Feral Jundi

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Cool Stuff: Afghan Police Trap Reveals How ‘Insider Attacks’ Actually Work

Bravo to Beyar Kahn Weyaar and this Afghan police force for quickly jumping on this opportunity and taking the risk to foil this attack. This action also coincides with that famous Sun Tzu quote ‘all war is deception’. Hell, if our police mentors are not teaching this kind of undercover/sting operations stuff, they should be. My guess is that it is being introduced at some level, but who knows? All I know is Beyar was able to stop a major attack with his work, and that is awesome.

The other thing I like about this sting operation is the use of reward or incentive, and the televising of such a thing. To basically communicate to the world and to the Taliban that insider attacks go both ways, and the Afghan government was able to penetrate this suicide assaulter ring and take it down with an insider of their own. Perhaps this will encourage other police/army personnel, or even citizens, to get in the game of deceiving the Taliban?

Now the funniest part of this story below was the idea that the Taliban sold Beyar on the idea of turning, by offering him money and riches. But then when the assault was to happen, instead of bringing gold they brought a suicide vest and VBIED for Beyar, and expected him to blow himself up during the attack.  Ummmm?….Say Again? lol.

“He said he would give me 2.5 million Afghani ($50,000), two brand new cars and a house in Pakistan,” Weyaar said…About a month later, Mohammed returned to launch the attack. He was with two more people, a pick-up truck packed with explosives, and had 60 hand grenades, six machine guns and six suicide vests.
“I asked him about the sixth suicide bomber that he had told me would take part,” Weyaar said. “He said, ‘The sixth person is me, I will detonate the vehicle.'”

Pretty cool and I hope they are able to conduct more of these types of sting operations. –Matt

 

Beyar Khan Weyaar receiving his award.

 

Afghan Police Trap Reveals How ‘Insider Attacks’ Actually Work
Dec. 30, 2012
The Taliban believed Beyar Khan Weyaar was the perfect candidate to prepare an insider attack on Afghan police, but instead he set a daring trap that has given a rare insight into suicide bombing tactics.
Weyaar, a low-ranking police officer in the eastern province of Paktika, was approached in November by a man who offered him the chance to get rich if he met a local insurgent commander.
“I thought he was joking,” Weyaar told AFP after collecting a hero’s medal from Interior Minister Mujtaba Patang in Kabul on December 25.
“But the commander, who said he was called Mohammed, came to meet me at my police post in Sar Hawza district. He must have known I worked there.
“He brazenly asked me to take the Taliban side and help them launch an attack inside the police force. I asked him to give me time to think.”
Weyaar, aged in his early 40s, instead informed senior officers, who gave him clearance to continue meeting the insurgents to gain intelligence.
He then got a telephone call from a leader of the Taliban-linked Haqqani group offering him a luxury house in Pakistan if he helped bombers infiltrate the Paktika provincial headquarters where the governor and police chief work.

(more…)

Friday, December 28, 2012

Industry Talk: DynCorp Police Mentor Joseph Griffin Killed In Afghanistan

Rest in peace to the fallen and my heart goes out to the friends and family of Joseph Griffin. What makes this green on blue incident different from others is that it was a female police officer that shot him. –Matt

 

DynCorp International Police Mentor Killed in Afghanistan
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – December 24, 2012 – Joseph Griffin, 49, of Mansfield, Ga., was tragically killed in Kabul, Afghanistan, on December 24, 2012, while supporting the Afghan Ministry of Interior and Afghan National Police Development Program (AMDP). Mr. Griffin worked in support of several of the company’s global training and mentoring programs since November 2000; he began his most recent assignment in July 2011. A veteran of the U.S. military who served in various U.S.-based law enforcement positions over the years, Mr. Griffin was an experienced professional who will be missed by his colleagues.
“Joe spent his career helping people all over the world, most recently working to help the Afghan people secure a better future,” said Steve Gaffney, chairman and CEO of DynCorp International. “The loss of any team member is tragic but to have this happen over the holidays makes it seem all the more unfair. Our thoughts and prayers are with Joe’s family, loved ones and colleagues during this difficult time.”
Under the AMDP contract with the U.S. Army, DI assists the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (NTM-A/CSTC-A) by providing training and mentoring services for the Afghanistan Ministry of Interior and Afghan National Police.
Press Release here.

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Mission to help costs Griffin man his life
By Craig Schneider
The pain had a precise beginning for the family of Joseph Griffin: the moment on Christmas Eve morning when government agents came to the door, bringing his wife, Rennae, the news dreaded by every wife of a man at war.
When the pain will ease, nobody can say, because it is compounded by the strangeness of his death and the lengthy process of unraveling why he died.
Griffin, a Newton County resident working as civilian adviser to the Afghan police, was shot and killed Monday at police headquarters in Kabul by a woman described as a police sergeant.
Questions have been swirling since: Who is the woman? Did she have permission to be there and carry a gun? What was her motive? Was the killing without either political overtones or personal connections, as authorities have said?
This week, the family struggled with their grief. They had a Christmas anyway at the family farm near Cedartown, if only to let the kids open gifts.

(more…)

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Cool Stuff: Merry Christmas!

