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   Here is a quick run down on what China is doing in Iraq, and it is all about oil.  I find it interesting that China is getting more involved with really risky resource ventures in places like Iraq or the Congo. And what that means to this industry, is that the Chinese will find a way to secure these ventures and investments.  You will either see Chinese security folks, or they will use local nationals for the work.  But like with most security work, they tend to go with the kind of security they can really trust and depend upon for the most sensitive projects.  Especially to guard oil executives.

   The other thing about this that is frustrating, is that information about Chinese private security companies is very thin.  Maybe there is tons of stuff on Chinese servers?.  Who knows, but it is an area that I would like to learn more about as the fight for resources increases in the coming future. Our industry will only see more involvement in that resource war, and it is important to track this stuff.

   In Iraq, you could very well see a situation where you see Chinese security contractors rolling down the highway in SUVs, or posted at some gate of some oil facility. If any readers have any stories about bumping into Chinese military or contractors in Iraq, please feel free to post away in the comments.  Like I said, there is nothing written about Chinese PMC’s or PSC’s, and I would like to see Feral Jundi’s archives fill up with some more data about that.  I will keep looking, and if anyone finds anything else, let me know. Especially for Africa, because China is really involved there. -Matt

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Chinese guards at the Ahdab field Thaier Al-Sudan/Reuters 

Red Star Over Iraq

January 21, 2010

China’s ambitions in the Iraqi oil fields could change the landscape

By Stanley Reed and Dexter Roberts

It may be the start of the biggest oil job in the world. Each day, 20 workers from BP and China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) buckle down to the task of prepping the Rumaila oil field in southern Iraq for rapid development. In industry lingo, Rumaila is a “supergiant”—a 50-mile-long deposit of sweet crude with estimated reserves of 16 billion barrels, whose output may someday rank second only to Saudi Arabia’s vast Ghawar field. The Saudis, though, have carefully managed their oil assets for decades. In contrast, Rumaila, a lightly inhabited expanse of date groves and Bedouin encampments, has not had a proper upgrade since the 1970s. The Iraqis contracted with BP and CNPC last year (BP) to juice Rumaila’s production from 1.06 million barrels a day to 2.85 million, all in seven years. No one has ever tried such a ramp-up at a field as huge as this one. Putting Rumaila back in full working order will take tens of thousands of workers, 1,000 new wells, and billions in investment.

BP is the largest partner in the venture, but only by a dipstick: It has a 38% stake, while the Chinese hold 37% (the rest is owned by an Iraqi company). The media focus has been on BP’s decision to take up the Rumaila challenge for a low fee of only $2 for every barrel the venture produces. But the more important story could be China’s role. “CNPC’s involvement brings together the country with the most rapid growth in energy demand in history with the country that plans the greatest buildup of production capacity ever,” says Alex Munton, an Iraq specialist at Edinburgh-based oil consultants Wood Mackenzie.

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Buy the stuff here.

*****

   This battle is getting interesting now.  You see, DynCorp realizes that if they can apply more pressure to public opinion about this by engaging with the media, then maybe Congress might step in and halt this action do to the negative attention on all of this.

    I also noticed that a few media groups are really pushing congress and the public on the issue of disbarring Xe from the current list do to the latest stuff in Afghanistan. Strategically speaking, DynCorp benefits from this latest media attack on Xe, but you won’t hear DynCorp talking about that.

   Now what could possibly be happening though is some low grade corporate espionage and/or smear campaigns.  What I mean by that, is that companies can benefit from the downfall of their competition, and they will do what they can to help that process along. To maintain a moral and righteous stance, they would do what they can to feed that process on the sly.

     A prime example of this, is when a contractor is fired from one company, and then goes on to work for a competitor of that company.  That individual now knows a lot about the inner workings of his former company, and probably knows some dirt as well.  The temptation for that individual to feed their current company corporate office with information that could potentially hurt their former company, is great. Then a few anonymous tips to some Juicebox Commandos and bam, you have now just struck a blow against your competitor. This is yet again, another reason to treat your contractors right and not play games with them.  The non-disclosure agreement is not a ‘100 percent insurance policy’ solution against that type of thing.

   I also would not doubt that there are corporate moles in place at a few of the companies.  You see this in other industries, and I could totally see that happening with ours.  The competition for these contracts is extreme, and the temptation for companies to do this is great.  Plus, most of the companies are filled with guys who specialize in that kind of thing with their prior military, police, private investigator or ‘other’ career.  The amount of money on the line with these contracts is huge and everyone is seeking an edge in the market.

