MOYOCK, N.C. — It’s a name that’s become synonymous with the murky world of counterinsurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan — where the subtle tones of the enemy’s colors blend in with innocents.
In a war like this, no one is secure and the military has its hands full, so the American government has turned increasingly to civilian contractors who pick up the slack where military and federal security personnel left off.
One of the most recognizable players in the private security industry is Blackwater Worldwide, the company founded by former SEAL Erik Prince in the mid-1990s. Though the company is best known for its burley, highly-trained security guards who are often pictured flanking State Department officials and ambassadors in Iraq or Afghanistan, there’s more to this sprawling, 7,000 acre compound here in the swampy coastal plains of North Carolina’s northeast than meets the eye.
“It’s a Disneyland for operators,” said Blackwater founding member and current president Gary Jackson during an August 22 tour of the company’s grounds. “They come here and they just can’t believe it.”
With an array of firing ranges, shoot houses, an aviation support fleet and a roster of trainers capable of delivering instruction on any kind of martial skill known to man, Blackwater has become a juggernaut in the world of private military companies.
Originally founded as a training and target manufacturing company, Blackwater has launched a media offensive to shake off its reputation among critics as a “shoot-first-ask-questions-later” band of bearded mercenaries. Two high-profile incidents in Iraq propelled the normally secretive company onto America’s front pages, and the news wasn’t good.
In March 2004, four Blackwater contractors were ambushed and mutilated in Fallujah, Iraq, sparking a brutal invasion of the city that was soon halted after the fragile Baghdad government balked at the public outcry. The incident sparked a furious debate over how prepared security contractors were to deal with the insurgency and added fuel to simmering resentment from traditional military forces angry that they had to come to Blackwater’s rescue only to be pulled back before the job was done.
Then in September of last year, Blackwater guards securing a State Department motorcade were accused of killing as many as 20 Iraqis when they claimed their convoy came under fire in Nisoor Square in busy downtown Baghdad.
Though Blackwater claims a perfect record in securing its clients, some say it comes at the cost of highly aggressive tactics and civilian bullying.
In the wake of those scandals and the nagging pursuit of anti-Blackwater lawmakers, the company is working to burnish its image by going back to its roots: training and logistics services — call it “Blackwater 2.0.”
“Our biggest growth units are international training and aviation,” Jackson said, explaining that his company now has only two personal security detail contracts. “I literally can’t put enough airplanes out there.”
With dozens of ranges that cater to everything from long distance shooters, to demolitions technicians to super-secret “tier one” special operations forces, Blackwater is hard to beat when it comes to the sheer breadth of military tactics training a force could do here — particularly at a time when communities increasingly shun the environmental impact of military operations in their backyards.
In fact, the Virginian Beach police department has a 40 year lease with Blackwater — 30 miles from the coastal city — to train its officers, since range space is so limited where they work, Jackson said.
And the company’s entrepreneurialism doesn’t stop there. In a corrugated steel airplane hanger, a row of three Blackwater-designed mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles sit in various stages of assembly. The company missed the initial order for standard MRAPs after the services reduced their buy, but the company’s new MRAP II — dubbed the “Grizzly” — boasts greater protection against armor-penetrating explosively formed penetrator bombs and could be a player for future orders that meet that growing threat, Blackwater officials say.
They’re even working on cooking-grease-fueled vehicles, power-generating windmills and airship surveillance drones.
But, ironically, it’s Blackwater’s re-emphasis on training that’s caught the ire of lawmakers in Washington who question why the Pentagon hires out instruction critics say should be taught in the services’ own school houses.
Blackwater got its first contract from the Navy after the bombing of the Cole exposed a shortfall in tactical training capacity for its sailors. After 9/11, that need increased as Sailors were called upon to board suspicious ships, defend their fleet from attackers and man defensive positions in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere.
Today, Blackwater continues that training at its facility here, bussing in Sailors from Norfolk every day to practice takedowns on the company’s “ship in a box” — stacked, floating containers assembled to mimic a ship’s bridge. So far the company has trained about 130,000 sailors and says that in any one day over 5,000 students could be firing, jumping, fighting and blowing things up on a Blackwater range.
Virginia Democratic Senator James Webb, a vocal critic of Blackwater and other private military companies, has asked Pentagon chief Robert Gates to study how much training civilian companies provide the DoD and to analyze whether it would be more efficient for the services to do it on their own. Gates passed the question on to Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Mike Mullen, who’s looking into the matter.
To Jackson, all this talk gets his blood boiling. In his view, Blackwater responds to the needs of its customers when all else has failed, and he sees no problem with filling in on training that the services can’t do themselves without significant investment.
“The Navy can’t build that [training] infrastructure in 20 years. The only way they’re ever going to get there is to start the draft,” an exasperated Jackson said. “The thing that really upsets me the most is that [training] is run by contractors.”
“No matter who wins the election, it doesn’t matter. It’s not going to stop.”
– Christian
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
“Blackwater has launched a media offensive to shake off its reputation among critics as a “shoot-first-ask-questions-later” band of bearded mercenaries.”
This effort will fail.
Blackwater is by now firmly entrenched (thanks to the Liberal Media) as a shadowy, sinister private army that answers only to the NeoCons. So what will this PR effort accomplish?
What is next though? Fast food type mercs? Ok, so that will be a minor invasion, would you like a sniper team with that? We also have our value item menu…
Honestly I am torn, I like blackwater, but I think that our arm forces should be able to handle things w/o calling in contractors.
Reminds me of Metal Gear Solid 4.
