Posted on 06/10/2005 6:17:50 PM PDT by blam
Shootings may lead to security guard curb
By Adrian Blomfield in Baghdad
(Filed: 11/06/2005)
Iraq's interior ministry said yesterday it wanted to impose legal boundaries on the private security business after American contractors twice opened fire on US marines.
The move may be supported by the US military, whose patience with the contractors has been tested.
They were angered by an incident late last month in Fallujah, the former insurgent stronghold recaptured by US forces last year.
The marines say one of their combat teams came under fire from guards in a convoy of four-wheel-drives belonging to Zapata Engineering, a firm based in North Carolina that is involved in reconstruction projects.
A marine observation post was fired at three hours later by the same convoy, according to Lt Col Dave Lapan, a marines spokesman.
The contractors' vehicles were eventually stopped by metal spikes in the road.
Soldiers promptly arrested the security men, including 16 Americans and three Iraqis, who were placed in a detention centre. They have since been sent home.
The Zapata employees have admitted firing at civilian vehicles but deny targeting marines. They said that while in custody they were physically and emotionally abused.
The lawyer, Mark Schopper, who is representing two of the contractors, claims that at one point a marine shouted at the men: "How does it feel to be a rich contractor now?" (Real abuse here, geez)
Soldiers have for some time been angered by the salaries earned by the estimated 20,000 armed contractors working in Iraq, many of whom are ex-servicemen.
It is common for them to earn £750 a day. They provide protection for senior government officials and reconstruction projects.
They are even more unpopular with Iraqis. Interior ministry officials say at least 12 Iraqi civilians are killed by contractors every week in the capital.
"Enough is enough," said an official at the interior ministry. "We are looking at ways to tighten weapons licenses, and to punish the worst cases. The culture of impunity must stop."
A senior member of one private security firm in Baghdad said: "Like it or not we are combatants. If our guarantees are removed, we would have to leave."
well probably doesnt help the zapata are making 10 times more then regular grunts
Many of these PSD people have no military background, no combat training or experience and pose a danger to any coalition military forces operating in the area. This mess should have been cleaned up long ago.
There may need to be changes but disarming the civilian contractors and their guards is a recipe for disaster.
BS.
Is your family ready for the coming storm? At the moment, looks like it's headed your way more than mine.
"Many of these PSD people have no military background, no combat training or experience "
You know that how?
You have anything to back up yer statement....prior incident's of such as described here ? Or are ya just singing for yer supper at the BS Cafe ?
You have NO frikkin idea what you are talking about. But here's a clue: the USMC is putting out a load of CYA BS about this event. They stepped in deep doodoo, and are trying to lie their way out, and it won't work. This will all come out.
As the situation exists now, there is no personnel standard of qualifications followed by all PSD contractors. There are good, well experienced security companies, and there are "Mom and Pop" companies that have no business being there. Within reason, no matter who you are, if you are willing to travel to Iraq, someone will hire you as a security guard.
Take the time to read this AAR all the way through and you will begin to understand what I mean.
BIAP 4.20.2005
The Ambush of Edinburgh Risk and Security Management’s Operation Apollo
Prepared: April 22nd, 2005 by James Yeager
Job Title: Operator
Rank: None
Orders were at 1100hrs Baghdad local time (+9 CST) on April 20th, 2005. We
had our
typical set of orders covering the aspects of the trip. We have heard them
so many times
we can all most likely recite them while asleep. Team leaders Al “Johno”
Johnson and
Stef Surette gave the mission briefing. We were going to Baghdad
International Airport
(aka BIAP) to pick up two ERSM employees, one of which was an Operation
Apollo
team member.
Vehicle One: Black unarmored BMW manual transmission
Driver: James Yeager, Primary weapon Bushmaster semi-auto AR-15 with 11.5”
barrel
Vehicle Commander and Medic: Stef Surette, Primary weapon 7” barrel full
auto AR
Rear Gunner and Medic: Mark Collen, Primary FN M-249 secondary Bushmaster
M-4
Vehicle Two: Black armored Mercedes automatic transmission
Driver: Simon Merry, Primary MP-5 secondary Bushmaster M-4
Vehicle Commander: Ian Harris Primary Bushmaster M-4
Vehicle Three: White unarmored BMW automatic transmission
Driver: Chris Ahmelman MP-5 and M-4
Mission Commander and lead medic: Al Johnson Mission Commander, MP-5 and
M-4
Rear Gunner: James Hunt II, Primary RPK, Secondary FN M-249, and Tertiary
an M-4
All carried Glock model 19s as a sidearm.
