Archive for category Quotes

Quotes: Libyan Rebels ‘Considering Hiring Security Experts’, Says Reporter

Mar 26

Posted by Matt in Industry Talk, Letter Of Marque, Libya, Quotes | No Comments

A hat tip to Wired’s Danger Room for finding this little nugget of information.  As far as I have heard, the only involvement of PSC’s in Libya was the initial stages of rescuing clients caught in the chaos.  Although it would not surprise me if there are already a few freelancers running around doing their thing–but that is not confirmed.?As to involvement of PMC’s in the actual offensive operations or advising the rebels?

Boy, whatever company that takes that on will need some serious blessings from the highest levels of government.  I am talking a license from the US government or from the UN, or both.  Preferably both, and that license should cover everything.  The US already has such a thing that they issue through ITAR.  But that is for other than offensive operations.

For offensive operations or actual authorization to kill Qaddafi and his troops, it will take something with a little bit more legal teeth.?What I am talking about is somewhere along the lines of a death warrant, bill of attainder or Letter of Marque and Reprisal.  Something that gives the acting party the ultimate in legal protections to do what it has to do out there.  That document must also have all the right signatures and blessings.?Of course the other way to contribute is via the outlaw way, or just do it without official legal blessing.

Good luck getting any of the serious players in this game with that kind of set up.  They would much rather stick to the safe and ‘legal’ PSC work in Iraq and Afghanistan.?I am also reminded of what happened in Rwanda and the world’s reaction back then.  At that time everyone sat and watched as a genocide played out before our eyes.  There were also calls to do something, and no one sent troops to stop it.  The UN was so desperate at the time that they reached out to Executive Outcomes and asked for a quote for their services. Of course the UN was not hip on contracting the services of a capable PMC. They also thought EO’s price was too expensive, and yet ended up spending even more money for a UN only mission that responded way too late to the massacre and failed at saving lives. I often wonder how many people could have been saved if EO was contracted and tasked to saved the day there? -Matt

They do know that.  And it‘s an emotional thing.  They don‘t want to see Gadhafi thrown out by the 82nd American Airborne Division, or the 101st or anything like that.?But if there were groups of 12 Team Alphas, the Special Forces here, hidden away someplace, giving them advice and communicating with aircraft, I know they would accept that.  I spoke with some rebel leaders who definitely want that.?They‘re even considering hiring security experts on their own—and there are a lot of I guess you could call them mercenaries that are available on the open market, British, SAS, people who retired and are now working more or less freelance.  They‘re looking actively to hire people like that, and it would certainly be more effective and cheaper and less chaotic than having all of the wannabe Rambos flowing in if they had some sort of direct communication with the people who are giving them military cover.-Richard Engel, Reporter In Libya.

Quotes: The Interior Ministry In Kabul Depends On 282 Foreign Advisors, And 120 Are Contractors!

Mar 10

Posted by Matt in Afghanistan, Industry Talk, Quotes, Strategy | 1 Comment

     The Interior Ministry in Kabul has 282 foreign advisers working there, according to the NATO Training Mission Afghanistan, which placed them in the ministry. Of the 282 advisers, 120 are contractors, costing $36 million a year, paid for by the U.S. government. The rest are made up of 119 U.S. military and U.S. government civilians, and 43 from other coalition countries…..

     …..Several Interior Ministry officials, serving and retired, were complimentary about the work of the foreign advisers. One mid-ranking security official, who didn’t want to be named because he wasn’t authorized to speak to reporters, said that corruption would be “many times” greater if the foreigners weren’t present. 

paragraph dividerQuotes: The Interior Ministry In Kabul Depends On 282 Foreign Advisors, And 120 Are Contractors!

     That last part of the quote up top is what I was focused on.  If you read through the article below, you hear all sorts of negative comments about the services of this foreign advisory group, to include bashing the contractor element. Of course those corrupt souls in the Afghan government would bash these pesky foreign advisors that would report on their greedy activities…. To me, this advisor crew is vital to the war effort, by helping to minimize the amount of corruption in this government.  Imagine if there was no adult supervision?

