Mattis is out, and Blackwater is back: 'We are coming'

[ansible]

This month, in the January/February print issue of the gun and hunting magazine “Recoil," the former contractor security firm Blackwater USA published a full-page ad, in all black with a simple message: “We are coming.”

Is the war in Afghanistan — and possibly elsewhere ― about to be privatized?

If Blackwater returns, it would be the return of a private security contractor that was banned from Iraq, but re-branded and never really went away. By 2016 Blackwater had been re-named and restructured several times, and was known at the time as Constellis Group, when it was purchased by the Apollo Holdings Group. Reuters reported earlier this year that Apollo had put Constellis up for sale, but in June the sale was put on hold.

A representative for Constellis told Military Times late Friday that while it had acquired the former Blackwater training center in the 2016 purchase, it has no affiliation with the former security firm. It did not retain Blackwater’s founder and former CEO Erik Prince and has no current connection to him, or the firm’s former management structure.

https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/12/21/mattis-is-out-and-blackwater-is-back-we-are-coming/#.XBzPZNYOPXw.facebook

[democratisphere]

1. So now drumpf will channel billions and billions to Erik Prince

of Blackwater to replace our own US Military. drumpf doesn't know anything but total and absolute corruption!

[Progressive Jones]

20. I don't believe that crossing that line would be survivable.

The military would no doubt react, either legally, or off the books.

[underpants]

2. Hmm Fox News opinion piece suggesting hiring contractors for Syria

Saw this earlier but didn't post it. Interesting timing.

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trump-is-right-to-withdraw-from-syria-he-should-replace-us-troops-with-private-contractors


Trump is right to withdraw from Syria – He should replace US troops with private contractors
Gen. Anthony J. Tata By Gen. Anthony J. Tata | Fox News

[allgood33]

27. So, they really want ISIS to re-form and expand I guess.

[RHMerriman]

3. No bucks, no buck rogers...

No bucks, no buck rogers...

A. Congress isn't giving DJT money for his wall, they sure as hell ain't giving him money for Air America 2.0;
B. The Afghans and the other locals are not going to allow US PMCs into their countries unless it is on their terms;
C. PMCs are shit; they can't fight their way out of a paper bag.

[orangecrush]

4. PMC

Para Military Contractors?

[GP6971]

6. I think it's

Professional Military Contractors. Nice name for mercenaries....mercs for short.

[RHMerriman]

9. Yep.

Mercenaries with semi-official sponsorship are still just that...

[orangecrush]

25. Tanks!

er, thanks!

[ADX]

28. FYI, "PMC"...

...is an acronym for Private Military Contractor.

[RHMerriman]

8. Hah!

Last edited Sun Dec 23, 2018, 04:30 AM - Edit history (1)

"Long time lurker, first time poster"? Mmmmkay ... If one was "in the trade" the liklihood of one being on DU, much less being provoked into commenting, seems remote, don't you think?

But, 'kay, in the spirit of the season, I'll play your silly reindeer games...

Historically, PMCs (meaning mercenaries, whether ex-US forces or otherwise) are failures because since a) they are for profit organizations, they b) routinely cut corners to enhance profits. For the same reason, they don't abide to anything approximating modern standards of professional command, organization, and doctrine, which means they tend to fail operationally and end up in court - a lot.

Here's an apt example:

[link:https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/31/international/worldspecial/enraged-mob-in-falluja-kills-4-american.html|

More detail:

[link:https://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/IraqCoverage/story?id=650816&page=1|

Good luck with the equivalent prevailing over pissed off locals who know their country inside and out and (historically) have routinely managed to outfight and outlast any outside elements...

[lamsmy]

11. The problem isnt their employees' professionalism

The big problem with the PMCs is the ethical considerations. And this has more to do with the legal structures than with the personal integrity of the individual employees:
1. PMCs lie outside of the usual chain of command and swear no duty to the US (or whomever is paying them.) Thus they are not directly answerable to the Commander in Chief nor through him/her, the US taxpayers who are footing the bill.
2. PMCs are for-profit private companies so there is no incentive to lower costs or maximize employee benefits. How do the taxpayers get oversight into spending and who pays for the lifetime of medical care an injured employee may require?
3. The drive for profit also means there is no incentive to actually bring about peaceful resolutions - in fact quite the opposite. This is one giant problem with Erik Prince - not only does he profit from war, but he deliberately stirs the pot in unstable regions and then tries to cash in on the resulting death and destruction.

