At the Pentagon, on Sept. 10, 2001 Donald Rumsfeld delivered one of his first major addresses as Defence Secretary under President George W. Bush. His speech was aimed at officials in charge of overseeing the business of defence contracting. He stated that the operating structure of the Pentagon needed to be replaced with a new model, based more on the private sector, to replace the Department of Defence bureaucracy. He told his audience “I have no desire to attack the Pentagon; I want to liberate it. We need to save it from itself.”
The very next morning the Pentagon was attacked as American Airlines flight 77 smashed into its western wall at 9:37 AM. That same morning, American Airlines flight 11 smashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center at 8:46 AM, and United Airlines flight 175 crashed into the south tower at 9:03 AM.
The world was forever changed, and Rumsfeld had a perfect opportunity to fast-track transforming the military. His approach included one of the most significant developments in modern warfare -- the widespread use of private contractors in every aspect of war including combat.
Blackwater has Completed Over 40,000 Missions
Among the companies receiving an early call from the administration to join in on the “global war on terror” was a little known security company called Blackwater U.S.A.
During the 1991 Gulf War, one in ten persons deployed in the war zone in Iraq was a private contractor. When U.S. tanks rolled into Baghdad in March of 2003, they were accompanied by the largest army of private contractors ever deployed in a war according to Jeremy Scahill. In his bestselling book Blackwater (Nation Books, 2007), Scahill says the private contractor has a private fleet of more than twenty aircraft including helicopter gunships.
By the end of Rumsfeld’s term, there were an estimated 100,000 private contractors on the ground in Iraq --an almost one to one ratio to active duty American soldiers. In 2007, Blackwater alone had 2,300 private soldiers deployed in nine countries including inside the U.S. It has a database of more than 21,000 former Special Forces troops, soldiers, and former law enforcement agents, upon whom it can call.
Later renamed Xe (pronounced ‘zee’), the contractor operates the world’s largest private military training facility, the U.S. Training Center (USTC), with additional Centers in Mount Carroll, Illinois and San Diego, California. The company has more than $1 billion in government contracts, not including secret operations, says Scahill.
Top Training for Experts by Experts at Private Facilities
Xe claims to be able to provide a diverse set of core capabilities as the parent company of U.S. Training Center, Greystone LTD, Blackwater Proshop, Xe Logistics and Total Intel Solutions.
Instructors at the U.S. Training Center (USTC) are chosen for their passion for the industry according to their official website. They bring experience from a number of sectors including U.S. Navy Seal, Special Forces, Rangers and Marine Corps, Australian and Canadian Special Forces, UK Boat Services and SWAT teams.
The website says the organization has developed a training methodology that has proven itself in real world situations.
“USTC instructors understand the importance of high quality training and know that training often means the difference between life and death because they have been there; either on the “mean streets” or “down range” with real world experience.“
Benefits of Private Operations
American Pro-consul Paul Bremer, upon leaving Iraq in 2004, issued a decree known as Order 17 immunizing contractors in Iraq from prosecution. This enables the organization to carry out intensive operations that normal military personnel may be unable to perform.
More contractors means fewer federal troops and a much more politically saleable troop count. From 1989 to 1993 the U.S. government reduced the number of its troops from 2.2 million to 1.6 million.
Blackwater beat most federal agencies to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Hundreds of heavily armed Blackwater mercenaries were deployed into the disaster zone. Within a week they were officially hired by the Department of Homeland Security to operate in the gulf states. In less than a year, the company received more than $70 million U.S. in federal hurricane related contracts.
The nature of the industry means that even consummate professionals sometimes lose their lives performing their livelihoods. A memorial garden at Xe’s flagship location in Moyock recognizes 35 Blackwater/Xe professionals who lost their lives protecting the liberty of others.
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