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epLember 11, 2001 wIII Iorever be a daLe


that elicits a strong emotional response
among Americans, from those who
lost family and friends, the brethren of law
enIorcemenL and BrsL responders Lo LLose
crazy government conspiracy theorists.
For some, it is the loss of a single life that
triggers the response, for others its the loss
of hundreds of courageous men and women
who were simply, heroically doing their job
that morning, while for others its the sheer
manILude oI LLe Ioss oI more LLan 8000
people. For many its the simple fact that
the attack didnt happen in some foreign
land whose name most Americans couldnt
speII and Iewer sLIII couId Bnd on a map. IL
happened right here in our country, our own
backyard if you will. In just a few hours on a
clear fall morning the feeling that regardless
of what was happening in some far off corner
of the world, we were untouchable here at
home was reduced to rubble along with the
Tower 1 and 2 oI LLe WorId Trade CenLer.
The sense of safety and security that an
entire generation had grown accustomed to
- maybe even felt entitled to - was wiped away
and replaced by something else. To varying
degrees it was replaced by fear, anger and,
in some instances, a vocal demand for
retribution.
As a Iormer Fecon MarIne, I wIII readIIy
admit that retribution was something that I
Look Ior ranLed. NoL LLaL I Lad any noLIon
that it would be mine to dispense. Those
days had passed for me and, quite honestly,
my cLosen career pIaced a sInIBcanL
emphasis on avoiding the sort of risks that
are commonpIace on LLe baLLIeBeId. EuL LLere
was no doubt in my mind that retribution
would be dispensed, or who would dispense
IL. 0ur armed Iorces are LLe besL In LLe worId,
and the men and women who serve in them
are the most capable on the planet; period.
End oI sLory. WLIIe IL's someLImes Lard
to admit that combat is best left to young
MarInes and LLeIr broLLers and sIsLers In LLe
Army, AIr Eorce and Navy, I wIII readIIy admIL
that I am ill-equipped to debate the decisions
LLaL were made aL LLe LIme by FresIdenL
EusL, LIs advIsers and LIs sLaII. As LLe duIy
eIecLed FresIdenL oI LLe counLry, IL was LIs
responsibility to make those decisions that he
felt were in the best interests of the country.
WLaL I wIII say In reard Lo LLe decIsIons
LLe FresIdenL and LIs cabIneL made Is LLaL I
wholeheartedly support those decisions and,
more importantly, I am really glad they were
his to make, not mine.
In one of those rare instances where one
of my predictions was right, it wasnt long
after the September 11th attacks that the US
invaded Afghanistan, followed not too long
after by the invasion of Iraq. In relatively
sLorL order, LLe UB was BLLIn Lwo wars In
two different countries, a scenario around
which our entire military strategy was
based. As often happens in the real world,
the two wars doctrine barely survived
BrsL conLacL wILL LLe enemy, and IL quIckIy
became apparent that we simply werent
prepared Ior LLe compIexILIes oI BLLIn Lwo
sImuILaneous 'asymmeLrIcaI' wars conBIcLs
where a smaller, less organized, less well-
equipped adversary has an advantage over a
Iarer, more unwIeIdy Iorce. WLIIe I can'L say
I was surprised by this turn of events, I found
it maddeningly frustrating for two reasons;
BrsL, I Lad rown up In a mIIILary unIL wLere
the typical operating assumption was that the
adversary, even those who were ill-equipped,
ill-trained and poorly led, would have a
huge tactical advantage - wed be operating
against them on their turf. Secondly, in my
civilian career as a protection specialist,
more commonly referred to as a bodyguard;
I had recognized, through both training and
experience, that regardless of the resources
you have at your disposal, the bad guy has
a distinct advantage. Someone far smarter
than me once wrote; we hold these truths to
be self-evident, and in my little slice of the
world the truths that are self-evident tend to
be both simple and straightforward. Right at
the top of that list is the fact that, regardless
of how much money, how many guns and how
many lawyers you have, a small handful of
bad guys armed with superior knowledge of
the terrain, enough time to plan and a little
ingenuity will, given the opportunity, kick
your ass around the block everyday of the
week and twice on Sundays. And theyre
more LLan Lappy Lo do so wILLouL LLe beneBL
of shiny new, high-tech weaponry, slick
tactical clothing and cool sunglasses. From
the outside looking in, there was little doubt
the US military was learning this lesson the
hard way and, like most lessons in life learned
the hard way; it was painful, embarrassing
and costly.
