In , Blackwater announced that it would start to focus its services away from security contracting because of the risks involved. One of the things it added is an ethics program. The next month, founder and CEO Erik Prince stepped down and in December of that same year, he stopped any involvement in day to day operations. Xe was bought by a group of investors who built a new company, Academi, and then in merged with another firm to form Constellis Holdings.
They still do business as Academi. Today, the North Carolina training center operates as United States Training Center, or USTC, and carries out tactics and weapons training for military, government, and law enforcement. They also offer courses in tactical driving, hand to hand combat, and precision rifle marksmanship. Academi also offers a lot of other services, like maritime training , canine training for explosive and drug detection. After the departure of Erik Prince from his former company, Prince stayed active in private military interests around the world.
He was hired by the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and moved to Abu Dhabi in On a separate front, he oversaw recruitment for private military companies, such as Executive Outcomes which is a former South African private military firm that gained fame when they were hired by several African governments during the s to defeat violent rebellions in addition to protecting oil and diamond reserves.
This program was funded by several Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates and was backed by the United States. He commissioned the company to modify Thrush G crop-dusters with surveillance equipment, machine guns, armor, and other weapons, including custom pylons that were capable of mounting either NATO or Russian ballistics. Frontier Services Group owns two of the modified Thrush Gs, but since executives learned the craft had been weaponized by Prince, the company has declined to sell or use the aircraft to avoid violating U.
Erik Prince was brought back into the limelight in when he wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal and suggested that the Trump administration privatize the war in Afghanistan. I had worked with a U. I speak Arabic Iraqi Dialect and English. You must be logged in to post a comment. Government Contracts During the war in Iraq, Blackwater was one of several private security companies use to guard officials, security guards, and military installations, train the Iraqi army and police forces, and provide other support for armed forces.
This type of training is a critical component of basic special operations training. Part of the reason for using these services is cost benefit, according to DND. Not only do the many types of Academi facilities not exist in Canada, the CAF, at times, takes advantage of the company's instructors because Canadian personnel are often "not available due to a high operational tempo.
The latest contract records indicate CANSOF was the end user of the technology, and the government confirmed that Canadian special forces soldiers requested up to five different units, helping them "gain and maintain the highest standards of marksmanship.
The trailers are designed to be towed behind a vehicle or can also be used in a static location. The training venture was about more than just HK weapons: there was also the merchandise. Blackwater and HK are marketing brand-name apparel stitched with the logos of each company, and the junketeers went home with some excellent swag, including a fleece embroidered with the Blackwater HK International Training Services logo.
Their gift bag also included Blackwater ball cap, an HK pen, and — for the men at least — a pair of cufflinks with the Blackwater bear paw logo.
It's more than just trade shows tchotchkes. Blackwater also has a separate line of business marketing its own brand name tactical gear. This includes load bearing vests, magazine pouches and slings.
It's very much the style of the US contractor: accoutred with the latest in high-speed tactical equipment. It's exactly the image Blackwater wants to present; a company on the " Fast 50" list with a proud and recognizable brand and a long list of government customers.
The company's prominence, however, cuts both ways: For anti-war activists, Blackwater now ranks up with Halliburton subsidiary KBR in the rogue's gallery of war profiteers. Left-leaning websites vilify Blackwater founder Erik Prince and his family for their Republican party ties. Litigation is also a sensitive topic. Blackwater first made major headlines in , when four of its contractors were killed in a gruesome ambush in Fallujah, and the company has been tied up in a wrongful death suit with the families of the four men.
An aircraft accident in Afghanistan also prompted a lawsuit. While it may be a sound business move to avoid comment on litigation, it presents an image that is vulnerable to caricature: secretive, militaristic, pro-Republican.
So what will happen with Blackwater's expansive vision? Much may come down to politics. Henry Waxman D-Calif.
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