   And to clarify so I don’t get some corporate lawyer knocking on my door, I am not at all saying that DynCorp or anyone in this industry is participating in this kind of activity. I just bring this stuff up, because the potential is always there. Especially when you see it happening in other high dollar, high stakes industries. -Matt

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How to Strengthen the Afghan National Police

March 11, 2010

To the Editor:

Your March 6 editorial “ ‘If You Bring In the Cops’ ”) rightly makes the case that Afghanistan’s future lies in the ability to successfully connect the Afghan people to their government. To that end, the question of how to strengthen the Afghan National Police is correctly front and center.

As the responsibility for police training transitions to sole Pentagon control, the consequences of the choice of contract to support this effort deserve examination. The proposed Army contracting vehicle, which was originally established for technology procurement, will have the net effect of restricting the potential choice to two, or possibly only one, provider for future training.

As the former commander of the Afghan National Security Forces training mission recently testified, this crucial mission will require experienced government contractors. It is critical that concerns about the current procurement approach, lack of adequate competition and resulting choice of contractor do not undermine confidence in the training.

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*****

   Hmmm, I wonder if FPS is reading Feral Jundi. lol Actually this practice of overt and covert inspections is pretty common in a few agencies out there.  The Postal Service even uses mystery shoppers to get a real feel for their customer service and inner workings of offices, so this is nothing new for federal agencies. Mystery shopping is very common in other industries as well, and I have covered that here before.

    But what boggles my mind, is why haven’t more private military companies used this concept?  If you truly care about what is going on with your company, you should be fully involved with collecting intelligence on the inner workings of your company. That means sending folks out to your sites and talking with the contractor on the ground.

    I am not talking about just talking with the managers either. I am talking about getting feedback from the backbone of your company, and that is the contractor doing the work. These are the folks who represent the end result of all of your company policies and training, and a lot depends upon them.  These guys and gals are the ones your customer sees on a daily basis, and makes their judgements about your company based on the actions of these contractors.  The managers are there to lead and to implement company policy and training, and the best gauge for seeing if they did their job, is to study the contractors they are in charge of.

   Also, it is important to note that this is not a witch hunt, or undercover gotcha stuff.  It costs money to fire and hire folks, so ideally, this information is used to tweak policies where it makes it easy for contractors to do the right thing.  It also helps in identifying inefficiencies or identifying key training points that need to be reworked or re-emphasized in order to get a better outcome.  That is what you use this intelligence for.  Of course if you catch criminal activity within your company, you should act upon that information pronto.  But all in all, the idea behind obtaining feedback is to feed your Kaizen machine and make your company a top performer.

   The mystery shopping or covert employee thing is something I have mentioned before, which is just one tool to gain that kind of information about the workings of your company.  It is an extra cost, but it is the kind of investment that will pay for itself handily down the line. Because you can ask folks what is going on with your company, and they might give the straight scoop. Or they might not, partly because they don’t think you will do anything about it or they don’t trust the idea of giving you information that may or may not cause reprisals (thats if your company has a culture that does not support feedback, and if that is the case, you need to fix that by actually acting upon feedback and showing you care).

     You could also use customer or employee feedback software to mine that information gold.  Either way, if you are not doing these things, and actually acting upon that information to make your company better, then you are certainly headed down a road of uncertainty and peril.  You are just gambling at that point, with the hopes that nothing bad will happen to your company and that everything is just rosy with your people. pfffft.

   I guess my point with all of this, is that don’t be the company where the head does not know what the tail is doing.  Seek that feedback gold, and invest in the necessary measures to make that happen.  Start by just asking honestly what the issues are (and be responsive to those issues!!!), and if that doesn’t work, do surprise inspections, use software to gain employee and customer feedback, and finally, use mystery employees and get a solid read on what is really going on with your company. -Matt

Edit: Also check out this article about Best Buy and how they used ‘employee feedback’ to their advantage.

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Use of private security guards at government buildings comes under scrutiny

By Ed O’KeefeThursday, March 11, 2010

There’s a saying among some private security guards in the Washington region: “There’s no security in security.”

Poor job security and the potential dangers that come with protecting government buildings make it a risky line of work, said guards interviewed this week.

Unlike officers with the Pentagon Force Protection Agency who gunned down shooter John Patrick Bedell last week, most security guards at federal buildings in the Washington region are employed by private firms that have contracts with the Federal Protective Service.

The FPS, part of the Department of Homeland Security, provides security at more than 9,000 federal buildings across the country and uses about 15,000 contract security guards to support about 1,200 officers, inspectors and administrative staffers, according to agency officials. A House hearing Tuesday will focus on the FPS’s future and its response to a 2009 Government Accountability Office investigation that exposed security gaps at 10 major federal buildings. The GAO report also faulted the FPS for inconsistent training and poor oversight of private guards.

Next month, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) plans to introduce legislation that addresses the agency’s future and broader threats and security measures at all civilian and military facilities, aides said.

