Around Aberdeen: King's College at Night

A few days ago, I posted about King's College. Another great thing about King's College is that it's absolutely stunning when lit up at night - and since Aberdeen is about as far north as the southern bits of Alaska, and since I'm often on campus late into the evening, I end up with a lot of opportunities to see it in that condition. The bus stops happen to be right outside King's College, so I often get a chance to enjoy the view before heading back to my room to catch some sleep. It's a great reminder of the rich history of the University of Aberdeen - certainly one of its best selling points. The University was founded in 1494 - that's more than five hundred years ago! That's older than America! And every night that I have the opportunity to walk down High Street at night, whether leaving the campus or possibly The Machar, it's a great reminder of how special this year is for me.

The Gear: Little Plastic Army Men

I love little plastic army men*. I bought a whole bucket of them when I was in the Middle East to use in sand table exercises that never happened, and they were awesome - the Brits had bagpipers! I can't describe how much I squealed with glee over the discovery of those bagpipers, in among Brits in khaki shorts and pith helmets with Bren guns and Lee-Enfields, Americans with bazookas and M2 machine guns, and so on.

When I left the Middle East, I gifted a bunch of those toy army men to a bunch of the folks I worked with. A handful of my favorite folks (like Big Sister and L, both of whom may be reading this) got the bagpipers. The machine gunners or bazooka shooters went to folks (like Sergeant Mike, who may be reading this) who were always there to support me when I needed help. A few useless folks received tactically useless ones like the waving binoculars guy as a sort of backhanded compiment. I thought about packing a bucket of them to bring with me to Scotland, and I thought about ordering them to be sent over by some friendly compatriot back home - there are always practical, non-practical, and diplomatic uses for little plastic army men.

Well, no need: I found an extremely cheap, extremely low quality bagful of them at Poundland. Unlike the bucket of plastic army men, which isn't of particularly high quality, the bag of army men is of exceptionally poor quality. Regardless, I'm quite pleased to have them, and I may even go back for more of them - particularly if I can convince some of my classmates that we ought to do map and/or sand table exercises, or play Risk, or possibly militarize a game of Settlers of Catan.

I tell you what, between these little plastic army men and my note and/or index and/or record cards, the only other thing I need at this point is an entrenching tool!

* Reader discretion advised.

Island Paradise: St. Magnus Cathedral Interior

One of the measures of a "city" by British standards is that cities contain cathedrals. (For the record, Aberdeen's is the Cathedral Church of St. Machar, which was the site of my first attempt at geocaching.) The most beautiful cathedral I've ever seen - and I've seen quite a few of them - is St. Magnus Cathedral in the Royal Burgh of Kirkwall. On my second full day in Orkney, I went into Kirkwall. I had several errands to run: buying an Orcadian sweater (unfortunately, knitted in Orkney, but not from Orcadian wool - I still love it!) from a shop on Victoria Street, grabbing a Giddy Limit 2013 calendar from the Orcadian bookshop, and of course, a trip back to St. Magnus Cathedral.

St. Magnus is constructed from gorgeous red sandstone, and contains many, many epitaphs from the kirkyard outside. A lot of them have the skull and crossed bones icon visible in the attached picture. There are also numerous other items from Orcadian history, plus the crypts of William Balfour Baikie and Dr. John Rae. (I actually remember Captain John telling me the story of Dr. John Rae back in 2004 when he took me there during our grand tour of Orkney.) There's a memorial to the men lost in the 1939 sinking of HMS Royal Oak in Scapa Flow, which contains the ship's bell. Originally erected in 1137, the cathedral is named after St. Magnus of Orkney, whose life, martyrdom, and legacy are recounted in chapters 39 through 60 of the Orkneyinga Saga. He's also the subject of the novel Magnus by Orcadian author George Mackay Brown, and let me tell you, the book shops in Orkney are quite fond of George Mackay Brown.

