Feral Jundi

Friday, November 4, 2011

Industry Talk: Erinys Talks About Picking Private Security In Iraq

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 12:04 PM

In relation to the cost of security, there is an old saying: “if you have a five dollar head, then wear a five dollar helmet” – in other words, if you value what you have you are willing to pay to protect it.

This is cool. Erinys did a lot of great work in Iraq back in the day, and they will no doubt continue to be involved with oil security in Iraq now and into the future. So it is great to hear them talk about what they think is important for picking a PSC for operations in Iraq.

What I really liked though was the quote up top. I will have to use that one in the future, and it is just another way of emphasizing what happens when you go cheap. Especially in Iraq, and especially as the troops leave and oil security forces continue to face an active insurgency. –Matt

 

Picking private security in Iraq
November 3rd, 2011
Oil companies in Iraq still need to factor in a security cost overhead as part of doing business in the country in order to protect their people and assets. John McCaffery, Managing Director of British private security firm Erinys, gives his guide to choosing the right provider.
The securing of personnel and assets is a complex amalgam of procedural, technical and physical methods that establishes layered security “architecture” with multiple zones.
If one considers the client and a project as the core of an onion then layers of skin that surround the core would represent the security “zones” that protect the client.
In relation to the cost of security, there is an old saying: “if you have a five dollar head, then wear a five dollar helmet” – in other words, if you value what you have you are willing to pay to protect it.
As such it is important to note that the provision of a professional security architecture is expensive anywhere in the world. ?In Iraq though it is more so, given the cost of shipping in equipment and the labour rates of professional security personnel. This is compounded by the need to train and equip local personnel and the extremely challenging regulatory environment in which international PSC’s are required to operate.

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Thursday, November 3, 2011

Minnesota: Foley Hires Private Security For Police Protection

Filed under: Industry Talk,Law Enforcement,Minnesota — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 1:46 PM

I figured this would start happening in the US. As the economy continues to suck, and measures are taken by the states to save money, then you will start to see the secondary effects of such policies at the local level. Good or bad, that is reality.

Now the big debate from what I gather is if a PSC can provide effective and adequate security for a town this size. Mind you, there will still be a deputy that folks can call for the big emergencies. So we will see how it goes, and hopefully this town will be adequately protected and served as they make the transition. I would also be curious how many other cities and towns have had to cut police forces and switch to private security throughout the nation? –Matt

 

Foley hires private security for police protection
Oct. 18, 2011

Written by Kari Petrie
Foley residents will call a private security company when they need nonemergency help, starting in January.
On Tuesday, Foley City Council members unanimously approved hiring a private security company to provide 24-hour service to the city. The city will enter a six-month contract with General Security Services Corp. for $98,500.
Mayor Gary Gruba said Foley is the first city he’s heard of that has used a private security company. But he said he has heard other cities are looking at the option to save costs.
Since 2003, the city has paid Benton County to have three deputies patrol the city for 17.1 hours a day. The council voted earlier this month to reject a new contract from the county to provide police services for 2012.
The county had proposed a contract for 2012 that would cost $23,426 a month for three deputies. This year the city is paying $24,694 a month.

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Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Industry Talk: Report Details Problems For The PSC Replacing ‘Afghan Public Protection Force’

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 3:25 PM

Asked if he would be forced to end contracts if the situation was not resolved, one development company official said, “Absolutely.”
“We apply what we call the son and daughter standard,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to avoid alienating American and Afghan government officials. “Would we send our sons and daughters out there to do this work, and the answer is no.”

Boy, who couldn’t see this one coming? lol Of course Afghanistan is not able to put together this Afghan Public Protection Force.  As you all remember, this was the force that was supposed to replace private security forces in Afghanistan.

As that quote up top hints at, this APPF concept is not exactly giving all of the aid and development groups the confidence they require in order to send ‘their sons and daughters’ to Afghanistan. I wouldn’t trust my life in the hands of such a force, even if half of this report is true. This quote below is what perked me up:

The assessment makes it clear that much work needs to be done. Of 166 “essential” criteria to determine if the government was able to recruit, train and sustain the guard force, less than a third could be fully met, the assessment found. Sixty-three of the measurements could not be met at all.

Really?  So here is my suggestion. Private industry is really the only solution here, and the Afghans need to face reality, or everyone is going to pack up and leave. And that is a lot of money and projects just going out the door.

