited with improving security there through the "surge" plan, which saw nearly 30,000 US troops deployed to trouble-spots.
However, Afghanistan's ambassador to the US, Said Jawad, recently said a plan similar to the one in Iraq that formed local tribal groups to help combat the insurgency was "very risky".


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Iraqis comment on US troop deal
Four Iraqis across the country give their reaction to the agreement their government has reached with the US, to bring American troops under Iraqi authority, off the streets by next year and out of the country by 2011.
HASSAN BERWARI, NGO WORKER, DOHUK, KURDISTAN
The deal is the best solution for all concerned. It blocks attempts to damage the new Iraqi government and democracy in the region.
I also welcome having US troops in my country for another three years. They are the only ones who can limit the negative forces in the region, and prevent terrorist groups growing in the Middle East.
US troops can protect Kurds from Arabs, from Turkey, Iran and Syria. They can also protect Sunni from Shia and vice versa.
By coming under Iraqi control, the US forces gain more legal status. This change will help the government convince people it is taking responsibility for the country, and not by relying on foreign forces.
It also gives people a reason to stop accusing the government of being traitors.
Security is good in the Kurdish region. Did the US troops improve the situation? Yes and No. Yes, because they helped fight the terrorists and no, because they gave the terrorists an excuse to kill people for being involved with them in the first place.
They also gave the countries in the region an excuse to interfere in Iraqi affairs.
Sadly, the Iraqi army is still behaving like it did under Saddam: owing allegiance to political or religious parties.
MUHAMMED NAJDAT, 27, HOSPITAL DOCTOR, BAGHDAD
I think this agreement will benefit most people. But we need a gradual withdrawal - not because we love the American army - but because the Iraqi forces cannot yet manage on their own.
Whatever is said, the Americans are still invaders
It's good that the US troops will come under Iraqi government control. Before, they were free to attack cities and arrest people with impunity.
So I'm glad they will be restricted to training Iraqi forces and staying in their bases more.
The plan adopted by General David Petraeus [the US troop 'surge' launched in 2007] made a great improvement, especially here in Baghdad. Bombs, assassinations, bad things, all were reduced.
It is much more secure than a year ago - apart from a few accidents during the last month. All of us are worried that the situation might suddenly get worse again. The security is not yet stable.
After the US invasion, we don't trust anyone. Whatever is said, the Americans are still invaders.
The Iraqi forces have improved over the past two years; a lot of the old soldiers have returned to their jobs. But they still cannot protect Iraq from our neighbours.
Iran is definitely the biggest threat towards Iraq, they want to occupy us.
'TO', 23, AMARA, SOUTHERN IRAQ
I think the US troops do more harm than good, and they certainly don't do as much good as they say they do.
I used to work as an interpreter for US forces in Baghdad, before my family was threatened and we moved south.
The soldiers were always talking about when they would leave. I used to say, Iraq has been looking after itself for thousands of years before there even was an America, so it can take care of itself again.
However, some of the technical, military and humanitarian aid is very useful. Iraq is a bit behind in some areas and there is a lot of poverty, which you don't see on TV.
Getting the US troops off the streets will be good for them and us. They're getting hurt needlessly too.
The British left the locals to take care of everything and that's the way to go.
AKO OMER, 25, DOCTOR, SULEIMANIYAH, KURDISTAN
The deal is an achievement for both sides, it is certainly in the interests of Iraq, its security and sovereignty.
Although the security situation is excellent here in Suleimaniyah, I think the US troops do need to stay for now.
Sectarian violence is still bad in other parts of the country and Iraq's security forces are still not ready to protect our people.
We have American troops in Suleimaniyah. We don't see them very often unless they come to market or other public places.
I think majority of people in northern Iraq would agree with me when I say our threats are from neighbouring Turkey and Iran.

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65 years after Ryan disappeared in a dogfight, Marine fighter pilot buried in Charleston
By David Slade (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Monday, January 19, 2009


David SladeThe Post and Courier
Jane McCown McKinney (right) cradles the flag presented to her by a U.S. Marine honor guard at the funeral of her brother, Maj. Marion Ryan McCown, Jr., of Charleston. McCown's fighter plane went down during a mission on Jan. 20, 1944. His remains were found last year in New Guinea, and he was buried Sunday at the Unitarian Church in Charleston.

