James R. Hannibal's Blog, page 4

UNITED STATES BECOMES OFFICIAL TERRORISM SPONSOR

Burned out vehicle at site of Hamas attack on 12 JuneNo, the title is not sensationalism. 

It is not overstatement. It is not semantics. 

It is absolute truth.

The United States is now an official sponsor of one of the world's most famous terrorist organizations—Hamas.
Consider the following scenarios:
Masked gunmen open fire on a family in the West Bank, murdering the father and wounding his wife and child. A rocket attack launched from Gaza kills a four-year old boy and his grandfather as they play together in a park. An SUV stuffed with high-grade explosives detonates next to the Israeli Consulate in New York, ending dozens of American lives. All three attacks are funded with US taxpayer dollars. 
This is the future that lies ahead. 
It is already coming true.
There is an alarming trend in Washington D.C.—a willful, almost pathological pattern of sending U.S. dollars on a winding, circuitous path toward terrorist organizations. Until a few days ago, this support was always indirect and arguably unintentional. 
However, with the completion of the new unity government in the Palestinian Authority, the United States is now funneling hundreds of millions of dollars directly into the hands of terrorists—and the State Department worked hard to make it happen.
The Set-up:On 23 April, Hamas and Fatah announced a deal to form a unity government for the Palestinian Authority, which was set to be finalized in June. Hamas is a bonafide, active terrorist organization that plays a prominent role in the State Department’s own annual report on terrorism, released in April.
This impending Palestinian Authority/Hamas government raised all kinds of flags and alarms in the international community, yet the Obama administration offered almost no response. A State Department spokesperson called the timing “troubling” and the announcement “disappointing.” That’s it.
At the time, Secretary Kerry offered no overt indication as to what will happen to the $440 million in US foreign aid that the Palestinian Authority is projected to receive this year. The only mention came in the form of a backchannel push to Reuters through an anonymous State Department official noting that, “Any Palestinian government must unambiguously and explicitly commit to non-violence [and] recognition of the state of Israel.”
Thus the Obama administration's favorite game began again—the game of semantics. The anonymous official tactically avoided the word “terrorist” or the name “Hamas,” much like the administration tactically avoided the word “coup” when faced with a challenge to its aid to Egypt last year. In truth, that leak to Reuters was not meant for the public at all. It was an offer for Hamas, a demonstration that the State Department was willing to give Hamas and the Palestinian Authority a verbal out. The subtext was clear, “Change your words, not your actions, and we can keep sending you money.”
We should expect nothing less. Money is the Obama administration’s primary foreign policy tool, with foreign aid expenditures increasing by 28% in the president’s first term alone.
The Execution:Hamas and the Palestinian Authority got the message loud and clear. They wasted no time in taking up the State Department's thinly-veiled offer. 
AP Photo/Majdi MohammedAccording to the Washington Post, Hamas accepted State Department help in crafting a government that excludes Hamas officials from key ministry positions, therefore meeting the dubious semantic qualification of not bearing "undue influence" from Hamas.
Poppycock.
Whether or not the most important government officials were taken from Hamas leaders, Hamas is now part of the Palestinian Authority government and will be receiving funds through US aid that it can apply to all its activities—the horrific indoctrination of youth to produce "martyrs," the direct rocket attacks from Gaza, the kidnappings, and all the rest. And certainly it will, because the State Department's crafty solution eliminated the need for Hamas to commit to non-violence.
In fact, in a tragically seamless transition to legitimacy under US sponsorship, Hamas did not take a break from terrorism at all. Ten days after the formation of the new government, three teens were kidnapped during a violent attack in the West Bank. According to Haaretz, Israeli intelligence and forensic teams have linked Hamas political leaders to the attack—members of the new unity government.

The Future:
Of course, US backing has made kidnappings and rockets small potatoes. With hundreds of millions of US tax dollars flowing directly into their hands, Hamas will finally be able to act out broader threats.
The scenarios that opened this article are based in reality. The first two are based on attacks praised or claimed by Hamas in recent months. The last, most devastating scenario is based on a call for violence issued last July by a Hamas official—now a lower-ranking member of the unity government—that called for Hamas followers to begin attacks on Israeli allies worldwide. 
Imagine that someone you love is tragically killed in a Hamas attack on US soil. Now imagine that you paid for that attack with your own money. 
This will soon become a twisted reality for many Americans.
James R. Hannibal earned a bachelor’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the U.S. Air Force Academy and has spent more than 1,000 combat hours hunting insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the author of SHADOW CATCHER and SHADOW MAKER from Berkley Books and Brilliance Audio.

