Jul 032015 
warlord (noun) - A warlord is a person who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to the presence of armed forces who are loyal to the warlord rather than to a central authority.
Warlordism frequently appears in failed states, states in which central government and nationwide authorities have collapsed or exist merely formally without actual control over the state territory. They are usually defined by a high level of clientelism, low bureaucratic control, and a high motivation to prolong war for the maintenance of their economic system.
When Joseph Rice initiated the Sugar Pine Mine operation, one of the first videos posted on the website of Josephine County Oath Keepers featured him making a crude and grandiose statement, "If it doesn't come out of my mouth, it's bullshit."
https://youtu.be/lo20ttt9PLU?t=1m8s
This was the setup ensuring that whatever Joseph said would be the official 'truth'. Any contradictory facts would be labeled false by the group, allowing him to choose the information to present. In this way, Joseph set the stage to secure absolute control of the message and the groupthink, regardless of the facts. Anyone contradicting Mr. Rice could then be attacked for 'lying'. Anyone asking questions would be labeled a traitor.
Oath Keeper officers who resigned from the Josephine County chapter have bravely provided notarized and sworn affidavits to help us see past the wall of words Rice uses to craft an image of himself.
FOLLOW THE MONEY
The official Treasurer for Oath Keepers of Josephine County, at the time the Sugar Pine operation began, was Catherine Austin. She had been appointed by Joseph after he asked for volunteers at a Thursday Fairgrounds meeting and she stepped forward. Later at the large meeting which included guests Sheriff Daniel and the District Attorney Ryan Mulkins, Joseph asked her to stand up and identified her as Treasurer to all the guests which numbered around 100. Thus she was clearly the Treasurer in the eyes of the public. However, she was never given access to or control of the funds of the Josephine County Oath Keepers, like any Treasurer should. Although a Josephine County Oath Keepers bank account had existed for some time, Austin's sworn affidavit indicates that she was never allowed to access it.
Affidavit of Catherine Austin (Former Treasurer)
Oath Keepers National has a set of standard policies that are right and proper when setting up an organization that will have accountability. The role of Treasurer is to manage the bank account and revenues, also to ensure there is no misappropriation of financial assets. The duties of Treasurer are spelled out on the Oath Keepers National Bylaws posted at their website:
Section 4.09. Treasurer. The treasurer shall be the chief financial officer of Oath
Keepers, subject to the supervision and control of the Board, and shall have the custody of all the funds of Oath Keepers. Unless otherwise restricted by the Board, the treasurer shall be entitled to endorse on behalf of Oath Keepers for collection all checks and other instruments, deposit all money for the credit of Oath Keepers in such bank or banks or other depository as the directors may designate, and sign all receipts and vouchers for the payment of money by and on behalf of Oath Keepers. Unless otherwise restricted by the Board, the treasurer may have the custody and control of deeds, leases, easements, certificates of shares of stock, bonds, securities, evidence of debt, instruments, and such other property and evidence of ownership of property belonging to Oath Keepers as the Board shall designate, and shall sign all papers required to be signed by the treasurer by law, by these Bylaws, or by the Board. The treasurer shall regularly enter or cause to be entered in the books of Oath Keepers, to be kept for that purpose, full and accurate accounts of all amounts received and paid on account of Oath Keepers and, whenever required by the Board, the treasurer shall render a statement of any and all accounts. If required by the Board as a condition of appointment, the treasurer shall furnish a fidelity bond in such amount and with such surety as shall be approved by the Board, to secure the faithful performance of the duties of the treasurer and for the restoration of all books, records, and other property belonging to Oath Keepers in the event of the treasurer’s death, resignation, retirement or removal from office. The expense of such bond shall be borne by Oath Keepers.
http://oathkeepers.org/oktester/bylaws/
After it became clear to her that she would never get the information or accountability she needed to do her job, Catherine resigned and Anita White was appointed by Joseph to be Treasurer. Like Catherine, she too was not given the required access to accounts to fulfill her duties. Both of them were given the responsibility of the title, but not the means to fulfill those duties.
Furthermore, Anita White witnessed the handling of money by the JoCo Oath Keepers leadership in ways that troubled her. She relates this in her sworn affidavit:
Affidavit of Anita White (Former Treasurer)
Anita also resigned, in concern that the money was not being handled properly, and having no power to remedy it. The end result is that donations were unaccounted for. Anyone who donated and wanted to have some accounting of where his charitable donations went has no chance of finding out. Similarly, the IRS will be unable to determine how the funds were spent or how much was received.
Both Anita and Catherine were Treasurers, as evidenced by emails from them to others in the course of their duty which are from treasurer@oathkeepersjoco.com, and by public occasions and meetings where they were introduced as such by Joseph Rice.
Refer back to the definition of a warlord at the top of this article, describing "a high motivation to prolong war for the maintenance of their economic system."
Despite the Sugar Pine Mine operation having ended by mid-June, with a barbecue and festivities to celebrate its completion, the Oath Keepers JoCo website, as of July 4, 2015, still features a Paypal donation button prominently at the top and a Status section saying, "We are still seeking donations to cover travel and fuel expenses along with a myriad of other expenses to continue operations."
Even more inappropriate, according to George Backes (one of the Sugar Pine Mine owners), the Miners Legal Defense Fund Paypal donation button at the Oath Keepers JoCo website does not link to the mine owners' bank account. The mine owners still do not have direct access to their own donations.
Why is this continued fundraising for a non-existent operation given precedence over raising funds for the Miners' legal defense?
FOLLOW THE STATEMENTS
Joseph Rice sought sources of money for the Chapter. As many members of the JoCo Oath Keepers will recall, last December Viken Nokhoudian made a presentation to the JoCo Chapter at two of their regular Thursday meetings. It was about his cellphone app, an emergency alert system. Viken offered to make Oath Keepers a partner in the project and share revenue with both the local Chapter and National. It was very well received. Members could see the benefit to the local Chapter, to the national Oath Keepers, and to like minded people everywhere.
It was agreed that Oath Keepers National should be encouraged to make it happen, and Viken was told he would be put in touch with the right people at National to make a presentation about it to them.
What actually happened is that Bruce McFarland made the presentation, without Viken being present, and with Bruce claiming any financial profit for himself. This was admitted to in emails included below that state that they knew and admitted it was Viken’s invention, that there were several named witnesses to Bruce’s making the presentation without him, and that Viken was to have no part of the project. Thus Bruce used his position of authority as Assistant Coordinator, with the support and approval of Joseph Rice, the Coordinator, to take Viken’s website and emergency response idea and present it to the National Oath Keepers for his own personal profit:
Date: Fri, 15 May 2015 09:18:46 -0700
From: Bruce McFarland <bruce@q4p.com>
I was the one who proposed the template driven system to Stewart and the attendees of the national call the OK JoCo leadership team was on.
