Feral Jundi

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Industry Talk: FBO News–USSOCOM Looking To Contract With PSC’s For Guard Services In Afghanistan

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 5:46 PM

This is cool, and a hit tip to Wired’s Danger Room for finding this one. Sometimes I forget to check FBO every now and then, but I can always depend upon the the thousands of readers/bloggers/news groups  out there to find the good stuff and get the story out there.

On the flip side, I do not share the same concern as Noah does on this contract. These SF troopers will not stand by for any funny business on their compounds, and will manage these contracts in their own little way.  Meaning, many SF guys have connections within the companies already, because the companies are filled with SF types. If a company plays games, the SF network/mafia will certainly come down hard. Hell, many contractors who were SF, are still playing the military game in the National Guard.

The other reason why I am not worried about their ability to manage this stuff, is because of how small of a contract it will be, and the level of cultural expertise inherent within the SF community. They will know exactly how to properly motivate their contracted guard force–be it expats or local nationals.

If anything, that would be a cool camp to work at for all the possible networking potential and cross training. I just hope that USSOCOM does not fall into the trap of ‘lowest priced, technically acceptable’ contracting vehicle, because that is certainly a recipe for disaster. Give them the flexibility to choose the guard force that is the ‘best value’ for the money. Also put into the contract all the necessary quality control mechanisms needed to keep this stuff in line. Pretty typical really, and all the past lessons apply.

Who knows who will get the contract, but as the solicitation stated, this is a quick one.  So we should know who they picked before summer at least–hopefully. If any readers or the contracting officers of this solicitation have anything to add, feel free to do so in the comments. –Matt

Edit: 05/27/2011 Wired posted this update.

“The Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan put 10 contracts for “perimeter security“ up for bid on Friday morning. Hired guards, mostly Afghans, will keep watch over anyone who approaches the elite commandos’ remote outposts. The bases on which they’ll work range in size from tiny “village support platforms” staffed by a mere 12-man “A Team” to one near Kabul’s infamous Pol-e-Charkhi prison, but there are uniform expectations for would-be guards. Some of them read more like baseline conditions for membership in civilized humanity.”

Private Security Contract
Solicitation Number: H92237-11-R-0870
Agency: Other Defense Agencies
Office: U.S. Special Operations Command
Location: Headquarters Field Assistance Division
Notice Type: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Posted Date: April 6, 2011
Response Date: Apr 15, 2011 12:00 pm Eastern
Archiving Policy: Automatic, 15 days after response date
Archive Date: April 30, 2011
Original Set Aside: N/A
Set Aside: N/A
Classification Code: R — Professional, administrative, and management support services
NAICS Code: 561 — Administrative and Support Services/561612 — Security Guards and Patrol Services
Solicitation Number: H92237-11-R-0870
Notice Type: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Synopsis:
Added: Apr 06, 2011 12:51 pm
***ONLY CONTRACTORS THAT HOLD A CURRENT AFGHANISTAN MINISTRY OF INTERIOR PERSONAL SECURITY LICENSE AND ARE LICENSED / REGISTERED WITH THE AFGHANISTAN MINISTRY OF TRADE WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR AWARD, OFFERORS WHO DO NOT POSSESS THESE QUALIFICATIONS ARE RESPECTFULLY ASKED TO NOT RESPOND TO THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL*** (more…)

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Industry Talk: Security Firms Threaten To Leave Afghanistan If Karzai Violates Tax Exemption

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 10:21 AM

Now wouldn’t that be funny?  Every security company just packs up and leaves?….wow. But honestly, it is not funny because what Karzai is doing is having a severe impact on the quality and stability of security services in Afghanistan. If the coalition values those services, it would behoove them to apply the necessary pressure on greedy Karzai to end this ridiculous taxation plan.

The other concern here is that if Afghanistan plays this game of imposing taxes on companies providing services to diplomats and such, what about security companies operating elsewhere in the world providing such services?  Tax exemption for companies providing services to the US government has been a staple of foreign relations throughout the world. To standby and allow Afghanistan to tax these companies like this, sets a horrible precedence that will surely impact operations elsewhere in the world. If you lose this fight, the costs of doing business will skyrocket and contracts will have to be re-adjusted to deal with this new reality.

