Operators and Contractors

This just in from UPI showing the other side of the story:

Is it possible that a private security contractor can actually do a good job — do what it contracted to do without waste, fraud or abuse? Of course, the answer is yes. And the vast majority of security contractors do just that. Yet to read and watch much of the media coverage of their work, it would be easy to get a different impression.

As an example, consider Aegis Defense, a British private security firm. In March 2004, in a move to make the U.S. military presence less visible after the handover of sovereignty back to Iraq, the Coalition Provisional Authority awarded Aegis a $100 million contract to protect the Green Zone. Subsequently Aegis won another contract, valued at a maximum of $293 million over the next three years, to provide anti-terrorism support and analysis and to serve as a clearinghouse for information between coalition forces in Iraq and security contractors.

Before Aegis was awarded that contract, coordination between the U.S. military and civilian contractors was handled through the Regional Operations Center. In June 2005 the Pentagon extended the contract for a second year and expanded it. The new deal was worth about $145 million. To date Aegis has completed two contracts and has five ongoing. Make no mistake: Collectively these are the mother of all security contracts in Iraq. The Pentagon had obligated $679.7 million and spent $612.8 million on the contracts as of last November.

For its money Aegis initially had to pay a staff of 500 based all over the country, organize the coordination of intelligence from all the security firms and the military, and also provide a central emergency hotline, so that if contractors are ambushed on the road, there is one number (or radio frequency) they can contact for help. It operates one national and six regional command centers in cities across Iraq. Staff acts as a link between coalition forces and civilian contractors on security issues, passing on information on the activity of insurgents. Aegis provides a daily intelligence service to contractors and tracks the position of their vehicles.

To read more of this fascinating story click here.

There is a great story in the Washington Post about the dangers of troops heavy loads. Anything they can do to cut the load would be cool but as I recall from personal experience the two heavies components were water ad ammo and there is not much anyone can do to lighten those. Here is an excerpt:

Carrying heavy combat loads is taking a quiet but serious toll on troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, contributing to injuries that are sidelining them in growing numbers, according to senior military and defense officials. Rising concern over the muscle and bone injuries — as well as the hindrance caused by the cumbersome gear as troops maneuver in Afghanistan’s mountains — prompted Army and Marine Corps leaders and commanders to launch initiatives last month that will introduce lighter equipment for some U.S. troops. As the military prepares to significantly increase the number of troops in Afghanistan — including sending as many as 20,000 more Marines — fielding a new, lighter vest and helmet is a top priority, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Conway said recently. “We are going to have to lighten our load,” he said, after inspecting possible designs during a visit to the Quantico Marine base.

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Army leaders and experts say the injuries — linked to the stress of bearing heavy loads during repeated 12- or 15-month combat tours — have increased the number of soldiers categorized as “non-deployable.” Army personnel reported 257,000 acute orthopedic injuries in 2007, up from 247,000 the previous year. As injuries force more soldiers to stay home, the Army is having a harder time filling units for upcoming deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, said Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the service’s vice chief of staff. “There is no doubt that [in] our non-deployable rates, we’re seeing increase,” he said. “I don’t want to see it grow any more.”

The number of total non-deployables has risen by an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 since 2006, putting the current figure at about 20,000, according to Chiarelli. “That occurs when you run the force at the level we’re running it now,” he said. “You can’t hump a rucksack at 8,000 to 11,000 feet for 15 months, even at a young age, and not have that have an impact on your body, and we are seeing an increase in muscular-skeletal issues,” Chiarelli told reporters last month.

Read more here.

The State Department will not renew Blackwater Worldwide’s contract to protect American diplomats in Iraq when it expires in May, a senior US official has said. The official said the private security firm’s contract will expire because of the Iraqi government’s decision to deny Blackwater a licence to operate. The Iraqis informed the US last week of the cancellation, which was made amid lingering outrage over a September 2007 shooting in Baghdad’s Nisoor Square which left 17 Iraqi civilians dead.