This would be commercial endeavor and I should be paid for my efforts… There is a provision to provide monies back to National and to our OK JoCo chapter for our efforts.
And Joseph Rice confirms the presentation of Viken's work, without Viken present or even being informed of the presentation, in his later email:
Date: Fri, 12 Jun 2015 12:45:06 -0700
From: Coordinator <coordinator@oathkeepersjoco.com>
To: Viken Nokhoudian vikman@silcom.com
During a statewide conference call three things were pitched to Stewart, COAPT, Template Driven Websites and your Rescue Responder app. Witness to this was myself, Rob Lee, Bruce McFarland, Larry Cook, Mitch Williamson and Doug Burnell. You would have also been witness to it, but choose to remove yourself from the conference call early.
Viken was never even informed of the conference call, nor was he on it. He never gave permission for anyone to present his idea. Is this behavior acceptable to Oath Keepers? From the Oath Keeper Bylaws:
“All Oath Keepers Members and Associates shall possess and maintain high moral and ethical standards and uncompromised integrity for continued membership in Oath Keepers... Oath Keepers and its members are responsible to maintain the integrity and honor of this organization. Oath Keepers shall have a zero tolerance policy for actions that bring disrespect, dishonor or disrepute on Oath Keepers...” http://oathkeepers.org/oktester/bylaws/
Viken also raised concerns about serious security holes in the web and email services managed by Bruce McFarland. For a year and a half Viken had insisted the vulnerabilities, which gave outside parties easy access to the server to install their own software or otherwise manipulate its contents, should be fixed. During the Sugar Pine operation, the website was apparently repeatedly hacked, with unauthorized images and content appearing, among other concerns.
Viken initially made Joseph Rice aware of the problem, even providing an outside PCI scan report to prove the problem existed. Joseph Rice repeatedly insisted, in written statements to his Leadership team, that Viken had produced no evidence for his claims. Yet, below is the security scan that Viken personally sent to Joseph Rice when he first raised the security concerns. As the reader can see, the server configuration ranks very low in security, with plain-text FTP being one of the greatest vulnerabilities allowing intrusion.
Server Security Scan (05/15/2015)
Despite being provided with documented proof of the security problems allowing hacking of the server systems, Joseph Rice repeatedly told his leadership team, Oath Keepers Director Jeff Ford and Oath Keepers Founder Stewart Rhodes that no such proof had been provided.
Date: Mon, 18 May 2015 13:13:03 -0700
From: Coordinator <coordinator@oathkeepersjoco.com>
To: Viken Nokhoudian vikman@silcom.com
CC: leadership@oathkeepersjoco.com, Jeff Ford <jeff4d2003@yahoo.com>, Stewart Rhodes <rhodeslegalwriting@gmail.com>
I am launching an investigation into your allegations against Assistant Coordinator Bruce McFarland, which appear to be false and slanderous in nature. I take your allegations very seriously and you have yet to provide any written documentation or evidence supporting your position.
During the course of this investigation please do not attempt to enter the Sugar Pine Mine, Staging or attend Oath Keeper of Josephine County functions as your will be barred and turned away.
Why would Joseph Rice and Bruce McFarland leave the operation open to outside hacking and snooping of supposedly confidential data? Why would they attack their internet services professional, the chapter's own Webmaster, for trying to have the problems corrected? Why would Joseph Rice deny the existence of Viken's evidence to his own leadership team, and hide it from them?
Notably, Rice's claimed "investigation" included preventing Viken from physically showing the proof to the leadership team, under threat of force.
Here is Viken’s sworn affidavit regarding his experiences with Bruce McFarland and Joseph Rice:
Affidavit of Viken Nokhoudian (Former Webmaster)
Webmaster Resignation - Oath Keepers Josephine County
As this documentation shows, Viken repeatedly requested a small leadership meeting to present his evidence of theft of intellectual property as well as the security problems. Both were urgent, as they presented an immediate threat to the operation. Joseph Rice refused to allow the meeting.
Rice even went so far as to claim in writing, on 5/16/2015 and 5/17/2015, that Bruce had resigned from Oath Keepers entirely and was no longer the Assistant Coordinator. This claim was clearly false, as Bruce has continued in the capacity of Assistant Coordinator, has continued appearing at Oath Keepers meetings in that capacity and is still listed as of July 5 on the website as the Assistant Coordinator. This falsehood demonstrates the extent to which Rice would go to shield McFarland from scrutiny.
Date: Sat, 16 May 2015 09:35:49 -0700
From: Coordinator <coordinator@oathkeepersjoco.com>
To: Viken Nokhoudian <vikman@silcom.com>
Vik,
Bruce has resigned due to this....
Subject: Re: Security
Date: Sun, 17 May 2015 11:17:19 -0700
From: Joseph Rice <joseph@recoil-usa.com>
To: Viken Nokhoudian <vikman@silcom.com>
Vik, I do not think your understand. Bruce has resigned from Oath Keepers completely. Bruce is not in leadership, nor affiliated with Oath Keepers any longer.
Rice finally allowed a hearing, weeks after the Sugar Pine operation had ended, but would not allow Viken Nokhoudian to attend to present any evidence or witnesses supporting his concerns. Instead Rice invited only his closest associates including Bruce McFarland to the hearing, and hand picked what was presented. Of course the result was predictable, based on only the information and people Rice and McFarland allowed. It fit the classic definition of a “Kangaroo Court”:
A kangaroo court is a judicial tribunal or assembly that blatantly disregards recognized standards of law or justice, and often carries little or no official standing in the territory within which it resides. Merriam-Webster defines it as "a mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted".[1] The term may also apply to a court held by a legitimate judicial authority who intentionally disregards the court's legal or ethical obligations. A kangaroo court is often held to give the appearance of a fair and just trial, even though the verdict has in reality already been decided before the trial has begun. Such courts are typically run by authoritarian governments. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo_court
Joseph Rice talked a great deal about "due process" during the mine operation, and how the Oath Keepers and other patriot groups would lay down their lives for it.
So why did he actively prevent due process when he was in power? Why did the other Oath Keepers leaders take part in the sham hearing? Is this what passes for leadership and due process in Oath Keepers of Josephine County?
FOLLOW THE ACTIONS
Joseph Rice not only ignored Viken’s warnings of security holes, but actively attacked Viken for providing proof of them. He denied the proof and claimed that Viken was only trying to personally attack Bruce McFarland. Why?
The handling of incoming donations and the finances was concealed from one Treasurer after another. People's property and rights were taken without recourse. Is this the sort of accountability any reputable organization tolerates? Is this the way a responsible leader would act?
