View Full Version : "Iraq: Guns for hire"
BravoCompanyUSA
01-19-07, 10:32
"Iraq: Guns for hire"
Just saw an advertisement for a new documentary on the National Geographic chanel.
Looks to be about PMCs.
It listed 9pm (eastern) on Sunday.
I'm sure the documentary will be a paragon of neutrality and journalistic integrity. :rolleyes:
Liberals (like the Huffington Post, which I have forsworn because I was wasting too much time over there) genuinely believe that these guys are driving around assassinating the populace. There was one article featuring an accusation by one of those humanitarian groups that PMC's assassinated the chief administrator of a major college because he just wanted to t,t,t (sniffle) teach people about art and poetry. The dozen or so articles on PMC's I have read over there are cartoonishly distorted and evidently written by hysterical teenage girls, who in reality are middle aged Liberal men.
Douche bags. I hate Liberals.
They had a former PMC guy on FOXNEWS this morning when they were able to fit it in between the Colbert/ Orielly suck fest and Oprah...
He seemed to welcome the National Geograpic.
I have never met or seen a warrior complain about the way he was portrayed, humility is a needed trait.
I'll tune into it.
Some of the footage was taken at a Tactical Response course, and should include portions of an interview with James Yeager. He's encouraging folks to watch the show.
Here's the link...
http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/channel/explorer/
They had a former PMC guy on FOXNEWS this morning when they were able to fit it in between the Colbert/ Orielly suck fest and Oprah...
He seemed to welcome the National Geograpic.
I saw part of that. They said the guy had ten years active duty in SEAL teams, then reenlisted at 9/11, and ultimately became a contractor.
He did seem pretty positive about the show. I plan to watch it.
I was curious when he mentioned that "no one does it for the money."
BravoCompanyUSA
01-19-07, 14:42
I have found that the History Channel, Military Channel, and Nat Geo Channel have been mostly unbiased.
Most documentaries seem to be a day-in-the-life type of thing without political commentary.
I have found that the History Channel, Military Channel, and Nat Geo Channel have been mostly unbiased.
Most documentaries seem to be a day-in-the-life type of thing without political commentary.
I would have to agree.
The preview from the Nat Geo Channel show does not seem to be either.
I have seen a few programs about DSS, PMC and some others on the Discovery Times channel...all seemed decent, un biased and entertaining.
That was Ben Thomas on FOX.
Some of the footage for the upcoming NGEO show is from a Tactical Response HRCC class.
The program aired, thoughts of those who watched?
BravoCompanyUSA
01-21-07, 21:33
The program aired, thoughts of those who watched?
At $600 per day (estimate quoted in program) . . . . they are still way under paid.
That was Ben Thomas on FOX.
Oh Great!!!..... I'm sure there were a few pleased to see him as the poster boy for PMC's on national TV. :rolleyes:
Didnt do much for me. I was suprised that BT was the one they talked to about the Najaf fight. Travis would have been a better choice I'd of thought, but I dont produce tv shows..........
Eh, It was okay At least they gave some cred where it's due. I wished they would have done it on US companies like BW, TripC, Dyn, and especially URG.
Be safe guys,
Dave
Oh Great!!!..... I'm sure there were a few pleased to see him as the poster boy for PMC's on national TV. :rolleyes:
Is there something "wrong" with this Ben Thomas guy?
Is there something "wrong" with this Ben Thomas guy?
NEGATIVE. Ben Thomas is the real deal. I know him personally and he is squared away. He is a BTDT dude who would give you the shirt off of his back.
Mace
NEGATIVE. Ben Thomas is the real deal. I know him personally and he is squared away. He is a BTDT dude who would give you the shirt off of his back.
Mace
HUH..... Maybe I'm thinking of someone else.
HUH..... Maybe I'm thinking of someone else.
No you are thinking of the right person. Some very interesting conversation about him over at SOCNET.
Is this Thomas fella the one who said something like... we went to the roof because that's were you go to see people and talked about not being a hero / shivering in his boots during that attack? I can under stand that for sure. That is a serious paraphrasing of what he said, I'm just trying to be sure I'm thinking about the right guy.
Very interesting reading on SOCNET and especially Cathryn Kramer's website. Too bad they didn't interview SimplyDynamic instead. Or at least checked out thier sources before airing the show. Whether some of the info out there is true or not, the questions raised about him don't reflect well on lots of other great guys out there doing a very difficult job.
Edit for correction to quote.
SimplyDynamic was the one in the Najaf video and who made the turkey shoot comment.
Show was alright I thought. Wanted to see more detail on weapons and used and such and the types of missions they do.
C4
SimplyDynamic was the one in the Najaf video and who made the turkey shoot comment.
Hawkeye,
Do you know if this Thomas guy was even present when the Najaf video was filmed? It was alluded to on another website, but I do not want to spread internet gossip. I edited my first post so as not to encourage misinformation. Just curious since there are alot of BW guys over there. Wondering if SD worked with him.
I do not know. As I understand it, but cannot verify, he did work for Blackwater at one time, but I dont know any specifics, and I hesitate to speculate as I dont like to be the start of errornet misinformation either.
Do you know if this Thomas guy was even present when the Najaf video was filmed?
He was. He was the spotter calling out the sight adjustments.
