Feral Jundi

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Legal News: DoD General Counsel Issues Guidance On Tax Exemptions For Contractors And Contractor Personnel In Iraq And Afghanistan

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk,Iraq,Legal News — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:40 PM

The Government of the United States of America, its military and civilian personnel, contractors, and contractor personnel shall not be liable to pay any tax or similar charge assessed within Afghanistan…. Acquisition of articles and services in the republic of Afghanistan by or on behalf of the Government of the United States of America in implementing this agreement shall not be subject to any taxes, customs duties or similar charges in Afghanistan. -From the US/Afghan SOFA

Below I have posted both fact sheets that detail exactly what parts of the SOFA agreements we signed with Iraq and Afghanistan that details these exemptions. So this is the battle line that the US government has drawn, and these are the agreements between the US and these countries.  So if you think you or your company is being wrongly taxed or charged by government folks in these countries, you need to let your company know and remind all parties of what the position of the US government is on this matter. If you give these folks an inch, they will take a mile. –Matt

DoD General Counsel Issues Guidance on Tax Exemptions for Contractors and Contractor Personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan
April 20, 2011
The United States is bound by two distinct international agreements which contain specific provisions regarding the tax exemptions afforded to U.S. contractors and U.S. contractor employees in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) was entered into force on May 28, 2003. In Iraq, the U.S.-Iraq Security Agreement was entered into force on January 1, 2009. Both agreements provide broad tax exemptions for U.S. government personnel, including contractors and contractor employees doing business on behalf of the U.S. government. The terms of the agreements generally do not provide tax exemptions for persons or legal entities normally resident in Iraq or Afghanistan.
On March 28, 2011, DoD/OGC issued two fact sheets—one for Iraq and one for Afghanistan—addressing the tax exemptions for U.S. federal government contractors and contractor employees conducting business in these countries:
DoD/OGC fact sheet on Tax Exemptions for United States Contractors and United States Contract Personnel-Iraq
DoD/OGC fact sheet on Tax Exemptions for United States Contractors and United States Contract Personnel-Afghanistan

Monday, April 18, 2011

Legal News: Jailing Of Croatian General Ignites Anger At EU

Filed under: Croatia,Industry Talk,Legal News — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 11:56 AM

These forces had received instruction by a U.S.-based firm, Military Professional Resources Incorporated (MPRI), headed by retired General Carl Vuono, which provided (along with French Foreign Legion organized training camp in Šepurine near Zadar) mainly the commissioned-officers training, but had no significant intelligence activities or professional influence on senior Croatian military strategy and tactics. Its engagement was approved by the U.S. government.
Former President Bill Clinton wrote in his memoirs that he believed the Serbs could only be brought to the negotiating table if they sustained major losses on the ground. The negotiations produced the Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the war in the Balkans.
Former US peace negotiator Richard Holbrooke said “he realised how much the Croatian offensive in the Krajina profoundly changed the nature of the Balkan game and thus this diplomatic offensive.” Retired four-star General Wesley Clark, Director, Strategic Plans and Policy (J5) for the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff and later Supreme Allied Commander Europe simply called it a turning point. -From Wikipedia

Thanks to Cannoneer #4 for sending me this.  As everyone remembers, MPRI was instrumental to Operation Storm and licensed by the US government to do what they were doing in Croatia at this time. As the quotes above state, this victory in Croatia was a ‘turning point’ of the Balkans Conflict.

Awhile back, I also posted a deal where MPRI was being sued by Serbians that were impacted by this operation.  No word yet on how that is going. –Matt

Jailing of Croat general ignites anger at EU
April 16, 2011
By DUSAN STOJANOVI
Anger at a U.N. court’s jailing of a Croatian war hero erupted into fury at the European Union and this country’s pro-Western government on Saturday when thousands of enraged veterans of the Balkan conflict tore EU flags and denounced the conservative administration.
The court in The Hague, Netherlands, on Friday sentenced Gen. Ante Gotovina to 24 years in prison for atrocities committed by his troops during “Operation Storm” — a 1995 military offensive designed to drive the Serb rebels out a swath of Croatia they had occupied. (more…)

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Publications: Contractor Support Of USCENTCOM AOR, 2nd Quarter FY 2011

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk,Iraq,Publications — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 11:24 AM

Contractor Support Of USCENTCOM AOR, 2nd Quarter FY 2011

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Industry Talk: China Establishes The Ministry Of Public Security–First ‘Legit’ PSC Formed

Filed under: China,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 9:32 AM

“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

Filed under: Cool Stuff,History,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 4:16 PM

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…)

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