Book Post #3

The first part of the book starts off with going in depth with the science of warfare. The book talks about the mindset of the soldiers. It talks about the adrenaline rush that they get when they react to the sounds of a bullet passing by their heads. It goes in depth about fire fights at night. When the enemy fires their weapons with tracer rounds, there is a distance where there is a chance that you can actually dodge a bullet. After it talks about the mental stress that combat puts on a soldier. They never are the same when they come back from combat. The stress that they have to deal with is unimaginable. Knowing that at any moment that they could be attacked and killed in unbearable. Not to mention the fact that they know that there is a potential that they could also lose a friend to the enemy too. Then when they eventually do lose a friend, some soldiers can't take it. Some soldiers eventually snap from the stress. The book talks about the mental problems that develop from the stress of combat. This book really makes you appreciate what these men and woman really do on a regular basis. They risk their life and their comfort to protect you and to make sure that we have a safe and free country.

Book Post #3

In the middle of the book, it gets a lot more intense. “The Army might screw you and your girlfriend might dump you and the enemy might kill you, but the shared commitment to safeguard one another’s lives is unnegotiable and only deepens with time. The willingness to die for another person is a form of love that even religions fail to inspire, and the experience of it changes a person profoundly.” This is what the main point of the book is. These men and woman share bond with each other that no one else knows. This part of the book takes the time to tell the reader how under appreciated the soldiers that fight for this country really is. The message of this part of the book is that we should always take time out of our day to thank a soldier to a veteran or a soldier for their sacrifice. They do things that we can't even imagine and they should be thanked.

Book Post #1 War

The book War is probably the best book that I have read. The story that it tells is unlike no other. Sebastian Junger went side by side the troops in Afghanistan to try to understand what the soldier of our country goes through. Through each and every fire fight he learned more and more what goes on through each soldiers head. They experience what 95% of the country will never see. The experience things that no one should see to protect their country. They give up their freedom and rights, so you can have yours and live a comfortable life. This book I believe is a great tribute to all the troops because it tells their actual story. Nothings censored or edited so you get the full effect of actually being there, without actually being there. This is exactly why after I graduate college I plan on becoming an officer in the Army. I believe that you are given so many rights in this country and that I need to give back to the country that has give me so much.

Gun Control

Gun control is a very complicated topic. One in which there is no black and white answer. The Constitution gives us as Americans the right to own a firearm. I agree with this right that has been given to us. If you are a hunter then I believe that you should be able to own a rife or a shotgun. I don't believe that the reason why there are multiple gun related deaths in the United States is because of the amount of guns in the country. I believe it is the person with the gun who is the problem. Every year I go to Montana about twice a year. Everyone there owns a gun and is allowed to show it. In every pickup truck there is a rifle hanging in the back of the window. In Montana there are close to no deaths per year due to gun related violence. This is interesting because Montana has one of the largest amount of guns statewide. However you hear everyday in Chicago about someone in the bad parts getting killed by guns. In my opinion there should be gun regluations that accomodate the demographics of each state. Such as I do not believe that someone should be able to own a gun in the city of Chicago. Why would u need to own a gun in Chicago besides to kill someone. However if you are out in a rural area where there is a lot of hunting then I believe that it is ok. I also believe that automatic weapons should be available and ammunition should be much much harder to get.

Wrongful Convictions

After sitting in on the presentastion by Terrill Swift, I experienced many emotions. It was mind boggling to me that the police whose jobs are to protect Chicago would be so crooked and corrupt. They denied Terrill a lawyer which is illegal, and they also lied to him and tricked him into signing a confession by saying that if he signed it, he would be able to go home. When Terrill was just 17 year old, the police called his house looking for him claiming that he was "harboring" or hiding someone. This was clearly a lie becuase he was doing no such thing. The police took him down to the precinct and then told him that they knew that he had raped and killed an alleged prostitute. Terrill and three other men were charged with the rape and murder of a woman. When on trial, Terrill told the court that "he would be back" because he knew that since he didn't do it, he would be eventually freed. While in prison, Terrill wrote to Northwestern University, who has a very well known wrongful conviction program. Northwestern took the case and eventually in 2010 and during this following January, Terrill was free. However after he was free from jail was considered a sex offender which severely effected his life. Where ever he lived he had to identify himself as a sex offender and most people would not hire him. Terrill eventually got the sex offender title revoked and he now life a free life and is trying to get his life back together.

