Berlin is surely the coolest city on earth. Erika La Tour Eiffel (AKA Erika Mauer) was my next-door neighbor for a while in Berlin.  She is an Objectum Sexual and here is her story! (You can watch all of the episodes here):

Don’t let the unique nature of her sexual orientation to turn you off to her.  She’s a badass and have accomplished amazing things in her 37+ years. She is coo, she is creative, and she is unique, for sure! I like her, she’s cool and doing cool things and definitely living her life her way.

Erika “Aya” Eiffel is authentic, amazing, and a world-class Olympic archer and was trained in Japan in the art of the Samurai sword and was actually conferred a world title in Soga-Ryu iai-batto-jutsu, san-dan (3rd level black belt) in Toyama-Ryu iai-batto-jutsu, and san-dan in the Zen Nihon To-Do Renmei:

From Erika “Aya” La Tour Eiffel’s Bio

I always had a fascination for weapons. Strange you say? Strange enough, that it lead me to start martial arts. I wanted to learn to use the Japanese katana. My plight eventually took me to Japan to study with the true masters of Japanese sword fighting. A few years ago my back nearly won the battle but after seven months of rehab, I returned and won a World Title and became the youngest instructor in the art of Soga-Ryu iai-batto-jutsu. I continued my love of the Japanese sword and earned the rank of san-dan (3rd level black belt) in Toyama-Ryu iai-batto-jutsu and also achieved san-dan in the Zen Nihon To-Do Renmei. I know, I know, I need start a webpage just dedicated to my other life as a swordswoman in Japan!

How cool is that?  Amazing!  Well, it doesn’t stop there… Erika “Aya” Eiffel transitioned away from swordsmanship to becoming an Olympic archer using her beloved recurve bow, Lance:

Archer Spotlight on Aya La Brie By Steve Ross

Having only started her archery career four years ago in 1999, Erika “Aya” La Brie had a tremendous year competitively in 2004. She was part of the Women’s Compound Team that took home a gold medal and new world record at the World Target Championships in New York City this past July. At the NAA Nationals, she shot both recurve and compound taking 10th and third place respectively. Aya also shoots the modern Longbow, traditional Japanese bow and is skilled in martial arts. I managed to catch Aya during an archery “holiday” due to a mountain bike accident.

USAA: I heard you recently had a serious mountain bike accident. What happened and will it impact your archery plans for the rest of the outdoor season?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: Well, I prefer to commute on my mountain bike as a form of cross training for my archery and last Wed. was no different. I was crossing a street on the walk signal and a truck came from the outside lane and turned in front of me. He sent me sailing when I tried to veer and brake. I flipped twice and crashed in a heap in the middle of the street. He paused only long enough to see if I was alive and sped off once I sat up.

I ended up with three mashed ribs, elbows, knee and ankle and large scrapes on my back. Fortunately, I always wear a helmet, which cracked. Otherwise, I have no crippling injuries. However, it did put a damper on the IBO Worlds, which I had to fly to the next morning followed by a five-hour drive. I managed to shoot but was in a lot of pain the whole weekend. Since my return, my training has been put on hold for the next few weeks to let my ribs and knee heal. I have never taken more than two weeks off from training and will have to rely on mental imagery until I can shoot again. Mental training helped me earlier this year when I was hospitalized for two weeks. All the experience gained from this year will help put together a good regimen until I’m ready to hit the range again.

USAA: I’m glad you’re ok and will only need a short break. You have had a fantastic year; shooting on the women’s compound team that shot a new world record must have been great.

Erika “Aya” La Brie: “Fantastic year” is more of an understatement to describe the year I’ve had! I started archery with recurve in 1999 and shot for one year before an injury forced me to shoot with a release if I wanted to continue shooting. So I picked up compound and shot for a year until last year when my hand healed and I could shoot fingers again. I switched back to recurve and made the U.S. World Field Team and alternate for the World Indoor Team. However, after shooting the Vegas Shoot this year with compound and recurve I decided I wanted to shoot both bows for NAA ranking. I had already decided I would shoot both bows at the Target Nationals, so I needed to divvy out the USAT events between both to meet the requirements. Indoor Nationals was the first step for my compound and decided the AZ Cup would be the second. The rest of the season would be recurve. Famous last words…

USAA: Tell me about shooting at the World Target event; do you treat it any different than just a normal FITA event?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: I was still in a dream-like state when I arrived in New York after making the U.S. Compound Team. I never ever imagined I would win the FITA and OR at the Arizona Cup, Texas Shootout and Gold Cup! Now I was standing on the shooting line at the World Target Championships!

All my FITA’s up to that point, I had trained myself not to fear the consequences of my shooting because I shot only for me. If I shot poorly, surely I would not shrivel up and die. Now for the first time I felt the weight of being on a team and representing the USA. My teammates were all experienced veterans and after having some difficulties on the first day of the FITA, I was afraid I would not be permitted to shoot the team round as the coach and other members questioned my experience. I pushed myself even harder and achieved several personal bests in the FITA and the matches. Now I felt that I had to prove myself to my team and to my country. To my greatest relief, the coach chose me to be the starting shooter in the team round. Since I was a rookie and had no expectations other than to shoot my best, I feel very blessed that I share a world record and have a gold medal.

USAA: Did you do any special training?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: Two weeks prior to the World Target, I moved to the Archery International Training Center in Carbondale, Ill. I worked on my backup bow and practiced shooting matches and having to deal with equipment failure etc. Good thing because I had to use my backup bow for one of the team matches. But not all my training was for the Worlds. I also had to train for the ESPN Great Outdoor Games, which was held just prior to the worlds. The Games required a speed setup and also a considerably faster shooting style than I use for target.

USAA: I don’t know of many archers who in the matter of just a few years are competing at the level you are. Do you credit some of this to your background in martial arts?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: I have made two world teams in four years with two different bows. I guess it is not common, but I have always felt my archery was a continuation of the martial arts I started many years prior to picking up a bow and arrow.

USAA: From what I understand you were a serious student of Japanese swordsmanship and Kyudo (Japanese archery). Can you describe this training?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: When I started martial arts, I quickly realized that contact martial arts was not a field I should explore if I wanted to preserve my kneecaps. So it seemed reasonable that I should fall in love with weapon’s work. The Japanese sword became my top choice from an arsenal of amazing traditional weapons. Along with training to draw, block and cut, I learned the value of becoming “one with your weapon.” This approach to fighting is where I found the most valuable tool for the mental game I currently use. Being so in tune with my katana definitely facilitated my way to winning the World Cup seven years ago. The katana was not a choice weapon for women. The training was rigorous and dangerous as we used live blades and actually cut in practice. Ask me how dangerous someday!

When I started Kyudo, I found myself getting very frustrated because of a handicap in my right shoulder. Regardless of how much I practiced, my shoulder refused to relinquish the flexibility I needed for certain motions in the shooting sequence. I shot four hours every day on a rooftop range at a Shinto shrine in Kamakura with my Japanese bow (yumi). Six months later I beat my entire school at a dojo tourney. I also was the first female non-Japanese to be inducted into the Ogasawara School of Mounted Archery. However, I knew that the beauty that made Kyudo an art would never be found with the imperfections in my form. I never even cared if I hit the target. I only wanted to shoot with beautiful style and form. I most definitely credit my training in martial arts to my advancement in archery. My bow is NOT equipment but an extension of my own being, just as my katana and my yumi were. My form, also unorthodox in many ways, is a style of my own and one that I am committed to.

USAA: You shoot Olympic style recurve, FITA compound, and various traditional bows. As for tournaments, you participate in NAA, 3-D, FITA and NFAA. Am I missing anything?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: I am still new to 3-D but have competed in a couple ASA and IBO tournaments each. I would like to shoot more 3-D but most are on the other side of the Mississippi. Since moving to Colorado, I have enjoyed shooting in CSAA (Colorado State Archery Association) tournaments and have broken nine state records since last December with all three bows. I am also new to the NFAA this year and was surprised to find a whole different organization with a different approach to target and field shooting as compared to the NAA.

USAA: Do you find it difficult switching between styles?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: This is the most frequently asked question. I learned recurve from a coach in Japan, but I taught myself to shoot compound and recently, modern longbow. Strange enough, my styles are so different from each other that I do not find it hard to switch, even in the same tournament and on occasion, the same shooting line. I find it a challenge to shoot all three bows at the same event, kind of like an archery triathlon.

USAA: Do you have a personal coach?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: When I started recurve archery in April of 1999, I had a wonderful coach for six months: Tastuo Nobori. He was my only coach and was very strict about mental and physical conditioning. But the foundations that he laid, I still use today. I’ve never had a compound coach. I just wanted to continue shooting so badly that I figured out how by applying what I learned with recurve to compound.