If you take the tour on Tuesday or Thursday, you'll find yourself led up into the into the central bell tower. In addition to seeing the bell apparatus and some of the older bits of the cathedral that have since been shored up or added to to preserve the structure, you'll get to see one of the original glass windows (pictured) dating back to the cathedral's early days. My tour was definitely one of the highlights of my time in Orkney. Unfortunately, I took sixty pictures of the St. Magnus Cathedral interior alone, which is too many pictures even for one of my blog posts. Hopefully I've given some of you the motivation to go check it out for yourselves! Oh, and for anyone who's interested, I got a grid for the front steps of the cathedral: 30V VA 98425 38585.

Remember a few weeks ago, when I posted a Mumford & Sons video in The Songs That Remind You 3? Well, Gray 3 told me that when Mumford & Sons performed in Orkney, they didn't want to perform in a sports venue, so they actually performed in St. Magnus Cathedral. I can think of a few bands that I'd love to see perform there, so I have no doubt that it was a truly amazing night for everyone in attendance.

Coming up later in the Island Paradise series, I'll post some day and night pictures of the St. Magnus Cathedral exterior, because it's every bit as gorgeous as the interior. There are reasons why it's my favorite cathedral of all time.

Once I'd finished with my missions for Kirkwall, it was off to Wideford Hill.

Don't Panic: Late Semester Update

I'll be honest, before I came to Aberdeen, I was nervous about graduate school. For example, postgraduate programs in the States require applicants to take the GRE or other entrance examinations. I never took nor studied for anything of the sort, so even though I thought I'd be able to do alright, I was still concerned that I might not be able to perform to the level necessary to succeed.

I mentioned some of my solid work previously. As of Wednesday, here's the tally of how I've done so far.

Strategic Intelligence Tutorial Presentation: Non-graded, but I was told by both E and some of my classmates that I did well. My topic was Intelligence Agencies of the World.

Strategic Theory "In-Class Essay" (Mid-Term Exam): I tied for the highest score in the class with an 18/20. My essay discussed changes in the conduct of war between 1815 (the end of the Napoleonic Wars) and 1914 (the beginning of World War I.

Strategic Intelligence Essay: I turned mine in a week early, and received a mark of 18/20. E was particularly pleased that I had used examples from John John Le Carré's The Looking Glass War and the 1992 Tom Clancy film Patriot Games to illustrate some of my points.

Strategic Theory Team Presentation: CN Odin and I finished our slide deck and memorandum for this requirement a full five days early, and we were both quite pleased with both. We presented Wednesday, and scored 19/20 - the highest score in the class. We discussed requirements for success in modern counterinsurgency campaigns, and used the Algerian War and the Dhofar Rebellion as contrasting examples. The Director recommended that we turn it into a formal paper and submit it to the Small Wars Journal.

So, that leaves final exams in January. I would have liked to have gotten more reading done during the rest of the semester, but I'll try to get another couple of books completed in the next few weeks. As it turns out, I've performed very well this first semester, which will hopefully be an indicator of my performance over the course of the entire year.

Around Aberdeen: The SOC

The University of Aberdeen has bestowed upon its distinguished social science postgraduates a hallowed chamber of enlightenment and learning: the Strategic Operations Center. Actually, the room is called the postgraduate study room, but because most of its occupants on any given day are Strategic Studies (or Strategic Studies and International Law) students, I opined that we should start calling it the "SOC" (pronounced "sock"): the Strategic Operations Center. With the help of CN Warden, it's starting to stick!

Located in the bowels of the Edward Wright Building annex(e?), the SOC has become our de facto social and intellectual hub. It boasts ten desks, eight computers, a bookshelf, a bunch of coat hooks, a couple of non-functioning telephones, and a set of drawers we can't get into. As you can see from the pictures, we've elected to customize the place and really lay claim to it. In addition to calling it the SOC, we've added a laminated world map, which we've marked with those little tabs you can put on book pages; and we also got a folding map of the Middle East and North Africa (though whoever designed it put North Africa on the opposite side, so that part of the map is pretty much worthless). The Director bequeathed to us a map of Africa, and there's a folding road map of Oman on order - once it arrives, the Middle East map may move to above CN Warden's turf so that I can put the new one up above my own turf.

