Quoted: I would guess sell these.  Probably makes them a lot of money.

Most of mine have been free.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Why not just Open a new Business under a new name and hire all of the old Blackwater folks on there and go back to biz as usual? That's what's going to happen even if "Blackwater" is forced out of Iraq and the DOS has to get a new contracting company. The guys wearing Blackwater shirts will go work for whatever company gets the new DOS contract wearing different shirts. This is all politics. EDIT -- It would be nice to have a link to the actual story mentioned in the original post. Thusfar I'm not seeing anything on CNN's website about it or on BW's site about it. Or just spin that portion of the business off for a profit and a new name.

www.greystone-ltd.com/security.html

Rochester, NY (AP) -- In a surprise move new security contractor Barfkom Worldwide cancelled the security contract picked up after Blackwater Worldwide's sudden exit from Iraq last night. Owner Juan Avila was quoted as saying, "It seemed like a great way to make up for all those Gunstock T Shirts in the cellar, but our troops are really more accustomed to shooting at old refrigerators and rusty cars, the whole people shooting back thing would have been a problem, but really I was in trouble before that.' "This morning I was unable to locate any of my contractors We feared kidnapping at first, but really they are mostly pretty big guys and are hard to carry off. About 11:00 pm I checked the server logs and we found most of them in a TGI Fridays with WiFi next to JFK. In retrospect a business staffed by people who I knew already played on the computer all day at work may have been a flawed business model." When asked, Avila admitted that 20 of his employees were captured by Wal Mart Greeter Stella Hancock of York, Pennsylvania. Hancock, a 72 year old retired 2nd grade teacher, released the following statement. "I told those boys to show me their receipts, and the first one said some nonsense about the Constitution and then they all told me to "Disengage" because they were "blading." When they are done weeding my strawberry patch I will call their parents to pick them up."

Quoted: Rochester, NY (AP) -- In a surprise move new security contractor Barfkom Worldwide cancelled the security contract picked up after Blackwater Worldwide's sudden exit from Iraq last night. Owner Juan Avila was quoted as saying, "It seemed like a great way to make up for all those Gunstock T Shirts in the cellar, but our troops are really more accustomed to shooting at old refrigerators and rusty cars, the whole people shooting back thing would have been a problem, but really I was in trouble before that.' "This morning I was unable to locate any of my contractors We feared kidnapping at first, but really they are mostly pretty big guys and are hard to carry off. About 11:00 pm I checked the server logs and we found most of them in a TGI Fridays with WiFi next to JFK. In retrospect a business staffed by people who I knew already played on the computer all day at work may have been a flawed business model." When asked, Avila admitted that 20 of his employees were captured by Wal Mart Greeter Stella Hancock of York, Pennsylvania. Hancock, a 72 year old retired 2nd grade teacher, released the following statement. "I told those boys to show me their receipts, and the first one said some nonsense about the Constitution and then they all told me to "Disengage" because they were "blading." When they are done weeding my strawberry patch I will call their parents to pick them up."

My ribs hurt.

Blackwater puts private contracting in back seat
By MATT APUZZO • ASSOCIATED PRESS • July 22, 2008

Read Comments(3)Recommend Print this page E-mail this article
Share this article: Del.icio.us Facebook Digg Reddit Newsvine What’s this?
MOYOCK, N.C. — Blackwater Worldwide, the company that unwittingly became a catchall brand name for security contractors in Iraq, wants to shift its business away from the sector that earned it hundreds of millions of dollars.


Blackwater executives said Monday that they never intended security to become such a large part of their business. They said the intense and often negative media attention, coupled with multiple government investigations following a deadly shooting last year in Baghdad, simply make the cost of doing business too high.

"The experience we've had would certainly be a disincentive to any other companies that want to step in and put their entire business at risk," company founder and CEO Erik Prince said at the company's North Carolina compound.

Blackwater will continue guarding U.S. officials in Iraq — under a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars — but its future will be focused on training, aviation and logistics, the company said.

"Security was not part of the master plan, ever," company president Gary Jackson said.

Nevertheless, the company became synonymous with the image of private security guards in Iraq.

"It's been like Coca-Cola," Jackson said. "Blackwater: Security contractors."

Prince, a former Navy SEAL, is a Holland, Mich., native whose family fortune was made in the auto parts industry. His sister, Betsy DeVos, a former chairwoman of the Michigan GOP, is married to Dick DeVos, a Republican and Amway Corp. heir who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2006.

Blackwater attracted worldwide attention last September when its security contractors opened fire in a crowded Baghdad intersection while responding to a car bombing.

