Boys Gone Wild!!! The Kabul Edition

Sep 4, 2009 Industry News, Jake's Posts

Recent allegations of misconduct, failing to meet contractual obligations, (to say nothing of just general stupidity and juvenile antics) by Armor Group staff at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul raises serious questions about leadership both at Armor Group and at the U.S. State Department.

We’ve yet to hear anyone from Armor Group comment in detail on this case but I can just imagine the way it will sound when it comes out.

We take this very seriously…

we are investigating…

it’s an isolated incident…

we are getting it fixed…

Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater, when pressed on questions of contractor behavior of his Blackwater staff likes to say, “Listen, these guys are all patriots, military veterans and professionals.”  As if being a patriot and a veteran meant no oversight is necessary?  It’s another way of saying, “You’re an idiot for questioning us.  We could not possibly do anything wrong.”

History contains any number of idiots who were military veterans and who viewed themselves as patriots yet clearly took actions which were against the interests of the U.S.  One prime example is Timothy McVeigh, who was convicted and later executed for bombing the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995.   The point is that being a veteran does not mean you are faultless or that you don’t need oversight.

Listen, I served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and I consider that organization to hold the highest standard in military professionalism.  They are the consummate ‘professional’ but at no time are they ever devoid of oversight or the possibility of prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

The command structure, the rules, regulations, policies, guidelines and standing operating procedures which are normal in any military organization do not exist to any meaningful degree within the private security/military industry.  At best you have a few companies who, relatively speaking, do better than most but even that’s a pretty low standard to meet.

Furthermore, the consequences for breaking rules (that is…the few rules that actually exist) is virtually non-existent.  In the U.S. military the UCMJ governs service personnel and all soldiers, airmen and Marines know that failure to comply with any lawful order, law or rule or even policy or guideline runs the risk of prosecution non-judicial punishment (NJP),  or court martial under the UCMJ.  Again, nothing even close to this exists within the world of private security.  There really is no accountability comparable to the UCMJ and NJP amounts only to dismissal from your current contract.  And we all know that this is, in reality, no punishment at all since the offender often simply pop-ups somewhere else for another firm in a matter of weeks or months.

So, in short…no rules to follow at the industry level and no consequences for failing to follow any rules which may or may not exist.  If these were the ingredients for today’s dinner I doubt if anyone would be eating it.

Now then.  That takes care of the industry side of the equation.   What about the client side?  Increasingly it is coming to light that government clients, in contrast with private clients, are systemically inept at managing the procurement, selection and oversight of security contracts.  I have personally worked on contracts which have both private clients and government clients and though neither do a very good job, the government side and in particular the U.S. State Department are painfully ill equipped to do this work.  The reasons for this are puzzling, especially as at this stage, after 8 years of war in Afghanistan and 6+ years in Iraq there are literally hundreds of senior contractors with multiple years of operational management experience who could be hired by State in to sit on the ‘client side’ of the table during contract negotiations as well as during the later phases of contract execution.

For decades the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Services (DSS) program was always a sleepy little backwater in the security world.  It was, and to some degree still is,  full of lifelong government civil servants who, despite their hard work and good intentions, have not been able to adapt to the pace and complexity that operating in a war-zone imposed on them.  They got pushed into a fast-paced and complex game that they were not prepared for.

But to date this has been like asking a local high school football coach, no matter good his record has been at that level,  to jump into the NFL.   Oh sure, on the surface there are many similarities,  the field is the same dimensions, it’s still 11 vs. 11 players  and the rules are mostly the same and certainly the concepts is the same in principle.  But the speed, level of complexity and knowledge and experience to say nothing of the media attention necessary to perform at the highest level make it impossible for him to take go from High School to the NFL without a natural maturation process which usually involves a stop for many years at the university level.