We followed our written S.O.P. in relation to dress which is a locally
procured ankle
length shirt (also known as a “man dress”) that had been cut off at the
waist to make me
look like an Iraqi while seated in a car. Everyone wore something like that
and/or a
Shemag (the “rags” locals wear on their heads that gets them the “rag head”
moniker).
The mission began at approximately 1125hrs. We departed the Green Zone
(also known
as the International Zone) checkpoint 12 like we do every time unless it is
closed then we
take our singular alternate route out the July 14th Bridge. The short trip
flowed smoothly
until we were within approximately ½ mile of the relative safety of Camp
Victory and
BIAP.
We got stopped in traffic at Rally Point #4 which is the final overpass
between BIAP
and the Green Zone. The U.S. Army had stopped traffic because they were at
the scene of
an I.E.D. (Improvised Explosives Device) that had severely damaged a Sport
Utility
Vehicle. “BIAP Road” is a divided highway with a median strip. It is also a
limited
access road like an American Interstate which uses entry and exit ramps for
access. There
was an impromptu stop sign in the middle of our two lane road and orange
cones letting
traffic know to stay well back.
There was also 2-3 Humvees with at least one of them pointing a .50 caliber
heavy
machine gun, which I knew would go through an armored car, in our direction
to make
sure no vehicles got close. Since we had made a conscious decision to drive
cars that
looked like the locals and dress like the locals I hesitated to get closer
than 200-300
yards. There have been more incidents of the Military shooting at PSDs than
terrorists
which is completely understandable because as a group we tend to drive
aggressively, try
to blend in with local vehicles, dress like locals and carry weapons often
times in plain
view if not sticking out of the windows.
I had moved my rifle from the console to my lap when we stopped. Our cars
were about
25 yards apart. I watched my “Area of Responsibility”. As the driver of
vehicle one I had
to watch from my seat’s 12 o’clock counter clockwise around to 8 o’clock.
Jay Hunt,
who was the rear gunner in vehicle three, had the largest area to watch
from the vehicle’s
9 o’clock around to the 3 o’clock.
While we sat in traffic our Team Leader (One I.C.) and lead Medic “Johno”
fired
multiple bursts from his MP-5 submachine gun from vehicle three. He got
outside the car
to do it at least once. My estimation is 3-4 bursts of 3-4 rounds each. He
did this to “warn
them off” (cars) in the rear because they were getting too close. Johno’s
area of
responsibility was not the rear. The rear was Jay’s responsibility. Johno
was neglecting
his 12 o’clock to 3 o’clock position. Each time he fired his weapon he was
drawing
unwanted attention our way and not watching his side of the car. His side
of the car is the
one in which our attack came from minutes later.
After his second burst I removed my “Haji dress” because there was nothing
between
those U.S. Army .50 caliber heavy machine guns and us and I didn’t want
them to look
down the road at the gunfire and see all of us wearing local clothing to
include Shemags
and engage us. Besides my fear of being shot by the U.S. Military, after
Johno began
shooting, I assumed the cars near us knew we were Contractors anyway. Our
“cover” if
we ever had one was now non-existent.
After being directly under the overpass for several moments (maybe 10) we
pulled
forward about 100 meters to where the final on-ramp to BIAP Road entered. I
pulled my
number one vehicle far right, as instructed by my team leader Stef, to
block traffic from
coming onto the roadway. After about 10-15 minutes I took the car out of
gear and pulled
on the emergency break because my calf was beginning to ache. I would end
up
regretting that decision.