The Bobby Fischer of Terror: Of Chess, Dominoes, and Wanton Destruction

"What do dominoes and chess have to do with it?" you might ask.
 
"Terrorism is no game."
 
Oh, but it is.



To take the Devil's side for a moment, terrorism is all about the game.
There is an end goalInstead of a finish line or a high score, the terrorist seeks the drama of a high level of gore.There is the thrill of outsmarting an opponent. Taking multiple airliners, the Boston Marathon, a US Embassy—all good targets have defenses to overcome, and therein lies both the challenge and the victory. To see your opponents' patterns, predict their movements, and defeat them on their own ground is inordinately satisfying no matter who you are.And, of course, there is the prize. Where the successful soccer team takes home the trophy, the successful terrorist cell wins notoriety and fear. Even better, the well-planned act of terrorism has a domino finally. It tips the first of many, sending trails of outcomes spreading out in all directions like so many little black and white tiles. The terrorist can sit back and watch the fear ripple through the public, watch the alphabet soup of government organizations rush to create new procedures and spend taxpayer money, and watch the cheers in the West Bank and the copycat strikes in Europe. Good times.

How good are today's terrorists at this game? What will happen the next time we have to face down a superior player? These questions weighed heavily on my mind while I composed SHADOW MAKER

If a terrorist leader on the level of Usama Bin Laden plays his game with the forethought of a chess
master. How many more of him can there be?

That is actually something we can quantify. With disturbing results.

There are approximately 6000 World Chess Federation (FIDE) masters worldwide. That's approximately 1 chess master per 1,200,000 people. 1 in 1,200,000. That number isn't too alarming. But only a tiny fraction of people with the intellect to be chess masters choose to play in the FIDE system, so we're not getting the full story.

Instead, we have to look at IQ. 

I'd call UBL a chess master, but not a grandmaster 

A FIDE chess master has an IQ of around 130 based on a study by J. Levitt. A 130 IQ is not terribly rare. In fact, approximately 1 in every 50 people meet that criteria. For a counter-terrorism guy, that number is kind of frightening. 1 in 50 worldwide is a mighty big pool from which to draw the next terrorist mastermind.



But it isn't too frightening, is it? We've dealt with a terrorist chess master. UBL is dead, and in the last decade our counter-terrorism networks and techniques have matured a hundred-fold.

So let's look at the worst case: What about a terrorist grandmaster? There are less than 600 FIDE grandmasters. How many people in the world can possibly be that smart?

Far too many.

A grandmaster will usually have an IQ above 145. That's 1 person in every 800.  

Again, 1 in every 800 people has the intellect to become a grandmaster.

Oh dear.

Applying the ratio of 1 in 800 to the pool of current active terrorists is... well... terrifying.

According to a Rand report, the high estimate of active Salafi-jihadist fighters worldwide is over 100,000 and growing, referring to Al-Qaeda and Al-Qaeda-like groups. That's 100,000 fanatics in the active pursuit of killing the infidel right this very moment—a figure that ignores their support systems, financial backers, etc. Apply 1 in 800 to 100,000 and you get 125 potential grandmasters.

125 angry, gun-toting, misogynistic, blood-lusting grandmaster Salafi fanatics. Right now. Worldwide. 

And the pool is growing. Rand's 100,000 is up from less than 5000 in the late '80s, the period when UBL came into his own. The pool of potential grandmaster killers is up by 2000%, with the lion's share of the increase coming in the last five years.

Nervous yet? I am. UBL was just a chess master intellect, remember? 20 years ago there were only 100 chess master potentials in the whole terrorist pool. Today we have 125 potential grandmasters.

The Bobby Fischer of the terrorist world is already out there. He's going to make UBL look like the local high school chess champ who bombed out at the state competition. 

