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Saturday, September 11, 2010

Industry Talk: Three DynCorp And DRS Technology LOGCAP IV Employees Killed In Afghanistan

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: alan herzel, civilian contractors, contractors, deaths, Defense Base act comp, DRS Technology, DynCorp, Industry Talk, Javier de la garza, LOGCAP, Ms Sparky, willian allen — Matt @ 1:07 AM

Rest in peace to the fallen. This week has been a bad one for contractor deaths. Thanks to Ms Sparky and Defense Base Act Comp for getting the word out and my heart goes out to the friends and family. –Matt

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Dyncorp & DRS Technology employees killed in Afghanistan (Updated)

Ms Sparky

September 7, 2010

I have just received a confirmed report there was a a September 6, 2010 attack on a forward operating base Howz-e-Madad in Kandahar province Afghanistan. This attack took the lives of three DynCorp LOGCAP IV employees and wounded several others.

Dyncorp just released this:

September 7, 2010 – We are deeply saddened to report that a September 6 attack on a forward operating base in Howz-e-Madad, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, took the lives of three LOGCAP IV personnel and wounded several others.

William Allen, 51, of Munhall, Pennsylvania, worked as an electrician on the LOGCAP IV program and was killed at the time of the incident. Alan Herzel, 48, of Milton, Florida, who worked as a plumber foreman, received medical care after the incident but later passed away as a result of his injuries. A third subcontract employee who provided information technology support for the program also lost his life in the attack; DynCorp International will defer to his employer to release any personal details.

A number of individuals who were wounded in the attack were transported by medevac for hospital care.

In a condolence note to LOGCAP IV management, Colonel Cameron G. Holt, Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) Commander, Afghanistan, wrote:

“As is too often the case in war, the cost of freedom extends not just to the Soldiers, Sailors, Airman, and Marines who have pledged their lives to defend their country; it is also borne by our civilians at home and among the ranks of American defense contractors like you who stand shoulder to shoulder with us in this struggle.”

Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were injured or killed, with their families, and with all of our colleagues at FOB Howz-e-Madad.

*****

Updated: September 10, 2010

Javier de la Garza Jr, Killed in Attack in Afghanistan

Posted by defensebaseactcomp

September 10, 2010

Former Valley Soldier Killed in Afghanistan

HAVANA – The family of a former valley soldier is mourning tonight.

Lots of questions surround the death of UTPA alumn Javier de la Garza Jr.

His grandparents in Havana tell CHANNEL 5 NEWS he worked as a private contractor overseas.

De la Garza was killed during some kind of attack in Afghanistan earlier this week.

The 27-year-old lived in Austin for some time before joining the Army in 2000. He deployed to Iraq then settled in the Valley after his service. He attended UT-Pan American in Edinburg before deciding to return overseas. This time he went as a civilian and worked in the IT department for a private contractor in Afghanistan.

De la Garza’s family hasn’t been told when his body will return to the states. (click HERE for original article)

Link to blog here.

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Sunday, August 29, 2010

Afghanistan: Two Private Security Contractors Killed By Coalition Forces In Wardak, Highway 2

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: Afghanistan, deaths, highway 2, ISAF, private security companies, private security contractor, security contractor, Wardak province — Matt @ 1:52 AM

Rest in peace to the fallen. I haven’t a clue what company this was or if they were Afghan or expat? Either way, this type of stuff is a tragedy. But what is even more of a tragedy is how little information there is on this. Because I guarantee that if this was the other way around and that contractors were the ones that killed some Coalition Forces, the media and world would be all over it.

So if anyone has information to add that could fill in these crucial details, I will make the edit. It would also be nice for a change if ISAF would actually reach out to bloggers like myself or even Tim, and include us in their strategic communications. I know they read the blog, and they certainly have an active Facebook page, so what gives? –Matt

Edit: 08/29/2010 – According to Paladin 6 from the Knights of Afghanistan blog, the chatter in Afghanistan is pointing towards Watan Risk as being the company, and it was two local national security contractors that were killed. See comment below.