The official - who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has yet to be formally announced - said that renewing the contract was “basically a moot point because they were not going to be allowed to operate in Iraq anyway”. The State Department said it was still considering options on how to protect US diplomats in the wake of Iraq’s denial of Blackwater’s operating licence. One possibility would be to replace Blackwater with one or a combination of guards from DynCorp and Triple Canopy, two other US-based security contractors working for the State Department in Iraq. Both have licences to operate in Iraq.

Blackwater spokeswoman Anne Tyrrell declined to comment on the status of the contract, but confirmed executives were due to meet State Department officials “to discuss the situation”. She stressed the firm had always known its services in Iraq would be temporary. Blackwater executives claim the company could leave Iraq within 72 hours of being told to do so, but warn such a move would cause more harm to the diplomats it protects than the firm itself. Blackwater founder Erik Prince said he had not received any indication that the company would be ordered to evacuate in light of the licence denial.

Don’t be surprised if this Iraqi operating license reappears shortly.

A Californian woman who gave birth to octuplets earlier this week has a husband who works as a contractor in Iraq. The eight babies were delivered nine weeks early by Caesarean section in a hospital near Los Angeles on Monday. The mother has not been named, but US media is quoting family members as saying she already has six other children, including twins.

The children’s grandmother said that doctors had given her daughter the option of reducing the number of embryos, but she had declined. “What do you suggest she should have done? She refused to have them killed. That is a very painful thing,” she said. She added that her daughter expected a big challenge raising 14 children. The woman’s husband is expected to return to Iraq where he works as a contractor, the LA Times reported.

Hope the father works for one of the more “caring” firms as he is in for a tough time – and not just in Iraq.

Here is Susan Katz Keating blogging about a visit to Blackwater’s HQ. It is weel worth a read in its entirety.

Blackwater’s trusty prop job ferried our band of milbloggers atop Virginia’s rolling farmland and expansive waterways. We crossed into North Carolina, and soon we saw nothing but forest. We descended onto a remote landing strip. Was that… a Cobra chopper alongside the flightline? Why, yes; I believe it was! I have a deep fondness for helo-birds, and the sight of this beauty induced a warm feeling inside me. I knew instantly: This was going to be good…

 

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Our little group deplaned. We proceeded, wide-eyed, into the hangar. There we found ourselves inside the helicopter maintenance /refurbishment bays. The place was laid out like a life-size diorama, showing the progressive stages of helicopter reconstruction. At one end, a gun-metal gray hull awaited everything: paint; avionics; doors; flight controls; seats; the works. At the other end, a completed mil-bird appeared ready for service on behalf of a foreign country. In the middle, choppers sat berthed in various intermediate stages of assembly. A bevy of Blackwater mechanics attended the projects at hand. In one bay, the men carefully worked on an all-important rotor mount. Elsewhere, they adjusted a flight panel.

As our guides explained, Blackwater spruces up and repairs both fixed wing and rotary aircraft. They do this under contract for commercial and government clients alike. The helicopter hangar was but part of an operation that includes a whole lot of things avionic.

To read the rest which I thoroughly recommend got to her blog here: Susan Katz Keating.

The American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ) has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of State and contractor Triple Canopy, Inc., charging that they discriminated against a former veteran who is HIV-positive, an organizational press release stated. A motion filed by Triple Canopy confirmed that the State Department contract required a negative HIV test for all employees, which the ACLU charges violates the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans for Disabilities Act.

If you are looking for a niche cause to support then here is a loving “home away from home” for dogs whose owners are deployed overseas in the military, as well as a safe haven for Central Pennsylvania’s senior and special needs dogs. To date, nineteen of their guest have been adopted into loving homes, and they are currently caring for seven senior and special needs dogs and sixteen military pets. To support Paw Prints please click here.

Corky (left) and Lily (right) are owned by Staff Sergeant Aurita Maldonado, United States Army, 10th Mountain Division. She is deployed to Afghanistan.

Two things will define 2009. One is the huge $1 trillion economic stimulus package featuring “smart grids,” roads and bridges. The other is the winding down of the war in Iraq There is a way of putting the two together.

Iran and Afghanistan are now Obama’s problem. It’s not quite as urgent as the deteriorating state of the economy, but it’s close. Obama will begin withdrawing troops as soon as he can. That may not be until 2010. If violence and instability regain traction, it could be the year after. But much of the planning will be laid out this year. But downsizing troops doesn’t mean downsizing our involvement. The goal is to save lives. And the quid pro quo will be spending more money. The U.S. government doesn’t have much of a choice. If it doesn’t, any semblance of peace and stability in Iraq would be jeopardized.

