Their Myth: Blackwater’s core competency is in training military and law enforcement personnel. Our training facility in Moyock, NC existed long before the war in Iraq and has trained more than 100,000 military and law enforcement professionals since its inception.- Blackwater USA website
More like training their mercs in ways to deal with law enforcement and our military, in case of an uprising!
My Reality: Blackwater lures people away from serving in the U.S.Military- "It’s not true. It’s an urban legend that’s been created by the media," said Chris Taylor, a Blackwater vice president. "People leave the military for a wide variety of reasons. We’re not interested in luring people away from the military."
As Blackwater's Gary Jackson acknowledged in the Guardian, "If they are going to outsource tasks that were once held by active-duty military and are now using private contractors, those guys [on active duty] are looking and asking, 'Where is the money?'"
In an article by Bill Sizemore:
Michael McKenna, president of International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 412, said at least half a dozen Norfolk police officers have departed for Blackwater in the past two to three years. Most had 10 or more years on the force.
"They can offer them a whole lot more money," McKenna said. "I’m sorry to see them go, but I can’t blame them when Norfolk’s paying them $30,000 a year. I think I’d go too."
Spokesmen for the Virginia Beach and Chesapeake police departments said they also have lost officers to Blackwater.
The exodus extends across the country. Sheriff Elaine Savage of Bonner County, Idah o, said she has lost five experienced deputies to Blackwater and one of its competitors, DynCorp International, in the past two years. All five turned up in Iraq.
"They call it the Bonner County substation," Savage said.
With her department’s typical salary of $43,000 a year, she can’t compete.
"They’re looking out for their families, but it makes it tough for me," she said. "I have a tremendous investment in these guys, and it just walks away for $180,000 a year."- The Virginian-Pilot
"We scour the ends of the earth to find professionals -- the Chilean commandos are very, very professional and they fit within the Blackwater system," Gary Jackson, the president of Blackwater USA, told the Guardian.
To meet the rising demand, the companies are offering yearly salaries ranging from $100,000 to nearly $200,000 to entice senior military Special Operations forces to switch careers. Assignments are paying from a few hundred dollars to as much as $1,000 a day, military officials said. - New York Times
Sheriff Susan Johnson of Currituck County, N.C., where the entrance to Blackwater is situated, said several of her deputies had been lured away by the company to work overseas.
''It's tough to keep them when they can earn as much in one month there as they can in a year here,'' Sheriff Johnson said.-New York Times
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