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THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF PRIVATE MILITARY COMPANIES
BUT HERE IS THE
1) AEGIS Aegis Defence Services is a London, U.K.-based private military company with overseas offices in Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kenya, Nepal and the United States. Aegis provides specialist security and risk management solutions to counter extreme threats. Its services are tailored for international clients including governments, international agencies and the corporate sector. It is a registered and active UN contractor, a major security provider to the U.S. government and security adviser to the Lloyds Joint War Risk Committee. In 2004 the International Peace Operations Association, an industry body, asked Aegis to apply for membership, but the application was rejected by a British competitor. It is a founding member of the British Association of Private Security Companies (BAPSC), a body lobbying for the regulation of the British PSC sector. It is also a member of the Private Security Company Association of Iraq. (Wikipedia 31.01.09) .In 2005 Aegis was linked to "Throphy Videos" posted on the Internet and showing contractors, allegedly linked to Aegis, opening fire on civilian vehicles without any apparent reason. Those posting sparked some controvercies but Aegis wasn't prosecuted because of its mandated immunity. In 2011 Aegis was awarded a $497 Million contract by the US Department of State for assuming Security Forces Operations at the US Embassy in Kabul. According to The Guardian Aegis broadened from 2011 onwards it recruitment including African countries. Aegis might have employed former child soldier from Sierra Leone and Uganda in Afghanistan and Iraq paying as low as $16 a day. Click here for the WIKIPEDIA entry Click here for the SOURCEWATCH
entry Click here for the COMPANY’s homepage
2) BLACKWATER (a.k.a. Xe / a.k.a. ACADEMI; related assets: REFLEX RESPONSES; TRIPLE CANOPY) Academi formerly Xe, formerly Blackwater Worldwide, formerly Blackwater USA, is a private military company founded in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark. In October 2007, Blackwater USA renamed itself Blackwater Worldwide, and is colloquially referred to simply as "Blackwater". Based in the American state of North Carolina, Blackwater operates a tactical training facility which the company claims is the world's largest, and at which the company trains more than 40,000 people a year, mostly from U.S. or foreign military and police services. The training consists of military offensive and defensive operations, as well as smaller scale personnel security. Blackwater Worldwide is currently the largest of the U.S. State Department's three private security contractors. Of the 987 contractors Blackwater provides, 744 are U.S. citizens. At least 90 percent of the company's revenue comes from government contracts, of which two-thirds are no-bid contracts. Blackwater Worldwide provides security services in Iraq to the United States federal government, particularly the Department of State on a contractual basis. Their continued presence in Iraq is tenuous; however, the new Iraqi government has made multiple attempts to expel them from their country, and has denied their application for an operating license in January 2009. (Wikipedia 31.01.09).Triple Canopy, Inc., was a private security company that provided integrated security, mission support and risk management services to corporate, government and non-profit clients. The firm was founded in May 2003. In June 2014 the firm merged with rival security contracting firm, Academi, formally Blackwater, thus forming the new company Constellis Holdings. The new CEO of Constellis Holdings is the former CEO of Academi, Craig Nixon, and training facilities are to be consolidated at the existing Academi training facility in North Carolina. Over 5,000 employees among them high skilled special forces operators worked for Triple Canopy at the time of the merger. (Wikipedia 16.09.14). Click here for the WIKIPEDIA
entry on BLACKWATER Click here for the SOURCEWATCH
entry on BLACKWATER Click here for the COMPANY’s homepage of BLACKWATER
3) CACI CACI International, Inc. (NYSE:CAI) is a publicly held Information Technology (IT) company, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia and London, England. CACI provides national security, defense, and intelligence-related solutions in the national interest of the United States to counter the threat of global terrorism, assure homeland security, and strengthen the company’s role as a national asset for national missions. CACI has approximately 11,800 employees in 120 offices in the US and Europe; 69% of CACI employees hold security clearances. CACI was one of the companies involved in the scandal of Abu Ghraib. (L. Joachim / Wikipedia 31.01.09).Click here for the WIKIPEDIA
entry Click here for the SOURCEWATCH
entry Click here for the COMPANY’s homepage