Mace
Thanks Mace. I figured someone would have an answer.
pretty good show. lots of AK's and PK's....few M4's.
The images of the mutilated Blackwater men in Fallujah were horrible.
It was an interesting program if a little lacking in depth. I was disappointed that it focused on British firms and not any of the American counterparts, but you can only feature the people who will talk to you on camera.
As a complete outsider to their world, I think the key element I gleaned from the program was the role they (at least those depicted in the show) play as compared to the military.
I was also surprised to learn they were contracted to escort some US Military convoys. It left me with the questions 1) why does the US military hire contractors for that at all, and 2) why British firms and not American?
SimplyDynamic was the one in the Najaf video and who made the turkey shoot comment.
About that vid and all the "turkey shoot" controversy
It simply amazes me how someone can sit here in safety and comfort and be critical of a that guy making a TRUTHFUL comment on a roof while taking fire and firing back accuratly.
Taking a life takes a toll on a person, I would probilbly say something alot worse on video.
I missed the program but plan to catch it on rerun
jimmyboots
01-23-07, 22:00
HART guys used to come on my FOB all the time, for the most part they seemed pretty cool although they always suprised me with their lack of PPE.
About that vid and all the "turkey shoot" controversy...
Wow. Where have I been? I didn't realize there was any controversy about SimplyDynamic's "turkey shoot" comment.... and for the life of me can't imagine why there would be. Having the ability to quip something like that while there's a vastly superior number of people actively trying to KILL you seems like something to be admired, from my standpoint.
At $600 per day (estimate quoted in program) . . . . they are still way under paid.
I agree, but considering that most Joes get paid around $50 a day and don't get leave, I think that it's all relative.
I agree, but considering that most Joes get paid around $50 a day and don't get leave, I think that it's all relative.
Its all about being paid for your skills
Since USSOC and other countries have skyrocketed salaries and/or retention bonuses for Tier1 and 2 SOF troops -- being an IC is not a huge cash cow that it was once.
Add in pension for the .mil crowd
Friends of mine now make $120k a year working for the Canadian Army - they have a better medical plan, and a pension...
I thought it was ok. It's on again tonight at 8:00PM EST if anyone missed it.
I missed it when it first aired, gonna catch it when it comes on in 30 minutes.
Show was alright I thought. Wanted to see more detail on weapons and used and such and the types of missions they do.
C4
kind of resurrecting this thread, but just saw this a second time.
The segment on the armorer was an interesting bit. He was tooling AK's - downsizing them, discussed opening ports for reliability, and generally remaking the weapons for his teams.
I believe they referred to the models as M21's which would seem a mis-statement, or referring to another weapon than those shown in the armorers shop.
Overall, I felt they gave a pretty unbiased and insightful perspective. There was the comment that being a mercenary is against international law, and the Najaf encounter blurred those lines since the ICs and soldiers shared fighting positions.
Najaf firefight footage was short but was high quality video of the fight rather than You-tube home video quality that I had seen before.
Impressive show and highly recommended.
Joseywales
02-05-07, 21:56
I love the Mercs in Iraq. Nothing like an Army that Teddy Kennedy and the ilk cannot **** with.
kind of resurrecting this thread, but just saw this a second time.
The segment on the armorer was an interesting bit. He was tooling AK's - downsizing them, discussed opening ports for reliability, and generally remaking the weapons for his teams.
I believe they referred to the models as M21's which would seem a mis-statement, or referring to another weapon than those shown in the armorers shop.
The M21 is a Serb Galil clone
Overall, I felt they gave a pretty unbiased and insightful perspective. There was the comment that being a mercenary is against international law, and the Najaf encounter blurred those lines since the ICs and soldiers shared fighting positions.
Najaf firefight footage was short but was high quality video of the fight rather than You-tube home video quality that I had seen before.
Impressive show and highly recommended.
Contractors can conduct operations with the military IF it is in the immediate defensive needs of the client.
Wow. Where have I been? I didn't realize there was any controversy about SimplyDynamic's "turkey shoot" comment.... and for the life of me can't imagine why there would be. Having the ability to quip something like that while there's a vastly superior number of people actively trying to KILL you seems like something to be admired, from my standpoint.
Corporal Alvin York described the method he used to shoot down a group of German soldiers that outnumbered him as the same technique he used to shoot turkeys. :)
Cleaned up at the request of the posters involved.
John Chapman
02-09-07, 23:57
The producers only rode with Brit firms because no one else would let them film anything. They tried.
Anyone have the Najaf vid? I seem to remember seeing it when it first came out.
scotty gunz
02-14-07, 00:43
Mr.Chapman is correct NG shopped it by the company(U.S.) i was working for and the team as a whole said f#%@ no!!!!
so they went with 2 meat grinder companys:eek:
Anyone have the Najaf vid? I seem to remember seeing it when it first came out.
Are these what you are looking for?
http://www.militaryvideos.net/videos.php?videonum=33
http://www.militaryvideos.net/videos.php?videonum=29
Are these what you are looking for?
http://www.militaryvideos.net/videos.php?videonum=33
http://www.militaryvideos.net/videos.php?videonum=29
Saint, indeed thanks! I had seen it before but wanted to refresh my memory. There is a fairly HQ version on Youtube as well.
RE: SOCNET, jeah certainly an interesting discussion over there about
old "Mookie" allright.
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