By AuxBeacon News Contributor
Col Drew Alexa, former director of advanced technologies for CAP, died July 19, 2013 in Colorado Springs at age 65. A CAP member since July 1982 & the organization’s Senior Member of the Year for 2003, Alexa was involved in the development and implementation of the Airborne Real-time Cueing Hyperspectral Enhanced Reconnaissance, or ARCHER, imaging system, which enhances airborne search and rescue missions by providing both high-resolution and hyperspectral imaging capabilities.
Who should be allowed to run for Tony Pineda’s position? Is Drew Alexa the candidate, or is it Rick Greenhut? Who is the bigger sleaze bucket?
I too have had a close and ongoing involvement with Alexa as well as Greenhut. Drew Alexa has had a great deal of influence and time invested in the Archer program. Yet, keep in mind, he too was one of the people who dug the hole for Glasgow. Alexa had a lot to do with spreading the rumors about how Glasgow didn’t have a job and how Glasgow lived off of support from his ex wife, and how Glasgow used a CAP vehicle exclusively because he couldn’t afford to buy one of his own.
Pineda may be calculating, but he is predictable. Alexa is ruthless, calculating and an emotional roller coaster. Alexa will manipulate, use, abuse and toss aside anyone who does not “yes sir” him. I am an employee at CAP and I have never posted on the blog and am driven to do so this time because if the shakeup at NHQ results in Alexa being named vice or the commander, he will surely sell CAP to get rich off of it. You think Pineda is bad. Pineda wants the title and the satisfaction that he beat the USAF. Alexa wants to milk CAP for his personal gain.
Let’s look at Alexa. His highest accomplishment outside of CAP is that he was a salesperson. He supposedly finished CLC and SLS both on the same weekend. Wonder how he pulled off being at two programs on the same day. His wife has a duty assignment of Government Relations Officer, one more paper position to help her professional resume. She does not have the achievements to make Lieutenant Colonel, but she is. He has not had a job in over six years. Alexa lives off of his wife’s income. She as a sales person travels a lot leaving him alone which gave him the time to spend on Archer. Alexa has no technical knowledge to head the Advance Technologies Group.
Pineda, John and the big wigs know this, but they let him be. All one needs to do is say something in a technical sounding manner and he will buy it. I have seen the millions of dollars he has spent and heard John Salvador and him talk about how the Archer systems are faulty and the systems CAP received being intermittently functional at most times. The contractors hate him. Any student of the Archer Operator training who spoke up about the lacking functionality was immediately removed from the program and prevented from getting the rating. Alexa has told staff at NHQ that what he does is of greater importance than anything or anyone else because he is funded directly by congress. He thinks just because NHQ is in Alabama, that the staff is stupid. He calls us hicks. Alexa does not like the cadet programs. He said he does not care for kids, never have and never will. He feels the money spent on Aerospace Education and Cadet Programs are better spent on Archer.
The people he has, the so called scientists are only those who “yes sir” him, the old geezers who need something to retire with. The contractors conduct Archer training at NHQ. You should hear the things those guys talk about. Again, since we are the stupid hicks from Alabama I guess, no one seems to care if we hear what they are saying. Head of training from the contractor called Alexa mentally unstable in describing a situation to someone else. They were talking about some question Alexa’s scientists had asked of the contractors. The head trainer for the contractor told the other staff member “just say its in the algorithm, how is Alexa to know”. I have seen some scientists come and go. The scientists who question the design or the proper functionality are tossed aside. Archer is not an original idea of Alexa. Alexa just happens to be the person who pushed others aside to gain control.
Considering what Archer can do, Archer should be a part of the Homeland Security Group. But that’s not the case because Alexa hates Greenhut, the head of Homeland Security. Alexa hates Greenhut so much that he routinely makes fun how Greenhut after being named to head Homeland Security at CAP, even though Greenhut had no previous experience in the subject matter or for that matter remotely involved in law enforcement or intelligence, now contracts himself out as a security expert all because he can say he heads Homeland Security Group at CAP. Alexa talks about how Greenhut was an audiovisual guy in high school and that Greenhut’s technical abilities are limited to turning on a projector. Greenhut gets setup by Alexa to look like a fool in front of military officers. Each time Greenhut speaks, the military participants are told in advance the inconsistencies to look for. Its like a chess game to Alexa. Pretty soon its going to be checkmate for Greenhut.