And if he's that good, then he's not just going to just sit back and watch the dominoes fall after the big attack. He's going to make them fall, setting them in motion with pure purpose, predicting outcomes like Nostradamus never dreamed.

This is how Shadow Maker started in my brain.


1 in every 800 is a Bobby Fischer.
This is a future that is far too deep inside the realm of possibility to ignore.

MEMORIAL DAY GAMES TO HELP YOU REMEMBER

Cheeseburger anyone?
It's so easy to let Memorial Day become just another day off—a day to feast on brazed meats or just catch up on your yard work.

Let's not forget what Memorial Day is really about. It's about... er... the memorial. No mystery there.

Memorial Day is all about remembering the sacrifices of the fallen. It is about celebrating the victory of those Americans who gave their lives to ensure our freedoms and the freedoms of others.

To help you and yours stay on top of this remembrance in the midst of all that barbeque, I've concocted a few games: five short, easy quizzes and one weird game of hangman. I would have built more hangman games for you, but upon completing the first one, it just didn't seem like that morbid stick figure fit very well with Memorial Day.

You can access each one of the games using the links below. As to the five-question quizzes, once you complete one of them, you can elect to continue and roll through them all without ever returning to this page.

God bless you, and enjoy your Memorial Day,
James R. Hannibal
  American Wars Quiz   American Battles Quiz

 Name the Aircraft Quiz

Name the Military Vehicle Quiz   Recent Medal of Honor Recipients Quiz   Misunderstood Drone Hangman

DE-MYSTIFYING WRAITH

WRAITH, the adventure that launched Nick Baron’s Triple Seven Chase from test squadron to black ops team, releases today from Brilliance Audio and Audible.com. Many of you have asked “Why is WRAITH only available on audio?” or “What is this 2010 WRAITH I see in the used section of Amazon.com?”


That is a long story.



The original version of WRAITH was supposed to be a fun experiment. I had written short stories, poetry, and some classified technical manuals, but I wanted to know if I could write a novel.
I first started writing WRAITH in 2005, while still flying the Stealth Bomber out of Whiteman Air Force Base.  With the deployments, the increased demand for the B-2, and, finally, a shift to the airlines, it took me until late 2008 to complete the 175,000-word monstrosity. Somewhere in those three years, I forgot that WRAITH was just a fun experiment. I started thinking that I was an author.
I wasn’t.
You must understand that by the time WRAITH was complete, I arrogantly thought I knew all that I needed to know about writing.  Sadly, a year and a half of querying literary agents without so much as a nibble barely scratched the hardened veneer of my hubris. It did, however, frustrate me enough to send me in search of a small, independent publisher.

Thus, by the end of 2009, WRAITH had landed on the desk of TotalRecall Press. They, at least, knew enough to make me cut the monster down to 107,000 words before publishing it in 2010, along with a shorter pirate story that I had written during the year and a half of querying agents. Once publication was immanent, Clive Cussler and Publishers Weekly both agreed to read WRAITH. They made some nice comments, but that was purely upon their grace and the grace of God, not upon the merits of my writing.

It was not until I reached ThrillerFest in July 2010 that I realized what a big mistake this all was. Meeting real authors that had spent years honing their crafts opened my eyes and shattered my arrogance. You can read more about that humbling experience on their website here. Needless to say, I was not an author by any stretch of the imagination. I realized that neither WRAITH nor PIRATES: THE MIDNIGHT PASSAGE should ever have been published.

I spent the next couple of years working at my craft, absorbing all that I could and working on a sort of do-over with the Triple Seven Chase – starting ten years down the road as their covert ops journey came full circle. You may know that story as SHADOW CATCHER. I spent the rest of my time trying to get WRAITH off the shelf. I absolutely did not want it to be there.