EuL Iearn LLey dId. IL dIdn'L Lake Ion Ior some
of the more forward thinking military leaders
to understand the challenges they faced and
come up with some viable solutions. They
recognized that the decades of recruiting
and investing in smarter, more capable
troops could and would only pay dividends if
these troops could be brought to bear on the
enemy. This meant freeing up more troops
from all the mundane, behind-the-scenes
tasks that drive the military war machine
and rethinking how units could best utilize
their most precious resource - their people.
WLIIe I am noL sure wLaL LLe raLIo Is LLese
days, back in the day when I served it was
eneraIIy accepLed LLaL Ior every MarIne,
soldier, airman and sailor serving in a combat
role there were seventeen more serving in a
support role, so rethinking and reshaping
how we go to war was by no means a small
underLakIn. Here aaIn, I am parLIcuIarIy
Iad LLaL LLIs was noL my baLLIe Lo BLL.
It wasnt long before the military began
to adapt to the reality of their missions in
Afghanistan and Iraq. In turn, it wasnt long
before they recognized there was an urgent
need Lo BII aII oI LLose vacanL posILIons as
troops were freed up for more critical missions.
They also recognized that the traditional fall-
back plan, which relied on the use of Reserve
and NaLIonaI 0uard Lroops Lo sLep In and
BII LLose voIds wasn'L oIn Lo work, sImpIy
because enLIre Feserve and 0uard unILs
were already being prepped for deployment
and they would need all of their personnel to
perform their missions. It was also obvious
that recruiting and training more people -
a costly, time consuming endeavour in the
besL oI LImes jusL wasn'L oIn Lo work. EuL
somewhere, someone recognized that there
were, in fact, a substantial number of people
in the private sector that had the skill sets
needed Lo BII LLose posILIons. In IacL, many oI
these folks had developed those skills while
serving in the military before heading for the
reener pasLures oI LLe cIvIIIan worId. WLen
all was said and done, the folks that matter
recognized it would be more cost effective
to contract the resources they needed as
opposed to taking the traditional route of
recruiting and training organic resources.
Bo, Ior LLe BrsL LIme ever, LLIs counLry
saw the wide scale appearance of civilian
contractors working, quite literally, alongside
the military in a war zone; performing
jobs traditionally performed by military
personnel. These contractors included cooks,
truck drivers, administrative assistants,
advisers and, of course, security specialists.
Regardless of their job, and not unlike the
IoIks LLaL Tom Erokaw wroLe abouL In LIs
besLseIIIn book: TLe 0reaLesL 0eneraLIon,
every single one of these people was willing
Lo sLep up, make Lremendous sacrIBces and
assume tremendous risks despite having no
reLIremenL beneBLs, IImILed LeaILL coverae,
absolutely no guarantees of continued
employment, no unions to negotiate on their
behalf for better working conditions, or most
of the other things the typical American
takes for granted. And in doing so, these
civilians enabled the military to function
more eIBcIenLIy and eIIecLIveIy. TLousands
were seriously injured or killed, yet when all
was said and done there were no celebrations,
no parades wLen LLey came Lome. HeII, LLey
were lucky to get a paragraph or two in the
IocaI newspaper. More oILen, LLey were
criticized or demonized by people who knew
nothing about what they had done and the
sacrIBces LLey made. YeL, In my mInd, LLe
overwhelming majority of these people are
heroes in the same sense that the people
descrIbed In Erokaw's book are. No one Iorced
them to go somewhere or do something they
did not want to; they went because they felt
a duty to this country. They knew the risks
and despite them - not because of them -
they chose to put themselves in harms
way because they believed that they could
contribute something to the effort.
