GAO blocks contract to Blackwater to train Afghan police

By GottaLaff



Here's an idea. Block Blackwater, period:

Federal auditors on Monday put a stop to Army plans to award a $1 billion training program for Afghan police officers to the company formerly known as Blackwater, concluding that other companies were unfairly excluded from bidding on the job.

DynCorp International Inc. protested because they weren't allowed to submit bids when training management went from State to the Army. Hey, somebody had to protest, and it's about time somebody was acknowledged.

Anybody. For any reason. At this point, the more blockage the better until these guys are blocked out of e-Xe-stence.

Now the bidding will begin again, and Blackwater will get another shot. Too bad.

But Carl Levin, who happens to be chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is speaking out. Kudos to him:

Levin cited a history of allegedly abusive behavior by the contractor's employees, including misappropriation of government weapons and hiring of workers with criminal records that included assault and drug offenses. He also accused managers of the private security company of lying to win lucrative jobs in Afghanistan.

And yet they're still allowed to be part of the bidding process.

"If this contract is re-bid and Blackwater is among the bidders, I hope that the Defense Department will take a close look at the company to determine if it is a suitable contracting partner for the U.S. government," [Levin] said.

Let's hope that starts the ball rolling on why we have anything dealings with these thugs. State Department, are you listening? Hillary?

Bueller?

Talk about indoctrination: Blackwater accepting civilians

By GottaLaff

Xe plot xickens:

The massive Blackwater training center in Moyock, Va., is opening its doors to civilians, the company's ads indicate.

Oh boy, kids! New job ops! Who wants to learn to kill innocent civilians? Hands?

And check this out. Yet another name change:

An advertisement in The (Norfolk, Va.) Virginian-Pilot indicated the Blackwater facility, owned by Xe Services LLC of McLean, Va., has changed its name to the U.S. Training Center and is offering gun training courses to civilians as well as to military personnel and police officers, the newspaper reported Sunday.

I keep telling my friends that if there's one thing we need, it's more armed civilians. We don't have enough of those.

They even have women-only classes! Nothing says "equality" like a crash course in murder.

The company claims the Moyock facility is the world's largest private weapons training center, with 40,000 trainees per year, mostly from U.S. and other militaries.

Then why don't I feel safer

Scouts Train to Fight Terrorists: A baby-faced young girl screamed, “Separate your feet!”

By GottaLaff

On my honor I will do my best

To do my duty to God and my country

and to obey the Scout Law;

To help other people at all times;

To keep myself physically strong,

mentally awake, and morally straight.

How helpful, kind, cheerful, friendly and courteous of them!

The Explorers program, a coeducational affiliate of the Boy Scouts of America that began 60 years ago, is training thousands of young people in skills used to confront terrorism, illegal immigration and escalating border violence — an intense ratcheting up of one of the group’s longtime missions to prepare youths for more traditional jobs as police officers and firefighters.

“This is about being a true-blooded American guy and girl,” said A. J. Lowenthal, a sheriff’s deputy here in Imperial County, whose life clock, he says, is set around the Explorers events he helps run. “It fits right in with the honor and bravery of the Boy Scouts.”

The training, which leaders say is not intended to be applied outside the simulated Explorer setting, can involve chasing down illegal border crossers as well as more dangerous situations that include facing down terrorists and taking out “active shooters,” like those who bring gunfire and death to college campuses. In a simulation here of a raid on a marijuana field, several Explorers were instructed on how to quiet an obstreperous lookout.

“Put him on his face and put a knee in his back,” a Border Patrol agent explained. “I guarantee that he’ll shut up.”

Now everyone gather 'round the campfire to roast some marshmallows for some yummy s'mores! Weeee!

Cathy Noriego, also 16, said she was attracted by the guns. The group uses compressed-air guns — known as airsoft guns, which fire tiny plastic pellets — in the training exercises, and sometimes they shoot real guns on a closed range.

“I like shooting them,” Cathy said. “I like the sound they make. It gets me excited.”

Speaking of being inappropriately excited:

There have been numerous cases over the last three decades in which police officers supervising Explorers have been charged, in civil and criminal cases, with sexually abusing them.

Several years ago, two University of Nebraska criminal justice professors published a study that found at least a dozen cases of sexual abuse involving police officers over the last decade. Adult Explorer leaders are now required to take an online training program on sexual misconduct.

What a healthy, wholesome program! Who's enrolling their kids this summer? Hands?

“Before it was more about the basics,” said Johnny Longoria, a Border Patrol agent here. “But now our emphasis is on terrorism, illegal entry, drugs and human smuggling.”

The law enforcement posts are restricted to those ages 14 to 21 who have a C average, but there seems to be some wiggle room. “I will take them at 13 and a half,” Deputy Lowenthal said. “I would rather take a kid than possibly lose a kid.”

How inclusive of them. Hey kiddies! Tell your friends! Fun for the entire family!

Just as there are soccer moms, there are Explorers dads, who attend the competitions, man the hamburger grill and donate their land for the simulated marijuana field raids. In their training, the would-be law-enforcement officers do not mess around, as revealed at a recent competition on the state fairgrounds here, where a Ferris wheel sat next to the police cars set up for a felony investigation.

Their hearts pounding, Explorers moved down alleys where there were hidden paper targets of people pointing guns, and made split-second decisions about when to shoot. In rescuing hostages from a bus taken over by terrorists, a baby-faced young girl screamed, “Separate your feet!” as she moved to handcuff her suspect.

How precious. I hope she didn't muss her hair or scuff her shoesies.

In a competition in Arizona that he did not oversee, Deputy Lowenthal said, one role-player wore traditional Arab dress. “If we’re looking at 9/11 and what a Middle Eastern terrorist would be like,” he said, “then maybe your role-player would look like that. I don’t know, would you call that politically incorrect?”

Alrighty now, kids, this break has lasted way too long. Everyone in the van! We're off to grenade-throwing practice! Everyone grab your weapons, and don't forget to fasten your seat belts! Safety first!

H/t: The Joshua Blog