What If #10

What if Delta Force actually existed? Haha, it's funny because they are real. The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta (1st SFOD-D) has been around since 1977. The group was started when Charles Beckwith became impressed by the British Special Air Service (SAS) after serving as an exchange officer in the 60's. Top military and government figures were also impressed by the idea of a direct action force. The United States government, to this day, denies their existence. They are mainly involved in counter-terrorist or hostage rescue operations. Being an integral part of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), they are under the direct control of the Department of Defense. They have taken part in many operations including: Operation Urgent Fury (invasion of Grenada), Operation Just Cause (invasion of Panama), Operation Heavy Shadow (possible scenario for killing of Pablo Escobar), Operation Desert Storm/Shield (protection of General Schwarzkopf / SCUD missile hunts), Operation Gothic Serpent (capture of Mohammed Farah Aidid / Blackhawk Down), Operation Enduring Freedom (hunting high value targets), Operation Iraqi Freedom (involved in capture/killing of Saddam, Uday, and Qusay Hussein(pic at top w/delta wearing protech helmets at front, house where Qusay was getting hit with TOW missile), and Al-Zarqawi / inserted into Baghdad before invasion) This short list is just a few major operations they took part in. There are many more, some that may even still be active or classified. The most famous of the operations would have to be, in my opinion, Operation Gothic Serpent. It took place in Mogadishu, Somalia, in August - October, 1993. The force was named Task Force Ranger and consisted of 75th Ranger Regiment, Delta Force operators, 160th SOAR(Special Operations Aviation Regiment), Navy SEALs(DEVGRU), Air Force Pararescuemen, and combat controllers from the 24th Speical Tactics Squadron. This operation was made famous by the downing of two UH-60 Blackhawks in downtown Mogadishu in the event that came to be known as The Battle of Mogadishu. This battle is portrayed in the movie Black Hawk Down. Most of the events in the movie are real, except for certain characters who were changed for a more dramatic effect. The Rangers and Delta operators fought through an area of the city known for housing rebels, trying to capture a warlord who had the area under military siege. Two blackhawks were shot down by RPG's that hit the counter torque blades of the helicopters, making them spin out of control. The operation then turned from capturing high value targets to rescuing downed pilots and soldiers. Paul Howe, a delta operator portrayed by Eric Bana in Blackhawk Down, lead a team to rescue the pilot of the second helicopter, but did not make it in time. Two Delta snipers, Randall Shughart and Gary Gordon, who were providing sniper cover from a Blackhawk, volunteered to land and provide assistance to the downed helicopter. The team was allowed to land and fought off crowds of rebels that eventually overwhelmed and killed them both. Their actions saved the life of the pilot Mike Durant. Both Delta operators were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. The pilot was captured but later released by the rebels. Overall, the operation was considered a failure with 18 U.S. soldiers dead, 73 wounded. The Somalian casualties are unknown but believed to be around 1,000 dead, 3,000 injured. The part that pisses me off is the fact that the ground forces requested an AC-130 and APCs to help with the operation, but the Clinton administration deemed the assets to be unnecessary and too high profile. The APCs would have allowed the rescue forces to break through the enemy gunfire to rescue the downed choppers faster and under much greater protection than the HUMVEEs. Clinton's Secretary of Defense, Les Aspin, resigned in late 1993 after he was specifically blamed for denying the US Army permission to use the armor units in place in Somalia, units which might have been able to break through to the trapped soldiers earlier in the battle. US political leaders felt it would be bad for the peacekeeping image of the mission if tanks were in country. Osama bin Laden, who was then in Sudan, cited this operation, in particular the US withdrawal from Somalia, as an example of American weakness and vulnerability to an attack. Mark Bowden, who wrote the book(way better than the movie) about Blackhawk Down before it was a movie, had this to say about the gruesome battle, "The parallel with Mogadishu is that gunmen in that battle hid behind walls of civilians and were aware of the restraint of the (Army) Rangers. These gunmen literally shot over the heads of civilians, or between their legs. They used women and children for this. It's mind-boggling, when a ten-year-old is running at your vehicle with an AK-47, do you shoot the kid? Yes, you shoot the kid. You have to survive."

What if #9

What if your entire ruling party died in a plane crash. This leaves you with little left to rule your country. It would be a sad day in your country. Well, all of this happened to Poland not even 7 hours ago. A plane carrying the President of Poland Lech Kaczynski and his wife crashed in Russia while traveling to Katyn. Katyn was the site of a massacre of Polish prisoners of war by the Russians in 1940. The plane was full of the President's top cabinet and many war veterans going to Katyn to commemorate the many that died that sad day in 1940. "With a single swipe, the plane crash that killed the President gutted a nation's leadership and silenced some of the most potent human symbols of its tragic and tumultuous history(Stack, NY Times)." The fact that the crash occurred on Russian soil already opens up old wounds between the two countries. Among the 97 killed in the crash were the army chief of staff, the head of the National Security Office, the national bank president, the deputy foreign minister, the deputy parliament speaker, the civil rights commissioner, and members of parliament. The flight was a 26 year old Soviet-designed plane full of iconic Polish figures headed to a Catholic Mass to honor the 70th anniversary of the deaths at Katyn. The flight crashed due to fog on the ground and a hurried Polish aircrew who wanted to land in Smolensk due to time constraints. The Russians warned the pilots to not attempt to land in Smolensk, but the pilots continued anyway. The plane never reached the runway, it flew into trees before the runway, the plane was torn apart and there were no survivors.