USAA:What is your training schedule like?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: I try to shoot four hours every day with focus on repetition of my shot sequence. At the end of training I usually do stamina exercises with my bow followed by a short run. I also cross-train by riding 30-50 miles or more a week on my mountain bike. I also jog 5 miles/run, a couple times per week. Every night just before bed I take a hot shower and stretch for 20 min. NO exceptions! I also do a lot of visual training using former pressure situations as the model.

USAA: Would you like to mention anyone in particular for giving you support this year?

Erika “Aya” La Brie: I never dreamed I would have the support that I do in archery. My greatest being from the Lord above. My sponsors are TechnoHunt, Doinker, Sure-Loc, Golden Key Futura, Carter and Specialty Archery. I would like to thank Hoyt USA for making great compound and recurve bows.

USAA: What are your compound and recurve setups?

Compound: 60# Hoyt UltraTec XT3000 Cam 1½, Easton X-10 500 Spin Wings, SureLoc Supreme, Specialty Super Scope 6X, Doinker² Stabilizer,

Recurve: 44# Hoyt Avalon+ and FX Limbs, Easton ACE 570, SureLoc FITA Extreme

She is also on the 2009 National Team for Archery, Recurve Bow:

The 2009 Senior USAT Team includes:

Recurve

Men       Women

Dan Schuller – Mercer, PA   Karen Scavotto – Enfield, CT

Joe McGlyn – Floral Park, NY  Erin Mickelberry – Bothell, WA

Jason McKittrick – Holton, IN  Stephanie Miller – Naperville, IL

Dakota Sinclair – Ridgecrest, CA  Lori Cieslinski – Howell, MI

Ted Holland – Westminster, CO  Kendra Harvey – Rio Rancho, NM

Jake Kaminski – Edgewater, FL  Erika “Aya” Eiffel – Suisun, CA

Timm Hines – Kent, WA   Amanda Nichols – Cheyenne, WY

Tyler Domenech – Holtwood, PA  *Jennifer Nichols – Cheyenne, WY

*Vic Wunderle – Mason City, IL  *Khatuna Lorig – Los Angeles, CA

Here are some more newspaper articles you can check out:

Woman with objects fetish marries Eiffel Tower

Erika La Tour Eiffel, 37, a former soldier who lives in San Francisco, has been in love with objects before. Her first infatuation was with Lance, a bow that helped her to become a world-class archer, she is fond of the Berlin Wall and she claims to have a physical relationship with a piece of fence she keeps in her bedroom.

But it is the Eiffel Tower she has pledged to love, honour and obey in an intimate ceremony attended by a handful of friends.

She has changed her name legally to reflect the bond.

Before returning to Paris for her first wedding anniversary, Mrs La Tour Eiffel visits the Berlin Wall, where her affection for what many Germans see as a symbol of repression leads to an uncomfortable encounter with a member of the staff at the Checkpoint Charlie museum.

She explained that she feels an affinity with the wall: “I am the Berlin Wall. Hate me, try to break me apart, but I will still be here, standing.”

‘I married the Eiffel Tower’

Imagine a world in which people seem hostile while inanimate objects appear friendly – even affectionate. Imagine dreading the touch of another human but longing for a passionate encounter with a large public structure. This is the strange world of the “objectum sexual”– a group of people, mainly women, whose intimate lives revolve around objects with which they say they share romantic and sexual love.

As a documentary film-maker passionate about exploring psychological aspects of human nature, I have made films about bigamists, domestic violence and co-dependent anorexic twins. Modern society is a never-ending source of these stories. It is still exceptional for a father to lock up his daughter for 24 years in a cellar, but scratch the surface and it seems that good personal relationships are rare. To fill their emotional needs, people are increasingly turning to a variety of substitutes: from internet virtual reality and food to… well, objects.

On first meeting, Erika La Tour Eiffel appears extraordinarily ordinary. An ex-US Army soldier, the 36-year-old lives in San Francisco. She is also a former world champion in archery – propelled to success, she believes, by her love for Lance, a bow. She now claims to be married to the Eiffel Tower, following a ceremony with friends last year in Paris, at which she promised eternal love to the iron monument and changed her name legally to reflect the bond. “There is a huge problem with being in love with a public object,” she says sadly. “The issue of intimacy – or rather lack of it – is forever present.”

She is currently married to the Berlin Mauer, which is why her name has changed to Erika Mauer.

I spent three years working at New Media Strategies, from 2003-2006, doing buzz marketing and have spent from 2007-2009 doing some semblance of word-of-mouth and public relations.

As a result, I am fascinated by what Emanuel Rosen, dean of buzz, says 9-years after the publication of his book, The Anatomy of Buzz.  Thank you, Ben McConnell, for this interview!  Check it out at the Church of the Customer Blog.

1. Do you define a difference between word of mouth and buzz?
I use the word “buzz” as an umbrella term to describe all the person-to-person communication about something. I like the definition you gave in your first book: “Buzz = Word of Mouth + Word of Mouse” but I would add to this formula any other type of communication (for example: learning through observation). By the way, the first person to suggest the word buzz to me was Everett Rogers, the late diffusion scholar. I told him that I didn’t like this term, but over the years I grew to like it a lot.

I read your latest blog entry on word of mouth vs. buzz and, although we use different terms, I agree with the spirit of the things. The foundation of buzz is a great customer experience. No doubt about this. But even customers who love you sometimes forget and run out of opportunities to talk. My whole focus has been on ways to trigger and stimulate additional conversations, and there’s more than one way of doing this.

2. Network-theory scientist Duncan Watts disputes a lot of what’s in Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point,” specifically that if marketers just reach a few influential tastemakers then word of mouth should flourish. Where do you stand on Watts’s research?
My approach is practical: there are people who talk more than others. Whenever you can, cost effectively, identify these folks and work with them — go for it. Watts’s work is an important reminder that not all buzz is created by hubs or influentials, but it does not prove that connecting with these people doesn’t work. In the new edition of my book I dedicate five pages to this debate but the above is my view in a nutshell.

3. What’s your assessment of how social media affects word of mouth today?
Social media let text-based buzz explode, but perhaps more important is the effect it has on visual buzz. Buzz is not only about telling, but more and more about showing. My friend doesn’t have to tell me that he likes Lego Mindstorms. He just posts a video of the latest robot he built using these Lego bricks. My cousin doesn’t have to tell me that she supports a certain organization.  I see on Facebook that she’s now a fan of that cause. A lot of the value of social media comes from this type of implicit recommendation.

4. How prevalent is fake buzz, whether its agencies creating astroturfing campaigns for clients or companies comment-stuffing review sites like Yelp?
I didn’t investigate how prevalent it is but I’m sure that undercover marketing is out there and that’s such a shame. Anyone who cares about word of mouth should fight this type of manipulation. I like the approach of Zagat and Angie’s List, that see it as part of their job to ensure the integrity of their sites. On a related issue, I think we should encourage everyone to generate more experience-based buzz (“I read this book and I liked it because…) as opposed to secondhand buzz (“my friend says that his cousin read this book and it’s cool.”) With too much secondhand buzz, we’ll end up with what can be best described as a buzz bubble as illustrated by a review posted on Amazon: “I haven’t read this book, but judging from the online reviews below, I don’t think it’s a very good book.”

5. In the big picture, what do you think is more helpful in understanding buzz and word of mouth: marketing or psychology?
Psychology. I think that the first step is always to understand what motivates people to do certain things. Marketing techniques come and go, but if you understand why people talk about products, you can find new ways to motivate them to talk about your brand.

• Shashi Bellamkonda @shashib http://www.shashi.name
• Lisa Throckmorton @lkthrock http://www.speakerboxpr.com/plugged-in
• Kim Oser @putitaway http://www.putitaway.net
• Allison Lee @dallisonlee  http://www.dallisonlee.com
• ThursdayB with Chris @thursdayb  http://www.thursdaybram.com
• Joe Loong @joelogon  http://www.joelogon.com/blog
• Steven Fisher @stevenfisher   http://blog.networksolutions.com
• Jill Foster @jillfoster http://www.womengrowbusiness.com
• Andrew Somyak @asomyak
• Kevin @kasrael  http://kl.yelp.com
• Allyson Kapin @womenwhotech   http://www.womenwhotech.com
• Chantelle Karl  @cckarl Yelp.com’s Communication manager for the East coast (That includes Canada and UK !- figure that out)
• Nakeva @nakeva http://www.meeid.com/nakeva
• Gaurav Sharma @gauravonomics  http://www.gauravonomics.com

Here is Jeremiah Owyang’s definition of a Tweetup

What’s Tweetup? A few years ago, we called them blogger dinners, and it’s where folks got to come together, meet each other face to face (scary huh?) and actually talk in real life. Despite the affection many have for these social tools, there is nothing like seeing people in real life and meeting them.

