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Tactical Weekly
Readers;
Founder, CEO of Blackwater Steps Aside, 'Worn Out' By AUGUST COLE Erik Prince, who founded security contractor Blackwater Worldwide and remained defiant after the company became embroiled in controversy following a deadly 2007 shooting incident in Baghdad, is stepping down as chief executive of the parent company.
The 39-year-old Mr. Prince will retain his post as chairman but move away from daily oversight of the company he started 11 years ago. The closely held venture earned more than $600 million in revenue last year, with about a third of that coming from a major U.S. State Department contract to protect diplomats in war zones. "I'm a little worn out by the whole thing, the politics of it all," Mr. Prince said during an interview at the company's headquarters in McLean, Va. "Me not being part of the equation reduces the 'X' on the thing."
The move comes at a turning point for the security industry. The Obama administration plans to withdraw most U.S. combat troops from Iraq by next summer and the Iraqi government is assuming legal authority over Defense Department and State Department contractors. Full Story Stay safe.
John Adams
Managing Editor, U.S. Training Tactical Weekly
Please continue to submit your suggestions to tw@ustraining.com |
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"Do not touch anything unnecessarily. Beware of pretty girls in dance halls and parks who may be spies, as well as bicycles, revolvers, uniforms, arms, dead horses, and men lying on roads -- they are not there accidentally."
Soviet infantry manual, issued in the 1930's
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| U.S. TRAINING CENTER NEWS |
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Most Blackwater branded apparel is on sale 30-50% off. We will have Xe and U.S. Training branded items available within the next two weeks.
Please Click Here
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| PROFESSIONAL ARTICLES, EDITORIALS AND OPINIONS |
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The Real Intelligence Failure? Spineless Spies.
The U.S. intelligence community has failed. We have failed as a public institution and as a profession. We have failed not because of 9/11, or Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, or Iran's supposed WMD, or the horror stories about renditions and detentions. We have failed because we have not explained ourselves adequately and comprehensibly to the public -- describing our role, the limits within which we work and our view of what can be reasonably expected from us. We have failed because we have allowed ourselves to be caricatured, vilified and misrepresented by people who do not know us, do not like us and do not understand us -- or simply see us as convenient fall guys.
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Al-Marri Indictment Today [UPDATED]
The Obama Administration appears close to resolving the case of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, the alleged Al Qaeda "sleeper agent" who is the only so-called "illegal enemy combatant" imprisoned inside the United States. As I wrote in last week's issue, Marri has been held for the past five years in indefinite executive detention in the U.S. Naval Consolidated brig in Charleston, South Carolina-despite having never stood trial or been convicted of any crime. But according to sources close to the case, a federal grand jury is meeting today in Peoria, Illinois, and may indict Marri on multiple terrorism charges, including providing material support for terrorism. Dean Boyd, a spokesman for the Justice Department on national-security issues, declined to comment, as did Marri's lawyers.
Full
Story
Q+A: Is Iran nearing nuclear "breakout" ability?
VIENNA (Reuters) - Admiral Mike Mullen, head of the U.S. military Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he believed Iran has enough material to make a nuclear bomb, but Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tehran was not close to having such a weapon. [nN01332129]
They were commenting on a U.N. nuclear watchdog report last month saying Iran had stockpiled 1,010 kg of low-enriched uranium -- enough in theory, if converted into high-enriched uranium, to make a bomb, some proliferation experts say.
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Story
Obama to Seek New Assault Weapons Ban
The Ban Expired in 2004 During the Bush Administration.
The Obama administration will seek to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004 during the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder said today. "As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons," Holder told reporters.
Full Story
Illegals targeted sheriff as gang initiation
The attempted assassination of a South Carolina deputy sheriff was a gang initiation carried out by three illegal immigrants including a 15-year-old boy who was supposed to "kill a cop" in order to be admitted as a member, according to a confidential Department of Homeland Security advisory.
Lexington County, S.C., Deputy Sheriff Ted Xanthakis and his K-9 police dog, Arcos, were attacked by the three illegals armed with a 12-gauge shotgun during a Feb. 8 incident in West Columbia, S.C., shortly after 3 a.m. The deputy and his dog survived.
Full Story
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| SECURITY FOR THE PROFESSIONAL |
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THE 2008 SECURITY 500 TOP 10 TRENDS
1. Business Resilience and Crisis Management Added Security's role has expanded significantly to include business resilience (also known as disaster recovery and/or business continuity) and crisis management. These functions were spread or siloed across most organizations and the departments that had responsibility for pieces of either business resilience or crisis management were not fully prepared in the event of either. Organizations completing risk assessments learned they had a gap and moved quickly to identify resources to close it. Security is the right resource and this major organizational restructuring included the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) into the organization. The EOC and monitoring facility created new opportunities to leverage training and technology. Examples include merging monitoring and EOC operations and processing and sharing that information with officers who are trained and able to respond to an open door alert as well as participate in emergency operations during a crisis.
