Term Papers on Peace And Politics: A Marriage Made In Hell

Term Paper Title	Peace And Politics: A Marriage Made In Hell
# of Words	2179
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	8.72

Peace and Politics: A Marriage Made in Hell

English Comp 102
15 Dec 1998
Research paper

     The time is September 17, 1996, the day a young airman uneasily awaits the bombing of Iraq. On this day he has traveled over two thousand miles across the Atlantic Ocean. He has been awake for almost thirty-six hours, and he and his fellow airmen have just launched ten KC-10 tanker aircraft fueled to maximum capacity. Their mission an in-flight refueling to a squadron of F-117 stealth bombers, the same bombers that they dragged across the ocean to destroy strategic military locations inside the borders of Iraq. The bored and tired airmen watch the CNN network. It is the only real source of military information available to them. At this time, it is revealed to them that the aircraft they so urgently generated never performed their intended task. They find that Iraq had been bombed, but it was bombed by several B-52 bombers from the small island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. These men share a timeless story of the modern United States Air Force that is repeatedly becoming second nature to them. These men have their personal lives stopped. These men are no longer able to see their families and loved ones for at least one hundred and twenty days. They were removed from their daily
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surroundings to perform their jobs ill prepared, ill maintained, and ill sufficient. They were deployed from a state of so-called "readiness", in which they had to drop everything, that was going on in their lives to pack a bag known as a "mobility bag". This single bag consists of all their personal items and clothing to last them the duration of the deployment (Mohn). This does not leave much room for their real personal items; actually they are lucky if they can fit extra reading material in it. As they drag this bag around, they are soon to be in a world of hurt. The other bags they are given to trudge around are made of a number of useless gadgets that are leftovers from the Gulf War. These were actually never used during that period and they were returned to the air force supply system. Along with the many necessary and unnecessary items, these airmen are supplied with aircraft parts and accessories that are issued by vendors who were the lowest bidding government contractors. These vendors that are produce and repair government aircraft parts are repeatedly coming short of air force standards. This fact alone makes them pessimistic about performing their jobs successfully throughout the deployment (Mohn).
The word "deployment" has actually become sickening to them. In fact, just mention the word "deployment" to an airman in a mobility unit and he will reply to it by mentioning, " You know, I think my knee is acting up, maybe I should go see the doctor." Some airmen will try any and all means necessary to get a medical profile in
order to not deploy on the deployments (Mohn). Deployments of today are so redundant; airman will do and say anything to get out of them. These attitudes towards deployments
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are not unjust. The days prior to a deployment are extremely chaotic; everyone at the deploying military base is running around frantically trying to meet the numerous deadlines. These deadlines are sometimes unrealistic, but they are ultimately met.  These men have been working non-stop for 14-16 hours. Working these hours is insane and dangerous, and it is against Air Force regulation. However, during a contingency crisis, all forms of regulation and standards tend to be overlooked in some areas. One of those areas happens to be working durations. This is what is meant by when the following is stated: These men have not slept, but they are asked to perform one of the most strenuous jobs in the today's military. These men are the nation's modern air force. During a deployment situation these men are disconnected from the rest of the world. They have no phones, limited facilities, and limited television access.
Only a handful of airmen, throughout the ranks, have an understanding of their true purpose. Most of the airmen...

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