My problem with Blackwater is mostly that their business model consists of hiring highly qualified special operations personnel away from military service. I don’t know what it costs to fully train a SEAL or Delta operator but I would guess it’s a number with at lest 6 zeros on the end. Blackwater can wait for these guys to come up to their reenlistment window and then hire them away for pennies on the dollar. It’s a free country and I fully support anyones right to choose a high paying civilian job over military service but I don’t think the US government should be creating the market for those civilian jobs.
Following the 90′s reduction in forces the nation’s largest reservist call-up in history took place for multiple theaters in Southeast Asia, the largest being Iraq. Without the availability of training of companies like Blackwater our forces would not be at the current level of readiness. This is NOT complicated math rather it is basic supply and demand filled by many who have served.
Having personally had contact with several local area contractor employees (including Blackwater) I know first hand that these are willing and capable men and women, most of whom have served our country and are happy to continue to serve in a civilian capacity. Hand-Salute to these complanies for providing a job market to those who have served this country- they continue to thrive in a lackluster economy doing what our tax dollars have trained them to do.
If you have never suited up in a US military uniform with pride and served our country in defense of the flag- the weight of your comments carry little value in the eyes of those who have.
Semper Fidelis.
Some amplification to my comments: I served our country during Desert Storm. Currently I work with both the active duty and contractor school houses as a DoD employee. The training provided by contractors allows commanders to utilize more of our active duty servicemembers in operational capacities while maintaining training in direct support of our high level of readiness.
Semper Fidelis.
I can just see congress “requireing” the Navy to set aside 1/2 of their SEAL teams for fleet training. Like that’ll happen. NOT!!
As a training facility Blackwater appears to be “completeing the loop.” These are all “been there, done that” folks who are now taking their skills and training the fleet.
I’m all for it!
As for the congressman from VA: He should stick to the martini lunches and leave the warfighting to the warfighters.
I’m a combat veteran, am currently a police officer, and I’ve worked in the private sector. The government never has the time, resources, or money to train properly. Troops and cops spend their own time and money to train at places like Blackwater because it’s their butts on the line! Kudos to the high speed instructors at Blackwater who train the men and women who risk their lives to serve us.
Hmm, first of all a comment to all those who critic the notion of experienced soldiers leaving the field to train: Blackwater is doing exactly that! They simply lure these men away from the field with money, and then charge the armed forces a hefty amount to train their recruits. Of course, if these men are already leaving the force no matter what, then I guess having Blackwater putting their skills to good use is better than nothing, but I can’t say how many leave for money and how many leave for other reasons. However, whatever the reason, the case is that good soldiers leave the frontlines, or mayhaps return to it just under another flag, and leave your forces bare of some really good elements and you must pay extra to recover their expertise.
Another point you, americans, should remember. These are mercenaries, and as such obey ultimately the money. And it’s a good thing your government is their main client, keeping in that way their loyalty, but Blackwater has centers all around the world, and do any of you know who gets trained there? Or for whom do they operate for? I’d like to think security forces (and ones friendly to your country), but, again, money and nothing else talks in this case.
Just give it a thought, but remember, history teaches that mercenaries are only a bad neccesity, never a solution.
I say Re market Blackwater & expand BW Ops to:
CA NV NC FL PR USVI? HI, AZ, UT, CO?
Reorganize Co.
Rethink training & tactics.
Hire New Blood.
Hire more ex vets & ex cops.
Imagine Blackwater, Oahu HI or Sedona AZ or
29 Palms CA etc.
More diverse ops & locales & globalwide employee base.
Some good can come from this.
Change Mgmt.
Yes Shoot when Being Fired Upon or
test BW operators on US Mex border, Good trial run alone on US Mex border.
Here is a post from Military.com:
“Has anyone cought the connection: Black Water = Oil. Blackwater is a baby company of Halliburton. Their main purpose in the global war on terror is to protect “energy resources.” That’s all you need to know. Everything else is a smokescreen… ”
With leftist craziness like that, how can Blackwater counter with a PR campaign. So what.
The Romans had a saying: NON CARBORUNDUM EST
The Arabs have a saying: “Dogs may bark, but the caravan rolls on”.
Or an American might say: “Keep on truckin’, Blackwater!”
“As for the congressman from VA: He should stick to the martini lunches and leave the warfighting to the warfighters.”
The Congressmen from VA is former Secretary of the Navy and a retired Marine who served in Vietnam.
Paul: In general, private industry pays better than government work–even for soldiers(*). Heck, if the government paid better, they’d just stay in the Army!
(*) please don’t give me a ration of shit here, I know that everyone who carries a gun likes to have their own personal descriptor.
Our military needs to funnel some of the billions of dollars we give them to the soldiers. If we paid our soldiers decent wages, then we wouldn’t lose our elite soldiers to the mercenary groups.
The government pays millions to train them, then pays Blackwater to use the mercenaries that the government paid to train in the first place. Only our government can be that stupid and still be in business.
Joe – Thanks for the background on the “good” congressman from VA. I was unaware.
Curious though, Isn’t “Haditha” Murtha also a vietnam era Marine. See how wonderful and helpful he has been for his fellow servicemen and women.
It is discourageing the number of veterans who become politicians and “drink the koolaid” in D.C.
It looks like the South African special task force lost 60% of their people to companies like Blackwater in 2004.
Great for the US, not so good for South Africa. These guys are very impressive. When Clinton visited South Africa, the STF was the only South African force allowed to help with security. From what they say, they have not lost a hostage in 20 years, and sometimes they do hostage rescues daily.
Can’t blame them though, I am just glad that they are on our side.
How is a security firm anywhere near”Insurgency?”
That was a non thinking process or familiarization.
Oh boy!Military.com posted the lamest post ever…
Just like they were looking to put up ABN,in the box I typed my mail….Its your cursor admn…