Feral Jundi

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Industry Talk: Rest In Peace Ryan Lozier, Adam Spain, and David Hughes

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 2:24 AM

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

Edit: July 9, 2011–Ryan Lozier was awarded the Defense Medal of Freedom medal posthumously. Here is the link.

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Middletown grad killed in Afghanistan

Ryan Lozier died ‘doing what he loved’

By Rick McCrabb, Staff Writer

May 11, 2010

MIDDLETOWN — Two days before Mother’s Day, Viki Lozier was notified that her oldest son, Ryan Lozier, 30, a 1998 Middletown High School graduate, was killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan while working for Global Security Solutions, a private security company.

Viki Lozier said her son served eight years in the Army Ranger Battalion in Afghanistan and Iraq. He worked for a year in the private sector, then joined the security company.

“He told me, ‘Mom, this is what I’m meant to do. I want to save people and this is what I love,’ ” she said Monday, May 10.

“As a mother, I have to honor that. I can’t be mad. There is nobody to blame. That’s how he lived. He died doing what he loved.”

She described her son as “big, bold and bright,” and he didn’t do anything “half-measured, even when he was getting in trouble.”

Lozier, a standout athlete, played football at Madison High School, then transferred to Middletown High School for his junior and senior years.

(more…)

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Afghanistan: Government Has Barred Compass ISS And Watan Risk Management

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 11:21 AM

     Wow, Compass ISS and Watan Risk are huge companies that have been operating for awhile there, so I am not sure if this is a for sure deal or not.  If so, all of their competitors are probably licking their chops right now.

     Overall, this is a necessary move in order to get a handle on the situation and send a message to the 52 registered security companies in Afghanistan. Which is a good thing, because every innocent killed will only enrage the civilian population, and increase support for the Taliban shadow government.

     Now if I was the Afghan government, I would pour on the juice when the Taliban kill civilians.  Do not give them a free pass, and every time a Taliban force kills a civilian, it should be highlighted as to how un-islamic they are and how little they care for the civilian population’s safety. It’s called propaganda and it should be part of their strategic communications plan.  The Afghan government must sell itself as a better idea than the Taliban, and win over the civilian population.  –Matt

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Afghanistan bars security firms

04/09/2010

KABUL — Afghanistan has barred two private security firms from one of the country’s most dangerous highways after their guards shot and killed two civilians, the government said Sunday.

The victims were killed accidentally in separate incidents on the road that connects the Afghan capital Kabul to the south — the heartland of the Taliban militants waging a bloody insurgency against the Western-backed government.

Civilian deaths are a highly sensitive issue in Afghanistan and interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary said both companies had also been ordered to pay compensation to the victims’ families.

“The perpetrators of both incidents have been arrested and are being prosecuted,” he told journalists at a press conference in Kabul following the killings, which both occurred in the last two weeks.

“The ministry of interior warns all private security firms to conduct their operations within the boundaries of the law and avoid shooting at people.”

The two firms, Compass and Watan Risk Management, are among 52 private security companies registered to operate in Afghanistan, where security has deteriorated in recent years.

Their clients include NATO and US-led forces, aid agencies and private businesses, which use them to provide armed escorts for convoys travelling on dangerous roads.

Civilian deaths caused by foreign forces fell 28 percent last year, the United Nations has said.

But such incidents continue to undermine efforts to win Afghan hearts and minds and are a source of tension between the Afghan government and foreign forces.

The United States and allies are ordering thousands of extra troops to Afghanistan, where foreign troop numbers are set to peak at 150,000 by August, in a bid to reverse the Taliban insurgency as quickly as possible.

Most of the extra troops will deploy in the southern provinces of Kandahar and Helmand, where the Afghan government said three of its soldiers had been killed over the past 24 hours.

The troops were operating with international forces in the Sangin district of Helmand, the defence ministry said in a statement.

Story here.

Industry Talk: KBR To Get No-Bid Army Work As U.S. Alleges Kickbacks

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq,Legal News,Logistics — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 4:02 AM

     “Odierno said, ‘I’ve got three million pieces of equipment I’ve got to get out of Iraq, I’ve got 100 or so bases to close, I’ve got to move 80,000-plus people out of here and you want me to change horses in the middle of the stream?’” Casey recounted.

*****

   Interesting news.  I thought the current administration made a point of limiting the practice of no-bid contracts in this war? Reality sets in I guess…..

   My only thoughts on this whole deal is that the DoD realizes that they actually need KBR for the massive draw down in Iraq, and the build up in Afghanistan.  It is a crucial time period, and it could be costly and time consuming to switch companies during this time period.  The bottom line–the DoD and the administration needs KBR, if they want to be successful in their current strategies. Hell, the numbers and facts speak for themselves and we are more vital than ever before to the current war effort. –Matt

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KBR to Get No-Bid Army Work as U.S. Alleges Kickbacks

May 06, 2010

(Updates with General Casey’s comment in 10th and 11th paragraphs, McCaskill comment in third paragraph from end.)