“Circumstances do not make the man. They reveal him.” Given the definition of a warlord, provided at the top of this post, is Rice an aspiring warlord?
A warlord is someone who is a law unto himself and is ready to use his power to get what he wants. By use of a 'crisis', he obligates everyone around him to do his bidding to defend against a real or imagined threat, giving himself great power and control over assets that would not otherwise be acceptable. The greater the sense of crisis, the more power he is given by his followers. He amasses resources and then doles out financial and other favors selectively, or punishments, to maintain his grip on power. A warlord believes and acts as if the crisis and his leadership role in it exempts him from normal rules of conduct or morality.
"You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before." - Rahm Emanuel
Joseph Rice and Bruce McFarland were able to amass power in the form of money, resources, and unquestioning followers during the “crisis”. We can see the kind of people Mr. Rice and Mr. McFarland are, as revealed by their empowerment during the Sugar Pine Mine operation. How did they handle their power over people? Did they use the donations and volunteers with respect for the giver’s sacrifice? Were they accountable? Did they protect the basic Constitutional rights of their supporters? How did they treat the very people who had given so much?
As "Mouse" Prosen says:
"We've got men and women here who have surrendered everything and left it behind. Their Families! They left behind their jobs! They left behind their futures for this!"
https://youtu.be/br5gng2EOLQ?t=1m9s
Was this operation done in good faith with the Oath Keepers and other patriots? Were the supporters of the operation just pawns in play for other ambitions? Was the true purpose to ensure the Miners' property and legal defense, or to collect resources for Joseph Rice's own agenda?
We swore our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor to upholding certain principles, not to blindly follow a self-proclaimed leader. Those who would assume responsibility for coordinating an Oath Keepers chapter must be open to greater accountability than any other.
Jun 292015This document was created in a way that allows you to check out the evidence with your own eyes and connect the dots with your own common sense. You can come to your own conclusions now that you have the information. I urge you to click on every link to see for yourself. The following series of investigative pieces is for you and for every keeper of oaths, every patriot, and every American who wants to know the truth about Joseph Rice and his associates.
THE FINANCIAL LIFE OF JOSEPH RICE
Back in 2002 Joseph Rice was living in McCall Idaho and he started a company. He had a nifty acronym for his company: Wildland Aerial Resource Tactical Helicopter Group or Warthog Aviation.
http://www.accessidaho.org/public/sos/corp/W18800.html
http://www.sos.idaho.gov/tiffpilot/tiffpilot.exe?FN=\\sosimg\corp$/%5C04122002%5CLIMIT%23OR02102160733.tif
However, it apparently didn’t go all that well. So when he got an offer from Carson Helicopters in Grants Pass to be their Operations Director, he took it. He bought a house in Grants Pass in 2003.
For 3 years he worked there directing the operations of firefighting crews. It probably reminded him of the work he did for Blackwater and provided camaraderie. He had a one year old daughter and an attractive wife. Life was probably pretty good.
Then the economic downturn happened. Carson Helicopters was competing harder for customers, and it probably ended up under financial pressure like most companies at the time. Whether it was a personality conflict, ethics violations, poor performance, or just simple economics, Joseph left the employment of Carson in October of 2007, just as the recession was getting under way.
With a young child, and probably a mortgage, he needed to bring in money. That year of 2008 he set up three companies, each of which was done to make money by selling out his services.
http://www.bizapedia.com/addresses/220-MOUNTAIN-VIEW-PLACE-GRANTS-PASS-OR-97527.html
First, Joseph Rice dusted off his old company name that he liked so well and made a new business out of it: Warthog Aviation.
The entire set of 37 Warthog webpages are found at http://www.brucedunnweb.com/warthog/about.html . They have been archived at The Wayback Machine at https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.brucedunnweb.com/warthog/contact.html to preserve them in case the originals are removed.
http://www.brucedunnweb.com/warthog/contact.html
http://www.bizapedia.com/or/WARTHOG-AVIATION-LLC.html
http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Joseph-Rice/1290647838
http://www.avjobs.com/networking/networking-aviation-directory.asp?g=c091cb78-148a-4cf4-8c13-7fa53ca0f9cf
Warthog Aviation was intended to provide “confidential” purchases of helicopters and other services for clients:
“WARTHOG’s Confidential Buyer Services works exclusively for the buyer. WARTHOG serves the buyer with undivided loyalty, confidentiality and full disclosure. With the cost and complexity associated with today’s aviation purchases, more and more buyers are choosing to equip themselves with Confidential Buyer Services. WARTHOG will also perform "Due Diligence" investigations to assure our clients will get EXACTLY what you are after and we will cut to a minimum the amount of time to process a transaction. Contact us today to for any Confidential Buyer Services that you need, we are here for you!”
Who are their targeted clients who require confidential purchases of aircraft? China.
“After spending over 24 months in Pacific Rim, we have seen the need for a total helicopter support, training and consulting group. We are pleased to let you know that we have started WARTHOG Aviation, LLC. It is an exciting and dynamic new company that was formed to fill the need of helicopter support, training and consulting in the Pacific Rim region. As we all know, the growth of the helicopter industry in China/Asia is going to be incredibly large over the next many years and our company, WARTHOG Aviation, LLC is going to fill the void and need for pilot and crew training in the region.”
Did Joseph Rice succeed at providing "confidential" aircraft purchases for China or other secretive Pacific rim clients? We do not know. However the FAA fined Warthog Aviation $50,000 for failing to report something properly. That is a hefty fine, and may have been related to not reporting covert aircraft sales.
http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/agc/operations/agc300/reports/Quarters/media/q3-13.pdf
It is not clear whether or not this business actually gained any clients, but it put his name out there to people in the Pacific rim, letting them know he was willing to work with anyone. He was later contacted by a client who had a great deal of money, and a covert purpose in mind. More on that later…
After 3 months, Joseph Rice founded an additional company, this time in conjunction with Burl Brim at 455 Dead Indian Memorial Rd, Ashland OR.
http://www.brimaviation.com/?page_id=76
http://burlbrim.net/
http://www.bizapedia.com/addresses/455-DEAD-INDIAN-MEMORIAL-RD-ASHLAND-OR-97520.html
The name was Aerial Resource Training. Its purpose was to provide helicopter training for pilots regardless of who they were. This business progressed into actually training Chinese police pilots. It appears that Joseph Rice worked for Brim Aviation in a operation to train Chinese police pilots on US soil, teaching them our procedures and techniques.
