| July 17, 2006 |
KILL, DON'T CAPTUREThe British military defines experience as the ability to recognize a mistake the second time you make it. By that standard, we should be very experienced in dealing with captured terrorists, since we've made the same mistake again and again. Violent Islamist extremists must be killed on the battlefield. Only in the rarest cases should they be taken prisoner. Few have serious intelligence value. And, once captured, there's no way to dispose of them. Killing terrorists during a conflict isn't barbaric or immoral - or even illegal. We've imposed rules upon ourselves that have no historical or judicial precedent. We haven't been stymied by others, but by ourselves. The oft-cited, seldom-read Geneva and Hague Conventions define legal combatants as those who visibly identify themselves by wearing uniforms or distinguishing insignia (the latter provision covers honorable partisans - but no badges or armbands, no protection). Those who wear civilian clothes to ambush soldiers or collect intelligence are assassins and spies - beyond the pale of law.Full Article |
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK |
| Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress.
Nicholas Murray Butler |
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PROFESSIONAL ARTICLES, EDITORIALS AND OPINIONS |
Focusing on SudanThis issueâs focus on Sudan could not be a more appropriate topic for our new format. The conflict in Darfur by itself encapsulates many of the critical issues facing the international peace operations, including limits on international political will, challenges regarding the responsibility to protect, the limits of Westernless peacekeeping and the increasingly prominent role of the private sector. The potential role of the private sector in Darfur is something IPOA has been asked about frequently of late by journalists, NGOs and policy makers. It should be noted that IPOA members have been involved in supporting the African Union mission in Darfur from day one, providing logistics, base construction, management and operations, medical services, and helicopters and vehicles for AU troops. Nevertheless, most analysts agree that the AU mission in Darfur is simply too underresourced to adequately fulfill its mandate in the vast area affected by the conflict.Full PDF Version of the IPOA can be downloaded at: Journal of International Peace Operations Shooting and Movement: Improve your survival potentialMy students and fellow shooters often ask me what they should work on to improve their firearms skills. There are lots of things, but one that I recommend most highly is to include movement in your range routine. This opens up a whole new world for folks who spend their time on a fixed firing line, usually with others shooting at the same time. The essential need for safety, as well as the limitations of a static range environment, really stifles your real-world gunfight preparation. Some instructors, like John Farnam, make a point of emphasizing movement at their various courses. When the facility makes it possible, it should be a no-brainer. Unfortunately, many law enforcement venues, especially indoor ranges, end up being used primarily as fixed firing lane facilities. It's just easier. But the streets aren't easy. Officer.com Our Enemies Aren't Drinking LattesAmateurs talk strategy. Professionals talk logistics. That well-worn saying, sometimes attributed to Gen. Omar Bradley, contains an obvious element of wisdom. Modern militaries cannot fight without a lengthy supply chain, and the success or failure of major operations can turn on the work of anonymous logisticians. Yet there is a danger of professional soldiers becoming so focused on supply lines that they lose sight of larger strategic imperatives. In Afghanistan and Iraq, we may already have crossed that threshold. In the past few months, I have traveled across U.S. Central Command area of operations vast domain stretching from the deserts of Arabia to the mountains of the Hindu Kush. Everywhere, I have found massive bases fortified with endless rows of concrete barriers and stocked with every convenience known to 21st century Americans.Council on Foreign Relations |
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BREAKING NEWS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