My suggestion is to implement a license and bonded PSC system. Streamline the licensing process, and tell the companies to put their money where their mouth is if they want to operate.  If they violate the contract, then they are fined via the surety bond. If they violate the terms of the license, then suspend the license. If they break a law, then prosecute those individuals. But the point is, find a way to work with private industry and do not try to re-invent the wheel. Let the various aid and development groups in country choose what licensed security they want, and focus on managing and regulating that. –Matt

 

Report Details Problems for Afghan Security Force Plan
By RAY RIVERA
November 1, 2011
KABUL, Afghanistan — President Hamid Karzai’s plan to disband private security companies that protect billions of dollars worth of aid projects and replace them with government forces is fraught with problems and unlikely to meet the president’s March deadline to complete the transition, according to a six-month assessment of the program.
The assessment, conducted by NATO and the Afghan Interior Ministry, outlines dozens of issues that have slowed the development of the new security force and raises questions about the government’s capacity to carry out and sustain the program and others as international aid money and military support dwindle in coming years.
The report, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, comes as international development companies are becoming increasingly worried about the security of their workers, many of whom are Afghans.

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Sunday, October 30, 2011

Aviation: Contract Aircraft, Non-military Aircraft Losses In Iraq And Afghanistan Wars

Filed under: Afghanistan,Aviation,Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:37 PM

What I wanted to do here is put together a list of all of the contract aviation losses in both wars. Thanks to wikipedia, it was easy to organize this and put it all together. If anyone has information they would like to add, or if you see some missing aircraft losses in this post, let me know in the comments.

Also, if you follow the links, they will take you to the overall aviation losses in these wars. In Iraq, the Kiowa Helicopter and the Apache really took a hit. Lots of crashes and combat losses there. But they were also heavily used.

In Afghanistan, I would have thought there would be more losses on both the military and civilian side. The CH 47 was the top aircraft that crashed or was shot down. The Blackhawk was right behind this aircraft. Although this war is not over, and these numbers could reach Iraq levels in a few years.

The big one in Afghanistan is the necessary power to get up to those elevations, and the CH 47 is a work horse for that. Hence why this was the top aircraft that crashed, because it gets the most use.

The total losses for military and civilian aircraft in the Iraq war was 133 rotary wing (with 43 lost to hostile fire) and 24 fixed wing losses (with 2 to hostile fire, and 2 to friendly fire).

In Afghanistan, it is 103 rotary wing (with 17 lost to hostile fire) and 23 fixed wing (with 1 lost to hostile fire on ground).

With those statistics, you get a good idea as to what the real danger is of flight in the war zones. The enemy is certainly a threat, but the environment/pilot error/equipment failure is what causes the majority of these crashes.

Also, it would be great to see our military or some think tank go through all of these accidents and combat losses, and find out if there is a better aircraft that could have been used for these types of missions. Sometimes the best aircraft is not necessarily the most expensive or fancier aircraft, but the one that can perform the job in the worst kind of conditions specific to that region or war zone. A hellfire missile fired from a Cessna Caravan, is no different than a hellfire missile fired from an Apache helicopter.

I guess my point is, are we using the correct aircraft with the best survivability and capability for the job that is required? We lost a lot of Kiowas, Apaches, CH 47’s, and Blackhawks in this war, and you wonder if there are aircraft that could have been better suited for these missions?

The other thing to think about is legacy aircraft for these countries when we leave. Both Iraq and Afghanistan are purchasing and using Cessna Caravans, and that is a great multipurpose aircraft that they could use. It is also cheap to keep running and pretty dependable. But once we give these countries the really expensive aircraft to operate and maintain, then how do we expect them to be able to afford using these things? And even with our own operations and the state of the US economy, we should be considering all options for aircraft, based on the requirements of the mission. It is not against the law to be more cost effective in war, and I have to think that there are cheaper options for some of the stuff we are doing in these conflicts. –Matt

 