Source of images archived at http://themurderofdavelewis.webs.com/apps/blog/show/5993710-joe-rice-ron-wyden-ashland-airport-
The carefully unnamed person in the Mail Tribune article below on the training of Chinese police pilots is probably Joseph since he had made the business to train Far East/Chinese pilots, and had located the business at Brim’s location. In the article the Chinese pilot training is documented:
http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100226/BIZ/2260319
Here is a picture of the Chinese trainees:
The FAA recently proposed a $220,000 fine against Burl Brim's company Brim Aviation for unsafe practices including hanging people off the helicopter without proper safety equipment.
http://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=17875&omniRss=press_releasesAoc&cid=102_P_R
With Operation Jade Helm currently in the works, and potential conflict with China looming, patriots are concerned about a foreign nation such as China gaining knowledge of and access to our operational methods. In China, the distinction between police and military is negligible. It is possible that these trained pilots may end up fighting American forces in the near future.
Thus twice Joseph Rice set up a company to assist the Chinese in technology that could be used against us: First through Warthog Aviation which offered to facilitate covert helicopter sales, and then Aerial Resource Training which offered and succeeded at training of Chinese police pilots.
However it was the third company that involved the most money and deception. That business was partly owned and set up by Joseph Rice and received millions of dollars from the Federal government under very unlikely circumstances. Its name was Recoil Suppression Systems LLC.
http://records.sos.state.or.us/webdrawer/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/2790938/view/SOS%20-%20Corporation%20-%20Business%20Entity%20Filing%20Records%20-%2054198792.PDF
http://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web_name_srch_inq.show_detl?p_be_rsn=1343123&p_srce=BR_INQ&p_print=FALSE
But first a little history…
Jun 292015THE SHROUDED COMPANY
In Australia in 2008 there was an engineer and pilot named Jason Schellaars. He had invented a new kind of water tank that attaches to the bottom of a helicopter easily. He built a company called Helitak to make and sell them.Jason Schellaars and a co-inventor, Donald Blanch had filed for a patent on the innovative tank in 2005.
http://www.helitak.com.au/page2.html
http://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/ols/auspat/applicationDetails.do?applicationNo=2005904815
Here is a video of him showing his invention on television:
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/newinventors/txt/s2529955.htm
Joseph Rice set up an LLC in Oregon called Helitak USA LLC.
http://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web_name_srch_inq.show_detl?p_be_rsn=1331528&p_srce=BR_INQ&p_print=FALSE
Apparently, he took the same name because he expected to get a deal to sell these tanks into the US. However, no deal was apparently agreed to by the Australian inventor. Joseph's Helitak USA LLC was formed as a business, but appears to have never been used.
Instead Joseph Rice and his associates hatched a plan to form a new company under a new name, Recoil Suppression Systems LLC, for the purpose of making the tanks. This company was kept secret until its Federal earmark for millions of dollars was published, and Recoil was thus revealed as its recipient.
https://washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/ED_39230.html
The earmark was put in by Senator Jeff Merkley to get $4,160,000 for Recoil Suppression Systems LLC to make a helicopter water tank. The earmark Joseph Rice was actually trying for was much more: $50,648,000. (This is particularly ironic given Joseph Rice's public position on the Josephine County Public Safety Levy.)
http://web.archive.org/web/20100707091927/http://daveporter.typepad.com/global_strategies/2009/04/3715-million-in-defense-earmark-proposals-submitted-to-wyden-merkley.html
http://daveporter.typepad.com/global_strategies/2009/04/3715-million-in-defense-earmark-proposals-submitted-to-wyden-merkley.html
The public comments for the earmark state that the design is plagiarized from the Australian Helitak system. The comments also point out that there were already two companies in Oregon making tanks, and that these companies already have an established record of saving lives with their water tanks. The size of the award was also noted as outrageous for the task. (See comments at https://washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/ED_39230.html )
Instead the earmark went to a secretive company with NO track record, no experience at manufacturing, and that had only legally existed for slightly over a year.
http://www.thedailycourier.com/articles/2009/09/21/front_page_news/news03.txt
"At the time, Commissioner Dave Toler said the manufacturer's name was not being released to protect the "intellectual assets value" of the project, such as trade secrets and physical descriptions of the product. The secret's out since Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced last week that $30 million for Oregon projects will be heading to the floor of the U.S. Senate as part of the fiscal year 2010 Defense Department appropriations bill. Among the funding requests is $4.16 million for limited liability corporation Recoil Suppressions Systems - the previously unnamed business."
http://www.thedailycourier.com/articles/2009/09/21/front_page_news/news03.txt
Recoil not only got the huge Federal funding; it also received $25K from SOREDI, $25K from Josephine County, and $25K from the Oregon Governor’s fund, thus receiving $75K before the earmark even arrived.
http://www.thedailycourier.com/articles/2010/01/08/community/news03.txt
So who is Recoil Suppression Systems LLC that had so much cash from both the county, state, and the Federal government?
"The company has 3 principals on record. The principals are Garry Mahoney from Singapore , John Forsyth from Ashland OR, and Joseph Rice from Grants Pass OR."
http://www.bizapedia.com/or/RECOIL-SUPPRESSION-SYSTEMS-LLC.html
Where is Recoil Suppression Systems today? It does not seem to have an internet presence, which is strange for a company that was supposed to be selling its tanks for the last 6 years. An industry magazine (Fire Aviation) sought to investigate:
"Messages we left with Recoil Suppression Systems asking for information were not immediately returned, and we were not able to find a web site for the company. Dunn and Bradstreet says the company has annual sales of $950,000 and has 17 employees. But we have no confirmation that any of the tanks were ever produced and sold." Note that Dunn and Bradstreet rely to a great extent on the self reporting from the company, and do not have any way to independently confirm the numbers.
Later Fire Aviation reported that Recoil said that it had given all marketing rights to an Israeli company called SHG. It is odd that the marketing company would be in a foreign company on the other side of the world. http://fireaviation.com/2013/05/01/collapsible-belly-tank-for-a-blackhawk The language at the SHG website is Hebrew, but they have button for English.
Even odder, a check of that company’s website does not show any helicopter tanks among their products for sale.
http://shgoren.co.il
Joseph Rice himself demonstrated some sort of a tank working at a press conference with the Daily Courier
http://www.thedailycourier.com/articles/2010/01/08/community/news03.txt
But, none may have actually been sold. For all we know it was the only one ever made. It was not demonstrated apparently in the field on a helicopter - just inside a warehouse.
Even more interesting is that the only other members of the LLC were not American residents. They were instead two residents of Malaysia when the company was formed in 2008:
http://records.sos.state.or.us/webdrawer/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/2790938/view/SOS%20-%20Corporation%20-%20Business%20Entity%20Filing%20Records%20-%2054198792.PDF
http://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web_name_srch_inq.show_detl?p_be_rsn=1343123&p_srce=BR_INQ&p_print=FALSE
Ironically, the formation papers were recorded for Recoil Suppression Systems LLC only 15 days after the Firefighters Iron 44 Carson Helicopters crash near Weaverville. The crash occurred on the 5th of August 2008, and Recoil Suppression Systems was formed on the 20th of that month. The earmark disclosing a grant of over 4 million was posted at the federal site before Sept 23rd, 2009, about one year later.