A few guidelines for social events that I mentioned on twitter: Unlike Fight Club, talk about Tweetups, before, during, and after. Come to meet folks, be social. Don’t “poke” anyone unless you’ve brought protection. The act of “throwing sheep” at anyone other than your spouse is not encouraged. If you’re going to mention people “you’re following them” be sure to give them context whether that’s on Twitter or in real life –hopefully the former.

Kidding aside, just come to network with others, buy someone you’re connected to online a drink, exchange real world information, and most importantly, be merry

(By Lauren Cook) Never has the power of Twitter been more evident than in the last few weeks and months. Once known only by “techies” and early adopters, this micro-blogging site is now slowly infiltrating into the mainstream and more importantly, affecting the way many of us communicate, listen, and learn.

For those not familiar with Twitter, here’s a quick introduction: Twitter is a free social networking service that allows users to send and read each other’s updates (known as “tweets”) that are limited to 140 characters in length (think two sentences at most). At its inception in 2006, Twitter (then known as “Obvious”) was originally created as a tool to be used internally by the podcasting company, Odeo. Two years later, over 3 million individuals worldwide have Twitter accounts and the rate in which news spreads has shortened to, well, 140 characters.

Initially, the goal of Twitter was to allow users to share with their “followers” exactly what they were doing at that moment (ie: “It’s Monday morning and I’m having Cheerios for breakfast”). A common misconception among those who aren’t familiar with Twitter believe this is still the case with the micro-blogging site. In fact, Twitter has grown and expanded and its capabilities have far surpassed solely communicating the mundane details of everyday life.

For instance, take the recent Mumbai attacks in November, 2008. During the three-day battle that left more than 100 dead, social-networking services such as Twitter and Flickr were flooded with news, rumors and pictures of the tragedy by what is now termed as “citizen journalists” — users on Twitter that were tweeting breaking news faster than mainstream media could pick up the same information on the news wires. Many people now describe the situation in Mumbai as “Twitter’s moment.” As a result, major media outlets now uses Twitter to help communicate the real-time public sentiment on various issues, such as Presidential elections, natural disasters, and current events.

Abraham & Harrison has been at the forefront of the Twitter phenomenon since its public offering, sucessfully leveraging the power of micro-blogging for many of its clients. One only has to take a quick look at Abraham & Harrison’s President and COO, Chris Abraham, who is known as one of the top Twitterers of Social Media news, having over 2,700 followers, to understand Abraham & Harrison’s extensive knowledge of cutting edge social media tools.

A fantastic example of Abraham & Harrison’s knowledge of Twitter is illustrated by our work with the client, The Fresh Air Fund, a non-profit agency providing free summer vacations in the country to more than 1.7 million New York City children from disadvantaged communities.

With Abraham & Harrison’s help, The Fresh Air Fund created a Twitter profile to communicate with other NPOs, current volunteers, potential families interested in The Fresh Air Fund, and donors. In just three months of tweeting, The Fresh Air Fund Twitter profile has over 600 followers and has reached thousands of individuals who they otherwise would never have been in contact with. Not only does Abraham & Harrison help guide

The Fresh Air Fund on how to best utilize Twitter in a respectful and value-driven way, Chris Abraham is also eager to help “retweet” The Fresh Air Fund’s Twitter content, meaning that over 3,000 users are seeing this non-profit’s messaging, creating a critical relationship with The Fresh Air Fund that results in support of the NPO. Even more impressive, The Fresh Air Fund was recently nominated to be a part of the “Top Ten List of Twitterers Who Will Change The World” — a fantastic feat for an NPO who has only been a part of the Twittosphere for three months.

Are you thinking about joining Twitter? One word of warning: You can’t become a Twitter sensation overnight. As Chris Abraham says, “Growing a social media profile is like growing a coral reef: after seeding the reef, there are so many things that need to happen before a reef blooms ‘in its own.’” With Twitter, time and commitment are key in order to position yourself as a valuable addition to the community. “You need to be generous — give more than you take — and you need to be committed to the long term,” Chris advises. And it’s not all about your follower numbers.

For instance, once could argue that Lance Armstrong isn’t a valuable member of the Twitter community given that he has over 23,000 followers, but is only following approximately 40 other Twitterers (an improvement since the last time I checked, when he was following a mere 2 users: his Livestrong organization, and one other member of the Livestrong Executive Team).

Twitter isn’t about just talking about yourself, accepting every follower, and never engaging in actual dialogue. Like every other social networking tool, it’s about forming relationships, providing valuable content, listening and (like Chris said), giving more than taking.

There’s an unspoken code of ethics followed by well-respected Twitterers, and a strategy that can help you reach your customers and supporters on Twitter while not opening yourself up to criticism and in extreme cases, retaliation (ever heard of the Motrin Mommies ?). The power of Twitter is increasing daily — do you know how to harness it? Let Abraham & Harrison show you how. (Via Marketing Conversation)

Today is Veteran’s Day, a day that pays homage to every man and woman who has served in the United States Armed Forces, in times of war and peace.  Please consider donating any amount today to help our returning troops.  If you donate now your funds will be matched dollar for dollar!

I have personally pledged to raise $1,000 of the $10,000 that Survivor Corps is raising this week to help returning soldiers in remembrance of Veteran’s Day, today — please help me make my goal. Honestly, a couple-bucks is cool — feel free to donate whatever you want. There is always the “Other” tab. If we have lots of small donations, it all adds up!  Please join me over on Facebook Cause in support of my pledge.

Our soldiers need our help now. Which is why, this Veterans Day, I’m asking you to honor their service with a modest gift to Survivor Corps’ program for U.S. Armed Forces veterans, Operation Survivor.

Survivor Corps is aiming to raise $10,000 over the next week, with your help. We currently have just over 600 members in the cause. If each member donated just $20, we would have well over $12,000. In addition, Survivor Corps is currently running a matching-gift program so your donation will be doubled for the returning troops! Please join Survivor Corps on Facebook Causes to help them reach their goal of $10,000!

Right now, about 620,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injuries (TBI), major depression, or a combination of the three. Many returning veterans are facing family, employment, and other community reintegration issues. Using our ten years of experience helping survivors of violent conflict find a way back to peace, within their own bodies and minds, and in their communities, Survivor Corps founded Operation Survivor to provide the same kind of life-changing services to American veterans.

NEWS FACTS
Within the United States there are over one and a half million service members that have served in military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over thirty thousand have been physically wounded, but many more have experienced less visible, psychological wounds. Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder have emerged as signature injuries of these conflicts, with recent reports suggesting an increase in rates of suicide, alcohol and drug abuse, homelessness, and domestic violence among returning service members and veterans.

These traumatic affects of conflict, left unaddressed, could have far-reaching negative consequences for the individuals affected, their families, and our country. Survivor Corps’ work in some of the most conflict affected countries in the world has shown community reintegration to be the key factor in those that overcome their traumatic experiences, and those that are consumed by them.

• 1.6 million servicemembers have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001
• 300,000 have reported symptoms of PTSD and major depression. (RAND)
• Over 5,391 service members haveben killed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 (hostile and non-hostile)4,447 killed in Iraq, 944 killed in Afghanistan (iCasualties, 06 AUG 08)
• Over 30,000 injured
• Over 1,000 lost limbs
• Walter Reed Amputee Center serves 100 veterans daily

The main issues for returning soldier since WWI have been:

• Major depressive disorder
• Alcohol abuse
• Domestic violence
• Suicide
• Homelessness
• Unemployment

All of these issues repeat after each war, and are symptoms of the much greater problem facing Veterans: How to reintegrate into families and communities upon return. We’ve seen these issues in our overseas networks, US citizens have seen these symptoms after past conflicts, and we are seeing these same symptoms again today..

PTSD:

• 53% of soldiers with PSTD receive treatment. (RAND)

SUICIDE:

• Since 2002 suicide attempts have risen from 350 to approximately 2,100 in 2007. (VA)
• The Army is committing $1.4 billion this year to add to the quality of life of a soldier including an informal peer support program through distribution of ACE of hearts playing cards.
• ACE cards: Ask your buddy, Care for your buddy, Escort your buddy.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE:
According to the Department of Defense heavy drinking occurred in 18.5% of those individuals from the U.S. Armed Forces surveyed.

• 41% of veterans who drank reported problems at work
• 24.7% of veterans who drank reported problems at home
• 31.2% of veterans who drank reported depression

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE:
A study conducted by the National Institute of Health showed returning veterans listed alcohol as the second most frequent cause of spouse violence.