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2 contractors killed in Afghanistan

August 28, 2010

Two private security contractors in Afghanistan were killed by coalition forces who mistook them for insurgents, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said Saturday.

The incident happened Friday on a highway in the central province of Wardak, ISAF said.

A coalition patrol on the highway had just been fired at by insurgents in a location known as a hot spot for attacks, ISAF said. A vehicle then approached the coalition patrol at a high rate of speed with a man shooting out of the vehicle’s windows.

“Perceiving the vehicle to be a threat, the gunner fired at the vehicle and killed two of the occupants,” ISAF said.

Coalition forces learned afterwards that the two people killed were private security contractors, ISAF said. Their employer wasn’t immediately known.

(more…)

Comments (2)

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Industry Talk: Hundreds Of Afghanistan Contractor Deaths Go Unreported

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: Afghanistan, contractors, deaths, expats, local nationals, security contractors, third country nationals — Matt @ 11:18 PM

There’s no doubt things are hotting up. Our convoys are being hit every day by IED and ambushes – often, combined. The bad guys seem to be moving in larger groups and, to us, it seems that they are operating with virtual impunity on certain sections of Hwy 1, in particular in the vicinity of Hawz-e Madad where we can guarantee running an ambush as the convoy passes through the gardens that border the road. We’ve lost four KIA in that 10km stretch in the past week alone. I know this small section of highway is only a fly-spot on the map of Afghanistan, but I do wonder just what the hell ISAF is doing about it. They know this is a hot-spot but they don’t appear to be doing anything – worse, if they are doing something it is utterly ineffective.- From the blog Kandahar Diary

*****

In a 10-month period between June 2009 and April 2010, 260 private security contractors working for the Defense Department made the ultimate sacrifice, while over the same period, 324 U.S. troops were killed. In analyzing the numbers, the report found a private security contractor “working for DOD in Afghanistan is 4.5 times more likely to be killed than uniformed personnel.”

*****

These quotes up top will give you the best idea as to how intense operations are for contractors in Afghanistan right now. And this includes all types of contractors, and not just LN’s (Expats and TCNs). The article below identifies the latest numbers that came out of the CRS and it is stunning to say the least.

But what is worse is the lack of accountability for all of these deaths. To depend upon some hobbyist running icasualties.org is not cool at all. Matter of fact, the accounting of all contractor deaths (LN, TCN, Expat) should be a law that congress creates and funds. It is the least we can do.

Another point I would like to make, is that we should also honor these deaths by letting the families display something similar to the Gold Star flag in the windows of their homes. Contractors from all over the world have been killed in this war, and each contractor killed had a family who mourned their loss. How does that family memorialize their lost loved one, other than a grave marker/headstone? Do they fly a flag, do they plant a tree, or what? I say one way to help in this area, is that some kind of globally recognized symbol should apply to the civilian contractors who have died in this war. If a Fijian family had lost a son in Iraq, they should be able to fly a ‘Gold Star flag’ in their window. If an Iraqi family lost a family member who was a contractor, they should at least have the option to be able to fly a flag in their window.(if they choose to do so) I think any way we can honor those deaths, as well as officially count them, is the right thing to do. Rest in peace to the fallen. –Matt

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Hundreds of Afghanistan contractor deaths go unreported

By Justin Elliott

Thursday, Jul 15, 2010

In one of the least examined aspects of President Obama’s escalation of the Afghan war, armed private security contractors are being killed in action by the hundreds — at a rate more than four times that of U.S. troops, according to a previously unreported congressional study.

At the same time, the Obama administration has drastically increased the military’s reliance on private security contractors, the vast majority of whom are Afghans who are given the dangerous job of guarding aid and military convoys, the new Congressional Research Service study found.

Unlike when a soldier is killed in action and the military promptly issues a press release describing the circumstances of the death, contractor deaths go almost entirely unreported by the Pentagon, and, by extension, the media. As a result, both the level of violence and the number of people being killed as part of the U.S. effort in Afghanistan are being significantly underreported.