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‘Not Responsible.‘ From LMS Defense-The Comics and Righteous Duke Designs.

   The thing about it folks, is that I like the LoM, and I think it is just one more tool that can be used in this long and costly war.  It gives congress a means to connect with private industry in a way that will be cost effective, and certainly effective if done properly.  The one caveat though, is that congress needs to understand the mechanisms at play with this concept, and they must have the tools on how to properly construct a LoM. It would take some modern day modifications to get it just right, but it is certainly not impossible, and all the pieces are there to put it together.

   Which leads me to my next point.  By far, Feral Jundi is the place with the most comprehensive collection and commentary about the subject of the Letter of Marque and Reprisal. I know, I search this stuff relentlessly, and have collected it all.  I invite the readership to explore all of this good stuff, and ‘build a snowmobile’ out of it. Hell, write congress and let them know about the LoM and your thoughts about it. Remind them about Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution and let’s get the word out. -Matt

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Letters of Marque and Reprisal: The Constitutional Law and Practice of Privateering

Theodore M. Cooperstein, U.S. Attorneys Office (SDFL)

Abstract

The United States Constitution grants to the Congress the power, among others, to issue “Letters of Marque and Reprisal.” Although the practice seems to have fallen into disuse in this century, it was an important tool of national power for the federal government created by the Framers, who placed great import on the federal government’s role in protecting international commerce and in enforcing international law.

Privateering played a significant role before and during the Revolutionary War, and it persisted in American history as an economical way to augment naval forces against an enemy in wartime. A significant outgrowth of the practice of privateering was the body of law resulting from prize court adjudications. United States courts, in deciding title to ships and goods taken prize, determined issues both of domestic and customary international law. In this manner the federal courts significantly shaped the role of international law in the United States jurisprudence as well as assured the role of the United States in the ongoing development of customary international law. Case law concerning prizes and privateering is accordingly a useful vehicle to examine the interplay of U.S. constitutional law and customary international law as they both developed through the Nineteenth Century.

Changes in the methods of warfare during the Twentieth Century diminished the role of privateering. But the Congressional authority to issue Letters of Marque and Reprisal remains. As a means to commission private actors to augment national forces in international crises, the Letter of Marque and Reprisal could yet have modern applications. It remains for innovative executive and legislative experiment to revive the ancient practice in a form befitting modern international problems.

Suggested Citation

Theodore M. Cooperstein, “Letters of Marque and Reprisal: The Constitutional Law and Practice of Privateering,” 40 J. Maritime L. & Comm. 221 (Apr. 2009)

Link to publication website here.

LinkedIn Page for Theodore M. Cooperstein here.

Download Pdf here.

   What will be cool, is if Doug can give an AAR on this conference, and provide some details that the readership might be interested in.  I think it is noteworthy that they only had three weeks or so to put this together, when normally these events take months to plan.  That to me only highlights the flexibility and speed of what the private industry is capable of if properly organized and mobilized.  I witnessed the same reaction of private industry during the Katrina Hurricanes back in 2005, and it is definitely a strength of the industry.  So the next step after this conference, is to see who goes where, and what they are doing. I will keep a watch on it, and see what pops up. -Matt

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Private Sector Eyes Opportunity in Haiti Rebuilding

By Pascal Fletcher

March 10, 2010

Rebuilding Haiti after its catastrophic earthquake should generate major contracts for private companies specializing in construction, logistics, transport and security, but U.S. executives say they need a clear reconstruction strategy to shape their business plans.

Private sector firms that focus on post-conflict or disaster relief operations gathered at a meeting in Miami this week to consider the business opportunities offered by Haiti’s recovery from the January 12 quake that devastated the capital Port-au-Prince and surrounding towns.

With Haiti’s government saying up to 300,000 people may have died, some economists are calling the Haitian quake the deadliest natural disaster in modern times. Relief experts and business leaders agree the mammoth task of rebuilding what was already the Western Hemisphere’s poorest state will be impossible without private sector participation.

“I don’t think they have any option but to get private companies in to help reconstruct Haiti,” Kevin Lumb, CEO of London-based Global Investment Summits Ltd, which organized the Haiti Reconstruction meeting in Miami, told Reuters.

“I think it opens up a great deal of business opportunities. Most of their infrastructure is destroyed, their roads, communications, buildings, it’s obviously affected water supply, electricity, so that all needs rebuilding,” Lumb said.

The Miami summit was also organized by the International Peace Operations Association, a trade group of companies working in conflict, post-conflict and disaster zones.