July Homicide Total Rises to 14 in DistrictD.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey reacted yesterday to a recent surge in homicides by declaring a "crime emergency," a move that gives him the freedom to quickly adjust officers' schedules and restrict their days off. Fourteen people have been killed since July 1 in the District, in all quadrants of the city, and police are being pressured to take action by residents at community meetings and vigils to honor the dead.Full Story Virginia Task Force Conducts Drug RaidsMore than 60 people could be charged in one of the largest drug investigations in Prince William County history. A task force has been conducting raids on criminal suspects in Woodbridge since last night. News4's Chris Gordon reported Wednesday that officials call the raid the highway men investigation because so much of the alleged activity has occurred along Jefferson Davis Highway. The raids and arrests began last night in Dale City are continuing.Full Story HPD, Airport Security at Odds Over IncidentHouston police and the federal Transportation Security Administration disagree over who is responsible for allowing a man with what appeared to be bomb components board an aircraft at Hobby Airport last week. Although the FBI eventually cleared the man of wrongdoing, police officials have transferred the officer involved and are investigating the incident while insisting that the TSA, not police, has the authority to keep a suspicious person from boarding a flight.Full Story Violent Crime Rates on the Rise NationwideIn Phoenix, they're terrorized by not one but two serial killers. In Boston, homicides are at a 10-year high. And with 14 murders since July 1, the nation's capital has declared a crime emergency. The latest preliminary FBI statistics show murders in the U.S. jumped 4.8 percent last year while overall violent crime was up 2.5 percent. And in many communities the upsurge is attributed to juveniles.Full Story |
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JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
| TO FILL OUT AN APPLICATION AND SUBMIT YOUR RESUME AND DD-214 CLICK HERE |
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SECURITY FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
Marines Try Lighter Touch in RamadiThis is the anti-Fallouja strategy. Here, in the capital of Al Anbar province, the U.S. military is attempting to clear and pacify an insurgent stronghold without leveling the city in the process. In November 2004, U.S. forces surrounded Fallouja, set up checkpoints at every road and worked to empty the area of its civilian population. They then moved in and cleared every house and block. The effort destroyed large swaths of the city and forced a massive reconstruction effort. This time, U.S. forces hope to avoid such drastic measures.Full Story Army Reshapes Training to Spare Enlistees the BootThe Army has slashed the rate at which young soldiers wash out, allowing it to keep more of the recruits it has struggled to find. That's due largely to changes in how the Army treats enlistees. Gone are the days when trainees run 'til they drop. Soldiers who need counseling get extra attention, not a screaming drill sergeant. The attrition rate within the soldier's first six months plummeted from 18.1% in May 2005 to today's rate of 7.6%. Last year the Army, which supplies most of the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, missed its recruiting goal of 80,000 soldiers; it's on track to meet this year's goal, also 80,000.Full Story After Daughter is Injured in Iraq, Mom Joins ArmyHaving volunteered with the Red Cross, Cindra Smith knew there was something wrong when she arrived home from work late one night and had a Red Cross message on her machine. When I called them back I was told to wait by the phone and expect a call, she said. When I got the phone call they said my daughter had been shot in the back during an IED attack in Iraq. Pvt. Tracy Branton, Smith's oldest daughter, was a heavy wheel mechanic on a convoy in Iraq when it was hit by IEDs. When Branton and her fellow soldiers got out of the vehicles to inspect the area, she was shot in the back. Now 21, Branton is 70 percent disabled and has a slight paralysis because of the injuries caused by the shooting.Full Story Scout Snipers Break in New RiflesScout Snipers from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit's Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Bn., 2nd Marine Regiment, fired their new rifles for the first time on a range here today. The BLT Marines will use the new MK-11 semi-automatic sniper rifle simultaneously alongside the bolt-action M40A3, a descendent of the Vietnam-era M40. The rifle resembles an M-16 on first glance, and Sgt. Gerald V. Gavin, Scout Sniper Platoon commander, said the resemblance can benefit operations on today's urban battlefields.Full Story |
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TRAINING FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
