Feral Jundi

Monday, September 26, 2011

Funny Stuff: Panteao Productions Make Ready Bloopers!

Filed under: Funny Stuff,Training,Video — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 6:10 PM

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Mexico: Nuevo Leon To Implement A Citizen-defense Program To Counter The Cartels

Filed under: Libya,Mexico,Training — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 2:08 PM

The training for people with weapons permits in Garcia is part of a phase of Rodriguez’s security program aimed at “involving the citizens in defense of the region.”
“Many of them want the training and knowledge … to defend their families and their heritage,” he said.
In addition to the weapons course, the project also includes broader training in its “urban defense” goals.
“Imagine if there is someone wounded and no one in the neighborhood knows what to do. It’s happened to us that in the street there is someone who’s been shot and the (paramedics) don’t come,” Rodriguez said.
So far, about 3,000 people from Garcia and nearby cities have signed up for the course, including engineers, teachers, housewives and retired military.

Ok, this is awesome. This is what I have been hoping and praying for in Mexico. The citizenry there needs to realize that they cannot entirely depend upon the police or military to protect them. And the government needs to realize that the citizenry can certainly be an effective tool to counter the cartels. So programs like this are a great start, but they also need to do this right in order to increase their odds of success.

It is also important to note that if you look at the rebels of Libya, that they were once civilians, yet were able to transform into a force that defeated a standing army. With a little motivation and some training/experience, a citizen force can certainly do some damage. The war against the cartels is a righteous war that must be fought and won, and I really think the citizens of Mexico can rally around defeating these scumbags. The people interested in such a program just needs to be empowered by the approval of it’s leaders, and given a little training to be effective.

It would really be cool to take this a step further and send some SF teams down to Mexico and help train these 3,000 folks that have signed up for this program. Or for this town to receive the funding necessary to get a training company down there to help out. If any contractors are looking for a way to contribute to the fight down there, you could probably get in your car and drive to this town and offer your services pro bono?

One thing though that needs to be mentioned about such a program. This is a declaration of war against the cartels. So this program needs to be conducted in an intelligent and secure manner. Training sites or gun ranges will be targets of the cartels. Folks who participate will be targets as well. The cartels will also do their best to infiltrate the program and subvert it, much like what they have done with government or police. So it will be up to the participants of this program to ‘cleanse’ itself of all cartel scum.

It also reminds me a lot of the Soviet Partisan warfare against the Nazis during WW 2. The Soviet’s at the time realized that if citizens are going to fight, that they need a basic ‘how to’ manual to fight and survive in their occupied homeland. These manuals also discussed how to defeat the Nazi anti-partisan forces intending on destroying this civilian threat. But the partisans kicked ass and certainly helped in the overall war effort. The point of all of this is that these partisan forces certainly did a number on the Nazis, and civilians can certainly play an effective role in a war.

Another example of the power of partisan guerrillas is the story of Wendell Fertig in the Philippines during WW 2. This guy was a stud, but he was also just a regular guy and engineer who was caught behind enemy lines when we pulled out of the Philippines. Wendell decided to lead a guerrilla war against the Japanese as a result of his predicament, and he was able to organize and build an effective force with very little. He was highly motivated and a smart problem solver, and his force was able to do some serious damage upon the Japanese.

Mexico needs the same type of innovative and dedicated leaders in their towns and cities to lead a guerrilla war against the cartels. So bravo to Jaime Rodriguez Calderon for taking the initiative and ‘doing something’ about the problem. Hopefully Mexico and the US will support this town in it’s efforts, and identify and help other ‘real’ leaders with similar goals. –Matt

Edit: 08/13/2011- It looks like another town is taking up arms in Chihuahua. Very cool and I hope this spreads! Quote:

“One small northern Mexico community, surrounded by Cartel thugs, is taking matters into their own hands.
The people of Uruachi, Chihuahua have begun to arm themselves in a last attempt to protect themselves against a group of 12 armed men surrounding the community, Mayor Aldo Campos said.”

 

Mexican city plans to train citizens to fire guns
Javier Estrada
September 7, 2011
Officials in a northern Mexican city plagued by violence say a new course will take a fresh approach toward protecting citizens: Training people to handle and shoot guns.
The aim of the approach, says Garcia Mayor Jaime Rodriguez Calderon, is putting a stop to crime in the 40,000-person city in Nuevo Leon state.
“Many people call me because their son or their husband has been kidnapped, or some family member’s car has been stolen. I said to myself, ‘Wow, how can we, the citizens, defend ourselves,’ ” Rodriguez told CNNMexico.com.
Twice this year, gunmen have tried to assassinate Rodriguez, who has earned the nickname of Bronco for his strong personality.

(more…)

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Medical: True Bionics, And Getting Back Into The Fight

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Industry Talk: Iraq Seeks US Training Deal For Interior Ministry

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 8:55 PM

Mr. Asadi said. To avoid angering allies, Mr. Maliki, who is also acting defense and interior minister, may opt to bypass parliament and have his ministries sign agreements with Washington for 2,000-3,000 US trainers, sources have said. Mr. Asadi said the US embassy had already signed a contract with Triple Canopy security company to secure facilities and the training mission personnel.

Interesting news and I didn’t know about the Triple Canopy deal. Or maybe I just forgot, but still, that is a pretty big contract for the company if this happens.-Matt

Iraq seeks US training deal for interior ministry
28 July 2011
By SUADAD AL SALHY

Iraq’s interior ministry plans to sign a deal with the US government to supply scores of US civilian security personnel to train its troops, a senior Iraqi security official said. The agreement, which requires Iraqi cabinet approval, would mean the interior ministry at least will have little need for US troops to stay on beyond their planned year-end withdrawal, senior ministry official Adnan Al Asadi told Reuters.Iraq wants the United States to supply several thousand trainers for its military, sources have said, but is still debating whether to ask Washington to leave some troops behind for training, especially to fill gaps in their capabilities.

(more…)

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Industry Talk: DynCorp Wins AFRICAP Training Task Order For The DRC

Filed under: Africa,Congo — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 6:04 PM

I couldn’t find anything more about this on FBO.  Hell, I couldn’t even find the task order. I did find my old post about AFRICAP and all of the folks involved, but that is the last I have heard about it.

This latest deal for the Congo will be quite the contract. That place is definitely a hardship tour, but it also fits in with DynCorp’s future leaning statement the other day. –Matt

DynCorp International Wins AFRICAP Training Task Order
June 01, 2011
DynCorp International (DI) announced today that it has been awarded a task order under the Africa Peacekeeping Program (AFRICAP) to provide basic leadership training to personnel within the military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“DI has extensive experience and success in providing training designed to enhance the leadership and management capability of our partners in the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
“We are proud to continue our work in promoting peace and stability in Africa,” said DI President Steve Schorer. “DI has extensive experience and success in providing training designed to enhance the leadership and management capability of our partners in the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”
The task order, awarded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs, has one base year and two option years. The total potential revenue is $17.1 million if both option years are exercised. The AFRICAP program supports regional stability in Africa by building the capacity of African countries and regional organizations to prevent, manage and resolve conflicts on the African continent.
Under the task order, DI will provide basic leadership and specialty training focusing on junior and mid-level military personnel in functional areas such as communications, logistics, and engineering.
Link to press release here.

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