Dont get me wrong, patriotism certainly
wasnt the only factor that played into the
decision many of these folks made. The pay
was good and the promise of adventure was
sLron. Now, I reconIze LLaL Lo LLe averae
person this line of thinking is, at best,
IoreIn and, more IIkeIy, bIzarre. FerLaps
thats because average people - those who
make up more than ninety percent of the
population - go through life attempting to
avoid confrontation at just about every
opportunity, and at almost any cost. There
is a certain segment of the population that
counts on this. They are the criminals and
evil doers, and they are quick to prey on
those who are willing to give things up in
order Lo avoId a conIronLaLIon. Now, wLIIe
I cant speak for the cooks, administrative
assistants or truck drivers, I can tell you
that the security contractors tend to fall
into a third category, one made up of the one
percent of the population that are willing to
stand up to criminals and others who might
prey on whomever they can. In a different
place and time they were cops, soldiers and
protection specialists or in lay-persons
terms; bodyguards. They were motivated
by all of those things already mentioned -
patriotism, adventure, a decent paycheck
- but most of all they were motivated by the
understanding that there are people in the
world that need protection and those that
have the capability to provide that protection.
These are men and women that knowingly
put themselves in harms way. And while I am
not sure how a psychiatrist or psychologist
might view their chosen profession, I do
know that for thousands of years those whose
chosen career was to protect others, to serve
as bodyguards, were viewed honourably and
treated with respect. It wasnt until these
professional protectors answered the call to
ply their trade in a war zone that they became
looked down upon, called mercenaries
and thugs. I am not sure how the hell that
happened, but I can tell you that it couldnt
be further from the truth. I say this because
I have been a protection specialist for more
than twenty years and have worked as a
security contractor.
I have more than a few reasons for writing this
book, some of which are easy to articulate,
oLLers noL so mucL. 0ne reason Is LLe desIre
to provide a realistic portrayal of the work
that security contractors did, day in and day
ouL, In Iraq. NoL some sensaLIonaIIzed sLory,
but the unvarnished truth, warts and all.
Another reason is a desire to provide some
InsILL InLo LLe courae and sacrIBce LLaL
many of those contractors made in order
Lo accompIIsL an exLraordInarIIy dIIBcuIL,
very noble mission; keeping others alive
in a country torn apart by war, decades
of strife wrought by an evil dictator, and a
eneraI dIsLrusL oI WesLern overnmenLs.
EuL mosLIy, I am wrILIn LLIs book Lo dIspeI
the myths and misconceptions about who
these contractors were, for unlike the rest of
LLe worId I know LLem BrsLLand, and I know
them to be hardworking men trying to earn
an honest living in the face of tremendous
rIsk, conIusIn and conBIcLIn dIrecLIves and
competing political agendas.
Right upfront I will tell you that the company I
worked Ior was EIackwaLer, a company wLIcL
was ultimately brought down by the tragic
evenLs LLaL occurred on 16LL BepLember,
2007 In NIsoor Bquare, unLII LLaL day one
of those places that no American outside of
Iraq even knew existed. Just to be clear on
LLIs, I was noL In NIsoor Bquare LLaL day, nor
did I know any of the contractors involved in
what would become one of the most highly
publicized, controversial events involving
security contractors in Iraq. For those who
may not be familiar with the incident; on
LLaL day a EIackwaLer convoy was movIn
through the Square when it reported taking
Bre and, In Lurn, Bred back. Ey LLe LIme LLe
media coverage died down the contractors,
and the company itself, stood accused of
killing seventeen innocent Iraqi men, women
and cLIIdren, EIackwaLer's repuLaLIon was In
tatters and criminal charges were brought
against some of members of the team
involved. At the time I write this, the one man
who pled guilty to charges of manslaughter
and agreed to testify against other members
of the team is in prison, the charges against
LLe oLLers Lave been dropped, EIackwaLer
no longer exists and security contractors are
painted with a broad brush of contempt, even
by some in the protection profession.
