As the US spends its final hours in Afghanistan, Mark Cancian of CSIS notes that more contractors have died (8,000) than US service members (7,000) in post 9/11 operations.
By Mark CancianARLINGTON, VA: How confident is the new management at private security contractor ACADEMI — formerly known as Xe and, also, infamously, as Blackwater — that they’ve turned the company around? Last month, apparently without attracting any public attention (until now), they quietly bought another security firm, International Development Solutions, and took over its piece of…
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.Washington: The rules have changed for the hired guns who work on the Defense Department’s payroll. The rules governing private security contracting firms working in war zones will now cover contractors working in all U.S.-led missions overseas, including humanitarian, peacekeeping or “other military operations” where DoD has boots on the ground, according to an Aug.…
By Carlo Munoz
Eric Prince, the former CEO of Blackwater, argues for expanded use of contractors in Afghanistan. Some of his proposals deserve attention. The idea apparently resonated with the White House (though not with Secretary of Defense Mattis) and has continued to get attention. Prince is widely regarded as the spawn of Satan because of the many…
By Mark Cancian