Contractors serve all over the world. They take the same risks that regular service members take. In fact, if you see a mixed group on a helicopter, it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between contractors and servicemembers. Upon closer examination, there are some important differences. Front-line troops and “door kickers” are almost always servicemembers. Support personnel, like mechanics, …
Injured Vet Sues Fluor for Negligence
Former Army Specialist Winston Hencely says that the private military contractor firm is responsible for the injuries he sustained prior to a Veterans’ Day 5k run at Afghanistan’s Bagram Airfield. According to court documents, Specl. Hencely confronted Fluor employee and former Taliban member Ahmad Nayeb about his presence on the base. It turns out that Nayeb was wearing a suicide …
Russian Mercenaries Expand Operations
The shadowy Wagner Group continues to pop up in places where the Russian Bear has national interests, but the Kremlin fears to tread. Meanwhile, American private military contractors continue to serve a more limited, and much more well-regulated, international role in places like Iraq. Wagner mercenaries recently surfaced in Venezuela, where embattled strongman Nicolas Maduro is trying to remain in …
Peace Appears Closer in Afghanistan
After almost two decades of conflict, peace may finally be coming to the war-torn country. Even if that happens, contractors in Afghanistan will probably not be packing their bags and heading home anytime soon. After almost a week of talks in Qatar, chief American negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad announced that both sides had agreed for Afghanistan to be a terrorist-free zone …
1983 Paris Airport Bomber Dies
Varuzhan Karapetian, whom many consider to be one of the last major state-sponsored terrorists, passed away of an apparent heart attack in his native Armenia. Today’s terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere are a much different breed, and their methods demand a much different approach. Karapetian, who was a Syrian of Armenian descent, was the former head of the Armenian Secret …