Saturday, April 16, 2011
Publications: Contractor Support Of USCENTCOM AOR, 2nd Quarter FY 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Job Tips: USTC Offering $5,000 Bonus To Attract Former WPS Contractors
Interesting. Boy, the WPS market is really heating up. Over the course of the year, I have been watching this whole thing develop through all the back and forth in the news and on the forums, and it has been very active.
At this point in the game, we are at the point where all of these companies are in a competition with one another to get the best and most qualified folks they can get to meet the requirements of the contract. And as you can see with USTC, they are offering bonuses to attract former WPS folks. I have had a chance to talk with quite a few former WPS guys, and they tell me that they are all getting bombarded with offers by the companies–and especially if they were team leaders/management in WPS. I guess it’s nice to be wanted? lol
I also think that WPS will continue to be a huge source of employment for contractors for awhile. As troops draw down in Iraq or Afghanistan due to budgetary or political reasons, the diplomatic missions and their protection will be even more of a concern. And of course enemy combatants will want to take advantage of this transition period and ‘perceived’ security vacuum. If anything, you will see militants test the security apparatus as they watch the military leave, and that is when contractors will be earning their pay.
The size of this program is also stunning. We are talking about thousands of security contractors being used by DoS to perform this mission. So guys will be cycling in and out of this contract for years to come. So here is the tip of the decade–get WPS certified and get vetted for this program, and you should have some job security for a long time.
Finally, I wanted to highlight the instability in the Middle East and Africa and talk about security at those consulates or embassies located there. WPS could easily be expanded to meet the security needs of DoS, where ever security is needed. An extremely flexible and capable security pool is needed to meet the demands world wide, and that is what WPS is turning into. And that is the cool thing about private industry supplying this kind of service–they are flexible and capable, and can certainly jump up to meet the needs of DoS. I just hope that DoS is willing to meet private industry half way by creating a ‘learning organization and continuous improvement’ culture/mindset towards managing these contracts. Jundism all the way!! *Disclosure: USTC is not paying me to promote this, nor do I get a head hunters fee. Just putting the word out for them. –Matt
A Signing bonus is being offered to candidates applying for the USTC WPPS program who have worked on any WPPS contract. The signing bonus plan is as follows:
The Signing Bonus is applicable for all IC’s with prior WPPS experience that sign an IC Agreement and one (1) year 270 day (Schedule A) from between March 2, 2011 and May 2, 2011. This offer expires on Midnight, Eastern Standard Time, May 2, 2011. IC must submit his/her bio, and the bio must be approved, within the time frame set forth herein.
The signing bonus is applicable for all IC’s who are currently not working for USTC on a WPPS contract, but have worked on a WPPS contract before.
The signing bonus consist of a one (1) time payment of $5,000.00 as a result of signing an Independent Contractor Service Agreement and a one (1) year (Schedule A) during the timeline outlined above. The $5,000.00 bonus is payable with the first payroll upon initial deployment.
** Any interested personnel currently working for another contractor must finish any current commitment and hereby represents that he/she is not in breach of any other agreement by signing this policy and the IC Agreement and Schedule A.
Link to ad here.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Industry Talk: China Establishes The Ministry Of Public Security–First ‘Legit’ PSC Formed
“Not only have many foreign countries legitimized private security guard services, but they have also made use of them for their national interests,” Wu told the Global Times on Monday.
“As the quality of its services is just as good as that provided by government organs and costs much less, many government agencies tend to hire security guards from private companies in order to spend less taxpayer money,” he added.
This is the quote I focused in on. China has had explosive growth in recent years and the security market has really taken off there. China is also very active in Africa or places like Iraq and Afghanistan. They are not afraid to go into the difficult areas of the world, and establish an economic foothold. Private security is a key component of that economic foothold-both in China, and abroad.
