LT. COLONEL TONY STRYKER is a military ‘bug’ collector who enters hot zones as easily as others enter hot tubs. He possesses an innate knack for locating weapons grade pathogens as well as a predilection for the use of violence when solving delicate matters. SENATOR HARLAN T. LONG, the head of a clandestine bioweapons project, sends him to supervise a surreptitious clinical trial that uses an ancient virus in a vaccine to treat heart disease. The 'smart' virus circumvents the project's safety protocols by infecting two children and then mutates the common flu virus into a killer that targets mainly the young. The island's germaphobic dictator barely survives a coup after quarantine is initiated by the WHO and soaring death rates plunge his …show more content…
The WHO does not trust the Americans to contain an outbreak they may have caused, so instead use a brutal Russian Biocontainment force. Another irony: the Russian director of the quarantine, COL. DMITRY POPOV is not only Stryker’s counterpart; he is also his frenemy, according to Stryker. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Stryker’s former lover, TATIANA, is also Popov’s sister. She directs the quarantine from Moscow and is struggling to find a way around international laws that forbid her team’s entry without the despot’s permission. Doubting Stryker’s reassurance that his presence on the island is solely precautionary, Tatiana is willing to do whatever it takes to contain the outbreak. She masterfully manipulates both the Americans and the dictator as she plots to gain access to the island. Nothing will prevent her team from initiating vaccinations to prevent a global pandemic. With that in mind, Tatiana directs her brother to return a sniper pistol that she stole from Stryker. Her plan is simple: convince Stryker to assassinate the dictator, and then the UN will declare the nation a failed state, allowing her team access to the island to begin mass …show more content…
Fortunately for his team, a medical missionary nun agrees to help them escape from the dictator’s militia through the subterranean Gates of Hell. However, a murderous Voodoo sect nearly stymies Long’s plans to recover the drive before it is sold to the Russians. The team arrives at a Voodoo festival just as Popov appears to make the agreed upon exchange of bitcoins for the hard drive. His metallic biosuit confuses the villagers into believing he is their Iron God of War. Stryker shoots and destroys the hard drive in the dictator’s hand. Popov seizes the opportunity from the resulting chaos to trick the villagers into helping his team overthrow the
The 160th SOAR (A) is the only Special Operations Aviation Regiment in the world. Things to be discussed will be the unit’s operational history that the soldiers have done. These soldiers are known as the Night Stalkers due to their proficiency in night time operations. They go through special training and use special helicopters and other special equipment to accomplish their mission during all weather operations during day or night.
This summer we had an opportunity to dive into the world of bioweapons, through Richard Preston’s novel The Demon in the Freezer. His book explored the colorful world of smallpox and its use as a biological weapon. Earlier this week we were graced with this authors present for an ACES event. He discussed some of the found topics in his book such as animal testing, what small pox is, and even its eradication. One of the great things we had the chance of vocalizing were our many opinions on the gloom associated with this intriguing disease.
The book jumps to a distressing story about Peter Los in 1970 in West Germany who became ill due to smallpox. After ten days he was hospitalized but medical staff did not realize he had smallpox, which is highly contagious. Preston gives vivid descriptions of the disease and how it ravages the body. Los survived his illness, but caused an epidemic that killed many others that had become exposed to him. “Today, the people who plan for a smallpox emergency can’t get the image of the Meschede hospital out of their minds.
PBS’ Frontline film “The Wounded Platoon” reviews the effects the Iraq war has had on soldiers as they return home and transition back into civilian life, focusing particularly on the rise in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among American military members from Fort Carson Army base (Edge, 2010). Incidents of PTSD have risen dramatically in the military since the beginning of the Iraq war and military mental health policies and treatment procedures have adapted to manage this increase (Edge, 2010). In “The Wounded Platoon,” many military personnel discuss how PTSD, and other mental health struggles, have been inadequately treated (if at all) by military mental health services. Reasons and Perdue’s definition of a social problem allows us to see inadequate treatment of PTSD among returning United States military members as a social problem because it is a condition affecting a significant number of people in undesirable ways that can be remedied through collective action (Reasons & Perdue, 1981).
The narrator, who is in charge of a group that brings healthcare to a third-world village, is shown as selfish from the first sentence. His choices to make the lives of the villagers better actually only leads to chaos on the local food chain. The “improvements” start with poisoning the flies. And then it's a chain reaction. When the geckos
Guillemin, J. (2005). Biological weapons: From the invention of state-sponsored programs to contemporary bioterrorism Columbia University Press.
Another aspect of the story is associated with Major Nancy Jaax. She is a member of USAMRIID or United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases. USAMRIID does research on different w...
