Office of Independent Review Report, 2003: A Code of Silence in the Sheriff's Department?; Deployment of Reserves and National Guard; Audubon Center Opens in the Urban Landscape of Debs Park; Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients
Office of Independent Review Report, 2003: A Code of Silence in the Sheriff's Department?
The Office of Independent Review issued its second annual report last month. One of the things that the OIR found is that deputies' memories were fuzzy during investigations of the use of force. In a recent article, the LA Times called it a "code of silence," when deputies fail to report misconduct by fellow officers. Sheriff Lee Baca and Michael Gennaco, Chief Attorney for the LA Office of Independent Review, join Host Larry Mantle to discuss the report and the OIR's recommendations.
Deployment of Reserves and National Guard
The Department of Defense is sending more and more Reservists and National Guard into combat zones, with nearly 47,000 National Guard and Reserve forces in the process of being notified that they will be activated to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan. These so-called weekend warriors are seeing long deployments on the front lines of what has become a guerrilla war. What does this mean for their jobs and their families? What is the administration's vision for how to use the Reserves and National Guard? Have they become a stopgap force because America has a downsized standing army? Hal Kempfer, occasional analyst for ABC channel 7 and Marine Reserve Lieutenant Colonel, Secretary Wade Sanders, Chair of the Leadership Council of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, and Greg Dinse, high school history teacher and a Lt. Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, join Host Larry Mantle to discuss the topic.
Audubon Center Opens in the Urban Landscape of Debs Park
Last Thursday, the Audubon Society opened an urban nature center in Ernest E. Debs Park northeast of downtown Los Angeles, an underused and somewhat forgotten refuge alongside the Pasadena Freeway, home to 136 bird species. The educational center is the second urban Audubon facility in the country, representing a major philosophical shift for the conservation group, which is trying to reposition itself to respond to the demographic changes that are altering the face of the nation. The Center will provide innovative, hands-on, outdoor science programs to children and families in some of Los Angeles' most underserved neighborhoods. Elsa Lopez, newly appointed Director of the new Audubon Center at Debs Park, joins Host Larry Mantle to talk about Debs Park.
Congressional Medal of Honor Recipients
The Congressional Medal of Honor is the highest honor issued to US servicemen. Since the award began during the Civil War, just over 3,400 Medals of Honor have been awarded. On the occasion of Veteran's Day, Host Larry Mantle speaks with military historian Professor Perry Hutchison, as well as with two Medal of Honor recipients about how they won the Medal and what it means to them. Drew Dix, Medal of Honor recipient from action in the city of Chau Phu, near the Cambodian border, 1968, and John Cavaiani, Medal of Honor recipient from action at Hickory radio relay site near Khe Sanh, are profiled in a new book called Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty (Artisan)