The DSS small staff of only a couple thousand agents oversees (and I am using that term lightly) over 30′000 contract personnel in the protection of over 200 Embassies and consulates around the world.  But, the problem is that your standard, run-of-the-mill, contract and mission to protect the Embassy in Berlin or even Kuala Lumpur or Mumbai  is still about three solar-systems away from what is required to protect the Kabul embassy.  Kabul and Baghdad are the big leagues and the DSS has not demonstrated anything near the capability of playing on that field.  They certainly do not have a commanding position of respect or authority over the security firms they are supposed to supervise.  At best they are perceived as an administrative nuisance which should be avoided at every opportunity.

To some degree the State Department knows they are are in over their head and they have relied, far too heavily, on the professionalism (I use that term lightly as well…) of the private security sector to pull their bacon out of the fire.  But, as I have alluded to before the professionalism they desire and frankly rely on generally just does not exist.

The State Department needs to ‘grow up’ and on-board  a wave of professional staff to oversee these programs.  Preferably former senior military officers with combat experience.  I can guarantee that if these programs were run by retired Colonels who had on their staff retired Majors and recently separated Captains and a cadre of former Senior Staff NCOs who know how to act professionally and provide security at the same time they will be able to hold accountable any private firm who wins the contract.  Having the, in-house know-how is the first step but State also needs to get a spine and have the guts to dismiss any firm who is not meeting their contractual obligations.  A PSC should be pissing in their boots when a DSS officer is in his AO.  But that only happens when the DSS officer knows what to look for and has the initiative and authority to do something when he sees something amiss.

What State seems to be missing is the fact that everyone in this industry wants the U.S. government as a client.  The State Department is in the drivers seat here.  They can have anything they want.  They can drive a hard bargain and they can run roughshod over any service provider because the line outside for the privilege of winning the contract is long.   You can’t perform?  Next…

State’s problem is they don’t know what to ask for, how to ask for it or know what it should look like when it gets delivered.

Tags: Afghanistan, Blackwater, contractors, contracts, Iraq, Jobs, Marines, regulation, services, wanted

Podcast: Doug Brooks of IPOA discusses industry regulation

May 7, 2009 Industry News, Jake's Posts, Podcasts

This week on Combat Operator Radio I was joined once again by Doug Brooks the President of the International Peace Operations Association.  In  keeping with my past couple of posts here on the blog the topic was industry regulation.  Doug shared some good insight into the challenges to regulation as well as provided some insight into the various actions that are already underway.  I hope you enjoy the program.

Jake

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Tags: Doug Brooks, IPOA, regulation

Contractor killed in Afghanistan ambush

Apr 28, 2009 Industry News, Memoriam

By Rachel Myers

“Too many times we stand aside, and let the waters slip away; ‘Til what we put off ’til tomorrow, has now become today; So don’t you sit upon the shoreline and say you’re satisfied; Choose to chance the rapids, and dare to dance the tide.”

- Garth Brooks, “The River”

Craig Fuller’s last moments were nowhere near the exquisite shoreline of his most-cherished song.

The 33-year-old Cape Coral man lived his last days in the dust-choked, rocky terrain of a land marred by decades of war.

He couldn’t tear himself away from it, though family and friends had pleaded with him.

His mission was to help, and the Marine Corps veteran would not abandon it.

On Saturday, Fuller’s team of security/construction contractors were ambushed in a roadside attack as they traveled from the Afghanistan-Pakistan border to the Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul.

Fuller’s family said the team was returning from delivering food supplies and fixing a leaky septic system in one of the area’s poorest border regions. After an hourlong firefight, Fuller was killed, along with his Afghan team leader, a native known only as Zia.

Fuller’s close friend, Jeff Hermey, also of Cape Coral, was injured by shrapnel. Hermey is returning home later this week.

A third Lee County resident, Lynn Terhune - office manager for Fuller’s company, Afghan Full Road Construction & Security Inc. - is remaining in Kabul. She was not present when the attack occurred.

