Close Protection Position
Ref : 000002
Region: Global
Country: Global, Afghanistan, Iraq
Department: Project Management
Role Type: Close Protection
Job Purpose
The Individual is expected to have sufficient training and flexibility to be able to undertake the role of a Close Protection Officer as detailed below.
Boy, this is a terrible story. Obviously Ayala was severely impacted by the incident, to do such a thing as shoot this combatant point blank to the head. I wasn’t there, nor will I judge. But you can see the kind of emotions this could have brought up–to see your comrade be purposely burned by some random individual in a village. I know I would be furious. But that gives no justification to be the judge and jury for such a horrific criminal act, by just killing the guy out right.
Although, Ayala could make the argument that he saw the guy move wrong, or reach for something, and that is why he fired. But still, if he purposely executed an unarmed individual, despite the horrible act this Afghani committed, then that is wrong.
All I have to say at this point is that Ayala is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If he did in fact commit this act, then he should pay the price. I would hold that standard towards anyone in the military, law enforcement, and the security contracting community, and justice should be served.
On another note, this sounds like the Human Terrain Systems contract BAE has, where they use civilian anthropologists in military civilian affairs units out in the field. It is an initiative to better understand the villages, so the military forces know how to best work with them. And the reason we use anthropologists like this, is because the military cannot home grow that type of resource to meet the demands of the war effort. And that is where BAE stepped in, by filling that need. -Head Jundi
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Contractor Charged With Murder in Afghan’s Death
By Jerry Markon
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 20, 2008; B05
A defense contractor who once protected top foreign leaders was charged yesterday with second-degree murder in the shooting of an Afghan civilian who had attacked one of his colleagues with a flammable liquid during a routine patrol.
Don M. Ayala, 46, of New Orleans was charged in U.S. District Court in Alexandria in the Nov. 4 shooting. Court documents said he works in Afghanistan for Rockville-based BAE Systems, but he formerly provided personal security to the Iraqi prime minister and the Afghan president.
New supply routes mean new convoy/logistics companies. So there might be an opportunity in the near future for other companies in the region for these supply contracts. Although I tend to think that thugs will just find a way to attack and rob those convoys as well. -Head Jundi
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U.S. Seeks New Supply Routes Into Afghanistan
Trucks From Pakistan Increasingly Attacked
By Candace Rondeaux and Walter Pincus
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, November 19, 2008; A01
TORKHAM, Afghanistan, Nov. 18 — A rise in Taliban attacks along the length of a vital NATO supply route that runs through this border town in the shadow of the Khyber Pass has U.S. officials seeking alternatives, including the prospect of beginning deliveries by a tortuous overland journey from Europe.
Supplying troops in landlocked Afghanistan has long been the Achilles’ heel of foreign armies here, most recently the Soviets, whose forces were nearly crippled by Islamist insurgent attacks on vulnerable supply lines.
The New Yorker
George Packer
November 14, 2008
Kilcullen on Afghanistan: “It’s Still Winnable, But Only Just.”
I wrote about David Kilcullen two years ago, in a piece called “Knowing the Enemy.” Few experts understand counterinsurgency and counterterrorism better than this former Australian army officer and anthropology Ph.D, who has advised the American, British, and Australian governments, was one of General Petraeus’s strategic whizzes at the start of the surge, in early 2007, and writes so well that you’d never imagine he’s spent his whole career in government, the military, and academia. Kilcullen is now a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, which has provided Obama with foreign-policy advisers and advice.
This week, Kilcullen agreed to do an e-mail Q. & A. on Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he’s spent a lot of time, and where the most pressing foreign crisis awaits the new Administration. Though Kilcullen is still an adviser to the State Department, he emphasized that his views are his own. And they are characteristically blunt.
The White House briefed both campaigns on Afghanistan before the election. Apparently that’s how little time we have to turn things around. So how bad is it?
It’s bad: violence is way up, Taliban influence has spread at the local level, and popular confidence in the government and the international community is waning fast. It’s still winnable, but only just, and to turn this thing around will take an extremely major effort starting with local-level governance, political strategy, giving the Afghan people a well-founded feeling of security, and dealing with the active sanctuary in Pakistan. A normal U.S. government transition takes six to nine months, by the time new political appointees are confirmed, briefed, and in position. But nine months out from now will be the height of the Afghan fighting season, and less than a month out from critical Presidential elections in Afghanistan. If we do this the “normal” way, it will be too late for the Obama Administration to grip it up. I think this is shaping up to be one of the smoothest transitions on record, with the current Administration going out of its way to assist and facilitate. That said, the incoming Administration has a steep learning curve, and has inherited a dire situation—so whatever we do, it’s not going to be easy.
