8Aristotle, Jonathan Barnes translates. Aristotle's Politics (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905).1252a 24-1253a

increased involvement of Special Operations and specially trained peacekeepers in 4th generation conflicts. Generally, peacekeeping efforts have been fairly successful. In a statistical analysis of peacekeeping between 1989 and 2004, it was found that war was 24% less likely to reoccur when peacekeepers were deployed compared to when they were not. 42 Peacekeeping and counterinsurgency strategies seem to work. Within these strategies, infantry, specifically light infantry, is the core. William S. Lind argues that by embodying guerilla tactics, eliminating ‘overkill’ items such as armored vehicles, and adopting some policing tactics infantry will be better equipped to fight 4th generation conflicts. 43 Although this strategy is novel and untested it has seen promise in certain conflicts such as the US war in Iraq. This strategy and its connotations, however, have not been adequately studied or tested in regards to its effect on near-peer conflicts.

The next stage of Infantry development

Infantry evolved during the 20th century through 4 main categories: Kit, Methods of Support, Tactics, and Mission-set. Each of these elements is instrumental in how the modern infantry soldier operates today. These four categories, more than any others, affect the operational art and capabilities of the modern infantry. Infantry evolution in the 20th century did not stop at the year 2000. The infantry of the last 22 years has seen considerable growth in the form of new technologies, support, tactics, and mission-set. Night vision, evolving from its scarce nature in the late 20th century, has become a staple of 21st-century infantry tactics. The infantry of the GWOT has had to develop new methods of IED disposal and avoidance. Many infantrymen and women of the GWOT had to lessen their reliance on the mechanized and airmobile abilities and instead revert to their light infantry heritage. The infantry of the 21st century had to cope with the increase of loitering munitions, suicide-based attacks, and sniper tactics. 4th generation warfare is still the norm, although new tactics to defeat near-peer and insurgent forces alike are being developed. With the US Marine Corps’ FD 2030, the predominant tactics developed for insurgents by the United States are being discarded to revert to a near-peer-centered threat, specifically that of Russia and China. 44 This switch back to a Cold War-style doctrine could represent a future evolution, or devolution, in infantry tactics in the coming years. The infantry of the 21st century, because of the innovations in the kit, methods of support, tactics, and mission set are better warfighters and are better adapted to fight on the ever-changing battlefield in the contemporary era.

Works Cited

1. Mark Owen and Kevin Maurer, No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden: the Autobiography of a Navy SEAL (New York, NY: Dutton, 2016), 215-241. The story that follows takes place between these pages. 2. Obama, Barack. "Osama Bin Laden Dead. " The White House, May 2nd, 2011. Jan 5th, 3. William S. Lind, "Understanding Fourth Generation War, " Military Review, September/October 2004, 1, accessed January 5, 2022, https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=482203. 4. Earl J. Hess, Pickett's Charge--The Last Attack at Gettysburg (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2001), 524-532 5. Department of War Ordnance Department U.S.A, Report of the Board of Officers Appointed in Pursuance of the Act of Congress Approved June 6, 1872 (n.p.: Washington: Government Printing Office, 1873). 6. Gary James, "The 1886/93 Lebel: France's Great War Masterpiece, " American Rifleman, October 2014, accessed January 5, 2022, https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-1886-93-lebel-france-s-great-war-masterpiece/.