    Also, DynCorp and MPRI were listed as some of the top contractor advisors, which is interesting.  MPRI is like a retirement home for retired military officers. So it would make sense that this collection of military mind power and experience would be directed towards a very crucial part of the war.  And that is getting the Afghan government on it’s feet, and trying to make it look good in the eyes of the people.  A tall order if you ask me.

     This also indicates to me the strategic importance of contractors.  The US and NATO could have insisted on having an all federal or military group of advisors.  But they do not have that capability, and they have had close to ten years to try and develop an all government force.  As you can see, private industry has been able to answer the call just fine, and a majority of this group is composed of smart and very capable contractors, doing a very important job.

     It is also an example of the ‘blended workforce’ concept. This advisory corps has 162 government and military advisors in it, so they too can contribute in building the Afghan government, as well as keep track of and manage the advisory corps and it’s efforts. A federal/public partnership, or blended workforce is what you call this. You see this arrangement with other areas of war zone contracting, like with the WPS program–a federal handler, overseeing a contractor security team. Hopefully this blended workforce concept does not impede the advantages of private enterprise, or decrease the strength of government oversight. It should complement both, and the end result should be something everyone can support.-Matt

rule dividerQuotes: The Interior Ministry In Kabul Depends On 282 Foreign Advisors, And 120 Are Contractors!  

Afghans rely heavily on foreign advisers as transition looms

By Saeed Shah

Nearly 300 foreign advisers, most of them Americans, work at Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry, and hundreds more work in other government departments, a reliance on foreign expertise that raises doubts about the viability of the West’s exit strategy.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai will announce later this month his plans for “transition” from heavy international involvement in Afghanistan’s governance and security to local control. But the number of civilian advisers in the ministries suggests that either Afghans lack the ability to govern themselves or that the international community is trying to run the administration itself, more than nine years after the U.S.-led invasion of the country.

There’s no clear plan to reduce that number.

Foreign advisers in the Interior Ministry, for example, appear to outnumber the senior Afghan officials they serve.

The Afghan government’s capacity to execute plans is so lacking it will spend only half of its $1.5 billion budget for economic development projects this fiscal year, according to the Ministry of Finance — despite the desperate need for investment in education, health and other basic services.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Quotes: “Nation States No Longer Have A Monopoly On Military Force….”

Dec 29

Posted by Matt in Africa, Industry Talk, Quotes, Somalia | No Comments

    This article just rehashes everything that I have posted previously about the Saracen International contract in Somalia.  What is quote worthy though is this gem below. The last sentence really cracked me up.

     Pass this one around folks, and I put this up on the Facebook Page for FJ as well. Hell, I would even say that this is the quote of the year. lol -Matt

rule dividerQuotes: Nation States No Longer Have A Monopoly On Military Force....

     “Nation states no longer have a monopoly on military force, intelligence, diplomacy or anything else,” Mr. Clarridge said. “What’s going on in Somalia, where you have skilled contractors training a counter-piracy force, is an example of where the future of the military is going. No government or group of governments can get their act together to do it, but someone has to do it, and they are doing it.”- Duane Clarridge, From The Article “Private Firm Trains Somalis To Scuttle Pirates“, December 28, 2010

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Quotes: Michael Thibault On Karzai’s PSC Decree And It’s Threat To The US Mission

Aug 30

Posted by Matt in Afghanistan, Industry Talk, Quotes | No Comments

    At least someone with some sense is stating the obvious.  Of  course this decree is a threat to the mission and strategy in Afghanistan, and it is also a threat to President Obama’s plan and future election. He, along with his party in the US depend upon a strategy in Afghanistan that will help them politically in the near future.  The economy and war will be front and center for election season, and progress must be shown in Afghanistan for there to be any political capital to be won. That could be why you don’t hear too much about this issue in the media.