Fast forward to 2013 when I had signed on with Berkley Books at Penguin for SHADOW CATCHER and SHADOW MAKER. Once the print deal was made, my fantastic agent, Harvey Klinger, got me an audio deal and “Surprise!” Brilliance Audio wanted WRAITH and PIRATES as well, an option Berkley had not taken. Based on the original WRAITH and PIRATES, I would have sided with Berkley.
The audio deal sent me scrambling back to the keyboard. I spent months re-writing both books, engaging every tool and technique I had learned from my studies, my literary agent, my editing team, and the wonderful authors and teachers at two ThrillerFests/CraftFests. I worked my fingers to the bone and tried the patience of my employers and my family to bring both works up to a level worthy of publication before the deadline with Brilliance. I also brought WRAITH in line with the Triple Seven Chase as it exists in SHADOW CATCHER.
That is the difference between the used hardcover and paperback WRAITH on Amazon and the new audiobook. The action and characters now comprise a prequel to SHADOW CATCHER and, in my personal opinion, the new WRAITH is much more worthy of your time as a reader. Incidentally, I feel the same about PIRATES: THE MIDNIGHT PASSAGE – even more so, in fact. I wish the used paperback merchants would stop selling the old one. In contrast, I feel that the new PIRATES, which comes out in April as an audiobook, is the masterwork of my career thus far.

Berkley has not yet opted the new WRAITH for print or e-book. That is entirely up to them, and because I trust them and appreciate everything they have done for me, I will let their experts choose the timing and will not release the new WRAITH on e-book on my own.
For all the reasons above, you will only find the new version of WRAITH on audiobook. I hope that you will consider listening to narrator Luke Daniels as he brings it to life, perhaps for your morning commute or for some family time in the evening (like everything I write, it is free of sex and foul language and safe for your kids). Above all, I hope that you will enjoy discovering the origins of Nick Baron’s Triple Seven Chase as much as I enjoyed re-creating them.

God Speed and Thanks for Reading (er… listening),

James R. Hannibal

CRACK THE SECRET CODE

CRACK THE SECRET CODE IN SHADOW CATCHER AND WIN!While you're watching Ralphie decode Little Orphan Annie's message this Christmas season, you can work on your own secret code - the one hidden in SHADOW CATCHER.  If you're the first to crack it, you'll win more than enough to buy your own Red Ryder BB gun!




Maybe you've already read SHADOW CATCHER and you thought the acknowledgements section sounded a bit gushy. You were right. I meant everything I said, but I also embedded a secret code in the first paragraph, and that requires some particular phrasing. Now I'm offering a prize package to the first person to crack my code, and it's definitely more than Ovaltine.

The winner will receive:
A signed copy of SHADOW CATCHERA signed WRAITH audio bookA collectible WRAITH hardcover signed on 9/11/11, AND...A $200 Visa Gift Card This will not be easy. Let's just say I have some experience with codes and codebreaking and I'm pretty good at it, but I hid everything you need within the pages of SHADOW CATCHER. To give you a boost, here's the first hint: 
I used a Playfair cipher to encode the message. Lord Playfair's favored method has been adapted several times over the years, but I used the one currently shown on Wikipedia to make things a little easier. You can find it in the article linked to this phrase. A Playfair key looks something like the sample grid on the left. I'll let you read the article and learn how to make one.  


Just to be clear, this sample is NOT the grid you need.



The puzzle pieces that will help you create the key grid and find the ciphertext in the acknowledgments are hidden in the book. In fact, there are additional clues hidden throughout the book that should lead you to those puzzle pieces.

Now, this is a competition and there is a prize to be won, so here are the ground rules:
The physical book has no bearing on the clues. You can crack the code with a Kindle version just as well as you can crack it with a paperback, as long as you have the acknowledgements and the text of the novel. In case you bought the audiobook - which does not have the STEALTH OPSacknowledgements - I will include the first paragraph of the acknowledgements below. Only one prize will be given. Teamwork is always encouraged, but if you work with a partner, you'll have to split the spoils.I will release periodic hints via the Stealth Ops app. It's free and has a lot of Nick Baron extras, so check it out.To win: Be the first to message me with the decoded message via the James R. Hannibal Facebook Page. You will need to send the two words of the decoded message as well as the next two decoded letters that follow them. The format will look like, "Drink Ovaltine YZ." Remember to message me. Don't post the answer on the main page.
Okay, get cracking, Code Breakers, and I promise that the answer is not "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine."

