VOL. 118, NO. 143 WWW WWW.THEITEM.COM |
SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA | FOUNDED OCTOBER 15, 1894 60 CENTS
IN WASHINGTON: Obama’s proposed budget will call for reductions in Social Security growth, administration official says A5
SATURDAY, APRIL 6, 2013
Former Wilson Hall standout exceeding for USC softball team despite injury B1
Shaw F-16 pilot identified 77th Fighter Squadron’s Capt. James Steel, 29, killed in crash LIST OF CRASHES
BY ROBERT J. BAKER bbaker@theitem.com SHAW AIR FORCE BASE — Flags are being flown at half staff through the weekend at Shaw Air Force Base in memory of an active-duty airman who died Wednesday. Capt. James Steel of the 77th “Gamblers” Fighter Squadron was on his final approach to land at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan when he lost conMORE INSIDE tact with both his Learn about the history wingman of the F-16 and the and the 77th Fighter Squadron on page A4. control tower. Air Force Central Command spokeswoman Capt. Natassia Cherne told Stars and Stripes on Thursday that Steel crashed about 10 miles south of the base’s runway. “A lot of the details of the ... crash are unknown,” said 20th Fighter Wing Commander Col. Clay Hall on Friday. “He was returning to base after he (and another airman) had flown a mission. He was the flight lead. They were on their way back to the base when the accident occurred.” Steel, 29, of Tampa, Fla., served as the chief of mobility for the Gamblers and was
STAFF SGT. IAN DEAN / U.S. AIR FORCE
Then-1st Lt. James Steel talks to his father, Maj. Gen. Robert Steel, in Washington, D.C., on April 2, 2009. Capt. James Steel of the 77th “Gamblers” Fighter Squadron was killed in a crash in Afghanistan on Wednesday after he lost contact with both his wingman and the control tower.
tasked with providing closeair support for military forces on the ground in Southeast Asia. Steel and fellow squad members served as
ON THE NET Col. Clay Hall, 20th Fighter Wing commander, talks about the crash. http://bit.ly/16ytNAp
AIRMAN 1ST CLASS DANIEL BLACKWELL / U.S. AIR FORCE
Airmen from the 20th Fighter Wing lower the flag to half-staff at Shaw Air Force Base on Friday in honor of Capt. James Steel, 77th Fighter Squadron chief of mobility, who was killed Wednesday after his aircraft crashed in Afghanistan.
“eyes in the sky,” Hall said. “Close-air support means we provide fixed-wing fighters that go and provide air cover for all the guys on the ground,
whether Army or Navy or another force,” Hall said. “If they get into trouble, if they need SEE CRASH, PAGE A8
‘We just needed to be together as a family’ BY BRADEN BUNCH and JADE ANDERSON bbunch@theitem.com janderson@theitem.com For many outside the military community, understanding the full impact of losing a fellow airman during deployment and how those around the squadron respond to the tragedy can be both inspiring and difficult to comprehend. The closeness of families
within a squadron helps to create a strong support system. At the same time, it also means tragedies such as Wednesday’s crash of an F-16 in Afghanistan, killing Capt. James Steel of the 77th Fighter Squadron at Shaw Air Force Base, can strongly impact the entire community. Krystal Vargas, wife of 77th Fighter Squadron Commander SEE IMPACT, PAGE A4
Oct. 15, 2009 — Capt. Nicholas “Nick” Giglio of the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base was at the controls of his F-16 doing routine night training maneuvers when he struck the other F-16 in his two-ship formation in the Atlantic Ocean 40 miles off Folly Beach and was killed. Capt. Lee Bryant’s F-16 sustained “severe damage,” but Bryant was able to make an emergency landing at Charleston Air Force Base and was unharmed. April 18, 2005 — An F-16 crashed in the Ashley River near Charleston, and the pilot and an observer, both with 9th Air Force, ejected safely. July 6, 2001 — Capt. Mitchell August Bulmann of the 77th Fighter Squadron was killed when his aircraft crashed 40 miles off the coast of Charleston. March 19, 2000 — Maj. Brison Phillips of the 78th Fighter Squadron was killed when his F-16 crashed while performing in an air show in Kingsville, Texas. July 22, 1998 — An F-16 went down over the Atlantic Ocean during a simulated air-to-air combat training mission just off the South Carolina coast. The pilot ejected safely. July 11, 1996 — An F-16 crashed into a Pensacola, Fla., home, killing a 4-year-old boy and severely burning a woman in the home. The jet — and 50 others from Shaw — was headed to Florida as part of an evacuation effort because of Hurricane Bertha. The pilot ejected safely. Oct. 27, 1992 — An F-16 crashed into a Sumter County cotton field about a half-mile short of its runway. No one was seriously injured. Sept. 13, 1988 — An F-16 crashed into a field behind the Cherryvale residential area after it lost engine thrust. The plane caught a house on fire, killing two men. The pilot ejected safely. April 1985 — Shaw pilot Capt. Edgar Johnson Jr. was killed when the F-16 he was flying crashed into a wooded area in Kentucky. November 1982 — Shaw’s Col. Henry M. Yochum and Maj. Wayne Scott Hagen were killed when their twin-engine O-2 Skymaster went down near the Allendale airport. April 1980 — Capt. Donald R. Cook was killed when his twin-engine O-2 Skymaster crashed at the Poinsett Gunnery Range near Wedgefield during a routine flight. January 1980 — An RF-4C Phantom jet from Shaw crashed in Boykin. Another RF-C Phantom from Shaw had gone down in Holly Hill just four months prior to the crash. Source: Item archives
Muscle, fat respond differently to diet, exercise BY MISSY CORRIGAN Special to The Item
CORRIGAN
Fitness programs, special devices, creams and diets have been created and introduced for decades with the claim of
being able to spot reduce certain areas of the body. The marketing for these products and programs are so convincing that we believe they will work, and Americans spend millions of dollars every year buy-
DEATHS
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ing into these programs and products. Many of us have one or
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several specific areas of the body we want to shrink and tone. Day after day I am asked what specific exercises can be done to shrink or tighten the belly, hips or thighs. Doing extra leg lifts to tighten up
squishy thighs or hundreds of crunches a day to shrink the belly and reveal the six pack abs just don’t work. While it may seem that spot reduction exercises SEE HEALTHY LIVING, PAGE A8
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