It sounds like you’re proposing classic counterinsurgency strategy: a combination of offensive and defensive military operations, political and economic development, and diplomacy. Isn’t that what we’ve been doing these past seven years? Have we just not been doing enough of all these? Or do we need to change strategy to something fundamentally new?
If there was any an indicator of how things are going in a war, you can always look at the health of the logistics tail. And to me, just looking at these three stories that cover Pakistan and Afghanistan, it is obvious that there are some serious security issues with logistics going on.
The first story is one that I posted before, about Commando Security (a local national security company in Afghanistan) and their efforts in the war. The loss of life and the amount of actual fighting that this PSC is doing is stunning. Stacks of coffins…fighting daily?
The second story is about Pakistan shutting down the Khyber Pass. The Taliban and the various tribes are raping these convoys. Just lask week, these guys were able to attack a convoy and steal some Humvee destined for Afghanistan. The pictures of these things in Taliban hands are embarrassing to say the least.
The final story is about Highway One in Afghanistan, and how dangerous that has become. It sounds like IED hell, and the Taliban and company are certainly applying the lessons of Iraq to their own campaign in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
On Feral Jundi, we talked about this before. That our achilles heel in the war over there is logistics. The Taliban know this, and they are doing what they can to shut it down and/or plunder it. All I know is that Task Force Odin better get busy and get some eyes on these routes, and start working with the hunters to protect these routes. Or maybe out of pure human decency, they could also give a heads up to these PSC’s that are operating over there. That means communicating with PSC’s like Commando Security, or we can continue to stand by while these forces get mutilated by these guys.
The other thing that bothers me about this, is commerce. If we want the Afghani people to be happy with their government, security of commerce must be a priority. Take charge of the roads and own them. That means patrol, post overwatch on stretches of road, and work with the villages that are near these roads. Set up a text messaging/mobile phone road watch crew, and pay them to report on Taliban activity in the villages and roads. Do something to empower the local populations, and get the police busy on this stuff. The security of logistics and commerce on these roads are vital, and we must do a better job of protection of said activities. -Head Jundi
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Baitullah Mehsud’s Taliban pose in front of a captured US Humvee. Baitullah’s Taliban flag is draped over the hood. Photo from AFP.
‘Every moment is frightening’
Private security personnel easy targets in Afghanistan
Tom Blackwell, National Post
Published: Monday, October 20, 2008
As he girded himself for another shift protecting a massive NATO supply convoy this week, Rozi Mohammed made a frank admission: The work terrifies him.
“We are afraid of IEDs, we’re afraid of rockets, we’re afraid of bullets, we’re afraid of ambushes,” said the boyish-looking 18-year-old, an AK-47 slung over his narrow shoulders. “Every moment is frightening.”
He has good reason to be fearful. Just this year, about 160 of Mr. Mohammed’s colleagues have been killed defending such convoys against almost daily Taliban attacks. Only the day before, two died in a roadside blast.
In his compound, a stack of empty coffins sits ready for the next victims.
“Every day, we have seen our men wounded and killed,” the teenager said.
Mr. Mohammed does not belong to any military or police organization. He is part of Afghanistan’s growing private army: security contractors who fill the gaps in the foreign military and development mission here, protecting diplomats, aid workers, outposts and the all-important convoys.
To satisfy the voracious appetite of thousands of NATO troops for food, fuel and other supplies, hundreds of trucks a week must traverse highways that more and more are rife with insurgents.
It’s interesting to hear what the salaries are for local nationals in Afghanistan. The Iraq local national security companies pay almost the same amount to their guards. -Head Jundi
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Military relying on Afghan contractors for security
JESSICA LEEDER
From Wednesday’s Globe and Mail
October 28, 2008
ARGHANDAB DISTRICT, Afghanistan — To an untrained observer, it might seem odd that nearly 50 Afghans have been given free rein to gallivant around a foreign military outpost in their dusty Toyota 4Runners, armed with Kalashnikovs.
They shout at each other in Dari, a Persian dialect spoken in northern and western Afghanistan that is unintelligible to most Canadian soldiers and their hired Pashto interpreters here in the south.
Around the clock they churn up gravel as they dart between lookout towers along the base perimeter. As they blew by one of the senior officers on base the other day, leaving him shrouded in dust, Sergeant Major Shawn Mercer let a wide grin cross his face.
“They’re fast, like light,” he said.
A couple of things to note with this article. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys. If companies want to do business in Afghanistan, then they are going to have to invest in security. Obviously this ‘guard’ was not thoroughly vetted or that the security company tasked with watching their employees did not keep up with a ‘constant’ vetting process.
But vetting costs money, and if business does not want to pay for that expenditure in a contract, then they will get substandard guard service.
