Readers;

Since the outbreak of GWOT, a few "experts" have placed a negative spin on the term "cowboy." If this is a trend it is a sad one, for in fact cowboys were heroic figures who helped tame the American West, opening the way for greater prosperity for those who came after them. It wasn't too long ago that cowboys were depicted as hard working men of virtue such as in the wildly popular TV show Bonanza. In Bonanza the noble Cartwright family was portrayed as open-minded, personifying the values of justice and fairness. While today some may ascribe negative characteristics to the term cowboy, an article in this week's BTW by a professional military officer who served in Iraq, seeks to prove being a cowboy is a good thing.

As always, you'll find some recent innovations aimed at the tactical market, along with Frank Borelli's equipment reviews and a moving column from our Chaplain as he shares his feelings on a personal loss.

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

Albert Camus

Blackwater is offering a new K-9 Tactical Course

Now is the time to register for the Blackwater K-9 Tactical Course June 16-19, 2008. This course is 3.5 days and is designed to educate the working dog handler and his canine partner

with advanced skills in tactical dog handling with faced with high-risk/high-threat situations. This is a challenging course that will test the handler's decision-making ability.

This course is approved by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) for twenty eight (28) hours of Law Enforcement In-Service Training credit.

For more information visit: http://www.blackwaterusa.com/courses/AT_nc_k9.html

To register for the class please call Michele at (252) 435-2035 or email her at:
training@blackwaterusa.com

An excellent article about how involved parents can head off gang membership, reducing the influence and threats of gangs. There is a great sidebar that details information put out at the forum and what parents can do. I recommend passing it along.

There are an estimated 7,000 gang members in Stanislaus County -- and they might be living in your house, two gang task force investigators said to an audience at a recent community forum at Modesto High School.

A sad story about human trafficking. There are other stories about how human smugglers demand ransom money from family members already here in the U.S.

PHOENIX - Arizona authorities on Sunday found 53 illegal immigrants in a Phoenix home being held against their will by suspected smugglers demanding more money for their release.

This is interesting, since the Vice-President used a rare tactic and invoked his status as a member of Congress to file the petition.

Vice President Cheney signed on to a brief filed by a majority of Congress yesterday that urged the Supreme Court to uphold a ruling that the District of Columbia's handgun ban is unconstitutional, breaking with his own administration's official position.

A great reminder that cowboy is not always a derogatory term.

Ever since a September firefight in Baghdad, the American private Security firm Blackwater USA has been under intense scrutiny. Since then, too, the rhetoric directed against the company has grown increasingly heated - with pundits and politicians hurling often unfounded verbal "grenades" at the firm.

The Backup Training Corporation is the premier digital training provider for law enforcement. Known for outstanding computer based training courses, their training is used in more than 9,600 police departments nationwide. Courses are approved for in-service training in 39 states and college credits are available. The library of 46 courses totals over 300 hours of free training to sworn officers, military and corrections personnel who act in a law enforcement capacity. Partnerships with several colleges provide funding for the training and the only cost to the officer is a $6 per course charge to shipping and handling.- 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

Here is a new tool for the toolbox in the GWOT.

The Navy and Kaman Aerospace have developed a "programmable" grenade that is specifically designed to kill hostile swimmers who seek to place bombs on the hulls of friendly ships. The new device is called the anti-swimmer grenade. The research effort was spurred by the Navy's program executive office for integrated weapon systems which was looking for a more potent weapon than the MK3A2 concussion grenade that is designed for use on land.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Hackers often harness the combined power of thousands of virus-infected personal computers to pump out spam e-mail or disable targeted servers by overwhelming them with Internet traffic.

Now an Air Force colonel is suggesting the U.S. military build its own "botnet," or network of remotely controlled computers, to be ready to attack the computer networks of foreign enemies.

Here is an interesting piece of gear that enables teleconferencing via ordinary PCs. It has great application for emergency meetings and tactical coordination.

Tandberg has announced the commercial availability of Movi, a PC videoconferencing product. This would help everyone in an organization communicate visually from anywhere.

Great tips for protecting both your equipment and your data.

It can happen in a moment. You're in a café, minding your own business. You take your eye off your laptop for a second and suddenly it's gone.

Of course you're upset about the lost hardware; it's probably your most valuable portable possession. But most people's first cry will be: "My life was on that laptop!" The software, photos, emails, documents, projects and assorted precious things stored on a laptop can be very difficult and time-consuming to get back - often impossible.

Tactical Equipment Evaluation

No, that "P.C." does NOT stand for "politically correct." Anyone who has read my writing for more than a month or so knows that my name and "politically correct" rarely, if ever, belong in the same sentence. That PC stands for Pacific Concepts. I found this company displaying a new tactical camera at SHOT Show and had to stop to take a look. What caught my attention was the fact that the camera was both wireless and waterproof and I could have one for under $200. Of course, I had to see how easy it would break with a price like that. Here's what I found out.

Full Story Can Be Viewed At:

Recreational Equipment Review

LALR stands for Launching A Leadership Revolution. That's a book that carries the subtitle, "Mastering the five levels of influence." This was something else I found... or rather, that found me at SHOT Show. While I was hanging out in a friendly booth, one of my friends grabbed a guy who was walking by and said, "Hey I want you to meet this guy." As it turns out my friend had been telling us both about each other because we're both writers. The book I was being pushed to read and review was this one: "Launching A Leadership Revolution" by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward. While it's not recreational reading for entertainment's sake, it IS interesting reading. Let me tell you why.

make a horrible combination. The loss of a loved one can make a healthy person ill. It can make an ill person even more ill. The pain associated with the loss of a close loved one is more painful than can be described to one who has never been in that circumstance. Once one has been there and experienced it... Known it's reality... It becomes something one never wants to experience again. I have experienced it too many times.

Full Story Can Be Viewed At:

http://www.blackwaterusa.com/btw2008/article/051908chaplain.htm

Here is anther article on how to keep your motivation as you work out of the winter funk, into spring fitness.

How many times have you started an exercise program and then just quit going? Well... you're not alone! Many people start with great intentions but soon lose motivation and end up avoiding the gym altogether. We want to see everyone succeed so we've put together 10 tips that we've found useful for starting and sticking with an exercise routine!

The banana often is described as the perfect food. Here is an overview of banana that provides all nutritional data necessary for you to make your own decision. Nutrutiondata.com is a great site and provides the data you need to decide what food fits into your lifestyle and fitness regimen. I urge you to explore it for other food information.

The good: This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin B6.

The bad: A large portion of the calories in this food come from sugars.

Keep the dream alive: Hit the snooze button.

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

To subscribe to the BTW, Click Here

To view an archived BTW, Click Here