Feral Jundi

Friday, November 11, 2011

Maritime Security: US Government Goes Public With Support For Armed Guards On Boats

Filed under: Maritime Security — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 11:34 PM

Wow, big news here. Thanks to Somalia Report for breaking this story first, and a hat tip to David Isenberg for finding and posting DoS’s new official position on armed guards on boats.

The thing here is that Secretary of State Clinton has had to make a pretty significant public reversal on her ‘views’ on PSC’s. As a Senator and presidential candidate, she was pretty much opposed to PSC’s and even introduced legislation against the usage of them in the war. Of course that all happened during the aftermath of the Nisour Square deal, and we have come along way since then…. Here is a quote from Somalia Report:

It is a stunning reversal of opinion for Clinton, a well known opponent of the use of private security companies and a political appointee who has openly discussed taking steps to eliminate them. As a presidential candidate running against President Obama she sponsored legislation entitled H.R.4102 “Stop Outsourcing Security Act”. The suggested legislation was created in November of 2007 proposed banning the use of security contractors.

Although it should be noted that the DoS has been steadily using WPS contractors during her entire time as Secretary of State, and I am sure she has experienced the security services of quite a few WPS folks in places like Afghanistan. Security contractors really shined during the attack on the embassy in Kabul, and I am sure that has only enforced how important their contracted guard force really is. Not to mention that their security contractors will be incredibly important to the mission in Iraq as troops leave in mid-December.

So I want to applaud her and the DoS for promoting armed guards on boats. It makes sense, it works, and it is the right thing to do. I also hope that this will open the market a little for US security companies.  If anything, we should see more American guards protecting US flagged vessels. Plus, that would also help chip away at veteran unemployment to some degree. Every little bit helps.

But there is another issue though that the US government needs to address, and that is the cost that US flagged vessels must contend with.  The other day I came across a very interesting document at Marsec4 that talked about how much US flagged vessels pay to operate, versus the global market.

Operating a deep draft ocean going vessel under a US flag costs on average $20,000 per day, a much higher amount than the $7,000 daily average for vessels flying foreign flags.

With that said, if the DoS really wants to help, then reduce or eliminate the frivolous or costly rules and regulations that make it so expensive for US flagged vessels to operate. Get our fleet economically competitive, so at least American shipping can afford armed security and capture some of that global market share out there. –Matt

 

Remarks to the Defense Trade Advisory Group
Andrew J. Shapiro
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
Washington, DC
November 9, 2011
……Finally, I want to provide a brief update on our efforts to counter piracy off the Horn of Africa. This is another area where we are working very closely with industry. Commercial shipping vessels transiting off the coast of Somalia are frequent targets for pirates. The lives of innocent seafarers have been lost and crews are often held hostage for many months in appalling conditions. The monetary total of ransoms demanded runs into hundreds of millions of dollars a year, with the total cost of piracy to the global economy estimated to be in the billions.
With so much water to patrol it is difficult for international naval forces in the region to protect every commercial vessel. Working with industry, we recently established a national policy encouraging countries to allow commercial ships transiting high-risk waters to have armed security teams on board. The reason for this is simple: to date no ship with an armed security team aboard has been successfully pirated. We believe that the expanded use of armed security teams by commercial vessels is a major reason why we have seen a decline in the number of successful pirate attacks this year. Therefore, we have recently demarched countries to permit the use of privately contracted armed security personnel on commercial vessels. And we are also working with industry and transit countries to make it less onerous for privately contracted security personnel to transit foreign ports with weapons intended for the self-defense of ships.