Contract aircraft, non-military aircraft losses in the Iraq War
2009
July 17, 2009 – An MD-530F contracted to Xe (formerly Blackwater) crashes at Butler Range outside Baghdad. Two pilots died. The cause was not known.
2008
November 13, 2008 – An Antonov An-12 crashes after takeoff from Al Asad Air Base, killing all 7 crew members. Six members of the crew and one passenger died, three of them were Russians. The crew also consisted of a Belarusian, two Ukrainians and an Indian citizen.
2007
March 7, 2007 – A privately-contracted Mil Mi-8 helicopter from the Republic of Georgia crashes due to technical failures, injuring its three Ukrainian crewmembers, and several Iraqi passengers.
January 31, 2007 – A Blackwater USA Bell 412 helicopter is shot down under fire near Karma during a flight between Al Hillah and Baghdad. A US military helicopter rescues the passengers and crew.
January 23, 2007 – A Blackwater USA MD 530F helicopter is shot down by hostile fire in Baghdad. All of the 5 man crew are killed in the incident, likely executed after surviving the crash. The remaining survivor was also killed under unclear circumstances, when another Blackwater helicopter descended to the crash site.
January 9, 2007 – A Moldovan Antonov An-26 crashes near Balad in the 2007 Balad aircraft crash, killing 34 of the 35 on board.
2005
May 30, 2005 – A Comp Air 7SL aircraft with the Iraqi Air Force crashes in eastern Iraq, killing four Americans and an Iraqi on board.
April 21, 2005 – A Bulgarian Mil Mi-8 is shot down north of Baghdad, killing the 11 civilians on board, including six American contractors, three Bulgarian pilots, one of them is executed shortly after the crash, and two Fijian guards.
Link to Wikipedia here.
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Contract aircraft, non-military aircraft losses in Afghanistan War
2011
July 6, 2011: IL-76 cargo plane, registered 4K-AZ55, was destroyed in an accident near Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. The plane is said to have flown into the side of a mountain at about 12,500 feet (3,800 meters).The transport plane carried a total of 18 tons of cargo for the NATO-led forces at Bagram Air Base.

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Saturday, October 29, 2011

Afghanistan: Attack On NATO Convoy Kills 17, To Include 8 Contractors

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 2:28 PM

Very sad. These Rhinos are the large armored buses they use to transport folks and it sounds like it got hit by a very large VBIED. Rest in peace to the fallen. I do not know what company these guys were with, or if they were civilians hired directly by ISAF. –Matt

Edit: 11/01/11– Thanks to Ms Sparky. Fluor made a statement about the loss of their 7 contractors in this incident at her site. No word on the 8th contractor and who they worked for. Here is the statement:

Team Fluor,
Saturday we suffered a tragic loss of seven of our own teammates during an attack in Kabul. Each of those we lost was a friend and valued part of our team. We lived and worked together. We forged bonds of camaraderie that are only found at times like this.
We each deal with our grief in different ways; some will find comfort in memorial services like the one we held at Dubbs or the ramp ceremony at Bagram, others will find that talking to friends, a Chaplain, or counselor helps. We have Site Managers and Employee Assistance Program teams on site to help us through this difficult time and find ways to cope.
Yesterday we notified the families of those we lost and we have assistance officers with them to help each of the families get through the difficult times ahead. I have asked our leaders to stay engaged with our colleagues that need assistance here and answer the questions that we can. I want to be sure you all have this information, as I know that rumors and internet blogs have not always been the best source for information.
Should you have any questions or need assistance, please talk to your immediate supervisor. He or she can provide the first step to find direction or help and ensure the proper steps are taken. Keep in mind that we have professional counselors on our EAP team available to assist you.
Although many of us know them personally, out of respect for their families we are not releasing any names of those lost in the attack. Please join me as our thoughts and prayers are with our teammates and their families during this difficult time.

George Rabb, Country Manager, LOGCAP?Fluor Government Group

 

 

Attack on NATO convoy kills 17 in Afghanistan
By AMIR SHAH
October 29, 2011
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Taliban suicide bomber rammed a vehicle loaded with explosives into an armored NATO bus Saturday on a busy thoroughfare in Kabul, killing 17 people, including a dozen Americans, in the deadliest strike against the U.S.-led coalition in the Afghan capital since the war began.
The blast occurred on the same day that a man wearing an Afghan army uniform killed three coalition troops, who were reportedly Australian, in the south — attacks that show the resiliency of the insurgency and are likely to raise new doubts about the unpopular 10-year-old war and the Western strategy of trying to talk peace with the Taliban.
A spokesman for the fundamentalist Islamic movement, which was ousted in the 2001 invasion for its affiliation with al-Qaida, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the bomber had used 1,540 pounds (700 kilograms) of explosives.
The Taliban and related groups have staged more than a dozen major attacks in Kabul this year, including seven since June, in an apparent campaign to weaken confidence in the Afghan government as it prepares to take over its own security ahead of a 2014 deadline for the U.S. and other NATO countries to withdraw their troops or move them into support roles.
Underscoring the difficulties ahead, the brazen assault occurred just hours after top Afghan and Western officials met in the heart of Kabul to discuss the second phase of shifting security responsibilities to Afghan forces in all or part of 17 of the country’s 34 provinces. Afghans already have the lead in the Afghan capital.

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