It is amazing that a company that apparently had been "in business" only about a year with no apparent website, and no apparent sales or experience, and two of the three principles being residents of foreign countries, would be earmarked for over 4 million in Federal cash in less than a year. Who has the power to make that sort of thing happen in spite of the obvious and overwhelmingly large red flags?
Although the company was dissolved and reinstated 3 times, http://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web_name_srch_inq.show_detl?p_be_rsn=1343123&p_srce=BR_INQ&p_print=FALSE it attempted to get green cards for an Operations Manager from outside the US.
http://www.myvisajobs.com/Visa-Sponsor/Recoil-Suppression-Systems/1079526.htm
Using their Visa application information, one can finally find their website - http://www.recoil-usa.com . The following was found there on June 10th, 2015:
This is the same logo seen on the wall in the photo with Senator Wyden and Joseph Rice. Even after 7 years they still do not have a website! How very interesting that such a flimsy excuse for a business is supposed to exist, and is so very well funded by the Federal government, and is so internationally tied. Furthermore, its only reported sales outlet is a company in Israel, which doesn't even carry the product.
But it gets much more interesting when we examine that visa request record and see the name of the "president" there is David Rath.
http://www.myvisajobs.com/Visa-Sponsor/Recoil-Suppression-Systems/1079526.htm
and
https://web.archive.org/web/20150619171609/http://www.myvisajobs.com/Visa-Sponsor/Recoil-Suppression-Systems/1079526.htm
Who is David Rath?
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/david-rath/a/2b9/9a4
David Benjamin Rath was at that time the President of Evergreen Helicopters, which was receiving Federal contracts for over a hundred million dollars. Based in McMinnville Oregon, just southwest of Portland, he had tremendous financial and political pull with Senator Merkley. Furthermore, he was the one who was filing for a Visa to try to bring an Operations Manager into the US for Recoil. He was the one behind the scenes pulling the strings to make it happen or he wouldn’t have been the one filing out the visa request forms.
Furthermore, his company Evergreen Helicopters had for years been providing transport services to the CIA and the Department of Defense in Afghanistan and Central America, among others.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Evergreen_International_Aviation%2C_Inc.
http://helihub.com/tag/evergreen-helicopters
http://helihub.com/2009/04/11/evergreen-helicopters-wins-158397403-air-force-afghanistan-contract
http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2009/06/08/smallb1.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen_International_Aviation
Evergreen also attempted to insert itself into the voting process in Oregon.
"In October 2008, Evergreen [the parent company of Evergreen Helicopters, of which David Rath was president] president Tom Wiggins emailed Oregon county clerks, offering his firm's services on Election Day. "During this crucial election Evergreen Defense and Security Services has recognized the potential conflict that could occur on November 4," the email stated. "Never has there been a more heated battle in the race for president and voters seem more involved and determined to achieve their respective goals. EDSS proposes to post sentries at each voting center on November 4 to assure that disputes among citizens do not get out of control. All guards will be unarmed but capable of stopping any violence that may occur, and detaining troublemakers until law enforcement help arrives." [2]
The offer "baffled county clerks and the Elections Division, who did not solicit the security help" and didn't anticipate security problems, according to PolitickerOR.com. [2] Moreover, the state has "no actual polling places, since Oregon went to vote by mail several years ago," noted the News-Review of Roseburg, Oregon. [3] Counties do set up areas where voters can drop off their ballots. EDSS "didn't get any bites from the counties," reported The Oregonian. [4]"
Apparently Evergreen had a standing army ready to step forward, trained in martial arts, and ready to use force in the polls if deemed necessary.
http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2008/10/company_pitches_election_sentr.html http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Evergreen_International_Aviation%2C_Inc.
Perhaps most interesting is that Evergreen Helicopters was providing firefighting helicopters in many places, where they would have become aware of the new tank design. Joseph Rice was apparently his willing assistant with an Oregon address that was needed to set up the company, without it being connected to Evergreen.
The other two owners of Rapid Recoil Suppression Systems, Forsyth and Mahoney, set up a company at the same address as David Rath shortly after the earmark was granted.
http://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web_name_srch_inq.show_detl?p_be_rsn=1422741&p_srce=BR_INQ&p_print=FALSE
http://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web_name_srch_inq.show_detl?p_be_rsn=1529903&p_srce=BR_INQ&p_print=FALSE
The Newberg address is not far from the McMinnville offices of Evergreen.
http://www.zoominfo.com/s/#!search/profile/company?companyId=97143512&targetid=profile
Apparently they had been covertly working with Rath all along.
Why all the secrecy? We can speculate as to possible reasons why Rath, as the current president of a company dealing in billions of dollars, would be involved but hidden:
1) As president of Evergreen Helicopters, it could be a world-wide scandal and a serious legal liability if it were known he had attempted to steal the tank design from a publicly popular inventor with a patent potentially filed. It would be proof that the company Evergreen Helicopters had connived to steal the invention and the financial damages could be considerable if a known agent of Evergreen had signed a standard NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) to see their trade secrets.
2) It may also have been an attempt to get a large amount of money from the Federal government under a cover story of a helicopter tank business. Perhaps it was a payment for more covert services that were too hot for Evergreen Helicopters to handle, so it had to be rendered secretly by Rath and his people.
3) An additional reason may have involved the tanks themselves. Let's assume for the moment that the tanks were actually made and somehow sold without any website or any public evidence of it. If the tanks were not sold through public channels and kept secret (as seems to be the case), then if they were sold at all, it would have been exclusively through private channels such as to the Evergreen linked CIA.
Why would the CIA have to secretly have tanks to drop water from helicopters? There is nothing secret about dropping water. Maybe the liquid was not water. What if instead it was for dropping liquid chemicals of some sort in a CIA operation? Other things that could conceivably be dropped include dyes, pepper spray, and biologically active chemical agents. That would call for a very high level of secrecy. It is also perhaps the sort of thing the inventor of the Helitak would not have approved of, killing the deal that was being worked on when Helitak USA was formed by Joseph Rice.
Thus there are at least 3 possible reasons why it would be very important to keep the connection between Evergreen/Rath and Recoil secret.