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   I am not the POC or recruiter, and please follow the link below if you would like to apply for this job.  Good luck. -Matt

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Guards Location: UAE - Dubai 

Job Code: 23

Description: Guards

Responsible for safeguarding facilities, conducting patrols, and escorting visitors as necessary.  Full benefits and compensation depending on experience and qualifications.  All individuals must be a U.S. citizens with former U.S. military or law enforcement experience, who have been honorably discharged.  All must be capable of passing a physical fitness test, health exam, background investigation, and periodic drug test.  In addition, all applicants must have a current, valid passport with at least six months remaining until renewal.  To be considered for this position, please fill out the application on this website and attach your resume with contact information.

Apply here.

   Well for one, my pick is contractors. Mostly because we are the fastest means of filling that vacuum, and we do the least at disrupting the mechanics of the war machine.  Especially if the Dutch were tasked with training or menial/defensive operations.  Or the coalition can play the game where they rob Peter, to pay Paul, and shift forces from one vital mission, to fill another vital mission.  Kind of like with the Georgian conflict with Russia, and how those Georgian troops had to leave Iraq immediately to respond to a crisis in their homeland.  The US military had to scramble to backfill, and problems like this cause vacuums in all sorts of places in the war machine. Especially if contractors are already doing the menial jobs out there–meaning troops are already filling vital positions in the war.  So you take troops from one effort, and move them to another– it has an impact on the machine.

   I also say contractors are a good choice for this ‘vacuum plug’ when it comes to non-offensive operations.  If that member nation was tasked with training, convoy operations, PSD or static security, then contractors could easily be called upon to fill that vacuum so the rest of the war machine continues to function properly.  Hell, I could put a call out on this blog for a small army, have them vetted, tell them to bring their own kit, secure weapons/vehicles/living quarters/ID cards/licenses and deploy them into Afghanistan to fill those PSD/convoy/static positions quicker than you can say ‘Eric Cartman’.  People would be amazed at how quickly security contractors could be spun up, and especially if a company has the resources to do a quick spin up. (and most companies do)

   Of course it would be ideal to use military forces to fill these instant voids, and in most cases they do. But my question is how could they possible act as fast as a private company, or how could this not impact another vital mission they are performing?  Now the military can do stuff like divert troops from one country, to the other, or do an early deployment for a incoming unit, but yet again, this is taking from one vital mission, to fill another.  To me, it makes more sense to not disrupt that harmony of planning, and just contract a company to step in. Especially for the defensive operational stuff. (military replacement is the only option for offensive related ops at this time)

   Using contractors can even buy military planners some time to actually assemble a military team to fill in that hole.  Another way to look at it, is that we are the 50 mph tape for a hole in the fuel line, so that we can get the car back home.  Then at home, we can replace the fuel line.  It does not make sense, to disable the brakes and use a chunk of brake line to repair the fuel line.  Or you could use a vacuum line to repair the fuel line, but yet again, the engine will not run correctly– if at all.

   Now to wrap this up.(pun intended-lol)  The point of it all is that when I hear guys like Senator Levin slam private contractors in one hearing, and then in another quote, he whines about NATO not having enough troops to do the training in Afghanistan, I have to think that politically speaking he is saying one thing, but realistically speaking he has to know that contractors are vital to the war effort.  Because as more NATO folks leave, do to political turmoil, the economy, or some Black Swan event back home, contractors are gonna be as vital to the war machine tool box, as a roll of 50mph tape. -Matt

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The ever handy roll of 50mph tape. 

More Military Trainers Needed in Afghanistan

Coalition forces pressed to fill gap in trainers needed to help growing Afghan Army and Police forces

Al Pessin

09 March 2010

The U.S. Navy admiral who commands all NATO forces worldwide says he and the alliance secretary general are pressing each member to fulfill a specific part of the shortfall in military trainers in Afghanistan.  The admiral spoke at a U.S. Senate hearing, where senior members from both parties criticized NATO allies for the shortage.Admiral James Stavridis gave the Senate Armed Services Committee specific numbers.  He said the NATO-run command in Afghanistan needed 1,278 trainers for the growing Afghan Army and Police forces, but it has so far received only 541 - a shortfall of 737.”It is absolutely correct to say that NATO has fallen short in providing these vital trainers.  What we are doing about it is taking further steps in terms of contacting each of the nations individually and going one-by-one through the precise requirement for each of the nations in terms of where they could most effectively fill in the trainer mix,” Stavridis said.The shortage of trainers comes at a time when Afghan Army recruiting is sharply up, due in part to a significant salary increase the Kabul government implemented late last year.The committee chairman, Democrat Carl Levin, said the training commander in Afghanistan told him some of the Afghan recruits cannot enter the army immediately due to the lack of trainers.”That is totally unacceptable, almost unbelievable to me, that we can not get NATO allies to carry out that kind of commitment, which is not the most dangerous.  There is obviously danger anywhere, but compared to being in combat it falls well short of that,” Levin said.

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