Readers; Welcome to the newly formatted Blackwater Tactical Weekly. You should notice three changes this week, all based on your suggestions and comments.

The second change is a movement based away from a structured theme each week. We believe we missed breaking or relevant stories by staying with a structured theme, and by the time we presented certain articles, they were a bit stale. We will now have articles that address breaking news for the military and first responder communities along with the security professional. We will also include documents and articles that are relevant to homeland security.

John Wrenn
Managing Editor, Blackwater Tactical Weekly
Director, Corporate Communications

Anatole

The White House recently issued an updated Homeland Security Strategy (BTW January 21, 2008) but are we really ready?

During this season of presidential politics and opinion polls, more Americans than ever say they worry about terrorism. They also fret about natural disasters as many communities around the country continue to experience devastation from recent hurricanes, tornadoes and wildfires.

Full Story

Nice article about the ubiquitous presence of cameras and their effect on law enforcement.

Drive though some Baltimore neighborhoods at night and it quickly becomes obvious: The blinking blue-light cameras show the police are watching.

But the police also are being watched.

As part of a heavy engagement plan for Africa, China is out in front as part of the UN peacekeeping force in Darfur.

Last November 24, a 140-person advance detachment of a 350-person Chinese peacekeeping engineering force arrived in Niyala, capital of the South Darfur state of Sudan, as part of the first batch of United Nations peacekeeping force deployed in the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).

Full Story

Good story about the long tentacles of organized gangs and their effects on the system.

EL PASO, Texas — A woman accused of having ties to the violent Barrio Azteca gang worked for years in the Federal Public Defender's office, officials said.

Full Story

Free Law Enforcement Newsletter With Training Tips

The Backup Training Corporation has introduced a free new Law Enforcement Newsletter. Delivered in electronic format, the newsletter contains a variety of brief training articles in each issue. These articles have been based on portions of the company’s extensive library of law enforcement courses and provide practical tips that you can use in your everyday police work. Read these articles and you will want to see the full courses. The Backup is the premier digital training provider for law enforcement. – Click here to subscribe or learn more!

To view the latest contract opportunities at Blackwater, visit our Contract Web Page.

TO FILL OUT AN APPLICATION AND SUBMIT YOUR RESUME CLICK HERE

Questions regarding Security Consulting or Training at Blackwater (252) 435-2488 or email webmaster@blackwaterusa.com.

Great overview of procurement process for HUMVEE replacement.

When did buying trucks become “rocket science?”

Unlike most other high-tech weapon procurements, trucks have been relative straightforward affairs. The issues typically involve cargo capacity, off-road mobility, fuel efficiency and other basic performance specs.

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Good overview of innovative products for law-enforcement.

The Cygnus Law Enforcement Group presented the 2007 Innovation awards on Oct. 13 in New Orleans.

The awards event was held in conjunction with the annual conference of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

Despite the importance of national security, it is still a balancing act.

The implementation of two of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations on strengthening the verification of individuals’ identities are getting pushed back.

Full Story

Here is an excellent article on understanding the current world-wide insurgent threat we face.

From the 1960s to the 1980s stopping Communist-backed insurgents was an important part of American strategy, so counterinsurgency was an important mission for the U.S. military, particularly the Army.

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A short 7 page document (6 page read) on the threat out there

National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) are the Intelligence Community’s (IC) most authoritative written judgments on national security issues and designed to help US civilian and military leaders develop policies to protect US national security interests.

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Tactical Equipment Evaluation

It seems like each year the review pages for SHOT seem to grow.  This year I tried to find a way to compress them, but I also wanted to keep various categories of gear separated.  So, this week we are posting a full ten webpages of equipment reviews to cover everything from boots to technology.  Guns, knives, lights, packs, bags, hydration, etc… are all covered.  There were a few really cool totally new items and a lot of "upgraded" variants on old items.  Let's take a look at anything that seemed note worthy!

Full Story Can Be Viewed At:

http://www.borelliconsulting.com/evals/other/shot08main.htm

Recreational Equipment Review

And as previously mentioned, we need to remember that SHOT Show didn't start out as a military and law enforcement exposition. It started out exactly as it's named, with a focus on SHOOTING, HUNTING and OUTDOOR trades. On the recreational side of the house this week we have seven webpages of reviews covering guns, knives, camping gear, clothing & footwear, packs, protective cases and everything else that doesn't fit into one of those categories. My biggest problem now is building my wish list.

Full Story Can Be Viewed At:

http://www.borelliconsulting.com/recevals/campback/shot08recmain.htm

1. the process or state of acting or of being active: The machine is not in action now.

2. something done or performed; act; deed.

Muscle pain is a normal experience for all of us; this could be blamed on a couple of reasons. Muscle pain can be due to overstretching the muscles or for some people, just because an advanced age.

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You've run hundreds of miles and, in the process, burned countless calories training for a marathon. Our bodies are like cars that cannot run on empty and which will perform at their best when properly fueled. So how will you fuel your body so that you can ask it to run and run well? Read on…

Black Five (http://www.blackfive.net/)
Blackwater Facts (http://www.blackwaterfacts.com/
Blogs of War (http://www.blogsofwar.com/)
Fifteen Months (http://www.fifteenmonths.blogspot.com/)
Iraq Slogger (http://www.iraqslogger.com/)
The Long War Journal (http://www.longwarjournal.org/)
Small Wars Journal (http://www.smallwarsjournal.com/)
The Spy Who Billed Me (http://www.thespywhobilledme.com/)

Here is the article that provides details about the Talon Range.

The Talon Range

This is the type of news available to members of the Blackwater Alumni Association and Friends of Blackwater. Here is information on how to become a member:

Blackwater Alumni

The Blackwater Tactical Weekly is a free weekly e-publication.

The BTW provides readers valuable information from diverse sources regarding tactical and strategic security issues.

Editor-in-Chief – Gary Jackson (btw@blackwaterusa.com)
Managing Editor – John Wrenn (btw@blackwaterusa.com)
Format Editor – Jennifer Granoff (btw@blackwaterusa.com)
Frank’s Review – Frank Borelli (frank@borelliconsulting.com)
Chaplain’s Corner – Chaplain D. R. Staton(chpln1@verizon.net)
Advertising – Melissa Cuthbert (MCuthbert@blackwaterusa.com)

Questions regarding Security Consulting or Training at Blackwater (252) 435-2488

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