God Speed,
James R. Hannibal

SHADOW CATCHER Acknowledgements first paragraph:

An army of selfless heroes carried this work from idea to publication.  Cynthia, my wife, is the greatest hero of all. She is my inspiration and my unwavering encourager. This beautiful, amazing woman counseled me through fits and frustration and she patiently read a hundred drafts of the same story, still remembering to laugh at every joke. Next and much more imposing is my best friend John Carroll, who listens, critiques, sacrifices, makes fantastic book trailers, and never gloats when he outshoots me at the range. Surrounding the three of us, and comprising the beating heart of this army of heroes is my family from both sides of the aisle. I am blessed to have more support and love to bolster my military service and my personal endeavors than any man I know.

CRACK THE SECRET CODE IN SHADOW CATCHER AND WIN!While you...

CRACK THE SECRET CODE IN SHADOW CATCHER AND WIN!While you're watching Ralphie decode Little Orphan Annie's message this Christmas season, you can work on your own secret code - the one hidden in SHADOW CATCHER.  If you're the first to crack it, you'll win more than enough to buy your own Red Ryder BB gun!




Maybe you've already read SHADOW CATCHER and you thought the acknowledgements section sounded a bit gushy. You were right. I meant everything I said, but I also embedded a secret code in the first paragraph, and that requires some particular phrasing. Now I'm offering a prize package to the first person to crack my code, and it's definitely more than Ovaltine.

The winner will receive:
A signed copy of SHADOW CATCHERA signed WRAITH audio bookA collectible WRAITH hardcover signed on 9/11/11, AND...A $200 Visa Gift Card This will not be easy. Let's just say I have some experience with codes and codebreaking and I'm pretty good at it, but I hid everything you need within the pages of SHADOW CATCHER. To give you a boost, here's the first hint: 
I used a Playfair cipher to encode the message. Lord Playfair's favored method has been adapted several times over the years, but I used the one currently shown on Wikipedia to make things a little easier. You can find it in the article linked to this phrase. A Playfair key looks something like the sample grid on the left. I'll let you read the article and learn how to make one.  


Just to be clear, this sample is NOT the grid you need.



The puzzle pieces that will help you create the key grid and find the ciphertext in the acknowledgments are hidden in the book. In fact, there are additional clues hidden throughout the book that should lead you to those puzzle pieces.

Now, this is a competition and there is a prize to be won, so here are the ground rules:
The physical book has no bearing on the clues. You can crack the code with a Kindle version just as well as you can crack it with a paperback, as long as you have the acknowledgements and the text of the novel. In case you bought the audiobook - which does not have the STEALTH OPSacknowledgements - I will include the first paragraph of the acknowledgements below. Only one prize will be given. Teamwork is always encouraged, but if you work with a partner, you'll have to split the spoils.I will release periodic hints via the Stealth Ops app. It's free and has a lot of Nick Baron extras, so check it out.To win: Be the first to message me with the decoded message via the James R. Hannibal Facebook Page. You will need to send the two words of the decoded message as well as the next two decoded letters that follow them. The format will look like, "Drink Ovaltine YZ." Remember to message me. Don't post the answer on the main page.
Okay, get cracking, Code Breakers, and I promise that the answer is not "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine."

God Speed,
James R. Hannibal

SHADOW CATCHER Acknowledgements first paragraph:

An army of selfless heroes carried this work from idea to publication.  Cynthia, my wife, is the greatest hero of all. She is my inspiration and my unwavering encourager. This beautiful, amazing woman counseled me through fits and frustration and she patiently read a hundred drafts of the same story, still remembering to laugh at every joke. Next and much more imposing is my best friend John Carroll, who listens, critiques, sacrifices, makes fantastic book trailers, and never gloats when he outshoots me at the range. Surrounding the three of us, and comprising the beating heart of this army of heroes is my family from both sides of the aisle. I am blessed to have more support and love to bolster my military service and my personal endeavors than any man I know.

GUN CONTROL SLIGHT OF HAND

We all know that graphics are fantastic for getting your point across. The problem is that it is easy to make graphics - even accurate graphic - very deceiving.
For instance. I found the graphic below on Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns website. This beautiful graphic compares states using a range of colors from cheerful lemon yellow to foreboding blood red. On the home page, the link title for this map reads, "Find out whether your state is doing everything it can to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people," implying that the red states are practical war zones where "dangerous people" have easy access to guns.
 [image error]
After clicking on the link, you find a similar deceiving title followed by the fine print that only makes passing mention of what the map actually depicts, and then bold text that implores you to "Demand Action to end gun violence from Congress and your governor."