While David Rath apparently knew Forsyth and Mahoney well, he may not have known Joseph Rice. Perhaps they heard about him when he was pushing Warthog Aviation to facilitate covert sales etc. to China et al., or perhaps from Joseph Rice’s Blackwater employment. In any case, one would expect that David Rath would want to meet with his agent, Joseph, at some point to size him up and/or discuss things that were to be kept secret about the deal. There may also have been a cash delivery there. We can only speculate as to the multiple possible reasons for a clandestine meeting.
Consider the possibility that David Rath and Joseph Rice needed to meet unobserved. How would they meet and not be seen? Probably as pilots with helicopters, they would meet by helicopter in a quiet and remote location with an easy accessible landing area. Where would Joseph most likely suggest they meet?
Burl Brim and Joseph had been training the Chinese pilots at Hyatt Lake, not very far from Brim’s facilities on Dead Indian Memorial Road. The training had been done there because it was both convenient and quiet, with few onlookers to get in the way, and a convenient place to land.
Consider this speculation: What if they did have that meeting there? Dave Lewis was an observant local resident. What if he had seen them meeting? Even from a distance, he could have seen the N-number on the side of the helicopters. What if, being a curious fellow, he wrote down the N-numbers so he could easily look up who it was that was landing at his lake?
What if they saw him observe their meeting? If Dave then left the scene what would they do? Just how important was the operational security of this whole deal, and just how much would Rath and/or Rice do to keep it secret?
Dave Lewis was murdered on September 4th 2008. One of the mysteries surrounding the murder of Dave Lewis was the fact that he had been burned in his own cabin, and that a second cabin was also burned.
http://themurderofdavelewis.webs.com
The cabins were reduced to cinders and it was difficult to even get Dave’s DNA for identification.
Any scrap of paper or computer device with N-numbers on it would have been destroyed, no matter where in the cabin it could have been hidden. That would be a reason for not just a simple murder, but the conflagration.
"Investigators suspect someone ventured up the long driveway to his secluded mountaintop cabin, then had come inside and killed him. Detectives aren't disclosing how Lewis died. They also note that the total destruction of the cabin has eliminated much evidence."
http://web.archive.org/web/20111127041255/http://themurderofdavelewis.webs.com/troycarneyanotherunsolvedmurder.htm
A friend of Dave Lewis who has resolutely sought for clues started a website to generate leads. There was a lot of information on Joseph Rice posted there, often in conjunction with Burl Brim:
http://themurderofdavelewis.webs.com/apps/blog/show/5993710-joe-rice-ron-wyden-ashland-airport-
http://web.archive.org/web/20150714163514/http://themurderofdavelewis.webs.com/apps/blog/show/5993710-joe-rice-ron-wyden-ashland-airport-
http://themurderofdavelewis.webs.com/apps/blog/entries/show/7154840-ashland-oregon-airport-southern-oregon-china-connection
This new information about the secrecy of the Recoil Suppression Systems apparent deal between Joseph Rice, Evergreen's president David Rath, and his associates Forsyth and Mahoney, may provide a possible motive and opportunity, although it is still just speculation that it could have resulted in the unsolved murder and incineration of Dave Lewis.
Even after the earmark had arrived there were more companies formed by Rath’s covert associates. In 2009 Forsyth and Mahoney formed Nomad Aviation LLC ( http://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web_name_srch_inq.show_detl?p_be_rsn=1422741&p_srce=BR_INQ&p_print=FALSE ) in the same address as a company Rath formed Precision Support Services LLC in 2011.
http://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web_name_srch_inq.show_detl?p_be_rsn=1529903&p_srce=BR_INQ&p_print=FALSE
Both Nomad and Precision were in the same sort of business as Evergreen and this was done before Evergreen Helicopters went out of business.
In what may be an attempt to evade the FAA $50,000 fine, Joseph Rice formed Warthog Lift LLC as a new company to do business. Checks written to Warthog could likely be deposited into a bank account with such a similar name.
http://records.sos.state.or.us/webdrawer/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/2683590/view/SOS%20-%20Corporation%20-%20Business%20Entity%20Filing%20Records%20-%2067218397.PDF
Joseph Rice used his home address as its business address.
http://www.bizapedia.com/or/WARTHOG-LIFT-LLC.html
After just a month, Forsyth substituted himself for Joseph as the Registered Agent.
http://records.sos.state.or.us/webdrawer/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/1156651/view/SOS%20-%20Corporation%20-%20Business%20Entity%20Filing%20Records%20-%2067218397.PDF
... but kept the business address at Joseph’s house. Rath’s most recent listed location is at the same physical location as John Forsyth at 66 Scenic Drive in Ashland Oregon, not far from the Oregon Shakespeare Festival venue.
http://records.sos.state.or.us/webdrawer/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/3456610/view/SOS%20-%20Corporation%20-%20Business%20Entity%20Filing%20Records%20-%2054198792.PDF
Why would Rath, Forsyth, Mahoney and Rice be involved in businesses that duplicated Evergreen Helicopters while Evergreen Helicopters was still in business? Perhaps Rath foresaw the demise of Evergreen and planned ahead. When Evergreen went belly up in bankruptcy in 2013, there were already businesses in place created by Rath’s associates and potentially able to pick up some of the business lost by Evergreen. Perhaps also these new companies were involved in things that even the CIA linked Evergreen could not do. Even though Evergreen went out of business, the activity could continue.
Rath joined the Precision Helicopters LLC as a member in 2012, before the demise of Evergreen Helicopters.
http://records.sos.state.or.us/webdrawer/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/2089053/view/SOS%20-%20Corporation%20-%20Business%20Entity%20Filing%20Records%20-%2078564391.PDF
As recently as Easter 2015 Rath was publicly associated with Precision Helicopters in which he is a partner. On the first of July, 2015 there was a crash of a Precision Helicopter killing two. David Rath was revealed in the news as the General Manager of Precision Helicopters, even though their About page at their website doesn't mention him.
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2015/07/helicopter_student_pilot_instr.html
http://videos.oregonlive.com/oregonian/2015/07/precision_helicopters_manager.html
http://www.flyprecision.com/about/
http://www.easteregghuntsandevents.org/ORsalem.php
http://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web_name_srch_inq.show_detl?p_be_rsn=1529903&p_srce=BR_INQ&p_print=FALSE
Meanwhile, partner Garry Mahoney still remains in the Far East, having moved from Penang Malaysia to Singapore, and he was there as recently as August of 2014.
http://records.sos.state.or.us/webdrawer/webdrawer.dll/webdrawer/rec/3456610/view/SOS%20-%20Corporation%20-%20Business%20Entity%20Filing%20Records%20-%2054198792.PDF
It was 2013 that Evergreen Helicopters went out of business, which was about the same time the Oath Keepers of Josephine County was formed by Joseph Rice.