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So talk about reducing contractor levels in Iraq is just that– talk. The next stage will be outsourcing more reconstruction and security functions to the private sector, not less. Such private-sector functions have been complementary to the overall role of the U.S. military in Iraq. In the next stage, the U.S. military will complement the central role of the private sector in Iraq. The companies already providing their services over there are in a better position than anybody to know what‘s going on. And they also don’t believe the talk of cutting back the private-sector presence.

For example, William Ballhaus, the CEO of DynCorp, an infrastructure and security company with a large presence in Iraq , said that with existing commitments stretching military manpower, capacity, contractors add value by letting the military focus on security operations. Iraq’s needs are gigantic. Usually, a country’s needs grow organically as it modernizes and the economy expands. But Iraq is emerging from a devastating war followed by years of destructive civil violence. Rebuilding Iraq is going to take a great deal of effort, money, and heavy equipment.

Think construction equipment… transportation and infrastructure services… and know-how. Iraq will be getting loads of new stuff, including tow trucks, communications vehicles, hauling vehicles, aerial platforms for construction, fire and garbage trucks, and heavy-load hauling vehicles. And Uncle Sam, of course, will be paying the bill. Ballhaus, in his last quarterly earnings conference call, said that he expects Iraq will continue to provide American infrastructure contractors with plenty of business for several years.

He says that a withdrawal will increase work, at least temporarily. He also expects Obama to increase U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, and that an increase in force levels should lead to more work through 2010. So this is the deal. U.S. government spending in Iraq and Afghanistan isn’t going to slack off. If anything, it’ll go up as reconstruction and security responsibilities shift to the private sector. The companies that can take advantage of both of Obama’s huge infrastructure programs – the one that will play out in the U.S. and the one that will play out in Iraq and Afghanistan – will be big winners in 2009.

For more than a week, KBR officials have tried to prepare new hires like Michael Tovar, 29, for the risks they’ll face as contractors in Iraq. They’ve seen gut-wrenching photographs of the effects of chemical warfare on the human body, and they’ve been warned of the threat of death, kidnapping and torture. But nothing could challenge their resolve more than this weekend’s news that at least two contractors have been killed and seven more are missing in Iraq. Four bodies were located Tuesday in Iraq, but Houston-based KBR said it couldn’t confirm that they were its employees.

“I told myself that this kind of stuff is going to happen,” said Tovar, who is originally from Houston but now lives in Lawton, Okla., with his wife, who is expecting the couple’s first child. “It’s a war zone.”

Tovar admits that he’s nervous about going to Iraq this weekend to begin his yearlong contracting job as a fuel distributor. But the former truck driver weighed the risks long before last week, when he came to Houston for his background check, medical exam and safety course. Those were conducted at a former department store that’s now a KBR processing center at Greenspoint Mall. That’s why he volunteered to work in the less risky position of distributing fuel instead of driving a truck, he said Tuesday. Several truck drivers have been ambushed in Iraq.

“I didn’t want to go over there and drive,” Tovar said. “That is the most dangerous job.” He decided to apply for a position in Iraq out of a sense of patriotic duty.”The money doesn’t hurt,” he added, smiling.

With a baby on the way, he said he’s considering her college education. KBR contractors work 12 hours a day, seven days a week for four months before they can take 10 days off. So contractors earn overtime and hazardous duty pay, which will be tens of thousands of dollars more than Tovar’s annual truck-driving salary of between $30,000 and $40,000. “I’m going out there making a better future for her anyway,” he said. “I’ll be back.”

Clarence Fountain went and is back. But that is after witnessing the violence firsthand. Fountain, a 37-year-old from Humble, is among a host of workers who have gone to the region and decided to return home. He left Iraq over the weekend on a military flight to Kuwait that also carried a pair of flag-draped coffins. Fountain, who was working as a cargo document specialist, signed on with KBR in January. But he said he decided last Friday to put family before good money as attacks on contractors escalated.

