Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Maritime Security: U.S. Helps African Navies With Floating Academy
I wanted to put this up, because they gave a mention to MPRI training the Equatorial Guinea navy. I posted the job ad for this gig awhile back, and it is cool to hear a little something about it. Although the hardhat Stetsons decorated with the ‘stars and stripes’ is a little much for me. lol Check it out. –Matt
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U.S. helps African navies with floating academy
Tue, Apr 20 2010
By David Lewis
ABOARD USS GUNSTON HALL (Reuters) – Men in blue overalls haul on the ropes alongside American crewmen sporting hardhats shaped as Stetsons and decorated in the stars and stripes.
“Pull harder! Coil the ropes!” one of the Americans barks at the “ship riders,” a term used for the West African sailors aboard the U.S. amphibious landing vessel as she slips her moorings in the port of Dakar.
This is a floating academy, part of an effort by the U.S. military to train local navies and coast guards to combat rising instability in the Gulf of Guinea — an increasingly important source of oil and other raw materials for western markets which has drawn huge international investment.
The United States says the destabilizing effects of piracy, drug smuggling, and illegal fishing in the area are also costing West and Central African coastal economies billions of dollars each year in lost revenues.
“You have an area that is traditionally a landward-focused region which is awakening to the impact of the maritime domain,” said Captain Cindy Thebaud, commander of the U.S. Navy’s Destroyer Squadron Six Zero and head of the project.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Maritime Security: MPRI/L3 Awarded Maritime Security Work In Equatorial Guinea
Awhile back I posted the job ad for this contract, and it sounds like MPRI has been given the go for it. For you guys that were on standby or are currently involved, congrats and I hope it works out for you.
I am still a little foggy as to what exactly MSEP will entail, and there might be a little bit of everything there. The original job ad had positions in security, search and rescue, detainee processing, information technology, logistics/maintenance, and administration. I suspect it will all be ‘teaching’, as opposed to ‘doing’. But you never know with this stuff, and there might be a little bit of mentorship going on here. This is a PMC (or now maybe a PNC) standing up a coast guard for Equatorial New Guinea, and that is definitely significant.
Also, MPRI has some experience with Equatorial Guinea, as well as other gigs in Iraq and Bosnia. This definitely diversifies their contracts and is a good move in my opinion (not everything is in Iraq, which is smart). If any MPRI guys are reading this and would like to fill in some blanks, we are all ears. –Matt
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L-3 Awarded Maritime Security Work in Equatorial Guinea
Feb. 24, 2010
NEW YORK (BUSINESS WIRE) — L-3 Communications announced today that its MPRI division has been awarded a $58 million firm-fixed-price task order with the government of Equatorial Guinea to establish a Maritime Security Enhancement Program (MSEP). This task order is the first part of a multi-year contract, with a potential value of approximately $250 million. The MSEP is designed to provide nationwide coastal surveillance coverage for the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.
“This important contract award represents a strategic opportunity to contribute not only to the vital maritime security of Equatorial Guinea, but also provides a thoughtful approach toward establishing long-term stability for the entire region,” said Jim Jackson, general manager for MPRI’s International Group.
The MSEP envisions completion of a surveillance site network and operations centers in Equatorial Guinea within three years. This would be followed up by two years of sustainment and maintenance support for an estimated contract total of five years.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Jobs: Maritime Security Enhancement Program, Equatorial Guinea
Another cool opportunity folks. I am not the recruiter for this, and follow the instructions below if you would like to find out more about this position. MPRI is a good company and this should be an interesting gig. Good luck. –Matt
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Hello!
I would like to present you with an overseas employment opportunity on our new Maritime Security Enhancement Program (MSEP) in Equatorial Guinea.
The MSEP will be a major maritime security program which will involve the establishment of a broad range of electronic security and surveillance systems, to include site preparation and limited construction, and providing training for the host nation personnel to employ, operate, and maintain the systems, to include communications and command & control functions.
I’m immediately seeking former senior military personnel to assume leadership positions of either the Chief of Training and Curriculum Developer for the MSEP to be hired the first week of January, 2010 . Candidates must possess the following criteria:
·Fluency in Castilian Spanish (read/write/speak)
·Experience in Maritime security preferably as a member of the Navy or Coast Guard. However, candidates with similar experience and backgrounds will be considered
·Demonstrated experience in systems operations, logistics, and formal professional training/instruction
Additionally, I’m seeking former military personnel to occupy supporting positions in the following areas of expertise:
·Security
·Search & Rescue
·Detainee Processing
·Information Technology
·Logistics/Maintenance
·Administration
These individuals would be hired in the early months of 2010.
Are you interested? If so, please give me a call – my contact information is below. If not, please disseminate this information to those who you believe would be strong candidates for these positions as I would be happy to discuss these opportunities with them in greater detail.
Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you!
Christopher Gundersen
Human Resources – Recruiter
1320 Braddock Place
Alexandria, VA 22314
chris.gundersen@l-3com.com
Office (703) 664-6333
Cell (571) 232-7427
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Industry Talk: Simon Mann Paid £400k In Wonga To Buy His Way Out Of jail, Claims Nick Du Toit
This just keeps getting better and more juicy with every detail that comes out. If a movie is not made about this whole deal, I would be very surprised. You watch, Nick will have a book deal to counter Simon’s book. Simon’s book which will more than likely thrash Thatcher and company, will probably motivate Thatcher to write a book to tell his side of the story. It will be the battle of the books–a ‘written word bloodbath’! Frederick Forsyth, eat your heart out. lol –Matt
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Dog of war Simon Mann paid £400k in wonga to buy his way out of jail, claims coup plotter
By Barbara Jones In Pretoria22nd November 2009
It was an extraordinary scene. British mercenary Simon Mann was deep in conversation with his chief prosecutor, the Attorney General of Equatorial Guinea, the man who had brought him to justice for plotting to overthrow the West African country’s government.
They sat close together, discussing large sums of money and poring over paperwork.
Then, like the celebrity prisoner he had become, Mann reached over and borrowed the Attorney-General’s mobile phone to call his home in England.
For the next 50 minutes, Mann berated his wife Amanda for failing to produce the funds he needed to buy his way out of prison.
What was holding up the bank transfer, he demanded to know. When would the money reach West Africa? Did she realise how urgent this was?
Looking on in astonishment were four of his fellow prisoners. Unlike him, they were shackled by chains on their wrists and feet and wore uniforms of grey and white stripes.
Also unlike him, they had no vast reserves of money to call up in order to buy freedom.
They had been summoned to one of their occasional meetings with the Attorney-General in a ground-floor room at Black Beach prison and had come face-to-face with Mann for the first time since they were all arrested in March 2004.
For Nick du Toit, Mann’s chief co-conspirator, it was a traumatic moment.
‘He seemed so relaxed, almost unaware of us,’ he said. ‘Then he wanted to shake my hand and was only slightly embarrassed that I was shuffling over to him in chains. He asked how I was and I said I was fine. It was unreal.’
Now back home in Pretoria, du Toit has given The Mail on Sunday the first authentic account of the moment of their release on November 3.
He also revealed details of the special treatment afforded to Mann during his time in Black Beach – which included hotel food and an exercise treadmill.
Mann, 57, was released after 14 months of his 34-year sentence, boasting to du Toit that it cost him nearly half-a-million pounds.
Two weeks ago, Mann flew home to his country estate in Hampshire in a private jet. He briefed a PR agent on his plans to write a book about his adventures and announced his intention to incriminate those he claimed were fellow plotters who failed to come to his rescue in jail.