F/A-18 Crash into Virginia Beach Apartment Complex

http://news.yahoo.com/jet-crash-virginia-beach-fiery-not-deadly-080400895.html

Over the weekend, the news story that engulfed the media was the incident that involved a Boeing F/A-18 fighter jet flown by the U.S. Navy crashing into a Virgina Beach apartment complex. The two pilots were just starting off their day with a training mission. Within two minutes of taking off, the jet experienced technical problems which are still unknown. It can be assumed that the jet lost all power and thus unable to control the plane. The pilots took the proper precautions such as trying to release as much fuel as possible to reduce the magnitude of the inevitable crash. Dumping the fuel prevented a much larger and hotter fire which could have caused more casualties. Miraculously not a single person was killed in the fiery explosion. Following the crash there were 7 people including the pilots with minor injuries. Usually when pilots experience fatal problems with their aircraft they are trained to ditch the jet in a field or a large body of water. In fact the Atlantic Ocean was only a half a mile from the crash site. This tells us that they truly had no power or control of the aircraft. The pilots were found no more than 100 feet from the crash site which indicates that they stayed with the jet as long as possible to try and steer the jet out of highly populated civilian areas. The pilots did everything right and thankfully no one was killed.

David Jones Case

This past week my issues class performed a mock trial that involved a rape case. The alleged rapist David Jones was accused of raping his girlfriend Susan Williams. David Jones and Susan Williams were freshman at a made up Washington D.C. university called Capitol University. They shared a business class together and started dating. They had an intimate relationship together and had sex. That summer, David got a summer job in Chicago and him and Susan had planned to move there together for the summer. However Susan got a job in D.C. and ended up staying. They broke up because they couldn't see each other. When the next school year came they had no classes together so they kept their distance and saw other people. Then junior year they ended up having a class together and midway through the year they started dating again. She said she didn't want to make the same mistakes as last time so they didn't have sex. Then senior year came around and they went to a party on her birthday. Meanwhile David was doing an economics project with another classmate by the name of Jenny Jackson. They were to act as if they were married and were to create a budget report as a married couple. While at the party David was talking to Jenny and that got Susan jealous. Susan and David decided to go back to Davids apartment and David went into the bathroom to a condom on. They started to make out on his bed and David tried to take off her clothes but she said no. However after she said so she smiled and started kissing him again and leading him on. She tried to get out of the bed at one point and David tried to pull her back and ripped her shirt slightly. However it is not clear if the pull was violent or not. Eventually they had sex. When they were done, Susan got out of bed and looked on David's desk and found a note from Jenny saying, "See you tomorrow, you're a great husband." Clearly it was a joke but Susan stormed out of the room and wouldn't talk to David for days. Anyway they jury ruled David Jones (played my me) to be not guilty. The jury ruled me not guilty after only talking about it for two minutes. Out teacher the great Mr. Kramer told us that out of the 6 years that he had done this activity, not once has Susan Williams ever won the case. Does this say a lot about our society today?