Halliburton and KBR said in a statement that fewer than 1 percent of contractors have requested to return home; 24,000 of the company’s workers are based in the region. “KBR is resolved to stay the course and move forward with the logistical support to troops, the reconstruction effort and assisting the Iraqi people rebuild the country’s oil infrastructure,” the company said in a prepared statement. Fountain said he was “straddling the fence” about staying before the latest round of violent incidents began anew. In recent days he was keeping his wife updated about the situation by phone. “I told her they are starting to attack us more frequently and that a suicide bomber blew himself up trying to infiltrate our north gate,” he said. “About a week and a half ago, we had small arms fire take place at the guard gate.”

The differing attitudes voiced by Tovar and Fountain also are indicative of what some companies that are considering doing business in Iraq are wrestling with. The outbreak of violence has some Houston-based companies taking a wait-and-see approach, said Arif Ali, a partner with the Fulbright & Jaworski law firm. The Houston-based firm has been advising a variety of companies during the past year regarding potential business opportunities in Iraq, he said.

“But the main things that our clients are concerned about are security concerns,” Ali said. “It makes no sense to be talking about doing business when the people you would send to do business have no sense of security.” The companies likely will hold off making decisions until after the scheduled June 30 handover of the political reins to the new governing council in Iraq, Ali said.

That’s if the violence is quelled and work in Iraq remains on track until that time. Halliburton and its subsidiary KBR in a statement Wednesday called their workers in Iraq “courageous volunteers.” “They work alongside the troops in dangerous conditions, but Halliburton employees have also had to endure political derision from home,” the statement said. “Every civilian working in Iraq needs and deserves support from Americans, particularly now.”

Raven Team

The call came in at 11:59 a.m.: A car bomb exploded 25 yards from a female U.S. Department of State official as she attended a meeting in a dangerous section of Baghdad. The blast left a crater in the ground. Five Blackwater Worldwide security guards, part of a 19-man team known by the call sign “Raven 23,” grabbed their M-4 carbines and loaded into their heavily armored BearCat assault vehicle. One manned the M-240 machine gun turret. The remaining guards rode in three other vehicles. It took them 12 minutes to drive from the city’s protected “Green Zone” to the busy traffic circle in Nisoor Square, a mile from where the car bomb exploded.

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The four-vehicle convoy set up a road block, the guards wary of another car bomb going off — as was typically the pattern in Iraq during that time in September 2007. One minute after they positioned their vehicles, they reported that insurgents began shooting at them. A minute later, Iraqi police officers, for unknown reasons, began shooting at them, too, they reported. Two minutes later, one of the vehicles became disabled. Still under small-arms fire, another vehicle towed it out of the square. The shooting continued for 13 minutes.

The guards damaged vehicle

When it stopped, 17 Iraqis were dead, and another 20 were wounded. All 19 of the Raven 23 guards made it out alive.

That timeline of events — depicted in a transcript of authenticated radio transmissions — contradicts claims by U.S. prosecutors that the guards’ actions that day were unprovoked and targeted unarmed civilians. Five of the guards, including Evan Liberty, a 26-year-old Rochester native and decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran, each have been charged with 14 counts of manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted manslaughter, and one count of using a firearm to commit violence — a charge that carries a mandatory 30-year jail sentence. Each pleaded not guilty during their arraignments in Washington, D.C., last week.

A sixth guard, Jeremy Ridgeway, of California, is cooperating with the government and has pleaded guilty to one count each of manslaughter and attempted manslaughter. Pictures of the BearCat vehicle the five guards traveled in that day, obtained by Foster’s on Friday along with the transcript, show multiple bullet indentations in the vehicle’s side.

Blackwater has confirmed the authenticity of the transcript to media organizations. The pictures could not be authenticated, though a U.S. Department of Justice spokesman said he is “well aware” of them. Based on accounts of the incident from Ridgeway and Iraqi witnesses, prosecutors argue the guards who are facing charges acted illegally when they set up the roadblock in Nisoor Square. The team ignored an order to return to base, according to court documents, and a guard shot at a slow-moving white Kia sedan that approached them, even though it posed no threat. The driver, an unarmed medical student, was killed.