Jun 292015At Linked-In Joseph lists his current employer as OCONUS – Afghanistan. OCONUS is the military abbreviation for Outside the Continental United States. However, he has clearly been here, and not currently in Afghanistan since 2013. Furthermore, his posted history does not match reality in other ways as well.
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/joseph-rice/3b/a54/388
Not shown in his Linked-In resume is his 3 years as the Director of Operations at Carson Helicopters, a company which shut down its Grants Pass division after 9 firefighters died in one of the most serious firefighter crashes to date. The crash was blamed on falsified helicopter weights which caused pilots to have an illegally small safety margin. This was the company’s standard methods for an extended period of time which caused the pilots to ignore signs of trouble:
"Contributing to the accident was the failure of the flight crew members to address the fact that the helicopter had approached its maximum performance capability on their two prior departures from the accident site because they were accustomed to operating at the limit of the helicopter’s performance."
http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR1006.pdf
This policy had been going on for some time and was only discovered after the crash was investigated. Pilots ignored sluggish flight due to their normally operating at limits. How did this happen?
http://media.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/other/carson.pdf
Was Joseph Rice the “one manager”? Does this explain why he does not list his employment at Carson Helicopters on his Linked In page? Even if he did not want to make public his position with Carson Helicopters, he was the Director of Operations for the three years, up to ten months before the crash:
Three helicopters hired by the Kim family were working the area, too, said Joseph Rice, operations manager for Carson Helicopters Services Inc. They had been working their way south since Friday looking at roads from Interstate 5 to the coast, where the Kims were headed.
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/volunteer-pilots-hunch-led-to-family-missing-in-oregon
Carson Helicopter in Grants Pass has sent four S61 Fire King choppers that hold 1,000 gallons of water, said Joseph Rice, director of operations.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/10/24/oregon-sends-firefighters-equipment-to-southern-california-for-blazes.html
Joseph Rice, director of operations for Oregon-based Carson Helicopters, said previously he had submitted multiple proposals to the state for use of a Sikorsky F-61 chopper for medical evacuation, rescues and natural disasters.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Dec/29/ln/FP612290352.html
Joseph Rice, director of operations for Carson Helicopters, an Oregon-based international aircraft company, said he has submitted more than two dozen proposals to DOH, Gov. Linda Lingle, the Guard and members of the state's congressional delegation.
http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2006/Jun/29/ln/FP606290340.html
Thus Joseph Rice not only managed operations. Joseph Rice was the highest ranked person, and a non-pilot for Carson, as listed on the list of participants for the tragedy:
Burl Brim Aviation
Joseph Rice Carson Helicopters
Bill Coultas Carson Helicopter Co-Pilot
Bill Albers Carson Helicopter Pilot
Bob Higgs Carson Helicopter Co-Pilot
Scott Dunn Carson Helicopter Pilot
Steve Metheny Carson Helicopter Pilot
John Rachor Private Pilot
http://www.kimtragedy.info/OSSA6.pdf
Flying with little or no safety margin was against the FAA/NTSB rules, and was also like gambling on a roulette wheel. Sooner or later there would be a disaster. Would the Operations Director for years be aware of the sluggish response of the helicopters? Would he be the one responsible for setting the standards and routinely pushing pilots to fly near the limits of what was possible?
Would Joseph Rice put good people in harm’s way for profit or glory? Joseph Rice was the "commander" at the Sugar Pine Mine Operation where people were potentially put in harm's way. What really happened at the Sugar Pine Mine?
THE BLACK HELICOPTER INCIDENT
During the Sugar Pine Mine operation, a black helicopter was reported to have touched down, sparking a frantic sense of crisis and alarm, inspiring patriots from around the nation to flock to the site to defend it from this mysterious threat - or to pour cash and material assets into Joseph Rice's coffers.
Let's examine the incidents in more detail. This was posted at the OathKeepersJoCo.com website and then taken down:
http://thelibertybrothers.com/tag/sugar-pine-mine
Although the Oath Keepers website has taken the helicopter incident postings down, the Liberty Brothers still had it up at their site as excerpted above. Joseph Rice personally took responsibility for handling the situation and seeking information about the helicopter.
The maximum range of an MD500 is 290 miles. Thus it had to come from a place less than half that distance away, a maximum of 145 miles.
http://www.mdhelicopters.com/v2/pdfs/products/MD500E_Tech_Desc.pdf
Joseph knew that, as he was an expert witness based on about 2,000 hours flying an MD500.
http://www.ntsb.gov/legal/alj/OnODocuments/Aviation/5619.PDF
It turns out that there is an MD500 owned and operated by Brim Aviation:
http://www.brimaviation.com/?page_id=76
In fact, one of the helicopters shown at the Brim Website is black with red on its belly, as described in the posting. The apparent red is lettering of some sort, but it does look sort of like a stripe on the bottom of the fuselage.
http://www.brimaviation.com/ and https://web.archive.org/web/20141126102648/http://www.brimaviation.com/
Burl Brim of Brim Aviation has worked together with Joseph Rice before on training of Chinese Police pilots, as disclosed earlier.
It strains credibility that Joseph Rice would not be able to find out if there is an MD500 operating out of a base since it was limited to a range of 145 miles or less from Merlin. There are few helicopter bases within that range. A check of the FAA Registry shows that there are only 6 helicopters matching either description in Josephine and Jackson Counties and it gives their owners’ names and addresses. There is only one in Douglas County. There aren’t that many helicopters that it could have been.
There are only 6 helicopters that currently fit the JoCo Oath Keepers posted description in all of Josephine and Jackson counties. Their owners are listed here in a database maintained by the FAA: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/statecounty_inquiry.aspx . Even a little checking would have found the pilot. The fact that no results were reported to the volunteers or the media suggests that the result of any search that might have been made was covered up.
There are no pictures of the black helicopter to read the N-number off of because all personnel at the mine were first required to give up their cell phones and cameras, to be locked in a box until they left the site. Thus nothing that went on at the site could be photographed except under strict supervision. Furthermore, all personnel were removed from the lookout points on the ridge before the helicopter approached, so nobody could see which direction it came from or where it went afterward. Why personnel would be removed from the ridge is an important question, as the operation needed to have lookouts on duty to watch for incursion from the BLM.
Given the evidence, it is certainly possible that Joseph Rice and associates orchestrated the helicopter incident as a bit of theater to escalate the sense of "crisis". Repeated pleas for donations, especially cash, were emphasized by the 'scary' black helicopter appearance.
WHAT IS JOSEPH RICE'S MILITARY EXPERIENCE?