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Saturday, October 15, 2011

Libya: US Sending More Contractors To Secure Libya’s Weapons Stockpile

Filed under: Egypt,Libya — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 4:18 PM

Now the thing with this is that recently it was reported that weapons from Libya have been flooding markets in places like Egypt. And no telling where those weapons will end up at. I am sure Israel is not happy? Either way I am glad they are sending more folks and giving this some urgency. –Matt

 

U.S. Sending More Contractors to Secure Libya’s Weapons Stockpile
By ERIC SCHMITT and KAREEM FAHIM
October 14, 2011
WASHINGTON — The State Department is sending dozens of American contractors to Libya to help that country’s fledgling efforts to track down and destroy heat-seeking antiaircraft missiles looted from government stockpiles that could be used against civilian airliners.
The contractors, weapons and explosives specialists, are part of a growing $30 million American program to secure Libya’s conventional weapons arsenal, which was ransacked during the fall of the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.
American and other Western officials are especially concerned that as weapons slip from state custody, they can be easily sold through black markets to other countries, fueling regional wars or arming terrorist groups. Analysts are particularly worried about the dispersal of the SA-7, an early-generation, shoulder-fired missile in the same family as the more widely known Stinger.

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Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Industry Talk: Getting Ready For The Big Switch In Iraq

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 10:35 AM

Officials familiar with the plans concede, however, that the police advisory program may not last beyond three years. A lack of recruits willing to earn between $100,000 and $150,000 annually for their expertise also means the program is beginning with about 120 advisers, down from the original goal of 190, said the officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.
Much of State’s budget request is to pay security contractors to transport and protect the police advisers as they travel to about 30 sites across the country for meetings.

Now that quote up top was the one that I zeroed in on in this article. I have a hard time imagining that these guys are not able to find enough former police officers to staff this program. If they need 70 more advisers, then put the word out. lol It’s that simple and with an effective campaign, you should be able to get enough guys. Especially with today’s economy and lack of jobs.

I also think it is interesting that the Iraqis are now up to the level where they can train their own police.  That was a big goal of all of our efforts, and that is great. Now it sounds like the Iraqi’s are hungry for the advance level of police work, and this might really pay off in the long run. With more competent police, then crime can be more effectively dealt with, and they might even be able to find more terrorists. We will see, and the big one here is funding. If the DoS can secure the funds for this police program, then this thing could continue on for at least 3 to 5 years. –Matt

 

Getting ready for the big switch in Iraq
October 12, 2011
By Ed O’Keefe
If you get to spend any time with Iraqi political leaders of any sort, as The Federal Eye did during a brief stint in Iraq this summer, they’ll likely discuss their deep-rooted eagerness to work with “Americans with civilian suits, not military uniforms.”
That day is fast approaching.
Iraqi leaders still haven’t decided whether they want to extend a three-year security agreement beyond the end of the year, and if they don’t make a formal request by Dec. 31, all U.S. troops and equipment will pack up and leave. In their wake, the State Department plans to deploy about 17,000 American diplomats and security personnel across Iraq, comprising its largest diplomatic presence in the world — and the largest contingent of federal employees and contractors outside the United States.
But the expensive and daunting military-to-civilian transition in Iraq is expected to face close scrutiny from cost-conscious members of Congress eager to avoid further waste and abuse in wartime contracting. Officials with the departments of defense and state on Wednesday are slated to provide an update on the ongoing transition and spending plans at a House subcommittee hearing on national security and foreign operations.

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Thursday, August 25, 2011

Jobs: Personal Security Specialist, Israel And Afghanistan

Filed under: Afghanistan,Israel,Jobs — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 1:06 PM

This is cool. IDS was a partnership company that Kaseman and U.S. Training Center put together to bid on DoS stuff. (I could be wrong on the arrangement there, and if anyone wants to correct the record, please help me out)

IDS was mentioned in this contract award I posted awhile back. They now they have a web site up and jobs are flying for Afghanistan and Israel. They are looking for the standard WPS type positions–medical, designated marksman, etc. But I figured I would provide a link to their website, because I have pretty much done the same thing for all of the other companies listed on this award.

I am not the POC or recruiter for this job and please follow the link below if you would like to apply. Good luck and let me know how it goes? –Matt

Personal Security Specialist
Location: McClean, VA
Job # 627543
Date Posted: 08-18-11
Personal Security Specialist
International Development Solutions
All candidates should be willing and able to work in a high-threat environment and pass pre-deployment medical screening to include a Physical Training test.
Duty Location: Jerusalem
Security Clearance Required: Secret
Job Description:
Perform the day-to-day protective security functions as specified in daily post and detail orders .
Driving the lead vehicle (auto, aircraft, boat), principal’s vehicle, or follow-vehicle, whenever required in motorcade or similar operations.