UNEMPLOYMENT:

• 11.2% of returning young male veterans are unemployed (US Dept. of Labor)

HOMELESSNESS:

• 40% of homeless men are veterans. (National Coalition for the Homeless)
• 200,000 veterans are homeless. (NCH)
• Already 600 returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan have sought transitional housing services from the VA. (NCH)
• Women are 2 to 4 times more likely to become homeless. (NCH)
• After Vietnam, it generally took 9 to 12 years for veterans’ to become homeless…Returning veterans from Iraq are seeking housing services only months after returning. (NCH)

OPERATION SURVIVOR

Ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are creating a generation of veterans in the United States from all branches of the armed services and all 50 states who are struggling to overcome physical and psychosocial injuries. Most combat veterans convalescing in military hospitals across the country will survive physically, but getting on with their lives after returning home to their families and communities is proving a significant challenge for hundreds of thousands. Among the 1.6 million who have served since 2001, suicide is on the rise, as is unemployment and incidents of substance abuse and domestic violence.

The successful reintegration of returning service members is an issue that will have a long-lasting impact on American society, and may become the single defining struggle facing this new generation of veterans. Survivor Corps and its partners are determined to avoid the mistakes made when veterans returned from Vietnam, which resulted in tens of thousands of post-war suicides and over 200,000 men and women living on the streets.

To head off this tragic outcome, Survivor Corps will build peer support programs at the community level that will bring service members and veterans together for mutual support and encourage both individual responsibility and collective action to help others in need.

Survivor Corps is offering an alternative “treatment” that can be made readily available in all communities, regardless of proximity to traditional military or govern¬ment centers of support. Our approach is nimble enough to address the needs of individual survivors, while still broad enough to build a coalition of survivors and service providers working to effect long-term positive change.

This new program will help the recovery and reintegration of hundreds of thousands of returning U.S. service members at a critical time for them and their country.

On behalf of the International Medical Corps and Abraham Harrison, thank you so much for all of your support over the last four weeks to get the vote out to help get the International Medical Corps into the top-five of the Members Project and then for securing the $100,000 from American Express, to be used to feed hungry children worldwide. Here’s a thank you video blog entry from Paige Strackman, who was the PaigeS who submitted IMC in the first place under the title, Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children.

Here’s the official, final, press release you can read, directly from International Medical Corps:

International Medical Corps Wins $100,000 Grant from American Express to Save Malnourished Children

October 14, 2008, Los Angeles, Calif. –International Medical Corps (IMC) has been awarded $100,000 through the American Express Members Project. The grant will be used to treat malnourished children worldwide. IMC is one of five organizations to receive funding in the nationwide campaign where American Express Card members submit and vote for projects that are meant to bring people and organizations together for positive change.

The funding will be used to implement the project, ‘Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children.’ Submitted by American Express cardmember Paige Strackman, the project focuses on treating malnutrition through nutrient-rich, ready-to-eat food, which International Medical Corps provides to more than 35,000 children every month through a network of 215 supplementary and therapeutic feeding sites in some of the world’s most food-insecure environments, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Somalia. The project was selected by an elite panel out of 1,190 others and received more than 14,000 votes in the final round of competition.

“I submitted this project because, as a mother, I cannot ignore that five million children under five die every year due to malnutrition,” says Paige. “This funding will save thousands of malnourished children around the world who otherwise may not have been reached. I am so grateful to everyone who supported this project and helped make it a reality.”

While the project was submitted by one individual hoping to make a difference, it gathered public momentum. The project’s message was shared in the media from Los Angeles to New York, on nearly 200 blogs across the Internet, through thousands of emails and on social networking sites, including Facebook, My Space and Twitter.

The grant from American Express comes at an opportune time when rising food costs are driving millions deeper into poverty everyday while trying to afford basic staples. As a result, hunger and malnutrition kill more people each year than HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria combined.

“We are incredibly grateful to Paige for not only submitting the project, but also for fueling it with the passion to make it so successful,” says Rebecca Milner, Vice President of Institutional Advancement. “There are approximately 178 million children around the world who are malnourished and only 3 percent get treatment. This funding makes it possible for International Medical Corps to reach more of those children who desperately need our help.”

In Democratic Republic of Congo alone, International Medical Corps’ supplementary feeding centers admitted 3,500 new children in the past two months. At one center for severely malnourished children, IMC has a 35-bed capacity, but is accommodating 82. Another 30 children await treatment. This trend is symptomatic of the food insecurity affecting East Africa and much of the developing world. The World Food Program estimates that 15.7 million of those in need are in East Africa, and another 8.6 million are in Afghanistan.

With a mission that focuses on training, International Medical Corps works to empower individuals and communities, providing education on how to treat malnutrition, identify warnings signs, and intervene before malnutrition worsens. Health care workers and parents are educated on proper diet and hygiene, and communities are equipped to grow their own food and reduce their vulnerability to rising prices.

*The ‘Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children’ project can be viewed here: http://www.membersproject.com/project/view/OZH1P1
**Videos of children’s dramatic recoveries from malnutrition can be seen on International Medical Corps’ YouTube Channel: http://ca.youtube.com/user/IMCMembersProject

For more information visit our website at www.imcworldwide.org.

Also, thank you to every single blogger and social media maven who was so generous as to help us spread the word out and get as much attention as possible for both the Members Project as well as for International Medical Corps as well. You were all more than generous and all of us at IMC and AHLLC would love to thank you for being so generous and selfless.