The POW Network ( http://www.pownetwork.org ) had a list of people who had embellished their military records or made them up. These cases of “Stolen Valor” were investigated using FOIA requests and then recorded there. http://www.fakewarriors.org They unfortunately took the list down due to the workload of properly maintaining it: http://www.fakewarriors.org/names.htm
Fortunately there was somebody who looked up the records for Joseph Rice earlier and posted it as a quote from the site.
http://themurderofdavelewis.webs.com/apps/blog/show/13498586-joe-rice-50-million-almost-had-a-heli-heart-attack-
We do not know if the person who saved this was reliable, nor do we know if the Fake Warriors site was accurate. It could be in error. Nevertheless this is what the person says that he found there and saved:
http://www.pownetwork.org/phonies/phonies1255.htm
R2 POW phonies
"One version claims that he was a medivac pilot flying Huey's in Desert Storm, and was shot down and held for seven days as a POW. The other version was that he evaded through northern Iraq after being shot down until he made it to the Turkish border. Regardless of which version he tells, he claims he has two Purple Hearts. He goes on to claim that he flew MH-6's (little birds) for the 160th - 160th SOAR (special ops aviation), and did secret missions in Central America. Some versions of his stories are that he was with the SOAR when he was shot down, captured, etc... He has also claimed that he was with the 160th when he was shot down in Iraq. He claims to have retired from military service as a CW4.
Actual records:He was a Huey pilot for the Maine National Guard from 1986 to 1997. He was called to active duty for Desert Storm for two months, and never left the country. His highest award is the Reserve Component Achievement Medal, and he never rose above the rank of CW2"
http://themurderofdavelewis.webs.com/apps/blog/show/13498586-joe-rice-50-million-almost-had-a-heli-heart-attack-
http://web.archive.org/web/20150714173945/http://themurderofdavelewis.webs.com/apps/blog/show/13498586-joe-rice-50-million-almost-had-a-heli-heart-attack-
Joseph A. Rice lived in Maine and so that is consistent with the person described above who served in the Maine National Guard. It is consistent with his previous addresses: http://www.advancedbackgroundchecks.com/joseph+rice/OP-210599711 .
Joseph Anthony Rice does not appear to be listed in the public Purple Heart registries either; however not every Purple Heart recipient is listed there. http://www.thepurpleheart.com/recipient
Did Joseph Rice serve in the American military overseas? Or was he perhaps working for Blackwater, a mercenary contractor overseas and not in the US Military?
BLACKWATER
Joseph Rice has stated many times that he had worked for the mercenary contractor Blackwater. There is a second Oath Keeper in their inner circle who similarly claims to be a Blackwater contractor (Mitch Williamson). They are often seen proudly wearing their Blackwater t-shirts.
In the case of Blackwater, its head was Eric Prince, who has fled the US and is currently providing "security contractor services" to Middle East potentates and financial interests. They historically included fire fighting services, security, logistics and training in their public image.
"Prince currently heads a private equity firm called Frontier Resource Group and is chairman of Frontier Services Group Ltd, a Bermuda-incorporated logistics and transport company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Frontier Services Group is backed by China's state-owned CITIC Group and Hong Kong-based investor Chun Shun Ko."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Prince
Apparently Eric Prince is not above working for Chinese government interests as well.
There is a difference between a soldier and a mercenary. A soldier has to answer ultimately to a government. He is not in it for profit, even if he can make a living on the salary offered. There is no financial upside to become rich at being a soldier. He works only for his nation and nobody else, so there is no financial conflict of interest.
In contrast, a mercenary will work for whoever pays the bill and whoever they want to. They are free to follow the money. They have a financial upside. They can be very well paid for their services. One time services can be for one nation, and later it can be for that nation’s enemy. It can be done for an individual or any group. Their services are for sale to whoever the boss of it chooses for whatever the customer will pay.
Which jobs are taken all depend on the moral substance of the commander who controls the company. They can get away with shadowy acts that the military cannot. If something violent or unscrupulous needs to be done, and done without any oversight, then they can do it while the military cannot.
Despite Blackwater’s American patriot image, this above-the-law and outside-the-country mindset has plagued the moral guidance of the company.
http://www.thenation.com/blog/154977/us-businessman-blackwater-paid-me-buy-steroids-and-weapons-black-market-its-shooters
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/15/erik-prince-blackwater-united-arab-emirates_n_862098.html
Even with the best of intentions, a mercenary is acting as a law unto himself.
Anticipating a societal and economic breakdown in the US, the Oath Keepers have changed from their original mission. A little over a year ago the Oath Keepers had a goal of encouraging military, police, and others who have served, to use their own conscience and refrain from enforcing orders that were unconstitutional. This approach has a long and noble history of civil disobedience. The essence of its purpose was to reach out and encourage each individual to follow his or her conscience, guided by their own study and understanding of the Constitution.
After the Bundy Ranch, that guiding light of purpose started to change. Now after the Sugar Pine Mine "Security Operation" the evolution of the Oath Keepers has changed it and its fund raising methods significantly.
"You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before." - Rahm Emanuel
Instead of following one’s own conscience and interpretation of the Constitution, it now has become a paramilitary enforcer of what the management personally interprets the Constitution to mean, standing guard with guns to shoot Federal officers if necessary to enact their interpretation of the Constitution. Every confrontation has meant new cash and recruits into the Oath Keepers.
The head of the Josephine County chapter Joseph Rice has gone from referring to himself as a Coordinator, to “COMMAND”.
http://www.oathkeepersjoco.com/index.php
and
https://web.archive.org/web/20150621200819/http://www.oathkeepersjoco.com/index.php
Are the Oath Keepers now a law unto themselves? Has the organization morphed into a structure more reminiscent of an Afghanistan warlord than our America?
The vast membership of the Oath Keepers are all sworn to defend the Constitution against enemies foreign and domestic. But what do they do when some of their own leadership have sought to secretly serve foreign interests in China with "undivided loyalty"? Are they willing to sacrifice their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor for interests other than America’s?
When the Federal Government wants something done with plausible deniability, agencies such as Blackwater are contracted to get the job done. This tight-knit relationship between Blackwater and the Federal agencies extends well beyond military actions - it also includes intelligence gathering.
Joseph Rice's Sugar Pine Mine operation called together the staunchest patriot groups, and collected personal data on their leaders and members, to form a database that Rice personally took possession of. Did those group leaders even know about Rice's background and connections with Blackwater, the Federal Government and the Chinese Government?
Just what is real about Joseph Rice? Would a real patriot offer to confidentially acquire helicopters for the Chinese government “with undivided loyalty” to that client? Would a patriot train Chinese “police officers” in advanced US helicopter techniques and procedures? Would a small-government crusader be getting a $4,160,000 Federal earmark for his flimsy and foreign based "company"? Would he be doing it as a minority partner with two other majority partners who are residents in the Far East.
What is the truth about Joseph Rice? Can he be trusted?
