Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

"His team of recruiters is stunned by the developments."

That's funny, I just called a friend in the air guard and told him about this. He was really excited to hear the good news, said folks have talked about Flamand doing this for years.

I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT HIS FELLOW RECRUITERS DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS DEALING GOING ON OUT OF THE RECRUITMENT OFFICE....ANYONE?

is this were the slogan AIM HIGH comes from, set the example send him to FORT LEAVENWORTH !!!!! GO GUARD !!!!!!! BE ALL U CAN BE !!!!!!

Adds new meaning to "Aim high! A great way of life!"

This could become a national story if we're lucky.

My husband works on this base, and TRUTHFULLY he and his colleagues were stunned at this development. One bad seed in a government position does not represent an entire unit; I deplore anybody who would be narrow minded enough to believe his co-workers were also a part of this scandal.

He should be ashamed of himself! To each and every member o the 143 AW & other air guard units who serves selflessly, I thank you. Do not let this over-shadow all the good that has been done by the men & women of the Rhode Island Air National Guard! The men & women of this outstanding unit should not be judged by one ignorant person.

Labeling a person as ignorant without know all the facts is ignorant in itself. Know one knows what drove this youn man to disgrace his family, his Country and himself. This is a very sad story. Let's here the facts before we judge folks!

This rotten apple should not spoil the whole barrel he is a jerk. I agree with anonymous 100%. He deserves a very harsh punishment.

Shame how they are supposed to set an example and do the exact opposite. And agree with air force wife just because he was doing it didnt mean others were in on it. But at the same time it is possible that someone knew about it

I agree with the last post. The military in general gets a bad rap due to idiots that just cannot see the big picture. this is just a selfish act by someone who cares only about himself. He (not the military ) is a discrace and should go to jail for a long time. both at the ACI then throw him in a military prison ( Gitmo has some spots open )

Go Guard. When I joined in 1989 there was clear advice to steer clear of drugs. I knew culture was changing when I was ready to retire, but this takes the cake.

I cant wait to see how many people test positive for drugs that were recruited by this guy.

When did ethics go out the window anyway.

When someone does this, they leave behind a family, kids, etc, who now have to deal with the embarassment, immediate lack of income, and emotional pain. What makes people think they can do this forever without getting caught? Just not worth it, live by the rules.

Everyone at my base knew about this. Lt.Col's and above, everyone! Some took part.

As a member of the RI Air Guard this does not surprise me. When I go to drills the leadership of my unit constantly tells us of the 100% drug testing due to the number of positive drug tests they have had in the last few years. Maybe they need to look at the leadership (or lack there of)in Quonsit.

WHAT A LOSER.....

To those wondering how this could have happened in the recruiting office undetected, he worked in a field office away from the base, on his own, with little supervision. His actions do NOT represent the vast 99% majority of us. We are disappointed and yes very shocked that one of our own did something like this.

Being a former Guard member, I agree that not all Guard members are bad, and shouldn't be judged by him.

HOWEVER, he was one of many "faired haired boys and girls" that got promoted very quickly and could do no wrong in the eyes of some of the "higher ups". Unfortunately, the Guard has too many of those people and the honest hard working Guard members suffer and pay the price. The state should look more closely at the Army and Air Guard's leadership.

But as usual, only pions will suffer and everything will be swept under the carpet.

I'm not sure Mary if you are defending this individual or what, but the FACTS so far....as they've been printed seem pretty obvious. You don't need to defend an individual like this...leave that to his lawyer. No matter what his situation may have been to possess him to stoop to such stupidity, there is no excuse for blatantly and knowingly breaking the law. What an absolute disgrace for his family and to the uniform. To think this guy at the age of 31 had served 12 years and could have possibly been eligible for retirement before the age of 40...wow; but he knowingly risked it and ultimately lost.
What a damn fool!

Do not feel sorry or defend this person. He knew what he was doing and he knew the risks. Now he should pay the price. Unfortunately his family how has to live with this experience. I also agree that the entire National Guard need not be harshly scrutinized. This guy was very good at acting like he was better than everyone else.

zaria as Mary said let's wait for the FACTS; I thought people were innocent until proven guilty... we have no facts its all speculation there are always two side to any story! He is a good man, father, and would help anyone in need! And there is NO ONE that can take that away from him! Doesn't it sound rather odd that NO ONE who worked with him saw any of these supposed going ons. You have to step back and wonder why if it was going on like stated in the news. Someone who has no prior record??? As friends we need to stand by him and support him in his time of need.

This is a very sad situation all around. I only knew Rick in passing to exchange a hello so this is an objective observation, not someone defending or covering for him as a personal friend.

First, let's keep in mind that this goes on in every segment of society and should not be thought of as a reflection on the Air National Guard. I have been with the RI Air Guard for over 15 years, worked closely with many individuals from numerous units including full-time staff to drill status Guardsmen, and this is NOT at all the culture I have come to know and love.

Yes we want to hold those who serve in government and leadership positions to a higher standard, and in a perfect world, with perfect people, that would be ideal. But none of us are perfect. We are all very fallible humans who make mistakes, sometimes very big ones.

The goal to help each other in times of weakness and failure. This young man made a very serious mistake and is about to pay a very heavy price for it. Let's not add to his and his family's distress.

If called he would have packed his dufflebag, taken up his weapon and put his life on the line for his country in afganistan or Iraq.

Ricky could not have been in this alone! Think about it, way to much for one person. As far as the person who has a friend in the guards that knew about it, he is just as guilty.This was absolutely a dumb choice and punishment from the guards is understood.However, when child molesters and convicted rapist are walking the streets, I feel another type of punishment should be considered other than jail. I hope that Ricky rats on every person involved because this was way to much for one person.He did choose many wrong paths to go down but not alone.

The officer charged with this is somebody I know and I was extremely surprised when I heard of the news. Many of you call him a disgrace for selling out of the recruitment office and call him a bad apple among a lot of others doing good. Well, who was he selling all these prescription meds to? Who was he selling the other stuff to? Do you think it wasn't maybe someone who saw how many people actually WERE involved with all this and saw an opportunity for themselves? Not saying what Rick did was right but I can assure you, there were many that knew inside of that air force base EXACTLY what was going on. Prescription meds are not looked at the same way by the general public as some of the other major drugs. So, for some of these officers, I'm sure a percocet or a vicodin wasn't the end of the world for them. If you're going to bust one guy for an act, bust them all. On a military base, it shouldn't matter if you're the buyer or the dealer. Treat them all the same. One does not survive without the other so without one, there would not be another. Rick as I know him is genuinely a very good person. Just because he was doing something "illegal", does not mean he is not an overall good person. What he did was wrong but if you all knew him, you'd not only be extremely surprised by this but you'd realize it was a young guy who got caught up in something that he shouldn't have. Everyone makes mistakes in life and Rick unfortunately made a very large one. Hopefully he learns from this and is granted a second chance one day. Good luck Rick!