Thursday, September 24, 2009
Technology: MAG, A 256 Player Virtual War Game Between Three PMC’s
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Afghanistan: Lack of Troops + Lack of Afghan Police and Military + High Security Demand = Using Security Contractors?
I would like to put this out there that this industry is ready to pounce on whatever the war effort requires. If you need more security for your civilian surge, then hot damn, the security contracting industry will jump on it and meet your needs. If you need to secure convoys and guard routes up in the north, then security contractors could totally do that. If you need to train up thousands of Afghan police and military, then security contractors can totally do that as well. Whatever the war effort needs, it could be solved by utilizing the free market power of the security contracting industry. With just one caveat though.
The government must take responsibility for contracting those services. You must manage these contracts by providing the necessary man power to watch the companies, and you must write smart contracts that give the companies everything they need to accomplish the mission yet still makes it easy to control them. This is not a difficult concept to understand, and each contract should be treated with the utmost respect and care. Give the contract what it needs to be successful, by applying quality control measures and some Kaizen. Be like the worried home owner, watching over the building of their house, and the government will do just fine with managing these contracts.
The deal is that we have been doing these jobs in the war for awhile, and the only reason they have faltered is because of the lack of oversight by the government. This lack of oversight allows the environment necessary for poor management to happen within the companies.
And what really kills me is that we have seen an increase of security contractors in Afghanistan this year, so this post is completely relevant to the discussion about what is possible. Once there is good leadership on the government’s part, the companies will fall in line. We have a chance to do this right, but it takes real effort and an application of lessons learned to get it done. The pay off will be mission accomplishment and victory, and that would be something we could all be proud of and celebrate. –Matt
——————————————————————
Taliban grab foothold in north
By Jonathan S. Landay
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
Monday, Aug. 31 2009
BAGHLAN-I-JADID, Afghanistan — Taliban insurgents have taken over parts of two
northern provinces from which they were driven in 2001, threatening to disrupt
NATO’s new supply route from Central Asia and expand a war that has largely
Friday, August 28, 2009
Books: The Tactical Trainer: A Few Thoughts On Training And Training Management From A Former Special Operations Soldier, By Msg. Paul R. Howe, U.S. Army Retired
Add this to your reading list. Paul Howe has produced another outstanding resource for the military/police/contractor community. For the record, I have not read this book because it just came out. If any FJ readers have anything to say about the book, let it rip in the comments section, because I would be very interested to hear any feedback on the thing. –Matt
—————————————————————–
The Tactical Trainer: A Few Thoughts On Training And Training Management From A Former Special Operations Soldier
By Msg. Paul R. Howe, U.S. Army Retired
I will be describing how to structure high risk tactical courses in this book. I have developed these courses through my years of instruction with CSAT (Combat Shooting and Tactics). While I describe various techniques, I will limit any description of tactics as the bad guys have a tendency to study our work. Sometimes, I will be generic and it will be so on purpose.
I will also describe some “near misses” and training accidents in this work. This is not to demean or cast a shadow on those involved. It is necessary to learn from our mistakes. If we cover them up, they will be repeated at the same price-the loss of a human life. My goal is to always give safer and more efficient training techniques to fix the problem. These safety techniques will come through a logical stair-stepped methodology.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Industry Talk: Justice in Iraq, Contractors with PTSD and Taking Care of Our People
Mr Fitzsimons posted details about his military past on a Facebook page set up to honour fallen service personnel. He tells of his time in 2 Para and his 3½ years in private security work. He advises soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan: “Stay safe and to those who will return to fight a different battle … A war inside your head.”
Ever since this story came out in regards to the Armor Group shootings and this Fitzsimons guy, I have been thinking about the FJ point of view on this. More specifically, the Jundism point of view. The one thing I keep coming back to as far as the correct point of view, is ‘have the courage to do what is right’ or in the case of this story, have the courage to say what is right.
Even though this guy killed two of his comrades in cold blood, as well as wounding an Iraqi, I think what is even more important out of all of this, is that Mr. Fitzsimons gets a fair trial in Iraq. And if he cannot get a fair trial there, then I think it would be better to get him back to the UK to try him. I want justice, as do most, but I do not want to witness something that is even more ‘ugly’ and vile. So the question is, would he get a fair trial in Iraq?
