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.
These two deals I posted below are separate interviews, but they give you a good idea where G4S is standing right now. This company is amazingly large and successful. Not only is it the largest PSC in the world, but this company is the world’s second largest employer, right behind Walmart. That is impressive.
The thing I clued into is their business in the Middle East. That Saudi Arabia and the UAE were their top customers. The trend here, is these countries are serious about their security, and threats against oil and business are what drives this interest in security.
Mr. Buckles, whom used to work for Avon as an analyst, also mentioned in the interview the key to success for the company and why he stuck around:
‘The sensible one is that Securicor had a policy of developing internal talent and offering prospects for rapid promotion. But there was also the offer of a Ford Escort. A company car for a young guy was very attractive,’ he says. By 2005, he headed G4S. ‘The rules of best practice are the same for all businesses, including supplying security,’ he says. ‘Take staff with you by rewarding achievement, identify new markets, manage risk while taking up opportunities, understand your customers and have a strong culture of ethical dealing. Applying these principles has been key for me.’
That is an interesting list, and many of these ideas are just another way of saying ‘take care of your people’ and ‘customer service and satisfaction’. But he also focused on managing risk, which is cool. G4S has certainly gobbled up many companies in a short period of time, and because of the current global chaos and government austerity moves, their timing has been excellent. In other words, they positioned themselves with enough services to take advantage of increased security related opportunities. They have also been profitable during a time when many companies in the world are hurting.
And to further the theme of taking care of your people. When G4S goes into a new region, like Latin America, and they become the best paying gig in town, then of course that company becomes the popular choice of the locals. I guess they have learned the lesson of ‘pay better than the next guy, if you want to attract the best’. Which is great, because if you pay peanuts, you will get monkeys. Paying better and good training are both key aspects of keeping your folks happy, along with providing excellent leadership. Here is the quote:
Unlike most FTSE 100 chief executives, Buckles, 50, has responsibility for staff working in high-risk situations, so how does he handle the stress? Looking relaxed at G4S’s headquarters in Crawley, West Sussex, he says: ‘The best training is provided and every assignment is assessed for risk and ways of minimising it. Pressure comes with the job, but I’ve been in the security business long enough to know the importance of teamwork and good communication to ensure we are on top of every contract.’ G4S revenues rose by 4.7 per cent in the first three months of the year, driven by the emerging markets of Africa, Asia and South America, where demand is rising for expertise in areas such as moving cash, guarding airports and providing personal protection. ‘In some developing countries we are seen as a stronger force in terms of training and pay than local police and a better option for providing security,’
The mention of South America also coincides with what the Small Arms Survey mentioned about Latin America. That PSC’s there are the most armed in the world, outside of the conflict zones. Security is huge business in Latin America, and especially because of the drug wars and poor economy. Speaking of which, G4S is also active in Iraq and Afghanistan. So they are definitely intertwined in many aspects of the industry.
Of course there are also incidents where G4S has had some hiccups. This is the extreme challenge of the ‘head knowing what the tale is doing’ within such a large company. For a smaller security company, the ability to manage and watch each contract is a little easier than for a large mega-corporation to do so. Given that set of circumstance, G4S has done remarkably well. That doesn’t mean they haven’t had their share of issues come up, but still, for it’s size and exposure to risk, it has navigated those issues very well. Ask yourself how much negative news you hear in the media about G4S, compared to other much smaller companies, and you can see what I mean?
Finally, the one thing that I think is really important to emphasize, and some companies have a hard time understanding this. You can assemble a great team, pay them well, be an outstanding leader for them, etc., but if you don’t have some kick ass marketing and sales personnel hunting around for new contracts and actually winning them, then the company will not expand and get more revenue. Why is that important? Well, in order to pay those great salaries, offer good training, and attract kick ass leaders, then you need some cash coming in. Malcolm Gladwell identified these folks as the ‘salesmen’ in his book the Tipping Point:
Chapter 2: The Law of the Few: Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen The attainment of the tipping point that transforms a phenomenon into an influential trend usually requires the intervention of a number of influential types of people. In the disease epidemic model Gladwell introduced in Chapter 1, he demonstrated that many outbreaks could be traced back to a small group of infectors. Likewise, on the path toward the tipping point, many trends are ushered into popularity by small groups of individuals that can be classified as Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen. Connectors are individuals who have ties in many different realms and act as conduits between them, helping to engender connections, relationships, and “cross-fertilization” that otherwise might not have ever occurred. Mavens are people who have a strong compulsion to help other consumers by helping them make informed decisions. Salesmen are people whose unusual charisma allows them to be extremely persuasive in inducing others’ buying decisions and behaviors. Gladwell identifies a number of examples of past trends and events that hinged on the influence and involvement of Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen at key moments in their development.(from wikisummaries)
These salesmen are a vital component of any company. To put a former security contractor or a military guy in such an important position is a nice gesture, but if they do not have the talent to do the job, then you will not get the contracts. What you really need is a professional with a gift, who can ‘sell snow to an Eskimo’ as they say. (like maybe an Avon salesman? lol) It also reminds me of a quote that Donald Trump made recently about negotiators. Here it is:
“You know, I can send two executives into a room. They can say the same thing. One guy comes home with the bacon and the other one doesn’t. And I’ve seen it a thousand times. It’s the messenger.”