• Help Feed Hungry Children via Danny Fisher.
• Help Save Kids via Three Sons and a Princess.
• Seeking $1.5 million to feed malnourished children via http://www.cabraham.com/node/693.
• International Medical Corps Matched With Top 25 American Express Members Project, via The Colombo Times News Blog.
• Altruism – For Whose Sake? via Jakartass.
• Cast a Vote, Help Save a Child via The Blog That Ate Manhattan Goes to Italy .
• Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children via Here There and Everywhere.
• International Medical Corps Matched With Top 25 American Express Members Project Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children via Samotalis.
• International Medical Corps responds to the food crisis with emergency nutrition programs, food relief aid, agricultural assistance, and training via Holly’s Fight to Stop Violence.
• Calling All American Express Card Members via All 4 My Gals.
• Russia using cluster bombs and humanitarian efforts for children… via Glass City Jungle.
• I’ve got this via E-Mail To Publish on this site, For the sake of children via The Triple Gem!.
• In This Election, The Winners are the Children via The Blog That Ate Manhattan.
• International Medical Corps via Christefideles.
• saving malnourished children via Lotusinthemud.
• Help Save the Lives of Malnourished Children With International Medical Corps via Myrtus.
• Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children via Ontario.
• International Medical Corps via Sakshum…cultivating dreams.
• International Medical Corps Matched with Top-25 via Jumping Monkeys.
• Banner on Site via Nerds Eye View.
• Fabulicious Friday #26 via cookienotes.
• Sharing Saturday – AmEx and Int’l Medical Corps via My Life as a Hot Professional.
• Cause Everyone Needs to Eat via Grassroots Activism.
• International Medical Corps via Yoga and Judaism Center.
• Radyo Inteligentaindigena-09-20-2008 via Inteligentaindigena Novajoservo.
• Help IMC save the lives of malnourished children in Africa! via A Romanian in Africa.
• Fighting Deadly Malnutrition: This Time, A Morally Imperative Rescue via The Cogitamus Blog.
• Fighting Deadly Malnutrition: This Time, A Morally Imperative Rescue via litbrit .
• Do the right thing via Bloody Brilliant.
• Let None Go Hungry via Pipecleaner Dreams.
• Click to Help Malnourished Children! via A Red Thread Connection.
• Tweet via Bloggapalooza.
• Here’s Something Cool via Cool Mom Picks.
• A Different Vote: Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children via Sexy Spanish Club in Buenos Aires.
• Saving Lives for Malnourished Children via Connorcolesmom.
• This won’t take a minute. via Miss Cellania.
• People Watching in Lipscani via Writers Bloc.
• A Good Deed via My Boyfriend is a twat.
• Corporate do-gooding: Vote for the best ideas that American Express is sifting through via Religion Blog: Dallas News.
• Please consider voting via Living in shkoder Albania.
• Banner via Andres V.
• Help Save the Lives of Malnourished Children via Progressive U.org.
• International Medical Corp via Jaden’s Journal.
• We Get Stuff via Winds of Change.
• International Medical Corps, Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children via Art of the Possible Online.
• Banner via Postcards From Across the Pond.
• Another AmEx Submission… via Fat Doctor.
• Up to 5 million children a year die of malnutrition – with one mouse click, you can help via Shakesville.
• Help International Medical Corp Save Starving Child With Just One Click via William K. Wolfrum.
• International Medical Corps Needs Your Vote via The Rotten Word.
• Give ‘em a vote via Army of Mom.
• Int’l Child Relief NGO Needs Our Votes…1.5Million At Stake via The Democratic Daily.
• Members Project by AmEx is amazing. Vote to send their money to help children here. via Craphammer.
• Reaching Out in the Love of Christ via The Day of the Lord.
• Do you Hear the Cry? via Christs Redeeming Passion.
• Compassion that makes a Difference. via Passion that Redeems.
• The Greatest Gift is Love via About the Father’s Business.
• Making a Difference via Redeemed by the Passion of Christ.
• Be a Light that Makes a Difference via Life in Christ.
• Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children via What’s a Delmer Look Like.
• banner via The Legless Blog.
• Contribution to a Noble Cause via Aa..Ha [Thinking Inside The Blog!].
• Help International Medical Corps Earn $1.5M via Turning Left.
• Help International Medical Corps Earn $1.5M via eNews Park Forest.
• They Need Your Vote … via Freaked Out Fathers.
• posted widget via Albtranslator.
• Please check this out via Braveheart Does the Maghreb.
• Saving the lives of malnourished children via Tongue and Cheek.
• American Express’ Members Project International Medical Corps via Sugar and Spice.
• International Medical Corps Matched With Top 25 American Express Members Project Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children via Budget Nomad – US Ex – Pat on the Move.
• Vote for International MedicalCorps to Help Children in Need. via humorgrafe .
• Voting for International Medical Corps via Tall Skinny Kiwi.
• Revealing myself as a LOTR nerd via Journey Mama.
• Thank You for Blogging About International Medical Corps! via Chris Abraham Because the Medium is the Message.
• Dora, the sheep droppings explorer via The French Mountain Dweller.
• Int’l NGO Needs Our Help To Win $1.5 M For Starving Children via Daily Kos.
• Thank You Bloggers for Blogging about International Medical Corps via Memes.org.
• Thank You International Medical Corps Bloggers via Abraham Harrison.
• “Vote for International Medical Corps to Help Children in Need” via Ben Heine.
• Feeding Hungry Children via Kuru Lounge.
• Your click could mean $1.5 million for malnourished children around the world via Pirate Pappa.
• One Click to Save Lives via So a Blonde Walks Into a Review.
• Members Projects via OBVI.
• With One Click You Can Save Thousands Of Malnourished Children via Blogher.
• Help International Medical Corps Feed Hungry Children via Chrisfernando.net.
• Thursday, September 25, 2008 via Island In the Pacific.
• Your click could mean $1.5 million for malnourished children around the world. via Fresh Motivation.
• Click for $1.5 million – A win-win-win situation via Stet.
• Vote to make a difference via Onlinefundraisingblog.
• Something About Saving Lives? via NDAGHA.
• Click to Donate via More Than An Army Wife.
• Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children via The Existential Lip.
• International Medical Corps via Backyard Missionary.
• International Medical Corps Matched with Top 25 American Express Members Project, ‘Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children’ via Bio-Medicine.
• Time is Running Out!!! via Pre School Mama.
• “The International Medical Corps: Please Consider This Good Cause” via Working With Word.
• Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children via javajive.
• Things I should have avoided whilst pregnant via Whitterer on Autism.
• American Express Members Project: Join me in voting for the project, “Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children.” via Make College Pay Off.
• Interested in Saving a Child From Malnutrition? via Reservoir.
• Go Vote for the International Medical Corps via Christian Spirituality w/ Edges.
• Vote for the International Medical Corps! via Understanding The Psychology and Effects of Abandonment Issues.
• International Medical Corps via Stories on Malawi.
• The Least of These via Paravanes: Christian Meditations .
• Vote to help feed hungry kids! via Happy at HFC.
• Please support International Medical Corps and help feed hungry children via The Sreisaat Adventures in cambodia.
• Tela’s Finds via Working Moms Against Guilt.
• Save Lives with Your Vote via Servant of Chaos.
• FYI via Left of Centre.
• International Medical Corp via Desert Phoenix.
• sidebar via Pardon Me For Asking.
• One Day Left – the AMEX Members Project via A Mom a Blog and the Life In-Between.
• widget via Psychiatryforpublic.
• sidebar via Tamil Newsfeed.
• Help Save the Lives of Malnourished Children via Progressiveu.
• A Little Charity Is All It Takes. via Anchor Rising.
• When Snark Just Isn’t Enough via World-O-Crap.
• International Medical Corps via Portrait of a Writer.
• The Members Project via Earnest Parenting.
• Vote to Feed Hungry Children via Looney Bin 4 Sure.
• American Express Members Project via Big Blueberry Eyes.
• Vote Now!! Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children via Lost Girl’s World.
• International Medical Corp Matched… via Chris Zenzine.
• We get letters via Skippy the Bush Kangaroo.
• Just a Note via Code Yellow Mom.
• International Medical Corps – Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children via Awakening To Enlightenment.
• Save the Lives of Malnourished Children via Contented Woman.
• Beyond THE FUTURE: International Medical Corps via Beyond Understanding .
• Beyond THE FUTURE: International Medical Corps via Publishers Marketplace.
• Banner via Arwin Soelaksono .
• Vote to Help Feed a Hungry Child! via Three P’s in a Pod.
• I get mail — worthy causes via The Reaction.
• I get mail — worthy causes via Newshoggers.
• I get mail — worthy causes via The Impolitic .
• Vote to Help Hungry Children via Dad Talk.
• Social Media News Release via Nandigram United.
• IMC project: Saving the lives of malnourished children via Motherscribe.
• Nobody likes to go hungry – especially kiddos. via Jelly Mom.
• HELP FEED CHILDREN via Smart Christian.
• International Medical Corps via Mama Speaks.
• International Medical Corps–Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children via This Mom.
• I don’t usually do this, but… via Non-Essential Equipment.
• Before I Forget (Again) via Drye Portents.
• Haiti Update via Gonna Make a Change.
• Vote to save hungry children! via Make it Happen.
• Please vote via All 4 My Gals.
• Att: American Express Card holders via Writers Bloc.
• Hey..Vote Again via ZenZine.
• Vote For These Guys and Save Some Children via Intuittech.
• Widget via The Disenchanted Forest.
• Vote for the International Medical Corps! via understanding the effects of unresolved abandonment issues.
• Help the International Medical Corps Feed Hungry Children via Danny Fisher.
• Help Save the Lives of Malnourished Children via Progressiveu.
• Saving the Lives of malnourished children via The French Mountain Dweller.
• Last chance to Save The Lives of Malnourished Children via Simple Green World.
• International Medical Corps’s Good Deeds Triumph!! via Three P’s in a Pod.
• Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children – NEWS FACTS via Ontario.
• $1.5 Million For Malnourished Children Around The World Possible – Your Vote In The American Express Members Project Could Help This Happen via Medical News Today.
• International Medical Corp Vote Now! via Holly’s Fight for Justice.
• International Medical Corp Vote Now! via Holly’s Fight to Stop Violence.
• International Medical Corp via Jakartass.
• widget via Andres V.
• widget via Que es El Testamento Del Paisa?.
• Part II Vote to Help Hungry Children via Dad Talk.
• Continue Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children via What’s Delmer Look Like?.
• Sharing Saturday – Bloggers Rule! via My Life as a Hot Professional.
• Banner via Earnest Parenting.
• International Medical Corps needs your help via Sociolingo’s Africa.
• Food Charities via Grasshopper New Media Presents….
• That good deed that some of you did …. via My Boyfriend is a twat.
• Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children via Paravanes: Christian Meditations .
• Giving back to Africa via Africa Safari Blog.
• Can Social Media Make the World A Better Place? via Digital Podcast.
• Vote to Feed Hungry Children via South Africa.
• Members Project Submissions Due 8/19 via The Drew Blog.
• Help International Medical Corps Save the Lives of Malnourished Children via International Medical Corps.
• Help International Medical Corps Save the Lives of Malnourished Children via Chris Abraham.
• Help International Medical Corps Save the Lives of Malnourished Children via Marketing Conversation.
• Help International Medical Corps Save the Lives of Malnourished Children via Chris Abraham: Because the Medium is the Message.
• Help International Medical Corps Save the Lives of Malnourished Children via Chris Abraham: Internet Analyst and Web Strategist.
• Vote AGAIN!!! for “Saving the Lives of Malnourished Children” via finding joy in Liberia .
• International Medical Corps needs your vote ! 4 days left “ via Ben Heine.
• International Medical Corps via Worldfoodvision.com.
• Calling All American Express Cardholders via Everything Finance.
• American Express Members Projects 08 via Ground.
• Its Easy to Make a Difference via Baer This In Mind.
• Hello guys! via Halo Scan.
• Help Feed Hungry Children! via Friends of the World Food Organization.
• International Medical Corps now in American Express Members Project Top 5, Vote Today via Yubanet.
• American Express Members Project Contest: Support the International Medical Corps via The Human Trafficking Project.

Creating a space for your members to “show off” or “express themselves” is less important than giving members to interact. They crave connection and will pursue any perceived connection such as shared interests, hometowns, movies, orientation, or schools.