Maj. Marion Ryan McCown
Previous story
A hero comes home, published 01/17/09
The last time Charleston native Ryan McCown was seen alive, the Marine aviator was in the middle of a dogfight over the Pacific Ocean with a Japanese Zero on his tail.
On Sunday, 65 years after his plane went down, Maj. Marion Ryan McCown Jr. was laid to rest in the Unitarian Church of Charleston cemetery beside his mother's grave, with the thanks of a grateful nation.
His remains were found last year on a mountainside on New Britain island, New Guinea, inside what was left of his Corsair fighter.
McCown would have been 92 years old, were he still alive, and most who knew him during his youth have passed on.
But the church on Archdale Street was filled to capacity.
"With the discovery of his long-lost remains, we are given this opportunity to remember his life," said the Rev. Peter E. Lanzillotta.
McCown was remembered Sunday as a local hero; a Boy Scout, a sailor, and Golden Gloves boxer who volunteered for the Marines after the United States was drawn into World War II.
McCown already had a pilot's license when he enlisted, and he became a member of Marine Fighter Squadron VMF-321, the "Hell's Angels."
On Jan. 20, 1944, he volunteered for what would become his last mission, flying escort on a mission to bomb the Japanese air base at Rabaul in New Guinea.
"A few days earlier, he had celebrated his 27th birthday," said his sister, Jane McCown McKinney.
McKinney was three months old when her brother died. Like some other relatives who attended the service, she knew McCown through the stories of friends and older family members, and she passed those stories along.
"Because our children remember Ryan, and told his story to others, we were able to bring him home sooner," McKinney said.
When the Joint Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Accounting Command found McCown's downed fighter, the family learned of the discovery from an article in The Boston Globe newspaper. McCown's nephew, John Almeida, contacted the Marine Corps before the authorities had a chance to locate and notify the family.
Almeida, also a Marine, grew up idolizing his uncle, who became missing in action a year before Almeida was born.
For years Almeida held onto McCown's uniform and some of his letters home. Last summer, after the aviator's remains were found, McCown's dog tags were delivered to Almeida.
McKinney said the service Sunday was a sorrowful but triumphant occasion.
"He was the perfect example of the greatest generation," she said. "Finally, he was found and he is home in his beloved Charleston, with his parents and friends."
McCown was a member of the Unitarian Church of Charleston, and his parents were married there.
McCown was buried with military honors, with a traditional three-volley rifle salute and a fly-over by F/A-18 Hornets. Marines, Citadel cadets and members of the Patriot Guard Riders lined the pathways of the cemetery.
McKinney captured the mood with a simple phrase during the service: "Welcome home, Ryan, and thank you."
Reach David Slade at 937-5552 or dslade@postandcourier.com.








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A sense of duty ends in death
Marine with Brighton ties mourned after Iraq incident
Sergeant Marquis Porter with his Big Brother, Craig Meyer. They had known each other for two decades. (Bill Brett for The Boston Globe)

By Matt Collette
Globe Correspondent / January 19, 2009
Sergeant Marquis Porter had served two tours of duty with the Marine Corps when he volunteered for a third.
in the Fidelis Way housing development in Brighton - his father out of the picture - he felt duty-bound to provide a living for his wife, Shay, and three young daughters, said friends and relatives.
Craig Meyer, of Weston, was Porter's mentor in the Big Brother program for two decades, since Meyer was in law school and Porter was 8 years old. "Being part of the Big Brother program, a lot of the young boys don't have a positive consistent male role model - a father in their lives - and that was the case for Marquis," said Meyer. "He has a wife and three kids, and he wanted to provide for them. I think it was all part of being a Marine for him: doing his duty."
Porter died Jan. 11 in the Anbar Province in Iraq, in what the Defense Department described Friday as a "nonhostile incident." No specifics on Porter's death were released, and the occurrence remains under investigation. He had worked as a radio operator and was assigned to the Second Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, Second Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, N.C., the Pentagon said.
He would have turned 29 on Jan. 17.
Porter attended the Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill on a full academic scholarship, and he was a member of the school's lacrosse and wrestling teams. In June, 1998, just after his high school graduation, Porter enlisted in the Marine Corps. For the past 10 years, he has lived on military bases across the country. His last residence was in California.
"It was a dream of his," said his older sister, Celese Jackson, of Brockton. "He was going to be in the Marines until, whenever. That was his career."
When he was home from war, Porter tried to mentor young men, directing them toward a successful future, his sister said.
"He was always one to talk to younger kids and try to get them to go on the right road, to tell them what they should be doing and what they shouldn't be doing," said Jackson.
All of his life, Porter was curious about the world around him, Meyer said.
"When I first met him and asked him questions about himself, I asked him what his favorite TV show was, and he said 'NOVA.' I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, and he said an entomologist [who studies insects]," Meyer said. "I had to go look that one up."
In the days since Porter's death, his family remains in shock. They have received few details about how he died.
"We are mortified, we are devastated," said Jackson.
His funeral will be held Thursday in Hemet, Calif. Burial at Riverside National Cemetery will follow.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.


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