To our right was a “frontage” road or “slip” road about 75-100 yards out
that ran parallel
to BIAP Road. There were houses just on the other side of that road. After
a few
moments one of the guys (I think commander of vehicle two: Ian Harris)
spotted a small
white sedan on the slip road. He asked that someone look at it with
binoculars. We didn’t
have any but Mark had a telescopic sight on his rifle. He stated it was
parked and the sole
occupant was talking on the phone, wasn’t paying attention to us, and
wasn’t a threat. I
said aloud “He is a fucking Dicker.” (Dicker is what the Brits call a
“lookout”.) My car
commander Stef, who heard me, never acknowledged.
About three to five minutes after we saw the Dicker (approximately 1350
hrs) I heard
another volley of fire and I thought to myself “What the fuck is Johno
shooting at
NOW?!” I felt rounds hitting the car and I heard the distinctive supersonic
crack of a
round pass through our car, inches in front of my face, from right to left
missing Stef and
I. Stef yelled “I’m hit!” and he began emptying a 30 round mag out his
window.
I need to mention at this point that both of the other guys in my car saw a
large white
SUV with black tinted windows rolling slowly down the frontage road heading
the same
direction we were pointing. They apparently drove a short distance and
whipped into an
intersection, did a u-turn, and stopped momentarily pointing their vehicle
in our
direction. This event took several minutes. Mark later said that the
passenger window
was down in the SUV but he could not see inside and he kept looking in
other directions
because he didn’t consider the vehicle to be a threat. There were two other
people with
the area of responsibility in which the attack came from in vehicles two
and three and
NOBODY reported ANYTHING.
After I went through my O.O.D.A. Loop I punched the gas to the floor and
the engine raced but the
car wouldn’t move. I thought it had it been knocked out of commission.
After what
seemed like an eternity, but was a couple of seconds, I grabbed the door
handle and
began implementation of our ambush S.O.P. for a disabled car in which the
first step is
getting out of the car. I remembered I was in a stick shift that was in
neutral with the
emergency brake on as I hit the ground, and the point of no return, and
moved to the rear
wheel. I not sure how long it takes to empty a 30 round magazine on full
auto but I began
firing before Stef emptied his gun the first time.
As I shot from the rear of the car I wanted to kill the terrorists but
nobody had told me
the direction (I figured that one out on my own), description, or distance.
I fired because I
have been trained to fire when someone is shooting at me. If I couldn’t
make hits I was
sure going to make noise. Half the distance to the slip road there were
some Hesco
barriers and dirt was flying off the top of them. I thought maybe Stef had
seen someone
behind them and was shooting at them. I now realize it was merely rounds
from our team
being shot without using the sights. At the time I didn’t know and because
there were
houses directly beyond that it was the safest place for me to shoot. I shot
about 6-10
aimed rounds into the barriers utilizing my EOTech weapon sight.
I felt Mark coming out of the rear door so I began the next phase of our
S.O.P. which is
getting away from the car (getting off the “X”) because people tend to
shoot at cars and
rifles easily penetrate them. I turned and ran toward the median which was
about 40 feet
to the edge. I got face down on the edge of the asphalt, took a firing
position, and yelled
“MOVE!” to Mark.
I am sure Mark had trouble hearing me as he fired the M-249 across the back
of vehicle
one. I pulled my rifle to my cheek, looked through my EOTech again, scanned
the roof
tops and almost shot some clothes hanging off a TV antenna to dry. Nobody
was there. I
scanned the windows of the houses. I KNEW I heard a PKM and I KNEW the PKM
was
hitting us well and was most likely in a static position. I scanned the
Hescos again.
Nothing. “Where the fuck is it?” I wondered as I searched. I began aiming
between the
windows of the houses and shooting the solid brick walls. Although I didn’t
know who I
needed to kill I knew they were that direction “somewhere”. I felt useless
but I thought I
might be able to keep their heads down. Mark’s 249 went down (broken or
bent belt) and
I fired while he grabbed his M-4.
“SHIT!” I thought to myself. I had forgotten to deploy a smoke grenade.
When Mark
resumed firing I ripped it out of the pouch, peeled off the 100mph tape,
put the spoon in
the palm of my hand, straightened the ends of the pin out, and pulled the
ring. I kept
thinking about my Instructor course for and teaching the proper deployment
of
flashbangs, smoke, and CS. My mind was racing. I forced myself to focus. I
wanted to
obscure Mark and Stef and so I heaved the high concentration smoke as hard
as I could
and managed to get it on the far side of their car.
