Feral Jundi

Friday, March 26, 2010

Afghanistan: Protecting Telecom Should Be A Priority, And How Private Industry Can Help

Filed under: Afghanistan,PMC 2.0,Technology — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 3:43 AM

   I have read both of these stories below and I am in absolute disbelief that we are allowing this to happen?  Protecting cell towers and telecommunications in Afghanistan should be a wartime priority.  For COIN or counter-terrorism operations, this is your connection to the people, and to not protect that connection is just stupid.  Who the hell is in charge, and why are they allowing the Taliban to do this?

   So with that said, if today’s military strategists and war planners cannot do the job of protecting this stuff, then my suggestion is to contract it out.  Private industry could totally protect each and every cell tower, and entire contract vehicles could be set up to do such a thing. You could actually set it up for world-wide telecommunications protection services (WTPS), just because cell towers and phones will be vital to the war effort in those places as well. Both the troops and civilian contractors use cell phones for operations, as well as the civilian populations for their commerce and day to day rebuilding activities of their towns and cities.  To allow the Taliban or anyone to shut that down or mess with it, is just dumb.

     I can’t stress enough on how important this stuff is, and I am floored that it is not a priority in the war.  It’s right up there with logistics.  Because more than likely, the tips that will come in and lead to the capture of high value terrorists (like Bin Laden), will come via a cellphone call or text message from a pissed off villager.  You allow that to shut down and you have just effectively shot yourself in the foot.

   Anyway, private industry will step up if the military doesn’t want to take this on. Hell, DoS or DoD could take charge of this…… that’s if anyone cares. –Matt

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Afghan Cell Carriers Follow Taliban Rules

by Alex Sundby

March 26, 2010

Afghanistan’s cell phone companies and the Taliban have formed a kind of detente in the southern and eastern parts of the wartorn country. The phone companies shut down their cell towers at night, preventing local residents from discreetly calling coalition military tip lines. In exchange, Taliban militants don’t target the costly cell towers with explosives.

It’s a part of day-to-day life The Wall Street Journal explores at length. The deal between the phone companies and the Taliban isn’t a secret to the Afghan government with the country’s communications minister telling the newspaper, “We understand that in some areas, unfortunately, there is no other way … We don’t have security to protect the towers.”

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Industry Talk: How To Feel Safe At The World Cup

Filed under: Canada,Industry Talk,South Africa — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 2:06 AM

   This is great that the Toronto Sun actually published this, and I think Sunil is probably pretty happy with that kind of press.  World Cup is coming, and there are lots of security companies that your country can do business with in order to protect your athletes or visiting fans.  I also think it is advisable to go over some of the common crimes that folks need to be aware of if they go to South Africa, and just arm yourself with knowledge about how to protect self and family.  So good on Canada for being proactive, and good on Sunil and his company for offering up these services. –Matt

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How to feel safe at the World Cup

Canada issues advice … security firms offer protection

By TOM GODFREY

March 24, 2010

A Canadian firm is offering door-to-door security for North American soccer fans travelling to South Africa in 11 weeks for the FIFA World Cup.

The head of Executive Security Services International pledges to provide round-the-clock protection by armed officer for businessmen, media and fans attending the tournament, slated for June 11 to July 11.

South Africa has one of the world’s worst street crime problems, according to police and press reports, with roaming gangs committing fraud, pick-pocketing and ATM robberies.

The crime is convincing many international fans to stay away — 650,000 of the 2.95 million available seats are still unsold for the World Cup, according to reports.

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Training: EDCD And Mental Resiliency Training For High Stress Operations

Filed under: Canada,Medical,Training — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 1:36 AM

   This is a project that Angela and company have been working on, and I wanted to get the word out about it.  I like the concept and think that this is the kind of stuff that will allow anyone in this field, or any high risk field, to continue working and effectively dealing with mental trauma when it happens.

    EDCD gives you the tools necessary to deal with the tough stuff.  Things like deploying to disaster zones like Haiti where thousands of people have been killed, surviving IED’s and ambushes in wars like Iraq or Afghanistan, or having co-workers killed or wounded in these war zones. The idea of having the tools necessary to work through these traumatic events, or even help others who have gone through these traumatic events, is something that should be in everyone’s mental kit, and there just isn’t a lot out there that goes over this stuff. The modern militaries of the west have attempted to provide these tools of coping to the troops, but for private industry, there isn’t anything.  And we have talked about that here before and Angela has wrote some great stuff about the subject.

   Also, if you look at cases like Fitzsimmons, or with some of the suicides this industry has experienced, resiliency training might be something the companies could look at.  At least have something set up to direct contractors too if you have some contracts that put people in high stress positions.  The military is constantly trying to reach out to their soldiers in order to put a stop to any mental suffering out there.  Wars and disasters can mess up a brain pretty good sometimes, and civilian contractors are experiencing some of the same war time traumas as soldiers.  Yet there is nothing being done to deal with that fact.

   Now for a disclosure. I have never been through this course and I have not read any feedback about it. So I cannot give it the thumbs up or down.  But what I would like to do is promote it and get the readership to think about this stuff.  If you have gone through the course, I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter in the comments section.  I am sure Angela will pop up too if anyone has any questions.  –Matt

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Dear Colleague,

Resiliency has become a buzz word for all of us working within security and safety professions.

TRAINING personnel to adapt and prepare for high stress operations is a priority within all sectors.

EDCD TRAINING will help your teams to achieve higher levels of operational effectiveness.  What is EDCD?