Undoubtedly, contractors are not liked in Iraq, and it would not surprise me that he would be given a death sentence in Iraq. And you know, the death sentence is a part of the Iraqi justice system (they have hanged quite a few guys, to include Saddam). It’s just that in this case, Fitzsimons killed an Australian and a Briton, and wounded an Iraqi, while in Iraq. I guess he would fall under the laws of Iraq, based on the SOFA agreement, but there is an argument that he should fall under British law or even UCMJ, if he was under contract through a DoD gig. I don’t know, but I do know that the imagery of a contractor hanging from the gallows of Iraq would be quite the message. Not only to the industry but to the public and especially to Iraqis. That message is another area we need to go over.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Hawaii: The Hawaii Military Surfing Organization
I thought this was a pretty cool deal. Although I have never been to their place over there, I am sure there are a couple of readers that have or have heard of it. Maybe someone will come up with a Hawaii Contractor Surfing Organization one day? lol –Matt
—————————————————————–
Welcome to the Hawaii Military Surfing Organization (HMSO) website. Our goal is pretty simple – to unite military surfers and provide them with an outlet to enjoy surfing. It does not matter what level of surfer you are, what your rank is or was, or branch of service. What matters to us is that you either want to learn to surf or have already caught the surf bug. Our common thread is a distinct love and respect of the ocean combined with our dedicated service to our country. We’d recommend you cruise the website and learn something about who we are, who we accept as members, what our Community Outreach is, and what we stand for as a club. If you think you fit the mold and would like to join, then contact us by all means. If you want to support our Organization – then we have HMSO Logo Items for sale on the website on the “Gear” link. Thanks again for visiting us and we look forward to hearing from you. Aloha
Chaz Bowser – President HMSO
*****
HMSO’s History
The Hawaii Military Surfing Organization was originally founded in 1969 by a small group of military surfers at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii as a club for the sole purpose of having a group with a common interest. This group interest was not a rebellion, but merely a way for service members returning from the Vietnam Conflict to band together as surfers and to enjoy their favorite recreational activity. Originally known as “The Ali’i He’e Nalu Surfing Club”, the club struggled through the end of the Vietnam era and through the 1970’s. Membership increased and decreased through the years due to many factors. Membership records were not maintained nor were other administrative files however, in true Hawaiian tradition, a verbal history was maintained. Much of this verbal history has been lost through the years. In the mid 1980’s the club saw a resurgence in activity with the onset of club competitions at local Hawaiian beaches. Aside from these club competitions, other club functions were virtually non-existent.
In the early 1990’s the club was renamed “The Hawaii Military Surfing Ohana” and there was an increased level of activity and membership along with an occasional club competition as well as occasional surf trips to outer islands. In 1995, the club leadership was assumed by Mike White who pursued an increase in club activities to build more of a frequent meeting schedule and develop contacts along the North Shore of Oahu. Mike White began holding the annual HMSO surf contest and generated contest sponsorship by Glen Moncata of Quiksilver, Fred Patacchia Sr of Hawaiian Surf, John Moore of Strong Current and Ken Bradshaw of Bradshaw Hawaii. Mike White also became a friend of Randy Rarick and Bernie Baker who are influential members of the modern day professional surfing industry.
In 1998, Mike White handed the HMSO presidency over to Mike Fulcher who had a vision of a larger HMSO that included military surfers from around the globe. Upon assumption of the HMSO presidency, Mike Fulcher initiated a membership drive and advertising campaign on behalf of the HMSO in which membership jumped from a mere 24 members located only in Hawaii to well over 500 HMSO members worldwide. The HMSO was expanded to include affiliate self-governing chapters in Japan, Southern California, Northern California, Florida, Mid Atlantic and Western Europe. The annual HMSO competition was promoted worldwide and became the Annual International Military Surfing Championships. Competitive eligibility evolved from just local club members in Hawaii to truly International Military members from such countries as Australia, Japan, England and South Africa. Sponsorship of the HMSO jumped considerably and included not only local Hawaiian small businesses, but large businesses such as Anheuser Busch/Budweiser, XCEL Wetsuits, SURFER Magazine, The Military Times, Surfrider Foundation and many others. Mike Fulcher also increased the club activities to include HMSO assistance provided to the local communities by providing manpower to assist with the construction of The Triple Crown of Surfing event venues as well as The Haleiwa Arts Festival. In conjunction with Surfrider Foundation, the HMSO conducted beach clean-up activities as a way of giving back to the community and showing appreciation to the locals for the beauty of the beaches of Hawaii. In agreement with Town & Country Surfboards (Glassworks Hawaii) and Iris Rapoza, Mike Fulcher began repairing surfboards donated by T & C for the purpose of providing surfboards to underprivileged local children. The occasional surf trip to the outer islands became an annual event and through fundraising activities, the HMSO took an annual surf trip to Kauai. Other surf trips were taken by HMSO club members to remote locations such as The Mentawai Islands of Indonesia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica.
In 2003, as Mike Fulcher was retiring from military service, the club became stagnant and remained so for over 5 years. In early 2009, Chaz Bowser contacted former club president Mike Fulcher and long standing HMSO member Dave Elliott, who happened to be the man behind the original HMSO website. Between these three gents, a plan was hatched in which Chaz Bowser would revive the HMSO and restructure the organization into a more modern organization with a business approach that will provide stability for the club while providing a service to military personnel. The HMSO was redesignated as “The Hawaii Military Surfing Organization…est 1969?.