I also contributed the Wyoming flag, CN Sister has stated an intent to bring a couple of her own flags, and CN Ness has stated his intent to bring in a North Korean flag - I'm starting to get the impression that he has some sort of odd fixation on North Korea, but in this particular group, it works.

At any rate, on any given day, and particularly before exams or essay deadlines, you could walk into the SOC to find as many as eight Strategists working on one thing or another. The computers are ancient and prone to temporary freezes, and the heating ranges from inadequate to completely non-functional, but we make a good go of it. It's also common to run into our Anthropologist cousins in the hallway. I've become fond of walking through a gaggle of them and saying "Look, a group of anthropologists in their natural habitat!", which tends to get a few grins.

As we get into dissertation time, we expect to spend hours upon hours upon hours burning the midnight oil to get our dissertations sorted out.

Meeting Terry Waite

As part of the Remembrance Day observances, the Chaplaincy Center sponsored a visit by Terry Waite CBE. Mr. Waite has spent his life working in conflict resolution with a focus on hostage negotiation. While working as an advisor to the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 1980's, Mr. Waite was taken hostage in Beirut by Hezbollah and spent nearly five years in solitary confinement. He spoke at the Remembrance Day service in the King's College Chapel, later that evening in King's Quad, and again the next day in King's Quad. I attended both events in King's Quad, got a copy of his book Taken on Trust autographed, and had my picture taken with him.

Before the second event, I also had the chance to speak with him briefly, and during the Q&A period I asked him to provide his thoughts on hostage rescue missions by military and law enforcement personnel. Given my credentials, my occupation, and the training I received prior to my time in the Middle East (which included mentions of his experience and what he did to keep his morale up), it was really a special opportunity for me.

Strategic Studies Dramatis Personnae

Normally a larger group, this year's intake consists of thirteen students from seven countries. In this first semester, we're taught by two Scottish instructors.

The Director: I began corresponding with The Director back in August of 2010, and have been in touch with him every few months since then. The man knows strategy, the man knows history, and he's just an overall outstanding guy. His enthusiasm and expertise are central to the strength of the program, and I'm thrilled to be studying under his expert guidance.

E: E is a PhD and intelligence enthusiast. His research expertise is in microstates and intelligence, and he teaches security and intelligence courses to third year undergraduates. This is the first year he's teaching a postgraduate class in Strategic Studies. One of the hallmarks of E's lectures is his ability to illustrate concepts with entertaining anecdotes from the history of intelligence operations - the current class favorite being the story of the missing Soviet suitcase nukes. E is also a fan of Rangers F.C., and thinks that cricket isn't a sport, but rather, "dancing". His unhealthy obsession with Iceland is akin to my unhealthy obsessions with Orkney and Oman, so I'm not in a position to be judgmental.

This year's program has fewer students than usual. Most students are involved in the MSc in Strategic Studies, with a minority involved in the MSC in Strategic Studies - International Law (SS-IL). There are nine of us in the former program, and four in the latter, and the courses overlap by one course this semester (Strategic Theory), and several elective courses next semester.

CN Warden: Warden is from near Newcastle, in Northern England. He did his undergraduate studies at Aberdeen, so beyond benefiting from his general friendly demeanor, I've also benefited from his knowledge of the area.

CN GBU-16: GBU-16 is Italian, and an SS-IL student who also completed undergraduate study at Aberdeen.

CN Homeboy: Homeboy is an Aberdonian, born, raised, and educated. He's keenly interested in politics, a staunch Scottish nationalist, and extremely critical of Red Clydeside.

CN Ness: Reminiscent of one of the best sketches in SNL history, Ness isn't actually from Inverness, but he's from near Inverness. Like Homeboy, he's also keenly interested in politics.

CN Odin: Odin is Norwegian, the oldest student in the class, and the only member other than me with any overseas/topical experience. His major interests are intelligence and counterinsurgency.

CN Black Sheep: Black Sheep is from a small town on England's east coast, in the area "that looks like a face". He's also keenly interested in politics, both domestic and international. He's quite fond of spending time alone.