What If #8

What if I could take all of my classes when I wanted to take them. There always seems to be a scheduling conflict, or something messing up with permits on the Memphis website. Classes would be much easier if they could be taken on our own time and not when they are scheduled. I am actually taking a history class online over the summer, so hopefully I will be able to do the work when I want to do it. I am sick of going to this 5:30 Biology class, it is too late and I do not usually feel like going. It has become better due to daylight savings time. It is no longer dark when I leave class. Before the time change, it would feel like I was walking out of the Life Science building after three hours of class, it was unbearable. There is too much information to take in. Now I can walk out of the building not feeling like I have wasted the entire day. I only wish that Dr. Martin taught earlier so that we had to pick between failing during the day or barely passing at night. School is very tough this semester, my two labs take up almost as much time as my other classes combined for one day. Monday, Tuesday, and Thursdays are my long days, on Tuesdays and Thursdays I do not get out of class until after 7, and then on Monday I have Chemistry II lab until 4. I am ready to have some easy classes where I can be out of class on each day by about 12:45.

Periodic Table

Periodic Table Reflection
The first chapter was almost impossible to follow due to all of the Hebrew and the large words that Primo Levi uses. The gratuitous use of Hebrew language really took away from the meaning of the first chapter. His use of language and even the writing style seemed to change after the first chapter, Argon. The book seemed to be a mix of stories that were put together to tell the story of Primo’s life. The friendship he finds throughout the book made me feel warm inside, because I knew what he had to go through in Auschwitz. My favorite part of the book had to be Primo’s random travels into the Alps of Italy. I have always wanted to go to the Alps, so this was just another way for me to experience the Alps through someone else eyes. I was amazed at the amount of detail taken into consideration for all of the sections of the book. The part with the lab beaker exploding due to left over potassium that mixed with water in the air. He actually went back and looked for clues to tell him what went wrong. This tells me that he is not self-absorbed because he is willing to write about a mistake he made. He then tells his superior of what happened when he did not need to, this shows that he had a great deal or respect and was very responsible. One thing that really surprised me was that he did not seem to make friends very easily. I do not know how he can remember all that has happened throughout his life. I would think that he would try to block out his past due to the torturous nature of the death camps, but he embraces his past and wants to share it with others. Primo Levi confused me with his constant comparison of fascism to chemistry. I could not grasp the concept that he was trying to convey by comparing the two. I am amazed by chemistry and the way things are put together, so I enjoyed reading his stories of the chemistry labs and all the stuff he made.

Outside Event #1

This particular event was a speaker talking about the importance of arguments and its components. They tested a group of students on their understanding of the concepts of an argument and compared their results. The results were very interesting. The speaker was a woman from another college who was an expert on the subject. She made up a curriculum to teach the students how to better understand the arguments and its parts. The whole thing made me feel awkward because she was talking about the material like everyone should know about it, and I was partially lost throughout the presentation. The other thing that made me feel awkward was the fact that, other than Casey and Jessica, I was the only person in the room that was under the age of 25 (a guess). There was one student and one professor that asked all the questions throughout the presentation. There were moments where we all laughed and the presentation was very well though out. The data made sense and was well put together. The presentation made me think of how much I don't know about arguments and their importance in every day life.

What If #7

What if I didn't sprain my ankle 2 hours into spring break? I might be out doing something instead of dragging my foot everywhere. My injury came about due to my friend’s basketball goal being located next to a hill. The hill starts at the far edge of his driveway and there is a small plastic wall sticking out of the ground to stop erosion onto his driveway. I went in for a layup and came down onto the plastic piece; my foot rolled and then hit the concrete. All of about 180 pounds plus gravity fell on my then completely sideways ankle. Needless to say, I could not walk for about a day, and it still effects me almost 3 days later. Luckily for me, it is spring break and I did not have an trips planned, so I have plenty of time to heal. It just sucks when you are looking forward to freedom for the weekend and you screw it all up. My week is going to be spent working on English and Chemistry homework. I want to get my homework out of the way so I can enjoy my spring break and be able to study for my biology test on Tuesday. I still enjoyed my weekend with my friends; I just could not run anywhere. I had to wobble everywhere we went and I slowed us all down. After the accident when I could not walk, I began to truly appreciate the drive-thru at fast food restaurants, they saved my life! This also made me think of all those who cannot walk at all, it would make me very depressed to never be able to walk again, to deal with the pain forever… I would not be able to take it, but I am healing and will be able to run around in a day or so, hopefully.

What If #6

What if we had never made it into space? We would not be as far into our technological advancement if not for our space travel. Velcro was perfected by NASA for use by the space program. It allowed for an astronaut to stick something to his or her suit and not have to worry about it floating off of what would have been some sort of hook. So next time you use something with Velcro, thank NASA. A list of other inventions originating in space are: satellite dishes, medical imaging (CAT scanner/MRI), vision screening system( the big E at the top), the ear thermometer, fire fighter equipment, smoke detectors, sun tiger glasses, automobile design tools, cordless tools. aerodynamic bike wheels, thermal ware, space pens, shock absorbing helmets, ski boots, failsafe flashlights, invisible braces, edible toothpaste, joystick controllers, and advanced plastics. The list is massive, and none of these would have come about if not for our push to be the first nation into space. Can you remember those little freeze-dried balls of ice cream called Dippin' Dots? Those were invented for astronauts while they are in space. NASA even helped develop a process for new-age pavement where old tires are cooled to below -200 degrees Fahrenheit to separate the elements that make up the tire. Specific parts of the tire can then be used to make new pavement. All those who wear glasses can appreciate NASA's work on scratch resistant glass. On the medical side, NASA helped develop the technology that allowed the satellites to send signals and receive updates remotely without having to make contact with the dish. This led to the wireless capability of pacemakers to send signals to doctors without them having to open up the patient. Last but certainly not least are your "kicks". The soles of your shoes are most likely composed of viscoelastic bubbles that are designed to contour to your feet as you apply pressure and then return to normal. The technology derived from NASA's material that was used to cushion astronauts during the high G forces of liftoff.