Til Valhall to those who perished in this incident. You will not be forgotten, and your contribution to the cause in Afghanistan was profound and honorable. My heart also goes out to the friends and family of the fallen, both in Afghanistan and in the US.
As far as what exactly happened is up to the military investigators to reveal. So I will not get into any speculation as to the weapons used by the Taliban, or who to blame for any operational screw ups. It could be that this shot was the Golden BB, or the lucky shot. Or it could be something that was planned and well coordinated using advanced weapons. Who knows, and it is all speculation until the final reports come out as to what exactly happened. -Matt
This is pretty cool and I had to post this after finding it over at the FJ Facebook page. Til Valhall is Norwegian for ‘To Valhalla’. Valhalla in Norse mythology was the ultimate viking paradise for a warrior to go to if they died in battle. This is a short video of a Norwegian military unit in Afghanistan and that is all I know about it. -Matt
Excellent little story, although I would like to hear it from the security contractors involved. There is no mention of the company either. So whomever was involved, if you would like to confirm this here on the blog or talk to me in private, I can make the edits to show this actually happened.
The concept of the app is great and it would be nice to get some more details about this incident. Like how the contractor found out about the Tac NAV, and did it work as advertised? It sounded like he was able to communicate the needed information for this incident, and get a UAV over the attacking force.
On the other hand though, did the Taliban run because of the UAV, or were they only conducting a ‘hit and run’ attack and they happened to be gone when the UAV arrived on scene? That is why I would like to get a little more detail before cheering this mobile app on.
Cool stuff though, and if you have a smartphone this would be a good mobile app to have, just because it doesn’t weigh anything and you can store it indefinitely on your phone. -Matt
Tactical NAV Smartphone App Directs UAV – Thwarts Taliban Attack
Jul 21, 2011
Kabul, Afghanistan – With the number of private military contractors exceeding the number of troops on the ground in both Iraq and Afghanistan, a growing concern for keeping contractors safe is more pressing than ever. ?On June 28, a private contractor located near Kabul came under insurgent fire while located in an area where he and his American contractors were working. The contractor immediately called the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) tactical operations center (TOC) for military support, and ISAF personnel then quickly responded by requesting the military grid reference system (MGRS) grid coordinates to the insurgent threat.?However, the contractor was not equipped with a military GPS device or a 1:50,000-scale map to give the proper MGRS coordinates to the TOC. Instead, the contractor used Tactical NAV on his iPhone, and was able to quickly and accurately provide the assisting military personnel with his location, and also the location where the insurgent fire was coming from. As a result, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was dispatched to survey the perimeter of the base, and the insurgent attack was thwarted.?Developed for Soldiers by Soldiers, Tactical NAV assists troops in mapping, plotting and photographing waypoints on the battlefield and also helps Soldiers convey coordinates to other supporting units. Tactical NAV incorporates a compass, camera and a gridded map reference system to accurately pinpoint specific locations and relay that information to other users.
Device Requirements:-iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad-Requires iOS 4.2 or later-5.9
Story here.
Outstanding news and I am glad to see Dakota be recognized for his actions. I was also interested in his statement about what he has been up to since he has left the Marines. In this video below, he mentioned that he was contracting? Very cool and I certainly hope that whatever company he is working for, is doing a good job at taking care of him and his co-workers? Because if said company has been poorly treating this Marine and his co-workers, you are soon to get a whole bunch of negative attention and press placed on how poorly you treated a national hero. Not that this is the case, but I figured I would mention this just as a reminder of why ‘taking care of your people’ is one of the best business practices out there. Semper Fi. -Matt
Edit: Hey, thanks to Federico on FB for sending me this link. I guess Dakota works at Ausgar Technologies.
Meyer took a job with Ausgar Technologies, a military contractor based in San Diego. He travels from Kentucky to bases across the U.S., spending most of his time training snipers on optics. Meyer said he sometimes thinks about re-enlisting, but thinks better of it because he has a supportive girlfriend who has read all the investigative reports and saw “the aftermath” of his deployment. “I don’t know if I’d want to do that to her,” he said. “It’s hard to find a girlfriend who can put up with waking up in the middle of the night the way I do sometimes.”
