Blackwater: A Short Story

The second season of the podcast series, Serial, hosted by Sarah Koenig, an American Journalist, focuses on a soldier named Bowe Bergdahl, who, at the age of 19, enlisted into the Coast Guard. Bowe Bergdahl only lasted a couple weeks in training due to the fact that he was diagnosed with situational anxiety. Without proper guidance, the Army did not look into Bergdahl 's diagnosis. Therefore, Bowe Bergdahl was able to re-enlist into the army. Because the Army neglected to check Bowe’s medical history, Bowe caused a Dustwun in the middle of Afghanistan in 2009, and was later captured by the Taliban. As a result, the Taliban established a trade with the United States. In exchange for Bowe Bergdahl, the Taliban wanted five of their commanders who were held by the United States in Guantanamo Bay. However, the Army could have prevented Bowe from being held captive, if the military had checked Bowe’s records. Therefore, the army was at fault for allowing a mentally ill soldier to re-enlist in the army.

While passage two also serves to inform about the different aspects that exists in the swamp, the author’s engaging tone is apparent in their constant use of listing descriptive adjectives to instill a sense of danger and awe of what an experience in the swamp would be like if one were to witness it themselves. Unlike in

Jackson, Wyoming was typical small town America. You couldn't spit without hitting a building or several. Yet, unlike most small towns, Jackson was a thriving tourist destination as it served as a gateway to the Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and National Elk Refuge. Though the town itself only hosted close to ten thousand souls. Compared to Miami, Jackson was quaint and serene, his own personal refuge. As sheriff his worst fear was the occasional drunk tourist or rowdy local, as opposed to a barrage of lead. He may still wear his vest, but at least he didn’t have to pop anxiety pills anymore. Well, at least now when he took them it wasn’t because of having lived in Miami.

War stories are usually an emotional or depressing version of someone’s experience during their time in war. In Tim O’Brien’s short story, “Where Have You Gone, Charming Billy?” and Youtube video, “How to Tell A True War Story” he expresses many of his emotions and his journey after he returned from combat. He explained how scary the war can be, encouraging you to stay away from warfare so you don't have to deal with the guilt he feels, and how depressing and how much his life has changed since returning from his deployment.

It was a day like any other, until Surai hears a piercing screech that slowly fades away. “Hey, did you guys hear that?” says Surai. “Yeah it sounded like a scream” replies Tooler. “I wonder who it was?” questions Mickey. All of them rush to the edge and discover nothing. They all say their goodnights and return to our rooms. They all go to sleep wondering who made that noise. The next day we wake up and find a load of people crowded on the deck. “It’s chaos” Surai says. Tooler goes up and asks Schmedrick what’s wrong. “Schmandon has gone missing, and a bunch of people thought they heard a scream last night” replies Schmedrick. Surai, Mickey, and Tooler then realize that it was Schmandon who made the scream last night. “I think that Schmandon

Have you ever been hesitant to share a true story because you suspected that it would appear as a fabricated anecdote to your audience? Well, most of the time we add bunch of things or change a true story to make it sound genuine to our audience. We live in a judgmental and complex world where lying has become a part of our daily lives. Because of this habit, it is hard to differentiate the truth from a fabricated lie. Since I was a child, my parents always talked about battle of Adwa and many events that took place centuries ago. It is always amusing to listen to those stories because it is about heroic act that most of the kings of Ethiopia accomplished. Although I heard different versions of these stories, I always tend to believe my parents’ version. The reason is not simply the credibility of my parents’, but the way it was presented. According to the short story, “How to Tell a True War Story” by Tim O’ Brien, a true war story is hard to accept as true because some of the most agonizing parts are true, while some of the natural parts are not. Tim O’Brien’s narrative shows that a storyteller has the power to shape listeners’ views. We can change our perception because of the story teller, and neglect the fact that we are avoiding the actuality. Therefore by listening to different versions of a story, it will actually help the reader find greater truth of the story.

In the chapter “How to tell a true war story” the author Tim O’Brien explains why war stories are complicated to tell and why they are so important to understand what the men actually went through. In order to make his point O’Brien uses the example of how a fellow soldier died and what occurred when the soldiers best friend and fellow soldier wrote to the dead man’s sister. O’Brien explains how each of the men experienced the death of the friend and how each point of view creates a blurred line between what happened and what felt like it happened. The story wraps up by describing the pain the soldier’s friend goes through and how he brutally takes it out on a young buffalo.

War is an experience that is difficult to understand and describe. Imagine coming back from war and not having the love, comfort, or support from your loved ones to help you move on with your life. How would one feel in that situation? According to the way Tim O’Brien told the stories of the soldiers in The Things They Carried, they either knew how to cope or didn’t.

A true war story is rather difficult, if not impossible, to share when it goes beyond one’s imagination. Regarding such a story, one morally sound aspect about it is that it lacks morality or meaning to it. Extracting facts from a true war story is a daunting task because what seems to happen is what actually occurs. In what is to follow, I will tell one awful true war story.

It’s been a while since I written in here I have just been so busy. 2 weeks ago I turned I turned 18 and was conscripted to go fight in the war. I can’t really say if the news made me happy or sad. I didn’t care anymore, my father had died already died almost a year ago. The news had really shattered my mother’s heart and now that I have been sent of I fear what will become of her. I have been trying to send her a letter for months now but have been told that it was too dangerous at this time.

By the way Blackwater Security presented themselves, I instantly envisioned myself rolling with the group. I love every aspect of the stats, missions, and goals. From taking on contracts, to getting money though convoys, I know I'll be right beside my comrades assisting. Being a civilian doing the constant sand mine runs is not what I'm looking for... I need a "family" in Lakeside, and I know if I become a member I'll be treated like a brother. I know I'll be a beneficial add on to the squad. I realized, if I became a member of Blackwater Security they will benefit me in so many ways...tactically, and

I remember the rain, it was calm as it splashed against my kitchen window, while I waited for dinner to be served. It was a normal evening, my family and I gathered around the table ready to celebrate my grandparent's anniversary. My Dad had made a feast to feed all of Africa, over Labor day weekend to congratulate his parents on fifty years of marriage.

Beowulf is an epic poem written in England by an unknown author. On the surface, Beowulf looks like it is a pagan epic. The characters and the events in the story give the reader the illusion that it has nothing to do with Christianity. But if the reader looks beyond the surface they will see that many of the people represent biblical characters and that the events are similar to stories in the Bible.

     According to the author Tim O’Brien, people tend to readily accept the ‘facts’ presented of what happened during a war. People do not consider the existence of fallacies regarding the actual stories of what happens in wars, few consider that the ‘facts’ of an incident often change through people’s words. The film ‘Saving the Private Ryan’ by Steven Spielberg features both facts and seemingness part of the war story. Since it is so difficult to fully describe a war using human language, Spielberg ended up revising his stories to make sense out of it. Spielberg included parts that did not occur or exclude parts that did occur in order to make their stories seem more credible. According

My thoughts about management are a lot different than the preliminary reading of the textbook, “Introduction to Health Care Management” By Buchbinder & Shanks (2011). The text suggests that a leader had an inherent trait (i.e., ethnicity, gender, body structure), and did not consider the characteristics of an individual. It is hard to imagine that such an idea could have ever existed, but from a historical viewpoint, it is required to know how things began. Fast forward, a century, I learned that companies discovered that leadership could be designed according to a certain mindset and ideas. From this reading, I acquired the most knowledge about leadership through the categorical contemporary model. The contemporary model focused on