54 thoughts on “Blackwater…”

  2. Do it, you guys are the ā€œMike Roweā€ of security: ā€œIf itā€™s a dangerous, dirty, unglamorous – but absolutely necessary job…Weā€™re here to do itā€

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  4. What are you questioning here, brave soldier? Your efforts to eliminate:

    1. Islamic supremacism?
    2. Disregard for national security?
    3. Human suffering?
    4. Losing the peace?

    Blackwater is absolutely necessary if we want to avoid a draft- which we do- see Viet Nam. In order to win any conflict, we need lots and lots of committed soldiers who believe in the cause.

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    1. “…brave *soldier*ā€¦.”

      Liz, if you meant “soldier of fortune”, I get it, but…There’s that M-word, that our gracious host earned, and still carries with justifiable pride. (Smile) I endorse the content of your comment wholeheartedly!

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      2. Indeed, but, in Marine tradition “once, and always”. Also, since Army standards are less stringent, training is less focused on “the whole person”, etc., some – not saying ST does – do find it jarring, if not insulting.

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      2. Would it be helpful if I were to wear my Blackwater T-shirt to the interview? I have taken good care of it and, as you can see in the pic above, it is clean and in reasonable condition considering it’s age.

        BTW: I am joking in case you did not know.

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      4. Thanks and Happy (ongoing) Hanukkah to you.

        Having Christmas with Wattsy & The Sexpats tomorrow afternoon. I will post some financially friendly pics after-after.

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  6. “Indeed, but, in Marine tradition ā€œonce, and alwaysā€. Also, since Army standards are less stringent, training is less focused on ā€œthe whole personā€, etc., some ā€“ not saying ST does ā€“ do find it jarring, if not insulting.”

    Your comment brings up an interesting possibility for an exploratory post. Civilians very often do not know the different standards between the military branches and we would be anxious to know.

    Simon? Could you possibly run down the list for us? Americans should be aware of the difference responsibilities of the:

    1. Air Force
    2. Navy
    3. Marine Corps
    4. Army
    5. Coast Guard

    As an addendum, I want to hear about Navy Seal Team 6 and the Army Rangers. It’s not only my patriotic interest, but the fact that I like to hear about really cool stuff…

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    1. Secure The Building

      One reason the Armed Services have trouble operating jointly is that they have very different meanings for the same terms;

      The Joint Chiefs once told the Navy to “secure a building,” to which they responded by turning off the lights and locking the doors.

      The Joint Chiefs then instructed Army personnel to “secure the building,” and they occupied the building so no one could enter.

      Upon receiving the exact same order, the Marines assaulted the building, captured it, and set up defences with suppressive fire and amphibious assault vehicals, established reconnaissance and communications channels, and prepared for close hand-to-hand combat if the situation arose.

      But the Air Force, on the other hand, acted most swiftly on the command, and took out a three-year lease with an option to buy.

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      1. P.S. Generally speaking, I like the Coasties the best and on the rare occasion even regret not joining them instead of my beloved Corps. Then I remember how tame their ‘groupies’ are compared to ours (actually all other branches groupies are technically virgins) and get over it quite quickly.

        Fun fact: There are even young (female) groupies who only chase and seduce us older, retired Marines. I do wonder if it is out of a sense of patriotism or maybe it is just that they want and need to finally have their world rocked.

        No matter their reasons, may the Lord richly bless them for what they have done!

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    2. SEALS are our best small unit direct action guys but they can’t take the hill. If you need to permanently close the medical records of more than one of two bad boys, then the SEALS are not your weapon of choice. Army Rangers can force their way into Indian Country and kill all of the men and make real women out of the women.

      For example, if I recall correctly the Rangers led our assault into Panama to get some payback after Noriega’s thugs killed Lt Robert Paz. Rob was my best bud and started out as an Infantry Officer. He was only in Panama doing spook shit because he had blown out his knee and had to leave the grunts. He chose to be trained and reclassified as an Intelligence Officer.

      Lt Paz was doing God’s work when he met his end.

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  9. Judging by the looks I get whenever I wear my Blackwater t-shirt, I’m guessing that I lot of people do not like whatever it is that they think we represent. I am even more sure Social Justice Warriors in HR departments nationwide would jump on the chance to deep-six into their circular files my resume.

