Case Study: Ikaros
I went back to Failaka Island earlier this month. It is an island about 20km off the coast of Kuwait City. The island is fairly small, and Kuwait’s interest in it is near to naught. I didn’t think I would see anything new as I’ve been there before, and indeed I didn’t… well… not at first anyway.
My arrogance was shot down yet again, this time by a man in his mid 30′s. This man shall be codenamed Ikaros.
I first came into contact with Ikaros at the age of 15 when I was still in training for my radio communications license, he was also a fellow trainee at the time. Both Ikaros and I passed our theoretical and practical tests whilst all others failed, if but one of them was given a retry. My life took quite a few interesting turns after that, and I didn’t see or hear much of him since. I have not seen or heard much of my former self since then either.
My recent camping trip to the island together with other radio club members had given me three entire days to observe Ikaros, and study his every spoken word, motioned gesture, eye fixture, and subconscious reaction. I do not mean to sound arrogant when I state that it does not take me a single day to understand someone…
Three days were not enough to understand Ikaros.
—-
Ikaros is a former EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) specialist with remarkable and leading knowledge in the anti-terrorism field. I was able to walk with him alone around various areas of Failaka Island, which turned out to be my main source of information regarding Ikaros’ psych. I’ll soon explain the why and how.
The first thing I always came to notice about him was his tense posture and fast physical movements, at times it seemed like he can’t ever sit still. I would understand this if he didn’t have an unbelievably sharp and calm mind. This paradox alone boggled me for quite some time.
Ikaros is mostly defensive, he blends into a crowd and says little to nothing. If you’re part of the group, you rarely feel his presence. He lets on a ‘just-enough’ level of interactivity, socially speaking, and he does this very efficiently. When a mass conversation is in effect, he will jump in with a one-liner that works quite well, it almost always will make a group laugh and it justifies his presence from their perspectives. Interestingly, he withdraws back into his quiet shell soon thereafter.
He looks down more than he looks up.
—-
On the ferry to Failaka Island, I had a good one-on-one talk with him. He shared with me his unforgiving past and stories of how he became an EOD specialist and how he got pushed into the anti-terrorism field. I got to ask him questions about certain aspects of his job that I probably shouldn’t write about.
One string of questions I asked him on the ferry was:
Have you ever interrogated or interviewed one of the terrorist bombers you’ve apprehended?
Ikaros gave me a quick nod.
“What are they like, psychologically speaking?” I asked.
To which he answered…
They’re all the same. Their intellect is usually outstanding. It makes you feel inferior. They’re motivated by a single belief. You can never convince them otherwise. They’re calm and collect.
—-
When we got settled on Failaka Island, Ikaros bumped into me just outside of where we camped. He told me to walk with him, and I did. We walked in and out of the old buildings and homes, most of which were destroyed and left full of bullet holes during the Iraqi invasion.
Ikaros gave me a very unique tour, unlike anything I’ve ever been on before. The tour did not focus on places or people, nor did it focus on history. Instead, it was based around artillery and explosive remains and traces. He showed me how each site of destruction could speak a very specific story to him. He understands a great deal in explosive-forensics, if you will.
The seemingly limitless knowledge on anything that was ever created to harm a human being that he seems to have is just fascinating. I show him any bullet shell off the floor and he drowns me with details on it. Wiring, circuits, or any weird looking contraption, he showers me with details on them.
How does he know so much?
Rather…
why?
I spent the rest of the trip observing Ikaros from a distance and figuring out the dynamics in which he handles people. That is my own problem, after all, and I thought if I could figure that out, then maybe I can come to understand where he comes from a little bit better.
I noticed that when the rest of the group had trouble setting up their huge radio antenna, Ikaros emerged as a leader to solve their problems on more than one occasion.
He smiles faintly every now and then.
—-
Analysis:
The logic surrounding Ikaros is quite crucial. I’ve been studying Ikaros for quite some time, both on and off Failaka Island. I have figured out the base factors that make him who he is. But as always, I can never tell whether or not my subjects know of these factors, I can only, at best, sense that Ikaros is somewhat aware of them.
Codenamed Ikaros has adopted the philosophy of explosives.
-
I pieced together what Ikaros told me about his past. The strenuous nature of becoming an EOD specialist, much more so when it is taken to the level that Ikaros has, forces you to immerse yourself in such a profession and forget about people, or just enough not to forget that you’re doing it to save their lives at the ever so constant risk of losing yours.
It comes down to this, really…
Disarming a live bomb has two philosophical or mathematical absolutes:
Total Success.
Total Failure.
There are no in betweens, no half outcomes.
Succeed and live. Fail and die.
The harshest odds possible.
-
Ikaros mentioned that, in a live bomb situation, an EOD specialist automatically becomes the highest authority in that timeframe. The highest ranks in uniform will take orders from a low rank EOD specialist in a situation like this. And yes, you thought correctly, it is directly due to those imminent odds.
-
Creating an example scenario to better understand this…
Report of a live explosive comes in, EOD is quickly on the scene. Ikaros steps into the scenario and becomes the highest authority known to that society. Everyone now looks to Ikaros to create stability (If you read my last post, you’ll understand why this happens).
Chaos vs Ikaros’ calm mind (Balance)
Imminent odds vs Ikaros’ sharp mind and tense/fast movements (Adaptability)
Which, in turn, creates the paradox that confused me for quite some time.
Ikaros disarms the live explosive and achieves total success, yet again.
Ikaros is stripped from his maximum authority and blends back into society.
-
For Ikaros to be able to keep doing this, his knowledge on anything remotely related to explosives has to be constantly on par with anything and everything.
The total authority that Ikaros acquires during something like this gives him a taste of what it is like to be burdened by true responsibility. Having him stripped of it soon afterwards keeps him sane, and in turn, creates a very modest, respectful, quiet, and wise person.
The fact that Ikaros emerges as a leader in tough situations confirms his harsh past and vast experience.
The occasional one-liners means he struggles with everyday-people, and is confirmed by his imminent withdrawal into quietness. I think I can understand this easily.
Ikaros is very selective of the people he engages. I cannot understand why he chose to talk to me and answer my questions, I never saw him talk to any of the others about his line of work or his past. All I can state here is that it is truly an honor.
This is as far as I can go, in understanding Ikaros.
—-
Artwork: Agnes-Cecile