The other thing I wanted to mention, is that the salaries need to go up in Afghanistan. If we are to follow the Iraq model, then we can deduct that the Taliban are going to continue their attacks in the cities. That they will continue to attack businesses, create chaos, and try to scare any foreign interests away. This tactic will hurt the government and hurt the war effort, and hurt the local populations. And if the people lose faith in the Government’s ability to protect them, then that only helps the Taliban cause.
Yet again, the market dictates. If big business is scared off because of this stuff, then they are scared off. But if the upcoming US administration and the current Afghani administration wants to keep business there, then they are going to have to get busy in either protecting them or giving some kind of incentive to keep them there.
And if you are a company representative that is doing research about security in Afghanistan, all I will have to say is pay up if you want to play. Just like the shipping industry is starting to see the light about security in the Gulf of Aden, you too will have to make security adjustments to be able to operate in Afghanistan. That’s if you think that buck is worth the effort there.
But if you do want to stay, one adjustment that you can do is guard your high level company leaders with substantial security. That is a no brainer to me. Pay the money, and get yourself a protective detail that knows their stuff. Or continue to think that no one wants to kill you?
Now I will not suggest low profile or high profile security, because that is up to the guy on the ground that is assigned to protect you. All I will suggest is to pay the money to get a professional group that has your best interest and life in mind when they make decisions, and they have the experience to back up those decisions.
The other adjustment is that if you are going to hire local nationals to do your security, then you should have a security expert review that contract. Pay the money for a guy that comes highly recommended and is trustworthy, to act as quality control for the security services provided and to help write up a good contract in the first place. Pay a good salary, and keep him around for awhile. You cannot just hire a local company, and expect quality service–you need a third party to watch them. You actually have to pay attention and watch that service like a hawk, and ensure that you are getting a quality product. But yet again, that costs money.
Hopefully we will see the adjustments needed, to give those that are over there doing business, the best chance of survival. You see this played out time and time again. Security is something you should not be going cheap on, if you care about your employees and want to do business in a war zone. -Head Jundi
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Killings increase Westerners’ fears in Afghan capital
October 26, 2008
KABUL (AFP) — The gunning down of three Westerners in the Afghan capital in less than a week is a sharp reminder that Kabul is no longer a safe haven in a country gripped by violence, expatriates say.
Saturday’s shooting of a Briton and a South African, along with an Afghan, outside the offices of the international shipping company DHL appears to have been the result of a dispute unrelated to a growing Taliban insurgency.
Nevertheless, it feeds a sense of insecurity with international residents already concerned by Monday’s killing of a British-South African aid worker and a series of attacks against expatriates this year.
“It is the unpredictability of security incidents which is making it difficult,” said Anu John, who has been in Kabul for 15 months employed by an international non-government organisation.
“The security seems to have deteriorated significantly in the last three to four months… the changes are pretty visible,” she said.
Good little article, and this should give you an idea where we are headed with the war in Afghanistan. -Head Jundi
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Beyond bin Laden
Petraeus: Success in Afghanistan will require a long-term commitment
By Sean D. Naylor - Staff writer
Posted : Monday Oct 20, 2008 10:59:39 EDT
Incoming Central Command head Gen. David Petraeus questioned whether al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden continues to play a significant operational role in the terrorist network and said that even if bin Laden were killed, his lieutenants would ensure al-Qaida stayed in business.
“You have to ask what bin Laden is actually doing these days, besides hiding,” Petraeus said in an Oct. 15 interview with Army Times. “To say that he has been reclusive would be a bit of an understatement. To question what impact his leadership has is reasonable, given his very limited public pronouncements [and] very limited communications with subordinate leaders.”
Is the Taliban reading Feral Jundi? LOL. Actually, the Taliban have been attacking cell towers for awhile now. But in this post, I wanted to post why they are attacking the mobile phone. That people are actually turning in these guys, using the mobile phone is kind of cool and is definitely some proof of concept material for the ‘Crime Stoppers’ concept. And the fact that mobile phones are becoming vital to the Afghanis.
A couple of weeks ago, I posted an article about text messaging and counter-insurgency. That commanders in the field, or at least the war planners must take advantage of these technologies and develop a SMS plan and crowdsource the local populations.
It sounds like to me, that this is happening to some degree, and that is great. And with the Taliban destroying cell towers out of protest, this only helps our cause. If the local populations come to depend on the mobile phone, and really enjoy the power of the mobile phone, and the Taliban take that away, then that will only help us to win over the local populations.
So this is what I would do. Flood the market with more cheap mobile phones and cheap service, set up cell towers in villages and pay these villages very well to protect that tower(or post police or private security), and reward the local populations for their love of the cellphone with interactive radio entertainment and promotional deals. Get them to use those thumbs and vote on soccer games and songs and anything of entertainment value. Get them hooked on the phone, like it was a drug.
