[lit-ideas] Security Forces in Iraq
- From: "Lawrence Helm"<lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Lit-Ideas" <Lit-Ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:21:10 +0000
In the following, my friend, recently returned from Iraq (where he worked for
the Army Corps of Engineers), comments on Civilian Security Forces used there.
Lawrence
I'm not sure how DoS runs their blackwater guys, but
typically the security contractors are handled by a
responsible security manager who is a government
person. They do have supervision and control.
Blackwater could be aggressive, similar to actual
military forces, but within defined RoE (rules of
Engagement) and all incidents are investigated. these
are typically high end security personnel who are
highly trained and prefer discretion.
There are "cowboys" out there as well, and some of the
lower rent companies have more of a reputation for
sloppiness. Blackwater has it's own training center
and seemed to be committed to excellence.
We didn't use Blackwater. We used different companies
that were very professional but had a lower profile.
Tactics varied depending on the threat, which tied
into region and intelligence analysis.
The issue that seems to get left out of the
discussions in the major media is that these guys are
protecting possibly quite high level people in DoS
that cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of the
enemy. Injury or loss of these personnel would be
crippling to doS efforts and also a propoganda boon.
VIP security in general follows procedures and mission
profiles that are similar around the world. This is
not just the case in Iraq. The same companies often
have contracts in numerous countries and some of the
individuals have done the same work around the world.
I also met a lot of security contractors who were on
leave of absence from a national army (true of several
Brits I met) to work for a year at high pay and then
return to the Army. Australia in particular had (and
still has?) a tremendous problem with special
operations people leaving service to work in Iraq
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