Actually, it is a pretty sweet deal if you ask me. lol Now I am sure some of you are saying, why is FJ promoting government work? It is true that I tend to lean towards private industry initiatives and reducing the size of government, but I am also into pointing out what works or what is a good deal in government for folks looking for work. In other words, I support personal choice, and if government work is your thing, then here are some ideas.
Below I have posted two articles that deal with government work in the war zones. The first describes the kind of conditions and salary you can expect, and the second is a job description for Security Protective Specialist or SPS with the DoS.
To me, the SPS position is probably the most relevant position to our industry, because these are the guys that command over the motorcade operations. In other words, if you are a WPS certified contractor working for DoS providing diplomatic security, your company boss would be working hand in hand with an SPS for mission planning. The SPS is the guy that insures the State Department gets the type of security service it requires for whatever missions. So this is a very important position.
I guess the other thing to point out is do not get sidetracked by the initial salary. That is the base salary, and the important figure to look at for salary is the uplifts, or overtime and danger pay. There are other uplifts in pay and benefits, but as you can see with both articles and this section from the DoS site, the potential salary for overseas work is not that bad for government work:
SPS Initial salary will generally be at the FP-04, Step 1($57,678) which includes 8.82% overseas comparability payment. • Post Differential – based upon post of assignment. Afghanistan – 35% of base pay; Iraq – 35% of base pay; Peshawar, Pakistan – 30% of base pay.($77,865) • Overtime – OT may be expected and is paid at the rate of 1.5 times the hourly rate. May request compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay. • Separate Maintenance Allowance (SMA) – while assigned to unaccompanied posts, SPS employees are eligible for SMA. The SMA is an annual grant determined by the number of dependents and ranges from $6,000 for one child to $20,200 for an adult dependent with 4 or more family members. The SMA is non-taxable. • R&R – Kabul, Peshawar and Baghdad are under a generous leave/R&R allowance program (usually taken at 50-90 day intervals). Kabul and Baghdad allow 2 R&Rs and 3 Regional Rest Breaks (RRBs) or 3 R&Rs and no RRBs. Peshawar allows 2 R&Rs and 1 RRB. R&Rs provide round-trip transportation to any point in the United States. Time usually allowed is approximately two weeks. In addition to the Annual Leave allowance, posts often permit administrative leave to be used while on R&R. • Annual Leave – federal employees earn Annual Leave (AL) based upon the following formula: (a) If less than 3 years federal service – 4 hours a pay period (26 pay periods in a calendar year) (b) If between 3 and 15 years federal service – 6 hours a pay period (c) If more than 15 years federal service – 8 hours a pay period. • Former Military Service – time spent in the US military is credited towards the annual leave allowance unless the employee is retired from the military. If retired and receiving retired pay, then form SF-813 (Verification of a Military Retiree’s Service) must be submitted before a determination can be made as to the amount of creditable service for leave accrual purposes. • Sick Leave – all employees receive the same allowance – 4 hours per pay period. • Life Insurance – employees automatically receive basic life insurance unless they waive it. They may also select from a variety of options to include up to a maximum of 5 times base annual salary. • Health Insurance – employees may choose from a variety of options. Employees have 60 days to elect coverage. Coverage begins the pay period after the application forms are received in the DS HR Office. • Retirement Plan – all SPS employees are enrolled in the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) and contribute to Social Security. • Thrift Savings Plan – employees may contribute up to the IRS limit ($16,500). USG matches up to 5% of employee’s contribution. • Tax-free Housing – while SPS may be assigned to any foreign service post abroad, current requirements exist in Kabul, Afghanistan; Peshawar, Pakistan and Baghdad, Iraq. At all posts overseas, housing is provided at no cost to the employee. • Application for Special Agent (SA) Position: There is no direct transition from the SPS to the SA position.
And just to re-emphasize some of the good deals here, the overtime is one area that you can do really well with. In a war zone, it is not unheard of to work odd and very long hours. With the SPS position, you can make a lot of overtime. Note that if you were to combine all of the benefits up top, to include retirement and medical benefits, then that ‘total benefit package’ starts to look pretty comparable to private industry.
