Word: forte
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Like all the SOG's other paramilitary operatives, John had spent years in the U.S. military before joining the CIA; five years is the minimum requirement. CIA recruiters regularly prowl clubs like those at Fort Bragg, N.C., where the Army's Special Operations Command has its headquarters, looking for Green Berets interested in even more unconventional work and higher pay (a starting SOG officer can earn more than $50,000 a year; a sergeant in the Green Berets begins at about $41,000). Special-forces soldiers, Navy seals and Air Force commandos are routinely dispatched to the agency...
...Camp Peary, new SOG recruits also hone their paramilitary skills, like sharpshooting with various kinds of weapons, setting up landing zones in remote areas for agency aircraft and attacking enemy sites with a small force. Some are sent to Delta Force's secret compound at Fort Bragg to learn highly specialized counterterrorism techniques, such as how to rescue a fellow agent held hostage...
DIED. RILEY HOUSEWRIGHT, 89, microbiologist who helped direct federal research in biological warfare; in Frederick, Md. As scientific director of the U.S. Army Biological Laboratories at Fort Detrick, Md., for 14 years, Housewright oversaw the development of anthrax spores, botulinum toxin and viruses such as encephalitis and yellow fever, with the intent of using them against U.S. enemies. The lab closed in 1970 when President Richard Nixon banned offensive biological weapons...
...Working with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, Jaisalmer in Jeopardy oversaw the restoration of the Har-Raj-Ji-ka-Mahal and instigated a series of cleanup projects that sanitized the fort's alleyways. But many other buildings, including the fort walls themselves, are in urgent need of repair. Reining in overenthusiastic developers is another major challenge, says Carpenter: "We're trying to overcome the thirst for opening yet another hotel, building another concrete extension, installing more showers...
...Happily, the best places to stay in town are sensitive to the fort's distress. Forget the sprawling five-star chains on the outskirts and pick from a selection of small hotels tucked inside the battlements. The prettiest is the Killa Bhawan, tel: (91-2992) 251204, which comprises two converted town houses built right into the fort walls, with rooms decorated in vivid shades of crimson, lime and orange. Its three terraces command what might be Jaisalmer's finest sunset views, when the ancient bastions take on the color of pure honey and seem to melt into the desert backdrop...