The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "commando" ...
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Mazar-i-Sharif
Hylton spins the story of Matt, the 27-year-old Air Force Special Tactics Commando who coordinated air strikes that took out Taliban positions in and around Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan. Hylton's vivid description reads like a novel as he details Matt's insertion into the battle zone and subsequent warfare. He also describes the highly specialized training requirements for Special Tactics Commandos.
Tags: Afghanistan; Taliban; war zone; commando; Air Force; Army; Green Berets; Navy; bomb; laser; machine gun
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Cocaine Chaos
Reporter Stephen Rodrick discusses his month long stay in Columbia, depicting the country's substantial cocaine business as well as the U.S. influence to combat an new billion dollar anti-drug effort. In addition, Rodrick depicts the country's challenge for peace within, describing the on-going war between Columbia's two main guerrilla groups (FARC and AUC). Through his interviews with coca farmers, Colombian army commandos and widows of guerrilla warfare, Rodrick states ". . . I talk with more than a hundred Colombians. The poor and the rich agree on only two things: American aid will make an unspeakably horrible situation even worse. And Americans will die here."
Tags: Colombia; cocaine industry; anti-drug efforts. guerrilla warfare
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Police Corps
"The enemy: rising crime in urban America, coupled with police brutality and corruption. The man with answer: a former Robert F. Kennedy aide who had turned crime crusader. Eventually heeding the constant lobbying of Adam Walinsky, Congress finally created the Police Corps training program to create an elite generation of sophisticated, college-educated officers. But with lax oversight at the U.S. Department of Justice, state and federal program administrators relied on Walinsky for guidance. The result: a rogue program that after $54 million had put only 246 cops on the street. What's more, Walinsky's influence took a controversial path of militaristic, boot-vamp style of training, including sleep deprivation, Hell Week endurance tests and live-fire over cadets' heads."
Tags: police training; FOIA; criminal justice; Florida State University; university graduates into neighborhood cops; Outward Bound training style; character; commando; ROTC for police; sleep deprivation; National Institute on Justice
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Cancer in the Navy Seals
The Israeli newspaper revealed that "dozens of Israeli Navy commandos were struck with cancer" after being ordered for many years "to dive in the Kishon river...one of the most polluted rivers in the world" and even to drink the contaminated water as a kind of punishment. The reporters used environmental studies to illustrate the presence of hazardous materials - like arsenic, benzene, nickel, chrome and cadmium - in the river. The series also found out that the Israeli Navy knew about "the pollution and its risks" for 43 years, "but did nothing to protect its soldiers". Among the findings was the fact that Navy medical staff had ignored divers' complaints regarding various medical problems. The reporters added human-interest angle by telling the personal stories of some of the affected soldiers along with the political follow-up of the issue.
Tags: original story in Hebrew; Israeli army; pollution; hazardous waste; cancer; petrochemical factories; Israeli supreme court; Ehud Barak
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Closed Ranks? The Color of Commandos
The San Diego Union-Tribune investigates the integration of the U.S. military's most elite forces, the Army Green Berets, Navy SEALs and Air Force Commandos. While most of the military is successfully integrated -- one in three soldiers is of a minority -- the members of elite forces are mainly white. About one in eight elite soldiers are minorities. Crawley discovered that this racial disparity is due to cultural and historical biases and a perception of racism among the members of these elite units.
Tags: military; Army; Navy; Marines; Air Force; racism; integration; inequality; race; Green Berets; Navy SEALs; Air Force Commandos; stealth; secrecy; politics; war; bombs; combat
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No title (id: 12510)
The Daily Press details the case of Petty Officer Matt Napiltonia, a Navy SEAL commando, who reported safety violations to his commander. He was placed on toilet-cleaning duty, sent to a psychiatrist, and had his SEAL pin pulled. Despite the story, which detailed the safety violations within his unit, and the intervention of his congressman, Matt's commander refused to budge, even attempting to assign him to a ship on short notice. (May 14, 1995)
Tags: McMichael Safety charges cost SEAL his job Contest entry 7 pgs.
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Secret Warriors: Behind Iraqi Lines
Newsweek reports that special forces commandos within the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force have been operating within Iraq and Iraqi-held Kuwait prior to the beginning of the Gulf War. Their actions played a critical role in the U.S. victory over Iraq.
Tags: irewar03; war; special operations; Navy; Saddam Hussein; Pentagon; Bush; Cheney
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Mobutu massacres scores of students at University of Lubumbashi
National Alliance (New York) reports on the mass assassination of 150 University of Lubumbashi students by Zaire military commandos under the command of Zaire's military dictator and ally of the United States, Mobutu Sese Seko; the students had dared to speak out against Mobuto's fascist regime; U.S. State Department denies that the massacre took place.
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No title (id: 1205)
Advertiser uncovers a mercenary/commando camp that teaches members terrorist skills, July 29 - Oct. 14, 1985.
Tags: AL