America's Covert Warriors: Inside the World of Private Military Contractors - Hardcover

Engbrecht, Shawn

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 159797238X ISBN 13: 9781597972383

Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc., 2010

Synopsis

Private military contractors, especially those in Iraq, have taken on far more than their original mandates required. Initially intended for combat support, they have become full-fledged warriors, many with little experience, scant oversight, and no accountability to the rules of engagement that constrain the U.S. military and coalition forces. When the occupation of Iraq turned into a fight against an insurgency, overwhelming U.S. and coalition military forces, the demand for private military contractors skyrocketed in 2003 and 2004. The explosive growth of such firms as Blackwater, Crescent, and others resulted in a relaxation of recruitment standards at precisely the same time that the U.S. military's own standards of recruitment began to falter, but the standards for private military contractors fell much further and faster. The predictable result included excessive civilian casualties, a human tragedy whose full dimensions have yet to be seen by the American public. Shawn Engbrecht has been training and recruiting private military contractors for more than a decade. Acknowledging that some private military contractors are out of control, he argues that the oft-made suggestion to fire them all is not the solution. Instead, Engbrecht contends that with proper training and development of recruits, along with enforceable regulation and oversight, private security companies can be successfully integrated into a total force package with a professional operational staff.

About this title

Review:

"With its dramatic increase in the use of private contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. government knowingly incorporated the profit motive and a mercenary culture into how it wages modern war. The results have often been tragic and underreported. With America's Covert Warriors, Shawn Engbrecht offers a timely warning from good people caught in a corrupting enterprise."--James Kitfield, senior correspondent, National Journal, and author of War and Destiny and Prodigal Soldiers-- (12/07/2010)

About the Author:

Shawn Engbrecht is the founder of the Center for Advanced Security Studies, one of the premier training facilities for protection officers in the world. He has worked as a private contractor in Iraq on multiple occasions and has been deployed to the European Union and Africa. A veteran of the U.S. Army's 75th Ranger Regiment, he spent six years in the 1st Ranger Battalion of the Special Operations Command. He lives in Florida. For more information, visit his website, www.americascovertwarriors.com.

About this edition

• Publisher: Potomac Books, Inc.
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 159797238X
• ISBN 13: 9781597972383
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256