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  10. Ok, the MARSOC rapper could put Eminem, Jay Z and Ye to shame. This was fun to watch. šŸ™‚

    My deepest regrets for the loss of your fine friend Lt. Paz.

    One more question re: your comment re: SEALS vs. Rangers. Why are their skill sets different? Is it because SEALS focus on sniping and Rangers on the ground?

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  11. It is because sometimes we need to send guys into someplace where it is best to leave the tiniest footprint possible. To do that you need just a few super-humans to get in, rescue some hostages, kill as many bad guys as possible, and get the hell out before the Devil knows they are there. It is about much more than snipers. All branches have outstanding snipers.

    When we don’t care how much footprint we leave or when the bad guys are many, the Rangers would always be a better choice.

    BTW, I enjoyed working with the Army’s 10th Mountain Division more than any other unit. They were very Marine-like, I always thought.

    P.S. I still think that our best sniper ever was USMC Gunny Hathcock. If you have not already – then you must read the book: Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills.

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    1. “When we donā€™t care how much footprint we leave or when the bad guys are many, the Rangers would always be a better choice.”

      Why is that?

      Hate to be such a pest ST, but know it’s out of pure curiosity.

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      1. Sometimes bad guys take American hostages (usually for ransom) in countries where we have little if any diplomatic relationship. We will sometimes send in a small group of ‘rough men’ to free those hostages. These are the types of ‘direct action’ missions the SEALs are perfect for.

        If you are invading NAZI Germany, then you do not care about diplomacy so much. If the Germans have a few thousand grunts guarding the beaches then the Rangers are going to have a better shot at assaulting, taking, and holding an objective such as Pointe du Hoc.

        No reason to apologize. This is why ST exists.

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  13. Thank you for asking such great questions, Elizabeth, and thank you, Simon, for the clear answers, this thread is awesome, and I have learned so much šŸ™‚

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      1. I like to wear it whenever I travel. That way I get to watch the mohammedans dressed in tents breeze through security while I get strip-searched as per (what must be international) SOP.

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  18. I copied & pasted this (or ET in particular) from one of the comments below the Army vs. Marine rap battle video.

    ———————————————

    American Sniper Chris Kyle who went into combat with both Marine and Army Infantry units. said the following about them: From his autobiography

    ā€œWhen youā€™re working with Army and Marine Corps units, you immediately
    notice a difference. The Army is pretty tough, but their performance can
    depend on the individual unit. Some are excellent, filled with hoorah
    and first-class warriors. A few are absolutely horrible; most are
    somewhere in between. In my experience, Marines are gung ho no matter
    what. They will all fight to the death. Every one of them just wants to
    get out there and kill. They are bad-ass, hard-charging mothers.ā€

    ā€œMarinesā€”you beat them down and they come back for more.ā€

    ā€œYes, SEALs did a good job, and gave their blood. But as we told the
    Army and Marine officers and enlisted men we fought beside, weā€™re no
    better than those men when it comes to courage and worth.ā€

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    1. It is a very good question Liz and one that Congress has debated on occasion. Honestly, the Marine Corps is sort of, kind of redundant. The tangible assets and capabilities are found in the other branches so – the question becomes: Why do we want Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children (USMC)?

      I think we want & need. I think of the Marines combined with our Sailors as the nation’s 911 force. The Marines are ready, willing, and able to go immediately – as in right now this very second – into a spectrum of chaotic situations from Biblical disaster type humanitarian missions to opposed beach assaults. Having that force out there 24/7/11 helps me to sleep at night.

      However, the Marine Corps alone cannot occupy enemy territory for it is primarily an offensive weapon. Only the US Army can occupy a foreign land for a sustained period of time.

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  21. It’s impressive that the U.S. govt realized the necessity of specializing the military forces: air, sea, offensive assault, occupation. Thanks again for clarifying Simon.

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    1. I know what you mean, but I will add these were men such as ourselves that saw these necessities and not “the U.S. govt.” Too often it was because brave men had to give their lives to teach others these hard realities.

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    2. My comment is boiled down to try to give you some ideas of why and what for are the differences. We can discuss this topic ad nauseam over some cheap French wine in the New Year. I hope.

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  22. You really make it seem so easy together with your presentation however I to find this topic to be really one thing which I think I might by no means understand. It sort of feels too complicated and extremely broad for me. I’m having a look ahead on your subsequent post, Iā€™ll attempt to get the cling of it!

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