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Statement on the recovery of Captain Scott Speicher: The United States Navy’s official announcement that the body of Captain Michael Scott Speicher has been positively identified via dental records is a bittersweet moment, without question, but it has also raised more questions. With regards to the statement that he died in the crash, there should be a comparison to the original 1995 search area for Speicher's remains versus the present area that yielded his remains. His flight suit, as documented by investigators in 1993, was in a condition that is not consistent with having been worn by an aviator who perished in his aircraft. Its condition, coupled with the lack of all but a couple of drops of blood on sleeve, is incongruent with the picture now being presented of Captain Speicher’s demise. Further, scientific reports generated by leading experts in their respective crash investigation disciplines documented an ejection from the aircraft. Investigators on the site in December 1995 and, later in 2005, found no sign of a body buried at the aircraft crash site, a site they fully excavated in the hope of finding his body both times. It seems unlikely that two dedicated site excavations would miss this critical evidence. How did the remains get there? The crash site is in the middle of a vast desert with topography reminiscent of the surface of Mars. There has been no remnant of Captain Speicher’s F/A-18 Hornet there in years. Is it likely Bedouins would suddenly point out a definitive burial site? Under what conditions was the recovery made? Recoveries such as this are painstaking and deliberate, did the recovery team document and photograph the site where Captain Speicher’s remains were recovered? Did they collect forensic evidence and artifacts from the grave and the soils around the body? The conduct of a complete forensic examination of the find is necessary, including microfibers and microbes and soils in/on the remains, to include comparison of the soils and pollens and other discoveries with global regions where those are present. Forensic analysis will speak volumes as to when, where and how Scott Speicher died. Further particulars of this story had already come to my attention from investigators, witnesses and documents since “No One Left Behind” was published. I find it troubling that there remains insufficient evidence to conclude that he died when his aircraft was shot down in January 1991. I believe he was alive for a period of time (years), died, and his remains interred elsewhere before being placed at the site where they were eventually recovered. There are many questions that science should help us answer but the analysis of the remains, for reasons stated above, requires independent efforts for credibility and validity purposes, by at least two independent scientists. In the meantime, please remember the legacy of Captain Scott Speicher, a husband, father, brother and son who had so much taken from him, yet gave so much to others that is reflected, in my mind, in the number of personnel recovery protocols, training regimes and lessons learned that emerged from his case that have since led to lives saved and other families spared the heartbreak and disappointment experienced by his family, friends and colleagues over the past eighteen years. My deepest sympathy goes out to the family of Captain Michael Scott Speicher as he is finally brought home and laid to rest. If you would like to contact me click here.
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