Party: Blackwater Style

[Seamus Fermanagh]

They are jerks, especially when they don't get their way at the volleyball court, the dfac or the motorpool.

That being said, they are more dependable in a firefight than ASG or ANP as e found out today at FOB Gardez. I am fine, thanks for asking, although 4 of us with pistols managed to keep the FOB from being overrun when the ASG abandoned their posts. I took one of their AKs and used it when I ran out of 9mm. I was wearing PTs.

Blackwater gives a bad name to the rest of the contractors. My opinion of contractors has vastly changed for the better after seeing how much work they can accomplish compared to the red tape that is US ROE.

Only 10 percent of foreign contractors are combat/security related. The rest ride around in regular vehicles dressed as Afghans and oversee worthwhile projects at a much more efficient bang-for-the-buck than a PRT or BCT ever could. Only special forces have a similar success rate, because they are outside the typical rule and power point umbrella

Well now, sounds to me as though the OP's question was just answered. MRD's experience may be anecdotal in research terms, but I'm gonna give him 10 outa 10 for narrative credibility.

MRD: Is it SOP to have you and yours out there ONLY with sidearms, without even something heavier "sitting in a suitcase" nearby? That's scary.

[rory_20_uk]

MRD: Is it SOP to have you and yours out there ONLY with sidearms, without even something heavier "sitting in a suitcase" nearby? That's scary.

Hear hear. Even if the locals were thought of as competant (which I don't think anyone has ever accused the of) I'd've thought some backup would have been a good idea - and in the greater scheme of things not that expensive - compared to the cost of loosing a post and the expense of training more personel to replace the mutilated / decapitated ones.

[Vladimir]

Well now, sounds to me as though the OP's question was just answered. MRD's experience may be anecdotal in research terms, but I'm gonna give him 10 outa 10 for narrative credibility.

MRD: Is it SOP to have you and yours out there ONLY with sidearms, without even something heavier "sitting in a suitcase" nearby? That's scary.

So it seems their strength is in combat (not to be confused with warfighting) and not more sensitive duties, despite their successes in defending VIPs.

It's a tough call. You can't have rent-a-cops protecting VIPs in a combat zone.

[Major Robert Dump]

Well now, sounds to me as though the OP's question was just answered. MRD's experience may be anecdotal in research terms, but I'm gonna give him 10 outa 10 for narrative credibility.

MRD: Is it SOP to have you and yours out there ONLY with sidearms, without even something heavier "sitting in a suitcase" nearby? That's scary.

I don't understand the question. You mean me or contractors?
They attacked a flank from a treeline by a village with snipers, rpgs and mortars, while 4 suicide bombers discreetly tried to walk into the base behind a vehicle IED. Normally on a FOB, people off duty only have to carry a sidearm and do not have to have armor. We were finishing lunch in PTs with pistols when the attack occured, and started taking sniper fire (later determined to be 50 cal and 308s). While most people ran for the shelters or ran back to their rooms/offices to upgrade, 4 of us cowboys ran straight to the gate which was about a 20 second sprint (our barracks was a hlaf mile away). The suicide bombers had opened fire and The Afghan security (ASG) and the lone ANP officer were running from the gate, leaving a lone PRT national guardsman from pennsylvania at the post with a malfunctioning 50 cal. A firefight ensued w/ AKs vs our 9mms. The bad guys shot two afghan contractors in the back who were trying to find cover by us. The 50 finally kicked in despite the PRT kid having a major concussion from an RPG, and one of my teammates got on the 50 mounted in a derilect humvee we use as an obstacle...that gun would normally be manned by an ASG. The VBIED came in the wrong way and had to back up because it could not get into the exit (despite a sign in pashtu directing traffic), and it ran over one of their on guys. The car caught fire from all the bullets, and since it had RPGs in the bed (it was a truck) a nice fireworks show ensued that eventually blew the VBIED. This caught one suicide bomber on fire, and he ran around burning up and none of us bothered to shoot him. Only the primer on his vest ignited, because he never blew up, he died from inhaling the flames. Some EOD and PRT soldiers showed up (also in PTs armedith 9mms) but they had AKs they had taken from the fleeing guards and they passed the AKs out to my team as we had negotiated to an area where we had the other 3 suicide bombers pinned down. At this point other soldiers were on the wall facing the treeline exchanging fire with the snipers in the trees. The pinned down Taliban were shot tp pieces by various parties, and I will say had they not had suicide vests on we would have stopped shooting when they were wounded, but you bring a suicide vest to the fight you don't get taken prisoner. The guys in the tree line retreated as vehicles poured out of the FOB, including the derilect humvee driven and gunned by my teammates in PTs with no armor (we got in trouble for this, btw). The badguys fled to nearby homes and,likely wounded, they probably invoked PashtuWalli and the people let them in. We had jets and choppers circling at this point videotaping them going into these homes. We are not allowed to kick in doors anymore, and home searches have to be done by Afghan police, and by the time they showed up 1 hour later the badguys were indistuinguishable from the other people in the village as they had ditched their clothes and their weapons. That, and the police suck at what they do. All the wounded would have to do is put on a burqa and pretend to be a woman and now they are untouchable. Love the culture here. That is the short version of the story, a typical comical attempt by the Taliban to attack

