Blackwater Newsletter

From The Editor

Progress
Here we go again, I am trying a new format, straight HTML vice the CSS that I have been using. The number of complaints on not being able to read the newsletter or at least not being able to read it without some serious head spinning has me trying something different. Hopefully this will be compatible to most and the spam filters will not chew it up before it gets to your screen.

Blackwater will have its new HQ dedication this week and we will have our 8 year anniversary next month, as they say time flies when you are having fun. We are on pace to have another record year with nearly 3000 professional men and women deployed around the world, we are averaging over 500 students a day at the facility in North Carolina and several hundred more around the country through MTT's and sub-contracts. We have teamed with H & K to run the H & K International Training Division and will start those classes in the fall. As expected another great year with more opportunity than ever for professionals that want to partcipate in exciting, challenging work. If you are a seasoned professional, a first timer with basic skill sets or you have a particular "special talent" that you think maybe valuable, do not hesitate to get listed in our database. You can send your resume through the mail, e-mail or go to one of our kiosks that we have set up in tactical retail stores. Press to the target and have a great week.
Gary Jackson
President
Blackwater

QUOTE OF THE WEEK


	"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever." - Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) "Victory goes to the player who makes the next-to-last mistake." - Chessmaster Savielly Grigorievitch Tartakower (1887-1956)

PROFESSIONAL ARTICLES, EDITORIALS AND OPINIONS

Comparing the Performance of Private and Public Prisons

The Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) recently released its latest cost comparison study between the ADC operated facilities and private facilities operated for the state. State law requires these occasional reviews to be conducted and the previous two studies found that the private facilities operated with significantly fewer tax dollars than their government-run counterparts, achieving cost savings of 17, 13.6 and 10.8 percent in 1997, 1998, and 1999 respectively. Despite this history and a clear track record of success throughout the country, the latest ADC review suggests a curious shift - that private prison costs were 8.5 and 13.5 percent higher than state costs.
http://www.reason.org/commentaries/segal_20060404.shtml

The World’s Marked Men

Assassinations have sparked major upheavals throughout history. FP looks at leaders who are at risk today, and what might follow if they fall.
By Daniel Byman
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3400

Iraq: A Report from the Front

By Lt. Gen. John Vines
On April 13, 2006, the most recent former commander of the Multinational Corps–Iraq addressed The Washington Institute’s Special Policy Forum to discuss conditions on the ground, the course of the war, and prospects for the defeat of the Iraqi insurgency.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2459

BREAKING NEWS FOR THE PROFESSIONAL

Life After the Oil Crash

Civilization as we know it is coming to an end soon. This is not the wacky proclamation of a doomsday cult, apocalypse bible prophecy sect, or conspiracy theory society. Rather, it is the scientific conclusion of the best paid, most widely-respected geologists, physicists, and investment bankers in the world. These are rational, professional, conservative individuals who are absolutely terrified by a phenomenon known as global "Peak Oil."
http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/

Extremists may target private US planes: TSA

The Transportation Security Administration has warned aircraft owners and airport managers that Muslim extremists may be targeting private American jets and urged them to boost security.
"On April 13, 2006, a message posted in Arabic on an Internet forum explained how to identify private American jets and urged Muslims to destroy all such aircraft," the TSA said in an advisory issued on Thursday and obtained by Reuters on Friday.
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyid=2006-04-21T153811Z_01_N21230252_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-AIRPLANES.xml&rpc=22

Study Fuels a Growing Debate Over Police Lineups

The police lineup is a time-honored staple of crime solving, not to mention of countless cop movies and television shows like "Law and Order." Each year, experts estimate, 77,000 people nationwide are put on trial because witnesses picked them out of one. In recent years many states and cities have moved to overhaul lineups, as DNA evidence has exposed nearly 200 wrongful convictions, three-quarters of them resulting primarily from bad eyewitness identification. In the new method, the police show witnesses one person at a time, instead of several at once, and the lineup is overseen by someone not connected to the case, to avoid anything that could steer the witness to the suspect the police believe is guilty. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/19/us/19lineup.html?hp&ex=1145505600&en=b7b63a2acebd39f0&ei=5094&partner=homepage

CIA officer's firing seen as a sign of the times

The rare firing last week of a CIA officer accused of leaking information to the news media stems both from the sensitivity of the subjects she allegedly discussed and the Bush administration's forceful efforts to block national security disclosures that have proved embarrassing or caused operational problems, according to current and former intelligence officials.
The use of polygraphs to force out the CIA officer, a historian and specialist on Africa named Mary McCarthy who lately has been working for the agency's internal inspector, comes amid longstanding administration suspicions that employees of the spy agency have not sufficiently toed the policy line set by the White House on matters such as the fight against terrorism and the war in Iraq.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060423/POLITICS/604230330/1022

JOB OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE PROFESSIONAL


	TO FILL OUT AN APPLICATION AND SUBMIT YOUR RESUME AND DD-214 CLICK HERE

SECURITY FOR THE PROFESSIONAL

Israel threatens militant leader

An Israeli official has threatened to target a Palestinian militant leader who has been nominated by the Hamas-led government to a senior security post.
The nomination of the militant leader Jamal Abu Samhadana did not give him any immunity, the official said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4929704.stm

Prime minister nominee chosen, sources say

Shiite politicians agreed Friday to nominate Jawad al-Maliki as prime minister, replacing the incumbent in a bid to clear the way for a long-delayed new government, two Shiite officials said.
Al-Maliki is a top ally of outgoing Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, whose nomination had sparked sharp opposition from Sunni Arab and Kurdish leaders and caused a deadlock lasting months.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12422542/

Bin Laden calls for war against UN peacekeepers

THE Voice of Osama bin Laden was heard across the world again yesterday with the broadcast of a new tape in which he sought to link al-Qaeda with both Palestinian militants and the brutal civil war in Sudan.
In his first message for three months, bin Laden said that the West’s decision to cut off funds to the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority proved that it was conducting “a Zionist crusader war on Islam”.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2149368,00.html

Islamist protest in N.Y. – 'Mushroom cloud on way'

A New York rally by the Islamic Thinkers Society outside the Israeli consulate yesterday featured chants of "The mushroom cloud is on its way! The real holocaust is on its way!"
The demonstration by the Queens-based group was monitored by the Investigative Project on Terrorism whose members noted signs including "Islam will Dominate" and a picture with an Islamic flag flying over the White House.
http://wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49865

FRANKS REVIEW

Service Equipment Evaluation:

Train Your Brain With POSA DVDs

"I've always believed the mind is the best weapon." John Rambo in Rambo: First Blood II.

Obviously there are some fantastic and efficient weapons in the world. We as police officers, soldiers, protective security personnel, etc. have to know how to use them. However, as has been observed before, knowing how to use them isn't as important as knowing when. Training plays a crucial role in the development of general knowledge and in judgment. FREE training is almost unheard of. Thanks to the Police Officers Safety Association, you CAN get some information and training for free. POSA is a non-profit organization that delivers training, and four of their programs are available on DVD. Those four programs are what I’m going to review here.

The rest of the story: http://www.borelliconsulting.com/evals/other/trainyourbrain.htm

Recreational Equipment Review:

Genesis ReACT Nitrox Ready Dive Computer

A couple years back when I got my wife interested in diving (because I'd rather take her with me than just not go), I checked into a couple of "basic" dive computers. I wanted to get her something that would be easy to learn, easy to use, easy to read... but I didn't want "basic" to mean cheap. I believe that you get what you pay for, so I wanted a good serviceable computer that would last her a few years and be capable of meeting her needs. After looking at several different brands and models, the Genesis ReACT Pro Console was our choice. Two years later it's still going strong and meeting her expanding dive needs.

The rest of the story: http://www.borelliconsulting.com/recevals/scuba/genesisreact.htm

CHAPLAINS CORNER

Compassion

Compassion is what separates the true warrior from the warrior in name only. It is said, “the true warrior can in one hand wield the mightiest sword, while in the other, caress the hand of the smallest child.” What this means is that the true warrior is capable of balancing his ferocity with an honest compassion for the innocent, even while understanding that the innocent must sometimes suffer in the field of battle, whether that battle is a physical one, an intellectual one or a moral one. A true warrior understands that ferocity must always be tempered by compassion and determination. This warrior is governed by a sense of honor and is capable of confronting the enemy, without becoming the enemy.
©Copyright 2006

For the rest of the story go here: http://www.blackwaterusa.com/btw2006/article/042406chaplain.htm

BUMPER STICKER


	OLD TO SOON, SMART TO LATE

LEGAL NOTICE

Blackwater USA (the "Company"), provides this Newsletter as a source of diverse information to its readers. The Company does not warrant or endorse the products or services advertised in or reviewed in the Newsletter. The views and statements of the reviewers and commentators presented in the Newsletter are entirely their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Company or its affiliates. The Company does not monitor or warrant the accuracy or reliability of the material provided in this Newsletter or presented at any of the third-party websites to which links are provided in this Newsletter. WARNING: Use of certain of the products and services discussed or reviewed in this Newsletter can lead to personal injury or death. It is critical to follow manufacturers' instructions in using such products or services. The Company will not accept any liability for damages, injuries, or death resulting from the use or misuse of any such products or services.