Feral Jundi

Friday, October 1, 2010

Industry Talk: DoS Gives 8 Base Contract Awards For Worldwide Protective Services Program

Filed under: Afghanistan,Industry Talk,Iraq,Jobs — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:14 PM

     Excellent news and congrats to all of these companies who won a contract. And now the real fun will begin. lol

     Expect a flurry of training and vetting to get this massive security force up and running. DoS and these companies have their work cut out for them. –Matt

Edit: 10/02/2010 -Also check out Danger Room’s run down of the awards. TC lost the embassy gig in Iraq to SOC (potential of $974 million/5 year), and AGNA lost their gig at the Kabul Embassy to EODT( potential of $274 million/ 5 year).  Xe was able to get an award via International Development Solutions.

——————————————————————

The Worldwide Protective Services (WPS) program provides comprehensive protective security services to support U.S. Department of State operations around the world.

Sep 30, 2010

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) made the following eight base contract awards for the Bureau of Diplomatic Security – Worldwide Protective Services (WPS) Program resulting from solicitation: SAQMMA10R0005 (-a) on September 29, 2010.  The maximum program value is $10,000,000,000.00 USD.  The maximum value is cumulative and includes all work performed by all contractors during the WPS program period of performance, including all option periods.The base contracts include a one year base period of performance with four one year option periods.  DOS included the minimum guarantee of $5,000.00 for each WPS contractor with each base contract award.Please see section M of solicitation: SAQMMA10R0005 (-a) for more information on the evaluation criteria that DOS used to select the firms listed below for base contract awards.

Aegis Defense Services, LLC

DynCorp International, LLC

EOD Technology, Inc.

Global Strategies Group (Integrated Security), Inc.

International Development Solutions,

SOC, LLC.

Torres International Services, LLC.

Triple Canopy, Inc.

Link to FBO website here.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Jundism: ‘Have The Courage To Do What Is Right’– Security Contractor Shane Schmidt Rest In Peace

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq,Jundism — Tags: , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:56 AM

     I wanted to post this story as an example to us all.  ‘Have the courage to do what is right’ is a Jundism concept that I have hit on before here on the blog, and Shane Schmidt is a prime example of what this means.

     For circumstances like this when a co-worker or leader has crossed the line, it is your responsibility and moral obligation to do what is right and turn that bastard in. If you don’t, who will?  And if you don’t, then these heathens will take you, your company, and your customer down with them and everyone in the company and industry suffers.

     Do not listen to those in your company who are weak minded and lack that moral standard to do what is right. Listen to your heart and listen to your soul and do what you have to do. That is all.

     Bravo to Shane Schmidt (and Charles Sheppard) and Semper Fi. –Matt

—————————————————————-

Shane Schmidt

Shane Schmidt, shown in Iraq, and others with Triple Canopy said a colleague fired unprovoked into an occupied taxi and pickup truck. (Courtesy Of Shane Schmidt)

Sued U.S. defense contractor in Iraq

By Emma BrownFriday, September 24, 2010

Shane Schmidt, a private security guard in Iraq who raised questions about lax government oversight of U.S. defense contractors when he accused his boss of randomly shooting at, and perhaps killing, civilians in Baghdad, died Sept. 19 at a hospital in Marshfield, Wis. He was 33.

Mr. Schmidt, a Haymarket resident who was visiting family in Wisconsin, was crossing a road near Marshfield just after midnight when he was struck by a vehicle. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died, according to a news release from the local sheriff’s department. The incident was under investigation.

Mr. Schmidt was a Marine Corps sniper who served two tours in Afghanistan before taking a job in 2004 with Triple Canopy, a Herndon-based company and one of the largest defense contractors working with the U.S. military in Iraq.

For $500 a day, he provided protection for American bases and visiting military personnel and contractors.

On July 8, 2006, the former Marine was one of four Triple Canopy employees traveling in an armored sport-utility vehicle to the Baghdad airport.