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Aviation: DynCorp Flies AU Peacekeepers To Somalia

Filed under: Aviation,Somalia — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 12:35 AM

     “The military stalemate is less a reflection of opposition strength than of the weakness of the Transitional Federal Government. Despite infusions of foreign training and assistance, government security forces remain ineffective, disorganized and corrupt,” the report stated. “The government owes its survival to the small African Union peace support operation, AMISOM, rather than to its own troops.” 

*****

   Bravo to DynCorp for contributing to the survival of the TFG, and I am sure NATO is happy as well.  As you can see with the article, Uganda is very important to the AU mission and without these forces, Mogadishu would fall into the hands of extremists.

   On the other hand, we are yet again supporting a weak government in their fight against determined islamic extremists.  When are we going to pick a winner for once, or back a government that has a spine and the ability to make things happen out there?  Because now we are in a position where the AU will probably be doing all of the fighting to protect the TFG in Mogadishu, because the government military forces are so disorganized and pathetic. Nor is there any concerted effort to really protect or win over the people, and that is how the extremists win.

   Let’s look at this another way.  We are fighting the same kind of fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan.  The West has the most modern military in the world, with all of these resources at it’s disposal, and we are still going at it after all of these years.  It is only the last couple years where we have really started to kick in the whole COIN emphasis on operations, and retool for that fight.

    Now look at Somalia, with it’s lack of a strong government or organized army. It is at a severe disadvantage when combating an islamic extremist enemy who is using the same tactics and strategy as it’s partner networks throughout the world. I know we have this aversion to ‘Americanizing’ the war in Somalia.  But if you look at all the pieces, you kind of wonder if Somalia even has a chance? And to a larger extent, are we ready for Somalia to be conquered by the enemy and deal with the propaganda value of such a victory? –Matt

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U.S. contractor flies AU peacekeepers to Somalia

State department says U.S. has no plans to increase military’s role

By John VandiverMarch 23, 2010

STUTTGART, Germany — U.S.-contracted flights, working under the NATO banner, ferried some 1,700 Ugandan troops into Mogadishu, Somalia, last week in response to an African Union request for transportation support, alliance officials said in a news release.

The troop movements were made as government officials in the Somali capital are preparing to launch a military offensive to reclaim parts of the city from al-Shabaab — an extremist group with al-Qaida links.

The airlift, which ran from March 5 through March 16, was conducted by the U.S.-contracted DynCorp International. In addition to shuttling troops into Somalia, the airlift also flew 850 Ugandan troops out of Mogadishu, NATO said.

Tensions have been on the rise in Mogadishu as the fragile Somali transitional government has been unable to turn the tide against Islamic extremist groups that seek to seize control of the country and impose a harsh form of Sharia law. And as AU forces dig in for the upcoming fight, a March 10 report by the U.N. Monitoring Group of Somalia raises questions about whether Somalia’s weak security forces and dysfunctional government are capable of achieving any significant gains.

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Thursday, March 25, 2010

Maritime Security: Private Security Repels An Assault, One Pirate Killed

Filed under: Maritime Security,Somalia — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 1:10 AM

   Excellent.  This is yet again the kind of stuff that will give today’s pirates a pause next time they want to attack a boat. What I would like to know is what weapons and tactics these guys were using?  Because other security details on boats could be learning from these incidents, and improving their own operations based on this information.  So if anyone reading this that is intimately involved with EU NAVFOR or the company providing the security detail on this boat, please speak up. (or contact me through the FJ contact page)

   Now the only down side in my view, is that why was there only one guy killed and why was he killed with just ‘small caliber’ ammunition?  Does that mean that the security detailed showered these boats with 9mm bullets, fired from one or two pistols, and that this whole thing was pure luck that they were able to actually kill one of these guys or stop the attack?  Or did they have sufficient fire power to deal with these thugs?  My guess is that they did not have sufficient fire power, because if they did, there should have been more dead pirates.

     I also think the pirates probably would have ran off after the first assault, if they did come up against sufficient fire power.  But I am not going to monday morning quarterback this too much, because this security detail still kicked ass.  Bravo to them, and bravo to the EU NAVFOR task force for quickly responding to the distress call.  Quick Reaction Forces will be essential for these private security details who are doing the best they can with what they got out there.  Sending a helicopter gunship is a good call, or sending whatever they can that is fast and lethal is absolutely vital if they want to keep up a good record of combating pirates and protecting ships. –Matt

Edit: 03/25/2010 – And the very next day, all six pirates were released because no one wanted to make statements.  This catch and release crap has got to stop.  From the bickering about armed security on ships, to this pathetic releasing of pirates back into the wild, is all just mind numbingly stupid. Read the rest here.

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Pirate Dies in Attempted Hijacking – EU NAVFOR Detains Pirate Action Group

March 24, 2010

by EU NAVFOR Public Affairs Office

Early on the morning of Tuesday 23 March, an EU NAVFOR warship received a distress call from a merchant ship off the Somalia coast and proceeded at high speed to assist.

As previously reported, the Panamanian-flagged cargo ship, MV ALMEZAAN, en route to Mogadishu, was under attack from pirates. An armed private vessel protection detachment on board the ship returned fire, successfully repelling the first attack, but the pirates continued to pursue. A second attack was repelled and the pirates fled the area.

The EU NAVFOR frigate ESPS NAVARRA, from the Spanish Navy, was dispatched by the Force Commander, Rear Admiral Giovanni Gumiero of the Italian Navy, and raced to the scene of the incident. She launched her helicopter, quickly locating the ALMEZAAN and the pirates’ boats, known as skiffs. When the suspects failed to heed the helicopter’s instructions to stop, warning shots were fired by the aircraft, after which a team from NAVARRA boarded a skiff.

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