Terrorism: Threat, Training, Tactics, and TechnologySince 2001 Terrorism Research Center has conducted the nationally renowned T4 conference. The three-day program gathers international and national experts in the fields of counterterrorism, intelligence, homeland security and local law enforcement to explore current terrorist threats, emerging global and local threats, terrorist training and tactics, and technological proficiencies. Participants will acquire a comprehensive understanding of terrorist modus operandi, target preferences, threat mitigation, vulnerability assessments, terrorist ideology, and other topics related to terrorism studies.The August 07-09, 2006 T4 conference is pleased to have the following speakers confirmed: Michael Scheuer - Former head of bin Laden CIA desk. Author of "Through the Eyes of the Enemy" and "Imperial Hubris". Polly Hanson - Chief of Washington DC Metro Transit Police Dr. Scott Shumate - Senior expert for the Department of Defense as the Director of Behavioral Science for the Counterintelligence Field Activity. Expert on the psychological mindset of terrorists. Colonel David H.O. Walters (ret) - Former Chief of British Military Intelligence and Counterintelligence for the Northern Ireland theatre. Matt Begert - Project Leader for the National Law Enforcement Corrections and Technology Center (NLECTC) August 07-09, Gateway Plaza Building, Los Angeles, CA A detailed brochure may be downloaded at: www.terrorism.com Registration form can be downloaded here: www.terrorism.com Questions on TRC training, please contact Betty O'Hearns-Hines, Training Coordinator for the Terrorism Research Center. Email: betty@terrorism.com Phone: (727)360-4302 voice or (727)409-1754 |
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FRANKS REVIEW |
Service Equipment ReviewTASER M26 Electronic Control DeviceIt's not often I would (or do) write a two-piece equipment review. However, this week's and next week's reviews are both going to cover the TASER Electronic Control Devices (ECDs). I have been a TASER instructor for about three years now and have tested several of their ECDs in the field and under controlled conditions. The M26 is the subject of this week's review and the X26 will be covered next week. As TASER now makes a civilian model (X26c) and has previously made the M18 (which I feel is appropriate for certain civilian use), I'll cover them together in next week's Recreational Review. After all, you need protection when you're off-duty too and in some places you just can't carry a gun. Now, on to the M26...Full Story Can Be Viewed At: http://www.borelliconsulting.com/evals/footwear/bhwarriorwear.htm Recreational Equipment ReviewWICKid Gear For The OutdoorsA few weeks back I did a review on some undergarments that are well known in the industry. In fact, just like with "Simunitions", the proper brand name has now come to generically refer to any manufacture's undergarments (or outer garments) of similar material. To demonstrate some differences, and how mistaken we can be when we use that generic term, I've tested (at their request) under and outer garments from a manufacturer called WICKid Gear. While I haven't yet gotten the undergarments tested by my skydiving compatriots, I have tested it both on- and off-duty. Off-duty has been, by far, the most extensively tested condition having been tested hiking, boating, running, bicycling, doing yard work and more.Full Story Can Be Viewed At: http://www.borelliconsulting.com/recevals/campback/uarmor.htm |
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CHAPLAINS CORNER |
WHAT IF...
IDENTIFY...Many years ago in the beginning of my career I was deserted many times by by colleges while they went off to do some particular thing that they had to do. I would be left as a guard for the equipment we were using. I would be left without any means of communication and no means of transportation. I was the "Probationary Trooper." I was a piece of equipment to be used. This was one of the ways they used me. Each time I experienced this action I thought through the possibilities and how I would react if a threat arose. I thank God that it never happened when I was in those circumstances so I never had to find out by experience. Full Story Can Be Viewed At: http://www.blackwaterusa.com/btw2006/article/071706chaplain.html |
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BUMPER STICKER |
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LEGAL NOTICE |
| Blackwater USA (the "Company"), provides this Newsletter as a source of diverse information to its readers. The Company does not warrant or endorse the products or services advertised in or reviewed in the Newsletter. The views and statements of the reviewers and commentators presented in the Newsletter are entirely their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Company or its affiliates. The Company does not monitor or warrant the accuracy or reliability of the material provided in this Newsletter or presented at any of the third-party websites to which links are provided in this Newsletter. WARNING: Use of certain of the products and services discussed or reviewed in this Newsletter can lead to personal injury or death. It is critical to follow manufacturers' instructions in using such products or services. The Company will not accept any liability for damages, injuries, or death resulting from the use or misuse of any such products or services. |
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