An ambush

As Terhune, of Fort Myers, described in an e-mail Monday to her daughter, attacks along the perilous roadway are common.

The eight-member team was aware of the risks, and as part of a security team, they were heavily armed, which meant the militants couldn’t immediately overpower them.

“Miraculously only two died during this 1.5-hour attack,” Terhune wrote.

It’s unknown if any militants were killed.

Katherine Schweit, spokeswoman for the Washington field office of the FBI, confirmed her agency is working closely with officials in Kabul to investigate the attack.

“The FBI has the authority to investigate crimes against Americans overseas,” Schweit said.

If suspects are identified and arrested, it is possible they could be brought to the U.S. for trial. However, because the investigation is active, Schweit could not discuss what is believed to have happened on that dangerous road at dusk.

According to a story published Sunday by The Associated Press, there are 3,847 security contractors working in Afghanistan. That number is expected to expand as the number of troops there swell under the recent direction of President Barack Obama.

Fuller, after working for a string of private contractors during the past five years - including DynCorp International and Blackwater - decided to start his own security/construction firm. He returned to Afghanistan in January.

His family said he was quickly becoming exhausted, working tirelessly with his team to provide security to those who needed to deliver valuable supplies and construction help for those living in the crumbling, war-torn infrastructure.

But Fuller felt drawn by the great need.

“He impacted so many lives,” said his stepmother, Bert Fuller. “So many lives.”

Missing Craig

Jerry Fuller, 63, returned from Afghanistan on Thursday.

His son was growing weary, and he needed his rock. The two were not only father and son - they were absolute best friends. They even had shoulder surgery at the same time and went through therapy together.

“I told him, you’re taking this father-son thing a little too seriously,” Jerry Fuller joked.

Jerry Fuller stayed three months.

But in Afghanistan, the grainy dirt fragments that constantly blanket the air were too much for Jerry Fuller’s lungs.

“I couldn’t breathe there, couldn’t function,” he said. “I had to come home.”

He left, telling his son he was so proud, and urging him to return home soon.

Two days later, his son was killed.

On Monday, friends streamed through Jerry Fuller’s Cape Coral home, locking in long embraces.

Those who knew Craig Fuller say his name fit him perfectly.

“He lived his life ‘fuller’ than anyone else,” said friend Mike Hannon, 26, of Cape Coral.

Fuller’s early years were spent in New York, and he moved to Cape Coral with his brother, Ken, and sister, Cary Ann, when he was 8. His friends became too numerous to count.

“He would do anything to help anyone,” said friend Kyla Brouillette, 27. “He was like, ‘Oh, you need a place to stay, you’re welcome here.’ Or, ‘Oh, you need a car, use mine.’ Just anything for anybody.”

Last Christmas, he called home and arranged to send money anonymously to a local family.

At Jerry Fuller’s kitchen table Monday, sun spilled over photos of Craig, images that told the story of his exuberant life. Bert Fuller clasped her husband’s hands. He tightly shut his tear-filled eyes, and shook his head.

In happier times, Craig Fuller was an energetic student at Cape Middle School. He later graduated from Eustis High School in Lake County. From there, he joined the Marine Corps, and his work ethic drove him quickly through the ranks to staff sergeant, his family said.

“I realized my son was no longer my baby when I traveled to see him in Buenos Aires, and ambassadors were bowing to him,” Jerry Fuller said. “They thanked me for raising such a wonderful son. I was so proud of him.”

After he left the Marines, Craig Fuller came back to Lee County and founded “The Scrapyard,” a boxing enterprise. That’s where the 5-foot-11, 160-pound Fuller met 6-foot, 220-pound Jeff Hermey.

“Jeff thought it would be an easy fight,” Jerry Fuller said. “He underestimated Craig’s heart.”

It has long been disputed who actually won the fight, but the two were close ever since.

Craig Fuller had no shortage of friends, his father said.