The five guards then turned their weapons on the crowded square, prosecutors said. They fired at fleeing cars, shot a man through the chest as he stood with his hands in the air, and fired a grenade at a girls’ school, prosecutors said. The radio transcript tells a different story. The communications were between an unidentified Blackwater guard and the State Department’s regional security office tactical operations center, located in the “Green Zone.”

AP photo/Courtesy of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP Defense lawyers turned this image over as evidence to federal prosecutors investigating Sept. 16, 2007, shootings in Baghdad involving Blackwater Worldwide contractors. It shows apparent bullet damage to Blackwater vehicles. Defense lawyers say the photos prove Blackwater was fired upon that day. The photos are not time-stamped and the trucks were repaired before the FBI began investigating.

At 12:12 p.m., one minute after the Raven 23 convoy finished “locking down” Nisoor Square — known as “Grey 87″ in the transcript — the unidentified guard reported the team received small-arms fire from multiple Iraqi insurgents.

“MULT INSUIRG SAF R23,” the transcript reads.

A minute later, the guard reported the team was being shot at by Iraqi police: “R23 RPTS IP’S SHOOTING R23.”

At 12:14, the team was advised to “break contact” and return to base. It is not clear if this is the order prosecutor said the guards ignored.

At 12:15, the lead vehicle was reported “down.”

At 12:18, the vehicle was towed out of the area, as the team was “still being engaged.”

At 12:20, the team reported it was in traffic, still receiving small-arms fire.

At 12:31, the team left the square.

There is no mention of the team coming under fire or the vehicle being disabled in court documents based on the accounts by Ridgeway and the Iraqi witnesses. The documents indicate the shooting occurred “around noon,” but do not give an exact time frame. Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said he couldn’t comment on the radio transcript or photos because the case is pending.

“We are fully prepared to address in court arguments made by the defense concerning the documents,” he said. “We are well aware of the photos and are fully prepared to address arguments by (the) defense relating to the photos. We look forward to proving our case at trial,” he added.

The trial is scheduled for Jan. 29, 2010. Liberty’s lawyer, William Coffield, said he and the four other defense lawyers soon will file two motions — one to dismiss the case, and another to change the venue of the trial. Last month the guards were arrested in Utah, where one, Donald Ball, lives and where they have a better chance of drawing a more “sympathetic” jury, one of the lawyers has said.

Well, we were all a little worried about what Mrs Clinton might say in her confirmation hearing yesterday. She had after all been keen on banning the use of contractors while on the campaign trail:“We have seen the abuses by contractors,” Clinton said, lamenting the overall trend of moving to a contracted State Department security workforce. “It’s been contractors across the board … I think we have to take a hard look about whether we want the U.S. government to be a contractor agency.” But this time she declined to say, as she did during her presidential campaign, that the State Department should ban “mercenaries.”

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Oh! Wait! Here she goes: “Our civilian employees need to be protected. As we withdraw our troops, we have to get assurances of their protection by Iraqi troops, or we have to use contractors.” Well, so much for the campaign promise and thank God for that flip-flop!

One of Britain’s largest private security firms is being sued over allegations that its men opened fire on unarmed civilians and then drove away, leaving an Iraqi brother and sister fighting for their lives. The case, the first of its kind brought by British lawyers against a private security contractor in Iraq, claims employees of Hampshire-based Erinys fired from a 4×4 vehicle at an approaching taxi in north Iraq. Documents relating to the claim describe how a 26-year-old man was shot in his right eye and his sister, 24, lost consciousness during the incident 15 months ago. Also hit was another passenger in the taxi, Iraqi journalist Sangar Mawloud Mohamed, 30, who lost part of his left ear and remains partly deaf.

The release of details of the shooting coincides with unease over the role of private security firms in Afghanistan and Iraq. Last week, five guards from US firm Blackwater denied the manslaughter of 17 Iraqis shot in Baghdad in 2007. Papers relating to the Iraqis’ claim describe how student Arazw Younus Qader, 24, passed out after being struck by shrapnel soon after Erinys employees began shooting at the taxi. On regaining consciousness, she turned to her brother, Zirag Younus Qader, 26, and “saw his eye hanging out of its socket and bleeding so profusely she thought that he would also die. She saw Zirag was losing consciousness and dragged him out of the car”. Following the incident, the US military offered “condolence payments” of $2,500 to each of the victims. Erinys, which is understood to be bidding for new military contracts, was paid $100m by the Bush administration to guard Iraqi oil installations. At one point Erinys employed 17,000 in Iraq and last year had more men in Iraq than the current British armed force of 4,000.