White Like Me: Privilege

I agree with the chapter that there are more whites who are born into wealthy families, than black people. I am a prime example of that. I was born into a fairly wealthy family. Around here were just average we don't have a ton of money, but we have a good amount. Enough to go on around 3-5 vacations a year. But compared to the rest of the country, we are very wealthy. However, I believe that in this amazing country, that everyone truly has the opportunity to be successful in their life; it just not may come as easy for some as it is for others. That's what makes this country so unique is that you maybe born into the "hood" and be the poorest of the poor, you can still rise above that and be successful in your life and leave that all behind. What you are born into, doesn't determine your fate. However, with that said, life is much harder for those people who live in those poor areas. For me, to be completely honest, I really have not tired that hard in school. I've done what I've needed to do to get decent grades so I could get into a solid college. And I did get into many good colleges. This is mainly due to the fact because I go to a really good public school. But for the kids in the inner city who want to succeed, they need to work three times as hard as I did. I was given an ACT tutor and other academic tutors. The chances are that they don't have access to that. Their schools are very bad too unlike Deerfield. However, (and i don't want people to take this the wrong way because I believe that this is ok) but if a kid in the inner city were to work really hard and get straight A's all throughout high school, a lot of times, he would have a much better chance to get into a good college than me due to the fact that colleges look for kids like that and they would probably not have to pay for college too. I think that that is a very good program and that these kids deserve that because they worked hard, but that also takes away the basis that whites always have the advantage and are more privileged than blacks. Success isn't always making a ton of money and being rich. Success is working hard for what you believe in and succeeding at that and believing that you did the best that you could. Just because a black person isn't as rich as a white person doesn't mean that they are not successful. They do what they can with what they have and if some blacks choose not to succeed then that's their problem. There are plenty of successful blacks in this country. However I know that they have a large disadvantage.

Book Post #5

As we get to the end of the book, we learn more and more about the secret world of private military contractors. The reader has learned that being a private military contractor its only for a fit certain few. As we learned even the country's elite doesn't always make the cut. Retired Army Rangers, SEALs, Marines and Special Forces soldiers are good enough to become a private military contractor. After 9/11 the need for private military contractors soared. What was once a field were you could profit roughly $10 million a year, private military contractors now produce profits soaring into the hundreds of millions. Wealthy oil tycoons, diplomats, and other very important people pay out millions for the best security detail one can buy. They fight the same battles as our soldiers fighting over seas. The only difference is that they can do as they please and don't have to listen to a commanding officer. They are free to move out where ever they please and if attacked, will unleash a hell no man should ever experience. This book was one of the most interesting books I've ever read. You really get to realize what goes on over there that's usually swept under the rug over here. This book sheds light onto the CIA's dirty wars that don't get published and reported. It takes you back to Fallujah when the contractor murders took place. But in the end you have to realize that they're just doing what they love: fighting for their country.

Book Post #4

 In this blog I have included some of the pictures that are included in the book. All of these pictures are off Blackwater soldiers over in Iraq. After 9/11, the private military contracting business sky rocketed. Since then, companies like Blackwater and Triple Canopy have an army of thousands. 








This book goes through in immense detail the operations that have been carried out over time mainly in the Middle East. The are hired mainly by the United States government to protect a person of interest such as a senator or congressman or ambassador. When they travel to the Middle East, private military contractors are to do nothing but transport and protect their client. They are sort of the unsung hero's in the War on Terror. They put their lives on the line every waking moment to protect the person they are defending and kill the enemy trying to attack their client. A lot of times they are not so lucky and end up giving the ultimate sacrifice. 

Book Post #3

As we get towards the middle of the book, the author describes the training and the "try out" in order to become a private military contractor. It goes through the thoughts of all of the instructors and their view on their candidates. All of the candidates need to be excellent marksmen. If you're going to be a private military contractor you need to know how to shoot a gun. Knowing how to fire a weapon is one thing, but being able to shoot a target long range and eliminating him is another. A private military contractor also needs to be able to know how to unjam a gun. If their weapon backfires, also known as a "stovepipe" they need to know the proper procedure without endangering their fellow comrades. As the author goes on he tells the story of one recruit named Don Stout. Don is an ex cop who really needs this job. He recently just got married and tells us, "I've never had to support anyone before." A cop salary just wouldn't be enough for him to support a family. So he made the decision to become a private military contractor. However, the instructors don't think that he is mature enough. But they give him another shot and he ends up making it. In contrast to that, the author tells us about a retired Army Ranger who didn't make the cut. He tells the author that he needed the money in order to try and get custody of his daughter who he never gets to see. He was very upset because two ex cops made it over him and an ex Special Forces soldier. I see where he is coming from and I feel bad for him because he might not see his daughter. However when you're up against 24 year olds, it's hard to match up. 