Later this week, they will gather to honor him during a service at the Iwo Jima statue near the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Cape Coral. Later, his ashes will be scattered in the mountains of Tennessee. Fuller once told his father during a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains that it was “the closest to heaven I’ve ever been.”

And after he sacrificed everything surrounded by suffering, those who loved him don’t doubt that heaven is where Craig Fuller rests.

Tags: Afghanistan, Blackwater, contractors, DynCorp, fighting, fitness, Marines, Obama, services

Petraeus suggests ships have armed guards

Apr 26, 2009 Industry News, Piracy, Somalia

The News & Observer

WASHINGTON - The global shipping industry should consider placing armed guards on its boats to ward off pirates who have become increasingly violent, the U.S. military commander who oversees the African coastline said Friday.

Gen. David Petraeus told a House committee that just trying to outrun or block pirates from boarding cargo ships isn’t enough to deter sea bandits off Somalia who are becoming more aggressive.

The shipping industry has resisted arming their boats, which would deny them port in some nations.

Petraeus said defensive preparations short of armed guards “can work. You can have water hoses and others that can make it more difficult,” he said. But he added, “It’s tough to be on the end of a water hose if the other guy is on the end of an RPG [a rocket-propelled grenade launcher]. So you’ve got to think your way through that calculation as well.”

UK Foreign Office to propose self-regulation for private military firms

Apr 24, 2009 Industry News

Gates Says More Civilians Are Needed In Afghanistan

Apr 24, 2009 Industry News

By Kevin Maurer, Associated Press

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Defense Secretary Robert Gates yesterday told Marines being deployed to Afghanistan that a US victory there would look similar to progress in Iraq, but he cautioned that more civilians with skills beyond the battlefield will be needed.

The Obama administration has called up 17,000 more troops to supplement the 38,000 American troops already fighting a resurgence of the Taliban. It said last month it would send several hundred citizens, from agronomists to economists, to work on reconstruction and development issues as part of the military’s counterinsurgency campaign.

That has proven to be difficult, and the Pentagon said yesterday that reservists, who often have the skills needed in such a buildup, might be asked to fill the gap.

“I am concerned that we will not get the civilian surge into Afghanistan as quickly as we are getting troops into Afghanistan,” Gates said during a daytrip to Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.

He said he is asking for volunteers who have specific skills “who might serve as a bridge, getting them out of there quickly, and then bringing them back when their civilian replacements are hired.”

But Lieutenant General Dennis McCarthy, head of the Reserve Officers Association, which has 68,000 members, worries that such a plan would harm unit readiness and integrity and questions how volunteering for such jobs would affect reservists’ regular service time.

Draft Law Puts Foreign Companies Under Iraqi Jurisdiction

Apr 8, 2009 Industry News, Iraq

BAGHDAD — A law giving Iraqi courts jurisdiction over foreign companies such as U.S. security contractor Blackwater is being drafted in the Iraqi parliament.

Abbas al-Bayati, a member of the defense and security committee, noted in comments to RFE/RL’s Radio Free Iraq on April 7 that the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed between the United States and Iraq in November does not protect private companies from prosecution in Iraqi courts. U.S. defense contractors had previously enjoyed impunity because they were subject neither to Iraqi law nor U.S. military law.

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Results from PMC Survey

Apr 5, 2009 Industry News

You may recall that some weeks ago we ran a survey on the blog with the intention of collecting some of the views directly from industry participants such as yourself.  The results from that survey were submitted a week or so ago and I thought it would be good to share that with everyone. –Jake–

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By Angela Benedict

Firstly, thanks to all who participated in the survey.  A big thank you to Jake for his assistance in getting the word out.

Two perspectives were shared: that of contractors, and of management at the company level.  I was hoping for an owner or two to chime in but no such luck.

In terms of best practices and strengths of PMCs, the opinions shared stated that protecting client’s from negative press, providing the

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Blackwater ex-workers will go back to Iraq

Apr 5, 2009 Industry News, Iraq