If you would like to apply for an SPS position, you will have to go to USA Jobs or/and sign up with DoS’s email alerts.(currently the SPS positions are closed) I would also suggest getting in shape and working on your shooting game, because there is a pretty extensive train up and vetting process for this position. You should also make sure your background is good to go, so you can actually get the clearance required for this position. As with most government work, there are a ton of hoops to jump through to finally get on the job. But good things come to those who are patient and prepared. -Matt
What’s it like working in Iraq?
By Ed O’Keefe
07/18/2011
Ed O’Keefe is on temporary assignment as The Washington Post’s correspondent in Iraq. In addition to traditional war zone reporting, he is keeping tabs on what it’s like for U.S. troops and government officials living and working in Iraq.
BAGHDAD – Interested in working for the U.S. government in Iraq? Though the dangers are obvious, the pay and perks can be pretty good.
Federal employees and contractors serving here face an almost-daily barrage of rocket attacks, the inability to travel freely, scorching hot temperatures and other cultural and linguistic limitations. But workers with the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development and other federal agencies keep on coming, especially as the U.S. presence here becomes more of a civilian affair.
This is actually pretty interesting if you take a step back and see what has really happened here. The back story is that a Marine named Sgt. Moore originally posted a youtube video to ask actress Mila Kunis to be his date for the Marine Corps Ball. This ball is a celebration of the Marine Corps Birthday that is held every year, and she accepted! Good for Sgt. Moore and Semper Fi.
Now how is this a ‘social coup d’etat’? In reality, Mila Kunis and this Marine would never purposely seek one another out, just because of the vastly different social circumstances of each party. Mila is a celebrity in Hollywood, and Sgt. Moore is serving in Afghanistan. Actresses typically do not go to Afghanistan to specifically date military men. They might go there for a USO tour, but not to find dates. And socially and even economically, both the celebrity and soldier live in some very different worlds. Now of course this date does not mean that they are now connected at the hip and actually interested in one another. But they both are certainly going to be hanging out for one night together at this ball, and that is pretty cool. I could even see Hollywood making some show about the whole thing. Who knows?….
But it is this collision of two very different worlds that grabs my interest, and it is cool to check out the dynamics of how it happened and snowballed. Youtube is a tool that anyone can use, and the potential for a video to go viral or be passed around and seen by a lot of people, is open to anyone with a good idea. I first learned about this video on Facebook, because someone watched it, and passed it around on FB. Guess what, I passed it around as well. The thought of a celebrity going to the Marine Ball with this Marine, was a cool idea and everyone was very supportive of this Marine’s gumption to post such a thing. It is that image of a actress and Marine, going to the ball together, which has created the viral effect of the idea itself.
Once this idea came out, and people agreed with it and celebrated the idea, then guess what? People support what they help to create, and Facebook/Twitter/blogs etc. all allows people to pass around the idea and show their support for it. They also know that the more people they pass around this idea too, will equate to them being rewarded with a ‘thanks’ and a ‘like’ out there in the world of cyber democracies. Passing around a good idea, makes you a ‘good idea’ within your online community. That is the incentive, and everyone wants to be the purveyor of good ideas within their social networks. That is why I passed it around on my Facebook account, and that is why my friends passed it around as well.
It get’s better, because now you have this massive viral video explosion going on in the social networks of the world, and meanwhile, little ol’ Mila Kunis has no idea what is about to hit her. When you watch the video where she found out about this video and invitation, she was shocked and had no idea how to respond until her co-host Justin Timberlake clued into the big picture and said ‘this needs to happen’ wink, wink. She said she would go, and that is what sealed it.
I am sure afterwards she was contacting her PR guy and trying to figure out what happened. They have also clued into the fact that if she does not go, that it would be extremely negative publicity for her. But the main point here is that Sgt. Moore performed a social coup, and was able to get this celebrity elite to go on a date with him to the Marine Ball! A celebrity that would have never had connected with this Marine within the normal societal rules and structures we live in today. Hell, for all we know, Kunis might be an anti-war, thumb her nose at soldiers, Hollywood liberal. But that doesn’t matter if true, because she will be the bad guy now if she doesn’t go.