CN Sister: Sister is the only other American in the program, so we seem to get on well. She's interested in the Middle East, comfortable in extremely cold weather, apparently good with horses, and drives the largest vehicle of anyone in the program (when she's not driving the Model A she restored herself). Sister also completed her undergraduate studies at Aberdeen.

CN Slapshot: Slapshot is Canadian, and enjoys alcohol and travel. He has some experience working in Canada's diplomatic corps, which allowed him to attend some events in Washington, DC.

CN Templar: Templar is from Tanzania, and is so named for his fascination with the Knights Templar, the Roman Catholic Church, and the concept of the Roman Catholic Church as the earliest and most widespread intelligence apparatus in the world. Behind his back, Templar is universally lauded for bringing an extra-Eurocentric viewpoint to the class, which we all find extremely valuable.

CN Vlad: Vlad is Romanian, and an SS-IL student. He told me himself that he's "from Transylvania, where Dracula is from". He completed his undergraduate studies at Aberdeen, and based on my limited experience, he's very Romanian. He's also never met a pint he didn't like!

CN Chatti: Chatti is half Irish and half German, and one of the SS-IL folks. He and I have had a couple of excellent, cordial disagreemnts in class, and we non-SS-IL types have been pleased to have him participate as a member of our social group.

There's one other guy from the SS-IL program, but none of us have really had much exposure to him for one reason or another, so he doesn't have a code name and isn't really worthy of mention yet. In the event that I get to know him a bit better, I'll write more about him.

Overall, it's a very cordial group, we all seem to get on very well, and I'm thrilled at the opportunity to study and socialize with them.

Thoughts on Scottish Nationalism

The big political question in Scotland at the moment is the question of Scottish nationalism, or alternately phrased, Scottish independence. There are several prominent schools on the issue, with the most vocal seeming to be those pushing for Scottish independence, which is to say, actually becoming a political entity entirely independent of the United Kingdom. Others advocate for home rule, which is more autonomy in Holyrood (Edinburgh) without secession from the United Kingdom. Still others favor the status quo of having some degree of governance from Holyrood, and administration from Westminster (London) for more strategic matters.

The zeal for independence seems to be associated with the rise of the Scottish National Party (SNP), which currently enjoys a small majority in the Scottish Parliament, but that's a majority against six other parties who share the remainder of the seats. According to Wikipedia, the undisputed and infallible source of all knowledge, the 1995 film Braveheart may have contributed to Scottish nationalist sentiment, though the Proclaimers song at the top of this post dates back to 1988, so there are some among the Scots who have supported independence for much longer.

Of course, for anyone who's seen Braveheart, a question arises: if William Wallace and Robert the Bruce won Scottish independence in 1328, then how did Scotland come to be part of the United Kingdom? YouTube's CGPGrey does a good job of explaining a very complex series of historical events in this video.



As CGPGrey points out, the Scots have maintained cultural independence since the unification of Great Britain, and their nationalist sentiment endures to this day. (CGPGrey also does a fantastic job of explaining the difference between Great Britain and the United Kingdom, and a variety of other things, in this video.) At any rate, a referendum has been planned for 2014, at which point the Scots will be asked either one question, or two, these being variations of the following:

1) Should Scotland secede from the United Kingdom?
2) Should more powers be devolved from Westminster to Holyrood?

I should preface my own thoughts on the subject by saying that I hate when ignorant non-Americans opine about American politics. I've had to endure this quite a lot lately in the wake of the recent U.S. General Election, and let me tell you, as much as I love my friends from across the pond, the vast majority of them are ignorant as muck when it comes to American politics. As such, I feel it necessary to acknowledge that I'm an outsider looking in, and I don't claim to have all of the information or all of the answers.

That disclaimer having been entered into the record, I have a hard time taking the concept of Scottish independence seriously. I'll outline some of my thoughts in a scheme that I learned from my AP US History teacher all the way back in 1997: ESP, or Economic, Political, and Social.