What this graphic really depicts is how the states are coming along in locating and submitting missing background check records demanded by those running the national database. It has absolutely nothing to do with gun violence. It does, however, show that Texans are just as good as New Yorkers at keeping records - and we have a lot more gun sales to keep up with.

Let's compare Mayor Bloomberg's graphic to another graphic from Zara Matheson at the Martin Prosperity Institute. This one depicts actual gun violence rates per capita by city and compares them to the violence statistics of entire countries.
 [image error]
WHOA! That lemon yellow section in the northeast doesn't look so safe anymore. And look at all those dangerous blood red states - with the exception of New Orleans - and we can all agree on the issues there - the blood red states have the fewest and smallest bubbles of all. Most have none.

Add in this year's ten top scoring states for gun control laws (by Brady Campaign score) - California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York,  Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Rhode Island, Illinois, and Pennsylvania - seven of which aren't looking too good on MPI's per capita violence map, and we begin to get a much better picture of the real world.

Mayor Bloomberg's site puts up a deceitful map and then tells you what to think. I'll just give you these graphics and statistics and let you draw your own conclusions. That is the luxury of truth.

Thanks for Reading,
James R. Hannibal

Gun Control Slight of HandWe all know that graphics are f...

Gun Control Slight of Hand
We all know that graphics are fantastic for getting your point across. The problem is that it is easy to make graphics - even accurate graphic - very deceiving.
For instance. I found the graphic below on Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns website. This beautiful graphic compares states using a range of colors from cheerful lemon yellow to foreboding blood red. On the home page, the link title for this map reads, "Find out whether your state is doing everything it can to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people," implying that the red states are practical war zones where "dangerous people" have easy access to guns.
 [image error]
After clicking on the link, you find a similar deceiving title followed by the fine print that only makes passing mention of what the map actually depicts, and then bold text that implores you to "Demand Action to end gun violence from Congress and your governor."

What this graphic really depicts is how the states are coming along in locating and submitting missing background check records demanded by those running the national database. It has absolutely nothing to do with gun violence. It does, however, show that Texans are just as good as New Yorkers at keeping records - and we have a lot more gun sales to keep up with.

Let's compare Mayor Bloomberg's graphic to another graphic from Zara Matheson at the Martin Prosperity Institute. This one depicts actual gun violence rates per capita by city and compares them to the violence statistics of entire countries.
 [image error]
WHOA! That lemon yellow section in the northeast doesn't look so safe anymore. And look at all those dangerous blood red states - with the exception of New Orleans - and we can all agree on the issues there - the blood red states have the fewest and smallest bubbles of all. Most have none.

Add in this year's ten top scoring states for gun control laws (by Brady Campaign score) - California, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York,  Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Rhode Island, Illinois, and Pennsylvania - seven of which aren't looking too good on MPI's per capita violence map, and we begin to get a much better picture of the real world.

Mayor Bloomberg's site puts up a deceitful map and then tells you what to think. I'll just give you these graphics and statistics and let you draw your own conclusions. That is the luxury of truth.

Thanks for Reading,
James R. Hannibal

FACEBOOK BLACK OPS PHOTO CONTEST

Win a WRAITH Collector's Package - the exciting prequel to James R. Hannibal's SHADOW CATCHER - Including a Signed, Numbered, First Print Hardcover, a signed revised audio edition, and more!
Calling all photo bugs and black ops fiction fans...
  Merry Christmas!
James and TeachandEquip.com are giving away a signed, numbered edition of the original WRAITH Hardcover, one of the first fifty printed and presented to the author. Along with it, the winner will receive a StealthCommand T-shirt and a Triple Seven ops unit patch, all part of The Collector's Package found here at TeachandEquip.com, the only retailer licensed to sell StealthCommand gear.

Additionally, the winner will receive a signed revised audio edition of WRAITH, created to bring James's first work in line with the new Nick Baron series and narrated by 2012 Audible.com Narrator of the Year, Luke Daniels!

