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Tensions arise in Iran at the beginning of a new decade

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By Ethan Qualle

With the arrival of 2020, tensions between Iran and the United States have continued to grow. The United States issued the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian general and key leader in Islamic revolutionary movements. This decision by the U.S. military was also made in part to Iran’s noncompliance with the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal. Four days later, on Jan. 7, Iran’s military launched missiles to several United States military bases in Iraq; according to President Donald Trump, there were no casualties.

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Qasem Soleiani, one of Iran’s key generals was assassinated by the U.S. military on Jan. 3.

  Soleimani was drafted into the anti-American military group in his late teens, and has stood by these values since then. According to TIME, “Soleimani was tasked with sabotaging the American effort in Iraq.” As a result of his killing, Iran launched missiles onto Al Asad Air Base, in northern Iraq. 

Trump responded to the latest attack by addressing the nation in a speech. He stated, “Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world.” He also said, “Soleimani killed thousands of American military troops.”

This speech was made after impeachment proceedings in December of 2019, regarding Trump’s foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election. 

In addition, the crash of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 has raised suspicion about the Iranian government’s integrity. Iranian authorities blamed “technical issues,” according to the BBC. Reports from the BBC claimed the crash to be caused by an “accidental” missile strike 15 kilometers north of Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, just two minutes after departure. It was later admitted by the Iranian Armed Forces that they were at “highest level of readiness” when the airliner was shot down; they believed the airliner was associated with the United States. 

The New York Times reported that Iranian officials also did not perform the investigation with “universally accepted procedures,” in which Ukraine suggested that Iran would not have taken responsibility for the crash, in the absence of video and radar evidence. 

As a result of the newfound use of missiles, some Americans have expressed concerns of the possibility of war and many are already calling it “World War III,” which has has been trending on many social media platforms. Teens and young adults have taken to TikTok, Twitter and Instagram discussing the possibility of being drafted and creating various memes about it.

Registered behavior technician and Florida Tech graduate student Anna Reick said, “The youths of our generation are  internally scared of being drafted, and use humor as a defense mechanism; they are desensitized to war, having grown up during the Iraq War.”

 Patricia Sullivan, a military policy researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told The Washington Post, “I think there is almost no chance at all that the draft will be reinstated,” Sullivan said. “With Iran, there’s almost no chance that we’re getting into the kind of ground-war scenario that large numbers of ground troops would be needed and we would implement the draft.” 

Some Florida Tech students have voiced their thoughts about taking the draft as a serious concern at this point and time in their lives. 

“I am definitely worried about the war because of how the Iranians responded to the killing of one of their top generals,” said Farran Barker, a sophomore in business. “I am not worried about being drafted because I am enrolled in college. As the memes on Twitter are funny, this conflict is a very serious situation that should be treated as so.” 

The last time the draft was in use was in December of 1972 for the Vietnam War. The draft was suspended in 1973 as a result of protests; according to the Selective Service System of the United States Army, college students may qualify for a student deterrent, given they are in good academic standing.   

As reported by many news outlets, the United States and its allies are keeping a close eye on the situation in Iran. Trump has said that Iran “appears to be standing down” as of his speech made on Jan. 8. He is confident that despite the various missile strikes in Northern Iraq and the crash of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, the United States is willing to “embrace peace” with Iran and its people.

Distress in the Air: Florida Tech’s take on the Boeing 737

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Within the past five months, Boeing has had two 737 Air Max 8’s crash.

Most recently, the Ethiopian airline crash that killed all 157 members on board caused a worldwide grounding of the Boeing model.

Carlos Obregon, a junior majoring in aeronautical science with flight, has been discussing the components of flight failure in the classroom and relating them to the crashes of the Boeing 737’s and how they are relevant to his field of study.

“In my advanced aircraft systems class we talked about how flight systems and controls can cause malfunctions and enroute flight problems,” Obregon said. “We debated on how the software stalling function and overriding features on the model and learned that this could have been the potential reasoning for the planes to crash.”

Pat Spangler, a junior in aeronautical science with an associates degree in air traffic control, was concerned about the safety dilemma that these crashes have drawn attention to and how aviation management is handling it.

In Spangler’s opinion, the Federal Aviation Administration and President Trump could have handled the situation better, but the aviation industry is still the safest mode of transportation and he stands by it.

“Safety is obviously one of the top priorities in the aviation industry, as it should be,” Spangler said. “One protocol put into place by the FAA that I think is essential to the job is a computer test every air traffic controller is required to take on a recurring two-month basis to remain updated on safety and eligible for the job.”

The FAA is responsible for regulating aviation and promoting safety.

However, in recent light of the situation the administration has been criticized by many as the United States was one of the last nations to decide not to fly the 737’s.

Aviation safety regulators in the European Union, China, Australia and the U.K. made the call to not fly the planes ahead of the U.S.

According to prior reports from The New York Times, the delay in the call for Trump to ground the Boeing models was deemed as “a bit too late” by many passengers and pilots.

It’s not just current aviation students that are especially affected by the grounding of the 737’s but also alumni that have entered the industry.

Jared Goodlaw graduated from Florida Tech in 2017 with a degree in aviation management with flight.

He has worked for a regional airliner in the past but is currently flying private jetliners.

Goodlaw stated that the FAA has released no private statements or reports to any licensed pilots in regards to how the situation is being handled nor any other investigative details.

Goodlaw had expectations of announcements directly to all private and commercial licensed pilots from Boeing or the FAA in wake of both incidents.

However, both organizations have failed to communicate if there are any plans underway requiring pilots to complete more training and/or simulations before anymore 737’s are cleared to take off again.

The consensus amongst Spangler, Obregon and Goodlaw is that they all feel their training and studies regarding flight emergencies and preparation is well documented in the Florida Tech aviation curriculum.

All three stated that they still feel safe to work in the industry as it is a very reactive field.

Incidents like this are thoroughly investigated, responsibility is held accountable for and updates and corrections are made as soon as possible.

Pilots are not the only people concerned about the Boeing 737’s.

CBS News reported that approximately 8,600 flights use the Boeing 737 Max 8 in a typical week of travel.

Furthermore, Boeing released an announcement saying that models will be grounded for at least three months.

Travelers may experience more travel and flight difficulties than they expected.

Charles Bryant, a business professor and the manager in charge of Florida Tech’s study abroad program to Spain, is one example of these worried travelers.

“With the Boeing 737’s being grounded, myself and those participating in the Spain study abroad program are having to look at different airport destinations within Spain,” Bryant said. “For example, instead of flying out of a smaller airport in the country like Malaga as we had originally planned, we are looking at other options that have more flight availability in bigger airports like Barcelona. Yet, this adds more planning and financial stress as the travel date in early June arrives closer and closer.”

Bryant draws attention to another issue: If he is having troubles finding flights for a group of roughly 20 or so people, it will likely be hard for the immense number of international students on campus to find flights home at the end of the semester in early May.

The Boeing 737 investigations are still underway and officials have stated they are doing their best to remain honest with the general public as they are well aware of the pressing matters and concerns at hand.