7. "Primer Gallery, " C&RSENAL, accessed January 11, 2022, https://candrsenal.com/primer-gallery/. 8. G. Tylden, "THE ACCOUTREMENTS OF THE BRITISH INFANTRYMAN, 1640 to 1940, " Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research 47, no. 189 (1969): 18-19, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44222915. 9. Mick Ryan, Maj. Gen., "Radio, Airplanes, and World Wars: Next Steps for the Profession of Arms, " Modern War Institute, December 15, 2020, [Page #], accessed February 21, 2022, https://mwi.usma.edu/radio-airplanes-and-world-wars-next-steps-for-the-profession-of-arms/. 10. Ellison Hawks, Capt., Britain's Wonderful Fighting Forces (London, UK: Odhams Press, [1940?]), 352, 377-378. 11. "Ready for Battle: The Personal Equipment of a World War II Soldier, " Army Heritage Center Foundation, accessed March 5, 2022, https://www.armyheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Ready_ for _ Battle _ _ World _ War _ II.pdf. 12. Hawks, Britain's Wonderful, 381-385. 13. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "assault rifle. " Encyclopedia Britannica, October 13, 2017. https://www.britannica.com/technology/assault-rifle. 14. Chris McNab, German Automatic Rifles 1941–45: Gew 41, Gew 43, FG 42 and StG 44 (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013), 52-57, digital file. 15. D. N. Bolotin, Soviet Small-Arms and Ammunition (Saint Petersburg, Russia: Poligon, 1995), 127, accessed March 7, 2022, http://www.shooting-ua.com/dop_ arhiv/dop_ 2/books/Istor _ sovet _ orujiya.pdf. 16. Phillip Killicoat, Weaponomics: The Global Market for Assault Rifles, 3, April 2007, accessed March 7, 2022, https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/266561468141574815/pdf/wps4202.pdf. 17. Mike Perry, "FN FAL: The World's Most Successful Battle Rifle, " SOFREP, last modified July 19, 2019, accessed March 8, 2022, https://sofrep.com/specialoperations/fn-fal-worlds-successful-battle-rifle/. 18. Bruce N. Canfield, "The M14 Rifle: John Garand's Final Legacy, " American Rifleman, April 28, 2016, accessed March 8, 2022, https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-m14-rifle-john-garand-s-final-legacy/. 19. Gordon L. Rottman, Vietnam War US and Allied Combat Equipments, illus. Adam Hook (Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2017), digital file. 20. "SOLDIERS FOUND MORE EFFECTIVE with 'OWN THE NIGHT' TECHNOLOGIES, " Inside the Army 8, no. 5 (1996): http://www.jstor.org/stable/43978859. 21. "The 'Fritz' Helmet, " Soldier Systems, last modified June 17, 2016, accessed March 14, 2022, https://soldiersystems.net/2016/06/17/the-fritz-helmet/. 22. Julie Irene Prieto and Roger G. Miller, US Army Operations in Mexico 1916-1917 (Washington, DC: US Army Center of Military History, 2016), 83-85. 23. Eric Morris, Tanks, ed. Michael Leitch, Modern Military Series (London, UK: Octopus Books, 1975), 25-33. 24. Morris, 42-46. 25. Richard W. Kedzior, Evolution and Endurance: The U.S. Army Division in the Twentieth Century, 18.

26. Morris, Tanks, 66-67. 27. Walter J. Boyne, How the Helicopter Changed Modern Warfare (Gretna, La.: Pelican Pub., 2011), 40-43. 28. Mark Lloyd, Tactics of Modern Warfare: Rapid Deployment in the 20th Century (New York, NY: Mallard, 1991), 50-61. 29. Walter J. Boyne, How the Helicopter Changed Modern Warfare (Gretna, La.: Pelican Pub., 2011), 106-133. 30. Thomas C. Graves, Transforming the Force: The 11th Air Assault Division (Test) from 1963 to 1965, 1. 31. Westermann, Edward B. 1999, The Limits of Soviet Airpower: The Failure of 32. Gian P. Gentile, Reimagining the Character of Urban Operations for the U.S. Army: How the Past Can Inform the Present and Future, 22-33, 2017, accessedApril 14, 2022. 33. Raths, Ralf: Stormtrooper, in 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War, ed. by Ute Daniel, Peter Gatrell, Oliver Janz, Heather Jones, Jennifer Keene, Alan Kramer, and Bill Nasson, issued by Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin 2016-11-03. DOI: 10.15463/ie1418.10997. 34. Ross Kemp, Raiders: World War Two True Stories (London:Arrow Books, 2013), 186-240. 35. Mark Lloyd, Tactics of Modern Warfare: Rapid Deployment in the 20th Century (New York, NY: Mallard, 1991), 38-41. 36. C. A. Brown, C (Rhodesian) Squadron 22 Special Air Service Regiment Combat Manual (United States: C.A. Brown, 2020). 37. Benjamin F. Schemmer and John T. Carney, U.S. Special Operations Forces, 2012 ed. (Tampa, FL: Special Operations Warrior Foundation, 2003), 99-119. 38. Schemmer and Carney, 136-167. 39. William S. Lind and Gregory A. Thiele, 4th Generation Warfare Handbook (Kouvola: Castalia House, 2015), 7-38. 40. Lind and Thiele, 39-62 41. Lloyd, Tactics of Modern, 120-121. 42. Neil Halloran, The Shadow Peace, by Andy Dollerson, accessed April 14, 2022, http://www.fallen.io/shadow-peace/1/. 43. Lind and Theile, 4th Generation Warfare Handbook, 46-50 44. Department of Defense USMC, Force Design 2030, by David H. Berger, March 2020, accessed April 14, 2022, https://www.hqmc.marines.mil/Portals/142/Docs/CMC38%20Force%20Design%202030%20Report%20Phase%20I %20and%20II.pdf?ver=2020-03-26-121328-460.