By Tony Capaccio

May 6 (Bloomberg) — KBR Inc. was selected for a no-bid contract worth as much as $568 million through 2011 for military support services in Iraq, the Army said.

The Army announced its decision yesterday only hours after the Justice Department said it will pursue a lawsuit accusing the Houston-based company of taking kickbacks from two subcontractors on Iraq-related work. The Army also awarded the work to KBR over objections from members of Congress, who have pushed the Pentagon to seek bids for further logistics contracts.

The Justice Department said the government will join a suit filed by whistleblowers alleging that two freight-forwarding firms gave KBR transportation department employees kickbacks in the form of meals, drinks, sports tickets and golf outings.

(more…)

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Publications: GAO Report On Afghanistan Security Environment

Filed under: Afghanistan,Publications — Tags: , , , , , , — Matt @ 8:45 AM

   Let me summarize this thing for you, because this is the message I got.  We sent all of these government folks over to Afghanistan, but we don’t have enough military escorts to take them around the country to implement their projects.  In other words, there is a high demand for security. Where is the surge of security contractors needed to get this stuff done?

   They also talk about an increase in attacks and casualties, but that is largely contributed to the idea that there are more targets for the Taliban to go after and we are now in the fighting season (spring, summer).

   Now for my suggestion. If you want security and there are not enough military folks to do the job, then contract it out. Obviously security forces are at a premium there, and soldiers are kind of busy taking the fight to the enemy.  If you want to get more security in that country in order to cover down on all of these projects, and do it quickly, then contract it out.  I know security contractors are not the most favored choice of government these days, but honestly, they don’t have much choice in the matter if they want to do what they gotta do in Afghanistan.  It’s either that, or just send all of these government employees back home because they are waste of space.

   I would also recommend using expats, as opposed to using corrupt local security companies.  Or combine expat companies with local security companies for security operations.  Where there is a will, there is a way. Hell, you could contract out the security of an entire town if you wanted, and contractors could actually be a huge contributor to the ‘hold’ and ‘build’ portion of the COIN strategy.  Leave the ‘clear’ portion of the strategy to the military, and assign what you can to the ‘hold’ forces.

   One last thing, and I hate to beat a dead horse.  There are plenty of reports, lessons learned, SOPs, experienced contractors, expert input, blah blah blah out there to get this done properly.(man is it tiring to continue to read about how poor government is at learning anything. pfffft)  Either way, there should be no excuses for mismanagement of this ‘surge of security contractors’ into Afghanistan that I am talking about. Or we can continue to read about these people who are sitting around and doing nothing because of a lack of security for their operation. –Matt

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GAO Report On Afghanistan Security Environment

May 5, 2010

(one portion of the report below, follow link to read the rest)

Agencies Cite Security Challenges to Stabilization Efforts in Afghanistan 

   State’s January 2010 Afghanistan and Pakistan Regional Stabilization Strategy cites reconstruction and development as key elements of the overall effort to stabilize Afghanistan and reduce the strength of the insurgency. However, the strategy acknowledges that the success of such civilian programs in Afghanistan is contingent on improved security. In November 2009, we reported that while U.S. and international development projects in Afghanistan had made some progress, deteriorating security complicated such efforts to stabilize and rebuild the country.

(more…)

Friday, April 16, 2010

Technology: Boron Nanowires Could Turn T-shirts Into Body Armor

Filed under: Technology — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 11:44 PM

   How cool would that be?  Not to mention the reduction for the soldier’s load or a reduction in the amount of medical claims for back problems do to wearing heavy armor. I like this kind of science and keep it up guys. –Matt

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Boron nanowires could turn T-shirts into body armor

April 6, 2010

(Nanowerk News) A simple cotton T-shirt may one day be converted into tougher, more comfortable body armor for soldiers or police officers.

Researchers at the University of South Carolina, collaborating with others from China and Switzerland, drastically increased the toughness of a T-shirt by combining the carbon in the shirt’s cotton with boron – the third hardest material on earth. The result is a lightweight shirt reinforced with boron carbide, the same material used to protect tanks.

Dr. Xiaodong Li, USC College of Engineering and Computing Distinguished Professor in Mechanical Engineering, co-authored the recent article on the research in the journal, Advanced Materials.

“USC is playing a leading role in this area. This is a true breakthrough,” Li said, calling the research “a conceptual change in fabricating lightweight, fuel-efficient, super-strong and ultra-tough materials. This groundbreaking new study opens up unprecedented opportunities.”

The scientists started with plain, white T-shirts that were cut into thin strips and dipped into a boron solution. The strips were later removed from the solution and heated in an oven. The heat changes the cotton fibers into carbon fibers, which react with the boron solution and produce boron carbide.

The result is a fabric that’s lightweight but tougher and stiffer than the original T-shirt, yet flexible enough that it can be bent, said Li, who led the group from USC. That flexibility is an improvement over the heavy boron-carbide plates used in bulletproof vests and body armor.

(more…)

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