The book Outlaw Platoon written by Sean Parnell is a soldiers’ tale of his platoon in one of the most dangerous places on earth. This book is a non-fiction riveting work that tells the story of a platoon that spent sixteen months on an operating base in the Bermel Valley, the border of Pakistan. This mission the men were sent on was part of a mission called Operation Enduring Freedom. This book is extremely relevant to the war that we are still fighting in Afghanistan and the humanitarian work that continues. We still have men in this area fighting and losing their lives everyday. It is the focus of ongoing political debates and the purpose of our involvement there is an ongoing question in the minds of many Americans. In writing this book, Parnell makes it clear in his author’s notes that he indeed was not trying to pursue one political agenda over another. His goal as not to speak of all members of the platoon and expose their identities and the types of soldiers they were but instead to showcase some of the men’s bravery and abilities during the war. Parnell believed that he owed it to the men to write something that would show the world what these men go through during combat in an honest and raw account. Another purpose of Parnell’s in writing this book is an attempt at making sure these men are given a place in American war history.
The medical field is a vast land of beauty, but with great beauty comes immense horror. There are many deadly viruses and diseases found in the medical field. In the novel, The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, the author discusses the many deadly viruses found in the field. The viruses are widespread due to the errors that occur when the viruses are in the presence of human beings. The effects of the errors performed by the human race include a decrease in population and wildlife.
Though fictional, this novel illustrates the fear surrounding disease, viruses, and contamination and how if uncontrollable, could lead to a global spread that could jeopardize the human race. Traveling internationally, World War Z represents a zombie epidemic that brings forth infection, which can be considered an unconscious actor during this time of confusion and destruction. Scientifically, fear is defined as a natural response found in almost all organisms that revolve around the emotions and feelings induced by perceived threats and danger. Max Brooks illustrates the societal interaction with fear, “Fear of aging, fear of loneliness, fear of poverty, fear of failure. Fear is the most basic emotion we have. Fear is primal. Fear sells. That was my mantra. ‘Fear sells.’” (Brooks 55). The fear of a zombie virus spreading in fact just produces more fear into the mind of the individual. Through research and scientific advancements, fears and anxieties have been proven to put an individual more at risk of developing health issues. How ironic, right? Our fears and anxieties surrounding diseases and the spread of them cause our society to be more susceptible to obtain and contract more health related problems. The fight against the zombie metaphor within World War Z gives the reader a purpose for finding a way to hold
This failure in government can be seen as somewhat of a selfish act in order to preserve the country’s secrecy. Because they did not take the initiative to tell anyone else about the disease, people were unable to take caution and prevent themselves from contracting the plague. Similar to the book Blindness, nobody understood that the disease was amongst them at first. People were suddenly beginning to go blind with many unanswered questions. However, there was never any real truth to be revealed to the citizens in Blindness as there was in World War Z.
From the Chelsea Naval Hospital, overlooking the Boston Bay, I sip on a cup of Joe and browse over the Sports Section of the Los Angeles Times. Earlier this month, three Bostonians dropped dead from influenza. In examining the extent of the epidemic, Surgeon-General Blue commented to the Times , "People are stricken on the streets, while at work in factories, shipyards, offices or elsewhere. First there is a chill, then fever with temperature from 101 to 103, headache, backache, reddening and running of the eyes, pains and aches all over the body, and general prostration." I gaze out my window, the sun seems brighter than usual and the town more radiant. It must be the victory, for the threat of death due to influenza is pervasive. Outside, children jump rope. With every skip of the jump rope they chant. "I had a little bird." Skip. "Its name was Enza." Skip. "I opened up the window." Skip. "And in-flu-enza."
The men of the 714th Tank Battalion served their country in its greatest time of need. A key element of the 12th Armored Division, the 714th fought in harsh conditions against a desperate German enemy for five consecutive months, driving the Nazi Armies from France and back into the German heartland.
In Saramago’s novel, the government’s commands, instant decisions, and fears about the blind epidemic is what the blind infected, vulnerable characters are terrified about the most. “Look here, blind man, let me tell you something, either the two of you get back to where you came from, or you’ll be shot […] they’re terrified and are only obeying orders” (63). With a large number of people going blind quickly and with no apparent cause, public health officials’ panic and the blind internees are not only afraid for their lives in terms of their sickness, but they are also terrified of the government’s command to shoot and kill the infected internees. The most important things in life is not power and the ability to instill fear on others, it is compassion, love, and understanding. Without these three qualities, we become blind t...
middle of paper ... ... When the people leave that area, they carry people or animals that may be carrying the infection to uninfected populations, thus creating a pandemic. Once the infection spreads to a pandemic status, the world’s military will crumble; there will be mass panic and anarchy in cities everywhere. Looters, pillagers, plunderers, and thieves will run rampant with no law enforcement to uphold the peace.