Laurel Journal of Humanities

AROSE CONUNDRUM

Poetry

Eric Liu

In the sleepless hours when the night senesced dreamily, I fixed my eyes Upon thy scarlet labyrinth which lies before me, Thy petals embellished by dots of crystals, And thorns impale, Through the infinite sadness.

Amidst the wind and rain of late December, I watched thee, Swaying and turning and bending and resisting, As the gusts, shamelessly and shamefully, Endeavored to pry thee open, Beseeching and harassing. I saw thy rough pedals with a smoothness and firm, An intense hostile welcome, Closely enclosed, Closely held, Young and loving, lonely and longing, Vigilant yet seductive, in the gusting wind, Teasing and scratching and longing with loneliness.

I inquired of thee: “What purpose hast thou served?” “Hast thou been cherished as a symbol?” “Endeared as an epitome?”

I heard thee singing back. “I am the trinket of happiness and then the passing of happiness.

The sorrow of wistfulness and then the permanent sorrow. ”

I pleaded thy answer: O, sophisticated and ethereal existence, Hath I possessed thee? As I lay my hands on thee, Thy redness encroached the tip of my fingers. What better could there be, Than the worst of the best, Of my stitches I caressed, The sick and fine, The dull and bright, Of my sentiments thou harnessed?

So, I said to myself: O, young man, Seek not to contrive, Seek not to seize, But to banish the succulence rousing at ease. For among the figments of delusion, Comes Joy and Defeat.

Laurel Journal of Humanities

STOPWORRYINGABOUT COLLEGE

Memoir

Leo Lin

Waking up in the morning was hard. A long day usually started with my alarm, a sound that would haunt me in my dreams like nails on a chalkboard. After frantically slapping my phone, I would often drift into a fantasy land of thought: Can I afford to sleep for five more minutes? What shoes should I wear today? Most importantly, what is stopping me from dozing off and slipping away into yet another vivid dream in my cozy bed? The answer often bore the wrath of my mother, but after I waved goodbye to her at the Shenzhen airport and journeyed to the other side of the globe, the answer became less clear. As an international student studying in New York, my motto was always “work harder than you did yesterday. ” My days usually involved intense courses, stressful sports competitions, and hours upon hours of endless preparation for tests and projects. Sometimes, when looking at my calendar for the week, I would ask myself: What is all of this for?

About 61% of teens aged 13-17 state that they are under considerable pressure to produce good grades; this percentage easily increases for those who feel pressure to look attractive or simply fit in. In our modern-day society filled with peer competition and judgment, the adolescent years can be especially challenging. Young teens live in a culture that tests new limits like never before, and the pressure to get into a good college has become overwhelming.

With workloads stacked as high as mountains, students find themselves spending every available minute studying, giving up classes they love for high-level “important courses, ” and focusing less on the true meaning of life: relationships. High school is a once-in-a-lifetime experience; after listening to older people around me, I realized that it is a time people always look back upon. Although these years make up only a small portion of life, they have a significant impact on the kinds of people we become. Friendships help mold who we are, and it is important to cherish our high-school experience as it is happening.

Puberty is already one of the biggest mysteries of humankind, and the fact that teenagers feel it necessary to add ten AP courses on top of this complex and confounding time of change is daunting. The journey of growing up is complicated enough without the pressure of college admissions, and while higher education signals an important landmark in one's life, it is indisputably just the beginning. What is important is that in looking back after 50 years, we will have endless stories to share with the people we love and care for. Remember, a good college does not mean success, a happy life does.