Filed under: Afghanistan,Cool Stuff — Tags: , , — Matt @ 11:20 PM

Merry Christmas everyone. –Matt

 

Door Gunner Petty Officer Richard Symonds of the Royal Navy wears a Santa Claus outfit as he delivers mail and presents to troops around Helmand province in this handout released by Britain’s Ministry of Defence December 25, 2010. REUTERS/Sgt Rupert Frere RLC

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Leadership: Narcissism And Toxic Leaders

This is an excellent run down of a particular type of ‘bad boss‘ that folks might run into out there. The article also talks about what to look for when finding potential leaders for an organization, in order to avoid these narcissistic toxic leaders. They boil it down to having emotional intelligence or the ability to focus on others (respecting others) as opposed to focusing purely on self (narcissism).

Under Jundism, you will find a couple of concepts that promote emotional intelligence. One is to ‘take care of your people’ and another would be ‘people support what they help to create’.  Both of these concepts require knowledge of your people. With that knowledge, you will have the brain power and experience of the group to tap into so you can build a better product or service.

Another more simplistic way to look at this, is to find and hire those individuals who are there ‘to do’ the job of a leader, and not there just ‘to be’ a leader or ‘To Be, Or To Do’ in the words of Col. John Boyd.

One final point that the article mentioned that rang true for both the military and any organization, and goes well with ‘the courage to do what is right’, is this quote.

“If the leader walks by and observes something wrong without making the correction, he has just established the new standard of behavior.”

If a company or military unit knows they have a toxic leader within their ranks, and they do nothing about it, they in essence are saying that it is acceptable. The troops are left wondering, does the organization as a whole really care about their welfare, if they knowingly allow these individuals to stay in these positions of power, or promote folks whom are toxic into these positions of power within the organization?

To that end, I would say that another quote from Boyd is in order–‘people, ideas, hardware–and in that order’. Companies and the military must make the effort to ensure that good leaders are within their ranks, representing the organizations well, managing the mission and contract well, and taking care of their people. That they are exhibiting the necessary emotional intelligence to properly use an organization’s most important resource–it’s people. –Matt

 

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Company Spotlight: Paramount Group Talks About Security In Africa

Below I have posted a couple of interesting stories about Paramount Group and it’s background. As you can see from it’s Wikipedia page, it is heavily involved with a lot of areas of defense in Africa and they are the largest PMSC in Africa. So when Ivor Ichikowitz (the founder and executive chairperson of the company) talks about private security in Africa, I tend to listen.

I also posted a side deal about an aircraft they donated to help in the war against Rhino poachers. This is a great move by the company because poachers are destroying one of Africa’s top treasures–it’s animals. They also had a vehicle showcased in the popular TV show called Top Gear.

The last article I posted below was not about Paramount Group specifically, but about private security in Africa in general. It talked about the focus of other large companies like G4S in Africa, and it is a great compare and contrast article after reading what Paramount mentioned. If companies want to know what to focus on when delving into this market, it pays to study the market leaders of this continent. Check it out. –Matt

 

 

From the website

Paramount Group is the largest privately owned defence and aerospace business in Africa, providing fully integrated turnkey solutions to global defence, peacekeeping and internal security forces.
Since its inception in 1994, Paramount has built strong relationships with governments and government agencies in over 30 countries around the world, earning an enviable reputation as a trusted advisor in the industry.
The Group is a leading innovator in the design and development of state-of-the-art products that it manufactures in locations throughout the world.  It is partnered with some of the world’s largest and most reputable organisations in the global defence community. The Paramount Group has the ability to understand its client requirements and to use its unique knowledge and experience to design cost-effective, future-proof solutions. As a result, Paramount has enjoyed strong growth and achieved an excellent track record of delivering successful projects.

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From Wikipedia
Paramount Group is a group of companies operating in the global defence, internal security and peacekeeping industries. It was founded in South Africa in 1994 and offers a range of armoured vehicles, military aircraft, equipment and training to governments.
The company was founded by South African entrepreneur and industrialist Ivor Ichikowitz. The Group is based in South Africa, with its headquarters near Johannesburg.
Paramount Group manufactures a range of armoured vehicles – the Maverick, Mbombe, Matador and Marauder – and in 2011 unveiled AHRLAC, a long-range reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft. AHRLAC is the first aircraft to be designed and built from scratch in Africa.
The business has government clients in 28 countries and partnerships with leading international defence and aerospace players, including Aerosud Holdings Ltd, its partner in the development of AHRLAC (Advanced High-Performance Reconnaissance Light Aircraft).
In February 2011, Paramount Group announced a joint venture with Abu Dhabi – based defence business International Golden Group to market and distribute Paramount Group’s products and services in the United Arab Emirates.
Paramount Group’s Marauder featured in an episode of the BBC’s Top Gear programme. Television show presenter Richard Hammond took the vehicle on a test drive in South Africa to put the vehicle through its paces in comparison to a Humvee in a bid to find ‘the world’s toughest car.’ The programme was broadcast in July 2011.
AHRLAC was launched in September 2011 and described by commentators, including the Wall Street Journal, as filling a niche for a versatile, low-cost aircraft.

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Security Is Key To Africa’s Economic Rise
By Ivor Ichikowitz, chairman of Paramount Group, Africa’s biggest private defence company.
Ivor Ichikowitz reports
22 November 2012
The most important single factor in boosting an emerging economy is a stable state. I believe that all things flow from this.
Capitalism is the most powerful driving force behind Africa’s economic development but businesses must be able to be run without the fear of suddenly losing all their assets in unexpected or undemocratic changes in government.
Criminals, terrorists and rebel groups further undermine economic activity across the continent and need to be effectively countered. It has been estimated, for example, that over 10% of Nigeria’s oil production is stolen between source and sale by criminal gangs, including groups who tap directly into long pipelines that are extremely vulnerable to theft in isolated areas.

(more…)

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