1. Morris 1
Brooke Morris
English 101
Professor Bolton
22 April 2013
World Superpower Can’t Handle a Technology Failure?
Since the war on terrorism began, American and other allied troops have been
fighting to save the lives of innocent people around the world. One of the first Special
Forces Groups deployed to Afghanistan’s main objective is to wipe out the Taliban
forces. These few men are highly trained men using new precision technology. The
technology used in “Death on Call” is a hand-held GPS receiver which displays soldiers’
current location on Earth and the operator programs the target coordinates into it. After
calculating the distance between the two, the information is then relayed to the pilot,
who transfers it to the bomb that will be dropped from the plane (Casey 67-68). This is
great piece of technology to have until the battery dies, which happens in the story
“Death on Call.” The operator quickly changes the battery, but when it powers back up
he is not aware that the screen displays their own coordinates as the enemy. The
target coordinates are received and the pilot of the plane drops the bomb; the Special
Forces Group and about two dozen Afghans are bombed by their own airplane. There
are very few survivors. Although the U.S. military is one of the most highly trained
militaries in the world and assist in training other countries’ militaries, they can still make
mistakes that could have been prevented. Every American should care about this
because these are the people who protect them from terrorism and their freedoms as
Americans. Even though the U.S. military has become one of the most highly trained

2. Morris 2
militaries in the world and helps train other countries’ militaries, they can still make
mistakes that can be prevented with some additional extra training.
The U.S. military has evolved in many ways. With new technology, weaponry,
and training, it has become one of the best militaries in the world. Many books have
been written on each war the U.S. has been involved in and how the Army has
improved and changed. Retired U.S. Air Force officer, and author of many books
Robert F. Dorr, describes every aspect of the U.S Army in his book Alpha Bravo Delta
Guide to the U.S. Army. The training of the armed forces has evolved from being
militias of untrained men to very well trained men and women: “the Americans (the
Colonials, the Rebels) fought in unconventional ways, often not because of genius, but
because they were unfettered by military practices and traditions” (Dorr 17). During the
War for Independence the militias were untrained men fighting against a well trained
British army. The Virginia Company expected their men to be armed and ready to fight
at anytime: “the Virginia Company expected its male settlers to be armed and prepared
to defend themselves” (Shenk 8). This method was considered unreliable and a
volunteer militia was put in place. By the time the Civil War broke out, General William
Sherman of the Union understands that a war is fought needs to be changed: “he simply
understood that modern warfare could no longer be conducted on the battlefield alone”
(Dorr 99). Every time the military changes, so does the training. As time goes by, and
each war passes the U.S. military becomes well trained: “The American soldier of today
is probably the best trained, best prepared, and most seasoned combat soldier ever to
take the field against a foe” (Dorr 8). The American soldier that fought during the
Revolutionary War and the American soldier that fights today are two entirely different

3. Morris 3
things. From fighting with guns that did not have interchangeable parts to using
machine guns that can fire more than five hundred bullets in one minute. Many of the
enlisted soldiers today have more than a high school education: “the average enlisted
soldier has college study time under his or her belt, and many have a college degree”
(Dorr 8). The military of today is now well trained, uses new technology, and has
college educated soldiers. Entering into the twenty-first century, the military does not
require a huge armed forces because of the advances in technology. The military
keeps well trained men and women trained and ready to be deployed when needed, “An
essential element of that mobilization would be the highly trained Reserves and National
Guard” (Shenk 173). Reserves and the National Guard were implemented to be trained
and ready to fight, but yet have other careers. The U.S. military is one of the most
trained and technologically advanced militaries in the world. The more technologically
advanced the military has become, the more trained the soldiers have become.
The U.S. Military uses their knowledge of training and technology to train
militaries in countries with no military or that has a poorly trained military. Countries
without high-quality militaries are vulnerable to attacks. The U.S. spends very small
amounts of money to develop these countries’ militaries for something they consider
much more important. Programs like the International Military Education and Training
(IMET) and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) assist other countries in training their military
in return for allies in periods of conflict, and they consider that more essential than
money. Training is an important base for developing militaries: “training is the
foundation on which all modern militaries are built” (Ibarra 138). Modern militaries are
well trained. El Salvador is one of the many countries the U.S. trained: “half of the