London-based lawyers Leigh Day allege that Erinys guards “committed unlawful assaults” against them. They say psychiatric assessments reveal all three are suffering post-traumatic stress, anxiety and trauma. Zirag, according to the compensation claim, still has shrapnel lodged in his face and skull after he was struck in the eye socket. He has twice attempted suicide since the shooting in October 2007. In addition he was so disfigured that he lost his job as a fresh juice maker in Irbil, Kurdistan, because employers feared he would scare off customers. His sister, also struck by shrapnel in her face and scalp, often wishes she were dead, according to psychiatric assessments, has severe depression and is considered a suicide risk.

Mohamed, who worked for Kurdistan’s Zagros TV and radio station, Voice of Kurdistan, is said to require “complex surgery to reconstruct the left ear, to remove the large number of pellets embedded in his head and face and to restore his hearing”. Psychiatric prognosis reveals that his severe depression may lead to suicidal tendencies. Relatives have had to care for his six-year-old brain-damaged son because his wife has been forced to find a job. Erinys said they had warned the taxi before opening fire, though the Iraqis maintain they did not notice any “verbal, hand or bright light warnings” before they were fired on.

The Iraqis are also suing for negligence after Erinys allegedly drove off without checking the condition of the victims. Meetings in Iraq between the families and officials over a compensation deal describe the attitude of Erinys as “reprehensible”, accusations that the company rejects. A statement by Erinys said the taxi had unaccountably driven around stationary traffic and driven across open space towards the Erinys convoy, ignoring visual and shouted warnings. It added that there had been two reported insurgent incidents the day before. A senior US army officer appointed to investigate the incident had concluded, according to the firm, that Erinys had acted properly against a potential suicide bomb attack.

The State Department has poorly managed a nearly $2 billion deal with Blackwater Worldwide and other security contractors in Iraq, according to a report from the agency’s inspector general, which cites failures to station guards in the right places and weak oversight as key problems. The report also criticizes department officials in Baghdad for turning control for vehicles, weapons and communications gear provided under the contract over to a “personal services” company that supervises six Blackwater employees. This is a “poor management practice” that may violate federal acquisition regulations requiring such work to be done by the government.

“This arrangement is particularly troubling because Blackwater personnel have inspected their own company,” says the report, sent to members of Congress on Friday.

Despite the shortcomings, the more than 1,000 guards from Blackwater, Dyncorp International and Triple Canopy have been very effective in protecting State Department personnel working in Iraq, the inspector general says. The report does not say how much money has been wasted due to management inefficiencies. The contract, called World Wide Personal Protection Services, expires in September. Bidding for a new security contract is expected to open soon.

Neither the department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security nor the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has done studies to determine how many security personnel are needed In Iraq, where to put them or what kind of weapons they need, the report says. The result has been inefficiency. In one example, several dozen security guards from Triple Canopy were posted in 2007 at Tallil Airbase in southern Iraq, home to three Provincial Reconstruction Teams. Yet for a six-month period, no one left the base because it was too dangerous outside.

In August 2008 at a nearly empty regional embassy office in northern Iraq, 14 Dyncorp security personnel were assigned to protect a single Foreign Service officer. This week, five former Blackwater Worldwide security guards pleaded not guilty to federal manslaughter and gun charges resulting from a 2007 shooting in a crowded Baghdad square that killed 17 Iraqi civilians and injured dozens of others.

In Washington, where the contract is managed, there have been six different officers responsible for overseeing it since July 2004. There’s also been a heavy turnover of the support staff that has “significantly undermined” the administration and oversight of the contractors. The contract requires the companies to submit roster sheets to show their people are present and available for work. But there was no attempt to ensure the accuracy of these sheets so there was no way to verify the labor costs before they were paid. Investigators found all three companies have had repeated difficulties maintaining enough emergency medical technicians, marksmen and interpreters. The State Department had no immediate comment on the report.