The question a company should ask is do they have the right messenger, negotiator, or salesman to win that contract for the company and increase that company’s standing in the market? And to bring this back to G4S, they obviously have some very talented people working on this for them. –Matt
NICK BUCKLES INTERVIEW: I deal with trouble in Kabul, Baghdad …and Wimbledon
By David White
18th June 2011
As the world’s top tennis players and half a million fans prepare for the glamour and glory of the 125th Wimbledon tournament starting tomorrow, their safety will be in the hands of Nick Buckles.
‘There will be 700 uniformed staff to search vehicles and bags, check tickets and provide on-court protection and escorts for players,’ says the boss of G4S, the world’s biggest private security company.
Just as a side note, this video is obviously a fake. The original source was from 20th Century Fox and the Youtube channel it came from was called Apes Will Rise, which is a movie coming out in the near future.
But what must be noted here is the incredible viral value of this short clip. It has been out since July 6 of this year, and it already has 3,035,389 views!(and rising) The thing is also getting passed around on places like Facebook and Twitter. Why does this have value? The return on investment is what makes it valuable. The cost to film and produce this clip was cheap, compared to how many viewers have checked it out and commented on it. All because it was downloaded on youtube.
If you were to pay for that kind of ad through television or film, you would not only have to pay for the production cost, but pay the networks involved to run the ad. Viral videos are a great tool for business, because of this ROI. But it also takes imagination and luck to make a viral video that works. –Matt
Comments Off on Funny Stuff: Primate Studies– Chimpanzee With AK 47, West Africa
This is a stunning verdict, in a week of amazing legal news.(to include that Casey Anthony case) Thanks to a reader for sending me this news, and I also want to openly apologize to KBR and to those men who were labeled as rapists by this women. My commentary was only based on the given information, and at the end of the day, what matters most is the facts.
This jury was given all of the available information and have made their choice. And honestly, after reading what was posted in that Mother Jones article, I can see why they made their choice.
As to my thoughts on the whole case? I have heard about this kind of thing in the federal government, the military, and in private industry and it is most unfortunate. And usually the way it goes down is that a gal gets drunk, sleeps with a guy they work with, then has regrets in the morning about sleeping with that guy. Then the rumors that get spread about what happened are what fuel the anger of those that had regret. So the temptation of lashing out by crying rape in order to save face is there.
I know it sounds pretty immature, but these things happen in the real world. And these things happen in war zones as well. Probably the two things that get male contractors in the most trouble overseas is ‘booze and women’. The best solution for contracting survival is to not drink while over there, and to avoid relationships (if you can).
Especially for security contractors, because A. you carry a gun and B. you must not be distracted or influenced. Remember the whole ‘Mission, the Men, and Me” concept? Well, when you start putting your relationships ahead of the mission (contract) or the men, then your start opening yourself up to all sorts of problems. Now of course the risks are lower when relationships are with individuals from ‘other’ companies and contracts on a FOB or something. But if you have relations with your client(s) on your particular contract, or within your company, then that is a big red flag. Keep it professional, and focus on the mission and contract.
Now I also want to go back to the real sexual assault cases out there. The ones where women were truly assaulted, and all of the evidence and circumstance pointed towards that. I certainly hope that this particular case does not hurt your case.
This case is also a cautionary tale for those women who have decided to use rape as a means to hurt some guy that you had consensual sex with, all because you had regrets about the whole affair in the morning or sometime later. There is a difference here between being raped/sexually assaulted, or having regrets because of personal choice. It is called being accountable for your actions, and if that is what you chose to do, then you need to live with it and move on.
A female victim has a lot of power when they scream rape, because it symbolizes such a shocking and tragic crime. But those same female victims lose that power when those ‘less than honorable women out there’ scream rape and use it as a malicious tool and legal weapon. KBR’s image suffered under this assault, and the accused men suffered under this assault–and both are a prime example of the power of this kind of thing. My support goes to those women who were truly victims, and I only hope that this case does not hurt your pursuit of justice or your desire to step forward and say something. –Matt
Federal jury: No rape, no fraud in KBR case
July 8, 2011
A federal jury on Friday ruled that a woman who sued KBR over an alleged sexual assault in Iraq was not raped, and the company did not commit fraud.
Jamie Leigh Jones sued KBR, its Houston-based former parent company Halliburton and KBR firefighter Charles Bortz, who she claimed led an attack on her while she worked for KBR at Camp Hope in Baghdad in 2005.
Jones’ attorney, Ron Estefan, told jurors during closing arguments that KBR had neglected to enforce its policies against sexual harassment by its contract workers in Iraq, which facilitated Jones’ rape.
Estefan asked the jury to award his client as much as 5 percent of KBR’s net worth in actual or punitive damages, which would have been more than $114 million.
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.