They’re not at all about sharing, they’re about connecting. The best of breed SNS’s are primarily concerned with three things: finding your current friends, reconnecting with old friends, and making new friends. In that order. Current friend connections are the most essential, offering the most energy.

The best SNS’s are like an office ski trip. Out of the 30 people who choose to chip in on the trip, maybe four or five of them are pretty good friends. The remaining 25 have only a few things in common with you, including being in the same industry, being at the same company, liking skiing, and being probably within ten years of each other in age and a shared experience of going to college.

When you get to the ski slope, there are plenty of diversions planned to help you relax and feel comfortable among your colleagues. You may rent a very large home together near the slopes, you might stay at a big hotel together. You might all travel up there together in a chartered bus. And when you arrive, there is a cocktail party, and a social, and in the morning there is breakfast, etc. The people who come up who don’t want to ski have board games and the spa.

So, an SNS is about creating artificial and intentional ways of starting a conversation. Office pools and work happy hours. They’re all affectations. There are so many web sites and blogs and so forth out there that successful SNS’s can’t follow that model.

So, when it comes to building a valuable personal profile for an SNS, it is important that the profile isn’t just pretty and isn’t just the equivalent of a questions-based, template-based personal website. For example, modern SNS’s tend to request an exhaustive list of favorite movies, favorite books, favorite TV shows, etc. These are props that allow registered members to find each other based on a love of LOST, 24, or the Matrix.

People love to connect based on shared interest and shared memories. People also love to compete. A friendly competition is always a very powerful way to allow people to both connect and create shared memories.

One of the most successful methods of connecting people in a very strong way is through bringing them together through “pools.??? Fantasy football is popular; Oscar pools, college basketball pools, etc, are very powerful ways of bringing people together and allowing them to “ski??? together, allowing them to interact in a very powerful, visceral, way.

I have friends who have powerful, shared memories, of Oscar and football and basketball pools; even stronger are the shared memories of seasons of fantasy sports, fantasy football in particular. Unlike catching a real game together, fantasy football can happen 100% online.

Virtual online communities are neither virtual nor are they exclusively online. They are real, powerful, communities of real people building real connections that can, and often do, result in marriages, children, businesses, jobs, and emotional support when times are rough.

“It is amazing that anything is able to silence a gun, but gun silencers actually work on a very simple principle,” according to digg.

There is much more to it than How Stuff Works goes into. Lots of thought has gone into it, especially of you read Introduction to Firearm Suppressor Technology.

Introduction to Firearm Suppressor Technology

“The first firearm suppressor was invented in 1910 by Hiram Maxim. Maxim was also the man responsible for the first true machine gun. While a suppressor may greatly reduce the noise of the shot, the term “silencer” is technically incorrect because there is no way to effectively silence any firearm. The noise of the shot may be dampened or suppressed but there are no silent firearms in existence.

Sound Components of a Shot and how a Suppressor Works:

There are four distinct components that together make up the noise we perceive as a gunshot. In order of loudness, these are:

* Pressure Wave from rapidly expanding propellant gases
* Sonic Crack of bullet
* Mechanical Action Noise
* Flight Noise

The pressure wave, produced by the rapidly expanding propellant gases is the only noise component that a suppressor can reduce. The suppressor reduces noise by two mechanisms. The first is it slows the release, through expansion and turbulence, of high-pressure propellant gases that we perceive as a “bang”. The second is due to Newton’s Law of Thermodynamics (Energy can neither be created or destroyed. It can only be converted from one form to another), where some of the kinetic energy of the noise impulse is converted to heat.

The only way to remove the sonic crack of a high velocity bullet is to utilize subsonic ammunition. Some cartridges are inherently subsonic, while most others can be downloaded to a velocity below the speed of sound. Some integral suppressors utilize ported barrels to bleed off propellant gas and thus reduce the velocity of the bullet.

Bullet flight noise is not loud enough to be sensed by the shooter. However, even subsonic bullets can be heard if they pass close by a person. This noise resembles a whooshing or swishing sound as the bullet flies through the air. Flight noise is too quiet to be heard above a sonic crack.

Suppressor Performance:

The most common method of measuring sounds is the Decibel system. Decibels are a logarithmic scale; meaning the values are non-linear. Eg. A change from 100 to 200 dB does not represent a doubling of the noise level. It represents an increase of 1000 times.

Most suppressors for supersonic cartridges can realistically be expected to reduce the noise of firing by 18-32 dB depending on the design. This represents the limit imposed by the noise of the supersonic projectile. As the suppressor reduces the noise of the shot, the sonic crack becomes the dominant sound. In subjective hearing tests, a suppressed, supersonic cartridge will sound approximately as loud as an unsuppressed .22 rimfire rifle or about 139-141 dB. Suppressors for subsonic cartridges may approach 40 dB of sound reduction however; this is the practical limit of sound reduction at this time. Subsonic systems can be as quiet as 115 dB, which is less than the action noise of a Sterling Submachine Gun (open bolt, blow back action). The dominant sound is the bullet striking the target.

Like firearms, different suppressor designs work best in different applications. Size and weight always work against noise reduction. As a result, one must find a balance between the size and weight of a suppressor and the degree of noise reduction desired for the mission. Suppressor designers are constantly trying to strike a balance between size and weight and noise reduction, which is why there are so many different designs available.

Secondary Benefits:

Suppressors make very effective muzzle brakes. A suppressor reduces the recoil of any firearm by about 30% or as much as a muzzle brake. Unlike a conventional muzzle brake, the suppressor will not blow noise back towards the shooter or cause dust and debris to be blown up, giving away the shooter’s location.

Suppressors on tactical weapons allow more accurate and faster target engagement due to reduced muzzle jump and reduced flash in low light conditions.

Suppressors on very large caliber rifles (.338 Lapua or .50 BMG) greatly reduce recoil, muzzle flash, noise and blast. They increases the shooter’s comfort level considerably over a conventional muzzle brake because the suppressor directs propellant gases forwards, away from the operator, in a very small arc.

The removal of painful muzzle blast can increase marksmanship as a result of a reduction in flinching, as well as increase the speed of follow up shots.

Reduced muzzle blast can allow longer training sessions and more shooting practice. The muzzle blast from large caliber weapons can be so intense that ear defenders and earplugs may not be effective. In this case the suppressor is the best method of protecting the operator’s health.

Suppressors practically eliminate muzzle flash so they are appropriate for use in dark conditions or where the atmosphere may contain explosive gases. A bit of tape over the muzzle of the suppressor will stop gases from entering the suppressor.

Once the first shot has been fired, the suppressor is full of burnt propellant gases, thus providing a non-explosive atmosphere inside the tube.

Types of Suppressors:

Suppressors can be divided into two main categories: Integral and Muzzle. Integral suppressors are designed as a permanent part of the firearm. Muzzle cans are designed to be fixed and removed easily and they do not affect the functioning of the firearm. Neither type of suppressor has an advantage in sound reduction. Integral systems are used where barrel porting is required to reduce the velocity of supersonic ammunition. Integral systems do not suffer point of impact changes as a result of the fitting or removal of the suppressor. They also tend to be more compact.

Mounting Systems:

There are many different ways to mount a suppressor. Two-point mounts are the sturdiest and the least likely to result in a misalignment. Mostly it is only integral suppressors that use two point mounts.

Employment and Techniques of Suppressed Firearms:

It is desirable to suppress a gunshot for many reasons. For entry teams, suppressed weapons allow increased command and control, as operators do not have to wear hearing protection. Suppressed weapons allow operators to distinguish between shots fired by one of the team or a perpetrator.

Suppressed shots are also more difficult to pinpoint, giving the operator an advantage over the perpetrator in the confusion of an armed encounter for greater survivability.

Military snipers can expect to be subjected to intense mortar or artillery fire should their location be inadvertently revealed. The suppressor could be the most important piece of “camouflage” used by a sniper team. The suppressor camouflages the rifle shot by almost eliminating muzzle flash and blast that can give away a sniper’s location. Proper positioning of the shooter to cause the bullet to pass close by one or more hard objects can add to the enemy’s confusion as the muffled shot will be veiled by the sonic crack which will seem to come from multiple locations as a result of it bouncing off hard objects.

Police snipers can also benefit from the use of suppressors to dampen the noise of the shot for public relations. Even experienced shooters view a quiet gunshot as being from a “less powerful” or “less dangerous” firearm. A full power sniper rifle fired in an urban location can attract unwanted public relations problems.

“Even when firing full power loads supersonically, a suppressor?.so dramatically reduces a sniper’s sound signature that I think ultimately we are going to see suppressors on all sniper rifles.”
– Major John Plaster – Advanced Ultimate Sniper video

Suppressors and Accuracy:

A properly designed and mounted suppressor should have no negative effect on the accuracy of the firearm. In fact there is some indication that suppressors actually increase accuracy by stripping the high velocity propellant gases from around the bullet. Without the suppressor, the gases push past the bullet, causing it to yaw slightly as it leaves the muzzle. A muzzle-mounted suppressor will change the point of impact of any firearm it is attached to. However with testing this effect can be corrected for by adjusting the sights.