There are very, VERY sound reasons for most countries to ban the use and promotion of PMCs.

[GP6971]

15. Beholden to the laws of our country?

BS. As you yourself stated, you're tied to your employer's profits...nothing else.

I think you took a wrong turn somewhere.

[GP6971]

18. Yes...you didn't say nothing else

I did. You work for a public or private company that is for profit. Whether you like it or not, your loyalty is to the company, not the country.

[TexasTowelie]

19. That was an amusing exchange.

[GP6971]

21. It was

I usually don’t engage with new posters, but trying to justify being a merc pissed me off. I’vie been in the military and been associated with the MIC for 27 years and no one I know respects mercs. You might say they hit my hot button.

[TexasTowelie]

23. Yes, I think that he was trying to absolve himself of any guilt

for being a sellout. I admit that most of us have to deal with the paradox of working within a corporation while opposing corporatism. However, most of us work for corporations that produce or offer something beneficial to the public. It's a lot harder to make that claim as a merc where the business model is based upon conflict.

[RHMerriman]

24. Same here...

Sorry I missed it.

Mercs are to soldiers what hookers are to lovers.

[democratisphere]

29. Yeah. Fake!

[RHMerriman]

31. True that...

True that...

From Operational Implications of Private Military Companies in the Global War on Terror a US Army Command and General Staff College paper (easily found via Google); it dates from 2004-2005, but the issues are perennials:

From a military perspective the weaknesses of the PMC industry raise several issues. Firstly, PMCs have a different, and often convoluted chain of command. They are responsible primarily to their employers and their contract. The corporate and individual levels of responsibility wield more power than they do in the military. Secondly, they are not part of the military even though they are often part of military operations. Finally remains the issue that PMC employees are held to different standards of accountability than the military personnel they are working alongside and the morale effects this can have.

[Progressive Jones]

22. The son of a friend of mine worked for Blackwater.

He was a US Marine, and he was deployed in Iraq when the end of his hitch came (he had been in for 8 years at that point). He had been in combat over there.

Blackwater recruited a lot of guys who were getting out. They offered big money. He didn't do any combat with Blackwater, but he told me that there were a couple of "minor shootouts" (his words). He was part of security being provided to government officials and bankers. Hits on these people, and kidnappings, were a big concern. He stayed 3 years, and made quite a bit of money (nearly 300K total, plus a lot of perks). Eventually, Blackwater started trying to push him into other work, in other parts of the World. That's when he let his contract run out, and he came back home.

[Iggo]

7. Call them what they are: Mercenaries.

[ADX]

26. Relax and take a deep breath, everybody...

...Blackwater's "return" almost certainly revolves around them offering a line of tactical products, not a return to their PMC endeavors.

[democratisphere]

30. Yeah right!

I'm the tooth fairy and I was born yesterday!

[ADX]

33. Good, then you can leave some money under my pillow...

...when you find out I'm right.

I'll say it again for the record: Blackwater is not going to be reconstituting as a PMC.

Remember where you heard it and who told you so.

[ADX]

36. I hate to say I told you so but...

...I told you so:

https://www.blackwaterammo.com/

Happy 6th day birthday, tooth fairy...

[RHMerriman]

32. The only good merc is ...

Oh wait, there aren't any good mercs.

The Prince-De Vos-Trump connection is shady as shit.

[ADX]

34. Not sure what that has to do with my post...

...but ok, whatever you say...

[RHMerriman]

35. Simply that all those connected with Blackwater (aka Xe, Academi, etc.)

Simply that all those connected with Blackwater (aka Xe, Academi, etc.) are shady operators, and deserve both the scrutiny and opprobrium they get...