Finally, this little incident has inspired others (mimicry strategy), because another female Marine named Corporal De Santis has asked Justin Timberlake to accompany her on a date via youtube to the Marine Ball. lol I speculate that he will go, just because if he doesn’t, he will look like a hypocrite for telling Kunis to go and not going himself. Plus, it is all good PR for the movie that Kunis and Timberlake are promoting called Friends With Benefits. The Marines benefit from this PR as well. Stuff like this makes Hollywood happy too if these leads to more revenue and an increase in star power for these two actors. The power of viral videos and social media, continues to amaze me. -Matt
Thanks to Ms Sparky for giving the heads up about this. I do not know the cause of death and I am sure that will come out on monday with MPRI’s official statement. Rest in peace to the fallen, and Paul has definitely given all. The police program that companies like MPRI are involved with are incredibly important to the overall strategy in Afghanistan. Contractors like Paul are a crucial part of that, and these trainers have also paid a price. My heart goes out to the family, friends, and company during this time of loss. -Matt
Edit: 07/16/2011- I have yet to see an MPRI official statement on this, and they have made no effort to contact me. The only thing I have found about this incident was this post:
Sunday, July 10, 2011 Retired US Trooper First Class Paul Protzenko died in Afghanistan 9th July 2011 while working for a private contracting firm training Afghan police. The 47-year-old former Connecticut State Trooper retired in 2009 after 20 years service working for the state police. Prior to that, he had served in the US Army. At the time of the incident, in Panjshir province, Mr. Protzenko was in a vehicle with US Army Sergeant 1st Class Terryl L. Pasker. An Afghan security officer stopped their vehicle and opened fire. Both men died at the scene. A US soldier in another vehicle shot and killed the Afghan guard. Link here.
Law enforcement professional Paul Protzenko instructs Afghan national police in community policing skills in Panjshir province, Afghanistan, as part of Task Force Cyclone's Police Mentoring Team made up of the 410th Military Police Company out of Ft. Hood, Texas, and civilians.
Former State Trooper Killed in Afghanistan
Jul 10, 2011
A former Connecticut State Trooper, who retired in 2009, was killed while serving in Afghanistan, working for a private defense firm.
Former Trooper First Class Paul Protzenko, 47, was killed late Friday or early Saturday, according to a spokesperson for Military Professional Resources Inc., the company for which Protzenko was working.
Protzenko’s son Matthew Protzenko, who served in Iraq, said he was notified of this father’s death the day it happened.
Wow, this is quite the legal news day! James Gordon has been fighting this one for a long time, and it is good to see him become victorious in his case. ($1.35 million for a settlement is not bad) This is also an interesting precedence for False Claims Acts, because now guys can look at this case as an example of how to go about pursuing similar cases. Debra Katz was Gordon’s legal counsel and she would be a good one to put on retainer if you have a False Claims Act that you would like to pursue. -Matt
Edit: 07/11/2011- I have just been contacted by a representative of AGNA in regards to their side of the case. Out of fairness, I think it is important to post their view and you can read their statement in the comments section below.
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Armor Group North America and Its Affiliates Pay $7.5 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations
Armor Group North America Inc. (AGNA) and its affiliates have paid the United States $7.5 million to resolve allegations that AGNA submitted false claims for payment on a State Department contract to provide armed guard services at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, the Justice Department announced today. The settlement resolves U.S. claims that in 2007 and 2008, AGNA guards violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) by visiting brothels in Kabul, and that AGNA’s management knew about the guards’ activities. The settlement also resolves allegations that AGNA misrepresented the prior work experience of 38 third country national guards it had hired to guard the Embassy, and that AGNA failed to comply with certain Foreign Ownership, Control and Influence mitigation requirements on the embassy contract, and on a separate contract to provide guard services at a Naval Support Facility in Bahrain.
The settlement resolves a whistleblower suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The lawsuit was initially filed under seal by James Gordon against AGNA, ArmorGroup International plc, G4S plc and Wackenhut Services Inc. under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private individuals, called “relators”, to bring lawsuits on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of the proceeds of a settlement or judgment awarded against a defendant. Mr. Gordon will receive $1.35 million of the settlement proceeds. During 2007 and early 2008, Mr. Gordon was employed by AGNA, as its director of operations.