We got in trouble by our boss for not running back to the barracks and putting on our armor and getting rifles and defending our sector. Well, our sector was pretty well defended, and the real fight was 20 seconds away, versus the 2 minute run back to the hut. Once it became clear that the gate would have been overrun had we not responded, we stopped being in trouble but we still caught hell for chasing out of the FOB in PTs. I am glad e do not have to ear full gear ecerywhere,it would be miserable, and this is one of the most peaceful FOBS in theater because we are near holy ground, and by near I mean the FOB is built around a giant cemetary and the last two real attacks 3 years ago resulted in the attackers and their families being slaughtered by the family of the people in the cemetary. In fact, they had a funeral today right in the middle of the FOB and buried an old mullah, kind of surreal to see that in your base coming back from lunch.

I am rambling now, but to answer the question: on most FOBS and even on the little outposts, heavy equipment is not required as we are usually surrounded by walls and usually on high ground. If word comes in of possible attack or we are on alert for QRF then we stay suited up.

Back OT, the afgha presidents declaration to eliminate all foreign security companies from the country will be a terrible blow to security and will actually cause afghans to lose jobs and developments. I can think of about 24 NGOs who will not take projects in afghanistan if their only choice is to hire locals for security, and these are good NGOs who do cash-for-work projects which have good results and little corruption, because the afghans are working for the ngo directly; in typical NATO type run projects and government agency projects, the supervising officer pays an afghan contractor who then subcontracts out multiple times and the fruad and waste is astounding. example: the Paktya PRT just brought non-generator sustainable electricity to the town of Sayed Karem, and the solar electric grid to serve 50 homes cost 1.5 million dollars. That is like 3x over normal cost, and to make matters worse the land-use agreement was not properly done and now the guy who owned the land claims the grid is his, the natioanl energy commission claims the grid is theirs, and the 5 tribal elders of the 50 families want control of the grid becuse, ya know, they totally know about running an electrical plant. They also don't understand non-profit grid does not mean everyone uses for free, but that is another post.

So yeah, Blackwater has its good days and bad days, but you don't hear about most contractors because they are keeping a low profile, it is the best way to survive.

[Ice]

That's a hell of a story, dump. They should make a movie based after your crazy Afghanistan adventures. I'm glad to hear you are okay.

On topic, minus the guns and add some women, and you have one hell of a party. Seriously though, that's a bit disgusting to read.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

MRD:

You most thoroughly answered my question, thank you, even though the phrasing of my question had been made based on mistaken assumptions on my part.

The story is fascinating and informative as well. Thanks.

I'm also glad to see that "running toward the sound of the guns" still counts -- however grudgingly -- more than picayune procedure.