Feral Jundi

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Industry Talk: U.N. And Africa To Discuss Mercenaries, Private Military And Security Companies

Filed under: Africa,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 11:06 PM

   Hey, I heard Eric Cartman might crash this party?  lol (I had to….. sorry)

   Back on topic. What I think the responsible thing for this group to do, is actually bring in folks from the companies to give some balance to the conversation.  I also think that if the UN wants to truly be honest during this discussion, they best bring up the fact that the UN is using the services of private military companies.  I have documented that several times on this blog, and I just wanted to make sure that before these folks get all worked up about the negative, that they take a responsible look at the positive as well.

   I think it is also time for these folks to have a conversation with guys who actually do care about Africa, and not just these disaster capitalist aid groups who call themselves ‘the saviors of the dark continent’.  pfffft.  Guys like Eeben, who have put blood, sweat and tears into that continent, and have put action to words for years, are the folks the UN should be talking too. Or the UN can keep screwing the pooch in places like the Congo, and think they are doing something humane?

    For the record, I never got an invitation to the party.  If you guys do decide to send some invitations, I promise to bring the chips and dip. –Matt

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UN and Africa to discuss mercenaries and private military and security companies 

25 February 2010

GENEVA – Representatives of some 25 from African States will meet on 3 and 4 March in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries* to discuss the presence and activities of mercenaries and private military and security companies (PMSCs) on the continent.

“This regional consultation in Africa is of particular importance given that the region is becoming a key market for the security industry”, said Shaista Shameem, who currently heads the Working Group. “However, PMSCs have remained largely unregulated, insufficiently monitored and rarely held accountable for the international crimes and human rights abuses they have committed.”

This meeting is the fourth of a series of five regional consultations which will end with the consultation with the Western European and Others Group in Geneva in April 2010. “This mandate was created in 1987 in a context in which the right of peoples to self-determination in Africa was often threatened by mercenary activities”, said Ms. Shameem.

State representatives will exchange good practices and lessons learned on the monitoring and regulation of the activities of private military and security companies and in particular on the adoption of a possible draft convention regulating their activities.

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Aviation: Drone Operators Climb On Winds Of Change In The Air Force

Filed under: Aviation,Technology — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:15 PM

     Like with contractors, drones have been the ‘new thing’ that the military has been trying figure out. Now a kid who is really good at video games, could essentially fly these drones.  Hell, I think drone piloting will only become easier and more user friendly in the future.  We will also see drones that are more intuitive, that will actually help out the drone archer in their missions.  Of course we will also see autonomous drones come on to the scene, but I believe the military will still want some kind of human interface to be that ‘elephant chisel’ for that drone.

     I don’t think human flight will go away in the Air Force per se. It’s just now commanders have the choice between risking the life of a pilot for a mission versus using a UAV. So human powered missions will more than likely be the stuff that requires the utmost in human discretion.  Humans can also feel out a situation and provide more random strategies in the air, that machines would have a hard time deriving patterns from.

     But yet again, a human in a small box in Nevada, could apply the same strategies with a highly maneuverable UAV.  There are no physical limitations for the drone archer either.  They can go to the bathroom, eat, work in shifts, and the G Forces or altitude of the aircraft will not impact the mission.  Most importantly, there is no fog of war for the pilot.

     That leaves another question.  For some pilots, physically being in the battle, is a good thing.  It empowers them by heightening their senses and really pushing their strategies and desire to kill the enemy.  In other words, there are high stakes involved with human piloting, and that causes a person to really perform. The drone archer in the box, just looks at it like a video game. There might be a strategic edge to a pilot that is ‘more connected’ to the battlefield.  Who knows, and this stuff is a little out of my lane.  Either way, drones are here to stay, and they are causing a significant shift in military aviation mindset. I wonder what Col. John Boyd would have to say about drones? –Matt

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Combat Generation: Drone operators climb on winds of change in the Air Force

By Greg JaffeSunday, February 28, 2010

The question, scrawled on a Pentagon whiteboard last fall, captured the strange and difficult moment facing the Air Force.

“Why does the country need an independent Air Force?” the senior civilian assistant to Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, the service’s chief of staff, had written. For the first time in the 62-year history of the Air Force, the answer isn’t entirely clear.

The Air Force’s identity crisis is one of many ways that a decade of intense and unrelenting combat is reshaping the U.S. military and redefining the American way of war. The battle against insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq has created an insatiable demand for the once-lowly drone, elevating the importance of the officers who fly them.

These new earthbound aviators are redefining what it means to be a modern air warrior and forcing an emotional debate within the Air Force over the very meaning of valor in combat.

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

Filed under: Afghanistan,Quotes — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:49 AM

     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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Claire

 

    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

Saturday, February 27, 2010

Jobs: UAV Pilots, OCONUS/CONUS

Filed under: Aviation,Jobs — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 12:34 AM

   All you aspiring Drone Archers, here is your chance.  If you have the quals, I would jump all over this guys and gals.  UAV’s are not going away, and if you get in on this stuff now, you will definitely have a bright future.  I am not the POC or recruiter, and follow the links below to apply.  Good luck. –Matt

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NAVMAR

UAV Pilots

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If you like to explore technology from a new perspective, work with extraordinary people, and do something revolutionary, consider joining our team. If you are looking for apposition where you can make a difference in the whole industry, not just the company, we would love to hear from you.

Because of considerable increase in client demand, Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation is experiencing substantial growth and has the following positions open.

Become a UAV Pilot

We currently have several openings for External and Internal UAV (Unmanned Air Vehicles) pilots. These positions require travel (8-10 week training and 6 month deployment) both within the Continental US and outside (Premium monetary compensation and full benefits are included)

If you:

Have previous UAV Piloting experience

Full Scale Piloting experience

Targeting, Target Acquisition, and Target Tracking experience

Have an Active Secret Clearance

WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU!

For more information on our company please visit our web site www.navmar.com.

Interested candidates please email your resume to employment@navmar.com

Equal opportunity employer, excellent benefits, background investigations apply.

Link to job app here.

Industry Talk: DoD Takes Over Afghan Police Training After IG Cites DoS Failures

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk,Law Enforcement — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:08 AM

   Late last year, I brought this story up during the time that DynCorp was protesting the whole deal.  Now it is official that DoD is taking over the project. Which is probably good, because of how much infantry related activities are involved with war time policing. That, and getting the training standardized so that police forces could be more utilitarian.  The standardization process will also allow for more accurate assessments of the program, and more input from folks who are all implementing the same training.  That means a more efficient learning organization, which is good. –Matt

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DoD takes over Afghan Police training after IG cites State Dept. failures

By Lisa M. NovakThursday, February 25, 2010

NAPLES, Italy — The Defense Department is taking over training of the Afghan National Police because State Department-hired trainers failed to keep pace with the growing instability in Afghanistan or address the security needs of the civilian population, according to a joint State and DOD Inspector General report released late last week.

“The ANP training program that is in place does not provide the ANP with the necessary skills to successfully fight the insurgency, and therefore, hampers the ability of DOD to fulfill its role in the emerging national strategy,” according to the report.

The report, initiated by members of the Senate Appropriations Committee last year, said the State Department failed on a number of fronts, mainly in its ability to provide training that adequately reflected the security needs of the country.

A Clinton administration-era directive gave the State Department responsibility for training civilian police forces around the world. Under that directive, the DOD transferred $1.04 billion to the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to support training programs for the ANP.

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