    Another thing that is interesting politically, is right now PSC’s or PMC’s are a hot potato issue.  Republicans don’t want to come to the aid of this industry either, just because the Democrats would bash them for it. I do not see support from any independent groups either, and probably for the same reason. Which is all pretty typical for this industry, but in reality, we have been vital for both Republicans and Democrats over the years.

    The way I see it right now, politically we are very important to whomever is in office. Our deaths in war do not mean the same as when troops die. Our usage allows politicians the ability to increase a security presence very quickly both at home or overseas, and without a draft or congressional mandate. All we require is financing, and you have an instant army for whatever you need done.

     We are the ones that will be protecting the diplomatic mission in Iraq and filling any of the security gaps that cannot be filled by the congressionally mandated troop presence there now. We are also important in Afghanistan, because yet again, we fill a security need that would otherwise be filled by troops that are already tasked with important combat missions. There are close to a quarter million contractors of all types in this war, with 1700 thousand plus contractors that have been killed, and yet we are all marginalized as if we don’t matter? The fact is, we do matter. But hey, that will be our own little secret I guess. lol -Matt

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thibaultQuotes: Michael Thibault On Karzais PSC Decree And Its Threat To The US Mission

Michael J. Thibault

Majority Co-Chair, Appointed by Senate Majority Leader Reid and Speaker of the House Pelosi

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Michael Thibault, the co-chair of the congressionally appointed Wartime Contracting Commission, which was brought together for the sole purpose of looking at how the U.S. can better manage its contracted workforce, sees a disconnect between what the Afghan government wants and what the U.S. government needs.

“If President Karzai sticks with this timeline, the U.S. mission and objectives will suffer,” Thibault says. “The U.S. military would have to take over those roles, and the mission we have laid out never allowed for this.”

Link to Quote here.

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Cool Stuff: Eagle Scout And Secretary Of Defense Gates Speaks At A Jamboree

Jul 29

Posted by Matt in Cool Stuff, Leadership, Quotes | No Comments

     This is cool.  I remember going to AP Hill when I was a young Boy Scout for a Jamboree and it was quite the experience.  But we definitely did not have a guy like Secretary Gates speaking at our Jamboree.

    So with that said, here is the speech he gave at this year’s Jamboree. It is a fantastic speech and I agree with everything he said. All I have to say is that if you have boys in your family and you are looking for a way to prepare them for life and for being excellent citizens/leaders, I highly recommend the Scouting Program. -Matt

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Boy Scout Jamboree

As Delivered by Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates,

Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia,

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Good morning jamboree!  Do you all want to sit down?  Thank you Anthony, for that kind introduction.

It is an honor to be with you here today and to have the chance to share a few thoughts about scouting with you.  I know how much you enjoy sitting in the sun, so I won’t take too long.

First, as you know, at this moment, there are hundreds of thousands of men and women in our military all over the world – but especially in Iraq and Afghanistan – who are putting their lives on the line to defend you, your families and our freedom.  They have put their dreams aside to protect your dreams. Many of them are members of your families.  So, would every Scout who has a mom or a dad or a brother or a sister or an uncle or an aunt in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard please stand?  That’s what I figured.  Please tell your family member from me thank you for their sacrifice – and thank you and your families for supporting them.  You can sit down again.

As the introduction made clear, scouting has been a big part of my life and my family’s life.  Of course my family’s life – and our kid’s lives – have been a bit unusual, in no small part because I have had armed body guards for so much of my professional career.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Quotes: ‘We Still Have Car Bombs (expletive) ha ha’, Juarez Cartel

Jul 18

Posted by Matt in Afghanistan, Iraq, Photo, Quotes | No Comments

     Could this signal the next phase of the drug war down south?  Because once these guys get into competition with each other over whose car bomb is bigger, more deadly, and used to greater effect than the other guy, I think we will see a level of violence that will equal Iraq or Afghanistan.