4) CUSTER BATTLES Custer Battles LLC was founded in October 2001. The company was named after its founders, Scott Custer and Michael Battles. Custer is a former Army Ranger and defense consultant, while Battles is a former Army officer and CIA intelligence officer who ran unsuccessfully for the US Congress in 2002. In May 2003, Custer Battles established a presence in Baghdad, Iraq. In June 2003, Custer Battles was competitively awarded a contract to secure the Baghdad International Airport. The 12-month contract with the Coalition Provisional Authority was worth $16.8 million. In October 2004, a qui tam lawsuit by Robert Isakson and William Baldwin was unsealed against Custer Battles. The suit, brought under the False Claims Act, alleged massive overbilling on two contracts with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq in 2003. In July 2005, Judge T.S. Ellis III ruled that allegations of false claims in Custer Battles' contracts with the CPA were actionable under the False Claims Act, denying Custer Battles' lawyers claims that the company had no contract with the US government. The Judge also ruled that money paid for by the Development Funds for Iraq (DFI) could not be prosecuted under the False Claims Act, as the US government was not involved in administering these funds. In March 2006, a jury found Custer Battles liable for the submission of 5 false claims, each one of which is subject to a US$5,000 -11,000 civil fine, as well as 26 false statements supporting the 5 false claims. However, in August 2006, Judge Ellis, of the Federal District Court in Alexandria, Va overturned the verdict as a matter of law. Judge Ellis's ruling was, in turn, reversed by the Fourth Circuit in April 2009, in effect reinstating the jury verdict. The Fourth Circuit also ruled that Judge Ellis had erred in limiting the scope of the damages on the dinar exchange contract, and gave the plaintiffs the option of seeking a new trial for additional damages., but reinstated the claims relating to the dinar-exchange contract and reversed the order limiting them to $30 million in damages. Another trial, with the same set of whistleblowers, concerned a separate $16.8 million contract awarded to Custer Battles to provide security at Baghdad International Airport. As this contract was paid for by seized Iraqi funds, Judge Ellis ruled that the entire contract was susceptible to the False Claims Act, and not just part of it in the previous case. The basic allegations were that Custer Battles had failed to provide adequate security staffing under its Firm-Fixed Price contract of $16.8 million. In January 2007, Judge Ellis granted Custer Battles' motion for summary judgment, finding that there was no evidence of the submission of false claims in this case. In April 2009, the 4th Circuit appeals court affirmed summary judgment for Custer Battles on the Baghdad airport contract. In September 2006, Jacqueline Battles, the wife of Michael Battles, was arrested in Germany after a German bank informed authorities about "suspicious transactions" on her accounts. German investigators seized about US$1 million from her accounts. Ms. Battles was subsequently released and no charges were filed. (Wikipedia 16.09.14). Click here for the WIKIPEDIA
entry Click here for the SOURCEWATCH
entry
Click here for the text of the qui tam legal action filed
against Custer Battles LLC
Click here for Mr Alan Grayson's testimony at the
Senate Democratic Policy Committee Hearing
5) DYNCORP DynCorp International is a United States-based private military contractor (PMC) and aircraft maintenance company. DynCorp receives more than 96 percent of its $2 billion in annual revenues from the federal government. The company is headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, but also has major operations in Fort Worth, Texas. The company has provided teams for the U.S. military in major theaters, such as Bolivia, Bosnia, Somalia, Angola, Haiti, Colombia, Kosovo and Kuwait. DynCorp International also provided much of the security for Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai's presidential guard and trains much of Afghanistan's and Iraq's fledgling police force. DynCorp was also hired to assist recovery in Louisiana and neighboring areas after Hurricane Katrina. Recently, Dyncorp and the Department of State have been criticized for not properly accounting for $1.2 billion in contract task orders authorized by the State Department to be used to train Iraqi police. (Wikipedia 31.01.09). Click here for the WIKIPEDIA
entry Click here for the SOURCEWATCH
entry Click here for the COMPANY’s homepage
6) ERINYS INTERNATIONAL Erinys International is a British private security company registered in the British Virgin Islands. The Group operational HQ is in Dubai. Erinys International has subsidiaries in the UK, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Republic of Congo and associated companies in Iraq and Nigeria. Erinys Group companies provide security and support (for example: communications and logistics) services for personnel and assets, except for Erinys South Africa, which specialises in the provision of ongoing and ad hoc risk evaluations of countries and projects particularly in Africa. Erinys International was founded by Jonathan Garratt (a retired British Army officer) in 2001. In 2002, Erinys South Africa was formed after acquisition of the risk assessment business of Strategic Concepts Pty Ltd. Erinys Iraq Ltd was registered in BVI in August 2003 (and subsequently in Iraq) and was granted a contract by the Coalition Provisional Authority to recruit and train an Oil Protection Force (OPF) for the Iraq Ministry of Oil. Initially the requirement was for 6,500 personnel to guard designated pipelines and installations, but this grew over the period of the contract to reach 16,000 Iraqi staff guarding 282 locations and included an aerial surveillance capability. The OPF contract ended in December 2004 with the transfer of the Force and its assets to the Ministry of Oil. (Wikipedia 16.09.14).