This is a fight worth fighting, and Karzai needs to be put in his place. Perhaps taxing his consulates overseas, or freezing some Karzai family assets in overseas accounts would be one way to send a message that this is uncool? If greed is what fuels him, then greed is his weakness. –Matt

Security Firms Threaten to Leave Afghanistan
APRIL 6, 2011
By MARIA ABI-HABIB
KABUL—Some private security companies guarding diplomatic and aid missions and critical infrastructure facilities in Afghanistan are threatening to withdraw from the country if President Hamid Karzai’s government follows through on its plans to impose on them hundreds of millions of dollars in back taxes.
Many of the more than 30 security companies targeted by the Afghan tax authorities say they are supposed to be tax-exempt because they support diplomatic missions, such as the large U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
Executives at these companies say Western diplomats are encouraging them to hold off on paying the taxes so as not to set a precedent for U.S. and European diplomatic missions around the world. (more…)

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Disaster Response: PSC’s Come To The Rescue For Massive Evacuations In Libya

Filed under: Disaster Response,Industry Talk,Libya — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 10:26 AM

     Governments and private companies around the world scrambled Thursday to evacuate citizens and workers from violence-hit Libya, as Italy braced for a “biblical” exodus of up to 300,000 migrants.

     Fears of a full-scale civil war in the North African country prompted countries from Canada to China to scramble to charter ferries and planes to secure their citizens’ safety despite poor communication links and growing violence.

     Thousands of foreigners packed Tripoli’s airport hoping to leave the widening chaos behind.

     I am only scratching the surface here on what private security companies are actually doing in Libya. But to say the least, what they are doing is incredible and life saving.  There are thousands of citizens and clients trapped in Libya, and it is a massive evacuation effort to get them all out. From the oil workers and engineers, to the diplomats and businessmen from all over the world–there is a massive exodus going on in Libya and private security companies are a crucial part of this evacuation.

    One of the pieces of news that jumped out at me was the mention of the British SAS working with PSC’s to rescue British citizens.  There are many of that country’s expats working in Libya, and they are scrambling forces to get in there and rescue folks.  The PSC’s are on the ground already and many are prior service folks with connections to special forces units from all over. It makes perfect sense that they would coordinate with groups like the SAS.  The point I wanted to emphasize here is that it isn’t just private industry or government doing this alone. This is an ‘all hands on deck’ moment, and it takes private industry and government working together to accomplish the task.

     It is also important to note that we are hearing the same kinds of pleas coming from the folks trapped in Libya, that we heard in places like New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina disaster.  That too was a massive evacuation effort that dwarfed the capabilities of the government and what was available to deploy right then and there. During that disaster, PSC’s were called upon to participate in a massive evacuation effort as well, and their use was driven by the concept of ‘do whatever it takes’ to save people.  That included using private security along with the thousands of fire/police/military units from across the US. Plus, PSC’s can deploy extremely fast and can scale up or down pretty fast to meet the needs on the ground.

     Now on to the future of PSC’s in Libya.  After everyone is evacuated, the next step will be either extracting equipment or protecting it in place.   There are millions, if not billions of dollars worth of equipment in the oil fields of Libya and I just can’t see the companies that either own or leased that equipment willing to just throw it away or leave it to be pillaged and neglected. Not to mention the money lost in oil revenues.  So will we see future contracts like when EO was contracted back in the early nineties to rescue equipment for Ranger Oil in Angola?  Who knows, but I do know that these oil company assets are definitely exposed and extremely vulnerable right now.

     Finally, bravo to SOS International, Control Risks, Blue Mountain Group and all of the other PSC’s for all the work they are doing out there. These guys are saving lives in an an extremely dangerous and chaotic environment and they are the unsung heroes of this historic uprising spreading like fire across the Middle East and Africa. –Matt

BREAKING NEWS… Successful Libyan Evacuation

Control Risks supports clients in wake of Egypt protests

International SOS responds to unrest in Libya

SAS ready to rescue desert Britons

Countries rush to evacuate citizens from Libya

BREAKING NEWS… Successful Libyan Evacuation

Blue Mountain Group News

February, 2011

BLUE MOUNTAIN TEAM HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED A SAFE EVACUATION OF CLIENT PERSONNEL FROM LIBYA.

*****

Success has its own rewards, growth is one of them, welcome to the new Blue Mountain Group website.

The Blue Mountain Group is a Special Forces based company that has evolved into four distinct operational divisions (click on the links to the left) specialising in Security, Maritime Security, Driver Training and Adventure.

Each division is specialised and focused on delivering unique quantifiable services which are customer driven and client  focused (please review our news column below and on each of the four main home pages where some of our recent activity can be seen).

In a market saturated with companies offering the ‘best available’ we stand or fall on our reputation.

Please review the services that you are interested in and then allow us to validate these services through demonstration of capability and through our historic client recognition.