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Thursday, June 9, 2011

Industry Talk: Is The DoS And The WPS Program Being Set Up For Failure By Congress?

Filed under: Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 2:19 PM

Iraq as a democracy in our own image is a foolish dream. The State Department will now be expected to be the firewall against its descent back into chaos. Be ready with the fire hoses … um, sorry, Congress had just slashed the money for the fire hoses. –Diplopundit

What I wanted to point out here is that there are several forces that are at play, that might result in contributing to DoS and WPS failure. Congress has never really been excited about funding DoS and has always thrown way more money at defense related initiatives. (thanks to defense industry lobbyists). To get Congress to recognize the value of DoS is like pulling teeth. But folks like the DoS are essential to soft power initiatives and solving problems diplomatically, as opposed to killing people in costly wars. Remember that whole Sun Tzu quote about winning a war without fighting?

With today’s penny pinching endeavors as a result of the economy, or lack of a coherent energy policy, or the cost of fighting two ‘costly’ wars for close to ten years, there is more of an effort to cut costs. Which is good to a point, and I would love to see government get smaller and more efficient. But common sense should be applied to some of these cost cutting initiatives, and especially where lives are on the line.

There are some areas that should not be cut or messed with, because the consequences of not properly funding these functions of government could have grave consequence. Specifically, the DoS mission in places like Iraq or Afghanistan.  And to really boil it down, when agencies get less money to effectively handle projects that are vital to the stability of an already weakened country like Iraq, then you start to see the really negative effects. Things like a lack of, or poor condition of equipment or weapons for security contractors.  Or the amount of oversight decreases or is not fulfilled, because there is no money for such things.

The other forces at play is the public desire to just pull out of these wars, and not care about these programs that we have invested billions of dollars in. This public opinion fuels Congress, and in order to politically survive, they must meet the demands of the public. That is democracy, but it also could lead to half measures or poorly funded programs that really do need sufficient support in order to be successful. I will not sit here and say we should do one thing or the other, and my only goal here is to show the potential consequences of such things.  I would hate to see this industry get thrown under the bus once again, all because of the politics of the war.

Which by the way, I really would like to hear more from the WPS folks, both DoS and contractors, as to how your program is going? The public and this industry needs to know if your operations are negatively impacted because of  these political factors. I will really be mad and sad, if men and women die or get hurt because of these poorly funded and managed initiatives. You are either all in, or all out, and half measures and poor funding can have dangerous consequence. Congress and the public needs to hear it as well.

Another point I wanted to make is WPS will be vital for the ‘other’ DoS missions out there as a result of the Arab Spring.  The cards are being re-shuffled in the middle east and diplomatic missions in these countries will be vital for national interest. These are dangerous times, and security for these diplomatic missions is essential. Congress should do all it can to ensure DoS and it’s security apparatus is successful, because lives and national interest are on the line.

Oh, and the main stream media might be easily influenced by the winds of politics, but this blog is not, and I am concerned with the reality on the ground. I want to know if this industry is getting a fair shot at success out there, or if they are being set up for failure. Of course I want our industry to provide an excellent service to it’s clients, but I am also wary of the factors that are out of the hands of private industry. That way, at the end of the day, we can point the finger at what really was the cause of failure as opposed to letting folks with personal or political agendas define the causes and reasons for failure. Please check out the four articles I have posted below, and let me know what you think? –Matt

Budget woes poised to hit State Department hard
By KATE BRANNEN
June 2, 2011
The State Department’s budget has already taken a hit in 2011, but it appears that its finances will be squeezed even tighter just as the department is trying to regain ground lost to the Pentagon over the past decade.
In the final budget resolution passed for 2011, Congress agreed to provide $48 billion for State and foreign operations. This marked an $8.4 billion reduction from the president’s budget request. It was also $504 million less than the department received in 2010.
For 2012 spending, the House Appropriations Committee announced that it plans to cut $11 billion from the State Department and foreign operations budget request of $47 billion. This includes funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

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