Works Cited:

Barnard, Brennan.

“CollegeAdmission, Helplessness and Choice. ” Forbes, 11 Jan. 2021, www.forbes.com/sites/brennanbarnard/2018/11/14/college-admission-helplessness-and-choice/?sh=34e397b 52d49.Accessed 7Apr. 2022.

Eira,Astrid.

“With a Finite Number of Hours per Day and an EndlessArray of To-Dos... ” Financesonline.com, FinancesOnline.com, 11 Mar. 2020, financesonline.com/student-stress-statistics/#:~:text=after%20high%20school. ,(Pew%20Research%20Cente r%2C%202019),always%20feeling%20stressed%E2%80%9D%20by%20schoolwork..Accessed 7Apr. 2022.

Sheng, Jessica.

“Affects of High School Friendships. ” HS Insider, 11 Sept. 2018, highschool.latimes.com/charter-oak-high-school/affects-of-high-school-friendships/.Accessed 7Apr. 2022.

“Suicide on Campus and the Pressure of Perfection (Published 2015). ” The New York Times, 2022, www.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/education/edlife/stress-social-media-and-suicide-on-campus.html.Accessed 7 Apr. 2022.

Laurel Journal of Humanities

HOLOCAUST RELEVANCE

Literature

Victoria Huang

Miriam Berger's mother, Ruth, looked typically Aryan. Blonde haired, blue eyed, she possessed what Miriam referred to as “Nordic features. ” But she also wore a yellow Star of David and was eight months pregnant.

When Johanna Nickel noticed Ruth and her pregnant belly slogging through Berlin on her way to forced labor at a pharmaceutical company, Johanna knew she had to do something. Several months later, sheltered in the countryside four hours outside of Berlin, Ms. Berger was born in hiding.

“In the midst of this evil you find goodness, ” said Ms. Berger, who co-authored her family’s story in Defying the Tide: An Account of Authentic Compassion During the Holocaust. Ms. Nickel gave Ms. Berger's parents false identity papers and her husband’s driver’s license. “You find a German woman who approaches my mother and asks her if she needs help. ”

Living through a recent rise in contemporary anti-Semitism and Neo-Nazism, Ms. Berger reflects on her family’s survival in Germany during the Holocaust and the perseverance of the Jewish people. She also remembers the “kindness, goodness, and empathy” of people like the Nickels who put their risked their safety to keep Jewish families alive.

While the Bergers passed as a typical German family, a trial awaited them. After four months staying in the small village, Ruth woke to the sound of motorcycles. Looking out the window, she saw two Nazi soldiers entering the home. The first thing they demanded were identity papers. While the soldiers checked, Walter jumped on his bike and fled. Calling out to a passing farmer, Ruth begged them to take her and young Miriam to the train station. As Miriam later recounted, “If you believe in divine providence, that train came. ” There were only two trains going to Berlin that day, and one of them happened to be there. By another miracle, after the train conductor had refused to admit them, the Bergers were allowed to ride in the cattle car.

Arriving in the United States in 1948, Miriam recounted the anti-Semitism that hovered barely below the surface. Her troubles and suffering did not stop there. Miriam struggled to find her place. She was an outsider; she had different clothes, different mannerisms, and spoke a different language. Recalling one incident that proved that the world’s hatred remained, at least in part, she said, “I must have been in the third grade, didn’t speak any English, and my teacher started yelling at me to speak English. ” The intolerance confused Miriam and changed her initial view of the U.S.

These events were never forgotten. The Nickels and Bergers remained close friends. As Miriam described it, there bond was the sort that formed only when you were saved by someone. Ruth mailed food packages to Johanna, who stayed in Germany during the late 1940s. She also traveled to see her. Through the years, neither forgot the other, and they reunited every chance they had.

The most terrible event of the 20th century created a deep and everlasting bond between two families.

“When someone helps you survive, they become a part of your life, ” Miriam has said. Without expectations of thanks or gain, Johanna risked death to shelter the Bergers from the goodness of her heart.

In these devastating events, the most beautiful parts of humanity are on display.

“You don’t lose something that helped you survive” , Miriam expressed. Despite living through some of the most traumatic times and events in history, Miriam believes that we should all have hope. Her urgent wish is that we all remember.