UN anti-piracy group holds talks in London
Lloyds List
David Osler - Wednesday 25 February 2009
THE International Maritime Organization is this week hosting sessions of two working groups of the United Nations contact group on piracy in Somalia at its London headquarters.
The first meeting, which opened yesterday and concludes today, is being chaired by Chris Holtby of the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Items on the agenda include the formation of a centre for sharing information between the military forces of different countries active in the Gulf of Aden.
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One dead, one injured in Xe chopper crash
Feb 25, 2009 Industry News
CAMDEN CO., N.C. - Officials confirm one person was killed and another was injured when a helicopter crashed at Xe, formerly Blackwater Worldwide, Tuesday afternoon.
Camden County Sheriff Tony Perry confirmed for WAVY.com, 911 dispatchers received a call at 1:36 p.m. that a helicopter had crashed on Xe’s compound on the Camden Co. side of the property. Xe sits in both Camden and Currituck Counties.
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South African Navy set to take on pirates
South Africa’s navy could be escorting billions of dollars worth of cargo through treacherous East African waters within weeks as attacks by pirates around the continent continue to escalate.
This was revealed on Friday during a media briefing by the South African National Defence Force’s joint operations division in Pretoria.
In scenes reminiscent of convoy escorts during World War 2, the South African Navy could soon be involved in patrolling and escorting hundreds of vessels off the coast of Somalia and the rest of the continent’s eastern coastline.
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Don’t let your work make more work for others
Feb 22, 2009 Commentary, Jake's Posts
By Jake Allen
Leviathan!!!
I spent the past week or more digging out of what seemed like an unending series of snowstorms. It’s been practically a full time job keeping the parking places and the driveway down to the road clear of snow.
On more than a few occasions I’d finished a round with the old spade when off in the distance I’d hear the ominous sound of tire chains mixed with the low roar of a diesel engine. Like a leviathan the dreaded snow plough was soon to visit my AO. As it rounded the corner and came into view I could see the blade of his massive shovel scrapping the asphalt as it pushed what must have been a ton of dirty brown snow into a wave and off onto the shoulder of the road.
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Dogs of War: Mercenaries are in the eye of the beholder
Feb 20, 2009 Commentary, David Isenberg
Published: Feb. 20, 2009
By DAVID ISENBERG
WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 (UPI) — Last Sunday The New York Times reported the American military will begin recruiting skilled immigrants who are living in the United States with temporary visas, offering them the chance to become U.S. citizens in as little as six months.
While immigrants who are permanent residents with green cards have long been eligible to enlist, this move, for the first time since the Vietnam War, will open the armed forces to temporary immigrants if they have lived in the United States for a minimum of two years.
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Blackwater laying off staff as it adopts new name
Feb 20, 2009 Industry News
Associated Press
MOYOCK, N.C. (AP) — Blackwater Worldwide’s reorganization under the new brand name Xe (zee) includes layoffs designed to make the company leaner.
Xe spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell said Thursday the reorganization “has unfortunately required some staff reductions.”
Tyrrell declined to provide numbers on how many people were laid off and where they worked within the privately-held company.
The North Carolina-based security contractor also said in November that it had laid off employees after failing to win a government contract for its Grizzly armored vehicle to replace the Humvee.
The company announced last week that it was changing its name from Blackwater Worldwide to Xe as part of a rebranding and reorganization.
Jake on DefenseTech’s podcast
Feb 18, 2009 Jake's Posts, Podcasts
Today I was pleased to be invited as guest on DefenseTech’s weekly podcast called Boots on the Ground.
The host of the show is Christian Lowe who is also the Managing Editor for News at Military.com.
The topics were piracy around the Horn of Africa and also the Blackwater-to-Xe name change.
The audio was bad for my side as I was doing it VOIP. I hope you enjoy it. But, Leave a comment either way.
SF
Jake
Drug abuse hampers Afghan police
Feb 18, 2009 Afghanistan
By Martin Patience
BBC News, Kabul
Sixty per cent of the Afghan police in the country’s southern province of Helmand use drugs, it is claimed.
The estimate, made by a UK official working in the province, was contained in emails obtained by the BBC.
International forces are fighting a fierce counter-insurgency campaign against Taleban militants and other insurgents in Helmand.
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Judge Upholds Charges Against Blackwater Guards
Feb 17, 2009 Industry News
By Del Quentin Wilber
Washington Post
Tuesday, February 17, 2009; 3:04 PM
A federal judge today refused to toss out charges against five U.S. security contractors accused of killing 14 Iraqi civilians in a busy Baghdad square in 2007.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina came in an early legal challenge brought by defense attorneys representing the guards, who worked at the time for Blackwater Worldwide. The guards’ attorneys had argued the government didn’t have jurisdiction to bring the charges.
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Triple Canopy Sponsors Reconstruction and Stabilization Conference
Feb 17, 2009 Industry News
HERNDON, Va., Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ — Triple Canopy, Inc., a leading provider of integrated security solutions to organizations worldwide, will sponsor the 4th Annual Reconstruction and Stabilization conference scheduled to take place Feb. 18 to 20 in Arlington, Va. at the Sheraton National Hotel. Lee Van Arsdale, Triple Canopy’s CEO, will deliver a presentation, “Protecting People and Places in High-Risk Environments,” on Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 9:45 a.m.
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