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Friday, December 28, 2012

Industry Talk: DynCorp Police Mentor Joseph Griffin Killed In Afghanistan

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: Afghanistan, DynCorp, green on blue, Joseph Griffin, police mentor — Matt @ 11:22 PM

Rest in peace to the fallen and my heart goes out to the friends and family of Joseph Griffin. What makes this green on blue incident different from others is that it was a female police officer that shot him. –Matt

DynCorp International Police Mentor Killed in Afghanistan
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – December 24, 2012 – Joseph Griffin, 49, of Mansfield, Ga., was tragically killed in Kabul, Afghanistan, on December 24, 2012, while supporting the Afghan Ministry of Interior and Afghan National Police Development Program (AMDP). Mr. Griffin worked in support of several of the company’s global training and mentoring programs since November 2000; he began his most recent assignment in July 2011. A veteran of the U.S. military who served in various U.S.-based law enforcement positions over the years, Mr. Griffin was an experienced professional who will be missed by his colleagues.
“Joe spent his career helping people all over the world, most recently working to help the Afghan people secure a better future,” said Steve Gaffney, chairman and CEO of DynCorp International. “The loss of any team member is tragic but to have this happen over the holidays makes it seem all the more unfair. Our thoughts and prayers are with Joe’s family, loved ones and colleagues during this difficult time.”
Under the AMDP contract with the U.S. Army, DI assists the NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan (NTM-A/CSTC-A) by providing training and mentoring services for the Afghanistan Ministry of Interior and Afghan National Police.
Press Release here.

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Mission to help costs Griffin man his life
By Craig Schneider
The pain had a precise beginning for the family of Joseph Griffin: the moment on Christmas Eve morning when government agents came to the door, bringing his wife, Rennae, the news dreaded by every wife of a man at war.
When the pain will ease, nobody can say, because it is compounded by the strangeness of his death and the lengthy process of unraveling why he died.
Griffin, a Newton County resident working as civilian adviser to the Afghan police, was shot and killed Monday at police headquarters in Kabul by a woman described as a police sergeant.
Questions have been swirling since: Who is the woman? Did she have permission to be there and carry a gun? What was her motive? Was the killing without either political overtones or personal connections, as authorities have said?
This week, the family struggled with their grief. They had a Christmas anyway at the family farm near Cedartown, if only to let the kids open gifts.

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Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Industry Talk: US Boosts Security For Afghan Contractors

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: Afghanistan, green on blue, Industry Talk, insider attacks, nathan hodge — Matt @ 12:52 PM

Finally, a discussion about contractor safety in Afghanistan. Although I have yet to hear any talk about it in the contracting community, as to these specific measures. A big hat tip to Nathan Hodge for writing this and getting it out there. –Matt

U.S. Boosts Security For Afghan Contractors
By Nathan Hodge
August 29th, 2012
The U.S. military has added previously undisclosed security measures for contractors in Afghanistan, amid a wave of insider attacks by Afghan soldiers and police and the continuing withdrawal of coalition troops.
Separately, the top U.S. general’s plane was hit by insurgent fire early Tuesday as it sat on a runway at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan. Indirect rounds fired shortly after midnight damaged the C-17 transport plane of Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and another helicopter, according to the U.S.-led coalition.
The general and his entourage weren’t on the plane at the time and weren’t injured, the coalition said, adding the entourage took another military aircraft to leave Afghanistan. The attack came just months after an Afghan civilian tried to drive a stolen vehicle into the U.S. defense secretary’s plane during a similar visit.
In scheduled meetings with U.S. commanders in Afghanistan and Afghan military officials, Gen. Dempsey had focused on the rise in attacks on U.S. military forces by Afghan police and army personnel.
The U.S.-led coalition has also ordered tighter “force protection” measures for contract personnel who are involved in military training, according to Royal Canadian Air Force Maj. Steve Neta, a spokesman for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization training mission in Afghanistan.
A NATO document viewed by The Wall Street Journal outlines a number of extra precautions for contractors, including requiring personnel to travel in more heavily armored convoys with military-compatible communications, GPS trackers and specific weaponry.
Maj. Neta said the coalition, as a matter of policy, doesn’t discuss specific protection measures.
“We did make revisions to a policy relating to our contractors, although this wasn’t precipitated by any one event,” he said. “Force protection is a fundamental element to our operations here and we feel that our personnel understand that measures are implemented in the interest of providing as safe an environment as possible.”
The increased security for contractors was put in place in recent months alongside efforts to increase security for coalition troops. Contractors and coalition troops alike have been increasingly targeted recently by uniformed Afghan soldiers and policemen, in so called “green-on-blue” attacks. Over the past two weeks, at least 10 U.S. troops have been killed in attacks by Afghan troops on their international colleagues.

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