What is interesting though, is that these guards at home are not armed from what I have read. I could be wrong there, and China is just not my expertise. If true, inevitably some enterprising criminals who happened to be armed will be taking advantage of this weakness in the system and rob this ‘new rich’ of China. Or just kidnap and ransom would be profitable in such a world. I know the Chinese are one of the top kidnapped folks in the world because of their expansion abroad. Having men at arms to defend against criminals or terrorists that are armed, is a necessary service to have in my view.
But what I wanted to focus in on was the licensing aspect of this, and the quote up top. Of course China is looking at how the US and others use private security, and especially in war zones. It would make total sense that they would have their own versions of Blackwater, or similar ‘blended workforce’ company. I say blended, because when it comes to Chinese interest, I doubt they would allow private industry to do whatever it wants overseas without some kind of infusion of government/military.
They probably are running into the same problems as the west when it comes to regulating a rapidly expanding security industry like this. Creating a government agency to manage that makes sense and is a natural progression of this type of thing. Interesting stuff, and I am always on the lookout for any news about the security industry throughout the world, and China is one of the big ones to watch. –Matt
First legit bodyguard company established
April 12 2011
By Li Mao
The country’s first legal security services company was established Sunday in Henan Province after the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) legitimized the business last year.
Huangjia Security Service Company, based in the provincial capital Zhengzhou, will train nearly 200 private bodyguards for over three months, said Lü Wenqi, the company’s founder. The company received the country’s first license to offer private security guard services last year. (more…)
Monday, April 11, 2011
History: The 8 Civilian Recipients Of the Medal Of Honor And The Purge Of 1917
In the past I have talked about William ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody and his Medal of Honor. It is significant, because he was awarded this medal for heroism, as a civilian contractor. What is not talked about though, are the other 7 civilians that were the recipients of this medal, to include the only female recipient Dr. Mary Walker.
Mary’s medal is the reason why Buffalo Bill and the other civilians were able to retain their Medal’s of Honor after the Purge of 1917. This purge was an effort to thin out the ranks of the MoH and make it a purely military honor. It was also designed to take away medals from individuals that did not receive the medal for heroism. Basically, they wanted to make the medal more exclusive.
But what is interesting here is that all of these civilian medal recipients mentioned below were purged from the list back in 1917, not because of a lack of heroism, but because they were not military. But then along came Mary….. As soon as it was determined that Mary and company could not wear the medal any more, of course that caused a backlash. Mary would purposely wear the medal out of defiance of the ruling, all the way up until her death.
What happened after her death is that her family fought for the medal to be restored, and for sixty years this battle continued. In 1977, these efforts caught the attention of President Carter and he restored her medal posthumously. It is that event that that led to the other 7 civilians having their MoH restored. So that is a big thanks to Dr. Walker and President Carter. Although I am sure he did not intend for his actions to legitimize the heroic acts of contractors during times of war, and I think he was thinking more in terms of women’s equality. lol
The other interesting part of this history are the civilians who were working for the navy that received the MoH. They were boat pilots it sounds like, and this was during the Civil War. They were not privateers, but they were still working as civilians and were awarded the medal for heroism. Although there is not much on this history, so I really cannot add much there.
Finally, the guys I really like on this list, were the scouts. These folks were crucial to the Army mission during the years of brutal warfare in the wild west. There were other famous scouts from that time period like Frederick Russell Burnham, but it is these four scouts below that were recognized by the government for their heroism in battle.
I often wonder if congress would ever consider including civilians once again for the MoH? In this current war, there are numerous acts of gallantry and sacrifice that were performed by contractors, and yet their act goes unnoticed? Contractor use in this war far surpasses the use of contractors in US history, with over 2500 plus killed and thousands wounded. Yet there has been very little recognition of the heroes in this group (250,000 plus contractors serve in the war zones). Of course there have been a handful of Defense of Freedom Medals given out, but that is it.
Of course some would say that contractors get their reward in the from of monetary payment. But so does the US military, and so does all of it’s partners. What I am talking about are recognizing an individual’s sacrifice and efforts during times of war, despite if they are military or civilian. I celebrate our military heroes, and I would like to celebrate our civilian heroes as well. But no one knows about those civilian heroes, because they have not been recognized for their efforts.-Matt
Restoration of 6 Awards Previously Purged From TheRoll Of Honor
From Home of Heroes website.