Potential Problems and Hazards Associated with the Use of Suppressors:

One of the biggest hazards comes from improperly mounted suppressors or a suppressor that loosens during use. This can cause the suppressor to lose alignment with the bore, possibly resulting in baffle contact which can tear the suppressor off the firearm or blow it to bits in a catastrophic failure. During use, all suppressors should be checked for proper tightness regularly.

Not all suppressors are designed to survive full-auto fire or even a high volume of semi-auto fire. A high volume of fire through a suppressor not designed for it can cause the suppressor to fail from baffle collapse or extensive baffle damage. It can also destroy the rifle’s barrel from excessive heat buildup in as few as 200 rounds.

Minor suppressor hazards include burns from a hot tube as well as propellant gases and unburnt powder blowing out the ejection port of semi-automatic firearms. Operators should take care to wear proper eye protection when using suppressed weapons.

Maintenance and Cleaning:

Loose powder grains or carbon chips can be easily removed by shaking the suppressor vertically with the muzzle down. Compressed air may be used for cleaning and gun oil for preservation but washing with liquids and solvents is not recommended. After use, remove the suppressor or leave the action open to allow water to evaporate and to promote airflow. Give the suppressor a light coating of preservative oil inside and that is it.”

The athletes

Bow or Bow seat 

The rower closest to the front or bow of a multi-person shell. In coxless boats, often the person who keeps an eye on the water behind him to avoid accidents.

Bisweptual

A rower who can row both on starboard and port side.

Bowside 

(UK) Any sweep rower who rows with the oar on the Bowside (the right or Starboard side) of the boat.

Coxswain 

The oar-less crew-member, usually included, who is responsible only for steering and race strategy; the coxswain either sits in the stern or lies in the bows of the boat.

Engine room 

The middle rowers in the boat. In an 8-person shell, this is generally seats 3, 4, 5 and 6 and often called the “middle 4.” They are generally the biggest and strongest rowers. Because they are situated in the middle, their technique doesn’t have to be as perfect as the others.

Gumboot seat

Related to the engine room, the gumboot is the rower (in an eight oar boat) in 3 seat, typically seen as a rower who’s not strong enough to row in 5 seat (typically the most powerful rower in the boat) but not technical enough to row in the stern or bow pairs.

Heavyweight 

a rower who weighs more than the restrictions for lightweight rowing. Often referred to as Open weight.

Lightweight 

A rower whose weight allows him or her to be eligible to compete in Lightweight rowing events.

Port

A sweep rower who rows with the oar on the port or left side of the boat.

Sculler 

A rower who sculls – rows with two oars

Seat Numbers 

A rowers position in the boat counting up from the bow. In an eight, the person closest to the bow of the boat is “bow,” the next is 2, followed by 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and finally 8 or “stroke.”

Starboard 

A sweep rower who rows with the oar on the starboard or right side of the boat.

Sweep 

A rower who rows with one oar.

Stroke (Seat) 

The rower closest to the stern of the boat, responsible for the stroke rate and rhythm.

Strokeside 

(UK) Any sweep rower who rows with the oar on the Strokeside (the left or Port side) of the boat.

The boats

Sweep

In a sweep boat, each rower has one oar.

Eight (8+) 

a shell with 8 rowers. Along with the single scull, it is traditionally considered to be the blue ribbon event. Always with coxwain because of the size, weight and speed of the boat – bow loader eights exist but are banned from most competitions for safety reasons.

Four (4-) or (4+) 

a shell with 4 rowers. Coxless fours (4-) are often referred to as straight fours, and are commonly used by lightweight and elite crews and are raced at the Olympics. In club and school rowing, one more frequently sees a coxed four (4+) which is easier to row, and has a coxswain to steer.

Pair (2-) or (2+)

a shell with 2 rowers. The Coxless pair (2-), often called a straight pair, is a demanding but satisfying boat to master. Coxed pairs (2+) are rarely rowed by most club and school programs. It is no longer is an Olympic class event, but it continues to be rowed at the World Rowing Championships. The bow loader coxed pair was nicknamed “the coffin” due to the difficulty for the cox’n to escape in the event of a capsize.

[edit]

Sculling

In a sculling boat, each rower has two oars, one on each side of the boat.

Octuple (8x)

a shell having 8 rowers with two oars each. Generally a training boat, but raced by juniors in the UK.

Quad (4x)

a shell having 4 rowers with two oars each. A coxswain is generally not used except by novices or juniors.

Double (2x)

a shell for two scullers without a coxswain.

Single (1x) 

a shell designed for an individual sculler. Very good for skill development, particularly beginners, and a very competitive class at the Olympics. Extremely rare is the coxed single which is only used as a training boat or for adaptive rowing.

The Rigging and Other Equipment

The term “Rigging” is used to describe how the boat is outfitted, including all of the apparatuses (oars, outriggers, oarlocks, sliding seats, etcetera) attached to a boat that allow the rower to propel the boat through the water. It is derived from an old Anglo Saxon term wrigan or wrihan, which means “to clothe.” It literally means to outfit or clothe a boat. “Rigging” is also used to describe the configuration of the boat and settings of the apparatuses. The following terms are often associated with a boat’s rigging, along with other often used terms for equipment used in rowing:

Backstop 

The stop mechanism on the seat slides which prevents the rower’s seat from falling off the sliding tracks at the back end (towards the boat’s bow) of the slide tracks. Also, in the UK, the sliding seat position closest to the boat’s bow. As a command, it instructs the crew to adopt this position. (The US calls this seat position the “back end”)

Bow 

the front end of the boat.

Bow ball 

An essential small, soft ball no smaller than 4 cm diameter securely attached to a rowing or sculling boat’s bow. Primarily intended for safety but also useful in deciding which boat crossed the finish line first in very close races.

Bowcox / bow steered

When a coxswain is placed in a seat partially enclosed in the bow of the shell.

Bowside 

(UK) The Starboard or right side of a boat. Derives from the tradition of having the bow rower’s oar be on the starboard or right side of the boat.

Bow number 

A card holding the number assigned to the boat for a race.

Bow rigged

(UK) Term describing the person stroking the boat has their oar on the Bowside (Starboard or right side) rather than the typical Strokeside of the boat.

Cleaver blade 

Modern oar blades that have a more rectangular hatchet-shape. (also hatchet blade)

Coxbox 

Portable voice amplifier; may also optionally incorporate digital readouts displaying stroke rate, boat speed and times.

Ergometer, ergo or erg 

An indoor rowing machine.

Foot Stretchers 

An adjustable footplate which allows the rower to easily adjust his or her physical position relative to the slide and the oarlock. The footplate can be moved (or “stretched”) either closer to or farther away from the slide frontstops.

Footplate 

Also known as Foot Stretchers. The piece of the boat to which the rower’s feet are attached, either by tying their actual shoes (sneakers) in, or (more often) by putting their feet into a permanently-attached pair of sneakers.

Frontstop 

The stop mechanism on the seat slides which prevents the rower’s seat from falling off the sliding tracks at the front end (towards the boat’s stern) of the slide tracks. Also, in the UK, the sliding seat position closest to the boat’s stern. As a command, it instructs the crew to adopt this position. (The US calls this seat position the “front end”)

Gate 

(UK) Term for an oarlock.

German rigged

A boat where a pair of oarsmen, usually seats 4 and 5 in the engine room, both row on the same side of the boat.

Gunwales 

(pronounced: gunnels) The top rail of the shell.

Hatchet blade 

Modern oar blades that have a more rectangular hatchet-shape. (also cleaver blade)

Launch

A motorboat used by rowing instructors, coaches or umpires.

Macon blade 

Traditional U-shaped oar blade. (also Spoon blade or Tulip)

Oar 

A slender pole which is attached to a boat at the Oarlock. One end of the pole, called the “handle,” is gripped by the rower, the other end has a “blade,” which is placed in the water during the propulsive phase of the stroke. The blade portion of the oar is similar to a razor blade or a piece of paper: Essentially two-dimensional, the third dimension is very thin.

Oarlock 

The rectangular lock at the end of the rigger which physically attaches the oar to the boat. The oarlock also allows the rower to rotate the oar blade between the “square” and “feather” positions.

Outrigger 

See “Rigger,” below.

Pogies/Poagies 

A type of mitten with holes on each end, which allow the rower to grip the oar with bare hands while also warming the hands, used frequently by northern rowers.

Port or Portside

The left side of the boat when facing forward.