What do I mean by this? The cellphone is addictive. It’s like a drug almost, and when people get a taste of everything it can do, then they get hooked. For me, I don’t go anywhere without my phone. I make sure the service is paid for, and that it is fully charged, and I really take care of it. The reason why, is because it is my only connection to my network and it is an important part of my life.
It is also the tool I need to make money, because companies call me on the phone to offer me jobs. It is also my way of establishing relationships, or maintaining relationships. And it is a tool that I can use to save my life by calling the police or the doctor. I can even vote with the thing, in the various polls that radio and TV stations promote.(elections, American Idol, etc.) Or, if I get wind of some information about a bad guy, I can text or call Crime Stoppers and actually turn the guy in for a small reward.
My point is, that the same uses I have for this phone, are the same uses that everyone in the world has for the phone. It is a powerful and universal tool that we can use in this war, and I tried to explain that in my other post about the topic.
So now we have the Taliban fearing the cellphone? Awesome. And just like in Haiti, when the people protected the cell towers because they wanted to protect the phone service, we can see the same thing in Afghanistan. If I was part of the Afghani Government, I would make the issue of the cellphone and text messaging a vital issue that needs to be protected. Those phones symbolize freedom, and the Government would be wise to help protect that. It would be just one way for them to win over the local populations.
The other thing I wanted to mention, is that if you are reading this, and you are developing a SMS plan out there in the war, then you need to read the book Crowdsourcing. It lists the ten rules of crowdsourcing and they are pretty universal, in terms of application. I would be crowdsourcing the local populations of Afghanistan and Iraq like you can’t believe, to get all kinds of interesting information.
I would also do what I could to get phones into the really remote areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan. It sounds like the mobile phone industry is doing pretty good in both Pakistan and Afghanistan, but it could do better with a little help. Flood the market, give the locals a taste of this thing, and make sure they know where to go to get more of it.
As for the particulars of how to crowdsource the populations to get information, I would leave to the local intelligence guys. I do know that the current radio stations that are sending out music and messages on the airwaves, are the one way you can reach these remote areas and communicate with them. One of the rules for crowdsourcing is that you must offer a reward or give the people something for their efforts. That could be money, or entertainment. If you want to get something from the crowd, you have to give something to the crowd. -Head Jundi
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Taliban Orders Daytime Phone Shutdown, Too
Posted by Susan Hall on October 21, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Following attacks meant to enforce the Taliban’s orders for mobile phone operators to shut off operations at night in Afghanistan, the operators now are being ordered to shut down during the day in the Ghazni province southwest of Kabul, reports Reuters.
Several towers have been destroyed in the south, angering residents who depend on cell service as their only means of communication. NATO and Afghan officials say the Taliban want to keep villagers from ratting them out to authorities.
The story, though, says threats have been only partially carried out in the south and networks operate freely in the north, where it’s more peaceful.
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Taliban text message threats
Posted 7/24/2008
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have created a sophisticated media network to undermine support for the Afghan government, sending threats by text message and spreading the militia’s views through songs available as ring tones, according to a report released Thursday.
The International Crisis Group report comes as the Islamist militia that was ousted from power in Afghanistan by the 2001 U.S.-led invasion is making a violent comeback, particularly in the country’s south and east.
The Taliban’s propaganda exploits civilian killings by foreign forces and corruption in the U.S.-backed government to add to Afghans’ disillusionment about their lives, according to the report by the Brussels-based group. It said the Afghan government and its foreign allies should respond more quickly to their mistakes and highlight the Taliban’s atrocities.
Many of the messages that have been distributed — apparently not always directly produced by the Taliban — come in the form of songs, religious chants and poetry that appeal to Afghan nationalism and Islamic pride.
The next president of the United States will inherit some of the greatest foreign policy challenges in American history–an overstretched military, frayed alliances, and wars on two fronts. FRONTLINE gives viewers a hard, inside look at the real policy choices the next president will face. The report features strategists and diplomats giving their best advice about how to correct past failures and how to shape a realistic foreign policy approach in the war against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
press release
IN LEAD-UP TO U.S. ELECTION, FRONTLINE REPORTS ON THE CURRENT STATE OF THE WAR AGAINST THE TALIBAN AND AL QAEDA
FRONTLINE Presents
Tuesday, October 28, 2008, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS
The next president of the United States will inherit a foreign policy nightmare: wars on two fronts, an overstretched military, a resurgent Taliban and a reconstituted Al Qaeda based far from America’s reach.
In The War Briefing, airing Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS (check local listings), award-winning FRONTLINE producer Marcela Gaviria and correspondent Martin Smith offer harrowing on-the-ground reporting from the deadliest battlefield in the mountains of Afghanistan, and follow the trail to the militant safe havens deep inside the Pakistani tribal areas, probing some of the most urgent foreign policy challenges facing the next president.
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