(more…)

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Industry Talk: Three Triple Canopy Security Contractors Killed In Green Zone Rocket Attack, Iraq

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iran,Iraq — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 11:26 PM

   Rest in peace to the fallen.  This last couple of weeks has been a bad one for our industry and my heart goes out to the friends and family of the dead.  These deaths are also a reminder of the kind of sacrifice this industry is making in this war.

   As for Iraq, I expect to see more deaths as our industry steps up to fill more security vacuums created by the departure of troops.  The war is entering a very interesting and dangerous phase, and one in which the enemy will certainly try to take advantage.  They will probably step up attacks on the Iraqi government, as well as step up any attacks on places that are in the process of transition.

    What I mean by that is as we hand over more responsibilities to the Iraqis in terms of security, or in terms of occupying key bases, the enemy will do all they can to throw a wrench into that process.  Anything they can do to show how ineffectual the government is, or their inability to protect the citizenry, will be in the play book. They will do all they can to present an image that all the hard work and progress made by the US and it’s partners in Iraq, went out the window as they leave by the thousands. This time period will certainly be a test for Iraq and it’s security forces.

    I suspect that the enemy will also see what they can get away with, with the new security arrangements between the Iraqi forces and whatever ‘civilian forces’ we have left in the country. That means mortar or rocket attacks to test any counter attacks, or they might even take a page from the Afghan playbook and try some ‘suicide assaulter’ attacks at bases and outposts.

     Not to mention the fact that the Iranians will probably have a hand in some of this transitional chaos. It was reported that this is a concern, and I could see those guys gearing up for some Iraq play time as well. Only time will tell. –Matt

——————————————————————

Three U.S. Embassy guards killed in rocket attack in Baghdad’s Green Zone

By Ernesto LondoñoFriday, July 23, 2010

BAGHDAD — A rocket attack in Baghdad’s Green Zone Thursday afternoon killed three guards employed by the U.S. Embassy and wounded 15 people, including two Americans, the embassy said.

Two of the guards killed were Ugandan and one was Peruvian, embassy officials said.

Also Thursday, Iraqi officials disclosed that four detainees linked to the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq escaped this week from a prison the United States handed over to Iraqi control last week.

In a statement on the Green Zone attack, the embassy said those killed or wounded worked for a government contractor that protects U.S. facilities in Iraq. Herndon-based Triple Canopy employs the Ugandan and Peruvian guards who work at the embassy.

The statement did not say whether the rocket landed inside the embassy compound. Some of the guards work at outer checkpoints.

The United States has long employed Peruvian guards to protect civilian and military installations in Iraq. In recent months, according to guards, it has begun phasing out Peruvians in favor of Ugandans, who work for less money. Guards from third-country nations earn $450 to $1,000 a month, the guards said.

Insurgents have for years lobbed rockets toward the heavily guarded, sprawling U.S. Embassy compound inside the Green Zone. Such attacks intensified in the spring and summer of 2007 and again in the spring of 2008, and have since occurred sporadically. Most do not result in casualties.

The attack underscored the tenuousness of security a month before the U.S. military is scheduled to declare the nominal end of its combat mission in Iraq and reduce its troop level to 50,000.

Although violence has decreased in the country, attacks occur almost daily, and many Iraqis fear that political violence will intensify in the months ahead as a struggle for power spawned by the inconclusive March 7 parliamentary elections drags on.

(more…)

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Industry Talk: DoS Doubling Their Security Contractor Force In Iraq?

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 2:55 AM

     But according to a joint statement issued by commission co-chairs Michael Thibault and Christopher Shays, the State Department may also need to more than double its private security force, from around 2,700 today to 6,000 or 7,000 personnel. 

*****

     All I have to say, is wow!  That is a lot of jobs for the industry.  I posted awhile back about the DoS’s coming requirements in Iraq as troops draw down, and it is amazing to me that congress or anyone covering this would be surprised by what will be required of this contractor force. Rescuing downed air crewmen or diplomats won’t be the only jobs for these types of forces, now that the troops will be gone.  Other scenarios might present themselves as well, and taking care of these problems was usually the task of troops.

