Jeff Latas
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Jeff Latas (born January 10, 1958) was a 2006 Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Arizona Congressional District 8.
Latas worked as a construction carpenter and attended Pima Community College. He was then accepted into the Air Force ROTC program and Aerospace Engineering program at the University of Arizona, and upon graduation, he was commissioned into the United States Air Force. He flew the F-111D and served as a flight instructor in T-38s. He then flew the F-15E "Strike Eagle" in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. For his service in the Gulf, Jeff was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism. Latas flew 38 official combat missions and remained in theater for nearly eight months.
Latas was named the Rocketeers' Top Gun in the spring of 1993. He returned to Saudi Arabia twice with the Rocketeers in support of Operation Southern Watch, living in the now-famous Khobar Towers at Dhahran Air Base.
His next assignment was to The Pentagon, where he managed requirements for weapon modernization programs. Latas served as a member of the Quadrennial Defense Review in 1996. During that project, he researched the weapons that other countries had. In 1997, General John Shalikashvili, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, awarded him a Joint Service Achievement Medal for his anti-armor study.
Latas returned to flying the F-15E with an assignment to the 391st "Flying Tigers" fighter squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho. He returned to southwest Asia twice more with the Flying Tigers, once in support of Operation Southern Watch in Kuwait, and once in support of Operation Northern Watch in Turkey.
His military record includes nearly 5000 hours in fighter aircraft, the Distinguished Flying Cross, four Air Medals, four Meritorious Service Medals, and nine Aerial Achievement Medals.
Upon retiring from the Air Force in December 2002, Jeff was immediately hired by JetBlue Airways as a pilot. He upgraded to Captain in 2005.
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[edit] Jesse Latas
Latas’s son, Spec. Jesse Latas, of Tucson’s 208th Transportation Company, USAR, is a Combat Veteran who had to be medically evacuated from Iraq after suffering a relapse of childhood leukemia. Spec. Latas passed away on July 29th 2007 at University Medical Center in Tucson. [1][2][3]
[edit] 9/11
Latas has openly questioned the official story of 9/11, and is a member of Pilots for 9/11 truth. Source: Pilots for 9/11 truth, patriotsquestion911.com
[edit] Sources
- Jeff Latas for Congress (2005). About Jeff Latas. Retrieved January 3, 2006.
- Franzi, Emil. "Bet on Latas as the Democrat Dark Horse", The Explorer, 21 December 2005.
- Morlock, Blake. "Energy ex-fighter pilot's priority", The Tucson Citizen, 16 December 2005.
- Smallwood, William L. (1 January 1998). Strike Eagle: Flying the F-15e in the Gulf War, viii, 19, 64, 80, 85, 138. Google Print. ISBN 1-57488-122-1 (accessed January 3, 2006). Also available in print from Brassey's.