(more…)

Monday, February 21, 2011

Libya: Reports Of Gaddafi Using Mercenaries To Quell Uprising

Filed under: Black Swan Events,Libya,Saudi Arabia — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 8:20 PM

     Interesting, but this is not very solid yet. I have been trying to find any information I could about Gaddafi’s supposed use of mercenaries to quell the current uprising there, and this is what I have found so far.  Although this is hard to verify because there is a media block there, and Gaddafi has shut down the internet in his country.

    I do know that guys like this have lots of money because of all the oil and foreign investment. There are reports of part of his military defecting because they are being ordered to attack the protestors. I don’t blame them for leaving and I wouldn’t want to bomb my own countrymen either.  Which both points bring up the question of mercenaries as a possible solution for the dictator.  Would Gaddafi hire thugs from outside of his country to do this dirty work?

     Also, it would be easy for people to confuse the evacuations of expats and oil workers with some kind of mercenary invasion force.  These PSCs are landing at airports to simple provide a secure transport for folks to get out.  From what I gather, companies like SOS International will be involved in evacuations in Libya, similar to what they did in Egypt.

    Finally, Libya is important to watch because it is an OPEC nation.  If oil workers are being evacuated, then oil facilities could be shut down or in danger of being attacked.  Not good and this will impact the oil markets.  And if Saudi Arabia fires up as another domino in this string of uprising dominoes, then stand by for a major shock to the oil market. This will only get more interesting and complex as this fire continues to rage.-Matt

Edit: 02/23/2011 – Check out the comments below. I have posted some really interesting stories that have elaborated on the history of mercenary usage in the middle east, and especially Libya. I will continue to dump stories that are relevant in the comments.

U.S. struggles with little leverage to restrain Libyan government

By Mary Beth Sheridan and Scott WilsonMonday, February 21, 2011

…..Libya’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, who broke with Gaddafi on Monday, urged the international community to impose a no-fly zone over the country to prevent mercenaries and arms from reaching the government. But no other major power echoed the call.

Link to quote here.

——————————————————————

Libya ‘uses mercenaries’ to keep order on streets as 200 die in violent clashes

20th February 2011

….Security sources suggested the leader has hired foot soldiers from neighbouring states to maintain law and order.

Marc Ginsburg, former U.S. ambassador to Morocco told CNN: ‘First and foremost he (Gaddafi) has security support from Sudan and Pakistan and his intelligence advisers have received significant intelligence support from former KGB officials who were part of the Eastern Bloc countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and Belarus.’

Link for quote here.

—————————————————————–

Gaddafi recruits “African mercenaries” to quell protests

Saturday, 19 February 2011

Libya recruited hundreds of mercenaries from Sub-Saharan Africa to help quell a popular uprising that is threatening to unseat veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi after more than 41 years in office, witness told Al Arabiya from the eastern city of Benghazi on Sunday.The witnesses said protesters in Benghazi caught some “African mercenaries” who spoke French and who admitted that they were ordered by Muammar Gaddafi’s son, Khamis Gaddafi, to fire live ammunition at demonstrators.

The witnesses, who refused to be named for security reasons, added that they saw four airplanes carrying “African mercenaries” land in Benina International Airport near the city of Benghazi, the second largest city in the country. (more…)

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Industry Talk: CIGNA Provides Access To Health Care For Workers On Military Bases In Afghanistan

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk,Medical — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:36 PM

     This is excellent news and I am glad CIGNA is providing this access. It sounds like about 20,000 folks will benefit from this latest move. –Matt

CIGNA Provides Access to Health Care for Workers on Military Bases in Afghanistan

February 08, 2011

Customers now have access to high-quality medical care on military bases in Afghanistan through new agreements establishing onsite health care clinics on the Kandahar and Bagram air bases. The new clinics serve government contractors and other employees working in Afghanistan and are endorsed by the U.S. military, which, in 2008, began encouraging contractors to develop alternatives to military hospitals for routine care. CIGNA covers approximately 20,000 customers currently in Afghanistan.

To make the clinics possible, CIGNA, the global leader in benefits for expatriates and other globally mobile individuals, forged new relationships with TMH Medical Services and Onsite OHS to establish two health care clinics on the Kandahar air base. In addition, through CIGNA’s arrangement with Onsite OHS, a clinic will open soon on the Bagram air base.

”CIGNA is responding to our clients’ concerns and has already taken important first steps to make primary medical care more accessible for those assigned to work in Afghanistan,” said Timothy Blevins, chief network officer for CIGNA International Expatriate Benefits (CIEB). “We want to ensure that all customers, wherever they live or work, have easy access to high quality, affordable health care.”

(more…)

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