     With the troops in Iraq, the mission of searching for and destroying mortar teams or rocket teams was their task.  (even counter sniper missions, but DoS and others have always had their own contractor designated marksmen)  But now that the troops will be leaving, who will take over these jobs?  The Iraqis?  Well I hope for the sake of the DoS and their various camps throughout Iraq, that they trust the Iraqis enough to take care of these kinds of attacks. Because as the troops leave, I think attacks will surge, and the insurgency or others will be focusing on making the phased withdrawal look like a bloody retreat.  That means an increase in attacks, and it is what I would do if I was the enemy.

     With that said, it does not surprise me that DoS would want this kind of hardware and manpower.  It would also not surprise me that the missions of contractors will include a lot more responsibilities.  Rescuing downed crewmen in aircraft or sending quick reaction forces to aid convoys and motorcades in trouble will require equipment and capability that mimics what the military had for such operations.  Anything less, and now you are putting those crews at risk, as well as putting the lives of folks doing work in the field at risk.  Congress must know that if DoS does not have dedicated reserves, either military or contractors, that it cannot safely do what it has to do.

      I will take it a step further.  Contractor QRF’s will be the ones responding to these indirect and direct attacks on the bases, and these QRF’s must have all the tools necessary to do the job.  Whatever a platoon in the military has, a contractor force should have, and I see no reason for limited that QRF or hamstringing them by only allowing them small caliber weapons with limited range or capability.  I say contractor QRF’s, because what happens when the Iraqis refuse to do the job?  It’s either use that contractor QRF, or sit in your base and take fire indefinitely, and watch as your casualties grow and your compound gets reduced to ashes and rubble?  Or you could send up a Blackhawk with weapons mounted on it, and that contractor crew will have to take care of the problem from the air.

     My point with all of this, is that in order for us to achieve this troop draw down, as well as maintain a civilian presence in Iraq so we can continue to help that government stay on track, congress is going to have to face some realities. I think that is the overall message that DoS was sending to congress, and it is the message I got out of all of this.  The way I see it, security contractors are all they have….. unless congress wants to implement the draft or halts the troop drawdown. But then of course you have Afghanistan and all their troop requirements.  So yet again, we are presented by a scenario where contractors are the best thing we got in order to fill a manpower/security vacuum, during a crucial phase of a war…..  Your welcome. lol –Matt

——————————————————————

U.S. Contractor Use in Iraq Expected To Rise

By WILLIAM MATTHEWS

12 Jul 2010

As the U.S. military pulls troops and equipment out of Iraq, the State Department will have to rely increasingly on contractors to perform such services as flying rescue helicopters and disarming roadside bombs, a congressional commission warned.

That is not an ideal solution but none other seems available, members of the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan said during a July 12 hearing.

While the Defense Department works to reduce its dependence on contractors, the State Department will have to greatly increase its use of hired help.

“Boy, that really troubles me,” said Dov Zakheim, a commission member and former Pentagon budget chief. “You’re going to be getting contractors not only doing what they’re doing today, but doing things that are inherently governmental.”

(more…)

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Industry Talk: Triple Canopy and DoS In The Hot Seat Over Iraq Embassy Issues

Filed under: Industry Talk,Iraq — Tags: , , , , , , , — Matt @ 12:32 AM

   First off, I want to thank all the contractors who are sending tips to POGO and the IG and revealing what is really going on with this contract. POGO will gladly take whatever you got, if it is pertinent to the embassy contract. If the company or DoS does not want to do the right thing with this contract and take care of their people or manage the contract properly, then I say report it.

   I also want to bring up a tidbit that one of the media rags brought up, that I thought was telling.  Here is the quote:

 

      A footnote buried in the report suggests that Triple Canopy officials may have tried to impede State Department investigators from getting the full story. Prior to a site visit by IG investigators, according to the report, Triple Canopy’s Iraq program manager, deputy program manager, and guard force commander coached the company’s guards on how they should respond to questions about working conditions and other matters. They circulated a memo containing “Pre-Inspection Guidance” that warned the guards about saying too much and contained what appears to be a thinly veiled threat:

     “Answer to break question for guards is 15 minutes morning, 30 minutes lunch, and 15 minutes afternoon. DO NOT SAY: “I do not have a relief supervisor today.” Instead, and only if asked, I am sharing a relief supervisor with (name other venue). Do not elaborate on answers to inspectors questions. Answer only the questions. What you say can and will be used against you.”

