Posted on 07/03/2007 5:57:55 PM PDT by Ladycalif
A training camp for members of law enforcement and the military is being proposed in Imperial County that opponents say is disturbingly similar to a facility planned for the backcountry community of Potrero.
The companies behind both projects are led by former Navy SEALs, but their officials insist the similarities end there.
Wind Zero wants to build a 963-acre facility near Ocotillo, about 70 miles east of San Diego. The startup company has about 10 investors and is led by Brandon Webb, a San Diegan who said he left the Navy about a year and a half ago when he saw a need for more military training centers.
Blackwater USA, a North Carolina-based company that wants to build a facility on 824 acres in Potrero, is a major defense contractor whose millionaire owner, Erik Prince, is a former Navy SEAL.
Jeanette Hartman, chairwoman of the Sierra Club's land-use committee, is among those who believe Blackwater is secretly pushing the Ocotillo plan in case the Potrero proposal is denied.
(Excerpt) Read more at signonsandiego.com ...
Blackwater:
http://www.cbs8.com/features/special_assignment/story.php?id=94023
Al Jazeera In Potrero Covering Blackwater Training
Last Updated:
06-20-07 at 7:11PM
Blackwater USA is trying to bring a training camp for its private security forces to Potrero, and now a crew from Al Jazeera’s English-language TV station has shown up at the site.
Former American network news correspondent Rob Reynolds greeted a News 8 camera as he interviewed a Potrero resident for his new boss — the 24-hour Al Jazeera English TV channel, which launched last fall. The Washington-based reporter was in town to do a story on the controversial proposed Blackwater military training project, which would be built on a vacant 800-acre chicken ranch.
Once the three-person unit spotted our camera while they chatted with Blackwater opponent Steve Kowit, they quickly moved out of sight. Minutes after packing up their SUV, they left town after spending just three hours in the area.
“They understood that you guys wanted them to be the news story,” Kowit said.
Kowit, who says the Blackwater project promotes fire danger and is environmentally disruptive, felt the crew was fair.
“They asked me absolutely appropriate questions, they were professionals like you are, and I suspect nothing will be slanted,” Kowit said.
Gordon Hammers is the chairman of the Potrero Community Planning Group. He says he spoke to the Al Jazeera crew about how Blackwater would help revitalize the local economy. In the back of his mind, however, he had lingering questions about the objective of their visit.
“What are you doing here in the first place,” Hammers said. “This is a local land use issue. You really have no business putting this into international politics.”
It was unclear when a story about Blackwater would air on Al Jazeera. The news crew refused to speak with News 8.
A major Republican campaign contributor, he interned in the White House of President George H.W. Bush and campaigned for Pat Buchanan in 1992, finding time to intern for arch-conservative congressman Dana Rohrabacher as well. Prince founded the mercenary firm Blackwater USA in 1997 with Gary Jackson, another former Navy SEAL
Blackwater USA is the most comprehensive professional military, law enforcement, security, peacekeeping, and stability operations company in the world.
ping
B U M P
A private land owner in Potrerosaid that he was personally OPPOSED to Blackwater going in there, as the site that Blackwater picked, is only about 3/4 mile from his house! Also, the area is zoned agricultural, not commercial, as Blackwater would like. The area is a small valley in the shape of a big bowl.
SUPPOSEDLY, according to Blackwater, the site is only going to be used for training police and sheriff’s deputies to use small arms, and do high speed driving, as it is to have a high speed driving course as well. He said noise would most likely be a problem, especially at night, even though Blackwater had assured the “locals” that all firing would be during daylight hours, and traffic wouldn’t be a problem, as participants would all be bused in and out.
I told him that I didn’t think I could quite swallow that much bullshit in one swallow, and he agreed that he couldn’t either. Since most military trains at night, and in the dark, we both figured that there would be plenty of training going on at night, regardless of Blackwater “assurances.” He said he was sure that personnel from the base would be practiceing their “gillie suit craft” on the locals, he was not too happy with the prospect of it being right in his own back yard!
As to other things happening in the Campo area, he said the group of “locals” he was now in, have already completed over 3/4 of a mile of 9 feet tall chain link fence, in a north-south direction along the East side of Tierra Del Sol, and are about to start the East-West run of the fence as soon as adequate materials are gathered up. The 9 ft. tall fence is topped off with 3 feet of razor wire on top.
He says that it’s quite impressive ! These same locals are busting large numbers of illegals, as they come in, in large groups of 10-20. The group has ghillie suits, secure comms, and night vision. They surround them, order them to the ground, search them, photograph all the documents they have on them, take their shoes and “booties off,” and wait for the Border Patrol to get there. Their fence also has cameras and sensor units on it. Four o’clock in the morning seems to be a good time for the illegals to enter, although they do come in at all hours. He said everyone of them has a cell phone, which is the first thing that is confiscated.
This just goes to show you that when the Federal Government won’t do their jobs, the people will rise to the occasion. He also said they caught a B.P. Agent asleep in his jeep one night, and took pictures of him before they woke him up !
He says that there are many anti-war protestors out there protesting Blackwater’s plans. They were giving interviews to Al Jazeera. What a bunch of quacks.
My friend gave a view on Channel 8 the other day, from the local land owners’ view point.
Will post more, as it becomes available.
Do a google on “Steve Kowit” to see examples of his writing. It is incredibly naive stuff. His motives in opposing the training camp are transparent.
Please supply a working link to the main article you posted for the thread.
Thank you.
Perhaps you would rather have mosques and Al Queda training camps built rather than training facilities for those who would fight against them and protect American personnel and interests?
ping to article
Border bump!
http://kepler.ss.ca.gov/corpdata/ShowAllList?QueryCorpNumber=C2596521
WIND ZERO RANGES, INC.
Number: C2596521 Date Filed: 8/7/2006 Status: active
Jurisdiction: California
Address 7345 MISSION GORGE RD STE K SAN DIEGO, CA 92120
Agent for Service of Process
BRANDON WEBB
When I googled the above address (SuiteK), I found it shares an address with something called isecorp.com, pushing hybrid buses and such and has Arnie and his fuel-cells on the front webpage. With the use of transportation bond funds, the state is committed to modifying/replacing many government buses and other vehicles.
http://www.isecorp.com/
It also shares an address with a group called SOFCoast, which said it is “Owned by SOF - For SOF”. Soldier of Fortune?
http://www.sofcoast.com/
An advertisement for Sofcoast says they are experienced in “Uav & Special Technologies Consulting.” Is this one of the scam companies that will be bringing us the “virtual fence” for just a few billion dollars of your taxpayer’s money? Sofcoast was apparently founded by a Johnathan Surmount, an ex-Navy Special Warfare guy. Along with his resume, the link below says the following: “SOFCOAST Group, LLC exists to serve as a guide in helping Industry and Government successfully manage radical change. We provide multi-dimensional, effects based approaches to non-linear problems. Spanning traditional “legacy” concerns to nontraditional concerns, SOFCOAST assesses that the concerns of today’s tactical user community are severely misunderstood by many in industry and government.”
http://www.linkedin.com/in/giftzinger
What does all this mean? I have no idea!
Thanks for the info - I have no idea what all these means either!
Johnny Sutton will be on Sean’s show.
http://www.wabcradio.com
The thread in case you want to post questions or links.
http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/post?id=1861324%2C77
1-800-941-WABC
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