As for me, I am proud of the time I spent
workIn Ior EIackwaLer, a company LLaL was
far different at the beginning then it was in
2007. I was LLere wLen boLL LLe company's
foray into the realm of protective services
and the idea of using security contractors
Lo proLecL AmerIcan oIBcIaIs were In LLeIr
infancy. I also believe that, regardless of what
Lappened Lo LIs company, ErIk FrInce sLouId
be applauded for his willingness to step up
and take a monumental risk in support of
US military and diplomatic efforts in Iraq
and Afghanistan. At the time he accepted
LLe BrsLoIILskInd conLracL Lo proLecL LLe
LILesL rankIn UB oIBcIaI In a war zone,
the risks were crystal clear and the stakes
couIdn'L be LILer, succeed In keepIn FauI
Eremer, UB AdmInIsLraLor oI Iraq LLe man
the Secret Service declared, in writing, to be
LLe mosL LLreaLened AmerIcan oIBcIaI In LLe
world, bar none - alive and your company will
have accomplished something that no private
company Lad ever acLIeved beIore. However,
II Eremer eLs kIIIed your company wIII serve
as a poster child for those who believe that
a private company cannot possibly provide
the level of protection required to safeguard
overnmenL oIBcIaIs. And, oL, by LLe way,
your company will, in all likelihood, never
receive another government contract. Keep
In mInd LLaL Mr. FrInce was In no way, sLape
or form responsible for the failure of the
two war strategy that led directly to the
demand for security contractors, nor did
he set out to create the conglomerate that
EIackwaLer uILImaLeIy became. WLaL Le dId
do was recognize a need, develop a service
modeI LLaL wouId BII LLaL need and LLen
Ey Erank 0aIIaLer
TLe MIssIon:
FroLecLIn LLe MosL TLreaLened Man In LLe WorId
*********************************************************************************************************
*********************************************************************************************************
BprIn 2018 \W]OP\ITSUIOIbQVM 31 30 \W]OP\ITSUIOIbQVM BprIn 2018
Frank Gallagher: TLe MIssIon Frank Gallagher: TLe MIssIon
0rIIn: TLe LoIds Lere are wresLIIn LoIds
and thats where the phrase originates.
WresLIIn Las Ion been an 0IympIc sporL,
administrated by FILA, the sports governing
body. There are sets of rules for each of the
varIous sLyIes oI wresLIIn. FrIor Lo LLe
formation of rules, wrestling was a free-form
affair. There was no need to mention any
such phrase as no holds barred, as that was
taken for granted. It wasnt until after the
sport became regulated that bouts where
those rules didnt apply were billed as such.
The earliest reference to the phrase no holds
barred' probabIy comes Irom ManILoba DaIIy
Eree Fress, Eebruary 1892: "Wm. 0Ibbs, LLe
Kansas man, and DennIs 0aIIacLer, oI EuIIaIo,
engaged in a wrestling match at the opera
Louse Lere LonILL. 0Ibbs was sLranIed InLo
insensibility and may die. The conditions of
LLe maLcL were besL Lwo In LLree IaIIs 0reco
Roman style; no holds barred. Forms of
contemporary no holds barred wrestling
in which rules are thrown out the window
are Hardcore WresLIIn and Cae EILLIn.
HuIk Hoan sLarred In a 1989 BIm 'No HoIds
Earred' based on IreeIorm wresLIIn. ILs
LaIIne was, "No FIn. No FeI. No FuIes."
0rIIn: TLe word Iuck dId noL orIInaLe as
an acronym as was originally though, but it
crept, fully formed, into the English language
Irom DuLcL or Low 0erman around LLe 1SLL
century (its impossible to say precisely
when because so little documentary evidence
exists, probably due to the fact that the word
was so taboo throughout its early history
that people were afraid to write it down). The
AmerIcan HerILae DIcLIonary says ILs BrsL
known occurrence in English literature was
in the satirical poem Flen, Flyss (c.1500),
where it was not only disguised as a Latin
word but encrypted - gxddbov - which has
been deciphered as fuccant, pseudo-Latin for
they fuck.
According to Sheidlower, [Editors note:
Jesse Sheidlower was the Editor at Large of
LLe 0xIord EnIIsL DIcLIonary, specIaIIzIn
in English linguistics and lexicography and
auLLor oI TLe EWord, a deLaIIed LIsLory oI
the word fuck ...bless!] the earliest published
claims of a supposed acronymic origin for
LLe Eword appeared durIn LLe 1960s. Eor
example, an underground newspaper called
LLe EasL VIIIae 0LLer prInLed LLIs versIon In
1967: IL's noL commonIy known LLaL LLe word
fuck originated as a medical diagnostic
notation on the documents of soldiers in
LLe ErILIsL ImperIaI Army. WLen a soIdIer
reporLed sIck and was Iound Lo Lave V.D.,
LLe abbrevIaLIon E.U.C.K. was sLamped on LIs
documents. It was short for Found Under
CarnaI KnowIede."