Business resilience preparedness requires the organization to communicate and coordinate with external partners including utilities and emergency services. These are the same organizations with whom security needs to connect and as a result, this structure gives powerful leverage to the organization.
Full
Story
The National Strategy For Homeland Security, October 2007
The National Strategy for Homeland Security guides, organizes, and unifies our Nation's homeland security efforts. Homeland security is a responsibility shared across our entire Nation, and the Strategy provides a common framework for the following four goals: - Prevent and disrupt terrorist attacks;
- Protect the American people, our critical infrastructure, and key resources;
- Respond to and recover from incidents that do occur; and
- Continue to strengthen the foundation to ensure our long-term success.
Worth reading even as it goes out of date. Full
Story
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Tactical Equipment Evaluation
BOK Revisited
I know a gentleman who claims he carries two trauma kits: One for creating the trauma, and one for bandaging the trauma. I happen to be familiar with both of his “kits”. One is a Glock Model 19 while the other is one he built himself containing a tourniquet, two pressure bandages and minor other items. In this weeks review I thought it would be a good idea to look at some of what should be in a Blow Out Kit (BOK or trauma kit) from minimum necessities to “nice to have”s.
Full Story Can Be Viewed At:
http://www.borelliconsulting.com/evals/tacems/bokrevisit.htm
Recreational Equipment Review
Boker Knives Model 0189
It seems I go through knives faster than most folks I know. I used to think it was because I was just abusive to them, or simply because I DO carry two every day every where. Now I’ve come to realize that it is quite often because someone sees one in my collection – or in my pocket – and shortly thereafter that knife ends up in someone else’s pocket. To be honest, most of the time they ask BEFORE they procure it. All of them are friends so I don’t begrudge them the knife most of the time anyway. My challenge now is to find out how long I can keep this Boker Model 0189 that I most recently finished testing and like enough to make it one of my daily carry blades.
Full Story Can Be Viewed At:
http://www.borelliconsulting.com/recevals/toolknife/boker0189.htm
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MY DEEP GNAWING ACHE
Attitude, Stress and People kill... I look into your faces and I see your lives lived out each day. As you pass through my consciousness and my memory I note many things which adversely affect your lives and performance. What I see drives me to pray for you often. You are so vital to our way of Liberty and Freedom that I often weep and shudder at the cost I see in your faces, your lives, your relationships, your bodies and your spirits.
Full Story Can Be Viewed At:
http://www.ustraining.com/tw2009/article/030209chaplain.htm |
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Understanding The Different Terms In Aerobics
By : Cindy Heller
Aerobics is a type of physical exercise. It combines periodical exercise with stretching and strength. The purpose is for improving all elements of health. Aerobics bluntly means with oxygen. Oxygen is the major fuel that is used to sustain bulky muscle motion over long periods of time.
Full Story
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Here are some links for charitable organizations.
The U.S. Traning Center does not endorse any organization over another nor encourage charitable contributions, we provide these links as a public service, and take no responsibility for the actual sites. Although we strive to validate the sites before linking we caution you to do your own research, as the internet is ripe with scams.
Special Operations Warrior Foundation
For nearly 29 years, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation has provided full college scholarship grants, not loans, along with financial aid and educational counseling to surviving children of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps special operations personnel who were killed in an operational mission or training accident. For the third year in a row, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation has been awarded a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, the nation's leading charity watchdog group. It's Charity Navigator's highest rating for financial efficiency. The Special Operations is just one of four veteran’s services and advocacy charities that have earned at least two consecutive four-star rating.
http://www.specialops.org/
The Navy SEAL Warrior Fund SEAL forces, to ever expanding degrees, continue to answer the call of duty in trouble spots around the world. As demand grows for their services so too does the demand grow for support from the Navy SEAL Warrior Fund. The Navy SEAL Warrior Fund is a public charity tasked with a mission that is three-fold:
- to support the widows and children of US Navy SEALs killed or injured in combat or training;
- to assist wounded SEALs where special needs must be met; and,
- to provide support to the active duty SEALs who are away from home for extended periods of time answering the call of duty and their families back home.
The Navy SEAL Warrior Fund wants their teammates to know that while they have the very best support on the battlefield they can continue to count on the very best support for their families on the home front. The Navy SEAL Warrior Fund is singularly focused on continuing this mission. http://www.sealfund.org/home.html
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Oh look, just 2,852,677
more days til I start caring
what you think
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The U.S. Training Center, 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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