Click here for the WIKIPEDIA entry
Click here for the SOURCEWATCH entry
7) EXECUTIVE OUTCOMES Executive Outcomes was a private military company founded in South Africa by former Lieutenant-Colonel of the South African Defence Force Eeben Barlow in 1989. It later became part of the South African-based holding company Strategic Resource Corporation. Executive Outcomes (EO) provided military personnel, training and logistical support to officially recognized governments only. They were however often accused of providing the military strength for corporations to control natural resources in failed states or conflict-ridden areas. Where assistance was given to corporations in conflict areas, EO claims to have had the host government’s approval to provide such assistance. Despite lacking substance or proof, allegations persist that the company was paid in mineral and mining concessions. (Wikipedia 31.01.09). Click here for the WIKIPEDIA
entry Click here for the SOURCEWATCH
entry
Click here to go to JOURNEYMAN's page
8) G4S incl. WACKENHUT (a.k.a G4S Secure Solutions) / ARMORGROUP G4S plc (formerly Group 4 Securicor) is a British multinational security services company headquartered in the UK. It is the world's largest security company measured by revenues and has operations in around 125 countries. With over 620,000 employees, it is one of the world's largest private sector employers. G4S was founded in 2004 by the merger of the UK-based Securico plc with the Denmark-based Group 4 Falck. G4S Secure Solutions (USA) is an American security services company, and a wholly owned subsidiary of G4S plc which was founded as The Wackenhut Corporation in 1954. G4S Secure Solutions faces several accusation of mistreating inmates and abusing workforce in the UK, the US and other parts of the world. (Wikipedia 16.09.14). ArmorGroup International is a British company providing private security. It was founded in 1981 as Defence Systems Limited (DSL) and was listed on the London Stock Exchange until 2008. In 2007, it posted a US$9.2 million profit, reporting $295 million turnover for that year. It was acquired by G4S plc in April 2008 for £43.6 million). ArmorGroup provides protective security services, risk management consultancy, security training and mine action services. It has 38 offices in 27 countries, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Colombia, Iraq, Lebanon, Nigeria and Sudan. The company was embroiled in several scandals in Iraq and Afghanistan resulting of the loss of government contracts. G4S won the security contract for the Olympic 2012 in London but failed to deliver, which prompts a further scandal (Wikipedia 16.09.14) .
Click here for the WIKIPEDIA entry of G4S
Click here for the SOURCEWATCH entry of G4S
Click here for the COMPANY’s homepage
of G4S
9) KBR / HALLIBURTON Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) is a US-based oilfield services corporation with international operations in more than 70 countries. It is based in 1401 McKinney Street in Downtown Houston, Texas, in the United States. U.S. office locations are also in Anchorage, Alaska; Bakersfield, California; Denver, Colorado; Lafayette, Louisiana; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Halliburton recently opened a second headquarters in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, in March 2007, where Chairman and CEO David J. Lesar will work and reside, "to Focus [the] Company’s Eastern Hemisphere Growth." Corporate offices will remain in Houston and the company will remain incorporated in the United States. The company will consider Houston and Dubai as dual headquarters. Halliburton's major business segment is the Energy Services Group (ESG). ESG provides technical products and services for oil and gas exploration and production. Halliburton's former subsidiary, KBR, is a major construction company of refineries, oil fields, pipelines, and chemical plants. Halliburton announced on April 5, 2007 that it had finally broken ties with KBR, which had been its contracting, engineering and construction unit as a part of the company for 44 years. (Wikipedia 31.01.09). KBR, Inc. (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) (NYSE: KBR) is an American engineering and construction company, formerly a subsidiary of Halliburton, based in Houston. After Halliburton acquired Dresser Industries in 1998, Dresser's engineering subsidiary, The M. W. Kellogg Co., was merged with Halliburton's construction subsidiary, Brown & Root, to form Kellogg Brown & Root. KBR and its predecessors have won many contracts with the U.S. military during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, as well as during World War II and the Vietnam War. KBR is the largest non-union construction company in the United States. (Wikipedia 31.01.09).Click here for the WIKIPEDIA
entry
of KBR Click here for the SOURCEWATCH
entry of KBR Click here for the COMPANY’s homepage of KBR