H&K IAR

Here is the Heckler and Koch bid for the Marine Corps Infantry Automatic Rifle. It basically looks like a 416 with a longer barrel and more robust butt stock. I love the H&K box magazines for their lack of hangups in when feeding on burst fire.

Thing is, I hope the deck isn’t stacked against FN and H&K because of Colt’s submission of two weapons. I have absolutely nothing against Colt or its IAR variants, it would just be nice to see a free and fair competition for the Corps’ new version of the BAR (though in 5.56, much to many’s chagrin)…Without any ole boy networking or bias.

When the clock strikes midnight in Iraq on Wednesday night, the country will enter a new era. At that moment a United Nations mandate expires, and Iraqi police and soldiers will take the lead in providing security for government and business. The change is being watched closely by executives of the private security industry, not least those based in Britain. The sector has boomed in Iraq since the allied invasion in 2003, leading to Saddam Hussein’s downfall as president. Contractors have played a substantial role in supporting the military, reconstruction and diplomatic operations of foreign forces in Iraq, as well as providing security for an increasing number of commercial enterprises.

Although most executives say the handover will have no material impact on their operations, some observers are warning that together with the allied troop withdrawal, it will create a sea-change for the industry. “While the US and UK troops are there they’ve got top cover, but once they are gone, they will be on their own,” says Patrick Grayson, senior partner of GPW, a London-based corporate intelligence firm, and a veteran of the security sector.

“They will probably be the only foreign arms-carrying people in the country and be subject to Iraq law,” Mr Grayson says. “Iraq was showtime for private military companies, like the Klondike gold rush. They played a pivotal role in filling a vacuum, helping to relieve the fighting forces [by providing security].”

Mr Grayson expects the market to become more competitive, putting private military companies under much greater commercial pressures to be more compliant and price-sensitive.

“The question is whether such strictures on them will diminish their ability to protect their clients,” he says.

Industry executives, however, while conceding they are watching the legislative change closely, insist it will have little direct impact. Aegis is one of the most prominent London-based private security companies in Iraq, with some 1,500 people in the country working primarily for the US defence department. Tim Spicer, the company’s founder, compares speculation about what may or may not happen with concerns over the millennium bug, which proved misplaced. “Everyone is terribly worried about what might happen on January 1, but we have been operating in Iraqi-controlled territories for some time and it is not a great concern to me,” he insists.

Martin Rudd, senior vice- president at London-based Olive Group, which has some 600 personnel deployed in Iraq, says that if anything he expects the business environment to be more “buoyant” once allied troops have withdrawn. The number employed in Iraq’s private security industry is close to 30,000, according to Lawrence Peter, director of the Private Security Company Association of Iraq. Of these, about 3,000-5,000 are expatriates, mainly from the US, the UK and Australia. Some 5,000-10,000 are third-country nationals while around 15,000 are Iraqis.

Although roadside bombings and other incidents in Iraq still make headlines, Mr Peter says there has been a “significant reduction in the number of violent incidents and also in the violence with which these occur”. There has also been a large drop in the number of attacks on convoys related to the reconstruction effort over the past 52 months, he says. Of the 29,000 or so convoys since August 2004, the attack rate has fallen from about 1:5 in January 2007 to 1:500 in November 2008.

The improved security situation has led to growing interest from outside investors. General Electric, the US conglomerate, which has been active in the country for several years, won a $3bn (£2bn) power generation contract earlier this month. The US has struck a separate security agreement to keep about 140,000 troops in the country to 2011 but combat forces will have to leave Iraqi cities and villages by the end of June 2009 and will not be able to conduct operations without Iraqi permission. Most British troops are due to withdraw next May, with the last set to leave in July.

Like Mr Spicer at Aegis, Mr Peter says private security contractors are adopting a wait-and-see approach to next year. “They will want to see how the Iraqis manage the first incidents that may or may not occur. What concerns me is not the legislative system but what happens from the time of an incident to the first 24-48 hours. We need to have cool heads on both sides to build mutual trust and confidence,” he says.