     Remember, these cartels are watching and learning what combatants are doing in other parts of the world. The various uses of the IED has become an art form with many of these folks, and I have no doubt that the cartels will make their own little masterpieces of death and destruction. -Matt

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juarez52Quotes: We Still Have Car Bombs (expletive) ha ha, Juarez Cartel

A wall at a shopping center is covered by graffiti that reads in Spanish “What happened on the 16 (street) is going to keep happening to all the authoritiesthat continue to support the Chapo (Guzman), sincerely, the Juarez Cartel. We still have car bombs (expletive) ha ha.” Cartel assailants laid a trap for federal police and attacked them with a car bomb on Thursday the first time a drug cartel have used explosives to attack Mexican security forces, marking an escalation in the country’s drug war. – From Borderland Beat

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Quotes: General George Washington On Patriotism, April 1778

Jun 16

Posted by Matt in Cool Stuff, History, Quotes | 2 Comments

     It is important to add some context to this thing before you read it. This letter was basically Washington’s argument for paying his troops and raising a professional standing army. That militias were not dependable or effective against professional forces and the war is taking it’s toll on the current ‘volunteers’. His officers were resigning in droves, all because they were sick of war and they had families they needed to take care of. Or, they reached the end of their commitments and needed to get back to their homes.

     The point is, Washington had to give an incentive to his troops for them to stick around and continue the fight. Patriotism alone was not sufficient in order to maintain the strength and vitality of an army during a long war. Plus, in order to defeat an attacking enemy, you need ‘organized’ violence, and you can’t get organized if no one wants to stick around and play. ‘Interest or reward’ is just one crucial factor of many, when it comes to maintaing an army during times of war.

     The other interesting part about this letter was that it was also designed to address the problems of convincing congress that paying for a standing army was a good thing. At that time, early Americans were very skeptical of standing armies due to their experiences with Britain or in Europe, and how nations used their armies to rule over and control the people. The fear was that tyranny would come riding in on the backs of that standing army, so selling this concept was tricky.

     So this is a General trying to convince everyone around him that if we want to win this war, we are going to have to pay up to hang on to the good guys and maintain an effective fighting force. It is a lesson as old as warfare itself.

Might I also add that George Washington’s Secret Navy, the privateers, were essential to this concept of providing ‘interest or reward’ to war participation. Privateers raiding enemy ships and taking their loot was a way to infuse money into the war time economy, ravage the enemy’s crucial logistics, keep a people tired of war focused on fighting for the US through industry, take advantage of innovations born from that industry(during and after the war), and use captured enemy munitions and weapons to outfit the struggling Continental Army. Even George himself invested in privateers. Stuff to ponder. -Matt

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General George Washington 31302 1Quotes: General George Washington On Patriotism, April 1778

 

“….Men may speculate as they will—they may talk of patriotism—they may draw a few examples from ancient story of great achievements performed by it’s influence; but, whoever builds upon it, as a sufficient basis, for conducting a long and bloody war, will find themselves deceived in the end. We must take the passions of Men, as nature has given them, and those principles as a guide, which are generally the rule of action. I do not mean to exclude altogether the idea of patriotism. I know it exists, and I know it has done much in the present contest. But I will venture to assert, that a great and lasting War can never be supported on this principle alone—It must be aided by a prospect of interest or some reward. For a time it may, of itself, push men to action—to bear much—to encounter difficulties; but it will not endure unassisted by interest.”- From General George Washington’s letter to John Banister, April 21st 1778

Quotes: Senator Claire McCaskill Joins The ‘I Was Protected By Xe/Blackwater, But I Still Hate Them Club’

Feb 28

Posted by Matt in Afghanistan, Quotes | 1 Comment

     Thanks to Andreea for sending me this information. I love it, but I don’t think this is as good as the Grayson quote.  It’s close, and worthy of mention here on the blog.  I wonder if she even said anything to her PSD team, like a thank you or something? -Matt

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mccaskill cropped proto custom 2Quotes: Senator Claire McCaskill Joins The I Was Protected By Xe/Blackwater, But I Still Hate Them Club

 

    Fresh from a trip overseas that took her to Afghanistan and Kuwait, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill blasted the Blackwater security firm — a private contractor providing protection in U.S. war zones.

