[ssg keay]

ClinA, I know enough about Bethke, but that is not a topic discussed in an open Forum. My personal feelings toward him are neutral.
I am active duty US Army and that has been a pain in my side a while. I am gone to often to lead any digs. My last MIA recovery was in August 2005 (1LT Paul Mazal). Before that I assisted our sister team in Giessen when they recovered three Australian MIAs. It is also getting harder and harder to do recoveries with the proper permissions. In Germany, the state claims all aircraft wrecks as theirs. You can excavate (and foot the bill), but they legally can take every sincle scrap of metal (which they rarely do). English planes (not only in Germany) are still property of the MOD and as such (if human remains are suspected to be inside) considered war graves, which should remain undisturbed (with exceptions). For American MIAs of course JPAC consider themselves the Gods of recovery (NO COMMENT), but the biggest issue are the different German state laws and the fact that the archaeological societies now feel they should excavate, or at least be present, when an aircraft is recovered. In the Netherlands, the Dutch Air Force has their own recovery team (my respect), but the community/town where the wreck is located normally has to foot the bill for the recovery, which can be very steep. I know several sites in Holland where MIAs might be located. Belgium and Luxembourgh are easier though. My next target is in Luxembourg. How about you? And where are you located???