10) L3 incl. MPRI a.k.a ENGILITY / TITAN L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: LLL) is a company that supplies command, control, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C3ISR) systems and products, avionics and ocean products, training devices and services, instrumentation, space and navigation products. Its customers include the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Government intelligence agencies, aerospace contractors and commercial telecommunications and wireless customers. (Wikipedia 31.01.09). MPRI (Military Professional Resources Incorporated) is a private military contractor that provides a wide range of services to both public and private customers, most notably the United States Department of Defense. MPRI specializes in various professions such as law enforcement, security, military training, logistics, etc. By its own account MPRI operates in over 40 countries. The firm is based in Alexandria, Virginia. A member of International Peace Operations Association (IPOA), MPRI was founded in 1987 by eight ex-officers of the United States Army. It was sold to L-3 Communications in June 2000 for $40 million. In 2004, MPRI bought Civilian Police International. The firm also serves as additional reinforcements in U.S. bases in Korea. 2012 the compnany changed its name to Engility. (L. Joachim / Wikipedia 31.01.09). Titan Corporation was a United States based company founded in 1981, with its headquartered in San Diego, California. It was acquired by L-3 Communications on June 3, 2005 and is currently operating as the "Titan Group" of L-3 Communications. In early 2007, divisions using the Titan Group name were internally told to stop using it and were given new names. Titan has specialized in providing information and communications products, solutions and services for intelligence agencies and the Department of Homeland Security. Titan provides information systems solutions, support services and communications products to the federal government, especially to the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. In recent years, like many other defense companies, Titan has diversified through a series of acquisitions, 10 since 2000 alone. The firm got into the linguistic business in the wake of 9/11 by acquiring Fairfax, Va.-based BTG Inc., which had a $10 million military contract dating back to 1999. When the demand for linguists grew after the United States launched the war on terror, so did the size of Titan's contracts. Titan was one of the companies involved in the scandal of Abu Ghraib. (L. Joachim / Wikipedia 31.01.09).Click here for the WIKIPEDIA
entry
for L3 Click here for the SOURCEWATCH
entry of MPRI Click here for the COMPANY’s homepage of L3
11) Northbridge Services Group Northbridge Services Group Ltd is registered in the Dominican Republicand has offices in the United kingdom and the Ukraine. The firm also has an address in Lexington in Kentucky, United States. Its president and CEO is US Army (retired) Lt. Colonel Robert W. Kovacic. In April 2003, the company was criticized for operations in Côte d'Ivoire that might "seriously undermine the peace process". In May 2003, Northbridge commandos rescued dozens of oil workers being held hostage on an oil rig. In June 2003, the company offered to kidnap embattled Liberian president Charles for $4 million. The offer was rejected and Northbridge was subsequently investigated by the FBI. The firm hit the news in late 2003 when it announced it was seeking an investor to fund an operation to seize the disgraced ex-Liberian President Charles Taylor, who had been granted asylum in Nigeria at the time. Northbridge claimed that it had personnel that were ready to kidnap Taylor for a $2 million reward which had been offered by the United States Congress. (Wikipedia 16.09.14) .
Click here for the WIKIPEDIA entry
Click here for the SOURCEWATCH
entry
12) SANDLINE INTERNATIONAL Sandline International was a private military company based in London, established in the early 1990s. It was involved in conflicts in Papua New Guinea in 1997 (having a contract with the government under the then Prime Minister Julius Chan) causing the Sandline affair, in 1998 in Sierra Leone (having a contract with illegally ousted President Kabbah) and in Liberia in 2003 (in a rebel attempt to evict the then-president Charles Taylor near the end of the civil war). He had been contacted by Rakesh Saxena, an Indian financier hoping that a new government would grant him diamond and mineral concessions. Sandline ceased all operations on 16 April 2004. (…) Sandline was managed by former British Army Lt Col Tim Spicer. Sandline billed itself as a "Private Military Company" (PMC) and offered military training, "operational support" (equipment and arms procurement and limited direct military activity), intelligence gathering, and public relations services to governments and corporations. While the mass media often referred to Sandline as a mercenary company, the company's founders disputed that characterization. It has been rumored that some, if not most of Sandline's personnel, are now part of Aegis Defence Services company. (Wikipedia 31.01.09). Click here for the WIKIPEDIA
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entry Click here for the COMPANY’s homepage
Click
HERE to go to JOURNEYMAN's documentary "Soldiers of Fortune"
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