While this was happening I heard sporadic outgoing gunfire from cars two
and three, I
wasn’t sure which vehicles but I was glad to hear them shooting because I
knew they
were alive. I was hoping that cars two and three were communicating and
covering each
other. Mark and I were filling in each others gaps of fire.
I thought my magazine was nearing empty and while Mark was firing I took
the time to
do a tactical reload on my rifle and get my bearing. I looked to my rear
and the opposite
side of the road and it was all clear. I looked on the overpass and it was
all clear. I looked
at car number three and I saw Jay Hunt with blood all over his crotch. I
heard him tell
Johno “I’m hit in the femoral buddy.” very calmly. He slid himself toward
the front of the
car so that Johno could apply first aid from behind the engine which was
the safest spot. I
looked at Chris. He was still in the driver’s seat slumped lifelessly to
the left against the
door.
I checked car two, the armored Mercedes, Simon and Ian were uninjured and
now in the
fight. I was glad to see them. Although Simon got out with an MP-5 and he
quickly
discarded it with for an M-4. I was glad to see that as well. I looked at
car one and saw
Stef was out of the car but he was going down. Although I knew he told me
he was hit he
had still been in the fight and got out of the car under his own power. I
did not realize the
extent of his injuries.
I began speaking to Simon who was the closest to me. The next phase of our
S.O.P. was,
if the cars were down, to commandeer a vehicle from the opposite side of
the road, load
the dead and wounded, and escape. I asked Simon, who was the closest to me,
if he
wanted to help me get a couple of cars. He was drawn back into the chaos in
front of him
and never responded. I yelled “WHO ARE WE SHOOTING AT!?!” as loud as I
could to
nobody in particular and got no reply.
Ian and Simon were now communicating with Mark. Mark has asked them to move
the
armored car, vehicle two, up for cover so he can attend to Stef’s injuries.
Ian at some
point here ran to vehicle one and began covering Mark. Simon tried to move
vehicle two
but it barely limped forward. It was not moved into a position to cover
Mark and Stef.
Simon got out and moved up to vehicle one and provided cover for Mark.
Since I was not
actively shooting at the terrorists I was still searching the areas the
guys are NOT
shooting at so we have full 360 degree security.
I now know that Mark has assistance and if Simon and Ian cannot help him
that there is
certainly nothing I can do for him. I shift my attention to Johno who is
alone at vehicle
three. He is now working on Jay’s injuries frantically and calling for
help. I run to him.
When I get there I can tell Johno is trying to cover his 360 and work on
Jay at the same
time. Jay was still breathing but his respirations were becoming labored. I
reassured
Johno that I had him protected as I scanned the area. After a few moments a
car drove
toward us from the rear. I waive them off but they do not stop. I fired
twice and they
stopped.
Johno tells me he is out of bandages. I motion toward my medical pouch and
he grabs
one of mine. He didn’t realize it, and I didn’t think to tell him, but I
had a packet of
TraumaDEX in the pouch as well. I could hear the Humvees driving up from
the BIAP
end of the road (the direction we were traveling) and the Soldiers talking
to the others. I
was relieved to finally know we had help. Johno and the medic asked for
help removing
Jay’s Paraclete Releasable Assault Vest. I reach over and yank the ripcord
off and the
vest fell off allowing the ready access.
Almost simultaneously I see a man walking toward us from the opposite
direction. He is
white and dressed like a PSD operator although he was wearing no armor and
carried no
weapon. I find out later he works for U.K. based Olive Security. I yell to
him “DO YOU
HAVE ANY BANDAGES!?!” he holds up his finger in a “wait a minute” fashion
as he
strolls my way. I yell louder “DO YOU HAVE ANY BANDAGES!?!” He replies with
what I think was an Australian accent “Can we drive through?” I was
stunned, simply
stunned, that he had the NERVE to ask to drive through. He was within 20
feet now and
I said “DO YOU HAVE ANY FUCKING BANDAGES!?!” He ignored me and walked
past to one of the just arriving U.S. Soldiers and asked if he could drive
through.
