Now imagine each one of these quadrotors armed with a small explosive payload? Maybe even use their larger cousins that we saw being used in Libya. (imagine EFP’s mounted to the belly of a larger quadrotor?) Then use them ‘kamakazee style’ for a massive swarm attack or to support an ambush. In other words, it is research like this that is quickly making this stuff a reality. –Matt
Very cool. If you are a fan of Executive Outcomes or a student of private military companies and their uses for war fighting, then this is your book. I have not read this book yet, but this is definitely on my list for Christmas. lol
I would be interested to hear what others have to say if they have read it. I am particularly intrigued with the idea of leading a modern private military force for offensive operations, and all of the unique challenges associated with that endeavor. There is much written about modern military leadership during combat operations, but very little written about modern private military leadership as it applies to combat operations.
It is also a unique study on the true potential of PMC’s, and this kind of insight would give any author, film maker or video game developer some extremely valuable information as to how this type of force really works. The book will be in the Jundi Gear store if anyone wants to find it again in the future. –Matt
Edit: 07/06/2012- I just got an email from Andrew Hudson and he informed me that the book is published and being sold at amazon.com, amazon.co.uk, barnesandnoble.com, helion.co.uk, and 30degreessouth.co.za. So if anyone reads the book, definitely let us know what you think here. Maybe the authors might come out and answer some questions as well?
Four Ball, One Tracer: Commanding Executive Outcomes In Angola And Sierra Leone
By Roelf van Heerden as told to Andrew Hudson
Book Description
Publication Date: June 2012
Brutally honest and devoid of hyperbole, this is Roelf van Heerden’s Executive Outcomes. / Unapologetic, unassuming and forthright, the combat exploits of Executive Outcomes (EO) in Angola and Sierra Leone are recounted for the first time by a battlefield commander who was physically on the ground during all their major combat operations. From fighting UNITA for the critical oil installations and diamond fields of Angola to the offensive against the RUF in Sierra Leone to capture the Kono diamond fields and the palace coup which ousted Captain Valentine Strasser, van Heerden was at the forefront. He tells of the tragedy of child soldiers, illegal diamond mining and the curse of government soldiers who turn on their own people; he tells of RUF atrocities, the harrowing attempt to rescue a downed EO pilot and the poignant efforts to recover the remains of EO soldiers killed in action. Coupled with van Heerden’s gripping expose’, hitherto unpublished photographs, order of battle charts and battle maps offer unprecedented access to the major actions as they took place on the ground during the heydays of EO.
Buy the book here.
Last, but not least, comes security. Private security firms will have to protect the population in the new cities. Honduras is one of the world’s more corrupt countries, in 129th place out of 183 in a survey of outsiders’ perceptions by Transparency International, a Berlin-based lobby group. It also has the region’s highest murder rate. The local police have a poor reputation. Last month 176 police officers were arrested in a corruption crackdown.
This is the part that I thought was most relevant. Because without security, business will not come to this Charter City. If they cannot trust the police or have to worry about being extorted all of the time, then that won’t work as well. Not to mention the cartels and their interest in the city. So private security or a private police force will be essential to making this work.
Over at the Charter Cities blog, here is their statement on security for this deal. RED stands for la Región Especial de Desarrollo.
Q: Will the RED rely exclusively on private security?
A: Though the RED has the option to make use of private security, policing services will not come exclusively or even primarily from private entities. The RED government will establish an independent police force and can use several public channels to ensure fair and effective policing, including the option of enlisting a trusted foreign police authority to train officers and hold police leadership accountable.
Interesting stuff and I will keep an eye out on how this turns out. Who knows, maybe the RED will be the go to place for work in Central America, and this could turn into the next Hong Kong? –Matt
Hong Kong in Honduras
An ambitious development project aims to pull a Central American country out of its economic misery. Can it work?
Dec 10th 2011
TRUJILLO is a sleepy backwater, but one with a lot of history. The beautiful bay surrounded by lagoons and mountains on the northern coast of Honduras was where Christopher Columbus set foot on the American continent during his fourth voyage in 1502. But in a few decades, it might be known for something entirely different: being the Hong Kong of the West. Scores of skyscrapers and millions of people could one day surround the natural harbour. The new city could dominate Honduras, today one of the poorest and most crime-ridden countries in Central America, becoming a magnet for most of the region’s migrants.
Contractor Casualty Statistics
The Department of Labor Defense Base Act Claims Cumulative Report By Employer
From 09/01/2001 to 09/30/2011
Killed: 2,871 (DEA)
Wounded: 74,571 (NLT, LTO, LT4)
Companies: 1936
Today, there is much attention, respect and remembrance for military veterans of war across the world. And they deserve that. But what is not heard or given thought to, is the great amount of sacrifice, contribution, and heroism given by our civilian veterans around the world during times of war.
Now personally, I am a military veteran and war veteran, but I am also a civilian veteran whom has worked extensively in the war. I have also lost co-workers in this war as a civilian veteran, and those losses and their sacrifice will never be forgotten to me. It is the same for all civilian veterans whom have worked in the war zones and lost friends and co-workers. On Memorial Day, and days like this, contractors all go through the same process mentally of recognizing our military veterans, but also recognizing the work of their fellow contractors in this war.
And one of the more interesting facts of the war is that there are a percentage of contractors that are not military veterans at all. Danger Zone Jobs was able to get a statistic about such a thing. Out of the group of contractors polled in their survey, 37.3% of them did not have any prior military service. Now how closely this matches the overall contractor history in this industry, is up for debate.
The other data point of interest, that no one has really been able to figure out, is how many civilian have served in the war over the last ten years. Although it would be safe to say that those numbers probably match that of the military. The current numbers of contractors in the war zones are at about 175,000. So that is 175,000 folks that deserve our thanks for stepping up and serving in the war zone, despite the dangers and hardships. That is also 175,000 civilian veterans that have friends and families, all praying for their safety every day. Wives, husbands, girlfriends, boyfriends, sisters, brothers, daughters, and sons–all proud and supportive of their loved one’s service in the war. And they should be.
Not to mention all of the civilian veterans out there that have been wounded, and some grievously. It troubles me that my nation, or any nation out there, is not taking the time to recognize the service of these civilian veterans that I speak of.
I am here to give thanks to our military veterans. But on this day, I will also recognize our civilian veterans, and that is the least I can do. –Matt
Ed Stiles, 91, said better pay and the whiff of possible adventure prompted him to overlook the risks of volunteering for combat duty with the famed Flying Tigers of World War II.
BALAD, IRAQ. An Australian doctor in the Balad Air Force base in Iraq photographs United States private contractor Jake Guevara. Insurgents ambushed Guevara, along with his team, when they went to pick up people from the embassy, and one of his team was shot and killed instantly. Hundreds of wounded soldiers have come through the military hospital for emergency treatment since the siege of Falujah began in early November.
Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day and Veterans Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the official end of World War I on that date in 1918; hostilities formally ended “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice (“at the 11th hour” refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 a.m.)
The day was specifically dedicated by King George V on 7 November 1919 as a day of remembrance of members of the armed forces who were killed during World War I. This was possibly done upon the suggestion of Edward George Honey to Wellesley Tudor Pole, who established two ceremonial periods of remembrance based on events in 1917.
The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem “In Flanders Fields”. These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.
Thanks to Kyle for sending this over at Facebook. It’s not every day where you get to see a cop actually PIT a plane. lol I don’t think they teach that at most driving courses? Good on them though, and they got their guy! –Matt
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