Seventeen Iraqis were killed, making Blackwater a flash point in the debate over the use of contractors in war zones. Iraqi officials originally wanted the company expelled from the country, straining relations between Baghdad and Washington.

Since then, company executives say they've been investigated or audited by a litany of government agencies, including the FBI, Homeland Security and even the Agriculture Department.

In 2005 and 2006, security jobs represented more than 50% of the company's business. The security business is down to about 30% of Blackwater revenue now, and Jackson said it will go much lower.

"If I could get it down to 2% or 1%, I would go there," he said, adding that the media have falsely portrayed much about that aspect of the company. "If you could get it right, we might stay in the business."

The Justice Department is expected to decide soon whether to bring charges against a handful of contractors involved in the shooting in Baghdad's Nosier Square. The company itself is not a target of the investigation and has pledged its cooperation with the probe.

Company executives would not say whether they expect their contractors to face charges but said an indictment likely wouldn't affect the core business model.

"Indictment of any of the folks who were in Nosier Square wouldn't be grounds for disablement" from government contracts, said Andrew Howell, the company's general counsel.

Blackwater's 7,000-acre compound offers unparalleled training facilities that attract swarms of U.S. military, federal law enforcement and local officials each year.

The company also has expanded its aviation division, which provides airplane and helicopter maintenance and also drops supplies into hard-to-reach military bases. A 6,000-foot runway is under construction and a large map in the company's hangar shows units based across the world, from Africa to the Middle East to Australia.

"Our focus is away from security work. We're just not bidding on it," Jackson said.

The State Department extended Backwater's contract to provide embassy security this year. Undersecretary of State Patrick Kennedy said Monday he has not been notified by Blackwater that it intends to reduce or eliminate security work.

"They have a contract with us through the next nine or 10 months," Kennedy said. "They have not indicated to us that they are attempting to get out of our current contract."

The decision to scale back future security business reflects not only the difficult year Blackwater has had but also the fact that there's probably not as much growth opportunity.

The growth in Backwater's aviation and international training sectors could also buffer the company against other changes in military policy. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is looking into the use of contractors for combat and security training.

"Why have we come to rely on private contractors to provide combat or combat-related security training for our forces?" Gates wrote in a July 10 memo to the Pentagon's top military officer, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen.

The memo was released Monday by the office of Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va. Webb raised concerns about the role of private contractors and specifically Blackwater, which opened a new counterterrorism training center in San Diego last month over the opposition of city officials.

Webb had been blocking Senate consideration of four civilian Defense Department nominees while waiting for answers. On Monday, Webb told Gates he was lifting his opposition to the nominees.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080722/NEWS07/80722026

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Link to story That's just a story about BW being asked to pull out of Iraq... not the contracting business altogether...

You linked a nearly year old story.

Quoted: How about Dark Liquid for a new name?

MurkyMercs?

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is looking into the use of contractors for combat and security training. "Why have we come to rely on private contractors to provide combat or combat-related security training for our forces?" Gates wrote in a July 10 memo to the Pentagon's top military officer, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen.

Well, let's see....we could jerk active duty Delta types out of the field to teach CQB, OR we can contract retired Delta types like Larry Vickers to teach CQB and leave the active duty guys alone so they can focus on killing bad guys.

Gee....which do YOU think is the proper choice, Mr. Secretary?

Quoted: I guess they don't have the faith in their political connections to protect them anymore after that last party with the ATF. And: Quoted: Defense Secretary Robert Gates is looking into the use of contractors for combat and security training. "Why have we come to rely on private contractors to provide combat or combat-related security training for our forces?" Gates wrote in a July 10 memo to the Pentagon's top military officer, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen. Because of then Pres. Clinton's military reductions. It's called overextending, or in lay terms biting off more than you can chew, repeatedly. We had enough resources to kick the shit out of anybody over there. It's the extended camp out that things have turned into that makes our needs so great.

Nothing to do with it. Move your security contracting to Greystone, while BW stays in the training business. BW has a big name, Greystone isn't and is located offshore. Shuffling files.

Quoted: Defense Secretary Robert Gates is looking into the use of contractors for combat and security training. "Why have we come to rely on private contractors to provide combat or combat-related security training for our forces?" Gates wrote in a July 10 memo to the Pentagon's top military officer, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen. Well, let's see....we could jerk active duty Delta types out of the field to teach CQB, OR we can contract retired Delta types like Larry Vickers to teach CQB and leave the active duty guys alone so they can focus on killing bad guys. Gee....which do YOU think is the proper choice, Mr. Secretary?

Agree.