The Soldier asked “Do you have an SUV?” The man replied “Yes. Can I drive
through?” The Soldier said “Get your SUV up here and put that body in it.
(Pointing to
Chris)” He replied “But we are in a terrible hurry!” The Soldier said “Do
it now.” In a
much more pleasant tone than I thought the man deserved. The man began to
protest and
the Soldier clearly, firmly, and loudly stated “DO YOU HAVE A D.O.D.
CARD?!” The
man replied “Yes.” The Soldier said “THEN I AM YOUR ON SCENE COMMANDER
AND I ORDER YOU TO GET YOUR S.U.V. UP HERE AND LOAD UP THAT
BODY…NOW!!!!” He finally complied and meandered back toward his truck
obviously
put off.
The soldier told me to get Chris’ body from the driver’s seat. Johno and a
military medic
worked on Jay as I opened the door and caught Chris. He had begun to fall
out. It
happened very quickly from here but the car, which was an automatic, was
still in gear
and when I pulled Chris out the car began rolling away toward Jay. If Johno
had not
reacted quickly Jay would have been crushed by the car. I had to drop
Chris’ body and
run around the opposite side of the car to get inside. Luckily a soldier on
the other side
was able to get in and switch it off before it crashed into a Humvee that
was backing up
to avoid the collision.
Jay and Stef were attended to by military medics and were rushed to the
closest medical
facility at Camp Victory. Johno and the Olive PSD team loaded Chris’ body
in the back
of their SUV and followed. The 4 uninjured survivors (Ian, Simon, Mark, and
I) got into
all three vehicles and drove toward the Camp Victory entrance as commanded
by the
Military. The armored Mercedes sustained enough damage from the gunfire
that it could
not move the few hundred yards to the checkpoint. We abandoned it on the
roadside.
We've had a few people try to come here and claim security contractors were nothing but blood-thirsty redneck mercenaries with no training.
Like liberals, these people piss me off because they believe a person in uniform is some kind of superhero with special powers to wield weapons, but the instant they leave the military they are just a bunch of know-nothing redneck klutzes who should stay away from weapons.
"As the situation exists now, there is no personnel standard of qualifications followed by all PSD contractors. "
"and pose a danger to any coalition military forces operating in the area. "
The guy reporting the story is a 12 year cop. I would hardly say he is without training.
If you to get right down to it, the military isn't even qualified for their job in many cases. So many of the Military Police there are little girls with little training and are from reserve units where yesterday they were doing a civilian office job: No combat training or experience in them, either.
This is true, but adding more amatuers to the fray does no good either. As for the 12 year cop, being a deputy sheriff from Lizard Lick, NC (for example only) certainly does not qualify one for the mean streets of Fallujah.
OTOH, Shellshocked is exactly right that many of our active duty "combat troops" are reservists who were "chairborne rangers" working in civilian offices a month ago. Including a lot of 120 pound female "crack troops."
I'll tell you what, your assessment that there are "security contractors" that will take just about anyone is simple to prove or disprove. All anyone has to do is name a few contractors who are willing to do that. There may be one, maybe, but the general notion is that previous security/combat/LEv experience must be demonstrable before being hired and sent to the sandbox.
Thanks for the sanity. People are going to die here and there are going to be mistakes made as long as you have a bunch of Arabs who look like everyone else, walking around and blowing themselves and IEDs up everywhere. It is amazing there aren't a whole bunch more mistakes.
These guys are obviously doing soomewhat of a decent job because you aren't seeing some poor bastard's face on TV followed by a badly done video of his head being sawed off with a dull knife.
WHEN it comes to who I will believe. First I believe the MARINES. Next I believe the MARINES. Then I believe the rest. It wasn't contractors who took down Fallujah. Those contractors are getting paid good money and no one drafted them. If they think they are gonna get all that cash in a war zone and not have bad luck, tough days, misunderstandings, getting punched in the mouth or whatever...... too bad.
contractors can quit anytime, Marines can't won't and don't.
Now lets get back to killing the stinking Muslim terrorists
No group has a monopoly on virtue, despite their 24/7 holier-than-thou spin and PR machine.
Exactly.
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