     McCaskill acknowledged that, during her trip, she was escorted by Blackwater personnel — but that didn’t stop her from blasting the company, which has come under increased scrutiny for the actions of its hired soldiers.-St. Louis Dispatch

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Quotes: Presidential Airways (Xe/Blackwater) Rescues Rep. Grayson From Niger Unrest

Feb 24

Posted by Matt in Africa, Quotes | 2 Comments

   Bravo to Presidential Airways and Xe for a job well done!  As for my message to Rep. Grayson….. I am sure glad you survived Niger. Thanks to the courageous work of contractors, you can now make it back home for that next protest with Code Pink. lol -Matt

Edit: 2/25/2010 – Wired posted a deal on this as well.  It must have been tough for them to actually post a good story about Xe rescuing a politician. I am sure their fingers were burning as they typed the post. lol

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alangraysondeidraatsweepkelleroutQuotes: Presidential Airways (Xe/Blackwater) Rescues Rep. Grayson From Niger Unrest

Rep. Grayson at a Code Pink rally. 

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    Blackwater executive testifying before Congress today said, in an apparent reference to Grayson: “Xe Services, through its subsidiary Presidential Airways, provides aviation support and medevac services to Defense Department personnel in Africa. Just last week, our personnel evacuated a congressman from Niger during civil unrest.” -TPM

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Quotes: Norm Augustine’s Prediction For 2010–Industry More Competitor With Government

Feb 18

Posted by Matt in Industry Talk, Quotes | No Comments

   The way he worded this quote and the points brought up are certainly compelling.  That private industry is a competitor with government, over the ninety percent of assets out there that are privately owned.  Think about it this way, would you rather have the TSA guarding your business, or a company like Triple Canopy?  If you have the money, and you are really concerned about who you want to use for security services, do you ‘hope’ the government can protect you, or do you go for the sure thing and go with private security? And can you even depend upon what limited resources the government has, to be everywhere at once?  How about for oil companies or refineries?   Or how about information technology or internet giants like Google?  Who do these folks turn to for protection, the government or private industry?

     My favorite one is the media.  Did they beg the government to protect them as they gallop across the world, reporting on disasters or events related to our military and the war?  Maybe for the embeds they are able to depend upon the military, but for the most part, they just hire former Special Forces guys to protect them.  You won’t hear about the media contracting with the big companies, because they have to have someone to take a giant crap on with sensational stories.  So they turn to individuals or small teams to get their high dollar security.

      Either way, interesting words coming from the former CEO of Lockheed Martin. Check it out. -Matt

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LIVE.AS AugustineQuotes: Norm Augustines Prediction For 2010 Industry More Competitor With Government

Industry More Competitor with Government (From ExecutiveBiz)

Norm Augustine’s 2010 Prediction:

“The issues facing the nation and the world increasingly transcend the ability of either government or industry to solve alone. For example, the government clearly has overall responsibility for homeland security, yet 90 percent of the assets to be protected currently reside in the private sector.

“At the same time, as the federal debt grows along with the non-discretionary part of the federal budget, heightening fiscal pressures will be placed on the procurement process. As a consequence, industry is unfortunately likely to find itself more and more a competitor with government than a partner … with proven bad ideas rising from the ashes yet another time (e.g., fixed price research and development contracting).  The problem will be exacerbated by the inability/unwillingness of qualified individuals with industry experience to serve terms in government.

“As one who has spent a significant part of his professional life in each government and industry, I truly hope the above is wrong but that would not be how I would bet.”

(Norm Augustine is retired Chairman and CEO, Lockheed Martin Corp.)

 

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