4. Morris 4
officers and a quarter of the non-commissioned officers from El Salvador’s latest
deployment to Iraq were trained by the United States” (Ibarra 138). The more militaries
the U.S. trains, the more possible democratic allies they will have. Shortly after the war
on terrorism began, the hunt for Osama bin Laden, leader of Al Qaeda, was put in the
background so the Americans could focus on getting the Iraqi military ready to fight for
their people. President George W. Bush who served in office from 2001 to 2009 gives a
statement that is in the film Iraq: the Making of an Army: “as we pursue the terrorists,
our military helping train Iraqi security forces so that they can defend their people and
fight the enemy on their own.” President Bush realized that if the Americans did not
step up and train the Iraqi security when America pulls troops out of Iraq, nothing would
be changed. The terrorists groups like the Taliban and Al Qaeda will still rule the
country.
A U.S. soldier is put through a lot of training before being deployed: “The United
States (US) Army Combat Engineer (ENG) course is a physically intense, 14-week
course designed to develop basic soldiering skills, introduce Army values and lifestyle,
and impart engineering knowledge and skills that are used in combat operations”
(Knapik, par. 1). An Army Combat Engineer is trained to build bridges, demolish
anything in the way, and use explosives. The last few weeks of their training is
dedicated to their special field:
Physical training continues and other activities include operation of heavy
equipment, construction of fighting positions, erection of obstacles and defensive
positions, placement and detonation of explosives, route clearance of obstacles,
use of fixed or floating bridges, preparation and installation of firing systems for

5. Morris 5
demolition and explosives, and training in techniques to detect mines either
visually or with mine detectors. (Knapik, par. 1)
With all of the training Combat Engineers go through, it does not require them to know
what to do when the technology they use fails. That should be a requirement.
Technology is never fail proof, and probably never will be. If technology is going to be
used in combat situations, soldiers need to know how to react when it fails. Many lives
could have been saved that day if the Combat Engineers had a simple, generic
understanding of how to handle dangerous situations when technology fails. It may not
seem like a big deal when the battery goes dead in a simple piece of technology, but
when this GPS technology is connected to a bomb the situation gets serious. I would
think that the most highly trained military in the world would know how to handle a
simple technology failure, but they do not. The men in “Death on Call” did not know
how to handle this serious situation; the GPS sent the wrong coordinates to the pilot
because the battery died. The officer in charge of the GPS quickly changed the battery
but did not do anything about it sending the wrong coordinates. If he would have simply
noticed it sent the wrong coordinates, many lives could have been saved.
American soldiers are suppose to be the best, but yet they do not know what to
do when they are about to get bombed by U.S. pilot. The military that trains other
countries’ militaries and is considered one of the best in world should at least have a
little understanding that technology can fail. Especially when this piece of technology
relays information to a bomb! The U.S. military today has practically has evolved from
nothing into a world superpower. Adding extra training for safety precautions will only

6. Morris 6
make the military better. Through this research I have gained a new respect for the
U.S. military, they are not perfect but they do a good job protecting American freedoms.

7. Morris 7
Works Cited
Casey, Steven. “Death on Call”. The Atomic Chef. Santa Barbara: Aegean Publishing
Company, 2006. 63-75. Print.
Dorr, Robert F. Alpha Bravo Delta Guide to the U.S. Army. Ed. Walter J. Boyne.
Indianapolis: Tekno Books, 2003. Print.
Ibarra, Jose, and C.E. Taylor. “Why International Military Education and Training?
Cooperation Training Helps Operation Iraqi Freedom Partners”. The DISAM
Journal 28.1. (2005): 138. Military & Government Collection. Web. 5 April 2013.
Iraq: The Making of an Army. Minoru Flims, 2006. Films On Demand. Web. 05 April
2013. <http://digital.films.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=3503&xtid=51923>.
Knapik, Joseph J, Bria Graham, Jacketta Cobbs, Diane Thompson, Ryan Steelman,
and Bruce H. Jones. “A Prospective Investigation of Injury Incidence and Risk
Factors Amoung Army Recruits in Combat Engineer Training”. Journal of
Occupational Medicine and Toxicology. (2013): n.pag. Academic OneFile. Web.
4 April 2013.
Shenk, Gerald E, and Henry L. Dethloff. Citizen and Soldier: A Sourcebook on Military
Service and National Defense from Colonial America to the Present. Routledge,
2011. eBook Collection. Web. 5 April 2013.

8. Morris 8