Two more variants appeared in a letter
pubIIsLed In FIayboy maazIne In 1970: "My
friend claims that the word fuck originated
In LLe 1SLL CenLury, wLen a marrIed
couple needed permission from the king to
procreaLe. Hence, EornIcaLIon Under ConsenL
of the King. I maintain that its an acronym of
a law term used in the 1500s that referred to
rape as Eorced UnnaLuraI CarnaI KnowIede."
Undoubtedly the most famous instance of this
etymological travesty was its use as the title
oI LLe 1991 Van HaIen aIbum, "Eor UnIawIuI
CarnaI KnowIede."
NO
HOLDS
BARRED
FUCK
5MIVQVO"
Without
restrictions
or rules.
5MIVQVO"
...Errr, well, you
know...!
1VM^MZaQ[[]M_M_QTTJZQMaTWWSI\[WUM
QV\MZM[\QVO_WZL[IVLXPZI[M[IVLVL
out where they came from. In this issue:
N0 H0LDB EAFFED and EUCK!
Tough
Words & Phrases
BprIn 2018 \W]OP\ITSUIOIbQVM 33
Tough Words & Phrases
demonstrate that his company could deliver
that service where, when and as needed. In
doing so his company - and those that followed
provIded LLe mIIILary wILL LLe BexIbIIILy
needed Lo successIuIIy BLL an asymmeLrIc
war In Lwo LLeaLres sImuILaneousIy. None
of this would have happened if he wasnt
interested in supporting the war effort or if he
was afraid to place himself and his company
aL rIsk. EuL Le was, and Le dId. Bo Ior LLaL Le
should be applauded.
UILImaLeIy, LLe Eremer DeLaII was a success.
EIackwaLer conLracLors kepL Mr. Eremer saIe
and secure for the entirety of his year in Iraq.
The detail became the standard by which
aII oLLer FroLecLIve BecurILy DeLaIIs were
compared and the successful execution of the
Eremer DeLaII earned EIackwaLer a repuLaLIon
as an exceptional service provider with the
ability to get the job done, even under the most
dIIBcuIL cIrcumsLances.
WLaL some readers may Bnd asLonIsLIn Is LLe
fact that, until that time, there was no doctrine
for this type of protection operation, there
were no tactics, techniques or procedures -
commonIy reIerred Lo In LLe IndusLry as TTF's
- to study and rehearse; they were developed
over LLe course oI LLe conLracL. WLaL oLLers
may Bnd even more asLoundIn Is LLe IacL LLaL
EIackwaLer conLracLors manaed Lo keep LLe
LILesL proBIe AmerIcan LareL In Iraq aIIve
Ior nearIy a year wILLouL ever BrIn a sInIe
shot!
*********************************
Erank 0. 0aIIaLer Las over LwenLy Bve
years of international experience providing
personal protection, intelligence gathering,
counter-terrorism operations, surveillance
detection, threat analysis, and security
training in both the private security sector and
LLe UnILed BLaLes MIIILary. He Las recenLIy
Iounded 0aIIaLer BecurILy AdvIsors, LLC Lo
provide those services to an impressive list
oI VIF cIIenLs. BInce 2006, Mr. 0aIIaLer Las
worked for the US Department of States Anti-
TerrorIsm AssIsLance (ATA) Froram wLere
Le LraIned IoreIn proLecLIon aenLs In VIF
proLecLIon and VIFFTBT (TacLIcaI BupporL
Team) courses. He LeIped Lo rewrILe LLe
FNL (FroLecLIn NaLIonaI Leaders) course
and is recognized as a subject matter expert
by LLe UB DeparLmenL oI BLaLe. FrIor Lo LLe
ATA Froram Le served EIackwaLer BecurILy
as LLeIr Lead InsLrucLor Ior LLe FroLecLIve
BervIce DeLaIIs (FBD) porLIon oI LLe BLaLe
DeparLmenL's WorIdwIde FersonaI FroLecLIve
BervIces (WFFB) 'HIL TLreaL FroLecLIon
Training program.