Economic: The basic economic concept driving Scottish independence is the idea that, according to some literature that was shoved in my hand the other day, Scotland pays 9.6% of the taxes in the United Kingdom, but only receives 9.3% of the benefit. I'm not sure how they came to the 9.3%, and I'm positive that there are both Nationalists and Unionists much more intelligent, and far more invested in the matter, than I; that having been said, it seems like the Scottish Nationalists are carefully picking and choosing their facts to get to that figure.

The big ace in the hole of the Scottish Nationalists seems to be oil, along the lines of the economies of Scandinavia. It seems obvious that basing one's goals of independence on oil in 2012 is a remarkably poor plan for the long term. I can't help but assume that the Scottish Nationalists are also downplaying the various economic benefits that Scotland currently gains from being part of the United Kingdom. (For example, as much as I love Scotland, I have a hard time envisioning a situation whereby I would have come here for school if it hadn't been part of the United Kingdom.) If I were a Scottish voter, I would question whether the numbers the SNP is pushing actually add up.

Political: First, let's look at local politics. As CGP Grey points out in the linked (not embedded) video, Scots join the Northern Irish and Welsh in having local parliaments, something the English don't enjoy. Furthermore, the Scottish Nationalist position seems to forget that Scots have recently and traditionally enjoyed plenty of representation in the British government: for example, the previous Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, was Scottish, and I believe that former Chief of the Defence Staff Jock Stirrup was as well. The point being that the notion that the Scots are somehow marginalized in British politics seems questionable. At the very worst, Scotland enjoys better representation within the United Kingdom proper than many American states enjoy in Congress.

I feel like the case for Scottish independence really falls apart on the international scene. Scotland currently enjoys the United Kingdom's membership in the European Union, NATO, the Commonwealth of Nations, the United Nations, and a number of other international organizations. There was some recent malfeasance on the part of the SNP, who claimed that they'd been told that Scotland would be grandfathered into the EU, only for officials at the EU to refute those claims. This doesn't really lend the SNP much credibility with respect to their actual plans to govern Scotland, or for being honest and trustworthy among their constituents.

I've also heard rumors that Scotland would also expect for two British warships to be given to Scotland upon its theoretical secession, which seems unlikely. This brings me to defense policy: I don't think the SNP actually has one. I think that their expectation is that Scots will no longer have to fight in England's wars, and like Ireland and Sweden, they'll be able to enjoy the benefits of NATO without being members or putting any actual skin into the game. Again, Scotland currently enjoys a great deal of support and legitimacy as part of the United Kingdom that it would theoretically lose if it were to secede. As selective as the SNP seems to be with its economic and domestic political facts, its potential foreign policy seems even more poorly conceived.

Social: Scotland already has a distinct society and culture, as evidenced by the fact that we Americans are so fond of Scottish heritage events such as highland games and Scottish festivals. I can't imagine any social or cultural gain for Scotland from secession, and plenty of drawbacks from no longer being included within the United Kingdom.

Basically, as I've probably insinuated by now, I don't get the impression that the concept of Scottish independence has been particularly well thought out, or that it benefits from much intellectual rigor. It seems as if a bunch of Scots have been stirred up with a sort of arbitrary nationalist sentiment. I also have it on good authority from a very smart guy with a bird's eye view of the situation that, really, this is largely a ploy by the SNP to demand more authority from Westminster. Whether that's because they're ardent Scottish nationalists, cheap political opportunists, or some combination thereof, I don't know. At the risk of sounding flippant and/or arrogant, the whole thing seems remarkably silly to me. Then again, I'm not an expert on the situation, there are smarter people than I on both sides of the issue, and I have very little skin in the game (though moreso than a couple of months ago), so I'm reticent to be anywhere near as obnoxious as some of those aforementioned brethren have been with respect to American politics. (Seriously, most of them are totally clueless, and it's painful to hear them open their ignorant mouths and vomit forth their ignorance at me.)

It's a big, complicated issue, and it seems to come up more often than I'm really comfortable with, so I thought I'd bring those of you who aren't here in Scotland up to speed on it as best I can.