I know for a fact that Alexa has been looking to recruit Archer operators with real world experience and business men to join him in starting a Hyper Spectral company. This is not speculation, I have heard Alexa talk in the hallways and in Pineda’s office (Alexa uses it when he is at Maxwell). Alexa thinks we the staff at NHQ are dumb. That when he mumbles and hides in corners, he can hide what he is up to. We are like one big family. We share what we see and hear. We know what he is up to. I wonder if the contractors who created the systems know that Alexa is stealing the ideas and the technology. He is constantly trying to transfer members into the Advance Technologies Group so he can own them. He gives them Lt Col Rank and buys their loyalty. Look at those in his group. They all have high ranks and bogus sign offs at best to show for qualifications.
Alexa is such a loose canon that John Salvador, the head of operations for all of CAP is scared of Alexa. I have seen John walk away like a dog with his tail between his legs when Alexa yells at him. When Alexa is at Maxwell (that’s quite often) John becomes Alexa’s slave. John waits on Alexa hand and foot and goes home late every night. I remember how when Alexa got irate and hung up on a conference call John stayed on to sooth the contractors. Alexa called John back and yelled at John for undermining Alexa by staying on the call with the contractors. John is a good USAF guy. Those of us at NHQ feel Alexa is blackmailing John with something to keep John castrated. Even the legal staff at CAP is afraid of Alexa. Alexa in the heat of the moment yelled at John saying that the CAP legal staff are bunch of losers who couldn’t get a real job as an attorney. Alexa said what does a logistics guy know about writing contracts. Alexa even brought a hired gun attorney to intimidate the CAP attorneys.
CAP is paying for all the expenses of Alexa’s travel, stay and food. Some months when John is with Alexa, John’s CAP credit card bill is over $25,000.00 paying for Alexa’s stuff. I have heard Alexa tell John “just take care of it”. Alexa travels extensively meeting with government agencies and presenting the Archer technology fully knowing these agencies are creating and have their own better systems. Again we at NHQ are not as stupid as Alexa thinks. We know how to use Google to look up what the various government agencies have. They don’t need CAP to fly missions. He is doing this so that he personally can get recognition and grab business as a Hyper Spectral consultant and expert. Alexa treats us at NHQ like he is the national commander. What, we can’t get from Google, we get by paying attention to conference calls and conversations on speaker phones. Sometimes just acting dumb and asking him. He gave me a big lecture with eyes rolling and head bopping about how it’s not right that Pineda is giving the medal of Valor to his cronies. He was furious. Later, he admitted that given the opportunity, he would do the same for his friends.
Alexa hates immigrants. He has several times made comments like “damn Mexicans” and he refers to Pineda as a wet bag. Alexa constantly talks about how Pineda is fat, not in physical shape to be a General and represent CAP, and how Pineda can not speak two sentences without hmmmm and ahhhhhh. Maybe Alexa should become the vice commander so that Pineda can be manipulated and out smarted by Alexa. Pineda is no match for Alexa. Alexa will eat Pineda alive.
Alexa’s master plan is to become the next national commander. What does he stand to gain, EVERYTHING. He will build up his private business using CAP Archer program as a selling tool and all the while have CAP pay for all his expenses of flying around to meetings with government agencies. The BOG and the rest of CAP will in the meantime praise Alexa for all he is doing. How cunning is he. Alexa should be forced to reimburse CAP for the money he has spent on building his business giving presentations about Hyper Spectral just to be known by Government agencies. Pineda is just ego driven. Alexa has a master plan that is absolutely personal.
Those of you who think you know Alexa think hard about how and what you know. Just because you have been involved in Archer and think you know the man, you only know the guy’s facade. Have you seen how blushed he gets and how he trows temper tantrums where he huffs and puffs. He has had heart trouble in the past and every time he huffs I feel we are going to have to resuscitate him. I have nothing to gain by writing this letter. I am not a CAP member, I don’t have a rank and I will serve as long as I do in the same job doing the same thing. Its about time the general membership got to know who Alexa is. Alexa is a moody, conniving, calculating, desperate man looking to retire by selling out CAP Archer for his benefit. Very few people outside of NHQ know all what I speak of. Since he is so cavalier at NHQ, it will be difficult to figure out who here wrote this email. If you hear about a NHQ member being shot by Alexa, cry a tear for me.
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