Book Post #2

Right before the actual book begins, the author adds a page of the Contractors Creed. It goes as followed: 

I am a U.S. contractor. I look out for myself, the operators to my left and
right, and no one else. I will always take advantage of the fact that I
can finally tell military officers to pound sand, and will do so at every
opportunity.

I am my country's scapegoat, the "plausible deniability"
warrior, and I love it.

Less than $700 dollars a day is unacceptable.

I am trained to eat things that would make a billy goat puke, but will
refuse anything less than 60 dollars per diem because I am greedy.

I care not for ribbon's and awards for valor. I do this job for the
opportunity to kill the enemies of my country, and to finally get that
boat I've always wanted.

I will be in better shape than 99% of the active duty personnel, although
this is not hard.

I will equip myself with the latest high speed gear, and will trick out
my M4 until it weighs more than 24 lbs, not because it works better, but
because it looks cool in the photographs.

I will carry more weapons, ammunition, and implements of death on my
person, than an infantry fire team, and when engaged I will lay waste to
everything around me.

In any combat zone, I will always locate the swimming pool, beer, and
women, because I can.

I will deploy on my terms, and if it ever gets too stupid,

I will simply find another company that pays me more.

I swear!

This creed really shows the dedication to their country. The creed shows the difference between a soldier in the U.S Military, and a private military contractor. A U.S soldier is very proper. They follow orders from their higher officers, and are very clean cut. Private military contractors don't have to listen to high ranking officers in the United States military because they are not affiliated with them. They have one goal and one goal only: kill the enemy. As we get towards the middle of the book, the author starts to talk about the different private military contractor companies. The one that the talk about in chapter 7 is the one in which my family friend has recently been hired too; that company is Triple Canopy. It is described in the book as new and aggressive contractor. Triple Canopy was derived from two Delta Team members (Army Special Forces) Matt Mann and Tom Katis. They started from scratch and now run a business that's worth over $100 million dollars. 

Book Post #1

The book, "Licensed to Kill, is a riveting book about the untold world of private military contractors in the Middle East. While reading this book you get an up close and personal view of the secretive world that goes on in the streets of Iraq and in other places of interest all around the world. The first part of the book starts off with the narrator telling the story of a former Army Special Forces soldier by the name of Billy Waugh. Billy is a true hardcore fighting American. In the last year of World War II he tried to sign up to fight was was rejected and sent home because he was only fifteen. In 1947 when Billy was seventeen he became an Army Paratrooper. Seven years after that he joined the two year old Army Special Forces and worked off and on with the CIA. Through out his United States military career he was awarded the Purple Heart award for being shot 8 times which included having his knee cap shattered by a bullet. Even at his age of 82, he says that he would gladly go wherever his country needs him to kill or help and support the soldiers fighting. One of the most interesting things that Billy talked about was his involvement in Sudan when he was keeping an eye on an exiled wealthy Saudi by the name of Osama Bin Laden. Billy tells the reader how, "he thinks of how things could have been different if he would have been allowed to kill Bin Laden in the Sudan years." For me that would be hard to live with knowing how much you could have changed the course of history and theoretically save the lives of thousands. "We could have killed Bin Laden innumerable times. Every day I put in fifteen contingency plans for killing him. Our idea was to kill him and dump him over the Iranian embassy wall." Unfortunately he was never given the authorization to kill bin Laden.

This book in a way hits home for me. I have a family friend who is a former Marine and has just been hired as  a private military contractor Triple Canopy. Triple Canopy is one of the largest and most well known private military contractors. There are a few reasons why soldiers would want to go into being a private military contractor. As a private military contractor you don't have to follow and take orders from a commanding officer. You also can grow your hair out and have facial hair. Another reason is that you are allowed to bring and use your own weapons and firearms. But the main reason money. A private military contractor can make his previous monthly salary as a soldier in one day. Being a private military contractor allows them to do what they love by fighting for their country and killing the enemy for a much much larger salary.

The Triple Canopy Website:
http://www.triplecanopy.com/