Taken from a book Frank is currently writing
about his time in Iraq. You can contact Frank
dIrecLIy vIa emaII: I0821maII.com
You've LraIned and sacrIBced In LLe ym and aL varIous academIes.
Youve given your blood, sweat and maybe even a few tears. Youve had
training details and stood post in an empty hotel at the oddest hours of
LLe nILL. EuL, do you Lave LLaL reaIworId experIence LLaL can be appIIed
when things go real bad? Everyone likes to think that they will step up
to the challenge and achieve their objective in a violent encounter but
the sad fact is that its not always the case. Its a whole new level when
reaI buIIeLs sLarL ByIn aL you. WLen you are In a vIoIenL encounLer wILL
a criminal who has no rules in their tactics. If you are not ready in mind
and body, LLe sad LruLL Is you are oIn Lo eL LurL... or worse. 0ur eos
try to make us believe that we are all unstoppable, but the truth is that
no matter how good we are, its a very real possibility that you can get
hurt or worse anytime you are on duty. So how is it possible to prepare
for something that is eventually going to be an unavoidable reality?
Yes...Know LLe LLreaL! WLaLever job you are workIn, LLere Is oIn Lo
be a bad eIemenL oI LumanILy InvoIved. II IL's an EF deLaII, wLaL poLenLIaI
an aIBIIaLIons does your prIncIpaI and or LIs LandIers Lave? Are LLey
prevaIenL In LLe cILy you are workIn? WLaL Is LLe oranIzaLIon's LabILs
wLen LLey Lake care oI busIness? Fun ood InLeIIIence. NoL jusL your
route cards and building advances, but truly know what you could be
coming up against.
NILLcIub and evenL assInmenLs creaLe some very poLenLIaIIy
cLaIIenIn sILuaLIons. CuILuraI aLLerIns, Ior exampIe. EInd ouL wLo
will be attending and from what regions. If you are not aware of who is
mIxIn In your crowd, you can unknowInIy Bnd yourseII In LLe mIddIe oI
a riot that stems from issues taking place on another continent.
Its happened! You are in a situation where a use of force is required. Did
you LraIn properIy? Eecause you wIII reacL IIke you Lave been LraIned. Are
you carryIn a weapon or weapons? II you are noL absoIuLeIy proBcIenL
and compeLenL wILL your LooIs, wLeLLer IL's Iess LLan IeLLaI 0C Bpray
and LeIescopIc baLon or your Brearm, IL can be Laken away Irom you and
so you Lad beLLer be absoIuLeIy proBcIenL wILL LLe LooIs you carry, as weII
as your hand-to-hand technique. You are facing one - or worse - multiple
attackers who have bad intentions, can you get rid of your inhibitions of
an extended time training in the controlled environment of the martial
arts gym? If you attempt to have honour in your conduct on the streets,
you will be run over like a freight train! You must realize that in a violent
encounter, everything in the bad guys tactics is in play; groin shots,
knees, glass and champagne bottles. Anything can be used against you,
can you LandIe IL? Can you LandIe beIn ouLnumbered and LavIn Lo
weather the storm till help arrives? In club work especially, this is a very
reaI possIbIIILy. Do you Lave LLe LraInIn? Can you keep a cooI Lead and
maintain defense, despite the odds and the blows being landed?
Can you... reaIIy?
These are just a few of the realities we must prepare for as protection and
securILy proIessIonaIs, doorsLaII and sLudenLs oI combaL. Frepare... noL
only in body but in mind and acquire the survival mind set. So that no
matter what the odds and the situation, we, as protectors, will dominate
against not only superior physical skills but a superior mindset.
A regular column by Fred Kracke,
a U.B. based ExecuLIve FroLecLIon
BpecIaIIsL and BecurILy ConsuILanL.
He Las exLensIve experIence In LLe
CeIebrILy, FoIILIcaI and CorporaLe
worlds. In addition he spent over
four years living in Southern Africa.
32 \W]OP\ITSUIOIbQVM BprIn 2018
Krackes Corner

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