Rigger 

A “Rigger” is the rowing slang name for an Outrigger. It is a projection from the side (gunwhale) of a racing shell.[1] The oarlock is attached to the far end of the rigger away from the boat. The rigger allows the racing shell to be narrow thereby decreasing drag, while at the same time placing the oarlock at a point that optimize leverage of the oar. There are several styles of riggers, but they are most often a triangle frame, with two points attached to the boat, and the third point being where the oarlock is placed. Rigging is also used to describe whether a boat is stroked by a port or starboard (i.e. port-rigged, starboard-rigged). With sweep rowing, riggers typically alternate sides, though it is not uncommon to see two adjacent seats rigged on the same side of the boat.

Rowlock 

Often used in the UK to describe an Oarlock, see above.

Rudder 

Adjacent to the skeg and used by the coxwain (or in some coxless boats, by a rower using a “toe”) to steer the boat via attached cables.

Seat 

Molded seat mounted on wheels, single action or double action. Single action is fixed bearing wheel, double action is wheel on axle that rolls on track and rolls on horns of seat. A secondary meaning of location in the shell, the bow seat is one, and is numbered upward to the stroke seat (8, in an 8 man shell). Thirdly can mean a competitive advantage in a race, to lead a competitor by a seat is to be in front of them by the length of a single rower’s section of a shell.

Shell 

The boat used for rowing.

Shoulder 

load bearing supports that mount rigger and attach to keel of boat. (also knee)

Skeg 

The small fin on the bottom of the boat for stability.

Slides 

Hollow rails upon which a rower or sculler’s sliding seat will roll. Older shells might be convex rails with double wheels (also Tracks)

Slings 

Folding, portable temporary boat holders. Two are required to hold a boat.

Smoothie 

A blade design in which the face of the oar blade is smooth, without the traditional central spine.

Speed coach 

A device mounted on the keel of some high-performance shells that determines the boat’s speed based on the speed of a small propeller and transmits this information to the coxbox.

Spoon blade 

Traditional U-shaped oar blade. (also Macon blade)

Starboard or Starboard side

The right side of the boat when facing forward.

Starboard rigged

(USA) a boat where the stroke rower is a starboard rower.

State room 

The space between the gunwales (UK).

Stern 

the rear end of the boat.

Stretcher 

A slang abbreviation for Foot Stretchers.

Strokeside 

(UK) The port or left side of the boat (even if the boat is bow rigged). Derives from the tradition of having the stroke rower’s oar be on the port or left side of the boat.

Toe 

In some boats without a coxswain, a rower may be able to control the rudder and steer the boat by changing the direction his foot points. This is called “toeing a boat.” And the mechanism is called a “toe.”

Tracks 

(see Slides)

Tulip 

Traditional U-shaped oar blade. (also Macon blade)

The Commands

“Easy”

(USA) to stop rowing hard.

“Easy oars” 

(UK)To stop.

“Hard on (port/starboard)” 

The rowers on that side of the boat must row harder (and the opposite side must row slightly easier) in order to facilitate a sharper turn.

“Heads” or “Heads Up” 

Off the water, a shout to alert others to watch out for a boat being carried.

“Hold it/her up, hold water” 

(UK) Stop the boat.

“Hold it/her hard” 

(UK) Emergency stop.

“Check it/her down” 

Square the oars in the water to stop the boat.

“Let it run” 

To stop rowing after a given piece of on the water rowing length, but to put the handles of the oars either to the gunwales or out in front of the rower, in such a manner that the oar paddles are parallel to the water yet not touching it. This allows the boat to glide for a distance leaving no paddle wake in the water. Similar, but not exactly the same is the command “Gunnel”, where rowers push the oars until the handle touches the boat’s gunwale.

“Take the run off” 

To stop rowing and hold the blades at a 45 degree angle in the water to slow the boat down.

“On the square” 

to row without feathering the blades on the recovery.

“Weigh-enough” (or “Wain…’nuff”)

(USA) The command to stop what ever the rower is doing, whether it be walking with the boat overhead or rowing.

“Power 10″ 

the command to take 10 strokes at more than full pressure. Used for passing and gaining water in a race. (sometimes “Power 5″, “Power 20″, or “Power 30″)

“… in 2″ 

Most water commands are appended to take place after two strokes. For example “Power 10 in 2″ or “Weigh-enough in 2″

The Stroke

Catch 

The part of the stroke at which the oar blade enters the water and the drive begins. Rowers conceptualize the oar blade as ‘catching’ or grabbing hold of the water.

Crab 

A rowing error where the rower is unable to timely remove or release the oar blade from the water and the oar blade acts as a brake on the boat until it is removed from the water. This results in slowing the boat down. A severe crab can even eject a rower out of the shell or make the boat capsize (unlikely except in small boats). Occasionally, in a severe crab, the oar handle will knock the rower flat and end up behind him/her, in which case it is referred to as an ‘over-the-head crab.’

Drive 

The propulsive portion of the stroke from the time the oar blade enters the water (‘catch’) until it is removed from the water (‘release’).

Feather 

To turn the oar so that its blade is parallel with the water (opposite of square).

“Keel” 

The balance of the boat. Good keel means that the stability of the boat is good. “keep keel” is a command often heard from the coxswain when the boat starts to sway. (US)

Rating 

the number of strokes executed per minute by a crew. (also stroke rate)

Ratio 

the relationship between the time taken during the propulsive and recovery phases of a rowing or sculling action.

Release 

At the end of the drive portion of the stroke. It is when the oar blade(s) is removed (or released) from the water.

Recovery 

the non-work phase of the stroke where the rower returns the oar from the release to the catch.

Set 

The balance of the boat. Affected by handle heights, rowers leaning, and timing, all of which affect the boat’s balance, after which the coxswain tells rowers to “set the boat”. (see keel).

Split time (split) 

Amount of time it takes to row 500 meters. Displayed on all ergs and on coxboxes installed on boats with speed coaches (see above).

Stroke 

1. one complete cycle through the process above
2. the rower in the stern of a multi-person shell, whose timing is followed by the other rowers.

Stroke rate 

The number of strokes executed per minute by a crew. (also rating)

Square 

To turn the oar so that its blade is perpendicular to the water (opposite of feather).

The Race

Start 

In head to head races, the start is one of the most important parts of the race. In head races, where boats do not race next to each other, there is a running start, where rowing begins before the starting line and rowers are already at full speed when they cross the start. In sprints (head-to-head), the start consists of the following sections:

1. Actual start: This is generally five or six partial strokes done at a high rate and in a certain pattern, i.e. three-quarter length stroke (sometimes called three-quarters slide), followed by half, half, three-quarters, three-quarters, and then a full length stroke. The goal is to get the rowers off to a cohesive start and quickly build momentum.
2. High Ten: A set of strokes done at a high cadence immediately after the start. Not to be confused with “Power Ten,” the high ten is ten strokes at a high rating to finish building speed. Some crews may pull fifteen or twenty high strokes to build even more speed.
3. Settle: Immediately after the rowers complete their high cadence strokes, the stroke tempo is lowered and the stroke lengthened to the rating to used through out the body of the race. Often accompanied by a Power 10 or 20. Coxswains may call a “Ten to Settle” or “Ten to Glide” to drop the cadence more gradually.

Body 

The body of the race is carried out at a consistent rating, with power tens called as the coxswain deems necessary.

Sprint 

The last 500 meters of most races are generally at a much higher rating than the rest of the race, as crews pull to exhaustion.

Flutter/Shunt 

In head-to-head races, the coxswain may decide to call a flutter, which is essentially the six-stroke start put into the race close to the end. The flutter may push one boat which is trailing another a few seats ahead, but is extremely demanding on a crew. In many cases, it is used as a desperation move when all other options have been exhausted.

Miscellany

Masters (or veteran – UK)

Rowers 27 years of age or greater.

Seat race 

A method to compare two rowers in fours or eights. Two boats race against each other once. One rower from each boat switch positions, and the two boats race again. Relative performance in the two races is used to compare the abilities of the two rowers.

Pot 

A tankard awarded as a prize to each member of a winning crew.

Open water race 

competition on unsheltered water exposed to current, tide, wind and requiring navigation skills as well as strength, endurance, and technique. Generally uses a mass start and includes a mix of human-powered boats. Typical race distances are 6 to 26 miles.

Betting Shirts

In collegiate competition, men’s teams sometimes “bet” their shirts on the race, and the loser must render a racing shirt with their logo on it to the winner. Traditionally, this was done as the boats were pulled together right after the race ended and shirts were exchanged, but it is now usually done off the water. Because women’s crew is governed by the NCAA, which forbids betting on athletic events, shirt betting is usually only done by men’s crews. The term can refer to either the practice or the shirt itself; some crews have shirts made specifically for betting so as to keep their racing jerseys should they lose a race.