"Private security employees said they are fired on so often, usually when approaching military checkpoints or convoys, that incident reports are not filed in every case."
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=1034212&C=america Posted 08/22/05 08:13 Private Guards Face U.S. Fire, GAO Finds By RICK MAZE The hiring of private security companies in Iraq is an expensive and risky drain on reconstruction efforts, a new government report concludes. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), an investigative arm of Congress, also said that the job opportunities in private security firms no longer appear to be a serious retention threat for the military. Attrition rates for military specialties in high demand in private security companies especially police and special operations forces seem to have leveled off, said the July report. Attrition rates for 2004 are about the same as for 2000 and 2001, indicating that hiring in 2002 and 2003 by private security companies, which do not report to the military, has slowed. The report was requested by Sens. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., and Russ Feingold, D-Wis. Both expressed concerns about the cost of providing private security, how private guards can safely operate in a military-controlled zone, and inadequate policy oversight. The report confirms those concerns, suggesting the Pentagon and State Department need to exert more control. "America has never before been confronted with the need to provide such extensive private security as it is today in Iraq," Dodd said in a statement. "This new demand has brought with it problems such as high costs, a lack of standards, and poor communications between security contractors and U.S. military personnel." Among its other findings, the report says the relationship between the military and security companies needs more direction. "Military and security-provider personnel who served in Iraq described a relationship of informal coordination," the GAO report says. While there is no direct line of interaction, military commanders always have authority over contractor personnel who enter a military installation, the report says. "One Army official told us that his unit had barred some private security employees from using the unit's dining facilities because the employees insisted on carrying loaded weapons into the dining facility," which the unit did not allow its soldiers to do for safety reasons. But that is a small problem compared with what the report calls "blue on white" violence the military firing at friendly-force contractors. Private security employees said they are fired on so often, usually when approaching military checkpoints or convoys, that incident reports are not filed in every case. One report reviewed by congressional investigators said a convoy being guarded by a private security company and a military convoy met on a road. The private convoy pulled to the side. After half of the 20-vehicle military convoy passed, someone opened fire at the private security convoy. There were no injuries or damage, but there have been in other incidents, the report says. Checkpoints, especially those manned by newly arrived troops, also can pose a risk for armed private security forces, the report says. An incident report reviewed by investigators said a security convoy was fired upon when approaching a checkpoint without having received any warnings. Military officials and private security companies tried to reduce the threat by reaching an agreement earlier this year about procedures, but the GAO report said 20 blue-on-white incidents occurred between January and May. The report said military units received no training prior to deploying to Iraq regarding their relationship with private security providers. The report recommends specific training, and defense and Army officials agreed to provide additional information. In a written response to the report, the Defense Department said it has been working with U.S. Central Command on better procedures to reduce blue-on-white violence, but agreed the issue is worth reviewing. E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> <font face=arial size=-1><a href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12hjh0a81/M=362329.6886306.7839369.3040540/D=groups/S=1705323667:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1124771218/A=2894321/R=0/SIG=11dvsfulr/*http://youthnoise.com/page.php?page_id=1992 ">Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back!</a>.</font> --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. 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