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The Underworld Captain: From Gangland Goodfella To Army Officer
Alexander Shannon escaped a shady past to enjoy a glittering career in the army, only to end up back in the thick of criminal activity.Shannon's time as a soldier saw him posted to the Falklands, Northern Ireland and war-torn Bosnia. The rigours of army life took their toll and he found himself drawn into a series of ruthless gang wars. He used the skills he'd learned in the forces to hide weapons, work for drugs racketeers and plot a massacre, and he was offered a fortune to work as a Mafia-style contract assassin.He was questioned over brutal killings and accused of a triple murder attempt, yet his dedication and determination to succeed in the army brought him accolades and a series of promotions. In The Underworld Captain, Shannon explains how he managed to combine a successful army career with dangerous gangland dealings for so long and how he finally broke free for good.
272 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 7, 2011
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March 18, 2018
It doesn’t take long to realise the subtitle of this book is stretching the truth. There is little innocence here. The level of violence throughout is a recurring theme of challenge to Alexander Shannon’s festering emotions and self-control. That he also manages to be likeable (to some) and protective to some degree does not negate his tendency towards violence.
That an army life is all about channelling violence toward a desired outcome is no new thing. The rewards of participation are both legitimate and illegitimate as they have been throughout history. That this story is so openly told seems to condone those illegitimate rewards even in the current structure of channelling violence for socially condoned activity tells us how hard it is for us to find an alternative within the confines of such institutions.
While The Underworld Captain may seem like a viable alternative to street crime and violence within particular communities, what it fails to do is provide a non-violent pathway out of poverty. While we continue to feed the competitive approach to survival in such circumstances we also fail to address the skills and experiences that allow non-competitive co-operation within communities.
Of the many tours of duty experienced by Alexander Shannon, those to Northern Ireland should be most telling. Faced by similar economic conditions to his own upbringing in Glasgow, one might expect a little more insight than simply accepting the role of spy and informant on those attempting to gain responsibility of their own living conditions. There is not even the acknowledgement of the end of this conflict by the time of publication of this book.
The tunnel vision of the writer may align with the tunnel vision of survival for many others raised in urban warfare of daily survival. However, it is the broader vision of alternatives through travel that have allowed the writer to gradually make other choices for himself and his family. He is not immune to family loyalty distracting him from grander choices. He is not honest simply because he is employed and in uniform. He is not even fully disciplined by his superiors over many of his transgressions, presumably because they are considered so minor in comparison to other activities he is known to have been part of.
For all these reasons this book seems like propaganda to encourage other young people from illegal offending toward legal offending. In effect it continues to highlight those very reasons many upstanding citizens hesitate to have their own children serve in the armed forces.
Over many years I have been involved in youth work, prison work and also fostered children. I know how difficult it is to deal with an individual trying to find a way out of the social ties that hold them so strongly to warped values by anyone else’s standards. I applaud Alexander Shannon’s offering of his story to begin possibilities of movement for others, but I am still very wary of glorifying what should not be glorified when other alternatives are still required in the longer term.
Let us consider together what we are trying to achieve beyond fear and violence and find the means to make peaceful negotiations toward co-existence more viable for our young. Peace is not a passive enterprise. Counting the dead and finding you are not one of them is not so great an achievement. Learning to live and let live is harder behind walls than in open parklands. It takes more courage to create a picnic in such an atmosphere than it does to refuel the machinery that continues to mow us all down.
As Alexander Shannon admits himself, the changes he went through had much to do with receiving the love of his wife. There is reason more than sentimentality. There is patience more than selfishness. There is the story we have not yet considered: Home Duties are more than taxes, and both more consistent and persistent than any accounting exercise in the national register. Until we start channelling resources toward these lesser-recognised efforts we will continue to feed the insatiable beast of conflict.
Let us use such books wisely in re-considering what we wish our lives to be about, rather than just against. Let us shift the balance rather than pretending that even this suggestion is a conflict of choice between war or peace. When we recognise that both co-exist and always have done, then we will better appreciate peaceful means to conflict resolution by training ourselves how to see it beyond the narrow scopes of a rifle. The broader view always offers another way out. Let it also offer us a better way within.
That an army life is all about channelling violence toward a desired outcome is no new thing. The rewards of participation are both legitimate and illegitimate as they have been throughout history. That this story is so openly told seems to condone those illegitimate rewards even in the current structure of channelling violence for socially condoned activity tells us how hard it is for us to find an alternative within the confines of such institutions.
While The Underworld Captain may seem like a viable alternative to street crime and violence within particular communities, what it fails to do is provide a non-violent pathway out of poverty. While we continue to feed the competitive approach to survival in such circumstances we also fail to address the skills and experiences that allow non-competitive co-operation within communities.
Of the many tours of duty experienced by Alexander Shannon, those to Northern Ireland should be most telling. Faced by similar economic conditions to his own upbringing in Glasgow, one might expect a little more insight than simply accepting the role of spy and informant on those attempting to gain responsibility of their own living conditions. There is not even the acknowledgement of the end of this conflict by the time of publication of this book.
The tunnel vision of the writer may align with the tunnel vision of survival for many others raised in urban warfare of daily survival. However, it is the broader vision of alternatives through travel that have allowed the writer to gradually make other choices for himself and his family. He is not immune to family loyalty distracting him from grander choices. He is not honest simply because he is employed and in uniform. He is not even fully disciplined by his superiors over many of his transgressions, presumably because they are considered so minor in comparison to other activities he is known to have been part of.
For all these reasons this book seems like propaganda to encourage other young people from illegal offending toward legal offending. In effect it continues to highlight those very reasons many upstanding citizens hesitate to have their own children serve in the armed forces.
Over many years I have been involved in youth work, prison work and also fostered children. I know how difficult it is to deal with an individual trying to find a way out of the social ties that hold them so strongly to warped values by anyone else’s standards. I applaud Alexander Shannon’s offering of his story to begin possibilities of movement for others, but I am still very wary of glorifying what should not be glorified when other alternatives are still required in the longer term.
Let us consider together what we are trying to achieve beyond fear and violence and find the means to make peaceful negotiations toward co-existence more viable for our young. Peace is not a passive enterprise. Counting the dead and finding you are not one of them is not so great an achievement. Learning to live and let live is harder behind walls than in open parklands. It takes more courage to create a picnic in such an atmosphere than it does to refuel the machinery that continues to mow us all down.
As Alexander Shannon admits himself, the changes he went through had much to do with receiving the love of his wife. There is reason more than sentimentality. There is patience more than selfishness. There is the story we have not yet considered: Home Duties are more than taxes, and both more consistent and persistent than any accounting exercise in the national register. Until we start channelling resources toward these lesser-recognised efforts we will continue to feed the insatiable beast of conflict.
Let us use such books wisely in re-considering what we wish our lives to be about, rather than just against. Let us shift the balance rather than pretending that even this suggestion is a conflict of choice between war or peace. When we recognise that both co-exist and always have done, then we will better appreciate peaceful means to conflict resolution by training ourselves how to see it beyond the narrow scopes of a rifle. The broader view always offers another way out. Let it also offer us a better way within.
Displaying 1 of 1 review