Thanks to Scott for sending me this. This would be a cool conference to attend. –Head Jundi
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London, United Kingdom
January 29, 2009
The conference will be held at the historic Lord’s Cricket Ground:
Marylebone Cricket Club
Lord’s Cricket Ground
St. John’s Wood NW8 8QN
Website Here
So I keep coming back to this debate, because this is very important to the policy makers out there. Most importantly, it is a vital conversation to have with one another about who we are and what our place should be in the war and in this country.
The fear is that the state does not have control over the civilian contractor community, and more specifically, armed security contractors. Or that a state could not survive if they unleash the hounds of industry against their enemies, because then they would not have control over that industry, and especially after the war is over. That the industry as a whole would somehow turn around and attack the client, in the name of some other enemy or cause.
Well, I have read the debates, and even participated in the debates, and my conclusions are that the state would be stupid ‘not’ to use industry to fight it’s wars. Privateering during the revolutionary war is a prime example of how this country used industry to fight it’s enemies.
Thousands of enterprising ship owners, hunting down British naval vessels, and taking the loot. It was certainly a profitable endeavor back then, and arguably, that infusion of money into the local economies and the small successes of sea battle, helped to increase the morale of the revolutionaries back then. Success breeds success, and the naval fight was vital to our fight back then. Sure the land battles were important, but the sea battles are something that is always forgotten during discussions about that war, because it was an aspect of the war that was fueled by industry.
Hmmm. Walter must be reading FedBiz Opps too? LOL. I suspect that the TWISS program is the model for this gig in Afghanistan and hopefully some more jobs will be popping up soon. The real irony about the war and the state of the economy, is that if the allies wanted an instant army, they could snap their fingers and thousands of contractors would sign on. The only problem I see, is how the allies manage and regulate this massive resource of on-call professionals. We are a tool, use us correctly!
The security contracting industry, if regulated properly and well managed, will certainly be a force multiplier for the client. Arguably, it has, but with a few hiccups. It just needs some quality control, quality control, and more quality control, and this industry would be awesome. Did I say quality control enough? The companies cannot be expected to police themselves, and the client(that means you Uncle Sam and the rest of the world), needs to get off their ass and actually apply some quality control.
Use your sword to fight your enemies, not crush rock or cement with it. Industry can be incredibly useful in this asymetric/all volunteer/fourth generation war, and to not use us properly is just plain lazy and dumb. There are even some of us in this industry that would love to sit down with any of the decision makers out there and provide some solutions. Insh’allah! –Head Jundi
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Private Contractors Sought As Guards in Afghanistan
By Walter Pincus
Monday, December 8, 2008; A17
The U.S. Army is looking to private contractors to provide armed security guards to protect Forward Operating Bases in seven provinces in southern Afghanistan. In a recent study, Anthony H. Cordesman, an intelligence expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, described five of those provinces — Helmand, Kandahar, Nimruz, Zabol and Uruzgan — as among the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan.
The proposed contracts would be for a minimum of one year, beginning Jan. 1, but with options to continue for four years. The move to hire contractors to provide armed guards comes as the United States is deploying more American troops to Afghanistan and looking to double the size of the Afghan National Army from 80,000 to 162,000 over the next five years.
FedBiz is a great tool to track the industry out there. You can find out what contracts are popping up, and who is in line for them, based on this online resource. The ones I posted below are just the security related contracts, and only the last 30 days. Use the search feature of the site, and I am sure you will find more. Enjoy. –Head Jundi
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Welcome to FBO.gov, the US Government’s one-stop virtual marketplace. Through this single point-of-entry, commercial vendors and government buyers are invited to post, search, monitor, and retrieve opportunities solicited by the entire Federal contracting community.
*****
Afghanistan Stuff
W91B4K-09-R-2001
R — Professional, administrative, and management support services
RC-South Armed Security Guard Services
W91B4L-09-R-0006
R — Professional, administrative, and management support services
*****
Iraq Stuff
Personal Security Detail Services at FOB Shield
W91GY0-09-C-0005
V — Transportation, travel, & relocation services
Personal Security Detail Services
W91GY0-08-R-0076
R — Professional, administrative, and management support services
And of course the New York Times has to say something about PSC’s and the SOFA. This editorial comes packed with ill informed opinion, it is insulting, it disrespects the sacrifice made by PSC’s in defense of the client, and makes no mention as to the repercussions of not protecting PSC’s in Iraq. Typical of the NYT. As for a a counter point, I recommend Michael Cohen’s reply to this editorial on his blog called Democracy Arsenal.
I like the accountability part, but the attacks are not necessary and show a complete ignorance of the dynamics. ‘Spray and pray’ or ‘trigger happy’? How about ‘survival’ and ‘protecting the client with lethal force when necessare, when in a war zone’? Obviously the author of this editorial feels that non-lethal weapons or no weapons at all are the best tools for protecting someone in a war zone?
For the record, weapons and lethal force are a fact of life in a war zone. And those that are tasked with using those weapons, and implementing lethal force when necessary, have a huge responsibility that is not taken lightly. That is how I felt, and ‘spray and pray’ or ‘trigger happy’ were not words used within my lexicon. Nor would any of my peers or companies have any respect for me if they were.
Of course you will get those that might not make the grade, but you find those types both in the military and the PSC industry. And for those individuals, I say deal with them properly and apply the laws of the state they are working for. Like the soldier, the PSC is a tool of the state, and a representative of the state. We should have the protections of the state, just like the soldier has. UCMJ can and should be enforced with PSC’s, and why it isn’t shows that the client really doesn’t want to put the effort into that kind of protection. Although we can argue that we are covered by UCMJ, but still, the client should be making this distinction with a well thought out SOFA agreement and the proper regulation of this industry.
We are a tool of the client, and if there is any blame at all, it should be on how the client uses that tool. And to me, the client should be dedicating the necessary resources to properly regulate our industry. The companies cannot be expected to police themselves, and the client must be involved with quality control. I do not believe in over regulation though, and we should not hinder the free market forces that can enhance a company. But throwing PSC’s at the mercy of Iraqi Law with an ill thought out SOFA, without any consideration for how that will impact the PSC industry and the overall war effort, is akin to breaking rocks and cement with your sword and thinking that is a good use for that weapon/tool. -Mudeer
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The New York Times
December 3, 2008
Editorial
At Least Some Accountability
American forces in Iraq have relied far too heavily on private security contractors who have operated with no real legal accountability. The trigger-happy tactics of these armies for hire have alienated Iraqis. The fact that they have been out of reach of Iraqi law has been an especially bitter pill to swallow.
For some of those contractors, that get-out-of-jail-free card is now being withdrawn. A new agreement with the Iraqi government that allows American troops to remain in Iraq stipulates that contractors working for the Pentagon who commit crimes will be subject to prosecution in Iraqi courts.
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