 

   If there is any question at all about how ineffective ‘open inspections that are broadcasted’ are, this would be it.  Managers of companies will obviously prep their people to answer the inspector’s questions, so that it will make the company look good or hide issues.  If inspectors want to know what is really going on, they either need to do surprise inspections or use mystery employees.  Another way is to just have a toll free number or email that contractors can use anonymously.  I would also have that information accessible by multiple inspectors, so that one inspector can’t just sweep that information under the rug and not do anything about it. Another idea is for contractors to just CC emails, and put POGO on that list, as well as multiple inspectors–just so everyone knows ‘that everyone knows’.  I guess my point is, is if DoS really cares about what is going on with the contract, there are all sorts of ways of figuring out the real deal.

   I also want to talk about living quarters and english proficiency.  I totally agree that if the contract states that contractors must have a certain standard for living quarters, then that standard should be met.  TC and DoS are both at fault there for not caring about their contractors.

   With that said, it is a war zone and living in poor conditions kind of comes with the territory on some contracts.  I looked at the pictures that POGO put up, and that actually looks pretty standard for many contracts out there.  Hell, to some folks, I am sure those quarters looked pretty good.  There are contracts out there where guys are living in tents or whatever they can find, and that just comes with the job.

   But in light of the Adam Hermanson death, where he was electrocuted in a shower do to faulty wiring, you would think that TC and DoS would have insured that living quarters were up to contract standards.

   I will disagree with the live wire thing that POGO brought up in the pictures.  Those are power chords, and guys string up power chords all over the place in these barracks.  They have to if they want to get some juice for their computers and TVs.  So I think that comment about ‘live wires’ was kind of stupid.  Hell, they sell power strips and power chords in the PX of bases all over Iraq, and they are used by contractors and soldiers, and in all sorts of ways.

   For english standards, I agree that all guards must speak english–if it is mandated by the contract.  But let me yet again interject some reality into this conversation.  If most of our private security forces are local nationals in this war, and troops and contractors are working side by side with those local nationals, then it would stand to reason that you would have situations where folks do not know how to speak english or communicate with supervisors or NCO’s and Officers.  In a perfect world, everyone would speak english, but that just is not the case in this war.  That is why it is not a shock to me, that guys would not know how to speak english for a static security assignment like at the embassy(even if they are from Uganda or Peru or where ever).  I am sure many of the local nationals who work on the embassy compound do not speak english either. I agree that it would be nice that everyone spoke english, and especially if it is mandated by the contract, but this is not that big of a shocker.-Matt

——————————————————————

IG finds gaps in State oversight of embassy guard contracts

By Robert Brodsky

March 26, 2010

Private security guards responsible for protecting the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad reside in unsafe living conditions, work as many as 39 days consecutively and are unable to speak required English, according to a leaked report from the State Department’s inspector general.

The Project on Government Oversight, a Washington watchdog group, obtained the report, which underscored many of same contract oversight problems discovered last year with ArmorGroup North America guards at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

While the Baghdad guard force run by Triple Canopy “has been effective in ensuring the safety of chief of mission personnel in Baghdad’s volatile security environment,” the new report found training and language deficiencies with the Herndon, Va.-based private security company.

The IG credited State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security for its management of the embassy contract, but also highlighted serious lapses in the bureau’s oversight. The department plans to officially release the report next week.

“The contracting officer’s representative in Baghdad does not verify either the guards’ attendance at their posts or the accuracy of personnel rosters (muster sheets) before they are submitted, to ensure contractor charges for labor are accurate,” the report stated.

Triple Canopy has roughly 1,800 employees on the embassy contract — more than 90 percent are third-party nationals from Peru and Uganda. The audit, conducted by the IG’s Middle East Regional Office, found that due to their low levels of English proficiency, some guard supervisors are unable to adequately communicate with their subordinates, which could lead to serious problems during an emergency.

(more…)

« Newer Posts — Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress