FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 4, 2005

Ambassador Cofer Black Becomes Vice-Chairman at Blackwater USA

Blackwater USA proudly announces that Ambassador Cofer Black, former Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the U. S. State Department, and former Director of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center has joined our team as Vice Chairman.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Erik Prince stated, "Ambassador Black brings with him 30 years of experience in combating terrorism around the globe and absolute devotion to freedom and democracy and the United States of America. We are honored to have him as part of our great team"

As the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, Ambassador Black's office, S/CT, had primary responsibility for developing, coordinating and implementing U.S. counterterrorism policy. On behalf of the Secretary of State, Ambassador Black represented the Department on the Counterterrorism Security Group. His office played a leading role on the Department of State's counterterrorism task forces organized to coordinate responses to international terrorist incidents. Ambassador Black's responsibilities included coordinating U.S. Government efforts to improve counterterrorism cooperation with foreign governments, including the policy and planning of the Department's Antiterrorism Training Assistance Program.

Ambassador Black has had a distinguished 28-year career in the Directorate of Operations at the Central Intelligence Agency. Prior to joining the State Department, Ambassador Black was the Director of the CIA Counterterrorism Center. In this capacity, he served as the CIA Director's Special Assistant for Counterterrorism as well as the National Intelligence Officer for Counterterrorism.

During his CIA career, Ambassador Black served six foreign tours in field management positions. In 1995, Ambassador Black was named the Task Force Chief in the Near East and South Asia Division. From June 1998 through June 1999, he served as the Deputy Chief of the Latin America Division.

In addition to numerous exceptional performance awards and meritorious citations, Ambassador Black received the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the George H. Bush Medal for Excellence and the Exceptional Collector Award for 1994. Ambassador Black was born in Stamford, Connecticut and received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees from the University of Southern California in International Relations.

Back to Press Releases