The audio book will release on 1 January and is available for pre-order here.



To win, submit a black ops (covert ops) themed photo on the James R. Hannibal Facebook page or on the free Stealth Ops App HQ wall, or both. The contestant with the most likes from users on the Facebook page and replies on the Stealth Ops HQ wall COMBINED by Christmas Eve will win!  

Note: Replies on Stealth Ops from each unique user will only be counted once. Having your mom reply to your photo post 100 times a day will not help. (We won't hog-tie you, but we won't count 'em either.)


THE RULES Photos should have a general black ops (covert ops) theme - like those in this post. They DO NOT have to include weapons. Be creative and sky's the limit! The Photo MUST BE YOUR ORIGINAL WORK. KEEP IT CLEAN - No foul language, no sexually suggestive poses. This is a family site. Violators will be deleted and banned! KEEP IT SAFE - Do not point real weapons at each other, loaded or not. We should all know that guns are not toys. Always treat them as deadly instruments. Yes, you can totally post the same photo on Facebook and on Stealth Ops. We will add up your total FB likes and Stealth Ops HQ replies. Unique user Stealth Ops HQ replies will only be counted once - IE Don't get your buddy to reply over and over, it won't help. Yes, you can like your own photo and reply once to your own HQ post (try, "I love me!"). We're all about positive self image, here. Style points from James for working in a copy of SHADOW CATCHER. (But NO ACTUAL POINTS towards victory, no purchase is necessary for this contest!) The winner will be announced on New Year's Day.That's it. Get shooting and get posting! We can't wait to see your pics!!!

FACEBOOK BLACK OPS PHOTO CONTEST Win a WRAITH Collec...

FACEBOOK BLACK OPS PHOTO CONTEST  Win a WRAITH Collector's Package - the exciting prequel to James R. Hannibal's SHADOW CATCHER - Including a Signed, Numbered, First Print Hardcover, a signed revised audio edition, and more!
Calling all photo bugs and black ops fiction fans...
  Merry Christmas!
James and TeachandEquip.com are giving away a signed, numbered edition of the original WRAITH Hardcover, one of the first fifty printed and presented to the author. Along with it, the winner will receive a StealthCommand T-shirt and a Triple Seven ops unit patch, all part of The Collector's Package found here at TeachandEquip.com, the only retailer licensed to sell StealthCommand gear.

Additionally, the winner will receive a signed revised audio edition of WRAITH, created to bring James's first work in line with the new Nick Baron series and narrated by 2012 Audible.com Narrator of the Year, Luke Daniels!

The audio book will release on 1 January and is available for pre-order here.



To win, submit a black ops (covert ops) themed photo on the James R. Hannibal Facebook page or on the free Stealth Ops App HQ wall, or both. The contestant with the most likes from users on the Facebook page and replies on the Stealth Ops HQ wall COMBINED by Christmas Eve will win!  

Note: Replies on Stealth Ops from each unique user will only be counted once. Having your mom reply to your photo post 100 times a day will not help. (We won't hog-tie you, but we won't count 'em either.)


THE RULES Photos should have a general black ops (covert ops) theme - like those in this post. They DO NOT have to include weapons. Be creative and sky's the limit! The Photo MUST BE YOUR ORIGINAL WORK. KEEP IT CLEAN - No foul language, no sexually suggestive poses. This is a family site. Violators will be deleted and banned! KEEP IT SAFE - Do not point real weapons at each other, loaded or not. We should all know that guns are not toys. Always treat them as deadly instruments. Yes, you can totally post the same photo on Facebook and on Stealth Ops. We will add up your total FB likes and Stealth Ops HQ replies. Unique user Stealth Ops HQ replies will only be counted once - IE Don't get your buddy to reply over and over, it won't help. Yes, you can like your own photo and reply once to your own HQ post (try, "I love me!"). We're all about positive self image, here. Style points from James for working in a copy of SHADOW CATCHER. (But NO ACTUAL POINTS towards victory, no purchase is necessary for this contest!) The winner will be announced on New Year's Day.That's it. Get shooting and get posting! We can't wait to see your pics!!!