There was no intent on the part of the 5 retired generals that reviewed all prior awards of the Medal of Honor, to single out any individual or group of individuals from whom to revoke our Nation’s highest award. Certainly the case of the 27th Maine precipitated the review, and as a former commander of the Medal of Honor Legion, General Miles presumably agreed with the Legion’s opposition to the inappropriate awards to that unit. Even so, however, the five generals approached their daunting task with reverence for the award as well as a sensibility to those who had already received the award. (more…)
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Industry Talk: FBO News–USSOCOM Looking To Contract With PSC’s For Guard Services In Afghanistan
This is cool, and a hit tip to Wired’s Danger Room for finding this one. Sometimes I forget to check FBO every now and then, but I can always depend upon the the thousands of readers/bloggers/news groups out there to find the good stuff and get the story out there.
On the flip side, I do not share the same concern as Noah does on this contract. These SF troopers will not stand by for any funny business on their compounds, and will manage these contracts in their own little way. Meaning, many SF guys have connections within the companies already, because the companies are filled with SF types. If a company plays games, the SF network/mafia will certainly come down hard. Hell, many contractors who were SF, are still playing the military game in the National Guard.
The other reason why I am not worried about their ability to manage this stuff, is because of how small of a contract it will be, and the level of cultural expertise inherent within the SF community. They will know exactly how to properly motivate their contracted guard force–be it expats or local nationals.
If anything, that would be a cool camp to work at for all the possible networking potential and cross training. I just hope that USSOCOM does not fall into the trap of ‘lowest priced, technically acceptable’ contracting vehicle, because that is certainly a recipe for disaster. Give them the flexibility to choose the guard force that is the ‘best value’ for the money. Also put into the contract all the necessary quality control mechanisms needed to keep this stuff in line. Pretty typical really, and all the past lessons apply.
Who knows who will get the contract, but as the solicitation stated, this is a quick one. So we should know who they picked before summer at least–hopefully. If any readers or the contracting officers of this solicitation have anything to add, feel free to do so in the comments. –Matt
Edit: 05/27/2011 Wired posted this update.
“The Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Afghanistan put 10 contracts for “perimeter security“ up for bid on Friday morning. Hired guards, mostly Afghans, will keep watch over anyone who approaches the elite commandos’ remote outposts. The bases on which they’ll work range in size from tiny “village support platforms” staffed by a mere 12-man “A Team” to one near Kabul’s infamous Pol-e-Charkhi prison, but there are uniform expectations for would-be guards. Some of them read more like baseline conditions for membership in civilized humanity.”
Private Security Contract
Solicitation Number: H92237-11-R-0870
Agency: Other Defense Agencies
Office: U.S. Special Operations Command
Location: Headquarters Field Assistance Division
Notice Type: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Posted Date: April 6, 2011
Response Date: Apr 15, 2011 12:00 pm Eastern
Archiving Policy: Automatic, 15 days after response date
Archive Date: April 30, 2011
Original Set Aside: N/A
Set Aside: N/A
Classification Code: R — Professional, administrative, and management support services
NAICS Code: 561 — Administrative and Support Services/561612 — Security Guards and Patrol Services
Solicitation Number: H92237-11-R-0870
Notice Type: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Synopsis:
Added: Apr 06, 2011 12:51 pm
***ONLY CONTRACTORS THAT HOLD A CURRENT AFGHANISTAN MINISTRY OF INTERIOR PERSONAL SECURITY LICENSE AND ARE LICENSED / REGISTERED WITH THE AFGHANISTAN MINISTRY OF TRADE WILL BE CONSIDERED FOR AWARD, OFFERORS WHO DO NOT POSSESS THESE QUALIFICATIONS ARE RESPECTFULLY ASKED TO NOT RESPOND TO THIS REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL*** (more…)