(more…)

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Monday, June 7, 2010

Industry Talk: Two DynCorp Contractors Killed In Afghanistan

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: Afghanistan, CIVPOL, contractors, deaths, DynCorp, Ms Sparky, police program, security contractors — Matt @ 10:48 AM

This just came up on my virtual desk, and this is all that is known about it so far. I do not know the names and there isn’t any chatter on the forums yet. This attack was at the police training center in Kandahar. I will post any edits if anything pops up. Ms Sparky has it up on her blog as well.

Rest in peace to the fallen, and all condolences go out to the friends and families of these brave men. –Matt

Edit: 06/08/2010- Two Killed in Attack on Afghanistan Police Training Facility– An American police mentor and a Nepalese security guard working under DynCorp International’s Afghan police training contract were tragically killed yesterday, when insurgents attacked a police training facility in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Gary W. Willard, 44, of Resaca, Georgia, deployed to Afghanistan as a police mentor on June 22, 2009. Prior to his work in Afghanistan, he was a sergeant with the Calhoun Police Department in Georgia. Earlier, he spent almost ten years with the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office in Dalton, Georgia. Before his law enforcement career he was a member of the United States Marine Corps.

Hit Bahadur Gurung, 39, of Nepal worked as a security guard at the Kandahar police training facility.

“These men supported the mission in Afghanistan with courage, honor and excellence, and gave their lives in pursuit of a more secure Afghanistan,” says CEO Bill Ballhaus. “We extend our deepest sympathies to their families, loved ones and colleagues.”

Link to release here.

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US Contractor, NATO Troops Killed In Afghanistan

6/7/2010

Two foreign nationals, including a U.S. contractor, were killed on Monday in a suicide-bomb attack by Taliban on a police training camp in southern Afghanistan, reports said.Also on Monday, three soldiers of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were killed in the country.The U.S. Embassy said an American working for Dyncorp, a U.S. security company, was killed when a suicide-bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a police training center in the southern city of Kandahar. It did not disclose the nationality of the other person killed.Moments later, an attempt by two other bombers to enter the compound was foiled by security forces who shot them to death, reports quoting a spokesman for the provincial Governor said.

(more…)

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Friday, May 14, 2010

Industry Talk: Taliban Protection Payoffs Denied By Watan Risk Management

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: Afghanistan, convoy operations, deaths, Industry Talk, popal, Taliban, watan risk management — Matt @ 1:17 AM

Popal argues it would be impossible to pay off the patchwork of insurgent groups attacking the supply routes, since there’s no single commander.

Watan Risk Management also has the highest casualty rate among private security firms, he notes, with an average of 50 deaths per month between May and October 2009.

*****

You know, Mr. Popal has a point. If his company is paying off the Taliban, then why were they losing so many people every month? This is not me picking a side or anything. I am just saying that if in fact Watan Risk Management is using bribes to protect convoys, then they should get their money back because they are getting a raw deal.

I would also be curious to hear how many of those deaths were do to just the hazards of driving hours and hours on poor roads with horrible driving conditions, on top of attacks by the enemy? You know the saying ‘lies, damn lies, and statistics….’. It is still a sacrifice, but in this discussion it is important to differentiate because the Taliban has nothing to do with those deaths.

The other point to make is that maybe they would have lost twice that many folks if they didn’t pay off those they could deal with? Who knows, but I figured I would post Watan’s side of the story. Rest in peace to the fallen contractors of this company who paid the ultimate sacrifice while delivering this essential cargo for the war effort. –Matt

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Ahmad Rateb Popal

Ahmad Rateb Popal. (CBC)

Taliban protection payoffs denied by contractor

April 27, 2010

Allegations that a private security firm has been bribing Taliban and other insurgents to ensure safe passage for NATO convoys in Afghanistan are being denied by a key player in the business.

Kabul-based Watan Risk Management was among the private companies fingered in recent media reports alleging that the firms are paying off insurgents to protect supply routes, essentially funnelling international funds to the very groups troops are fighting against.

(more…)

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